‘1917’ Star Reflects on Grueling Conditions the Cast Endured for Best Picture of the Year

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Director Sam Mendes can hold his Best Director and Best Picture of the Year Golden Globes up high. Truly, once the Hollywood Foreign Press Association saw the extended one-shot Mendes pulled off for his epic war thriller, “1917,” the other contenders didn’t have a prayer.

What Mendes has achieved on the silver screen is nothing short of remarkable. “1917” pushes the editing boundaries by giving us one continuous shot of a daring mission in World War I. . .

The cast and crew filmed “1917” in a series of long shots that stick together to appear as though it’s one take, Chapman explained to Townhall in an interview on Wednesday. The longest shot, the actor recalled, was almost nine minutes long. They rehearsed for six months to get their chemistry with the cameras just right.

“The whole thing was choreographed,” Chapman said. “It literally was a dance between the camera and the actor. We were genuinely bouncing off of each other. So if I stepped a bit too far to my left and the camera would adjust where if the camera wasn’t quite ready, then I would hold my line and wait for the camera to fill in on my face. It was this whole flow and rhythm between the two things gelling together.” . . .

Chapman was perhaps also so in tune with his character, Corporal Blake, because of the realistic conditions in which they filmed. The actor once played Billy Elliott in London’s West End. It’s a three-hour show with a series of extended dance sequences. And Billy is in every scene. But that didn’t quite prepare him for the six weeks of filming in muddy trenches for “1917.” (Read more from “‘1917’ Star Reflects on Grueling Conditions the Cast Endured for Best Picture of the Year” HERE)

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Iran’s Only Female Olympic Medalist Defects Amid Mass Protests Against the Regime

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Iran’s one and only female Olympic medalist said she has defected over the Iranian government’s “corruption and lies.”

Kimia Alizadeh, 21, posted on Instagram on Saturday announcing that she had defected from Iran and permanently left the country for Europe. She slammed the Iranian regime for oppressing women and for largely dictating her own life.

“Let me start with a greeting, a farewell or condolences,” Alizadeh said, according to a CNN translation. “I am one of the millions of oppressed women in Iran who they have been playing with for years.”

She attacked the regime for controlling her life and using her as a tool to bring prestige to the regime.

“They took me wherever they wanted. I wore whatever they said. Every sentence they ordered me to say, I repeated. Whenever they saw fit, they exploited me,” she said, adding that Iranian leaders took credit for her accomplishments.

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با سلام آغاز کنم، با خداحافظی یا تسلیت؟ سلام مردم مظلوم ایران، خداحافظ مردم نجیب ایران، تسلیت به شما مردم همیشه داغدار ایران. شما مرا چقدر می‌شناسید؟ فقط آنطور که در مسابقات، در تلویزیون، یا در حضور مقامات دیده‌اید. اجازه دهید حالا آزادانه، هویت سانسور شده‌ام را معرفی کنم. می‌گویند کیمیا پس از این چیزی نخواهد شد. خودم از این هم فراتر می‌روم و می‌گویم قبل از این هم چیزی نبوده‌ام: «من کیمیا علیزاده، نه تاریخسازم، نه قهرمانم، نه پرچمدار کاروان ایران» من یکی از میلیون‌ها زن سرکوب شده در ایرانم که سال‌هاست هر طور خواستند بازی‌ام دادند. هر کجا خواستند بردند. هر چه گفتند پوشیدم. هر جمله‌ای دستور دادند تکرار کردم. هر زمان صلاح دیدند، مصادره‌ام کردند. مدال‌هایم را پای حجاب اجباری گذاشتند و به مدیریت و درایت خودشان نسبت دادند. من برایشان مهم نبودم. هیچکداممان برایشان مهم نیستیم، ما ابزاریم. فقط آن مدال‌های فلزی اهمیت دارد تا به هر قیمتی که خودشان نرخ گذاشتند از ما بخرند و بهره‌برداری سیاسی کنند، اما همزمان برای تحقیرت، می‌گویند: فضیلت زن این نیست که پاهایش را دراز کند! من صبح‌ها هم از خواب بیدار می‌شوم پاهایم ناخودآگاه مثل پنکه می‌چرخد و به در و دیوار می‌گیرد. آنوقت چگونه می‌توانستم مترسکی باشم که می‌خواستند از من بسازند؟ در برنامه زنده تلویزیون، سوال‌هایی پرسیدند که دقیقاً بخاطر همان سوال دعوتم کرده بودند. حالا که نیستم می‌گویند تن به ذلت داده‌ام. آقای ساعی! من آمدم تا مثل شما نباشم و در مسیری که شما پیش رفتید قدم برندارم. من در صورت تقلید بخشی از رفتارهای شما، بیش از شما می‌توانستم به ثروت و قدرت برسم. من به اینها پشت کردم. من یک انسانم و می‌خواهم بر مدار انسانیت باقی بمانم. در ذهن‌های مردسالار و زن‌ستیزتان، همیشه فکر می‌کردید کیمیا زن است و زبان ندارد! روح آزرده من در کانال‌های آلوده اقتصادی و لابی‌های تنگ سیاسی شما نمی‌گنجد. من جز تکواندو، امنیت و زندگی شاد و سالم درخواست دیگری از دنیا ندارم. مردم نازنین و داغدار ایران، من نمی‌خواستم از پله‌های ترقی که بر پایه فساد و دروغ بنا شده بالا بروم. کسی به اروپا دعوتم نکرده و در باغ سبز به رویم باز نشده. اما رنج و سختی غربت را بجان می‌خرم چون نمی‌خواستم پای سفره ریاکاری، دروغ، بی عدالتی و چاپلوسی بنشینم. این تصمیم از کسب طلای المپیک هم سخت‌تر است، اما هر کجا باشم فرزند ایران زمین باقی می‌مانم. پشت به دلگرمی شما می‌دهم و جز اعتماد شما در راه سختی که قدم گذاشته‌ام، خواسته دیگری ندارم.

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(Read more from “Iran’s Only Female Olympic Medalist Defects Amid Mass Protests Against the Regime” HERE)

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Two Paratroopers Killed in Afghanistan

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The two soldiers killed when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan were paratroopers assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, the defense department announced Sunday.

The IED attack took place Saturday in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, bordering Pakistan to the south. Killed in the blast were Staff Sgt. Ian P. McLaughlin, 29, of Newport News, Virginia; and Pfc. Miguel A. Villalon, 21, of Joliet, Illinois, according to a release. . .

“When our Nation called for its best Airborne Combat Engineers to deploy into harm’s way, Staff Sgt. McLaughlin and Pfc. Villalon answered without hesitation. They lived their motto, ‘Essayons,’ and embodied the values of the All American Engineer,” Col. Art Sellers, commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, said in a released statement. “Their loved ones are now surrounded by a caring community offering comfort and assistance through this difficult time.”

McLaughlin, who joined the Army in 2012, was assigned to his current unit in 2016. He served there first as a horizontal construction engineer and then as a squad leader, according to officials with the 82nd Airborne. His awards included the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Army Commendation Medal with “C” Device, the Army Commendation Medal and the Army Achievement Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters signifying subsequent awards. . .

Villalon, who joined the Army in 2018 and was assigned to his current unit the following year, was also on his first combat deployment. His awards the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal with “C” Device and the Army Achievement Medal. (Read more from “Two Paratroopers Killed in Afghanistan” HERE)

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Huge Earthquakes Hit Puerto Rico

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Another earthquake in Puerto Rico has continued the terror of previous quakes that have left people without homes and power.

The magnitude 6.0 quake added further damage to homes and schools along the American protectorate’s southern coast, the Associated Press reports.

The U.S. Geological Survey said at 8:54 a.m. the quake hit eight miles southeast of Guanica at a shallow depth of three miles.

According to Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Authority, power outages in the southern part of the protectorate and were looking into further damage to the power plants. . .

Hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans remain without power with thousands more living in shelters or sleeping on the sidewalk since last Tuesday’s quake, AP noted. (Read more from “Huge Earthquakes Hit Puerto Rico” HERE)

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Bernie Campaign Goes off on Joe Biden: He ‘Repeatedly Betrayed Black Voters’

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The national co-chair of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’s 2020 campaign tore into former Vice President Joe Biden’s record on race in an op-ed Sunday.

Biden has “repeatedly betrayed black voters,” Nina Turner argued in an op-ed published in South Carolina newspaper The State.

She hammered Biden’s opposition to forced desegregation busing and his work with segregationist senators and wrote: “Biden didn’t just vote for bills designed to prevent black students from accessing white schools: in a series of personal letters he actively courted pro-segregation senators to support the legislation.”

“Sanders, by contrast, began his work in politics by organizing civil rights protests. As a college student, he helped lead a local chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality in its push to desegregate housing. Sanders participated in the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington and was arrested for protesting rampant school segregation in Chicago,” Turner wrote.

“In addition, Sanders has been pushing an education plan that supports local efforts to combat racial segregation,” she added. (Read more from “Bernie Campaign Goes off on Joe Biden: He ‘Repeatedly Betrayed Black Voters'” HERE)

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Here’s Who Trump Wants as Impeachment Witnesses

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that senators will “pay a price” if they block new witnesses in Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, but the president quickly retorted that she and House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff should also testify.

The House plans to vote this week to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate for the historic trial on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress over Trump’s actions toward Ukraine. It will be only the third impeachment trial in American history.

Trump tweeted right before and after Pelosi’s appearance, in both instances using derisive nicknames. He said both she and Schiff should appear in the Senate for testimony. . .

It is unlikely that the Republican-controlled Senate would call either Democrat to testify in the president’s impeachment trial, which could start as soon as this week. The Democratic-run House is set to vote this week to send the articles of impeachment after Pelosi ended a more than three-week delay. (Read more from “Here’s Who Trump Wants as Impeachment Witnesses” HERE)

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Even Obama’s Former Campaign Manager Says Democrats Shouldn’t Nominate Bernie

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Former President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, Jim Messina, has a message for Democrats seeking to dethrone President Donald Trump in 2020: don’t nominate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

Messina made the comments in an interview with Politico, published Sunday.

“If I were a campaign manager for Donald Trump and I look at the field, I would very much want to run against Bernie Sanders,” Messina said. “I think the contrast is the best. He can say, ‘I’m a business guy, the economy’s good and this guy’s a socialist.’ I think that contrast for Trump is likely one that he’d be excited about in a way that he wouldn’t be as excited about Biden or potentially Mayor Pete or some of the more Midwestern moderate candidates.”

“From a general election perspective, socialism is not going to be what Democrats are going to want to defend,” Messina added. “If you’re the Democratic nominee for the Montana Senate race, you don’t want to spend the election talking about socialism.”

Team Obama has been sounding the alarm on Sanders for some time, apparently afraid that Democrats will squander an opportunity to defeat the sitting president by nominating a candidate popular with only a small — but vocal — segment of the population.

The former president himself told a group of Democratic donors late last year that he felt the Democratic party was making a mistake in embracing a far-left platform and tolerating Sanders as a serious candidate. (Read more from “Even Obama’s Former Campaign Manager Says Democrats Shouldn’t Nominate Bernie” HERE)

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Poll: Young Americans Believe Other Countries Are Better Than the U.S.

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A new survey by Pew Research Center asked 9,895 people a series of questions about America. Most Americans polled agreed that the United States “stands above all other countries” (24%) or that it is “one of the greatest countries, along with some others” (55%).

More than one-fifth (21%), though, said “there are other countries that are better than the U.S.”

And that number soared when the survey group was limited to young liberal Americans, aged 19-29. In that age group, 47% of Democrat and Democrat-leaning people preferred other countries over the U.S, while just 19% of Republicans within the same age group agreed. The poll also showed that 36% of this age group say other countries are greater than the U.S. . .

The percentage of Democrats agreeing that there are other countries better than America is “higher than at any point since the question was first asked by Pew Research Center in 2011.”

“Views of how the U.S. compares with other countries have long been divided along partisan lines,” Pew wrote in its poll findings. “But these differences have widened in recent years as Democrats have become more likely to say there are other countries that are better than the U.S. In telephone surveys, the share of Democrats saying this is higher than at any point since the question was first asked by Pew Research Center in 2011, and there has been a corresponding decline in the share saying the U.S. stands above other nations.” (Read more from “Poll: Young Americans Believe Other Countries Are Better Than the U.S.” HERE)

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Facebook Bans Pastor After He Criticized Iran

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A Christian pastor says Facebook suspended his account for three days over a simple post meant to criticize Iran and their homophobic policies.

Pastor Ken Peters of Covenant Church in Spokane, Washington, tweeted about the suspension from his social media account. . .

“My post was in no way hateful. I was making the point that totalitarian Muslims in Iran persecute and execute LGBTQ people. On the other hand Freedom loving Christians in America disagree with their immorality, but would never hurt them,” Peters said.

“It is strange and ironic that the LGBTQ community would take the side of those who would murder them if they could,” he concluded. (Read more from “Facebook Bans Pastor After He Criticized Iran” HERE)

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Trump Says He Will Use Executive Privilege to Prevent John Bolton Testimony

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By Daily Caller. President Donald Trump said in a new interview on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” that he would use executive privilege to prevent former White House aide John Bolton from testifying in an impeachment trial.

“Why not call Bolton? Why not allow him to testify? This thing is bogus. Why not allow Bolton to testify?” Fox News’ Laura Ingraham asked in a recent interview set to air 10 PM Friday.

“No problem other than one thing,” Trump said. “You can’t be in the White House as president, future, I’m talking about future…any future presidents- and have a security advisor, anybody having to do with security, and legal and other things but especially…”

“Are you going to invoke executive privilege?” Ingraham said.

“Well I think you have to for the sake of the office,” the president responded. (Read more from “Trump Says He Will Use Executive Privilege to Prevent John Bolton Testimony” HERE)

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Bolton Says War Powers Resolution Should Be Repealed

By The Hill. Former national security adviser John Bolton, who has spoken out against limitations on the president’s war powers in the past, on Thursday claimed the 1973 War Powers Resolution was “unconstitutional” ahead of a planned vote in the House on a resolution to limit President Trump’s ability to take further action on Iran without congressional approval.

“The 1973 War Powers Resolution is unconstitutional,” Bolton tweeted. “It reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how the Constitution allocated foreign affairs authority between the President and Congress. The Resolution should be repealed.”

The former White House adviser has expressed anti-War Powers Resolution views since at least 2007, when he wrote in his memoir that the act was an example of Congress “overreacting” during the Watergate era in an effort to limit the executive branch, Politico Magazine reported. (Read more from “Bolton Says War Powers Resolution Should Be Repealed” HERE)

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