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Neil deGrasse Tyson coming to State College for one night only

Neil deGrasse Tyson coming to State College for one night only

Yahoo04-05-2025

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WTAJ) — Neil deGrasse Tyson, a world-renowned astrophysicist, will be coming to State College to dissect science in movies.
The show, titled 'An Astrophysicist Goes to the Movies – Part 1,' will feature Tyson looking at the science in some popular films, such as Star Wars, Titanic and Armageddon, along with other films you might not have realized have science throughout.
Tyson will hit the stage at Eisenhower Auditorium Tuesday, Dec. 2, at 7:30 p.m.
For more information and tickets, click here.Tyson rose to fame as an expert with History Channel's 'The Universe,' which soon led to him hosting a remake of Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' for two seasons. He's also an accomplished author and the host of the popular YouTube series 'StarTalk.' You can read more about Tyson by clicking here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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‘Jaws' at 50: How Steven Spielberg's shark movie changed my life and cinema forever
‘Jaws' at 50: How Steven Spielberg's shark movie changed my life and cinema forever

San Francisco Chronicle​

time13 hours ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

‘Jaws' at 50: How Steven Spielberg's shark movie changed my life and cinema forever

It's been 50 years since American movies, and a boy's life, changed forever. ' Jaws ' was released on June 20, 1975, a seismic event in moviegoing. Few films can be said to have changed cinema, but Steven Spielberg's early masterpiece is one. With an unprecedented marketing campaign, an unusually wide initial release and crowds packing showings from its opening weekend, the shark thriller literally invented the summer blockbuster season. It also happened to be the first 'adult' movie I ever saw in a theater. At age 9 and growing up in Indianapolis, I might have been too young to see it; my sister Kristin, four years younger, certainly was. Before 'Jaws,' the only films we'd seen in theaters were Disney-type fare. Perhaps our parents couldn't get a babysitter, or maybe they didn't care. Like the rest of America, they wanted to be where the action was. I likely would have fallen in love with movies anyway at some point, but you could connect the dots directly from that viewing to this column, the latest in a career spent in the dark. If it hadn't been then, it likely would have been in 1977, when the summer movie season became a full-blown phenomenon. Of course, there was George Lucas' ' Star Wars,' which 11-year-old me saw seven times, but there was also the 'Jaws'-inspired 'The Deep,' the Burt Reynolds car chase action comedy 'Smokey and the Bandit' and the James Bond film 'The Spy Who Loved Me.' I could go on: 'Grease' and 'Revenge of the Pink Panther' in 1978; 'Alien' and 'Moonraker' in 1979; 'The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Airplane!' in 1980. You get the idea — I saw them all. In 1981, at age 15, I broadened my horizons. I spent the summer watching the Spielberg-Lucas 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' fantasy films 'Time Bandits' and 'Clash of the Titans' as well as the box office bomb 'Megaforce,' a terrible action movie starring Barry Bostwick that for some reason sticks in my mind to this day. In the fall, I ventured into more sophisticated fare, what we'd call Oscar bait today. 'Chariots of Fire,' the eventual best picture winner; then 'Reds,' 'Ragtime' and many others. By college I was consuming the French New Wave and film noir, and the rest is personal history. However, the summer box office season of big scale adventures, eye-popping special effects, jump scares and belly laughs still holds an allure for me after all these years. I'm obviously not alone; the recent Memorial Day box-office weekend, led by ' Lilo & Stitch ' and ' Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,' was the best ever for that holiday. This summer is shaping up to be the best since at least 2019, the last before the pandemic. Spielberg calls such genre movies 'films of imagination,' although one has to say that character-driven comedies and dramas from 'Casablanca' to ' Anora ' are also imaginative, but I know what he means. Science fiction and action films have a way of transporting the viewer into another realm — alternate universes, if you will — more than conventional comedies or dramas do. Yet, what is the future of the summer movie season? Despite its current viability, home viewing habits in general and higher movie theater ticket prices present obstacles. The legacy of 'Jaws' has lasted 50 years. Will it last 60? I think so, but who knows. ' How to Train Your Dragon ' is going strong, Pixar's ' Elio ' and the zombie sequel ' 28 Years Later ' just opened to high expectations, and 'Jurassic Park Rebirth,' a new 'Superman' and 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' loom. Still, few of these movies reach the sublime level of 'Jaws,' which is quite simply not just the greatest summer movie, but one of the best suspense films ever made, not only in its visual splendor and memorable performances, but also the character-driven script by Carl Gottlieb and Peter Benchley from Benchley's novel, Verna Fields' kinetic editing and John Williams' legendary score. Its troubled production, mainly stemming from the fact that the mechanical shark often didn't work properly, is the stuff of legend. Spielberg, then only 27, had to invent on the fly. With the shark, nicknamed Bruce, unavailable much of the time, scenes with humans became more important. With its brooding battle of wills, Robert Shaw's classic USS Indianapolis monologue and a clash between civilization and the elements, 'Jaws' became the '70s version of 'Moby Dick,' a man vs. nature parable that was almost operatic in its humans' obsession with the destruction of an unstoppable predator.

How ‘Andor' Created an Entirely New Language from Scratch
How ‘Andor' Created an Entirely New Language from Scratch

Yahoo

time15 hours ago

  • Yahoo

How ‘Andor' Created an Entirely New Language from Scratch

Across the soundscape of Star Wars, the mosaic of alien languages is as important as John Williams's brass horns. But the Ghorman tongue heard throughout Andor season 2 is unusual, even in a galaxy far, far away. Unlike Jabba's gooey Huttese or R2-D2's whistling bleeps, Ghorman, spoken by the proud Ghor, is one of the most fleshed-out constructed languages (commonly referred to as conlangs) in all of Star Wars. For that, you can say, "Indebe"—that's Ghorman for "thank you," people—to dialect coach and conlang creator Marina Tyndall. "This conlang of Ghorman was loosely inspired by the inventory of terrestrial French," Tyndall explains to me. "It shares over 85 percent of the phonology of French." She adds that while French is the main foundation for Ghorman, the Ghor language does not contain a single word of French. "You might get a flicker of recognition; you catch a syllable that resembles a French syllable," she says. "But it's a false friend." Hailing from London, Tyndall is a dialect coach and constructed-language creator with a growing list of credits in Hollywood. She's applied her craft for movies such as Inferno (2016), Tenet (2020), Death on the Nile (2022), and TV shows like Killing Eve. Since 2016, Tyndall has contributed to the Star Wars franchise, beginning with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and more recently with Andor. In season 1, Tyndall formulated the Kenari and Aldhani languages. For season 2, which concluded in May, she created Ghorman entirely from scratch. "The starting point was that we wanted all of the Ghorman characters to sound approximately alike when speaking English," Tyndall says. It was important that the characters and their actors "share a broad, phonetic, and articulatory base with one another." Tyndall wasn't alone in her process. She's quick to credit Andor creator Tony Gilroy as well as on-set dialect coaches Naomi Todd and Marion Déprez as her biggest collaborators. Producer David Meanti, a native French speaker, also consulted to ensure no word invented for Ghorman could be misconstrued as "playground innuendo." Still, if our world had an academic expert on Ghorman, it would be Tyndall. She constructed the language over a process that began in early summer 2022 until the cameras rolled for Andor season 2 that autumn. That included teaching the language to hundreds of extras for Andor's unforgettable eighth episode, in which the Ghor sing their national anthem before a massacre by the Empire. For Tyndall, the ordeal felt like songwriting, and working with her team like a jam session. "You improvise words and melody and then you figure it out backward," she says. "If you are creating a conlang as an academic exercise, it is best approached as a science. But once you introduce actors and storytelling into the mix, it is very much an art." Tyndall's songwriting approach to Ghorman turned literal when she translated the Ghor's anthem for episode 8. The lyrics were first written in English and performed on a temp track by—who else?—Tony Gilroy, who then sent it all to Tyndall for translation. She jokingly describes the dynamic like she's Bernie Taupin writing for Gilroy's Elton John. "I am one of the privileged few who heard the English original," she brags. (She adds that Gilroy has "actually a very good voice.") "I came into the office one day to see David Meanti and other people singing it to each other," Tyndall says. "It was a very full-throated rendition. I was pleased to see the spirit of Ghorman pride had spread as far as the production office. I know a number of our production personnel could easily do it for karaoke night." While Ghorman has roots in French, it also "contains scrambles, mutations, and back formations of words" from other languages—even from dead ones. "It contains words that have been free-associated out of the semantic cloud of English," says Tyndall. "For example, if the word were ball, we might start throwing words out: throw, arc, bounce. And we make a fusion of anything we've spat out." French wasn't the only lingual flavor that was recognized by Andor's Ghorman-speaking cast. "Among our cast who played the Ghor, one of them said it reminded him of learning Hebrew," Tyndall recalls. Another actor said they sensed a little bit of Breton. "It's a really beautiful illustration of why it's so worth casting multilingual actors," Tyndall says. "If you have access to at least one other language, you've got access to a whole other system of thought and feeling. What we asked these actors to do was huge. I feel like this high-wire act we asked them to do, they did so outstandingly." As for why French is the main influence for Ghorman, those reasons elude even its creator. While she acknowledges parallels between the Ghor's revolt against the Empire and the French resistance during World War II ("It is the story of struggle," she says), Tyndall was not clued in on anything beyond her task of making the language. "The aim was that all the actors we cast had a similar speech style or accent. It could be that there are creative reasons for having landed on a French-speaking cast, but I wasn't party to those reasons." Tyndall does have thoughts on the world-building implications of Ghorman. Applying the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis to Star Wars, Tyndall says the Ghorman language reveals insight to how the Ghor think, feel, and see their place in the galaxy. "It's a language of trade," she says. "It will have cross-pollinated with a number of other languages from people with whom the Ghor have traded. We hypothesize it's a rich language, one in which you're able to be quite specific. You might have more than one word for the verb to know. Depending on context, you're claiming to know you are acquainted, whether you have mastered it, and whether you know it in terms of empathy or appreciation." And there's this: The Ghor are sticklers for details, which is handy on the frontlines of a rebellion. "The Ghor are people who communicate in a very efficient but specific way. I imagine they have had to code-shift a lot," Tyndall says. "They have a number of ways of saying the same thing. Because life has been all about trade and peril. These two things have characterized their history in this galaxy—being under threat but having to conduct business at the same time." You Might Also Like Kid Cudi Is All Right 16 Best Shoe Organizers For Storing and Displaying Your Kicks

Kerry Kennedy allegedly getting $1M+ to save family's reputation — as cousin Caroline is ‘virtually blacklisted' over son's odd behavior
Kerry Kennedy allegedly getting $1M+ to save family's reputation — as cousin Caroline is ‘virtually blacklisted' over son's odd behavior

New York Post

time16 hours ago

  • New York Post

Kerry Kennedy allegedly getting $1M+ to save family's reputation — as cousin Caroline is ‘virtually blacklisted' over son's odd behavior

For decades, the Kennedys — America's so-called royal family — were known for politics, scandals and tragedies. Today, they're earning a schoolyard reputation for infighting, with mean-spirited attacks on siblings and cousins, bizarre social media rants and revelations of historically bitchy personal feuds. Hoping to quell the embarrassing, reality show-worthy drama and bring the family together before it implodes, Kerry Kennedy has signed what sources describe as a seven-figure deal for a book paying tribute to her mother, family matriarch Ethel Skakel Kennedy who passed last October at 96. 10 Kerry Kennedy is writing a new book about family matriach Ethel Kennedy. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP This is somewhat ironic given that penned by Kerry, the seventh of Ethel's and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's brood of 11, is one of the most vocal leaders in the family's current display of bad blood. 'Kerry's well-varnished book will be little more than a last-ditch attempt to salvage the increasingly tarnished Kennedy name,' one insider told The Post. Kerry Kennedy declined to comment. Entitled 'Ethel: Faith, Hope, Family, and an Extraordinary Life' and penned with a ghostwriter, the book is planned for fall 2026. Whether it can bring the family together, or truly spiff up their tarnished legacy, remains to be seen. 'Like the Titanic, the Kennedy brand is a sinking ship,' the insider said. 10 Caroline Kennedy-Schlossberg is said to be ostracized by her famous cousins' over her son's odd behavior on social media. FilmMagic 10 Caroline has called cousin RFK Jr. a 'predator' while her son Jack (right) has called him a 'liar' and a 'guru shaman.' Democratic National Convention via CNP / MEGA But, for all their talk about public service, the family's battles are no surprise. In fact, sources said, RFK's staunchly Democratic widow, Ethel, who died of a stroke, would have 'savored and enjoyed the very public attacks and controversy' involving some of her children — including the verbal assaults on Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. — when he briefly ran for president last year and later became Donald Trump's Secretary of Health and Human Services. At least some of the 'attacks and snubs against Bobby Jr. were actually at the behest of Ethel,' alleged the insider. 'She also was behind the photo [taken March 2024, just before RFK Jr. announced his presidential run] of three generations of her family with a smiling Joe Biden in their midst — all as a subtle [message] to Bobby. He was her least favorite son.' 10 Jack Schlossberg, the only grandson of former US President John F. Kennedy, has mocked cousin RFK Jr.'s vocal disorder and made strange jokes about Second Lady Usha Vance. Ron Sachs – CNP for NY Post It was alleged favorite daughter Kerry who, on her mother's instructions, posted the photo on X, declaring of Biden, 'You make the world better.' In addition to six of RFK Jr.'s living siblings — former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy, former US Rep. Joe Kennedy II, human rights activist Kerry Kennedy, filmmaker Rory Kennedy, lawyer Max Kennedy and businessman Christopher Kennedy — rebuking his presidential campaign by calling it 'dangerous' and publicly endorsing Joe Biden, his cousin Caroline also made her feelings known. Early this year, Caroline, now 67, and. the former US Ambassador to Japan and then Australia, wasn't very diplomatic when it came to her first cousin, calling him a 'predator' and hypocrite and unqualified to run HHS. She also claimed: 'Bobby expropriated my father's image and distorted President Kennedy's legacy to advance his own failed presidential campaign and groveled to Donald Trump for a job.' 10 John. F Kennedy and wife Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Getty Images Nonetheless, according to insiders, Caroline has been 'virtually blacklisted' by some of her cousins over the bizarre social media postings of her son, Jack Schlossberg. The 31-year-old has posted videos of himself making fun of RFK Jr.'s spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological disorder that affects his speech and which other members of the family may also have. Schlossberg has also called the health secretary a 'liar' and a 'guru shaman figure who runs a cult' and taunted Vice-President J. D. Vance and his wife, Usha, joking about having a baby with her and writing, 'True or false: Usha Vance is way hotter than Jackie O' — his maternal grandmother. 10 Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968 at a hotel in Los Angeles. Getty Images His various remarks prompted RFK Jr.'s daughter, Kathleen 'Kick' Kennedy to previously tell The Post: 'I hope he gets the help he needs.' Sources say Schlossberg's behavior has led to Caroline — whose parents and brother are deceased — being completely isolated from the Kennedy tribe, which 'is hurtful to her.' The Post has reached out to Caroline for comment. 'Jack's more Schlossberg than Kennedy in attitude,' a close source said, referring to Schlossberg's father, the very private and eccentric artist and designer Edwin Schlossberg, 73, who comes from a prominent Jewish New York family. 10 RFK Jr. shocked and upset many members of his own staunchly Democrat family when he first supported Republican Donald Trump's election then joined his government at secretary of Health and Human Services. REUTERS Snarky Spy magazine once called Edwin 'a well-to-do hippie-yuppie who's self-consciously interesting… Camelot's egghead-in-residence.' Although little known publicly, the current feuds within the Kennedy family have a long history going back to Ethel and her late sister-in-law, John F. Kennedy's widow, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, whom Ethel ruthlessly attacked. 'She thinks she's a queen. When Jackie once mentioned she dreamed of being a ballet dancer, Ethel stared at Jackie's slender size-11 feet, muttering to her face, 'With those clodhoppers of yours? You'd be better off going into soccer,' ' a source commented for my book 'The Other Mrs. Kennedy: An Intimate and Revealing Look at the Hidden Life of Ethel Skakel Kennedy.' 10 RFK Jr.'s daughter Kick Kennedy waded into the fray to call out cousin Jack Schlossberg. Getty Images for RFK Human Right Meanwhile, Jackie, sources added, considered Ethel 'crude and boorish,' and referred to her as a 'baby-making machine — wind her up and she becomes pregnant.' Jackie's revenge against the insults was to distance her own children, John Jr. and Caroline, from Ethel's children. When Ethel extended an invitation to her niece and nephew to stay for a couple of weeks at her family's home Hickory Hill in McLean, Virginia, Jackie declared, 'No way!'' And through the generations the feuding continues. JFK Jr. also got his digs in when he was founding editor of the political magazine George in the mid-1990s. 10 The Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. AP In a signed editorial, he pilloried his Kennedy cousins — Ethel's sons Michael (who died as the result of a skiing accident in 1997) and Joe — as 'poster boys for bad behavior' regarding their marital scandals. While Kerry Kennedy's planned book is said to paint her mother as a virtual saint, and the Kennedys as a close and loving family, an insider told The Post that 'dysfunction rather than perfection' was a way of life for the late matriarch. As Ethel's fourth-born, David Anthony Kennedy, who died of a heroin overdose in 1984 at 36, once revealed, 'Those stories about what a big, happy family we had at Hickory Hill were all bulls—t. Life at home was mayhem, a mess. 'My mother was always having screaming rages. The house looked like a shithole. She didn't know how to deal with so many kids.' 10 RFK Jr. originally ran for president himself in 2024, before dropping out and endorsing Trump. Paul Martinka A child-care sitter retained by Ethel once even admitted that the middle children — Courtney, David and RFK Jr. – 'were virtually left to fend for themselves, with little or no supervision.' The sitter also called Ethel a 'distant, detached, and standoffish mother. When popular Look magazine decided to do a cover story on Ethel, then pregnant, as the possible next future first lady when RFK began his ill-fated 1968 presidential run, the bi-weekly's crack photographer-reporter team, Stanley Tretick and Laura Bergquist, were assigned. The magazine ran an upbeat story, but Tretick and Bergquist were privately shocked by what they witnessed. Tretick later revealed: 'I never thought she was a great mother… The kids all went their separate ways. It was like bedlam, everyone running around crazy… one night Ethel was going to fix food for us, but she said 'I don't know how to fix s—t!' She couldn't handle anything in the kitchen. Bobby looked at her and said, 'Mother of the year.' 'Our view of Ethel was, 'God, it's going to be bedlam, just nuts, if she goes to the White House, because that place will become a real zoo.''

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