Bring

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez says he will bring Jose Mourinho back as manager if he wins Sunday’s election.

Jose ‌Mourinho will return to manage Real Madrid if Florentino Perez wins ⁠the club’s presidential ⁠election on Sunday, the sitting president has declared as he campaigns for another term at the helm of the La Liga ⁠club.

Perez, facing renewable energy entrepreneur Enrique Riquelme in the club’s first contested election in 20 years, delivered the campaign announcement on his social media ⁠channels with a short video featuring Mourinho simply saying “Yes!”

The clip followed the slogan “So MOUch history to be made”, a not-so-subtle nod to the Portuguese coach who guided Real to a record La Liga points tally in 2012, but last lifted ‌a league title with Chelsea in 2015.

The move for Mourinho follows a disappointing domestic campaign in which Barcelona secured back-to-back league titles.

Real, 15-time Champions League winners, have also exited Europe’s top club competition at the quarterfinal stage in the last two seasons, with the absence of major silverware prompting Perez to call elections.

Perez’s announcement landed while Riquelme was ⁠appearing on Spanish television programme El Hormiguero, in which he ⁠said Manchester City midfielder and Spain captain Rodri would be his first signing if elected.

He said he would also target Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, and that former forward and ⁠club great Raul would be his sports director.

Since leaving Chelsea, Mourinho’s trophy haul has been more modest. He ⁠won the League Cup and Europa League with ⁠Manchester United, and later led AS Roma to the third-tier Conference League title.

His managerial road has also taken him to Tottenham Hotspur, Fenerbahce and Benfica, where he was under contract until ‌June 2027 and had said the Portuguese club had proposed a renewal.

While pundits argue that the game has moved beyond Mourinho’s pragmatic style, Perez appears ‌to ‌see him as the manager to restore discipline and edge to a squad featuring Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham.

Mourinho previously stated that no contact had been made with Real, despite heavy reports linking him with a return to the Bernabeu.

Should Perez win the election, Mourinho would return to the club 13 years after his departure in 2013.

Mourinho first joined Real Madrid in 2010, spending three seasons at the club.

During his tenure, he won one La Liga title, a Copa del Rey and a Spanish Super Cup.

Xabi Alonso was sacked by Real in January, in his first season in charge of the Madrid club, while Alvaro Arbeloa carried the team to the end of the season as interim coach.

Nvidia is set to bring artificial intelligence to laptop and desktop computers with brands like Microsoft and Dell later this year as the US tech giant broadens its AI presence.

The Santa Clara, California-based AI chipmaker unveiled on Monday at its annual Nvidia GTC event in Taipei new powerful chips that would bring advanced AI functions to laptops and desktop computers.

CEO Jensen Huang said that the new development is “going to reinvent the PC [personal computer]”.

The changes come amid three years of collaboration between Microsoft and Nvidia and pit the latter against companies like chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices and personal computer brands Intel and Apple.

“This is going to be the new PC,” Huang said as he unveiled Nvidia’s RTX Spark superchip — which combines CPU, or central processing unit, and GPU, or graphics processing unit, capabilities — that would power new Windows laptop and desktop computer models in what the company called “AI personal computers”, expected to debut in the fall of this year.

The chip, developed with Taiwan’s MediaTek, will be in compact desktops from Dell, HP, Lenovo, ASUS, Microsoft Surface and MSI, with models from Acer and GIGABYTE to follow.

Nvidia, which is already the world’s most valuable company, said the reinvention will be for creating and gaming.

“When it has an autonomous [AI] agent, an agent that’s helping you, that understands you, you could talk to it. It could look at you. You could ask it to read files, go help you do some research. It could do a lot more,” Huang said.

Microsoft said in a separate statement that the personal computers running on Nvidia’s RTX Spark superchips would be able to support “highly capable AI models” and complex workloads. With the new superchips, these personal computers can run AI agents locally, Nvidia said.

“This is the first across the lineup of PC reinvention for 40 years,” Huang said.

Nvidia’s move is significant at a time when demand is growing for the use of personal AI agents, said Lian Jye Su, chief analyst at the technology research and advisory group Omdia.

“For consumers, it means more choices, which is always a good thing,” Su said.

Neil Shah, analyst and co-founder of Counterpoint Research, described Nvidia’s announcement as a move that’s “revolutionising how PCs would look like in the next 10 years”.

The new laptops and desktop computers “will drive agentic AI applications in every home”, Shah said, with an aim of having an “AI supercomputer” in each household.

Also during Monday’s speech, Nvidia’s Huang said its new Vera CPUs for data centres are in full production and are “going to be our new major growth driver” on the boom of AI agents, with early customers including Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceXAI.

Huang also revealed a humanoid robot reference design that could act as a blueprint for future research, especially within the higher education sector. Nvidia said its “Isaac GR00T” stands nearly 1.83 metres (6 feet) tall and has the humanoid chassis of Chinese robot maker Unitree’s H2. It is equipped with five-fingered dexterous hands, made by Singapore-based robotics startup Sharpa, that are capable of finely controlled movements.

Reception for AI PCs has been mixed so far. HP reported last week that the devices helped prop up quarterly sales, but Dell said earlier this year that demand had fallen short of initial expectations. Qualcomm, looking to capitalise on AI demand, has also been offering AI PCs with Microsoft.

On Wall Street, Nvidia stock rose nearly 4 percent on the news in midday trading. Microsoft ticked up 2.5 percent and Dell surged 9.3 percent. Competitors AMD and Intel, on the other hand, are on the decline. AMD is down 0.1 percent from the market open, and Intel is down by 2.5 percent.

Iran says it’s reviewing Washington’s latest response to a proposed ceasefire framework following Pakistani mediation. In a panel discussion, a former US State Department official and a Qatari academic discussed what options remain on the table.

Disneyland’s Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run has always been a fully realized “Star Wars” toy, an intimate, interactive attraction that focuses on arcade-style joy. A new upgrade opening Friday makes it decidedly slicker, giving the ride enhanced visuals, increased participatory actions and even an injection of cuteness.

Smugglers Run, which opened in 2019, puts six players in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, the ship made famous by Harrison Ford’s Han Solo in the original “Star Wars” trilogy. There’s still no Solo, but there is now Din Djarin, often referred to as simply the Mandalorian, and Grogu, the latter colloquially known as “Baby Yoda.” And although tied to the opening of the new film “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” Smugglers Run version 2.0 smooths out and improves upon many of the attraction’s quirks.

Blessedly, this is one marketing-driven decision that doesn’t feel like a gimmick, bringing unpredictability, humor and even more video game-like zaniness to the ride. Walt Disney Imagineering, the relatively secret division of the company focused on theme park attractions, has clearly listened to guest feedback and zeroed in on ways to not only improve the ride but also make it feel fresh, all while giving players more agency.

“This is an inherently collaborative adventure,” says Asa Kalama, a creative executive with Imagineering. On the ride, groups of six are teamed up to take on various tasks within the Falcon. Kalama says Imagineering was focused on how the various positions of pilot, gunner or engineer interact with one another.

“We took all of those learnings and applied them to enhancements for each and every one of those roles,” Kalama says.

I was a fan of the initial version of the attraction, writing when it opened that it was a heavily detailed blast, especially if one was seated in a pilot’s role (one guest controls the vertical motion of the ship while another focuses on the horizontal). But over time some of the less-than-endearing traits of Smugglers Run started to nag, namely that the two guests assigned to an engineering position had little to do and its storyline was essentially a glorified errand in which we retrieved goods for Hondo Ohnaka, a scoundrel-smuggler who sets the ride in motion.

Concept art of the sci-fi-like planet of Coruscant, a new location in Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.

(Disney Parks)

Smugglers Run has always been a technical marvel, but it was a feat of engineering rather than one that forged an emotional connection. The tweaks should fix much of what has long ailed it. Now, instead of a singular fixed mission, guests will have the ability to visit one of three “Star Wars” locations: a planet such as the urban Coruscant, the gas realm of Bespin or the wreckage of the second Death Star near Endor. This decision is made by one of the engineers and levels up the attraction’s ability to surprise.

Using the latest version of Epic’s Unreal Engine, each Smugglers Run locale is heavily detailed, putting us in more of a dogfight as the Mandalorian chases down pirates and ex-Imperial officers. No matter the route, it feels more active and lighthearted. Those who have ridden it before know Smugglers Run has always been responsive, perhaps too much so as inexperienced gamers could spend the entire attraction crashing the ship. Those flight controllers have been softened a bit, meaning guests will still steer but now do so with something of an invisible guided hand.

“We’ve tuned it in such a special way that no matter how skilled or unskilled you might be, you’re always guaranteed to have a flight that feels really cinematic,” says Kalama. In the past, particularly bad fliers could spend the entirety of the attraction being berated by the character of Ohnaka. That element has essentially been removed, with Kalama joking that guests shouldn’t feel as if they are being “chastised.”

Concept art of the Death Star wreckage above Endor, one of the new locales of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.

(Disney Parks)

Narratively, after some quick training on the desert-like planet of Tatooine, we join the Mandalorian in an effort to break up a deal between the pirates and the ex-Imperial officers. That’s enough of a setup to inspire some space fights and chase scenes through fantastical locations.

I rode it three times to visit each vista once, and each has a different tone and look. The neon, sci-fi area of Coruscant, for instance, contrasts with the darkened, industrial Death Star wreckage. At various times, I watched the Mandalorian chase down his targets, get the Falcon caught in a tractor beam or careen through magnetic-like fences. Those seated in the gunner or engineer positions will also be treated to additional clips of Grogu via their adjacent flight panels, the young alien here portrayed as something of a playful pet of a child who is exaggeratedly chill during the commotion.

“I think what we were very deliberate about is that actually each of these different planetary locations that you go to has a different vibe,” Kalama says. “If you go to Endor, you’re in the derelict wreckage of the old Death Star 2. The feel of it is really spooky. It’s dark. It’s mysterious. It’s smokey. The music is almost ominous. In contrast to something like Coruscant, which feels very bustling, vibrant and colorful. The goal was not only are you going to a different location from a geographic perspective but to feel emotionally like you’re going on a different adventure.”

Concept art of Tatooine, where the new mission of Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run begins.

(Disney Parks)

By emphasizing a chase being driven by the Mandalorian, the tone of the ride feels faster. While it’s the same length of around five minutes, rushing the Falcon through the reddish, fiery atmosphere of Bespin, for instance, where riders will encounter mountainous natural wonders and floating, bulbous structures, gives guests plenty to admire. Smugglers Run has always been full of distractions, as the screen — in front and somewhat above guests — pulls viewers away from the seat-adjacent wall controls. I minded less having my attention ping-ponged around the cockpit with the enhancements, as taking the Falcon into a brief battle creates a more pleasurably hectic tone.

Ultimately, with more choices to make, from which location to visit or whether to focus on Grogu’s antics or the action ahead, Smugglers Run feels more dynamic. “What’s even really kind of extra cool is that in addition to choosing the planets, there are different paths you can take within each location,” says Matt Martin, a senior creative executive with Lucasfilm. “You can choose to go left or choose to go right. And you’re going to see and experience different things.”

The tweaks to Smugglers Run follow big changes to Galaxy’s Edge, as Disney recently expanded the land’s timeline to feature classic, fan-favorite characters such as Darth Vader, Han, Luke and Leia. The character additions bring added life to the area but do take the land away from its original intent as a mythical world where actions unfolded in real time. The dream, however, of a fully interactive theme park experience lives on with Smugglers Run.

Tell us your stories. Ask us your questions.

Have a theme park tale to share? Whether it was a good day or less-than-perfect day, I would love to hear about it. Have a question? A tip? A fun photo from the parks to share? Email me at todd.martens@latimes.com. I may feature your note in an upcoming newsletter.

Ride on,

Todd Martens

P.S.

Mr. Todd’s Wild Ride comes out every Tuesday, but we occasionally publish special editions (like this one!) when we have breaking theme park news. Make sure you’ve signed up to be the first to know.

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to bring a Colombian woman back to the U.S. from Congo, after she was deported to the African nation that had refused to accept her.

The deportation of Adriana Maria Quiroz Zapata “was likely illegal,” U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon ruled Wednesday.

Zapata, 55, who has diabetes and a thyroid condition, “has been sent to a country that refused to accept her because they cannot provide sufficient medical care,” the ruling said. “As a result, she faces a daily risk of medical complications, up to and including death.”

Black spots began to grow on Zapata’s back and foot while she was in detention, her skin started to peel and her nails blackened, according to a declaration that Zapata submitted in court, and which was provided to the AP by her lawyer.

“She’s not doing well and does worry that she’s going to die,” her lawyer, Lauren O’Neal, said.

Zapata entered the U.S. from Mexico in August 2024 and was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. Since being deported, she has lived in a hotel in Kinshasa, Congo’s capital. The hotel gates are locked, O’Neal said. Zapata and other deportees are rarely allowed out, and only with supervision, she said.

Zapata was among thousands of immigrants living legally in the U.S., waiting for rulings on asylum claims, when they were suddenly issued deportation decrees that ordered them expelled to countries where most had no connections.

More than 15,000 third-country deportation orders were issued in the White House push for ever more immigrant expulsions, advocacy groups say, though only a fraction of the orders have been carried out.

Few details are known about the agreements to accept these deportees, though the U.S. has signed them with a range of countries, including Ecuador, Honduras, Uganda, Cameroon and Congo. Advocacy groups estimate only a couple of hundred third-country deportations, at most, have been carried out.

Galofaro writes for the Associated Press.

Last year, studios and Hollywood labor unions lobbied hard to ensure animated movies and shows could compete for California’s expanded film and television tax credit program.

The payoff came last week, when three animated movies were among the nearly 40 film projects that received a production incentive in the latest round of awards, the California Film Commission announced Thursday.

Walt Disney Co.-owned 20th Century Studios received $21.9 million for “The Simpsons Movie 2,” Disney Entertainment Television got $3.5 million for “Phineas and Ferb” and DreamWorks Animation was awarded $24.7 million in credit allocation for a yet-untitled animated film.

The three are the first animated feature films to receive tax credits from the state of California. (Last month, two animated shows — a spin-off of “Rick and Morty” and “Stewie,” which branches off from the “Family Guy” cartoon — also received tax credits.)

I spoke with DreamWorks Animation Chief Operating Officer Randy Lake about the award, which he called a “potential game changer” for the Glendale-based studio known for the “Shrek” and “Kung Fu Panda” franchises.

“Unlike live-action, our projects are years long,” he said. “You’re talking about not just a job for six or nine months on set. It’s literally three or four years that these projects can take. It’s long-term employment.”

Like most of Hollywood, the animation industry has suffered from the effects of the 2023 dual writers’ and actors’ strikes, as well as the retrenchment in studio spending after the initial rush to invest in content for streaming services.

And like much of U.S. film and TV work — particularly in California — the animation business has been deeply affected by the increasingly rich tax credits offered by other countries.

Over the last 15 years, countries including Canada and Ireland have slowly built up animation hubs, aided by their local talent and lucrative production incentives specific to animation and visual effects.

For instance, visual effects and computer animation unit Sony Pictures Imageworks, which Lake ran for years, relocated its Culver City headquarters to Vancouver more than a decade ago.

DreamWorks, too, has outsourced work to partner studios, particularly in Vancouver and Montreal, as costs in the U.S. have increased and studios face pressure to rein in their production expenses while theatrical box-office revenue has become less reliable.

Just three years ago, DreamWorks cut about 70 jobs across its corporate functions, feature films, TV and technology departments. In 2024, Disney-owned computer animation studio Pixar laid off about 175 employees as it pulled back on its production of streaming series.

But with the recent tax credit allocation, DreamWorks will hire about 100 people in California for its upcoming untitled film. Those jobs would probably would have been outsourced to a third-party studio, Lake said. Keeping all of the jobs on that film in California helps improve collaboration among the teams and foster more creativity, he said. Today, DreamWorks has about 1,000 employees.

To understand why the new incentives are meaningful, consider that a DreamWorks Animation movie similar to the one that received the credit will typically have a crew of about 400 to 500 people.

That film is a big feature, though Lake declined to share details since the project hasn’t been announced.

Both the Animation Guild and studios have pointed to the incentive as a way to bring back animation jobs to the Golden State.

“Studios have been chasing animation tax credits in other states and countries for years, so it’s incredibly rewarding to see them use California’s for the very first time,” Marissa Bernstel, a trustee on the union’s executive board and member of the task force that helped lobby for the expanded production incentives, said in a statement last week. “The results feel very real, and I’m excited to see what future employment opportunities the incentive inspires.”

Lake said DreamWorks hopes to take advantage of the state incentives for all of its full-budget films.

“We’ll be applying for the next window,” he said, adding that he hoped they will be successful so “we’ll be able to have more and more of our films be fully produced in state. That’s the goal.”

Stuff We Wrote

Film shoots

Number of the week

Lionsgate’s “Michael” had a massive opening weekend with just over $217 million in global box-office revenue. In the U.S. and Canada, the Michael Jackson biopic hauled in about $97 million, far surpassing studio expectations.

The film, which stars Jackson’s nephew, Jaafar Jackson, as the late singer, chronicles the pop star’s rise from his early days in the Jackson 5 through the growth of his solo career. The movie ends in 1988 while Jackson is on tour for his hit album “Bad.”

The premiere for “Michael” marks the biggest domestic opening for any biopic, musical or otherwise. The 2015 movie “Straight Outta Compton” previously held the record for highest opening weekend total for a musical biopic, with $60 million in the U.S. and Canada, followed by the Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” in 2018, which had a $51.1-million domestic opening.

Critics’ reviews of “Michael,” however, were largely negative. Many noted the plot sidesteps the child sexual abuse allegations against Jackson and said the film presents a more one-dimensional view of the singer.

An earlier cut of the film did end in 1993 and addressed the allegations, but that ending had to be scrapped due to a clause in a legal settlement with an accuser that stipulated he could never be pictured or mentioned in a dramatization of Jackson’s life. Jackson and his estate have denied that the pop star abused children.

What I’m watching

I finally finished the Hulu series “Paradise” this last week, which kept me guessing about literally everything all the way until the end. I’m interested in seeing where this genre-morphing show goes next season.

HE has long been known for his enthusiasm for so-called throuples.

Now David Haye‘s ex has spoken of the day he asked her to “bring your girlfriends” to his hotel room, where he was waiting in his boxer shorts.

Model Zoe Gregory says the I’m A Celeb star seemed fascinated by her unconventional romance with Playboy boss Hugh Hefner, with whom she shared a bed along with six other women.

She met heavyweight boxing champion Haye after he fought a bout at Hef’s notorious mansion in LA in 2003.

In an exclusive interview Zoe, 51, revealed: “He asked me what group sex is like and I said, ‘It works.’

“He seemed fascinated and very curious. He probably thought, OK I’ll have to give that a try one day. After I gave him my number, he asked me to visit him and he said: ‘Bring your girlfriends to the hotel too.’

REASON REVEALED?

I’m A Celeb fans ‘work out’ why David Haye is ‘bullying’ Adam Thomas

GC THROWS SHADE

I’m A Celeb’s Gemma takes swipe at David after ‘bullying’ co-star Adam

“He was on a high after the boxing match and he probably thought, they all want to smash me. I was in awe of him so it didn’t put me off. He’s a smooth operator. I don’t remember exactly what he said, but he was charming and persuasive.

“He was very complimentary when I turned up to the hotel but I knew he just wanted to get in my pants.

“When I reached his hotel, I thought we would chill by the pool, but he said, ‘No come to the room, I’m still getting ready.’

“He opened the door in his boxer shorts and I wasn’t expecting that, but I wasn’t mad either. He literally grabbed me out the doorway and threw me on the bed so that was that.”

Zoe opened-up about her time with the boxer after he was slammed for his “sexist” comments while competing on the all-star version of I’m A Celeb in South Africa.

Referring to his long-term girlfriend Sian Osborne as having the personality of “a proper ugly bird,” he went on to claim that most good-looking women are “idiots” and that less attractive girls work harder on their personalities to win attention.

Singers Ashley Roberts and Sinitta were left shaking their heads while Corrie actress Beverley Callard later complained: “I’ve never heard anything so sexist in my life.”

Fashion model Sian, 33, defended him, saying in an exclusive interview: “I consider it a compliment.

“A big one. I’m fluent in David by now and my family find it hilarious.”

Miami-based Zoe, who cheated on Hefner with Haye, also backs him.

She explains: “I totally agree with him because everyone judges a book by its cover. People will look at me, blonde hair and big tits, and assume that I’m a bimbo.

“That’s because most blondes are bimbos, unfortunately. Blondes are very ditzy and that’s why they get that label. I’ve found myself saying the same things as David.

“Being around the girls at the Mansion, the ugly ones were always overcompensating with their personality. They would feel, I’m not that great looking so I’m going to have to do cartwheels to compete with the favourites.

“When I go the gym, I see girls wearing next to nothing and they don’t have a body to be wearing that – or a face. They don’t even look like they work out but sometimes people go that extra mile to overcompensate, to fit in.

“I feel bad saying it, but it’s true. It’s the way society is and social media has made it even worse. You are always going to have girls that get bent out of shape by comments like David’s and they are usually the fat ugly ones.

“David has met enough women to be an authority on this. If this is his opinion based on all the women he’s met, I can’t say he’s wrong.

“But he is in a corner with the public and he’s got to take a beating. Everything he says, people are watching and listening and they will use it against him to make out he’s a bad person. But he’s really not a bad person.

“He’s an opinionated person and he’s got a right to his own opinion. David is known for talking his mind and having a crazy sex life and being open about it.

“I can’t fault him for being like that.”

Mum-of-one Zoe moved from London to Los Angeles in her early 20s to work as a model and erotic B movie actress. She was accompanied by her husband, DJ Chris Paul and their young son, who is now in his 30s.

But once offered the chance to live with Hefner at his £150m LA mansion – having met the magazine boss at one of his notorious parties – she decided the opportunity was too good to turn down.

She lived with Hef, who was then in his 70s and relying heavily on Viagra to perform in bed, from 2001 to 2004.

But still married to her first husband, she always living with Hef as a job rather than a romantic relationship and she walked out following a series of rows with his number one girlfriend Holly Madison.

In 2024, she published a memoir called From Britain to Bunny in which she detailed her “hot 15 minutes” with Haye, which she described as “crazy and electric.”

Looking back on that day, she recalls: “David did seem fascinated by Hef. He asked me lots of intimate questions about him.

“He said, ‘So you’ve got to sleep with him?’ I said, ‘Yes, but it’s more of a job for me.’

“He said, ‘That’s weird.’ Then he asked, ‘Can Hef still get it up?’ I said, ‘Yes, of course.’

“I told him what went on in the bedroom – the orgies and Hef’s harem of women – and he seemed impressed by that. He was very complimentary towards me – he told me I have both beauty and brains.”

Zoe, who now works in promotions, last bumped into Haye at a restaurant in Miami two years ago just before her book was released. He was with girlfriend Sian, who has allowed him to spend time with Saturdays’ singer Una Healy and DJ Mica Jova – relationships that have been described as ‘throuples.’

Zoe continued: “David and Sian were over for a boxing event and it turned out we had a mutual friend, a photographer.

“David was surprised to see me. He was like, ‘Oh!’ It was a bit awkward because I wasn’t sure if Sian knew about our history.

“David said, ‘You look really well.’ I said ‘Yes, you too.’ It was a flirty moment and it was funny. And I swear David looked exactly the same as I remembered him. He’s aged very well.

“I got to meet Sian and she’s lovely, sweet girl. When I first met her, she didn’t say much and wasn’t very outgoing. She just sat there.

“I introduced myself and was doing extra to make her feel comfortable and after a few minutes, she warmed up. I kept the conversation away from him because I didn’t know what she knew and the book hadn’t come out yet.

“I wouldn’t say, ‘Oh by the way I f****d your boyfriend.’ I would never have a conversation like that. I do think David has got used to women throwing themselves at him.

I told him, ‘You need to go for an older woman that doesn’t get intimidated by you and can put you in your place.’

“Because otherwise he is just going to walk all over a girl, because it’s his way or the highway. He’s got his cake and he’s eating it – and I love him for that.”