<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22MARK%20KENNEDY%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer</a>

Elton John and Britney Spears have collaborated for the first time, creating the slinky, club-ready single “Hold Me Closer” that sees the pop icons take old sounds and fashion something new.

The funky, piano-driven single uses John’s 1971 hit “Tiny Dancer” as the skeleton and adds elements from his songs “The One” and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” all with Spears voice soaring and fluttering.

While John has been releasing new music in the past few years — including the 16-track 2021 album “The Lockdown Sessions” — the song represents Spear’s first new music since her 2016 album “Glory” and her&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/britney-spears-conservatorship-5dbba74b8be90cd233830f2cb001d74c">first offering since the ending of her contentious conservatorship</a>.

“She truly is an icon, one of the all-time great pop stars and she sounds amazing on this record. I love her dearly and am delighted with what we’ve created together,” John said in a statement. Spears, in her statement, told John it was an honor to be asked: ”I am so grateful that I got the opportunity to work with you and your legendary mind.”

The track is produced by Andrew Watt, who has worked with such acts as Ed Sheeran, Eddie Vedder, Ozzy Osbourne, Justin Bieber, Post Malone and Miley Cyrus.

The song begins with both stars singing the opening lyrics of “The One” — “I saw you dancing out the ocean/Running fast along the sand/A spirit born of earth and water/Fire flying from your hands.” It then seamlessly moves to ”Tiny Dancer”: “Hold me closer, tiny dancer/Count the headlights on the highway/Lay me down in sheets of linen/You had a busy day today.”

The track calls to mind last year’s hit “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix),” which melded John’s songs “Kiss the Bride,” “Rocket Man,” “Where’s the Shoorah?” and “Sacrifice” into a dance bop featuring vocals by Dua Lipa.

John and Spears first met in 2014 at an Oscar viewing party and she later tweeted her love of “Tiny Dancer,” sowing the seeds for the latest collaboration. John is in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-philadelphia-north-america-2e8e56c3b90dadc6ebe670617518b38f">midst of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour</a>.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22MARK%20KENNEDY%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer</a>Elton John and Britney Spears have collaborated for the first time, creating the slinky, club-ready single “Hold Me Closer” that sees the pop icons take old sounds and fashion something new.The funky, piano-driven single uses John’s 1971 hit “Tiny Dancer” as the skeleton and adds elements from his songs “The One” and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” all with Spears voice soaring and fluttering.While John has been releasing new music in the past few years — including the 16-track 2021 album “The Lockdown Sessions” — the song represents Spear’s first new music since her 2016 album “Glory” and her&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/britney-spears-conservatorship-5dbba74b8be90cd233830f2cb001d74c">first offering since the ending of her contentious conservatorship</a>.“She truly is an icon, one of the all-time great pop stars and she sounds amazing on this record. I love her dearly and am delighted with what we’ve created together,” John said in a statement. Spears, in her statement, told John it was an honor to be asked: ”I am so grateful that I got the opportunity to work with you and your legendary mind.”The track is produced by Andrew Watt, who has worked with such acts as Ed Sheeran, Eddie Vedder, Ozzy Osbourne, Justin Bieber, Post Malone and Miley Cyrus.The song begins with both stars singing the opening lyrics of “The One” — “I saw you dancing out the ocean/Running fast along the sand/A spirit born of earth and water/Fire flying from your hands.” It then seamlessly moves to ”Tiny Dancer”: “Hold me closer, tiny dancer/Count the headlights on the highway/Lay me down in sheets of linen/You had a busy day today.”The track calls to mind last year’s hit “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix),” which melded John’s songs “Kiss the Bride,” “Rocket Man,” “Where’s the Shoorah?” and “Sacrifice” into a dance bop featuring vocals by Dua Lipa.John and Spears first met in 2014 at an Oscar viewing party and she later tweeted her love of “Tiny Dancer,” sowing the seeds for the latest collaboration. John is in the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-philadelphia-north-america-2e8e56c3b90dadc6ebe670617518b38f">midst of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour</a>.

Elton John and Britney Spears unite on a new dance single

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22HILLEL%20ITALIE%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer</a>

NEW YORK (AP) — Anticipation for one of the fall’s likeliest bestsellers has been growing all year.

For months, Colleen Hoover’s millions of fans on TikTok, Instagram and elsewhere have been talking up and posting early excerpts from her novel “It Starts With Us.” By summer, the author’s sequel to her bestselling “It Ends With Us” had already reached the top 10 Amazon.com. It might have climbed higher but for competition from other Hoover novels, including “Ugly Love,” “Verity” and, of course, “It Ends With Us,” the dramatic tale of a love triangle and a woman’s endurance of domestic abuse that young TikTok users have embraced and helped make Hoover the country’s most popular fiction writer.

Hoover’s extraordinary run on bestseller lists, from Amazon.com to The New York Times, has been Beatle-esque for much of 2022, with four or more books likely to appear in the top 10 at a given moment. “It Starts With Us” had been so eagerly desired by her admirers — CoHorts, some call themselves — that she broke a personal rule: Don’t let “outside influences” determine her next book.

“I never allowed myself to entertain a sequel, but with the amount of people emailing me every day and tagging me in an online petition to write about (those characters), their story began to build in my head in the same way my other books begin,” she told The Associated Press in a recent email. “Eventually I craved telling this story as much as I did my other stories, so I owe the readers a big thank you for the nudging.”

Hoover’s new book should help extend what has been another solid year for the industry. Booksellers are looking forward to a mix of commercial favorites such as Hoover, Anthony Horowitz, Beverly Jenkins and Veronica Roth alongside what Barnes &amp; Noble CEO James Daunt calls a “really strong” lineup of literary releases, including novels by Ian McEwan and Kate Atkinson.

The fall also will feature new fiction from Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and Pulitzer Prize-winners Elizabeth Strout and Andrew Sean Greer. Celeste Ng’s “Our Missing Hearts” is her first novel since “Little Fires Everywhere.” Story collections are expected from George Saunders, Andrea Barrett and Ling Ma, along with novels by Percival Everett, Barbara Kingsolver, Kevin Wilson, N.K. Jemisin, Lydia Millet and Yiyun Li.

Joe Concha’s “Come On, Man!: The Truth About Joe Biden’s Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Presidency” is the most colorfully named of the latest round of books attacking an incumbent president — a long and profitable publishing tradition. But the most high-profile works of political reporting dwell on Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, among them “Confidence Man,” by The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, and “The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017–2021,” by Peter Baker of the Times and Susan Glasser of The New Yorker.

Michelle Obama’s “The Light We Carry” is her first entirely new book since her worldwide bestseller from 2018, “Becoming.” Benjamin Netanyahu’s “Bibi” is the first memoir by the former Israeli Prime Minister, while American politicians with new books include Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke.

Celebrity books include Bono’s “Surrender,” Matthew Perry’s “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing” and Geena Davis’ “Dying of Politeness.” Bob Dylan reflects upon an art form he helped reinvent in “The Philosophy of Modern Song,” while the title of Jan Wenner’s memoir invokes the Dylan classic that helped inspire the name of the magazine he founded, “Like a Rolling Stone.”

History books will cover the famous and the overlooked. Among the former are Pulitzer-winner Jon Meacham’s “And There Was Light,” the latest entry into the canon of Abraham Lincoln scholarship, and Pulitzer-winner Stacy Schiff’s biography of Samuel Adams, “The Revolutionary.” Fred Kaplan, who focused on Lincoln’s prose in “Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer,” now assesses Thomas Jefferson in “His Masterly Pen: A Biography of Jefferson the Writer.”

Releases highlighting those less remembered include Kevin Hazzard’s “American Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became America’s First Paramedics,” and Katie Hickman’s “Brave Hearted: The Women of the American West.” With the overturning last summer of Roe v. Wade, Laura Kaplan’s “The Story of Jane” is a timely reissue of her 1995 book about the underground abortion counseling service founded in Chicago in 1969, four years before the Supreme Court’s historic Roe ruling.

Bruce Henderson’s “Bridge to the Sun” centers on the recruitment of Japanese-Americans, some of whom had been in internment camps, to assist in U.S. intelligence gathering during World War II.

“It was really hard to research because many of them had been working on top secret projects, and, even after they had been discharged, were reminded that they were under the National Security Act and that military secrets had to be kept,” Henderson says. “We had to do a lot of digging and contact families and see what the veterans had left behind. Of the six guys that I follow in my book, only one was still alive.”

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22HILLEL%20ITALIE%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer</a>NEW YORK (AP) — Anticipation for one of the fall’s likeliest bestsellers has been growing all year.For months, Colleen Hoover’s millions of fans on TikTok, Instagram and elsewhere have been talking up and posting early excerpts from her novel “It Starts With Us.” By summer, the author’s sequel to her bestselling “It Ends With Us” had already reached the top 10 Amazon.com. It might have climbed higher but for competition from other Hoover novels, including “Ugly Love,” “Verity” and, of course, “It Ends With Us,” the dramatic tale of a love triangle and a woman’s endurance of domestic abuse that young TikTok users have embraced and helped make Hoover the country’s most popular fiction writer.Hoover’s extraordinary run on bestseller lists, from Amazon.com to The New York Times, has been Beatle-esque for much of 2022, with four or more books likely to appear in the top 10 at a given moment. “It Starts With Us” had been so eagerly desired by her admirers — CoHorts, some call themselves — that she broke a personal rule: Don’t let “outside influences” determine her next book.“I never allowed myself to entertain a sequel, but with the amount of people emailing me every day and tagging me in an online petition to write about (those characters), their story began to build in my head in the same way my other books begin,” she told The Associated Press in a recent email. “Eventually I craved telling this story as much as I did my other stories, so I owe the readers a big thank you for the nudging.”Hoover’s new book should help extend what has been another solid year for the industry. Booksellers are looking forward to a mix of commercial favorites such as Hoover, Anthony Horowitz, Beverly Jenkins and Veronica Roth alongside what Barnes &amp; Noble CEO James Daunt calls a “really strong” lineup of literary releases, including novels by Ian McEwan and Kate Atkinson.The fall also will feature new fiction from Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and Pulitzer Prize-winners Elizabeth Strout and Andrew Sean Greer. Celeste Ng’s “Our Missing Hearts” is her first novel since “Little Fires Everywhere.” Story collections are expected from George Saunders, Andrea Barrett and Ling Ma, along with novels by Percival Everett, Barbara Kingsolver, Kevin Wilson, N.K. Jemisin, Lydia Millet and Yiyun Li.Joe Concha’s “Come On, Man!: The Truth About Joe Biden’s Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Presidency” is the most colorfully named of the latest round of books attacking an incumbent president — a long and profitable publishing tradition. But the most high-profile works of political reporting dwell on Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, among them “Confidence Man,” by The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, and “The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017–2021,” by Peter Baker of the Times and Susan Glasser of The New Yorker.Michelle Obama’s “The Light We Carry” is her first entirely new book since her worldwide bestseller from 2018, “Becoming.” Benjamin Netanyahu’s “Bibi” is the first memoir by the former Israeli Prime Minister, while American politicians with new books include Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke.Celebrity books include Bono’s “Surrender,” Matthew Perry’s “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing” and Geena Davis’ “Dying of Politeness.” Bob Dylan reflects upon an art form he helped reinvent in “The Philosophy of Modern Song,” while the title of Jan Wenner’s memoir invokes the Dylan classic that helped inspire the name of the magazine he founded, “Like a Rolling Stone.”History books will cover the famous and the overlooked. Among the former are Pulitzer-winner Jon Meacham’s “And There Was Light,” the latest entry into the canon of Abraham Lincoln scholarship, and Pulitzer-winner Stacy Schiff’s biography of Samuel Adams, “The Revolutionary.” Fred Kaplan, who focused on Lincoln’s prose in “Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer,” now assesses Thomas Jefferson in “His Masterly Pen: A Biography of Jefferson the Writer.”Releases highlighting those less remembered include Kevin Hazzard’s “American Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became America’s First Paramedics,” and Katie Hickman’s “Brave Hearted: The Women of the American West.” With the overturning last summer of Roe v. Wade, Laura Kaplan’s “The Story of Jane” is a timely reissue of her 1995 book about the underground abortion counseling service founded in Chicago in 1969, four years before the Supreme Court’s historic Roe ruling.Bruce Henderson’s “Bridge to the Sun” centers on the recruitment of Japanese-Americans, some of whom had been in internment camps, to assist in U.S. intelligence gathering during World War II.“It was really hard to research because many of them had been working on top secret projects, and, even after they had been discharged, were reminded that they were under the National Security Act and that military secrets had to be kept,” Henderson says. “We had to do a lot of digging and contact families and see what the veterans had left behind. Of the six guys that I follow in my book, only one was still alive.”

Fall books a broad mix of literary and commercial favorites

This Friday, area residents will
once again converge in downtown Hays for the 37th annual Hays Arts
Council Fall Art Walk.

Among the many businesses and
organizations participating, the event will feature painted works, sculpture,
photography music and food — with core hours scheduled from
6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

“It's
going to be awesome,” said Hays Arts Council Executive Director Brenda Meder. “I
think we've got 19 locations on the walk, and some of them have really large, major features. And some of them have smaller, more intimate features.”

Along
with the variety of visual work on display, the Hays Symphony Orchestra will also
kick off its season with an outdoor concert in the downtown pavilion from
7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

“Get to the
Art Walk early, get stuff done, and then enjoy at least some of the
concert,” Meder said. “And then there's still plenty of time when it's done, or
halfway through to go do more things.”

A chalk
station will also be set up nearby allowing children of all ages to create
their own art while the symphony performs.

“There's
always just some great art that ends up over there,” Meder said. “And it's fun
that people have the opportunity to be creative.”

Along
with the symphony, music will be a prominent part of the evening at other locations
including the Hays Public Library hosting Matt Detherage, the Paisley Pear Wine
Bar and Bistro featuring The Church Ladies (Unsupervised), and Salon 1007 hosting jazz musician Danny Zhang. &nbsp;

“There's
really some great things going on in that aspect of the arts as well,” Meder
said.

The
musical performances complement the typical variety of businesses participating
with visual artists.

At the
Hays Arts Center, two exhibitions from a recent Kansas transplant will be on
display.

“Rodney
Wood is a fabulous artist whose work is often described as magical realism or
emotional realism,” Meder said. “They're very straightforward and realistic.
But there's this mystery, this intrigue.
They're sort of this almost like a surreal element in some of it.”

While
Wood has been a longtime resident of Colorado, he is no stranger to the Hays
Art Walk, having showcased his art car Spell Bound during the Spring Art Walk
last year.

“He's
thinking about bringing some of his art cars up as well,” Meder said. “He was
the director of the art car museum in Trinidad. Big art car museum, but he's
also been with other galleries.”

She said
he has been a longtime artist and gallery director and brings part of his
large collection to Hays featuring original works along with reproductions of
pieces currently held by collectors.

“One of
the exhibitions that we'll be having is called Humanimals,” Meder said. “It
is this wonderful collection of work, where some of his delightfully
extraordinary friends have inspired him to create works that feature creatures
from the animal kingdom, but in settings that are very human,”

That
will be in the hall, she said, but in the front gallery will be all original
paintings.

“They're
absolutely fascinating,” Meder said. “And the subject matter is diverse and
varied.

“It's a
lot of exploration of the human condition and feelings,” she continued. “There's
a curiosity, even elements of survival skills, but a lot of enigma and mystery
in the course of his paintings. People are going to like this.”

Even though
he has only been in Kansas this year, Meder said she wanted to showcase his
work as quickly as possible “so we could be the first one in Kansas to exhibit
his work and showcase a style of a conceptual approach to the work that we
hadn't seen before.”

Along
with Humanimals, Wood will also present Windfalls of Passion.

The Arts
Center will also stage Intaglio: Below the Surface, that includes prints
from Michael Jilg and Phil Epp in the back gallery.

“It's going
to look striking back there,” Meder said. “They are both pros at what they do.
I couldn't be prouder of the three artists that will be featured at the Arts
Council for the Art Walk.”

While
the core Art Walk is set from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., some shows will run
different hours to allow for distance outside of the core of downtown,
including two exhibitions on the Fort Hays State University campus.

“And
then I also want to let people know that on Saturday, there are a number of the
locations that are open anyway, on Saturdays, they will still have their art
features up,” Meder said. “So, if you can't get out Friday night, or you want
to go back and see something again, we will have hours for that.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661282353687.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>By JAMES BELL Hays PostThis Friday, area residents will
once again converge in downtown Hays for the 37th annual Hays Arts
Council Fall Art Walk.Among the many businesses and
organizations participating, the event will feature painted works, sculpture,
photography music and food — with core hours scheduled from
6:30 to 9:30 p.m.“It's
going to be awesome,” said Hays Arts Council Executive Director Brenda Meder. “I
think we've got 19 locations on the walk, and some of them have really large, major features. And some of them have smaller, more intimate features.”<div><iframe title="Art, music and fun to fill downtown Hays Friday" allowtransparency="true" height="300" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=eeep8-12a5925-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&logo_link=podcast_page&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>Along
with the variety of visual work on display, the Hays Symphony Orchestra will also
kick off its season with an outdoor concert in the downtown pavilion from
7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.“Get to the
Art Walk early, get stuff done, and then enjoy at least some of the
concert,” Meder said. “And then there's still plenty of time when it's done, or
halfway through to go do more things.”A chalk
station will also be set up nearby allowing children of all ages to create
their own art while the symphony performs.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661282374241.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>“There's
always just some great art that ends up over there,” Meder said. “And it's fun
that people have the opportunity to be creative.”Along
with the symphony, music will be a prominent part of the evening at other locations
including the Hays Public Library hosting Matt Detherage, the Paisley Pear Wine
Bar and Bistro featuring The Church Ladies (Unsupervised), and Salon 1007 hosting jazz musician Danny Zhang. &nbsp;“There's
really some great things going on in that aspect of the arts as well,” Meder
said.The
musical performances complement the typical variety of businesses participating
with visual artists.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661282389173.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>At the
Hays Arts Center, two exhibitions from a recent Kansas transplant will be on
display.“Rodney
Wood is a fabulous artist whose work is often described as magical realism or
emotional realism,” Meder said. “They're very straightforward and realistic.
But there's this mystery, this intrigue.
They're sort of this almost like a surreal element in some of it.”“They
are just mesmerizing.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661190067413.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>While
Wood has been a longtime resident of Colorado, he is no stranger to the Hays
Art Walk, having showcased his art car Spell Bound during the Spring Art Walk
last year.“He's
thinking about bringing some of his art cars up as well,” Meder said. “He was
the director of the art car museum in Trinidad. Big art car museum, but he's
also been with other galleries.”She said
he has been a longtime artist and gallery director and brings part of his
large collection to Hays featuring original works along with reproductions of
pieces currently held by collectors.“One of
the exhibitions that we'll be having is called Humanimals,” Meder said. “It
is this wonderful collection of work, where some of his delightfully
extraordinary friends have inspired him to create works that feature creatures
from the animal kingdom, but in settings that are very human,”That
will be in the hall, she said, but in the front gallery will be all original
paintings.“They're
absolutely fascinating,” Meder said. “And the subject matter is diverse and
varied.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661282405288.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>“It's a
lot of exploration of the human condition and feelings,” she continued. “There's
a curiosity, even elements of survival skills, but a lot of enigma and mystery
in the course of his paintings. People are going to like this.”Even though
he has only been in Kansas this year, Meder said she wanted to showcase his
work as quickly as possible “so we could be the first one in Kansas to exhibit
his work and showcase a style of a conceptual approach to the work that we
hadn't seen before.”Along
with Humanimals, Wood will also present Windfalls of Passion.The Arts
Center will also stage Intaglio: Below the Surface, that includes prints
from Michael Jilg and Phil Epp in the back gallery.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661282420984.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>“It's going
to look striking back there,” Meder said. “They are both pros at what they do.
I couldn't be prouder of the three artists that will be featured at the Arts
Council for the Art Walk.”While
the core Art Walk is set from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., some shows will run
different hours to allow for distance outside of the core of downtown,
including two exhibitions on the Fort Hays State University campus.“And
then I also want to let people know that on Saturday, there are a number of the
locations that are open anyway, on Saturdays, they will still have their art
features up,” Meder said. “So, if you can't get out Friday night, or you want
to go back and see something again, we will have hours for that.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661282337739.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>

🎙 Art, music and fun to fill downtown Hays Friday

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JOSH%20FUNK%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer</a>

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Billionaire Warren Buffett is auctioning off a high-tech signed portrait of himself to raise money for one of his favorite charities, and the bidding has already topped $30,000.

The portrait of Buffett created by Motiva Art features a grid of letters over the picture that light up to spell out several of the legendary investor’s famous quotes. The eBay auction of this artwork probably won't rival the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/warren-buffett-new-york-city-omaha-5805bbcd0bacb5c7930d6d71dfaa2247">$19 million</a>&nbsp;someone paid earlier this year for a private lunch with Buffett, but it's still likely to attract big bidders among the Berkshire Hathaway CEO's devoted followers.

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/225089627952?hash=item3468632730:g:12oAAOSw7zJi~Rgl&amp;amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoH%2FYKdg8kqhWc%2BKPEalGgJCsaYfzVHRICMwgMYlBSGxMXjdhQ3a4TUE0iH1XIjxeM4d1sbC7mpmF8uLPc8RSn8QMRWGuMcFphdOOtFX6ls1jOG54RJ3YlCtP4aEsXno5cabyuEw2bybn3NjC5RnatsHZEmi4L1PoSrRaYrQ7l09qlBxE5OcG4MoKt3KQCf5kT5uwaxx4cAvNS22yfl6OJps%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7ztqbvZYA">auction</a>&nbsp;that began earlier this week is set to wrap up on Buffett's 92nd birthday on Aug. 30.

The proceeds from the art auction will go to Girls Inc. of Omaha, which provides educational, cultural and recreational programs for young women in Buffett's hometown. The nonprofit has benefitted from a number of other things the investor has auctioned off over the years.

Buffett once sold off an old wallet of his that contained a stock tip, raising $210,000 for the organization. And in 2015, someone paid more than $122,000 for Buffett's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/5c2075fede0c442d96801ddf48e7f907">2006 Cadillac</a>&nbsp;with his signature on the dashboard.

The biggest Buffett payout for Girls Inc. came in 2018 when Buffett won a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bbb686c330c643629f906ecc20437d5b">10-year bet</a>&nbsp;that an S&amp;P 500 stock index fund would outperform a collection of hedge funds. That netted more than $2 million that Girls Inc. used to support a new residential program for young women leaving foster care.

The June lunch auction that raised $19 million for the California-based Glide Foundation that helps the homeless in San Francisco attracted such an astronomical winning bid because Buffett said this year's auction would be the final one. Before the pandemic, he had auctioned off private lunches every year for 20 years and regularly raised millions for Glide.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JOSH%20FUNK%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer</a>OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Billionaire Warren Buffett is auctioning off a high-tech signed portrait of himself to raise money for one of his favorite charities, and the bidding has already topped $30,000.The portrait of Buffett created by Motiva Art features a grid of letters over the picture that light up to spell out several of the legendary investor’s famous quotes. The eBay auction of this artwork probably won't rival the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/warren-buffett-new-york-city-omaha-5805bbcd0bacb5c7930d6d71dfaa2247">$19 million</a>&nbsp;someone paid earlier this year for a private lunch with Buffett, but it's still likely to attract big bidders among the Berkshire Hathaway CEO's devoted followers.The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/225089627952?hash=item3468632730:g:12oAAOSw7zJi~Rgl&amp;amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoH%2FYKdg8kqhWc%2BKPEalGgJCsaYfzVHRICMwgMYlBSGxMXjdhQ3a4TUE0iH1XIjxeM4d1sbC7mpmF8uLPc8RSn8QMRWGuMcFphdOOtFX6ls1jOG54RJ3YlCtP4aEsXno5cabyuEw2bybn3NjC5RnatsHZEmi4L1PoSrRaYrQ7l09qlBxE5OcG4MoKt3KQCf5kT5uwaxx4cAvNS22yfl6OJps%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR7ztqbvZYA">auction</a>&nbsp;that began earlier this week is set to wrap up on Buffett's 92nd birthday on Aug. 30.The proceeds from the art auction will go to Girls Inc. of Omaha, which provides educational, cultural and recreational programs for young women in Buffett's hometown. The nonprofit has benefitted from a number of other things the investor has auctioned off over the years.Buffett once sold off an old wallet of his that contained a stock tip, raising $210,000 for the organization. And in 2015, someone paid more than $122,000 for Buffett's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/5c2075fede0c442d96801ddf48e7f907">2006 Cadillac</a>&nbsp;with his signature on the dashboard.The biggest Buffett payout for Girls Inc. came in 2018 when Buffett won a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bbb686c330c643629f906ecc20437d5b">10-year bet</a>&nbsp;that an S&amp;P 500 stock index fund would outperform a collection of hedge funds. That netted more than $2 million that Girls Inc. used to support a new residential program for young women leaving foster care.The June lunch auction that raised $19 million for the California-based Glide Foundation that helps the homeless in San Francisco attracted such an astronomical winning bid because Buffett said this year's auction would be the final one. Before the pandemic, he had auctioned off private lunches every year for 20 years and regularly raised millions for Glide.

Bids for signed Warren Buffett portrait already top $30,000

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22LINDSEY%20BAHR%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer</a>

There is not a cynical molecule in the makeup of George Miller’s “&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWGvntl9itE">Three Thousand Years of Longing,</a>&nbsp;” a patient and occasionally dazzling fantasy about love, myth, hope, companionship and perhaps, most of all,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-movies-george-miller-tilda-swinton-87832ae0064a3d6ecf40eb215240b354">about storytelling.</a>&nbsp;Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton, wrapped in plush white bathrobes, will reiterate the storytelling point over and over again during a vulnerable, sprawling conversation in a stately Istanbul hotel suite that’s nice enough to make one consider a career in academia.

Though the setting and wardrobe might feel familiar, this story is anything but. Only one of the parties, Swinton’s Alithea Binnie, is human. Elba is an immortal djinn, the fancy term for the anglicized “genie,” whom Alithea has stumbled upon in a small, striped glass bottle in an unsorted bin of an Istanbul antique store.

In most stories, the ability to suddenly get your heart’s desire with a wish comes as good news, at least at first. But Alithea isn’t one who has a list of wants. Not only is she a proud, contented single and child-free woman — she’s also a “narratologist” who is so well-versed in mythology that she knows all the ways in which wish-making and granting can go wrong. And yet by not fulfilling her duty to make three wishes, she also is condemning the djinn to nonexistence. He tries to convince her otherwise, by telling fantastical stories from his past, spanning some three thousand years, and all the times he was sent back to the bottle for caring too much about the wisher, from Sheba (Aamito Lagum), to a servant who longs for a prince, Gulten (Ece Yüksel), and finally child bride of an old merchant who desires knowledge, Zefir (Burcu Gölgedar).

These stories are enchanting, brutal, sensual, grotesque and often involve power struggles and irrational decisions made for love. Miller gets to play in a wide array of cultures as the djinn skips through time, all with their own shimmering palettes and fairy tale hyperrealism. It’s a nice reminder that Miller is a man who can tackle both “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “Babe: Pig in the City.”

At times, you may grow impatient wondering what it’s all building towards and if you even care, as Alithea doubles down on her stance that she’d rather not make any wishes at all. But she, and the audience, are in for a surprise. It’s the kind of moment that doesn’t make a lot of emotional sense on paper, but that’s why we go to the movies, isn’t it? Swinton and Miller make it work.

Still for all its romanticism, the film may also sit upon an uneasy foundation: The inglorious trope of the “magical, mystical Negro.” The term, was popularized by Spike Lee, who in a lecture to Yale students over 20 years ago identified a trend exemplified in films like “The Legend of Bagger Vance” and “The Green Mile” in which the powers belonging to Black characters, often exoticized, seem to only be used to benefit white characters. No matter how the various films try to justify it, the relationship, as Matt Zoller Seitz later wrote in Salon, “is that of a master and servant.”

You don’t get a more literal depiction of master and servant than that of genie and the person who released them, and here, the fact is that the djinn is Black and the human is white. But “Three Thousand Years of Longing” does not seem like the kind of movie that is internationally embracing this idea. One could even argue that Elba’s djinn exists outside of race somehow. Would it have made a difference if he was blue?

Or perhaps the phrase, like the Bechdel Test, was never supposed to be a literal line of demarcation between movies that are acceptable and movies that are not, but a way of talking about representation and, yes, storytelling. Maybe,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/1e6c2d9575bd4c33a21283ddb8db4851">like Swinton herself once said</a>&nbsp;when faced with criticisms around the race of another fictional character, it can all be true.

“Three Thousand Years of Longing,” a United Artists Releasing release in theaters Friday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for “brief violence, some sexual content and graphic nudity.” Running time: 108 minutes. Three stars out of four.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22LINDSEY%20BAHR%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer</a>There is not a cynical molecule in the makeup of George Miller’s “&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWGvntl9itE">Three Thousand Years of Longing,</a>&nbsp;” a patient and occasionally dazzling fantasy about love, myth, hope, companionship and perhaps, most of all,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-movies-george-miller-tilda-swinton-87832ae0064a3d6ecf40eb215240b354">about storytelling.</a>&nbsp;Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton, wrapped in plush white bathrobes, will reiterate the storytelling point over and over again during a vulnerable, sprawling conversation in a stately Istanbul hotel suite that’s nice enough to make one consider a career in academia.Though the setting and wardrobe might feel familiar, this story is anything but. Only one of the parties, Swinton’s Alithea Binnie, is human. Elba is an immortal djinn, the fancy term for the anglicized “genie,” whom Alithea has stumbled upon in a small, striped glass bottle in an unsorted bin of an Istanbul antique store.In most stories, the ability to suddenly get your heart’s desire with a wish comes as good news, at least at first. But Alithea isn’t one who has a list of wants. Not only is she a proud, contented single and child-free woman — she’s also a “narratologist” who is so well-versed in mythology that she knows all the ways in which wish-making and granting can go wrong. And yet by not fulfilling her duty to make three wishes, she also is condemning the djinn to nonexistence. He tries to convince her otherwise, by telling fantastical stories from his past, spanning some three thousand years, and all the times he was sent back to the bottle for caring too much about the wisher, from Sheba (Aamito Lagum), to a servant who longs for a prince, Gulten (Ece Yüksel), and finally child bride of an old merchant who desires knowledge, Zefir (Burcu Gölgedar).These stories are enchanting, brutal, sensual, grotesque and often involve power struggles and irrational decisions made for love. Miller gets to play in a wide array of cultures as the djinn skips through time, all with their own shimmering palettes and fairy tale hyperrealism. It’s a nice reminder that Miller is a man who can tackle both “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “Babe: Pig in the City.”At times, you may grow impatient wondering what it’s all building towards and if you even care, as Alithea doubles down on her stance that she’d rather not make any wishes at all. But she, and the audience, are in for a surprise. It’s the kind of moment that doesn’t make a lot of emotional sense on paper, but that’s why we go to the movies, isn’t it? Swinton and Miller make it work.Still for all its romanticism, the film may also sit upon an uneasy foundation: The inglorious trope of the “magical, mystical Negro.” The term, was popularized by Spike Lee, who in a lecture to Yale students over 20 years ago identified a trend exemplified in films like “The Legend of Bagger Vance” and “The Green Mile” in which the powers belonging to Black characters, often exoticized, seem to only be used to benefit white characters. No matter how the various films try to justify it, the relationship, as Matt Zoller Seitz later wrote in Salon, “is that of a master and servant.”You don’t get a more literal depiction of master and servant than that of genie and the person who released them, and here, the fact is that the djinn is Black and the human is white. But “Three Thousand Years of Longing” does not seem like the kind of movie that is internationally embracing this idea. One could even argue that Elba’s djinn exists outside of race somehow. Would it have made a difference if he was blue?Or perhaps the phrase, like the Bechdel Test, was never supposed to be a literal line of demarcation between movies that are acceptable and movies that are not, but a way of talking about representation and, yes, storytelling. Maybe,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/1e6c2d9575bd4c33a21283ddb8db4851">like Swinton herself once said</a>&nbsp;when faced with criticisms around the race of another fictional character, it can all be true.“Three Thousand Years of Longing,” a United Artists Releasing release in theaters Friday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for “brief violence, some sexual content and graphic nudity.” Running time: 108 minutes. Three stars out of four.

Review: Love, hope and ‘Three Thousand Years of Longing’

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22DREW%20COSTLEY%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">BY DREW COSTLEY </a> <a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22DREW%20COSTLEY%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">AP Science Writer</a>

Edward Buckles, Jr. was 13 when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and completely upended his life. Buckles and his family moved from New Orleans to Lafayette, Louisiana for several months while their hometown began to recover from the catastrophic storm.

He told The Associated Press he doesn’t remember much from those months living in Lafayette, grasping for a sense of normalcy in the aftermath of one of the most destructive hurricanes in American history.

His community was experiencing so much destruction. Now as an adult, he views that blank spot in his memory as a response to the trauma of what he witnessed.

Buckles' parents asked him at the time if he was okay, but he wasn't quite able to figure that out for himself in the moment. Later the trauma resurfaced. With kids, he said, “what’s responsible and what’s important is that you set them up to deal with that trauma once it surfaces."

But the filmmaker said in his new documentary “Katrina Babies” that not all the children who were traumatized by living through the hurricane and its aftermath had adults checking in on them. So that’s what he set out to do, capturing several New Orleans residents as they reconcile with a childhood marred by Hurricane Katrina.

The documentary, which has garnered critical praise, will be available for streaming on HBO Max on August 24 and debuts on HBO the same day at 9 pm ET, 17 years and a day after the hurricane formed in the Atlantic Ocean.

It shows how New Orleans and its people were changed by the storm. It depicts the childhood trauma it caused for a generation coming of age after one of the United States’ first major climate-related disasters. New Orleanians featured in the documentary share stories of seeing dead people and pets, of leaving home and returning to communities destroyed, while they were still children.

The film looks at climate past and present and, the filmmakers hope, sounds alarm bells for the climate future.

“I hope this is a local and American story that will motivate people to want to do better and care about human beings, and about how intrinsically linked we are with nature and that the future is clear: There is going to be more of this,” said Audrey Rosenberg, lead producer of the film.

Buckles said that while Hurricane Katrina might has been a formative experience for him and the youth of New Orleans at the time, more waters have come through since. Though he isn’t a climate scientist, he knows firsthand the repeated damage wrought on his hometown by hurricanes and tropical storms made more intense by climate change.

“My grandmother lost her home due to flooding from Hurricane Katrina,” he said. “She has been flooded seven more times just from tropical storms.”

Cierra Chenier, 26, was featured in the documentary and also knows people who have had to rebuild multiple times since Hurricane Katrina due to subsequent hurricanes and storms.

She said the loss of culture and history in New Orleans due to repeated climate-related disasters like Hurricane Katrina shaped her decision to become a local historian and writer.

“I got into wanting to preserve our history because of how quickly I felt my childhood became history,” she said. Even though the storm was 17 years ago, she said, it continues to shape the present.

“In preserving our stories, writing about those stories and narrating those stories, it’s always connected to the present and we can form better solutions for the future,” she said.

Chenier, Buckles and the other youth affected by Hurricane Katrina have a lot to say about the future, having experienced years of government inaction to limit climate change or prepare and recover from climate disasters. Year after year, New Orleanians and the state and federal government know that hurricane season is going to come and be potentially catastrophic because of climate change, Buckles said.

And still, he said, Hurricane Ida, which hit New Orleans 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina, affected people in his community in eerily similar ways to the 2005 storm. The relief measures, he said, were nearly as slow.

As a result, people in his community have become more resilient. But he said he wonders whether government agencies are relying on those harmed by climate-related disasters to help themselves when what they really need is public planning and preparation.

“The youth are tired of dealing with this, myself included,” he said. “And we cannot forget to hold accountable those who need to be held accountable.”

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22DREW%20COSTLEY%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">BY DREW COSTLEY </a> <a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22DREW%20COSTLEY%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">AP Science Writer</a>Edward Buckles, Jr. was 13 when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and completely upended his life. Buckles and his family moved from New Orleans to Lafayette, Louisiana for several months while their hometown began to recover from the catastrophic storm.He told The Associated Press he doesn’t remember much from those months living in Lafayette, grasping for a sense of normalcy in the aftermath of one of the most destructive hurricanes in American history.His community was experiencing so much destruction. Now as an adult, he views that blank spot in his memory as a response to the trauma of what he witnessed.Buckles' parents asked him at the time if he was okay, but he wasn't quite able to figure that out for himself in the moment. Later the trauma resurfaced. With kids, he said, “what’s responsible and what’s important is that you set them up to deal with that trauma once it surfaces."But the filmmaker said in his new documentary “Katrina Babies” that not all the children who were traumatized by living through the hurricane and its aftermath had adults checking in on them. So that’s what he set out to do, capturing several New Orleans residents as they reconcile with a childhood marred by Hurricane Katrina.The documentary, which has garnered critical praise, will be available for streaming on HBO Max on August 24 and debuts on HBO the same day at 9 pm ET, 17 years and a day after the hurricane formed in the Atlantic Ocean.It shows how New Orleans and its people were changed by the storm. It depicts the childhood trauma it caused for a generation coming of age after one of the United States’ first major climate-related disasters. New Orleanians featured in the documentary share stories of seeing dead people and pets, of leaving home and returning to communities destroyed, while they were still children.The film looks at climate past and present and, the filmmakers hope, sounds alarm bells for the climate future.“I hope this is a local and American story that will motivate people to want to do better and care about human beings, and about how intrinsically linked we are with nature and that the future is clear: There is going to be more of this,” said Audrey Rosenberg, lead producer of the film.Buckles said that while Hurricane Katrina might has been a formative experience for him and the youth of New Orleans at the time, more waters have come through since. Though he isn’t a climate scientist, he knows firsthand the repeated damage wrought on his hometown by hurricanes and tropical storms made more intense by climate change.“My grandmother lost her home due to flooding from Hurricane Katrina,” he said. “She has been flooded seven more times just from tropical storms.”Cierra Chenier, 26, was featured in the documentary and also knows people who have had to rebuild multiple times since Hurricane Katrina due to subsequent hurricanes and storms.She said the loss of culture and history in New Orleans due to repeated climate-related disasters like Hurricane Katrina shaped her decision to become a local historian and writer.“I got into wanting to preserve our history because of how quickly I felt my childhood became history,” she said. Even though the storm was 17 years ago, she said, it continues to shape the present.“In preserving our stories, writing about those stories and narrating those stories, it’s always connected to the present and we can form better solutions for the future,” she said.Chenier, Buckles and the other youth affected by Hurricane Katrina have a lot to say about the future, having experienced years of government inaction to limit climate change or prepare and recover from climate disasters. Year after year, New Orleanians and the state and federal government know that hurricane season is going to come and be potentially catastrophic because of climate change, Buckles said.And still, he said, Hurricane Ida, which hit New Orleans 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina, affected people in his community in eerily similar ways to the 2005 storm. The relief measures, he said, were nearly as slow.As a result, people in his community have become more resilient. But he said he wonders whether government agencies are relying on those harmed by climate-related disasters to help themselves when what they really need is public planning and preparation.“The youth are tired of dealing with this, myself included,” he said. “And we cannot forget to hold accountable those who need to be held accountable.”

Children of climate change come of age in 'Katrina Babies'

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22LYNN%20ELBER%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By LYNN ELBER AP Television Writer</a>

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Are you ready for some football? Fine, but the return of the NFL is why the 2022&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/emmy-awards">Emmy Awards</a>&nbsp;have been drop-kicked from their usual Sunday berth to Monday.

Television's top awards rotate among the top four networks, and this year's broadcast home, NBC, has reserved the second Sunday night in September for Tampa Bay vs. Dallas. After the Emmys&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/emmy-awards-2021-moments-61c416023db184018d4f48698d739338">slogged through two years of pandemic-restricted ceremonies</a>, a day's delay seems a minor annoyance.

The industry is expected to put on its Monday best, swan down the red carpet and celebrate itself and the wealth of shows across streaming services, cable and, to a degree that pales compared to years' past, old-school network fare.

But what's a Hollywood awards show without a TV audience? A low-rated disappointment, and that's where you come in. If you decide to do your bit and tune in, here's a roadmap to everything you need to know about the 2022 Emmys.

The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards are set for Monday, Sept. 12, at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles. The roughly three-hour ceremony will begin at 8 p.m. EDT and air live on NBC and, for free, on the streaming service Peacock.

But the Emmys, with 118 total awards, aren’t a one-day affair. Winners in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-emmy-nominations-television-386cfb3a085d2dc022499ec327e9fb41">25 key categories including best drama and comedy series</a>&nbsp;will be announced during the broadcast ceremony, with the rest divvied up between the Sept. 3 and 4 creative arts awards. An edited version of the weekend ceremonies, with categories including sound editing and cinematography, will air at 8 p.m. EDT Sept. 10 on FXX.

The honor usually goes to a comedian with a link to the network airing the event, and NBC stayed the course: It chose “Saturday Night Live”&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/emmy-awards-entertainment-kenan-thompson-kel-mitchell-6f63b41b7326b53d4d7b41e861fb2a36">veteran Kenan Thompson</a>, a first-time Emmy host who’s been preceded in the emcee job by a number of “SNL” stars. The ceremony has tried going without a host, most recently in 2019, but the results weren’t always pretty. Or entertaining.

WHICH SHOWS ARE NOMINATED FOR THE TOP AWARDS AT THE EMMYS?

Some previous winners are vying again for best series honors, including “Ted Lasso,” a freshman when it won 2021’s best comedy series, and “Succession,” which claimed the 2020 best drama award. (The series didn’t air during the eligibility window for 2021, when “The Crown” won.)

There are also formidable newcomers, including the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/squid-game-strikes-nerve-south-korea-943ff3fd7269631aca6ee75da05c3757">dystopian drama “Squid Game”</a>&nbsp;and comedy crime romp “Only Murders in the Building.”

Among the nominated actors, those&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/emmy-awards-2021-092ec6246360cb1e8d0746ad70162213">hoping to be repeat victors</a>&nbsp;include Jason Sudeikis of “Ted Lasso,” Jean Smart of “Hacks” and Zendaya of “Euphoria.” Check out the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/list-of-2022-emmy-nominees-f920c0a0041f4e8b40c95e24b3a8d350">full list of Emmy nominees</a>.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/emmy-awards-entertainment-music-nathan-lane-f8e5846d6a2fd6de90e20b9ca5f6e857">So many,</a>&nbsp;where to begin? The farewell season of “This Is Us” got a single nomination, for original music and lyrics, after reaping Emmys for several cast members in years past. It was a similar case for the last year of “black-ish,” which&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/black-ish-finale-d4f3eb234ec96d59d65355d4c725957c">ended its groundbreaking run</a>&nbsp;with just two creative arts nominations. On the flip side, it was far from a slam dunk that Dave Chappelle's “The Closer,” with its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-business-dave-chappelle-ted-sarandos-arts-and-entertainment-d3b5a4329479757e8675d1caa9ab0554">controversial anti-transgender comments,</a>&nbsp;would earn a best variety special nomination. It did.

The more than&nbsp;<a href="https://www.emmys.com/sites/default/files/Downloads/74th-emmy-infographic-2022-v4.pdf?q=1&amp;q1=">17,000 voting members</a>&nbsp;of the TV academy are eligible to decide nominees and winners in 14 categories, including drama, comedy and limited series. The acting awards, including lead, supporting and guest actors, are determined by peer groups, as are directing, writing and other individual areas of achievement. The number of nominees in most categories generally is tied to the number of submissions, with exceptions including best comedy and dramas series: They get eight nominees each.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22LYNN%20ELBER%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By LYNN ELBER AP Television Writer</a>LOS ANGELES (AP) — Are you ready for some football? Fine, but the return of the NFL is why the 2022&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/emmy-awards">Emmy Awards</a>&nbsp;have been drop-kicked from their usual Sunday berth to Monday.Television's top awards rotate among the top four networks, and this year's broadcast home, NBC, has reserved the second Sunday night in September for Tampa Bay vs. Dallas. After the Emmys&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/emmy-awards-2021-moments-61c416023db184018d4f48698d739338">slogged through two years of pandemic-restricted ceremonies</a>, a day's delay seems a minor annoyance.The industry is expected to put on its Monday best, swan down the red carpet and celebrate itself and the wealth of shows across streaming services, cable and, to a degree that pales compared to years' past, old-school network fare.But what's a Hollywood awards show without a TV audience? A low-rated disappointment, and that's where you come in. If you decide to do your bit and tune in, here's a roadmap to everything you need to know about the 2022 Emmys.WHEN ARE THE 2022 EMMMYS?The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards are set for Monday, Sept. 12, at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles. The roughly three-hour ceremony will begin at 8 p.m. EDT and air live on NBC and, for free, on the streaming service Peacock.But the Emmys, with 118 total awards, aren’t a one-day affair. Winners in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-emmy-nominations-television-386cfb3a085d2dc022499ec327e9fb41">25 key categories including best drama and comedy series</a>&nbsp;will be announced during the broadcast ceremony, with the rest divvied up between the Sept. 3 and 4 creative arts awards. An edited version of the weekend ceremonies, with categories including sound editing and cinematography, will air at 8 p.m. EDT Sept. 10 on FXX.WHO IS HOSTING THE EMMYS CEREMONY?The honor usually goes to a comedian with a link to the network airing the event, and NBC stayed the course: It chose “Saturday Night Live”&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/emmy-awards-entertainment-kenan-thompson-kel-mitchell-6f63b41b7326b53d4d7b41e861fb2a36">veteran Kenan Thompson</a>, a first-time Emmy host who’s been preceded in the emcee job by a number of “SNL” stars. The ceremony has tried going without a host, most recently in 2019, but the results weren’t always pretty. Or entertaining.WHICH SHOWS ARE NOMINATED FOR THE TOP AWARDS AT THE EMMYS?Some previous winners are vying again for best series honors, including “Ted Lasso,” a freshman when it won 2021’s best comedy series, and “Succession,” which claimed the 2020 best drama award. (The series didn’t air during the eligibility window for 2021, when “The Crown” won.)There are also formidable newcomers, including the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/squid-game-strikes-nerve-south-korea-943ff3fd7269631aca6ee75da05c3757">dystopian drama “Squid Game”</a>&nbsp;and comedy crime romp “Only Murders in the Building.”Among the nominated actors, those&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/emmy-awards-2021-092ec6246360cb1e8d0746ad70162213">hoping to be repeat victors</a>&nbsp;include Jason Sudeikis of “Ted Lasso,” Jean Smart of “Hacks” and Zendaya of “Euphoria.” Check out the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/list-of-2022-emmy-nominees-f920c0a0041f4e8b40c95e24b3a8d350">full list of Emmy nominees</a>.WHAT WERE THE MOST SURPISING EMMY NODS?<a href="https://apnews.com/article/emmy-awards-entertainment-music-nathan-lane-f8e5846d6a2fd6de90e20b9ca5f6e857">So many,</a>&nbsp;where to begin? The farewell season of “This Is Us” got a single nomination, for original music and lyrics, after reaping Emmys for several cast members in years past. It was a similar case for the last year of “black-ish,” which&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/black-ish-finale-d4f3eb234ec96d59d65355d4c725957c">ended its groundbreaking run</a>&nbsp;with just two creative arts nominations. On the flip side, it was far from a slam dunk that Dave Chappelle's “The Closer,” with its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-business-dave-chappelle-ted-sarandos-arts-and-entertainment-d3b5a4329479757e8675d1caa9ab0554">controversial anti-transgender comments,</a>&nbsp;would earn a best variety special nomination. It did.WHO DECIDES THE EMMY WINNERS?The more than&nbsp;<a href="https://www.emmys.com/sites/default/files/Downloads/74th-emmy-infographic-2022-v4.pdf?q=1&amp;q1=">17,000 voting members</a>&nbsp;of the TV academy are eligible to decide nominees and winners in 14 categories, including drama, comedy and limited series. The acting awards, including lead, supporting and guest actors, are determined by peer groups, as are directing, writing and other individual areas of achievement. The number of nominees in most categories generally is tied to the number of submissions, with exceptions including best comedy and dramas series: They get eight nominees each.

Everything you need to know about the 2022 Emmys

Leon Vitali, the “Barry Lyndon” actor who became one of Stanley Kubrick’s closest associates, has died. He was 74.

Vitali died Friday in Los Angeles, his family told The Associated Press Sunday. He passed peacefully surrounded by loved ones including his three children, Masha, Max and Vera.

“Leon was a special and lovely man driven by his curiosity, who spread love and warmth wherever he went,” his children said in a statement provided by Masha Vitali. “He will be remembered with love and be hugely missed by the many people he touched.”

Though Vitali was often described as Kubrick’s assistant, Tony Zierra’s 2017 documentary “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ee55356bd42b4e909d958c7a2b38cc5a">Filmworker</a>&nbsp;” shed light on Vitali’s enormous and largely unsung contributions to the work of one of cinema’s greatest figures from “The Shining” through “Eyes Wide Shut.” He did everything from casting and coaching actors to overseeing restorations. Vitali even once set up a video monitor so that Kubrick could keep an eye on his dying cat.

Matthew Modine, who starred in Kubrick's “Full Metal Jacket,” tweeted his condolences Sunday.

“There are people we meet who have a profound impact upon our lives. Leon Vitali was one such person in mine,” Modine wrote. “An artist in every aspect of his life. A loving father &amp; friend to so many. A kind, generous &amp; forgiving nature. He exemplified &amp; personified grace.”

Filmmaker Lee Unkrich also tweeted that he was, "Completely heartbroken to hear about the passing of Leon Vitali. He helped me (asterisk)enormously(asterisk) with my Shining book and I’m gutted that he won’t see it. He was a sweet, kind, humble, generous man and a vital part of Stanley Kubrick’s team.”

Before meeting Kubrick, Vitali was a rising actor in England, appearing in several British television shows including “Softly, Softly,” “Follyfoot,” “Z Cars” and “Notorious Woman.” Then in 1974 he got his biggest break yet, when he was cast in “Barry Lyndon” as Lord Bullingdon, the son-in-law of Ryan O’Neal’s title character.

Vitali was so fascinated by Kubrick and his processes that he made an unusual decision: He gave up on acting and devoted himself entirely to the famously demanding director for over two decades. His next Kubrick credit was as “personal assistant to the director” on “The Shining,” though that’s only part of the story — Vitali famously helped cast 4-year-old Danny Lloyd to play Danny Torrance and Louise and Lisa Burns as the creepy Grady twins (citing Diane Arbus as inspiration).

“I made one truly, truly radical change in my life and that was when I said, ‘I’m more interested in that’ than I was in the acting,” Vitali told the Associated Press in 2017. “That’s the biggest conscious decision I’ve ever made. There were some sacrifices, but there were gains too.”

After Kubrick’s death in 1999, Vitali oversaw restorations for many of Kubrick’s films. He received a Cinema Audio Society award for his work. Vitali later worked with director Todd Field on his films “Little Children” and “In the Bedroom.”

Before making the documentary, Zierra said that he and many Kubrick-obsessed fans knew Vitali for his performances in “Barry Lyndon” and “Eyes Wide Shut,” in which he played Red Cloak, and as a key member of Kubrick’s inner circle. But when they finally met Vitali to make the film, they were struck by “his kindness, humility and the fascinating scope of his story.”

Zierra is working on a director’s cut of “Filmworker” that will include new footage that he and Vitali wanted in the film, but couldn’t get done in time for its Cannes debut in 2017.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22LINDSEY%20BAHR%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer</a>Leon Vitali, the “Barry Lyndon” actor who became one of Stanley Kubrick’s closest associates, has died. He was 74.Vitali died Friday in Los Angeles, his family told The Associated Press Sunday. He passed peacefully surrounded by loved ones including his three children, Masha, Max and Vera.“Leon was a special and lovely man driven by his curiosity, who spread love and warmth wherever he went,” his children said in a statement provided by Masha Vitali. “He will be remembered with love and be hugely missed by the many people he touched.”Though Vitali was often described as Kubrick’s assistant, Tony Zierra’s 2017 documentary “&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ee55356bd42b4e909d958c7a2b38cc5a">Filmworker</a>&nbsp;” shed light on Vitali’s enormous and largely unsung contributions to the work of one of cinema’s greatest figures from “The Shining” through “Eyes Wide Shut.” He did everything from casting and coaching actors to overseeing restorations. Vitali even once set up a video monitor so that Kubrick could keep an eye on his dying cat.Matthew Modine, who starred in Kubrick's “Full Metal Jacket,” tweeted his condolences Sunday.“There are people we meet who have a profound impact upon our lives. Leon Vitali was one such person in mine,” Modine wrote. “An artist in every aspect of his life. A loving father &amp; friend to so many. A kind, generous &amp; forgiving nature. He exemplified &amp; personified grace.”Filmmaker Lee Unkrich also tweeted that he was, "Completely heartbroken to hear about the passing of Leon Vitali. He helped me (asterisk)enormously(asterisk) with my Shining book and I’m gutted that he won’t see it. He was a sweet, kind, humble, generous man and a vital part of Stanley Kubrick’s team.”Before meeting Kubrick, Vitali was a rising actor in England, appearing in several British television shows including “Softly, Softly,” “Follyfoot,” “Z Cars” and “Notorious Woman.” Then in 1974 he got his biggest break yet, when he was cast in “Barry Lyndon” as Lord Bullingdon, the son-in-law of Ryan O’Neal’s title character.Vitali was so fascinated by Kubrick and his processes that he made an unusual decision: He gave up on acting and devoted himself entirely to the famously demanding director for over two decades. His next Kubrick credit was as “personal assistant to the director” on “The Shining,” though that’s only part of the story — Vitali famously helped cast 4-year-old Danny Lloyd to play Danny Torrance and Louise and Lisa Burns as the creepy Grady twins (citing Diane Arbus as inspiration).“I made one truly, truly radical change in my life and that was when I said, ‘I’m more interested in that’ than I was in the acting,” Vitali told the Associated Press in 2017. “That’s the biggest conscious decision I’ve ever made. There were some sacrifices, but there were gains too.”After Kubrick’s death in 1999, Vitali oversaw restorations for many of Kubrick’s films. He received a Cinema Audio Society award for his work. Vitali later worked with director Todd Field on his films “Little Children” and “In the Bedroom.”Before making the documentary, Zierra said that he and many Kubrick-obsessed fans knew Vitali for his performances in “Barry Lyndon” and “Eyes Wide Shut,” in which he played Red Cloak, and as a key member of Kubrick’s inner circle. But when they finally met Vitali to make the film, they were struck by “his kindness, humility and the fascinating scope of his story.”Zierra is working on a director’s cut of “Filmworker” that will include new footage that he and Vitali wanted in the film, but couldn’t get done in time for its Cannes debut in 2017.

Leon Vitali, Stanley Kubrick's right-hand man, dies at 74

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22LINDSEY%20BAHR%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer</a>

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck said “I do" again this weekend.

But instead of in a late night Las Vegas drive through chapel, this time it was in front of friends and family in Georgia, a person close to the couple who was not authorized to speak publicly said Sunday.

According to People Magazine, the wedding was held at Affleck’s home outside of Savannah, Georgia, with all of their kids present for the proceedings on Saturday.

The celebrity couple&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jennifer-lopez-ben-affleck-get-marriage-license-nevada-724bb19ab5273d87410f107b1b88cdcd">were officially married last month in Las Vegas</a>, which Lopez shared with fans in her “On the J Lo” newsletter.

“Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient,” Lopez wrote last month, signing off as Jennifer Lynn Affleck.

Lopez, 53, and Affleck, 50, famously dated in the early 2000s. They starred together in 2003′s “Gigli” and 2004′s “Jersey Girl” and became engaged but didn’t wed at the time.

Paparazzi has feverishly trailed the couple since they rekindled their romance last year, from the earliest stages of the courtship, to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jennifer-lopez-ben-affleck-venice-film-festival-6cf6a88fe3fc4f1099abc9e6b0bb4e4d">their red carpet debut</a>&nbsp;at last year’s Venice International Film Festival and their recent honeymoon in Paris.

Representatives for the couple did not immediately respond to request for comment Sunday.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22LINDSEY%20BAHR%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer</a>Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck said “I do" again this weekend.But instead of in a late night Las Vegas drive through chapel, this time it was in front of friends and family in Georgia, a person close to the couple who was not authorized to speak publicly said Sunday.According to People Magazine, the wedding was held at Affleck’s home outside of Savannah, Georgia, with all of their kids present for the proceedings on Saturday.The celebrity couple&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jennifer-lopez-ben-affleck-get-marriage-license-nevada-724bb19ab5273d87410f107b1b88cdcd">were officially married last month in Las Vegas</a>, which Lopez shared with fans in her “On the J Lo” newsletter.“Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient,” Lopez wrote last month, signing off as Jennifer Lynn Affleck.Lopez, 53, and Affleck, 50, famously dated in the early 2000s. They starred together in 2003′s “Gigli” and 2004′s “Jersey Girl” and became engaged but didn’t wed at the time.Paparazzi has feverishly trailed the couple since they rekindled their romance last year, from the earliest stages of the courtship, to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jennifer-lopez-ben-affleck-venice-film-festival-6cf6a88fe3fc4f1099abc9e6b0bb4e4d">their red carpet debut</a>&nbsp;at last year’s Venice International Film Festival and their recent honeymoon in Paris.Representatives for the couple did not immediately respond to request for comment Sunday.

Lopez and Affleck celebrate marriage with friends, family

On this episode of the Post Podcast&nbsp;&nbsp;Fort Hays State University's Glen McNeil share some tasty facts about some of these favorite menu items.

<a href="https://postpodcast.podbean.com/">For more about the Post Podcast, including a full list of episodes and episode transcripts click here.</a>

On this episode of the Post Podcast&nbsp;&nbsp;Fort Hays State University's Glen McNeil share some tasty facts about some of these favorite menu items. <div><iframe title="Fajitas, red wine and ice cream pie combine into one tasty day" allowtransparency="true" height="300" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=94jdn-12a22e9-pb&from=pb6admin&square=1&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=3267a3&font-color=auto&logo_link=podcast_page&btn-skin=3267a3&size=300" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><a href="https://postpodcast.podbean.com/">For more about the Post Podcast, including a full list of episodes and episode transcripts click here.</a>

🎙Post Podcast: Fajitas, red wine and ice cream pie combine into one tasty day

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22BROOKE%20LEFFERTS%20and%20MIKE%20CIDONI%20LENNOX%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By BROOKE LEFFERTS and MIKE CIDONI LENNOX Associated Press</a>

The prequel to “Game of Thrones’’ is set to forge its own storytelling path, with a new set of characters and a more diverse team behind the scenes.

<a href="https://www.hbo.com/house-of-the-dragon">“House of the Dragon”</a>&nbsp;takes place two centuries before the events of the original series, which ended its hit eight-season run in May 2019. The 10-episode prequel begins Sunday on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.

The story focuses on House Targaryen, made famous in “Game of Thrones” by Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys and her fearsome dragons. But don’t expect “House of the Dragon’’ to be a remake of “Game of Thrones,’’ cast member Steve Toussaint said.

“It’s been done and they did it exceedingly well,” said Toussaint, who plays the very rich Lord Corlys Velaryon. “You know you’re in that world, but you’re seeing a different story, different characters, different motivations.”

Among the new faces in the clan is Prince Daemon Targaryen, played by Matt Smith. His villainous character is a lot more complex than he appears to be on first viewing, the actor said.

“I think the reason I’ve had fun is because he’s maybe not just a villain,” he said. “I think there’s actually a huge amount of fragility and depth and inner madness there. ... It's not black and white. It can go either way with Daemon at any point.”

Based on George R.R. Martin’s “Fire and Blood,” the drama was co-created by Martin and Ryan Condal, whose credits include the 2016-19 sci-fi drama “Colony.” Condal is an executive producer and co-showrunner with director Miguel Sapochnik, who brings his experience on “Game of Thrones” to the prequel.

“House of the Dragon,” much like its predecessor, focuses on familial succession with a female heir being overlooked. But Sapochnik notes a key difference between the two series: The team making the prequel is more diverse, including a 50-50 split between male and female directors, including Sapochnik, Clare Kilner, Geeta Vasant Patel and Greg Yaitanes.

There was a conscious push to be inclusive behind the scenes, Sapochnik says.

“We really tried to, as much as possible, hire as many female crew as we could, because we think that’s a really important shift that needs to be both recognized, acknowledged, acted upon, maybe give opportunities to people who don’t get opportunities,” he explained.

The team making “Dragon” is equally as diverse, and — for the fantasy genre — boasts a relative bounty of women in the writers’ room. The gender balance affects the show's story and tone, according to some of its female cast members.

The series opens with an aristocratic council naming Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) as heir to the Iron Throne, bypassing his older cousin Princess Rhaenys Velaryon (Eve Best). But Viserys must have his own heir, with dreams of power held by Daemon, his younger brother, and Viserys’ daughter Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy plays the adult version, Milly Alcock the youth).

“You definitely don’t feel like a device or a prop and you don’t feel like the the sexy wench or the mother,” said Olivia Cooke, who plays the adult Alicent Hightower, longtime friend to Rhaenyra. “You feel that you’ve got a fully fledged character which is really nourishing to play.”

The ensemble cast also includes Emily Carey, Graham McTavish, Fabien Frankel, Rhys Ifans and Sonoya Mizuno.

Carey, who plays the younger Alicent, calls the inclusion of women in all aspects of production a step “in the right direction" for the fantasy genre.

Although virtually every female character faces misogyny, each is “still a fully fledged, three-dimensional female character,” Carey said. “They still have multiple other story lines and a whole life away from that misogynistic story line. They’re not just put in the show to serve a purpose. And I think that’s what makes it so special.”

“House of the Dragon” screenwriter Charmaine DeGraté said "it was important for George (R.R. Martin, a prequel executive producer) for it to be this way. Female-driven characters, female-driven shows and female-driven writers rooms just sort of elevates the story. That's a wonderful way to expand the universe.”

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22BROOKE%20LEFFERTS%20and%20MIKE%20CIDONI%20LENNOX%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By BROOKE LEFFERTS and MIKE CIDONI LENNOX Associated Press</a>The prequel to “Game of Thrones’’ is set to forge its own storytelling path, with a new set of characters and a more diverse team behind the scenes.<a href="https://www.hbo.com/house-of-the-dragon">“House of the Dragon”</a>&nbsp;takes place two centuries before the events of the original series, which ended its hit eight-season run in May 2019. The 10-episode prequel begins Sunday on HBO and will be available to stream on HBO Max.The story focuses on House Targaryen, made famous in “Game of Thrones” by Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys and her fearsome dragons. But don’t expect “House of the Dragon’’ to be a remake of “Game of Thrones,’’ cast member Steve Toussaint said.“It’s been done and they did it exceedingly well,” said Toussaint, who plays the very rich Lord Corlys Velaryon. “You know you’re in that world, but you’re seeing a different story, different characters, different motivations.”Among the new faces in the clan is Prince Daemon Targaryen, played by Matt Smith. His villainous character is a lot more complex than he appears to be on first viewing, the actor said.“I think the reason I’ve had fun is because he’s maybe not just a villain,” he said. “I think there’s actually a huge amount of fragility and depth and inner madness there. ... It's not black and white. It can go either way with Daemon at any point.”Based on George R.R. Martin’s “Fire and Blood,” the drama was co-created by Martin and Ryan Condal, whose credits include the 2016-19 sci-fi drama “Colony.” Condal is an executive producer and co-showrunner with director Miguel Sapochnik, who brings his experience on “Game of Thrones” to the prequel.“House of the Dragon,” much like its predecessor, focuses on familial succession with a female heir being overlooked. But Sapochnik notes a key difference between the two series: The team making the prequel is more diverse, including a 50-50 split between male and female directors, including Sapochnik, Clare Kilner, Geeta Vasant Patel and Greg Yaitanes.There was a conscious push to be inclusive behind the scenes, Sapochnik says.“We really tried to, as much as possible, hire as many female crew as we could, because we think that’s a really important shift that needs to be both recognized, acknowledged, acted upon, maybe give opportunities to people who don’t get opportunities,” he explained.The team making “Dragon” is equally as diverse, and — for the fantasy genre — boasts a relative bounty of women in the writers’ room. The gender balance affects the show's story and tone, according to some of its female cast members.The series opens with an aristocratic council naming Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) as heir to the Iron Throne, bypassing his older cousin Princess Rhaenys Velaryon (Eve Best). But Viserys must have his own heir, with dreams of power held by Daemon, his younger brother, and Viserys’ daughter Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy plays the adult version, Milly Alcock the youth).“You definitely don’t feel like a device or a prop and you don’t feel like the the sexy wench or the mother,” said Olivia Cooke, who plays the adult Alicent Hightower, longtime friend to Rhaenyra. “You feel that you’ve got a fully fledged character which is really nourishing to play.”The ensemble cast also includes Emily Carey, Graham McTavish, Fabien Frankel, Rhys Ifans and Sonoya Mizuno.Carey, who plays the younger Alicent, calls the inclusion of women in all aspects of production a step “in the right direction" for the fantasy genre.Although virtually every female character faces misogyny, each is “still a fully fledged, three-dimensional female character,” Carey said. “They still have multiple other story lines and a whole life away from that misogynistic story line. They’re not just put in the show to serve a purpose. And I think that’s what makes it so special.”“House of the Dragon” screenwriter Charmaine DeGraté said "it was important for George (R.R. Martin, a prequel executive producer) for it to be this way. Female-driven characters, female-driven shows and female-driven writers rooms just sort of elevates the story. That's a wonderful way to expand the universe.”

'Game of Thrones' prequel keeps dragons, adds diversity

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JAKE%20COYLE%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer</a>

NEW YORK (AP) — Wolfgang Petersen, the German filmmaker whose World War II submarine epic “Das Boot” propelled him into a blockbuster Hollywood career that included the films “In the Line of Fire,” “Air Force One” and “The Perfect Storm,” has died. He was 81.

Petersen died Friday at his home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood after a battle with pancreatic cancer, said representative Michelle Bega.

Petersen, born in the north German port city of Emden, made two features before his 1982 breakthrough, “Das Boot," then the most expensive movie in German film history. The 149-minute film (the original cut ran 210 minutes) chronicled the intense claustrophobia of life aboard a doomed German U-boat during the Battle of the Atlantic, with Jürgen Prochnow as the submarine’s commander.

Heralded as an antiwar masterpiece, “Das Boot” was nominated for six Oscars, including for Petersen's direction and his adaptation of Lothar-Günther Buchheim’s best-selling 1973 novel.

Petersen, born in 1941, recalled as a child running alongside American ships as they threw down food. In the confusion of postwar Germany, Petersen — who started out in theater before attending Berlin’s Film and Television Academy in the late 1960s — gravitated toward Hollywood films with clear clashes of good and evil. John Ford was a major influence.

“In school they never talked about the time of Hitler -- they just blocked it out of their minds and concentrated on rebuilding Germany,” Petersen&nbsp;<a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-07-04-ca-10147-story.html">told The Los Angeles Times in 1993</a>. “We kids were looking for more glamorous dreams than rebuilding a destroyed country though, so we were really ready for it when American pop culture came to Germany. We all lived for American movies, and by the time I was 11 I’d decided I wanted to be a filmmaker."

“Das Boot” launched Petersen as a filmmaker in Hollywood, where he became one of the top makers of cataclysmic action adventures in films spanning war (2004's "Troy," with Brad Pitt), pandemic (the 1995 ebolavirus-inspired "Outbreak") and other ocean-set disasters (2000's “The Perfect Storm" and 2006's “Poseidon," a remake of “The Poseidon Adventure,” about the capsizing of an ocean liner).

But Petersen’s first foray in American moviemaking was child fantasy: the enchanting 1984 film “The NeverEnding Story.” Adapted from Michael Ende’s novel, “The NeverEnding Story” was about a magical book that transports its young reader into the world of Fantasia, where a dark force known as the Nothing rampages.

Arguably Petersen’s finest Hollywood film came almost a decade later in 1993’s “In the Line of Fire,” starring Clint Eastwood as a Secret Service agent protecting the president of the United States from John Malkovich’s assassin. In it, Petersen marshalled his substantial skill in building suspense for a more open-air but just as taut thriller that careened across rooftops and past Washington D.C. monuments.

Seeking a director for the film, Eastwood thought of Petersen, with whom he had chatted a few years earlier at a dinner party given by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Eastwood met with Petersen, checked out his work and gave him the job. “In the Line of Fire” was a major hit, grossing $177 million worldwide and landing three Oscar nominations.

“You sometimes have seven-year cycles. You look at other directors; they don’t have the big successes all the time. Up to ‘NeverEnding Story,’ my career was one success after another,” Petersen told The Associated Press in 1993. “Then I came into the stormy international scene. I needed time to get a feeling for this work -- it’s not Germany anymore.”

Petersen considered the political thriller — which cast the heroic Eastwood as the tired but devoted defender of a less honorable president — an indictment of Washington.

"When John’s character says, ‘Nothing they told me was true and there’s nothing left worth fighting for,’ I think his words will resonate for many people,” Petersen told The Los Angeles Times. “The film is rooted in a profound pessimism about what’s unfortunately happened to this country in the last 30 years. Look around — the corruption is everywhere, and there’s not much to celebrate."

After “Outbreak,” with Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo and Morgan Freeman, Petersen returned to the presidency in 1997's “Air Force One." Harrison Ford starred as a president forced into a fight with terrorists who hijack Air Force One.

“Air Force One,” with $315 million in global box office, was a hit, too, but Petersen went for something even bigger in 2000's “The Perfect Storm,” the true-life tale of a Massachusetts fishing boat lost at sea. The cast included George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg but its main attraction was a 100-foot computer-generated wave. With a budget of $120 million, “The Perfect Storm” made $328.7 million.

For Peterson, who grew up on the northern coast of Germany, the sea long held his fascination.

“The power of water is unbelievable,” Petersen said in a 2009 interview. “I was always impressed as a kid how strong it is, all the damage the water could do when it just turned within a couple of hours, and smashed against the shore.”

Petersen's followed “The Perfect Storm” with “Troy,” a sprawling epic based on Homer's Iliad that found less favor among critics but still made nearly $500 million worldwide. The big-budget “Poseidon," a high-priced flop for Warner Bros., was Petersen's last Hollywood film. His final film was 2016's “Four Against the Bank” a German film that remade Petersen's own 1976 German TV movie.

Petersen was first married to German actress Ursula Sieg. When they divorced in 1978, he married Maria-Antoinette Borgel, a German script supervisor and assistant director. He's survived by Borgel, son Daniel Petersen and two grandchildren.

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22JAKE%20COYLE%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer</a>NEW YORK (AP) — Wolfgang Petersen, the German filmmaker whose World War II submarine epic “Das Boot” propelled him into a blockbuster Hollywood career that included the films “In the Line of Fire,” “Air Force One” and “The Perfect Storm,” has died. He was 81.Petersen died Friday at his home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood after a battle with pancreatic cancer, said representative Michelle Bega.Petersen, born in the north German port city of Emden, made two features before his 1982 breakthrough, “Das Boot," then the most expensive movie in German film history. The 149-minute film (the original cut ran 210 minutes) chronicled the intense claustrophobia of life aboard a doomed German U-boat during the Battle of the Atlantic, with Jürgen Prochnow as the submarine’s commander.Heralded as an antiwar masterpiece, “Das Boot” was nominated for six Oscars, including for Petersen's direction and his adaptation of Lothar-Günther Buchheim’s best-selling 1973 novel.Petersen, born in 1941, recalled as a child running alongside American ships as they threw down food. In the confusion of postwar Germany, Petersen — who started out in theater before attending Berlin’s Film and Television Academy in the late 1960s — gravitated toward Hollywood films with clear clashes of good and evil. John Ford was a major influence.“In school they never talked about the time of Hitler -- they just blocked it out of their minds and concentrated on rebuilding Germany,” Petersen&nbsp;<a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-07-04-ca-10147-story.html">told The Los Angeles Times in 1993</a>. “We kids were looking for more glamorous dreams than rebuilding a destroyed country though, so we were really ready for it when American pop culture came to Germany. We all lived for American movies, and by the time I was 11 I’d decided I wanted to be a filmmaker."“Das Boot” launched Petersen as a filmmaker in Hollywood, where he became one of the top makers of cataclysmic action adventures in films spanning war (2004's "Troy," with Brad Pitt), pandemic (the 1995 ebolavirus-inspired "Outbreak") and other ocean-set disasters (2000's “The Perfect Storm" and 2006's “Poseidon," a remake of “The Poseidon Adventure,” about the capsizing of an ocean liner).But Petersen’s first foray in American moviemaking was child fantasy: the enchanting 1984 film “The NeverEnding Story.” Adapted from Michael Ende’s novel, “The NeverEnding Story” was about a magical book that transports its young reader into the world of Fantasia, where a dark force known as the Nothing rampages.Arguably Petersen’s finest Hollywood film came almost a decade later in 1993’s “In the Line of Fire,” starring Clint Eastwood as a Secret Service agent protecting the president of the United States from John Malkovich’s assassin. In it, Petersen marshalled his substantial skill in building suspense for a more open-air but just as taut thriller that careened across rooftops and past Washington D.C. monuments.Seeking a director for the film, Eastwood thought of Petersen, with whom he had chatted a few years earlier at a dinner party given by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Eastwood met with Petersen, checked out his work and gave him the job. “In the Line of Fire” was a major hit, grossing $177 million worldwide and landing three Oscar nominations.“You sometimes have seven-year cycles. You look at other directors; they don’t have the big successes all the time. Up to ‘NeverEnding Story,’ my career was one success after another,” Petersen told The Associated Press in 1993. “Then I came into the stormy international scene. I needed time to get a feeling for this work -- it’s not Germany anymore.”Petersen considered the political thriller — which cast the heroic Eastwood as the tired but devoted defender of a less honorable president — an indictment of Washington."When John’s character says, ‘Nothing they told me was true and there’s nothing left worth fighting for,’ I think his words will resonate for many people,” Petersen told The Los Angeles Times. “The film is rooted in a profound pessimism about what’s unfortunately happened to this country in the last 30 years. Look around — the corruption is everywhere, and there’s not much to celebrate."After “Outbreak,” with Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo and Morgan Freeman, Petersen returned to the presidency in 1997's “Air Force One." Harrison Ford starred as a president forced into a fight with terrorists who hijack Air Force One.“Air Force One,” with $315 million in global box office, was a hit, too, but Petersen went for something even bigger in 2000's “The Perfect Storm,” the true-life tale of a Massachusetts fishing boat lost at sea. The cast included George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg but its main attraction was a 100-foot computer-generated wave. With a budget of $120 million, “The Perfect Storm” made $328.7 million.For Peterson, who grew up on the northern coast of Germany, the sea long held his fascination.“The power of water is unbelievable,” Petersen said in a 2009 interview. “I was always impressed as a kid how strong it is, all the damage the water could do when it just turned within a couple of hours, and smashed against the shore.”Petersen's followed “The Perfect Storm” with “Troy,” a sprawling epic based on Homer's Iliad that found less favor among critics but still made nearly $500 million worldwide. The big-budget “Poseidon," a high-priced flop for Warner Bros., was Petersen's last Hollywood film. His final film was 2016's “Four Against the Bank” a German film that remade Petersen's own 1976 German TV movie.Petersen was first married to German actress Ursula Sieg. When they divorced in 1978, he married Maria-Antoinette Borgel, a German script supervisor and assistant director. He's survived by Borgel, son Daniel Petersen and two grandchildren.

Wolfgang Petersen, blockbuster filmmaker of 'Das Boot,' dies

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Veteran “Saturday Night Live” cast member Kenan Thompson will host next month's Emmy Awards.

“Being a part of this incredible evening where we honor the best of the television community is ridiculously exciting, and to do it on NBC – my longtime network family – makes it even more special,” Thompson said in a statement Tuesday.

Thompson has been with NBC's late-night sketch show since 2003 and returns for his 20th season this fall. His work on “SNL” has earned him a trio of Emmy supporting acting nominations, and he won a trophy in 2018 as lyrics co-writer of the song “Come Back, Barack,” which was featured on the show.

He earned a lead acting nomination last year for his sitcom “Kenan," which NBC canceled in May after two seasons.

Thompson was an original cast member of Nickelodeon's children's sketch comedy series “All That” and starred with Kel Mitchell on the spinoff “Kenan and Kel." His film credits include “Clifford the Big Red Dog” and “Barbershop 2: Back in Business.”

The Sept. 12 Emmy ceremony will air live on NBC and be carried on its streaming sibling Peacock. Top nominees include the dramas “Succession” and “Squid Game” and comedies “Ted Lasso," “Hacks” and “Only Murders in the Building.”

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Veteran “Saturday Night Live” cast member Kenan Thompson will host next month's Emmy Awards.“Being a part of this incredible evening where we honor the best of the television community is ridiculously exciting, and to do it on NBC – my longtime network family – makes it even more special,” Thompson said in a statement Tuesday.Thompson has been with NBC's late-night sketch show since 2003 and returns for his 20th season this fall. His work on “SNL” has earned him a trio of Emmy supporting acting nominations, and he won a trophy in 2018 as lyrics co-writer of the song “Come Back, Barack,” which was featured on the show.He earned a lead acting nomination last year for his sitcom “Kenan," which NBC canceled in May after two seasons.Thompson was an original cast member of Nickelodeon's children's sketch comedy series “All That” and starred with Kel Mitchell on the spinoff “Kenan and Kel." His film credits include “Clifford the Big Red Dog” and “Barbershop 2: Back in Business.”The Sept. 12 Emmy ceremony will air live on NBC and be carried on its streaming sibling Peacock. Top nominees include the dramas “Succession” and “Squid Game” and comedies “Ted Lasso," “Hacks” and “Only Murders in the Building.”

Kenan Thompson of 'SNL' to host Sept. 12 Emmy Awards

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22AARON%20MORRISON%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By AARON MORRISON Associated Press</a>

NEW YORK (AP) — Spider-Man fandom is in Tyler Scott Hoover's blood — but not because he was bitten by an irradiated arachnid. His father had collected Marvel comic books featuring the character since the 1970s.

“He passed down a ton of comics to me,” says Hoover, 32, of Glen Burnie, Maryland. “It kind of makes it almost like a religion. It would have been hard for me not to become a fan of Spider-Man.”

There are legions of fans of Spider-Man, who this month marks 60 years in the vast, imaginative world of comic books, movies and merch. Among those fans are devotees like Hoover, a professional Spider-Man cosplayer and model who doesn’t resemble the longtime “canon” presentation of the character. However, in the cinematic and comics universes,&nbsp;<a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Miles_Morales_(Earth-1610)">a Black Spider-Man</a>&nbsp;is now reality.

Hoover is biracial — of Black and white ancestry — and stands at 6 feet 2 inches. And the story of his fandom illustrates an important point about New York City's favorite super-powered wall-crawler: The appeal of the character long ago transcended its original iteration as a white, unimposing, orphaned teenager.

The Spider-Man character’s classic costume, complete with wide-eyed and web-patterned mask, is a key ingredient to the character’s appeal across race, gender and nationality. Almost anyone can imagine themselves behind it as this everyman — an underestimated smartypants who, after a quick change into head-to-toe spandex, becomes a force for good.

“The older I got, slowly but surely, I saw how relatable the character was,” Hoover says. “He had to work through his struggles while still maintaining a secret identity and doing good for the people. That kind of moral compass is powerful, especially for an impressionable mind.”

<a href="https://newsroom.ap.org/home/search/?query=byline:%22AARON%20MORRISON%22&amp;mediaType=text&amp;st=keyword&amp;sortOrder=newest">By AARON MORRISON Associated Press</a>NEW YORK (AP) — Spider-Man fandom is in Tyler Scott Hoover's blood — but not because he was bitten by an irradiated arachnid. His father had collected Marvel comic books featuring the character since the 1970s.“He passed down a ton of comics to me,” says Hoover, 32, of Glen Burnie, Maryland. “It kind of makes it almost like a religion. It would have been hard for me not to become a fan of Spider-Man.”There are legions of fans of Spider-Man, who this month marks 60 years in the vast, imaginative world of comic books, movies and merch. Among those fans are devotees like Hoover, a professional Spider-Man cosplayer and model who doesn’t resemble the longtime “canon” presentation of the character. However, in the cinematic and comics universes,&nbsp;<a href="https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Miles_Morales_(Earth-1610)">a Black Spider-Man</a>&nbsp;is now reality.Hoover is biracial — of Black and white ancestry — and stands at 6 feet 2 inches. And the story of his fandom illustrates an important point about New York City's favorite super-powered wall-crawler: The appeal of the character long ago transcended its original iteration as a white, unimposing, orphaned teenager.The Spider-Man character’s classic costume, complete with wide-eyed and web-patterned mask, is a key ingredient to the character’s appeal across race, gender and nationality. Almost anyone can imagine themselves behind it as this everyman — an underestimated smartypants who, after a quick change into head-to-toe spandex, becomes a force for good.“The older I got, slowly but surely, I saw how relatable the character was,” Hoover says. “He had to work through his struggles while still maintaining a secret identity and doing good for the people. That kind of moral compass is powerful, especially for an impressionable mind.”More importantly, Hoover says, it’s Spider-Man’s struggle to protect his hometown that makes the character more believable than superheroes whose origin stories include wealth and influence. No coincidence, surely, that he refers to himself as “your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.”Created by the late Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Spider-Man appeared in comics as early as June 1962, although the canon date of his debut is Aug. 10, 1962, in Marvel’s Amazing Fantasy #15. Peter Parker, a high schooler bitten by a spider from a science experiment, developed superhuman strength, the ability to cling to solid surfaces and fast reflexes aided by the ability to sense and anticipate danger.But on his journey to becoming a superhero, Parker fails to stop a burglar who kills his Uncle Ben, leaving his adoptive aunt widowed. The character then strives to honor the words etched at the end of that debut issue, later attributed to his uncle: “With great power, there must also come great responsibility.”Racially and culturally diverse superheroes, generally absent from the mainstream comics scene during its first decades, began to emerge in the years after Spider-Man's debut, particularly at Marvel.In 1966, Black Panther, also known as Prince T’Challa of the fictional and reclusive African nation of Wakanda, became the first Black Marvel comic superhero. Debuting in the 1970s were characters such as Storm, the mutant goddess most known as a member of Marvel’s X-Men; Luke Cage, Marvel's formerly imprisoned Black Harlemite with superhuman strength and nearly impenetrable skin; Shang-Chi, the master martial artist who is among the first Asian Marvel superheroes; and Red Wolf, the expert archer and first Native American Marvel superhero.“Sometimes when we think of superheroes, we think of billionaires in suits, brilliant scientists or Norse gods,” says Angélique Roché, host of the podcast “Marvel’s Voices” and co-author of the upcoming book&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Super-Hero-Black-John-Jennings/dp/1982134666/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1J6GMHKA44986&amp;keywords=my+super+hero+is+black&amp;qid=1660009699&amp;sprefix=my+super+hero+is+black%2Caps%2C73&amp;sr=8-1">“My Super Hero Is Black.”</a>Spider-Man turned the idea of mostly privileged humans using their wealth and power to become heroes on its head, she says. Spider-Man iterations, in the comics and in film, have appeared across multiple universes, or the so-called “spiderverse.” Miles Morales, a teenage, Afro Latino Spider-Man, has become wildly popular and starred in his own animated feature film. Cindy Moon, a Korean-American known as Silk, was bitten by the same spider as Peter Parker.“Because Spider Man means so much to us, we should always be open to the possibilities,” Roché says. “We should always hope and believe that there’s never going to be a dearth of people who want to fight for what’s right.”In July, Spider-Man was inducted into the Comic-Con Hall of Fame during the annual convention in San Diego. Fans flooded the convention hall in costumes that spanned various iterations of the character.Because of the mask, Spider-Man has been a safer choice for cosplayers hoping to avoid the staunch purists, or those who criticize others for deviating from canonized representations of superheroes. But cosplay doesn’t have to be canon, says Andrew Liptak, a historian and author of the book&nbsp;<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cosplay-History-Builders-Favorite-Stories/dp/1534455825/ref=asc_df_1534455825/?tag=hyprod-20&amp;linkCode=df0&amp;hvadid=533457977758&amp;hvpos=&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=3917710882759574019&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=9052092&amp;hvtargid=pla-1458376451675&amp;psc=1">“Cosplay, a History: The Builders, Fans, and Makers Who Bring Your Favorite Stories to Life.”</a>“Ultimately, it’s about your relationship to the character,” he says. “You’re literally wearing your fandom on your sleeves.”Liptak also says it’s unfair to expect fans of color to dress up only as superheroes whose appearance or skin color matches their own.In the recent film “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” Electro, the villain played by Academy Award-winning actor Jamie Foxx, joked to Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man that he was surprised Spider-Man wasn’t Black. Whether or not that opens the door to a live-action Black Spider-Man in future films, Hoover says Spider-Man should never be boxed into just one look.“You will get those who argue, if you turn Spider-Man Black then you can turn T’Challa white,” Hoover says. “Spider-Man was never really defined by his ethnicity, but more so his social status and the struggles he went through. That’s even more relatable for people of color and different ethnicities, because there’s a lot of struggle involved in life that you have to persevere through.”