On Tuesday, Little Rock, Arkansas NETFLIX – Arkansas senators questioned a sheriff’s decision to allow a Netflix documentary series to be recorded at the county jail, with one critic alleging that the move exploited inmates.

Sheriff Faces Questions From Arkansas Lawmakers Over Netflix Series Filmed At County Jail

Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins defended his decision to allow the eight-episode series “Unlocked: A Jail Experiment” to film at the county jail. The series began last month and focuses on a program that grants some offenders more freedom at the Little Rock jail.

Local and state officials have questioned the decision, claiming they were unaware of the series until just before it premiered. The show centers on a six-week experiment in which inmates in one cell block gained additional freedom by unlocking their cell doors. Higgins stated that he did not approach Netflix or Lucky 8, the production firm that filmed it, about the series.

“I took action to ensure that we have a reentry program to help those who are booked into our facility come out and become better individuals,” Higgins told members of the Joint Performance Review Committee.

Republican Sen. Jonathan Dismang said he supports the sheriff’s reentry program and trying something fresh to reduce recidivism. However, he expressed concern about it becoming the show’s center and asked how it could be termed an experiment if it was being filmed.

Sheriff Faces Questions From Arkansas Lawmakers Over Netflix Series Filmed At County Jail

“I think it’s an exploitation of your prisoners that you allowed a film crew to come in,” Dismang stated.

Another Republican lawmaker expressed concern about how the show will affect the state’s reputation, comparing it to a 1994 HBO documentary about gangs in Little Rock.

“For most of the people that watched this docuseries, this is the first time they’ve ever been exposed to Pulaski County, or perhaps to the state of Arkansas,” Rep. David Ray stated. “I worry about the brand damage that our state sustains from this being the first perception of our state to other people.”

Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde, the county’s top elected official, said he was unaware of the series until he saw a trailer before it debuted. Hyde claimed that the agreement between the sheriff and the production firm was invalid since he did not sign it. The county has already returned a $60,000 cheque to the production company that filmed the series.

Higgins, a Democrat who was first elected in 2018 and is the county’s first Black sheriff, has received support from some residents. The Little Rock NAACP chapter has backed Higgins’ decision, and supporters of the sheriff packed a committee room for Tuesday’s session.

Sheriff Faces Questions From Arkansas Lawmakers Over Netflix Series Filmed At County Jail

Democratic Senator Linda Chesterfield stated that Higgins’ supporters want “someone to provide humane treatment for people who have been treated inhumanely.”

“We are viewing this through different lenses, and it’s important we respect the lenses through which we view it,” Chesterfield stated.

SOURCE – (AP)

NEW YORK — Sage decided on a final hurrah.

Sage, a miniature poodle, earned the top prize Tuesday night at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show, which veteran handler Kaz Hosaka said would be his final appearance at the United States’ most renowned canine event. He intends to retire after 45 years of competing and winning two show dog championships.

Sage became the 11th Westminster winner for poodles of various sizes, trailing only wire fox terriers in that category. Spice won the prize with Hosaka in 2002, the last miniature poodle to do so.

“No words,” he stated in the ring to explain his reaction to Sage’s victory before adding a few: “So happy—exciting.”

Miniature Poodle Named Sage Wins Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

The inky-black poodle walked briskly and proudly around the ring, “gave a great performance for me,” Hosaka noted.

Sage defeated six other contestants to win best in the show. Mercedes, a German shepherd, finished second, and her manager, Kent Boyles, had previously shepherded a best-in-show winner.

Other dogs in the final round included Comet, a shih tzu who won the big American Kennel Club National Championship last year; Monty, a giant schnauzer who arrived at Westminster as the nation’s top-ranked dog and was a Westminster finalist last year; Louis, an Afghan hound; Micah, a black cocker spaniel; and Frankie, a colored bull terrier.

A protester with a poster urging people to “boycott breeders” attempted to enter the ring as Sage was walking around it, but security quickly stopped him. According to police and the animal rights organization PETA, three activists were arrested. Charges have not yet been determined.

In an event where all contestants are champions under the dog show’s point system, winning can come down to subtleties and a memorable performance at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home of the US Open tennis competition.

The best-in-show judge, Rosalind Kramer described the final lineup as “excellent and glorious.”

Katie Bernardin, Monty’s handler and co-owner, says, “Just to be in the ring with everyone else is an honor.”

“We all love our dogs. “We’re doing our best,” she remarked in the ring following Monty’s semifinal victory. “A stallion” of a dog, he’s robust, powerful, and “very spirited,” said Bernardin of Chaplin, Connecticut.

Miniature Poodle Named Sage Wins Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

Bernardin was so lively that she kept Monty stimulated by doing obedience and other canine sports while she was pregnant.

Dogs first compete against members of their breed. Then, the winner of each breed competes against others in its “group.” The seven group winners compete in the final round.

The best-in-show winner receives a trophy and a position in dog-world history but no monetary reward.

Other canines were popular with the crowd besides the victors. A lagotto Romagnolo named Harry made the stadium audience laugh by sitting up and demanding a treat from his handler, while a vizsla named Fletcher captivated fans by leaping up on its handler after completing a spin around the ring.

There were also large shouts for Sebastian, a frisky great Pyrenees, and Emilio, a Doberman pinscher.

Stache, a Sealyham terrier, was another dog who competed but did not make it to the finals. He won the National Dog event, televised on Thanksgiving, and took first place at a major terrier event in Pennsylvania last fall.

Stache features a rare breed considered endangered even in its home, Britain.

“They’re a little-known treasure,” said Stache’s co-owner, co-breeder, and handler, Margery Good of Cochranville, Pennsylvania, who has been breeding “Sealys” for 50 years. Originally evolved in Wales to hunt badgers and other burrowing wildlife, the terriers with a “fall” of hair over their eyes are brave but funny — Good calls them “silly hams.”

Westminster can seem like a study of canine contrasts. Walking around, a visitor could notice a Chihuahua staring out of a carrying bag at a stocky Neapolitan mastiff, a ring full of honey-colored golden retrievers next to a row of stark-black big schnauzers, and handlers with dogs much larger than themselves.

Miniature Poodle Named Sage Wins Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

Shane Jichetti was one among them. Ralphie, the 175-pound (34-kg) great Dane she co-owns, outweighs her significantly. Showing such a large animal requires extensive skill, but “if you have a bond with your dog and just go with it, it works out,” she said.

Plus, despite his girth, Ralphie is “so chill,” according to Jichetti. He’s playful at home on New York’s Staten Island, but when it comes to the ring, he’s on point — just like his harlequin-pattern coat.

“He’s just an honest dog,” Jichetti remarked.

The Westminster show, which dates back to 1877, focuses on conventional purebred judging, which results in the best-in-show prize. However, over the last decade, the organization has expanded its agility and obedience events to include mixed-breed dogs.

This year’s agility competition saw its first non-purebred winner, a border collie-papillon mix named Nimble.

Kramer, the best in show judge, went on to thank “every dog, whether it’s a house dog or a show dog.”

“Because you make our lives whole.”

SOURCE – (AP)

CANNES, France — The Cannes Film Festival began Tuesday with the announcement of Greta Gerwig’s jury and the giving of an honorary Palme d’Or to Meryl Streep, as the French Riviera spectacle started its possibly tumultuous 77th edition.

The opening night picture, “The Second Act,” a French comedy starring Lea Seydoux, Vincent Lindon, Louis Garrel, and Raphaël Quenard, will usher in a 10-day parade of stars down Cannes’ iconic red carpet. During the opening ceremony, Streep will get her honorary Palme.

Cannes Kicks Off With Greta Gerwig’s Jury And A Palme D’Or For Meryl Streep

In the coming days, Cannes will debut George Miller’s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” Francis Ford Coppola’s self-financed “Megalopolis,” and anticipated new films from Paolo Sorrentino, Yorgos Lanthimos, Andrea Arnold, and Kevin Costner.

However, much of this year’s Cannes controversy has occurred off-screen.

French actor Judith Godrèche accused two film directors of rape and sexual assault when she was a teenager earlier this year, and the French film industry has been grappling with probably its defining #MeToo moment since. Godrèche’s short film “Moi Aussi” will premiere on Wednesday.

When asked about #MeToo’s expansion in France, Gerwig told reporters in Cannes on Tuesday that it is progressing.

“I think people in the community of movies telling us stories and trying to change things for the better is only good,” Gerwig stated. “I’ve witnessed significant shift in the American cinema scene, and I believe it’s critical that we continue to broaden that conversation. So I believe it’s only advancing things in the right direction. Keep the lines of communication open.”

Gerwig, fresh off the success of “Barbie,” is president of the jury that will decide Cannes’ top prize, the Palme d’Or. Thierry Fremaux commended her on Monday as “the ideal director” for Cannes, citing her ability to work in both arthouse and studio films and her passion for movie history. And, “We very much liked ‘Barbie.'”

Gerwig is joined on the jury by Lily Gladstone, star of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” French actor Eva Green, Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona, French actor Omar Sy, Lebanese actor and director Nadine Labaki, Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda, Turkish screenwriter Ebru Ceylan, and Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino.

Cannes Kicks Off With Greta Gerwig’s Jury And A Palme D’Or For Meryl Streep

“I thought I just got over my imposter syndrome last year,” admitted the Oscar-nominated Gladstone. “But I’ll start all over again.”

The jurors were asked how the numerous real-world concerns outside the festival would influence their decision-making. One film in competition, Ali Abbasi’s “The Apprentice,” portrays Sebastian Stan as a youthful Donald Trump. And Labaki was asked if she was thinking about the war in Gaza.

“I truly believe that one of the tools to really change something in the situation we all live in right now, which is a situation I think is not that great, is really through art and through cinema,” Labaki stated. “It may propose a more tolerant way of seeing things and seeing each other as human beings.”

According to Favino, filmmakers have a vital role in reminding the world of where beauty can be found.

“This is why I decided that I could be here without feeling guilty as a human being,” stated Favino. “Because if we look for beauty, then we might look for peace.”

Other fears are circulating this year’s Cannes. Festival workers, frustrated with short-term contracts that make them ineligible for unemployment benefits between events, have threatened to strike.

On Monday, Iranian filmmaker Mohammed Rasoulof, whose film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” will be shown in competition at Cannes next week, said that he had escaped Iran after being sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging. The film is described as a scathing depiction of the Iranian regime.

Cannes Kicks Off With Greta Gerwig’s Jury And A Palme D’Or For Meryl Streep

As Cannes continues, many will be fixated on the celebs who walk the festival’s iconic red carpet. Emma Stone, Anya Taylor-Joy, Demi Moore, Selena Gomez, Nicolas Cage, and Barry Keoghan will be among the cast. George Lucas will be presented with an honorary Palme d’Or during the closing ceremony on May 25.

Regardless, the 77th Cannes Film Festival will have many expectations to meet. Last year’s festival, which was universally praised for its impressive roster, yielded three Oscar best picture nominees: “Anatomy of a Fall,” “The Zone of Interest,” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.” To help reignite last year’s spirit, Messi, the canine hero of “Anatomy of a Fall,” has returned to Cannes for a series of quick French TV advertisements.

A successful Cannes will help France maintain the global spotlight throughout the summer. The French Open, Tour de France, and Summer Olympics in Paris will all take place after the festival. On May 21, the Olympic flame will be carried to the Palais des Festivals, the festival’s focal point.

SOURCE – (AP)