MUNDO
In Christopher Reeve Story his children recount their Super/Man dad
“Super/Man” also touches on his connections to Williamstown. It was at the Williamstown Theater Festival in 1987 where Reeve met his future wife, Dana. The couple married in April 1992 at an outdoor ceremony on a Williamstown farm, and their son, William, was born in town just a few months later. (Reeve’s first son, Matthew, and daughter, Alexandra Reeve Givens, were from a previous relationship.)
“It’s just somewhere that was always very special to him,” said Matthew. “I think that’s where he just got to do what he loved without necessarily having either Hollywood eyes on him or sort of the pressure of being in a higher-stakes professional environment like Broadway.”
Even at the height of his fame during the Superman years, in between filming, Reeve would go back to Williamstown every summer to do a play for a few weeks, according to Matthew, because it was “creatively interesting and challenging to him.”
Reeve would find a Fortress of Solitude of sorts in Williamstown, buying a home for his family in town. Living in the Berkshires allowed Reeve to embrace his passion for outdoor sports and activities like horse riding. Matthew recalls the “little landing strip in a little airport in North Adams right next door” where his father would go flying and gliding.
“He also just felt really connected to the community there,” said Givens. “We grew up skiing Jiminy Peak, that’s our mountain. We rode at the local barn. Our neighbor, who’s the farmer for our valley, sold at the local farmers’ market every weekend. It was just really grounding.”
“For us it’s also home and we feel deeply connected to the community there,” she added, noting how they have family on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard. “Massachusetts is a second home to us.”
When Reeve’s family sold their house in Williamstown in 2019, they found a treasure trove of home movies. An archivist later approached them to see if they wanted to share any videos for a biographical documentary on Reeve.
“We talked amongst ourselves and thought, well, if we’re ever going to do this, now’s the time,” said Matthew. “We agreed to give them our archive and to give them ourselves, basically, to open up in these interviews and say things we hadn’t said before, share the memories we hadn’t shared publicly.”
Directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, the documentary was made with the help of production companies Words + Pictures, Passion Pictures, and Misfits Entertainment, and premiered at Sundance in January. The film then sold to Warner Bros. Discovery, which is now releasing it in theaters, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of Reeve’s death on Oct. 10, 2004.
In addition to Reeve’s children, many of his famous friends are featured in the film, including Susan Sarandon, Glenn Close, Whoopi Goldberg, Jeff Daniels, and former US secretary of state John Kerry, who befriended Reeve after an Earth Day event in Boston in 1995, just a few weeks before his accident. “Super/Man” also features an interview with Brooke Ellison, a disability advocate who was the first quadriplegic to graduate from Harvard University, prior to her death in February. Reeve directed the television movie “The Brooke Ellison Story” in 2004, which starred Lacey Chabert as Ellison.
While “Super/Man” focuses primarily on Reeve, Dana is also prominently featured. Givens calls her “the absolute rock of the family” who went to great lengths to take care of her husband and family, particularly in the aftermath of Reeve’s accident.
“Dad credited her with saving his life after the accident by reminding him that, even though his circumstances had changed beyond our recognition, he was still him and he was the person that our family needed,” Givens said, adding that “she had this incredible talent for just making joy in the most benign and kind of everyday moments.”
A Middlebury College graduate and noted performer in her own right, Dana died of lung cancer in 2006. Following her death, Reeve’s children joined the board of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, which is dedicated to curing spinal cord injuries through the advancement of research as well as improving the quality of life for paralyzed people and their families. Both Reeve and his wife were vocal advocates on behalf of the foundation during their lives, raising funds and awareness for those with disabilities.
Reeve’s children continue to serve as directors for the foundation, with Givens noting that it has raised “over $145 million directed to spinal cord injury research.”
“The foundation runs the nation’s paralysis resource center,” Givens said. “If someone’s navigating paralysis of any kind and is calling for peer advice or how to navigate a fight with an insurance company, or how to make their home accessible, this is the place that you call.”
“It’s a credit to dad and Dana,” she added.
Looking back on their legacy, Givens can’t help but reflect on her father’s fights with insurance companies in the ‘90s and early 2000s, explaining that, at the time, they wouldn’t pay for his backup ventilator.
“He was facing lifetime caps on insurance,” Givens said. “His insurance was about to run out at the time that he died. He was fighting for it over and over again, and then the Affordable Care Act put in those protections now that everybody is entitled to insurance.”
“Of course there’s still constant work ahead, both for true equality for people living with disabilities and continued work in the medical field that needs to happen too,” she added. “But the work is continuing on strong and it’s really wonderful to see.”
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” opens in theaters Oct. 11.
Matt Juul can be reached at matthew.juul@globe.com.
MUNDO
O corpo de Lina, adolescente desaparecida desde setembro de 2023, encontrado pela gendarmaria de Nièvre
Autor de best-sellers italiano, jornalista e crítico declarado do governo Roberto Saviano está participando deste ano Feira do Livro de Frankfurt — mas apenas porque recebeu um convite especial dos organizadores alemães na sequência de uma polémica no seu país natal.
Saviano construiu sua reputação expondo e criticando a Máfia em livros como “Gomorra” (2006), bem como seu último romance, “Falcone” – centrado na vida e na morte do mais famoso cruzado antimáfia da Itália, o juiz Giovanni Falcone.
Nos últimos anos, porém, Saviano também chamou a atenção da mídia pelas suas duras críticas ao governo italiano de extrema direita, liderado por Primeira-Ministra Giorgia Meloni.
O autor foi forçado a pagar uma multa de 1.000 euros (1.090 dólares) em outubro passado por chamar Meloni de “bastardo” por causa de sua política de migração.
Muitos veem seus problemas com o governo como o gatilho para o escândalo em torno de sua participação em a maior feira do livro do mundoque estreou em Frankfurt na quarta-feira.
Escritores dizem que a censura está escondida atrás do desprezo de Saviano
Todos os anos, os organizadores da Feira do Livro de Frankfurt escolhem um país como “convidado de honra”, colocando a sua cena literária em destaque. O “convidado de honra” deste ano é a Itália.
A delegação italiana pôde assim convidar mais de 100 autores para representar o país na feira de cinco dias.
Mas quando a lista foi publicada em Maio deste ano, o nome de Saviano estava visivelmente ausente.
Em resposta, um grupo de mais de 40 escritores italianos publicou uma carta aberta condenando o aparente desprezo contra o autor antimáfia. Os redatores da carta – a maioria dos quais foram convidados a vir a Frankfurt – alegaram que o governo está a tentar suprimir vozes críticas “através de formas mais ou menos explícitas de censura” e de “interferência política cada vez mais sufocante nos espaços culturais”.
Editores dizem que ‘não havia desejo’ de excluir Saviano
O chefe da Associação Italiana de Editores (AIE) posteriormente pediu desculpas por ter deixado Saviano de fora, mas afirmou que isso foi feito sem má intenção. Conversando com Corriere della Sera no final de junho, o chefe da AIE, Innocenzo Cipolletta, disse que os selecionadores seguiram o método usual de pedir às editoras italianas que sugerissem escritores para a feira do livro. Depois que todas as sugestões foram apresentadas, “Saviano não estava lá”, porque nenhum dos editores o sugeriu, disse Cipolletta ao diário.
“Não o acrescentamos, assim como não acrescentamos outros nomes, e lamento por isso, porque Saviano é uma figura muito importante”, disse Cipolletta em junho. “No entanto, não houve desejo de excluí-lo.”
Separadamente, o chefe da delegação italiana, Mauro Mazza, disse que pretendiam dar destaque aos “autores originais”. Mazza então fez um convite adicional a Saviano, que o escritor rejeitou.
Destaque para o governo de Meloni
O pedido de desculpas pouco fez para apaziguar os críticos do governo na Itália, especialmente vindo poucos dias depois de outra jornalista, Giulia Cortese, ter sido multado em 5.000 euros por zombar da estatura do primeiro-ministro Meloni e chamando-a de “mulher pequena”.
Por fim, Saviano confirmou que viajaria para Berlim a convite do diretor da feira, Jürgen Boos.
“Aqui na Alemanha eles devem ter se perguntado: por que essas mentiras, esse desejo obsessivo de censura?” ele disse em uma entrevista para A Repúblicaum artigo publicado na terça-feira. “Mas não me considero um vencedor. Ninguém ganhou nisso.”
Ele também rejeitou a explicação fornecida pela associação de editores na Itália como “besteira”.
“Tem muitos autores na lista que nenhuma editora indicou. Foi uma armação. A AIE se deixou influenciar pela política. “, disse ele.
Enquanto isso, a associação de escritores alemães PEN Berlin comentou o escândalo, descrevendo Saviano como “o escritor italiano mais famoso do mundo”.
“Ao não o convidar… o governo italiano apenas conseguiu colocar mais luz sobre as suas práticas iliberais”, disse a autora austríaca e porta-voz do PEN Berlin, Eva Menasse, citada pelo jornal britânico. Guardião.
Primeiro-ministro de Hesse alerta contra “esta maldita indiferença”
O ministro da Cultura italiano, Alessandro Giuli, também viajou à Alemanha para a feira de Frankfurt. Na cerimónia de abertura, Giuli comprometeu-se a defender “a inviolável liberdade de expressão sob qualquer forma”, mesmo ao custo de prejudicar o seu próprio governo.
E numa referência velada ao escândalo, o líder do estado alemão de Hesse, onde Frankfurt está localizada, elogiou Saviano, observando que a liberdade de expressão foi “a primeira coisa a ser proibida quando os ditadores chegam ao poder”.
O primeiro-ministro de Hesse, Boris Rhein, disse que o maior perigo para a democracia era “esta maldita indiferença”, salientando que Saviano, tal como o seu herói Falcone, não é indiferente.
“As democracias morrem lentamente”, disse Rhein, alertando que “muitas pessoas só acordam quando é tarde demais”.
Editado por: Elizabeth Grenier
While rumor had it Amazon would be releasing new Kindle e-readers this fall, we weren’t expecting it to refresh its entire Kindle line. But that’s exactly what Amazon has done. The company on Wednesday introduced four new Kindles, including its first ever color Kindle, along with upgrades to the entry-level Kindle, the Kindle Paperwhite and the Kindle Scribe.
Two of those new models — the Kindle (2024) and Kindle Paperwhite (2024) — are available today for $110 and $160 respectively. As for the new color Kindle — Amazon dubs it the Kindle Colorsoft — it’s due to ship on Oct. 30 with a hefty $280 price tag. Meanwhile, the second-gen Kindle Scribe ($400) is scheduled for a Dec. 4 release date. I had a chance to play around with all of them at Amazon’s Kindle launch event in New York. Here are some early impressions.
Watch this: New 2024 Kindles Just Announced: Hands-On With All of Them
New entry-level Kindle (2024): $110
Let’s start with the least expensive model. That’s the entry-level Kindle, which Amazon simply calls the Kindle. Weighing only 158 grams and equipped with a 300 ppi 6-inch E Ink display, it’s the smallest and lightest Kindle in the line. The specs are similar to the previous Kindle, but you now get slightly faster page turns, a higher contrast ratio and a front light that’s 25% brighter at its max setting (Amazon says the light is now as bright as the Paperwhite’s). Also, this model now comes in a new matcha green color that I thought had a nice look to it.
The entry-level Kindle in the new matcha color.
Many people prefer e-readers with bigger screens, but I like the entry-level Kindle’s more compact size (it can fit in a coat pocket). Ever since Amazon improved the sharpness of its screen with a 300 ppi display and added a built-in light in 2022, it’s sort of become a Paperwhite mini (minus a few features) that costs significantly less than the real Paperwhite. That said, at $110 (£95, AU$199), this new model, which has 16GB of storage, costs $10 more than the previous-generation Kindle. So the price is creeping up a bit.
New Kindle Paperwhite (2024): $160
At $160 (£160), the new Kindle Paperwhite also costs $10 more than the previous Paperwhite base model. But the changes to the Paperwhite seem more substantial. Amazon has reduced the size of the bezel around the screen, so instead of a 6.8-inch diagonal E Ink display in a similar-sized chassis, you get a larger 7-inch screen. The device itself is also thinner and has 25% faster page turns. Amazon is touting it as the fastest Kindle yet and the page turns and refresh rates seem noticeably quicker.
Amazon says the display uses a new oxide thin-film transistor, which gives it the highest contrast ratio of any Kindle. This does make text and images pop a bit more. Even with its slightly thinner size, the new Paperwhite is rated for up to three months of battery life.
The new Paperwhite has a larger 7-inch screen and comes in three colors.
Aside from the larger screen and more advanced lighting scheme than the entry-level Kindle, the Paperwhite is fully waterproof while the Kindle isn’t. The Paperwhite also comes in a Signature Edition, which offers 32GB of storage, wireless charging and an autoadjusting front light for $200. Both the standard Paperwhite (16GB of storage) and Signature Edition come in metallic raspberry, metallic jade and metallic black colors.
The new Paperwhite does seem like a legitimate upgrade from the Paperwhite (2021), and I suspect people who’ve used that previous-gen Paperwhite will be tempted to make the jump to this model.
The new Kindle Paperwhite (left) next to the smaller entry-level Kindle (right).
Kindle Colorsoft: $280
The Kindle Colorsoft is Amazon’s first ever color Kindle. A lot of people have been waiting for Amazon to add color to its e-reader line, especially after Kobo introduced the Kobo Clara Colour and Kobo Libra Color, which also use new color E Ink displays.
I’m not quite sure why Amazon went with the Colorsoft name — maybe because the color does appear a little soft and muted. That said, it brings book covers, graphic novels and comic books more to life than a monochrome screen. But a tablet with an LCD or AMOLED screen offers much richer color.
The Kindle Colorsoft is Amazon’s first color e-reader.
It’s worth noting that while these E Ink displays are inherently more sluggish than LCD technology, you can pinch and zoom to get a closer look at images and text (there’s a bit of lag as the screen refreshes). It’s also nice that you can highlight text in various color options rather than just gray.
Based on my first impression, I think Amazon’s color e-reader offers slightly more vibrant color than Kobo’s e-readers, as well as better overall performance. But I’ll need to compare them side by side (after I get a review sample) before confirming that gut reaction.
The Colorsoft uses the same oxide backplane with custom waveforms as the new Paperwhite. And Amazon says the custom display includes a new light-guide with nitride LEDs that, when combined with custom algorithms, enhances color and increases brightness.
In all other respects the Kindle Colorsoft is similar to the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, though its battery life is rated for up to eight weeks instead of three months. In fact, the Colorsoft only comes in a Signature Edition. Priced at $280 (£270), it too is fully waterproof and has wireless charging.
By comparison, the Kobo Libra Colour, which also has a 7-inch screen, costs $220. An optional stylus pen is available for the Kobo for $70.
The Colorsoft is good for graphic novels and comic books.
Kindle Scribe (2nd gen): $400
Filling out the Kindle line is a new second-gen Kindle Scribe. The base model with 16GB of storage costs $400 (£380), or $20 more than the original. It will also be available in 32GB and 64GB configurations. It has three main upgrades.
First, the 10.2-inch, 300 ppi E Ink display has new white borders and a new flush-front display with a coating that gives the screen a more paper-like feel. Second, the included stylus, Amazon’s new Premium Pen (still battery-free), is an upgrade over the original Premium Pen.
The combination of the new texture on the screen and new tip and better weighting of the pen makes it feel more like your writing on actual paper. Also, the new soft-tip eraser gives you the sensation that you’re using an actual pencil eraser. And yes, using the new pen and eraser does feel more analog.
The 2nd-gen Kindle Scribe’s 10.2-inch has white borders.
Amazon is also touting a few new AI-enhanced features for the new Scribe. While you still can’t directly mark up a Kindle ebook like you can with a PDF file — by that I mean write notes directly on the ebook as you would write on a paper book and leave overlayed on top — Amazon has enhanced its ebook annotation features with its new Active Canvas feature, which allows you to easily attach hand-written notes to the text and save hand-written comments in the margin. Additionally, a new summarize feature quickly condenses several pages of notes you’ve saved in a digital notebook into a concise bulleted script. And last but not least, there’s a new feature that cleans up your handwriting and converts it into legible, easy-to-read script.
Not everything was quite working perfectly when I demoed some of the new Scribe features. But the new software is still in beta, as the device doesn’t ship till December. I asked Amazon whether those new Scribe AI features will be available for the original Scribe. The answer was yes, so that’s good news for anyone who bought the original Scribe.
Those are the new Kindles in a nutshell. While some of the changes aren’t major, it’s good to see the whole line turn over. And while the prices are fairly high for some of the new Kindles, they do go on sale at various points during the year, including the holiday buying season.
We’ll have full reviews of all the new Kindles in the coming days.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login