Latest news with #Rebellion
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The messier, the better': How ‘Andor' created the epic, heart-shattering Ghorman Massacre
For the heart-shattering episode of Andor titled 'Who Are You?,' which brings to screen the Rebellion-galvanizing Ghorman Massacre, editor Yan Miles' mantra was: 'The messier, the better.' What begins as a peaceful protest among the people of Ghorman turns into a slaughter incited by the Empire. Screams pierce through as flares, smoke, and death consume every chaotic, yet controlled frame. As roughly 350 extras fight for their freedom and lives, Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) attempts to assassinate Imperial officer Dedra Meero (Denise Gough). 'The whole thing unravels in front of him,' Miles tells Gold Derby. 'He's not there to protest. He knows these people, he knows what happened before — but now he becomes the witness. He becomes us. The plaza is a circle. You could call it a clock face. People go around, people go in and out of buildings. Cadets come out. People sing. It was always moving, but Cassian stayed centered.' More from GoldDerby 'Hope for the best, prepare for the worst': 'Overcompensating' breakout Wally Baram on making her acting debut, defiling prop toilet The case of Leslie Abramson vs. Marcia Clark: Ari Graynor and Sarah Paulson on 'defending' their characters In Pixar's 'Elio,' Easter eggs are literally written in the stars - will you be able to spot them all? Lucasfilm In the chaos, Miles creates both emotional and visual clarity — often in a matter of seconds. 'There's a nice example of it where it's less messy,' the editor said. 'There's a [shot of a] group of Ghormans coming through with the flares, going underneath the colony now; we're sort of with them. And then we cut to the guy in the café, the waiter, seeing people walking past behind the glass, all moving in the same direction. Then a profile shot of an oblivious stormtrooper, turning his head and watching the Ghormans go by. It's three shots.' Lucasfilm Another impactful sequence concludes Imperial lackey Syril Karn's (Kyle Soller) arc — all without any lines of dialogue. Amid the mayhem, Miles shifts to slow-motion, an out-of-the-ordinary but fitting stylistic flourish in the otherwise grounded Tony Gilroy-created series. 'He's witnessing it — it's gone beyond the beyond,' Miles said. 'Lasers going past, people being shot, but he's just standing there like he's bulletproof. He's lost in it all. He doesn't care anymore. Everything's just gone.' Then the question becomes for Syril: 'Who are you?' It's posed during his hand-to-hand brawl with Cassian, the man he's spent years chasing. 'In the scene with 'who are you?,' there was a lot of debate on set,' Miles shared. 'Tony wrote it, 'Who are you?' Tony, [director] Janus Metz, Diego, and the people around asked, 'Are there any other versions where Cassian does remember Syril?' We did a cut where he does remember and says, 'It's you,' and then Syril lowers the gun.' Lucasfilm That debate was quickly resolved in post-production. 'I told Tony I have the other version,' Miles said. 'He went, 'No, no, no, no, it is, 'Who are you?' Andor doesn't know this guy. This guy's a nobody. It's the worst thing that could happen to any of us, isn't it? You could be doing something for years and years and one day you wake up and you're like, 'Who the hell am I? What am I doing?' That's life itself. Tony's words were, 'Who are you?'' Gilroy joked to Miles that if he didn't use that line, then he couldn't keep the slow-motion shot of Syril. 'Tony's genius is, if you're going to do something bold — like a slow spin shot or a poetic line — you have to earn it,' Miles added. 'Otherwise, it doesn't belong in this universe.' After Syril's death, his former partner, Dedra, displays startling vulnerability. She is alone and out of control — perhaps her greatest fear. 'Denise did lots of different stuff in that scene, which I was going to show all in one shot,' Miles explained. 'But then I gravitated toward three or four shots. It starts when she raises her head — just the vulnerability to it. In the next shot, she's focused on her neck — which is Syril, what he did to her earlier, the grappling. Then I jumped to where she goes to the wall and does that thing with her hand — there's fear in it, and then she stops it. She controls it. Then I hard cut to her straightening her jacket — imperial, composed. It's the beginning of her demise.' Lucasfilm Miles continued to tell the story of 'Who Are You?' even as the credits rolled. When the Ghorman anthem is first sung, it's like angels singing in the quiet before the storm. But in the aftermath, a lone voice remains. 'We were finishing the episode,' the editor recounted, 'and I had this solo recording from one of the assistants. She sang the anthem right there in the cutting room, on a USB mic. The most amazing voice. I thought, 'Why not put her voice over the credits [as temp music]?' A year later, I watched the episode on Disney+ and there it was. I'd forgotten I'd even left it in. Gave me goosebumps.' Best of GoldDerby Adam Brody, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, and the best of our Emmy Comedy Actor interviews Kristen Bell, Tina Fey, Bridget Everett, and the best of our Emmy Comedy Actress interviews 'It was wonderful to be on that ride': Christian Slater talks his beloved roles, from cult classics ('Heathers,' 'True Romance') to TV hits ('Mr. Robot,' 'Dexter: Original Sin') Click here to read the full article.
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- General
- Irish Independent
Wexford to play host to a number of 1798 Rebellion commemoration events
1798 Summer School A series of guided walks and talks will be offered on Saturday, June 21 beginning with a walking tour of Enniscorthy town at 10 a.m. with historian and archaeologist, Barry Lacey, starting from the 1798 Centre carpark. The walk will finish back at The National 1798 Rebellion Centre where three talks covering different aspects of the Rebellion will be presented. The morning walking tour and talks are €10 each or a 1798 Summer School pass, which includes entry to the National 1798 Rebellion Centre exhibition over the weekend, is only €12. Pre-booking is recommended through info@ or 053 9327596. Free parking is available all day. The talks start at noon with a presentation by Dr. Elaine Callinan of Carlow College on the influences of the 1798 Rebellion with the revolutions across Europe and in America. After a short break for lunch or coffee, New Ross historian tour guide Myles Courtney will offer his in-depth talk on the Battle of New Ross at 2 p.m. In the final talk of the day, Dr. Ida Milne, lecturer at Carlow College and TCD, will give us a personal look at the letters of her grandmother's family, the Elmes, who lived near Old Ross until the 1970s. The letters were collected by Ida's father, King Milne, and his uncle, Sam Elmes, and were written intermittently between 1785 and 1817. The letters provide insights into the social and economic landscape in the period prior to the 1798 rebellion. The correspondence also covers events in and around New Ross and Old Ross in late May and early June 1798, the Protestant experience during these troubled times and the divided loyalties of Samuel Elmes's sons, one a yeoman and another implicated with the rebels. Battle of Vinegar Hill Commemoration At 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 21, a commemoration will be held at the Vinegar Hill car park to recognise to battle that took place here on 'The Longest Day' presented in conjunction with the Enniscorthy Municipal District Council. The Enniscorthy Re-enactment Society, accompanied by the Nócha hOcht le Chéile pikemen and the Ballindaggin Pipe Band, will march from the Enniscorthy Gaelscoil to Vinegar Hill in period dress for the commencement of the commemoration. A number of speakers will provide historical context, along with music from the Ballindaggin Pipe Band and other guests. This event is free and open to the public. Rebellion Day is an interactive family day on Sunday, June 22 from 12 p.m.- 5 p.m. on the grounds of the National 1798 Rebellion Centre. Manager Mico Hassett said: 'This community-orientated day brings history to life, offering up-close craft demonstrations and weapons displays, along with traditional music and dancing. It is a fun and educational day that encourages participation.' ADVERTISEMENT Learn more Local Re-enactment organiser, Ray Murphy, also said: 'Re-enactors have the opportunity to pay homage to our past heroes and participate in commemorations and re-enactments throughout the year. The Enniscorthy Re-enactors Society will set up camp in the gardens of the National 1798 Rebellion Centre. Watch out – there may even be a few shots fired!' "Re-enactors will answer questions about the battles and weapons of 1798 throughout the day. Learn about the hand-crafted weapons that were so important in 1798 with blacksmith and wood-working demonstrations and maybe even see the work that goes into making a hand-forged iron pike!' he added. The Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann will bring the Fringe Fleadh to Enniscorthy, providing live trad sessions and Irish Dancing throughout the afternoon. Bring the whole family and make a day of exploring the food and craft stalls. Café 98 will be open with a special festival menu or bring a picnic and enjoy the 1798 Centre grounds. Visit the Centre The Centre will be open for tours from 12 p.m.- 4:15 p.m. and those who have not been in to see the exhibition are encouraged to come inside and take in their interactive history. Café 98 will be open with a take-away menu, coffee, tea, cold drinks, and sweet treats, too. Public toilet facilities are available to all. On Sunday, the carpark at St. Mary's CBS will be open for free parking during Rebellion Day. Deputy Manager Eve Furlong commented: 'The Rebellion Day event is a free, family day out and for those wanting to see the 1798 exhibition, a general admission tour ticket will be reduced to €5 per person or only €10 for up to a family of five, a super value, for the whole weekend. Keep an eye on the Facebook page for updates.' Music funded through the Fringe Fleadh in partnership with Wexford County Council.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Andor' star Genevieve O'Reilly on Mon Mothma's big speech and wedding dance: ‘Star Wars' always reaches for ‘the universal and the intimate'
Since Andor Season 2 is split into groups of three episodes, each taking place one year after the last, viewers see the characters in several different modes and periods of their lives. In particular, Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly) plays quite a spectrum of emotions. In the first arc of the season, written by Andor creator Tony Gilroy, viewers see her navigate her daughter's wedding. It involves coaching her young daughter Leida (Bronte Carmichael) through bridal feelings and making covert political decisions with her fellow rebel leader Luthen Rael (Stellan Skarsgård). 'It's such an extraordinary thing that Tony and the writers did, to allow for such an arc this season starting with that wedding,' O'Reilly tells Gold Derby. 'There was an exploration of politics within the family home in Season 1, especially with her husband, so it's personal and political all at once, but the fact that the writers gave time to complex, nuanced mother-daughter scenes and husband-wife scenes within this massive umbrella of Star Wars allows for such an exploration of this woman.' More from GoldDerby Reality TV roundtable panel: 'American Idol,' 'Queer Eye,' 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,' 'The Traitors' 'The Traitors' producer Sam Rees-Jones on the 'messiest group' ever and why the turret was pure 'chaos' 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' producer Jeff Jenkins on how Taylor is an 'absolute unscripted superstar' Ledia's marriage to the son of oligarch Davo Sculdun (Richard Dillane) was arranged by Mon's childhood friend Tay Kolma (Ben Miles) back in Season 2, to help cover up Mon's financing of the nascent Rebellion. But Tay didn't understand the full extent of Mon's political activities, and starts to have second thoughts about getting involved with rebels as the wedding looms. Mon believes they can pay 'a number' to assuage Tay. Still, Luthen knows otherwise, and arranges to have Tay discreetly killed offscreen before he can incriminate Mon — the kind of difficult choice that revolutionaries sometimes have to make. Mon gets to process all of her emotions about that, as well as the wedding, the Rebellion, and everything else, in a kinetic, instantly meme-able dance scene in the third episode of Season 2. 'There's that scene with Luthen where she tacitly agrees to her friend being murdered. So then the chaos that is within her emerges through this big dance number,' O'Reilly says. 'I'm able to wrestle Mon Mothma out of what we've seen before, and give her all of this humanity. I feel like we all see ourselves in that dance. At different times in our lives, we've all done that dance for many different reasons. It's something we can really connect to, because I recognize her in that moment. I recognize myself in that moment.' On the other end of the Andor spectrum, the third arc of Season 2 finally depicts a crucial moment in Star Wars lore when Mon Mothma publicly denounces the Ghorman Massacre and then flees the Senate before the Empire's stormtroopers can arrest and/or kill her. This event was hinted at in O'Reilly's previous appearance as Mon on the animated series Star Wars Rebels. Still, now viewers get to see and hear Mon's dramatic speech denouncing the Emperor and calling the Ghorman repression a 'genocide.' O'Reilly has been looking forward to playing that scene for years, and it helped her play the other aspects of Mon Mothma. 'It felt deeply important to me. I felt that that was the crux of who this woman really is within the 20-year arc that I have had within this woman,' O'Reilly says. 'I did know it was coming, so it was something I was very much looking forward to as a performer and as an actor, and for us to be able to see her voice have a massive impact and to see the courage it took to have that voice. We also see the complexity around speeches. You don't just stand and give a speech. What is the straw that breaks the camel's back before it? What happens to make you actually be willing to set fire to your life? How afraid are you in that moment? What words can you put together? Dan Gilroy wrote that episode, and I know Tony was working with him in it, but what they did to really carve an understanding of what it is to have to give a speech like that was very important to me.' O'Reilly continues, 'As an actor, it felt like the centerpiece of that woman, and perhaps because I knew that was the centerpiece, it allowed for me to work backwards. It allows for the dance sequence and the mother-daughter scenes. You can spread your wings a bit if you know where you're going.' Andor's depiction of the Ghorman Massacre and Mon's fiery speech denouncing it fills an essential gap in Star Wars lore. But there's more than just fictional world-building going on. By so thoroughly fleshing out Mon Mothma's character and her stakes, O'Reilly and the Gilroys help viewers see connections between her struggles and political crises in our real world. 'The narrative is really driven by the individual characters. And so when we come to that speech in episode nine, we understand her cost,' O'Reilly says. 'We understand that she's not just a senator standing and giving a speech, that she is all of these things: A wife, a mother, a friend, a confidante. You understand that there is a fragile human at the center of these stories, and it does allow for us to recognize ourselves in it.' O'Reilly continues, 'I think Star Wars is always reaching for the universal and the intimate at once. The very first story was about starfighters, but it was also about family.' Best of GoldDerby Reality TV roundtable panel: 'American Idol,' 'Queer Eye,' 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,' 'The Traitors' 'The Traitors' producer Sam Rees-Jones on the 'messiest group' ever and why the turret was pure 'chaos' 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' producer Jeff Jenkins on how Taylor is an 'absolute unscripted superstar' Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Andor' creator Tony Gilroy on the show's greater impact on the ‘Star Wars' universe and how much K-2SO is enough
Fresh off writing and producing the critically acclaimed Disney+ series Andor, Tony Gilroy has earned a well-deserved victory lap. He managed to create a Star Wars project that delivers a darker, more mature, and grounded look at the Rebellion — something deeper than anything previously seen in the franchise — while also winning over the notoriously divided fan base. Now that he's finally stepping away from the Star Wars universe — a journey that began when he reworked Rogue One into a fan-favorite — Gilroy is making the FYC rounds, celebrating Andor's critical success and saying goodbye to the galaxy far, far away … at least for now. While attending an awards event at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills, he spoke with Gold Derby about Andor's influence on the franchise's future, how a dream project nearly turned into a nightmare, and why just a little K-2SO can go a long way. More from GoldDerby How Seth Meyers is still laughing after 11 years: 'We've taken advantage of bad things' Chloë Sevigny on Kitty Menendez and 'Monsters' fascination: 'People are endlessly curious about those who have privilege and abuse it' 'Snow White' sets Disney+ premiere date, 'Eurovision' heads to Broadway, and the rest of today's top stories Lucasfilm/Disney+ Gold Derby: Are you sure you're going to set down? Have you been thinking about it with all the accolades and the wildly enthusiastic response? Tony Gilroy: It's six intense years, and 10, sorta, years in total. It's 26 hours of Star Wars. Leave the campsite cleaner than you found it I mean, really. I think I'd never say never, but I'm not doing that next. has long lived in the fairy-tale realm, but shifts it toward allegory — something George Lucas hinted at with the original film's commentary on Vietnam. What's exciting about making that kind of paradigm shift, and do you see it influencing future stories beyond ?" The mandate was to open a new land, right? The mandate was to try to do something really different with a different grammar and different vocabulary and a different ethic and really go for it. And we showed a lot of work before we started and they were like, 'OK, we're eager for that.' It was never meant to turn an entire continent around or change everything. It was never meant to be in contrast with anything else. It was meant to be its own thing and to open the possibilities for all kinds of other things. I'd get very disappointed when people try to benchmark it against the other shows that they have and try to make a conflict. That's always annoying, and sometimes more than annoying. It's a losing game, too. Yeah, and it's just really annoying. But the other thing is, the lesson that I wouldn't want people to slavishly say, 'Oh, well this is what we have to do now. No, if there's any lesson, it's like swing away and see what you can get away with. In receiving the response to the show now that it's all out there, is there something that's been a favorite aspect of yours or a surprise element that you've enjoyed in the audience reaction? The scale of the show and the scale of the reaction is so huge. I think the best answer to your question is that I think if you're a creator and you're honest enough — and people say they don't read reviews and other things, but I always liked test screenings, but I hated focus groups. Test screens were always valuable, but focus groups, there was always somebody who thought they didn't have an audience and they took over. I find social media commentary to be so vast and the things that are wrong with it are actually good for you to listen to. And to watch people — you can ignore the ones you think are useless and you can focus on [the constructive] but so many people, all of us, our community on the show, we're all in awe of the level and depth of conversation about things that we thought no one would ever get, or things that we didn't even really fully realize we were putting in there. The depth of interest and comprehension and the depth of analysis, politically, artistically, it's staggering to us. It's weird that it's very weird, that. It's a new development, it's a new thing At the tail end of the second season you have so much fun with security droid K-2SO. Did you ultimately wish you had more room to explore the Cassian-K-2 two relationship? No. I think I was a stern taskmaster about that, and I'm sure … I mean, the audience was impatient for it and Alan [Tudyk] was impatient for it and Lucasfilm was impatient for it. Everyone was impatient for it. I knew from the very first day I started the show when he would be coming in, and I knew it could be great if he came in the right way and we could really do it. I also worked on Rogue [One] enough to know how difficult the character he is to carry around, as a plot. As much as people love him, he's very difficult to tell a story with. It's a very big piece of luggage to carry around into a story, so it's very problematic. So I just kept telling people, 'Please wait. Please wait.' What was that day that you were working and you thought 'We're making what I wanted to make, I'm making ?' Honestly? I mean, I was hoping all through COVID that the show would go away. I was terrified of the show, when I finally realized what we were into. Still during COVID, my brother John moved to New York and we set up a cutting room, a COVID cutting room on 86th Street. It's a couple blocks from my house. We had an assistant that I never even saw! He was in the basement, no one could talk to anybody. He was like Igor in the basement. And Johnny and I tested four times a week and the dailies started to come in that Toby was shooting after we started. And I think it was about week three or four when — my brother's a pretty hardcore coconspirator, and he finally just said, 'Dude, give up. This is happening. It's great. It's going to be great, and start to enjoy yourself.' And I turned around when the dailies really started coming in and I started seeing what the actors could do. I was like, 'Oh my God! Well, I'm on this ship and it's launched and it can be really cool.' But I think you go back and forth between confidence and fear all the time. Best of GoldDerby Chloë Sevigny on Kitty Menendez and 'Monsters' fascination: 'People are endlessly curious about those who have privilege and abuse it' Jason Isaacs relives filming 'The White Lotus' piña colada scene: 'It was one of the reasons I was worried about taking the job' Kaitlyn Dever on playing 'horrible' characters in 'Last of Us', 'Apple Cider Vinegar': 'I just don't see any other option but to give 100 percent' Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bar fears noise complaints from planned flats
A music venue which hosts heavy metal gigs and punk bands has said it feared becoming embroiled in a noise row with residents of a new city centre tower block. The owners of Rebellion on Whitworth Street West in Manchester said they "cannot afford to fight" a legal battle if there were complaints. The application, from property firm Glenbrook, to build a £118m 44-storey development next to the bar has been approved by Manchester City Council. The local authority said it was aware of "sensitivities relating to the proximity of Rebellion to this development, and the potential noise nuisance which could be created in the future" and work was ongoing to ensure a solution. The venue's co-owner Alex Kostyakov said an appropriate acoustic assessment had not been completed and he had not been consulted by developers. "They did [the assessment] on a Friday and Saturday night and didn't event mention that we're an all-week venue in the planning submission," he said. "We have heavy metal gigs on Monday nights, people moving in aren't going to be expecting that," the 31-year-old from Swinton said. "If you've got a Sunday off and you're trying to relax in your flat and we've got a loud punk bank playing it's not going to work. "It's about quality of life for the resident not just us." Manchester City Council said a clause in the planning agreement would ensure that work would only begin when it was "satisfied that it can take place without any noise nuisance being detected in future properties". However, Mr Kostyakov, who has co-owned the venue since 2021, said there was no way to know if there would be noise issues until residents had moved in. "The worry is that residents move in and the council turns round and says we have to pay for £50,000 worth of soundproofing," he said. "Or if they say we have to be ending gigs at 10, for example, we will lose a big chunk of our income. "That would basically be the end of us, we'd have to shut." He said he was concerned the venue could end up in the same situation as Northern Quarter venue Night and Day Cafe, which was subject to a three-year legal battle with the council over noise complaints in 2021. "Our pockets are nowhere near as deep as Night and Day," he said. "We both have other jobs because running a music venue isn't enough." Mr Kostyakov is calling for an amendment to the planning permission requiring the developer to take responsibility for "any remediation and acoustic works" in future. The BBC has contacted Glenbrook for a comment. The Whitworth Street West development had been approved last month but the application had to be reassessed after the Music Venue True (MVT) submitted an objection on the basis of its proximity to Rebellion. The MVT said: "Rebellion is not only well-loved locally and nationally, it is an irreplaceable part of Manchester's live music infrastructure." It said the risk was "not hypothetical" as there were "obvious correlations between noise complaints and venues closing". "Responsible planning should create places where people want to live because of the cultural life on their doorstep, not in spite of it," it added. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. Plans for city's tallest tower hit by admin setback Music Venue Trust Rebellion
