As the first episode of It: Welcome to Derry ends, fans are left in shock. Now, the makers behind the show say this is exactly what they wanted.

In a chat with TV Guide, co-showrunner Jason Fuchs shares, “We always knew we wanted audiences to feel disoriented and thrown off by [the feeling of] ‘Oh, my goodness, anything can happen.”

He continues, “Characters we love might not make it…’ Forget about making it to the end of the season, but make it to Episode 2! There was always this general design of How do we convey to an audience to expect the unexpected from this series?”

Meanwhile, Andy Muschietti shares that they intentionally led the audience to believe something else from the start of the episode. “We sort of presented this little subversion, which is, OK, here are the losers that you’re going to love for the rest of the season.”

“And by the end of the [first] episode, they all die,” he adds. “We all agreed it was a great idea. We’ll see now what people think. But I think it’s that kind of kick in the balls that, for good or bad, is going to shock people and hopefully make them want to keep watching.”

Jason also credits his co-showrunner, Brad Caleb Kane, for the idea to end the first episode on a shocking note. “It was really Brad’s contribution, one of the first contributions [he] made when we partnered on this.”

“I’d written the pilot, and there was a brutal ending, but it was not the current ending. There were more survivors,” he notes.

Episode two of It: Welcome to Derry will drop on Friday.

George Clooney banned the use of Adam Sandler’s nickname on the set of their movie Jay Kelly.

The former E.R. star plays the title role of an ageing actor in the new drama with Sandler as Kelly’s manager Ron.

Clooney just revealed that he urged the rest of the cast and crew not to call his co-star the “Sandman” while they were shooting because he wanted Sandler to be taken seriously for his “incredible talent.”

The actor told The Hollywood Reporter: “You get treated the way you treat yourself. This was a different kind of role for Adam, and I wanted to make sure that he wasn’t making fun of his incredible talent.”

“He likes to just deflect and I was like: ‘You know what, dude, you’re really good in this film and you’re a really good actor and let’s not just make jokes,'” the Wolfs talent added.

However, Sandler insisted on keeping his nickname, adding: “I still call myself the Sandman; he [Clooney] can’t stop me.”

“He just is very protective over me. He’s a really nice guy. We would do all these scenes together and we’d get deep together and he’d say: ‘I just want people to recognize that’ and I’d say: ‘I’m OK, I like just working hard,’ and he’d say: ‘No.’ He’s very nice, he’s trying to look out for me,’” the Happy Gilmore star mentioned.

Jay Kelly will open in few cinemas on November 14 before arriving on Netflix on December 5.

• President urges global community to enforce UNSC resolutions.
• PM Shehbaz slams India for imposing draconian laws in IIOJK.
•  Says Pakistan stands resolutely beside people of Kashmir.
  

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering support for the people of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) in their struggle for the right to self-determination.

Every year on October 27, Pakistanis and Kashmiri people around the world mark Black Day to remember and protest the entry of Indian military forces into Jammu and Kashmir in 1947.

In their separate messages issued on the occasion of Kashmir Black Day, both leaders called on the international community to take tangible steps toward the peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

President Zardari called on the United Nations, global human rights bodies, and the international community to hold India accountable for grave and systematic human rights violations in IIOJK.

He emphasised that lasting peace and stability in South Asia depend on a just and durable settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, urging renewed international attention to the issue.

“On its part, Pakistan will continue its unwavering moral, diplomatic, and political support to the people of IIOJK who continue to endure oppression on daily basis. We stand united with our Kashmiri brethren in their struggle for justice, peace and self-determination,” President Secretariat Press Wing, in a press release, quoted the president as saying.

On this day in 1947, he said, Indian forces entered Srinagar in blatant violation of international law, moral principles, and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

Since then, generations of innocent men, women, and children in IIOJK had endured unimaginable suffering under occupation, marked by violence, repression, and denial of their fundamental rights, he added.

“Every year, we observe this day as Kashmir Black Day to honour the valiant struggle and sacrifices of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters who continue to resist tyranny in their pursuit of the inalienable right to self-determination. Despite decades of Indian brutality, the spirit of resistance among the Kashmiri people remains unbroken,” the president reiterated.

After August 5,  2019, President Zardari further said this brutal campaign had only intensified, adding India had unilaterally revoked occupied Kashmir’s special status, imposing a military siege, destroying properties of Kashmiris to inflict ‘collective punishment’ and enforcing draconian laws that strip the Kashmiri people of their fundamental freedoms.

Echoing similar views, PM Shehbaz emphasised that lasting peace and stability in South Asia would remain elusive without a just and peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue.

“Every year, Oct 27 marks the darkest day in the history of Kashmir… Ever since that fateful day, India has continued to deny the Kashmiri people their inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in numerous resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.”

“Every year, Oct 27 marks the darkest day in the history of Kashmir… Ever since that fateful day, India has continued to deny the Kashmiri people their inalienable right to self-determination, as enshrined in numerous resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.”

The prime minister added: “Since August 5, 2019, India has further intensified its illegal and unilateral actions, aimed at altering the demography and political status of IIOJK. In addition to human rights abuses, massive curbs have been imposed on freedom of movement and expression.”

“By imposing such draconian laws, India has unleashed a systematic campaign of violence and brutality to silence the legitimate political voices and crush the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. The unlawful and unjustified incarceration of several prominent Kashmiri leaders and activists, as well as media personalities, is an ugly manifestation of this Indian extremist agenda. Their continued imprisonment, under fabricated charges, is in blatant violation of international human rights norms,” he noted.

“As Prime Minister of Pakistan, I have always highlighted the plight of my Kashmiri brothers and sisters before the international community and echoed their calls for freedom from Indian occupation.

“We reaffirm our unwavering solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and will never relent in our commitment to the Kashmir cause, until justice is done and the promise of self-determination, pledged by the international community, is finally fulfilled. Inshallah, that day is not far,” the statement concluded.