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16 Pages Number 42 11th year
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Thursday, February 21, 2019
China sci-fi blockbuster blasts off at the box office
SHANGHAI - China’s first space-age blockbuster is on a trajectory to become the country’s highest-grossing movie ever and is being held up as evidence that bigbudget home-grown films can now hold their own with Hollywood on pure spectacle. “The Wandering Earth” has made more than 3.9 billion yuan ($576 million) in domestic box office as of Tuesday morning, putting it on course to eclipse the 5.7 billion yuan earned in 2017 by current champion, “Wolf Warrior 2”. Based on a novel by Chinese science fiction writer Liu Cixin, the film tells the story -- through the eyes of Chinese protagonists -- of a project to move the earth away from a dying sun using giant fusion-powered engines. Reportedly made with a $50 million budget, the movie draws on pride in China’s growing space programme and is packed with advanced special effects. Director Guo Fan said that threequarters of the more than 2,000 special-effects shots were created by Chinese staff.
Noted film commentator Wang Hailin told a recent movie seminar that “The Wandering Earth” showed that “the historic moment to rival Hollywood has arrived.” “The Wandering Earth” has also made $3.8 million in North America in the 11 days since its release, the highest for a Chinese film in nearly five years, the film’s official social media account said on Sunday. With Chinese President Xi Jinping asserting tight control over arts and entertainment and pushing patriotic themes, any Chinese film depicting a future world is bound to draw political scrutiny. But the movie largely ignores politics, with no mention of China’s ruling Communist Party. Chinese heroes figure most prominently in the action, but the film’s overall message is to encourage international collaboration. In a pivotal scene, a Chinese astronaut played by martial artist and actor Wu Jing -- the star of the “Wolf Warrior” franchise -- works closely with a Russian counterpart in a bid to save the world. (afp)
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Robyn Beck / AFP
Chocolate Oscar statues covered in an edible gold leaf are displayed at the 91th annual Academy Awards Governors Ball press preview at The Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 15, 2019 in Hollywood, California.
Who votes for the Oscars, and how does it work?
LOS ANGELES - The ballots are almost all in! Millions of television viewers around the globe will tune in Sunday to watch the Oscars, the glitziest night in showbiz, but most don’t know how the winners are chosen. Less than 8,000 people in the entertainment industry select the honorees -- and Tuesday marks the final day of voting. The following is a look at the complex, sometimes confounding process that leads to the winners of the 24 Academy Awards:
STR/AFP
This photo taken on February 7, 2019 shows people sitting next to a poster of Chinese sci-fi film “The Wandering Earth” in Yichang in China’s central Hubei province.
- Who votes? The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles currently has 7,902 voting members. Academy membership is divided into 17 branches -- actors, directors, producers, costume designers, etc -- and candidates must be active or otherwise have “achieved distinc-
tion” in the industry.Applicants must be sponsored by two Academy members representing their branch. Oscar winners and nominees are automatically considered for membership and don’t need sponsors. Applications are reviewed once a year by the Academy’s Board of Governors, which has the final say on who joins the elite group. Members used to enjoy voting rights for life but since 2016, “voting status” has been limited to 10 years, and is renewable, to avoid having voters who are no longer active in the business. Lifetime voting rights only come after three 10-year terms.
Those not active become “emeritus” members who cannot vote. - Who are the Academy members? On principle, the Academy does not reveal its voting roll, though nothing prevents a member from saying he or she can cast a ballot. Following the #OscarsSoWhite uproar in 2015 and 2016, about the lack of black nominees, the Academy has endeavored to be more inclusive, vowing to double the number of women and minority members by 2020. In June 2018, the Academy took the unusual step of revealing the names of all 928 people invited to join. If they all agreed, 31 percent of Academy members are now women and 16 percent are people of color, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (afp)
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Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his annual state of the nation address in Moscow on February 20, 2019.
As poll numbers fall, Putin vows to improve living conditions
President Vladimir Putin promised Russians rapid improvements in their living conditions as he delivered his annual state of the nation address Wednesday under pressure from falling approval ratings. Putin, who was elected to a fourth term last year with more than 76 percent of the vote, laid out a series of new measures in his speech to Russia’s two houses of parliament. His promises seemed aimed at addressing growing discontent over the dismal living conditions, especially outside Moscow, that many Russians still face nearly 20 years after Putin came to power. “We cannot wait, the situation must change for the better now,” Putin told assembled lawmakers from the lower house State
Duma and upper house Federation Council. “Within this year (Russians) should feel changes,” he said, promising a wide range of steps including new child benefits and lower taxes for larger families. “We did and will do everything for the strengthening of family values,” he said. “The incomes of Russian families should of course rise”. Putin, 66, appeared calm and confident as usual during the speech, but the Kremlin is reportedly deeply concerned by the fall in his personal approval ratings in
recent months. A survey by Russia’s independent Levada Center released in January found his approval rating at 64 percent -- a figure many Western leaders could only dream of, but Putin’s lowest in five years. - Unpopular reforms Russians appear increasingly frustrated with the slow pace of economic growth and the concentration of the country’s wealth in a few hands in Moscow. Moves by the government to implement economic reforms,
including an increase in the retirement age and a rise in the valueadded tax from January 1, have prompted widespread opposition including rare street protests. Another Levada poll in October found only 40 percent of Russians would vote for Putin if an election were held. wLast year, Putin used his annual address to unveil a new arsenal of weapons in a nearly twohour speech that stunned the West and many in Russia. Speaking two weeks before his 2018 re-election, Putin hailed Moscow’s military might as relations with the West reached post-Cold War lows. Nearly an hour into this year’s speech, Putin had yet to address any international issues.
He was expected to touch on the withdrawal of Russia and the United States from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, which has raised concerns of a new arms race. He was also likely to cover the crisis in Venezuela, where Moscow has accused the West of “destructive interference” and stood by its ally President Nicolas Maduro. (afp) News can also be heard in “Bali Image” at Global Radio FM 96.5 from 9.30 until 10.00 am. Listen to Global Radio FM at http:// globalfmbali.listen2myradio.com or live video streaming at http:// radioglobalfmbali.com and http:// ustream.tv/channel/global-fm-bali.