Judge hears NFL's motion in 'Sunday Ticket' case, says jury did not follow instructions on damages

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LOS ANGELES -- The judge who presided over the class-action lawsuit filed by “Sunday Ticket” subscribers against the NFL said the jury did not follow his instructions in determining damages.

U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez made the remark as he heard the NFL's post-trial motion asking that Gutierrez rule for the league if he finds the plaintiffs did not prove their case.

Gutierrez could also order a new trial because the eight-person jury came up with its own calculations for damages.

There isn’t a timeline for when Gutierrez could rule on the motion.

In his jury instructions before closing arguments on June 26, Gutierrez said “damages may not be based on guesswork or speculation. Plaintiffs must prove the reasonableness of each of the assumptions upon which the damages calculation is based.”

The federal jury on June 27 awarded $4.7 billion in damages to residential and commercial subscribers after it ruled the NFL violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service.

The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the package on DirecTV of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons. The lawsuit claimed the league broke antitrust laws by selling the package at an inflated price. The subscribers also say the league restricted competition by offering “Sunday Ticket” only on a satellite provider.

The jury of five men and three women found the NFL liable for $4,610,331,671.74 in damages to the residential class (home subscribers) and $96,928,272.90 in damages to the commercial class (business subscribers).

The jury's amount did not conform to the college football model ($7.01 billion) by Daniel Rascher, an economist at the University of San Francisco, or the multiple-distributor model ($3.48 billion) by John Zona, who was an expert witness in the case.

Instead, the jury used the 2021 list price of $293.96 and subtracted $102.74, the average price actually paid by residential Sunday Ticket subscribers. The jury then used $191.26, which it considered as the “overcharge,” and multiplied that by the number of subscribers to come up with the damages amount.

“The damages amount is indefensible,” NFL attorney Brian Stekloff said during his remarks to Gutierrez.

Marc Seltzer, representing the “Sunday Ticket” subscribers, countered by saying “the evidence for the jury supported our case from the beginning.”

“Today we asked the district court to set aside the jury’s verdict in this case, which is contrary to the law and unsupported by the evidence presented at trial," the NFL said in a statement. "The NFL’s media distribution model is the most fan friendly in sports, with all games broadcast locally on free over-the-air television in addition to many other choices available to fans who want even more access to NFL content. We will continue to pursue all avenues in defense of the claims brought in this case.”

Since damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could end up being liable for $14,121,779,833.92.

The NFL has said it would appeal the verdict. That appeal would go to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and then possibly the Supreme Court.

Payment of damages, any changes to the “Sunday Ticket” package and/or the ways the NFL carries its Sunday afternoon games would be stayed until all appeals have been concluded.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

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August 01, 2024 at 10:11AM

Anna Netrebko to sing at Palm Beach Opera gala in first US appearance since 2019

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Soprano Anna Netrebko is scheduled to give a recital at the Palm Beach Opera for its gala on Feb. 3 in what would be her first U.S. appearance in six years.

Considered the world’s top soprano, Netrebko was dropped by the Metropolitan Opera in 2022 after she refused a demand by Met general manager Peter Gelb that she repudiate Russia President President Vladimir Putin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. She has sued the Met, alleging defamation and breach of contract in a case that is pending.

She has appeared since then at major houses including the Vienna State Opera, Paris Opéra, Milan’s Teatro alla Scala and Berlin’s Staatsoper unter den Linden but had not been engaged in the U.S. or by The Royal Opera in London. She last appeared at the Met in 2019 in Verdi’s “Macbeth.”

Netrebko will perform with pianist Ángel Rodríguez at the The Breakers hotel.

“I am honored to be lending my voice to the Palm Beach Opera’s annual gala,” Netrebko said in a statement Wednesday sent to The Associated Press.

Palm Beach Opera’s season includes three performances each of Gounod's "Roméo et Juliette" in January, Verdi’s “La Traviata” in February and Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” in April. Casts have not been announced.

Past Palm Beach Opera galas featured Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Renée Fleming and Bryn Terfel, with Isabel Leonard (2024), Piotr Beczala (2023) and Nadine Sierra (2022) appearing in recent years.

“It means a lot to me to be joining the remarkable list of illustrious singers that have participated in this celebration over the last decades,” Netrebko said.

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July 31, 2024 at 09:11PM

Serena Williams, Nicole Kidman and other A-list celebrities watch Biles win another Olympic gold

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PARIS -- Celebrity spotting was again part of the event at a raucous Bercy Arena when Simone Biles powered a dominant U.S. women’s gymnastics team to the Olympic title on Tuesday night.

A-listers Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman and Serena Williams gathered at the Olympic venue to watch the most decorated athlete in the history of gymnastics during the team final.

Spike Lee, Michael Phelps and former ace gymnast Nadia Comaneci were also in the crowd to witness the return to the top of the U.S. women after they relinquished their title three years ago in Tokyo.

Williams has been in Paris for a few days and carried the Olympic torch during the opening ceremony last week. She sat next to Paris Games chief Tony Estanguet.

Kidman and her husband, Keith Urban, were there with their two daughters. When asked if she was looking forward to the competition, Kidman said: “So excited! So excited!”

Biles’ husband was also in the stands after he reached the French capital city in time for the women’s team final. Jonathan Owens, an NFL player with the Chicago Bears, was granted leave from training camp to be here.

Owens sat alongside Biles’ mother and father, Nellie and Ron Biles.

Simone Biles had a wide grin as she jogged off the podium following her routine on the uneven bars. Phelps stood and applauded her, his own arms raised high as he clapped for America’s star gymnast. He appeared to be filming her on his cellphone.

Lee also jumped to his feet to cheer for Biles just as if he was courtside at a New York Knicks game. The actor and movie director had a front row seat, above the vault runaway, wearing white-framed glasses and a USA basketball shirt.

Lady Gaga, Tom Cruise and Jessica Chastain attended Biles’ return to the Olympics when she competed in qualifying Sunday.

The 27-year-old Biles competed in all four events of the team final. With Biles at her show-stopping best, the Americans’ total of 171.296 was well clear of Italy and Brazil.

___

AP Olympics https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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July 31, 2024 at 08:47AM

Former 'General Hospital' actor Haley Pullos gets 5 years probation after DUI crash

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PASADENA, Calif. -- Former longtime “General Hospital” actor Haley Pullos was sentenced to five years of probation Monday after pleading guilty to felony drunken driving and serving three months in jail.

Pullos, 26, was also sentenced in a Los Angeles County court in Pasadena to 200 hours of community service. The judge ordered her to complete a nine-month alcohol treatment program and to pay more than $8,000 in restitution to the other driver in the crash that authorities said she caused when she drove the wrong way on freeway lanes in April of 2023.

Pullos began appearing on “General Hospital” as a child, playing Molly Lansing-Davis on nearly 500 episodes of the ABC soap opera from 2009 to 2023. She left the show after the collision and has not returned.

She was driving westbound on the Ventura Freeway in Pasadena when she swerved into eastbound lanes, crossed a barrier and ran into an oncoming car, authorities said. Firefighters had to pull both drivers from their mangled cars, and both were hospitalized. It's not clear what their exact injuries were.

Pullos pleaded guilty to a felony count of driving under the influence earlier this year.

A representative for the actor did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.

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July 30, 2024 at 07:47PM

Music Review: Chrystabell & David Lynch channel 'Twin Peaks' with new album 'Cellophane Memories'

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LOS ANGELES -- If you listen to Chrystabell & David Lynch’s new album, there’s a good chance that it will make you dream.

Not that “Cellophane Memories,” the latest collaboration between the auteur and his “Twin Peaks: The Return” co-star will put you to sleep — although its moody, ethereal sound might help you chill out.

The Oscar-nominated surrealist director behind “Mulholland Drive” and “Blue Velvet” has long stressed the importance of taking time to let your imagination wander, particularly when it comes to creating art.

He and Chrystabell help listeners achieve that state of contemplative wonder with their latest 10-track collaboration. It’s difficult to categorize “Cellophane Memories” within a genre, but it consists of austere lyrics and ambient soundscapes carried by Chrystabell's hypnotic, reverbed vocals.

Although Lynch is known more widely for filmmaking, this is hardly the director’s first foray into music, nor is it his first project with Chrystabell. The pair have collaborated in various capacities for decades, beginning with the song “Polish Poem,” which was featured on Lynch's 2006 film, “Inland Empire.”

Produced and written by Lynch and engineered by Chrystabell, the album is Lynch’s first since his longtime creative partner Angelo Badalamenti died in 2022. The late composer contributed to two tracks — “She Knew” and “So Much Love” — which are both carried by Badalamenti's synthesizer.

The album is a sonic feast that, like so many of Lynch’s films, challenges modern attention spans. Listening to “Cellophane Memories” feels like doing yoga, or perhaps transcendental meditation. The impulse to find additional stimuli in the moment is strong, but the result, if you can stick it out, is a feeling of rejuvenation and boosted creative energy.

Much of the album sounds like it could have come straight from “Twin Peaks”; one wonders if its title is a nod to the series' ultimate dead girl Laura Palmer being found wrapped in plastic. “Cellophane Memories” even occasionally employs the familiar, backward dialogue effect used in scenes in the red room to turn Chrystabell's vocals into a kind of haunting instrument — like on the brooding “Reflections in a Blade.”

Hopeful and longing, at times disturbing and even seedy (particularly “The Answers to the Questions,” thanks to its slowed tempo and foregrounded percussion), the album vacillates between light and darkness — themes Lynch has throughout his career been keen to explore. His simpatico relationship with Chrystabell, whose creative use and mixing of her own voice elevates “Cellophane Memories,” is palpable in this record.

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July 30, 2024 at 07:11AM

Museums closed Native American exhibits 6 months ago. Tribes are still waiting to get items back

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NEW YORK -- Tucked within the expansive Native American halls of the American Museum of Natural History is a diminutive wooden doll that holds a sacred place among the tribes whose territories once included Manhattan.

For more than six months now, the ceremonial Ohtas, or Doll Being, has been hidden from view after the museum and others nationally took dramatic steps to board up or paper over exhibits in response to new federal rules requiring institutions to return sacred or culturally significant items to tribes — or at least to obtain consent to display or study them.

The doll, also called Nahneetis, is just one of some 1,800 items museum officials say they’re reviewing as they work to comply with the requirements while also eyeing a broader overhaul of the more than half-century-old exhibits.

But some tribal leaders remain skeptical, saying museums have not acted swiftly enough. The new rules, after all, were prompted by years of complaints from tribes that hundreds of thousands of items that should have been returned under the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 still remain in museum custody.

“If things move slowly, then address that,” said Joe Baker, a Manhattan resident and member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians, descendants of the Lenape peoples European traders encountered more than 400 years ago. “The collections, they’re part of our story, part of our family. We need them home. We need them close.”

Sean Decatur, the New York museum’s president, promised tribes will hear from officials soon. He said staff these past few months have been reexamining the displayed objects in order to begin contacting tribal communities.

The museum also plans to open a small exhibit in the fall incorporating Native American voices and explaining the history of the closed halls, why changes are being made and what the future holds, he said.

Museum officials envision a total overhaul of the closed Eastern Woodlands and Great Plains halls — akin to the five-year, $19 million renovation of its Northwest Coast Hall, completed in 2022 in close collaboration with tribes, Decatur added.

“The ultimate aim is to make sure we’re getting the stories right,” he said.

Lance Gumbs, vice chairman of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, a federally recognized tribe in New York’s Hamptons, said he worries about the loss of representation of local tribes in public institutions, with exhibit closures likely stretching into years.

The American Museum of Natural History, he noted, is one of New York’s major tourism draws and also a mainstay for generations of area students learning about the region’s tribes.

He suggests museums use replicas made by Native peoples so that sensitive cultural items aren’t physically on display.

“I don’t think tribes want to have our history written out of museums,” Gumbs said. “There’s got to be a better way than using artifacts that literally were stolen out of gravesites.”

Gordon Yellowman, who heads the department of language and culture for the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, said museums should look to create more digital and virtual exhibits.

He said the tribes, in Oklahoma, will be seeking from the New York museum a sketchbook by the Cheyenne warrior Little Finger Nail that contains his drawings and illustrations from battle.

The book, which is in storage and not on display, was plucked from his body after he and other tribe members were killed by U.S. soldiers in Nebraska in 1879.

“These drawings weren’t just made because they were beautiful," Yellowman said. "They were made to show the actual history of the Cheyenne and Arapaho people.”

Institutions elsewhere are taking other approaches.

In Chicago, the Field Museum has established a Center for Repatriation after covering up several cases in its halls dedicated to ancient America and the peoples of the coastal Northwest and Arctic.

The museum has also since returned four items back to tribes, with another three pending, through efforts that were underway before the new regulations, according to spokesperson Bridgette Russell.

At the Cleveland Museum in Ohio, a case displaying artifacts from the Tlingit people in Alaska has been reopened after their leadership gave consent, according to Todd Mesek, the museum’s spokesperson. But two other displays remain covered up, with one containing funerary objects from the ancient Southwest to be redone with a different topic and materials.

And at Harvard, the Peabody Museum’s North American Indian hall reopened in February after about 15% of its roughly 350 items were removed from displays, university spokesperson Nicole Rura said.

Chuck Hoskin, chief of the Cherokee Nation, said he believes many institutions now understand they can no longer treat Indigenous items as “museum curiosities” from “peoples that no longer exist.”

The leader of the tribe in Oklahoma said he visited the Peabody this year after the university reached out about returning hair clippings collected in the early 1930s from hundreds of Indigenous children, including Cherokees, forced to assimilate in the notorious Indian boarding schools.

“The fact that we’re in a position to sit down with Harvard and have a really meaningful conversation, that’s progress for the country,” he said.

As for Baker, he wants the Ohtas returned to its tribe. He said the ceremonial doll should never have been on display, especially arranged as it was among wooden bowls, spoons and other everyday items.

Museum officials say discussions with tribal representatives began in 2021 and will continue, even though the doll technically does not fall under federal regulations because it's associated with a tribe outside the U.S., the Munsee-Delaware Nation in Ontario.

“It has a spirit. It’s a living being," Baker said. "So if you think about it being hung on a wall all these years in a static case, suffocating for lack of air, it’s just horrific, really.”

___

Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo.

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July 29, 2024 at 07:26PM

Fans swarm hill in Munich, claiming a high perch for watching Taylor Swift concert

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MUNICH -- MUNICH (AP) — Thousands of Taylor Swift fans have gotten free seats to her concerts in Munich on a grassy hill near the concert venue.

The Swifties packed the Olympic Hill, or Olympiaberg, one of the highest elevations in the southern German city, for the second straight day Sunday. That gave them a high perch for watching the singer's sold-out concert in the nearby Olympic Stadium.

On Saturday, they braved the heat, which reached 31 Celsius (88 Fahrenheit) and claimed their spots hours before the concert began.

Police estimated that about 25,000 gathered on the hill on Saturday, according to the dpa news agency.

On Sunday, fans returned, once again packing the grassy hill with so many people that from a distance the scene looked like an anthill.

Rather than discourage the free viewings, the concert organizer handed out water and emergency blankets to those waiting to protect themselves from the sun, dpa reported.

Sunday's concert is Swift's last in Germany as part of her Eras tour. She heads next to the Polish capital, Warsaw, for three concerts this coming week, from Thursday through Saturday.

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July 29, 2024 at 07:02AM

Female Olympians hit the fashion runway in Paris to celebrate hard-won gender parity

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PARIS -- It may be too early to call these Paris Olympics the Fashion Olympics. But, in the city widely considered the capital of fashion, the word “fashion” has surely been mentioned so far more by now than in any other Games.

And so it made sense to Angela Ruggiero, a four-time U.S. Olympic medalist in ice hockey, that if she was going to launch a celebration of gender parity in these Games, it should be with a fashion show. And that's how some 20 or so former or current Olympians wound up sashaying down a makeshift runway on Sunday at a Paris restaurant, to whoops and high-fives from a supportive audience.

For years, says Ruggiero, who runs a market research firm focused on the intersection of sport and innovation, she’s been following “this trend of sport and fashion colliding.”

“And the Olympics are in Paris. I mean, what a perfect venue to celebrate a monumental achievement of gender parity on the field while nodding to opportunities off the field, including elevating these women’s voices through style,” she told The Associated Press.

This year, the International Olympic Committee set a goal of a 50-50 split between male and female athletes. For the first time, women have an equal share with men of an entry quota that's 10,500 athletes across 329 events.

The actual gender split won’t be known until the end of the Games, given unknowns in team selections, rules in different countries, and other areas. It’s possible the numbers will fall just short of parity. But regardless of where specific numbers fall, the female athletes who joined Ruggiero on the runway — many from the United States, but also from Australia, New Zealand, Liberia, Qatar and elsewhere — were eager to celebrate the moment.

And, also, to push for future advancements in other areas of sports such as decision-making at the highest levels.

“We have to continue the momentum,” said Kerri Walsh Jennings, the U.S. beach volleyball player who won three gold medals and a bronze. “And we need to broaden it, because it can’t be once in a while. It can’t be once every four years, at a special event like this. We need it 365, 24-7, because women are 50% of the population.”

The runway show, called PARITY Paris, was hosted by the 4TheWalk clothing and merchandise brand at a restaurant next to Paris’ famed Palais Garnier opera house, in partnership with Coca-Cola. Athlete-models, most of whom had never strutted a runway, wore looks by host and other brands such as Sneex footwear.

A few said they had been nervous beforehand, among them Sarah Walker, a New Zealand BMX racer who is six months pregnant with her second child — and bared her baby bump on the catwalk.

“I felt very scared — but that was kind of my indication that maybe I should do it,” Walker said later. “So especially with a 2-year-old daughter and another baby girl on the way, I was like, actually this is really important to do for women in the future. Setting an example that women can do anything.”

Natalie Cook, an Australian beach volleyball player who competed in five Olympics, had a lot of fun, making a supermodel hair-flicking gesture as she neared photographers.

“I’m a first-timer,” she said of her catwalk experience. “And I don’t think I’ll give up my athletic career.”

___

For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games.

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July 29, 2024 at 06:47AM

Even on quiet summer weekends, huge news stories spread to millions more swiftly than ever before

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James Peeler's phone blew up with messages as he drove home from church in Texas. Reading a book on her couch in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Wendy Schweiger spied something on Facebook. After finishing a late-night swim in the Baltic Sea off Finland, Matti Niiranen clicked on a CNN livestream.

Each learned that President Joe Biden had abandoned his re-election bid minutes after he dropped a statement online without warning on a summer Sunday.

Eight days after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, it marked the second straight July weekend that a seismic American story broke at a time most people weren't paying attention to the news. Biden's announcement was a startling example of how fast and how far word spreads in today's always-connected world.

“It seemed like a third of the nation knew it instantly,” said longtime news executive Bill Wheatley, “and they told another third.”

Wheatley, now retired and summering in Maine, had sat down to check his email and absent-mindedly refreshed the CNN.com home site on his computer. If he didn't learn the news that way, text messages from friends would have alerted him soon after.

At 1:46 p.m. Eastern Time, the moment Biden posted his announcement on X, an estimated 215,000 people happened to be logged on to one of 124 major U.S. news websites. Fifteen minutes later, those sites had 893,000 readers, according to Chartbeat.

On apnews.com, 3,580 people entered the site during the 1:46 p.m. minute. Nearly an hour later, at 2:43 p.m., The Associated Press' online news destination site hit the afternoon's peak of 18,936 new visitors. CNN.com and its news app saw its usage quintuple within 20 minutes of the news breaking, the network said.

Television networks broke into regular programming for the story between 1:50 and 2:04 p.m. During the relatively quiet quarter-hour before 2 p.m., a total of 2.69 million people were watching either CNN, Fox News Channel or MSNBC, the Nielsen company said. The audience on those three networks swelled to 6.84 million between 2 and 4 p.m. Eastern. Add ABC and CBS, which also had special coverage in those hours, and there were at least 9.27 million following the story on television.

How did everybody get there so quickly? As Wheatley suggested, word of mouth played a big role. To his credit, Peeler said he didn't open his text messages until stopping his car.

Many people also have alerts set up on their phone.

“Our phones are constantly chirping at us and we have them with us all the time,” said Brian Ott, a media and communications professor at Missouri State University and author of “The Twitter Presidency: Donald J. Trump and the Politics of White Rage.”

Ott and his wife were traveling in Belgrade, Serbia, and, with the time difference, had gone to bed on Sunday night before Biden made his announcement. Ott found out the next morning when he checked news sites online and told his wife when she woke up.

“Oh, I already know,” she responded. She had logged on to X when she got up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.

Since then, as he has moved on to Italy, visiting Rome and Florence, Ott said everyone he's run into who hears he speaks English has wanted to talk to him about Biden.

“My sense is that the compulsion is the same for everyone,” he said. “In our digital world, information is capital, and everyone wants to demonstrate their capital.”

At his summer house in Pyharanta, Finland, Niiranen has taken a keen interest in U.S. politics, which the semiretired writer said dates to his time as an exchange student in Michigan. He had gone for a swim after 10 p.m. on Sunday, since daylight lingers longer there.

Niiranen had read speculation that Biden might drop out, so when he sat down on his deck after getting out of the water, he checked the CNN stream and found that was the case.

“Interesting election you have there!” he said. “I'll be watching it.”

Visiting family in Canaan, New Hampshire, Tracy Jasnowski was having a mostly unplugged week because of spotty internet service. Once a day, adults and children alike retreated with their devices to a spot on the lawn where the service is more consistent. That's when she found out.

“Honestly, I thought I might vomit,” she said. “I was shocked. I was cast adrift. I had no idea that would happen.”

Even if she hadn't learned it then, Jasnowski said she quickly got text messages from friends. And when her father woke up from his nap, he turned on Fox News.

A generation or two earlier, people would have to be watching TV or listening to the radio to hear a special report about momentous news, said Wheatley, a former executive at NBC News. Then people would spread it by telling friends or family. Now with social media, text alerts and websites available at a click, news moves “much, much faster."

“The next logical question," he said, "is how accurate is it?”

It's a mantra drummed into young journalists: Get the news fast but, more importantly, get it right. A mistake on a major, breaking story can derail a career. This month's big stories illustrated the pressure that comes with the need for speed.

Almost immediately after Biden's announcement, it became a major part of the story journalists were filing that he hadn't endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, to succeed him. He did within a half hour, but that's an eternity for those who want to raise questions or float conspiracy theories.

Similarly, video of the Trump rally where shots were fired appeared instantly on television screens. But most initial news reports were extremely cautious, sticking to what was known: Trump was hurried off the stage by Secret Service agents. Blood was visible. There was a noise that sounded like gunshots.

That, in turn, led some to criticize journalists for being too wary, too reluctant to call it an assassination attempt. Yet not all facts are quickly known; nearly two weeks later, at a congressional hearing, FBI Director Christopher Wray said it still wasn't fully clear whether Trump had been hit by a bullet or shrapnel. The next day, the FBI announced it had concluded it was a bullet.

In other words, it's common that there's more to a story than meets the eye, and the frenzy of initial breaking news requires strong adherence to the facts available at the moment, no matter what becomes clear later.

When Peeler arrived at his destination in Texas last week and checked on what his friends had texted him about Biden, he called up the websites of local TV network affiliates. In Pennsylvania, Schweiger turned immediately to the AP and The New York Times online.

Both were grateful they had someplace they considered reliable to learn the facts.

“I operate under the assumption that news is 24 hours, and that you always have people that can be pressed into service for anything at any time,” Schweiger said.

___

David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://twitter.com/dbauder.

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July 28, 2024 at 06:11PM

3 members of Gospel Music Hall of Fame quartet among 7 killed in Wyoming plane crash

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Three members of the Nelons, a Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame quartet and the chairman of the board overseeing the Georgia Department of Corrections, were among seven people killed in a plane crash in Wyoming, according to a statement by a group member who was not aboard the aircraft.

The Nelons co-founder, Kelly Nelon Clark, her husband Jason Clark, and their daughter, Amber Nelon Kistler died in the crash Friday afternoon, according to a statement from another daughter, Autumn Nelon Streetman. She is the fourth member of the Georgia-based quartet.

“Thank you for the prayers that have been extended already to me, my husband, Jamie, and our soon-to-be-born baby boy, as well as Jason’s parents, Dan and Linda Clark,” Nelon Streetman said. “We appreciate your continued prayers, love and support as we navigate the coming days.”

Also killed in the crash were Nelon Kistler's husband, Nathan Kistler, family friend Melodi Hodges, and Larry and Melissa Haynie, according to Nelon Streetman.

There were no survivors.

Larry Haynie was chairman of the Georgia Board of Corrections and was remembered for “a career of valued public service,” according to a statement from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

“Our entire family is asking everyone to join us in praying for those who have been lost, for their loved ones and communities, and for those throughout the gospel music community who have lost dear friends in this heartbreaking accident,” Kemp said.

The group was traveling to join the Gaither Homecoming Cruise to Alaska, according to a statement from Gaither Music Group, the sponsor of the cruise that features numerous gospel singers and groups.

Gaither Music said Hodges was an assistant for the band and that Larry Haynie was pilot of the aircraft and Melissa Haynie was his wife. The aircraft was identified as a single engine turboprop Pilatus PC-12/47E.

The crash occurred about 1 p.m. in Campbell County, Wyoming, north of Gillette and about 250 miles (402 kilometers) north of Cheyenne, according to a statement from Campbell County spokesperson Leslie Perkins.

Campbell County Fire Department Jeff Bender said in a statement Saturday that a fire caused by the crash has been contained to less than one square mile and that firefighters would remain on the scene throughout the day.

The National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson Keith Holloway said Saturday that preliminary information indicated the plane crashed following an “auto pilot issue during flight” and a team of investigators was headed to the site.

“The aircraft is in a remote location and once they gain access, they will begin documenting the scene, examining the aircraft,” Holloway said. “The aircraft will then be recovered and taken to a secure facility for further evaluation.”

A preliminary report on the crash is expected in about 30 days while a final report with the probable cause of the crash could take up to two years to complete, Holloway said.

The Nelons were inducted into the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame in 2016 and were winners of 10 GMA Dove Awards, including multiple song of the year and album of the year awards.

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July 28, 2024 at 05:11AM

Celine Dion makes musical comeback at Paris Olympics with Eiffel Tower serenade

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PARIS -- PARIS (AP) — Celine Dion made a triumphant return Friday with a very public performance: closing out the Paris Olympics' opening ceremony from the Eiffel Tower.

Nearly two years after revealing her stiff person syndrome diagnosis, Dion belted Edith Piaf's “Hymne à l’amour” (“Hymn to Love”) as the finale of the roughly four-hour spectacle. Her appearance had been teased for weeks, but organizers and Dion's representatives had refused to confirm whether she was performing.

On a page dedicated to Dior's contributions to the opening ceremony, the media guide referred to “a world star, for a purely grandiose, superbly scintillating finale.”

Dion had been absent from the stage since 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic forced the postponement of her tour to 2022. That tour was eventually suspended in the wake of her diagnosis.

The rare neurological disorder causes rigid muscles and painful muscle spasms, which were affecting Dion’s ability to walk and sing. In June, at the premiere of the documentary “I Am: Celine Dion,” she told The Associated Press that returning required therapy, “physically, mentally, emotionally, vocally.”

“So that’s why it takes a while. But absolutely why we’re doing this because I’m already a little bit back,” she said then.

Even before the documentary's release, Dion had taken steps toward a comeback. In February, she made another surprise appearance, at the Grammy Awards, where she presented the final award of the night to a standing ovation.

For Friday's performance, Dion's pearl outfit was indeed designed by Dior. Speaking on French television, the Paris organizing committee's director of design and costume for ceremonies, Daphné Bürki, recalled Dion's enthusiasm for the opportunity.

“When we called Celine Dion one year ago she said yes straight away,” Bürki said.

Dion is not actually French — the French Canadian is from Quebec — but she has a strong connection to the country and the Olympics. Dion's first language is French, and she has dominated the charts in France and other French-speaking countries. (She also won the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest with a French-language song ... representing Switzerland.) And early in her English-language career — even before “My Heart Will Go On” from “Titanic” — she was tapped to perform “The Power of The Dream,” the theme song for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Dion's song choice also evoked a sports connection: Piaf wrote it about her lover, boxer Marcel Cerdan. Cerdan died soon after she wrote the song, in a plane crash.

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Associated Press reporters Sylvie Corbet, Jerome Pugmire and Samuel Petrequin contributed.

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For more coverage of the Paris Olympics, visit https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games.

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July 27, 2024 at 04:47PM

Museum pulls wax figure of Sinead O'Connor after complaints it does not compare to the real thing

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LONDON -- A wax figure of Sinéad O’Connor that did not compare to how the late singer looked caused a minor meltdown among fans and family members, leading a Dublin museum on Friday to pull it from its collection.

The National Wax Museum Plus apologized to O'Connor's family and said it would immediately begin creating a more accurate representation of the singer best known for her 1990 cover of Prince's ballad “Nothing Compares 2 U.”

John O'Connor said it was a “hideous” representation of his sister that looked like a cross between something in a department store window display and a 1960s sci-fi TV show that used electronic puppets.

“When I saw it online yesterday I was shocked," he told Irish broadcaster RTE. “I thought it looked something between a mannequin and something out of the ‘Thunderbirds.’”

The museum had unveiled the figure Thursday in honor of the first anniversary of her death. O'Connor, 56, died in her London home of natural causes July 26, 2023.

O’Connor, who became a controversial figure after she tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live in 1992, was considered a national treasure in Ireland, where she had started out performing on the streets of Dublin.

Fans filled the street of her former seaside hometown during a funeral procession in August following a private service attended by then-Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, President Michael Higgins and musical luminaries such as Bono of U2 and Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rats.

Accurately capturing the likeness of celebrities has famously tripped up many an artist.

A Polish wax museum was ridiculed last year for what some called creepy depictions of Kate, the Princess of Wales, and her husband, Prince William. A sculptor mocked for his bronze of Portuguese soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo went back to his studio a do-over that was more warmly received.

Likewise, U.S. women's soccer star Brandi Chastain got a replacement for a panned plaque where she was compared to looking like actors Gary Busey and Mickey Rooney, and former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

Paddy Dunning, the Dublin museum’s director who called O'Connor a longtime friend, said she deserved a better tribute.

“In response to the public’s feedback regarding the wax figure, we acknowledge that the current representation did not meet our high standards or the expectations of Sinead’s devoted fans,” the museum said in a statement.

John O'Connor said he was upset by the timing of the unveiling and the fact that no one had contacted his family.

“As I said earlier, the world may have lost a star, and they did, but I lost my sister," he said. "It just should not have been put there even without checking with somebody: ‘Is this all right?’”

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July 27, 2024 at 04:47AM

Pharrell advocates for reviving arts competitions for 2028 Olympics at Louis Vuitton event

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PARIS -- If given the chance, Pharrell Williams would reintroduce arts competition into the Olympics, reviving a tradition that's been missing for nearly 80 years.

Williams is aiming to reinstate arts competitions back on the world's biggest sports stage, starting with raising awareness through his star-studded Louis Vuitton event Thursday in Paris. He passionately shared his goal to see the tradition revived by the Olympics in 2028 the night before the Games’ opening ceremony.

“We get to remind people that at one point, the Olympics actually had the arts as a section that ran all these competitions,” Williams before the event. “Sculpture, architecture, visual arts. The idea we get to put the arts back in. ... Why not take this moment to bring awareness?”

Art competitions first came into fruition at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm with medals awarded in five categories: architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture. However, the International Olympic Committee ended the competitions in the 1948 games. An attempt to bring it back was denied four years later.

Williams, the musician-turned-designer, hosted the ritzy A-list event at the Louis Vuitton Foundation building. Attendees included popular figures such as LeBron James, Steven Spielberg, Mick Jagger, Zendaya, Anna Wintour, Charlize Theron, Serena Williams, Rosalía, Snoop Dogg, Queen Latifah and Zac Efron.

Williams called the inside of the event like an “indoor carnival.” He curated a select group of world-renowned artists including KAWS, Daniel Arsham and Derek Fordjour to design interactive art installations.

Some of the sports represented at the event included archery, tennis, basketball and equestrianism along with carnival games. “The game will begin on the inside tonight,” he said.

Through donations, Williams said he wanted the event to support Olympic hopefuls as well as 36 athletes across 11 different countries who are competing on the Refugee Olympic Team this year.

“We get to raise money for the other athletes who don't have the means to get the gear or proper training equipment,” said Williams, who added that he spoke about creating music for the games with Thomas Bach, the president of the IOC.

The famed producer said he recorded a track called “Triumph is Cosmos.”

“This is like the victory lap around the solar system,” he said.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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July 26, 2024 at 05:17PM

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ dominates at Comic-Con ahead of panel with Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman

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SAN DIEGO -- SAN DIEGO (AP) — “Deadpool & Wolverine” has arrived — and Comic-Con, with its hordes of Marvel fans, is ready to celebrate the only superhero flick of the summer.

The sprawling convention celebrating all things pop culture kicked off Wednesday, and a panel celebrating the release of “Deadpool & Wolverine,” is the main attraction for Thursday. On the convention's preview night, scores of fans were sporting clothing or costumes featuring the movie's characters.

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, who play the titular superheroes, will join director Shawn Levy in the San Diego Convention Center’s famed Hall H Thursday. To prevent fans from camping out in lines all day to snag a seat, organizers created a lottery system for the chance to win tickets. The venue holds about 6,000 people.

Some fans, conditioned to expect surprise guests and never-before-seen footage from years of experience at the convention, are speculating the panel will be followed by a screening of the film, which hits theaters Friday.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” marks the debut of Reynolds and Jackman’s characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Disney and the Marvel Cinematic Universe are the subject of several jokes throughout the trailer. Both Deadpool and Wolverine's characters existed in films previously under the 21st Century Fox banner.

The release comes at a time of increasing conversations about a general “superhero fatigue,” with audiences showing less enthusiasm for superhero movies both within the MCU and beyond. Part of that fatigue comes from a feeling that to understand a superhero movie today requires background research into the lore of the characters and comics, with much required viewing and reading.

Levy said in an April interview with The Associated Press that he wanted to make sure his movie didn’t require that intense level of preparation.

“I was a good student in school. I’ll do my homework as an adult. But I am definitely not looking to do homework when I go to the movies,” Levy said.

“I very much made this film with certainly a healthy respect and gratitude towards the rabid fan base that has peak fluency in the mythology and lore of these characters and this world. But I didn’t want to presume that. This movie is built for entertainment, with no obligation to come prepared with prior research.”

Although Marvel is anxious for a hit following box-office underperformance in of “The Marvels” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” in 2023, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is tracking to open in the $160 million range. That would unseat “Inside Out 2” for the biggest opening of the year— and quash any discussion of superhero fatigue.

With generally positive reviews, rousing enthusiasm at Comic-Con and an endorsement from Taylor Swift where she called the film a “joy portal,” Marvel’s latest movie is set to be a box-office hit.

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July 26, 2024 at 04:11AM

NBA says it has signed new 11-year media rights deal with Disney, NBC and Amazon

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The NBA signed its 11-year media rights deal with Disney, NBC and Amazon Prime Video on Wednesday after saying it was not accepting Warner Bros. Discovery’s $1.8 billion per year offer to continue its longtime relationship with the league.

The media rights deals were approved by the league’s Board of Governors last week and will bring the league about $76 billion over those 11 years.

WBD had five days to match a part of those deals and said it was exercising its right to do so, but its offer was not considered a true match by the NBA. That means the 2024-25 season will be the last for TNT after a nearly four-decade run — though not long after the NBA signing was announced, WBD said it would take “appropriate action” and said it believes the NBA has to accept its offer.

“The digital opportunities with Amazon align perfectly with the global interest in the NBA,” Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “And Prime Video’s massive subscriber base will dramatically expand our ability to reach our fans in new and innovative ways.”

Turner Sports strongly disagreed with the NBA's move, saying it believes the league “grossly misinterpreted our contractual rights.”

“We have matched the Amazon offer, as we have a contractual right to do, and do not believe the NBA can reject it,” TNT Sports said in a statement. “In doing so, they are rejecting the many fans who continue to show their unwavering support for our best-in-class coverage, delivered through the full combined reach of WBD’s video-first distribution platforms. ... We will take appropriate action.”

TNT said it continues looking forward to the coming season, “including our iconic ‘Inside the NBA.’”

Under the new deal, Amazon Prime Video will carry games on Friday nights, select Saturday afternoons and Thursday night doubleheaders that will begin after the conclusion of Prime Video's “Thursday Night Football” schedule. Prime Video will also take over the NBA League Pass package from WBD.

“Warner Bros. Discovery’s most recent proposal did not match the terms of Amazon Prime Video’s offer and, therefore, we have entered into a long-term arrangement with Amazon,” the league said Wednesday. “Throughout these negotiations, our primary objective has been to maximize the reach and accessibility of our games for our fans. Our new arrangement with Amazon supports this goal by complementing the broadcast, cable and streaming packages that are already part of our new Disney and NBCUniversal arrangements. All three partners have also committed substantial resources to promote the league and enhance the fan experience.”

The new package on Amazon also includes at least one game on Black Friday and the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game of the league's in-season tournament, the NBA Cup.

“Over the past few years, we have worked hard to bring the very best of sports to Prime Video and to continue to innovate on the viewing experience," said Jay Marine, global head of sports for Prime Video. "We’re thrilled to now add the NBA to our growing sports lineup, including the NFL, UEFA Champions League, NASCAR, NHL, WNBA, NWSL, Wimbledon, and more. We are grateful to partner with the NBA, and can’t wait to tip off in 2025.”

ESPN and ABC will keep the league’s top package, which includes the NBA Finals. ABC has carried the finals since 2003.

ESPN/ABC will combine for nearly 100 games during the regular season. More than 20 games will air on ABC, mainly on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons, while ESPN will have up to 60 games, mostly on Wednesday nights with some Friday games. ABC and ESPN will also combine for five games on Christmas Day and have exclusive national coverage of the final day of the regular season.

During the playoffs, ESPN and ABC will have approximately 18 games in the first two rounds each year and one of the two conference finals series in all but one year of the agreement.

The return of NBC, which carried NBA games from 1990 through 2002, gives the NBA two broadcast network partners for the first time.

NBC will have up to 100 regular-season games, including on Sunday night once the NFL season has ended. It will air games on Tuesdays throughout the regular season, while a Monday night doubleheader would be exclusively streamed on Peacock.

NBC will also have the All-Star Game and All-Star Saturday Night. During the playoffs, NBC and/or Peacock will have up to 28 games the first two rounds, with at least half on NBC.

NBC and Amazon will also carry one of the two conference finals series in six of the 11 years on a rotating basis. NBC will have a conference final in 2026-27 followed by Amazon the next season.

“The return of NBA basketball to the NBC Sports family comes with enormous benefits and excitement for our fans,” Silver said. “And through its multiple platforms — especially NBC and Peacock — and its expansive resources, NBCUniversal promises to build on the deep tradition and history of the NBA on NBC.”

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

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July 25, 2024 at 11:02AM

Snoop Dogg aims to inspire global audience at Paris Olympics as torch bearer before opening ceremony

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PARIS -- When Snoop Dogg agreed to become an Olympic torch bearer, the hip-hop star recalled an emotional, iconic moment watching Muhammad Ali light the cauldron at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Now, Snoop Dogg hopes to recreate some of that magic for a global audience watching the Paris Olympics. He'll be one of the final torch bearers of the Olympic flame ahead of the Games' opening ceremony on Friday.

It's an opportunity he never imagined.

“It was emotional for all of us to see the champ holding that torch and walking up there,” Snoop Dogg said Wednesday of the late Ali, who surprised the crowd when he lit the cauldron because he had Parkinson's disease.

Snoop Dogg will carry the torch in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, according to the town's mayor, Mathieu Hanotin.

“This is my own version of it," Snoop Dogg said. "I don’t want to get too emotional, but I know that this is special.”

Snoop Dogg said he's thankful for being a representative from the U.S. and France's support in him taking part. He spoke during a call with sportscaster Mike Tirico and Molly Solomon, executive producer and president of NBC Olympics Production.

“This says a lot about America as far as where we’re at in this world," he said. “At the same time, it says a lot about France as far as connecting the dots and allowing me to do this. I look at this as a prestigious honor and something I truly respect. I would have never dreamed of nothing like this. I’m going to be on my best behavior. I’m going to be on my best athleticism. I’ll be able to breathe slow to walk fast and hold the torch with a smile on my face, because I realize how prestigious this event is.”

Along with his torch-bearing duties, Snoop Dogg will serve as a prime-time NBC correspondent during the Games. He'll be on the ground exploring the city’s landmarks and attending competitions and events.

The ultra-smooth entertainer already has had casual on-video interviews with a few Olympians about their sports, including women’s basketball player A’ja Wilson, gymnast Sunisa Lee, skateboarder Jagger Eaton and beach volleyball players Sara Hughes and Kelly Cheng. Last month, he met with track star Noah Lyles and participated in a 200-meter race — clocking in at 34.44 seconds — with NBC analyst Ato Boldon and former national champion Wallace Spearmon.

Snoop Dogg arrived in Paris about 10 days before the opening ceremony, meeting with athletes and their family members along with learning their back stories. He has gone to the practice facilities to visit various teams such as judo, weightlifting, 3x3 basketball and fencing.

“I’m going to show you why they made me the man to do it,” he said. “I’m going to put all of my resources and energy around it with peace, love and harmony. That’s what the Olympics is all about. I feel like that’s why they chose me. That’s what I represent.”

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

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July 25, 2024 at 02:11AM

Movie Review: In 'Deadpool & Wolverine,' the superhero movie finally accepts itself for what it is

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If one thing is certain about “Deadpool,” it’s that its titular hero, for reasons never explained, understands his place in the world — well, in our world.

Indeed, the irreverent and raunchy mutant is sure to belabor his awareness of the context in which he lives — namely an over-saturated, increasingly labyrinthine multibillion-dollar Marvel multiverse which spans decades, studios and too many films for most viewers to count.

From its inception, the “Deadpool” franchise has prided itself a subversive, self-aware anti-superhero superhero movie, making fun of everything from comic books to Hollywood to its biggest champion, co-writer and star, Ryan Reynolds.

It’s no surprise then, as fans have come to expect, that the long-anticipated “Deadpool & Wolverine” further embraces its fourth wall-breaking self-awareness — even as it looks increasingly and more earnestly like the superhero movie blueprint it loves to exploit. That tension — the fact that “Deadpool” has called out comic book movie tropes despite being, in fact, a comic book movie — is somehow remedied in “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which leans into its genre more than the franchise's first two movies.

Perhaps this gives viewers more clarity on its intended audience. After all, someone who hates superhero films — I’m looking at you, Scorsese — isn’t going to be won over because of a few self-deprecating jokes about lazy writing, budgets for A-list cameos and the overused “superhero landing” Reynolds’ Deadpool regularly refers to.

But this time around, director Shawn Levy — his first Marvel movie — seems to have found a sweet spot. Levy is surely helped by the fact that the third film in the franchise has a bigger budget, more hype and, of course, a brooding, eventually shirtless, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine — who has long been teased as someone Deadpool has, er, complicated feelings toward.

That anticipation makes their relationship, packed with hatred, fandom and homoeroticism, all the more enticing. Their fight scenes against each other are just as compelling as their moments of self-sacrificial partnership in the spirit of, you guessed it, saving the world(s).

Speaking of worlds, there is one important development in our own to be aware of ahead of time. The first two “Deadpool” films were distributed by 20th Century Fox, whose $71.3 billion acquisition by the Walt Disney Co. in 2019 opened the door for the franchise to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, “Deadpool & Wolverine” takes full advantage of that vast playground, which began in 2008 with Robert Downey Jr.’s “Iron Man” and now includes more than 30 films and a host of television shows. The acquisition is also a recurring target of Deadpool’s sarcasm throughout the movie.

Although steeped in references and cameos that can feel a bit like inside baseball for the less devoted, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is easy enough to follow for the casual Marvel viewer, though it wouldn’t hurt to have seen the first “Deadpool” and Jackman’s 2017 “Logan,” a harbinger of the increasing appetite for R-rated superhero violence. The Disney+ series “Loki” also gives helpful context, though is by no means a must watch, on the Time Variance Authority, which polices multiverse timelines to avoid “incursions,” or the catastrophic colliding of universes.

A defining feature of “Deadpool” has been its R rating and hyper violent action scenes. Whether thanks to more money, Levy’s direction or some combination of the two, these scenes are much more visually appealing.

But “Deadpool & Wolverine” does succumb to some of the deus ex machina writing that so often plagues superhero movies. Wade Wilson’s (the real identity of Deadpool) relationship with his ex (?) Vanessa is particularly underdeveloped — though it’s possible that ambiguity is a metaphor for Deadpool’s future within the MCU.

The plot feels aimless at points toward the end. One cameo-saturated battle scene in particular is resolved in a way that leaves its audience wanting after spending quite a bit of time building tension around it. While there are a few impressive stars who make an appearance, audiences may be disappointed by the amount of MCU characters referenced who don’t make it in.

The bloody but comedic final fight scene, however, is enough to perk viewers back up for the last act, solidifying the film’s identity as a fun, generally well-made summer movie.

The sole MCU release of 2024, “Deadpool & Wolverine” proves it’s not necessarily the source material that’s causing so-called superhero fatigue. It also suggests, in light of Marvel’s move to scale back production following a pandemic and historic Hollywood strikes, that increased attention given to making a movie will ultimately help the final product.

“Deadpool & Wolverine,” a Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for strong bloody violence and language throughout, gore and sexual references. Running time: 127 minutes. Two and a half out of four stars.

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July 24, 2024 at 01:47PM

Biden will address the nation Wednesday on his decision to drop his 2024 Democratic reelection bid

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FILE - Vice President Joe Biden walks off of the stage after speaking on the Obama Administration's nuclear security agenda, Feb. 18, 2010, at Ft. McNair in Washington. Historians and political advisers say history will be kinder to President Joe Biden than voters have been. Biden dropped out of the presidential race Sunday, July 21, 2024, clearing the way for a new Democratic nominee. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

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July 24, 2024 at 01:26AM

Biden will address the nation at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday on his decision to drop his 2024 Democratic presidential bid

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July 24, 2024 at 01:11AM

Toronto Film Festival lineup includes movies from Angelina Jolie, Mike Leigh, more

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The Angelina Jolie-directed war film “Without Blood," a documentary about Bruce Springsteen and Mike Leigh’s contemporary tragicomedy “Hard Truths” will have their world premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival this fall. The festival announced its gala and special presentation lineup Monday.

Jolie’s film stars Salma Hayek and Demián Bichir and is based on the Alessandro Baricco novel “Without Blood.” The Springsteen film, "Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band" charts behind the scenes of his world tour. Leigh’s film, his first in six years, has him reuniting with his “Secrets & Lies” star Marianne Jean-Baptiste.

Also announced were the world premieres of Gia Coppola’s “The Last Showgirl,” starring Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista and Kiernan Shipka, and Rachel Morrison’s directorial debut “The Fire Inside,” about the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal in boxing. Barry Jenkins wrote the screenplay.

Edward Burns has a new film, “Millers in Marriage” with Minnie Driver and Morena Baccarin, as does David Mackenzie with the thriller “Relay” starring Riz Ahmed and Lily James. Jennifer Lopez co-stars in the Ben Affleck-produced sports drama “Unstoppable” about American wrestler Anthony Robles. And Hugh Grant leads the eerie Scott Beck and Bryan Woods-directed A24 pic “Heretic.”

One year after TIFF went on through the actors strikes, the star power has returned to the prestigious film festival which helps inform the conversation around the season's awards hopefuls.

Focus Features will play its Edward Berger-directed, and Ralph Fiennes-starring papal thriller “Conclave” at the festival. But it won’t be the world premiere for “Conclave” — that event will likely happen at either Venice or Telluride, which have yet to announce their full lineups. The studio will also bring “Piece by Piece” to TIFF, Morgan Neville’s Pharrell Williams documentary told with LEGOs.

Films previously announced as part of the TIFF slate include the animated “The Wild Robot,” Marielle Heller’s “Nightbitch,” starring Amy Adams, John Crowley’s “We Live In Time,” with Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, David Gordon Green’s comedy “Nutcrackers,” with Ben Stiller, R.J. Cutler and David Furnish’s “Elton John: Never Too Late” and Ron Howard’s survival thriller “Eden” with Ana de Armas, Sydney Sweeney and Jude Law.

The festival will also play some Cannes favorites including Sean Baker’s “Anora,” Paul Scrader’s “Oh, Canada” and Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez,” and the Will Ferrell friendship documentary “Will & Harper” which debuted at Sundance.

More TIFF films will be announced in the coming weeks, as will the lineups for other important fall festivals including Venice, Telluride and New York Film Festival.

TIFF kicks off on Sept. 5 and runs through Sept. 15.

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July 23, 2024 at 12:47PM