Jump to content

bolverk

New Members
  • Posts

    16524
  • Joined

  • Days Won

    12

Everything posted by bolverk

  1. Agree with y'all on the wording...
  2. Well, yeah, sure, I know how the Euros do it, as I've lived over there for a little while, but this is America, gotdammit. Also, your explanation doesn't explain the %100 bullshit, which goes to show they're just doing it because (I assume) they saw some GenZ kids doing it.
  3. What’s up with folks, including posters on this site, suddenly placing the dollar sign after an amount and the percentage sign before one? It seems like this is a pretty recent (and idiotic) orthographic trend around here that’s taken hold over the last year or so. Examples: 100$ instead of $100 %100 instead of 100% I can understand uneducated people getting confused or something, but these are supposedly college-educated or at least somewhat intelligent posters, doing this stuff, when they absolutely know better. And it is not hip or cool, if that’s why you’re doing it.
  4. From yesterday:
  5. https://www.npr.org/2025/10/23/g-s1-94599/anglican-church-archbishop-accused-of-sexual-misconduct Archbishop Steve Wood, who heads the Anglican Church of North America, faces allegations of sexual harassment, bullying and plagiarism, according to an explosive report released by The Washington Post on Thursday (Oct. 23). The list of charges, signed by at least 10 individuals attesting to the allegations, is the latest in a string of crises to rock the small, conservative denomination. ***** A little about the Anglican Church of North America: The Anglican Church of North America was founded in 2009 after some 700 churches split from the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in Canada over various disagreements, including the acceptance of women priests, LGBTQ+ affirmation and the rewritten Book of Common Prayer. In July 2021, a mother went public with allegations that Mark Rivera, a onetime lay leader at Christ Our Light Anglican Church in Big Rock, Illinois, had sexually abused her 9-year-old daughter. At least nine other people have also shared grooming or sexual misconduct allegations Rivera, who has since been convicted of felony sexual assault and felony child sexual assault. More than 10 clergy and other lay leaders in the Upper Midwest diocese have been accused of misconduct as a result and its bishop, Stewart Ruch stood trial in a proceeding that concluded Oct 15 — but not before two prosecutors had resigned amid claims of procedural misconduct. The church court's order is expected on or before Dec. 16. Meanwhile, the denomination has been shaken by dustups involving other bishops. One ACNA bishop was defrocked in 2020 due to his pornography use; in 2024, another bishop, Todd Atkinson, was ousted for inappropriate relationships with women. In September, Bishop Derek Jones, who oversaw a jurisdiction that endorsed ACNA's chaplains, announced his departure from the denomination after the archbishop moved to investigate several misconduct allegations against him. The jurisdiction claimed the proposed investigation violated church bylaws, and has moved to exit the denomination, attempting to take its chaplains with it. The jurisdiction also sued the denomination for trademark infringement and unfair business practices.
  6. I do think it really comes down to the culture war shit. They just want to hurt the blacks, the browns, the gays, and the unbelievers. No economic price is too high to pay for them to get in on that action, and they're too stupid to comprehend, or they actually enjoy, the ongoing assault on our democracy. Edit: And never mind the ballooning national debt. Edit edited: And the blatant corruption. My gawd, the corruption.
  7. He's taking swipes at all three pillars of the West Texas economy: cotton, cattle, crude. Y'all already know about the latter two, but cotton has also taken a hit. About two-thirds of our cotton goes to China, and they've cut back, dropping cotton futures down to a five-year low. And, of course, all the cost of inputs for growing the crop (fertilizer, machinery, labor) are going up. Another major blow is the hit to renewable energy (both wind and solar). Bunch of stupid dumb fucks.
  8. SIAP I'm having trouble keeping all these blowed up refineries and factories with funny names straight.
  9. Here’s a story about corruption and incompetence, a recurring theme lately: A near monopoly (Motorola) in providing emergency communications equipment gets an upper hand in a bid for Kerr County’s new contract through the use of, well, its monopoly power by rushing the contract with a threat to raise prices (24% profit margin on sales!), using lobbyists to gain advantages, etc. Then, on the local side, you have a contract with shitty stipulations and a Motorola employee on the committee selecting Motorola. The real kicker is that their primary competitor for the contract was the LCRA, which maintains an emergency communications network in much of the Hill Country that provides BETTER coverage and is more useful to emergency responders from other areas coming to assist. I’ve worked with lots of local governments around the state, so I understand this kind of shit is common, but we absolutely have to do better when lives are on the line. And while in this particular situation it might not have mattered because the victims had most likely already passed, this won’t be the only time Kerr County will need to use its shitty new emergency communications system. Gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/us/texas-flood-radios-public-safety.html?unlocked_article_code=1.vk8.fM45.fa2qUR4jDI07&smid=url-share
  10. Pelosi Says Police May Arrest Federal Agents Who Violate California Law The San Francisco district attorney said in an interview that she came up with the strategy after seeing federal agents repeatedly roughing up people in Los Angeles and Chicago. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested on Wednesday that local police could arrest federal agents if they break California law while conducting immigration raids that are expected this week in the San Francisco Bay Area. With Border Patrol agents due to arrive, Ms. Pelosi issued the stark warning along with Kevin Mullin, a fellow Democratic representative, who represents the small slice of San Francisco that Ms. Pelosi doesn’t. President Trump has said several times in recent weeks that he wanted to send federal forces to the city. “While the President may enjoy absolute immunity courtesy of his rogue Supreme Court, those who operate under his orders do not,” they wrote in a statement on Wednesday. “Our state and local authorities may arrest federal agents if they break California law — and if they are convicted, the President cannot pardon them.” A spokeswoman with the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The idea appears to have come from Brooke Jenkins, the San Francisco district attorney. Ms. Jenkins said in an interview on Wednesday that she came up with the strategy after seeing federal agents repeatedly roughing up people in Los Angeles and Chicago. If federal agents came to her city and did the same, District Attorney Jenkins decided, she would treat them like anybody else breaking the law and would seek to prosecute them. Hit people with batons? Beat them up? Not on her watch, she said. “I had lead time to think about what authority I have and what I can do,” she said. “This is something I felt very strongly about, and I had my office research it.” District Attorney Jenkins said she had communicated with the San Francisco Police Department about arresting federal agents for “clear, excessive use of force” and that the agency was on board with the concept. A spokesman for the department did not return a request for comment on Wednesday. District Attorney Jenkins said she did not envision police officers handcuffing federal agents in full view on city streets. Instead, she said, local law enforcement could review camera footage of beatings, if they occur, and try to identify the agent involved. Then, she said, she would ask a judge to sign a warrant for the agent’s arrest and seek to prosecute the agent in court. “For me, this is about San Francisco and what I need to do for San Francisco,” she said. That could be much easier said than done. Many federal agents are operating in masks and without badges or other identification; a California law barring agents from wearing masks does not take effect until January and even then is quite likely to face legal challenges. And the Trump administration could seek immunity for its officers or ignore the warrants altogether, Ms. Jenkins acknowledged. She said she had not discussed her idea with other prosecutors in California or around the country. District Attorney Jenkins shared the idea on X earlier this month after Marc Benioff, the chief executive of Salesforce, said that he would support President Trump sending National Guard troops to San Francisco. (Mr. Benioff later recanted and apologized for his statement on the Guard.) The ability of states to arrest federal officers is murky, and without much legal precedent, said Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. A state cannot unduly interfere with the ability of a federal agent to enforce federal law, he said, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have the legal right to apprehend individuals suspected of being in the country illegally. “As long as the ICE agents are acting legally, the state can’t prosecute them and hold them liable, even if it dislikes what they’re doing,” Mr. Chemerinsky said. But immigration agents who overstep their legal bounds — for instance, by using excessive force — could be sued in California, he said. “I think the ICE agents can be sued, for battery, for excessive force, in state court, and I think they can be similarly prosecuted,” Mr. Chemerinsky said. “If ICE agents act beyond their legal authority, and violate state law in doing so, they can be prosecuted.” In their statement, Representatives Pelosi and Mullin made clear that they believed federal immigration agents had overstepped their authority in other situations. “Reports of a planned mass immigration raid in the Bay Area are an appalling abuse of law enforcement power,” they wrote. “Broad sweeps that target families and terrorize law-abiding residents betray our nation’s values and waste resources that should focus on real threats to public safety.” Spokespeople for both Democrats declined to further explain how they believed local or state police should arrest federal agents. Representative Sam Liccardo, a Democrat who previously served as the mayor of San Jose, said he had spoken with colleagues and local law enforcement officials about such an action. “All law enforcement must comply with the Constitution,” he said, “and to the extent that there’s a violation of federal or state constitutional protections or civil liberties, there’s certainly a basis for asserting a violation.” In other cities where the federal government has escalated immigration enforcement, local authorities have complained that federal agents have bent the law and abused civilians. Representative Ro Khanna, another Bay Area Democrat, has pushed for a requirement that immigration agents wear body cameras and visibly display their names during operations. “The issue is, a lot of these ICE agents are harassing American citizens,” he said. “They’re acting in a lawless way.”
  11. Wordle 1,587 4/6 ⬛🟨⬛⬛⬛ ⬛⬛⬛🟩🟨 🟩🟩⬛🟩⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #865 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🙂 Daily Quordle 1368 8️⃣5️⃣ 6️⃣7️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ 🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨 ⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 🟨🟨🟩🟨⬜ ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟩🟨⬜ ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
  12. Interesting website: https://www.whoismakingnews.com/#WHO-ARE-THE-REAL-PREDATORS
  13. Wordle 1,586 4/6 🟩⬛⬛🟨⬛ 🟩⬛⬛⬛🟩 🟩⬛⬛⬛🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Connections Puzzle #864 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🙂 Daily Quordle 1367 8️⃣9️⃣ 7️⃣4️⃣ m-w.com/games/quordle/ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨 ⬜🟨⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜🟨🟨⬜🟩 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟨🟨🟩⬜ ⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
  14. This is me not saying what I’d like to say.
  15. https://apnews.com/article/israel-settlers-west-bank-attack-annexation-1e9cbd6af6ea502fbfca5d9ffe949b0b RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Israeli settlers descended on Palestinian olive harvesters and activists this week in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, beating them with clubs in an attack Palestinian health officials said sent at least one woman to the hospital with serious injuries. The attack Sunday in the town of Turmus Ayya, which was captured in videos obtained by The Associated Press, came as Palestinians say settler violence in the region is worsening. The United Nations and rights groups have raised the alarm as harvest season begins and Palestinian farmers are at growing risk while gathering olives. “Settler violence has skyrocketed in scale and frequency,” Ajith Sunghay, the head of the U.N. Human Rights Office in the Palestinian territory, said in a statement released Tuesday. “Two weeks into the start of the 2025 harvest, we have already seen severe attacks by armed settlers against Palestinian men, women, children and foreign solidarity activists.” In one of the videos obtained by the AP, a masked man was seen running through an olive grove and beating at least two people with a club, including a woman as she lay motionless on the ground. The masked man appeared to be wearing tzitzit, a ritual fringed garment for Jews. The woman was hospitalized with serious injures, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Health Ministry said. In a separate video, more than a dozen masked men were seen running down a village road alongside an olive grove, pursuing a car. One settler clubbed the car and opened the door. A passenger managed to escape and run away with the group of men running after him. A third video showed flames and smoke rising from several torched cars. Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the head of the West Bank police force said in an internal police WhatsApp group that the footage of the masked settler beating the woman “kept him up at night” and instructed officers to bring the settler to justice. Israel’s military and police did not respond to an AP request for comment on the attack. Turmus Ayya, whose population is predominantly Palestinian American, has long been a target of settler attacks, but villagers say the violence worsened during the Israel-Hamas war. It’s nestled in a valley surrounded by hilltops crowned with Israeli settlements and outposts. Since the killing of a 14-year old Palestinian-American, Amer Rabee, by Israeli forces in the town in April protests against settler violence and the military’s perceived failure to curb it have provoked regular clashes with settlers. More broadly, settler violence is surging across the West Bank. The U.N. says the first half of 2025 has seen 757 settler attacks causing casualties or property damage — a 13% increase compared with the same period last year. The first week of olive harvest season has seen more than 150 settler attacks and over 700 olive trees uprooted, broken or poisoned, according to Muayyad Shaaban, who heads an office in the Palestinian Authority that is tracking the violence. Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those territories for a future independent state. Settler advocates hold key Israeli Cabinet positions that grant them and the settlers an important say over the West Bank.
  16. My concern goes far beyond the University of Texas at Austin. It’s the flagship, and not just for the system. It’s the gold standard for public higher education in Texas. Hell, this whole region of the country. Sure, the whimsical wishes of the regime change day-to-day, and UT could get tired of trying to placate our moronic monarch. In the meantime, schools across the state see UT receive that cash and start trying not just to emulate the University, but to outdo it, showing they’re even more deserving by becoming full-on reich-wing indoctrination centers.
  17. Are you ever going to respond to all these posters who took the time out of their day to give you thoughtful answers?
  18. https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-israel-gaza-ceasefire-new-normal-hezbollah-190eb8c2ec2d9fedc94c3fadfc1f41e2 BEIRUT (AP) — As a tenuous ceasefire took hold in Gaza this month, Israel launched more airstrikes on southern Lebanon — 11 months into a ceasefire there. The bombardment of a construction equipment business killed a Syrian passerby, wounded seven people including two women, and destroyed millions of dollars worth of bulldozers and excavators. The Oct. 11 strikes would be an anomaly in most countries not at war. But near-daily Israeli attacks have become the new normal in Lebanon, nearly a year after a U.S.-brokered truce halted the latest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Some see a likely blueprint for the Gaza ceasefire, with ongoing but lower-intensity conflicts. On Sunday, Israel struck Gaza after it said Hamas fired at its troops, in the first major test of the U.S.-brokered truce. Mona Yacoubian, director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, described the Lebanon scenario as a “lessfire” rather than a ceasefire. Lebanon “could well serve as the model for Gaza, essentially giving leeway to Israeli forces to strike whenever they deem a threat without a full resumption of conflict,” she said. A ceasefire with no clear enforcement The latest Israel-Hezbollah conflict began the day after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel triggered the war in Gaza. The militant group Hezbollah, largely based in southern Lebanon, began firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas and the Palestinians. Israel responded with airstrikes and shelling. The low-level conflict escalated into full-scale war in September 2024. The ceasefire on Nov. 27, 2024, required Lebanon to stop armed groups from attacking Israel and Israel to halt “offensive” military actions in Lebanon. It said Israel and Lebanon can act in “self-defense,” without elaborating. Both sides can report alleged violations to a monitoring committee of the U.S., France, Israel, Lebanon and the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL, but the deal is vague on enforcement. In practice, Israel has largely taken enforcement into its own hands, asserting that its strikes in Lebanon target Hezbollah militants, facilities and weapons. Israel says it aims to stop the badly weakened group from rebuilding. Lebanese officials say the attacks obstruct its efforts to get Hezbollah to disarm by giving the group a pretext to hold onto its weapons. Lebanon also says Israel’s strikes, including the Oct. 11 one, often harm civilians and destroy infrastructure unrelated to Hezbollah. Lebanon’s health ministry has reported more than 270 people killed and around 850 wounded by Israeli military actions since the ceasefire. As of Oct. 9, the U.N. human rights office had verified that 107 of those killed were civilians or noncombatants, said spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan. No Israelis have been killed by fire from Lebanon since the ceasefire. From Nov. 27, 2024, to mid-October, UNIFIL detected around 950 projectiles fired from Israel into Lebanon and 100 Israeli airstrikes, spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said. During the same period, it reported 21 projectiles fired from Lebanon toward Israel. Hezbollah has claimed one attack since the ceasefire. Conflicting narratives After the Oct. 11 strikes in Msayleh, Israel’s army said it hit “engineering equipment intended for the reconstruction of terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon.” Lebanese authorities, Hezbollah and the equipment’s owner disputed that. “Everyone in Lebanon, from all different sects, comes to buy from us,” owner Ahmad Tabaja told journalists. “What have we done wrong?” Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called the strikes “blatant aggression against civilian facilities.” Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri accused Israel of seeking to prevent communities’ reconstruction. Lebanon complained to the U.N. Security Council. A few days later, Israel struck a cement factory and a quarry, claiming Hezbollah planned to use it to rebuild its infrastructure. Last month, an Israeli strike hit a motorcycle and a car carrying a family in Bint Jbeil. It killed Shadi Charara, a car salesman, three of his children — including 18-month-old twins — and the motorcyclist, and badly wounded Charara’s wife and oldest daughter. It was among the highest death tolls since the ceasefire, sparking particular outrage because of the children. “My brother was a civilian and his children and wife are civilians, and they have nothing to do with politics,” said sister Amina Charara. Israel’s military said it was targeting a Hezbollah militant, whom it did not name, but acknowledged that civilians were killed. Even when the target is a known Hezbollah member, the military necessity can be disputed. Earlier this month, an Israeli drone strike killed a Hezbollah member who was blinded last year in Israel’s exploding pagers attack, along with his wife. Israel’s army said Hassan Atwi was a key official in Hezbollah’s Aerial Defense Unit. Hezbollah officials said he had played no military role since losing his eyesight. The end of ‘mutual deterrence’ Hezbollah was formed in 1982, with Iranian backing, to fight Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon at the time. Israeli forces withdrew in 2000, and Hezbollah grew into one of the region’s most powerful non-state armed groups. In 2006, Hezbollah and Israel fought a month-long war that ended in a draw. For the next 17 years, “there was a tense calm ... that was largely due to mutual deterrence,” said Nicholas Blanford, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Middle East program. Strikes in Lebanon were generally understood to be off limits. Both sides wanted to avoid another damaging war. Now that equation has changed. Though Blanford said Hezbollah could still deliver blows to Israel, the group’s “deterrence has been shattered by the recent war,” he said. In an interview with The Associated Press last month, Hezbollah political official Mohammad Fneish said the prospect of coexisting with daily Israeli attacks is “not acceptable.” But the group has largely limited itself to calling on Lebanon’s government to pressure Israel with what Fneish called “its political, diplomatic or other capabilities.” He added: “If things develop further, then the resistance leadership is studying matters, and all options are open.” Yacoubian, the analyst, said she didn’t see the situation in Lebanon changing any time soon, “barring a breakthrough in behind-the-scenes negotiations brokered by the U.S.” With the Gaza ceasefire, she said, the difference could be the “significant role” of fellow mediators Qatar, Egypt and Turkey.
  19. Amazon Plans to Replace More Than Half a Million Jobs With Robots Internal documents show the company that changed how people shop has a far-reaching plan to automate 75 percent of its operations. Over the past two decades, no company has done more to shape the American workplace than Amazon. In its ascent to become the nation’s second-largest employer, it has hired hundreds of thousands of warehouse workers, built an army of contract drivers and pioneered using technology to hire, monitor and manage employees. Now, interviews and a cache of internal strategy documents viewed by The New York Times reveal that Amazon executives believe the company is on the cusp of its next big workplace shift: replacing more than half a million jobs with robots. Amazon’s U.S. work force has more than tripled since 2018 to almost 1.2 million. But Amazon’s automation team expects the company can avoid hiring more than 160,000 people in the United States it would otherwise need by 2027. That would save about 30 cents on each item that Amazon picks, packs and delivers to customers. Executives told Amazon’s board last year that they hoped robotic automation would allow the company to continue to avoid adding to its U.S. work force in the coming years, even though they expect to sell twice as many products by 2033. That would translate to more than 600,000 people whom Amazon didn’t need to hire. At facilities designed for superfast deliveries, Amazon is trying to create warehouses that employ few humans at all. And documents show that Amazon’s robotics team has an ultimate goal to automate 75 percent of its operations. Amazon is so convinced this automated future is around the corner that it has started developing plans to mitigate the fallout in communities that may lose jobs. Documents show the company has considered building an image as a “good corporate citizen” through greater participation in community events such as parades and Toys for Tots. The documents contemplate avoiding using terms like “automation” and “A.I.” when discussing robotics, and instead use terms like “advanced technology” or replace the word “robot” with “cobot,” which implies collaboration with humans. Amazon said in a statement that the documents viewed by The Times were incomplete and did not represent the company’s overall hiring strategy. Kelly Nantel, a spokeswoman for Amazon, said the documents reflected the viewpoint of one group inside the company and noted that Amazon planned to hire 250,000 people for the coming holiday season, though the company declined to say how many of those roles would be permanent. Amazon also said that it’s not insisting executives avoid certain terms, and that community involvement is unrelated to automation. Amazon’s plans could have profound impact on blue-collar jobs throughout the country and serve as a model for other companies like Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, and UPS. The company transformed the U.S. work force as it created a booming demand for warehousing and delivery jobs. But now, as it leads the way for automation, those roles could become more technical, higher paid and more scarce. Gift link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/technology/inside-amazons-plans-to-replace-workers-with-robots.html?unlocked_article_code=1.vE8.UxIh.b0QqhmR8pUfz&smid=url-share
  20. Portion of an interview with Adam Driver, discussing a SW film that never was about Kylo Ren that he and Soderbergh pitched to Disney: A ‘Star Wars’ near-miss “I always was interested in doing another ‘Star Wars,’” says Driver, who starred as Kylo Ren in the trilogy kicked off by “The Force Awakens.” “I had been talking about doing another one since 2021. Kathleen (Kennedy) had reached out. I always said: With a great director and a great story, I’d be there in a second. I loved that character and loved playing him.” Driver says he took a concept to Soderbergh for a film that would take place after 2019’s “The Rise of Skywalker.” That movie culminated in Ren’s redemption and apparent death. Driver had undertaken the trilogy with an arc in mind for Ren that inverted the journey of Darth Vader. As the trilogy evolved, it didn’t play out that way. Driver felt there was unfinished business for Kylo Ren, or as he was known before turning to the Dark Side, Ben Solo. Soderbergh and Rebecca Blunt outlined a story that the group then pitched to Kennedy, Lucasfilm vice president Cary Beck and Lucasfilm chief creative officer Dave Filoni. They were interested, so the filmmakers then pulled in Scott Z. Burns to write a script. Driver calls the result “one of the coolest (expletive) scripts I had ever been a part of.” “We presented the script to Lucasfilm. They loved the idea. They totally understood our angle and why we were doing it,” Driver says. “We took it to Bob Iger and Alan Bergman and they said no. They didn’t see how Ben Solo was alive. And that was that.” “It was called ‘The Hunt for Ben Solo’ and it was really cool,” adds Driver. “But it is no more, so I can finally talk about it.” Soderbergh, in a statement, said: “I really enjoyed making the movie in my head. I’m just sorry the fans won’t get to see it.” Representatives for Disney and Lucasfilm declined comment. It’s been a period of transition for the feature-film operations of “Star Wars.” Kennedy, the longtime Lucasfilm president, is expected to step down by the end of the year. After a feature-film lull, numerous projects are in various stages of development or production including Jon Favreau’s “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” Shawn Levy’s “Starfighter” with Ryan Gosling, a film directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy featuring Daisy Ridley returning as Rey, a James Mangold-directed movie and a new saga helmed by Simon Kinberg. For Driver, who starred in Soderbergh’s 2017 heist comedy “Logan Lucky,” the decision was mystifying. Who wouldn’t want to see a Soderbergh-directed “Star Wars” film? “We wanted to be judicial about how to spend money and be economical with it, and do it for less than most but in the same spirit of what those movies are, which is handmade and character-driven,” Driver says. “‘Empire Strikes Back’ being, in my opinion, the standard of what those movies were. But he is, to me, one of my favorite directors of all time. He lives his code, lives his ethics, doesn’t compromise.”
  21. With this regime? Good fuckin' luck with that. They'll force Ring (really, Amazon) to share anything and everything, or Bezos will just go along with it.
  22. I think we're approaching about 50 accounts now.
×
×
  • Create New...