Tag: Lady

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Business

‘Pals’ Reunion Is Censored in China, Slicing BTS and Woman Gaga

‘Friends’ Reunion Is Censored in China, Cutting BTS and Lady Gaga

In China, the Reunion episode of “Friends” was all about resentment.

The problem was not “friends” but the friends of “friends”.

Appearances by Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and K-pop group BTS were removed from various versions of the highly anticipated special when streamed on three Chinese video platforms on Thursday.

Each missing cameo involved a star or group who had been a previous target of Beijing’s anger, and fans suspected the show was in censorship gear.

Lady Gaga has been banned in China since she met with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, in 2016. Justin Bieber’s problems with China began in 2014 when he posted a photo of the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo honoring Japan’s war dead, including war criminals from World War II. And South Korean musical group BTS neglected to mention the sacrifice of Chinese troops last year when they remembered the pain of the Korean War – even though the troops fought on North Korea’s side.

One missing clip was a duet between Lady Gaga and Lisa Kudrow when they sang Phoebe’s jingle “Smelly Cat”. The Chinese broadcasts also lacked memories of BTS members watching the show when they were younger and an appearance by Mr. Bieber disguised as “Spudnik” as David Schwimmer’s character did in one episode.

The special, which premiered on HBO Max in the US on Thursday, brought the cast of the ’90s sitcom back together for memories and performances. It was a major television event in China where the show is loved, in part, by a millennial generation who grew up and watched it on DVD and used it often to learn English. The sitcom was so popular that it spawned fan-cafes similar to the show’s Central Perk coffee shop in major Chinese cities.

Some fan accounts on social media found that the length of each version of the special varied depending on the users of the streaming site. This is a likely indication that the online video hosting sites had cut the show itself to avoid potential grief with China’s vigilant internet regulator.

In business today

Updated

May 28, 2021, 9:09 a.m. ET

The incident marks the second reminder in a week of the power China wields over Hollywood stars and Beijing’s willingness to exclude celebrities from its massive market if they deviate from its political dogma. This week, John Cena, the professional wrestler and star of the latest film, Fast and Furious, apologized after referring to Taiwan as a country in an interview. China regards the self-governing island as part of its territory.

Given that most of the celebrities are cut off from business in China and its precious box office, they have tried to stay away from sensitive issues in China like Tibet, Taiwan, Xinjiang and protests in Hong Kong.

On Chinese social media, nostalgia for “friends” overwhelmed the discussion of censorship on Friday. Still, some grumbled.

“That’s crazy, if you put the show in China, don’t cut the scene. If you need to cut it, then don’t insert it. What’s the point of eating this castrated content? “Wrote a fan.

Others liked to take a break from celebrities who they believed offended China.

“It’s good to cut it. All the cut parts are made by animators who offended China. Don’t let rat droppings spoil the whole pot of congee, ”one wrote.

“It goes without saying that these entertainers who have insulted China and support Hong Kong, Taiwan and Tibet independence, cut their parts,” added another.

Lin Qiqing contributed to the research.

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Entertainment

Adam Driver, Woman Gaga, and Jared Leto on Home of Gucci Set

Adam Driver, Lady Gaga, and Jared Leto on House of Gucci Set

Adam Driver and Lady Gaga are a force to be reckoned with. Driver, a scorpion; Gaga, a ram. Some may call them an explosive match, which seems fitting given their new project: Gucci’s house. The co-stars lead Ridley Scott’s upcoming murder drama about the murder of Guccio Gucci’s grandson Maurizio, played by Driver. Gaga first glimpsed the film on Instagram on March 9, where she and Driver posed for a snap-in character titled “Signore e Signora Gucci”.

Phew, there is a lot to unzip in these set pictures. First, there’s a driver with glasses who wears the shit out of a chunky Chris Evans-style sweater Knife out. Then Gaga gives her best ally Maine in Italy, complete with brunette hair and gold chains that would make Gen Z shake. Filming resumed March 10th in Milan, where Gaga seemed to be doing something shady while Driver was just looking after his business in the same market. You know Gaga’s character does business with that feathered hair and fur coat. On March 11th, the two saw some intimate moments in character while Gaga and Driver enjoyed a lovely Italian pastry. Then, on March 15th, Jared Leto entered the chat and looked completely unrecognizable while wearing a bald head, prosthetic legs and a purple suit for his role as Paolo Gucci. Two days later, Gaga and Driver were seen filming by the pool in Como, Italy.

Their actions and outfits could be a nod to the tense plot in which Gaga will take on the role of Patrizia Reggiani, Maurizio’s ex-wife. Patrizia was convicted of plotting Maurizio’s murder in 1995 after he left her for another woman. Known as the “Black Widow” of Italy, she served 18 years before being released from prison in 2016. There are still plenty of unknowns as the real story hits the big screen, but we expect a lot of will to unfold before the expected November 24th release date.

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World News

Chirlane McCray, N.Y.C.’s first woman, will get a vaccine shot and says ‘there actually is nothing to be afraid of.’

Chirlane McCray, N.Y.C.’s first lady, gets a vaccine shot and says ‘there really is nothing to be afraid of.’

New York first lady Chirlane McCray was given a Covid-19 vaccine at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn Tuesday afternoon as New York health officials attempt to eradicate severe racial inequality in the introduction of the vaccine.

Ms. McCray, who is 66 years old, meets the state’s current age requirements that allow New Yorkers over 65 to receive the vaccine. Her husband, Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is 59 years old, does not.

So far, residents of Black and Latino have received far fewer doses of vaccine than residents of White, although color communities are hardest hit by the virus. The city’s demographics are incomplete, but the latest data available shows that of the nearly 375,000 city residents who received a vaccine dose and whose race was recorded, about 46 percent were white, 16 percent Latin American, 16 percent Asian, and 12 percent black.

Latino and Black residents were particularly underrepresented: the city’s population is 29 percent Latinos and 24 percent black.

The city health department has been working to encourage New Yorkers Black and Latino to get vaccinated in hopes of addressing vaccine hesitation, given the history of unethical medical research in the US. But Mr de Blasio said last week that he and his wife, who is black, would not receive the vaccine until they met state approval criteria, citing a desire to reassure New Yorkers that the process was fair and equitable .

“People need to see that people they know, trust and respect are getting the vaccine,” de Blasio said at a press conference. “You also need to know that priorities are respected and those who need them most get them first.”

After Ms. McCray received her shot, the Eligible New Yorker encouraged her to sign up for vaccine appointments – although access to those appointments, which are listed on dozen of different websites, was one of the barriers to the fair distribution of the vaccine.

“There’s really nothing to worry about,” Ms. McCray said of the vaccination. “We want to do this for our families, we want to do it for our loved ones, and of course we want to do it for our city.”

As of Tuesday, New York City had given more than a million doses of the vaccine. Mr de Blasio had hoped to give so many doses in January alone, but blamed a lack of supply for the slower pace.

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Entertainment

Barbara Shelley, Main Girl of Horror Movies, Dies at 88

Barbara Shelley, Leading Lady of Horror Films, Dies at 88

This obituary is part of a series about people who died from the coronavirus pandemic. Read about others here.

Sometimes Barbara Shelley was the victim. At the end of the film “Blood of the Vampire” (1958), the Victorian character she played was – her brocade top was really torn – in chains in the basement laboratory of a mad scientist.

She was at the mercy of Christopher Lee in “Dracula: Prince of Darkness” (1966), despite having fangs of her own before the end. (In fact, she accidentally swallowed one of them while filming her death scene, which she considered to be one of her best moments.)

Sometimes she was an innocent bystander. In “The Village of the Damned” (1960) she was impregnated by mysterious extraterrestrial rays and had a son – a beautiful, emotionless blond child whose bright eyes could kill.

Sometimes she was the monster, although in “Cat Girl” (1957) it wasn’t her fault that a centuries-old family curse turned her into a man-eating leopard.

Ms. Shelley, the elegant queen of the camp in British horror films for a decade, died in London on January 4th. She was 88 years old.

Her agent, Thomas Bowington, said in a statement that she spent two weeks in December in a hospital where she contracted Covid-19. It was treated successfully, but after she went home she died of what he called “underlying problems”.

Barbara Teresa Kowin was born on February 13, 1932 in Harrow, England, part of the greater London area. After appearing in a high school production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Gondoliers,” she decided to become an actress and began modeling to overcome her shyness.

Her film debut was part of “Man in Hiding” (1953), a crime drama. She enjoyed a vacation in Italy in 1955 so much that she stayed for two years and made films there. When Italians struggled to pronounce Kowin, she renamed herself Shelley.

When she was doing “Cat Girl” at home in England, she called as the lead actress of horror. Most of her best-known pictures were for Hammer Films, the London studio responsible for horror classics like “The Mummy” and “The Curse of Frankenstein”.

But often there weren’t any monsters on the screen. She played nearly a hundred other roles in films and on television. She was Mrs. Gardiner, the wise aunt of the Bennet sisters, in a 1980 miniseries of “Pride and Prejudice”. She appeared in “Doctor Who”, “The Saint”, “The Avengers” and “Eastenders”.

She has made guest appearances on mid-century American series including “Route 66” and “Bachelor Father”. In the 1970s she had a stage career as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her last film role was in “Uncle Silas” (1989), a miniseries starring Peter O’Toole.

But the horror films – her last was “Quatermass and the Pit” (1967), over a five million year old artifact – were her legacy.

“They’ve built a fan base for me and I’m very moved that people come and ask for my autograph,” Ms. Shelley told Express magazine in 2009. “Nobody remembers all the other things I’ve done.”