While networks are still deciding which television shows will live to see another season, executives are gathering in New York this week for upfronts.

Big presentations are made, celebrities are trotted out and network execs try to dazzle advertisers with their programing slate for the upcoming year in hopes of convincing them to spend their ad dollars on the commercial breaks between what is ― fingers crossed ― the next hit show. 

Here’s your first look at some of the trailers for the new shows that will air in the 2017-2018 television season.

(This post will be updated as more networks confirm their programing schedules and release trailers.) 

“The Brave”  ― NBC

Defense Intelligence and Special Ops squads team up to save innocent lives around the world in the new drama The Brave, coming Mondays this fall to NBC.

”Law and Order: True Crime” ― NBC

From Executive Producer Dick Wolf comes a new chapter in the franchise — “Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders,” starring Edie Falco as defense attorney Leslie Abramson. Coming Thursdays this fall to NBC.

“Will & Grace” ― NBC

An encore 11 years in the making. It’ll take Will, Jack and Karen to convince Grace it’s a good idea. Will & Grace is back Thursdays this fall on NBC. 

“The Gifted” ― FOX

“The Gifted” tells the emotional story of a suburban couple whose ordinary lives are rocked by the sudden discovery that their children possess mutant powers. Forced to go on the run from a hostile government, the family seeks help from an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive.

“The Crossing” ― ABC

Refugees from a war-torn country seek asylum in a small American fishing town, only the country these people are from is America… and the war they are fleeing hasn’t happened yet. As the government tries to uncover the truth behind this mysterious migration only one thing is certain: The lives of the people here — both the townspeople and these newcomers — will never be the same. Writers Dan Dworkin & Jay Beattie executive produce with Jason Reed.

“Marvel’s The Inhumans” ― ABC

After the Royal Family of Inhumans is splintered by a military coup, they barely escape to Hawaii where their surprising interactions with the lush world and humanity around them may prove to not only save them, but Earth itself.

”The Good Doctor” ― ABC

Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore, “Bates Motel”), a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome, relocates from a quiet country life to join a prestigious hospital’s surgical unit. Alone in the world and unable to personally connect with those around him, Shaun uses his extraordinary medical gifts to save lives and challenge the skepticism of his colleagues. The series is from David Shore (“House”) and “Lost” and “Hawaii Five-O” star Daniel Dae Kim.

”The Mayor” ― ABC

Young rapper Courtney Rose (Brandon Micheal Hall) needs his big break. For years, he’s toiled away in a small inner-city apartment, making music in his junk-filled bedroom closet. Tired of waiting for opportunity, Courtney cooks up the publicity stunt of the century: Running for mayor of his hometown in California to generate buzz for his music career. Unfortunately for Courtney, his master plan goes wildly awry, ending in the most terrifying of outcomes: An election victory. With the help of his mother (Yvette Nicole Brown, “Community”) and friends, including Valentina (“Glee’s” Lea Michele), Courtney will have to overcome his hubris if he wants to transform the struggling city he loves.  

”Ten Days in the Valley” ― ABC 

“Ten Days in the Valley” stars Kyra Sedgwick as Jane Sadler, an overworked television producer and single mother in the middle of a separation whose life is turned upside down when her young daughter goes missing in the middle of the night. Just like her controversial police TV show, everything is a mystery, everyone has a secret, and no one can be trusted.

”For The People” ― ABC 

Set in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, aka “The Mother Court,” this new Shondaland drama follows brand-new lawyers working for both the defense and the prosecution handling the most high-profile and high-stakes federal cases in the country — all as their lives intersect in and out of the courtroom. The series is created by Shondaland’s Paul William Davies and is executive produced by Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers. 

”Deception” ― ABC

When his career is ruined by scandal, superstar magician Cameron Black has only one place to turn to practice his art of deception, influence and illusion — the FBI. Using every trick in the book and inventing new ones, he will help the government catch the world’s most elusive criminals while staging the biggest illusions of his career. The series is from writer/executive producer Chris Fedak (“Chuck”) and executive producers Greg Berlanti, Martin Gero and Sarah Schechter. Illusionist David Kwong (“Now You See Me”) will co-produce.

”Splitting Up Together” ― ABC

Based on the Danish series, “Splitting Up Together” is the story of a couple whose marriage is reignited by their divorce. Emily Kapnek (“Suburgatory”) writes and serves as executive producer of this new comedy, along with Ellen DeGeneres.

“The Gospel of Kevin” ― ABC

Kevin Finn (Jason Ritter, “Parenthood”), a cluelessly self-serving person, is on a dangerous path to despair. In a downward spiral, Kevin returns home to stay with his widowed twin sister (JoAnna Garcia Swisher, “Once Upon a Time”) and niece. On his first night there, an unlikely celestial being named Yvette (Cristela Alonzo, “Cristela”) appears to him and presents him with a mission: to find and recruit the 35 righteous humans who can restore a sacred balance that will ultimately save the world. A light drama from executive producers Michele Fazekas & Tara Butters (“Marvel’s Agent Carter,” “Resurrection,” “Reaper”).

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

The 1969 experimental film “Funeral Parade of Roses” defies classification: The “Oedipus Rex” update is a master class in queer art-house cinema, integrating documentary techniques in which the movie’s actors break the fourth wall to discuss their roles. Revolving around a love triangle in Tokyo’s underground transgender scene, Toshio Matsumoto’s avant-garde classic has been restored for a June re-release.

HuffPost has the exclusive trailer, which outlines the film’s stylistic flair. “Funeral Parade of Roses” famously inspired Stanley Kubrick’s vision for “A Clockwork Orange,” which also melds violence, sex and outré imagery.

“Roses” opens June 9 at New York’s Quad Cinema and June 16 at Los Angeles’ The Cinefamily. It expands to additional cities thereafter. 

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Sadly, another “Bachelor” couple has ended their engagement. 

Ben Higgins, who starred on Season 20 of the ABC franchise, has officially called it quits with his fiancée, Lauren Bushnell, according to People. The two shared a statement on their split: 

It is with heavy hearts that we announce our decision to go our separate ways. We feel fortunate for the time we had together, and will remain friends with much love and respect for one another. We wish nothing but the best for each other, and ask for your support and understanding at this time.

Cue lots of tears.

Higgins and Bushnell got engaged ahead of the season premiere of “The Bachelor” Season 20 in January 2016. Although they had to keep their relationship a secret while the season played out on the air, it was pretty clear that Higgins had a special bond with Bushnell right from the beginning. She beat out runner-up ― and future Bachelorette ― JoJo Fletcher for his heart and a Neil Lane diamond ring. 

Rumors of a split have been floating around for months, but Higgins shot down any speculation with an Instagram post in February. 

In October 2016, the couple revealed they were in couples therapy, with Higgins telling People at the time, “We’re not the perfect couple. Far from it! But we are trying really hard, and we love each other a lot ... ’Bachelor’ or not, our life is not easy to navigate. We have our struggles. But we won’t give up. And for every argument, we’re stronger for it.”

The pair, who debuted their own reality series, “Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?,” on Freeform in October, moved in together last April in Denver, Colorado. (Clearly, the show won’t be back for a Season 2, but at least we still have the Ferguson twins!) 

Bushnell, who’s now a lifestyle blogger, hasn’t posted a photo of Higgins in a month. The former Bachelor, however, just shared a picture of his former love last week, writing, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. -Martin Luther King Jr.” @laurenbushnell continues to spread love while some feel it is their responsibility to spread hate, she is a light in this world. Proud of my gal, @laurenbushnell got me .”

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Vladimir Putin, an authoritarian president who is more concerned with consolidating his own power over Russia than addressing the country’s shocking track record of human rights violations, can play the piano.

That’s right, the leader of the world’s largest nation, who has threatened the very bedrock of free press and potentially encouraged the delegitimization of Western democracy, has some semblance of a musical talent. 

Proof of such talent hit the internet on Monday morning in the form of a video of Putin playing Vasily Solovyov-Sedoi’s “Evening Song” and Tikhon Khrennikov’s “Moscow Windows” in Beijing. While you might have imagined such a recital unremarkable, others would disagree. 

“The recital showed perhaps a softer side of Mr. Putin, an authoritarian leader who has been in power since 1999 and has often appeared eager to be seen as manly,” Ivan Nechepurenko wrote in a piece that appeared in The New York Times. The story was picked up by other outlets (including this one) and reported in a similar fashion by other publications, who made it a point to note that the piano playing represented a “softer” skill.

When compared to his knack for invading other countries or supporting internationally condemned dictators, perhaps piano playing is a “softer” skill. But the arbitrariness of that comparison reveals the absurdity of the framing: Putin’s ability to play the piano doesn’t make him any softer, or even reveal a supposed “softer side.”

As many people have pointed out on social media, several other men capable of heinous things have demonstrated a talent for the arts. So what? 

Putin’s seemingly spontaneous public outings, always chronicled by a photographer on hand, have been covered before. He hunts, he fishes, he rides horses shirtless. His piano playing is but another public gesture, meant to humanize, even aggrandize, a president whose regime is riddled with corruption. But does it make a difference to anyone that Putin, capable of the atrocities mentioned here, has a “softer side”? Is artistic talent that redemptive of a quality?

Artists are certainly not innately good or soft. (“Hard,” “evil” people can make art, too; to use a particularly popular example from history, Hitler was an acclaimed painter.) Neither is art itself. It can be uncomfortable, dark, provocative, nauseating. Just ask Hermann Nitsch. “The gooey notion that art should somehow be good for you ― Vitamin C for the soul ― is very American,” critic Christopher Knight wrote back in 1992. 

When former American President George W. Bush announced his painting hobby, the internet was quick to praise such a nice, quaint retirement pastime. When he came out with his own art book, Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors, the praise continued, until a Hyperallergic article proposed that maybe we were focusing too much on “the transformative power of art.” He was, after all, the same president who’s believed to have “misled a nation into the Iraq War.” 

Perhaps what’s particularly annoying about the framing of an article that suggests Putin, a totalitarian head of state, is somehow more sensitive after putting on a piano performance, is that it proposes that his talent is also the opposite of “manly” ― as opposed to his more “virile” hobbies: hunting and fishing and shirtless horseback riding. The overtly masculine descriptors are perplexingly outdated and sexist, because, obviously, virile men can play the piano and feminine women can hunt.

At the end of the day, Putin’s piano playing means much less than he or his administration would like you to believe. Whether he’s performed before ― or done so badly ― does not matter. 

Deborah Rothschild, the curator of a show of Hitler’s paintings, once said that, “The union of malevolence and beauty can occur; we must remain vigilant against its destructive power.” But Peter Schjeldahl, an art crtic at The New Yorker, probably said it better:

We must remain vigilant against malevolence, and we should regard beauty as the fundamentally amoral phenomenon that it is.

It does not matter.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

A viral video is helping to pose a parenting question to social media users.

On May 13, the Facebook page VibeswithBae posted a video of a young boy doing a makeup tutorial. “You walk in to your son doing this, wyd?” the caption asks.

The video has been viewed over 15 million times. 

Commenters came up with some awesome responses to the question in the caption. Their reactions as his hypothetical parents ranged from asking him to do their makeup to helping him launch a beauty empire.

Many also offered their own beauty tips to the budding makeup artist.

The boy in the video is named Jack and lives in the U.K. His Instagram account, @makeuupbyjack has nearly 45,000 followers. Jack regularly posts photos and videos of his favorite makeup looks. 

While there were tons of empowering responses to the viral video, there were also many negative reactions from Facebook users who said they would punish him if he were their son and do whatever they could to put a stop to his passion for makeup.

In response to the vitriol, one commenter brought up another recent viral video, in which a 3-year-old girl demonstrated how to change the oil in a car. 

“Not 1 comment saying ‘she shouldnt be doing that! Thats a mans thing to do! Slap that girl up!’” the Facebook user wrote. “Everyone commenting saying how clever and awesome she was! So why is it OK for girls to do boys things but a boy getting slated for doing girl things?! Let people, kids, boys, girls whoever do whatever the fuck they like!”

Young boys with more “feminine” interests have faced backlash for not conforming to traditional gender norms.  

Last month, Ellen DeGeneres invited a 12-year-old boy who was bullied for wearing makeup on her show. A viral Twitter hashtag also recently illustrated the way expectations of masculinity limit young boys and promote damaging stereotypes that can have a profound effect for many years. 

In this day and age, maybe it’s time to just let kids be kids. 

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Screenwriter Dee Rees is to heart-rending films about black lesbians as producer Jason Blum is to eerily relevant social horror movies ― and the two are joining forces for what should be a one-of-a-kind movie that speaks to the terror of homophobia, sexism and racism, at the very least. 

Rees is the director of the 2011 Sundance film “Pariah,” about a young black lesbian coming to terms with her sexuality and familial rejection, and the Golden Globe-nominated biopic “Bessie” about 1920s queer blues singer Bessie Smith. Blum produced the second highest-grossing R-rated horror film in North American history with 2017’s “Get Out,” a social thriller that intertwines components of the genre with the experience of being black in America.  

Both have mastered the art of using cinema as insight into painful everyday American realities, and, according to a New York Times Magazine article published Thursday, will soon be combining their storytelling talents. 

Blum, who is a fan of Rees’ critically acclaimed Sundance movie “Mudbound,” said Rees recently pitched a horror film centered on a black lesbian couple who just moved to the countryside together, and he was all for it. 

They met at a recent event in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel Air, where both gave speeches to a room of Sundance Institute benefactors. After Rees and Blum both spoke to the other’s brilliance, they connected after Blum’s speech for a meeting of minds. 

Rees’ pitch to Blum went as follows: “You’ve got me and my wife, two black lesbians, and when we first moved in, we fought every day over all these little things: ‘Why is this over there? Did you move that?’ ” she said. 

“Maybe it was a ghost,” Rees continued. “Or maybe it was some other force — like us not wanting to be there or fitting in. Anyway, that’s my horror-movie pitch,” Rees said.

Blum was sold. Just a few weeks later, the two met for lunch and began talking business. 

“I can’t tell you how rare it is that people mean what they say in this business,” Rees told writer Ryan Bradley of Blum. “He’s just letting me make the best possible version of what I want to make.”

We don’t know how long this will take, but in the meantime, let’s imagine Jordan Peele is somewhere satisfying a screenwriting itch. 

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

In Hallencourt, where writer Édouard Louis grew up, the word “violence” is seldom used. Which isn’t to say it’s a peaceful, idyllic place. There may be the ostensible benefits of the countryside; the surrounding area may be lively and green. But the town ― which, in France’s recent presidential race, favored the Trump-esque Marine Le Pen ― is marked by its gendered social values.

Louis ― born Eddy Bellegueule ― writes in his novel The End of Eddy that he was chastised and bullied for his “affected” voice from a young age. His father and eldest brother were both drinkers and fighters. Like most men in Hallencourt, his father dropped out of high school to work at a factory, but was unable to continue his work due to an injured back. The author flatly recounts memories of his father, who would murder litters of kittens and brawl for sport. Louis, meanwhile, took pleasure in trying on women’s clothes, and devised excuses for skipping out on soccer practice.

Louis’s parents, and others in town, eventually came to accept his queerness just as they conceded the personhood of the only black person they knew in town. But acceptance came with a stipulation, a rationalization: we like you because you’re not like the others. Being not like the others meant being tough. In Hallencourt, toughness was the highest virtue. It meant doing backbreaking work. It meant, in Louis’ case, not flinching when a classmate hocked a phlegmy wad of spit onto his face.

Louis is gifted at limning visceral descriptions of squalor. His want to not allow doctors to cede control of his body, and his resulting choice to spray a tetanus-blackened foot with perfume; his dust-covered and smoke-filled home, made worse by having asthma; his dad’s proclivity for fixing up old TV’s, and demanding that the family watch together in silence over dinner. The psychological insights he culls from these experiences are poignant. His mother’s tendency to declare that she’s “not a lady,” the habit both kids and adults in town had of laughing at the pain of others, as though laughter conveyed strength of character.

Of being bullied at school, Louis writes, “They laughed when my face began to turn purple from lack of oxygen (a natural response from working-class people, the simplicity of those who possess little and enjoy laughing, who know how to have a good time).” On the town’s rampant racism, Louis’ takeaways run the risk of being facile. “There is a will that exists, a desperate, constantly renewed effort to place some people on a level below you,” he explains plainly.

Still, the writer’s emotional tenor and clear-sightedness make this a must-read for anyone looking to learn more about class in the West, and how it weighs on the state of politics.

The bottom line

A touching story that’s artfully told, The End of Eddy will both make you want to turn away ― the descriptions of violence are that rich, and sensate ― and continue on with its frank and generous author.

Who wrote it

Édouard Louis, aka Eddy Bellegueule, is the author of two novels. Michael Lucey, the book’s translator, is a professor of French literature at the University of California, Berkeley.

Who will read it

Anyone interested in the burgeoning subgenre of autofiction, or in stories about class, masculinity, and growing up queer.

What other reviewers think

Slate: “Coming to terms with his childhood has resulted in this stark and honest image of French working class society, rendered in an authentic voice.”

Washington Post: “What is most impressive about The End of Eddy is that its author turned himself into a man capable of creating such a vivid and honest self-portrait.”

Opening lines

“From my childhood I have no happy memories. I don’t mean to say that I never, in all those years, felt any happiness or joy. But suffering is all-consuming: it somehow gets rid of anything that doesn’t fit into its system.”

Notable passage

“The truth was that the display of all these bits of flesh was driving me crazy. I was using words like fags, fairies, queers to keep my distance from them. I used these words against the others in the hope that they would stop invading every inch of my body.”

The End of Eddy
Édouard Louis
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $23.00
May 2

The Bottom Line is a weekly review combining plot description and analysis with fun tidbits about the book.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

A multimedia artist caused a commotion in Washington, D.C., late Monday when he projected a series of images on Trump International Hotel that skewered the president over accusations about his business ties with foreign governments.

Robin Bell, a Washington-based artist known for his political projections, said the work was meant to highlight benefits Donald Trump continues to reap since his ascension to the presidency, including revenue generated at his D.C. hotel. The artwork, which went up around 10 p.m. local time, quickly spread on Twitter before it was shut down by hotel security.

“It seems like a very clear case of his impropriety,” Bell said. “It’s a great visualization of a clear-cut example of the laws that he’s breaking.”

Staff reached at Trump International Hotel declined to comment about the messages.

Legal experts have said they aren’t certain if Trump has actually violated the so-called Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which prohibits those holding office from accepting gifts from foreign governments. However, a watchdog group filed a federal lawsuit earlier this year accusing Trump of doing just that through his vast empire of property holdings, which he still owns while they’re being managed by his two adult sons.

The president’s lawyers have contended that paying for a hotel room is not a gift.

Monday’s artwork cycled through three projections: One read, “Pay Trump bribes here”; another, “Emoluments welcome” on top of the flags of Russia, Turkey, China and Saudi Arabia; and a third showed the Emoluments Clause in its entirety.

Bell’s work has targeted others in the Trump administration in recent months, including a projection on the EPA headquarters aimed at noted climate change denier Myron Ebell. Another, crasser message simply read, “Experts agree: Trump is a pig.”

Bell said his work is a simple act of resistance in the nation’s capital, where, he noted, it’s “sad to see the old post office being used” as a Trump business. The hotel has become the go-to destination for foreign diplomats.

“Maybe in the history books it’ll show that we were not for this,” he said.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Beware of the catfish using Fred Weasley’s photograph online.

“Harry Potter” star James Phelps (who played one half of the mischievous Weasley twins) has been forced to reveal that he isn’t on dating app Tinder after a fan spotted someone using a recent snap of him as their profile picture.

“When a guy tries to catfish you on Tinder but @James_Phelps was your childhood crush,” wrote Twitter user @BriMasterMcPhee on Saturday.

She also posted a screen shot of the fake Tinder profile of 22-year-old “Trent.”

The tweet came to the attention of Phelps, who confirmed Tuesday that he is “NOT” on Tinder ― and that he wasn’t actually called “Trent.” 

Twitter users loved his response:

For the record, the actor and his identical brother, Oliver Phelps, have changed quite a bit since their “Harry Potter” days. Here’s how they looked in 2004 on the release of the the third movie, “Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban.”

And here’s what they look like now:

Now what’s that banishing charm for “Trent?”

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

The rips in this attempt at feminism by Harper’s Bazaar run bigger than the ones in Kendall Jenner’s jean shorts.

Just days after Jezebel reported the publication used stolen artwork for one of the patches at its jean jacket decorating party with social club The Wing without compensating or getting permission from the artist who created it, the site now reports three other artists’ designs were used without their knowledge.

The first pin in question, which reads “When women speak it is mostly poetry,” was created for Leste Magazine, a small publication which currently has a GoFundMe page to help support its production. 

The photo from the party appeared on Get Artists Paid’s Instagram account, which advocates for fair practices and transparency in art and media industries. The caption demanded credit from those who have posted about the patches and compensation from The Wing.

For its part, someone at The Wing issued an apology in the comments section and explained they they did not “approve or sell these patches.” It has also since made a donation to its GoFundMe page.  

Someone from Leste Magazine replied to the the site, saying it “blocked and deleted every comment and everyone who tried to defend us,” adding, “you are not innocent in this at all.”

The other two designs, one that reads “wild feminist,” another that reads “my girls my gang my friends my way” and one that reads “girl gang,” were created by Emma McIlroy, Lotte Andersen and Madison Kramer respectively.

McIlroy told Jezebel she is not looking for compensation but merely a public apology, which she was informed by a representative at Harper’s they were unauthorized to do. 

Independent artists being ripped off by big retailers is unfortunately all too common, and it’s at least refreshing to see The Wing take action in compensating Leste. But using stolen artwork to tout feminism feels especially jarring. Here’s hoping these artists get the money ― and apologies ― they deserve. 

HuffPost has reached out to Leste, Harper’s Bazaar, Emma McIlroy, Lotte Andersen, Madison Kramer and The Wing and will update this post accordingly. 

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

“Toy Story” conspiracists, you’ve got a friend in Tom Hanks.

The Oscar-winning actor has now heard that “Toy Story” theory, claiming Andy’s mom was secretly Jessie’s first owner, and he thinks it’s fantastic.

The theory, which went viral after appearing on Pixar theorist Jon Negroni’s blog, all comes down to Andy’s hat.

If you look at the hat, it’s clear it’s not modeled after Woody’s, but it does look an awful lot like Jessie’s. The hat just seems to be missing the white lace that goes around it, says Negroni, but there is “a faded mark where the white lace should be.”

The theory points out that in a “Toy Story 2” flashback, Jessie’s previous owner, Emily, also appeared to have a Jessie-style hat, except hers had the white lace.

Other scenes in the flashback sequence make it seem like this took place well in the past. From that, fans speculate that Jessie’s previous owner grew up to be Andy’s mom. She passed down her Jessie hat to Andy, and it lost the white lace along the way. 

Mind blown? Ours, too.

HuffPost asked Hanks, who voices Woody in the “Toy Story” movies, about the theory while chatting with him at an ACLU event in March. And, he’s into the idea.

“Sounds like a fantastic off-story, a little bit of fan knowledge to me,” said Hanks. “And I’m sure the folks at Pixar have paid attention to it. I’m not saying such a flashback might happen in the fourth movie, but check it out.”

He added, “Good idea.”

Hanks isn’t “saying” a flashback will happen, but the possibility of one is looking more and more likely.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, “Toy Story” writer Pete Docter seemed to frown upon the notion that Jessie’s first owner was Andy’s mom, but you can’t rule out that he just wants to keep “Toy Story” secrets, you know, secret. He said:

“The interesting thing is that we’re now on ‘Toy Story 4,’ and still stuff that we discussed in [the original] ‘Toy Story,’ 20-something years ago, those ideas are still being used. So it just seems to be a very evergreen kind of story and a lot of stuff just keeps bubbling up, so it’s very interesting.” 

“Translation: We might get the answer in a later ‘Toy Story’ movie,” wrote ET.

Whether or not we ever find out real answers, it’s good knowing the theory is at least Hanks approved. All we gotta say is, “Thanks, T. Hanks.”

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Zac Efron has been a good “Neighbor” in the past, but you won’t want him living next door this time. The handsome abs magnate will play handsome murder magnate Ted Bundy in an upcoming movie.

“Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile” will incorporate the perspective of Bundy’s longtime girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer, a role that hasn’t been cast yet. Kloepfer suspected Bundy was responsible for the murders of at least 30 women and ultimately turned him into the police. 

Joe Berlinger, best known for his “Paradise Lost” documentary trilogy about the murder convictions of the West Memphis Three, will direct the movie. First-time screenwriter Michael Werwie, who also adapted the nonfiction serial killer book Lost Girls as an Amazon vehicle for Sarah Paulson, wrote the script, which was on the 2012 Black List. In a 2013 interview, Werwie said the movie will forego the violence of Bundy’s murders in favor of a psychological examination.

“The common thread among everyone who knew him was that he had this facade that led you to believe that there was no possible way for this to be true,” Werwie said. “It was essentially a con-man story. It was a classic unreliable narrator. ... And remember, the drama is not from his admission of guilt ― it’s from his admission of guilt to the person he loves most.”

Efron has gone dramatic before, namely in “The Paperboy” and “Parkland.” Still, this is a left turn for a guy who last year starred in “Dirty Grandpa” and “Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates” and will soon be seen in a big-screen “Baywatch” reboot. But it also makes sense: Bundy was infamous for using his charisma to lure victims, and that’s basically what Efron did to America. This will be an interesting opportunity for the 29-year-old actor to break out of his bro-comedy bubble.

Producer Michael Costigan said the thriller will operate in the vein of “Nightcrawler” and “The Jinx,” according to Deadline. Production reportedly begins Oct. 9, though no target release date has been announced.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Those visiting the Venice this year may have noticed something unusual while passing the Ca’ Sagredo Hotel: two giant hands reaching out from the murky, aquamarine waters below.

The disorienting vision is a sculpture called “Support” by artist Lorenzo Quinn, meant to provide a daunting premonition of the potential damage caused by climate change.

“Venice is a floating art city that has inspired cultures for centuries,” the artist said, in a statement released by Halcyon Gallery. “But to continue to do so it needs the support of our generation and future ones, because it is threatened by climate change and time decay.”

The piece takes the shape of two childlike hands, magnified to the extreme, outstretched to buttress the towering hotel ― a Venice landmark. In part, Quinn was intrigued by the idea of creating hands because they are “considered the hardest and most technically challenging part of the human body,” also possessing “the power to love, to hate, to create, to destroy.”

Quinn constructed the massive hands in a studio off-site, then transported them via canal to the hotel. You can see parts of the lengthy construction process on Instagram. 

Two human hands forge a lasting imprint in the viewer’s mind, perfectly mimicking the potential the body parts possess in real life ― to support, to defend, to create change. The visceral image is intended to draw focus on the fragility of the environments we too often take for granted, emphasizing the power of humans to either salvage or seal their fates. 

The artist, as he explained on Instagram, “wants to speak to the people in a clear, simple and direct way through the innocent hands of a child and it evokes a powerful message which is that united we can make a stand to curb the climate change that affects us all. We must all collectively think of how we can protect our planet and by doing that we can protect our national heritage sites.”

Quinn’s “Support” will be on view until Nov. 26.  

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

As a kid, Nigerian-born photographer Mikael Chukwuma Owunna knew of no other LGBTQ Africans personally, and he saw none represented in popular culture or mainstream media. His family and community hardly spoke of people being queer, and when they did, the tone was nearly always one of disdain. 

“Growing up being queer and Nigerian, I felt like I could not exist,” Owunna told HuffPost.

The artist was 15 years old, living in the United States, when he was outed as gay to his family, who blamed America and Western culture for his sexual identity. They proposed he return to Nigeria twice a year, hoping the culture would “cure” Owunna of his desire.

“They thought that since being gay was ‘un-African,’ re-exposing me to my culture would drive the gay out of me,” he said. 

Three and a half years ago, Owunna decided to respond to this injurious claim ― that queerness and African-ness can not and do not overlap ― by capturing portraits of individuals who are proudly both African and queer, gay or transgender. “I’ve been fighting to reclaim these two parts of my identity for myself,” he explained. “To create a queer African home for myself and others where we can be LGBTQ, African and whole.”

The series, called “Limit(less),” is part– anthropological study and part– street style shoot, aiming to capture, as Owunna put it, what LGBTQ African immigrants look like when they feel free. It features 34 portraits, mostly taken in North America, each accompanied by an interview that probes deeply into the life and personal style of the subject. 

In part, the work is inspired by a photo series by South African photographer Zanele Muholi called “Faces & Phases,” which Owunna saw at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. The images depict black lesbians based in South Africa, their faces boldly featured against plain walls or patterned backdrops. “Seeing that work, I was so incredibly moved,” Owunna said. “Especially coming from my own experience of feeling completely invisible and erased as a queer African person.”

With “Limit(less),” Owunna attempts to challenge the binary understanding that sets queerness at odds with the African identity. Yet it was important to him that the project not cast homophobia as something innately African. The ignorance and hatred many young, queer Africans now face, Owunna explained, stems from the legacy of European colonialism, which, he said, “has brainwashed us to believe that being LGBTQ is somehow against our indigenous cultural identities.” 

Owunna cited Queen Anna Nzinga ― a 17th-century African leader who insisted that the male harem who served her dress in women’s clothing ― as an example of Africa’s early openness in regard to gender expression. 

Since Owunna had only met two other LGBTQ Africans in his entire life, he located the majority of his subjects on social media. When a potential subject expressed interest, Owunna reached out for a phone or Skype conversation, during which he would explain the concept of his work in full.

Most importantly, he ensured the subjects were entirely comfortable participating in such a visible project, given the potential safety concerns that could arise as a result. “Even though we live in diaspora, there are still very real fears and dangers for us as LGBTQ African people both inside and outside of our communities,” he said. 

The photographer then flew to visit each subject and spent the weekend in his, her or their home, spending a day getting to know each other before actually starting the shoot. The participants were also given interview questions beforehand regarding their personal style, their relationship with their families and what they might say to people who think being LGBTQ is “un-African”?

The subjects’ written responses are as compelling and moving as the images themselves. 

Em, a genderqueer Nigerian living in America, responded to the last question above with: “You’re un-African for believing that all Africans are this monolithic group of people, cis and heteronormative. We are dynamic, bold, and beautiful and queer. Our Africanness is only stronger with this identity because every day we breathe, especially for African trans folk, we are resisting and revolutionary. That’s pretty damn African to me.”

While fashion is seen by some as frivolous or superficial, Owunna’s subjects and their thoughtful answers illuminate how clothing can not only express identity but inform it. Netsie, a queer Ethiopian-Namibian woman in America, described how her personal style rejects the roles often foisted upon women of color.

“From a young age, women are taught that they have no choice in who looks at them, and so often, we are held responsible for what other people perceive,” Netsie said. “We are taught to be presentable, not just for business meetings, but potential friends, mates and assaulters. At the same time, we are taught never to look threatening, or look back at the people looking at us. We are denied the verb, and forced into the noun. Fuck that. I’m a hard femme with an hourglass silhouette, a goodwill budget, and a firm grasp of anti-capitalist rhetoric. I wear whatever makes me feel comfortable and powerful and safe.”

Reactions to “Limit(less),” Owunna told HuffPost, have been overwhelmingly positive, especially from LGBTQ African immigrants themselves. “I feel like there is such a hunger for us to see ourselves and people like us,” the artist said. “And to especially see other LGBTQ African people in a space of empowerment, loving ourselves.”

Owunna’s contributions to visualizing a population that has for too long gone unrepresented are staggering, and he is not slowing down anytime soon. The artist is en route to creating the largest digital archive of LGBTQ African immigrant narratives in existence. Having worked primarily in North America so far, he’s headed to Europe ― home to over 6 million African immigrants.

The artist is currently raising funds on Kickstarter to finance his journeys to Belgium, France, Portugal, Sweden and the U.K., gathering more stories and images every stop of the way. To continue the project, he needs $10,000 by June 8 ― at time of publication, he has raised just over $5,000. 

Owunna looks forward to growing his archive, finally providing visibility for the next generation growing up African and queer. “With each click of my camera,” he said, “I strive to capture my vision of what a free world can look like for black queer and trans people. And to show that this free world already exists inside each and every one of us.”

See more of Owunna’s “Limit(less)” on the project’s website.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Bad news: The genius behind your favorite Twitter account is retiring. Good news: Your chance to correct President Donald Trump’s word use for a living has arrived.

On Tuesday morning, the beloved Twitter account belonging to Merriam-Webster announced an open position for a Content and Social Media Manager. (”Must love words,” the account stipulated.)

Lauren Naturale, the last person to helm the job, captured the significance of the announcement succinctly: “If you’re one of the hundreds of people who’ve tweeted that they want my job, this is your chance!”

The job listing mentions that an ideal candidate should have, “3-5 years managing content production and social media,” and an “[a]bility to think both strategically and tactically.” What it doesn’t mention is a keen interest in correcting the grievous grammatical and linguistic errors made by Trump, his staff and his family, an activity the account is known to engage with.

After Kellyanne Conway said feminism “in the classic sense [...] seems to be very anti-male,” Merriam-Webster flatly tweeted the dictionary’s definition of “feminism.” When Ivanka Trump said she “doesn’t know what it means to be complicit” in her father’s dealings, Merriam-Webster shared its definition of “complicit” on its channels. And, when Donald Trump referred to “carnage” in his inaugural address, Merriam-Webster shared that the word was its top-trending search. 

So, potential candidates: if you believe in the power of words, and the ability to use words to hold those in power accountable, the dictionary, of all places, may be your ideal employer.

And if you’re one of Merriam-Webster’s ardent followers geeking out about the nature of the newly available job, we get it:

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Australian designer Thomas Puttick earned high marks for his powerful fashion show at Fashion Week Australia on Monday, which featured one of the most diverse catwalks yet. 

The young designer featured women who aren’t professional models in his resort 2018 collection, including Aminata Conteh-Biger, a refugee from Sierra Leone, and Anne Aly, Australia’s first female Muslim MP (member of parliament). The show also featured other non-models ― like a musician, an activist and a graphic designer ― alongside woman of many different ages and sizes. 

“The new series is a way for us to present empowered women who have a strong message, and who carry themselves,” Puttick told News AU. They all rocked the runway: 

According to The Australian, all of the women who participated in the show donated their “walk” fees to an anti-domestic violence organization called White Ribbon. 

“I think it’s really important to support young talent and the support that he has for White Ribbon,” Aly told the outlet. “That’s why I’m doing it. Plus I love his clothes. You can’t say no.” 

The Australian MP added, “Too often fashion seems out of the grasp of a lot of people in everyday life. The message sent is that Thomas’ look is accessible to everyone.” 

“It’s great to wear clothes for women over 50 and remind people we’re not dead yet,” said Yvonne Tozzi, a 60-year-old stylist. 

More of this on the catwalk, please!

The HuffPost Lifestyle newsletter will make you happier and healthier, one email at a time. Sign up here. 

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

This is what American families look like. 

People across the interwebs are tweeting photos of their Asian-American families using the hashtags #MyAsianAmericanFamily and #MyAANHPIFamily. The photos serve as an important reminder of our Asian roots in the U.S. 

“Asian-American family history is American history,” Jason Fong, who started the hashtag with Jenn Fang of Reappropriate, told HuffPost in an email. “You can see from the photos that our families have been immeasurably impacted by political, social, and economic factors and movements in American history.”

The photos show a diverse range of experiences from survivors of Japanese-American imprisonment to Southeast Asian refugees to proud multiracial families. Though the trend is a celebration of Mother’s Day and Asian-American Heritage Month, it’s also an ode to the struggles, challenges and sacrifices many families have experienced. 

And since people don’t typically see Asians as the quintessential American unit, Fong told HuffPost he felt it was important to highlight their stories. Especially since the minority group is so affected by important hot button issues in U.S. policy ― whether it’s immigration or wage inequality. 

“Understanding and humanizing Asian American families are both essential to helping us understand how we can work for justice,” he said. 

Because Asian families are often stereotyped as strict and void of emotion, Fang told HuffPost that they also aimed to show the softer side of these families that are rarely depicted in the media. And according to the submissions, the campaign seems to be a success. 

“Through the hashtag, we saw many different examples of what AAPI families look like now and throughout history, and yet all were united by the common thread of love, caring and support,” Fang said. “That so many AAPIs took to Twitter to share their intimate stories honoring their birth and/or chosen families speaks to how central familial bonds are for the AAPI community.”

Check out more awesome photos of Asian-American families below.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

You may have thought the only entertaining battle to follow between former President George W. Bush and current President Donald Trump would be who would have the lower approval ratings in future (God-willing) history books. (Trump’s current approval rating, according to Gallup, is 38 percent ― three points above his lowest score ― while Bush’s low-point was 25 percent. But Trump still has time. So, so, so much time.)

In any case, Will Ferrell recently reprised his satirical role as George W. Bush for the “Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner” last month, giving the country an approximation of what a war of words between the two Republican presidents would look like.

Getty already published photos of Ferrell’s impersonation, and a few video segments have surfaced, but now the event organizer, “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee,” has released the entire skit.

Watch the almost 12-minute video above to see Ferrell’s cigarette-smoking Bush, who utters lines like, “History has proven to be kinder to me than many of you thought.”

I needed eight years, a catastrophic flood, a war built on a lie, an economic disaster -- the new guy needed 100 days.
Will Ferrell as George W. Bush

Ferrell spends much of the speech going after Trump, at one point unveiling Bush’s latest portrait ― a two-toned Trump.

“As you can see,” said Ferrell as Bush, “I’ve exhausted my palette of yellow and oranges.”

Luckily, for this Bush, he still has so much time to finish the portrait. (So, so, so, so, so, so much time.)

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

In 1973, America’s most famous tennis players, Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, competed in a match dubbed the Battle of the Sexes. Spoiler alert: She won, girls rule, boys drool.

Emma Stone and Steve Carell will play King and Riggs in a movie titled, well, “Battle of the Sexes.” It’s the latest project from “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Ruby Sparks” directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The trailer, which premiered Tuesday, features a lot of “can-a-woman-beat-a-dude?” squabbling. Guess we know the answer to that one.

“Battle of the Sexes” opens Sept. 22, right as Oscar season kicks off.

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

“The Daily Show” fired off 14 epic tweets on Monday night that totally called out Republicans who criticized Democrats for how they handled classified information. 

Each were quote tweets of prominent GOP figures’ earlier posts, and were accompanied by one all-caps word. When the single words were combined in a single sentence, they read:

“How many times will we find Republicans criticizing the exact thing Trump is doing?”

This is in response to the explosive Washington Post piece that broke earlier on Monday, claiming that President Donald Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian diplomats in their Oval Office meeting last week, particularly about the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

To make matters worse, a U.S. official familiar with the matter told the paper that Trump “revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies.”

The tweet storm by “The Daily Show” began with a Trump tweet from July, in which he called Hillary Clinton “careless” in her handling of “very sensitive, highly classified information.” He is, of course, referring to Clinton’s emails, but the irony of the tweet being resurrected now is ... *chef kiss*.

That irony only continues in the following 13 tweets, which include a 2016 tweet from House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), where he says individuals who are “extremely careless” with classified information should be “denied” further access to it. There’s also a 2016 tweet from the same week from White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, who notes what happens to those who mishandle classified information (prison, fines, etc.), and one from Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), who suggested Hillary Clinton be prosecuted for her mishandling of classified documents. 

White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s inclusion in the last tweet in the thread is particularly cringe-inducing:

So, with just these 14 instances of GOP figures hypocritically calling out Democrats, we reiterate the question posed by “The Daily Show”: How many times will we find Republicans criticizing the exact thing Trump is doing?

-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.