Latest news with #Armageddon
South China Morning Post
11 hours ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
United States of Israel's war on Iran endangers the whole world
SCMP managing editor Yonden Lhatoo warns that the US and Israel are risking Armageddon with their latest war in the Middle East.
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
A truly sadistic dentist elevates Greater Boston Stage's ‘Little Shop of Horrors'
The over-the-top campiness of 'Little Shop' obscures the fact that this depiction of botanical Armageddon is a pretty dark story. Our recent experience with a global pandemic has given certain sci-fi tales an unsettling currency. They no longer seem quite so 'fi,' do they? 'The Last of Us,' indeed. Roger Corman's 1960 film became a cult classic, for all its clunkiness. Advertisement Then 'Little Shop' was adapted into a musical by the powerhouse team of Howard Ashman (lyrics and book) and Alan Menken (music) that premiered in 1982. A film version was released in 1986, with Advertisement Stephen Markarian plays Seymour, a nebbishy employee at a flower shop owned by the mean-spirited Mr. Mushnik (Bryan Miner). Seymour is hopelessly in love with fellow employee Audrey (Kayla Shimizu), but she's dating — and being abused by — a sadistic dentist named Orin, portrayed by Troilo. (Troilo also plays several other characters, and manages to make each of them distinctive, even the ones whose stage time can be measured in seconds.) When Seymour buys an ordinary-looking plant and brings it back to the shop, he names it Audrey 2 (built by Cameron McEachern, voiced with commanding authority by Anthony Pires Jr., and manipulated by Sydney T. Grant). Audrey 2 —green, mean, and amphibian-looking — proves to have an insatiable appetite for human blood. Thus are set in motion events that will ultimately tell Seymour something about himself and what he is capable of, none of it all that reassuring. Shimizu captures Audrey's lost-soul quality, and delivers a lovely rendition of the yearning 'Somewhere That's Green.' She and Markarian team up to poignant effect in 'Suddenly Seymour,' one of the great duets. Music director Bethany Aiken and her five-piece band, performing backstage, do solid work. The Doo-Wop girls who serve up narration and commentary in roughly equal measure throughout the show — Cortlandt Barrett as Chiffon, Pearl Scott as Ronnette, and Aimee Coleman as Crystal — are a delight. There was a touching scene during the curtain call at Wednesday's matinee. Coleman, an understudy to Becky Bass, was stepping into the role for the first time. She had a lot of friends and family in the audience, and she was given flowers, a thunderous ovation, and a memory to last a lifetime. Advertisement LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS Book and lyrics by Howard Ashman. Music by Alan Menken. Directed by Ilana Ransom Toeplitz. Music direction, Bethany Aiken. Choreography, Chris Shin. Presented by Greater Boston Stage Company, Stoneham. Through June 29. Tickets $64 - $69. At 781-279-2200 or Don Aucoin can be reached at
Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Time for a national govt in Iran to push back deceit, aggression
Listen to article Not many are sure of it being an Armageddon, but the war underway between Iran and Israel has led to a psychological divide. World public opinion has split for all times to come, and the Israel-US duo has blundered by attacking a sovereign state merely on the accusation that it is not ready for a deal on its uranium enrichment that was anyway far away from the standards of going lethal. The ramifications that the Western interests shall face from pro-Iranian elements might be a telling tale to register in all adversity. This aggression and warmongering has also raised critical questions on Westphalian statehood as well as on the credibility of International Law in the 21st century, especially as diplomacy and alignment power politics takes a backseat. The Iranian bluff is called. It is strategically unacceptable to believe that its military gear and command, supposed to be one of the best in the Middle East, collapsed like a house of cards, and that too on the premise of Israeli penetration into its edifice. The early few hours of death and destruction were directly stage-managed by pro-Zionist agents entrenched inside the Islamic Republic, and it is no less than a mortification. The killing of Hamas chief, a state guest, inside Tehran in 2024; the blanket extermination of Hezbollah; and the mysterious assassination of President Ebrahim Raisi in a copter downing should have altered the clergy-dominated ruling elite. Perhaps there was a lack of introspection, and the convention as usual was to yell from the pulpit that the Jewish state is not worth a salt, and the Republic can crumble it down anytime. A question that Iranian citizens and sympathisers are worthy of asking is: where is the so-called Al-Quds Force, and the massive galvanisation of IRGC for 'walking over' the occupied territories, if need be? What was the need for mass conscription of people from Pakistan and Arab states to fight the 'other's war' in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen and Syria, in in the name of annihilating Israel, as they all ended as fodder and the regular army too had to face a Pearl Harbour moment and literally capitulate? Iran is a civilisation par-excellence, and its industrious people have braved everything to stand tall in their resilience. Their faux pas moment has been the repressive rule under which they have lived for the last four decades. The segregative rule — wherein the elected representatives were mere scapegoats and the real power rested with the unelected and controversial clergy, which is no more now a source of admiration for many — is at the root cause of all ills. All indigenous movements for reforms, human rights and opening up to the world at large were dubbed as 'foreign ploys' and cornered. This is where power mechanics tilted extremely in the favour of IRGC Inc and a few unanswerable bigots should now take the blame. Notwithstanding how Iran comes out of this existential crisis — as it fights on an enemy that is only 1.33% of its size, and whose entire geography is less than its Hamadan province — the point is Tehran is no longer immune. Iran's military might is checkmated, the people are in a quandary, and the ruling clergy-cum-IRGC elite is obsessed with sticking to power. With escalation leading to a major transnational catastrophe as Iran closes the Hormuz, and Tel Aviv dismantling the nuclear sites as it did with Iraq and Libya, a progressive nation will be on the verge of extinction in terms of its sovereignty, geopolitical vitality and its very national identity. This madness in governance solicits some intervention and that too from the people of Iran only. It's time for the Iranians to have a national government with all feathers of opinions in it. The clergy must take a backseat and let the sovereigns lead from the front. It would be more appropriate for the Supreme Leader to abdicate his authority to a council of wise men, and let the great nation win this moment for itself and the future of 90 million Iranians. Iran truly needs a change from within, and the regime's deceit is now proven beyond doubt. It could not walk the talk. Iranians have shown great tenacity in this episode of Israeli aggression, and it's time they won on the home front too that is in a crisscross of decades.
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
Harry Potter and White Lotus star Jason Isaacs calls out the 'worst bully' he's ever worked with during his decades in Hollywood
Jason Isaacs has called out the "worst bully" he "ever" worked alongside throughout his decades in the Hollywood film industry. The actor, best known for playing villain Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series from 2001 to 2011, shared his candid thoughts about the "bad behaviour" he witnessed on sets in an interview with Vulture on Monday. Isaacs elaborated on a "prominent" film star who once pushed him out of a shot and said the snarky actor, who he chose not to name, "did worse". "Oh Jesus. Did worse than that. Was the worst bully ever and a global icon," Isaacs said. "Did all the old tricks of doing a completely different performance off-camera than on. "Yeah, it sucked. I'd never seen anything like it. Before, I would've licked the ground that this person walked on." The award-winning actor has seen it all after 37 years of experience in Tinseltown, where he starred in several major films, including The Patriot with Mel Gibson and, most recently, HBO's hit series The White Lotus. While there's no way of telling who Isaacs deemed to be the offender, his prominent co-stars also include Ben Affleck and Bruce Willis from the film Armageddon, as well as Dennis Quaid and Sean Connery in Dragonheart. In his wide-ranging interview, Isaacs described what he mostly judges on set as "bad behaviour", including "selfishness, cruelty and bullying". "People complaining to the person who's getting them dressed, who doesn't get in a year what they earn in a day to pick their filthy underwear off the floor," he said. "That, or not turning up, or going home early, or thinking they know better than the director, or being on crack and calling prostitutes to their trailer. I come across all that stuff." Asked why he chose to protect the privacy of who he described as abysmal actors, Isaacs said he's "not so stupid" as even to give a "clue". The English star said he recently interviewed an author and friend who encouraged him to write a memoir through which to spill his secrets. Isaacs responded by saying he would never release a book, not "in a million years until everybody I know is dead" because he has "stories". He said his fantasy of writing a tome and finally revealing the truth about the rogue stars he worked with might come true if he wins the lottery. Until then, he said there's "no value" in naming and shaming other than creating "masochism and sabotage", adding "acting is all about secrets." Elsewhere in the interview, Isaacs confirmed speculation The White Lotus stars get paid $40,000 per episode. He said the "very low price" for the industry is disproportionate compared to what actors usually get for staring in big TV shows. Nevertheless, Isaacs said the stars of the hit series "would have paid to be in it" or even "probably would have given a body part" for a role.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
White Lotus star Jason Isaacs calls out superstar as 'worst bully ever' as he details 'bad behavior' on set
Jason Isaacs, the British actor known for his prolific career alongside Hollywood's biggest names, got candid about the troubling 'bad behavior' he's witnessed on set throughout his decades in Tinseltown. At 62, Isaacs boasts an impressive resume, having starred in major films such as Armageddon with Ben Affleck and Bruce Willis, The Patriot with Mel Gibson, Black Hawk Down with Josh Hartnett, 2014's Fury with Brad Pitt, and, perhaps most famously, the Harry Potter franchise alongside a host of A-list stars. Isaacs shared stories about some of the wild antics and difficult experiences he's had with co-stars, including one prominent actor who once pushed him out of a shot, in a revealing interview with Vulture. 'Oh Jesus. Did worse than that. Was the worst bully ever and a global icon,' Isaacs said. He continued. 'Did all the old tricks of doing a completely different performance off-camera than on. 'Yeah, it sucked. I'd never seen anything like it. Before, I would've licked the ground that this person walked on.' He didn't stop there, describing other examples of toxic behavior on set. 'Mostly, what I judge on set is bad behavior,' he continued. 'It's selfishness, cruelty, bullying, or people complaining to the person who's getting them dressed, who doesn't get in a year what they earn in a day to pick their filthy underwear off the floor. 'That, or not turning up, or going home early, or thinking they know better than the director, or being on crack and calling prostitutes to their trailer. 'I come across all that stuff.' When asked why he didn't name any of the offenders, Isaacs explained, 'I'm not so stupid as to even give hints or clues about who those people are.' He added, 'Because I have stories. I know where all the bodies are buried. 'I often fantasize about doing a junket and telling the truth, and when I win the lottery, possibly that will be the case.' However, Isaacs emphasized that exposing the truth about colleagues or on-set experiences serves little purpose beyond self-sabotage, noting, 'Acting is all about secrets.' In the same interview, Isaacs, who appears in the third season of the hit HBO series Whire Lotus as wealthy businessman Timothy Ratliff, revealed just how much he and his castmates were paid per episode. 'That's absolutely true,' he told the outlet, confirming that they earned $40,000 per episode. He added, 'Generally actors don't talk about pay in public because it's ridiculously disproportionate to what we do — putting on makeup and funny voices — and just upsets the public 'But compared to what people normally get paid for big television shows, that's a very low price.' Still, Isaacs admitted he was just as excited as fellow cast members— like Patrick Schwarzenegger and Parker Posey —to join the buzz-worthy series. 'But the fact is, we would have paid to be in it. We probably would have given a body part.' Isaacs was asked whether, given his long resume, he had any complicated feelings about earning the same as less-experienced actors like Schwarzenegger. He replied, 'Do I mind that I wasn't paid more than other people? I never work for money. I mean, I've done all right. 'People will think I have huge stockpiles of money but sadly, what I've done rather immaturely is expand my outgoings to match my incomings and pretty much spent everything I've earned over the years.'
