Latest news with #Gardner
Winnipeg Free Press
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘Downton Abbey' star Elizabeth McGovern brings Ava Gardner's tumultuous life to the stage
NEW YORK (AP) — For all of Elizabeth McGovern's acting career, someone else wrote her lines. Now it's her turn. The 'Downton Abbey' star pivots from British aristocracy to classic Hollywood royalty this summer to portray screen legend Ava Gardner in a play she wrote. 'It's an incredible feeling to see other people embrace these things that were in your head,' she says. 'My feet haven't touched the ground since we started working on this in New York. I am just loving it so much.' 'Ava: The Secret Conversations' examines the sometimes-prickly, sometimes seductive relationship between Gardner and Peter Evans, a journalist assigned to ghostwrite her memoir in the years before her death in 1990. Though Gardner pulled the plug on the project before its completion, Evans eventually published their conversations in 2013. That book is the basis of McGovern's play. She says she was intrigued by the idea of 'a star on the wane of her career, sitting with a guy trying to glean from her the story of her life, and the two of them battling it out to control the narrative.' About 'Ava: The Secret Conversations' Directed by Tony Award-nominee Moritz von Stuelpnagel, the production co-stars Aaron Costa Ganis as Evans, who also channels Gardner's three famous husbands: actor Mickey Rooney, bandleader Artie Shaw and performer Frank Sinatra. It begins performances off-Broadway at New York City Center starting this week. McGovern says she wasn't initially a huge fan of Gardner — famed for her green eyes, photogenic features and understated acting style — before she embarked on the project. It was more the idea of how a memoir can become a battleground for legacy and a way to explore Hollywood fame. McGovern made her screen debut at 20 in Robert Redford's 'Ordinary People' in 1980 and went on to co-star with Hollywood's leading men, including Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. She landed an Oscar nomination for Milos Forman's 'Ragtime.' It's a career with many similarities to Gardner. 'I feel like I do have a natural affinity for who she is. I feel like we would really like each other. I don't know, I'm flattering myself, but it's possibly because I had a kind of similar trajectory in my early life,' says McGovern. 'I mean, it was not on any level close to hers, but I understood the whole kind of mechanics of it.' Gardner's reputation as a sex goddess was fully launched in 1946 film 'The Killers,' in which she co-starred with Burt Lancaster. She also starred opposite Humphrey Bogart in 'The Barefoot Contessa' and Richard Burton in Tennessee Williams' 'Night of the Iguana.' McGovern says Gardner was caught in the impossibility of women's expectations at the time — be sexy but not sleep around. She had many lovers but also felt the shame society imposed. 'I think she was a kind of a feminist, in spite of herself, really,' says McGovern 'I hope people are inspired by that — by the fact that she just did whatever she wanted to do and lived with the consequences.' A screen siren at the end of her life By the end of her life and when the play is set, Gardner has been partially paralyzed after a stroke, had emphysema and lived in seclusion. She decided on a quickie memoir to keep the bills paid. 'All my life I was the Woman Men Dream About. That was the only job I ever had,' she wails in the play. 'Where does that leave me now?' The 90-minute play, which has had previous runs in Los Angeles and London, goes to Chicago and Toronto this fall after New York. McGovern initially took the idea to two different writers who failed to produce anything. So she turned to herself, watching movies and footage of Gardner to nail her speech patterns and reading whatever she could about the actor's inner life. 'I literally would act it out in my room to myself and then write it down. So it was natural to think of myself playing it, obviously, but then writing a part for somebody else to play, I couldn't think of a way to do it except by doing the acting of that part and then write it down.' Costa Ganis, her co-star, says 'she's doing something very bold and very daring and very scary' and he rarely meets a playwright so adaptable. 'I think the thing that's so fun about working with her is just that she's such a collaborator,' he says. Music helped McGovern the playwright McGovern developed the confidence to write her first play through songwriting. She is the lead singer and an acoustic guitarist for Sadie & The Hotheads, which released their debut album in 2007 and their latest in July, 'Let's Stop Fighting.' 'It kind of embraces a lot of different styles and then ends up with something of its own,' she says of the ethereal jazz-folk the band makes, which is waiting for an audience to catch up. 'We're still waiting. It's been quite a while, but I'm fine,' she says with a laugh. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. Costa Ganis hears McGovern's musicality throughout the play, an internal rhythm she understands: 'So if something doesn't play right, she has a great sense of what sounds good and what moves things along.' McGovern will be nearing the end of her New York turn as Gardner when the latest 'Downton Abbey' hits movie theaters Sept. 12 — subtitled 'The Grand Finale.' She admits that she and the cast initially dreaded returning after the death of Maggie Smith, an audience favorite. 'I think everyone was afraid that without Maggie, it's daunting to keep the thing going. But surprise, surprise, I think it's our best movie,' she says. 'It just kind of clicked.' McGovern, who like Gardner lives in London, does music, TV, and film but always finds room for theater, where the smartphones disappear and performers meet the audience. 'It's so healthy to have two hours where you only have one job and that job is basically just to be present and I really feel like it's good for the brain.'
TechCrunch
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- TechCrunch
TikTok adds YouTube Music as an option to save songs playing in videos
TikTok has been making it easier for users to add songs playing in video clips on the platform to their choice of music streaming platform. The short video service today added YouTube Music as an option to this list. The company first introduced this feature in the U.S. and the U.K. with support for Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music in November 2023. In February 2024, it rolled out this feature to more than 160 countries across the globe. Over time, TikTok has added Deezer and SoundCloud as choices for music streaming options as well. To add a song to YouTube Music, you can tap the 'Add Song' button below the clip description and next to the track name. They can tap on the button and select YouTube Music. If you are using the feature for the first time, you can select your preferred music streaming service, which will become the default for saving songs. Users can change the default service by accessing the 'Music' menu under settings. Image Credits: TikTok Once you add the song, it will be added to the TikTok Songs playlist on YouTube Music. 'Add to Music App continues to deliver real results for the music industry, with hundreds of millions of track saves translating into billions of streams on music streaming services,' saidTracy Gardner, TikTok's Global Head of Music Business Development said in a statement. 'By partnering with YouTube Music, we're expanding this impact globally, helping artists reach new audiences while giving fans a seamless way to engage with the music they discover on TikTok.'
Miami Herald
6 days ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Heat rewarding summer league standout Myron Gardner with two-way deal. Where the roster stands
The Miami Heat is rewarding one of the players from its summer league roster with a two-way contract. The Heat plans to sign forward Myron Gardner to a two-way deal after he impressed in summer league, a league source confirmed to the Miami Herald on Friday. The two-way contract is a two-year agreement. After standing out with 14 points on nine field-goal attempts in the Heat's summer league loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on July 6 in the California Classic, Gardner was held out of the first three games of Las Vegas Summer League because of a finger injury. But Gardner (6-foot-6 and 220 pounds) was able to pick up right where he left off when he returned, averaging 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, two assists and 2.5 steals per appearance while shooting 11 of 25 (44%) from the field and 6 of 9 (66.7%) on threes during the Heat's final two summer league games in Las Vegas. 'Just the way he assaults the paint,' Heat assistant coach and summer league head coach Eric Glass said when asked what he likes about Gardner's game. 'He's so aggressive, he's so strong going down hill.' Gardner, 24, has spent the last two seasons with the Orlando Magic's G League affiliate after going undrafted in 2023 out of Little Rock. He averaged 10 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and one steal per game while shooting 48.8% from the field and 65 of 184 (35.3%) on threes in 50 games for the Osceola Magic last season. Gardner's most impressive stretch for the Osceola Magic last season came in the playoffs, when he averaged 20.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, two assists, 2.4 steals and 1.4 blocks per appearance while shooting 55.6% from the field and 42.4% on 6.6 three-point attempts per appearance in five postseason games to help lead the team to the G League Finals. Gardner, who is from Detroit, has yet to play in an NBA game. In fact, this two-way contract with the Heat marks the closest that Gardener has been to playing in the NBA, as this is the first two-way or standard NBA deal that he has signed during his career. After committing to Gardner, the Heat now has two of its three two-way contract slots filled. Center Vlad Goldin, who went undrafted this year out of Michigan, is also signed by the Heat to a two-way deal. The Heat's third and final two-way contract spot could go to guard Dru Smith, who has a qualifying offer in place from Miami to return on such a contract. Two-way contracts, which pay half the NBA rookie minimum and do not count toward the salary cap or luxury tax, allow for players to be on their NBA team's active list for as many as 50 regular-season games with other game action having to come in the G League. Two-way deals can be swapped at any time and do not come with playoff eligibility. Following the signing of Gardner, the Heat's preseason roster includes 16 players (including two-way contracts and Exhibit 10 deals). The 14 players signed by the Heat to standard contracts for next season are Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins, Terry Rozier, Norman Powell, Davion Mitchell, Simone Fontecchio, Haywood Highsmith, Nikola Jovic, Kel'el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, Pelle Larsson and Keshad Johnson. The two two-way contract players are Gardner and Goldin. The Heat currently doesn't have any players signed to an Exhibit 10 deal, which is essentially an invite to training camp. Exhibit 10 contracts also protect players from being signed by another team. While 18 players (15 on standard contracts and three on two-way contracts) is the regular-season limit, NBA teams are allowed to carry up to 21 players during the offseason and preseason (including up to three two-way contract players). The Heat is scheduled to hold its annual media day on Sept. 29 before opening training camp on Sept. 30 to kick off the 2025-26 season. NEW NUMBERS Highsmith is switching his jersey number from No. 24 to No. 8, with Powell taking No. 24 after being traded to the Heat. Powell has worn No. 24 in each of his first 10 NBA seasons. In addition, Fontecchio will wear No. 0 with the Heat for the first time in his NBA career after wearing No. 16 with the Utah Jazz and No. 19 with the Detroit Pistons during his first three seasons in the league. The Detroit Pistons dealt Fontecchio to the Heat this summer as part of the Duncan Robinson sign-and-trade transaction. Goldin will wear No. 50 for the Heat.
Forbes
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Jazz At Lincoln Center Previews Upcoming 'Mother In Africa' Season
Tonight and tomorrow night Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is offering a preview of its 2025-26 season which will celebrate 'Mother Africa.' On July 24-25, at 7:30 p.m, Reflections on Africa , music-directed by Vincent Gardner, will present compositions that reflect the impact of African consciousness on music composed by American jazz masters. Selections may include pieces from Randy Weston's Uhuru Afrika and Highlife albums, Cannonball Adderley's Accent on Africa and John Coltrane's Africa/Brass , among others. NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 18: (L-R) Marion Felder, Jon Batiste, Vincent Gardner, and Chris Crenshaw perform in a second line during Jazz At Lincoln Center's 30th Anniversary Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 18, 2018 in New York City. (Photo byfor Jazz At Lincoln Center) Getty Images for Jazz At Lincoln Gardner has played trombone in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra since 2000 and is currently its principal trombonist; he also serves as artistic director of Jazz Houston. Opening for the JLCO at these performances will be high school–aged musicians from Jazz at Lincoln Center's Summer Jazz Academy, a two-week residential program for advanced jazz study. Besides playing in Rose Hall Thursday and Friday nights, the academy's orchestra will perform at the summer jazz festival of the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, in Katonah, N. Y., on Saturday afternoon, July 26. Tickets for Reflections on Africa are Pay-What-You-Choose starting at $20.00; purchases are limited to two seats per order online, over the phone, and in person at the box office. The concerts also will be streamed on In an interview this week with Gardner described this week's concerts as 'a reflection of what's coming next season, a small, 75-minute taste of what its theme is going to be, a tribute to Mother Africa.' 'There are clear lines of musical continuity that come directly from African music into Jazz music,' he added. Gardner, who has arranged two of the pieces that will be performed, also has been the trombone instructor for the students at the Summer Jazz Academy; besides playing instruments, some of its students will also sing in the show. Tod Stoll, Jazz at Lincoln Center's vice president of education, said that the Summer Jazz Academy students, have been studying this summer both at Bard College and the Juilliard School, which like JALC, is part of Lincoln Center. He said they've been 'very busy—we want them to leave here tired and inspired.' Before the 2025-25 season begins in September, the Jazz at Lincoln Center orchestra will perform in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya. Jazz at Lincoln Center said its 38th season, 'Mother Africa,' will delve 'into the creative spirit that unites African and American musical traditions, and runs from September 18, 2025 to June 20, 2026. Dominating the season are concerts that explore the deep and enduring ties between jazz, the African continent, and its diaspora. The 2024-25 season includes 19 unique weekends of Jazz at Lincoln Center concerts in the 1233-seat Rose Theater, nine concerts in the 467-seat Appel Room, and more than 350 nights of music at Dizzy's Club, in addition to webcast performances and in-person and virtual education programs. 'The season also highlights new works, commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center, from renowned jazz artists in the organization's new The Commission Series . The new season also includes celebratory concerts to honor the centennials of three towering figures in jazz – Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson, and Celia Cruz – further illuminating the far-reaching legacy of Afro-American and the African diaspora musical expression,' it concluded.
Metro
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Donkey Kong Bananza fan breaks game by painting the cartridge yellow
An overly enthusastic Donkey Kong fan has almost ruined their Nintendo Switch 2 by spray painting one of their game cartridges banana yellow. Donkey Kong Bananza is a great game and it's been a very long time since there was another big budget Donkey Kong title, so some fans, with a lot of nostalgia for the franchise, have got a bit carried away with themselves. One major point of conversation has been the game's placement in the wider Donkey Kong timeline or rather how it seems to contradict it entirely. We're not going to get into that again here, but some fans are oddly annoyed by the lack of consistency… even though the series has never had in-depth storylines. Another even stranger trend has been trying to paint the cartridge the game comes on yellow, like the Donkey Kong 64 one. That's not a very good idea though, as one fan in particular has discovered. The fan in question is one gardnerhartung, or merely Gardner, on TikTok who recently shared a video expressing disappointment that the physical game cartridge for Donkey Kong Bananza is the usual red colour, like other Switch 2 cartridges. His reasoning is that, back in the day, a couple of Donkey Kong games received unique yellow cartridges when they came out, specifically 1995's Donkey Kong Land for the Game Boy and 1996's Donkey Kong 64 for the Nintendo 64. It was a fun novelty, but it really was only those two games. Yet Gardner, in his own words, was 'displeased' with Bananza not following suit and filmed himself disassembling the cartridge so he can paint it yellow without damaging the game and its connection pins. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. The final result is admittedly authentic looking, but it ultimately proved fruitless since the cartridge would no longer fit into the console, either due to the extra layers of paint making it slightly bigger or it wasn't put back together properly. In a follow-up video, Gardner showed he was able to force the cartridge in eventually and, from the sound of things, actually play the game. But the cartridge is now stuck, and he can't remove it, with one attempt with a pair of metal pliers only breaking part of it off. While some of the comments do try to offer advice on how to remove the cartridge, there are unsurprisingly a lot of people mocking Gardner for even attempting any of this to begin with. The videos have gone viral enough to generate at least three separate Reddit threads, where plenty of people either insult Gardner or accuse him of just trying to draw attention. Whatever the case, Gardner appears to be taking has fame well. In a third video, where it seems he's about to address the mean comments and media coverage, he reveals he was sent a threatening email from Nintendo. Signed by 'John Nintendo himself', it says unless Gardner gets the cartridge removed by the end of the day, the company will take his house and brick his Switch 2 (admittedly, that second one is something Nintendo can actually do). He then shows that a second attempt at using the pliers was successful and has presumably left his Switch 2 undamaged, but the cartridge itself is in pieces. If there's any lesson to be learned from this, it's don't spray paint your games, especially with how expensive they are nowadays, although you'd think most people would know not to do that. More Trending In other Donkey Kong news, although Nintendo hasn't shared official sales figures yet, data by NielsenIQ and shared by The Game Business says Donkey Kong Bananza enjoyed the biggest opening week in the UK in the franchise's history… maybe. As it stands, 2010's Donkey Kong Country Returns (the original Wii game, not the Switch remaster) officially holds that record, but NielsenIQ admits it currently lacks data for how many copies of Bananza were sold directly from Nintendo's online store and the eShop. Even if Bananza has outperformed every other Donkey Kong game in the UK, that doesn't really mean much as the series has never done tremendously well over here. Although Donkey Kong Country helped the SNES to beat the Mega Drive (aka Genesis) in the US, during the 90s, it didn't have quite the same effect here, where it wasn't until the DS and Wii era when Nintendo really became popular in the UK. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Nintendo Switch 2 beats PS4 and PS5 as fastest-selling console ever MORE: Two new racers coming to Mario Kart World hints Donkey Kong credits MORE: Weirdly Mario Kart World is only the third best selling Switch 2 digital game
