Should Bryan Cranston win the Best Actor award at the Oscars on Sunday February 28, it is easy to imagine that the late Dalton Trumbo, himself an Academy Award winner, might be looking down with a wry smile.
Breaking Bad star Cranston plays the American screenwriter in Trumbo, a biopic directed by Jay Roach that is set during one of the most shameful episodes in Hollywood history: the Communist witch-hunts.
A left-wing sympathiser, Trumbo was one of several prominent writers and directors who were blacklisted by the industry for their political beliefs in the 1950s.
“At first, you look at it and you think: ‘Oh, it’s about Hollywood’,” says Cranston. “But when you read the script, you realise it’s not about Hollywood, it just happens to be the backdrop.
“What it’s really about is the threat of losing your civil liberties and putting up a good fight, and how it affects not just the person or the brotherhood of writers that he was a member of, but friends and families. Their kids went to school and got bullied and were ostracised by other kids. The ripple effect was disastrous.”
Such was the effect on Trumbo’s career he was forced to work under pseudonyms, often cranking out scripts for cheap B-movies anonymously just to feed his family.
Twice he won Oscars – for his screenplays for the 1953 Audrey Hepburn-Gregory Peck romance Roman Holiday, and for the 1956 Mexican-set drama The Brave One – and twice he was forced to watch from home as writers falsely given credit by the studios for his work collected the statues. It was only many years later that the Academy finally recognised Trumbo and granted him his rightful awards.
Adapted by John McNamara from Bruce Cook’s biography of Trumbo – “the book that became our Bible”, says Diane Lane, who plays Trumbo’s wife, Cleo – the screenplay immediately made an impression.
“It could have been handled, I think, in a ham-fisted manner, just pounding out one-note accusations,” says co-star John Goodman. “I think it was handled with a deft touch, much in the spirit of Dalton Trumbo himself, who managed to keep a wit about him while under duress. I think it was written in the spirit of Trumbo.”
Goodman plays Frank King, a B-movie producer who did not care about Trumbo’s politics and was happy to hire the blacklisted writer as long as he was able to keep cranking out scripts.
“He was probably the purest capitalist in the film,” says Goodman. “He would hire anybody to do anything just so that he can grind his product out without problems.”
Cranston points out that there was something rather amusing about the relationship between Trumbo and King: “The irony of a capitalist coming to the aid – really to the rescue – of a Communist.”
Goodman had previously met some of the people who ended up on Hollywood’s blacklist.
“When I started, I was particularly affected by [New York collective] The Group Theater,” he says. “I particularly liked their influence in American theatre and acting, and most of them were one-time members of the Communist party and were very severely affected by the HUAC [the House Un-American Activities Committee, which investigated people with alleged ties to Communism]. A lot of them carry very heavy grudges, as well they should.”
Trumbo, Cranston says, reminds us just what a hellish time it was in Hollywood in the 1950s.
“There were homes lost, families split, divorces, suicides, hastened old age or heart conditions caused by the stress,” he says. “It’s immeasurable to see what the extent of the damage was.”
Sides were taken, too, with influential gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (played by Helen Mirren) leading the scourge against the so-called “red menace” supposedly sweeping through Hollywood. The film also paints real-life actors John Wayne and Edward G Robinson in a less-than flattering light.
A number of Hollywood stars and filmmakers testified before the HUAC and named those who were blacklisted, creating huge divisions in the film community that never really healed.
“That’s where the line is drawn,” says Cranston. “You are no longer just protecting your own civil liberties, you are then condemning others – and that’s … the Nazis did that.”
Goodman says he has sympathy for those who were put in a no-win situation – either betray your friends or lose your career.
“Getting closer to the situation made me wonder what I would do in this situation,” he says. “I don’t know.”
Is it hard to believe that this behaviour went on in America only about 60 years ago?
“We did the Japanese internment camps [in which Japanese- Americans were locked up after the attack on Pearl Harbor during the Second World War],” says Lane. “Of course I believe it happened in America.”
• Trumbo is in cinemas now
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KLOPP AT LIVERPOOL
Years: October 2015 - June 2024
Total games: 491
Win percentage: 60.9%
Major trophies: 6 (Premier League x 1, Champions League x 1, FA Cup x 1, League Cup x 2, Fifa Club World Cup x1)
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Bridgerton season three - part one
Directors: Various
Starring: Nicola Coughlan, Luke Newton, Jonathan Bailey
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
Battery: 60kW lithium-ion phosphate
Power: Up to 201bhp
0 to 100kph: 7.3 seconds
Range: 418km
Price: From Dh149,900
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Company Profile
Name: HyveGeo
Started: 2023
Founders: Abdulaziz bin Redha, Dr Samsurin Welch, Eva Morales and Dr Harjit Singh
Based: Cambridge and Dubai
Number of employees: 8
Industry: Sustainability & Environment
Funding: $200,000 plus undisclosed grant
Investors: Venture capital and government
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Director: Peyton Reed
Stars: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Jonathan Majors
Rating: 2/5
ILT20 UAE stars
LEADING RUN SCORERS
1 Nicholas Pooran, 261
2 Muhammad Waseem (UAE), 248
3 Chris Lynn, 244
4 Johnson Charles, 232
5 Kusal Perera, 230
BEST BOWLING AVERAGE
(minimum 10 overs bowled)
1 Zuhaib Zubair (UAE), 9 wickets at 12.44
2 Mohammed Rohid (UAE), 7 at 13.00
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5 Aayan Khan (UAE), 4 at 15.50
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WISH
Directors: Chris Buck, Fawn Veerasunthorn
Stars: Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk
Rating: 3.5/5
2019 ASIAN CUP FINAL
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Director: Adam Wingard
Starring: Brian Tyree Henry, Rebecca Hall, Dan Stevens
Rating: 4/5
Find the right policy for you
Don’t wait until the week you fly to sign up for insurance – get it when you book your trip. Insurance covers you for cancellation and anything else that can go wrong before you leave.
Some insurers, such as World Nomads, allow you to book once you are travelling – but, as Mr Mohammed found out, pre-existing medical conditions are not covered.
Check your credit card before booking insurance to see if you have any travel insurance as a benefit – most UAE banks, such as Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, have cards that throw in insurance as part of their package. But read the fine print – they may only cover emergencies while you’re travelling, not cancellation before a trip.
Pre-existing medical conditions such as a heart condition, diabetes, epilepsy and even asthma may not be included as standard. Again, check the terms, exclusions and limitations of any insurance carefully.
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Don’t wait for days to call your insurer if you need to make a claim. You may be required to notify them within 72 hours. Gather together all receipts, emails and reports to prove that you paid for something, that you didn’t use it and that you did not get reimbursed.
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ANATOMY OF A FALL
Director: Justine Triet
Starring: Sandra Huller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado-Graner
Rating: 5/5
Indika
Developer: 11 Bit Studios
Publisher: Odd Meter
Console: PlayStation 5, PC and Xbox series X/S
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: seven-speed PDK dual clutch automatic
Power: 375bhp
Torque: 520Nm
Price: Dh332,800
On sale: now
The Specs
Lamborghini LM002
Engine: 5.2-litre V12
Power: 450hp at 6,800rpm
Torque: 500Nm at 4,500rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
0-100kph: 9 seconds (approx)
Top speed: 210kph (approx)
Years built: 1986-93
Total vehicles built: 328
Value today: $300,000+
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
RESULT
Bayer Leverkusen 2 Bayern Munich 4
Leverkusen: Alario (9'), Wirtz (89')
Bayern: Coman (27'), Goretzka (42'), Gnabry (45'), Lewandowski (66')
Williams at Wimbledon
Venus Williams - 5 titles (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008)
Serena Williams - 7 titles (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016)
Representing UAE overseas
If Catherine Richards debuts for Wales in the Six Nations, she will be the latest to have made it from the UAE to the top tier of the international game in the oval ball codes.
Seren Gough-Walters (Wales rugby league)
Born in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, and once an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi, she debuted for Wales in rugby league in 2021.
Sophie Shams (England sevens)
With an Emirati father and English mother, Shams excelled at rugby at school in Dubai, and went on to represent England on the sevens circuit.
Fiona Reidy (Ireland)
Made her Test rugby bow for Ireland against England in 2015, having played for four years in the capital with Abu Dhabi Harlequins previously.
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
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SOUTH KOREA SQUAD
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Tenet
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
Rating: 5/5
In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Company profile
Company name: Fasset
Started: 2019
Founders: Mohammad Raafi Hossain, Daniel Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $2.45 million
Current number of staff: 86
Investment stage: Pre-series B
Investors: Investcorp, Liberty City Ventures, Fatima Gobi Ventures, Primal Capital, Wealthwell Ventures, FHS Capital, VN2 Capital, local family offices
In the Land of Saints and Sinners
Director: Robert Lorenz
Starring: Liam Neeson, Kerry Condon, Jack Gleeson, Ciaran Hinds
Rating: 2/5
UAE's role in anti-extremism recognised
General John Allen, President of the Brookings Institution research group, commended the role the UAE has played in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.
He told a Globsec debate of the UAE’s "hugely outsized" role in the fight against Isis.
"It’s trite these days to say that any country punches above its weight, but in every possible way the Emirates did, both militarily, and very importantly, the UAE was extraordinarily helpful on getting to the issue of violent extremism," he said.
He also noted the impact that Hedayah, among others in the UAE, has played in addressing violent extremism.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Nomad Homes
Started: 2020
Founders: Helen Chen, Damien Drap, and Dan Piehler
Based: UAE and Europe
Industry: PropTech
Funds raised so far: $44m
Investors: Acrew Capital, 01 Advisors, HighSage Ventures, Abstract Ventures, Partech, Precursor Ventures, Potluck Ventures, Knollwood and several undisclosed hedge funds
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Clinicy
Started: 2017
Founders: Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman, Abdullah bin Sulaiman Alobaid and Saud bin Sulaiman Alobaid
Based: Riyadh
Number of staff: 25
Sector: HealthTech
Total funding raised: More than $10 million
Investors: Middle East Venture Partners, Gate Capital, Kafou Group and Fadeed Investment
STAGE 1 RESULTS
1) Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quick-Step), 3h 17’ 35”
2) Caleb Ewan (Lotto Dstny) same time
3) Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan Team) same time
General Classification:
1) Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) 3:17:25
2 - Caleb Ewan (Lotto Dstny) +4"
3 - Luke Plapp (Ineos Grenadiers) +5"
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Almouneer
Started: 2017
Founders: Dr Noha Khater and Rania Kadry
Based: Egypt
Number of staff: 120
Investment: Bootstrapped, with support from Insead and Egyptian government, seed round of
$3.6 million led by Global Ventures
DUBAI CARNIVAL RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner Dubai Future, Harry Bentley (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm UAE 1000 Guineas Listed $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner Dubai Love, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
7.40pm Dubai Dash Listed $175,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner: Equilateral, James Doyle, Charles Hills.
8.15pm Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions $100,000 (D) 1.900m
Winner Laser Show, Kevin Stott, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Al Fahidi Fort Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Glorious Journey, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner George Villiers, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
Pakistan v New Zealand Test series
Pakistan: Sarfraz (c), Hafeez, Imam, Azhar, Sohail, Shafiq, Azam, Saad, Yasir, Asif, Abbas, Hassan, Afridi, Ashraf, Hamza
New Zealand: Williamson (c), Blundell, Boult, De Grandhomme, Henry, Latham, Nicholls, Ajaz, Raval, Sodhi, Somerville, Southee, Taylor, Wagner
Umpires: Bruce Oxerford (AUS) and Ian Gould (ENG); TV umpire: Paul Reiffel (AUS); Match referee: David Boon (AUS)
Tickets and schedule: Entry is free for all spectators. Gates open at 9am. Play commences at 10am
Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars