Entertainment
In the dark days of the pandemic, 34 famous authors found light in a collaborative novel
On the Shelf
Fourteen Days
By the Authors Guild, Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston
Harper: 384 pages, $32
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During the pandemic, one of the most well-documented and poignant ways people paid tribute to first responders, healthcare workers and others who risked their own health and well-being was through the New York City evening “pots-and-pans symphony.”
For many, banging a spoon on a skillet could be done in isolation. However, as the spring of 2020 progressed, people found safe open-air spaces in which to gather and noisily acknowledge their brave fellow citizens who kept hospitals, care residences, clinics and grocery stores open and functioning.
Author Douglas Preston
(Christine Preston)
So perhaps it’s not surprising that the Authors Guild, our nation’s longest-running and strongest-advocating organization for writers, chose to set its first collective-written book on a Manhattan rooftop. Author and recent Guild President Douglas Preston, who co-edited “Fourteen Days: A Collaborative Novel” with author Margaret Atwood, says, “The interesting thing about New York is that people are all mixed up there, even within the same buildings.” Preston, once a New Yorker himself, spoke via video conference from his home in Taos, N.M., and emphasized that all of the characters in “Fourteen Days” are “real people … and not all of them are getting along. The idea is about diversity, and not just diversity of background or origin or thinking, but about diversity of genre.”
Diversity of genre doesn’t just refer to the book’s characters and the stories they tell while gathering each evening on the roof of their somewhat rundown apartment building, the Fernsby Arms; it also refers to the genres in which the book’s contributors write. Among the 36 authors whose names grace the “Fourteen Days” jacket are Dave Eggers, Celeste Ng, Scott Turow, Mira Jacob, Tommy Orange, Tess Gerritsen, R. L. Stine, Weike Wang and Ishmael Reed.
Obviously, “Fourteen Days” will be paradise for avid readers, but there’s one little twist that will make it even more interesting, and that’s the fact that the chapters themselves don’t have bylines. Each contributor was asked to submit a self-contained story of any length and in any style; the results would then be edited and placed into the framework Preston dreamed up long ago. “Many years ago I had this idea of writing a plague novel, sort of like Boccaccio’s ‘Decameron,’ ” says Preston. “And it was a disaster. It was terrible! When you’re a novelist, you often abandon things, and I abandoned it.
“But when the pandemic hit, I thought it might be an idea worth resurrecting, as a group storytelling project. I suggested it to a few colleagues, and they said, ‘Yes, let’s do it,’ but we have to tell the stories of the people who were left behind.”
Another contributor who is a longtime New York resident is “Goosebumps” author Stine, who echoes his good friend Preston’s thoughts about the city. “We all have different stories in New York, and we all live on top of one another,” Stine says from his Upper West Side home office, also via video conference. “And we all get along pretty well. That’s what America is supposed to be about.”
Author R.L. Stine
(Dan Nelken)
Which story and chapter Stine contributed to shall remain unidentified for the sake of future readers, but suffice to say it derives from his memories of how COVID-19 “made all of our lives smaller. I see fewer friends, I go fewer places. My life is just smaller than it was three years ago. For the characters in this book, coming up to the roof and sharing their stories was their entertainment.”
Some of the authors who answered Atwood’s call wrote completely original, new stories; others wrote stories that they had heard but never tried to write down, like Gerritsen. Her thrillers, which include the “Rizzoli & Isles” series, draw on her background as a physician. “I saw some pretty weird stuff,” Gerritsen says by telephone from her home in Maine, of her years as a doctor. “The story I chose to write and share is a true one, based on something that took place when I was working at a hospital in Hawaii.”
Like her colleagues on the project, Gerritsen is a member of the Authors Guild, “since 1990 or so, way back. I think this project arrives at a time when we really need to speak up as creatives, and I can also speak as a minority to say that I remember vividly the first time I felt seen in the pages of a book, the first time I saw not just a Chinese person in a book, but an American Chinese person in a book. I now had a place, that’s how I felt. In this book, there are characters of all different backgrounds, and I think for young people, seeing that characters who are like them exist is going to be very comforting.”
The Authors Guild will use the book’s proceeds to support educational programs and advocacy work for writers. Its new executive director, Deborah Wilson, says the “stories and perspectives shared are powerful and moving, representing a range of voices. We are also excited to be in early discussions about possible film and TV adaptations that could bring these stories to life in new ways.”
Author Dave Eggers
(Eduardo de la Manzana)
“Those of us who publish books can expect to see a dollar or two every time one of our books is sold, and that’s in large part because the guild has always been out front, making sure that piracy is not allowed, that copyright protections are there, and that we are not replaced by AI,” says Eggers, founder of McSweeney’s and author of books including “Zeitoun” and “The Circle.”
Eggers, speaking by telephone from California, says, “Anything the Authors Guild wants me to do, I’m there, because without them we don’t exist.” He also thinks that this project’s magnitude “where you can, as a reader, stay involved all the way through knowing there’s a common thread, was a really brilliant solution to fitting together a few dozen writers.”
“During the pandemic, we really had far more time to listen to each other. When the day-to-day is broken up and schedules exploded, you have more time, or at least it felt that way,” says Eggers, who delivered for his local food bank throughout quarantine and isolation, and in the process saw people “relying on and listening to and knowing each other more than before.”
While members of the Authors Guild rely on the organization for education, advocacy and benefits, members, like those who contributed to “Fourteen Days,” know that readers rely on them for information and entertainment. Preston, who worked with at least two different in-house editors during the book’s multi-year development, believes that readers will find all of those in the tenants’ tales.
“Some of the characters tell their stories reluctantly. Some of the stories are about scary things, some of them are confessionals, some are truly beautiful. There are stories of love, loss and memory. And, finally, there’s a big surprise at the end of the book.” Preston’s face lights up with a huge smile. “I can’t wait for people to read it.”
Patrick is a freelance critic, podcaster and author of the memoir “Life B.”
Entertainment
’47 Ronin’ director Carl Erik Rinsch sentenced to 30 months in prison for Netflix fraud case
Carl Erik Rinsch, the director of the 2013 Keanu Reeves action film “47 Ronin,” will serve more than two years in federal prison for defrauding Netflix of $11 million.
U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff on Monday sentenced 48-year-old Rinsch to 30 months in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, announced. Federal prosecutors convicted Rinsch in December of wire fraud, money laundering and other counts. A legal representative for Rinsch did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors indicted Rinsch in March 2025, alleging the $11 million went into Rinsch’s personal accounts. The filmmaker “quickly transferred” the money from the Rinsch Co. account, where it had been deposited March 6, 2020, by Netflix, through additional accounts until about $10.5 million wound up weeks later in a personal brokerage account. He lost more than half of that money in less than two months via risky investments in the stock market, the indictment said.
Though Rinsch told the streamer that his sci-fi show “White Horse” was progressing nicely, the filmmaker allegedly moved the remaining money into cryptocurrency and profited from crypto speculation over the next couple of years. The streamer had invested around $44 million in the show. Rinsch was accused of spending around $10 million on five Rolls-Royces, a Ferrari, watches, clothing, luxury bedding and linens, credit card bills, attorneys to sue Netflix for more money, and lawyers to work on his divorce.
He was arrested in West Hollywood and released the same day after agreeing to post a $100,000 bond to guarantee his appearance in a New York federal court.
Rinsch never finished the Netflix show.
During his sentencing, Rinsch and his legal team told the court his behavior was a result of mental health struggles and medication problems and they are working to address those issues with a new care provider, the Associated Press reported.
“I failed to recognize the danger of the state I was in,” Rinsch said, though his mental issues were not described in court, and his attorneys declined to provide further detail.
Ahead of the sentencing, Reeves — the star of Rinsch’s most notable project to date — penned a letter in May requesting “leniency and mercy as well as justice” in the filmmaker’s sentencing.
In addition to prison time, Rinsch must serve three years of supervised release, forfeit the $11 million and pay $700 in mandatory special assessments, according to Monday’s announcement. U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in the announcement: “Today’s sentence sends a deterrent message: fraud will not be tolerated.”
The Associated Press and former Times assistant editor Christie D’Zurilla contributed to this report.
Minions & Monsters, 2026.
Directed by Pierre Coffin and Patrick Delage.
Featuring the voice talents of Pierre Coffin, Trey Parker, Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, Zoey Deutch, Bobby Moynihan, Phil LaMarr, and George Lucas.
SYNOPSIS:
Follows the Minions in 1920s Hollywood as they search for frightening creatures for their monster movie, partner with a green creature, and must save the planet after unleashing monsters.
Minions & Monsters comes with a genius creative choice to reinvigorate a tired schtick. The slapstick antics of the mischievous Minions have always felt partially inspired by comedic stuntwork from the likes of Buster Keaton (at one point, a house comes down over a Minion, paying homage) and Charlie Chaplin, so it’s seamless for director Pierre Coffin (who continues to voice all of them) to place them in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Yes, these movies are critic-proof and will crack one billion dollars regardless, and a case could be made that the filmmakers could have made bank once again going down an artistically bankrupt path, so it is refreshingly welcome that he (directing alongside Patrick Delage and crafting the screenplay with Brian Lynch) chooses to insert these yellow goofballs into a Hollywood love letter that doubles as an avenue for children and anyone else to develop an interest in the era.
Generally, when nostalgia-pandering is discussed or Easter Eggs flood a cinematic experience, it’s about placating fans and giving them what they want out of corporate obligation to put a film in the best position to succeed financially. Minions & Monsters is an animated feature that begins by rewinding the Universal Pictures logo all the way back to when it was The Trans-Atlantic Film Company, with an opening scene that uses The Horse in Motion, the earliest example of photography resembling a motion picture. From there, it’s an adventure involving Minions and Hollywood, giddy to reference anything it possibly can, from classic monsters to Humphrey Bogart to Westerns to Citizen Kane to a plot point that feels ripped out of the recent more cynical and vulgar Babylon, with the red-hot popular Minions struggling and failing to adjust to the transition from silent-era flicks to talkies.
There is a narrative here (more so than in the first two installments, which is a huge part of why this film works in addition to its sincerity) in that a present-day Hollywood museum tour guide (voiced by Allison Janney) educating kids about E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, The Matrix, George Lucas (voicing himself while locked inside a glass casing), and more, eventually comes across a pair of Minions named James and Henry with quite the sweet friendship and story worth telling. Its initial stages aren’t too far off from what we already know about Minions in that they have always existed looking for evildoers to serve, this time coming across a cyclops, a wizard, a mummy, a viking, and others that they inadvertently kill through slapstick means.
The chaotic up-and-down history leads them to Hollywood, disrupting the shooting of an intense train robbery scene, which sends its director Max (voiced by Christoph Waltz) into a neurotic panic until studio executives, the Bright Brothers (voiced by Jeff Bridges), express that they find these yellow demons utterly hilarious and captivating to watch as they wreak havoc. As previously established, good things don’t last forever, and the Minions find themselves shoved aside in a new movie-making landscape, but not before a montage celebrating numerous genres across silent-era films and leaving James and Henry with a dream to make “the best movie ever”, Minions y Monsters.
This is where the film slightly loses its way, transitioning into a more familiar animated feature/Minions story, as they bust out the sorcerer’s spellbook they found ages ago to summon Cthulhu as their monstrous antagonist. Instead, they conjure up a tiny blob named Goomi (Trey Parker, voicing a different character in the franchise this time while sounding like an amalgamation of about five different South Park characters with plenty of Cartman coming through) who can’t be what they need for the movie but can help find other suitable monsters, all while joined by sidekicks Philips and Howard (voiced by Bobby Moynihan and Phil LaMarr).
While James and Henry (who are joined by Ed as their cinematographer) try to make this dream happen, the other minions search for another villain to serve, stumbling across robot Dort (Jesse Eisenberg voicing a character riffing on Gort from The Day the Earth Stood Still), who turns out to suck at being evil even though he desperately wants to break bad. Rather amusingly, he befriends a suffragette (voiced by Zoey Deutch) in a completely bizarre, random subplot that mostly works because of how out-of-left-field it is. Nevertheless, it’s mostly filler material until the Minions meet their match in the climactic showdown that, unfortunately, has more in common with modern blockbusters than the classical Hollywood it’s trying to imitate, even if the enormous blob they’re up against looks icky, with gross animation details that deserve applause.
Setting that aside, it is noteworthy that even if there are still plenty of jokes with the Minions here that don’t land, it is also funnier when they are interacting with not only recognizable scenes, genres, and movies, but also what shouldn’t be forgotten. There is also a joyous friendship at the center holding it together, whereas I couldn’t tell you a damn thing about the Minions from previous movies other than that one of them was named Bob. Minions & Monsters is still more of the same, while also a testament and celebration of the beauty and magic of making and watching movies, with earnest love for the era that shines through. For the first time, the brain isn’t turning to mush watching one of these.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=embed/playlist
Entertainment
Alannah Keyser is latest fired ‘Love Island USA’ contestant to apologize for using a racist slur
Another former bombshell has apologized for past use of a racist slur that got her ousted from the villa.
Fired “Love Island USA” contestant Alannah Keyser posted a video to TikTok on Saturday addressing a past video that showed her using the N-word as she sang along to the Roddy Ricch song “The Box.” On Friday, Peacock confirmed to The Times that Keyser had been dismissed from the hit reality dating show after the resurfaced video began circulating online.
“I do want to begin by addressing the video of me singing along to a Roddy Ricch song that contains a racial slur,” Keyser says in her video. “I’m sorry to whoever has seen that video and has been offended by it; that was never my intention. The video is from six years ago, and that word is just not in my vocabulary anymore.”
A USC film student from Miami, Keyser also addressed some of the other social media chatter about her that had been making the rounds prior to her dismissal. Included were accusations of racism due to screenshots of her alleged use of the racist slur on Snapchat and Instagram as well as observations that alleged she had interacted less with Black men on the show.
She said those screenshots had been “falsified.”
“What has been shared does not reflect the truth, and it’s never been in my character to discriminate against anybody’s skin color,” Keyser said. “I do want to say directly that I do not support racism or discrimination of any kind, and I never have.
“When I first found out that these things were going around online, it really broke my heart, and I couldn’t do anything about it. But this has definitely been a learning lesson for me, and it sucks that I didn’t get a chance to really show my personality and who I am,” she added.
In the caption of her TikTok video, Keyser wrote that “reality tv is HEAVILY edited & [her] chats/kisses with the other boys were unfortunately not aired.”
Keyser was the second “Love Island USA” contestant who was dismissed from the show this season after video of them using the N-word surfaced on social media. Earlier this month, Peacock axed Oregon-based beauty technician Vasana Montgomery just days after it announced its slate of Islanders for the show’s eighth season. She has since apologized, saying, “There is no excuse” for her use of the slur.
Last year, contestants Cierra Ortega and Yulissa Escobar were dismissed from the show for their use of racist slurs. Ortega had been caught repeatedly using a derogatory slur for Chinese people (and Asian people in general) on social media, while Escobar had used the N-word in a couple of podcasts. Both have since apologized.
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