The News: February 2025

Friday, February 28, 2025

It Was an Ambush

Movies Club February 28, 2025 0

Today marked one of the grimmest days in the history of American diplomacy.

Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA / GettyLeave aside, if only for a moment, the utter boorishness with which President Donald Trump and Vice President J. D. Vance treated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House today. Also leave aside the spectacle of American leaders publicly pummeling a friend as if he were an enemy. All of the ghastliness inflicted on Zelensky today should not obscure the geopolitical reality of what just happened: The president of the United States ambushed a loyal ally, presumably so that he can soon make a deal with the dictator of Russia to sell out a European nation fighting for its very existence.Trump’s advisers have already declared the meeting a win for “putting America first,” and his apologists will likely spin and rationalize this shameful moment as just a heated conversation—the kind of thing that in Washington-speak used to be called a “frank and candid exchange.” But this meeting reeked of a planned attack, with Trump unloading Russian talking points on Zelensky (such as blaming Ukraine for risking global war), all of it designed to humiliate the Ukrainian leader on national television and give Trump the pretext to do what he has indicated repeatedly he wants to do: side with Russian President Vladimir Putin and bring the war to an end on Russia’s terms. Trump is now reportedly considering the immediate end of all military aid to Ukraine because of Zelensky’s supposed intransigence during the meeting.Vance’s presence at the White House also suggests that the meeting was a setup. Vance is usually an invisible backbencher in this administration, with few duties other than some occasional trolling of Trump’s critics. (The actual business of furthering Trump’s policies is apparently now Elon Musk’s job.) This time, however, he was brought in to troll not other Americans, but a foreign leader. Marco Rubio—in theory, America’s top diplomat—was also there, but he sat glumly and silently while Vance pontificated like an obnoxious graduate student.
Read: At least now we know the truth
Zelensky objected, as he should have, when the vice president castigated the Ukrainian president for not showing enough personal gratitude to Trump. And then in a moment of immense hypocrisy, Vance told Zelensky that it was “disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media.” But baiting Zelensky into fighting in front of the media was likely the plan all along, and Trump and Vance were soon both yelling at Zelensky. (“This is going to be great television,” Trump said during the meeting.) The president at times sounded like a Mafia boss—“You don’t have the cards”; “you’re buried there”—but in the end, he sounded like no one so much as Putin himself as he hollered about “gambling with World War III,” as if starting the biggest war in Europe in nearly a century was Zelensky’s idea.
After the meeting, Trump dismissed the Ukrainian leader and then issued a statement that could only have pleased Moscow:
I have determined that President Zelensky is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations. I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE. He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for Peace.
Trump might as well have dictated this post on Truth Social before the meeting, because Zelensky didn’t stand a chance of having an actual discussion at the White House. When he showed Trump pictures of brutalized Ukrainian soldiers, Trump shrugged. “That’s tough stuff,” he muttered. Perhaps someone told Zelensky that Trump doesn’t read much, and reacts to images, but Trump, uncharacteristically, seems to have been determined to stay on message and pick a fight.

Why Did Shrek 5 Change Its Animation Design?

Movies Club February 28, 2025 0

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The Shrek 5 animation change has sparked intense discussion among fans ever since the teaser dropped. While audiences eagerly anticipate the return of Shrek and his companions, many have noticed a major shift in the film’s visual style. The Shrek 5 design appears changed, with noticeable modifications in Shrek’s facial features, lighting, and textures. But why did DreamWorks make this change?

Here’s everything you need to know about why Shrek 5 changed its animation style.

Here’s why Shrek 5 changed its animation style and designs

DreamWorks opted for a Shrek 5 animation change to modernize the franchise using cutting-edge technoSince Shrek Forever After was released over 14 years ago, animation techniques have significantly evolved. Thus, the Shrek franchise might have also decided to move on from its traditional animation style.

Shrek 5’s production company, DreamWorks Films, has given a modern touch to the animation, especially its cutting-edge open-source rendering machine known as MoonRay. This technique results in bright lighting, polished looks, and improved physical features of the characters in the film. In the teaser, fans can make out the noticeable changes in Shrek’s mouth, ears, and nose. For the unaware, MoonRay was first used in the animated flick How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, released in 2019.

Not all fans are thrilled about the Shrek 5 animation change. Many took to social media to express their concerns, comparing the new style to other DreamWorks films. One user wrote, ”Just saw the new animation for shrek 5 just cancel the whole thing at this point.” Another one stated, “What happened to the animation? The animation was fantastic with the previous versions. Hopefully they improve it before release.” One more fan expressed, “Why does the animation look like Madagascar?”

Some fans are hoping for improvements in the animation for Shrek 5, similar to what happened with Sonic the Hedgehog. When the initial realistic designs received intense backlash, Paramount Pictures chose to delay the film’s release in order to revert to its traditional designs. It will be interesting to see if Shrek 5 follows a similar path to meet fan demands.

Gene Hackman and his wife found dead at their home

Movies Club February 27, 2025 0

Paul Glynn

Culture reporter

Gene Hackman: A look back on his career

Oscar-winning US actor Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog have been found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In a wide-ranging career spanning more than six decades, Hackman won two Academy Awards for his work on The French Connection and Unforgiven.

A statement from the Santa Fe County Sheriff in New Mexico said: "We can confirm that both Gene Hackman and his wife were found deceased Wednesday afternoon at their residence on Sunset Trail.

"This is an active investigation - however, at this time we do not believe that foul play was a factoHackman was 95, and his wife - a classical pianist - 63.

He won the best actor Oscar for his role as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in William Friedkin's 1971 thriller The French Connection, and another for best supporting actor for playing Little Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood's Western film Unforgiven in 1992.

Gene Hackman obituary: One of Hollywood's greatest 'tough guys'

A relative latecomer to Hollywood, Hackman's breathrough came in his thirties, when he was nominated for an Oscar for portraying Buck Barrow in 1967's Bonnie and Clyde - opposite Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway - and again for I Never Sang for My Father in 1970.

Both films saw him recognised in the supporting actor category. He was also nominated for best leading actor in 1988 for playing the agent in Mississippi Burning.

The Santa Fe County Sheriff's office said: "On 26 February, 2025, at approximately 1:45pm, Santa Fe County Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park where Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa, and a dog were found deceased."

Map of Santa Fe, showing the location of Gene Hackman's home

'Gene Hackman could play anyone'

Much-celebrated actor Hackman played more than 100 roles in total, including supervillain Lex Luthor in the Christopher Reeve-starring Superman movies in the 1970s and 1980s.

Hackman acted opposite many Hollywood heavyweights including Al Pacino in 1973's Scarecrow, Gene Wilder in 1974's Young Frankenstein and Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton in 1981's Reds.

He also starred in the hit movies Runaway Jury, Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums and Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation.

Coppola led the tributes to the late star on Thursday, calling him "a great artist". In a statement posted on Instagram, the director wrote: "Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity. I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution."

Valerie Perrine, who featured alongside Hackman in Superman (1978) as his character's on-screen girlfriend Eve Teschmacher, described the late actor as "a genius" and one of the "greatest to grace the silver screen".

She posted on X: "His performances are legendary. His talent will be missed. Goodbye my sweet Lex Till we meet again."

Gene Hackman reflects on career and acting

Star Trek actor George Takei posted that "we have lost one of the true giants of the screen".

"Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it," he wrote. "He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. That's how powerful an actor he was. He will be missed, but his work will live on forever."

Slumdog Millionaire star Anil Kapoor also called Hackman a "genius" performer. "A true legend whose legacy will live on," he wrote.

As well as his Oscar wins, Hackman also collected two Baftas, four Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

He took a comedic turn playing a conservative senator in 1996's The Birdcage alongside Robin Williams and Nathan Lane, who starred as a gay couple.

His last big-screen appearance came as Monroe Cole in Welcome to Mooseport in 2004, after which he stepped back from Hollywood for a quieter life in New Mexico.

Getty Images

Gene Hackman with wife Betsy Arakawa, a classical pianist, at the 2003 Golden Globes

Hackman's career spanned four decades and a variety of acclaimed roles. Here he starred alongside Warren Beatty in 1967's Bonnie and Clyde as the older Clyde brother - a role for which he received a Best Supporting Actor nod

'Actors had to be handsome'

Born in California in 1930, Hackman's family moved frequently, and after lying about his age at 16, he enlisted in the US Marine Corps serving for four-and-a-half years.

He was stationed in China, Hawaii and Japan before being discharged in 1951.

Following his military service, Hackman lived and worked in a variety jobs in New York, and studied journalism and television production at the University of Illinois, before deciding to drop out and move back to California to pursue his childhood acting dream.

He joined the Pasadena Playhouse in California, where he befriended a young Dustin Hoffman.

"I suppose I wanted to be an actor from the time I was about 10, maybe even younger than that," Hackman once said. "Recollections of early movies that I had seen and actors that I admired like James Cagney, Errol Flynn, those kind of romantic action guys.

"When I saw those actors, I felt I could do that. But I was in New York for about eight years before I had a job. I sold ladies shoes, polished leather furniture, drove a truck.

"I think that if you have it in you and you want it bad enough, you can do it."

He added that he "wanted to act" but had "always been convinced that actors "had to be handsome".

"That came from the days when Errol Flynn was my idol. I'd come out of a theatre and be startled when I looked in a mirror because I didn't look like Flynn. I felt like Getty Images Sam (Gene Hackman) und Carbo (Jan-Michael Vincent) in Bite The Bullet

Getty Images

Hackman appeared with Jan-Michael Vincent in 1975's Bite The Bullet

Hackman moved back to New York in 1963, performing in Off-Broadway productions - including at the Music Box Theatre for the comedy Any Wednesday - and smaller TV roles.

But he began to really make his name in the 1970s, becoming a leading man as New York City detective Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle in The French Connection.

From then on he became a fixture on the big screen in the likes of 1972 disaster film The Poseidon Adventure.

He also appeared in Children From Their Games at the former Morosco Theatre, Poor Richard at Helen Hayes Theatre and The Natural Look at Longacre Theatre, before later returning in 1992 to perform Death And The Maiden at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre.

Hackman and his first wife, Faye Maltese, were together for 30 years and raised three children before getting divorced in 1986.

In his later years, he and his second wife, Betsy stayed out of the spotlight, but made a rare public appearance together at the 2003 Golden Globe Awards, where he won the Cecil B. deMille award.

'Not going to act any longer'

In 2008 he told Reuters that despite the lack of any official announcement, he was "not going to act any longer".

"I've been told not to say that over the last few years, in case some real wonderful part comes up, but I really don't want to do it any longer."

He also explained he was focusing his attentions away from the big screen and towards his quieter, calmer passion for writing novels.

"I was trained to be an actor, not a star. I was trained to play roles, not to deal with fame and agents and lawyers and the press," he once said.

"It really costs me a lot emotionally to watch myself on-screen. I think of myself, and feel like I'm quite young, and then I look at this old man with the baggy chins and the tired eyes and the receding hairline and all that."