Jeremy Renner will discuss his near-fatal accident "in blistering detail" in his new memoir.
The 'Hawkeye' actor spent two weeks in hospital with critical injuries including blunt chest trauma and more than 30 broken bones after being crushed by a snow plough two years ago and he is now set to tell-all in a "gripping" and "inspiring" book titled 'My Next Breath', which will be released on 29 April.
A synopsis of the book from publishers Flatiron Books shared with People magazine stated: "Jeremy writes in blistering detail about his accident and the aftermath.
"This retelling is not merely a gruesome account of what happened to him; it’s a call to action and a forged companionship between reader and author as Jeremy recounts his recovery journey and reflects on the impact of his suffering."
The memoir promises to be "a testament to the human spirit and its capacity to endure, evolve and find purpose in the face of unimaginable adversity," with the 54-year-old star's storytelling designed to capture "the essence of profound transformation, exploring the delicate interplay between vulnerability and strength, despair and hope, redemption and renewal."
Jeremy hopes his book will inspire others when they "feel like the offs are against them".
He said: "Two years after my accident I now find myself now surrounded by love, more connected to the people around me and filled with gratitude.
"I'm hopeful that by sharing my story, it might help anyone out there who is facing their own moment where it feels like the odds are against them."
The 'Mayor of Kingstown' actor previously admitted his recovery would be a lifelong project and things would never be the same for him as they were before the accident.
He told People magazine: "I had to accept it for the rest of my life. There'll be nothing normal or as it was prior to the accident.
"By the way, I'm okay with that. It's making my life better. I'm healthier because of it.
"I get to focus more on my health and well-being than I ever did before because I have to.
"Recovery will be until I'm out of this old hot mess of a body. It was a way for me to really accept that it is going to be forever."
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Oprah Winfrey has changed her perceptions of "thin people" after taking weight loss medication.
The 70-year-old talk show host has seen her size fluctuate over the years but admitted that taking an undisclosed GLP-1 drug has made her reflect on her previous misconception that people were only smaller than her because they "had more will power".
Speaking to Dr. Ania Jastreboff on her 'Oprah Podcast', the media mogul said: “One of the things that I realised the very first time I took a GLP-1 was that all these years I thought that thin people — those people — had more willpower.
"[I thought] they ate better foods. They were able to stick to it longer. They never had a potato chip.
“And then I realised the very first time I took the GLP-1 that, they’re not even thinking about it. They’re eating when they’re hungry and they’re stopping when they’re full.”
But the 'Color Purple' star noted such a mindset "doesn't work if you have obesity.
Oprah previously described weight-loss drugs as a "gift" and declared she refused to be "shamed" about her weight anymore.
She told People magazine: "I now use it as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing.
"The fact that there's a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for. I’m absolutely done with the shaming from other people and particularly myself."
But she stressed that she doesn't rely solely on the medication to control her weight.
She said: "After knee surgery, I started hiking and setting new distance goals each week. I could eventually hike three to five miles every day and a 10-mile straight-up hike on weekends. I felt stronger, more fit and more alive than I’d felt in years.
"I eat my last meal at 4 o’clock, drink a gallon of water a day, and use the WeightWatchers principles of counting points. I had an awareness of [weight-loss] medications, but felt I had to prove I had the willpower to do it. I now no longer feel that way.
"I was actually recommending it to people long before I was on it myself."
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Princess Anne was allegedly forbidden from sailing dinghies.
The 74-year-old royal – who is the daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip – made the admission about the banned hobby during her two-day visit to South Africa.
Jennifer Burger, the manager of the Royal Cape Yacht Club in Cape Town, recounted her conversation with Anne: "She said to the girls 'you're all going to have to learn to live together on the boat'.
"She said she was never allowed to sail dinghies, and she windsurfed for fitness."
During her stay, Anne, who is President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, unveiled the new Cape Town Labour Corps Memorial, in honour of the 1,700 predominantly Black South Africans who died in World War I.
Sharing her itinerary, a note on the Royal Family’s official X page read: “The new @CommonwealthWarGraves Commission Cape Town Labour Corps Memorial, which honours the contribution of South African military labourers in the First World War; the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, which works to continue Archbishop Tutu’s role in supporting healing from discrimination and injustice.”
Keen equestrian Anne also attended the South African Riding for the Disabled Association.
Anne was due to be joined by her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, on the trip, but he had to pull out after suffering an injury, believed to be a torn ligament, while working at Anne's Gatcombe estate.
Anne herself suffered a head injury at the estate last summer, but can’t remember “a single thing” about how she wound up in hospital.
The princess made the remark as she returned to public royal duties in July at the RDA National Championships after she suffered her injury on June 23.
Anne sported a bruise under her left eye as she visited the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) National Championships at Hartpury University and Hartpury College – which marked a gradual return to official engagements after her hospital treatment.
It was reported her doctors believed her injuries were consistent with being struck by a horse.
But Helena Vega Lozano, chair of RDA UK, told the Daily Mail at the event: “It’s a huge honour for the princess to come to the RDA as her only event since the accident.
“As soon as she got out of the car she said, ‘I can’t remember a single thing about it’.
“It’s hugely motivating and inspiring to have her here.”
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A jury of five men and seven women was seated Thursday at the trial of rapper A$AP Rocky, who is charged with firing a gun at a former friend in 2021.
Opening statements at the Los Angeles trial of the 36-year-old hip-hop superstar and fashion maven will likely begin Friday after the 12 jurors were selected. Four alternates still need to be selected.
Rocky turned down a prosecution plea offer of 180 days in jail to risk years in prison if the jurors find him guilty of two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. He has pleaded not guilty and his lawyer says he committed no crime.
He opted instead to risk trial on two counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, charges that with conviction bring a penalty of up to 24 years in prison.
It took the two sides 2 1/2 days to pick the jurors from a pool of more than a hundred candidates who packed into a downtown LA courtroom. Many were excused for cause, others sent away by one of the two sides. Each had 10 jurors they could excuse without a reason. The defense used seven of their challenges, the prosecution just two.
One man questioned Thursday works as a civilian with the Los Angeles Police Department and has extensive ties to law enforcement including a cousin who was on the case's witness list but is not expected to be called.
After the judge declined to dismiss him for cause, Rocky's lawyer Joe Tacopina took him off the jury.
“Here’s a shocker, we’re going to thank and excuse juror number 27.”
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Prince Harry 's mission to tame the British media has produced results in court but the jury is still out on whether it will have a broader impact or be just another chapter — or headline — in the long history of tabloids behaving badly.
Harry received an unprecedented apology from Rupert Murdoch’s flagship U.K. tabloid on Wednesday, and previously won in a court judgment that condemned the publishers of the Daily Mirror for “widespread and habitual” phone hacking.
In settling his case against the publisher of The Sun on the eve of a trial at the High Court, the Duke of Sussex claimed a “monumental victory” that included an acknowledgement of wrongdoing, a substantial payment and an apology for intruding on his life and that of his late mother, Princess Diana.
But it didn’t provide the public reckoning he had sought over allegations that Murdoch’s top lieutenants, including his son, James Murdoch, and Will Lewis, now CEO at The Washington Post, were part of a cover-up that included purging 30 million emails.
Harry's supporters see hope ahead
While News Group continues to vigorously dispute those claims, the settlement has buoyed advocates seeking accountability from the media.
With News Group Newspaper's acknowledgement of wrongdoing at The Sun, which it had never admitted, they are pushing for probes such as a sequel to the government's 2011 Leveson Inquiry into phone hacking or police investigations into allegations that news executives committed perjury by lying under oath about the scandal during the inquiry.
“You cannot have public confidence in a public inquiry if people don’t tell the truth under oath and there’s no consequence,” said Dr. Evan Harris, a former Liberal Democrat member of Parliament who was a consultant to Harry’s legal team.
“The admission that there was unlawful information gathering at The Sun, which Harry extracted through his brave stand, saying he will not bend to offers of cash only, is a huge step on the way to getting sunlight in that area and getting the accountability that he and we all want," Harris said.
A public inquiry is seen as unlikely
Some media observers see the victories as significant for Harry, but unlikely to bring wider change.
“Despite the overwhelming victories Prince Harry has achieved to date, it appears unlikely the government will engage in a ‘Leveson mark 2’ inquiry into the British press,” said media lawyer Kishan Pattni, who was not involved in the case. “The national priorities are elsewhere and the feeling may be that these matters are historical and do not represent the current practices of media in 2025.”
The left-of-center Labour government that took power last year has previously thrown cold water on the idea of reviving a second phase to Leveson, which was dropped by the Conservatives when they were in power.
Harry's litigation revolves around voicemail interception by journalists that blew up into a full-blown scandal in 2011 and forced Murdoch to shutter News of the World after it was discovered that its reporters hacked the phone of Milly Dowler, a murdered 13-year-old schoolgirl, while police were searching for her in 2002.
It later emerged that reporters were going beyond using unsophisticated techniques to eavesdrop on voicemail messages for scoops and hiring private investigators to tail subjects, tap phones, bug cars and use deception to obtain medical and financial records.
What is Harry's beef with the British press?
Harry’s aim to reform the media is much more personal and deeper than the headlines that dogged him through his youth as papers documented everything, from his broken thumb to his broken heart.
He blames the media for the death of his mother, who was killed in a car crash in 1997 while being chased by paparazzi in Paris. He also blames them for the persistent attacks on his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, that led them to leave royal life and move to the United States in 2020.
Patience Wheatcroft, the former editor of the Sunday Telegraph and Europe edition of the Wall Street Journal, said that she didn't think Harry's litigation would change the culture in journalism, because it has already changed dramatically in the years since the phone hacking came to light.
Police could review new evidence
Wheatcroft said that another inquiry isn't needed, but police should be investigating to see if anyone committed perjury or other crimes.
“It’s quite clear that criminal acts were being committed,” Wheatcroft told the BBC. “And I think the police certainly have accepted that their investigations in the first instance may have left quite a lot to be desired, which is why people like Prince Harry have had to resort to bringing their own legal actions.”
Police previously investigated phone hacking at News of the World, leading to prison time for the paper’s royal editor Clive Goodman and a private eye in 2007, and former editor Andy Coulson in 2013.
But in 2015, prosecutors said that there would be no more criminal cases against Murdoch’s U.K. company or its employees, or against 10 people under investigation from the rival Mirror Group Newspapers, including former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan.
Harry’s co-claimant in the litigation, Tom Watson, a former Labour member of Parliament who received an apology for News of the World journalists snooping on him when he was investigating phone hacking, said that they would deliver a dossier of evidence to the Metropolitan Police in London.
The police force said that it would respond to any correspondence it received, but had no current investigations underway on the matter, a spokesperson said.
Harry has not had his final day in court
Pattni, the media lawyer, said that attitudes about publicly reexamining the media's past bad acts could change if Harry’s remaining case against the publisher of the Daily Mail goes to trial as scheduled next year and exposes other misconduct.
But with the Mirror win and The Sun settlement, it remains to be seen if those allegations will be tested in court.
“The Daily Mail … must be quaking in their boots, because it’s not clear how they will change the tide of these runs of success,” Harris said.
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In one of the more wide-open Oscar fields in recent history, there were plenty of nominations surprises Thursday.
Not too long ago, it seemed that people like Angelina Jolie and Nicole Kidman were destined for best actress nominations, while general audience disinterest in the young Donald Trump movie “The Apprentice” might have indicated its awards chances were dead on arrival.
But the members of the film academy had something different in mind. Here are some of the biggest snubs and surprises from the 97th Oscar nominations.
SURPRISE: Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan, “The Apprentice”
The young Trump movie “The Apprentice” has been one of the bigger awards season question marks, especially after it failed to resonate with moviegoers in theaters. And yet both Jeremy Strong, for his portrayal for Trump lawyer Roy Cohn, and Sebastian Stan (who was also in the conversation for “A Different Man” ), for playing the future two-time president, made it in. Only Strong got nominated by the Screen Actors Guild.
SNUB: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, “Hard Truths”
This will forever be one of the more confounding awards season oversights. Marianne Jean-Baptiste delivered one of the all-time great performances in Mike Leigh’s “Hard Truths,” as the perpetually aggrieved and sharp-tongued London woman Pansy. The general thinking is that it was either going to be Jean-Baptiste or Fernanda Torres, and Torres got in for the equally beloved “I’m Still Here.”
SNUB: Pamela Anderson, “The Last Showgirl”
This is perhaps up for debate, but there was certainly a lot of goodwill behind Anderson’s movie-star turn in Gia Coppola’s “The Last Showgirl,” especially considering her SAG nomination. But like with Jennifer Lopez and “Hustlers” a few years ago, it was not meant to be at the Oscars.
SURPRISE: James Mangold, “A Complete Unknown”
James Mangold has directed several awards darlings, including “Ford v Ferrari” and “Walk the Line” but had consistently missed out on a best director nomination, until this year with “A Complete Unknown.” It may have come at the expense of Edward Berger, who missed out on a nod for “Conclave” or Denis Villeneuve for “Dune: Part Two.”
SNUB: Daniel Craig, “Queer”
Daniel Craig gave one of his best performances as an American expat in Mexico in the torrid May-December romance in “Queer,” but it hasn’t been resonating with awards voters. The Oscar snub is the final piece in a puzzle that just never came together.
SNUB: Angelina Jolie, “Maria”
If there ever were a shoo-in for a nomination and an Oscar, on paper at least, it would be for Angelina Jolie playing opera legend Maria Callas. Filmmaker Pablo Larraín had not missed yet in getting best actress nominations for his famous, tragic women biopics, including Natalie Portman for “Jackie” and Kristen Stewart for “Spencer.” But somehow Jolie did not make the cut in the end.
SNUB: Nicole Kidman, “Babygirl”
“Babygirl” is not a cliche awards movie by a long stretch, but Nicole Kidman’s performance as Romy, the buttoned-up, married CEO who begins a dangerous affair with a young intern at her company was undeniable. But a best actress win at the Venice Film Festival has never guaranteed Oscar success.
SURPRISE: Felicity Jones, “The Brutalist”
Despite the wide love for “The Brutalist,” Felicity Jones has been curiously absent from many nominations lists for her sharp portrayal of Erzsébet Tóth. The cast did not even get recognized by SAG. But it just goes to show that it’s never too late to sneak in for the big one
SNUB: Danielle Deadwyler, “The Piano Lesson”
A few years after Danielle Deadwyler was famously snubbed for “Till,” she has another snub to add to her resume for Malcolm Washington’s adaptation of “The Piano Lesson.” This latest campaign might not have had as much steam behind it as “Till,” but at the very least one would assume that it could have been a make good.
SURPRISE: Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
Supporting actress was one of the more chaotic and unpredictable categories this year, with so many deserving performers in the mix. Monica Barbaro was one of those that was on the fringe of possibilities for her turn as Joan Baez, singing and all, for “A Complete Unknown.”
SNUB: Selena Gomez, “Emilia Pérez”
One who was not so lucky was Selena Gomez for “Emilia Pérez,” perhaps because she was partially competing with her co-star, Zoë Saldaña who simply had more momentum (and gave a moving speech at the Golden Globes).
SNUB: Clarence Maclin, “Sing Sing”
The incarceration drama “Sing Sing” did get several significant nominations including for Colman Domingo, adapted screenplay and original song. But Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin, who delivered a revelatory performance based on his own experience, was not among them. He is, however, credited with helping to write the story.
SNUB: Margaret Qualley, “The Substance”
Margaret Qualley seems to have been unfairly left out of much of the awards conversation around “The Substance,” a movie that only works with a great Sue. But the focus has been more on Demi Moore, overdue for such recognition, and Coralie Fargeat — the only woman to score a best director nomination.
SNUB: “Challengers” score
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross delivered one of their most popular scores ever this year for “Challengers” and yet were left off in a batch of nominees that included “The Brutalist,” “Conclave,” “Emilia Pérez,” “Wicked” and “The Wild Robot.” It’s not even that they’re consistently overlooked by the academy — they’ve already won twice, for “Soul” and “The Social Network.”
SURPRISE: “Flow”
Everyone expected the Latvian cat movie “Flow” to get a best animated feature nomination, especially after it won the Golden Globe. But the big surprise is that it got a second for best international feature — a first for Latvia. This is not a first for an animated movie to get into the international category, though: “Waltz with Bashir” and “Flee” had the honor before “Flow,” but neither ended up winning.
SURPRISE: “Nickel Boys”
RaMell Ross’ “Nickel Boys” has had quite the rollercoaster awards season journey, even though it’s widely considered one of the best films of the year. The film academy thought so too, including it among the 10 best picture nominees (alongside other relative surprises like “I’m Still Here” and “Dune: Part Two”). Oddly, though, it missed out on cinematography despite its inventive first-person point of view.
SNUB: Denzel Washington, “Gladiator II”
Denzel Washington was not about to hit the campaigning trail for “Gladiator II” but he was, at least at one point, thought to be a sure thing for a supporting nomination. In his review, AP film writer Jake Coyle wrote that Washington's “performance as the Machiavellian power broker Macrinus is a delicious blur of robes and grins — so compellingly over-the-top that he nearly reaches 1990s Al Pacino standards.” But don’t cry for Washington: He’s notched an incredible 10 Oscar nominations in his career, including one for producing “Fences,” and two wins: supporting actor for “Glory” and best actor for “Training Day.”
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In the wake of devastating wildfires in Los Angeles that struck at the heart of the movie industry, an embattled Hollywood lined up behind the Netflix narco-musical about trans identity “Emilia Pérez” in Oscar nominations Thursday.
Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez,” a Spanish language, French-made film, dominated the nominations with a leading 13 nominations, including best picture and best actress for Karla Sofía Gascón, making her the first openly trans actor ever nominated for an Oscar. The film also landed nominations for directing, original screenplay, two of its songs and for Zoe Saldaña.
Netflix, despite its starring role in Hollywood, has never won best picture. Many of its top contenders have previously racked up large numbers of nominations (including “Mank,” “The Irishman” and “Roma”) but gone home with only a handful of trophies.
“Emilia Pérez,” though, may be its best chance yet. It became the most nominated non-English language film ever, surpassing Netflix’s own “Roma,” which scored 10 nominations.
Another musical — “Wicked,” the smash Broadway adaptation — came away with nearly as many nominations. Jon M. Chu’s lavish “Wizard of Oz” riff scored 10 nominations, including best picture and acting nods for its stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
“The Brutalist,” Brady Corbet's postwar epic filmed in VistaVision, also came away with a commanding 10 nominations, including best picture, best director and nominations for actor Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce and Felicity Jones.
The nominees for best picture are: “Anora”; “The Brutalist”; “A Complete Unknown”; “Conclave”; “Dune: Part Two”; “Emilia Pérez”; “I’m Still Here.”; “Nickel Boys”; “The Substance”; “Wicked.”
In a wide-open Oscar race, the six most honored films — “ “Emilia Pérez,” “Wicked,” “The Brutalist," “Anora" (six nominations) “Conclave” (nine nominations) and “A Complete Unknown” (eight nominations) — all fared as expected. The biggest surprises were the Brazilian film “I'm Still Here,” which also landed Fernanda Torres a best actress nomination, and RaMell Ross' “Nickel Boys,” a POV-shot drama.
The nominations had originally been planned for Jan. 17. But after wildfires on Jan. 7 began burning through the Pacific Palisades, Altadena and other areas around Los Angeles, leaving behind historic levels of destruction, the academy extended its voting window and twice postponed the nominations announcement. Fresh fires outside Los Angeles continued Thursday.
One of 2024’s most audacious films, “The Apprentice " landed two nominations, for Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong. The film dramatizes the formative years of President Donald Trump’ s emergence in New York real estate under the tutelage of attorney Roy Cohn. Trump has called those involved with the film “human scum.”
With so many in the film industry reeling from the fires, some called on the academy to cancel the Oscars altogether. Academy leaders have argued the March 2 ceremony must go ahead, for their economic impact on Los Angeles and as a symbol of resilience for the industry. Organizers have vowed this year's awards will “celebrate the work that unites us as a global film community and acknowledge those who fought so bravely against the wildfires.”
“We will reflect on the recent events while highlighting the strength, creativity, and optimism that defines Los Angeles and our industry,” Bill Kramer, academy chief executive, and Yang said in an email to members Wednesday.
But much of the usual frothiness Hollywood's award season has been severely curtailed due to the fires, which continue to burn. The film academy canceled its annual nominees luncheon. Other events have been postponed or downsized. On Wednesday, Kramer and Yang said original song nominees won't be performed this year. Conan O'Brien, whose Pacific Palisades home was spared by the fires, is hosting.
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The combination of teenagers and curling might seem an odd pairing for a documentary, but "Curl Power" weaves rocks and rings into a coming-of-age story.
Curling is the tie that binds five young women together as they navigate ambition, anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia, sex, a mother's breast cancer diagnosis, what to do with their lives after they graduate high school and the impending separation graduation brings.
"Teenagers are weird," says Hannah Smeed, one of the documentary's subjects.
"They're not kids and they're not adults. A lot of us are overlooked as people, really, which is similar to curling. Nobody really gives curling a second look, but like, curling is cool."
The 86-minute film, made with financing from Telus, debuted at Toronto's Hot Docs festival in 2024.
"Curl Power" is scheduled for theatrical release Friday when it will be shown in 73 theatres across Canada from Victoria to Halifax.
The film follows Smeed, Brook Aleksic, Sav Miley, Ashley Dezura and Amy Wheatcroft and their curling team from Maple Ridge, B.C., from 2019 to 2023 as they age from 14 to 18.
Director Josephine Anderson gave recreational curling a try at the Vancouver Curling Club in 2018.
"I was kind of blown away by how lovely the sport is and the community," she said.
"At the same time, I was interested in making a coming-of-age film at the time, and sort of thought what would happen if I mash these two unsuspecting ideas together?"
She spent hours talking on the phone with the teenagers, and three mom-coaches, to make them comfortable with both her and the camera recording intimate moments in their homes.
"Mainstream culture often makes teenage girls feel like their opinions aren't that consequential," Anderson said. "For a filmmaker to come in and genuinely listen consistently over time, and care, helped to build trust, helped them to understand that I thought what they were going through mattered.
"As we filmed more and more, they became more used to the camera, and then over time, it just became not that big of a deal to talk about something quite vulnerable on camera."
The ambition of the "4KGirl$" — as they called their five-person team — is to reach the Canadian junior championship and win it.
A layer to their story is that the three mothers coaching the teens have been where they dream to go — the national women's championship Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Dezura and Wheatcroft are the daughters of Diane Dezura and Georgina Wheatcroft, who were Kelley Law's front end when they won a women's world title in 2000 and an Olympic bronze medal in 2002.
Aleksic's mother, Shannon Joanisse, has appeared in five Canadian women's championships.
The three moms are prominent in the documentary as they shepherd their daughters through life and sport.
Ashley Dezura, now a student-curler at the University of Western Ontario, has watched the documentary four times.
"Seeing it the first time was really weird because I was so conscious of myself," she said from London, Ont. "So the first time through — I spoke with all the girls about this, and we all kind of said the same thing — the first time, it was a lot. We all kind of were just picking apart the way we came across, the way we looked. The more times we've seen it since then, we've started to really appreciate it for the story that it tells.
"The film does such a good job showing so many aspects of what it's like to just be a girl and a teenager and have friendships and relationships and go through ups and downs. I just hope that it shows other girls that these things are normal and that this is what life is like.
"I hope that it sheds light on the curling community. Curling as a sport is so about the community and the relationships, and I think that this film also really highlights how sport can bring people together."
The five have scattered to different universities, but Dezura says curling remains a glue in their relationship.
"Having this film has been something that has really kept us close together," she said. "That's been another really special aspect about it."
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His swimming pursuits at the 1972 Olympics complete, Canada's Byron MacDonald joined some friends one night in Munich for a live viewing of another big sports event on the go at the time — hockey's Summit Series.
The walk back to the athlete village in the wee hours was a jovial one after Canada's 4-1 Game 2 triumph over the Soviet Union in Montreal. That journey home would include a brush with terror in what would soon become one of the Games' darkest days.
"Initially it was surreal," MacDonald said. "The gravity of the situation didn't hit right away."
The behind-the-scenes broadcast coverage of the events that day provides the hook for "September 5," a new film that takes viewers inside the ABC Sports control room at those Games.
Traditional Olympic sport coverage shifted to live coverage of a nearby hostage situation. The film, starring Peter Sarsgaard and John Magaro, provides a new perspective on the broadcast seen by about 900 million people around the world at the time.
Members of the Palestinian group Black September had broken into the village, killed two athletes from Israel’s national team and took nine others hostage.
The attackers hoped to force the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel as well as two left-wing extremists in West German jails. All nine hostages and a West German police officer died during a rescue attempt by German forces.
MacDonald, who was sixth in the men's 100-metre butterfly final in Munich, recalled a locked entry area when he returned to the sprawling village's back gate as dawn approached.
With the front entry over a kilometre away, MacDonald estimated, the back was the preferred option. The Canadian dorm was nearby, not far from the Israeli quarters.
"Nobody was there. Of course it's 4:30 in the morning," MacDonald said from Toronto in a recent interview. "We did see three, four guys in generic tracksuits about 100 metres from us down the fence, and they hopped over the fence. And so, it turns out later, I'm sure they were the terrorists. I mean I can't prove it, but my guess was it certainly was them.
"Once they hopped the fence, we hopped the fence. Again, this is back in the day when security was not thought to be a big deal. Nobody was really worried about security."
After walking his friends to their rooms, MacDonald went back to his apartment to sleep. Gunshots rang out a short time later.
"We went out into the little walkway outside of my (apartment) and looked around thinking that it was fireworks because obviously gunshots is not the first thing that comes to your mind in an Olympic village," he said.
"We couldn't see anything and I remember commenting to (my friend) going, 'Who are the morons that are setting off fireworks? These guys all still have to compete. Then we went back to bed.
"When we woke up, all hell had broken loose."
Much of the 91-minute film takes place in a smoky control room with period analog equipment. Producers grapple with how best to cover the drama not far from their building door.
Media ethics are at the forefront during one of the first breaking news events to be televised worldwide.
'It is, in my opinion, a beautifully done memory of what we went through that day in a very challenging and difficult situation," producer Geoff Mason, played by Magaro in the film, said from New York.
"It happened so fast that we didn't really have time to think about it until afterwards."
The film keeps its focus on the broadcast – mixing in archival footage – that culminated in broadcaster Jim McKay’s announcement of the hostages’ tragic end: "They’re all gone."
Mason said he consulted as a co-producer on how best to keep the telling of the story on "legitimate lines."
"I take great pride in how well and how authentic this movie portrays that day," he said. "They trusted me and I trusted them in how to tell this story the right way."
"September 5," presented by Paramount Pictures, was released in select Canadian theatres on Dec. 13.
It's scheduled for wide release across the country on Friday.
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They call her the ‘Queen of Rock ’n' Roll' for a reason.
The late great Tina Turner, one of the world’s most popular entertainers who died in 2023 after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, left behind a vast catalog of classics. And now, there's a previously unreleased song to enjoy: “Hot For You Baby," a rowdy ‘80s rock song marked by Turner’s husky tone — effortlessly cool and cheery at the same time.
It is the first previously unreleased song featured on the forthcoming 40th anniversary edition of her career-defining album, “Private Dancer," out March 21. The record will be available in a number of formats, including a 5 CD/Blu-ray version that includes a few never-before-released tracks, live performances and music videos.
“Hot For You Baby,” written by Australian singer John Paul Young and produced by John Carter, was originally meant to be included on the 1984 album.
“Private Dancer” peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, but it produced Turner's sole No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100: “What's Love Got to Do With It.” It is one of many timeless tunes across her body of work: “Proud Mary,” “Nutbush City Limits,” “River Deep, Mountain High,” “We Don’t Need Another Hero” and a cover of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together" among them.
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David Beckham has "always been a huge royalist".
The 49-year-old former England soccer star was raised in a household that "adored and loved" Britain's royal family, and David remains hugely passionate about the monarchy.
David – who became an ambassador of The King’s Foundation in 2024 – told CNBC anchor Sara Eisen at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland: "I always get emotional talking about anything that I do with our royal family, because I've always been a huge royalist.
"I was brought up in a household that adored and loved everything that came with the royal family."
David has also worked extensively with Prince William over the years.
The former England captain said: "Over the years, I've done a lot with the Prince of Wales.
"I've always been there, when he's asked me to get involved with things. Whether it be veterans, whether it be the London Air Ambulance Service, which we raised funds to get two new helicopters for London. These are the things, when I was a kid, I used to see the helicopters going over, and you knew exactly what they were going to do. They were on their way to an emergency. So to be involved in that, has always been a 'Yes' for me."
Last year, David was announced as a new ambassador of The King's Foundation, an educational charity that offers courses to thousands of people every year.
The sporting icon said at the time: "I’m excited to be working with The King’s Foundation and to have the opportunity to help raise awareness of the charity’s work.
"I’ve always been keen to help young people to expand their horizons and I’m particularly looking forward to supporting the Foundation’s education programmes and its efforts to ensure young people have greater access to nature."
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Conan O’Brien’s house has survived the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.
The television host, 61, told fans during the Monday (20.01.25) episode of his ‘Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend’ podcast his property was not damaged despite his family being evacuated as the infernos blazed.
Conan added he was in a meeting with writers to discuss his upcoming gig as the host of the 2025 Oscars when he got a call from his wife Liza about seeing “some smoke” on the horizon.
He said: “I remember thinking, ‘Well, we’ve been through this before – we’ve been evacuated. There’s also been smoke and we haven’t been evacuated’.
“It’s part of life in LA, so I wasn’t thinking that much about it.”
He added about how Liza called to tell him that they were evacuated: “And so I went from here to, whatever, we went to a hotel, and I went to sleep that night thinking, ‘I’m pretty sure that our house will go’, and it did not.”
Conan admitted the number of people he knows who did lose their homes in the blazes was “stunning”.
More than 80,000 people have been displaced as a result of the fires, including celebrities Billy Crystal, Leighton Meester and Adam Brody, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Joshua Jackson, Anna Faris, Ricki Lake, Cary Elwes, Cameron Mathison, Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag.
Conan previously shared a photo of himself standing in front of a Redondo Beach fire truck with four firefighters on Instagram and expressed his appreciation for their work during the fires.
He captioned the post: “Just ran into these heroes in my neighbourhood. Thank you to them and all the brave firefighters who have been working tirelessly to keep us safe.”
Celebrities including Jamie Lee Curtis have donated huge amounts of their showbiz fortunes to the wildfire recovery effort, while others such as Paris Hilton have urged people to take in stranded pets and neighbours.
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Oyama Community Hall, Lake Country
Feb 8 6:00 pm
Prospera Place, Kelowna
Feb 20 7:00 pm
Prospera Place, Kelowna
Feb 22 7:00 pm
