Découvrez la bande-annonce du thriller psychologique “Side Effects”, le nouveau film de Steven Soderbergh avec Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Jude Law et Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Décidément, Steven Soderbergh enchaine les réalisations avec un rythme impressionnant ! Après les récents Piégée et Magic Mike, son prochain film Side Effects (“Effets secondaires” en français) sortira le 3 avril 2013 en France. L’intrigue de ce thriller psychologique est centrée sur une jeune femme (Rooney Mara) qui se fait prescrire des médicaments dangereux pour faire face au retour de son mari (Channing Tatum), libéré de prison. A noter également la présence de Jude Law et Catherine Zeta-Jones qui ont, à l’instar de Tatum, déjà tourné avec Soderbergh.
Après la signature d’un contrat à plusieurs millions de dollars pour l’adaptation de son best seller – 50 Shades of Grey – au cinéma, EL James continue sur sa lancée pour se construire un empire. Consciente que son succès ne durera peut-être pas toujours – elle n’a écrit que trois tomes de son histoire sado-maso – la plus riche auteure de l’année va lancer une ligne de bouteille de vin, après avoir déjà lancé une ligne de sex toys.
A Hollywood, c’est le bon filon pour tout grand succès commercial. Et parce que les produits dérivés cartonnent auprès du public et ont rendu très riche un certain George Lucas – qui a eu l’idée de vendre des figurines et autres gadgets Star Wars – la romancière de 50 Shades of Grey veut aussi en être. Ainsi, on apprend, par le site américaine Deadline que EL James présente actuellement une collection de vin, étiquetée 50 Shades, pour arrondir ses fins de mois. De quoi faire gonfler ses revenus, qui ont atteint 95 millions de dollars, selon Forbes, depuis la sortie de sa vache à lait en 2012.
Le nouveau produit – qui se décline en deux versions, Rouge satin ou blanc soie – constitue une « expansion naturelle » de sa trilogie, a expliqué EL James dans un communiqué. Et pour cause, l’histoire cochonne de Christian Grey et Anastasia Steele a été suivie par plus de 70 millions de fans à travers le monde. Autant de groupies impatientes de retrouver leurs héros dans les salles obscures en 2014, sous les traits du couple Charlie Hunnam et Dakota Johnson.
Pour patienter pendant quelques mois et supporter les longues nuits d’hiver à relire la prose érotique de ce best-seller vendu en grand surface, EL James a eu une bonne idée. Les lecteurs pourront se déboucher une bonne bouteille en rêvant à des jours meilleurs. Ces spiritueux donneront également quelques idées aux ménages en mal d’imagination, le temps d’une nuit (plus ou moins) romantique. Et pour les aider, sur le site officiel de la cinquantenaire, une liste des boissons consommées par les amants a été publiée à l’attention du grand public. Vendue tout de même 18 dollars (un peu plus de 13 euros), la cuvée 50 Shades est tout de même à consommer avec modération.
Game of Thrones prend la France d’assaut et plus spécifiquement Carcassonne. Le temps d’une convention, qui aura lieu en mars 2014, les fans de la série pourront voir en chair et en os certains de leurs acteurs préférés.
Véritable carton international, Game of Thrones va débarquer en France dans le cadre de la première convention européenne de fans dédiée à la série. Comme le rapporte le quotidien régional du coin L’Indépendant, «le choix de la cité de Carcassonne était une évidence pour l’organisation de Winter is coming Con» selon Jennifer Colazo, directrice de la société As an Event, directrice de cette événement. Le rendez-vous, prévu du 14 au 16 mars prochain, se déroulera au château Comtal, à Carcassonne.
Une belle exposition médiatique pour cette cité médiévale de l’Aude qui n’a pas l’habitude de susciter autant d’engouement. Si 1500 personnes sont d’ores et déjà attendues, Jennifer Colazo pourra en plus compter sur la présence de quatre acteurs, dont le charismatique Jason Momoa -Khal Drogo dans la série- qui ont donné leur accord pour faire le déplacement dans le sud de la France. L’organisation d’un tel événement n’aura pas été de tout repos pour cette fan de Game of Thrones. L’appel au financement public sur internet n’ayant pas eu le succès escompté, elle aura dû attendre l’arrivée de partenaires nationaux (dont une radio et une chaîne de télévision) pour mener à bien son projet (400 000 euros de budget).
Depuis 2011, Game of Thrones déchaîne les passions à travers le monde. Ses personnages, à l’image de Khaleesi ou Tyrion Lannister, sont presque élevés au rang de mythes. Adaptée des romans fantasy de George R.R. Martin, la série se base sur les querelles politiques, le sexe, la magie et les crimes d’une époque ancestrale. La saison 4, dont le tournage a commencé il y a quelques jours, est attendue pour 2014.
Lilian Thuram fait beaucoup de bien au travers de sa Fondation Education contre le racisme. Il utilise aujourd’hui un nouveau média pour transmettre son message, la bande dessinée. L’ancien joueur publie donc Notre histoire, dont il est le héros.
Lilian Thuram est à la fois champion du monde de football, recordman des sélections en équipe de France, écrivain, organisateur de spectacles, Chevalier de la légion d’honneur et ambassadeur de l’Unicef… Il devient maintenant le héros d’une bande dessinée. Notre histoire (éditions Delcourt) est sortie le mercredi 19 mars. La BD suit le parcours du jeune Lilian Thuram, parle de son arrivée dans l’Hexagone à huit ans en provenance de Guadeloupe mais aussi de ses idoles. Ces grands hommes qui ont marqué sa jeunesse. Pas de risque d’y croiser Karine Lemarchand.
L’ancien footballeur s’est entretenu avec le Parisien pour parler de cette œuvre. Il a déjà écrit un livre mais avoue que la BD le passionne depuis qu’il est tout petit. Enfant, il ne lisait pas de livres mais dévorait des Picsou. « Même quand j’étais joueur, j’en prenais toujours un pour les voyages en avion, précise-t-il, les autres se foutaient de mo.i» Pour lui, raconter son histoire au travers d’une bande dessinée permet de démocratiser son message, de le transmettre au plus de gens possible « notamment aux plus jeunes et à ceux qui ont du mal avec la lecture ». Et la part la plus importante de son album concerne sa mère. S’il n’avait pas osé trop en parler dans son livre Mes étoiles noires (paru chez Philippe Rey et aujourd’hui en poche en Points Seuil) il le dit aujourd’hui haut et fort « c’est elle ma première étoile ».
Pour cette aventure d’un nouveau genre, le sportif s’est associé à Jean-Christophe Camus et Sam Garcia. Le premier est scénariste, le second dessinateur. Lilian a travaillé étroitement avec les deux hommes à chaque étape de la bande dessinée. Le scénariste a rencontré la famille du champion, et s’est entretenu avec lui à plusieurs reprises, constituant ainsi une base de travail. Quant au dessinateur, Lilian a toujours gardé un œil attentif sur son travail, scrutant l’expression des visages et des personnages sur les planches, et lui donnant même parfois quelques conseils.
Harry Potter series author and millionaire left-wing social media activist J.K. Rowling called for a second referendum on British prime minister Theresa May’s plan to withdraw the United Kingdom from the European Union.
“If you truly want ‘the will of the British people’ to be implemented, you’ll be happy to have a second referendum to confirm what their will is,” Rowling tweeted. “If you’re afraid your lies won’t fly twice and that breaking electoral law might be much harder a 2nd time, not so much.”
The famed author failed to elaborate on her claims that British electoral laws were violated during the 2016 June vote.
Rowling’s remarks come as May announced the postponement of Parliament’s vote on the soft Brexit plans to avoid a shattering defeat — a decision that throws her arrangements into chaos.
All signs had pointed to a sizable defeat for the prime minister in the vote planned for Tuesday. However, postponing the vote is a fresh humiliation for May, who became prime minister after Britain’s 2016 decision to leave the E.U.
May has been battling on Brexit ever since — first to strike a divorce deal with the bloc, then to sell it to skeptical British lawmakers before the U.K. leaves the bloc on March 29.
Both Conservative and opposition Labour Party lawmakers have said they would not back the divorce deal that May and EU leaders agreed on last month. Conservative Party lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg sharply rejected May’s “undeliverable deal,” saying it risked paving the way for a Labour Party government led by Corbyn. Labour lawmakers shouted “Resign! Resign!” as May wrapped up her remarks Monday, adding further insult to the humiliation of failing to deliver on her signature piece of legislation, the Brexit divorce deal from the European Union.
The British people voted 52 percent in favor of the U.K. leaving the E.U., while 48 percent of voters supported the country remain in the bloc.
Rapper Cardi B exploded on President Trump Tuesday for serving McDonald’s to the Clemson football team, calling it “disrespectful” and saying the players shouldn’t have gone at all.
“If you gonna fly out a team that bust they ass practicing–you gonna fly them out to give them some cold motherfuckin’ french fries, that is disrespectful, and that’s like spitting in a nigga’s face,” Cardi B said.
“Like I swear to God, if I was there, I would have punched the motherfuckin’–I would have motherfuckin’ punched the wig out of Trump, bro,” the rapper, real name Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar said.
President Trump served fast food to the Clemson football team during their visit to the White House, due to the ongoing government shutdown.
In a statement, White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said, “Because the Democrats refuse to negotiate on border security, much of the residence staff at the White House is furloughed–so the President is personally paying for the event to be catered with some of everyone’s favorite fast foods.”
The “Money” rapper attacked Trump during an interview in June, telling Rolling Stone, “He has made divisions in this country — he almost made a crazy civil war between the blacks and the whites.”
“He has proven himself to be a madman so many times, and proven himself to be disrespectful to women, and that still hasn’t gotten him impeached,” she said, also referring to Trump as a “dickhead.”
However, the 26-year-old apparently doesn’t like to talk politics too much. During an October interview with Jimmy Kimmel, she said, “I’ve always been interested in politics but, the thing is… now I gotta, like, be careful what I say you know.”
“You know, if I make certain points I be feeling like the government’s gonna say, like, ‘this girl be up to something, we might have to get rid of her.’”
Martin Scorsese calls Marvel movies “theme park rides,” Francis Ford Coppola labels them “despicable,” Ken Loach compares them to “hamburgers.”
Over the past few weeks, Marvel has taken a legitimate beating from some cinematic legends, and this is happening during a vulnerable time for a hit factory moving past the Avengers and into a more openly political and woke phase.
Oscar-winner Scorsese went first, saying of Marvel and comic book movies in general, “Theaters have become amusement parks. That is all fine and good but don’t invade everything else in that sense,” he said. “That is fine and good for those who enjoy that type of film and, by the way, knowing what goes into them now, I admire what they do. It’s not my kind of thing, it simply is not. It’s creating another kind of audience that thinks cinema is that.”
Oscar-winner Francis Ford Coppola said, “When Martin Scorsese says that the Marvel pictures are not cinema, he’s right because we expect to learn something from cinema, we expect to gain something, some enlightenment, some knowledge, some inspiration. I don’t know that anyone gets anything out of seeing the same movie over and over again.”
Ken Loach sums it up this way, “”They’re made as commodities like hamburgers, and it’s not about communicating, and it’s not about sharing our imagination,” he said. “It’s about making a commodity which will make a profit for a big corporation – they’re a cynical exercise. They’re a market exercise, and it has nothing to do with the art of cinema.”
My knee-jerk reaction to attacks on genre movies is to cry “snob!,” but there’s some validity to this criticism, especially as it relates to Marvel, which basically reheats the same two plots over and over and over again: 1) We have to come together to save the world, uhm, again!, and 2) Please, for the love of all that is holy, not another origin movie.
I myself have given some of these movies a favorable reviews while comparing them to a theme park ride. And I am getting tired of them… Would I have enjoyed Shazam! In a vacuum, in a world that is not pummeled with a dozen or so comic movies a year, half of which are origin movies? Probably. Even its off-beat sense of humor, that ironic distance thing, is growing tiresome. It felt fresh ten years and a hundred movies ago in Iron Man; enough already.
Obviously, you can’t argue against success. These movies reliably make money and Marvel has done something never before seen: produced more than 20 box office smashes in a row. Eventually, though, audiences tire of the same old. We’ve seen it a million times… Westerns, disaster movies, musicals, biblical epics, space operas, buddy movies, slasher pics, romantic comedies, raunchy comedies… Eventually, we are going to tire of the superhero genre, and maybe Scorsese, Coppola, and Loach are not being snobs.
What I mean is, maybe as successful professionals who not only love movies, but watch and work in the industry, who make a living by eaching an audience, they sense a disturbance in the force, a change in the air, a shift in popular opinion….
Aren’t you a little tired of these movies?
Aren’t they starting to feel a little repetitive and empty?
Joker is a comic book movie, so this might sound counter-intuitive, but maybe it’s breaking all kinds of records (for an R-rated feature) because it feels so fresh, so different, like an anti-Marvel movie. There’s no pretty colors, no saving the world, no obvious CGI, no aliens, no third-act, computer-generated epic battle, and no humor (unless you count the miniature golf joke , which I laughed at).
Critics blasted Joke for aping other movies … that are more than 40-years-old! Meanwhile, every other comic book movie copies movies that are 40 days old.
Honestly, how much are you looking forward to this next Marvel phase, which is going to feature all the same ole-same ole, but fill it with woketardery — Feminism! Gays! Transsexuals! Lady Thor! It all feels a tad oppressive to me.
Maybe Scorsese and company really do dislike comic book movies, or maybe they’re just sick and tired of them. Maybe we all are. I kind of hope so. I’d like to move on to something else.
Guess we will find out soon enough.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.
A Boeing aircraft takes off in Belgium | Philippe Huguen/AFP via Getty
EU claims ‘major win’ in Boeing subsidy case
Airbus and Boeing will need to co-operate to challenge subsidies in the Chinese aerospace industry.
The European Commission claimed a “major win” Monday, saying that the World Trade Organization ruled Boeing received $5.7 billion of illegal subsidies in the form of tax breaks from Washington State.
Airbus hailed the ruling as a “knockout blow” and a watershed moment for the 12-year-old battle between Airbus and Boeing over state support — the longest running trade dispute since the WTO was founded in 1995. The case now looks set to become an important test of commercial ties between the world’s biggest trade bloc and the administration of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump.
Boeing immediately disputed the sum cited by the Commission and retorted that Airbus had benefited from far greater subsidies.
The WTO ruled that some of the tax incentives provided by Washington State to Seattle-based Boeing were prohibited as they encouraged the company to manufacture parts — including the wings — of its new 777X aircraft within the state.
The EU said this was the first time in the Airbus/Boeing clash that one of the companies was found to have received direct subsidies that discriminated against foreign producers.
“Today’s WTO ruling is an important victory for the EU and its aircraft industry. The panel has found that the additional massive subsidies of $5.7 billion provided by Washington State to Boeing are strictly illegal. We expect the U.S. to respect the rules, uphold fair competition, and withdraw these subsidies without any delay,” said EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström.
Boeing rejected Malmström’s account of the case: “In total, the EU claimed that Boeing had received $8.7 billion in subsidies. This claim was rejected by the WTO, which found future incentives totaling no more than $50 million a year to be impermissible.”
J. Michael Luttig, Boeing’s general counsel, also suggested that Airbus was on the hook for far more.
“Today’s decision is a complete victory for the U.S., Washington State and Boeing,” he said. “The WTO found in September that Airbus has received $22 billion in illegal subsidies from the EU and that without these subsidies neither Airbus itself nor any of its airplanes would even exist today.”
In an example of the eternal claim and counter-claim that has come to epitomize the case, one industry source then poured cold water on Luttig’s $22 billion figure.
“The $22 billion Boeing claim is greatly exaggerated. They are the sum of all the loans Airbus has received from EU countries, but the WTO has ruled those loans legal except for minor tweaks, meaning the number doesn’t make sense,” he said.
Little faith
Today’s ruling requires Washington State and Boeing to remove the subsidies within 60 days or appeal the ruling.
“I have little faith in the U.S. compliance with the rulings. The 777X case shows total disrespect for the WTO,” said Fabrice Brégier, Airbus’s chief operating officer.
The options for the two chief rivals of the aerospace industry are stark: either to sit down and settle or enter into a damaging WTO-sanctioned trade war.
In September, a WTO compliance panel ruled that European governments had failed to adequately address illegal subsidies previously found by the WTO and that they further breached WTO rules by granting more than $4 billion in new subsidized financing for the Airbus A350 XWB. This caused tens of billions of dollars of damage to the U.S. industry, according to the United States Trade Representative.
The EU appealed the ruling in September and a final decision is expected in the spring of 2017.
Bigger problems to solve
Despite the acrimony of the subsidies’ cases, it is becoming increasingly clear that Airbus and Boeing need to worry about each other less, as their duopoly wanes.
Industry officials said Canada, Brazil, Russia and China are all entering the lucrative aerospace market and are using government subsidies to gain ground.
“Canada is a small player, but what happens when China starts subsidizing its aerospace agency?” one industry source asked.
Both Boeing and Airbus fear China’s track record with government subsidies.
From steel to aluminum and electricity prices, Beijing has never been shy about helping its industry grow and expand by undercutting competition with aggressively lower prices.
The problem is Boeing and Airbus do not want to sue Chinese aerospace companies and bring them to the WTO.
“If Boeing sues China, Beijing buys Airbus. If Airbus sues China, Beijing buys Boeing. There is no way out,” said an industry official before underlining how “China is 25 percent of the aerospace market, Boeing and Airbus need those markets.”
The message is clear: Without co-operation, Boeing and Airbus will find it impossible to counter Chinese aerospace subsidies at the WTO.
“The only way out of the ridiculous series of disputes is to agree on a set of globally applicable rules for the support of the civil aircraft industry, which would benefit both sides of the Atlantic,” said Tom Enders, Airbus’ chief executive.
“The duopoly is no longer the framework of reference in the future. Look at the huge subsidies the Canadian government has granted to Bombardier just recently, look at the upcoming competition from Russia and Asia,” he added.
EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and Italy's Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni at the European Parliament in Strasbourg
Italy backs budget deficit cuts to placate EU
But Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni’s coalition will likely face bigger battles in the autumn.
ROME — Italy has approved plans to cut its budget deficit by an extra €3.4 billion in an effort to placate its EU partners and the European Commission.
Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni’s center-left cabinet agreed the measures only after heated debate — offering a foretaste of bigger difficulties to come in the autumn, when it will have to craft a new budget with very little room for growth-boosting policies. That battle will take place in the lead-up to a general election, due in early 2018.
“We are delivering a message of strong reassurance that our accounts are in order, and not because of higher taxes,” Gentiloni said at a press conference on Tuesday evening, following a two-hour cabinet meeting to approve the measures. “We are continuing to follow the path of reforms and growth.”
According to government figures also released on Tuesday, Italy’s budget deficit target for this year was lowered to 2.1 percent of GDP from a previous 2.3 percent, while it is projected to fall to 1.2 percent next year.
Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said the lower deficit would be funded through measures aimed at fighting tax evasion, greater efficiency in tax collection and only limited spending cuts. Padoan also said Italy would move forward with other reforms, including a new competition law and a planned overhaul of the civil justice system.
The lower deficit requested by Brussels has been a tough nut to crack for Gentiloni, who took over as premier last December after his predecessor Matteo Renzi was defeated in a referendum on proposed constitutional reforms.
The European Commission has threatened to open an excessive deficit procedure against Rome if it doesn’t move quickly to bring its deficit targets closer to EU requirements. The Commission can impose fines of up to 0.2 percent of gross domestic product on eurozone countries that repeatedly ignore recommendations to fix their budget problems.
The Italian economy is projected to expand by 1.1 percent this year, slowing down to 1 percent growth in 2018 and 2019. Padoan said the limited growth rates predicted for the next two years were due to “stringent fiscal policies,” which were part of the government’s EU commitments. However, he hinted that there could still be some room for negotiations with Italy’s European partners to find new ways of balancing fiscal rigor with investment-boosting policies.
‘Right direction’
Italy, which is burdened by the highest public debt in the eurozone after Greece, has often clashed with the Commission over its expansive budget policies. A new disagreement with the EU would have been an additional headache for the Gentiloni government.
“Certainly the commitment of the Italian government is going in the right direction,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in an interview with Italian daily La Repubblica published on Wednesday, adding that he had yet to see the details of the new measures.
Juncker also said that Italy must “decisively” overhaul its public finances and cut debt in the medium to long term, but he ruled out Rome’s exit from the eurozone.
Gentiloni’s coalition faces the hard task of keeping Italy’s accounts in order while addressing urgent calls for social policy measures to fight widening poverty and record-high youth unemployment.
Despite adopting a more accommodating stance with the EU than its predecessor, the government could still end up making expensive vote-winning promises in the autumn as it prepares to do electoral battle with a strong Euroskeptic opposition. Leading the charge is the anti-establishment 5Star Movement, which has pledged to call a referendum on leaving the euro and currently enjoys a strong poll lead over the governing Democratic Party.
“This is a fragile government, which doesn’t have much negotiating power either with the markets or with the EU,” said Pierpaolo Benigno, economics professor at Rome’s LUISS university.
“These budget moves are pretty mild and they are not solving Italy’s main problem, which is the country’s heavy public debt and its sustainability. This government, due to its brief time horizon and its internal weakness, can’t do much to address that key issue,” Benigno added.
Italy’s debt, which reached a record high of 132.6 percent of GDP in 2016, will remain stable at 132.5 percent this year, while easing to 131 percent in 2018, according to government figures.
Trans actor MJ Rodriguez defended comedian Kevin Hart before he stepped down as host of the 2019 Oscars on Thursday over past jokes about gay people, describing him as a “wonderful host” and calling on people to forgive him.
After Hart was announced as the host of the upcoming 91st Academy Awards, social justice activists called for his removal because of the Night School star’s past jokes about homosexuality.
“That’s a hard topic for me because I’m a big fan of Kevin Hart and I know that he probably didn’t mean any malice by it but I mean I think an apology is due if it hasn’t been given before,” Rodriguez said in an interview with Variety about the controversy. “I think maybe it would be something nice. And if he doesn’t, I don’t think we should hold him accountable, I think we should just remember and forgive him.”
Before the event on Thursday, Hart posted a video on Instagram explaining he would not apologize for his previous remarks
“The reason why I passed is because I’ve addressed this several times,” he said. “This is not the first time this has come up. I’ve addressed it. I’ve spoken on it. I’ve said where the rights and wrongs were. I’ve said who I am now versus who I was then. I’ve done it.”
Rodriguez, meanwhile, maintained that she would not hold his initial refusal to apologize against him.
“I’m not gonna hold that against him, I think he’s a wonderful host,” the Pose star said. “I don’t think he should be obligated or anything should be held against him for the past decisions he’s made. We have to all be open with our hearts you know?”
However, Hart eventually opted to apologize and step down from the event, arguing he did not want to serve as a “distraction” from the ceremony itself.
“I have made the choice to step down from hosting this year’s Oscar’s….this is because I do not want to be a distraction on a night that should be celebrated by so many amazing talented artists,” he tweeted. “I sincerely apologize to the LGBTQ community for my insensitive words from my past.”
“I’m sorry that I hurt people. I am evolving and want to continue to do so,” he added. “My goal is to bring people together not tear us apart. Much love & appreciation to the Academy. I hope we can meet again.”
Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at [email protected].