Why Figure Skater Alysa Liu Wasn't Allowed to Keep Her Olympic Gold Medal
They've apparently been handing out busted medals at the Olympics! Milano Cortina officials launched an investigation into reports of defective Olympic medals thanks in part to figure skater Alysa Liu. The Olympian posted a video on TikTok which shows off her medal, earned as part of Team USA's mixed-team short program, snapped off from its ribbon. "I just got this olympic gold medal, already broke it," Liu's caption reads. Several other athletes have reported similar medal snapping. All it apparently takes is some celebratory jumping while wearing the medal.
Coming Soon: Sandiwara
Consider me intrigued. Michelle Yeoh stars in a new short film, Sandiwara, described as an exploration of Malaysian culture through the lens of food, music and womanhood. Directed by Sean Baker and made in collaboration with London-based fashion brand Self-Portrait, the film's title comes from the Malay word sandiwara, which means drama or theatrical performance. In the 11-minute short, Yeoh plays five different roles, each representing a different side of life in Malaysia. The film premieres this week at the Berlin International Film Festival and will be available everywhere on February 20.
Girls Like Girls Trailer
Check out the trailer for Girls Like Girls. Based on writer/director Hayley Kiyoko's hit single and best-selling novel of the same name and featuring all-new music from Kiyoko, the film is described as a heartfelt coming-of-age story set over the course of one sun-drenched summer, where new-girl-in-town Coley falls in love for the first time while learning to accept herself along the way. Girls Like Girls hits theaters on June 19.
Sony Scraps Thai-Inspired Animated Movie After Two Years of Development
Animator Matt Braly says that Sony Pictures Animation scrapped his Thai-inspired animated movie after two years of development because the studio deemed it "not commercial enough to produce." It had been previously announced that Braly, a writer on Cartoon Network's Steven Universe and storyboard artist on The Mitchells vs the Machines was working on a feature with writer Rebecca Sugar.
Braly described the film as an adventure about a "a teen boy traveling to the world of Thai spirits in order to cure himself just before undergoing a very scary & life altering operation necessary to live." He added that this was "not a story about finding a cure so much as it was about learning to accept one’s unchangeable circumstances with grace, and realizing that a different life than expected can still be a wonderful one."
This is a bummer, not least because this project looked cool as hell, but also because it feels like this is a opportune moment for Sony Animation to take some narrative risks on new voices for a big payoff.
Rosemead Now Available on Digital
The critically acclaimed indie drama Rosemead, starring Lucy Liu, is now available to watch on digital. Inspired by a harrowing true story, Liu transforms in a riveting, career-redefining performance as an ailing woman who takes drastic measures to protect her troubled teenage son (Lawrence Shou). As his dark obsessions grow and time runs out, she is forced to make impossible choices: how far will she go and what is she willing to sacrifice? Set against the simmering tensions of a Chinese American community, Rosemead is a gripping portrait of a family pushed to the edge. Rent or buy Rosemead on Apple TV, Fandango at Home, and Prime Video.
