Tracker

Brendan Fraser’s Big Hollywood Comeback Comes With Harsh Lessons After his commercial peak, he slowly disappeared from our screens, seemingly just another A-Lister whose best years were behind him. He put on weight. His hair thinned. He stopped looking like what Hollywood desired of its leading men and derision followed. Eventually, it seemed that the only place Fraser regularly popped up was in tacky “Where is He Now?” clickbait pieces. When he returned to the spotlight in 2018, thanks to some critically acclaimed TV roles in The Affair, Condor, and Trust, many of us were thrilled. We didn’t realize how much we’d missed him until he was gone. A heart-wrenching profile in GQ then revealed the truth behind his disappearance. Fraser revealed that he had struggled with various injuries after feeling pressure for many years to do all of his own stunt work. He talked candidly about the death of his mother, his financial struggles following his divorce, and feeling as though he’d been left to the curb by Hollywood. Most shockingly, he alleged having been sexually assaulted by Philip Berk, then the President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. While Berk tried to dismiss the incident, wherein he allegedly grabbed Fraser’s genitals at the Golden Globes, as a “total fabrication”, Fraser believes it led to him being blacklisted by the film world. It’s a moment he says messed with his sense of “who I was and what I was doing.” He even admitted that he was "frightened" about speaking out so many years later. Fraser’s honesty kicked open a door that allowed us to see into a seldom-discussed aspect of fame. What happens when it ends? How does that impact the celebrity in question? And how does the industry itself remain so lacking in empathy towards those it discards? Such exposés often don’t see the light of day until the person in question is dead, as was the case with Marilyn Monroe, Dorothy Stratten, and Amy Winehouse. They’re seen as cautionary tales, enshrined in amber and devoid of the individual’s own perspective. Fraser got to speak out, and he’s been able to make his way back into acting with a level of support that is too frequently denied from fans and colleagues alike.

Trump offered Jordan's king control of the West Bank — and more bonkers claims in bombshell new book Reporters offer behind-the-scenes look at a tumultuous Trump presidency — and his wife's criticism Former President Donald Trump offered Jordan's King Abdullah II control of the West Bank, touting it as a "great deal" even though the United States has no claim on the territory, according to a forthcoming book "The Divider: Trump in the White House 2017-2021." The new book by New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker and New Yorker staff writer Susan Glasser details behind-the-scenes accounts featuring Trump administration insiders, who share their experiences working for the 45th president. The occupied West Bank, which is at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, was never Trump's to give away. The piece of land sits between Israel and Jordan and was formerly governed as part of Jordan. But Israel seized the West Bank in 1967 and since then, it has been occupied by Israeli forces. Their settlements are considered illegal under international law by much of the world. Upon hearing Trump's offer, Abdullah II thought he was "having a heart attack," he reportedly told an American friend, the authors wrote in an excerpt published by The Washington Post. "I couldn't breathe. I was bent doubled-over." Trump made the offer just one month after his administration broke with decades of US policy by moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The US government has long pushed for a two-state solution and expressed opposition to settlements despite its close ties with Israel. However, Trump repeatedly caused controversies and placed himself in the middle of the decades-long conflict. In 2019, he also announced that the US would no longer view settlements as illegal under international law. The book offers a look inside the criticism Trump received from his wife, first lady Melania Trump, for his handling of the pandemic. In a phone call with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Melania Trump sought help convincing her husband to take the coronavirus more seriously, according to an excerpt published by CNN. "'You're blowing this," she recalled telling her husband, according to the book. "'This is serious. It's going to be really bad, and you need to take it more seriously than you're taking it.' He had just dismissed her. 'You worry too much,' she remembered him saying. 'Forget it.'" https://www.salon.com/2022/09/15/offered-jordans-king-control-of-the-west--and-more-bonkers-claims-in-bombshell-new-book/

Matthew McConaughey Movie 'Dallas Sting' Scrapped Amid 'Disturbing Allegations' The film was just weeks from production when producers reportedly learned of "misconduct" behind the true story that inspired it. A sports movie starring Matthew McConaughey has been canceled after producers learned of “disturbing allegations” about the true story behind the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Production company Skydance scrapped the 1984-set “Dallas Sting,” which was to feature the Oscar-winning actor as the coach of a Dallas-based teenage girls soccer team that shocked international competition at a tournament in China. Kari Skogland (“The Falcon and the Winter Soldier”) was set to direct. Production was to begin next month in New Orleans, IndieWire reported. But the concerning new information prompted Skydance and producers to scuttle the project, sources told The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday. Deadline used “misconduct” in its headline about “Dallas Sting” and cited “an impropriety that Skydance and the producers were made aware of” in its article, but didn’t elaborate. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/dallas-sting-mathew-mcconaughey_n_63231206e4b082746be73411

My son and I saw the original one waaay back in the theatre and went to see the sequel when it came out. Both of us hated it, not just for the plot line that wandered around but mostly because of the painfully loud sound track hammering away in almost every scene. I had a headache afterwards.

Dane Evans=Cody Fajardo #2.

Is Adrien Ealy related to Chuck?

Another Putin Ally Dead After ‘Suffocating’ on Business Trip Another top ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin has died this week, this time of an alleged “stroke” while on a business trip in the village of Roshchino in Russia’s far east region. Vladimir Nikolayevich Sungorkin, 68, was editor-in-chief of the Russian state newspaper, Komsomolskaya Pravda. According to the newspaper, Sungorkin died “suddenly” after showing signs of “suffocation” during the trip on Wednesday. “It happened absolutely suddenly, nothing foreshadowed. We were in the village of Roshchino. We were driving, we were already making our way towards Khabarovsk, we planned to get there in the evening today, and from there to Moscow. All was good,” his colleague Leonid Zakharov, who had accompanied him on the business trip, wrote in a story for KP.

QAnon believers, far-right influencers are reigniting fears of 'satanic panic' Since former President Donald Trump left office, the widespread conspiracy theories of Satanist pedophilia have slightly waned but now it appears those baseless claims are making their way back to the forefront. In a new analysis published by NBC News, senior reporter Brandy Zadrozny explained the latest Satanic obsession brewing among members of the QAnon community. "While the current obsession with Satan was boosted in part by the QAnon community, partisan media and conservative politicians have been instrumental in spreading newfound fears over the so-called ritualistic abuse of children that the devil supposedly inspires, sometimes weaving the allegations together with other culture war issues such as LGBTQ rights," Zadrozny wrote. "Those fears are powering fresh accusations of ritual abuse online, which are amplified on social media and by partisan media, and can mobilize mobs to seek vigilante justice." Zadrozny went on to discuss the difference between witch hunts of the past and the current political climate as conspiracy theorists have begun circulating baseless claims about the existence of satanic rituals, graphic sexual abuse and underground pedophilia rings. "Witch hunts have traditionally been associated with courts — even the kangaroo kind — but today, the accused can be branded satanist pedophiles at the speed of the internet," she wrote. "Online accusers can bypass police, therapists and the traditional media and out their alleged accusers straight to audiences of millions." The latest claims have been perpetuated by individuals like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). Zadrozny recalled a number of recent incidents where Satanic conspiracy theories had taken centerstage. Pointing to one incident back in June, Zadrozny noted that the Republican lawmaker "credited the devil with whispering to women who choose to have abortions and controlling churches who aid undocumented immigrants." Back in June, Greene tweeted a clip of a man dressed as the devil "stating that the mythical creature would be the next witness called by the House Jan. 6 committee." The lawmaker wrote, "They all know him, they all love him, and some even worship him."

And there are drunk/stoned drivers who will swear under oath that they are better drivers when impaired.

Yup. If God didn't want the critters to be eaten, why are they made of meat?

Agreed. Being physically healed and being in game condition are two different things. No way he can come back and be as he was- even if he brings Tattoo with him.

The Riders need to demand a special master to review the whole season.

In the vein of the ridiculous, a prominent GOP/MAGA/QANON supporter has said that he wants to install Trump as the King of MAGA and thus rightfully of the USA.

Welcome aboard! Almost everyone here is pretty mellow because of the amazing performance of our beloved team. However, some of get a bit testy when the team plays poorly. You have been warned.

Is this a Heinz reference?

Watched a bit of the funeral service and was struck by all the pomp and circumstance. Looked an awful lot like a showbiz extravaganza.

Ironic that The Rebel is flailing away at "the media" yet that is what they are.

We probably will not have to wait too long for an announcement.

As an FYI, you do not have to be over 0.08 BAC to be charged and convicted of a DWI offence. You do not even need to be behind the wheel (care and control) or reacting to fatigue and/or a reaction to prescription drugs (even if taking as directed). If you blow over .08 though, you will be charged. You can even be sleeping it off in the box of a truck and charged if you have the keys in your possession. If you show signs of intoxication. you can be charged, although there is a degree of discretion for the officer. Diabetics and someone suffering from various medical conditions (like a petit-mal seizure or stroke) can present as intoxicated.

This is often a catchall cover story for "probable cause".

I think the biggest advantage of older music is that all of the crap music that was around when the "classic" music emerged has, thankfully, been flushed into the sewers of history and forgotten. With all the media everpresent now, the crappy music and what passes for music is hyped and thus assumed to be something that will weather well. It ain't necessarily so.

I'm not entirely sure about this, but I seem to recall that there were two events that spurred the trans-Canada railroad. One was the unrest among the Metis as a result of provocation by settlers and the indifference of Canadian authorities. The second was the the bungled attempted invasion of Irish nationalist Fenians who gathered in Minnesota and tried to organize an invasion and seizure of lands in Manitoba. They apparently thought they could either hold the land as an Irish free state or possibly trade the lands back in exchange for British withdrawal from Ireland. They fell to quarreling among themselves and the movement disintegrated. There were rumours that Louis Riel promised to help them in exchange for concessions.