“It’s a rare glimpse into their vulnerability,” says cinematographer Ben Fordesman of a scene in Ronan Day-Lewis’ “Anemone,” where estranged brothers Ray (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Jem (Sean Bean) drunkenly dance moments after Ray reveals the scars of his childhood. Here, the film’s unflinching energy — influenced by Ingmar Bergman’s “Autumn Sonata” — shifts; the camera shakes free from restraint before pulling back to reveal them small against the empty wilderness. “Ronan was keen on exploring the psychological landscape of Ray, in particular, in a metaphysical way. This was our way to recontextualize the characters and place them against the vast indifference of nature. To suggest a kind of detachment from reality,” Fordesman says of “Anemone,” which examines trauma and its generational ripple effects. The scene’s dramatic payoff wasn’t originally scripted and almost didn’t happen, as the cabin set had to be redesigned so one side could be removed. Creative engineering from production designer Chris Oddy and seamless visual effects helped bring it to life. “It was genuinely one of the most fun things to shoot when you’ve got the motivation to move freely. Everything in the rest of the film is considered and composed,” says the cinematographer. “This maybe leans into the way that trauma can be often experienced as a memory and the dancing is a way of shaking that off.”
The Chancellor has previously promised that the new budget will “deliver on the priorities of the British people” by reducing NHS waiting lists, the national debt and the cost of living.
Although she has reportedly decided against raising income tax rates, there are rumours that she could announce an extended freeze on income tax and National Insurance thresholds, meaning more people would pay it as wages increase over time.
There might also be a new tax introduced on high-value homes, of which there are roughly 2.4 million in England. This could impact properties in council tax bands F, G and H, reports the Express.
Roger Johnson and Sarah Campbell were presenting BBC Breakfast today when the show took a brief pause.
“I’m not sure there’s ever a quiet week in politics these days but this week is particularly significant with the budget on Wednesday,” Sarah started.
She then handed over to Laura Kuenssberg who was ready in a separate studio to outline what was coming up on her Sunday morning politics show, momentarily interrupting BBC Breakfast’s schedule.
Speaking about the upcoming episode of Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Laura stated: “It really is, we are now just a few days away from Rachel Reeves’ huge moment in the House of Commons.
“A massive moment for the country, a massive moment for the economy and a massive moment for this government that has had such a turbulent few months.”
She continued: “This morning we’ll be giving you everything you need to know in the final days before the big moment itself.”
BBC Breakfast is broadcast daily from 6am on BBC One and iPlayer.
Laura KuenssbergPresenter, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
BBC
It’s been a long time coming. If you feel like this Budget has been going on for ages, you’d be right.
Not just because by one senior MP’s count, 13 – yes, thirteen – different tax proposals have already been floated by the government in advance of the final decisions being made public.
Or because of an ever-growing pile of reports from different think tanks or research groups making helpful suggestions that have grabbed headlines too.
But because the budget process itself has actually been going on for months.
Back in July the Chancellor Rachel Reeves had the first meeting with aides in her Treasury office to start the planning.
“Everyone was getting ready to open up the Excel,” one aide recalls, but Reeves announced she didn’t want any spreadsheets or Treasury scorecards.
Instead she wanted to start by working out how to pursue her top three priorities, which she scribbled down on A5 Treasury headed paper.
That trio is what she’ll stick to next week: cut the cost of living, cut NHS waiting lists, and cut the national debt.
The messages to the voting public – and each containing an implicit message to the mighty financial markets: control inflation, keep spending big on public services, protecting long-term cash on things like infrastructure, and try to control spending to deal with the country’s big, fat, pile of debt.
Reeves’s team is confident the chancellor will be able to tick all three of those boxes on Wednesday.
But there is deep fear in her party, and scepticism among her rivals and in business, that instead, Reeves’s second budget will be hampered by political constraints and contradictions.
Getty Images
The red briefcase moment at last year’s Budget
Reeves herself will no doubt refer to the restrictions placed on her before she had even walked through the door at No 11 as chancellor.
Big debts. High taxes. Years of squeezed spending in some areas leaving some parts of the public services threadbare. The arguments about the past may wear thin.
“Everyone accepts we inherited a bad position,” one senior Labour figure told me, “but it’s only right that people expect to see things improve.”
Some of the constraints on Reeves’s choices are tighter because of Labour itself.
There’s the original election manifesto pledge to avoid raising the three big taxes – income tax, National Insurance and VAT – cutting off big earners for the Treasury coffers.
Then what’s accepted in most government circles now as the real-world effect of the government’s early doom-laden messages: things will get worse before they get better.
In the budget last year, Reeves chose only to leave herself £9bn of what’s called “headroom” – in other words a bit of cash to cushion the government if times are tougher than hoped, which is, indeed, what has come to pass.
One former Treasury minister, Lord Bridges, told the Lords: “This is not a fiscal buffer; it is a fiscal wafer, so thin and fragile that it will snap at the slightest tap.”
Well, it has been snapped by the official number-crunchers, the Office for Budget Responsibility, calculating that the economy is working less well than previously thought, which leaves the chancellor short of cash.
The size of the debts the country is already carrying mean the markets don’t want her to borrow any more.
But most importantly perhaps, limits on what is possible for Reeves on cuts, spending or borrowing stem from the biggest political fact right now: this government is not popular with its own backbenchers, and it doesn’t always feel like the leadership’s in charge.
Downing Street has already shown it is willing to ditch plans that could save lots of money if the rank and file kick off vigorously enough.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Reeves were forced to ditch cuts to the winter fuel allowance in 2024, and to welfare earlier this year. And there is also an expectation that extra cash is on the way.
One senior MP told me: “They need to increase the headroom, do something big on energy costs, and they have to do something for the soft left on [the] two-child cap – they have walked people up the hill.”
It will be expensive, but Labour MPs have been led to expect at least some of the limits on benefits for big families to be reversed, and help with energy bills.
For some members of the government it is deeply, deeply frustrating. One told me Labour backbenchers “want everything for nothing – we should be the adults driving the car, not the kids in the back”.
On Friday, as Reeves received the final numbers for her big budget moment, multiple sources pointed to other decisions the government has made that make her job harder – areas where Labour has appeared to contradict or confuse – and even undermine – its own ambitions.
On some occasions, the chancellor, backed by the prime minister, will say that getting the economy growing, helping business, is their absolute number one priority.
But their early choice to make it more expensive for companies to hire extra staff, by hiking National Insurance, was seen by many firms to point in the entirely opposite direction, and many report that pricier staff costs make growing their business much harder.
Ministers might have talked up their hope of slashing regulation: with more than 80 different regulators setting rules, you can see why.
Yet significant new protections for workers are being introduced, which means more rules.
Labour preached they’d offer political stability after years of Tory chaos. We are not in the realms of the party spinning through prime ministers at a rate of knots, at least not yet.
But endless reorganisations in No 10, very public questions about Sir Keir’s leadership, and fever pitch speculation about impending budget decisions do not match the stated aims that Sir Keir was meant to end the drama.
Late on Friday there were still negotiations in Whitehall over whether to make the tax on oil and gas companies less brutal, with some ministers arguing to soften the edges so that firms don’t pull out of the North Sea, taking their future investments in renewable energy elsewhere.
The contradiction being that Labour promises there’ll be savings on bills and thousands of jobs on offer if energy firms move faster to green power.
But the tax, which they increased last year, could drive some of those same companies away, and with it the promise of future growth. No government has complete purity of policy across the board.
In an organisation that spends more than a trillion pounds a year and makes thousands of decisions every week, it’s daft to imagine they can all be perfectly in line with a broader goal.
But even on Sir Keir’s own side, as we’ve talked about many times, a common complaint about this government is a lack of clarity about its overall purpose.
One frustrated senior figure told me recently sometimes they wonder: “What are we all actually doing here?”
Pressure from the markets means it’s hard for the chancellor to borrow any more. Labour’s backbenchers would be allergic to any chunky spending cuts. And big tax rises aren’t exactly top of the list for a restless public with an unpopular government.
The realities of politics can often make it hard for governments to make smart economic choices. The realities of economics can often make it hard for governments to make the best political decision.
On Wednesday, Reeves will have to credibly combine the two, with a set of choices that will shape this troubled government’s future.
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We are at the dawn of the era of “experimental cinema.”
At least that is the pitch by entrepreneurs such as Jeb Terry of Cosm and James Dolan of Sphere, whose domed venues have embraced the idea of reviving older films to augment them with new technologies. Terry used the phrase Tuesday in his introduction to a resuscitation of 1971’s “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” which debuts this week at Inglewood’s Cosm with modern, CGI animation, aiming to emphasize the whimsy and childlike wonder of the Gene Wilder picture.
“Wonka” is the sophomore attempt by Cosm to redefine the moviegoing experience — “The Matrix” got the Cosm treatment last summer and “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” will follow next year. Seeing a film in what the venue calls “shared reality” can be all-encompassing and yet intimate as well as communal and, if everything works out, somewhat thoughtful. The 87-foot diameter spherical screen wraps above, below and behind us, but an emphasis on couch seating invites a cooperative environment. And guests are encouraged, for instance, to pull out their phones and capture and share the moment.
The spherical screen can give the illusion of dimension.
(Cosm)
It’s good fun, if you don’t take it too seriously, as experiential, in the case of “Wonka,” means a film dedicated to the power of imagination sometimes leaves a little less to it. Spirited and bright, Cosm’s approach to “Wonka,” a collaboration with experiential firm Secret Cinema and visual effects house MakeMake, is to ensure audiences are never not surrounded by eye candy. The result is alternately charming and clashing — why, I wondered, isn’t the animation done in a 1970s style to better complement the film?
In turn, has the film’s new magic replaced its subtle mystery? Or is that the wrong question to ask at screenings meant to feel like a social event, complete with chocolate tarts filled with peanut butter mousse and bright red vodka drinks with gold glitter salt rims?
“Willy Wonka” is the second Hollywood film, following “The Matrix,” to run at Cosm.
(Cosm)
For this is experiential at its most maximal. Opening credits that unfold in the film with streams of chunky chocolate are now accompanied with smoothed-out images that look partly inspired by “Super Mario Bros.,” as tubes and pipes aim to place the audience inside a milky-chocolate-pouring factory. It’s cute, and you’ll find yourself diverting your attention from the framed screen of the film to take in the toy-like animated mechanisms. My only qualm here was the edges of the filmed footage have been sharpened away by gleamingly untroubled animation.
Elsewhere, news reports in the film are elongated to show us an entire, cartoon-like studio, scenes of galloping children on the sidewalk rush by as added assembly lines churn out chocolate below them and the movie’s first major song and dance moment, “The Candy Man,” is now surrounded by carnival-inspired visuals with swirling Candy Buttons, slot-machine-like flowers and gentle prods to, if not sing along, at least mouth the lyrics.
“Wonka,” a moderate success when it was released, grew in stature over time as Sammy Davis Jr. turned “The Candy Man” into a hit and second-run screenings on television made it vital at-home viewing for generations to come. It is, at times, delightfully demented, a family film with a weird streak — perhaps at times even a slightly sinister one. And yet I went to Cosm’s “Wonky” premiere not as a film critic but as someone curious about burgeoning movements in the immersive industry, interested more in how Cosm could use its tech to enhance, revitalize or find ways to illuminate a second-run film.
At Cosm, when Charlie discovers his golden ticket, digital fireworks erupt.
(Cosm)
Illuminate is a key word, as when young Peter Ostrum as Charlie unwraps a candy bar with the much-sought-after golden ticket, the animated images around the framed screen erupted in fireworks. I remember watching that scene as a kid and feeling a bit tense, fearing, perhaps, the ticket would be snatched from him by the crowd that consumes him. Yet Cosm aims to turn “Wonka” into pure joy. Such a moment was a reminder at how much sway over the emotional tonality of the film such supplemental material can possess.
In that sense, the immersive ambitions of Cosm differ from experiments of the past — interactive dalliances in the ’90s that recently lived again on Netflix (see “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch”), or more recent 4DX theaters with movement-enabled seats (see the light, water and wind effects of “Twisters”). Perhaps that’s why what I thought worked best leaned more abstract, when, say, cartoonish cityscapes gave way to black-and-white pencil-like effects, or when the animations played up the wackiness of Wonka’s factory rather than try to flesh it out.
A whimsical scene featuring the Oompa Loompas.
(Cosm)
I was distracted, for instance, when Wilder’s Wonka made his grand limping entrance, as the sheepish building behind him was now dwarfed by sparkly, shiny warehouses. Yet I was transfixed when Wilder’s character near the end was framed amid blindingly fast streaks of light, or when the helper Oompa Loompa characters were depicted out of frame as colorful orbs that looked like strands of DNA.
‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ at Cosm
I do feel it’s important to note that I’m more than two decades removed from having seen the original “Wonka.” Fresher in my mind are more recent cinematic explorations of the material and characters. While I chose to revisit “The Matrix” before taking that film in at Cosm, I opted for a different approach with “Wonka,” and I believe one’s likelihood to embrace what Cosm is attempting will increase exponentially by one’s attachment to the source material. Having forgotten wide swaths of the film, I found myself conflicted — watch the original film, or focus on Cosm’s accouterments — whereas with “The Matrix,” the material was recent on the mind and I was therefore more comfortable to wander and take in the dome’s impressive screen.
And it is impressive, indeed. When Charlie starts floating in Wonka’s factory, Cosm lifts the frame of the film, surrounding it with bubbles. Soon, depending on your seat, you may find yourself looking straight up. Cosm’s visuals are so crisp that at times they can simulate movement and dimension, and we get dizzyingly lost when the characters are trapped in a seemingly doorless room.
Elsewhere, Cosm takes on a buoyancy when Denise Nickerson’s Violet transforms into a bouncy blueberry. Another clever moment: When Charlie’s wall of moving hands is stretched beyond the screen and starts waving to the audience.
It’s in these instances when the film comes alive, and Cosm’s take on experiential cinema no longer feels like a novelty and becomes an experience.
Gene Wilder’s Willy Wonka and Julie Dawn Cole’s Veruca Salt in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” as presented by Cosm.
The fourth episode in the series, airing on Sunday nights, has a devastating story about the wild dogs of the Nsefu park, Zambia
The African wild dogs have one of the strongest pack bonds in the animal kingdom(Image: CREDIT LINE:BBC Studios/Anna Place)
Sir David Attenborough’s landmark BBC series Kingdom is to show one of the most heart-wrenching stories in the history of wildlife programming – involving a wild dog in a valiant fight with a crocodile.
But when it airs later this month viewers will also learn how the pack of dogs, followed by cameras for five years at the Nsefu park in Zambia, have a bond so strong that members are willing to risk their own lives in a rescue attempt.
In the episode, the audience learns how three-legged Flint lost his hind limb in a poacher’s trap, meaning he is slower than the rest of the dogs and no longer able to hunt effectively. For safety, he has rejoined the pack led by his mother and matriarch, Storm, where he is looked after and fed in return for other duties – like watching over her latest litter of 11 pups.
“Few animals have stronger bonds than wild dogs,” Sir David says in his narration. But when they go to the river to drink he warns that the pack “needs to be careful” – just moments before poor Flint is dragged into the water by a hidden crocodile, which holds him in a vice-like grip.
The whole attack is caught on camera from 20 feet away. Showing just how strong the pack bond is, Storm and one of Flint’s brothers risk their own lives by grabbing hold of him and trying to wrench his body free – but their efforts are futile. “The crocodile’s grip is unbreakable,” Sir David tells viewers.
There is some joy for the audience when – after being held in the water for several agonising minutes – Flint somehow manages to get away. “Astonishingly, Flint finds the strength to escape and his brother continues to protect him,” Sir David says, as poor Flint drags himself out of the water and up the river bank.
But any happiness is short-lived when it emerges the wounds inflicted by the croc will prove fatal. “Flint has been gravely injured,” Sir David says sadly. “The family don’t leave Flint’s side until he has taken his final breath.”
Wild dogs producer Anna Place told the Mirror that no crew had ever previously filmed a pack trying to pull one of their own out of the jaws of a crocodile. She said the footage still made her emotional despite having watched it repeatedly. “I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve seen that footage but Storm’s pack trying to save him, and standing there looking so forlorn, it really gets me still, every time.”
She said that having lost his leg he was not as equipped to deal with the wild dog life as the others – but that didn’t mean they gave up on him. “Flint was not the best hunter because of his injury but he’s still a valuable member of the pack that they would risk their own lives over.
“The behaviour of the pack is astonishing. We knew wild dogs had a strong bond but to actually see it and capture it on film in that way was something I couldn’t have imagined. I just think they are amazing animals.
“It’s very moving and very powerful visually. The audience can see for themselves that it looks like those animals genuinely care about each other. And having spent several years with that pack, that is definitely the feeling I’ve come away with. They will put themselves in danger to try and rescue one of their own.”
She said cameraman Mark MacEwan had found it to be one of the toughest things he’d filmed. “He was working on the series from the very beginning so he’d got to know the animals and it’s really hard when something tragic like that happens,” she explained. “I believe he found it very difficult but he did an incredible job to cover it in the way that he did.”
Anna hopes the BBC audience will find uplifting elements amid the tragedy. “Those who have connected with the animal characters we follow will find it sad but it also shows how caring the wild dogs are and how important the pack are to each other. I hope people come away with a renewed love for the wild dogs.”
Movies can become forever memorable through the magic of a singular image, that celebrated “one perfect shot” that illuminates everything before and after it. The Envelope asked directors of five awards-contending documentaries to talk about the shot their film couldn’t live without.
‘Apocalypse in the Tropics’
Director Petra Costa’s sequel to “The Edge of Democracy” (a 2020 Oscar nominee) examines the powerful role played by evangelical Christianity in Brazilian politics and the rise of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro.
“I chose the shot of the Statue of Justice, decapitated and upside down,” says Costa, describing a scene in front of the Supreme Federal Court in Brasilia after Bolsonaro’s supporters sacked the nation’s seat of government on Jan. 8, 2023. “[It] symbolizes much of this story on many levels. This film is ultimately using Brazil as a metaphor for the current crises of our democracies worldwide. This picture symbolizes how violent speech is, not just violent speech. It produces violent action, and that was what brought Bolsonaro to power.”
‘Folktales’
Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing’s “Folktales”
(Magnolia Pictures)
Directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (2007 Academy Award nominees for “Jesus Camp”) follow a group of adolescents through a year at a traditional Norwegian folk high school.
“The first time you see the Tree of Life in the movie,” says Ewing, describing a powerfully symbolic image in the story, “it’s shot from below. It’s a wide angle and it’s almost like a creature. I call it Guillermo del Toro’s tree, because it’s knotty and dead, but it’s everything. It’s breathtaking and there was no other tree like it in the forest. It inspired the whole layer in the film that became the myth of Odin and using Norse mythology as a metaphor for growing up, and we use the tree as our centerpiece.”
‘Predators’
Director David Osit (“Mayor”) unpacks the complex and disturbing legacy of the TV exposé “To Catch a Predator,” which became a pop-culture phenomenon during its run in the mid-aughts.
“So much of my film is about looking at images, and part of it was me looking at images … and really just thinking: The only way I know how to make this movie is I’ve got to give someone the experience I’m having, making the film and looking at material. So there was an image that I filmed, but it didn’t mean anything to me until I saw it. And that’s the image that I chose. There’s this moment in the film where I’m interviewing Dan Schrack, who is one of the decoys who … was involved in what happened in Texas. [The subject of the show’s sting operation took his own life, which led to the show’s cancellation.] I’m having him look at some pictures, and I get a shot from behind him. What I didn’t notice during the filming … was my reflection, perfectly placed in a small mirror. Only for a split second did I think to myself, ‘Oh no, I ruined the shot.’ Immediately afterwards, I felt a deeper understanding … that I couldn’t take myself out of this movie. It wasn’t my intent to be in it, but more often than not, documentaries neuter and make invisible the acts of their creation. And every single time I tried to film this movie, the opposite was happening. My identity, my motivations, my interests kept asserting themselves, and that shot was it. That was the shot where I realized what the film was.”
‘Seeds’
Carlie Williams in “Seeds.”
(Brittany Shyne)
Shot in black and white, Brittany Shyne’s debut feature explores the lives and challenges of Black farmers in south Georgia.
“The scene that I always go back to is with Carlie Williams, the 89-year-old farmer,” Shyne says. “It’s a moment when we’re in his house, and he gets up from his chair, and he goes over to tend to his daughter, Lois. I really like that moment, because we could see a father who’s utterly devoted to his child, making sure that her health is OK. I love that moment of tenderness, because that is something I try to view throughout the whole film, this kind of familial care that we see between generations.”
‘The Tale of Silyan’
(National Geographic Documentary Films)
The Macedonian film, from 2020 Oscar nominee Tamara Kotevska (“Honeyland”), is the story of Nicola, who rescues an injured stork from a landfill after the collapse of his family farm.
“The moment when Nicola captures the stork,” Kotevska says. “It completely changed the course of the film and the story itself. We thought that it was going to be more of a sad story, but it ended up being more of a hopeful story — not a happy one, but a hopeful one. It eventually became a story of a man saving a stork and a stork saving a man.”
They say a week is a long time in football, never mind 99 of them.
Sam Kerr knows that all too well, as her 692-day wait to start a match for Chelsea came to an end on Tuesday.
After scoring in her side’s 3-1 Champions League victory against BK Hacken on 20 December 2023, Kerr’s career was rocked by injury.
An anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained during a warm-weather training camp in January 2024, followed by several setbacks, kept her out of competitive action until September this year.
“It feels good. It felt like I had to work myself into it but yeah, happy to score,” Kerr told Disney+.
“Of course, I prefer to play more minutes. When you come on for 20 minutes it’s a bit hectic, there’s lots of subs and it can be a bit wishy-washy. I feel like today was good.
“I had a few chances in the first half. I’m just happy to be back out here playing in the Champions League again, with an amazing team. I’m relishing every moment.”
For a while it looked like it just wouldn’t be Kerr’s night.
She may have started two friendlies for Australia last month but her sharpness is still coming back and, in the first half, missed three chances she would be expected to take.
Her wayward finishing continued when she blazed over early in the second half, while her poorly timed run led to team-mate Naomi Girma’s first-half header being ruled out for offside.
Then emerged the Kerr Europe’s defenders hoped they might not see again.
A superb first touch from Wieke Kaptein’s cross got the ball out of her feet, before a sweeping right-foot strike left goalkeeper Carina Schluter helpless.
For her second, Kerr dropped back off the defensive line into space, adjusted to meet the flight of Niamh Charles’ cross and planted a header high into the net.
“It feels a bit sweeter but it feels a bit weird,” Kerr said on whether the feeling of scoring has changed after her injury.
“I didn’t score for so long that I was like I haven’t celebrated, really. I haven’t got that celebration thing yet. I’ve got to score a few more.”
Next Kerr will target a first WSL start since 17 December 2023. With Aggie Beever-Jones missing the last two games with a dead leg, it could come against Liverpool on Sunday.
“I feel 100% but I was out for a while, so I have to build myself up,” Kerr said.
“Today was a good set, right? Getting some good minutes in the national team was a good set. I’m definitely fit enough, it’s just about getting miles in the legs now. I’m ready to go.”
CHAPPELL Roan was left gasping in horror when she dropped an F-bomb live on air at the 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
The singer, 27, appeared on stage at the glitziest night in the rock and roll calendar in Los Angeles at the PeacockTheatre on Saturday evening.
Chappell Roan gasped in horror as she dropped a f-bombShe appeared on stage to introduce Cyndi Lauper at the 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
She was tasked with introducing Cyndi Lauper, who was receiving the honour, but things went from bad to worse for Chappell as she struggled to read the prompter.
The songwriter, who sported a huge headpiece and glittery costume began: “I think we can all agree that the best art comes from the most authentic people.
“When artists stay true to themselves, even when some people say they’re too much, too loud, too eccentric, or all of the above, their honesty becomes their greatest strength.”
At this point, the Good Luck, Babe! singer began to squint as she went silent and attempted to read the prompter.
She then said: “I f**k,” before putting her hand over her mouth, in shock at what she had just said.
The audience began laughing and cheering as she attempted to compose herself after her blunder.
Chappell admitted: “I messed up so bad by refusing to get contacts. Holy cow.”
She attempted to carry on as she was clearly struggling to read what was written and said: “It’s that courage that not only creates incredible art, it gives everyone who experiences the permission to be themselves.
“It opens their hearts, it changes their minds and that is it’s power. Tonight we honor a woman who redefined what a pop star could look like, sound like, sing like and be.”
Putting the faux pas behind her and ending on a high note, Chappell concluded: “A music legend whose authenticity has inspired us for the last four decades with her four octave range and the amazingly fabulous Cyndi Lauper.”
Fans flocked to social media to share their reactions to Chappell’s F-bomb mic drop moment as one joked on Instagram: “Someone get her glasses.”
Another supportive fan commented: “Even with the difficulty to read, the speech was beautiful! @chappellroan is the best thing that happened to the music world lately!”
Somebody else enthused: “Her speech was the best part of the night hands down.”
Yet another said: “She looks like she’s doing some major multi taking with the speech and balancing that thing on her head.”
She made sure all eyes were on her for different reasons also as she a huge skirt made out of newspaper clippings which she paired with a glitzy bralette complete with chain detailing.
As if her look wasn’t dramatic enough, she donned a massive diamond headpiece reminiscent of a chandelier, on her head and opted for her signature heavy make-up with eyeshadow and a red lip.
Chappell has had a phenomenal year after playing her biggest headline show ever in August for 60,000 fans at Edinburgh’s Royal Highland Centre as part of Summer Sessions.
The two-night shows saw concert-goers attend in their thousands to see the songstress live, a stark difference to her UK debut two years prior, in which she performed for an intimate 600-person crowd in London.
She earlier walked the red carpet in an elaborate number
Kaylon Miller was on the six yard line in the fourth quarter, blocking on a USC run play when he saw King Miller, his running back and twin brother, blow right past him.
“Run, run, go, go!” he remembers shouting as King bumped it outside and crossed the Nebraska goal line for the go-ahead touchdown that would ultimately be the game winner in the Trojans’ 21-17 Big Ten win last Saturday in Lincoln.
When King turned around in the end zone, it was his brother who was the first to greet him; the two brothers shared a moment as their facemasks clashed into each other. Both walk ons. Both finding opportunities to get on the field as redshirt freshmen — and both making the most of those opportunities.
“You owe me a burger,” King remembers Kaylon telling him.
Kaylon has been happy to see his brother succeed — King Miller was pressed into duty last month due to injuries, and he responded with big games against Michigan and Notre Dame — but he continued to wait for his moment. Then in the first quarter against the Cornhuskers, right guard Alani Noa went down with an injury. Kaylon was standing next to USC offensive line coach Zach Hanson, who turned to him.
“This is your opportunity,” Hanson told him. “Let’s go.”
It was Kaylon’s turn.
“Honestly, just a remarkable story that I’ll be able to tell when I’m older,” he said. “Obviously, everybody wants their opportunity to go and play and you just have to be ready when your number’s called on. It just so happened that mine had to be that night.
“I just knew that when I got that opportunity I was gonna make the most of it.”
And make the most of it he did. Despite taking all of his practice reps that week at center, Miller stepped in at guard and didn’t just hold it together — he elevated the o-line in a low-scoring slugfest against a tough Nebraska defense.
Allowing zero pressures on the night, Miller recorded a pass block grade of 88.2, the third-best in the Big Ten last week and the sixth-best among Power Four guards.
“Played awesome. He really did,” Trojans coach Lincoln Riley said. “He was physical, he pass pro’ed well. He was really physical in his pull game, was really sharp assignment-wise, which — I know I’ve mentioned several times — was all the more impressive because he really hadn’t been able to take a lot of practice reps at guard. Thoroughly impressed.”
While Miller still says he feels more confident snapping the ball due to the more compact nature that comes with playing center, he attributes his success at right guard to being able to rely on his teammates. The o-line, especially at guard, is a symbiotic relationship. So much of it is depending on the tackles and center for help (and vice versa), and Miller was 100% confident in his teammates next to him.
Things could’ve gone south with Miller playing for the first time in an intense road environment at Memorial Stadium. The Huskers, and the 86,529 fans in attendance, were dressed in all black. Black balloons were released by a raucous crowd each time Nebraska scored. But in between series, left tackle Elijah Paige — who made his return from a knee injury he suffered in Week 4 against Michigan State — kept Miller’s mind right.
“Just treat it like practice,” Paige said. “Obviously, that’s a pretty hostile environment. It’s one of the best environments out there. So obviously that can get to you, the noise can get to you, everything can get to you. But I kind of just tell him to focus in and act like this is a Tuesday or Wednesday practice.”
As the Trojans prepare to host Northwestern on a short week, Miller’s trying to think too much about what happened the week before; he knows opportunities can be taken away just as quickly as they’re earned. He likes to lean on a saying he tells his twin brother all the time:
“Never look back upon any situation that you’ve ever been in, just look forward because nothing that you did in the past can be taken back. You can only have your eyes in tunnel vision, forward.”
As for the burger that King still owes him?
“I ain’t get him it yet, but I got to,” King said with a laugh. “I don’t know when it is, he gonna keep asking me about it for sure, but I got him one day.”
In the video, Tate could be seen dancing a high octane routine.
Flipping her hair backwards and forwards, the superstar rocked out on stage in some very tiny shorts.
Dancing around, Tate then moved her microphone up to her mouth.
Holding the microphone the wrong way up, Tate crooned into the bottom of the handle of the mic.
Tate quickly realised as her backing track played, and turned the mic so it was the right way up.
Ever the professional, the hitmaker then continued with her performance.
Fans have since reacted to the awkward on-stage blunder.
One person penned: “I don’t listen to Tate McRae but she literally started singing when she flipped the mic around, she’s singing over a track.”
Another said: “When she flips the mic around, you can hear her voice. It’s just that a backing track is there. Not lipsyncing.”
A third person added: “As someone who saw her recently in concert, she lip syncs like 80% of the concert because she’s more focused on dancing and theatrics and doesn’t try to hide it.
“The only time she actually sings is when she’s stationary for small periods but there’s always a backtrack no matter.”
While a fourth wrote: “I went to a show. There IS a lot of backing tracks since she dances so much, but she definitely sings live a ton as well. And you can tell when she does.”
And a fifth said: “That’s called a backing track you can clearly hear her singing.”
Tate is known for her hits such a Greedy, You Broke Me First, Sports Car and Revolving Door.
Kevin the Carrot is back in the latest Aldi Christmas advert teaser – and this time, he has a big question for his beloved Katie
Aldi has dropped its first Christmas advert teaser – and its beloved mascot Kevin the Carrot is back for his tenth year.
The first of three clips shows Kevin waiting in the snow outside the house of his partner Katie. He is joined by adorable new character, Caulidog, which is a cauliflower dog.
With a diamond ring attached to its collar, Kevin and his veggie companion hold up a sign that reads: “To me, you are 24 carat.” He then lifts the sign to reveal another card that says: “Marry Christmas?”
The heartwarming moment mimics the iconic cue-card scene from Love Actually.
The new Aldi advert will appear on TV screens for the first time tonight from 8:15pm, but viewers will have to keep their eye out for the following two episodes launching over the festive season to find out Katie’s answer.
Julie Ashfield, Chief Commercial Officer at Aldi UK, said: “We know how much our customers adore Kevin, and this year, to mark his 10th anniversary, we wanted to bring an extra sprinkle of magic and romance to his story.
”This teaser sets the stage for a truly heartwarming Christmas, reminding us all that love is at the heart of the festive season. We can’t wait for everyone to join Kevin and Katie on their journey and see what other surprises we have in store.”
Last year saw Kevin trying to save the Spirit of Christmas from a group of evil villains called the humbugs.
Previous years have seen Kevin pay homage to the 1998 World Cup, visit William Conker’s fantastical Christmas factory and travel on a midnight train inspired by the Orient Express.
Kevin the Carrot merchandise such as festive decorations, plushies and plastic toys from Aldi has sold out multiple times over the years due to high demand.
It comes after Aldi revealed a list of 23 towns and cities where it wants to open new stores over the next two years as part of its £1.6billion expansion plan.
As well as new stores, the investment will go towards upgrading existing ones. Aldi will also look to improve its distribution network.
Aldi has 1,060 stores but wants to increase this number to 1,500 across the UK. It said its expansion would create thousands of jobs and more opportunities for British suppliers.
Giles Hurley, Chief Executive Officer for Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “Shoppers are still finding things difficult and that’s why we’re staying laser-focused on doing what Aldi does best – offering customers great quality products at unbeatable prices.
“Nobody else is making the same commitment to everyday low prices – no clubs, no gimmicks, no tricks – just prices our customers can trust, and quality they can depend on.“
Lowering his head, Yamamoto said to Osamu Yada, “Thank you for everything this year.”
Yamamoto figured his season was over. He’d thrown 96 pitches over six innings, and he half-joked in the postgame news conference that he wanted to cheer on his team rather than pitch again the next day. Manager Dave Roberts had the same thought, saying Yamamoto would be the only pitcher unavailable in Game 7.
The trainer had other ideas.
“Let’s see if you can throw in the bullpen tomorrow,” Yada said.
By just being in the bullpen, Yada said, Yamamoto could provide the Dodgers a psychological edge over the Toronto Blue Jays.
“That’s how I got tricked,” Yamamoto said in Japanese with a laugh.
Yada’s guiding hand transformed Yamamoto into a legend on Saturday night.
When he forced Alejando Kirk to ground into a game-ending double play, Yamamoto removed his cap and raised his arms toward the heavens. Catcher Will Smith rushed the mound and picked him up from the waist.
“I felt a joy I never felt before,” Yamamoto said.
Dodgers catcher Will Smith picks up Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto after the final out of a 5-4 win in 11 innings over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of the World Series on Saturday.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
Yamamoto pitched a complete game in Game 2. He pitched six more in Game 6. His contributions in Game 7 increased his series total to 17 ⅔ innings, over which he allowed only two runs.
The throwback performance earned him the series’ most valuable player award, as well as universal admiration.
“I really think he’s the No. 1 pitcher in the world,” Shohei Ohtani said in Japanese. “Everyone on the team thinks that, too.”
“I mean, he pitched last night, started,” Freeman said. “He threw the most innings out of our pitchers tonight.”
Freeman pointed out that in addition to pitching in three games, Yamamoto also warmed up to pitch in a fourth. Two days after his complete game in Game 2, he prepared in the bullpen to pitch a potential 19th inning in Game 3. The Dodgers won that game in the 18th inning.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Freeman said.
President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said of Yamamoto’s Game 7 performance, “For him to have the same stuff that he had the night before is really the greatest accomplishment I’ve ever seen on a major league baseball field.”
Did Friedman think any other pitcher could have done what Yamamoto did in this series?
“No, I don’t,” Friedman said. “In fact, yesterday morning I didn’t necessarily think Yama could either.”
Friedman said he didn’t think much of it when he was notified after Game 6 that Yamamoto was receiving treatment from Yada at the team hotel with the intention of perhaps pitching in Game 7. Friedman was told the next morning that Yamamoto received another round of treatment.
The possibility of Yamamoto pitching in Game 7 became real to Friedman after he performed his trademark javelin-throwing routine and played catch at Rogers Centre. Yamamoto still wasn’t convinced.
Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, left, celebrates with Shohei Ohtani and teammates after a 5-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of the World Series at Rogers Centre on Saturday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
“I didn’t think I would pitch,” Yamamoto said. “But I felt good when I practiced, and the next thing I knew, I was on the mound (in the game).”
The superstitious Sonoda wears the same pair of lucky underwear on days Yamamoto pitches. He wore the rabbit-themed boxers for Game 6. Sensing Yamamoto might pitch again, Sonoda wore the same boxers for Game 7.
“Just in case,” Sonoda admitted, “I didn’t wash them.”
Yamamoto had never pitched on consecutive days as a professional, in either the United States or Japan. When was called on to relieve Blake Snell in the ninth inning, he was uncertain of how he would perform.
Inheriting two baserunners from Snell with one out, Yamamoto loaded the bases by plunking Kirk. He forced Dalton Varsho to ground into a force out at home, only to throw a curveball to Ernie Clement that was driven to the wall in left field. Defensive replacement Andy Pages crashed into Kiké Hernández on the warning track but held on to the ball, preventing the Blue Jays from scoring the walk-off run.
Yamamoto pitched a 1-2-3 10th inning and went into the bottom of the 11th with a 5-4 lead, courtesy of a homer by Smith in the top of the inning.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. started the inning by pulling a 96.9-mph fastball for a double and advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Yamamoto walked Addison Barger to place runners on the corners, setting up the game-ending double play by Kirk.
“I really couldn’t believe it,” Yamamoto said. “I was so excited I couldn’t even recall what kind of pitch I threw at the end. When my teammates ran to me, I felt the greatest joy I’ve felt up to this point.”
Clayton Kershaw, whom Yamamoto wanted to send into retirement with another championship, embraced him harder than he’d ever embraced him. Roberts swallowed him an embrace.
Yamamoto was moved to tears.
Overwhelmed by the moment, Yamamoto didn’t sound as if he grasped the magnitude of what he’d just done. In time, he will.
On the night the Dodgers solidified their dynasty, Yamamoto made this World Series his.
Geri Halliwell (L) and Kylie Minogue once kissed on live TVCredit: Channel 4The locked lips on Channel 4’s TFI FridayCredit: Channel 4
Hosted by Chris Evans, TFI Friday was a huge TV hit in the late 90s thanks to its mixture of music, stars and entertainment.
It was never short of unexpected moments, including the famous snog between Kylie and Ginger Spice.
A clip showing their kiss was shared to Instagram and showed how the pair were sitting opposite each other at a table before embarking on an intense arm wrestle.
As the pair battled it out, they began leaning in closer to each other and ultimately locked lips.
They then laughed and sat back before coming in together for a quick embrace.
“Back in ’99, pop royalty collided on TFI Friday when Geri Halliwell and Kylie Minogue shared a surprise kiss on live TV,” wrote the 90s TV Legacy Instagram account on the post.
Many people reacted to the video, including TV producer Nathan Eastwood, who was working on TFI Friday at the time.
“I had the job of asking Kylie to do the arm wrestle. She was so lovely, just said of course. The kiss wasn’t planned,” he wrote in the comments.
Other people who remembered the moment happening as they watched live also shared their thoughts.
“Watched it live, classic TV,” commented one person.
Another added: “I remember thinking ‘this is the best day of my life’ watching that as a kid.”
And a third wrote: “Late 90s early 00s was peak humanity and I will not be told any different.”
Kylie herself opened up about the kiss in 2012 when chatting to media outlet, Pride Source.
“That’s true, I hadn’t thought about that… We never discussed it – the kissing or anything. It just all happened,” she said.
Kylie confirmed the kiss wasn’t plannedCredit: GettyGeri is now married to F1 boss, Christian HornerCredit: Getty
