Latest news with #TheLongGoodbye
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Inside Stormzy's VIP packed premiere as rapper secretly takes acting lessons ahead of big screen debut
The film is about a rapper whose career is fading ACTING UP A STORMZ Inside Stormzy's VIP packed premiere as rapper secretly takes acting lessons ahead of big screen debut Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) WE know Stormzy can write a killer song, with 14 Top Ten hits – including four No1s – under his belt. And after he invited me to the premiere of his debut short film Big Man at London's British Film Institute, I'm happy to report he can act, too. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 9 Stormzy with mum Abigail Owuo at the film's premiere Credit: Getty What's more astonishing is that his 20-minute film, directed by Oscar-winner Aneil Karia, was improvised from start to finish. 'Stormzy had acting lessons for months before filming started,' a friend told me before the premiere. 'He doesn't do anything by halves.' Big Man, the first offering from his #Merky Films company, follows the story of Tenzman, a rapper whose career is fading — until a chance meeting with two young boys, Klevis and Tyrell, changes the course of his life. It has already had almost a million YouTube views in less than 24 hours. Arrogant Merky Films has been in the making for a long time, as Stormzy explained: 'We've been working on this for five years. We've done our due diligence. 'I think sometimes it's very arrogant to think that because you've got a profile elsewhere, you can just step into a space with all the bells and whistles. 'We didn't want to do that.' Stormzy is impressive in the leading role, and the tenderness he has towards young actors Jaydon Eastman and Klevis Brahja feels completely organic. Stormzy's US superstar ex breaks silence on dating star for first time since they were spotted snogging at airport 'They absolutely killed it,' Stormzy says, 'I was like a duck out of water. 'They made me feel comfortable and gave me confidence. I was the biggest amateur there.' Stormzy's not doing himself justice. Aneil, who won an Academy Award for Best Action Live Short Film, The Long Goodbye, in 2022, agrees, adding: 'Stormzy can act. When it came to improvisation, it was amazing.' The singer adds: 'I forgot that it was going to be improvised. I was like, 'Damn, there's no script.' which is crazy. 'It was challenging because I'm a rapper, trying to play a rapper, but I'm using my voice. It was like an episode of Black Mirror.' Stormzy, inset, is big on giving back, with his #Merky Foundation pledging millions to help young people in the UK. And this theme runs throughout Big Man, with Stormzy's fictional rapper initially scoffing at the two kids' dream of visiting Brighton — before realising how much that trip means to the young pair, who are enduring the monotony of life between school and care home. Don't get me wrong, this film isn't pushing an agenda. The messaging is an undercurrent that makes you think but it doesn't take away from the fact it is genuinely hilarious and heartwarming. Screams Thanks to the brilliant rising stars Jaydon and Klevis, the improvisation feels so natural and authentic — you can't help laughing out loud. In one scene, Stormzy — who towers over me at 6ft 5in — screams as he's riding a rollercoaster with the lads. But he's not hollering because he's afraid of heights. 'That rollercoaster is too small for me,' Stormzy admits with a laugh. 'My knees are literally banging against the thing. I'm screaming in pain.' Stormzy promises there is more to come. 'We've got a lot of things in development,' he explains. 'I just want people to feel something. To enjoy it in the most pure, sentimental way.' Big Man is available to watch now on YouTube and I promise it's well worth a viewing. Congratulations, Stormzy. You deserve all the credit coming your way. 9 Big Man is the first offering from Stormzy's #Merky Films company Credit: Supplied FUR PLAY, JADE 9 Jade pulls off these furry boots to promote her latest single Credit: supplied WITH temperatures soaring, these furry boots would be the last thing I'd want to be sweating in this weekend. But Jade pulled them off in an arty fashion shoot to promote her latest single Plastic Box, out today, which is all about taking a chance on love. It's among a load of new releases to kick off your weekend, including Haim's I Quit, Sombr's We Never Dated and Alesso's remix of the orchestral Ascension theme, created to kick off the Esports World Cup. Muse have put out their new single Unravelling, which is their first new music since 2022's Will Of The People album, while Benson Boone is a shoo-in for No1 next Friday with his new record American Heart. Elsewhere, Miles Kane has announced his album Sunlight In The Shadows will be out in October and has dropped the first song Love Is Cruel, while Messy singer Lola Young has put out Not Like That Anymore from her upcoming record I'm Only F***ing Myself. DAISY'S ROOTS DOWN 9 Normal People actress Daisy Edgar-Jones with photographer boyfriend Ben Seed Credit: Getty DAISY EDGAR-JONES has got serious with her boyfriend of two years, by splashing out more than £1.5m on a massive house together. The Normal People actress got together with photographer Ben Seed – who previously dated Peaky Blinders actress Anya Taylor-Joy – in 2023, but things are clearly going from strength to strength. I'm told they have bought a huge London property, after months of hopping between each other's places. A source close to the couple, left, said: 'They are practically inseparable, so it seemed like the natural next step to find a place together. 'They are really enjoying planning the decor and some updates for their new place to make it a real home for them both. 'Daisy has said she can see them staying there for a long time and she sees it as a really exciting chapter for their relationship.' Since shooting to fame in Normal People in 2020, Daisy has starred in major movies including Where The Crawdads Sing, Twisters and On Swift Horses. She is currently filming a thriller called A Place In Hell opposite Michelle Williams, about two women at a high profile criminal law firm, also starring Andrew Scott. And then she will lead heist movie Here Comes The Flood, alongside Denzel Washington and Robert Pattinson. Sounds like she's found her own leading man. MILEY'S BEY GIG 9 Miley Cyrus stuns in this sheer dress with only feathers covering her chest in Paris Credit: Splash 9 Miley performed a Spotify Billions Club show for her 100 biggest listeners Credit: Getty MILEY CYRUS got fans in a flap when she wore this sheer dress with only feathers covering her chest in Paris. The Flowers singer was mobbed outside her hotel as she made her way to a concert in the risque gown. She performed a Spotify Billions Club show for her 100 biggest listeners ahead of a planned appearance with Beyonce. Yesterday, she was spotted rehearsing with the superstar at the Stade de France, where she was last night expected to join her for the first of three nights for the Cowboy Carter tour in the French capital. They collaborated on the Cowboy Carter album track II Most Wanted which was one of the best on the album, so I'm hoping they release a live version, too. EM'S TOP OF THE CROPS 9 Linkin Park frontwoman Emily Armstrong at the Rock for People festival Credit: AP ONE fan had a very strange request for Linkin Park frontwoman Emily Armstrong at the American rockers' latest gig – and she gratefully obliged. The band are on a sold- out European tour which includes a show at Wembley Stadium next weekend – and one punter at their gig at the Rock for People festival in the Czech Republic held up a sign saying: 'Emily cut my hair.' Event staff pulled him out of the crowd and he gave Emily clippers for her to shave off his tresses. But he was left with a mullet after Emily told him: 'We gotta leave some at the back for the party, baby!' FANS LOVE MARTIN'S BAD HABIT 9 Musician and actor Martin Kemp had a wardrobe malfunction Credit: Getty MARTIN KEMP once accidentally flashed his bits to the front row at a gig in the States. But the musician and actor, who was performing with Spandau Ballet in 1981, revealed that his wardrobe malfunction luckily went down a storm. Martin said: 'I was basically wearing a dress when we played in New York – a monk's habit. 'What I didn't realise when I put my foot up on the monitor was that everybody in the front row was getting a complete eyeful. 'Because The Underground was essentially a gay club, they were loving it.' His comments come as the band announce a new box set, Everything Is Now – Vol 1: 1978-1982, which includes rare live footage of the gig in question. I can only presume his bits will be blurred out. RUGBY JAMES TO TACKLE MUSIC BIZ 9 James Haskell has applied to trademark Rogue Unit Records Credit: YouTube/James Haskell JAMES HASKELL is keen to take his DJing hobby to the next level, as he is trademarking a music company. The former rugby player, who was married to Chloe Madeley, has applied to trademark Rogue Unit Records. A source said: 'James has been DJing for over a decade and is keen to really get involved with the music industry. Hopefully Rogue Unit Records will allow him to both release his own music and help others get into the scene.' Over the years, James has played at some of the biggest and most glamorous clubs in the world including Cafe Mambo in Ibiza and Soho Garden in Dubai. The music biz isn't an easy one to crack though, so best of luck to him. FRESH from his Soccer Aid triumph, Big Zuu has found his way into the kitchen. The rapper has teamed up with weekly meal service Gousto to launch The Bare – a limited-edition recipe range inspired by TV drama The Bear. Orders from the range helps support The Trussell Trust, which is the food bank charity helping families across the UK who would otherwise go without the bare essentials this summer. Big Zuu said: 'It's about more than just flavours; it's about making some noise for people going without the basics. I've always believed good food should be for everyone.' WILL SMITH has hinted he has no regrets over slapping Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars in 2022. He recorded a freestyle rap for Charlie Sloth's Fire In The Booth feature on Apple, and he brings up the clash in a verse. Will raps: 'If you're talking crazy out your face up on the stage and disrespect me on the stage, expect me on the stage.' Ouch.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Natasha Lyonne: The Maverick Behind the Madness
On June 5, the IndieWire Honors Spring 2025 ceremony will celebrate the creators and stars responsible for some of the most impressive and engaging work of this TV season. Curated and selected by IndieWire's editorial team, IndieWire Honors is a celebration of the creators, artisans, and performers behind television well worth toasting. We're showcasing their work with new interviews leading up to the Los Angeles event. A conversation with Natasha Lyonne is to experience a gravel-voiced one-woman film school with a carousel of cultural references that range from 'The Long Goodbye' to Lou Reed to quantum physics. More from IndieWire 'Stick' Review: Owen Wilson's Golf Comedy Takes Too Many Shortcuts Trying to Be 'Ted Lasso' Julianne Nicholson Was 'Paradise' Creator Dan Fogelman's Only Choice for His 'Complicated' Villain But what makes Lyonne singular (and why she's being recognized with the Maverick Award at this season's IndieWire Honors) is more than her encyclopedic mind or her distinct creative stamp. It's her ability to turn lived experience into genre-busting, soul-searching, radically original storytelling. In a TV landscape dominated by serialization, Lyonne and co-creator Rian Johnson took a left turn with Peacock's 'Poker Face,' a classic case-of-the-week mystery format with a twist. The heroine is Charlie Cale, a human lie detector with a beat-up car and an even more battered moral compass, and she's received plenty of 'Colombo' comparisons. 'It's quite intentional that I walk around like a rumpled detective,' Lyonne told IndieWire, 'but I'd say I've seen him in more Cassavetes films than 'Columbo' episodes, if I'm being honest. Which I might as well be, given the theme of the show.' As a result, 'Poker Face' doesn't feel like a riff or homage. She and Johnson developed a character who feels both timeless and unmistakably hers. 'It's not really about assessing the landscape,' Lyonne said. 'It's about inner curiosity. That's more likely to resonate than paperwork.' Lyonne's commitment to crafting characters with depth and agency began with co-creating Netflix's 'Russian Doll.' The mind-bending, Emmy-nominated series riffed on time loops and existential dread while feeling deeply personal. 'At the risk of sounding pedantic, I do think it's important to mention that — as it so often seems with women — someone assumes a character was created for them,' she said. 'Let's be really clear: That never occurred. This character exists because, like any good old-fashioned entrepreneur, I saw a void.' Lyonne was never going to fit in the 'beautiful, but she doesn't know it' roles. She's gorgeous but, with her wild red hair and irrepressible intellect, she doesn't look or sound like anyone who's unaware of exactly who she is. To find the work, Lyonne had to create it. 'In modern times, there were no women running around like Philip Marlowe on our screens. Surely, that was a hole I could fill,' she said with a laugh. 'I knew nobody was casting me as a 'Roller Girl' type, you know what I mean? That's Heather Graham's part, and Meryl Streep had her section. Well, I found mine in the basements of YMCAs and Murray Hill in Manhattan, where I would watch a lot of noir films alone in the middle of the day after I dropped out of Tisch.' 'Mae West made her choices,' she added. 'I made mine.' Lyonne builds her shows from the inside out. She's a writer, director, and producer with her own company, Animal Pictures, which she co-founded to support boundary-pushing creators. She's now prepping her first feature, 'Uncanny Valley,' which she's co-writing and directing with Brit Marling ('The OA'). Lyonne and Marling became fast friends after they were invited to a series of what Lyonne describes as 'backdoor Hollywood AI meetings.' 'I adore Brit Marling,' she said. 'She's a fucking genius. Because of our sci-fi leanings, we'd each developed a deep interest in this space. And in these meetings, it became clear that a lot of what was already happening was AI. Brit and I looked at each other and realized: this is real. It's fascinating. We're both interested in this, and we're both kind of punks, raising our eyebrows at how it's all going down. So we got this idea: attack it sideways and head-on. I think it's going to be a very cool movie.' In fact, she cracked, 'It's not announced yet, but Joe Pesci is the star of 'Uncanny Valley.' He plays my daughter. Thanks for this conversation, and thanks to IndieWire for this Maverick Award. As a maverick, it's really important that everyone knows Joe Pesci plays my daughter in 'Uncanny Valley.' It's been said, so now it's fact. Throw it on Wikipedia.' That kind of humor, bone-dry and self-aware, is part of what makes Lyonne's voice so necessary. But underneath it all is a deep understanding of what it means to survive, create, and evolve in an industry that rarely makes space for women like her. Her advice to others, particularly women taking creative control, is simple and hard-earned: Hang tight. Stick to your guns. Don't worry about being palatable, or overthink the wins and losses. 'It's all grist for the mill,' she said. 'Self-respect is the answer. And blood on the page.' That's why Natasha Lyonne is this year's Maverick. And why Joe Pesci better clear his schedule. 'There is no reality,' she said. 'It's what you make it. Where you're at dictates how you receive the world.' 'Poker Face' Season 2 is now streaming on Peacock. Best of IndieWire The Best Thrillers Streaming on Netflix in June, from 'Vertigo' and 'Rear Window' to 'Emily the Criminal' All 12 Wes Anderson Movies, Ranked, from 'Bottle Rocket' to 'The Phoenician Scheme' Nightmare Film Shoots: The 38 Most Grueling Films Ever Made, from 'Deliverance' to 'The Wages of Fear'
The Spinoff
18-05-2025
- Politics
- The Spinoff
What's in a name: Does it matter whether it's chicken kyiv or kiev?
Poultry brands in New Zealand are changing their spelling from chicken kiev to chicken kyiv. Ukrainians say the update of two little letters matters a lot. There's a scene in the 1973 neo-noir film The Long Goodbye, based on the Raymond Chandler novel of the same name, where a man eats 'the fanciest meal' he's ever had. 'I don't understand how you get the butter in the chicken. When you cut the chicken, the butter comes out,' he gushes, in awe. 'I don't understand.' The woman who prepared the meal responds, 'That's the secret about it. Chicken kiev.' These days, the classic dish – breadcrumbed chicken breast stuffed with herb and garlic butter – remains the same, but won't look the same on paper. The dish is now more likely to be spelled 'chicken kyiv'. This tiny but mighty change in spelling has taken place in supermarket freezers across the nation, in a signal of support for Ukraine. The last time I unpacked a supermarket click-and-collect order I noticed the packaging on a box of Waitoa free range 'chicken kievs' now says 'chicken kyivs'. 'Kyiv' is how Ukrainians spell the name of the capital city of Ukraine, but 'Kiev' is a transliteration from the Russian word for the city. Yuriy Gladun, former chairperson of the Ukrainian Association of New Zealand's northern branch, says using 'kyiv' instead of 'kiev' is Ukrainian people shedding their colonial past. And that includes when referring to the chicken dish. 'The spelling of chicken kyiv is really important. It is part of the war but on a cultural field. We are trying to get rid of the Russian influence in every way – economical, political, cultural and language. That's why we advance the spelling 'Kyiv' – for us, this issue really matters. It might sound simple but it has deep historical roots.' There has been a campaign by the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, #kyivnotkiev, on social media since 2018 to promote the Ukrainian language transliteration rather than spelling from Russia. The story goes that Kyiv is named after Kyi, one of the city's legendary founders. The spelling matters to Ukrainians. In March 2022 Woolworths told Australian media that it was changing its spelling from 'kiev' to 'kyiv' to stand in solidarity with Ukrainians living in Australia. The brands stocked in the trans-Tasman supermarket chain soon followed suit. A spokesperson for Ingham's, the poultry company that owns Waitoa, said they changed the spelling of their Kyiv products in 2024. 'The adjustment to the name reflects the Ukrainian spelling and was done with the benefit of discussions with members of the community. ' Like many internationally recognised meals with a long history, there is debate around the origin of the dish. Some say it was created in the kitchen of a Ukraine hotel in the beginning of the 20th century, others say French chefs hired by Russian gentry are responsible for the meal. 'I don't know who created it, whether it came from Kyiv or Ukraine at all,' Yuriy Gladun says, 'But as it carries the name of the Ukraininan capital, we are proud.' He points out that 'chicken kyiv' isn't what people in Ukraine would call it anyway, the dish would be referred to as 'kotleta po kyivsky'. Dr Corrinne Seals, Ukrainian-American by birth, is associate professor of applied linguistics at Te Herenga Waka said definitively that the dish should be called chicken kyiv, not chicken kiev. 'Kyiv is a Ukrainian city. We should use the Ukrainian spelling. Language is very political.' She has noticed spelling of the well-known dish is beginning to change but more slowly than in references to the name of the city Kyiv. When it comes to the chicken meal, she says, people are used to spelling it in a certain way and they don't necessarily link it to the city Kyiv. While the generally accepted spelling is changing, it will take time to tidy up the long history of the dish. A Jamie Oliver recipe from 2020 refers to 'chicken kiev' (the page includes a 2021 comment from a fan saying 'Thank you for a good recipe. But it is KYIV not Kiev. FYI.'). In 2023 he released a recipe for 'chicken kyiv' which he calls an '80s classic' – his dad used to make hundreds of them a week for customers in the family pub. Similarly, celebrity chef Rachael Ray calls it 'chicken kiev' on an older recipe published on her website but in a newer recipe from May 2022 she refers to 'Kyiv' with the comment, 'When I was a little girl, chicken kyiv, then spelled kiev, was a really, really big deal. Everybody loved this.' The HelloFresh website has a recipe for 'baked chicken kievs' but, when asked about spelling, said it was a mistake – the recipe was discontinued four years ago. Even so, 'our ANZ style guide across all our assets stipulates that recipes in this cuisine style are to be spelt 'Kyiv' and it looks like this one was missed,' HelloFresh spokesperson Amy Hayes said. A spokesperson for popular UK recipe site Good Food said they changed the name of some recipes earlier this year to bring them in line with other UK media and so that users can find them more easily. Classic chicken kyiv is the #78 chicken recipe on thewebsite so far this year. The web address for the recipe still holds the previous spelling in the URL though. Closer to home, New World still calls them 'chicken kievs', as do many smaller businesses like delis and privately-owned butchers. Seals says changing the spelling is a small but impactful move businesses can make. 'No use of language is ever neutral. If you aren't aligning with the internationally accepted correct spelling, you are – whether you feel you are or not – showing a type of resistance. It's important for people to know that if they're not sure of the preferred spelling or pronunciation Ukrainians would prefer people ask. It is better to ask and get the correct information than keep using something outdated that takes a negative stance.' Although brands updating the spelling of their products to align with Ukrainian spelling sends a signal, does it matter to most customers? When you're hungry, does the spelling on the box make a difference? Tim Morris, director of Food, FMCG & Retail at agri-food market research company Coriolis, thinks 95% of customers won't even notice the spelling change. 'People are astoundingly oblivious. Kiev/Kyiv is one of those place names like Massachusetts, Reykjavík and Liechtenstein that nobody can spell.' As for the brands who made a change to stand in solidarity with their Ukrainian customers in their local markets, he didn't think much of it. 'It's like wetting yourself in a dark suit. You get a warm feeling but nobody notices.'
Express Tribune
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Aubrey Plaza and Margaret Qualley are queer leads in new film Honey Don't! hitting theaters
Margaret Qualley returns to queer cinema in Honey Don't!, a new lesbian detective movie directed by Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke. Starring alongside Aubrey Plaza, the film features Qualley as Honey, a smooth and stealthy private investigator delving into a suspicious church led by none other than Chris Evans. Plaza, in peak form, takes on the role of a mysterious woman, continuing her streak of playing enigmatic, complex characters. Revealed in a recent interview with i-D, Qualley shared more about her character, describing Honey as 'skillful' and 'slipping in and out undetected'—a departure from her naturally comedic instincts. The film, which is set in contemporary Bakersfield, draws inspiration from noir classics like The Long Goodbye and Fat City. Honey Don't! marks the second installment in a planned trilogy of queer B-movies from the Coen-Cooke duo, following 2024's Drive-Away Dolls, where Qualley also played a queer lead. Cooke previously teased the film would feature 'more sex' and take cues from the Wanda Jackson song of the same name. Fans can expect the same campy, stylized flair as Coen and Cooke's earlier work, with a modern queer twist. The film is slated for release sometime in 2025, and LGBTQ+ cinema lovers are already buzzing with anticipation.
Telegraph
13-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Gene Hackman's wife cared for him, but who was caring for her?
If it takes a village to raise a happy child, how many people does it take to give their elderly, infirm father a dignified death? And what does it say about our hyper-connected world that the old and dementia-ridden continue to die alone and confused because looking after them is seen as someone else's job? 'Caregivers need care too,' said Emma Heming Willis this week, the wife-turned-carer of cinematic icon Bruce Willis. 'They are vital, and it is so important that we show up for them so that they can continue to show up for their person. I think there's this common misconception that caregivers, they got it figured out, they got it covered, they're good.' And so, all too often, the world withdraws, tiptoes away and lets them get on with it, their consciences salved by this sticking plaster. Heming Willis is 46 and has daughters Mabel, aged 12 and 10-year-old Evelyn with Die Hard superstar Willis, 69. He was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023, and his condition has rapidly worsened; what began as an apparent return of his childhood stutter has reached the stage where he is non-verbal. How difficult it is to imagine wisecracking Willis, funny and tough on- and off-screen, as helpless. It would be tasteless to suggest there is a hierarchy of suffering, but in truth there is a unique cruelty to dementia which robs the individual of everything that once defined them. There's currently a harrowing ad campaign by the Alzheimer's Society entitled The Long Goodbye, which has reduced many people I know to tears, myself included. It features a mum, who in the words of her son, is dying many times over as she loses her ability to prepare her legendary roast, as her fashionista passion for clothes falls away, as she refuses to celebrate Christmas, and most heartbreaking of all, forgets the name of her own child. On the brink of her very final death, 'she looks straight through her husband'. It's a hard watch – but a necessary one. According to the charity, one in three people born in the UK today will get dementia. It's Britain's biggest killer; almost a million people in the country live with it at present, an estimated 120,000 of whom live alone. But even having someone at home is no fail-safe guarantee of care. Willis' wife was prompted to speak out in the wake of the tragic death of another screen great, Oscar-winner Gene Hackman, in the most unthinkable of circumstances. Last month, the 95-year-old and his 65-year-old wife Betsy Arakawa were found in their Santa Fe home, dead in different rooms. After early speculation of a gas leak, it transpired that she died on Feb 11 after contracting a rare disease spread by mice called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. As her body began to decompose, we know from his pacemaker activity that Hackman, who suffered from heart issues and was in the grip of advanced Alzheimer's, was still mobile, presumably agitated and confused. Did he even know his wife had died? He was certainly unable to use a phone to raise the alarm. He died a week later, on Feb 18, from heart disease. God only knows the horror, the suffering, the terror that house witnessed as wife and husband endured their final days, hours, minutes alone. When they were discovered on Feb 26, it was by maintenance workers from their gated community. After news of Hackman's death, his daughters Elizabeth, 62, and Leslie, 58, and granddaughter Annie, released a statement saying they were 'devastated'. 'He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us, he was always just Dad and Grandpa,' the statement read. Later, Leslie told the press that she was 'close' to her father but that they hadn't spoken for a few months. With hindsight, it is easy to cast aspersions. Is it really such an imposition to check in every day? Some might think so. Others (admittedly a lot fewer) might regard it as a daily duty, happily discharged. It would be hypocritical, however, to accuse Hackman's children of neglect; they thought he was in the safest of hands. Who would have imagined his wife, three decades younger, would contract a rare virus and, unable to summon help, die on the bathroom floor? I have so many friends frantically juggling career, family life and elderly parents who need increasing amounts of support. Their humane reactions to this faraway tragedy have, to their credit, been there-but-for-the-grace acknowledgement rather than condemnatory. But now we know the worst-case scenario, we can't pretend otherwise. As Heming Willis pointed out in her video, which she posted to Instagram, she normally wouldn't comment on a private issue: 'But I do really believe that there is some learning in this story, in regards to this tragic passing of Mr. and Mrs. Hackman.' It is unlikely that she and her husband will be abandoned; they both have a warm relationship with Bruce's ex-wife, Demi Moore, 62, mother of his elder three daughters: Rumer, 36, Scout, 33 and 31-year-old Tallulah. But caring for someone you love, who is disappearing before your very eyes, takes its toll regardless. Experts predict that by 2040, almost 1.6 million of us will be living with dementia, never mind other health problems. That's 1.6 million in need of care – in every sense of the word. We won't need a whole village, but the burden on a single person is far too heavy. And unless my generation answers the wake-up call, leads by example, starts compassionately caring for the carers, who, in the end will want to care for us?
