hope

OSCAR winner Marcia Lucas has died from cancer aged 80.

Known as the secret weapon and unsung hero of Star Wars, Marcia died at her holiday home in Rancho Mirage, California.

The ex-wife of George Lucas, Marcia was best known for editing Star Wars and Return of the Jedi.

Marcia died on Wednesday evening, her family said.

In an emotional statement, they called the filmmaker a “trailblazer”.

A family member said: “Marcia was a force.”

“A true trailblazer for women in film and one of the most influential editors in cinematic history; she helped redefine what film editing could be and paved the way for generations of women who followed.”

She won an Academy Award in 1977 for Best Film Editing.

In 1969 she married George Lucas, who she had met while working on the documentary Journey to the Pacific.

Raised in North Hollywood, Marcia met her future husband while they were working as assistants for editor Verna Fields.

CANNES, France — The movies of Na Hong-jin aren’t hard to love — they’re as obsession-worthy as the stylish rigor with which they are made. His 2008 debut, “The Chaser,” found new febrility in the post-Fincher serial killer thriller. “The Wailing” somehow added ghosts, demon-possessed children and inky black crows to the mix with a near-crazed sense of showmanship.

That was 10 years ago. Na, 51, now sits on the other side of a project that has consumed him for years, a sci-fi action film called “Hope” that arrives with expensive CGI, a pair of A-list stars (Michael Fassbender and Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander) and James Cameron-sized franchise ambitions. It will undoubtedly make Na’s gallows-humor-inflected brand more global, even if it lifts him out of the cult niche that’s nourished him to date.

Cannes is an unlikely place to launch “Hope.” That could be seen as a sign that the festival’s increasing accommodation of blockbuster bigness doesn’t need Hollywood. Na sits in the corner of a Côte d’Azur waterfront lounge on a glorious midday, the sky an almost abstract blue. He tugs at his goatee distractedly. His world premiere is tonight.

Neon, the distributor currently enjoying a six-year Palme d’Or winning streak, will release “Hope” in America sometime after its summer bow in Na’s native South Korea. The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity. It also contains significant spoilers.

A scene from the movie “Hope,” directed by Na Hong-jin.

(Neon)

When did you realize that you had a big sci-fi alien monster movie in you?

The idea came to me in 2017 in Seoul. The premise started off with somebody watching news in a diner or a small restaurant. It was that image that I had in my head. So I started developing that initial image in more detail. By 2018, I was able to write my first draft.

“Hope” brings to mind several genre classics, from “Jaws” and John Carpenter movies like “The Thing,” to something more homegrown such as Bong Joon Ho’s “The Host.” Were those inspiring to you?

I must have looked all the genre films that I could find, including the ones you mention, before I went into filming. And, as I hope you noticed, I was looking more at films from before 2000 and I tried to reflect that look.

It seems like you’re using Cannes as a moment to pivot or reinvent yourself. Is that intentional?

I didn’t intend for this to be a turning point in terms of style or direction going forward. I never thought of it that way. What I really dwelled on was thinking about how to tell this story in a way that was approachable and entertaining for people.

Why did you set the story in the demilitarized zone?

If you look at it from a universal perspective, what happens in this very shabby, humble, small, insignificant space potentially creates an impact that can go on infinitely. I think none of the characters in the film do anything with any malice. I guess the underlying story I want to tell is that there is no reason for evil intention behind anything, but innocent acts can build up to something tragic.

Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander are wonderful surprises in the movie as some rather dignified aliens. What led you to them?

When I was casting the alien roles, I had a bigger story in mind. I don’t know whether there’ll be a sequel after this one, but if so, that sequel is going to be centered around them. So picking the right actors was very important for me. We asked them to learn this invented alien language, which they prepared and came onto set knowing.

How important to you is comedy and releasing tension with laughs?

Very. I try to really think it through and if it comes out the way I intended, that gives me such a thrill. I tried to incorporate it in many places.

A lot of the movie feels like a virtuoso chase sequence, people barreling down the road, guns blazing. But it took me a minute to realize that the more interesting question is: Who’s doing the chasing? Is “Hope” meant to make us examine our own violence?

Yes, very much so. And two of the major chase scenes were designed so that what starts off as righteous somehow tilts toward being unjust. I wanted the action to bring up that transition in perspective.

You’ve premiered at Cannes before but, in a way, it feels like the wrong festival for a movie like this. You’re laughing because I think you agree with me.

It goes without saying. I’m incredibly nervous. And I feel so grateful that you’re treating me so nicely and gently.

A scene from the movie “Hope,” directed by Na Hong-jin.

(Neon)

Why did it take you 10 years to make this film?

There was a pandemic in the middle of that. But except for the pandemic where everything stopped, I was working my ass off before and after. It still took this long. I’m a little concerned myself, like: How did this happen?

With “Hope,” are you saying goodbye to the filmmaker you once were?

Not at all. Throughout the entire process of making this film, I was bloodthirsty. I was thirsting for blood. I have another script written already.

And maybe now it’ll go faster because there won’t be a pandemic. Are you hoping that this movie is going to have an impact on the Korean film industry?

It’s not my place to say that. I’m not sure. I want things to be freer.

Would it be a mistake to read this film as an allegory for what’s happening now in the world? Is it a plea for understanding?

I don’t regard it as a plea for understanding. Rather, let’s hope people will be able to relate to it and be empathetic about the story and realize for themselves, understand for themselves. Maybe there’s something more to it, but you take away what you will from that.

Your dark humor flares on occasion. Did you make it a point to try to preserve that?

Well, you can’t just do something like this without having that. It’s not fun.

This doesn’t feel like an “Avatar”-style film. There’s an openness to it, a sense of exploration. Do you believe in heroes?

I do believe in heroes, but, as I tell in the story, anyone can be a hero.

Frances Tophill, one of the leading presenters on Gardeners’ World, has been heavily tipped to replace Monty Don at the head of the BBC series when he steps down

One of the stars of Gardeners’ World has spoken about whether she would like to replace Monty Don when he eventually decides to leave the show.

Monty, still very much a feature of the BBC programme, has been a key part of it for decades. However, following his milestone 70th birthday, questions have recently turned to who might replace him should he decided to put down his televisual trowel.

One of the people often highlighted as a potential successor is Frances Tophill, currently designing a garden for the Chelsea Flower Show alongside Alan Titchmarsh, Sir David Beckham, and King Charles III.

Frances, 36, has been on Gardeners’ World for over a decade, but has now made clear she doesn’t see herself replacing Monty.

She told The Sunday Times: “I have a huge respect for Monty – it is such a generous thing to give your garden space to the nation and he does it so well. I hope he never leaves….Broadcasting is not my day job, my day job is being a gardener.”

This isn’t the first time Frances has pushed back against the suggestion she could replace Monty. In a previous interview with the Telegraph, she said that after covering for Monty in a 2023 episode of the show, she got a glimpse of what fame might be like for him.

After she covered for him, she went to help a friend sell plants, but was shocked to see people flood towards them, not because of the plants, but because they recognised her from the show. She said: “That’s when I got a glimpse of what being Monty must be like… I don’t want that.”

Frances’ comments on the future of Gardeners’ World come as the RHS Chelsea Flower Show gets underway.

Frances has been busy working with the King, Sir David Beckham, and Alan Titchmarsh. Given the high profile nature of her royal clientele, Frances was asked, also by the Telegraph, whether she had been told anything about the monarch before she started work.

She said: “Everyone keeps saying that he’s so detail focused that he’ll notice all the tiny things.” Frances added that she had been searching the internet for the right gnome, as she was adding it in tribute to the King’s Highgrove garden. She said: “He hides it in the stumpery for the gardeners to find.”

Meanwhile, in an official statement on the King’s Foundation website about the garden, Frances went into more detail about what the experience had been like.

She said: “I’m so excited to share my first garden for RHS Chelsea Flower Show. With input from His Majesty The King, Alan Titchmarsh and Sir David Beckham, I’ve had a lot of fun incorporating elements both celebrating their involvement and ideas they have contributed.

“With sustainability front and central for His Majesty, there are no man-made materials being used in the garden, and it will be a concrete free construction.”

Salesian High School held its 15th Salesian Gala on Saturday night, with defensive back Deommodore Lenoir from the San Francisco 49ers and a Salesian graduate being honored.

Deommodore Lenoir of Salesian in 2016. Now he’s NFL defensive back for 49ers.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

Lenoir used Salesian as a key path to playing college football at Oregon and then the NFL. He received a $92 million contract extension in 2024.

“Growing up in South Los Angeles taught me a lot,” he said in 2016. “It taught me to stay focused in order to be able to go where I want to go, and that’s to the NFL. You have to stay in the classroom and do what you’re told to do.”

He’s come back to Salesian to offer a message of hope and hard work.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com

Manchester United strengthen grip on third spot in Premier League with 1-0 win that leaves Chelsea relying on favours.

Manchester United took a giant step towards ending a two-year exile from the Champions League as Matheus Cunha scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against Chelsea.

United’s victory on Saturday opens up a 10-point gap between the Red Devils in third place and sixth-placed Chelsea, with only 15 points left to play for this season.

The top five in the Premier League will qualify for the Champions League next season.

But a fourth consecutive league defeat leaves Chelsea’s chances of being back among Europe’s elite next season in tatters. It also piles pressure on manager Liam Rosenior, only three months into his reign.

Chelsea once again bemoaned the lack of a clinical striker as they failed to break down a makeshift United defence ravaged by injury and suspension.

United manager Michael Carrick was forced to name a backline featuring three full-backs and 19-year-old Ayden Heaven. But they held out to boost the former England midfielder’s case to get the job at Old Trafford beyond the end of this season.

Chelsea were missing their top scorer, Joao Pedro, through injury, and one-time United target Liam Delap failed to take his chance to shine up front.

Rosenior recalled Enzo Fernandez after the Argentinian was given a two-game suspension by the Blues for suggesting he would be open to a summer move to Real Madrid.

Fernandez started with a point to prove and came agonisingly close to the opener when he curled inches wide.

United looked rusty in a 2-1 defeat to Leeds on Monday, their first action for three and a half weeks.

But Carrick’s men repaired the damage done to their chances of returning to the Champions League next season.

Cunha provided a precise finish to open the scoring two minutes before the break from Bruno Fernandes’s 18th Premier League assist of the season.

Chelsea improved after the break but failed to prevent another damaging defeat, leaving Rosenior’s role in doubt heading into next season.

Delap crashed a header against the woodwork, and Noussair Mazraoui turned a dangerous cross onto his own bar, under pressure from Wesley Fofana.

Moises Caicedo, fresh from signing a new seven-year contract, also came close to rescuing a point for the hosts.

But the final whistle was met by a chorus of boos at full-time, with the Club World Cup winners looking resigned to Europa League football at best next term.