Steve Pond's Blog, page 34
September 1, 2025
A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond at the 2025 Venice Film Festival | Photos
TheWrap hosted filmmakers, Hollywood players and fellow journalists on Sunday at the Venice Film Festival to toast cinematic excellence and the beginning of a new awards season with Steve Pond, TheWrap’s executive editor of awards.
The event toasted what’s sure to be a lively season as plenty of prestige films were unveiled in late August and early September at the fall film festivals — Venice chief among them.
As Pond put it in his latest piece running down the first half of Venice and Telluride, “Some of the high-profile films that have premiered so far still have some work to do before they can be considered top awards players, but others came out of the gate with a bang, and plenty may be on the fence as Best Picture hopefuls but are definitely in the mix for other categories.”
Peruse photos from TheWrap’s event below.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Lawrence Atkinson (DDA Global, CEO) and Joe Utichi (Journalist) attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Paola Freddi (Film Editor) and Lara dall’Antonia attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)R.J. Cutler (Filmmaker) and Jane Cha Cutler (Producer) attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Lawrence Atkinson (DDA Global, CEO), Jo Addy (SOHO House, Global Film Director), and Joe Utichi (Journalist) attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)General atmosphere of A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Steve Pond (TheWrap’s Executive Editor, Awards) and Keith Simanton (Senior Film Editor, IMDb) attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Jon Rushton (Critical PR Director), Jason Solomons (Producer), Sarah Norget (Film Producer), and Keith Simanton (Senior Film Editor, IMDb) attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)General Atmosphere at A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Lawrence Atkinson, Jo Addy (SOHO House, Global Film Director), Joe Utichi (Journalist) and Tiffany Kizito (Senior Manager, Talent Relations and Awards EMEA, Netflix) attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Lawrence Atkinson (DDA Global, CEO), Jo Addy (SOHO House, Global Film Director), Joe Utichi (Journalist), Tiffany Kizito (Senior Manager, Talent Relations and Awards, Netflix), Liz Diaz (Netflix, Talent Relations & Awards Manager), Nina Rothe attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Filmmaker Klaudia Reynicke, Steve Pond, and Lara dall’Antonia attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Sebastien Cauchon (MUBI Senior Advisor) and guest attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Keith Simanton (Senior Film Editor, IMDb) and Jason Solomons attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Jon Rushton and Steven Raphael attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Lisa Ogdie, Nina Rothe, and Liz Diaz attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Lara dall’Antonia and Filmmaker Klaudia Reynicke attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Anna Bogutskaya (SXSW London) attends A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Steve Pond and Jane Crowther (EIC Hollywood Authentic) attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Matthew Sanders (SVP, Film Communications & Development at Fremantle) and Emily Salkin (DDA Global, director) attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Eric Lagesse (Pyramide Distribution, CEO) and Sebastien Cauchon attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Joe Utichi (Journalist) and Tiffany Kizito (Senior Manager, Talent Relations and Awards EMEA, Netflix) attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)Guests attend A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
(Photo by Eric Catarina for TheWrap)General atmosphere at A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond.
The post A Toast to Awards Season, Hosted by TheWrap’s Steve Pond at the 2025 Venice Film Festival | Photos appeared first on TheWrap.
Patrick Bet-David Puts $20K on the Table for Self-Declared ‘Anti-Capitalist’ to Move to Communist Country | Video
During a heated debate on Sunday’s episode of Jubilee’s “1 Capitalist vs 20 Anti-Capitalists,” YouTuber and conservative-leaning businessman Patrick Bet-David offered one self-proclaimed “anti-capitalist” a free, first-class, one-way ticket to a communist country of her choosing.
“If I were to give you your $2,350, which is the cost to renunciate your citizenship, and I paid your first class flight to whatever communist country and $20,000, would you give up your [American] citizenship?,” Bet-David asked during the latest episode of “Surrounded” series.
Alannah, a flannel-wearing anti-capitalist he was debating, quickly responded: “Name me a communist country” to which he responded “Whichever communist country you want to go to” before listing off Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea as options.
“Those aren’t communist countries,” Alannah said as her allotted time ended.
— PBD Podcast (@PBDsPodcast) August 31, 2025
@patrickbetdavid literally offered this anti capitalist a fully paid one way ticket to a communist country pic.twitter.com/XOT5eMnLEL
The offer followed a heated debate between the pair about incentives in a socialist or communist society versus a capitalist society.
“We see in capitalism, the incentive is obviously monetary gain, maybe even collecting capital itself through land ownership,” Alannah said. “In a communist or a socialist country, you would see incentive would just evolve into – I know it’s a vague term – but the common good. You have an incentive to do your chores around your house because you don’t want to live in a filthy house, right? That makes sense. It doesn’t have to be just monetary.”
Bet-David asked Alannah to give him a case study that worked, to which she responded: “We don’t even need to look at case studies. We can just look at charity work.”
He quickly shot back, comparing North Korea’s communist system with South Korea’s capitalist system.
“North Korea’s GDP last year was $23 billion. If you lived in North Korea, you wouldn’t be able to do what you’re doing right now. You wouldn’t have a voice,” he said. “In South Korea, their GDP is $1.7 trillion – 70x better than North Korea.”
He then questioned if she would like to be free in a country where she can have a strong opinion, to which she replied “I like to be free, but that’s why I’m anti-capitalist, because capitalism removes that choice. There is no real incentive of capitalism because the incentive is survival. When you get into communism, the incentive is for the common good.”
In addition to debating whether incentives drive capitalism, Sunday’s episode saw Bet-David also argue that capitalism has lifted more people out of poverty than any other system, equal wealth distribution would collapse within five years and that the U.S. is already more socialist than capitalist. Watch the full episode in the video below.
The post Patrick Bet-David Puts $20K on the Table for Self-Declared ‘Anti-Capitalist’ to Move to Communist Country | Video appeared first on TheWrap.
Graham Greene, Oscar-Nominated First Nations Actor, Dies at 73
Graham Greene, the Canadian First Nations actor who garnered an Oscar nomination for his work in Kevin Costner’s “Dances with Wolves,” died Monday after a long illness, according to media reports. He was 73.
Greene was born in Ohsweken, on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario in 1952. By the 1970’s he was working in professional theater in Toronto and England. His first film credit was the Canadian film “Running Brave” in 1983. By the end of the decade Costner had cast him in “Dances with Wolves,” based on the novel by Michael Blake, which earned Greene an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Throughout the next few decades, he appeared in a number of high-profile films – Michael Apted’s “Thunderheart,” Richard Donner’s “Maverick” (based on the classic television series), John McTiernan’s “Die Hard with a Vengeance,” Richard Attenborough’s “Grey Owl” and Frank Darabont’s “The Green Mile.” He would continue to have supporting roles in films like “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” Taylor Sheridan’s “Wind River,” Scott Cooper’s “Antlers” and Aaron Sorkin’s “Molly’s Game.”
He also had a successful television career. Just in the past few years he popped up on Sheridan’s “Tulsa King” and “1883,” had an outstanding guest role on “Reservation Dogs” and was one of the highlights of Marvel Studios’ limited series “Echo.” This all in addition to earlier guest spots on “Murder, She Wrote,” “L.A. Law,” “Northern Exposure,” “Longmire” and “Riverdale.”
Greene was one of those actors who elevated any project that he was a part of. He was an actor of extreme nuance and complexity – he bucked against the typical First Nations portrayal of being stoic and slightly mystical. He embraced the reality of each character. They were grumpy, funny, unhinged, wacky. Greene reflected the world around him beautifully and the worlds of television, film and theater are lesser for the loss.
He is survived by his wife, Hilary Blackmore, his daughter Lilly Lazare-Greene and his grandson Tarlo.
Deadline was first to report the news.
The post Graham Greene, Oscar-Nominated First Nations Actor, Dies at 73 appeared first on TheWrap.
John Oliver Blames Chuck Schumer’s ‘Devotion to His Imaginary Friends’ for ‘Underwhelming’ Democratic Party
If you’re looking for someone to blame for the current state of the Democratic party, John Oliver has two people in mind: Joe and Eileen Bailey. Those are the names of a middle-class couple from Massapequa, New York, that Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer made up and has been using to guide his political decisions.
A politician making up an American to get their point across or envision their policies is nothing new. It’s a practice that’s so common, it drove a major “Veep” arc. But as Oliver outlined on Sunday’s episode of “Last Week Tonight,” Schumer’s relationship with the Baileys is shockingly in-depth. Schumer has even said that the Baileys have “guided his political life,” a sentiment that feels odd as the policies of this imagined family have drifted further to the right.
“I’m not saying that imagining a manifestation your target’s wants and needs is necessarily a bad thing,” Oliver said. “But even if you can understand the potential utility of creating a prototypical voter in your head, this goes way beyond that.”
He then outlined all of the odd quirks Schumer has given this family over the years, like Joe’s love of the New York Islanders and Eileen’s volunteer work for her church. Schumer has even determined how this couple has voted, and that’s where Oliver’s problem with this thought exercise seems to lie. Schumer has said the Baileys (once again — fake people) voted for Trump in 2016, were split between Trump and Biden in 2020 and voted for Trump 2024.
“The truth is, Schumer’s devotion to his imaginary friends may help explain why he and the Democratic party are so underwhelming in recent years. Because he seems to be focusing a huge amount on the interests of ‘the Baileys from Long Island’ while forgetting other voters actually exist,” Oliver said. “By tailoring your policies so heavily to them, you are pulling yourself to the right. And in doing so could be alienating not only the rest of your base but new voters looking for a party that speaks for them.”
Naturally, Oliver ended the segment by bringing the Baileys to life in a sketch starry Bobby Moynihan and Edi Patterson. Watch the full sketch in the video above.
The post John Oliver Blames Chuck Schumer’s ‘Devotion to His Imaginary Friends’ for ‘Underwhelming’ Democratic Party appeared first on TheWrap.
Summer Box Office Stays Flat From Last Year With $3.67 Billion
The mantra of “Survive ’til ’25” that was repeated in Hollywood through the production and box office slumps of last year has given way to results that are much more mixed than those who said those words might have hoped. This includes the summer box office, which despite much hype has finished with relatively the same domestic total as last year.
Comscore estimates that the final domestic total for the summer box office season — which runs from the first Friday of May through Labor Day — will be $3.67 billion. That’s 0.2% down from the total recorded in summer 2024, a season that yielded two $600 million-plus domestic/$1 billion-plus worldwide hits with “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine” but suffered the worst May in more than 25 years due to strike-related delays.
May 2025 was a far better month thanks to a mix of strong holdover numbers from Warner Bros.’ “A Minecraft Movie” and “Sinners” and a record Memorial Day weekend thanks to Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” and Disney’s live-action “Lilo & Stitch,” which became the summer’s sole $400 million-plus domestic/$1 billion worldwide grosser.
But in June, several films like Lionsgate’s “Ballerina” and Disney/Pixar’s “Elio” failed to cross $100 million in American theaters, leaving Universal/DreamWorks’ remake of “How to Train Your Dragon” as the sole $200 million-plus grosser. This was somewhat made up for with a flurry of hits in July such as Apple’s “F1” and DC Studios’ “Superman,” both released by Warner Bros., as well as Universal’s “Jurassic World Rebirth”
And while this past month closed out with some respectable results from Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” Warner Bros./New Line’s “Weapons” and Disney’s “Freakier Friday,” there were no films that topped $600 million domestic like “Barbie” or “Top Gun: Maverick” in years past, nor were there any animated movies that crossed the $100 million for the first time since 1997.
Despite these mixed results, several major theater chains reported profits in the second quarter of the year, as the early summer combined with a strong April to boost revenue for companies like Cinemark, which had the second highest quarterly EBITDA in its history.
Many movie theater chains have made investments in auditorium refurbishments, expanded premium format options and a wider range of concessions, resulting in higher per patron spending even as the box office remains around 20% below pre-pandemic levels.
While the summer remained flat and the September and October box office is expected to be a slow period for theaters — last week Warner Bros. announced it was pushing this October’s “Mortal Kombat II” to next summer — 2025 should finish with a higher total than 2024 thanks to highly anticipated holiday titles like “Wicked: For Good,” “Zootopia 2,” “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
The post Summer Box Office Stays Flat From Last Year With $3.67 Billion appeared first on TheWrap.
Peacock Premium Launches on Walmart+
In celebration of its five-year anniversary, Walmart+ is making Peacock’s ad-supported Premium plan available for no additional cost starting Sept. 15.
“The additional option of Peacock Premium adds even more value and more choice to our membership, without raising the price,” Walmart+ senior vice president Deepak Maini said. “By offering the ability to switch between two top-tier video streaming services, we’re empowering our members to customize their entertainment experience and enjoy significant savings. This is just one of the many ways we’re evolving Walmart+ to meet the needs and wants of today’s consumer.”
The move expands the media and retail giants’ long-standing partnership, which has previously included collaborations such as Today Table, launching Must ShopTV with “Below Deck Mediterranean” and joint work with NBCU and Walmart Connect. Peacock reported a total of 41 million paid subscribers in parent company Comcast’s second quarter of 2025.
“This expanded partnership strengthens our collaboration across the NBCUniversal enterprise with Walmart and gives Walmart+ members seamless access to the wide variety of Peacock’s entertainment offering,” NBCUniversal platform distribution and partnerships president Matt Schnaars said. “Whether it’s live sports like the upcoming NBA season, Sunday Night Football, Emmy-winning reality series like ‘The Traitors,’ original series including ‘The Paper,’ or blockbuster films, Peacock has something for everyone.”
In addition to Peacock, Walmart+ currently offers Paramount+’s ad-supported Essential plan. Subscribers will have the freedom to switch between Paramount+ and Peacock every 90 days.
“Our partnership with Walmart has been a tremendous success in delivering Paramount+ as the first premium entertainment streaming service benefit for Walmart+ members,” Paramount U.S. distribution president Ray Hopkins added. “We’re thrilled to celebrate this milestone anniversary with the extension of our partnership, continuing to bring blockbuster movies, iconic franchises, hit originals and championship sports from our leading portfolio to one of the largest and most engaged member bases in the country.”
Walmart+ also includes free same day delivery on grocery and Rx, free shipping with no order minimum, gas discounts and 5% unlimited cashback through its new OnePay CashRewards Credit Card all for $98 per year. Walmart has not disclosed how many members the offering has.
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Woody Allen Praises Trump as an Actor: ‘He Was Very Convincing’ | Video
Here’s something you probably were not expecting to read today: Woody Allen thinks that Donald Trump is a pretty good actor. The director opened up about his experience working with the president while on Monday’s episode of Bill Maher’s “Club Random” podcast.
Allen worked with Trump on his 1998 film “Celebrity,” which starred Trump as himself. The movie marks one of Trump’s few acting roles alongside “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” “Sex and the City,” “Zoolander” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
The director said that Trump “hit his mark, did everything correctly and had a real flair for show business.” Allen then clarified that while he was impressed with his acting chops he doesn’t support Trump or most of his policies.
“I am a Democrat. I voted for Kamala Harris, and I take issue with him on 95% of the things — maybe 99%,” Allen said. “But as an actor, he was very good. He was very convincing, and he had some charismatic quality as an actor.”
Allen also noted that he was “surprised” that Trump decided to go into politics because of all the stress that comes with the field. Around the time Allen worked with Trump, the now-president was a staple in New York’s social scene.
“If he would let me direct him now that he’s president, I think I could do wonders,” Allen said. “But he was very easy to work with.”
It’s not often that Allen appears in headlines these days. Around the height of the #MeToo movement, his adoptive daughter Dylan Farrow publicly accused him of sexually abusing her as a child. Though these allegations have been made since the 1990s and Allen has always denied them, they gained more attention in 2018. During that time, Maher was one of the celebrities who continued to defend Allen. However, the 2018 resurgence of allegations didn’t stop Allen from releasing three new movies.
You can watch Allen’s full interview on “Club Random” in the video above.
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How Christopher Columbus Reunited with Steven Spielberg for Netflix’s ‘The Thursday Murder Club’
In the 1980s Christopher Columbus, who would go on to direct “Home Alone” and “Mrs. Doubtfire” (along with kickoff the “Harry Potter” film franchise), was key to establishing what a “Steven Spielberg presents” movie really was. After Spielberg purchased Columbus’ spec script for “Gremlins,” he installed the young writer at Spielberg’s nascent Amblin Entertainment. Columbus was there with producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall. Composer John Williams had an office down the hall. He worked on “The Goonies” and “Young Sherlock Holmes.”
But when Columbus started his directing career with “Adventures in Babysitting,” a movie that you would be forgiven for thinking was an Amblin movie, he left Spielberg’s dream factory behind.
Until now.
Columbus is back with Amblin’s “The Thursday Murder Club,” which just debuted on Netflix. Based on the 2020 novel by Richard Osman, it stars Helen Mirren, Ben Kingsley, Pierce Brosnan and Celia Imrie as retirees who wind up involved in a very contemporary mystery while working on a cold case.
The filmmaker said that he read and fell in love with the book immediately. “When I realized it was Amblin, it was a little intimidating,” Columbus said. “I think Steven is responsible for my career. Steven was the only guy who believed in ‘Gremlins’ – and thank God he did.” While the two had briefly reconnected as producers on “The Help” (Spielberg’s DreamWorks Pictures and Columbus’ 1492 Pictures were both involved).
But with “The Thursday Murder Club,” it was the first time Spielberg had produced a movie that Columbus was directing. “I’d never been a director and had one of the greatest directors of all time overseeing me. I was a little nervous, I have to say, because I wanted Steven to be happy. I wanted to impress him. I wanted to do a good job,” Columbus said. One of the things he appreciates most about Spielberg is his knowledge of film history. “I get intimidated by those people who have a vast knowledge of film history, because I’m directing for them, and I want to impress them. There was that intimidation factor. And yeah, Steven liked what I was doing, so I felt I could breathe a sigh of relief,” Columbus said.
While Spielberg didn’t have any notes while shooting, after Columbus had submitted his director’s cut, Spielberg offered to come to the editing room. “Steven came to the editing room for a couple of days, and he said to me, which was shocking, that he’s worked with some directors who said, ‘No, I don’t want you anywhere near the editing room’ I thought these directors got to be out of their mind. You have Steven Spielberg, who’s going to watch your movie and give you advice,” Columbus said. Spielberg told Columbus that he didn’t have to take his advice, but Spielberg just wanted to share his ideas. “It was two of the greatest days for me in the editing room, because Steven wasn’t precious about anything, but his insight into filmmaking is so valuable, and so I was so thankful that I spent that time with him,” Columbus said. “I just hope we get to do it again someday.”
Columbus most likely will get that chance.
First off, there’s the fact that there are additional “Thursday Murder Club” novels, which could be future films (depending on the audience response to the first movie). “I don’t look at them as sequels as much as the continuing progression of these characters and where they get on with their lives,” Columbus said. “That’s what I’m fascinated by. And the fact that I would get to work with these actors again, it’s something you don’t get every day as a director.”
There are also a pair of sequels to earlier collaborations simmering, as sequels to “The Goonies” and “Gremlins.” He said he is heavy on the writing process for the third “Gremlins” movie. “That’s coming along,” Columbus said about “Gremlins.” “’Goonies’ is a little further back but we’re talking about it.” After the first “Gremlins,” Columbus wasn’t thinking about a sequel – or a franchise (“I did ‘Gremlins.’ That’s fine. Let’s move on.”) This mentality has stuck with him and is something he’s having to get out of the way on for the new film. “If we’re going to do ‘Gremlins,’ particularly if we’re going to do ‘The Goonies,’ there has to be a good reason. And we have to find that reason. We can’t disappoint the audience,” Columbus said. “Those movies will be made when they’re ready to be made. And we, in a sense, have been working on it for 30 years. Look, if the script is great, we maybe we’ll make it. We’ll see.”
The relationship between Columbus and Spielberg made us think about Columbus’ relationship with Robert Eggers. Columbus has produced or executive produced every one of Eggers’ films (besides “The Northman”) and their partnership feels just as important as Columbus’ relationship with Spielberg or, later, his relationship with John Hughes, who wrote and produced Columbus’ two “Home Alone” films and produced Columbus’ “Only the Lonely.”
“Rob and I, we bonded bonded over our love of Hammer Horror films and our love of all genres of films. Rob was one of those guys, like Steven, who had a really solid knowledge of film history and a desire to learn more about film and more about every aspect of film. We felt like we could work well together because of our shared love of film history,” Columbus explained. He said a lot of the filmmakers that he’s met are mostly concerned with modern films and said “really don’t have a lot of time or patience for someone who doesn’t know anything that was made before 1992.”
Columbus said of Eggers, “I love learning from him.” When Eggers was making “Nosferatu,” Columbus took a year off from writing and directing and was a producer on set. “I watched a completely different style of filmmaking, but learned from it and got inspired by it, not necessarily that I would duplicate that particular style, but got really inspired as a filmmaker.” He said that he would advise all filmmakers to “get out of your own head, go visit someone else’s set, stay there and learn from them.”I never wanted to be the older guy saying, ‘Well, kid in my day, this is the way we did it.’ I want to learn from younger people. I think it’s important.” Columbus is an executive producer on Eggers’ upcoming “Werwulf,” out next Christmas.
Just as Spielberg encouraged (and continues to encourage) Columbus’ creative development, now Columbus encourages Eggers’. As it should be.
“The Thursday Murder Club” is now streaming on Netflix.
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Trump Says ABC News ‘Should Pay Me More’ in Rant About Donna Brazile
ABC News contributor Donna Brazile is the latest person to infuriate Donald Trump. After the former DNC chair appeared on ABC’s “This Week,” the president lashed out at her on social media, calling for her to be fired and stating that the news organization should pay him more, a reference to its previous settlement with the world leader.
During her appearance Sunday, Brazile criticized Trump for withdrawing former Vice President Kamala Harris’ Secret Service protection, calling the move “petty” and “vindictive,” according to Mediaite. She also denounced Trump’s tariffs for causing “uncertainty that the American people can’t afford.”
Hours later Trump lashed out at Brazile using his favorite social media platform — Truth Social. In his post, he called Brazile a “Low IQ ‘commentator,'” “dumb as a rock” and a “liar.” He also asked if she was previously fired from CNN for sharing questions with Hillary Clinton before a debate. The question sharing did happen, but Brazile technically resigned after the incident. CNN severed all ties with her and stated “We are completely uncomfortable with what we have learned about her interactions with the Clinton campaign while she was a CNN contributor.”
Trump also said that Brazile should be fired from ABC News. “They just paid me $16,000,000 for ‘inaccurate’ reporting, now they should pay me more!!!” Trump wrote.
After George Stephanopoulos falsely said Trump had been found “liable for rape,” Trump sued the news organization for defamation. ABC News settled and agreed to pay $15 million as a charitable contribution to a presidential foundation and museum. The network also agreed to pay $1 million in legal fees.
CBS reached a similar settlement with Trump earlier this year after an edited “60 Minutes” segment. That $16 million will be allocated to build Trump’s future presidential library.
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‘The Smashing Machine’ Review: A Calm Dwayne Johnson Anchors Raw Martial Arts Drama
On the basis of the high-adrenaline films that Benny Safdie has made with his brother Josh, you might expect his new movie about the early days of mixed martial arts fighting, “The Smashing Machine,” to be an exercise in high-octane brutality, especially since it journeys back to the martial-arts beginning of its lead actor, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
(He doesn’t use that nickname in the credits here, but it’s hard not to refer to it, considering the film’s subject matter.)
But one of the surprising things about “The Smashing Machine,” which premiered on Monday at the Venice Film Festival, is that in many ways it’s one of the gentlest movies you’ll see about fighting. This is Benny Safdie’s debut as a solo director, and he leans toward counterintuitive choices: There’s a muscular, music-driven training montage as our hero gets ready for his big bout, but the song that drives it isn’t something like “Eye of the Tiger”; instead, it’s Elvis Presley’s late-in-life rendition of the elegiac standard “My Way.”
In a way, the A24 film takes its cue from its subject, Mark Kerr, who was seemingly both a ferocious MMA fighter and a gentle, soft-spoken man. (He is now retired and shows up in the movie.) Kerr can pummel his opponents, but in the doctor’s office the next day he’ll calmly explain to an elderly woman why the fighters aren’t really mad and how much respect they have for each other.
And while you may cringe watching the damage inflicted in these bouts, where the favored way to win seems to be to throw your opponent to the ground, get on top of him and either punch or knee him in the face until the referee stops the fight, there’s no in-your-face fight cinematography where every punch is seen close-up and amplified. Instead, the matches are shot from outside the ring, and most fights end pretty quickly instead of playing out over those usual multi-round boxing-movie arcs.
In fact, Safdie might spend more time on a single shot of Kerr slowly walking back through the bowels of the arena to the dressing room after losing his first fight than he does on the bout itself.
“The Smashing Machine” is a period piece, taking us back to the time when mixed martial arts had a cult following and fighters traveled to tournaments in Japan for relatively little money, rather than getting Fourth of July showcases on the White House lawn. The film takes place between 1997 and 2000, when Kerr was a rising star along with his close friend, training partner and fellow fighter Mark Coleman.
If it’s hard to imagine a figure as iconic as Johnson playing a little-known fighter, there’s a simple solution: Make him all but unrecognizable. You can tell it’s Johnson by the voice, and the look gets a little closer late in the film when Kerr shaves his head, but for most of the film, Johnson’s own face – and, of course, his tattoos – are buried beneath makeup and prosthetics that don’t look like prosthetics, courtesy of Oscar-winning makeup designer Kazu Hiro.
He’s playing a guy who’s trying to make a mark in a field that is still struggling for respect, and one where the aim, he says, is simple: “Am I going to hurt him more than he hurts me?”
For the most part, the answer to that is yes, but Kerr gets hurt badly all the same. At the doctor’s office visit, it’s clear he’s a regular, and the way he eyes the vials of medicine and switches pharmacies and insurance companies for his latest prescription is immediately suspicious, both to the audience and to Kerr’s longtime girlfriend, Dawn (Emily Blunt). The relationship always seems a little uneasy, with vows of passion coming in between Kerr constantly nitpicking about everything from the way Dawn makes his smoothies to how she trims the cactus in the back yard.
Of course, he’s hiding an addiction to painkillers, which sends him into the hospital, then into rehab, then onto the comeback trail. These are all staples of inspirational sports movies, but Safdie isn’t really one for falling back on staples; there’s something bold in the way “The Smashing Machine” plays its fights against atmospheric ballads rather than snarling rock songs. (But there is a pretty rockin’ version of the Japanese national anthem at one point.)
In some ways, Safdie’s approach seems casual and grounded rather than pumped up, though it’s also raw both physically and emotionally. Even when Kerr is at his smiliest and friendliest, his outward calm isn’t soothing because Johnson shows just enough of the rage and pain underneath it.
Still, it’s funny that the Safdie movie about violence is calmer than the one about designer jewelry. But maybe that makes it akin to Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler,” a character study where the worst brutality took place out of the ring. It’s not one of those triumphant sports movies we’re all tired of, but it’s not wrong to say that there is some triumph here.
Read all of our Venice Film Festival coverage here.
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