Harris Dickinson was nervous to approach Nicole Kidman. This would not necessarily be notable under normal circumstances, but the English actor had already been cast to star opposite her in the erotic drama “Babygirl,” as the intern who initiates an affair with Kidman’s buttoned-up CEO. They’d had a zoom with the writer-director Halina Reijn, who was excited by their playful banter and sure that Dickinson would hold his own. And yet when he found himself at the same event as Kidman, shyness took over. He admitted as much to Margaret Qualley, who took things into her own hands and introduced them. “She helped me break the ice a bit,” Dickinson said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. On set would be an entirely different story. Dickinson might not be nearly as “puckishly audacious” as his character Samuel but in the making of “Babygirl,” he, Kidman and Reijn had no choice but to dive fearlessly into this exploration of sexual power dynamics, going to intimate, awkward, exhilarating and meme-able places. It’s made the film, in theaters Christmas Day, one of the year’s must-sees. “There was an unspoken thing that we adhered to,” Dickinson said. “We weren’t getting to know each other’s personal lives. When we were working and we were the characters, we didn’t veer away from the material. I never tried to attach all of the history of Nicole Kidman. Otherwise it probably would have been a bit of a mess.” His is a performance that reconfirms what many in the film world have suspected since his debut seven years ago as a Brooklyn tough questioning his sexuality in Eliza Hittman’s “Beach Rats” : Dickinson is one of the most exciting young talents around. Dickinson, 28, grew up in Leytonstone, in East London — the same neck of the woods as Alfred Hitchcock. Cinema was in his life, whether it was Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” films at the local multiplex or venturing into town to see the more social realist films of Mike Leigh and Ken Loach. “Working class cinema interested me,” he said. “People around me that represented my world.” Appropriately, his entry into making art started behind the camera, with a comedy web series he made as a kid, which he now describes as “really bad spoofs” of films and shows of the time. But things started to really click when he began acting in the local theater. “I remember feeling invigorated by it and accepted,” he said. “I felt myself for the first time and felt able to express myself in a way where I didn’t feel vulnerable and I felt alive and ignited by something.” At around 17, someone suggested that he should give acting a try professionally. He hadn’t even fully understood that it was a career possibility, but he started auditioning. At 20, he was cast in “Beach Rats” and, he said, just “kept going.” Since then, he’s gotten a wide range of opportunities in films both big, including “The King’s Man,” and small. He’s captivated as a male model in Ruben Östlund’s Cannes-winning “Triangle of Sadness,” an estranged father to a 12-year-old in Charlotte Regan’s “Scrapper,” an actor bringing an ex-boyfriend to life in Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir Part II,” the charismatic, tragic wrestler David Von Erich in Sean Durkin’s “The Iron Claw” and a soldier in Steve McQueen’s “Blitz.” But “Babygirl” would present new challenges and opportunities with a character who’s almost impossible to define. “He was confusing in a really interesting way. There wasn’t loads of specificity to it, which I enjoyed because it was a bit of a challenge to sort of pinpoint exactly what it was that drove him and made him tick,” Dickinson said. “There was a directness that unlocked a lot for me, like a fearlessness with the way he spoke, or a social unawareness in a way — like not fully realizing what he’s saying is affecting someone in a certain way. But I didn’t make too many rules for him.” Part of the allure of the film is the ever-shifting power dynamics between the two characters, which could change over the course of a scene. As Reijn said, “It’s a cautionary tale about what happens when you suppress your own desires.” She was especially in awe of Dickinson’s ability to make everything feel improvised and the fact that he could look like a 12-year-old boy in one shot and a confident 45-year-old man in the next. Since its premiere at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year, the film has led to some surprisingly direct conversations with audiences spanning generations. But that, Dickinson understood, was what Reijn wanted. “She really wanted to show the ugliness and the awkwardness of these things, of these relationships and sex,” he said. “That sort of fumbly version and the performative version of it is way more interesting, to me at least, than the kind of fantasized, romanticized, sexy thing that we’ve seen a lot.” Dickinson recently stepped behind the camera again, directing his first feature film under the banner of his newly formed production company. Set against the backdrop of homelessness in London, “Dream Space” is about a drifter trying to assimilate and understand his cyclical behavior. The film, which wrapped earlier this year, has given him a heightened appreciation for just how many people are indispensable in the making of a film. He’s also started to understand that “acting is just being able to relax.” “When you’re relaxed, you can do stuff that is truthful,” he said. “That only happens if you’ve got good people around you: The director that creates the good environment. The intimacy coordinator facilitating a safe space. A coworker in Nicole encouraging that kind of bravery and performance with what she’s doing.” Dickinson did eventually get to the point where he managed to ask Kidman questions about working with Stanley Kubrick and Lars Von Trier. But he also kept one shattering possibility between himself and his director. “There is a world in which Samuel doesn’t even exist. He’s just a sort of a device or a figment for her own story. And I like that because it kind of means you can take the character into a very unrealistic realm at times and be almost like a deity in the story,” Dickinson said. “We didn’t talk about it with Nicole.”OpenAI's legal battle with Elon Musk reveals internal turmoil over avoiding AI 'dictatorship'Animals Don't miss out on the headlines from Animals. Followed categories will be added to My News. A dog is set to undergo life saving surgery after it was dumped in the yard of a home in Sydney’s inner-west. Million, a 12-month-old Maltese Shih tzu, was discovered tied to a gate in a Zetland front yard after David Wiles heard a small whimper, to 7News reports. Video footage has captured the moment two women appear to leave the dog with a note and a bit of food. A Maltese Shih tzu was dumped in a Zetland yard. Picture: 7NEWS The dog, Million, was also left with a note and some food. Picture: 7NEWS “The note basically said they really care for the dog but can’t take care of it anymore,” Mr Wiles said. Mr Wiles agreed to foster Million after he and his wife – a fellow dog lover – came to an agreement with the dog’s breeder. A vet check revealed Million has a cancerous growth on his leg and a small hernia. The Shih tzu is set to undergo surgery on Saturday, with an adoption agency Mr Wiles has been in contact with set to pay. Million has a cancerous growth and small hernia. Picture: 7NEWS Mr Wiles has agreed to foster Million. Picture: 7NEWS Mr Wiles issued a message to prospective dog owners following the incident. “Dog ownership is hard, it’s a lot of work, it’s a long commitment,” Mr Wiles said. “These guys aren’t toys.” NewsWire has contacted the RSPCA and NSW Police for comment. More Coverage Alarm as deadly disease detected in Australia Emma Kirk Cult student meal recalled from stores Duncan Evans Originally published as Moment sick Maltese Shih tzu allegedly dumped in Sydney yard with note and food More related stories Animals Dire warning over Aussie tourist hotspot A major warning has been issued to tourists planning to visit an Australian hotspot known for its famous coastal scenery and marine populations. Read more Animals Fresh warning about deadly animal virus Aussies in one state have been issued a warning about a “highly fatal” disease with no known cure, with infection causing paralysis and even death. Read moreonline game quiz 。

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Teleflex Incorporated: Compelling Only On One Metric“Gladiator II” asks the question: Are you not moderately entertained for roughly 60% of this sequel? Truly, this is a movie dependent on managed expectations and a forgiving attitude toward its tendency to overserve. More of a thrash-and-burn schlock epic than the comparatively restrained 2000 “Gladiator,” also directed by Ridley Scott, the new one recycles a fair bit of the old one’s narrative cries for freedom while tossing in some digital sharks for the flooded Colosseum and a bout of deadly sea-battle theatrics. They really did flood the Colosseum in those days, though no historical evidence suggests shark deployment, real or digital. On the other hand (checks notes), “Gladiator II” is fiction. Screenwriter David Scarpa picks things up 16 years after “Gladiator,” which gave us the noble death of the noble warrior Maximus, shortly after slaying the ignoble emperor and returning Rome to the control of the Senate. Our new hero, Lucius (Paul Mescal), has fled Rome for Numidia, on the North African coast. The time is 200 A.D., and for the corrupt, party-time twins running the empire (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger), that means invasion time. Pedro Pascal takes the role of Acacius, the deeply conflicted general, sick of war and tired of taking orders from a pair of depraved ferrets. The new film winds around the old one this way: Acacius is married to Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, in a welcome return), daughter of the now-deceased emperor Aurelius and the love of the late Maximus’s life. Enslaved and dragged to Rome to gladiate, the widower Lucius vows revenge on the general whose armies killed his wife. But there are things this angry young phenom must learn, about his ancestry and his destiny. It’s the movie’s worst-kept secret, but there’s a reason he keeps seeing footage of Russell Crowe from the first movie in his fever dreams. Battle follows battle, on the field, in the arena, in the nearest river, wherever, and usually with endless splurches of computer-generated blood. “Gladiator II” essentially bumper-cars its way through the mayhem, pausing for long periods of expository scheming about overthrowing the current regime. The prince of all fixers, a wily operative with interests in both managing gladiators and stocking munitions, goes by the name Macrinus. He’s played by Denzel Washington, who at one point makes a full meal out of pronouncing the word “politics” like it’s a poisoned fig. Also, if you want a masterclass in letting your robes do a lot of your acting for you, watch what Washington does here. He’s more fun than the movie but you can’t have everything. The movie tries everything, all right, and twice. Ridley Scott marshals the chaotic action sequences well enough, though he’s undercut by frenetic cutting rhythms, with that now-familiar, slightly sped-up visual acceleration in frequent use. (Claire Simpson and Sam Restivo are the editors.) Mescal acquits himself well in his first big-budget commercial walloper of an assignment, confined though he is to a narrower range of seething resentments than Crowe’s in the first film. I left thinking about two things: the word “politics” as savored/spit out by Washington, and the innate paradox of how Scott, whose best work over the decades has been wonderful, delivers spectacle. The director and his lavishly talented design team built all the rough-hewn sets with actual tangible materials the massive budget allowed. They took care to find the right locations in Morocco and Malta. Yet when combined in post-production with scads of medium-grade digital effects work in crowd scenes and the like, never mind the sharks, the movie’s a somewhat frustrating amalgam. With an uneven script on top of it, the visual texture of “Gladiator II” grows increasingly less enveloping and atmospherically persuasive, not more. But I hung there, for some of the acting, for some of the callbacks, and for the many individual moments, or single shots, that could only have come from Ridley Scott. And in the end, yes, you too may be moderately entertained. Related Articles “Gladiator II” — 2.5 stars (out of 4) MPA rating: R (for strong bloody violence) Running time: 2:28 How to watch: Premieres in theaters Nov. 21. Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

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Jake Paul wants “to set the record straight,” when no straightening is required. If anyone would understand that we moved on from his “fight” against Mike Tyson, it should be Paul, who has made a fortune in the split-second entertainment world of social media. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get the latest sports news delivered right to your inbox six days a week.

NoneA nonprofit leader who supports at-risk New Orleans youth. A social worker who fosters animals. A counselor and recovery coach who volunteers at organizations that fight sexual assault and domestic violence. They are among the roughly 1,540 people whose sentences were commuted or who were pardoned by President Joe Biden on Thursday in what was the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history. But not everyone was pleased by Biden’s decisions. A Republican state senator said a commutation for a woman who stole $54 million from a small town in Illinois was “a slap in the face” to residents. Here are some of their stories: Fulton was pardoned after pleading guilty to participating in a payroll fraud scheme while serving as a New Orleans middle school teacher in the early 2000s. She was convicted of a felony and sentenced to three years of probation in 2008. Fulton, who has two children and works as an elementary school teacher, said that for years she had lived with “a sense of embarrassment and shame” about the felony conviction. Even though she completed a master’s degree in educational leadership in 2017, Fulton felt that her criminal record disqualified her from applying for principal positions she felt she could handle. “The conviction has served as a mental barrier for me, limiting my ability to live a full life,” Fulton said. Nearly a decade after she first applied for a presidential pardon, Fulton this week received a phone call informing her that it had been granted. “It was astonishing for me, I wasn’t expecting a call,” Fulton said, adding that the pardon will enable her to explore more career opportunities. A White House news release commended Fulton as “someone who goes above and beyond for her community.” For years, Fulton has helped lead a nonprofit supporting at-risk New Orleans youth with hot meals, clothing and shelter and mental health referrals. Doyle applied for a pardon six years ago. It had been so long that she had all but forgotten about it — until Wednesday. “I was in shock,” Doyle said of the call she received from a Justice Department pardon attorney. “And honored.” Doyle, who was once addicted to meth, had pleaded guilty to drug possession and check forging charges when she was 24. She served more than two years in state and federal prison. Released in 2006, Doyle resolved to stay clean. She started a family, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees and now works as a social worker with a behavioral health center. Doyle applied for a pardon in 2018 and heard nothing until 2020, when the FBI reached out — and the vetting began. “They talked to my boss, my boss’ boss, they talked to my mother’s boss, they called my doctors,” Doyle said. “Just pretty much anybody that had any type of relationship with me in the past 20 years they contacted.” After the vetting was over, she would have to wait some more: four years, it turned out. “I just want people to know that are in the throes of addiction, or families to know that when they have somebody in their family that is addicted, that there is hope,” Doyle said Thursday. “This has just brought so much joy to me and my family and is just the continuation of my recovery.” She has five children and three grandchildren, volunteers in her community, fosters animals and competes in roller derby. Crundwell was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison in 2013 for stealing about $54 million over two decades when she was in charge of finances for Dixon, Illinois. She was released to a halfway house program in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic before moving to home confinement. Biden’s commutation releases Crundwell from any restrictions. Paul Gaziano, a lawyer who represented Crundwell in federal court, declined to comment Thursday. Dixon Mayor Glen Hughes said he believes most of the town is probably stunned, and maybe even angry, that Biden would provide clemency to Crundwell. Republican state Sen. Andrew Chesney called Biden’s act “nothing short of a slap in the face to the people of Dixon.” Dixon, best known as the childhood home of President Ronald Reagan, sued auditors and a bank after Crundwell’s theft was revealed and recovered $40 million in settlements. Crundwell, who was a horse breeder, told a judge in 2020 that more than $15 million was repaid from the sale of her horses and other assets. “I am going to do everything possible to make up for my mistakes,” she told the judge in a handwritten letter that described various health problems. “I have taken responsibility for my actions since the first day.” Castroflay was pardoned after pleading guilty to nonviolent, drug-related offenses at age 21, the White House said. After completing his sentence, Castroflay continued his career in the U.S. Army and went on to work as a civilian for both the Army and the Air Force, receiving multiple awards. He took night classes to earn a bachelor’s degree while working full-time. Castroflay volunteers for several charitable organizations that support Gold Star families and wounded service members. He has been described as exceptionally hard-working, dedicated and trustworthy by those who know him. Faulkner was pardoned after pleading guilty to a nonviolent drug offense and serving her sentence, the White House said. Since then, Faulkner furthered her education and now works as a counselor and recovery coach with female trauma victims and people with disabilities. Faulkner also volunteers with organizations dedicated to preventing sexual assault and domestic violence, as well as with local charities. Colleagues attest to her inspirational character, her integrity and the remarkable impact she makes on the lives of those she helps. Terence Jackson of Seattle was pardoned after pleading guilty to a nonviolent drug offense he committed when he was 23. If Jackson had been sentenced under current law and sentencing practices, he probably would have received a shorter sentence, the White House said. In the years since his release, Jackson has worked in the legal industry and is pursuing a degree while he works full-time. Jackson has also volunteered, including as a barber to children in need. He is described by those who know him as dependable and caring and as someone who always tries to help others.‘Gladiator II’ review: Are you not moderately entertained?

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