A charming UK market town has become the backdrop for a new Christmas movie starring Kiefer Sutherland and Rebel Wilson, and it’s not the first time the town has been used for a festive film
Knaresborough has a historic town centre(Image: Getty)
If you’ve ever watched a Christmas film and fantasised about strolling through a charming, festive village with a steaming hot chocolate in hand like one of the characters, this could be your opportunity.
Earlier this year, locals in the stunning Yorkshire town of Knaresborough delighted in celebrity spotting as film crews invaded the area. Sky Original Christmas film Tinsel Town is scheduled to debut on November 28 and will feature Hollywood A-listers Kiefer Sutherland and Rebel Wilson, alongside an outstanding supporting ensemble including Derek Jacobi and Danny Dyer.
According to YorkshireLive, the production process meant residents could savour their seasonal decorations throughout the town for an extended period, with local shopkeeper Di Watson, from Knitting Pretty, commenting: “The town is buzzing with excitement. Knaresborough is a unique, beautiful, friendly town and we’re delighted to be part of this.”
However, this isn’t the first occasion Knaresborough has been selected as the setting for a seasonal film. Television movie A Very British Christmas, which is available to hire on Amazon Prime, was also mainly filmed throughout the town.
Therefore, if you fancy having your own festive escapade, Knaresborough might be the ideal setting. An excellent starting point is the stone-paved Market Square, which is encircled by independent boutiques and welcoming pubs.
The regular market operates on Wednesdays, and on December 6 and 7, there will be a Christmas market featuring seasonal food vendors, handcrafted goods, and much more. Nearby, the Green Dragon Yard, a recent filming location, will be adorned with festive decorations.
This charming historic square boasts a vintage shop and an eccentric tearoom. The crew were also seen along Castlegate, a winding, narrow street brimming with independent shops, cafes, and other unique spots.
As its name implies, Castlegate leads to the entrance of Knaresborough Castle, once the residence of medieval kings and a courthouse and prison. Although the castle now lies in ruins, a keep still stands, housing a courthouse museum filled with original furniture pieces.
It’s also one of the prime locations to view the town’s most iconic sight, Knaresborough Viaduct, where trains can be seen chugging to and from Harrogate. The viaduct was initially slated for completion in 1848, but it collapsed just before it was finished.
Historical records recount that the sound of falling masonry lasted nearly five minutes.
The viaduct’s collapse sparked local outrage, blamed on substandard materials and workmanship, coupled with two months of heavy rainfall causing the river to swell. Thousands of fish perished due to the high limestone content in the water.
However, the resilient town decided to rebuild the viaduct, and the existing structure has stood since 1851, constructed from robust stone sourced from a nearby quarry.
If you’re on the hunt for a snug spot for a pre-Christmas weekend getaway, look no further than Knaresborough Inn. Perched above the River Nidd and surrounded by landscaped gardens, this inn offers a slightly quirky yet warm atmosphere.
With tastefully decorated rooms and a dining room serving hearty British classics, rooms start from £95 per night for two in November.
Just a stone’s throw away from the train station is The Mitre, a pub renowned for its craft beers and cocktails, and an intriguing menu inspired by Asian street food. It boasts four rooms, including an apartment that can accommodate up to four guests.
A stay in a double room starts at £110 per night in November.
So, if you’re yearning for a retreat that’ll make you feel like you’ve stepped into a Christmas film, grab your cosiest scarf and make your way to Knaresborough this winter. Just a two-and-a-half-hour train ride from London, with a changeover in York, it promises to be the ideal festive setting.
However, we can’t promise you’ll fall head over heels for a charming local shop owner during your visit.
Got a travel story to share? Drop us an email at webtravel@reachplc. com.
The horror film is hands down considered to be one of the scariest movies of all time and it’s only available to stream for free on BBC iPlayer for 16 more days.
The movie is currently available to stream on BBC iPlayer
The legend of the Blair Witch is easily one of the scariest tales to do the rounds in modern memory — and it all stemmed from a harmless horror film.
The Blair Witch Project (1999), written, directed and edited by Eduardo Sánchez and Daniel Myrick, is hands down considered to be one of the scariest documentary-style horror movies of all time.
It not only introduced the ‘found footage’ genre to horror films — seen since then in blockbuster hits like the Paranormal Activity franchise — but it’s also one of the most successful independent films of all time, originally made on a budget of $35,000–$60,000, with the final cost rising to between $200,000 and $750,000 after marketing and post-production.
The pseudo-documentary centers around three students, played by Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael C. Williams, who set off on a hike into the Appalachian Mountains near Maryland’s Burkittsville to film a documentary about the Blair Witch — a local urban myth of the community.
Currently available to watch for free on BBCiPlayer for the next 16 days, the legend of the fictional Blair Witch was conceived by Sánchez and Myrick in 1993. The director-editor duo developed a 35-page screenplay in which the dialogue was to be improvised. Entering production in October of 1997, principal photography of The Blair Witch Project lasted all of eight days in total.
Close to 20 hours of footage was shot for the docu-film, which was then edited and whittled down to 82 minutes. The film first premiered at midnight on January 23, 1999 at the famed Sundance Film Festival and received rousing acclaim, following which its distribution rights were acquired for $1.1million.
It eventually received a theatrical release and went on to become a sleeper hit, grossing close to a whopping $250million at the global box-office. The Blair Witch Project is consistently listed as one of the scariest movies ever, and consistently ranks as the best found footage movie of all time on several prestigious lists. However, despite the movie’s success, the three main actors of the film reportedly lived in poverty till they sued the film studio that acquired its rights, eventually reaching a settlement worth $300,000 in 2000.
With a 86 per cent critics approval rating on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the documentary-style film is widely critically lauded. One reviewer says of the film: “[The Blair Witch Project is] the most effective and unsettling horror movie in quite a long time. Just to clarify: after seeing this, you will not sleep well. Invest in a night-light.”
While another writes: “The Blair Witch Project” is the scariest movie I’ve ever seen. Not the goriest, the grossest, the weirdest, the eeriest, the sickest, the creepiest or the slimiest… Just flat out the scariest.”
A third critic has said: “No sequel or remake will ever match the power of what The Blair Witch Project managed to do a quarter of a century ago.”
While a fourth critic said: “I could tell you the story — give away every detail — and The Blair Witch Project would still freeze your blood.”
Viewers are equally impressed by the film, with one writing: “This movie is pure horror, it’s the scariest movie I have ever seen in my life, at the end, I was terrified. It all connects — the legend and the film. The Blair Witch Project is a masterpiece of pure terror, horror and suspense. Daniel Myrick is a genius!!”
Another audience review says: “Absolute classic, one of the most raw horror films out there.”
The Blair Witch Project is currently streaming for free on BBC iPlayer till November 16.
Decades since it’s release fans continue to hail this 90s sci-fi movie as both ‘groundbreaking’ and ‘breathtaking’ and they can watch it once again on ITV tonight
Fans have called the film ‘ground-breaking’ for its visual effects
Film fans have dubbed this 1991 movie as the “best action movie of all time”, scoring it an impressive 91% on the review site Rotten Tomatoes – and it’s on ITV for free tonight.
The classic American science-fiction movie is set to appear on TV tonight,for the perfect slice of nostalgia as you gear up for the Halloween weekend. Terminator 2: Judgement Day is the second instalment in the famed Terminator series, with Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the leading role, in what viewers are calling the best sequel to exist.
In the film, directed by James Cameron, the malevolent artificial intelligence network, known as Skynet, sends a highly advanced killing machine, The Terminator, back in time. It finds itself in 1995, on a mission to kill the future leader of the human resistance while he is still a child in order to protect the future of humanity.
One fan of the film wrote on Rotten Tomatoes: “This is one of those stellar classic action movies, and it was the best action movie of the 1990s. It was significantly ahead of its time! Groundbreaking special effects, a relentless and threateningly powerful villain, humorous and awesome moments, and entertaining action set pieces and sequences that looked convincingly real!”
Another viewer simply says: “In my opinion, this is the greatest action movie of all time. And the greatest movie sequel of all time.” Meanwhile, someone else wrote: “My favourite movie of all time, no notes.”
The film went on to be an instant classic, as a box office boom and critical success, grossing $519–520.9 million. It went on to become the highest-grossing film of 1991 across the globe and the third-highest-grossing film of its time.
Decades later, Terminator 2 is still considered to be one of the best science fiction films ever made, as a trailblazer for visual effects and computer-generated imagery. Not to mention, it has an all-star cast made up of Edward Furlong, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick and Dean Norris.
A viewer praised the cast’s performances in the sequel, writing: “Judgment Day elevates the franchise with groundbreaking visual effects and breathtaking action. Arnold delivers one of his most iconic performances, while Linda Hamilton’s transformation into a fierce and determined Sarah Connor is unforgettable.”
If viewers’ raving reviews aren’t a convincing enough reason to kick back tonight and have a movie night in, the film’s numerous accolades may prove it worthy. Terminator 2 went on to receive an impressive six Academy Awards, as well as a BAFTA Award and four Saturn Awards, honouring its visual effects, hair and makeup and, of course, the best sound effects.
A review says: “Best Terminator movie, period. This is the one that all others are judged on, and it’s a high bar.” If you’re looking for something to watch tonight, flick over to ITV4 tonight at 9pm to see an all-time classic movie from the comfort of your sofa.
HOLLYWOOD star Reese Witherspoon is shaken and stirred by James Bond films — saying they objectify women in bikinis.
The Oscar winner, 49, blasted Bond Girls such as Halle Berry and Ursula Andress.
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Reese Witherspoon says James Bond films objectify women in bikinisCredit: GettyHalle Berry is one of a long line of Bond Girls, starring in Die Another DayCredit: Allstar
She said: “Women deserve better stories because women save the day all the time.
“We are not wearing bikinis while we do it.”
Reese was in London to plug her co-written novel Gone Before Goodbye.
First of all, it’s in Essex not London, and it’s bizarrely a regular filming destination for Hollywood directors – doubling up for everything from Venice to Gotham City.
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From Batman to Indiana Jones and even Paddington Bear, the port town of Tilbury in Essex is a big star of the screenCredit: AlamyIt’s also home to Tilbury Town train station which has been hailed as ‘life-changing’Credit: Google
When Christian Bale was Batman, he spent time filming at the docks while it doubled up as Gotham City, as well as the nearby Coalhouse Fort on the edge of the River Thames.
The Coalhouse Fort was built in the 1860s to protect the Thames – and in the movie was made to look like a prison.
Christian Bale isn’t the only mega star to have spent time in Tilbury, Harrison Ford, Sean Connery and director Steven Spielberg visited the docks to film the third Indiana Jones movie; Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
They even used the docks as the background for a boat chase, which they pretended was Venice.
And perhaps the most famous star of them all – Paddington Bear.
Tilbury featured in the first Paddington Bear film, at the beginning of the movie when the bear migrates from Peru and ends up heading into London.
Tilbury Dock is located in Tilbury Town, which features a star-shaped, 16th century fort on the waterfront that was built to defend the river against enemy ships.
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It was in nearby West Tilbury that Elizabeth I rallied her army, awaiting the Armada in 1588.
You can now visit Tilbury Fort, as it’s managed by English Heritage, tickets for adults cost £8.60 and tickets for children are £5.
The speedboat chase in Indiana Jones was filmed in Tilbury, not VeniceCredit: UnknownThe star-shaped Tilbury Fort sits on the riversideCredit: Alamy
Meanwhile, the train station in Tilbury Town has been shortlisted as one of the most life-changing stations in the country.
It’s part of the World Cup of Stations Competition where a group of shortlisted stations in Britain battle it out head-to-head in a public vote.
People have shared their own stories about the train stations to celebrate 200 years of British railway.
Tilbury Town has been hailed as a “key point of arrival for people journeying to Britain.
“From emigrants and returning servicemen to post-war migrants seeking fresh opportunities, Tilbury became a symbol of hope and renewal.
“One of its finest moments came in June 1948, when the Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury, bringing hundreds of passengers from the Caribbean.”
Hollyoaks is celebrating its 30th anniversary this month after first airing on October 23, 1995
11:08, 16 Oct 2025Updated 11:12, 16 Oct 2025
Hollyoaks is celebrating its 30th anniversary this month after first airing on October 23, 1995(Image: Channel 4/HOLLYOAKS)
Hollyoaks is marking a special occasion this month as it celebrates 30 years on air.
The popular Channel 4 soap first graced our screens on 23 October 1995 and will soon be marking its 30th anniversary.
Over the decades, Hollyoaks has seen a plethora of actors and characters come and go in the fictional village. Some stars, like Nick Pickard, who portrays Tony Hutchinson, have been with the soap since its inception.
However, other actors have traded the fictional village for the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. From Oscar triumphs to hit HBO series, let’s take a look at the stars who’ve made the leap to Los Angeles…, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Rachel Shenton
Rachel Shenton portrayed Mitzeee Minniver on Hollyoaks from 2010 to 2013. After her departure, Rachel, 37, bagged a role in US series Switched at Birth, where she played Lily Summers.
The actress, who is fluent in both British Sign Language and American Sign Language, had her big moment in 2018 when she clinched an Academy Award for her short film The Silent Child, which she wrote, produced and starred in.
The short film tells the story of Libby, a profoundly deaf four year old girl, who lives a silent life until a social worker, played by Rachel, teaches her how to communicate through sign language.
Following her Oscar triumph, Rachel has portrayed Helen Alderson in All Creatures Great and Small since 2020. Other roles include The Strangers: Chapter 1, The Rumour and The Strangers: Chapter 2.
Nathalie Emmanuel
Nathalie Emmanuel, who portrayed Sasha Valentine on Hollyoaks from 2006 to 2010, has since enjoyed a successful career. After leaving the soap, Nathalie, 36, secured the role of Missandei in the HBO hit series Game of Thrones from 2013 to 2019, catapulting her to stardom.
Since then, she’s been playing Jordan King in Die Hart since 2020 and has taken on numerous film roles.
Her filmography includes Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, Furious 7, The Fate of the Furious, Maze Runner: The Death Cure, The Titan, F9, Fast X, Arthur the King, Megalopolis and The Killer.
Emmett J Scanlan
Emmett J Scanlan, who played Brendan Brady from 2010 to 2013, has also had a successful career post-Hollyoaks. After his departure, Emmett, 46, bagged the role of D. C. Glenn Martin in The Fall.
He’s also starred as Josh in Harlan Coben’s Safe in 2018, Billy Grade in Peaky Blinders, and has appeared in Derry Girls, The Teacher and MobLand, among others.
Emmett achieved international recognition with Netflix’s hit Harlan Coben drama Fool Me Once in 2024, where he played Shane Tessier. His film credits include Guardians of the Galaxy, Argylle and A Working Man.
Guy Burnet
Guy Burnet played Craig Dean in the popular Channel 4 soap from 2002 until 2008.
Guy, 42, has since gone on to have a successful Hollywood career with appearances in films such as Pitch Perfect 3, where he played Theo in the 2017 movie. The actor has also appeared in hit TV series Ray Donovan, The Affair and Counterpart.
However, it was one of his latest projects that left fans stunned as he was part of the star-studded cast of Oppenheimer, which was released in cinemas on 21 July 2023 in the UK.
He has recently appeared in FUBAR alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger as Theodore Chips and American Horror Stories.
Ricky Whittle
Ricky Whittle, who portrayed Calvin Valentine on Hollyoaks from 2006 to 2011, has also made a name for himself in Hollywood. After leaving the soap, Ricky, 45, relocated to Los Angeles and quickly landed a number of roles.
From 2014 to 2016, he starred in the sci-fi drama The 100 and US soap Mistresses. Following this, he secured the lead role in American Gods in 2017, with the series running until 2021.
Roxanne McKee
Roxanne McKee, who portrayed Louise Summers from 2005 to 2008, went on to secure the role of Doreah in Game of Thrones from 2011 to 2012 after her departure.
The 45 year old actress then bagged roles in Dominion as Claire Riesen and Pandora as Eve in 2020, among others. Her film credits include Inside Man: Most Wanted and Bambi: The Reckoning.
Wallis Day
Wallis Day played Holly Cunningham in Hollyoaks from 2012 to 2013.
Since then, the 31 year old actress has taken on roles such as Angie on The Royals from 2016 to 2018, Nyssa-Vex in Krypton from 2018 to 2019, Kate Kane / Circe Sionis in Batwoman in 2021, and Gigi in Netflix’s 2023 series of Sex/Life.
Diane Keaton, who died Saturday at 79, is one of cinema’s most legendary actors. She played some of the most recognizable roles of the late 20th century, and blazed a trail for generations of women to come. Here’s a list of Keaton’s 10 most important films, presented in alphabetical order. We’ll leave the ranking to her devoted fans.
‘Annie Hall’
Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in a scene from the movie “Annie Hall” from MGM / UA Home Video.
(MGM / UA Home Video)
Keaton’s role in Woody Allen’s 1977 romantic comedy was written just for her. Her portrayal of the feisty, eccentric, charming title character would define Keaton as an actor for the rest of her career. Her signature bowler hat and ties became a fashion staple, and fans still can’t think of the song “Seems Like Old Times” without sobbing. The film about the bittersweet nature of lost love was a critical success, and Keaton won her only Academy Award for her work in it.
‘Crimes of the Heart’
Keaton plays Lenny McGrath — the oldest of three sisters — in this 1986 black comedy also starring Diane Lange and Sissy Spacek. The actresses are at the height of their powers in the film, which finds a trio of siblings reuniting at their family home in Mississippi after Babe (Spacek) shoots, and seriously injures, her abusive husband. Spacek won a Golden Globe for her work, and was nominated for an Oscar, but Keaton shines as the less ostentatious of the sisters — an unassuming, terminally single woman who believes a shrunken ovary is the reason for her failure to launch.
‘The Godfather’ parts I and II
Keaton plays Kay Adams Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s epic crime family trilogy. As Michael Corleone’s second wife, and the mother of his children, Kay is one of the few fully realized women in the films. Many fans love Keaton’s performance in the second film best because Kay is the only one to stand up to Michael. When the ruthless mafia boss confronts her about an abortion she has had, Kay lets loose and confronts him about his vicious nature and many lies, vowing to never bring another Corleone into the world.
‘Looking for Mr. Goodbar’
Richard Gere, left, and Diane Keaton in a scene from the 1977 movie, “Looking For Mr. Goodbar.”
(Paramount / Getty Images)
This 1977 crime drama written and directed by Richard Brooks is perhaps Keaton’s most tragic film. She plays a lonely schoolteacher named Theresa Dunn who engages in increasingly risky behavior with strangers in pursuit of love. The film also stars Richard Gere as a controlling, abusive, drug-addicted boyfriend in his first major role. Keaton’s sorrow and desperation in this dark, gritty movie is palpable, making this a defining and heartbreaking part of her ouvré.
‘Manhattan’
Mary Wilke (Diane Keaton) and Isaac Davis (Woody Allen) in the shadow of the Queensborough Bridge in the movie “Manhattan.”
(United Artists)
This 1979 Woody Allen film is now one of the director’s most controversial due to its subject matter. Allen stars as a 42-year-old comedy writer who dates a 17-year-old girl, but ends up falling in love with his best friend’s mistress. Keaton plays that mistress, Mary Wilkie, and her depiction of the witty, wry, journalist with a robust social calendar and strong opinions that she never hesitates to express, is among her most seminal performances.
‘Marvin’s Room’
Keaton stars alongside Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro and a young Leonardo DiCaprio in this 1996 family drama. Keaton was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of Bessie Lee, a woman who has been caring for years for her bedridden father when she is diagnosed with leukemia. She turns to her estranged sister, Lee, for help finding a bone marrow transplant match — an endeavor that finds the family once again under the same roof. The tender story of loss and redemption showed that Keaton had staying power decades into her career.
‘Radio Days’
This nostalgic, charmer of a dramedy written and directed by Woody Allen takes place in Rockaway Beach in the 1930s and ‘40s during the golden age of radio. Keaton is part of an ensemble cast in a film filled with vignettes, and she appears in what is essentially a cameo as a New Year’s Eve singer. Wearing a a long-sleeved white dress with her hair pulled back in a bow, she sings a lovely rendition of Cole Porter’s “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To,” proving that when you’re a star of her caliber, you can shine no matter how small the role.
‘Reds’
Warren Beatty co-wrote, produced and directed this historical drama about John Reed, a journalist who chronicled Russia’s 1917 October Revolution. Keaton plays Louise Bryant, a married journalist and suffragist who leaves her husband to move to Greenwich Village with Reed where she becomes part of a robust group of artists and activists, including playwright Eugene O’Neil (Jack Nicholson). The 195-minute film opened to critical acclaim and was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, including best picture. Keaton received her second nomination for best actress but ultimately did not win.
‘Sleeper’
Keaton plays Luna Schlosser, a poet from the 22nd century, in Woody Allen’s 1973 madcap science fiction comedy about a jazz musician named Miles Monroe who owns the Happy Carrot health-food store before being cryogenically frozen for 200 years. Miles wakes in 2173 after being clandestinely revived by a group of rebels and is later delivered — disguised as a robot — into Luna’s home. Hilarious bickering ensues when Luna discovers Miles’ true identity, but she ultimately comes around to his cause. Keaton’s fabulous feathery silver outfits, her ability to utter lines like, “it’s pure keen,” with a straight face, and her substantial use of the “orgasmatron” made the role an instant classic.
‘Something’s Gotta Give’
Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson in the Columbia Pictures romantic comedy movie, “Something’s Gotta Give.”
(Bob Marshak/Columbia Pictures)
Keaton again paired with Jack Nicholson in this 2003 romantic comedy about a pair of mismatched professionals who fall in love in late middle age despite their best efforts to the contrary. The stars have the undeniable chemistry of two acting legends whose work appears absolutely effortless at this stage in their careers. The film was not a critical home run, but Keaton fans think of it as one of her best later roles.
An ad warns: “Your Cabinet position may be at risk if you don’t heed proper instructions and keep up your correct stamp duty payments.”
It came after the ethics watchdog ruled the real Ms Rayner, who had three homes including a grace-and-favour London flat, breached the ministerial code over £40,000 of unpaid stamp duty.
Studio Canal and Spitting Image were contacted for comment.
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A balding Prince Harry puppet featured in the new Spitting Image spin-off, The Rest is Bullsh*t
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A latex lookalike of wife Meghan was also on the showCredit: PA
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US President Donald Trump could be seen offering King Charles a burgerCredit: PA
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Rayner is seen launching a website called WrongmoveCredit: TNI Press
More so than with other directors, it’s always tempting to overly psychologize Paul Thomas Anderson’s films, looking for traces of his personal development and hints of autobiography: the father figures of “Magnolia” or “The Master,” the partnership of “Phantom Thread,” parenthood in the new “One Battle After Another.” Yet two things truly set his work apart. There’s the incredibly high level of craft in each of them, giving each a unique feel, sensibility and visual identity, and also the deeply felt humanism: a pure love of people, for all their faults and foibles.
Anderson is an 11-time Academy Award nominee without ever having won, a situation that could rectify itself soon enough, and it speaks to the extremely high bar set by his filmography that one could easily reverse the following list and still end up with a credible, if perhaps more idiosyncratic ranking. Reorder the films however you like — they are all, still, at the very least, extremely good. Simply put, there’s no one doing it like him.
Perhaps nothing marks Anderson as a filmmaker from the ’90s as much as his impeccable use of music, from the drowned-in-sound deluge of “Boogie Nights” to his ongoing collaboration with Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood as a composer. So just to add to the arguability of the following list, we’ve also noted a favorite song or two from each movie, the song titles often becoming surprise summations of the plots themselves.
This list is made in good faith, without any purposeful stuntery (honest). Feel free to let us know how your opinions vary.
Robert Redford, right, and Dustin Hoffman in the movie “All The President’s Men.”
(Sunset Boulevard / Corbis / Getty Images)
Alan J. Pakula’s Watergate drama is remembered as one of the great political thrillers, but for Redford it was a gamble of conviction and clout. He optioned the Woodward-Bernstein book himself, pushing through doubts that a film built on phone calls, door knocks and note-taking could grip audiences. As Bob Woodward he strips away glamour, playing a reporter who is awkward, halting and dogged, yet unshakable once the trail begins to unfold. Opposite Dustin Hoffman’s Carl Bernstein — fast-talking, improvisational, always pushing — Redford is methodical and contained, and together they embody the tension and rhythm of investigative reporting, turning the grind into suspense. With this role, Redford showed that persistence, not bravado, could carry a movie, and that a star could trade charm for credibility without losing magnetism. It cemented his reputation not just as a leading man but as a cultural force who could will serious stories onto the screen. — Josh Rottenberg
‘Mass surveillance’ tech has enabled world’s most restrictive state to exert ‘control in all parts of life’, UN Human Rights Office says.
Published On 12 Sep 202512 Sep 2025
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North Korea has further tightened its grip on its population over the past decade, executing people for activities like sharing foreign TV dramas, according to a major United Nations report.
The UN Human Rights Office said on Friday that tech-enabled state repression under the Kim dynasty, which has governed with absolute power for seven decades, had grown over a decade of “suffering, repression, and increased fear”.
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“No other population is under such restrictions in today’s world,” concluded the agency’s report, which is based on interviews with more than 300 witnesses and victims who had fled the country and reported the further erosion of freedoms.
“To block the people’s eyes and ears, they strengthened the crackdowns. It was a form of control aimed at eliminating even the smallest signs of dissatisfaction or complaint,” recounted one escapee, cited in the report.
James Heenan, head of the UN Human Rights Office for North Korea, told a Geneva briefing that the number of executions for both normal and political crimes had increased since COVID-era restrictions.
An unspecified number of people had already been executed under new laws imposing the death penalty for distributing foreign TV series, including the popular K-Dramas from South Korea, he added.
The clampdown has been aided by the expansion of “mass surveillance” systems through technological advances, which have subjected citizens to “control in all parts of life” over the past 10 years, the report said.
Heenan also reported that children were being made to work in forced labour, including so-called “shock brigades” for tough sectors such as coal mining and construction.
“They’re often children from the lower level of society, because they’re the ones who can’t bribe their way out of it, and these shock brigades are engaged in often very hazardous and dangerous work,” he said.
Last year, the UN indicated that the forced labour could, in some cases, amount to slavery, making it a crime against humanity.
The sweeping review comes more than a decade after a landmark UN report documented executions, rapes, torture, deliberate starvation, and the detention of between 80,000 and 120,000 people in prison camps.
The new report covered developments since 2014, noting the government’s adoption of new laws, policies and procedures providing a legal framework for repression.
UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement: “If the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] continues on its current trajectory, the population will be subjected to more suffering, brutal repression and fear.”
North Korea’s Geneva diplomatic mission and its London embassy have not yet commented on the report.
Jesse Plemons is never one to chew scenery. Even when handed a role that edges on madness, he doesn’t go big. Instead, he goes deep, building tension quietly from the inside out. And in Yorgos Lanthimos’ uncategorizable, darkly comic sci-fi thriller, Plemons — reuniting with the director after playing three characters in last year’s “Kinds of Kindness” — delivers one of his most riveting performances yet. As Teddy, a rumpled, reclusive beekeeper convinced that a pharma CEO (Emma Stone) is an alien from the planet Andromeda, Plemons channels paranoia, grief and righteousness into something both absurd and unnervingly sincere. The “I do my own research” archetype could easily veer into “SNL” sketch territory but he plays it heartbreakingly straight, creating a chillingly familiar portrait of a man lost in an algorithmic maze of internet rabbit holes and desperate for clarity in a world that no longer makes sense. Teddy enlists his younger cousin Don (Aidan Delbis, an autistic first-time actor in a mesmerizing turn) to help him abduct Stone’s steely executive, drawing him into the mission in a misguided effort to protect him. Even as things spiral into chaos, Plemons (a 2022 supporting actor Oscar nominee for Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog”) roots the performance in a warped but recognizably human emotional logic. The result captures the anxious, conspiratorial spirit of 2025 with eerie precision, proving once again that Plemons doesn’t need to raise his voice to deliver a performance that speaks volumes. — Josh Rottenberg
A Hollywood producer bilked film and business partners out of $12 million, claiming he was using their money to work on movies or other legitimate enterprises, but instead using it to buy expensive cars, houses and even a surrogate, prosecutors alleged Wednesday.
David Brown worked for years as a producer of indie Hollywood productions, burnishing his credentials as a producer of the film festival darling “The Fallout,” starring Jenna Ortega, which won the narrative feature competition at South by Southwest, as well as of “The Apprentice,” the movie about the rise of Donald Trump.
But even as Brown seemed to be putting together a successful producing career, federal prosecutors said, he was also defrauding numerous victims by siphoning funds that belonged to production companies and transferring the money to himself or businesses he controlled.
In an email to The Times for a 2023 article that documented the trail of fraud allegations that dogged him, Brown said he had made mistakes in the past, but denied defrauding anyone.
“I had to work really hard to get where I am today,” he said. “I had to overcome a lot. I had to fight for my place. … I’m not some bad guy.”
Brown was indicted Wednesday on 21 counts of wire fraud, transactional money laundering and aggravated identity theft. He had his first court appearance in South Carolina.
Prosecutors alleged that Brown, who lived in Sherman Oaks, used a series of tactics to defraud his business partners out of their money.
He convinced one victim to put money into a company called Film Holdings Capital, which was supposed to finance film projects. But Brown instead took the person’s money and used it for “maintaining his lifestyle and repaying prior victims … in a Ponzi-like scheme,” prosecutors said.
In other instances, Brown used production company funds to pay Hollywood Covid Testing, a company he controlled, “for services never rendered or already paid for,” prosecutors said.
He also told one victim that they could pool money and make a business flipping houses. He contributed little to the business and used some of the victim’s money for other purposes, prosecutors said.
Brown made sure to conceal his checkered past from potential business partners. He tried not to let them know about the 2023 article in The Times, or about the extensive litigation filed against him, according to federal prosecutors.
The 2023 article — for which The Times interviewed more than 30 people — detailed a series of allegations against Brown from his film partners, including that he forged Kevin Spacey’s signature and told film investors that Spacey had agreed to act as a main character in a film for just $100,000. But Spacey had not signed on to the film and did not even know what it was, his former manager told The Times. Brown denied forging Spacey’s signature.
Brown used the money he stole from his victims to make extravagant purchases, prosecutors said.
He bought a 2025 Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon and three Teslas, including a 2024 Cybertruck, prosecutors alleged. He used the funds to make mortgage payments on his home and to remodel the home and used about $100,000 to install a pool, prosecutors said.
He even bought a house for his mother using the ill-gotten cash, prosecutors alleged.
On top of that, Brown also allegedly used stolen money to pay $70,000 for surrogacy, private school tuition for his child and other services.
In all, he stole more than $12 million from his victims, prosecutors alleged.
Brown is in federal custody in South Carolina and will enter a plea to the charges at his arraignment in the coming weeks, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California.
Al Jazeera’s Ibrahim al-Khalili reports from inside the main UNRWA warehouse in Gaza City, showing the completely empty shelves where food aid used to be stored. The UN officially declared famine in Gaza on Friday with Israeli-imposed food insecurity and starvation having reached critical levels.
Hello! I’m Mark Olsen. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.
The LAT published its fall movies preview this week, taking a look at what is coming up through Thanksgiving. There is a list of the 21 movies we’re most excited about, which includes a broad selection of styles, genres and tones.
Some of these titles have already been seen at festivals, but many have not. And if even a fraction of them pan out, it should make for quite a season.
Zoey Deutch, photographed in Hollywood in July.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
I spoke to actor Zoey Deutch and director Richard Linklater about their collaboration on “Nouvelle Vague,” about the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s groundbreaking 1960 debut feature “Breathless.” Deutch plays American-born actor Jean Seberg, who was living in Paris at the time and agreed to be in the movie. After Godard’s film made her an international star, Seberg had an unpredictable career until her death in 1979 at only age 40.
“Is the rest of her life incredibly fascinating and intense and tragic? Yes,” said Deutch. “But Rick was really adamant on telling a story at a very specific moment in time. We’re not telling anything that happens after. Godard is not a legend yet. You don’t know who this guy is, what he’s doing. He’s not who he was later. Don’t read the last page of the book when we’re still on Page 1.”
“When I first met Jennifer, I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s Jennifer Lopez, what the hell?’” Tonatiuh recalled. “I must have turned left on the wrong street because now I’m standing in front of her. How did this happen? What life am I living?”
And Tim Grierson spoke to Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and Christopher Guest for an in-character interview as David St. Hubbins, Derek Smalls and Nigel Tufnel from the rock group Spinal Tap for their long-awaited sequel, “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.” (Director Rob Reiner also is interviewed in character as documentary filmmaker Marty DiBergi.)
“Can I ask a question?” Tufnel interjects at one point. “This has begun? The interview?”
Pocasters choice at ‘Friend of the Fest’
Shelley Duvall, left, Wesley Ivan Hurt and Robin Williams in Robert Altman’s “Popeye.”
(American Cinematheque)
Already underway, this year marks the third edition of the American Cinematheque’s “Friend of the Fest” series, in which podcasters pick their favorite movies to show. Most of the screenings will have the podcast hosts doing live intros, while some will even be recording live shows on site.
“It’s mostly trying to find that middle ground,” said Cindy Flores, film programmer at the American Cinematheque, in an interview this week. “You don’t have to be a connoisseur or a film geek or a cinephile. Everybody loves film. And that’s the great thing about the podcast festival is that you get to see a wide variety of titles and choices and things that people are interested in.”
The popular Ringer podcast network will have four shows represented, with “The Big Picture” selecting “Michael Clayton,” “The Watch” showing “24 Hour Party People,” “House of R” choosing “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “The Midnight Boys” presenting “Blade.”
Other podcasts in the series include “The Dana Gould Hour” showing “Carnival of Souls,” “Office Hours Live” with the “Weird Al” Yankovic-starring “UHF” (in a rare 35mm print with possible surprise guests), “Upstairs Neighbors” showing “Bottoms,” “Lifted” showing “Misssissippi Masala,” “Cinematic Void” screening “River’s Edge,” “Flightless Bird” choosing “Metallica: Some Kind of Monster” and “Ticklish Business” presenting “Design for Living.”
A scene from the 1985 movie “Clue.”
(American Cinematheque)
The LAT’s own Amy Nicholson, along with her “Unspooled” co-host Paul Scheer, have selected the Kevin Costner sci-fi film “Waterworld.”
The “Linoleum Knife” podcast will screen “Clue” from a newly-made DCP that will feature only one of the film’s multiple endings, selected by hosts Alonso Duralde and Dave White.
The podcast “Perf Damage” is hosted by the husband-and-wife team of Charlotte Barker and Adam Barker, who actually worked on restoring their selection: the L.A. premiere of the new 4K update of Robert Altman’s “Popeye.”
Marc Maron, who will be shutting down his “WTF” podcast later this year, will screen Altman’s “McCabe & Mrs. Miller.”
Points of interest
Elizabeth Taylor triple bill
Elizabeth Taylor on the set of the 1968 film “Boom!”
(Express Newspapers / Getty Images)
As part of its “Summer of Camp” series, the Academy Museum will feature on Sunday a triple bill of Elizabeth Taylor movies, all screening in 35mm, with “Secret Ceremony” and “Boom!” — both from 1968 and directed by Joseph Losey — and then Brian G. Hutton’s 1972 “X Y & Zee.” These are all visually rapturous movies with some amazing costumes and will make for an incredible daylong experience.
In the horror-tinged psychodrama “Secret Ceremony,” Taylor co-stars with Mia Farrow and Robert Mitchum. Adapted by Tennessee Williams from his own play “The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore,” “Boom!” pairs Taylor with her real-life paramour Richard Burton in some astonishing Mediterranean locations. “X Y & Zee” co-stars Michael Caine.
In May 1968, Times film critic Charles Champlin wrote, “Filmland’s reigning vaudeville act, the Flying Burtons, are together again in a sleek, aberrational and posturing piece of nonsense called ‘Boom!’ … ‘Boom!’ is gorgeous to look at. Losey’s sense of place is I think unsurpassed by any director now working, and Mrs. Goforth’s house, with its sun-baked walls and cool, dark, artful interiors, its talking bird and chained monkey, the waves crashing on the rocks below the terrace, is perfectly realized.”
Elizabeth Taylor, with producer Elliott Kastner on the set of “X, Y and Zee” in London in 1971.
(Frank Barratt / Getty Images)
In June 1968, Kevin Thomas published an interview with playwright Williams. Of “Boom!” he said, “It’s a beautiful picture, the best ever made of one of my plays. I think Elizabeth has never been that good before. I don’t know whether the public is going to buy it, for Lord’s sake. I hope they do for Elizabeth’s sake as well as my own. … I can always make out, but inwardly she’s a very fragile being.”
In his Nov. 1968 review of “Secret Ceremony,” Champlin continued the thought on Losey, writing, “His most notable gift is the care and skill with which he conveys the atmosphere generated by a particular house or place.”
In a 1970 item as Taylor was about to begin shooting “X Y & Zee,” she was asked if she would consider retiring. “I’m so lazy, I think I should retire,” she responded. “The unfortunate thing is I enjoy acting.”
‘The Diary of a Teenage Girl’ 10-year anniversary
Kristen Wiig, left, Bel Powley and Alexander Skarsgård in the movie “The Diary of a Teenage Girl.”
(Sony Pictures Classics)
Also on Sunday, the Gardena Cinema will host a 10th anniversary screening of “The Diary of a Teenage Girl” with a Q&A with producer Miranda Bailey. Adapted from the hybrid novel by Phoebe Gloeckner, it was the debut feature from Marielle Heller, who would go on to make “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” as well as “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and “Nightbitch.”
Starring Bel Powley, Kristen Wiig and Alexander Skarsgård, the story is about the sexual awakening of a 15-year-old girl in 1976 San Francisco.
Reviewing the film, Rebecca Keegan wrote, “Big summer action movies can be thrilling, but if you really want to feel your heart pounding out of your chest, try being a 15-year-old girl for 101 minutes. That’s the running time of ‘The Diary of a Teenage Girl,’ a rare gem of a movie that takes its audience inside the ecstatic, confused and unapologetically horny brain of a girl named Minnie Goetze. ‘Diary’ is a vivid and often shocking story of growing up female in 1976 San Francisco, told with tenderness and humor by first-time director Marielle Heller and starring a blue-eyed lightning bolt of an actress named Bel Powley as Minnie.”
In an interview with the director at the time, Heller said, “Teenage girls are represented really poorly; I think we as a society are afraid of teenage girls. We’re definitely afraid of their sexuality, and so teenage girls are either shown in this really virginal state or this really slutty state, but it’s never what it actually felt like to be a teenage girl as a full human.
“You’re just as complete of a person as a teenage boy,” she added. “Holden Caulfield is a really complex character, so where’s our female Holden Caulfield? It just felt really important, the chance to represent teenage girls in a way that actually felt real.”
‘Cooley High’
On Wednesday the Academy Museum will present 1975’s “Cooley High” in 35mm with director Michael Schultz and actors Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs and Glynn Turman present for a conversation with academy governor and filmmaker Ava DuVernay.
Written by Eric Monte and based on his own experiences growing up in Chicago, the film is set in 1964 and follows two high school friends through a series of endearingly freewheeling misadventures.
In a 2019 article on the occasion of a screening and tribute at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater — now included on the Criterion Collection disc of the film — Susan King spoke to many involved in the making of “Cooley High.” Robert Townsend, who would go on to make “Hollywood Shuffle” and most recently be seen on “The Bear,” had a one-line role as a teenager. “The movie changed my life,” he would say.
“It’s a movie, but it’s making me laugh, it’s making me think, and to me that’s what real movies do — speak to people that look like me and speak to everybody,” said Townsend. “That was my first lesson from Michael Schultz.”
‘The Lovers on the Bridge’ in 4K
Denis Lavant and Juliette Binoche in the movie “The Lovers on the Bridge.”
First shown at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, the movie would not get a release in America until 1999. The story of a street performer (Denis Lavant) and an artist losing her eyesight (Juliette Binoche), the film is told with dazzling flair and overwhelming style. Unable to shoot on the actual Pont Neuf bridge in Paris where the plot is set, Carax built a full-scale replica, said to be at the time the largest set ever built in France.
Writing about the film in 1999, Kevin Thomas said, “Leos Carax’s ‘The Lovers on the Bridge’ has the raw, gritty look of a documentary on the homeless, but it is in the grand tradition of heady screen romances. It’s a throwback to the golden era of both Hollywood and of the fatalistic French cinema that teamed such international icons as Jean Gabin and Michelle Morgan … a go-for-broke dazzler that takes constant chances, dares to go over the top, indulges in one anticlimactic scene after another, only to make such risks pay off all the more at the finish.”
Terence Stamp, the prolific English actor who played General Zod in the “Superman” films and earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the title character in “Billy Budd,” has died. He was 87.
Stamp died of undisclosed causes Sunday morning, his family confirmed to Reuters.
“He leaves behind an extraordinary body of work, both as an actor and as a writer that will continue to touch and inspire people for years to come,” the family said in a statement.
Stamp began his acting career onstage in 1960 on London’s West End, but quickly received international attention and critical acclaim with his 1962 portrayal of the title role in Peter Ustinov’s adaptation of Herman Melville’s historical adventure novel, “Billy Budd.”
The humanity Stamp imbued in the tragic, stammering naval vessel crewman established Stamp as a talent to watch — with a Golden Globe Award for best male newcomer to prove it. Still, Stamp didn’t fully break through in Hollywood until 1978 when he embodied the chilling persona of Superman’s arch-nemesis, General Zod, in the first film of what would become a wildly successful franchise. Stamp took on the role again in 1982’s “Superman II.”
Stamp, with his calm demeanor and pale eyes, proved such a successful villain that he feared he was becoming typecast as one. In 1994 he decided to try something radically different when he took on the role of a transgender woman named Bernadette in Stephan Elliott’s now cult-classic film, “Priscilla Queen of the Desert.”
The film marked one of the first times a transgender character was portrayed as a lead in an international film. When the movie premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May of that year, The Times’ then film critic, Kenneth Turan, interviewed Stamp for a feature. Stamp told Turan that he had been extremely nervous to play the role, but that a good friend encouraged him to take it, saying, “If you don’t start doing parts like this all you can look forward to is playing villains in Hollywood movies for the rest of your life,” and that, Stamp said, “stuck fear and loathing into my heart.”
“Priscilla,” about a group of drag performers on a bus trip to play a show at a resort hotel in the Australian desert, was a critical success, with Turan writing that it, “added some needed life to the Cannes Film Festival scene,” debuting in a “raucous midnight screening.”
In 1999 Stamp teamed up with Peter Fonda in Steven Soderbergh’s crime thriller, “The Limey.”
“When ‘60s icons collide, that should be the pitch for ‘The Limey,’,” noted a feature in The Times about the project. Stamp called his role as a British ex-con named Wilson investigating the death of his daughter in L.A., “the best offer I’ve had in 40 years.”
Stamp and Fonda, old friends who had long wanted to work together, were both experiencing comebacks at the time, with Stamp having just played Chancellor Finis Valorum in the blockbuster, “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.”
Terence Henry Stamp was born in London in 1938. His father was part of the Merchant Navy, and was often away for long periods of time. Stamp was raised mostly by his mother, grandmother and a variety of aunts. He loved the movies and idolized Gary Cooper and James Dean.
As a young man he earned a scholarship to Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art — one of Britain’s leading drama schools — and soon began performing at repertory theaters. His roommate at that time was the young actor Michael Caine, and the pair made friends with Peter O’Toole, quickly becoming enmeshed in the good-looking, fast-moving London party scene of the 1960s. Stamp famously dated actor Julie Christie, whom he starred alongside in director Ken Loach’s first feature film, 1967’s “Poor Cow.”
Stamp was known for his intense dedication to craft, particularly his ability to hone in on the psychological underpinnings of a given character. He was known for bringing the same depth of devotion to all his roles, including 1962’s “Term of Trial” alongside Laurence Olivier; William Wyler’s “The Collector” (1965); Joseph Losey’s “Modesty Blaise” (1966); John Schlesinger’s adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s “Far from the Madding Crowd” (1967); and a 50-minute short film by Federico Fellini, “Toby Dammit” (1968), among many others.
In 1999, while filming “The Limey,” he told The Times, “When you’ve had a long career you kind of merge all your great roles together. So I don’t think about being good in an individual thing. I think of the collective total, of working with [William] Wyler and Pasolini … I recently thought to myself, ‘You know, if it had to end now, it would really be OK.’ From ‘Billy Budd’ to ‘The Limey,” no actor could ask for more, so it’s a very great moment for me.”
The famous director was known for his particular personality, which included phobias of the police and eggs.
His films redefined the boundaries of filmmaking, including breaking the Hays Code (a set of industry guidelines that enforced self-censorship) multiple times.
Such defiant moments included filming a flushing toilet in Psycho.
Despite never winning a directorial Oscar or Cannes award, Hitchcock did receive other accolades.
These included the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award in 1967. Hitchcock’s acceptance speech was just two words long – thank you.
The London-born director also received a BAFTA Fellowship in 1971, an American Film Institute Life Achievement Award in 1979 and, later that same year, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
Fans of Hitchcock films will know to look out for his cameos, with the director appearing in 39 of his own films.
Only ever small, background roles, Hitchcock has been a pedestrian, public transport passenger and even a poster boy for a weight loss product.
The list of 53 films below that give director credits to Alfred Hitchcock does not include the 1926 film The Mountain Eagle.
That’s for a very good reason.
This is considered a lost film. All prints of the movie have disappeared.
All that is left is a few production photos and a lobby card. Hitchcock was apparently pleased with the film’s disappearance, calling it “a very bad movie”.
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About the author
Katrina Vasey – Bingo Editor, The Sun
After graduating from Southampton University with a degree in English Literature, Katrina Vasey worked as a Content Editor for Law Business Research’s publication the International Law Office. Katrina joined The Sun in 2022 as the Bingo Editor, covering the four gaming platforms: Sun Bingo, Fabulous Bingo, Sun Vegas and Fabulous Vegas.
These two picturesque villages in France could be straight out of a Disney animation. But, despite their distinct charm and proximity to a popular tourist spot, they remain relatively under the radar.
Both historical and charming destinations are in close proximity to the beautiful town of Colmar(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Two picture-perfect cities rumoured to be inspiration for Disney settings have been revealed – but they won’t stay under-the-radar for long. If you’re keen to avoid overcrowded tourist hotspots, a trip to one of these picturesque destinations should be the next stop on your travel itinerary.
French River cruise operator European Waterways has revealed two lesser-known destinations that supposedly inspired Disney animation. Located 20 minutes from the tourist hotspot Colmar, both Eguisheim and Riquewihr are worth exploring.
Located in the wine-making region of Alsace, both destinations are members of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France – or The Most Beautiful Villages in France. Formed in 1982, Les Plus Beaux Villages de France is an independent body that promotes must-visit rural locations. As of 2024, it numbers 176 member villages. This comes after a warning to Brit tourists planning all-inclusive holidays to Spain.
Eguisheim has previously been named ‘France’s Favourite Village(Image: Getty Images)
Maryanne Sparkes, French Rivercruise expert at European Waterways, explains their distinct charm. “Eguisheim’s secret lies in its unique layout — concentric circles of narrow lanes surround a central château, each lined with meticulously preserved half-timbered houses.
“This design, dating back to the 13th century, is rare in Europe and creates a magical village atmosphere, amplified by vibrant window boxes bursting with blooms in spring and summer,” she explains.
The village also institutes regulations to ensure the preservation of its distinct layout. According to Maryanne: “Local laws strictly protect the village’s architectural heritage, meaning no building facade can be changed without official permission.
“This careful preservation maintains Eguisheim’s medieval character, which helped it win the title of “France’s favourite village” in 2013.” Similar to Eguisheim, Riquewihr is “frozen in time” to preserve its atmosphere and architecture.
Maryanne explains: “A slightly different, but equally beautiful Riquewihr is a medieval fortress frozen in time by local experts. Only five kilometres from Eguisheim, Riquewihr charms visitors with its intact defensive walls, cobbled alleys, and medieval watchtowers.”
Homes in Riquewihr are notable for their highly stylised wooden facades(Image: Getty Images)
She says that Riquewihr’s houses — some dating as far back as the 16th century — are notable for their traditional painted wooden facades decorated with geometric patterns and floral motifs. Walking through its narrow streets feels like “entering a living museum” and is particularly magical during Christmas time when fairy lights adorn the walls.
Maryanne says that despite Riquewihr and Eguisheim’s proximity to the popular destination of Colmar, both towns remain “delightfully undervisited”.
“They provide the perfect alternative for travellers wanting fairytale charm without the crowds, plus easy access to world-class Alsace wines and local gastronomy,” she says.
Colmar has achieved notoriety on social media for its pastel-hued traditional homes and picture-perfect canals. With its relatively small population of 67,000, Colmar maintains a “country town” vibe, drawing visitors into its quaint atmosphere amplified by centuries of dedicated preservation.
Disney fans might even mistake Colmar for Belle’s hometown from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. The area’s distinctive architecture, including timber-clad homes, supposedly served as the direct inspiration for the movie’s fictional setting in Alsace.
When a country like Armenia sends a film out into the world, it’s not just art. It’s a way to preserve memory, to reach a scattered diaspora. Each film offers the world stories that might otherwise be forgotten. So when President Trump proposes a 100% tariff on all films “produced in foreign lands,” the damage isn’t limited to foreign competitors or outsourcing studios. It threatens to shut out small nations like Armenia, for whom cinema is a lifeline.
The proposal hasn’t taken effect — yet. But July 9 marked a turning point in Trump’s broader tariff agenda, with a deadline for reimposing sweeping trade penalties on countries deemed “unfair.” While the situation for films remains unclear, the proposal alone has done damage and continues to haunt the industry. The tariff idea arises from the worldview that treats international exchange as a threat — and cultural expression as just another import to tax.
Take “Amerikatsi” (2022), the extraordinary recent movie by Emmy-winning actor and director Michael A. Goorjian. Inspired by his grandfather’s escape from the Armenian genocide — smuggled across the ocean in a crate — the project is not just a movie; it’s a universal story rooted in the Armenian experience, made possible by international collaboration and driven by a deep personal mission. Goorjian filmed it in Armenia with local crews, including people who, months later, would find themselves on the front lines of war. One was killed. Others were injured. Still, they sent him videos from the trenches saying all they wanted was to return to the set. That is the spirit a tariff like this would crush.
Armenia is a democracy in a dangerous neighborhood. Its history is riddled with trauma — genocide, war, occupation — and its present is haunted by threats from neighboring authoritarian regimes. But even as bombs fall and borders close, its people create. Films like “Aurora’s Sunrise” (2022) and “Should the Wind Drop” (2020) carry voices across oceans, turning pain into poetry, history into cinema. These films don’t rely on wide releases. They depend on arthouses, festivals, streamers and distributors with the courage and curiosity to take a chance. A 100% tariff would devastate that.
Indeed, the ripple effects of such a tariff would upend the entire global film ecosystem. Modern cinema is inherently international: A Georgian director might work with a French editor, an American actor and a German financier.
So sure, many American films use crew and facilities in Canada. But international co-productions are a growing cornerstone of the global film industry, particularly in Europe. Belgium produces up to 72% of its films in partnership with foreign nations, often France. Other notable co-production leaders include Luxembourg (45% with France), Slovakia (38% with Czechia) and Switzerland (31% with France). These partnerships are often driven by shared language, which is why the U.S. is also frequently involved in co-productions with Britain as well as Canada. Israel too has leaned into this model, using agreements with countries such as France, Germany and Canada to gain access to international audiences and funding mechanisms.
The U.S. government cannot unmake this system and should not try to do so. To penalize “foreign-made” films is to punish Americans too — artists, producers and distributors who thrive on collaboration. You can’t build a wall around storytelling.
Supporters of the tariff argue it protects American workers. But Hollywood is already one of the most globalized industries on Earth, and the idea that it suffers from too many foreign films is absurd. If anything, it suffers from too few. The result of this policy won’t be a thriving domestic market — but a quieter, flatter, more parochial one. A landscape where the next “Amerikatsi” never gets seen, where a generation of Armenian American youth never discovers their history through a movie screen.
If America still wants to lead in the 21st century — not just militarily and economically but morally — it should lead through culture and avoid isolation.
Stories like “Amerikatsi” remind us why that matters. A film that begins with a boy smuggled in a crate across the ocean ends with a message of joy and resilience. That’s not just Armenian history — it’s American history too. It cannot be separated. Unless we want that kind of storytelling priced out of our cinemas (and off our streaming platforms), we must keep the doors open.
For America to turn its back on stories like these would be a betrayal of everything film can be. And it would impoverish American society too. That way lies not greatness but provinciality.
Alexis Alexanian is a New York City-based film producer, consultant and educator whose credits include “A League of Their Own” and “Pieces of April.” She is a past president of New York Women in Film & Television and sits on the board of BAFTA North America.
Insights
L.A. Times Insights delivers AI-generated analysis on Voices content to offer all points of view. Insights does not appear on any news articles.
The following AI-generated content is powered by Perplexity. The Los Angeles Times editorial staff does not create or edit the content.
Ideas expressed in the piece
The article argues that President Trump’s proposed 100% tariff on foreign-produced films would disproportionately harm small nations like Armenia, whose cinematic output serves as cultural preservation and diaspora connection, rather than being mere commercial products.
It contends that such tariffs would devastate the arthouse film ecosystem, where international co-productions thrive (e.g., 72% of Belgian films involve foreign partnerships), and where stories like “Amerikatsi” – an Armenian-American collaboration – transform historical trauma into universal narratives.
The author asserts that penalizing “foreign-made” films ultimately punishes American artists and distributors who rely on global collaborations, noting that modern cinema’s inherently international nature makes isolating U.S. productions both impractical and culturally impoverishing.
The piece frames cinema as a diplomatic lifeline for democracies like Armenia in volatile regions, warning that tariffs would silence culturally vital voices while contradicting America’s moral leadership ambitions through cultural isolationism.
Different views on the topic
The Trump administration justifies the proposed tariff as necessary to combat “unfair competition” from countries like Canada and the U.K., whose tax incentives allegedly lure U.S. productions abroad, threatening Hollywood jobs and national security[1][2].
Proponents argue that outsourcing film production hollows out domestic industry capacity, and the tariff aims to redirect investment toward U.S.-based infrastructure and employment, framing globalization as detrimental to American workers[1][3].
Economic nationalists suggest reduced foreign competition could strengthen domestic content creation, with some analysts noting potential benefits for countries like Canada if U.S. policies trigger local content booms to fill market gaps[2].
The administration dismisses co-production arguments, emphasizing economic sovereignty over cultural exchange and characterizing foreign subsidies as exploitative practices requiring punitive countermeasures[1][4].
Washington Post reporter and columnist Lou Cannon has covered Ronald Reagan for more than 25 years. This article is adapted from his book, “President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime (Simon & Schuster)
President Ronald Reagan’s aides became accustomed to figuring out things for themselves, for he managed by indirection when he managed at all. Aides who had worked for more directive presidents found this disconcerting.
“He made no demands, and gave almost no instructions,” said Martin Anderson, a veteran of the Nixon Administration. Anderson thought Reagan’s management style odd but rationalized that it was “a small thing, an eccentricity that was dwarfed by his multiple, stunning qualities.”
And yet Anderson was bothered more by this “small thing” than he let on in his useful book “Revolution,” or maybe even more than he realized. It was Anderson who told me that when he returned to the campaign in 1980, after a long absence, he was not quite sure if Reagan realized he had ever been away. Others less self-secure than Anderson or less convinced of Reagan’s greatness were bothered even more by the way their leader distanced himself.
By keeping his emotional distance from the lives and struggles of his subordinates, Reagan was less affected by what happened to them than were presidents with closer relationships. It did not matter all that much to him who was in the supporting cast. Actors came and went in Washington as they had done in Hollywood and Sacramento, without altering his purposes or changing his conception of himself. Reagan remained serene in the center of his universe, awaiting his next performance.
While his distancing of himself from others may have been useful or even necessary for Reagan, it took a heavy toll among the entourage. Principal members of the Reagan team were misled by his manner or misled themselves into an expectation of friendship. They competed to be Reagan’s favorite person.
“Here he was, enormously successful in things that he had done, very confident, comfortable with himself, and a very likable man,” said White House aide Robert B. Sims. “And he had these other people who were mature adults, most of them successful in their own right–the George Shultzes, the Caspar Weinbergers, the Bill Clarks–who had done things on their own and been successful, but Reagan was always up there at a level above these advisers and they all seemed to want to get his favor.” Reagan did not consciously play these subordinates off against one another, as Franklin D. Roosevelt might have done. Instead, he bestowed approval in a general sense on all “the fellas” or “the boys,” as he was wont to describe his inner circle, while withholding his approval from any one of them in particular.
Republican congressional leaders found Reagan uninterested in political strategy, although he was always willing to place a call to a wavering congressman if provided with the script of what he ought to say.
What animated Reagan was a public performance. He knew how to edit a script and measure an audience. He also knew that the screenplay of his presidency, however complicated it became on the margins, was rooted in the fundamental themes of lower taxes, deregulation and “peace through strength” that he had expounded in the anti-government speech he had given in 1964 for Republican presidential candidate Barry M. Goldwater.
The Speech was his bible, and Reagan never tired of giving it. Its themes and Reagan’s approach to government were, as his friend William F. Buckley put it, “inherently anti-statist.”
But on other issues, especially when the discussion was over his head, Reagan’s participation was usually limited to jokes and cinematic illustrations. This is not surprising, as Reagan spent more time at the movies during his presidency than at anything else.
He went to Camp David on 183 weekends, usually watching two films on each of these trips. He saw movies in the White House family theater, on television in the family quarters and in the villas and lavish guest quarters accorded presidents when they travel.
On the afternoon before the 1983 economic summit of the world’s industrialized democracies in colonial Williamsburg, White House Chief of Staff James A. Baker III stopped off at Providence Hall, where the Reagans were staying, bringing with him a thick briefing book on the upcoming meetings. Baker, then on his way to a tennis game, had carefully checked through the book to see that it contained everything Reagan needed to know without going into too much detail. He was concerned about Reagan’s performance at the summit, which had attracted hundreds of journalists from around the world and been advertised in advance by the White House as an Administration triumph.
But when Baker returned to Providence Hall the next morning, he found the briefing book unopened on the table where he had deposited it. He knew immediately that Reagan hadn’t even glanced at it, and he couldn’t believe it. In an hour Reagan would be presiding over the first meeting of the economic summit, the only one held in the United States during his presidency. Uncharacteristically, Baker asked Reagan why he hadn’t cracked the briefing book, “Well, Jim, ‘The Sound of Music’ was on last night,” Reagan said calmly.
Nonetheless, Reagan’s charm and cue cards carried him through the summit without incident. By the third year of his presidency the leaders of the democracies were also growing accustomed to Reagan’s anecdotes and to his cheerful sermons about the wonders of the market system and lower taxes. They were awed at what they saw as his hold on the American people.
In the halcyon days of his presidency, Reagan seemed to have no need of briefing books. And even on those occasions when he read them, he was more apt to find solutions in the movies he watched religiously each weekend.
Sometimes the movies and the briefing books pointed in the same direction. By mid-1983, the U.S. and Soviet governments were beginning to emerge from the mutual acrimony that prevailed between them since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in Christmas week of 1979. Guided by Reagan’s impulses and George P. Shultz’s diplomacy, the U.S. government was beginning to explore what would ultimately become, after the ascension of Mikhail S. Gorbachev, a more optimistic and productive era in U.S.-Soviet relations.
But arms-control enthusiasts on Capitol Hill were skeptical about Reagan’s intentions toward the nation he had called “the evil empire.” The Administration had been able to persuade a swing group of moderate Democrats to join with Republicans in supporting limited deployment of the MX missile only after Reagan pledged that he would also diligently pursue arms-control opportunities.
On the first weekend in June, 1983, while Democratic support for the MX remained much in question, Reagan went to Camp David with a briefcase full of option papers on arms control. He made a few personal phone calls, scanned the material in the folders and put them aside. After dinner, Reagan was in the mood for a movie, as he usually was on Saturday night. The film that evening was “War Games,” in which Matthew Broderick stars as a teen-age computer whiz who accidentally accesses the North American Aerospace Defense Command–NORAD–and almost launches World War III. It was an entertaining anti-war film with a clear message, intoned in the movie by an advanced computer: The only way to win the “game” of thermonuclear war is not to play it.
Two days later, Reagan met at the White House with several Democratic congressmen who had backed the MX in exchange for the President’s arms-control commitment. He began the meeting by reading from cue cards tailored to congressional concerns. “I just can’t believe that if the Soviets think long and hard about the arms race, they won’t be interested in getting a sensible agreement,” Reagan said.
Then he put the cue cards aside and his face lit up. He asked the congressmen if any of them had seen “War Games,” and when no one volunteered an answer launched into an animated account of the plot. The congressmen were fascinated with Reagan’s change of mood and his obvious interest in the film. He said, “I don’t understand these computers very well, but this young man obviously did. He had tied into NORAD!”
