todays

Former San Diego congressman and longtime journalist Lionel Van Deerlin, for many years a liberal voice in a region dominated by conservatives, died Saturday at his San Diego home, several weeks after suffering a heart attack. He was 93.

A Democrat, Van Deerlin represented the southern part of San Diego County from 1962 until he was defeated amid the 1980 Reagan landslide by a young lawyer and Vietnam veteran named Duncan Hunter.

Born July 25, 1914, in Los Angeles, Van Deerlin was a 1937 graduate of USC, where he was editor of the Daily Trojan.

He worked on newspapers in San Diego, Minneapolis and Baltimore and served in the Army during World War II as a staff member of the Stars and Stripes newspaper.

He was city editor of the now-defunct San Diego Journal, then news director for several radio and television stations before being elected to Congress in 1962 on his third try.

After his defeat in 1980, he began writing a political column for the San Diego Tribune and then the Union-Tribune.

Even as his health declined after a heart attack in March, he continued to write a weekly column.

His last was published Thursday.

His writing was clean and crisp, often with a biting sense of humor and a keen sense of history.

He often decried the bitter partisanship of modern Washington.

“Twenty-five years ago in Congress you not only trusted the opposing party, you enjoyed their company,” he said. “Today, they hardly speak.”

He was a professor emeritus of communications at San Diego State, where there is an endowed chair in his name.

Survivors include daughters Susie of Julian, Victoria of Encinitas and Elizabeth of Hurlock, Md.; sons Jeff and John, both of San Diego; and four grandchildren. Van Deerlin’s wife of 67 years, Mary Jo, died last year.

A memorial service is being arranged at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in San Diego, with his son John, a Catholic priest, to officiate.

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TORONTO — Welcome to a special daily edition of the Envelope at TIFF, a newsletter collecting the latest developments out of Canada’s annual film showcase. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.

Our photo gallery’s latest includes Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater and more.

But click through for our video interviews, including Mark Olsen’s sit-down with Sydney Sweeney and the crew of her boxing movie “Christy,” which required a total transformation.

Sydney Sweeney in “Christy,” a portrait of boxing champ Christy Martin, having its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.

(Allie Fredericks / TIFF)

Here’s a taste of their exchange:

Sydney, people are already really talking about the physical transformation you make in the movie, the training that you did. What was it about the role that made it seem like you wanted to make that kind of commitment?

Sydney Sweeney: I mean, I couldn’t let Christy down, and I also love transforming for characters. That’s the whole reason of being an actor, is to be something different from yourself and to challenge ourselves.

So I had like two months of training. I built gyms in my house and I had a boxing trainer, I had a weight trainer, I had a nutritionist and would work out and train every single day.

And it was amazing. I loved it. Being able to completely lose yourself for somebody else and then have that person there next to your side. It was transformative.

Katy O’Brian, co-star: It was exhausting watching her do it.

Ben Foster, co-star: And in tribute to Syd, we’d shoot a 12-hour day that was dense, we’ll say, that would be a gentle word. She would then go train and choreograph the fights that she would do back-to-back after, one after another.

Sweeney: I’d be put in the middle of a ring and I’d have like nine girls and they would just drill me with all the different fights, one after the other for like two hours after we would wrap.

Because I really wanted the choreography to match the exact fights that she had in real life. So we would watch all the footage from her fights and memorize all the combinations and then implement those into the fight.

So everything you see were her actual fights. And so I’d wrap, I would do that for two hours, and then I would weight train.

David, there is something very unflinching about the movie. Why was it that you wanted to tell Christy’s story in a way that wasn’t afraid to explore these really dark and disturbing moments in her life?

David Michôd, director: In a way, the dark and disturbing was what made me want to make the movie. I had a clear sense that in this really wild and colorful story of a ’90s boxing pioneer was actually, underneath, it was a very important story to tell about how these coercive control relationships function.

And trying to wrap my brain around what keeps them functioning over, in this case, 20 years. And I knew that where Christy’s story went, it was harrowing.

And what the challenge for me then as a filmmaker was just to go, how do I do this being very conscious of not wanting to step into a world of representations of violence against women and all that kind of stuff, but not shying away from the horror that is very much there and is very palpable.

I could see a big sprawling movie that would start almost as a kind of conventional underdog pioneering sports movie and then morph into something that was deeply moving and important.

Sydney, Ben, what was it like for the two of you performing some of those darker scenes in the film and how did you keep some sense of humanity between the two of you?

Sweeney: There were so many conversations around a lot of those moments, and both Ben and I, we don’t like to rehearse and we kind of just want to feel it. And I think we both became very connected to who we were portraying and —

Foster: Listening.

Sweeney: We just listened

Foster: And Dave created a space where we could do that. And we would block it, we did a lot of talk privately, and then we would come in and jam and nudge. But the truth is Dave is quality control and would fine-tune moments.

The day’s buzziest premieres

‘EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert’

Elvis Presley performing live, as seen in Baz Luhrmann’s archival concert movie “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert.”

(TIFF)

How deep did Baz Lurhmann go researching his 2022 movie “Elvis”? Forty stories. That’s the depth of the Kansas salt mine where Warner Bros. had stored 59 hours of unseen recordings from Elvis Presley’s seven-year stint in Las Vegas.

Lurhmann studied it for his Oscar-nominated biopic, which mourned Presley as an artist in a cage and wondered who the curious, music-loving boy from Tupelo might have become if Col. Parker had let him, say, visit an ashram with the Beatles.

This time, the “Moulin Rouge!” director has said that he wants to use found footage to “let Elvis sing and tell his story” — as in, Lurhmann’s own spectacular sensibilities will cede center stage to Presley himself, who can still wow a crowd even during a late-career moment when his own fans feared he had more jumpsuits than ambition.

I’ll definitely be at the premiere to pay my respects to the King. — Amy Nicholson

‘Hamnet’

Jessie Buckley, center, in director Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet.”

(Agata Grzybowska / Focus Features)

You’re going to be hearing a lot of Oscar buzz in the coming months about various movies, along with people insisting that — seriously — this is the one you need to see. “Hamnet” is, far and away, that film, for three specific reasons.

First, Paul Mescal has now done three masterful turns, between this, “Aftersun” and “All of Us Strangers” confirming what a truly special talent he is. Mescal and the “Hamnet” crew came through our TIFF studio.

Clockwise from right: Paul Mescal, Noah Jupe, Jacobi Jupe, director Chloé Zhao, Jessie Buckley and Emily Watson, photographed in the Los Angeles Times Studios at RBC House during the Toronto International Film Festival.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Second, I needed director Chloé Zhao to rebound after the mess that was “Eternals” to the confidence she displayed on “Nomadland” — and she’s done exactly that. Read our Telluride interview with her.

Finally, Jessie Buckley has uncorked one of the year’s most impressive turns: a grief-stricken plunge that elevates her to the level of Casey Affleck in “Manchester by the Sea.” Do not be surprised if, like Affleck, she goes all the way. — Joshua Rothkopf

TORONTO — Welcome to a special daily edition of the Envelope at TIFF, a newsletter collecting the latest developments out of Canada’s annual film showcase. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.

Have you seen the images from our photo gallery? Staff photographer Christina House and her crew are truly capturing the best of the fest.

There are wonderful shots up now, including Elle Fanning, Ethan Hawke, Channing Tatum and more, but this link will be updated periodically with others.

Expect Cillian Murphy, the cast of Rian Johnson’s ‘Wake Up Dead Man,’ Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Cillian Murphy and more surprises!

The day’s buzziest premieres

‘Good Fortune’

Aziz Ansari, left, and Keanu Reeves in the movie “Good Fortune.”

(Eddy Chen/Lionsgate/Eddy Chen / Lionsgate)

A low-level guardian angel righting a wrong feels like the set-up to a classic comedy. But amid a premise motivated by income inequality, there’s a distinctly current edge to “Good Fortune,” the debut feature of writer-director-star Aziz Ansari.

A struggling film editor who makes ends meet as a food delivery driver, Arj (Ansari) is at the end of his rope when said angel Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) switches his life with Jeff (Seth Rogen), a wealthy, self-important tech investor.

Except, instead of realizing things are tough all over, Arj decides he likes Jeff’s life better and doesn’t want to switch back. Which is only the beginning of the complications for these three lost souls.

Looking for hope in an out-of-balance world while laced with a righteously indignant anger (and set against distinctly L.A. locations), “Good Fortune” is social satire with a big heart. — Mark Olsen

‘Canceled: The Paula Deen Story’

Paula Deen in the documentary “Canceled: The Paula Deen Story.”

(TIFF)

Hungry for a brisk, witty documentary that’s as easy to enjoy as a plate of hot biscuits? Filmmaker Billy Corben analyzes the tabloid feeding frenzy that chewed up celebrity TV chef Paula Deen when she admitted to using a racial slur.

Going in, I only knew two things about Deen: the 2013 scandal and her staunch devotion to butter. Her full story is fascinating, especially buttressed by contemporary interviews with Deen and her two sons, Bobby and Jamie, who all specialize in Southern-fried zingers: “It came on like a snowball full of chainsaws,” says Jamie of the media blitz.

A complex schematic of the cancelation machine, “Canceled” argues that Deen was punished double that summer because Trayvon Martin’s killer wasn’t punished at all. The great archival footage makes you get why audiences once loved Deen — and it’s evident how much her family and friends still do, even if Corben greases her mea culpa to the point that you feel a little queasy. — Amy Nicholson

‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’

Josh O’Connor, left, and Daniel Craig in Rian Johnson’s movie “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery,” having its world premiere as part of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.

(Netflix)

One of the real pleasures of the witty, surprising films made by writer-director Rian Johnson starring Daniel Craig as Southern gentleman detective Benoit Blanc is that, within the confines of the murder mystery, they could take place just about anywhere: a patriarch’s creaky mansion, a billionaire’s private island and now a small town’s historic church.

Or at least that’s the best we know from the scant details made public about the new “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” ahead of its TIFF world premiere tonight. Craig returns as Blanc but joining the cast this time are Josh O’Connor, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Kerry Washington, Jeremy Renner, Daryl McCormack, Cailee Spaeny, Thomas Haden Church, Andrew Scott and Glenn Close.

The festival has been a good luck charm so far, with the previous two “Knives Out” movies premiering at TIFF in the same theater, day and time slot and both going on to Oscar nominations for their screenplays. — Mark Olsen

They couldn’t stop talking, even before the cameras for ‘Poetic License’ were rolling

Andrew Barth Feldman, left, Cooper Hoffman and Leslie Mann in “Poetic License,” having its world premiere as part of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.

(TIFF)

Mark Olsen has a fun interview with the banter-ific Andrew Barth Feldman and Cooper Hoffman, costars of Maude Apatow’s new movie “Poetic Licence.” They were friends before they shot the film and their verbal mutual affection — honed to a crazy degree of anticipation — is something to behold. They’ve raised bromance to an art form.

His apocalyptic art film ‘Sirât’ dances in the face of oblivion. That’s why people love it

Director Oliver Laxe, photographed in the Los Angeles Times Studios at RBC House during the Toronto International Film Festival.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Director Oliver Laxe has made a truly unique art film about a restless group of ravers who drive out in the the desert on the eve of what could be the end of the world. Since its debut at Cannes, “Sirât” is acquiring superfans — critics and audiences alike — wherever it plays. On the occasion of his first TIFF screening, Laxe spoke to me about his commitment to risk.

Having left showbusiness, Noel Edmonds is enjoying a new life in New Zealand, where he focuses on energy, healing crystals and being in tune with the cosmos…

Ever wondered what happened to Noel Edmonds? For decades, he used to rule the radio waves and Saturday night telly, then suddenly he disappeared. Cut to Noel in his swimming trunks standing under an icy cold shower saying gratitudes, with a few sheep wandering around in the background.

In 2018, Noel turned his back on showbusiness and moved 11,500 miles away with his wife Liz to New Zealand. “I think I might have found my paradise,” he says in Noel Edmonds’ Kiwi Adventure, which starts tonight (June 20) on ITV at 9pm. The couple have spent the last two years building a business in the quiet town of Ngatimoti. River Haven, with the strapline ‘Positively Together’, boats a vineyard, coffee cart, general store, and a restaurant and pub, called The Bugger Inn.

On their 800 acres of land, Noel also wants to create a wellness sanctuary and even New Zealand’s first energy garden, whatever that is. “I am John Wayne, I am Clint Eastwood!” says Noel, delighted to be holding a power tool. He’s clearly still a showman. This three-parter follows the challenges, from being accepted by the locals, to bad weather, the absence of tourists and everyone else going bust.

But most fascinating is the insight into Noel’s complete dedication to energy and healing. Lying under a quartz crystal healing bed, the 76-year-old talks about his ‘light bulb moment’ about his health – “We are all body energy systems”. He dedicates his good health to six things – nutrition and good food, good ‘structured’ water, pulsed electro magnetism, tranquil exercise, vibe (his term for ‘visualisation of body energy;) and meditation. Throw in some cold showers and ice baths (we see him with his shirt off A LOT), saunas and a hyperbaric oxygen chamber three times a week and “I am rocking,” he says.

There is much talk of the matrix and universal energy. The couple even has a big clock permanently set to the specific time Noel and Liz met – she was his make up artist on Deal or No Deal. Noel says: “Liz was sent to me. She is an Earth angel. The sustenance of her energy is my life blood. You will never pull us apart because we are one. I believe it’s a gift from the cosmos. This was the time of my life.” Noel also opens up about the negative press he has received, saying: “I do actually care what people think about me. Criticism does hurt. I’m hugely sensitive.” And he explains that he left Britain because the country changed so much. He says: “I missed a quieter country. We’re not trees, so we can move.”

Noel Edmonds’ Kiwi Adventure is airing on ITV tonight at 9pm.

There’s plenty more on TV tonight – here’s the best of the rest..

ALISON HAMMOND’S BIG WEEKEND, BBC1, 8.30pm

In the last of this brilliant series, which will surely be commissioned for a second round, Alison spends the weekend with world champion boxer Tony Bellew. Visiting his house in Southport, Alison learns that Tony and his wife, Rachael, are in the middle of big house renovations. He opens up about life after retirement, sharing his struggles with boredom, missing the thrill of fights and the toll his boxing career has taken on his health.

Tony reveals that due to the number of punches he’s taken to the head, his memory has been affected, and he fears that there may be more health implications to come. He also shows Alison the ropes and puts her through her paces in the ring, revealing that he owes his life to his boxing gym. After taking on Tony on the pads, Alison and Tony head to Goodison Park, not only the home of Tony’s beloved football team but the site where he won his world championship title.

NOT GOING OUT, BBC1, 9pm

For old school Friday night comedy, with a relentless stream of gags, surely this wins every time. Lee Mack, a veteran of the one-liner, plays Lee, who constantly finds himself in ridiculous, farcical situations, causing his wife Lucy (Sally Bretton) to spend the entire episode rolling her eyes.

In this instalment (Mack’s favourite episode), Lee brings a battered box back from the tip, with no idea what is in it. “When I was a kid, going through the bins was like flicking through the Argos catalogue,” says Lee as he rips the box open. But gets a shock when he opens it in front of Lucy and finds what looks like a dead body, but actually turns out to be a robotic sex doll. “It can’t be human, the face looks like it’s silicon,” says Lucy. “Have you not seen Love Island?” quips Lee. What follows is the usual caper as Lee starts to realise what he’s actually dealing with.

EMMERDALE, ITV1, 7.30pm

After a restless night, Robert bumps into Victoria outside Keepers. He clearly wants to avoid opening up to her about his time in prison. After she finally sits him down in Keepers for a chat, Vic’s left worried that Robert still thinks he can win Aaron back. After Charity makes clear that she’s definitely accompanying Sarah to her cancer operation, Sarah eventually expresses her gratitude. Paddy enlists Bob’s help as he tries to get Bear to open up about what’s burdening him.

CORONATION STREET, ITV1, 8pm

Debbie breaks the news to Ronnie and Leanne that she needs to cancel the awards ceremony as there’s a flood at the hotel, but Leanne offers to host it at Speed Daal. Todd finds Theo in the living room repeatedly snapping the elastic band on his wrist. Millie tells them that living with her mum is stressing her out, but when Theo suggests she stays with them a bit longer, will Todd agree? Dee-Dee and James clash over Laila.

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