Latest news with #sisterhood
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Nathan Ambrosioni Finds Sympathy for ‘Bad Mothers' in Camille Cottin Starrer ‘Out of Love': ‘If You Judge Your Characters, You Judge Your Audience'
Every woman dreams of being a mother. Or does she really? In Karlovy Vary Film Festival contender 'Out of Love,' two estranged sisters reunite when widowed Suzanne shows up on Jeanne's doorstep with her two kids. Newly single and childless by choice, Jeanne is startled by the sudden visit. In the morning, Suzanne disappears, leaving behind nothing but a note. More from Variety Karlovy Vary Artistic Director Readies for Czech Reckoning With #MeToo Ahead of Premiere of 'Broken Voices' Karlovy Vary Industry Head Hugo Rosak Talks Big Year of Change: 'We Are in Transition as an Industry' Peter Sarsgaard Calls for Unity in a Divided America at Karlovy Vary Film Festival Opening: 'There Is No Going It Alone' 'My previous film, 'Toni,' was about a mom of five kids. She was raising them all by herself. It was about this extraordinary motherhood. Now, I wanted to explore the opposite side of it,' French director Nathan Ambrosioni tells Variety. 'I knew I wanted a feminine perspective on this because I'm a young queer filmmaker. I just feel more at ease working with a queer person or a woman,' he says of his female-centered drama, which reunited him with Camille Cottin ('Call My Agent!,' 'House of Gucci') cast as Jeanne. She's joined by Juliette Armanet, Monia Chokri, Féodor Atkine, Myriem Akheddiou and Guillaume Gouix. The film is produced by Nicolas Dumont for Chi-Fou-Mi Productions, with Studiocanal handling sales. The taboo surrounding 'unfit' or unwilling mothers is still going strong, he argues. 'We are more used to seeing absentee fathers. I'm not saying that what Suzanne does isn't extreme, but she would be a 'bad mother' even if she would just go to work every day. It's the same with Jeanne. Potential financiers told us: 'She's horrible.' They found it shocking she didn't want these children, but why would she?! Camille's a mother herself, but she understood it right away.' After the initial shock, Cottin's character decides to take care of the abandoned kids, a girl and a boy. But her dilemmas don't stop there. 'How do you construct a family without the presence of a mother or a father? How do you become a parent without becoming a mother? Eventually, Jeanne starts to understand that nobody's asking her to replace Suzanne. She can still be their aunt, and that's ok.' Fascinated by real-life cases of people who go 'voluntarily missing,' sometimes never to return, Ambrosioni wanted his film to feel as accurate as possible. 'I talked to cops, judges, social workers. All these people who choose to disappear… I didn't even know it was possible. There is a scene with a judge that mirrors my actual conversation with her. I told her about the film, and she asked: 'Maybe she left out of love?' I thought it was so beautiful.' Suzanne, pushed to the brink, leaves out of love, but Jeanne decides to stay – also out of love. For the sister she barely knows anymore and for two children left alone in her home. 'On top of that, she has a broken heart. She lost the love of her life, Nicole, precisely because she didn't want kids. It's an even bigger tragedy than her sister leaving,' he adds. But while emotions run high, his characters suffer in silence. 'I never yell and I'm very shy with emotions. I knew I was going to work with kids and didn't want to put them in any weird situations, but I also wanted this to feel quiet. I love Hirokazu Koreeda – nobody ever yells in his films. I love 'Ordinary People.' I wanted to make a film that doesn't feel angry,' he says. 'We always see people crying and screaming on screen, and these are considered 'Oscar-worthy' performances. Here, Camille cries alone, hidden in a corner, and I would still give her an Oscar for what she does in the film. People can be amazing AND quiet.' Following 'Toni' and 'Out of Love,' Ambrosioni isn't done with families – or mothers – just yet. 'My next movie, one that I'm writing right now, is also about a mom and a kid. You can't choose your family – you just… end up there. They are such a beautiful mess, and you have to deal with it. But what if you don't?,' he wonders. 'Suzanne could have asked for help. Lots of people can't understand her actions and when we were developing the film, they would ask: 'What did her note say?' We are not going to know. But I'm impressed by her, in a way. To her, family is something she can either accept or refuse. She can choose, and she chooses to leave.' As for Ambrosioni, he chooses not to judge any of his characters. 'If you judge your characters, you judge your audience. If you're a mom and you're watching this film, and maybe you can't deal with your kids anymore, it won't tell you to leave them, but it will tell you that what you're feeling right now is ok. It's ok not to know how to deal with your children. It's ok not to want them, too,' he says. 'We don't have that many safe places in the world right now, and I want my films to feel safe. Always. I wanted them to feel real, human and lovable. Family, society, friendship: that's really all we have.' Best of Variety Oscars 2026: George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Roberts, Wagner Moura and More Among Early Contenders to Watch New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
Daily Mail
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Inside Mel B's relationship with her younger sister Danielle - as Spice Girl's lookalike sibling joins her for her wedding day
With Emma Bunton the only Spice Girl in attendance at Mel B's lavish wedding to new husband Rory McPhee today, her biggest supporter was her loyal - and uncannily similar - sister Danielle. Actress Danielle Brown, 44, beamed today as she watched her older sister tie the knot for a third time at St Paul's Cathedral in London - ahead of a lavish £28,000 party at the Shard this evening. Wearing a light blue minidress with a shawl around her shoulders, Danielle, who has previously starred in Emmerdale, appeared in every way the supportive younger sister. These days, Mel B and Danielle are the epitome of closeness, going on holiday and appearing on talk shows together - while Danielle was a main character in her hen do to Tunisia last month. But it's not always been an easy ride for the lookalike siblings, who were previously estranged for 10 years due to a row over Mel's ex-husband. Mel famously cut her mother, father and sister out of her life in 2008 after they disapproved of her ex-husband Stephen Belafonte, from whom she eventually split in 2017. Back in 2008, Danielle and the sibling's mother Andrea were cut off from Mel and her daughters due to their disapproval of the singer's ex-husband Stephen. Andrea made no secret of her feelings about Belafonte, who became Mel's husband in 2007 after a secret Las Vegas wedding at the time of the argument. It was their vow renewal ceremony in Egypt that led to the family feud reaching its peak, where Mel also fell out with her sister Danielle, and her father Martin. This resulted in the family never meeting her youngest daughter Madison, born in 2011 - a far cry from when Andrea has been allowed to cut the umbilical cord at the birth of Mel's second child Angel, in 2006. Andrea even revealed in an interview with The Sun that she only learned of the pregnancy and birth via the internet. 'I only found out she was pregnant because of Twitter and I found out on Twitter that she'd had the baby too,' she said. The family was estranged to the extent that in 2014, when Mel was taken to hospital with a suspected stomach ulcer while a judge on the X Factor, Danielle issued a desperate Twitter plea to Simon Cowell for information. She wrote: 'This is ridiculous and cruel !!! Evil ! How can NO one tell me and my family where my sister is and what is going on?????' 'Just a simple call to say she gonna be ok is all it takes!!!!,' she wrote. Then she directly addressed Simon Cowell, writing: '@SimonCowell How can NO one tell me and my family where my sister is and what is going on????? Can you please help? Or who can we contact?' An X Factor spokesman later put rest to Danielle's worries by confirming that Mel would be returning to the show. The statement read: 'After being discharged from hospital and following medical advice, Mel has been deemed well enough to do the show. We're delighted to have her back on the panel.' Mel was married to ex-husband Belafonte for 10 years, with the star claiming their relationship triggered her post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. It was reported in January 2017 that Mel resolved the nine-year feud with her mother, dad and sister by inviting invited them to spend time at her family home in Los Angeles as she realised that 'life was too short' to maintain their argument. In June 2019, Danielle joined Mel for an appearance on This Morning to discuss their ten-year feud and said 'we finally feel like sisters again'. Talking about how they became estranged, Mel claimed her marriage was 'emotionally traumatic'. Stephen has always denied any allegations against him. Sitting alongside her lookalike sibling, she said: 'I was in a 10-year marriage. Not the nicest marriage. I got very isolated from friends and family. 'I was in a coercive and not nice relationship. One of the things happens is you get cut off from friends and family. It was emotionally traumatic.' The ladies said they used to be inseparable and remained close even when Mel first tied the knot with Stephen in 2007. Danielle said: 'A lot of the close friends and people who worked for you got pushed to the side. It was done gradually. We were the last ones to go. Me, my mum and dad.' Melanie said that living in Los Angeles made it harder to remain close to her family, writing that her trips to Leeds got less and less over time. She said she didn't fight the issue as she had learned to keep quiet to avoid an argument, saying: 'It happened constantly. I always lost.' Danielle said her friends advised her to simply turn up at Mel's house, but she said it wasn't as simple as that. She said: 'You know the blankness in her eyes. Her eyes always looked dead because she wasn't that happy. 'We found out her phone number and address, but it would all change. We would get a horrible email back nothing want to do with you. We know it wasn't Melanie replying.' The Spice Girl said: 'I lost ten years of being with my sister and mum. We lost time with each other's kids.' Danielle said that despite what has happened, they are now closer because of their experiences. Mel said: 'Life is getting better and better and better. I don't live a life of a relationship full of lying and embarrassment and shame.' Stephen has always denied the allegations of abuse against him. These days, the pair are clearly close and have enjoyed holidays together, for example to the Caribbean island of Nevis in 2019. Just last month, Mel shared a birthday tribute to her sister, showing them partying the night away together. Danielle commented: 'Thanks big sis, love ya longtime.' Danielle was part of Mel B's hen party in Tunisia in June - part of a huge group of friends who all slipped into leopard-print bikinis On Instagram, she describes herself as a 'mum of three multitasking through life'. After growing up in Leeds with her lookalike sister, Danielle has also enjoyed a variety of success in the public eye. She starred in Emmerdale in 1998 as Paulette Lewis and Paradise Heights in 2002, playing Kylie James. She also was part of Moulin Rouge as a Parisian dancer and plays Tara in the 2018 film Scott and Sid and runs a podcast, Roots & Wings, Raising Teens In 2019, the siblings proved they had well and truly rekindled their friendship as Mel B bought her sister a sports car for her birthday. The Spice Girls singer surprised the pregnant actress with the luxury vehicle which she called the 'best present ever', but she then joked it was a complete surprise as she was expecting a 'stripper'. In 2021, for her birthday, Danielle wrote: 'A big Happy Birthday to my amazing strong shit hot big sister. You have special auntie powers too, never have I seen smiley Myla so still. In a gushing tribute to her sister, she wrote: 'So there I was yesterday chilling at mums with the family having a little pamper and waiting for mum to finish cooking a yummy roast dinner then Melanie and my daughter Mimi said I need to be blind folded and walk outside. 'I thought she has only gone and got me a bloody stripper or something for a laugh,all kinds of thoughts were running thru my head. But no I've got a bloody car a big family singing and dancing sporty sodding car 'What an amazing surprise !! And such a shock !! I had the biggest Braxton Hicks. Thankyou soooo much @officialmelb for the best birthday present ever at the best ever time!!!!Love you lots and lots and I am very grateful for such a generous and thoughtful huge gift (sic).' She joked: 'Hope you have a good birthday and just know I will never catch you up in age!' Today, the Spice Girl, 50, looked gorgeous a pearl-adorned white gown, flashed a radiant smile after becoming the new Mrs McPhee. The newlyweds appeared blissfully happy and shared a sweet kiss for the gathered crowds as they joined their friends and family in leaving the historic venue after exchanging their vows. Emma Bunton, the only other Spice Girl in attendance - led the celebrity guests arriving for the wedding as Scary Spice prepared to walk down the aisle for the third time Scary Spice ditched her famous leopard print and opted for a traditional white wedding at the cathedral which will be followed by a lavish £28,000 post nuptial celebration at The Shard. Mel's gown featured a sheer illusion design adorned with white pearls and a ruched bodice, with the singer adding a flowing veil to her bridal look. Meanwhile, groom Rory, 37, opted for traditional Scottish attire complete with a red and green tartan kilt. Emma Bunton, the only other Spice Girl in attendance - led the celebrity guests in leaving the venue after watching Mel walk down the aisle for the third time. While fellow spices Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell and Melanie Chisholm were absent on the big day - Emma ensured she was there to support her friend.
Daily Mail
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Oh Tim Blackwell, I'd be dying of embarrassment right now. We ALL know what was said at your ex-wife's 'divorce party'. It's so, so satisfying to see a woman have the last laugh
Oh, I do love a good party – even one I'm not invited to. Because when a woman celebrates the ink finally drying on her divorce papers with a speech, bubbles and a room full of her 'ride-or-dies', you know it's not an ordinary knees-up. It's a fierce female about to enter the best bloody decade of her life.
Telegraph
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
‘Wales players are tough but I have given them belief'
On the eve of Wales's European Championship play-off final decider against Ireland in December, Rhian Wilkinson received a poem. The player-cum-poet of the squad who had shared it remained anonymous, but the manager decided to use it as part of her pre-match talk in Dublin. 'They woke up, and felt they had this poem in their heart,' she says. 'She wrote it out and shared it with me. I was like, 'I have to use it'. 'So, our last message before they stepped on the field in Dublin was written by one of them. That's their culture, that's them embracing sport, of course, but also, 'This is who we are'.' When taking charge of Wales in February 2024, the 43-year-old inherited a side who had been burnt at the boundary between qualification and tournament finals, who had been paralysed with a fear of letting their families down. The most recent near-miss – a defeat by Switzerland in the dying seconds of 2023's World Cup qualification play-off – had been under Gemma Grainger, who was head-hunted by Norway to leave the coaching post vacant. They also missed out on the 2013, 2015 and 2019 tournament play-offs by either a single game or goal difference. 'Sport can be traumatic,' Wilkinson says. 'It is such a privileged lifestyle but the losses, the errors you make, the goals you miss, the goals you concede, all of it piles up and creates a bank of fear. For these women, who are so connected to the team, their sisterhood, but also their families, they bring an extra element.' Throughout our chat, Wilkinson's Canadian accent is assertive and full-toned. It often takes days for her voice to recover from a match day, she says, but she is deliberate in her use of language: 'I stress I always say 'we', because the players got annoyed when I used to say 'they'. They were like: 'You are on this journey with us, so you better be part of the 'we'.' Wilkinson, who won 183 caps and two Olympic medals for Canada before moving into coaching roles with the youth teams of her native country, followed by stints with England, Great Britain and Portland Thorns (with whom she won the NWSL), hit the ground running when taking on the Wales job. There were emphatic victories over Croatia and Kosovo in their first two qualifiers, before back-to-back draws against Ukraine contained runaway hopes. Behind the scenes, steep cultural lessons were quickly learnt. 'I speak quite openly on getting it wrong on our first camp, in not understanding the real connection they have with the 'For us, for them, for her' slogan,' she says. 'That was work they had done with Gemma [Grainger], with Lowri [Roberts, the former head of women's football]. My mistake was not understanding how much that heritage meant to them. 'Like when you go into an organisation and it has something written on the wall that everyone sees every day but doesn't know what it means. That's not true with the FAW [Football Association of Wales]. I had a presentation prepared for me to really show what the players had done on language and who they were. I had skipped those steps, those are critical. 'Family is not a word that is thrown around casually in Wales. It is their driver, their force, their courage; it's that piece of recognising what came before and who set the foundation and understanding that the legacy part is critical.' Wilkinson was aware that the Welsh women's team have had to fight for their space. Twenty years ago, the FAW withdrew from the Euros qualifying campaign because of a lack of funds. Two decades on, the story is staggeringly different as interest in women's football has exploded. In 2021, the FAW set a target of 20,000 registered players by 2026; it is well on course to achieve it by the end of this year. In the stands, its target of a 3,600 average home attendance has been overtaken by this year's home average of more than 10,000. Football in Wales in the past decade has also taken on a new dimension as an expression of Welsh culture. The Welsh worship their sporting heroes in a typically 'small country' way. Former First Minister Rhodri Morgan once described this as 'a special kind of need for heroes that could reassure us of our existence as a country'. Across the men's and women's sides, through Wilkinson and Craig Bellamy – whose successes since taking their respective helms at similar times have mirrored their determined nature – Wales are asserting themselves as a footballing nation deserving of the global stage. 'We are a small nation. And so sometimes we are treated as a small nation,' she says. 'It's what happens when you have a much bigger nation right on your doorstep. But what happens then is that you can often feel a little bit 'other'. I don't think our Welsh players always get the playing time they deserve. They haven't been able to show themselves on the world stage in the way other nations have. 'We have a smaller player pool, but equally, we have earned the privilege of representing the country in a much different way. They've had to fight for everything they've received, which has made them resilient, made them tough, but it hasn't always given them the belief. What I've brought in is just that they're good enough.' The talismanic influence of Jess Fishlock was not in doubt, even before Dublin, but even in her recent absences, the team have proved their collective identity and quality. After they were promoted to the Nations League Group A, Wales, ranked 30 in the world – the lowest in this summer's tournament – have faced a consistent step up in opposition. Their recent relegation back to Group B has shown the gap is yet to close, but performances have impressed. Narrow losses against Italy and Denmark were bookmarked by consecutive draws to sixth-ranked Sweden, though a heavy defeat by the Italians before their first Euros fixture will have hurt. On the whole, players such as 21-year-old Carrie Jones, Liverpool's Ceri Holland, Leicester City's Hannah Cain, and captain Angharad James have all stepped up as cornerstones of a well-organised unit that has relinquished the need for individual heroes. Wilkinson has also called on 18-year-olds Mayzee Davies and Mared Griffiths, and 20-year-old Safia Middleton-Patel, all of whom have impressed, although Davies is now sidelined by an anterior cruciate ligament injury. 'If you look at the weakness of Wales, we don't have the population, we don't have the player registration, we don't have the age groups, but it's actually also a strength,' Wilkinson says. 'Players don't get held up in the age groups, they get promoted to where they should be. If your younger or less experienced players don't feel they are of equal value, you are in trouble. 'I like that we can adjust and adapt the way bigger organisations can't as easily. They are just like mammoth ships and changing course with a tanker is a challenge.' 'Never forget who came before' Wilkinson guided this Welsh side to a first major international tournament but throughout this conversation, she is keen to praise her predecessors and players. She even mentions Princess Gwenllian, the heroine whom fought against Norman forces in 1136. 'People talk about legacy a lot, and that is critical for us, but even more importantly for me is that we never forget who came before,' she says. 'If we are not moving this sport forward, if we are not moving women's opportunities forward, then we are doing them a disservice.' Her side's reward for qualifying? Being drawn in the toughest group. They are undeniable outsiders against France, the Netherlands and neighbours England. 'If we do the best we can against those three opponents and play in a way we can be proud of, we'll walk away from these Euros feeling like we've done nothing but great service to the legacy part of what we're trying to achieve,' she says calmly, before becoming more animated at the thought of what this summer means. 'More people will see our incredible flag, more people will hear our amazing anthem, people will see a country that fights well above its weight, and has always done. Maybe they will want to learn more about this country and these women, and how they speak and how much they care about what came before.'
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Nathan Ambrosioni Finds Sympathy for ‘Bad Mothers' in Camille Cottin Starrer ‘Out of Love': ‘If You Judge Your Characters, You Judge Your Audience'
Every woman dreams of being a mother. Or does she really? In Karlovy Vary Film Festival contender 'Out of Love,' two estranged sisters reunite when widowed Suzanne shows up on Jeanne's doorstep with her two kids. Newly single and childless by choice, Jeanne is startled by the sudden visit. In the morning, Suzanne disappears, leaving behind nothing but a note. More from Variety Karlovy Vary Artistic Director Readies for Czech Reckoning With #MeToo Ahead of Premiere of 'Broken Voices' Karlovy Vary Industry Head Hugo Rosak Talks Big Year of Change: 'We Are in Transition as an Industry' Peter Sarsgaard Calls for Unity in a Divided America at Karlovy Vary Film Festival Opening: 'There Is No Going It Alone' 'My previous film, 'Toni,' was about a mom of five kids. She was raising them all by herself. It was about this extraordinary motherhood. Now, I wanted to explore the opposite side of it,' French director Nathan Ambrosioni tells Variety. 'I knew I wanted a feminine perspective on this because I'm a young queer filmmaker. I just feel more at ease working with a queer person or a woman,' he says of his female-centered drama, which reunited him with Camille Cottin ('Call My Agent!,' 'House of Gucci') cast as Jeanne. She's joined by Juliette Armanet, Monia Chokri, Féodor Atkine, Myriem Akheddiou and Guillaume Gouix. The film is produced by Nicolas Dumont for Chi-Fou-Mi Productions, with Studiocanal handling sales. The taboo surrounding 'unfit' or unwilling mothers is still going strong, he argues. 'We are more used to seeing absentee fathers. I'm not saying that what Suzanne does isn't extreme, but she would be a 'bad mother' even if she would just go to work every day. It's the same with Jeanne. Potential financiers told us: 'She's horrible.' They found it shocking she didn't want these children, but why would she?! Camille's a mother herself, but she understood it right away.' After the initial shock, Cottin's character decides to take care of the abandoned kids, a girl and a boy. But her dilemmas don't stop there. 'How do you construct a family without the presence of a mother or a father? How do you become a parent without becoming a mother? Eventually, Jeanne starts to understand that nobody's asking her to replace Suzanne. She can still be their aunt, and that's ok.' Fascinated by real-life cases of people who go 'voluntarily missing,' sometimes never to return, Ambrosioni wanted his film to feel as accurate as possible. 'I talked to cops, judges, social workers. All these people who choose to disappear… I didn't even know it was possible. There is a scene with a judge that mirrors my actual conversation with her. I told her about the film, and she asked: 'Maybe she left out of love?' I thought it was so beautiful.' Suzanne, pushed to the brink, leaves out of love, but Jeanne decides to stay – also out of love. For the sister she barely knows anymore and for two children left alone in her home. 'On top of that, she has a broken heart. She lost the love of her life, Nicole, precisely because she didn't want kids. It's an even bigger tragedy than her sister leaving,' he adds. But while emotions run high, his characters suffer in silence. 'I never yell and I'm very shy with emotions. I knew I was going to work with kids and didn't want to put them in any weird situations, but I also wanted this to feel quiet. I love Hirokazu Koreeda – nobody ever yells in his films. I love 'Ordinary People.' I wanted to make a film that doesn't feel angry,' he says. 'We always see people crying and screaming on screen, and these are considered 'Oscar-worthy' performances. Here, Camille cries alone, hidden in a corner, and I would still give her an Oscar for what she does in the film. People can be amazing AND quiet.' Following 'Toni' and 'Out of Love,' Ambrosioni isn't done with families – or mothers – just yet. 'My next movie, one that I'm writing right now, is also about a mom and a kid. You can't choose your family – you just… end up there. They are such a beautiful mess, and you have to deal with it. But what if you don't?,' he wonders. 'Suzanne could have asked for help. Lots of people can't understand her actions and when we were developing the film, they would ask: 'What did her note say?' We are not going to know. But I'm impressed by her, in a way. To her, family is something she can either accept or refuse. She can choose, and she chooses to leave.' As for Ambrosioni, he chooses not to judge any of his characters. 'If you judge your characters, you judge your audience. If you're a mom and you're watching this film, and maybe you can't deal with your kids anymore, it won't tell you to leave them, but it will tell you that what you're feeling right now is ok. It's ok not to know how to deal with your children. It's ok not to want them, too,' he says. 'We don't have that many safe places in the world right now, and I want my films to feel safe. Always. I wanted them to feel real, human and lovable. Family, society, friendship: that's really all we have.' Best of Variety Oscars 2026: George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Roberts, Wagner Moura and More Among Early Contenders to Watch New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
