The Crystal Cave: 100 Best Fantasy Books

 Posted on August 17, 2024  |  1 minutes  |  130 words  |  Martina Birk

Another update on the Arthurian legend—this time from the point of view of Camelot’s resident magician—the first installment in Mary Stewart’s Merlin Trilogy follows the famed sorcerer in the years before he becomes King Arthur’s most trusted adviser. Ostracized from a young age for his unknown parentage and strange precognitive abilities, Myrddin Emrys (or as he becomes known, Merlin) must hone his skills in medicine, engineering and, of course, sorcery, before finding his place in the turbulent world of 5th-century England. [Read More]

The Inheritance Star Samuel H. Levines Gay Drama Minyan Sells to Strand Releasi

 Posted on August 17, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  896 words  |  Billy Koelling

“Minyan,” an acclaimed tale of sexual and spiritual identity directed by Eric Steel, has sold to Strand Releasing in North America. The film, starring stage breakout Samuel H. Levine of Broadway and the West End’s “The Inheritance,” played in the official selection at last year’s Berlin International Film Festival and went on to win Outfest’s grand jury prize for U. [Read More]

The Longest Yard

 Posted on August 17, 2024  |  8 minutes  |  1665 words  |  Billy Koelling

<B>It's way too early for comparisons to Jack Lemmon and Billy Wilder, or even to Jerry Lewis and Frank Tashlin, but Adam Sandler and helmer Peter Segal can boast yet another solidly commercial collaboration: "The Longest Yard," a shrewdly updated yet surprisingly faithful remake of Robert Aldrich's 1974 football-behind-bars dramedy starring Burt Reynolds. Sandler impressively assumes the Reynolds role here, with strong support by Reynolds himself and a slightly restrained but frequently hilarious Chris Rock. [Read More]

The True Story Behind the Judy Garland Movie Judy

 Posted on August 17, 2024  |  12 minutes  |  2404 words  |  Tandra Barner

In 1968, Judy Garland took on a five-week run of performances at London’s Talk of the Town cabaret club. This run of shows would turn out to be among the renowned performer’s last; she died of an accidental overdose the following year, at 47. The new film Judy, directed by Rupert Goold and starring Renée Zellweger as the eponymous superstar, focuses on this period in Garland’s life. Her career, by this point, had already spanned more than four decades, including her breakthrough role as Dorothy in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz. [Read More]

Whole Woman's Health Lawyer on the Future of Abortion Rights

 Posted on August 17, 2024  |  8 minutes  |  1646 words  |  Tandra Barner

Three years ago this month, on June 27, 2016, the Supreme Court ruled in the biggest abortion case in more than two decades: Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt. In a vote of 5 to 3, the Justices struck down two provisions in a Texas law as unconstitutional because they placed an “undue burden” on a woman’s right to access an abortion. The law required abortion clinics to have facilities like an ambulatory surgical center and physicians who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital — provisions which abortion advocates say are medically unnecessary and cumbersome for healthcare providers. [Read More]

Why Don't Rich People Use Phone Cases?

 Posted on August 17, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  943 words  |  Kelle Repass

The internet can’t stop talking about “quiet luxury” and “stealth wealth,” trendy new descriptors for the type of expensive minimalism that has long been associated with a certain brand of old money. With thanks to TikTok, Succession, and Gwyneth Paltrow’s courtroom looks for setting and proliferating the trend, communicating wealth through under-the-radar opulent clothing and accessories has become the thing. But while some may associate the concept with fine tailoring, a rejection of logomania, or cashmere sweaters from the Row that will set you back over $1000, there’s one quietly trending stealth wealth signifier that, technically, millions of people could adopt right now: stripping the case off your smartphone. [Read More]

Why I'm Leaving America and Moving Back to Vietnam

 Posted on August 17, 2024  |  8 minutes  |  1529 words  |  Billy Koelling

In a panicked state, I pack my bag for my trip to Ho Chi Minh City. I’d received the news of my grandmother’s ill health, her doctor’s warning of her imminent passing. Amid the anxiety about my grandmother’s rapidly deteriorating condition, rising COVID-19 cases in Vietnam, travel, I am also acutely aware of a more practical matter: I don’t have enough time to buy any American merchandise to gift my relatives. [Read More]

Wicked Songwriter Stephen Schwartz on Why the Movie Must Be a Two-Parter: Nothing Can Fo

 Posted on August 17, 2024  |  5 minutes  |  905 words  |  Patria Henriques

According to Stephen Schwartz, nothing can follow “Defying Gravity.” And for the “Wicked” songwriter, that’s one key reason why the movie version of his blockbuster Broadway musical has to be split into two parts. It’s not just about overall length, the composer is saying — it’s about the audience needing a breather after one of the great Act 1 closers of all time. (Even if that breather is 12 months of moviegoers going on with their daily business, versus 20 minutes cooling their heels outside a Broadway house. [Read More]

2 of the 4 sisters behind Yuengling, America's largest independent brewery, explain how they're maki

 Posted on August 16, 2024  |  23 minutes  |  4847 words  |  Martina Birk

Four sisters are behind Yuengling, the oldest brewery in America. For an episode of Business Insider's podcast "This Is Success," we spoke with Jen Yuengling, in charge of operations, and Wendy Yuengling, chief administrative officer. Their father, Dick, took over the family business back in 1985. He was the one who turned it from a local brewery into America's largest independent craft brewery — last year it produced more than 2 million barrels of beer. [Read More]

5 Nollywood historical films you should see on October 1

 Posted on August 16, 2024  |  3 minutes  |  578 words  |  Martina Birk

October 1' and four other Nollywood historical films you should see on Independence Day. Over the years, history has been brought to life on screen in many ways, including with the use of feature films. Fact-based or fictional, films in a historical setting inform, entertain and shape the way people view the past. ADVERTISEMENT In honor of Nigeria's Independence Day, here are five Nigerian films that are inspired by or attempt an accurate portrayal of a historical event since October 1, 1960. [Read More]