US editor who 'rescued' Anne Frank's diary dies at 93

Image Courtesy: New England Today

NEW YORK: Judith Jones – the legendary editor who rescued Anne Frank's diary from a US publisher's rejection pile – died on Wednesday, aged 93.

Jones – a luminary of the publishing world, who also introduced the world to American culinary writer Julia Child – was close to literary giants such as John Updike, Anne Tyler, William Maxwell, John Hersey, Peter Taylor, and Sharon Olds.

She passed away at her home in Vermont, the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group said in a statement. She worked for Knopf for more than 50 years, joining the company in 1957 and officially retiring only in 2011.

"Judith was a legend in book publishing," said Sonny Mehta, chairman and editor-in-chief, paying tribute to the once young assistant who rescued Frank's "Diary of a Young Girl" from a rejection pile in Paris.

The diary, which the young Jewish girl had written while hiding from the Nazis between June 1942 and August 1944, is one of the most famous testimonies of life in World War II and one of the most famous diaries of all time.

Frank – who was born in Germany and lived with her family in the Netherlands – died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp aged 15, just months before the war ended.

Her diary was first published in the Netherlands in 1947, followed by French and German editions in 1950, before appearing in Britain and the United States in 1952.

The first US edition of "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl" ran a modest 5,000 copies and contained a preface from former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Doubleday reputedly spent little on publicity, but sales quickly took off.

A subsequent US play "Diary of Anne Frank" was a Broadway hit and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1956. A 1959 Hollywood movie won three Oscars. The diary has been a fixture on school curricula since the 1960s.

Worldwide, the diary has sold more than 30 million copies in 67 languages.

Jones was also instrumental in persuading Alfred Knopf to publish in 1961 "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" – a tome that introduced generations of American home cooks to French food and to now legendary chef Julia Child.

"It is no exaggeration to say that she profoundly influenced not only the way America reads and but also the way we cook," Mehta said Wednesday.

Jones won five Pulitzer Prizes, five National Book Awards, and three National Book Critics Circle Awards, and her cookbook authors won dozens and dozens of prizes, said Knopf Doubleday.

'Wonder Woman' helps Time Warner beat estimates as ad sales dip

A Time Warner logo is seen at a Time Warner store in New York City, US, October 23, 2016. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith/Files

 

Time Warner Inc reported higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday as revenue from the box office hit Wonder Woman helped offset declining ad revenue.

The media conglomerate, which is in the process of being bought by AT&T Inc for about $85 billion, said it expects continuing declines in ad revenue this quarter in the face of the growing popularity of online TV and film services, raising concerns from some analysts.

Time Warner's shares were up slightly at $102.58 on the New York Stock Exchange. Shareholders are set to get $107.50 in cash and AT&T stock in the deal, which is scheduled to close later this year.

Revenue from the company's Warner Bros unit, which includes the movie business, rose 12.4 percent to $2.99 billion, topping analysts' average estimate of $2.90 billion, according to data and analytics firm FactSet.

Wonder Woman, starring Israeli actress Gal Gadot, grossed about $800 million worldwide through July 31, while revenue from premium cable channel HBO, home to hit fantasy show Game of Thrones, rose slightly to $1.48 billion.

Excluding some items, the company earned $1.33 per share, beating estimates of $1.19 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Overall revenue rose 5.4 percent to $7.33 billion, in line with analysts' expectations of $7.3 billion.

Ads dip as viewers exit

Like its traditional TV business peers, Time Warner has been struggling to keep viewers hooked to its channels as they flock to online streaming services such as Netflix Inc and Amazon.com Inc's Prime Video, a trend that is taking a toll on ad sales.

Time Warner reported a 6 percent drop in ad revenue in the last quarter, which it attributed partly to having fewer NBA and high-profile college basketball games than a year ago.

It said it expects another low single-digit drop in ad revenue in the third quarter, causing concerns among some analysts that the company's cable news network CNN is seeing a decline in viewers.

"Apparently the news cycle strength at CNN is not enough to offset ratings pressures at Turner's domestic entertainment networks," said Barton Crockett, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets, in a note to clients.

Revenue for Turner, which includes CNN and entertainment channel TNT, rose 3.1 percent to $3.1 billion in the second quarter.

Net income attributable to Time Warner's shareholders rose to $1.06 billion (or $1.34 per share), in the second quarter ended June 30, from $952 million (or $1.20 per share), a year earlier.

The company reaffirmed its outlook for the full year and said it expects to close its merger with AT&T before the end of this year.

Kanye West sues tour insurers for $10 million over canceled shows

Recording artist Kanye West performs during the closing ceremony for the 2015 Pan Am Games at Pan Am Ceremonies Venue in Toronto, Canada, July 26, 2015. Matt Detrich-USA TODAY Sports via REUTERS

 

LOS ANGELES: Rapper Kanye West has sued Lloyd's of London for nearly $10 million in insurance payouts he claims he is owed after cancelling his tour last year when he was hospitalized with a "serious, debilitating medical condition."

West's tour company, Very Good Touring Inc., filed the lawsuit claiming breach of contract in federal court in Los Angeles on Tuesday, saying that syndicates of Lloyd's of London insurance market had delayed paying the rapper's claim for his cancelled shows.

The lawsuit said the Lloyd's syndicates had suggested, "they may deny coverage of the claim on the unsupportable contention that use of marijuana by Kanye caused the medical condition".

West, 40, abruptly cancelled his Saint Pablo tour in November 2016 with more than 20 shows left. He was hospitalized following a week of no-shows, curtailed concerts, and political rants.

The lawsuit, which seeks a jury trial, says West has submitted evidence to prove his medical condition did not allow him to continue the tour.

It said his behaviour at his November 19 concert in Sacramento, California, was "strained, confused, and erratic". The next day, the rest of his tour was cancelled and on November 21, West was admitted to a Los Angeles psychiatric facility with what the lawsuit called a "serious, debilitating medical condition".

He was released on November 29, and is still being treated, the lawsuit said. Details of his ailment have never been released.

Lloyd's is an insurance market housing more than 80 syndicates in London. Spokesman Stewart Todd said in a statement the company could not comment on the specifics of the West case.

'To see Stalin': Latest WWII film aims to stir up Russians

A group of Soviet mechanics slog through a muddy forest on a mission that would eventually help change the course of World War II: reaching dictator Joseph Stalin.

Among them is an engineer who wants to convince the Kremlin leader that a new tank he has designed can transform the Soviet Union's outdated forces a year ahead of the invasion by Nazi Germany.

Based on a little-known chapter of Soviet history from 1940 - this is the scenario for a new film being shot outside Moscow with state funding.

The movie - currently with the working title "To See Stalin" - is the latest in a string of government-backed productions about inspiring tales from World War II aimed at bolstering patriotic fervour that the Kremlin can then tap.

But critics argue that they tend to whitewash the crimes of the Soviet leadership while downplaying the tragedies of the war -- and also play fast and loose with the truth.

"The idea came from the culture ministry, which has been actively pushing to retell the stories of the heroes from our country's past," 32-year-old director Kim Druzhinin told AFP as he oversaw the shoot.

'Stalin is the culmination'

Druzhinin's latest project centers on the epic tale of Mikhail Koshkin, who in the spring of 1940 drove his prototype tank more than 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) across the Soviet Union to pitch the design to Stalin.

The journey would eventually cost Koshkin his life, as he died from pneumonia contracted along the route.

But his legendary T-34 tank went into mass production and eventually helped Moscow push back Nazi forces after their devastating invasion of the USSR in 1941.

"It is tragic story about a designer who got his tank into production at the cost of his own life," said Druzhinin.

The film - which the director says he wants to shoot "in the style of a Soviet adventure movie" - has raised some eyebrows over what is expected to be a positive portrayal of supremo Stalin in a fleeting appearance at the end of the film.

Under the conservative rule of President Vladimir Putin Russian authorities have sought to downplay the horrors of Stalin's rule during which millions were executed or sent to labor camps.

Instead, officials highlight his role in winning the war against Germany, maintaining the conflict that claimed an estimated 22 million Soviet lives more than 70 years ago as a sacrosanct rallying point for society today.

"Stalin is the culmination of the film, the destination, the reward you must receive like at the end of a fairytale," Druzhinin said.

Propaganda myth

The film received the bulk of its financing - 60 million rubles ($1 million, 860,000 euros) - from the Russian culture ministry.

Those involved in the production have no doubt over its aim.

"When I read the script and saw that it was ordered by the culture ministry I immediately understood that it was aimed at stirring up patriotism," said actor Dmitry Podnozov, who plays one of Koshkin's crew.

The authorities have "fear of young people taking to the streets to protest", Podnozov said, so are looking to generate nationalist pride to curb any anti-Kremlin sentiment.

For director Druzhinin this is not a first foray into making controversial state-sponsored films on sticky historical subjects.

Last year his WWII action movie called "Panfilov's 28" came out about the legendary resistance of a group of Soviet soldiers who sacrificed their lives destroying 18 German tanks advancing on Moscow in 1941.

Despite a poor response from the critics, the film drew support from the highest levels of the Kremlin - with Putin sitting down to watch it alongside President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan.

But, while the tale of heroism had served to inspire generations of Soviet and Russian citizens, there was one major catch. It appears not to have been true.

Documents declassified by Russia's state archive in 2015 showed that the famed incident was in fact invented by a Soviet journalist before becoming part of the Soviet war propaganda.

The revelations sparked a scandal and pitched the head of the archive Sergei Mironenko into a conflict with culture minister Vladimir Medinsky. Mironenko later left his post.

And when Druzhinin's version of the story hit the big screen, Medinsky lashed out against those who questioned its worth.

"My most profound conviction is that even if this story was invented from the beginning, even if Pamfilov's troops did not exist, even if nothing happened - this is a sacred legend that cannot be touched," Medinsky told Russian news wire Interfax.

"People who do this are of course scum."

Creators behind 'Game of Thrones' stir race controversy with 'Confederate'

What if the South had won the American Civil War?

That is the premise behind a newly announced show on cable network HBO that has sparked a heated backlash in a country still grappling with the legacy of slavery and its generational impacts on African Americans.

Unveiled in mid-July, "Confederate" will be led by "Game of Thrones" creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, no strangers to criticism over the overwhelmingly white cast in their epic fantasy series that is currently in its seventh season.

It takes place in a world where Southern states successfully seceded during the Civil War (1861-65) and slavery continues to be practiced, as the Confederate States of America gears up for a fresh war against the Union.

Except it's progressives who are up in arms.

"The same guys who have gratuitous depictions of rape & no significant POC characters are going to handle the enslavement of Blacks w/ nuance," tweeted activist April Reign, who created the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag to protest the lack of diversity among the 2016 Oscar nominees.

Wess and Benioff are working with husband-and-wife executive producers Malcolm Spellman and Nichelle Tramble Spellman (known for "Empire" and "The Good Wife," respectively), who are themselves black and have vigorously defended the project that is set to air in 2018 or 2019.

That hasn't deterred a social media campaign aimed at canceling the show, with the hashtag #NoConfederate becoming the top trend on Twitter during Sunday night's broadcast of the third episode of "Game of Thrones."

White fantasies?

Questioned by a Twitter user on whether he could see himself taking a role in the series, black actor Don Cheadle replied: "Would depend on the part. As always. But I'm beyond skeptical about the project in general."

Stephane Dunn, a professor at Morehouse College, questioned the premise "given the fact that we still live in a society that still has a white supremacist orientation rooted in itself.

"And there's the other question: is it going to be so revisionist that we don't recognize the American slavery. There might be a sort of... glamorization unintentionally or not," she added.

Asked to comment on the controversy, HBO emailed a statement to AFP that indicated they had no intention of canceling the show.

"We have great respect for the dialogue and concern being expressed around 'Confederate,'" the channel said.

"We have faith that Nichelle, Dan, David and Malcolm will approach the subject with care and sensitivity. The project is currently in its infancy so we hope that people will reserve judgment until there is something to see."

Alternate history series have enjoyed considerable critical success in recent years, including most notably Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale" but also "The Man in the High Castle" on Amazon and the BBC's "SS-GB."

The last two, which imagined the Nazi occupations of the United States and Great Britain respectively, did not provoke widespread outrage among Jews.

For critics of "Confederate," the question of who gets to tell the story - both in front of the camera and behind it - is just as important as the televised portrayal of slavery.

Similar controversy arose around the movie "Detroit," which evokes the city's riots in 1967 and the repression that targeted the black community, as the director and the entire production team are white.

Artist and activist Bree Newsome said the opposition to the show "is not simply issue of history, it's also issue of the fantasy genre being largely limited to the fantasies of white men."

Ranveer Singh to play cricketer Kapil Dev in 1983 World Cup film

Ranveer Singh

Former India captain Kapil Dev's journey to the 1983 World Cup glory is about to be made into a biopic, and guess who is slated to play the Indian sporting hero?

None other than Befikre star Ranveer Singh!

The Bollywood actor has been signed to play Kapil Dev in Kabir Khan's upcoming flick which will re-live India's victory against West Indies in the 1983 World Cup final at Lord's, reports SpotboyE.

Kapil Dev with the 1983 World Cup trophy 

Kabir Khan, whose recent film Tubelight failed miserably, has had some meetings with Ranveer in this regard and, if all goes well, Ranveer will soon be seen donning the cricket gear on the big screen.

Ranveer's spokesperson told the publication: "It's too early to confirm anything with regards to Ranveer Singh playing Kapil Dev. An announcement will be made by the production house as and when everything is finalized."

The film in question is slated to be produced by Phantom Films. Its producer Madhu Mantena is supposedly very close to the cricketer.

Media reports making rounds earlier had named Arjun Kapoor as the possible lead cast for the film. 

Stevie Wonder to lead concert to protect global aid

Stevie Wonder and Green Day will headline a concert in New York to mobilize support for efforts to eradicate global poverty as President Donald Trump proposes sweeping foreign aid cuts.

"Happy" pop star Pharrell Williams, chart-topping electronic duo The Chainsmokers and alternative rockers The Killers will also play the Global Citizen Festival in Central Park on September 23, organizers announced Tuesday.

Wonder said the festival came at a "crucial time," adding in a statement: "When we commit ourselves to life issues, we are showing love of the Most High."

The festival has drawn A-list stars annually since 2012 as the largely young audience presses world leaders for commitments to development as they gather in New York for the UN General Assembly.

The 2017 edition comes in a sharply different political climate even as needs mount amid crises ranging from intractable wars in Syria and Yemen to hunger on the Horn of Africa.

Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans said the timing was critical -- after Trump's shock win and Britain's vote to exit the European Union but also amid a rejection of right-wing populism in elections in France and The Netherlands.

"Now is a hugely important point for there to be a line drawn in the sand that says foreign aid matters, investing in education matters, investing in food and hunger matters," Evans told AFP.

The festival, which has expanded over the past year to India and Germany, is free of charge with fans earning tickets by taking actions such as writing letters to their governments.

Hoping to expand its reach, the festival for the first time will be proceeded by a Global Citizen Week of discussions, films, art and music around New York.

Evans said the festival wanted to reach out to people, including political centrists, who believed in the possibility of making change in the world.

"In the same way that extreme poverty has been halved in the past 30 years while I've been alive, actually in the next 30 years we can end it all together," he said.

Progress 'impossible' with Trump cuts

The United Nations has set the Millennium Development Goals whose targets include eradicating malnutrition, ensuring universal access to drinking water and providing equal educational opportunities to girls by 2030.

But Evans said it would be "virtually impossible" to achieve the goals if the United States implements Trump's plans. He wants to slash foreign aid by one-third while ramping up military spending as part of his "America First" platform.

US lawmakers, including some from Trump's Republican Party, support assistance in areas such as HIV/AIDS. But Evans said there was still a risk of major reductions in US aid, even if not by the same margins proposed by Trump.

The United States is the world's largest economy and donor in absolute terms, although many European nations give more in public funds on a per capita basis.

Alongside pressing for sustained US aid, the latest festival will seek support for the Global Partnership for Education, which promotes schooling in poor countries -- an area where progress has lagged behind some health areas.

Other acts to play the Global Citizen Festival include folk rockers The Lumineers, soul singer Andra Day, rising Canadian pop songwriter Alessia Cara and rapper Big Sean.