Connect with us

Entertainment

Woody Allen counters condemnation by Ukraine after speaking at Russian film festival

Published

on

Woody Allen counters condemnation by Ukraine after speaking at Russian film festival


The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Monday condemned Woody Allen for speaking virtually at a Russian film festival over the weekend, calling his participation in the event “a disgrace and an insult” to the victims of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

According to Russian media, Allen spoke Sunday at the Moscow International Film Week via video conference. The appearance put him at odds with the Hollywood establishment, which has embraced Ukraine’s cause during Russia’s 3 1/2-year war, with prominent actors signing on to the United24 crowdfunding initiative and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy making virtual appearances at past Golden Globes and Grammys ceremonies.

Footage aired by Russian state TV showed the filmmaker addressing a tightly packed movie theater from a massive screen, with pro-Kremlin film director Fyodor Bondarchuk moderating the session. Russian media stories quoted Allen as saying he’s always liked Russian cinema, recounting his past trips to Russia and the Soviet Union, and talking about what he would do if he were to receive a proposal to direct a movie in the country.

Woody Allen during a performance at the 55th edition of the Voll-Damm Barcelona Jazz Festival at the Teatre Tivoli on September 18, 2023, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

Kike Rincon / Europa Press via Getty Images


Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry in an online statement on Monday said it “strongly condemns” Allen’s participation in the festival, which “brings together supporters and mouthpieces of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.”

The ministry called it “a disgrace and an insult to the victims among Ukrainian actors and filmmakers who have been killed or wounded by Russian war criminals,” adding that Allen “is deliberately turning a blind eye to the atrocities that Russia has been committing in Ukraine.”

In a statement to The Associated Press on Monday, Allen criticized Putin and denounced the invasion but called for cultural exchanges to continue.

“When it comes to the conflict in Ukraine, I believe strongly that Vladimir Putin is totally in the wrong. The war he has caused is appalling,” Allen said. “But, whatever politicians have done, I don’t feel cutting off artistic conversations is ever a good way to help.”

The website of the festival, which runs through Wednesday, billed Allen as one of its headliners, along with Serbian film director Emir Kusturica and American actor Mark Dacascos.

Moscow International Film Week is a relatively new festival, first held in the Russian capital in August 2024. It is separate from the decades-old Moscow International Film Festival, which in 2022 was stripped of its International Federation of Film Producers Associations accreditation following the invasion of Ukraine.

Kusturica has been open about his support of Putin, including after the invasion. He received an award from Putin and attended a military parade in Moscow earlier this year.

Allen has long had an affinity for Russian literature and history. His 1975 comedy “Love and Death” spoofs the fiction of Tolstoy and other 19th century Russian novelists. The title of his 1989 release “Crimes and Misdemeanors” echoes Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” and also broods over the themes of wrongdoing, justice and guilt.

In the 1972 essay, “A Brief Guide to Civil Disobedience,” Allen jokes about the Russian Revolution, writing that the serfs rebelled when they “finally realized that the Czar and the Tsar were the same person.”



Source link

Entertainment

‘Storage Wars’ star Darrell Sheets dies at 57; death reported as suicide

Published

on

‘Storage Wars’ star Darrell Sheets dies at 57; death reported as suicide


‘Storage Wars’ star Darrell Sheets dies at 57; death reported as suicide

Storage Wars star Darrell Sheets has reportedly died by suicide at the age of 57. He died by an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.

He was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was turned to the Mohave County Medical Examiner’s officer. Police have opened an investigation into the matter. 

The Police press release reads, “On April 22, 2026, at approximately 0200 hours, officers with the Lake Havasu City Police Department were dispatched to a residence in the 1500 block of Chandler Drive in reference to a reported deceased individual.” 

It added that the Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit has taken over the case. 

“Additonal information will be released as it becomes available,” the police said.

Sheets rose to fame after his appearance on reality TV show Storage Wars, which featured bidders competing against each other to buy abandoned storage units. 

Famously known as “The Gambler” for his reckless bids, Sheets appeared in 160 episodes of the show from 2010 to 2023. 

Variety reports that the reality show star retired to Arizona after suffering a heart attack in 2019. 

The outlet reports that he owned an operated a store named Havasu Show Me Your Junk in Arizona.





Source link

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Google debuts ‘workspace intelligence’ to power AI agents across gmail, docs, chat

Published

on

Google debuts ‘workspace intelligence’ to power AI agents across gmail, docs, chat


Google debuts ‘workspace intelligence’ to power AI agents across gmail, docs, chat

Google has introduced “Workspace intelligence” at its Cloud Next ‘26 conference on Wednesday, April 22.

This new feature aims at connecting emails, chats, files, and projects across Google Workspace for AI-powered context.

With this intelligence, Google will sync data across Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Drive, and Chat, enabling Gemini-powered agents to assess what a user is trying to accomplish.

“Ask Gemini in Google Chat” is one of the components, which functions as an integrated command line that facilitates work.

It enables users to ask for briefings for the day, create documents and presentations, get files from descriptions, and even book meetings, all through Chat itself. This feature works seamlessly with other applications such as Asana, Jira, and Salesforce.

Other significant updates are natural-language spreadsheet building in Sheets, infographic generation in Docs embedded with business data, and one-pass slide deck creation in Slides with the help of company templates.

While introducing the new sync system, Google also stressed data security. The officials confirmed that Workspace Intelligence operates using infrastructure that is compliant and does not use customer data for advertisements or machine learning without their consent.

The deployment includes administrative controls, client-side encryption, and sovereign data control capabilities for both the US and EU.

Additionally, the company also announced its eighth-generation TPU chips.

The new chips provide 2.8x better price-performance and the TPU 8i for inference, offering 80% better performance-per-dollar.

The series of new features is not completed yet, and the company is expected to roll out more in future. 





Source link

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Anne Hathaway shares major news about ‘Princess Diaries 3’

Published

on

Anne Hathaway shares major news about ‘Princess Diaries 3’


The Oscar-winning actress became a household name with the first ‘Princess Diaries’ film in 2001

Anne Hathaway is ready to wear her crown again as Queen Mia of Genovia.

The Oscar-winning actress has given a major update on Princess Diaries 3 in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, confirming that a new installment is actively in the works 22 years after Princess Diaries 2.

“One hundred percent, we’re constantly working on it,” she said, revealing that development briefly took a backseat while filming The Devil Wears Prada 2 — another of Hathaway’s highly-anticipated sequels, which hits theatres on May 1.

“[Devil Wears Prada 2] cropped up unexpectedly and took over the space,” Hathaway explained, adding that it became impossible to focus on both projects at once. But now, the plan is clearer.

“The intention is to make Princess Diaries hopefully next,” she declared, noting that the film “is not greenlit or confirmed yet.”

Still, the demand is undeniable. But Hathaway acknowledged that “everybody wants it,” she and her TDWP costar Meryl Streep emphasised that “you’ve got to wait for the right script.”

The original Princess Diaries released in 2001 introduces Mia Thermopolis, a regular teenager who discovers she’s heir to a kingdom — a role that turned Hathaway into a household name.

Looking back at the film, Hathaway tearfully told People magazine, “This is the role that changed my life. And I’m standing with Julie Andrews, which is just insane.” 





Source link

Continue Reading

Trending