For “Hysteria!” actresses Anna Camp and Julie Bowen, horror is harder than comedy. “Horror is really hard actually because there is a fine line you have to walk; you have to make it feel grounded and you’re put in these extreme circumstances: You’re being possessed or pulled through the air, there’s nothing you can do to relate to that,” explained Camp of “Pitch Perfect” fame. “With comedy, you can have a relatable situation and go, ‘I’ve been in situations like that.’ There’s nothing you can compare (horror) to, so you have to use your imagination. I find it harder. Your imagination goes home with you at the end of the day. You’re still thinking crazy thoughts.” Bowen, best known for playing Claire Dunphy on “Modern Family,” agreed. “Comedy’s pretty binary because it’s like either you can make people laugh or you don’t. I can’t watch horror. I’m terrified, terrified! I am the easiest scare in the world, so as far as doing (horror), I want to make it as real as possible. It was hard because I had to be really, really crazy. There were times when I’d get back to my hotel room at 3 a.m., I didn’t want to be alone in my head,” said Bowen, laughing. Camp, Bowen, Royal Oak native Bruce Campbell (“Evil Dead”), showrunner David A. Goodman (“Futurama”), and Ypsilanti native/creator Matthew Scott Kane (“American Horror Story”) were promoting “Hysteria!” at the New York Comic Con in October. The horror series is streaming on Peacock. Set in the fictional Michigan town of Happy Hollow, the first episode of “Hysteria” begins with a popular quarterback’s disappearance and a pentagram is discovered on a garage door. As a result, rumors of the occult and satanic influence run rampant through the town. A trio of outcasts in a heavy metal band called Dethkrunch exploit this by rebranding themselves as a satanic metal band, which leads to them becoming the targets of the town’s witch hunt. “Something on my mind a lot in 2019 was we’re living in this post-factual age with social media. It seemed like decades and decades ago, you could trust the news. Now everything is in question. When lies end up getting disseminated as truth, that starts to warp people’s version of reality. Suddenly, they’re living in a world other people are not. That was going on in the world I was living in and I very quickly connected it to the 1980s satanic panic. It’s not really that different because people were saying Ozzy Osbourne, Jason Voorhees (of ‘Friday the 13th’), and the Smurfs were going to turn your kids into satanists and kill you in your sleep. That didn’t happen. It wasn’t true, but so many people got worked up into such a fervor over it, bad things happened. ... It was smoke without fire,” Kane said. “Disinformation is not new,” Campbell said. “Disinformation will tear a town apart.” Campbell portrays Happy Hollow Police Chief Ben Dandridge. “This guy’s a reasonable cop; he’s a rational person who doesn’t treat the teenagers like they’re idiots. It’s all very refreshing,” he said. “I want to play that guy again. I want cops to be that guy. I’m playing the cop (that) cops need to be. That’s my whole motivation for playing this guy: How would you like cops to be, especially the guy in charge, the chief of police? They’re lucky to have Chief Dandridge.” “It was truly an exciting moment when Bruce signed on,” Goodman said. By the end of the first episode, a supernatural phenomenon happens to Linda Campbell, played by Bowen. “Linda seems like one thing, then you realize she’s bananas. She’s either bananas or she’s possessed. Either way, it’s a complicated thing to play,” Bowen said. “With Julie, you can have your cake and eat it too,” Kane said. “She’s this fun, quirky mom. ... As the episode goes on, she’s pulled deeper into this thing and crazy stuff starts happening. That final act of the first episode was my favorite moment with her because this announced that this is not Claire Dunphy. We’re not doing that again; we’re pushing her as a performer. “Julie was so excited about doing stunts. She told us on many occasions she’s very sturdy and can take it. The same goes for Bruce and for Anna. We didn’t ask anyone to give us a flavor of the thing they did before. We cast people we loved so much (in their famous projects) that we wanted to give them the opportunity to do the exact opposite.” Added Bowen: “I got this script and was like, ‘Oh great. She’s a mom. How fun.’ I love moms. I’m a mom, but I felt this was not worth flying out of town to Georgia and being away from my kids. Then I got to the end of the pilot and was like, ‘She’s crazy!’ Is she possessed? There’s a lot more questions. It’s fun to just stretch again and do things I haven’t done in a while, which I found really exciting.” Kane said he felt lucky Bowen signed on at the beginning. “She was the first adult actor to sign on. That gave us such credibility to have a two-time Emmy-winning actor leading this show. Suddenly, it goes from this script from a relatively unknown writer into the new Julie Bowen show,” he said. It was the quality of the writing that attracted Camp, Bowen and Campbell to “Hysteria!” “I loved the script; it was incredibly well-written. It was immersed in the time period. It was such a good coming-of-age story, too — the feeling of being in high school again, being in the 1980s,” Camp said. “I talked to Matt who said my character (Tracy) was incredibly pivotal to the series and we’ll learn about why she is the way she is. So I was like, ‘I’d love to do this!’” For Campbell, the writing is everything. “A lot of times, I’ll get a script that could make the words interchangeable with every other character because the writing is very bland and just doesn’t have the detail you need. This was different. Every character was pretty distinct and pretty well-drawn,” he said. “It’s quality. It’s not a (expletive) show. It’s a real show that’s playing around with interesting themes. A lot of it is still relevant to this day.” “Hysteria!” has other Michigan connections, including University of Michigan alumnus Jonathan Goldstein (“Spider-Man: Homecoming”) and Dondero High School alumnus Jordan Vogt-Roberts (“Kong: Skull Island”), who both serve as executive producers. Kane explained why he set “Hysteria!” in Michigan. “You write what you know. I grew up in Ypsilanti, so that had a lot to do with it. More importantly, when you’re in a small town in the Midwest — somewhere like Michigan — these things don’t ever happen and word spreads fast and paranoia spreads quickly and (everything’s) blown out of proportion and takes up a lot of people’s minds,” he said. “Whether or not something is real doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if there are people willing to believe it does and willing it into the world. What does it matter if it’s objectively real or living rent-free in someone’s head?”
Peacock’s ‘Hysteria!’ set in Michigan during 1980s satanic panic
In addition to his on-field performances, Lee Gang-in's off-field activities have also played a crucial role in boosting his merchandise sales. Whether it's collaborating with fashion brands, participating in charity events, or engaging with fans through virtual meet-and-greets, Lee has shown a willingness to go above and beyond to connect with his audience and build a strong brand image.
On the heels of releasing a brand new M4 MacBook Pro , Apple might be looking into the potential of launching its own branded smart TV . If that rumor's accurate , it could very well shake up the foundation of the TV market. The rumor, which comes via Mark Gurman of Bloomberg fame, does note that an Apple smart TV is still very much in the conceptual stages, meaning it's an idea being floated around within the company's headquarters. The accuracy of the claims are unknowable, but it's certainly not the first time Apple's looked into making its own smart TVs. Both in the 2000s and in the early 2010s, an Apple-branded TV concept was heavily championed by none other than Steve Jobs himself. It would obviously fall by the wayside as the company's Apple TV 4K streaming device took the world by storm — and still remains one of the best streaming devices in the market. An Apple TV does kind of make sense for the brand if you really think about it. Apple's largely in the business of selling you screens upon screens in the form of iPhones, MacBooks, iPads, and iMacs. But I'm here to push back against any early hype, because all I see in the Apple smart TV concept is a disaster waiting in the wings. A lackluster interface ruled by Apple Intelligence Smart TVs these days have one major thing in common: AI chips with plenty of their own pros and cons across everything from upscaling to audio enhancements. I've already written several guides on which TV settings to change where necessary; plenty of them deal with these AI features. That's because most of these settings tend to mess with the picture quality and performance, often ruining the viewing experience. There's no doubt Apple would take an opportunity like designing of a new smart TV to promote Apple Intelligence with its own set of AI enhancements, which will probably amount to little more than is necessary. And while AI would be a hard pill to swallow for me in regard to an Apple smart TV, I think most dire of all for the proposed product would be tvOS serving as its main interface. While tvOS does have the benefit of being largely ad-free —minus of course Apple-branded adverts — it's not exactly the most streamlined of interfaces out there. Even in the Google TV vs Roku bout featuring two of the very best TV interfaces right now, there's still a lot to consider in terms of compatible apps and free content — which, if you were wondering, Google TV dominates with. As for Apple's tvOS, when it comes to free channels and content, you're left to your own devices, i.e. free apps like Tubi or Pluto TV . Then there's the question of gaming. Would Apple be able to meet the needs of gamers in a robust design that's not too expensive? Because for all my distaste in the interface, it could be a ripe as leading Apple's smart TV into becoming one of the best gaming TVs now that Apple is beginning to take the pastime more seriously. Over-inflated pricing in a budget OLED era The biggest issue I have with a potential Apple smart TV is the inevitably high asking price the company would slap on its new offering. Apple launched its Vision Pro headset earlier this year to an astronomical $3,499, locking out many would-be buyers and even those ever-so-slightly interested in the technology. There's no doubt it will favor a similarly high premium for a TV, whether OLED or not. But if Apple were to launch an OLED TV, it would prove even more devastating. The best OLED TVs come as some of the most sought-after displays in the market with, as you might guess, some of the highest prices primarily because they offer the best picture performance. Over the past few years, however, OLED TVs are starting to get cheaper ever so slightly. You can see it in the launch of cheaper models from lesser-known brands, like the $700 Sansui OLED TV that's got everyone abuzz. LG and Samsung also have two value-oriented OLED series in the LG B4 OLED and Samsung S85D. Inviting an Apple OLED TV into the market could drive the price up on these other OLED TVs given Apple's sheer dominance in the tech industry. It may even make other brands that have yet to enter the OLED space, like Amazon and Roku , think twice about trying. Both of those companies launched their first Mini-LED TVs this year. There's already more than enough competition in the OLED TV space as it is, with Panasonic returning after a lengthy hiatus to throw fuel into the fire with not one but two OLEDs. How an Apple-led design would be met to the masses is hard to say, but interest would be there, especially if it used the M4 MacBook Pro's nano-texture display . But who's to say? Maybe Apple sticks with its Apple TV 4K set-top box for a long while and skips the TV boat entirely. It all depends on how well its smart home control does, according to Gurman, and that too will have some hefty competition in the form of Amazon's new Echo Show 21 . More from Tom's Guide
( ) is a digital healthcare company focusing on developing technology and services that could aid healthcare professionals in delivering positive patient outcomes. The company has witnessed healthy buying this year, with its stock price rising by 84.4%. Its solid quarterly performances and continued acquisitions have boosted its financials. Let’s assess whether WELL Health offers buying opportunities at these levels by looking at its third-quarter earnings and growth prospects. WELL Health’s third-quarter performance Last month, WELL Health reported an impressive third-quarter performance, with its growing by 27% to $251.7 million. Organic growth of 23% and acquisitions over the last four quarters drove its sales, while the divestments offset some of the growth. It had around 1.48 million patient visits and 2.24 patient interactions during the quarter, representing a year-over-year growth of 41% across both metrics. Amid the topline growth, its gross profits grew by 19%. However, its adjusted gross margin contracted by 150 basis points to 44.6% amid increased contributions from lower-margin recruiting revenue from the acquisition of CarePlus. The digital healthcare company’s adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) grew 16% to $32.7 million. However, the adjusted EBITDA to WELL’s shareholders rose by 10% to $25.1 million. Its adjusted net income stood at $13 million, slightly improving from $12.9 million in the previous year’s quarter. The company generated $16.2 million of adjusted free cash flow during the quarter, supported by its comprehensive cost-cutting program, which it implemented earlier this year. Now, let’s look at its growth prospects. WELL Health’s growth prospects Given their accessibility, cost-effectiveness, and convenience, more people are adopting digital healthcare services. Technological advancements and improving internet penetration have also contributed to the rising popularity of virtual services, thus expanding the addressable market for WELL Health. Meanwhile, the company continues to invest in advancing AI (artificial intelligence)-powered tech enablement for care providers, which could strengthen its position in the digital healthcare sector. The company’s acquisition pipeline looks solid, with 17 signed LOIs (letters of intent) and definitive agreements. Also, the company’s cost-cutting program would continue to improve its . Moreover, WELL Health has rebranded its subsidiary WELL Provider Solutions Group as WELLSTAR Technologies. This pure-play software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology company offers high-quality technology and services to around 37,000 healthcare providers to improve patient care. The company is also working on spinning out WELLSTAR, thus providing investors with an attractive investment opportunity in healthcare technology SaaS. It expects to complete the spinoff by the end of next year. WELLSTAR recently acquired two healthcare-focused technology companies, which could contribute $15 million in annualized revenue, thus raising its 2025 pro forma revenue to $70 million. Also, its gross margins could remain above 80% while its EBITDA margin would be around 20%. Considering all these factors, I believe WELL Health’s growth prospects look healthy. Investors’ takeaway Despite the substantial increase in its stock price, WELL Health’s valuation looks attractive. Its next-12-month and NTM multiples stand at 1.6 and 24.2, respectively. Given its solid growth prospects, improving profitability, and attractive valuation, I expect WELL Health to deliver superior returns over the next three years.Waqf law was made for appeasement, no place for it in Constitution: PM Modi
The Conference of Parties (COP) presidency should tackle the “inequities” in the resource allocation of the current climate finance to help farmers cope with the aftermath of extreme weather conditions, according to a nongovernment organization. “The fight against climate change cannot emphasize enough the importance of agrifood systems. Ironically, this sector receives a meager share of the pie and it continues to decline,” Rice Watch and Action Network (R1) said in a statement. Citing an analysis by the Climate Policy Initiative, R1 said it showed a mere 0.8 percent share of small-scale agrifood systems or $5.53 billion of the total climate finance across all sectors of $660.2 billion in 2019 to 2020. The group also noted that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported in 2021 that climate-related development finance contributions towards agrifood systems declined by $19 billion or 12 percent compared to 2020. Asia posted the biggest decline, by 44 percent compared to 2020. “The inequities in resource allocation and worse, its further decline has cost the most vulnerable small-scale farmers and agri-micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) their remaining hope for resolution to their sad state.” R1 said the Philippines recently experienced four strong typhoons, leaving Filipino farmers barely able to recover from the devastation of one extreme weather event to another. “We join the united efforts of smallholder farmers, civil society, Indigenous Peoples (IPs), youth and women in seeking equitable share in climate financing,” R1 said. “Only then can we truly uphold climate change resilience among our sectors that are most vulnerable to the devastation of climate change impact.” The country has been grappling with successive typhoons recently that devastated agricultural farmlands and the fisheries sector, with damage reaching over P10 billion so far from typhoon Kristine to typhoon Nika. Bloomberg reported that nearly 200 countries agreed to triple the amount of money available to help developing countries confront rapidly warming temperatures. Rich countries have pledged to provide at least $300 billion annually by 2035, through a wide variety of sources, including public finance as well as bilateral and multilateral deals. The agreement also calls on parties to work toward unleashing a total of $1.3 trillion a year, with most of it expected to come through private financing. Developed and developing countries entered the negotiations far apart. At one point on Saturday, the talks appeared to be on the brink of collapse, before numerous closed-door meetings brought a deal closer. Rich nations are grappling with a slew of fiscal and political constraints, including inflation, constrained budgets and rising populism. The election of Donald Trump and his threat to pull the US out of the landmark Paris climate agreement also cast a shadow on the summit. Under a compromise, rich nations eventually agreed to commit $50 billion more than called for in a draft agreement on Friday. They had also made any agreement contingent on reaffirming last year’s COP28 outcome in Dubai that included a vow to transition away from fossil fuels. Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture (DA) entered into a tripartite agreement for a $39.2-million climate change project set to benefit 1.25 million farmers in the climate-vulnerable regions of the country. The department signed the Operational Partners Agreement together with the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) and FAO. The seven-year initiative aims to boost the resilience of rural communities reliant on agriculture. The project spans five regions, nine provinces, and 100 towns. The DA said a key outcome of the project is the adoption of climate-resilient farming practices by farmers, empowering them to establish sustainable enterprises. “The project also aims to strengthen regulatory frameworks, enhance market systems, and improve knowledge management to mainstream and scale up climate-resilient agriculture nationwide.”
HALIFAX — A veteran federal fisheries officer has been suspended for 10 days without pay for his role in arresting two Mi'kmaq elver fishers late at night and releasing them in only their stocking feet. Kevin Hartling and Blaise Sylliboy, both in their 20s, were arrested on March 26 as they fished for baby eels near Shelburne, N.S. They said three fisheries officers confiscated their phones and hip waders before leaving them at a gas station about a 45-minute drive from where they had been fishing. Hartling has said that after the two men were asked to leave the gas station, they walked in the cold without boots along a highway in southern Nova Scotia for hours before they were able to borrow a cellphone to reach a friend, who came and picked them up. After the incident became public in April, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it “extremely troubling” and promised a complete investigation. The Canadian Press verified the penalty imposed on the veteran officer but was unable to confirm what sanctions were imposed on the two more junior fishery officers. The supervisory officer's release of the men without footwear is described in the administrative investigation as a breach of the department's code of values and ethics. It was also considered a failure to "assume responsibility for care and control" of people under arrest, as detailed in the department's standard operating procedures. The discipline imposed considered the officer had no prior disciplinary breaches and "demonstrated remorse." The time without pay began on Wednesday and was to continue until the end of Christmas Day. Hartling, who spoke to The Canadian Press on Wednesday by text message, said he finds the penalty insufficient. "It seems like a pretty light penalty in my personal opinion. He should also have to do a behavioural course, so he isn’t doing this to more people," he wrote. "I would rather have had them take me to jail or at least cut our (hip) waders so we could have had something left on our feet." However, a source who didn't want to be identified due to potential employment repercussions reported that many federal Fisheries Department enforcement officers in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick booked off on mental health leave Wednesday to protest the penalties imposed. The source said many officers believe the supervisor followed arrest procedures in taking the men to a location of their choice — a gas station — and dropping them off. It is normal procedure for DFO officers to seize hip waders and cellphones when making arrests in suspected illegal fishing, and the officers do not bring people they arrest to jail in these circumstances, the source said. The source said the officers made some efforts to retrieve Sylliboy's and Hartlings' boots before they departed the scene of the arrest. "The expectation to drive somebody home when they live eight hours away (in Cape Breton) is not a realistic expectation. How do we go and buy or purchase these guys boots late at night? What options do the officers have to try to accommodate them?" asked the source. The Union of Health and Environment Workers, which represents the officers, declined comment Wednesday on the sanctions and on the officers' protest. Federal Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier also declined comment, saying the finding is a human relations matter, and a spokeswoman for the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw Chiefs said they had no comment on an "internal DFO matter." Lebouthillier announced in July she had ordered an external review into the matter that would look at "procedures to eradicate the potential for systemic biases or racism." A spokesman said on Wednesday that the review hasn't started yet. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 11, 2024. Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press
Taylor Swift wipes away tears at latest Eras Tour concert after receiving standing ovationAs the hearing drew to a close, the tension in the air was palpable. Speculation ran rampant about what the CAS decision would be and how it would impact not just Manchester City, but the footballing world at large. Would the club be vindicated and allowed to resume their pursuit of European glory, or would they be dealt a harsh blow that could reverberate for years to come?