Latest news with #LorenTaylor
Irish Times
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
The Moon Is Upside Down: This poignantly awkward dramedy could feature cinema's clumsiest sex scene
The Moon is Upside Down Director : Loren Taylor Cert : None Genre : Comedy Starring : Starring Victoria Haralabidou, Elizabeth Hawthorne, Loren Taylor, Robbie Magasiva, Robyn Malcolm, Rachel House, Jemaine Clement Running Time : 1 hr 40 mins Busy medic Briar (Loren Taylor, also behind the camera) is late picking up her long-distance Skype boyfriend, Tim (Robbie Magasiva), with his 'Happy Mother's Day' balloon, the only heart-shaped option at the airport. They pull over by the side of the lonely road and kick out luggage for a backseat fumble that begins with butt cramp and ends in premature ejaculation and an unexpected period. Move over, American Pie. With The Moon Is Upside Down, Taylor makes a striking directorial debut, featuring a strong contender for cinema's clumsiest sex scene. Taylor, best known for cowriting and starring in Eagle vs Shark with Taika Waititi, her former partner, deservedly won the best-first-feature award at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival for this quietly moving and darkly funny triptych of stories. READ MORE Where Eagle vs Shark mined the comic potential of socially awkward love amid fast-food counters and video arcades, The Moon Is Upside Down finds emotional gravitas on the dustier backroads and dead-end motels of far-flung Wellington. The unabashedly feminine and poignantly awkward dramedy intertwines the lives of three women – a hopeful Russian immigrant, a weary anaesthetist and a jaded housewife – each grappling with their own crisis. Natalia (Victoria Haralabidou) arrives in New Zealand expecting a fresh start and a chance to run a cafe, only to find her new life with Mac (a hilariously uncomfortable Jemaine Clement) is surrounded by doomed cows. Briar half-arsedly navigates her 'erotic' virtual relationship between hospital shifts. And Faith (Elizabeth Hawthorne), a woman of privilege and routine, is jolted into action when she discovers a dead tenant in one of her husband's rental properties. The characters talk more than the denizens of Aki Kaurismäki's similarly deadpan milieu, but the tone is of a piece: 'Selling a property with a dead person in it,' Faith says, 'it's like buying a jacket with an arm in it. It has nothing to do with me. Did I tell you the canary starved to death?' Taylor's fearless and tart script is jollied along by mordant humour, winning performances and bracing realism. It's a dark comedy with the same offbeat sensibility as the New Zealand favourites Boy and Hunt for the Wilderpeople , and it points to a bright future for the writer-director. On limited cinema release from Friday, June 27th
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Monday's Campaign Round-Up, 4.21.25: Barbara Lee narrowly wins Oakland's mayoral race
Today's installment of campaign-related news items from across the country. * Oakland's mayoral race was a competitive contest, but over the weekend, former Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee prevailed, and her principal rival, Loren Taylor, conceded. * In the first quarter of the year, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee narrowly outraised its Republican counterpart, $36.9 million to $36.7 million. The gap was larger, but the National Republican Congressional Committee had an especially strong March. * In New Hampshire's 2026 U.S. Senate race, Democrats are quickly coalescing around Rep. Chris Pappas: Rep. Maggie Goodlander decided not to take Pappas on in a primary, and Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan endorsed the congressman on Friday. * Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive former public health official, launched a Democratic U.S. Senate campaign in Michigan last week, and soon after, he was endorsed by independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. * In Illinois, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin hasn't officially announced his electoral plans for next year, but his lackluster fundraising has reinforced speculation that the longtime incumbent will retire ahead of the 2026 election cycle. * Democratic Rep. David Scott of Georgia has faced scrutiny of late about his health, and it was against this backdrop that former Gwinnett County Board of Education chair Everton Blair launched a primary campaign against the incumbent congressman last week. Democratic state Sen. Emanuel Jones is also running in the same race. * And in Nevada, then-Gov. Steve Sisolak was the only Democratic governor to lose in the 2022 election cycle, coming up short against Republican Joe Lombardo. As the 2026 cycle approaches, Sisolak is reportedly eyeing a possible rematch. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
13-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Fed up': Embattled blue city's future hangs in the balance ahead of mayoral special election
EXCLUSIVE: Former Oakland City Council member Loren Taylor said former Rep. Barbara Lee's ties to the political establishment could help him to win over Oaklanders who are "fed up" with the status quo ahead of the April 15 special election. A self-described political outsider who only served one term as a city council member after unseating a 16-year incumbent, Taylor shared his plans to bring change to the "struggling" Bay Area city in an interview with Fox News Digital. "I am running as a political outsider who has just enough experience inside of City Hall to understand what's going on, but not so much that I'm entrenched in the political establishment. That is what Oaklanders are looking for," Taylor said. While Lee – a former member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and 2024 Senate primary candidate – has name recognition and national experience, Taylor has made waves in Oakland's special election as campaign finance reports reveal he has outraised the career California politician. California City's Massive $130M Deficit Threatens Dangerous Cuts To Its Firefighting Capacity "We have raised more money than other candidates in this race from local residents," Taylor said. "Over 80% of our contributions come directly from people who live right here in Oakland, compared to less than 50% for my primary component. That speaks volumes about who this campaign is. We are powered by Oaklanders, locals who are impacted by the decisions that are being made. The campaign is surging. Huge momentum these final days fueled by that overwhelming grassroots support." Read On The Fox News App Dem Mayor Unleashes Task Force In Attempt To Rescue Crime-ridden City: 'Restore Order To Our Streets' Oakland's staggering $129.8 budget deficit for Fiscal Year 2024-25 forced some Oakland firehouses to close their doors earlier this year. The City Council passed a resolution to reopen those firehouses, preventing tragedy from financial mismanagement. The liberal-run city has had four different mayors in a four-month period after former Mayor Sheng Thao was recalled this November and subsequently indicted on eight counts of bribery. Oakland has been without a clear leader this year as the city continues to grapple with a homelessness crisis. Alameda County Health's January 2024 Point-in-Time (PIT) report found there were 5,490 homeless individuals in Oakland in 2024, a 9% increase since 2022. "Oaklanders are frustrated," Taylor explained. "We are upset that we have not been getting what we deserve, what we should be getting from our local government. The status quo continues to fail us when we see crime rates rising out of control, we see homelessness still growing when it's shrinking in neighboring cities, we see our city facing the largest fiscal budget deficit in our history – a number of failures that show that what we have is not working." While the Oakland Police Department reported a decrease in violent crime in 2024, 2025 began with a crime surge plagued by five recorded homicides within a 48-hour period. By Jan. 3, The San Francisco Chronicle reported Oakland's third homicide of the year and seventh since Dec. 30, 2024. Taylor has called for equipping more police officers on the ground with technology to prevent violence and lawlessness. "We are struggling as a city, and that is what this campaign is speaking to. I am ready to make the hard and necessary decisions in order to fix the mismanagement, in order to address the corruption head on, restore trust in City Hall, make sure that we're delivering as Oaklanders want," he said. Just across the Bay, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has hit the ground running since assuming office in January. He launched the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Hospitality Task Force and passed the Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance as he works to clean up San Francisco's streets and restore what he describes as commonsense policies to the city. "I'm absolutely watching what's going on in San Francisco right across the Bay and even in the South Bay, in San Jose, with Mayor Matt Mahan, whom I am proud to have his endorsement," Taylor said. "I think both of those mayors are political outsiders, just like me. They didn't grow up within the ranks of government. They had careers, were making a significant impact outside and saw the gaps that existed with local government. I think that we share a bond in that in terms of bringing a data, results-driven approach to moving things forward." Click To Get The Fox News App Lee did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment by article source: 'Fed up': Embattled blue city's future hangs in the balance ahead of mayoral special election
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Oakland mayoral candidate receives lifesaving surgery, lays out priorities
OAKLAND, Calif. - Oakland mayoral candidate Loren Taylor, who first revealed to KTVU that he had recently had a liver transplant, explained why he's running for mayor of Oakland, which he said is broken. Taylor said he believes he can fix it. "I am the candidate for change, and I'm ready to drive that," he said. He described himself as a problem solver. Taylor said restoring public safety and clean streets are his priorities if elected mayor of Oakland. The former city council member representing East Oakland is now focused on his full-time job: convincing voters he is the best person to lead the city. "We need to keep businesses here. Keep residents here. Give them opportunities to grow," said Taylor. He works on strategy with his staff at his campaign offices, or he's out talking to voters at mayoral forums about how to balance the city's budget with a $130 million dollar deficit at a mayoral forum. "We need to clean house, refocus, do zero base budgeting and start with our priorities,"said Taylor as he addressed the audience at a forum. Taylor is among a field of candidates including longtime Congresswoman Barbara Lee. "We need fresh energy. We need someone who is not a part of the political establishment and we need to have a leader that is connected to what's been going on, committed to being here for the next ten years if the voters see fit," said Taylor. He faces a hectic schedule between now and April 15th, election day. He said he'll be working for votes every day, whether it be at forums, fundraisers, meet and greets. "It's a lot. It's intense," said Taylor. When asked about his revelation about recently undergoing a liver transplant surgery and the possible criticism that he's using his medical condition as a way to gain sympathy and get votes, he replied, "Oaklanders are smarter than that. They are focused on the election and on what we need." Taylor first ran for Oakland mayor in 2022 and lost to Sheng Thao by only 677 votes. After the FBI raid on her home in June of last year while she was mayor, Taylor called for her resignation, endorsed the recall and decided to run for mayor again if the recall was successful."We've got to redefine what the public trust is, what it looks like, and how we restore it within our city. That's what I intend to do," said Taylor,"I am energized, buoyed by all the support we're getting from Oakland residents who are not just cheering me on, but stepping up to volunteer. We've got around 80 percent of our donors are from right here in Oakland." Taylor described this as a groundswell of support, fueling his campaign all the way to election day, and the belief that his journey will include becoming the next mayor of Oakland. Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU
