Tag: Western Europe

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s embarrassing Netflix deadline looms

Post author By mangakiko
Post date August 15, 2022
No Comments on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s embarrassing Netflix deadline looms

When the current history of Hollywood gets written, April 19, 2022 will go down as the day that everything changed.

It should have been a routine earnings call during which Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings took tech and business reporters through the company’s latest figures. Instead, Hastings revealed that the company had lost hundreds of thousands of subscribers for the first drop in numbers in 10 years.

The revelations immediately set off something of an earthquake from Wall Street to Los Angeles, with $75 billion in value being wiped off the company’s value in 24 hours.

Why this matters are the consequences this precipitous, stunning reversal in fortune could have for two people about 450km south of Netflix’s headquarters, in the wealthy enclave of Montecito.

In the course of that one earnings one call, not only did the streaming giant’s once-unassailable hold on the entertainment industry come unstuck, but so too did the supposedly cashed-up future of Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, start to look much less certain.

Monday marks 712 days since the world learned on September 2 2020 that the newly self-emancipated Sussexes had signed a reported $US140 million ($A197 million) deal with Netflix via no lesser news outlet than the New York Times with the story trumpeting the duo’s “new Hollywood careers”.

But today, those “new Hollywood careers” have yet to actually take off while once mighty Netflix has lost more than $US200 billion ($A280 billion) in value (yes, billion with a ‘b’) this year.

Nearly two years on from all the self-contributory ballyhoo of September 2, 2020, the landscape for both the titled duo and the streamer has significantly shifted beneath them all.

Will – or even can – the Sussex/Netflix marriage survive?

Not only have the fortunes of Netflix lurched wildly since 2020 but so have Harry and Meghan’s.

At the time the deal was announced, it seemed like the most obvious and logical pairing: Two of the most famous people in the world would worthily churn out documentaries or some such; inreturn; Netflix got to tout the fact that they had a real life Duke and Duchess on their books. Harry and Meghan would get squillions; the company would reap the rewards of the PR coup of the decade.

However, the royal duo are not exactly the sizzlingly-hot property they were back then now are they?

More than 30 months have passed since Harry and Meghan absconded from a life of stifling royal duty for the greener pastures of California and that lucrative embrace of corporate America.

In that time they have managed to ink a series of headline-making deals, including also with Spotify, the coaching company BetterUp and with Ethic, a fintech asset manager, along with launching their charitable foundation and undertaking a seemingly never ending parade of photo opportunities. .

On paper it sounds like it’s been a whirligig of achievement and just the sort of industrious self-starting that America was founded on. Except … what have they actually achieved?

Yes, they have made a series of donations to causes ranging from the World Food Kitchen to helping fix a women’s shelter’s roof after a storm which reflects their generosity and hunger to help others. Kudos. But writing a check here and there is hardly the sort of work that will ever see them make the long list for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Sadly, for two people who seem to truly care, there is not one issue, not one cause they have really moved the needle on since they embarked on this new life of theirs.

More importantly for their Netflix and Spotify paymasters, they have failed to genuinely set themselves up as leading voices of the day. They might do their darnedest to sell themselves as inspiring leaders but the proof is in the flaccid pudding that was the lackluster turnout to Harry’s recent UN speech from him.

The international community was hardly turning up in droves to hear him speak while Washington has largely ignored them.

Meghan’s cold-calling of senators about paid parental leave last year went down about as well as a gluten and dairy-free scone at a Buckingham Palace garden party and the Duchess has yet to emerge as any sort of powerplayer ahead of the midterm elections later this year.

In late June, the former actress took part in a conversation with feminist pioneer Gloria Steinem for fashion after the horrendous quashing of abortion protection, saying: “Well, Gloria, maybe it seems as though you and I will be taking a trip to DC together soon.”

Nearly two months on, the Duchess has yet to turn up inside the Beltway.

The bottom line is this: Harry and Meghan have proven totally unsuccessful at making themselves matter in the corridors of power in Washington, New York, Silicon Valley or Los Angeles.

The magic dust of their royalty has largely dulled in the last two years and the novelty factor has worn off. So too has their deal-making momentum seemed to have waned with them not having announced any other venture since July 2021 last year when it was revealed Harry was busy working on a memoir.

Things might look different today if in the last 712 days the Sussexes had been churning out series after doco after one-off specials for Netflix, but as we all know, that is not the case. The company has only ever publicly announced two Sussex projects: Harry’s documentary about the sporting event for wounded armed services personnel Heart of Invictus (an amazing initiative he started years ago as a working member of the royal family) and an animated children’s series from Meghan called Pearl.

In early May it was announced that Netflix was axing the Duchess’ show as part of a much bigger cost-cutting move, with numerous high-profile projects canned as the streamer dramatically tighten their belts.

Then later the same month came news that the company was about to get, as Page Six put it, their “pound of flesh” from the duo with the revelation that Harry and Meghan were already filming something called an “at home” docu series which has a hint of the ignominious about it. (More recent reporting has suggested that Netflix wants it to air before the year is out.)

Potentially hundreds of millions of dollars are riding on this docu series for the self-supporting, private jet-flying, polo-loving Sussexes.

If it turns out that the Duke and Duchess are TV gold, if they are about to demonstrate that they are binge-worthy stars who can pull in streaming viewers globally, then their US careers are set. Get another polo pony! Hell, buy seven.

But, if they fail to live up to the hype and the rhetoric? The huge sums being touted and all those lovely millions supposedly coming their way could dry up faster than a Californian lake.

(And it’s not as if their docuseries is likely to feature much royal access given that Harry and Meghan were embarrassingly sidelined by The Firm when they were in London for the Platinum Jubilee.)

Netflix is clearly a very patient company when it comes to their superstar recruits. Take Barack and Michelle Obama who signed to Netflix and Spotify after they left the White House.

However, this week, Harry and Meghan will break the Obamas’ track record of the 716 days which elapsed between their Netflix deal being announced and their first marquee project starring one of them, coming, being released. (And in the interim they had released two children’s shows and produced two documentaries, one of which won an Oscar.)

Harry and Meghan might have titles and the Buckingham Palace Wi-Fi password but that is not enough of a distinction for big companies to merrily tip millions into their bank accounts for the chance to work with them. They have to actually do something to provide themselves.

They can’t just hope they can coast along on the whiff of a mothballed HRH here forever more.

Since that earnings call in April, Netflix has laid off hundreds of staff and made the drastic decision to finally introduce advertising to the platform. Can the company still afford to carry big name stars who don’t deliver on their books?

Just how much patience and faith will this newly humbled Netflix have for their yet-to-perform big-name hires?

To some degree, the same goes for Spotify too here.

In April, Meghan’s first outing for the audio giant called Archetypes was announced, promising a “groundbreaking” series would launch during the northern summer. With only weeks to go before autumn begins, again, the clock is ticking.

Daniela Elser is a royal expert and a writer with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.

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Entertainment

US writer Sally Hoedel claims Elvis died young because of incestuous relatives

Post author By mangakiko
Post date August 15, 2022
No Comments on US writer Sally Hoedel claims Elvis died young because of incestuous relatives

A writer has claimed Elvis Presley’s tragic death at the age of 42 was not caused by self-destruction and drug abuse but was instead a tragic inevitability spurred by bad genes in the singer’s family tree.

Myths and misconceptions have continued to swirl around Elvis’ death in the 45 years since the legendary performer was found unresponsive in the bathroom of his Graceland mansion on August 16, 1977, reported The US Sun.

His official cause of death was ruled a heart attack, a tragic fate that has long been attributed to The King’s excessive indulgence in prescription drugs and unhealthy foods.

Those attributions can be traced back to news coverage from the time, with reports painting the star as a bloated, forlorn drug addict — a rock’n’roll cliche who popped one too many pills and died long before his time.

But for author and lifelong fan Sally Hoedel, the cause of Elvis’ premature demise is not so clear-cut.

Hoedel claimed that Elvis was always destined to die young. She attributed this to her belief that he may have had a series of defective genes possibly passed down to him by his maternal grandparents, Bob Smith and Doll Mansell, who were his first cousins.

Hoedel argued that those alleged faulty genes were aggravating factors behind his various health issues, which he in turn treated with a cocktail of prescription drugs.

“That first cousin marriage obviously causes a lot of issues,” Hoedel theorized to The US Sun in a phone interview from her home in Michigan.

“Elvis’ mum Gladys died very young at 46 and she had three brothers who all died at similar ages from heart and lung-related issues. So it stops being a coincidence by the time it gets to Elvis,” she claimed, “because there’s so much going on in that family tree.”

For her book, Elvis: Destined to Die YoungHoedel researched the medical history of the Presley family and unearthed never-before-reported information.

His interest in the topic was piqued after noticing a series of similarities in the deaths of Elvis and his much-beloved mother Gladys, who died almost exactly 19 years before him on August 14, 1958.

Gladys, like her superstar son, died of heart failure. She was 46, just four years older than Elvis when he passed away.

Additionally, both Elvis and Gladys suffered a “similar four-year period of degenerative health” in the lead-up to their deaths, according to Hoedel, “which is interesting because they weren’t taking the same kinds of medication.”

Research conducted by Hoedel found that Gladys had been seeing a cardiologist since at least 1956, and was also hospitalized for two weeks that same year with a mystery illness.

Shortly before her death, Gladys was also diagnosed with hepatitis, the origins of which baffled her doctors at the time. The condition, which targets the lungs and liver, was thought to have been related to Gladys’ alcoholism.

Born and raised in extreme poverty in the deep south, Gladys’ struggles to cope with her son’s meteoric ascension to fame and fortune are well documented, with the self-described “most miserable woman in the world” reportedly once telling a friend over the phone , “I wish we were poor again, I really do.”

Growing increasingly isolated and depressed as Elvis became a global sensation, Gladys began drinking excessively and taking diet pills – a downward spiral that many believe led to her hepatitis diagnosis and ultimately contributed to her death.

Gladys fell seriously ill just a few months after Elvis enlisted in the US Army. The timing of her downturn in her health spurred theories that Gladys drank herself to death, wracked with worry and suffering from a broken heart while her son was serving overseas in Germany.

Hoedel believes that narrative is baseless “romanticism.”

“Gladys has always been painted as this woman whose son became famous, bought her a big house and she just struggled to deal with it all and essentially died of a broken heart,” the author and historian contended.

“But that’s not how it works. I think Elvis and Vernon [Elvis’ dad] both knew who knew how sick she was before he left for the army.

“They were all so sad because I believe for sure that they knew they didn’t have a lot of time left with her.”

Hoedel argued – like Elvis – the causes of Gladys’ death and ill-health lie further up the family tree.

“The Presleys were incredibly secretive about their health,” Hoedel said, “but I managed to interview people like Nancy Clarke, the daughter of Gladys’ cardiologist, who used to go on house calls with her dad to the Presley home.

“And she told me before her dad passed away, he said there was more to Gladys’ death than what he understood because he’s long been quoted as saying it looked like hepatitis, but it wasn’t, and he couldn’t work out what was wrong with her.”

Hoedel believed that Gladys was actually suffering from Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, an inherited and rarely diagnosed disorder that can cause lung and liver disease.

“We know Elvis had it because he was found to be a carrier for Alpha-1 after his death, so it had to come from somewhere” she added.

“And it all leads back to Gladys’ parents,” she claimed.

In her book, Hoedel examined the health issues of Elvis’ grandmother, Doll Smith, who is believed to have suffered from Tuberculosis for more than 30 years.

“Again, something that doesn’t make sense, but continued to be passed down the family tree and then throughout recorded Elvis history as well,” Hoedel argued. “This book explains how Tuberculosis was most certainly a misdiagnosis in the early 1900s.

“From there, with the first-cousin marriage, Gladys [may have] inherited two damaged genes and a more serious version of the disease.”

All of Gladys’ brothers died of heart and liver-related issues in their forties and early fifties too.

Faulty and defective genes were also passed down to Elvis, Hoedel suggested.

The legendary crooner was suffering from diseases in nine of the 11 bodily systems, including his heart, his lungs, and his bowels. It was Hoedel’s contention that five of those disease processes were present from birth. Hoedel believed Elvis was a man who struggled every day to survive.

His prescription drug problem, she theorized, may have been the result of Elvis and his infamous physician, George “Nick” Nichopolous, attempting to treat his various congenital illnesses, rather than just mindless overconsumption.

“Elvis had various health issues but he hid them so well that the over-medication is what we remember now,” Hoedel claimed.

“He often took too much, and there are issues there, but you have to ask why he was taking those pills in the first place.

“One of the reasons Elvis turned to the medication was pain, he was also a lifelong insomniac, but the reason he was self-medicating was that he was trying to find a way to be Elvis Presley.”

The more he toured, the more medication he would need to function through his various ailments, Hoedel suggested.

But Elvis – a devoted son, husband, father, and friend – couldn’t simply stop performing. He had more than 100 people on his payroll from him, relying on him to keep bringing the money in to keep them all afloat.

Memphis Mafia member Lamar Fike told Hoedel he begged Elvis to quit touring after the singer complained of fatigue and pain.

“I have to make payroll,” The King replied.

Speaking of the eleven electric performer’s ailing health during his final years, Elvis’ bodyguard Ed Parker described him as a “battery that had been drained too many times.”

“His body could no longer hold a charge,” Parker said.

Still, on Elvis soldiered, until his life came to an abrupt end on August 16, 1977.

Ultimately, as her book title suggests, Hoedel argued that Elvis was always destined to die young, and nothing could’ve saved The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll from the unfavorable genetic hand she believed he was dealt with.

For the author, examining Elvis’ supposedly faulty genetic make-up was an effort to re-humanize the mythical figure of Presley, who she feels in the years since his death has been reduced to a rock star cliche who simply died alone on the bathroom floor.

“There are so many myths and misconceptions about how Elvis lived, not just in how he died, and it isn’t fair on Elvis,” Hoedel said.

“I think Elvis is the greatest victim of sensationalism and romanticism, and both have kind of plagued and haunted his legacy and prevented him from being remembered as the incredibly important historical figure he is.

“Elvis shifted our universe culturally like no one has before and he deserves to be treated like a Henry Ford or Thomas Edison of pop culture.

“But the sex drugs and rock’n’roll narrative has held him back – he’s a bigger place in American history.”

This article was originally published on The Sun and was reproduced here with permission

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Sports

F1 news 2022: Ralf Schumacher calls for Alpine not to block Oscar Piastri, Daniel Ricciardo

Post author By mangakiko
Post date August 14, 2022
No Comments on F1 news 2022: Ralf Schumacher calls for Alpine not to block Oscar Piastri, Daniel Ricciardo

German racing legend Ralf Schumacher has pleaded for Alpine not to block Oscar Piastri’s path to Formula 1, arguing the team only has itself to blame for losing the prodigy driver.

Australian star Daniel Ricciardo became embroiled in F1’s mid-year silly season following reports he will be replaced by young compatriot Piastri at McLaren next year.

Watch Every Practice, Qualifying & Race of the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship™ Live on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

The messy contract situation erupted after two-time world champion Fernando Alonso blindsided the F1 world and jumped into Sebastian Vettel’s vacated seat at Aston Martin.

Alpine then announced Piastri would replace Alonso in 2023, only for the 21-year-old Melburnian to reject the seat — a bold move for someone who is yet to drive in F1.

The Enstone team asserts that Piastri, Alpine’s reserve driver for 2022, should respect the contract, but the Victorian believes the commitment is not valid because an option clause expired.

The matter could be settled to the courtroom – Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer threatened to file a civil lawsuit to recover the millions of dollars spent on training Piastri this season.

“I expected more loyalty from Oscar than he is showing,” Szafnauer told Spanish publication The confidential.

“I started in 1989 in Formula 1 and I’ve never seen anything like this. And it’s not about Formula 1, it’s about integrity as a human being.

“For me, the way I grew up, I don’t need to sign a piece of paper and then have someone say, ‘You’re lying, because you signed this’.”

According to French publication Auto Hebdothe FIA’s Driver Contract Recognition Board has found that both Piastri’s Alpine and McLaren contracts are valid.

speaking to Sky F1 in GermanySchumacher argued Alpine’s contract woes were self-inflicted, calling on the F1 team to respect Piastri’s wishes.

“Piastri has done everything right,” he started.

“Now we can only hope that the sore loser – in this case Alpine – doesn’t put obstacles in the boy’s path. Piastri was with them, they had everything in hand, all they had to do was give him a contract.

“I’m sorry. I like Otmar, but he will be disappointed in his own performance, that he did not see it coming with Alonso and that he does not have a plan B. That’s the embarrassing thing about the whole saga.

“Accordingly, he has to blame himself. Oscar did nothing wrong. At the end of the day, Alpine could have questioned Alonso earlier and made it clear to Piastri that they would be relying on him in the future.

“He won Formula 3 in his first year, and Formula 2 as well. What should he be waiting for? I would have done the same if I had been offered a job.

“One thing was clear; Alpine wasn’t interested in putting Piastri in the car next year at the beginning because they saw that young drivers need a certain amount of time (until they arrive in Formula 1).

“They wanted to put him somewhere else for one or two years. There was an option from Alpine to (put Piastri in the cockpit), but it wasn’t taken because they didn’t expect Fernando Alonso to leave.

“When you have such a jewel, it’s criminal to let him go. If you’re then unable to get the contracts right yourself, you can’t blame the young man.

“You also have to remember one thing; Piastri’s manager Mark Webber has a very, very close relationship with McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl.”

On Friday, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem claimed the contract issue would be solved through their own means instead of in the courtroom.

“The FIA’s Driver Contract Recognition Board (CRB) was set up to deal with contract priority issues between drivers and F1 teams,” he tweeted.

“That’s why we rely on their decision to resolve any conflict.”

Meanwhile, Ricciardo is reportedly seeking a whopping $21 million payout to walk away from his contract with McLaren.

The 33-year-old is reportedly only party who can break his contract with the team, which expires at the end of 2023.

A payout would clear the way for McLaren to officially sign Piastri.

Entertainment

Princess Diana’s bodyguard Lee Sansum claims she would still be alive if he had been on duty

Post author By mangakiko
Post date August 14, 2022
No Comments on Princess Diana’s bodyguard Lee Sansum claims she would still be alive if he had been on duty

He is the bodyguard who Princess Diana nicknamed “Rambo” and with whom she had several heart-to-hearts revealing her biggest fears and future plans.

And 25 years on from her death, Lee Sansum says he is adamant she would be alive today if he had been with her on the night she died alongside Dodi Fayed in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997.

In an exclusive interview with The SunSansum has told how security guards drew straws to accompany bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones in the car, and he lost.

He also reveals the fun bets he had with a young Prince and how he treasures a letter from Diana thanking him for making her final sunshine holiday in St Tropez “magical” — and her fears she may be assassinated.

“It could have been me in that car,” said Sansum, now 60.

“We drew straws to see who would be accompanying Trevor that weekend. I pulled a match and it was a long one.

“When I learned they were not wearing seatbelts in the crash I understood why they didn’t survive. That shouldn’t have happened.

“It was standard practice for the family to wear seatbelts. It was an order sent down from the boss, Dodi’s dad Mohamed Fayed. Dodi, in particular, hated wearing seatbelts and I always insisted on it.”

Through his work with Mohamed Al-Fayed — the owner of Hôtel Ritz Paris and formerly Harrods department store and Fulham FC — Sansum also protected Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sylvester Stallone and footballer Pele.

Burnley-born Sansum, who has covered his incredible career in personal protection in a new book, The Bodyguard: Real Stories of Close Protection from Tom Cruise to Princess Dianawas assigned to look after Dodi and Diana, then 36, when they stayed at his boss’s 30-bedroom villa in St Tropez, in the South of France, during July 1997.

Every day Diana would wake up at 7am and chat to the bodyguard.

“She had been happy on that holiday,” he said.

“But I had seen her in tears too, when she learned of the murder of her friend, the fashion designer Gianni Versace. She confided in me her own fears that she might one day be assassinated.

“She asked if I thought his murder outside his home was a professional killing.

“I thought it was. Then she said something that always stayed with me — ‘Do you think they’ll do that to me?’ She was shaking and it was clear from her tone that she really thought that they might, whoever ‘they’ might be.

“I spent some time reassuring her that no one was going to try to kill her and she was safe with us, but she definitely thought there was a risk that one day she might be assassinated.”

Diana also told Sansum she wanted to live with Dodi in the States.

“I actually signed up to join Diana and Dodi in America,” he added.

“She was definitely going, and that was that. She told me she was going there.

“She didn’t want to, but that was the only place she felt people weren’t having a go at her. It was probably her way of keeping sane, to get some respite.”

Sansum took an instant shine to young princes William and Harry, who he says were down to earth and friendly, like their mother. William was 15 when Diana died and Harry 12.

Sansum believes Diana’s plan to move to the US influenced Harry’s move there with Meghan.

“This trauma happened when the building blocks for life were being formulated,” he said.

“His mother saw America as a place of sanctuary. He will be drawing on his experiences of her from then. ”

Sansum, a martial arts expert, tried to teach William and Harry how to kickbox, but they were too apprehensive.

“I rigged up a punch bag in the garage,” he said.

“One day I told the princes, ‘Come on, I’ll teach you a bit of kickboxing.’

“When I showed William and Harry how to do it though, they seemed a little bit in awe from watching me kick that bag so hard and weren’t too keen to try it themselves in front of me.”

But Harry did challenge him to jump off the top deck of Al-Fayed’s yacht for money.

When Sansum said he would do it for £200, Diana joined in the encouragement and told Sansum they had his money.

“It was a bloody big yacht and a fair drop from its highest point into the water,” he said.

“A bet’s a bet, after all, and this one was by royal command, from an actual princess.

“So I jumped off the boat, hit the water with a big splash and they were all delighted, especially Harry.”

Sansum — who has also served in the Military Police, worked undercover for the Forces in Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles and in Somalia and Libya — does not believe Diana was murdered.

But he reveals the presence of intelligence services following her just weeks before the crash might have been a factor.

On a counter-surveillance drive near the Al-Fayed home in Surrey just before they all went to St Tropez, one of Sansum’s colleagues saw someone from the Special Reconnaissance Unit, working on a building site. He knew him as they had both been in the SAS.

“We were generally followed by MI5 but this was the first time we had seen a Special Forces guy,” he said.

“We thought, ‘They’ve upped their game.’

“A witness driving a car traveling in front of the Mercedes in Paris on the night of the crash told the inquest that he saw a high-powered motorbike overtake the car just seconds before the crash.

“Another witness traveling in the opposite direction saw a second motorbike swerve to avoid smoke and wreckage then carry on out of the tunnel without stopping. The riders of those bikes were never found — and that is no coincidence.

“I believe that security officers following Diana, possibly British or a combined British – French team, may have either inadvertently caused the crash or were in proximity to the car when it happened.

“If it was known that MI6 operatives were right by the Mercedes at the critical moment, a lot of people would have blamed them for it, and that would have been a huge scandal.”

Sansum will never know the truth. But he will always treasure the letter he received from the princess 25 years ago.

“I received a lovely letter from Diana that was signed by her and both of the young princes,” he said.

“She told me she wanted to thank me for taking such good care of them all in St Tropez. I was blown away by that. She assured me that she and her boys de ella had a ‘magical’ time there and that this would not have been possible without my help.

“I couldn’t believe that a woman as famous and in-demand as Diana had taken the time to write to me in that way.

“It showed the empathy she was rightly famous for.

“Diana was almost always able to put herself in someone else’s shoes, it is one of the reasons why she was so highly regarded.

“She signed off with her warmest possible thanks. I still have that letter and will always treasure it.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission

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Entertainment

Brad Pitt’s transformation ushers in new phase

Post author By mangakiko
Post date August 13, 2022
No Comments on Brad Pitt’s transformation ushers in new phase

It was either the Dalai Lama or Shania Twain who once said, “OK, so you’re Brad Pitt? That don’t impress me much”.

But Brad Pitt is not the kind of guy who cares about impressing the Dalai Lama and Shania Twain. He knows he impresses everyone else. That’s why he’s now taking confident strides into the next era of his life from him and embarking on a style revolution.

The 58-year-old has been hitting the red carpets over recent weeks for the premiere of his new movie Bullet Train while rocking a distinct new lewk.

The key fashion elements? Cakes and skorts.

Classic. Timeless. Sophisticated. I wore the same thing to my formal school.

Brad has entered a new phase. Throughout his career, he has transitioned smoothly from Hollywood heart-throb to bona fide movie star. Now he’s keen to explore the territory of eccentric artist.

And, look: We’ll accept Brad Pitt any way we can get him. He has reached a point where he can do whatever he wants and we’ll continue to take him seriously.

In the past, the actor has been accused by memes of stealing his girlfriends’ styles. He cut his hair like Gwyneth Paltrow when the pair dated in the ’90s. I borrowed Jen Aniston’s sea salt spray in the 2000s. And when he started dating Angelina, it seemed the pair made frequent trips to the blow bar together.

But his latest style revolution is truly one to behold. Is he simply being an eccentric artist? Or has he suddenly slipped into competing with the TikTok kids?

Whoever thought we’d see the day where Brad Pitt is trying to keep up with the internet’s boyfriends Timothée Chalamet and Harry Styles — with their flamboyant fashion choices of crushed velvet and bold statement patterns.

In Berlin I rocked a pink shirt, combat boots, and kilt. Then he brought a burst of color to LA with a green suit and yellow sneakers. Other appearances have seen him donning zip-up tops, relaxed jacket-shirts and baggy drawstring pants in a variety of pastel hues.

Asked about the skirt and his latest sartorial explorations, the actor simply replied: “I don’t know! We’re all going to die, so let’s mess it up”.

He makes it sound like there’s not much thought going into it at all – that he’s just taking life as it comes. But coordinated pastels don’t just happen. Co-ordinated pastels are achieved through many meetings with stylists who strategize with Pinterest boards.

For us regular people, you get to a certain age where it’s just too late for a style revolution.

When you’re younger, you can experiment with looks and people. But by the time you reach your 30s, you’ve pretty much settled into who you are. Your style is as predictable and expected as Bart Simpson’s blue shorts and orange shirt combo.

A style revolution doesn’t just affect your own life. It rocks the worlds of everyone around you. Like, imagine if your dad just started wearing accessories.

Or if your mum became one of those annoying people who really overcommits to 1950s rockabilly fashion.

Even a colleague. If your middle-aged boss waltzed into the office tomorrow morning wearing a bowler hat, it would throw the workplace off its axis. No deadlines would be met that day. The pings would be going insane.

It takes a certain kind of confidence to wake up one morning and decide on a whim that you’ll now become Bowler Hat Guy. And it’s foolish to think that the rest of the world will accept it without comment.

Remember when Karl Stefanovic shook up his personal life a few years ago and went through his own style revolution by trying to be Matthew McConaughey with a fedora and braided leather bracelets? We all had a field day.

A style revolution is only for the brave. Like those women who decide they’re going to exclusively wear purple until the end of time. They dedicate their entire lives to purple like it’s a religion. Suddenly, their entire wardrobes are a patchwork of magenta and violet. Amethyst. Lilac, plum and mauve.

They usually also get a purple streak in their hair. Then paint the front door of their home a glossy shellacked purple. If you spot one of these women in the wild, follow them to the car park and you’ll find she probably drives a purple Honda Jazz.

It goes without saying Brad’s new style revolution would be tipping his ex Angelina Jolie over the edge. Her mates of her will have been texting her relentlessly after every red carpet appearance of her: “Did ya see the skort?”

Seeing an ex move on with their life is annoying enough. But seeing an ex go through a style revolution? Enraging. Who the hell do they think they are?

In Australia, a style revolution of Brad Pitt’s scale just wouldn’t fly. Russell Crowe? The country couldn’t handle it. We as a nation will only ever allow Rusty to wear that one black Best & Less tracksuit.

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Tags America, Angelina Jolie, annoying people, Australia, Australia and New Zealand, baggy drawstring pants, Bart Simpson, Berlin, Best & Less, bold statement patterns, bowler hat, Brad Pitt, Bullet Train, California, car park, confident streaks, coordinated pastels, Dalai Lama, down-on-his-luck secret agent, eccentric artist, Europe, Facebook, fashion alert, fashion evolution, fide movie star, flamboyant fashion choices, Germany, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hollywood, inc., james weir, Jen Aniston, Karl Stefanović, key fashion elements, Matthew McConaughey, North America, Northern America, Oceania, orange shirt combo, pastel hues, red carpet, red carpet appearance, regular people, rockabilly fashion, Russell Crowe, school formal, Shania Twain, style revolution, The Angels, United States of America, Western Europe, zip up top

Entertainment

French-Canadian mother took to Reddit for advice on son’s name

Post author By mangakiko
Post date August 13, 2022
No Comments on French-Canadian mother took to Reddit for advice on son’s name

Choosing a name for your child is a very difficult decision for many parents to make.

While some expectant parents may already have a huge list of names that they like, for others, trying to decide on a name can seem very daunting.

And one mother has taken to Reddit to reveal that she not only struggled to choose a name for her child, but now really regrets the name that she chose.

The anonymous parent took to the online discussion website and admitted she ‘regrets’ her son’s name and is fed up with people constantly raising their eyebrows at the name or asking her to repeat it, The Sun reported.

The Reddit user explained: “First, I have to say that we are French Canadian.

“The name we chose will sound totally normal to you, but here it is quite unusual because it’s an English name …

“So, at the hospital, we chose to name our son Logan. My son is now six months old, and I am still not used to his name. It was difficult from the start to choose a name.

“A lot of names we loved didn’t work well with my husband’s name. We also had very different tastes for boys’ names. So we waited until the last minute to choose.

“Logan was not the first choice for either of us, but it was the only name we both agreed on. We made the decision to give him an “original” name. I thought I could live well with that and defend my choice.

“I believe giving him an English name will give him an edge on the job market (would you hire a Logan or a François, Jean-Michel or Mathieu?). I wanted him to stand out instead of being the 10th Felix in his grade…”

However, the mother revealed that it’s been six months since she welcomed her son, and she still isn’t liking his name.

She continued: “But still, after six months, I am not comfortable with the name Logan.

“I don’t live well with people raising an eyebrow or asking me to repeat. I don’t want to change my son’s name, but does anybody have a similar story?

“How long did it take for you to get used to it?”

Reddit users were very supportive of the woman, and rushed to the comments to share their thoughts on the name, as well as their own experiences with their children’s names.

One person said: “I can see where you’re coming from. I’m from Germany originally and a name like Logan would certainly be a bit odd there, so I imagine it’d be about the same in French Canada.

“You’ll get used to it. He’ll get used to it. And everyone around him will get used to it.”

Another added: “I regretted my second daughter’s name for the longest time.

“I think it was around eight months when I finally started calling her by her real name instead of pet names and nicknames.

“By the time she was walking and showing her little personality, I had gotten used to her name.

“Now I can’t imagine her with any other name!”

A third commented: “I like the name Logan!” Someone else stated: “Logan’s a good name, don’t sweat it.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission

Tags adorable baby giraffe, august, baby giraffe, baby name, Chester Zoo, english name, Europe, expecting parents, Facebook, Germany, giraffe calf, inc., job market, Logan, online discussion website, real name, regrets six-month-old son, stanley, Western Europe

Entertainment

French-Canadian mother took to Reddit for advice on son’s name

Post author By mangakiko
Post date August 13, 2022
No Comments on French-Canadian mother took to Reddit for advice on son’s name