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‘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)
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‘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).”

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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)
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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".

Entertainment

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)
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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.

Entertainment

‘Minions & Monsters’ Tops Fourth of July Holiday Box Office, Barely Beating ‘Toy Story 5’

This image released by Universal Pictures shows minion Henry, voiced by Pierre Coffin, left, and Goomi, voiced by Trey Parker, in a scene from Illumination's "Minions & Monsters." (Universal Pictures via AP)
This image released by Universal Pictures shows minion Henry, voiced by Pierre Coffin, left, and Goomi, voiced by Trey Parker, in a scene from Illumination's "Minions & Monsters." (Universal Pictures via AP)
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‘Minions & Monsters’ Tops Fourth of July Holiday Box Office, Barely Beating ‘Toy Story 5’

This image released by Universal Pictures shows minion Henry, voiced by Pierre Coffin, left, and Goomi, voiced by Trey Parker, in a scene from Illumination's "Minions & Monsters." (Universal Pictures via AP)
This image released by Universal Pictures shows minion Henry, voiced by Pierre Coffin, left, and Goomi, voiced by Trey Parker, in a scene from Illumination's "Minions & Monsters." (Universal Pictures via AP)

The Minions have taken down “Toy Story 5" at the July Fourth weekend box office, but not by much.

“Minions & Monsters,” the seventh film in the “Despicable Me” franchise, earned $36.4 million at the holiday weekend box office, according to studio estimates for North America. “Toy Story 5,” a juggernaut that last week beat “Supergirl,” earned an estimated $31 million.

The Minions movie, which has the devious henchlings seeking movie glory in Hollywood's Golden Age, opened on Wednesday and earned an estimated $61.4 million in its first five days, according to studio estimates. The Minions are a popular franchise globally and “Minions & Monsters” has earned $160 million worldwide in its debut week.

Audiences looking for patriotic fare amid the United States' 250th birthday celebration had “Young Washington” to consider; it opened in third place with nearly $21 million. The movie focuses on George Washington's service during the French and Indian War.

That left “Supergirl” in fourth with just under $10 million at the box office, a steep 74% drop from its disappointing opening weekend.

The weekend box office was down year-over-year about 24%, according to figures compiled by Rentrak, though this summer is up from 2025 by nearly 12%. That's due in part thanks to the low-budget Gen-Z sensations “Obsession” and “Backrooms,” which took the sixth and seventh spots, behind Steven Spielberg's “Disclosure Day.”