If the Hollywood Chrises have been popping up in your social media feed a lot this week, and you were wondering which one of them had died, the answer is none of them.
What actually happened is that US screenwriter and producer Amy Berg tweeted photos of the four Chrises – Chris Pratt, Chris Pine, Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth – along with the caption “one has to go".
And unfortunately for Guardians of the Galaxy star Pratt, the Twitterverse overwhelmingly decided that he should be the one jettisoned from the Chris Club.
And that should have been that.
However, Pratt’s wife, Katherine Schwarzenegger (of Arnold’s daughter and Kennedy family fame), slid into the comments to declare: “Is this really what we need? There’s so much going on in the world, and people struggling in so many ways. Being mean is so yesterday. There’s enough room to love all these guys. Love is what we all need, not meanness and bullying. Let’s try that.”
However, her comments somewhat backfired, with social media users continuing to debate the topic.
Even Pratt's Avengers co-stars, Robert Downey Jr and Mark Ruffalo, joined the melee, firing back at criticisms being levied at the actor concerning his rumoured political leanings and general silence during the current US election.
Now that you’re all up to speed, let’s take a look at the Hollywood Chrises, so you can decide for yourself who should be kicked out of the Chris Club.
Chris Pine
For many fans, he's the "thinking woman's Chris", and Pine earned himself a lot of feminist brownie points for being confident enough in his masculinity to play the "man-sel in distress", Steve Trevor, to Gal Gadot's butt-kicking Diana Prince in 2017's Wonder Woman.
It was a role that led When They See Us director Ava DuVernay to declare him "president of the Chrises" and pop culture website Jezebel to swiftly follow suit, calling the 40-year-old "the Chris that America needs."
Having shown off his acting chops taking on varied roles such as Scottish king Robert Bruce in Outlaw King, Cinderella's Prince in Into The Woods (give that casting agent a pay rise), and everyone's favourite rogue CIA agent Jack Ryan in Shadow Recruit, he also put his own spin on the cinematic legend that is Star Trek's Captain James T Kirk.
As of today, he has managed to remain wholly unproblematic, with no skeletons tumbling out of his closet.
Chris Hemsworth
The 37-year-old Australian really pinged on to everyone's radar when he won the role of the god of thunder in 2011's aptly named Thor.
Since then, Hemsworth has seen his career and fan base go from strength to strength, thanks to starring roles in the mega-hit Avengers films, and the flair for comedy he showed as the pretty but dumb secretary Kevin in 2016's Ghostbusters.
Moving back to Australia in 2015 with his actress wife, Elsa Pataky, and their three children, he also scored some major popularity points by becoming besties with that other Hollywood favourite, Matt Damon.
Side note: There's a fun Chris connection to be had between Hemsworth and Pine, as Hemsworth had a brief cameo as the heroic George Kirk in 2009's Star Trek, in which he played dad to baby James T Kirk (who was played by Pine).
Chris Pratt
Getting your wife to step in over a fairly innocuous tweet isn’t very Peter Quill of Pratt. Actually, forget I said that because it is pretty solid Peter Quill behaviour, come to think of it.
After all, Pratt's Guardians of the Galaxy character is the guy to blame for Thanos wiping out half the galaxy, and all because he couldn't wait just a few more seconds so that Iron Man and Spider-Man could grab the gauntlet.
Having made his name as Andy Dwyer in fan-favourite TV show Parks And Recreation, before he landed the role in Guardians of the Galaxy, 41-year-old Pratt appeared in the likes of The OC, Bride Wars, Moneyball, Zero Dark Thirty and Jennifer's Body.
With three major film franchises to his name – the Jurassic Park reboot, Guardians of the Galaxy and the Lego movies – there have long been rumours that his 2019 marriage to Schwarzenegger could mean a move into politics is one day on the cards.
Chris Evans
When you're Captain America, you're never going to be in the running to be kicked out of the Chris Club. If anything, you're going to be the one doing the kicking while uttering a well-timed "son, just don't".
Evans, 39, has the role of Cap to thank for launching him into the Hollywood power player stratosphere, because before that he was starring as Johnny Storm the Human Torch in the much derided Fantastic Four, and being called "bland" by the BBC's film critic, Matthew Leyland, for his role in 2004's Perfect Score.
Evans is one of the most politically active stars in Hollywood and has launched his own political news website, A Starting Point. Plus, he uses his fame and platform to do a lot of charity work, like dressing up as the Cap to visit children in hospital. Go Cap!
FIXTURES
Fixtures for Round 15 (all times UAE)
Friday
Inter Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Saturday
Atalanta v Verona (6pm)
Udinese v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Juventus (11.45pm)
Sunday
Lecce v Genoa (3.30pm)
Sassuolo v Cagliari (6pm)
SPAL v Brescia (6pm)
Torino v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sampdoria v Parma (9pm)
Bologna v AC Milan (11.45pm)
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
INFO
What: DP World Tour Championship
When: November 21-24
Where: Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae.
The years Ramadan fell in May
more from Janine di Giovanni
Match info:
Burnley 0
Manchester United 2
Lukaku (22', 44')
Red card: Marcus Rashford (Man United)
Man of the match: Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Tuesday (UAE kick-off times)
Leicester City v Brighton (9pm)
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United (11.15pm)
Wednesday
Manchester United v Sheffield United (9pm)
Newcastle United v Aston Villa (9pm)
Norwich City v Everton (9pm)
Wolves v Bournemouth (9pm)
Liverpool v Crystal Palace (11.15pm)
Thursday
Burnley v Watford (9pm)
Southampton v Arsenal (9pm)
Chelsea v Manchester City (11.15pm)
