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  • Chris Affleck, Mother of Oscar Winners Ben and Casey Affleck, Dies at 83

    Chris Affleck, Mother of Oscar Winners Ben and Casey Affleck, Dies at 83

    Chris Anne Affleck, the mother of Oscar winners Ben Affleck and Casey Affleck, died June 2, her family announced. She was 83 and diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December.

    Christine Anne Boldt was born in New York City in December 1942. She was a graduate of Harvard University and spent 35 years as a public school teacher. She retired in 2008 and was a fierce civil rights advocate throughout her life, having served as one of the original freedom riders who went into the Deep South during the 1960s.

    Chris and her ex-husband Timothy Affleck welcomed their first child, Ben, in 1972. Ben’s brother, Casey, was born in 1975, around the time their family relocated to Massachusetts, where she continued her teaching career.

    “My mother taught public school, went to Harvard and then got her master’s there and taught fifth and sixth grade in a public school,” Ben told The Hollywood Reporter in 2012. “My dad had a more working-class lifestyle. He didn’t go to college. He was an auto mechanic and a bartender and a janitor at Harvard.”

    By the time Ben was 12, his parents divorced. As his passion for entertainment grew during his adolescence, Chris played a hand in his early industry beginnings, connecting her son with her former Harvard roommate, casting director Patty Collins, who helped him audition for commercials and TV movies.

    From left: Chris Affleck, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and his mother, Nancy Carlson-Paige, at the 70th Academy Awards.

    Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

    She was an avid supporter of her sons’ acting careers and attended the 1998 Oscars alongside Ben and Matt Damon, who also brought his mother as his date, after the pair were nominated for best original screenplay for Good Will Hunting — a film the duo also starred in alongside Casey. Ben and Damon would go on to win the Oscar, and the film has become a classic.

    “We were sitting next to our moms and we won, and we kind of hugged our moms. I remember how everyone had made such a big thing out of it as if this was such a novelty,” Ben told Vanity Fair of the moment. “I remember thinking, being insecure, like, ‘Why? Why is it weird that we’re bringing our moms?’ Who else do you think we would bring?”

    Casey Affleck and his mom attended the ‘Committed’ premiere in April 2000.

    Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

    Ben would go on to win his second Oscar, for best picture, for Argo in 2012. Casey would win the best actor Oscar in 2017 for his performance in Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea.

    Chris was given six months to live in December, and her greatest wish after her diagnosis was seeing grandson Atticus graduate high school, her family said. She attended the event with her family on May 31 and died peacefully in her sleep two days later.

    In addition to her sons, survivors include her five grandchildren: Casey’s kids, Atticus and Indiana, and Ben’s kids, Violet, Fin and Sam.

  • Director Na Hong-Jin Makes Comic-Con Debut With Frightening New ‘Hope’ Footage, Says Casting Hoyeon Was His ‘Best Decision’

    Director Na Hong-Jin Makes Comic-Con Debut With Frightening New ‘Hope’ Footage, Says Casting Hoyeon Was His ‘Best Decision’

    South Korean director Na Hong-Jin made his San Diego Comic-Con debut to preview his latest film, Neon’s alien action movie “Hope.”

    Before the action auteur took the stage in Ballroom 20, a sizzle reel of his previous work — from his 2008 debut “The Chaser” to “The Yellow Sea” and “The Wailing,” all set to Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” — played for the rapt audience.

    “Hope,” Na said, “is a continuation in terms of the same metaphor and the same meaning, but in terms of the style and the thought and the content is completely different. Any assumptions you have about my premises and my previous work, I would advise them to completely abandon it before [this one].”

    “Hope” is set in the remote village of Hope Harbor, where a mysterious creature has wreaked havoc. Police and local hunters set out to track the beast and find themselves hunted instead. But not all is as it seems.

    The alien action movie stars Hoyeon, who broke out internationally thanks to her Emmy-nominated turn in Netflix’s “Squid Game.” Na said was one of the best decisions he made in bringing the film, a 10 year passion project, to the big screen.

    Hwang Jung-min, who leads the international cast, recommended Hoyeon for the role of a tenacious police officer. “He said that if you meet her, you realize how special of a person she is,” Na said, explaining that he immediately set up a meeting. The director and star read the script while eating takeout and she quickly signed on for the role. “The funny thing is: Hwang Jung-min actually has never met her, or didn’t even know her very well.”

    Hoyeon appeared in a special video message to introduce two clips that would play exclusively for the Comic-Con crowd. The first is a tense sequence where Hwang as he and a group of men shoot their way through the wreckage of their town — only to finally come face to face with the gigantic alien preying upon them. The second was an extended look at a chase scene where one character played by must leap from his horse into the police car — all while being chased down the highway by one of the fanged creatures. After the pulse-pounding clips ended, director Na revealed that these weren’t the most difficult scenes to shoot: That honor belongs to another chase scene with the characters fleeing through the forest on horseback.

    Na also praised Hoeyon’s performance in another scene and shared she spent six months learning to drive a manual stick-shift car. “After six months, she reached a point where she could perform those drafts at very different, difficult angles too,” he said. “So she was driving the car and doing all the performance herself, and I think the word ‘difficult’ is not enough to describe what was going on in that scene. My DP and I almost died of anxiety just watching her.”

    Speaking of dying, during the Q&A portion of the panel, Na teased that “90%” of the characters in the film might perish… but he won’t reveal who. The exchange got a roar of laughter from the crowd.

    “Hope,” which also stars Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Taylor Russell and Cameron Britton, premiered in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it electrified audiences. Neon hopes to replicate that same success when releasing the film in the U.S. on Sept. 9. In Cannes, Na revealed that he had plans for a sequel.

    “I think you can readily imagine this sequel. And there’s a script that’s already been done that I’d like to shoot,” he said during his Cannes press conference. “So if I have the opportunity, I would indeed make a sequel if possible.”

  • Mirae plans to turn crypto exchange Korbit into something Korea hasn’t seen before

    Mirae plans to turn crypto exchange Korbit into something Korea hasn’t seen before

    Korbit currently holds less than 1% of South Korea’s domestic crypto market, far behind giants Upbit and Bithumb. When asked directly about its strategy to compete, Mirae Asset stressed that the goal is not to overtake any other company or exchange, but to promote sustainable growth of the digital assets industry in South Korea.

    “We intend to combine Mirae Asset’s extensive global investment expertise with Korbit’s digital asset capabilities to promote the sound and sustainable growth of the digital asset industry in Korea and globally.”

    In other words, Mirae Asset isn’t trying to outdo Upbit or Bithumb, but to offer a one-stop shop that brings together institutional investment capabilities, research, education, and digital asset infrastructure under one roof.

    The group also told CoinDesk it would strictly comply with AML, KYC, and fraud-detection standards across all areas, a signal that Digital X is being positioned for institutional clients as much as for retail traders.

    Mirae Asset’s affiliate Mirae Asset Consulting recently increased its stake in Korbit to 97.15%, completing the acquisition after receiving regulatory approval from South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission.

    “The acquisition was carried out through lawful procedures following a thorough review of the relevant laws and regulatory framework. Mirae Asset Consulting was selected as the acquiring entity after comprehensive consideration of each affiliate’s business purpose and role, as well as its potential synergies with the digital asset business,” the firm said.

  • ‘Jumbo’ Sequel, ‘Queen of Malacca’ Franchise Plans on the Cards as Indonesia’s Visinema Eyes Expansion (EXCLUSIVE)

    ‘Jumbo’ Sequel, ‘Queen of Malacca’ Franchise Plans on the Cards as Indonesia’s Visinema Eyes Expansion (EXCLUSIVE)

    Indonesian filmmaker and Visinema founder Angga Dwimas Sasongko is targeting the first quarter of 2027 for the release of “Queen of Malacca,” as the Southeast Asian fantasy epic moves through post-production and attracts interest from potential distribution partners in China, Thailand and other international markets.

    The project has drawn growing industry attention since Blue Finch Films boarded worldwide sales. “We are currently in discussions with potential distribution partners,” Sasongko tells Variety during the Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest) in Kuala Lumpur. “It will definitely become the next franchise for Visinema.”

    “Queen of Malacca” marks Sasongko’s return to directing after a two-year break and is one of the most ambitious productions of his career. “I spent eight years building this fantasy world,” he says. “It combines Southeast Asian martial arts, supernatural elements and extensive visual effects. It’s like creating a universe – a mosaic of modern life inspired by regional mythology and traditions.”

    More than a standalone feature, Sasongko sees “Queen of Malacca” as the cornerstone of Visinema’s strategy to develop locally rooted IP with international appeal.

    Beyond “Queen of Malacca,” Visinema is preparing five films for release in 2027 while developing an animation pipeline extending through 2030. The slate includes a superhero action-comedy animated feature slated for 2028, a sequel to the family IP “Nussa” and a follow-up to its animated blockbuster “Jumbo,” one of Indonesia’s biggest box office hits of all time.

    “For Visinema, international collaboration isn’t simply about securing more financing – it’s about expanding together,” Sasongko says. “Since 2018, we’ve generally limited external investment in our projects to below 40%, because we look at what strategic partners can contribute beyond capital.”

    Those partners include media companies, foreign producers and distributors that can provide market access, industry expertise and long-term strategic value. Visinema is also looking to deepen relationships across mainland China, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

    For Sasongko, creative ambition and commercial potential should go hand in hand. The goal, he says, is to build stories with a distinctive local identity while creating the partnerships and long-term IP needed to reach audiences across the region.

  • Bitcoin Exchange Binance Announces Adding Three Altcoins to its Risky Asset List! Here Are Those Altcoins

    Bitcoin Exchange Binance Announces Adding Three Altcoins to its Risky Asset List! Here Are Those Altcoins

    Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has decided to expand its risk warning system for some digital assets listed on its platform. According to the exchange’s statement, as of July 24, 2026, Across Protocol (ACX), Lisk (LSK), and Stacks (STX) tokens will also be included in the Monitoring Tag system.

    Binance stated that the Monitoring Tag application is used to show investors tokens that are deemed to have higher volatility and risk compared to other listed assets. Projects with this tag are regularly reviewed and may face complete delisting from the platform if they fail to meet the exchange’s listing criteria.

    The exchange emphasized that adding the tag does not mean the tokens in question will be directly delisted, and stated that the performance of the projects will continue to be closely monitored. The Monitoring Tag may be removed as a result of periodic evaluations, and different tokens may be included in this scope if deemed necessary.

    Binance also shared the criteria it considered during the review process. These include the project team’s commitment to development activities, the level and quality of software development work, trading volume and liquidity, network security and resilience to attacks, the stability of smart contracts, and the level of communication with the public.

    The project teams’ responses to Binance’s periodic audit requests, significant changes in token supply, updates to the token economy, any activity suspected of being unethical or fraudulent, and the project’s contributions to the crypto ecosystem are also considered in the evaluation process.

    Users who wish to trade tokens covered by the Monitoring Tag are required to complete a risk awareness test and approve the relevant risk disclosures at regular intervals. Binance states that this practice aims to help investors make more informed decisions about high-risk assets.

    *This is not investment advice.

  • What are the Abraham Accords?

    What are the Abraham Accords?

    NewsFeed

    US President Donald Trump has seemingly backpedalled on a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia by claiming the Kingdom must join the Abraham Accords as a condition. So what are the accords? Soraya Lennie explains.

  • Ripple’s RLUSD gets two boosts as transfer volume drops 25%

    Ripple’s RLUSD gets two boosts as transfer volume drops 25%

    Fintech firm Ripple made two moves on Thursday aimed at growing its dollar-backed stablecoin, $RLUSD, in a month when transfer volume across the token has dropped by 25%.

    The first is Ripple Mint, a platform that lets institutional customers create, redeem, bridge and track $RLUSD through a web dashboard or direct integration.

    Until now, minting $RLUSD — the process of issuing new tokens when a customer deposits dollars — generally meant arranging it directly with Ripple and waiting on a manual issuance process. The APIs let a firm trigger minting and redemption automatically from its own systems and track each transaction from dollar transfer to onchain settlement.

    Ripple has also been extending $RLUSD beyond the $XRP Ledger and Ethereum onto the XRPL EVM sidechain, Base, Optimism, Ink and Unichain, widening the number of networks where the token can circulate.

    Separately, Ripple announced late Thursday a strategic investment in Notabene. This compliance network places $RLUSD inside its business-payments platform, putting the token in front of institutions positioned to send and receive it.

    So, while Mint is designed to make $RLUSD simple to create and manage, Notabene is built to get it moving through institutional payment rails.

  • Trillion dollar US defence bill would deepen military ties with Israel

    Trillion dollar US defence bill would deepen military ties with Israel

    NewsFeed

    A $1.15 trillion US defence bill passed by the House includes plans to expand military cooperation with Israel through joint work on missile defence, drones and AI. Critics warn the move could deepen ties amid growing political divisions over aid to Israel.

  • Judge Extends Temporary Restraining Order Pausing Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger

    Judge Extends Temporary Restraining Order Pausing Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger

    A federal judge extended a temporary restraining order pausing the ParamountWarner Bros. Discovery merger by another two weeks, meaning that the companies won’t be able to close the transaction at least until Aug. 17.

    U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín wrote on Thursday that the TRO was extended to give the parties in the case more time to set an extended schedule for legal proceedings.

    She wrote hat she “finds good cause to extend the TRO on multiple grounds, including the need to resolve two preliminary injunction motions, the parties’ disputes regarding the schedule and the proposed format of the preliminary injunction hearing, and Defendants’ stated willingness to abide by the terms of the TRO for some weeks into the future.”

    Paramount has called for a three-day evidentiary hearing before the judge, who is weighing whether to grant a preliminary injunction, which likely would halt the merger for a lengthy period of time as the legal process plays out.

    The judge called for Paramount and the plaintiffs in the litigation, a dozen state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America, to “meet and confer” and try to “reach a consensus on a path forward.” She said that a joint report on those talks would be due on July 24.

    As of now, plans for an Aug. 3 hearing on the case are still on. The judge also wrote that the WGA, which filed its own lawsuit to block the merger, also would be allowed to participate in the hearing on that date.

    The judge’s original TRO, issued on Monday, ran for 14 days until Aug. 3. She noted in her filing that she cannot extend a TRO further. She wrote that “if the parties can reach agreement and stipulate to maintain the TRO, the Defendant companies held apart, they may agree to an extended briefing and hearing schedule.”

    More from this Story Arc

    Paramount WB

  • ‘72 Hours’ Review: Kevin Hart Throws Himself Into the Slapstick but Netflix’s Intergenerational Farce Squanders Its Premise

    ‘72 Hours’ Review: Kevin Hart Throws Himself Into the Slapstick but Netflix’s Intergenerational Farce Squanders Its Premise

    There’s an amusing, insightful movie to be made about the culture clash that would inevitably result between a 40-year-old Millennial and several Gen Z twenty-somethings. But that’s not the new Netflix comedy directed by Tim Story (Barbershop, Ride Along) and starring Kevin Hart.

    Instead, as might have been predicted, 72 Hours aims for the lowest common denominator, with a wildly farcical plotline in which Hart’s character is mistaken at various times for a human trafficker, a cop and a Cuban drug lord. He also gets into a brawl with several women in a moving limousine and finds himself in a smuggler’s boat carrying an illegal contraband haul of “whale dicks.” Add to that Hart’s face swollen to monstrous proportions after being stung by a jellyfish, and if all of this sounds hilarious, then this is the movie for you.

    72 Hours

    The Bottom Line

    Feels longer.

    Release date: Friday, July 25
    Cast: Kevin Hart, Marcello Hernández, Mason Gooding, Kam Patterson, Ben Marshall, Kevin Dunn, Zach Cherry, Teyana Taylor, Andy Garcia
    Director: Tim Story
    Screenwriters: Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, Kevin Burrows, Matt Mider

    Rated R,
    1 hour 45 minutes

    The script crafted by a quartet of screenwriters features a reasonably clever premise. Hart plays Joe, a marketing executive whose pitch for a new vodka line falls flat. “You don’t seem to get youth culture anymore,” his boss (Kevin Dunn, doing his usual exasperated thing) tells him, adding that if Joe doesn’t get with the times he’ll be passed over for a promotion.

    It’s fortuitous, then, that Joe finds himself accidentally included in a group chat with several young men planning a bachelor party in Miami. When he impulsively responds with a cash gift, he’s invited to join the revelers, who have no idea that he could be their dad. Desperate to find out what makes the younger generation tick, Joe decides to go, much to the irritation of his longtime girlfriend (Teyana Taylor), who is impatient for a marriage proposal.

    Cue the would-be yucks as Joe meets up with Nick (Marcello Hernández), Hunter (Ben Marshall), Freshman (Kam Patterson) — all three comedians Saturday Night Live recruits — and groom-to-be Mason (Mason Gooding, Heart Eyes, Scream 7) in a palatial Miami mansion. The house turns out to be the former home of a deceased drug kingpin, which leads to dangerous complications as Joe suffers a series of misadventures, including several run-ins with a group of criminals led by the menacing Jaze (Michael Mando, illustrating the dangers of typecasting after his far more serious performance as Nacho Varga in Better Call Saul).  

    The film’s unfunny nadir comes when the gangsters force Joe to ingest cocaine, which for some reason transforms him into the heavily accented “Riccardo Montana,” complete with Scarface riffs including “say hello to my little friend.” The gag is repeated later on; Hart and the filmmakers apparently are convinced that his Al Pacino impression is a laugh riot.

    Any stabs at cultural satire about, say, Gen Z’s addiction to documenting their lives on social media, are subsumed by the crazy action-comedy shenanigans, with the younger cast, all of whom have proven themselves funny on prior occasions, unable to elevate the pedestrian material. Hart tries hard (he always tries hard), throwing himself into the slapstick with his usual determination. The fact that he’s able to wrest a few laughs is a testament to his comic chops and professionalism.

    There are some semi-amusing cameos along the way, including a brief appearance by Mike Epps as a cop, and another performer whose identity has been deemed a spoiler by Netflix. But both are outshone by a hilarious Andy Garcia, who demonstrates that, under the right circumstances, sometimes serious actors can be the funniest of all. It’s a shame, though, to see Taylor, fresh off her Oscar-nominated turn as a fierce revolutionary in One Battle After Another, reduced to playing the disapproving girlfriend. It feels less a departure than a regression. 

    And, of course there are the obligatory outtakes during the end credits, apparently intended to prove that the actors, at least, found the proceedings hilarious.