MOSCOW: A film about the last Russian czar’s affair with a ballerina had its Moscow premiere Tuesday despite sparking outrage among some Russians that has been expressed through pickets, arson, and Molotov cocktails hurled at a movie studio.
“Matilda” has drawn fierce criticism from hard-line nationalists and some Orthodox believers who consider it blasphemous. The Russian Orthodox Church glorifies Emperor Nicholas II, who was executed with his family by Bolsheviks in 1918, as a saint.
Although most Russians accept that the affair happened, they maintain the movie’s depiction is distorted and vulgar. The film loosely follows the story of the czar’s infatuation with prima ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya.
What started out nearly a year ago as a campaign to collect signatures to protest the film’s release took on violent forms in recent months. Two cars were set on fire outside the office of the director’s lawyer. Signs reading “Burn for Matilda” were reportedly found nearby. Unidentified assailants threw Molotov cocktails at director Alexei Uchitel’s studio.
Uchitel said a few hours before the premiere that just getting the movie in front of a theater audience was an achievement.
“It is not just a victory for the film, but it is a victory for all reasonable people.”
Russian lawmaker Natalya Poklonskaya, who served as the chief regional prosecutor in Crimea following its 2014 annexation by Moscow, spearheaded the campaign to ban “Matilda.”
Poklonskaya sent numerous complaints about Uchitel and his film company to various law enforcement bodies, urging them to audit his taxes, review his finances and investigate him for incitement of religious hatred.
The controversy around the film reflects the increasing assertiveness of radical religious activists in Russia and a growing conservative streak in Russian society that worries many members of the nation’s artistic community.
The czar and his family were executed by a Bolshevik firing squad in July 1918. The Russian Orthodox Church made them saints in 2000.
Uchitel recalled during an interview with The Associated Press his shock at seeing a note at a Moscow church seeking signatures for a petition against the movie. What upsets him most is that the protests started after the first trailer’s release, a month before the film itself would be seen.
The filmmaker said he met with Poklonskaya earlier this year to defuse the tensions and asked her to at least see the movie first.
“As soon as I have offered it to her, I heard, ‘No, I am not going to watch it.’ I did not have anything else to tell her,” Uchitel said.
Poklonskaya says that because Nicholas II is a saint, his private life is off-limits.
“Does this film teach patriotism? Does it teach you to love your motherland? I do not think so,” she told the AP earlier this month. “You need to respect people. Freedom without bounds is lawlessness and chaos.”
The lawmaker also thinks Uchitel should be accountable to Russian taxpayers who might be offended by the film because the production received state funding. Uchitel said one-third of the budget for “Matilda” came from state coffers.
Poklonskaya said she has been such a devoted anti-“Matilda” campaigner because of 100,000 voters who signed petitions who felt their “rights were violated,” adding: “Religious feelings have been hurt.”
Uchitel, his team, and movie theaters have reported receiving anonymous threats vowing revenge on those who smear the czar’s memory. Russia’s largest cinema chain said it had contacted police and would not be showing the movie because of safety concerns.
The chain eventually decided to screen the film after all after receiving assurances from police.
Four people were arrested after several cars outside the office of Uchitel’s attorney were set on fire in September. The suspects included Alexander Kalinin, the leader of an obscure Christian Orthodox group who publicly condoned the vandalism.
Poklonskaya denied being connected to alleged arsonists and threat-makers.
“An Orthodox believer will never commit a crime. He will go and pray and file complaints about crimes,” she said.
Despite the recent arrests and the police’s willingness to provide extra security at movie theaters, the film’s Polish and German leading actors are not taking part in any promotional events in Russia.
“They are really scared of physical violence against them, that is why they are not going to come, and it is not just an excuse,” Uchitel said.
“Matilda” was shown to a selected audience on Monday at St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater, where Kshesinskaya danced 100 years ago. Outside, several people read prayers and displayed placards opposing the movie.
“How will the director look God in the eyes? They spit in the czar’s face, and it is the same as spitting in the face of our people,” protester Natalya Radysh said.
Uchitel said he invited the critics inside to see the film so they would have a better basis on which to condemn it, but they declined.
“Maybe if they had watched, there would be no placards,” he said.
Film about Russian czar’s affair premieres despite public hostility
Film about Russian czar’s affair premieres despite public hostility
These Canadian rocks may be the oldest on Earth
NEW YORK: Scientists have identified what could be the oldest rocks on Earth from a rock formation in Canada.
The Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt has long been known for its ancient rocks — plains of streaked gray stone on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay in Quebec. But researchers disagree on exactly how old they are.
Work from two decades ago suggested the rocks could be 4.3 billion years old, placing them in the earliest period of Earth’s history. But other scientists using a different dating method contested the finding, arguing that long-ago contaminants were skewing the rocks’ age and that they were actually slightly younger at 3.8 billion years old.
In the new study, researchers sampled a different section of rock from the belt and estimated its age using the previous two dating techniques — measuring how one radioactive element decays into another over time. The result: The rocks were about 4.16 billion years old.
The different methods “gave exactly the same age,” said study author Jonathan O’Neil with the University of Ottawa.
The new research was published Thursday in the journal Science.
Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago from a collapsing cloud of dust and gas soon after the solar system existed. Primordial rocks often get melted and recycled by Earth’s moving tectonic plates, making them extremely rare on the surface today. Scientists have uncovered 4 billion-year-old rocks from another formation in Canada called the Acasta Gneiss Complex, but the Nuvvuagittuq rocks could be even older.
Studying rocks from Earth’s earliest history could give a glimpse into how the planet may have looked — how its roiling magma oceans gave way to tectonic plates — and even how life got started.
“To have a sample of what was going on on Earth way back then is really valuable,” said Mark Reagan with the University of Iowa, who studies volcanic rocks and lava and was not involved with the new study.
The rock formation is on tribal Inukjuak lands and the local Inuit community has temporarily restricted scientists from taking samples from the site due to damage from previous visits.
After some geologists visited the site, large chunks of rock were missing and the community noticed pieces for sale online, said Tommy Pallizer, who manages the land with the Pituvik Landholding Corp. The Inuit community wants to work with scientists to set up a provincial park that would protect the land while allowing researchers to study it.
“There’s a lot of interest for these rocks, which we understand,” said Pallizer, a member of the community. “We just don’t want any more damage.”
Anna Wintour steps down as US Vogue editor after nearly 40 years
- She will continue to hold senior roles at the group and remain Vogue’s global editorial director
NEW YORK: Magazine legend Anna Wintour stepped down as editor of US Vogue on Thursday after 37 years during which she was often hailed as the single most influential figure in the fashion world.
Wintour, 75, was famous for making Vogue's front covers an authoritative statement on contemporary fashion, and for her total control over the glamorous pages inside.
She will no longer run day-to-day editing of the fashion bible, but magazine group owner Conde Nast was quick to scotch suggestions of retirement.
She will continue to hold senior roles at the group and remain Vogue's global editorial director.
British-born Wintour came to public renown as the inspiration for "The Devil Wears Prada," a hit 2003 novel and 2006 movie, for which Meryl Streep earned an Oscar nomination for her role as tyrannical magazine editor Miranda Priestly.
Wintour announced at a staff meeting in New York that US Vogue would seek a new head of editorial content.
In remarks reported by the New York Times, she called it "a "pivotal decision" but stressed she would not be moving out of her office.
"I'll be turning all my attention to global leadership and working with our team of brilliant editors around the world."
Wintour was made a British dame in 2017 and in February this year became a companion of honour -- an elite recognition.
At the ceremony in London in February, Wintour removed her trademark sunglasses to receive the award and said she had told King Charles III that she had no plans to stop working.
Wintour, who was raised in the UK by a British father and an American mother, reigned over Vogue in the heyday of glossy magazines.
US Vogue was a staid title when she took it over in 1988 and transformed it into a powerhouse that set trends -- and often make or break designers, celebrities and brands.
She took the title to a global audience, with huge budgets to spend on models, design, photographs and journalism funded by lavish advertisements and high subscription rates.
Vogue remains fashion's flagship magazine but, like many print publications, has struggled to adapt to the digital era.
Known to some as "Nuclear Wintour" for her decisive leadership, such as axing work without discussion, she was also a fixture in the front row at catwalk shows with her unchanging bob haircut.
A 2015 documentary "The September Issue" about the monthly magazine featured her ice queen image and steely ambition but also revealed a warmer human side.
Wintour has for many years also run the Met Gala, an extravagant Manhattan charity event that attracts an A-list of dressed-up stars from the worlds of fashion, film, politics and sports.
She is a fanatical tennis player and fan -- frequently appearing at Grand Slam finals -- and a major fundraiser for Democrat politicians including Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Joe Biden awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the top US honor, before leaving office in January.
As Conde Nast's chief content officer, she will continue to oversee publications including Vogue, Wired, Vanity Fair, GQ, Conde Nast Traveler and Glamour.
For many years, Wintour declined to comment on "The Devil Wears Prada," which was written by one of her former assistants, Lauren Weisberger.
But when it was turned into a musical and opened in London in 2024, she told the BBC that it was "for the audience and for the people I work with to decide if there are any similarities between me and Miranda Priestly."
Explaining her sunglasses, she told the outlet that "they help me see and they help me not see. They help me be seen and not be seen. They are a prop, I would say."
SpaceX says debris recovery attempts hindered after Starship explosion
- The Starship rocket appeared to have experienced at least two explosions in rapid succession
SpaceX said on Thursday its debris recovery efforts after last week’s Starship explosion have been hindered and it has sought cooperation from Mexico, whose president has raised the possibility of legal action against the company.
A massive Starship spacecraft by SpaceX exploded into a dramatic fireball during testing in Texas last week, which Elon Musk’s space firm attributed to a “major anomaly.”
The Starship rocket appeared to have experienced at least two explosions in rapid succession, lighting up the night sky and sending debris flying, according to video capturing the moment it exploded.
“Despite SpaceX’s attempts to recover the anomaly related debris, which is and remains the tangible property of SpaceX, these attempts have been hindered by unauthorized parties trespassing on private property,” the company said in a post on social media platform X.
“We have requested local and federal assistance from the government of Mexico in the recovery,” it said, adding that it also has offered resources and assistance in the clean-up.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that her administration is investigating the security and environmental impact of the launch of rockets, particularly for the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.
A general review is being conducted to determine what international laws are being violated. “From there, we’ll start a process, because there is indeed contamination,” Sheinbaum had said during a morning press conference.
A Starship spacecraft exploded in space minutes after lifting off from Texas in March, prompting the FAA to halt air traffic in parts of Florida, in a setback for Musk’s Mars rocket program.
In January, a Starship rocket broke up in space minutes after launching from Texas, raining debris over Caribbean islands and causing minor damage to a car in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs used ‘power, violence and fear’: prosecutor
NEW YORK: Sean “Diddy” Combs used “power, violence, and fear” as the head of a decades-old criminal enterprise, a prosecutor said Thursday in closing arguments in his high-profile trial.
“He counted on silence and shame to keep his crimes hidden,” Christy Slavik told the jury as the government began wrapping up its case against the once-powerful music mogul.
The 55-year-old Combs was seated behind the prosecutor as she delivered her closing arguments, passing an occasional message to his lawyers.
Slavik methodically walked the jury through the charges against Combs, which include racketeering and sex trafficking.
“He used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,” she said, and relied on a network of “loyal lieutenants” — none of whom testified at his trial — to cover up his crimes, which included forced labor, bribery and witness tampering.
“He became more powerful and more dangerous because of the support of his inner circle and his businesses,” she said. “This is Mr.Combs’s kingdom.”
Slavik told the jury the case was not about criminalizing unorthodox sex.
“It’s not about free choices at all,” she said.
The women involved were “drugged, covered in oil, sore, exhausted” as Combs made them have sex with escorts for hours, she said.
The famed producer coerced two women — the singer Casandra Ventura and later a woman who testified under the pseudonym Jane — into years of drug-addled sex with paid escorts, prosecutors say.
The most serious charge, racketeering — which includes the existence of a criminal enterprise that committed a pattern of offenses — could send Combs to prison for life.
He faces two charges of sex trafficking and two more for transportation for purposes of prostitution.
Combs denies it all. His lawyers have argued that the artist’s relationships were consensual and have sought to convince jurors that many of the witnesses who testified were doing so for financial gain or jealousy.
Along with alleged victims, government witnesses included former assistants and other employees, as well as escorts, friends and family of Ventura, and a hotel security guard who said he was bribed with $100,000 in a paper bag.
Combs opted against testifying on his own behalf, a common strategy of defense teams who are not required to prove innocence, only to cast doubt on government allegations of guilt.
The government’s evidence included thousands of pages of phone and text records, and hours of testimony involved meticulous readings of some of the most explicit and wrenching exchanges.
Many of those records appear to indicate distress on the part of the alleged victims. But a lot of the messages also show affection and desire — texts the defense underscored again and again.
Jurors have seen video evidence of the sex parties prosecutors say were criminal, while the defense has exhibited exchanges they say imply consent.
Also in evidence are reams of financial records — including CashApp payments to escorts — as well as flight and hotel records.
Since early May the proceedings have gripped the Manhattan federal courthouse where they’re taking place.
And though electronics are barred from the building, dozens of influencers and content creators have buzzed around the courthouse’s exterior every day, delivering hot takes to eager social media fans.
Combs is incarcerated and does not enter or exit the courthouse publicly. But some of the high-profile attendees and witnesses do, including members of the music mogul’s family and figures like Kid Cudi, the rapper who testified that Combs’s entourage torched his car.
The closing arguments by the prosecution are expected to wrap up on Thursday and the defense is likely to start its closing on Friday.
The jury of 12 New Yorkers could get the case as early as Friday afternoon.
Microsoft and OpenAI dueling over artificial general intelligence, The Information reports
- The report comes at a time when one of the most pivotal partnerships in the field of AI is under strain
Microsoft and OpenAI are at odds over a contractual provision related to artificial general intelligence, The Information reported on Wednesday.
Under the current terms, when OpenAI achieves AGI, Microsoft’s access to such a technology would be void. Microsoft wants OpenAI to remove that clause but so far OpenAI has refused, the report said.
“We have a long-term, productive partnership that has delivered amazing AI tools for everyone. Talks are ongoing and we are optimistic we will continue to build together for years to come,” OpenAI and Microsoft said in a joint statement emailed to Reuters.
The report comes at a time when one of the most pivotal partnerships in the field of AI is under strain.
OpenAI needs Microsoft’s approval to complete its transition into a public-benefit corporation. But the two have not been able to agree on details even after months of negotiations, according to sources.
Microsoft partnered with OpenAI in 2019, investing $1 billion to support the startup’s development of AI technologies on its Azure cloud platform.
