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Quentin Tarantino scraps plans for his final film – reports – The Guardian

Quentin Tarantino has reportedly abandoned his plans for The Movie Critic, the film that was to be his 10th and final project.

Deadline reported on Thursday that an anonymous source close to Tarantino had confirmed the news, reporting that Tarantino had “simply changed his mind” about making The Movie Critic and would be “going back to the drawing board to figure out what that final movie will be”.

The 61-year-old director has long said he would only make 10 films before retiring. He has said that he considers Kill Bill to be one film, although it was split into two parts, and that he does not count his first project, an amateur film called My Best Friend’s Birthday that was never released, towards the total.

The Movie Critic, which was set to be his 10th film and would star Brad Pitt, was inspired by Tarantino’s job as a teenager: loading porn magazines into a vending machine.

“All the other stuff was too skanky to read, but then there was this porno rag that had a really interesting movie page,” Tarantino told Deadline in 2023. He said the film “is based on a guy who really lived but was never really famous, and he used to write movie reviews for a porno rag … He was very rude, you know. He cursed. He used racial slurs. But his shit was really funny. He was as rude as hell.”

“He wrote about mainstream movies and he was the second-string critic,” Tarantino later said, of his unnamed inspiration. “I think he was a very good critic. He was cynical as hell. His reviews were a cross between early Howard Stern and what Travis Bickle might be if he were a film critic.”

The Movie Critic was to be set in California in 1977 and the critic would be working for a fictional publication called The Popstar Pages, Tarantino had confirmed. He also said he was looking for a lead “in the 35-year-old ball park” and “a new leading man for me”.

It had been rumoured that Pitt would play his Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood character Cliff Booth, who was a big movie fan in Tarantino’s novelisation of the film.

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Production on the film was previously delayed when Tarantino decided to rewrite the script.

Tarantino has previously returned to projects after shelving them: in 2014 he temporarily cancelled his plans to make The Hateful Eight when a rough draft of the film’s script leaked online after he shared it with a small group of actors. After calling this a “betrayal” and saying “I have no desire to make it”, The Hateful Eight was eventually made and released in 2015.

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Harvey Weinstein faces New York retrial after 2020 rape conviction overturned – The Guardian

Harvey Weinstein will be retried in New York, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said on Wednesday, a week after the state’s highest court threw out his 2020 rape conviction.

Weinstein arrived at a Manhattan courthouse in the afternoon, his first appearance since the decision by the appeals court last week.

Wearing a navy blue suit, he was seated in a wheelchair pushed by a court officer as he entered the preliminary hearing in Manhattan that is expected to include discussion of evidence, scheduling and other matters, according to Weinstein’s attorney, Arthur Aidala.

The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, said via his office staff that his team was determined to retry the case against the disgraced movie mogul.

Legal experts say that may be a long road and come down to whether the women he is accused of assaulting are willing to testify again. One of the women, Mimi Haley, said on Friday she was still considering whether she would testify at any retrial.

Aidala said Weinstein was attending the hearing despite the 72-year-old having been hospitalized since shortly after his return to the city jail system on Friday from an upstate prison. He has said Weinstein, who has cardiac issues and diabetes, was undergoing unspecified tests because of his health issues.

Prosecutors said one of the accusers, Jessica Mann, was in court on Wednesday and asked the judge for an early fall date for retrial.

Aidala said on Saturday that he plans to tell the judge that he believes a trial could occur any time after Labor Day in September.

The once-powerful studio boss was also convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape and is still sentenced to another 16 years in prison in California.

In the New York case that is now overturned, he was convicted of rape in the third degree for an attack on an aspiring actor in 2013, and of forcing himself on Haley, a former Project Runway production assistant, in 2006. Weinstein had pleaded not guilty and maintained any sexual activity was consensual.

The Associated Press does not generally identify people alleging sexual assault unless they consent to be named, as Haley and Mann have.

On Thursday, the New York court of appeals vacated his conviction in a 4-3 decision, erasing his 23-year prison sentence, after concluding a trial judge permitted jurors to see and hear too much evidence not directly related to what he was charged with.

The ruling shocked and disappointed women who celebrated historic gains during the era of #MeToo, a movement that ushered in a wave of sexual misconduct claims in Hollywood and beyond. But the founder of #MeToo, Tarana Burke, has called the women who spoke out against Harvey Weinstein “heroes” and said such campaigns for justice and equality will continue to bring about progress in society.

Other advocates said the movement “will persist”.

  • The Associated Press contributed reporting

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Hawaii house by Walker Warner Architects designed to be “elegant” – Dezeen

American studio Walker Warner Architects has completed Hale Kiawe, a family retreat with simple, gabled forms are set within an undulating landscape dotted with chunky lava rocks.

Located along the Kona Coast on the island of Hawaii, the house was designed for a family who wanted a functional and beautiful retreat that was minimalist in spirit.

Hale Kiawe home in HawaiiHale Kiawe home in Hawaii
Hale Kiawe is surrounded by chunky lava rocks

“The homeowners, who come from a cross-cultural Indian background, believe that minimalism is about possessing only what is truly essential, and thus aimed to under-design their space,” said San Francisco’s Walker Warner.

The team was influenced by a traditional Hindu system of architecture, called Vastu Shastra – particularly its emphasis on “harmonious living”.

Gabled house by Walker Warner ArchitectsGabled house by Walker Warner Architects
Walker Warner Architects designed the retreat with simple, gabled forms

For a 4.7 (1.9-hectare) site with tall grasses, kiawe trees – also known as the American carob – and lava rocks, the team conceived a main dwelling and two guesthouses, along with a detached garage and swimming pool.

The project, called Hale Kiawe, is a phrased combining the name of the trees and the Hawaiian word for house.

Wood siding-clad buildingWood siding-clad building
The buildings are clad in wood siding

Informed by the agrarian buildings once found in the area, the buildings are clad in wood siding and are topped with corrugated metal roofs.

“Simple lines and geometries create a striking contrast with the undulating landscape and stunning coastline in the distance,” the team said.

“The home is elegant but spare, exhibiting a spiritual existence that adapts to the environment with ease and comfort.”

Winding pathwayWinding pathway
Winding pathways connect the structures

Totalling 5,600 square feet (520 square metres), the buildings are set around outdoor spaces and are connected by pathways.

The main entrance is hidden from the road and faces east to align with Indian cultural practices. A walkway and water feature lead to the entrance within an enclosed porch, or lanai.

Water featureWater feature
A walkway and water feature lead to the entrance within an enclosed porch

“This tranquil, open-air pavilion serves as the heart of the home and transitions you from the busyness of the outside world to the calm and quiet within,” the studio said.

The main dwelling contains a primary bedroom suite and an open-concept kitchen, dining area and living room. Each guest dwelling contains two-bedroom suites.

Open-concept kitchenOpen-concept kitchen
An open-concept kitchen features in the main dwelling

“Rooms are open and large in scale, offering depth of tranquillity and renewal while still maintaining a sense of minimalism and restraint,” the team said.

The team incorporated large windows and full-height glass doors to capitalise on the views and pleasant climate. The house can be opened up to the outdoors for most of the year.

Oak-floored bathroomOak-floored bathroom
Interior finishes include oak flooring

Interior finishes include oak millwork, granite countertops, and flooring made of oak and stone.

Neutral colours mimic those found in the natural environment and help keep the focus on the landscape. The homeowner’s love for Indian textiles and tapestries also informed the colour palette.

Bathroom with custom decorBathroom with custom decor
Rooms are fitted with custom decor

Rooms are fitted with custom decor from places such as Bali, Mexico and India. Kiawe wood was used for certain pieces, such as side tables and a desk in the main bedroom.

The interior was designed by local firm Philpotts Interiors.

Outside the home, landscape interventions were intended to strengthen the connection between architecture and nature.

“The plantings are thoughtfully integrated into the site, weaving together the built environment and the natural surroundings, and restoring a sense of unity between the two,” the team said.

Slim swimming poolSlim swimming pool
A slim swimming pool has views of the landscape

Established in 1989, Walker Warner Architects has an extensive portfolio of buildings focused on the outdoors.

Others include a barn-inspired guesthouse in northern California that is wrapped in reclaimed wood and a wood- and zinc-clad house in Santa Monica that hugs a spacious courtyard.

In Hawaii, the firm designed a residence called Hale Nukumoi, which features pigmented concrete, dark timber and deep roof overhangs.

The photography is by Matthew Millman.


Project credits:

Architect: Walker Warner
Walker Warner team: Greg Warner (principal), Sharon Okada (senior project manager), Matthew Marsten (job captain), Vivi Lowery (designer)
Interior design: Philpotts Interiors
Philpotts team: Marion Philpotts-Miller (principal)
Construction: Metzler Contracting Co
Landscape: David Y Tamura Associates
Lighting: Eric Johnson Associates, Inc
Structural: GFDS Engineers
Civil: Aina Engineers, Inc
Mechanical: Mark Morrison Mechanical Engineering
Plumbing: Mark Morrison Mechanical Engineering
Electrical: Morikawa & Associates
Geotechnical: Geolabs, Inc
Millwork: Wick Rice Cabinetry

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United Methodist Church lifts 40-year ban on LGBTQ clergy – CNN



CNN
 — 

The United Methodist Church overturned its 40-year ban on gay clergy Wednesday, marking a historic shift in the church’s stance on homosexuality.

The church has long been divided into factions over LGBTQ inclusion and even weighed splitting into two separate churches over the issue, CNN previously reported.

In 1984, the church banned “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from becoming members of the clergy, and later added performing or celebrating same-sex unions to “a list of chargeable offenses that could result in a church trial,” according to a timeline of the church’s history with the LGBTQ community.

The Methodist community spent the ensuing decades debating, fighting and praying over their stance on gay clergy and LGBTQ members. But Wednesday’s vote by the church’s top legislative body signaled a historic shift toward acceptance and inclusion.

In a 692-51 vote, church leaders passed several rules without debate, including overturning both its ban on gay clergy and the penalties for holding same-sex marriages, according to the United Methodist News service.

After the vote, Hope Morgan Ward, a retired bishop in the United Methodist Church, prayed the church would be used as “peacemakers and servants” and be “welcoming of all people into the embrace of God.”

According to the Methodist news service, members cheered, cried and hugged after the vote.

“We’ve been going on like this since the ’70s and, finally, in just a brief few minutes with no debate, it was gone. And now we can get on about the business of the church,” Marilyn Murphy, an observer from the church’s South Carolina conference, told the news service.

LGBTQ advocates within the church hailed the decision.

Matt Patrick, co-pastor at the University United Methodist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, told CNN he became emotional after the church announced the decision.

“I did tear up this morning at the announcement of the vote because it was just a huge relief to see justice had been done after so many years,” he said. “There’s just been a lot of pain in order to get us to this place.”

Though the prohibition on gay clergy has been removed from the church bylaws, Patrick said the work will continue to ensure the Methodist church is as an inclusive place for everyone.

“Where we go from here, God only knows,” he said.

More changes are expected as the legislative conference continues in Charlotte, North Carolina.

This is a developing story. Please check back for the latest updates.

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