jff super ace ultimate
As “ ” gets ready to take theaters by storm this weekend, many online are pointing to the Hollywood adaptation of the hit broadway musical as having an added political significance just 18 days after Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris in the Presidential election. While he was a guest on an upcoming episode of IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, “Wicked” director acknowledged the politics of the story of the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum) and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West ( ), joking, “A charismatic leader who gaslights a community that this woman is wicked just because she’s standing up for a marginalized group of people in the society, how could that be [political]?” Chu embraces that his movie will take on a new layer of meaning for many audience members after the re-election of Trump, but noted that impact is in part because politics has been baked into “Wicked” since its inception. Gregory Maguire’s 1995 book “Wicked” is a meditation on resisting fascist movements, a not-so-subtle theme that carried into its musical adaptation by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman. A major underlying storyline of “Wicked” is how leaders, who claim to have the people’s best interest at heart, attack the educated — represented by professor Dr. Dillamond, a talking goat voiced by Peter Dinklage — as they try to rewrite the history of animals and humans co-existence in an effort to strip the animals of their rights, and demonize them as the source of the people’s problems. Through this lens, Chu acknowledged his film is prophetic, but only because the underlying IP is prophetic. Chu argued the original “ ” movie — released on the heels of the 1930s Dust Bowl (the drought-stricken storms of the Depression), during the rise of fascism, and on the eve of World War II — has always spoken to America in a time of transition. He personally experienced it at two very different political moments that “Wicked” entered his life. “When I saw it in 2002, I was in college, so I was still growing up,” said Chu while on the podcast. “I was seeing the world for the first time a year after 9/11, we’re going into war, America’s in transition, and everything is scary all around. And when in scary situations, people go towards strongmen who just take the reins.” Chu first saw the original staged musical in the Bay Area, where he grew up, before it hit Broadway to become a $6 billion global sensation. It would come back around to him 18 years later, now a successful Hollywood director being approached about helming its big screen adaptation. “I got this movie when we were in [COVID] lockdown,” said Chu. “So at that moment, those words ‘Defying Gravity,’ [Elphaba’s gravity-defying musical number after learning the truth about the Wizard], when she says, ‘Something has changed within me, something’s not the same, I’m through with playing by the rules of someone else’s game,’ to me, I felt like the whole world feels like this.” Chu does see “Wicked” through the eyes of being the son of immigrants. Chu’s mother was born in Taiwan, his father in Sichuan, China. He brings this perspective to all of his projects, and it’s a big reason Lin-Manuel Miranda selected the “ ” director to adapt “ ,” a musical about Miranda’s Dominican and Puerto Rican immigrant neighborhood of Washington Heights. “The American fairy tale, they always say it’s put together with American parts: Resilience, self-reliance, and optimism, and I love that as the starting point [for ‘Wicked’],” said Chu, who personally draws inspiration from Elphaba’s “Defying Gravity” musical and metaphysical response to learning the truth about the Wizard at the end of the first movie, but part of what he finds moving about it is the underlying hard question of that moment. “The storyteller has been unveiled and now the story we’re sitting in, we’re wondering, ‘Was this ever true?’ Is the yellow brick road that my parents talked to us plenty times about in the ‘Wizard of Oz,’ when I was growing up as immigrants, was that a real thing? Or maybe it was never made for us?” For Chu, Elphaba’s discovery that there is no wizard who is going to fix all our problems naturally leads to an important realization: “We’ll have to fix them ourselves.” Chu went on to explain, “It’s not even about the truth... It’s when you find out the truth, when you wake up, what are you going to do? What’s your decision? Are you an Elphaba, or are you a Glinda (Ariana Grande)?” That that’s where the first of two “Wicked” movies leaves off will feel eerily prescient for many in the audience, who Chu knows will feel as if we are politically at the same crossroads as the two best friends just days after the election. “I’ve thought a lot about this, the timeless thing about it, that never ends, is the resilience of human beings and what we can do, and what we can get through. Because when the path doesn’t seem like ours, we always rise above and sometimes we even find that we could fly,” said Chu. “That is what we need now more than ever. I didn’t know that that’s what was happening, but that is kind of the process and tradition of freedom.” In acknowledging the film will play differently for many after the election — and likely knowing the film will need both red and blue state audiences to embrace its universal messages to — Chu said he thinks Glinda and Elphaba, the two roommates who hate each other before forming a sisterly bond, only to be forced apart by the politics of Oz — could serve as a model. “Technology has brought us all into the same dorm room,” Chu said, drawing an analogy. “We’re suddenly all roommates, and we are not alike, and that person’s messy, and that person smells, and that person does this, and ‘holy shit, we have to get along.’ And now it’s like college, the only way to actually find peace between us is maybe yell at each other, maybe say the things that we need to say, and actually forgive each other and give some grace, because the only way out is through, and so this has so many ties to where we’re at right now. Sign up for . For the latest news, follow us on , , and .
Union Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation U Min Naung received a delegation led by Mr Shi Zhongiun, Secretary-General of the ASEAN-China Centre, at the parlour of the Union Minister’s Office yesterday afternoon. The meeting discussed ASEAN-China cooperation in the food and agriculture sector, narrowing the development gap among ASEAN member countries, exporting agricultural products from Myanmar to the People’s Republic of China, investing in small agricultural machinery manufacturing factories in Myanmar, human resource development and technology exchange in agriculture and livestock, use of digital agricultural technology and infrastructure development, prevention and control of cross-border animal diseases and providing technical and financial support, establishing a hybrid crop research centre, establishing an agricultural product quality control centre, issuing pest-free certificates (e-phyto) in Myanmar, and implementing a laboratory upgrading project. — MNA/TKO
Government aims to shape an uncorrupted society
Sean Dyche challenges Everton summer signing to show more Premier League consistencyAre you tracking your health with a device? Here’s what could happen with the data
Article content Christmas is looking sparse and uncertain for more than 60 residents — including about 25 children — displaced by the city’s shutdown of the Edmonton apartment building where a security guard was killed Dec. 6. Boards were nailed over windows Monday as the City of Edmonton declared the 36-unit building at 10603 107 Ave. unsafe for human habitation. As recently as Sunday night, there was an overdose in the building — and residents say another security guard had been attacked with bear spray just days before security guard Harshandeep Singh, 20, was shot to death in a stairwell. Evan Rain and Judith Saulteaux, both 30, have been charged with first-degree murder and possessing a prohibited weapon in relation to Singh’s death. ‘Serious safety concerns’ David Jones, manager of the City of Edmonton community standards branch, said the difficult decision to displace residents two days before Christmas was made in consultation with the Residential Inspection Safety Compliance Team (RISC), the Edmonton Police Service, Edmonton Fire Rescue Services, Alberta Health Services, and Occupational Health and Safety. “The building has been the site of numerous violations, and we have been provided with substantial evidence of non-compliance with business licensing conditions that were put in place to protect people living in and visiting the building,” said Jones in a Monday afternoon statement. “After a thorough assessment by our city’s Residential Inspection Safety Compliance team ... we determined that immediate action was needed to protect building residents. “The safety and well-being of residents, neighbors and the community is our top concern. Unfortunately, safety concerns have escalated with two separate shooting incidents, one resulting in a fatality, and conditions in the building have deteriorated in the past month,” he said. “This decision was not taken lightly, but ultimately this is not a safe space for the residents, especially children and their families. The building poses an imminent risk to residents, those visiting the building and the public in the immediate area.” He said the city, in partnership with the Government of Alberta and the Canadian Red Cross, is providing immediate temporary housing and transportation for all evacuated residents. The City of Edmonton is the entity responsible to carry out the emergency order under Section 551 of the Municipal Government Act to immediately close the property, relocate the residents and board up the building. “Specific issues impacting the safety and well-being of residents include significant safety and security concerns, building management, neglect of those concerns, inadequate maintenance and an active pest infestation, to name a few,” said Jones. “The safety and security issues were tragically emphasized on December 6, when a security guard working at the building was shot and killed on site. Since then, the city has received concerning information, leading us to conclude that the safety and security of the building have not improved, and that there remains a serious risk of harm to people living in or visiting the building. “Until the safety, security and public health issues are addressed, the property poses an imminent and unacceptable safety risk.” Jones added that the city is doing everything it can to move resident families and individuals into safe, temporary housing, and is working with partners to secure long-term housing for them. “Any time a decision is made to evacuate people from their homes, the city applies great thought and consideration to the circumstances,” Jones said. The apartment building will remain closed until safety concerns are resolved and the property owner meets the business licence conditions for health, safety, and security. Businesses on the first floor in the same building are not impacted by the residential closure, Jones said. The city has had an open investigation on the property. “Significant efforts have been made to incentivize and compel building management to address concerns and incremental progress was being made. However, over the last five years and through 60 inspections, 25 citations have been issued in relation to the property and numerous serious issues remain unresolved,” said a Monday afternoon news release issued by the City of Edmonton. “The issues identified include significant safety and security concerns, neglect of maintenance, active pest infestations and other conditions that severely compromise the safety and well-being of residents,” the release said. ‘Always on guard’ Troubles beset the residents of the building before and after the fatal shooting of 20-year-old security guard Harshandeep Singh. Just days before the NorQuest College business major was slain in the stairwell, another security guard had been blasted with bear spray. “Three days before, another security guard got bear maced by somebody upstairs,” said Tammi Comeau, a building resident who called 911 after she and her son heard the Dec. 6 gunshots that led to Singh’s death. Now temporarily housed in a double-queen hotel room along Gateway Boulevard in south Edmonton, the Comeaus including their dog Fancy, await news from Homeward Trust of another rental property. Comeau said she felt huge relief leaving the building at the corner of 107 Avenue and 106 Street. “I was always on guard there,” she said. A rampant cockroach infestation wasn’t even the worst problem plaguing the residents. After the family moved into the building on their arrival from New Brunswick, it became clear their new home had issues. Comeau said she has administered Naloxone to revive one of her neighbours while crack and meth in the building were readily available and overdoses, including one Sunday night, were common. She said her family is also dealing with fixing their work truck after its windshield was smashed out but she feels for other families from the building who not only are displaced but have no Christmas tree or presents to put under it for their children. jcarmichael@postmedia.comTabuya slams private video leakFour Manitoba figure skaters, now training out of province, are back home this week to compete at Skate Canada Challenge, the qualifying event for the 2025 national championships in Laval, Que. in mid-January. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * Four Manitoba figure skaters, now training out of province, are back home this week to compete at Skate Canada Challenge, the qualifying event for the 2025 national championships in Laval, Que. in mid-January. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Four Manitoba figure skaters, now training out of province, are back home this week to compete at Skate Canada Challenge, the qualifying event for the 2025 national championships in Laval, Que. in mid-January. Reigning Canadian junior pairs champions Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov and singles skaters David Howes and Breken Brezden are among 150 athletes from across Canada who will take to competition ice at Seven Oaks Arena. Kemp, 16, and Elizarov, who turns 21 next week, are once again in comeback mode after being sidelined from competition for several months while she recovered from an unspecified injury. It is the third time in as many seasons the Winnipeggers’ resilience has been tested. Danielle Earl / Skate Canada Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov are in comeback mode as they prepare for the Skate Canada Challenge. In 2022, Kemp’s ankle sprain forced them to forfeit their ticket to the prestigious Junior Grand Prix Final. In spring 2023, Elizarov’s surgery for a collapsed lung delayed their off-season training, but the determined duo rebounded to pocket silver at the Final last December and then gold at the 2024 Canadians. The pair’s latest misfortune meant withdrawal from both Grand Prix assignments in Europe this fall as they methodically worked their way back into fighting form. “Their resiliency is their strength, that’s what makes them elite athletes,” said Kevin Dawe, who now coaches the pair in Toronto where all three relocated in the summer of 2023. “That’s something you can’t train. Every time there’s a setback, they’re determined to come back stronger and better. That’s innate to them. It’s how they’ve grown up, how their parents raised them.” The junior pairs kick off the Challenge competition Thursday afternoon. The field has been reduced to three couples after two top contenders qualified for next week’s Grand Prix Final in France and another is out with injury. Kemp and Elizarov’s short program is set to music from the HBO series . It was choreographed by Canada’s 2008 world men’s champion Jeff Buttle, now part of their coaching team along with his former coach Lee Barkell. The pair’s routine has a big fan in André Bourgeois, Skate Canada’s NextGen director, whose job it is to guide the country’s up-and-comers. “It’s a program that will stand out. It’s so different, so cool how it’s done,” Bourgeois said last month in Halifax. Kemp and Elizarov’s goal this week is to re-familiarize themselves with the feeling of competing and garner feedback from the judging panel in the build-up to Canadians and, potentially, the world junior championships in Hungary in February. (Kemp and Elizarov have already competed twice at worlds, finishing sixth both times.) “They really love competing. They like to perform and they’re excited to perform back in their home town,” Dawe said, as he headed to a training session last Friday. “We’re not far off from where we were before we had the break. At Challenge, we’re not doing all of our hardest content even though we’re (training) it all. We’re being smart and making sure we don’t have any more interruptions to the season.” Fellow Winnipegger Howes, 17, who shifted his training to Richmond, B.C. last year, is among the 21 junior men who open their campaign on Friday. He earned the bronze medal a year ago at Seven Oaks, and took fourth place on the national stage. Earlier this season, Canada’s 2023 novice titleholder had been riding a roller-coaster with inconsistent competitive performances. Skating as a guest at the B.C. sectional championship a few weeks ago, however, Howes delivered two solid programs and tallied the highest score. “Both programs this season are more demanding — both technically and choreographically — in skating skills and interpretation,” explained Howes’ coach Keegan Murphy. “The ask is pretty amazing, so it takes many months for that to get ironed out in a competition. The goal is to put all those pieces together — by November, December, January — to peak at Canadians.” Brezden, 18, a Skate Dauphin product now based in Hamilton, Ont., is the only Manitoban competing at the senior level. She and 25 other women get their start Saturday and close the show with their finale on Sunday. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Brezden, whose training and competition readiness were stymied by hip and ankle injuries last season, enjoyed a successful domestic competition run this summer. After clinching two gold medals, she earned her first Team Canada international competition assignment. Despite a messy short program in Nice, France, in October, Brezden shone in the finale, earning fifth-best scores on the day and 10th place overall. “She’s improving, gaining her confidence. Most important for her is to stay healthy and continue the evolution, the track she’s on,” Bourgeois noted. “If she does that, there are opportunities down the road for further international competition. Her components (skating skills, presentation) are phenomenal. She’s a beautiful skater. She has presence on the ice. She has a lot going for her.” Advertisement Advertisement
