Rogue One Final Trailer Breakdown: Easter Eggs and Predictions - Star Wars Explained Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Trailer #2 (Official) Video by Star Wars
We have hope. Rebellions are built on hope.
With one line in the new trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which debuted Thursday morning, Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) practically sums up the entire Star Wars franchise. Thats fitting, since the new movie is a stand-alone story bridging the gap between the third and fourth chapters of the saga. Or, counting by production order, the sixth and the first.
Rogue One tells the story of a group of rebels who try to steal the plans for that sci-fi weapon of mass destruction, the Death Star. So its obviously rooted in that larger space opera, and the trailer establishes that in some superficial ways. The musical motifs of John Williamss score are instantly recognizable. Plus, theres a small spacecraft gliding across the sky, and it takes less than 30 seconds before a stormtrooper shows up.
Photo Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. We have hope, she says in the new trailer. Rebellions are built on hope. Credit Jonathan Olley/Lucasfilm, via Disney, via Associated Press
The reminders go deeper than that, too. Early in the trailer, Jyns father, played by the Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen, tells his daughter that everything he does is for her protection. As it turns out, one of those things might be building the Death Star. And with that information, Rogue One is positioned as the story of a father and a child, much like the seven movies before it. The formula here appears to be slightly tweaked: younger characters in past films have always been sons (Luke Skywalker, Kylo Ren) or surrogate sons (Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi), not daughters. Centering the film on Jyn would seem to put the movie in line with the last entry in the canon, The Force Awakens, which flipped the Star Wars script by putting a female character at its center.
Beyond that, the trailer offers many hints at the movies scale. There are numerous explosions and blaster battles, a cast of characters mixing the familiar and unfamiliar, and, going by appearances, a few planets in the background. As the action picks up and the music rises, the trailer makes everything about the film feel epic.
But then again, what Star Wars movie doesnt?
Correction: Oct. 13, 2016
An earlier version of this article misstated the timing of the fourth chapter in the Star Wars canon. It was produced first, not third.
10/11/16: Dodgers force Game 5 with dramatic 6-5 win
Clayton Kershaw could barely lift his feet. His sandals splattered through puddles of champagne and beer, kicking away corks and crushed bottles of Budweiser. He slipped away from the chaos inside his clubhouse, a scene of revelry after a 4-3 victory to send the Dodgers to the National League Championship Series, and found a quiet space inside a cafeteria.
Kershaw grabbed a trash can and stared into its contents. A team official came by and hugged him. Unreal, the man said. Kershaw sputtered a reply and shook his head. He was smiling but dazed. Nothing came easy for the Dodgers on this night, not even the words for Kershaw to describe his emotion.
I feel . . . I feel . . . good, Kershaw said as he wandered back into the madness. The Dodgers did not reach this moment solely because of him. But he stooda few steps off the mound, arms raised to the sky, at 12:41 a.m. EDT on Friday as his club held off the Nationals in Game 5 of the National League division series. He recorded the final two outs to deliver his team to a date with the Cubs on Saturday at Wrigley Field.
Kershaw arrived on the scene at the height of tension, with the potential winning run already on base. The ballpark rattled around him, trying to exorcise a franchises demons of playoff failure. Kershaw wanted to exorcise his own. His manager did not ask him to pitch. Kershaw insisted upon it, despite performing on one day of rest, just two nights of sleep removed from a 110-pitch effort on Tuesday, just three months removed from the herniated disk that sidelined him for much of the summer.
Kershaw could not finish Game 4. But he would finish Game 5.
At the plate stood Daniel Murphy, one of the finest hitters in the sport, a man who has tormented the Dodgers these last two Octobers. Kershaw deposed of him with ease. He induced a pop-up on a 94-mph fastball. Five pitches later, he snapped a curveball past the helpless swing of infielder Wilmer Difo and waited for his teammates.
The group engulfed him. Kershaw opened his arms to backup catcher Carlos Ruiz, who gave the team the lead in the seventh inning with an RBI single. Joining the pile was Kenley Jansen, who expended himself with 51 pitches to drag this game from the seventh inning into the ninth. Along came Manager Dave Roberts, the man who masterminded the entire night.
His way of thinking was, Were going to do everything we need to do to win today, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez said. Today was the ultimate example.
Roberts ran the game like a clinic, aware of the stakes, unwilling to bend to the sports orthodoxy. He used set-up man Joe Blanton in the third inning. He called upon his closer in the seventh. He trusted his ace in the ninth.
The result was a game like few others in recent memory. It lasted 4 hours32 minutes. The seventh inning took 66 minutes alone. After securing a stirring victory in Game 4, the Dodgers managed to top themselves in the clincher.
Theyre going to be talking about this game for years, Dodgers President Stan Kasten said.
The entire evening felt like prologue until the seventh inning. The Nationals held a one-run lead, with Manager Dusty Baker willing to trust Max Scherzer on a third pass through the Dodgers lineup. The trust proved ill-fated. Joc Pederson led off the inning with a solo home run. Baker opened up his bullpen, and the Dodgers started to feast.
Roberts utilized all three of his catchers in the inning. StarterYasmani Grandal walked. Roberts sent Austin Barnes to pinch-run for Grandal. Then he sent Ruiz to the plate. Ruiz smacked an RBI single off reliever Sammy Solis to score Barnes. Justin Turner padded the lead with a two-run triple.
The advantage felt comfortable. And then, suddenly, it was not.
Grant Dayton, a rookie reliever, served up a two-run homer to former Dodger Chris Heisey in the bottom of the seventh. Roberts sprung into action. After Dayton walked a batter, Roberts went to Jansen. Inside the dugout, Kershaw started to do the math. Then he found Roberts.
I wanted to be out there tonight, Kershaw said.
Earlier in the afternoon, Kershaw took the field to play catch. He joked to a few reporters that he felt fantastic. He was not planning on throwing his usual bullpen session until Friday, so he just wanted to keep his arm loose. As he finished his session, he caught the eye of Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez.
Great game, Gonzalez told him.
Thanks, man, Kershaw said.
That was a heck of a game, Gonzalez said.
There was little reason to expect Kershaw would appear on Thursday. Before the game, Roberts insisted that Kershaw would absolutely not pitch. His back was too vulnerable. His value as an asset was too high.
To get through Game 5, the Dodgers required creativity. They were working under constrained circumstances. Unlike the Nationals, the Dodgers did not have a starter capable of going deep. They asked Rich Hill to pitch on short rest for the first time in a decade. The team required a plan to handle the game after Hills exit.
The Dodgers finalized their strategy on Wednesday. The team sifted through the matchups, stitching together different pitchers for different scenarios. They called it The Road Map to 27 Outs. During the conversations, Kershaws name never came up, General Manager Farhan Zaidi said. Pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said he could not imagine Kershaw appearing in my wildest dreams.
The calculus changed as Jansen labored. He gave up a single to outfielder Jayson Werth and intentionally walked Murphy. Jansen struck out third baseman Anthony Rendon, but his pitch count was rising. Kershaw told Roberts he would warm up and see how he felt. Roberts checked with the training staff.
I just felt that Clayton was going to go out there and give us everything he had, Roberts said.
Jansen survived the eighth. At 12:12 a.m., as a game, a series and a season hung in the balance, Kershaw climbed up the steps of the Dodgers dugout and walked toward his bullpen. Murphy was due up fourth in the inning. He was Kershaws responsibility.
Jansen approached the end of his rope in the ninth. He walked outfielder Bryce Harper. He walked Werth. He had already thrown 20 more pitches than he had in another other game this season. He could go no further.
Thats as gutsy a performance as I can remember seeing, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.
There was one more feat left for the team to witness. Kershaw needed only seven pitches to find those last two outs. It was his first save in a professional game since the Gulf Coast League in 2006. His catcher that day was a kid from Curacao named Kenley Jansen.
In the chaos that followed, Kershaw could not hide his exhaustion. This series has sapped his energy on so many occasions, leaving him mentally and physically spent.
As he walked from his clubhouse toward a news conference, he could not hide a smile.
Weve got to win eight more of these? Kershaw said.
For Kershaw and the Dodgers, October has just begun.
Corey Feldman Returns to the Today Show: "This is for America"
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Corey Feldman had TODAY viewers and most of the internet talking after a performance of his song "Go 4 It" on Sept. 16. Feldman wrote a response to critics of his performance exclusively for TODAY and be sure to tune in Thursday for his return to the show.
I, artist!
As an artist, I bare my heart and soul for my love of creating art. Art is, after all, a form of personal self-expression. Through my art, I express my tears, my joy, my pain, my sorrows. I spread love with my messages of hope for tomorrow.
As an artist, I"ve been bullied, I"ve been picked on strictly because I spread a message of love.
As an artist, I take chances by creating new dances, and I risk it all while trying not "2" fall.
As an artist, if I fail and make mistakes, that"s when my critics have a field day. However, the most painful part is when you get it all right, and remember all the parts, yet you open your computer, and read comments that would tear a hole through any commoners" hearts.
As an artist, I must stand strong. I must keep moving forward, no matter what. Baring my heart through my song. But just like the rest of you, I only strive to belong.
RELATED: Corey Feldman returns to TODAY to "Take a Stand"
As an artist, I"m predisposed to be overly critical of my own imperfections, and my unfashionable clothes, because my creative mind may see things quite differently than others. But that doesn"t make us any less brothers and sisters, after we are all connected. Though our egos try to lie and tell us we are all unique, as if we were the only one selected.
As an artist, I simply do all that I can to bring a bit of joy and entertainment for my fellow man.
I"m no better than you; I"m no less of a man. But I"m a flawed, fearless artist, presenting a band. My hope is you will see me, hear and feel me, and one day understand, that underneath the art, I"m simply a man.
"The Vlad Couch" Ft. Michel"le (Episode 20) Full Interview
"When they go low," Clinton says on the campaign trail, "We go high," her supporters shout back.
In 2008 and 2012, President Barack Obama"s campaign aides anointed Michelle Obama "The Closer." This year, Hillary Clinton may well designate her most popular surrogate the starter, the reliever and the pinch-hitter, too.
On Thursday, the first lady deployed a profoundly personal rebuke of Donald Trump"s sexually aggressive boasts, delivering the most powerful censure to date of the GOP candidate"s cavalierly-expressed views toward women.
It was the second time this year Obama has captured her audience and driven home an emotionally-felt message in a way no other surrogate -- or, for that matter, Clinton herself -- has been able. After carefully honing an apolitical air of authenticity over the past eight years, in part by actively avoiding the harsh spotlight of campaigning, the first lady is disbursing her capital with withering force in the final 26 days before Election Day, aiming to convince the women and minority voters who helped propel the Obamas into the White House to show up one more time.
Her voice quaking with fury, the first lady said Thursday that Trump"s comments about using his celebrity to grab and grope had affected her powerfully, occupying her thoughts since the tape emerged late last week.
"I can"t believe I"m saying a candidate for president of the United States has bragged about sexually assaulting women," Obama said during a campaign stop in New Hampshire.
"I"ve listened to this, and I feel it so personally," she said. "And I"m sure that many of you do, too -- particularly the women. The shameful comments about our bodies. The disrespect of our ambitions and intellect. The belief that you can do anything you want to a woman. That is cruel. It"s frightening. And the truth is, it hurts."
The speech came only a day after the first lady marked her girls" education initiative at the White House, insisting the US should serve as a model to other countries for its treatment of young women. Her remarks on the campaign trail were as much a message to men as they were to women, amounting to a reminder that decency still exists, even as public discourse rapidly devolves.
"To dismiss this as everyday locker room talk is an insult to decent men everywhere," she said. "The men that you and I know don"t treat women this way. They are loving fathers who are sickened by the thought of their daughters being exposed to this kind of vicious language about women."
Taken together with her convention speech earlier this summer, the first lady has now delivered the two most stirring addresses in support of Clinton"s campaign -- and against Trump. Her now-famous utterance at the Democratic National Convention -- "when they go low, we go high" -- has become the Clinton"s de facto slogan, appearing on bumper stickers and becoming the candidate"s own response to Donald Trump"s smears.
"Once again, she gave a compelling and strong case about the stakes in the election, but about who we are as Americans," Clinton said later Thursday. "And we cannot let this pessimism, this dark and divisive and dangerous vision in America take hold in anybody"s heart. We have to keep lifting up this campaign."
Mrs. Obama has hit the trail at a more aggressive pace than her husband, who"s been constrained by a presidential schedule from making appearances more than once or twice a week. Her stops in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Virginia provide a veritable map of the areas Clinton"s campaign needs to defeat Trump.
The first lady has benefited from a longtime insistence that she"s not interested in seeking higher office herself, a vow that draws disappointed groans from crowds who would eagerly support another Obama campaign. A detachment from political ambition has distinguished her message from her husband, who is relying on a Democratic successor to carry on his legacy. And it separates her from Hillary Clinton, whose waded into fraught policy battles during her own term as first lady in the 1990s, and began a campaign for the US Senate before she departed the East Wing.
Michelle Obama"s remarks Thursday were a divergence from the first lady"s usual stump script, which is derived from the well-received convention speech she delivered in July. The race back then was a bitter slog, but hadn"t yet deteriorated into the mud-fest it"s become in the final stretch.
A 10-minute address that incorporated both the history-making nature of her husband"s presidency and the history-making potential of Clinton"s was among the best received speeches of the three-day event. Afterwards, the purple signs bearing her name were the most sought souvenir for delegates wistfully watching the Obama era end.
In her spate of appearances so far this month -- all in fiercely contested battleground states -- the First Lady has lambasted Trump for his longstanding prodding of the President about his birth place, his penchant for tweeting vitriol at the smallest perceived slights, or his complaints about his microphone at the first presidential debate.
It"s a role the first lady hasn"t entered lightly. Michelle Obama has spoken openly about her distaste for political vitriol and often recalls asking why her husband wanted to expose himself to the barbs of political life at all. That view was only reinforced during 2008"s ugly primary battle with Clinton, to whom she"s warmed after watching her service as secretary of state.
"She always had to be convinced there was a clear purpose and reason for her to go out on the campaign trail," said Kate Andersen Brower, author of "First Women: The Grace and Power of America"s Modern First Ladies" who covered the Obama White House for four years.
"To see her today it"s clear she was emotional, even in tears at one point. I"m not surprised the Clinton campaign didn"t have to nudge her in this direction," Brower said. "I"ve never seen a first lady be so passionate in a speech like this before."
That ardor, Mrs. Obama said Thursday, has come as a surprise even to her.
"I can"t stop thinking about this," she said. "It has shaken me to my core in a way I could not have predicted."
The Accountant - Movie Review
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A lot of numbers are crunched in The Accountant, but the only one you really need to know is two-thirds. A fraction, yes. But a fraction that perfectly sums up a movie thats enjoyable for two-thirds of its indulgent 128-minute runtime. The last third? Its an absolute mess.
Instead of books being cooked, its the disjointed, coincidence-heavy plot that does a number on a story that ultimately fails to add up. Where it goes wrong is in a disastrous third act when Ben Afflecks autistic CPA switches from automatic deductions to automatic weapons to fend off a two-pronged assault on his scheme to funnel money from the worlds most dangerous players into a philanthropic organization (think the Clinton Foundation) benefiting a cause deeply personal to him.
It involves family, the FBI, the Gambinos and a crooked robotics CEO whos not playing with all his chips. How it all comes together is not only violent, its stupendously preposterous. Still, you have to admire the gall of writer Bill Dubuque to think he could possibly pull it off. And he might have if he wasnt so busily painting himself into a corner by introducing more character arcs than he can possibly see through. What were left with is a host of story strands working independently until time constraints force Dubuque to hastily tie them together into a knot that laughably strains credulity.
Its aggravating because for the first 90 minutes Dubuque and director Gavin OConnor (Miracle) entice you into believing theyre transporting you somewhere not just intriguing, but informative by presenting us with a highly functioning man with autism. As played effusively by Affleck, Christian Wolff is a lovable, monosyllabic oddball whos terrific with numbers but incompetent in social situations. Living and working alone inside his OCD bubble, Christian (not his real moniker) moves from town to town, here and abroad, always changing his name to keep the authorities off his trail.
Thats because hes a wanted man, sought by the U.S. Justice Department for questioning in his involvement in laundering money for terrorists, drug cartels and mobsters. When we meet him, hes working out of a rundown strip mall 20 miles south of Chicago, where he inconspicuously blends in. Between teaching an aged farm couple the intricacies of home-office deductions, he finds himself in the company of executives at Chicagos Living Robotics, whove hired him to find out whos been skimming the profits. His assistant is in-house CPA Dana Cummings, a sweet, adorable math nerd winningly played by Anna Kendrick. They, of course, see stars, but Christian also spies financial malfeasance on the part of someone in the front office.
As that is playing out, back in Washington, D.C., a young and under-direst Treasury flunky (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) is being assigned by her boss (J.K. Simmons doing his J.K. Simmons thing) to uncover the true identity of who it is thats balancing the accounts for some of the worlds most vile people. Both actors do a lot with what theyre given, but their dogged pursuit of Christian never feels anything more than tacked on. Same for Christians flashbacks to the jail cell he once shared with a wise mafioso (Jeffrey Tambor). Ah, the flashbacks. The Accountant is brimming with them, as we watch Christian periodically lay down and let his mind drift back to the broken-home childhood he spent being taught by his father to never be bullied and to always fight back.
As if that wasnt enough, we also meet a young, handsome assassin (Jon Bernthal) who only shoots corporate scum he thinks are ripping off the little guys. Whew. That just too much to write about, let alone digest. But, like I said, for a long while it works, mainly because of the potent chemistry between Affleck and Kendrick. Their characters wonderfully weird flirtations are pure delight, especially when the convoluted plot requires them to hit the road in Christians vintage Airstream trailer. But its much too short lived, as the film all but totally dispenses with Kendrick in a misguided final reel full of boring fisticuffs and gunplay that looks like it was shot in a cave.
Yet, through it all, Affleck never wavers in delivering one of the best performances of his career. Hes tough, charming and surprisingly hilarious with his frequent man-of-few-words quips. But Dubuques underdeveloped script eventually leaves him stranded. Its eerily similar to how Dubuque left Robert Downey Jr. hanging out to dry in the writers equally messy The Judge. Like that courtroom drama, The Accountant is at its heart about a dysfunctional family in which mom is absent, dad is a bit of a kook and the siblings are dragging around tons of emotional baggage. It all proves rather silly, but its also exasperating because The Accountant wastes a golden opportunity to exploit the unbeatable pairing of Affleck and Kendrick. More of them would have been enough of an asset to balance a ledger filled with debits and loses. As is, consider it a mistake thats the fault of the preparer, but comes at our expense.
The AccountantCast includes Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jeffrey Tambor, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Jon Bernthal and John Lithgow. (R for strong violence and language throughout.) Grade: C+
STALKED BY A SKINWALKER! A True Scary Story from Russia
Carter Page, a former Trump adviser, published an op-ed in a Russian government run news agency.
Carter Page, a businessman whom Donald Trump named as a foreign policy adviser in March but distanced himself from following reports of scrutiny into Pages ties with Russia, published an op-ed on Thursday arguing that the U.S. shows complete disregard for Russias interests and must soften its stance toward the country.
The op-ed published in Sputnik, a news agency backed by the Russian government is critical of the Obama administrations relations with Russia, suggesting that its response to the countrys annexation of Crimea was interference in the international arena. The U.S. ought to try to respect, rather than provoke, the Kremlin, he suggested, so the two countries do not end up on a nuclear brink.
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President Obama has advocated for the concept of mutual respect in a domestic context, but a step back from the high-handed brink of todays diplomacy could help to create a lasting change in the trajectory of global affairs, Page wrote. In contrast to the idea of mutual respect, the U.S. Governments actions in the domestic democratic processes of Russias neighboring states stand as a primary example of interference in the international arena.
He named Ukraine in particular and implied that the U.S. should not disregard Russias interests in its foreign policy decisions: Among the national interests of Moscow and in light of continued instability, Ukraine has risen as a primary example of these same trends. While no simple answer to these problems exist, a complete disregard for Russias interests further increases the expected longevity of todays downward trajectory, he wrote.
This is not the first time Page has sounded off on the U.S.-Russian relationship or advocated a position more favorable to the Kremlin. In August, The Washington Post reported that he had praised both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump and criticized American foreign policy before international audiences. Last month, Yahoo News reported that U.S. intelligence officials were investigating whether he was communicating with Russian officials and discussed that a President Trump might end economic sanctions against the country.
Trump said in March that Page was advising him on foreign policy issues the real estate mogul described Page as among a group of some of the people that we are dealing with but campaign aides walked that back when scrutiny into Pages Russian ties made the news in late September.
Julie Ioffe, in POLITICO Magazine profile of Page published on Sept. 23, found that he isn"t especially well-known in Russia, either. [D]espite the tightly knit nature of the expat business community in Russia, no one I spoke to had ever heard of Carter Page, she wrote.
A Trump campaign policy staffer told Ioffe at the time that Carter is a red herring, not a Rasputin. Hes never met Trump, never briefed him. He has zero influence, none.
In the Yahoo News report, Trump campaign also officials denied that Page was advising or speaking for the campaign. After Pages op-ed was published on Thursday, campaign spokesman Jason Miller reiterated in an email that Carter Page has no role with our campaign, and he did not respond to a followup question about when Trump and Page had cut ties.
Trump himself has offered praise of Putin, suggesting he is a strong leader, and Democrats allege that the Kremlin is attempting to swing the election in the New York moguls favor. U.S. intelligence officials reportedly believe that the Russian government is behind cyberattacks on the Democratic National Committee and a hack of the email account of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.
David Remnick"s stellar profile of Leonard Cohen in the New Yorker repeats the well-worn tale of the time that Bob Dylan asked him how long it took to write "Hallelujah." "Two years," he told him. "I really like "I and I." How long did it take you wrote that?" Dylan told him a mere 15 minutes. As Remnick pointed out, it actually took Cohen five years to write "Hallelujah," and when it was done, his label didn"t even want to release the album it appeared on because it didn"t seem commercial.
Four years after the song came out, Dylan"s Never Ending Tour came to Montreal"s Forum de Montreal. That"s Cohen"s hometown, and Dylan honored him by singing "Hallelujah." (Check out audio of the moment right above.) Dylan sang it again the following month at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, but hasn"t touched it since. The tune was still quite obscure, and it would be three years before John Cale reinterpreted it for the piano and kickstarted the "Hallelujah" craze.
"It"s all over YouTube, so people will send me their 11-year-old daughter singing it," Cohen told Rolling Stone in 2012. "That"s always very charming. And there are great versions of it by k.d. lang. Bon Jovi has a great version of it ... John Cale"s is terrific."
The New Yorker profile reveals that Cohen is struggling with health problems and is unlikely to tour again. "Friends and musical associates say theyd be surprised to see him onstage again except in a limited way: a single performance, perhaps, or a short residency at one venue," Remnick wrote. "When I e-mailed ahead to ask Cohen out for dinner, he said that he was more or less "confined to barracks."" Let"s all hope he finds the strength to play live at least one last time. If there"s one person on the planet we want to hear perform "Hallelujah" one more time, it"s Leonard Cohen.
