Entertainment

Wednesday October 31, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday October 31, 2018

What this year’s topical Halloween costumes tell us about the darkest fears of modern life

In 2018, traditional Halloween costumes simply don’t cut it. Vampires and witches are so uninspired, so overdone. You want real horror? Try looking outside.

October 27, 2005

Perhaps this explains why Halloween costumes are taking a turn for the topical, and why the New Yorker’s Emily Nussbaum attended a party this weekend dressed in the scariest costume she could think of: the New York Times’ midterm election poll. Other sightings include the usual array of Donald Trumps, multiple Ruth Bader Ginsbergs and the literal death of democracy.

This is nothing particularly new. A New York Times article from 1998 lists faddish Halloween costumes like Monica Lewinsky, Woody Allen, and Lorena Bobbitt, while Lewes in Sussex has long been famous for burning effigies of characters, from the pope in 2005 to Angela Merkel in 2012. But in recent years this seems to have crossed over into the mainstream. Last year, at the height of #MeToo, there seemed to be a clutch of ever-present Halloween “handmaids” wherever you went. While this is the third consecutive year that “Brexit” has been a viable (and common) outfit choice of outfit.

What does this tell us about our fears? The bad news is that our fears are so front and centre that you can dress as Trump, or a nation’s voting intentions, or the concept of institutionalised sexism, and people will understand. This ubiquity only really happens in times of genuine crisis. The good news is that these costumes are an act of rebellion. By dressing as “our fears”, we are mocking them. And by mocking them, we are diminishing them. As Stephen Colbert says, you can’t laugh and be afraid at the same time.

October 31, 2008

But few things are as dull as a Halloween party full of ultra-partisan topical costumes. Within seconds of entering, you know exactly how all the conversations will go. You will spend your evening having your ear bent off about some half-remembered statistic from the news, while wishing you could slink off and get drunk with the attendee dressed as Sexy Super Mario. It is good to wear your stripes on your sleeve and all, but Halloween should be stupid. Let’s keep it that way. (Source: Guardian) 

 

Monday November 13, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Monday November 13, 2017

Who’s next? High anxiety in Hollywood amid sexual harassment allegations in the industry

The curtain has been pulled back, and, oh, is it messy.

November 9, 2017

Hollywood has always revelled in scandal. The rumour. The whisper. The unfortunate photograph. The apology and return to grace. But the recent sex abuse stories have turned into a parade of tawdry violations and twisted passions, the stuff of movies acted out in real lives against the unglamorous air of disgrace, endless transgressions that even Ray Donovan, Showtime’s half-shaven mercurial fixer, couldn’t clean up with all his hush money and muscle.

The rape and sexual abuse allegations surrounding Harvey Weinstein, Brett Ratner, James Toback and others have shattered the awards-season aplomb in a town that imagines itself bold and freewheeling but prefers the tempered and scripted. The entertainment industry has slipped into a multi-polar catharsis of emboldened women, nervous men, threatening lawyers, broken deals, spoiled careers and the uncertainty that comes when cracks run like lightning through facades.

May 25, 2011

“I think the industry is forever changed,” said Marcel Pariseau, a publicist whose clients include Scarlett Johansson and Olivia Munn, one of six women who accused Ratner of sexual misconduct in the Los Angeles Times last week. “Every morning we wake up and we don’t know what’s going to be next. You’re almost afraid to get on your gadget to see what the new story is.”

“No one is going to be going to a producer or director’s hotel suite anymore,” he added. “All meetings will be done with somebody else in the room for protection for both sides. It’s a defining moment. It’s vigilance.”

November 19, 2014

Instagram accounts are being scrubbed, Facebook pages edited, publicists consulted and memories jogged about what might have happened where and with whom on that blurry night years ago. The cocktail circuit is jittery; the Oscar buzz feels a bit listless. Talent agencies are dropping clients and scouring their own houses. Studios are pruning relationships, firing executives hours after an allegation is made public. (Source: Toronto Star) 

 

Thursday November 9, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 9, 2017

High anxiety in Hollywood amid sexual harassment allegations in the industry

February 25, 2017

The curtain has been pulled back, and, oh, is it messy.

Hollywood has always revelled in scandal. The rumour. The whisper. The unfortunate photograph. The apology and return to grace. But the recent sex abuse stories have turned into a parade of tawdry violations and twisted passions, the stuff of movies acted out in real lives against the unglamorous air of disgrace, endless transgressions that even Ray Donovan, Showtime’s half-shaven mercurial fixer, couldn’t clean up with all his hush money and muscle.

March 1, 2016

The rape and sexual abuse allegations surrounding Harvey Weinstein, Brett Ratner, James Toback and others have shattered the awards-season aplomb in a town that imagines itself bold and freewheeling but prefers the tempered and scripted. The entertainment industry has slipped into a multi-polar catharsis of emboldened women, nervous men, threatening lawyers, broken deals, spoiled careers and the uncertainty that comes when cracks run like lightning through facades.

March 5, 2014

“I think the industry is forever changed,” said Marcel Pariseau, a publicist whose clients include Scarlett Johansson and Olivia Munn, one of six women who accused Ratner of sexual misconduct in the Los Angeles Times last week. “Every morning we wake up and we don’t know what’s going to be next. You’re almost afraid to get on your gadget to see what the new story is.”

“No one is going to be going to a producer or director’s hotel suite anymore,” he added. “All meetings will be done with somebody else in the room for protection for both sides. It’s a defining moment. It’s vigilance.” (Source: Toronto Star) 

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The Novemburger

Illustration by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday November 3, 2017

Today’s illustration featured on the front of the Saturday Hamilton Spectator:

Is it a thick patty? Dill pickles? Something crunchy? A secret sauce?

Hamilton’s most delicious fundraiser is proof that a good burger takes many forms.

Novemburger, the annual fundraiser for the United Way, kicks off this week. Seventy-five restaurants around Hamilton and Burlington will offer unique and delicious entries throughout the month, with $1 per burger going to the United Way of Hamilton and Burlington.

Diners can vote for their favourites at novemburger.ca. Two winners will be announced, for most Novemburgers sold, and Novemburger of the Year.

In celebration of Novemburger, we asked three participating restaurants to share their secret to a good burger. (Continued: Hamilton Spectator)

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Wednesday May 17, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday May 17, 2017

Disney hack: Ransom demanded for stolen film

Disney CEO Bob Iger told ABC employees about the demand at a town hall meeting on Monday, The Hollywood Reporter said.

He did not name the film, but Deadline reports that it is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Mr Iger said Disney is refusing to pay, and that the studio is working with federal investigators.

He added that the hackers had demanded the ransom in bitcoin and that they would release the film online in a series of 20-minute chunks unless it was paid.

It is not the first film studio to be threatened with online leaks.

Last month, a group of hackers uploaded the fifth season of Orange is the New Black after Netflix refused to pay a ransom.

Dead Men Tell No Tales is the fifth instalment of the Pirates franchise and will see Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow return to the ocean alongside Geoffrey Rush and Orlando Bloom.

It is due to be released in cinemas in the US on 26 May.

Mark James, security specialist at IT security company ESET, said: “Anything that has a value will always be a potential victim of theft, either digital or physical. If someone has it and someone wants it then in theory there’s a market for it.” (Source: BBC)