- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.12% | 24.784 | $ | |
NGG | -1.23% | 65.69 | $ | |
SCS | -0.49% | 12.907 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
RIO | -0.17% | 69.58 | $ | |
GSK | 0.08% | 38.85 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.17% | 24.657 | $ | |
VOD | 0.41% | 9.7 | $ | |
RELX | -0.59% | 46.02 | $ | |
BCC | 0.76% | 139.97 | $ | |
JRI | -0.23% | 13.25 | $ | |
BCE | -0.58% | 33.515 | $ | |
BP | 0.86% | 33.165 | $ | |
AZN | -0.41% | 77.15 | $ | |
BTI | -0.18% | 35.225 | $ |
Brendan Fraser makes 'Whale'-sized comeback in Venice
In one of the most unexpected movie comebacks ever, Brendan Fraser transformed into a morbidly obese man for "The Whale" that premiered at the Venice Film Festival Sunday.
One of the biggest names in Hollywood in the 1990s, Fraser starred in a string of family friendly blockbusters including "George of the Jungle" and "The Mummy", before his cinema career fell off in the late 2000s.
But his return as Charlie, a 600-pound (250-kilo) English professor trying to reconnect with his daughter, has immediately triggered talk of an Oscar nomination.
"I needed to learn to absolutely move in a new way," Fraser told reporters in Venice.
"I developed muscles I didn't know I had. I even felt a sense of vertigo at the end of the day when all the appliances were removed as you do stepping off the boat here in Venice."
The movie is the latest from US director Darren Aronofsky, who won the top prize Golden Lion in Venice in 2008 for "The Wrestler", and is known for dark indie films such as "Black Swan" and "Requiem for a Dream".
"The Whale", however, has a profoundly optimistic attitude.
As the story unfolds, the reasons for Charlie's obesity emerge -- rooted in trauma linked to his sexuality and religion -- but he never allows them to darken his view of the world.
- 'Lighthouse in a dark sea' -
"Charlie is by far the most heroic man I've ever played," Fraser said. "His superpower is to see the good in others and bring that out in them."
Aronofsky said this was "the most important message to put out in the world".
"Everyone's leaning into the cynicism and darkness and giving up hope, and it's exactly what we don't need right now. We have to lean into (the idea that) underneath it all, we really do care about each other," the 53-year-old director said.
There have been some grumblings in the US press about whether an obese person should have been cast in the role.
Asked on that point, Aronofsky said: "I considered everyone, every kind of movie star on the planet, but none of it ever clicked.
"Then, a couple years ago, I caught a trailer for a Brazilian movie, kinda low budget. Brendan had a part in it and a lightbulb went off."
"The Whale" was originally a play by Samuel D Hunter, who helped adapt it for the screen.
"I wrote this character from a very personal place. I have a history of self-medicating with food. I was a gay kid in a fundamentalist religious high school," he said in Venice.
"I was afraid to write it. The only way I could do it was write it from a place of love and empathy... I wanted him to be a lighthouse in a dark sea."
D.Cunningha--AMWN