‘Alien’ Franchise Crafts New Creatures for ‘Alien: Earth’ TV Show

Noah Hawley attends the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, September 15, 2024. (Reuters)
Noah Hawley attends the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, September 15, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

‘Alien’ Franchise Crafts New Creatures for ‘Alien: Earth’ TV Show

Noah Hawley attends the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, September 15, 2024. (Reuters)
Noah Hawley attends the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, September 15, 2024. (Reuters)

Both new and familiar alien lifeforms lurk around in the Disney series “Alien: Earth,” based on the original 1979 Ridley Scott "Alien" movie.

“By bringing the story to Earth, we're shifting to, ‘can humanity itself survive, right?’ And then it becomes a question of, ‘well, what is humanity, and do we really deserve to survive?’” director Noah Hawley told Reuters.

“These creatures that are coming, are a kind of representation of the natural world reasserting its dominance, right? Reminding us that we're still part of the food chain,” the "Fargo" creator added.

"Alien: Earth," which begins streaming on Hulu and FX on Tuesday, follows a group of travelers with various jobs that are drawn into action when a spacecraft carrying alien samples crash-lands on Earth.

It is set two years before the first “Alien” movie that introduced audiences to actor Sigourney Weaver's character, Ellen Ripley, and the terrifying alien called a xenomorph.

Other than the xenomorphs that fans are familiar with, there are four other deadly creatures on the crashed spacecraft.

"These creatures have some, to varying degrees, great recognition factor," said producer David W. Zucker.

"They're sort of perverted versions of insects and otherwise that we can recognize. So, I think that brings it into an even more sort of visceral place, not to mention, touching upon certain sensations that we're already familiar that they can invoke,” he added.

"Don't Worry Darling" actor Sydney Chandler portrays the show’s lead named Wendy, a metahuman with the body of an adult human and the mind of a child, who leads a team that also has adult bodies with childish minds, called The Lost Boys, onto the crashed spaceship.

"Kids are great acting teachers. They're so present, they're so honest, instinctual, they do what their body tells them to do or what their mind thinks of right away,” Chandler said, referring to her approach to Wendy's child-like mannerisms.



‘Being Heumann,’ About a Disability Rights Activist, to Open Toronto Film Festival

Judith Heumann, special advisor for International Disability Rights at the US Department of State, speaks at the opening session of the China-US Coordination Meeting on Disability in Beijing, April 12, 2016. (AP)
Judith Heumann, special advisor for International Disability Rights at the US Department of State, speaks at the opening session of the China-US Coordination Meeting on Disability in Beijing, April 12, 2016. (AP)
TT

‘Being Heumann,’ About a Disability Rights Activist, to Open Toronto Film Festival

Judith Heumann, special advisor for International Disability Rights at the US Department of State, speaks at the opening session of the China-US Coordination Meeting on Disability in Beijing, April 12, 2016. (AP)
Judith Heumann, special advisor for International Disability Rights at the US Department of State, speaks at the opening session of the China-US Coordination Meeting on Disability in Beijing, April 12, 2016. (AP)

“Being Heumann,” director Siân Heder's film about the late disability rights activist Judith Heumann, will open the 51st Toronto International Film Festival.

Festival organizers announced Tuesday that “Being Heumann,” starring Ruth Madeley as Heumann, will make its world premiere on the opening night of the Canadian festival Sept. 10. The festival runs through Sept. 20.

Heumann, who died in 2023, has been called the “mother of the disability rights movement” for her longtime advocacy and for lobbying for what eventually led to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Heumann, who lost the ability to walk at age 2, was also a central figure in the Oscar-nominated 2020 film “Crip Camp.”

“Being Heumann” is Heder's follow-up to the 2021 film “CODA,” which won best picture at the Academy Awards. The win marked a milestone for the deaf community and signaled the first time a streamer, Apple, won Hollywood's top award. Apple is also releasing “Being Heumann.”

“We’re thrilled to open this year’s Festival with Siân Heder’s inspiring follow-up to her Oscar winning ‘CODA,’” Cameron Bailey, chief executive of TIFF, said in a statement. “'Being Heumann' features an electric performance from Ruth Madeley in the story of Judy Heumann, a world-changing advocate for accessibility.”

The festival, one of the premiere launching pads of fall movies, also announced gala world premieres of Susanna White's legal thriller “Prima Facie,” starring Cynthia Erivo, and of Hur Jin-ho's Korean thriller “The Assassin(s).”


Clooney to Get Lifetime Award at Venice Film Festival

George Clooney appears at the screening of the film "The Boys In The Boat" in London on Dec. 3, 2023. (AP)
George Clooney appears at the screening of the film "The Boys In The Boat" in London on Dec. 3, 2023. (AP)
TT

Clooney to Get Lifetime Award at Venice Film Festival

George Clooney appears at the screening of the film "The Boys In The Boat" in London on Dec. 3, 2023. (AP)
George Clooney appears at the screening of the film "The Boys In The Boat" in London on Dec. 3, 2023. (AP)

US actor, director and producer George Clooney will receive a lifetime achievement award at this year's Venice film festival, organizers said on Monday.

Clooney, 65, called the award "a tremendous honor".

"It also probably means I'm old, but I'll take it," he said in a statement released by the annual festival.

This year's edition will run between September 2 and 12 and the jury will be led by US actress Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Clooney, who is also known for his political activism and humanitarian work, is a regular at the gathering on the Venice Lido.

Clooney's breakthrough role was in the medical drama "ER". He has since starred in dozens of films, including "Syriana" for which he won an Oscar for best supporting actor.

Venice festival director Alberto Barbera called Clooney "a complete and charismatic artist, impassioned and original".


Netflix Nods to Nostalgia with New ‘Little House on the Prairie’ TV Series

The Netflix logo is seen at the Netflix Tudum Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, Sept. 14, 2022. (AFP)
The Netflix logo is seen at the Netflix Tudum Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, Sept. 14, 2022. (AFP)
TT

Netflix Nods to Nostalgia with New ‘Little House on the Prairie’ TV Series

The Netflix logo is seen at the Netflix Tudum Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, Sept. 14, 2022. (AFP)
The Netflix logo is seen at the Netflix Tudum Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, Sept. 14, 2022. (AFP)

For Australian actor Luke Bracey, joining Netflix's 2026 adaptation of the classic 1935 book "Little House on the Prairie" represents the return of a story that resonates across generations.

The show portrays a family in the 19th-century American West that goes through ups and downs but ultimately holds on to its love for one another — a theme Bracey believes is timeless.

"It's no mistake, and it is no accident, that the story and the family are so loved by so many people for so long," ‌said Bracey, who plays ‌Charles Ingalls, the father of central character Laura ‌Ingalls.

Both ⁠the "Little House on ⁠the Prairie" series and books are based on the real-life experiences of Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder, who drew inspiration from her own childhood in a pioneer family. The series of books was published in the 1930s and 1940s.

The story has also been adapted before, most notably in a 1970s television series that ran ⁠on NBC until 1983.

Netflix's "Little House on the ‌Prairie" follows the Ingalls family as ‌they navigate frontier life while engaging with settler-colonial and Indigenous narratives.

Alongside Bracey ‌as Charles Ingalls, the Ingalls family includes Laura, portrayed by ‌Alice Halsey; Crosby Fitzgerald as Laura's mother, Caroline; and Skywalker Hughes as Mary, Laura's older sister.

While the show highlights many heartfelt themes, Halsey reflected on the challenges Laura faced growing up as a girl in the ‌1800s.

"I think boys had more privileges," she said.

"Girls didn't have the same opportunities that ⁠boys had ⁠back then. Girls didn't get to learn as much as boys did," she added, noting that if she had lived in Laura's time, she wouldn't have been able to pursue many of the things she loves today.

The story of the pioneering family's struggles and successes is led by creator and showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine and has already been renewed for a second season ahead of its Season 1 premiere.

"We got to make so many amazing and just perfect memories last season, and now we get the chance to go back and make more," Hughes said.

The eight-episode series arrives on Netflix on Thursday.