Lifestyle
FRIDAY, MAY 12, 2017
N
etflix boss Reed Hastings has hit out at
the French cinema “establishment”,
which he claims wants to block the
streaming giant’s movies from the Cannes
film festival. Hastings took to his personal
Facebook account late Wednesday to claim
that “the establishment is closing ranks
against us”, after Cannes effectively slapped a
ban on future Netflix-backed movies at the
world’s leading film festival.
The organizers said they were forced to
change their rules after the streaming giant
refused to screen its two films in the running
for this year’s Palme d’Or top prize in French
cinemas. “From now on every film wishing to
be in competition at Cannes must be shown
in French cinemas afterwards,” they said in a
statement. But Hastings-whose Silicon Valleybased operation now has 100 million subscribers-placed the blame squarely at the
door of French cinemas.
He said: “See Okja (a new a sc-fi thriller) on
Netflix June 20th. Amazing film that theatre
chains want to block us from entering into
Cannes film festival competition.” Okja, star-
ring Tilda Swinton, will nevertheless compete
alongside another Netflix-based movie “The
Meyerowitz Stories”-starring Adam Sandler
and Ben Stiller-for the Palme at the festival,
which starts next week. The crux of the
Cannes row turns on French law, which
restricts online streaming until three years
after a movie is put on general release.
Change the rules
The battle prompted French directors and
producers yesterday to appeal to their government to change rules. “More than ever our
rules look out of date,” said director Claude
Lelouch, who heads the ARP film-makers’ lobby group. Under the present rules, films can
bought, rented or watched on video on
demand four months after they go on general
release. But subscription streaming platforms
have to wait 36 months to show them. The
row comes as Netflix is locked in a bitter conflict with big US cinema chains.
Top Hollywood directors including director
Sofia Coppola-whose new film “The Beguiled”
is also competing at Cannes-have also urged
In this file photo, a yacht is seen behind a logo for the 64th international film festival, in
Cannes, southern France. — AP
cinema chains in the US centers on its insistheir fans to watch their films first on the big
tence on releasing its movies online the same
screen rather than stream them on tablets
day as they hit theatres.
and phones. French cinema owners reacted
In 2015 most of the big multiplex chains
furiously last month after four films distribrefused to screen the long-awaited Netflixuted by streaming rivals Netflix and Amazon
made sequel to the martial arts blockbuster
were chosen to run for Cannes’ top prize.
“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. The film
Festival organizers tried to negotiate a comreportedly bombed, with Netflix taking the
promise, with a “limited release” of the
highly unusual step of not releasing its box
movies in France mooted.
office figures. Its online rival Amazon has takBut faced with the possibility of a Palme
en a very different approach. Rather than cond’Or-winning film being shown in only “one
fronting the cinema establishment, Amazon
or two screens” in France, talks with Netflix
Studios courts Hollywood, releasing its films
broke down. Amazon, on the other hand, is
in theatres before they are made available to
giving its film, “The Beguiled”, a proper cinesubscribers. Nineteen films are in competition
matic release in France, as it did with Woody
for the Palme d’Or, with Nicole Kidman starAllen’s Cannes contender last year, “Cafe
ring in three in the official selection. — AFP
Society”. Netflix’s long-running battle with
Demi Lovato, Kate Hudson
collaborate on workout clothes
K
This file photo shows Ozzy Osbourne of Black
Sabbath performing at Ozzfest 2016 at San Manuel
Amphitheater in Los Angeles, California. — AFP
Ozzy Osbourne to ‘bark at
moon’ during solar eclipse
W
ith North America readying for a major solar eclipse,
Ozzy Osbourne will celebrate the exact moment by
singing “Bark at the Moon” as the sun disappears.
Moonstock, a new metal festival in Illinois, will take place
over four days culminating on August 21 with the US-wide
eclipse. Osbourne will take the stage at 1:20 (1820 GMT) and
start his set with “Bark at the Moon,” his 1983 song about the
wrath of a werewolf-like monster.
The 68-year-old metal legend will need to be punctual as
the total eclipse will last two minutes and 29 seconds. The
song runs four minutes and 16 seconds on his album by the
same name. The festival, which recommends that fans wear
protective eyewear, will take at a vineyard near De Soto,
Illinois, about 140 kilometers southeast of St. Louis-within
the region that will have the best visibility of the eclipse if
the weather permits. The solar eclipse-when the Moon
blocks the Sun as it passes between the vital star and Earthwill be the first to be visible across the entire United States
since 1918, according to NASA. The eclipse will be at least
partially visible in all 50 states including Hawaii as well as in
Canada. Osbourne, with lyricism that dabbles in the occult
and infamous on-stage gestures such as biting the head off a
bat, is one of the pioneers of heavy metal. His band Black
Sabbath in February played what it said would be its lastever concert in its native Birmingham, England, but
Osbourne has several solo shows ahead. — AFP
ate Hudson and Demi Lovato went from working
out at the gym together to working on a fashionline collaboration. Hudson, who co-founded
active wear brand Fabletics in 2013, says she instantly
hit it off with the “Confident” singer when the two ran
into each other at the gym. They were celebrating
together Wednesday at the Demi Lovato for Fabletics
Collaboration launch event. “Because she is fierce. It
was perfect,” said Hudson, 38.
“Her values and what she stands for is a big part of
what our brand is really pushing out there for women.
Body positivity, strength, taking control of your life and
things. She’s been a very open communicator about
things in her own life, which I think is really important
for women to feel like they can come out and be really
open about things that are going on in their life and
finding happiness.”
Lovato, 24, says she has bipolar disorder and has
been an advocate for mental health awareness. The
pop singer says the fashion line reflects her story. “It’s
come forward through the confidence that you get
when you wear the clothing and the cuts are great, the
compression in the pants are great. It’s all about feeling
comfortable while you’re working out and while you
are going about your day,” said Lovato.
“She trains regularly with mixed martial arts fighters
and says she also enjoys workouts “with weights, like
strength and conditioning.” The new limited-edition
capsule collection is youthful with leggings in pink and
yellow flowered prints, black-and-white shorts and
long-sleeved gray shirts. A long, hot-pink tank top is
emblazoned with “CONFIDENT” in capital letters at the
bottom. Lovato says she was very hands-on during the
design process, “down to color swatches, what the tag
looks like.”
“I didn’t draw. That’s the only thing that I didn’t do is
draw the sketches ... I love what we’ve come up with,”
she said. The athletic brand offers collections in sizes
ranging from XXS to 3XL. Lovato recently announced a
YouTube series and said she’s planning to release a
new studio album later this year.—AP
Demi Lovato, left, and Kate Hudson arrive at the launch of Demi
Lovato and Fabletics Collaboration Collection in Beverly Hills,
California. — AP