LOS ANGELES — “I don’t know, bro. I was screwed up in the head.” M. Night Shyamalan, ruminating last month about career choices gone wrong, spoke those words and then burst into a giddy giggle. Just kidding! But the tenderness in his eyes betrayed him: There was some truth in that tease. In contrast to his first four studio movies, which were all substantial hits, starting with “The Sixth Sense” in 1999, Mr. Shyamalan’s last four films have been a series of misfires. “Lady in the Water,” “The Happening,” “The Last Airbender” and “ After Earth ” severely tarnished his reputation among moviegoers. The guy who brought us those clunkers — and, yes, we know, “The Sixth Sense” — wants us to buy tickets again? Pass. But here comes a hairpin twist nobody anticipated: Mr. Shyamalan, 45, seemingly humbled and more mature, took a hard look at his professional life, made a course correction, and the result, a quirky comedic thriller called “ The Visit ,” may well deliver a surprise … [Read more...] about With ‘The Visit,’ M. Night Shyamalan Returns to His Filmmaking Roots
Executive producer bio
One Man’s Biodiversity Is Another Man’s Lunch
Just as you can’t judge a stewed eel by its looks (otherwise who would eat one?), you can’t judge a series by its name. “Bizarre Foods With Andrew Zimmern,” tonight on the Travel Channel, is smarter than its lame title implies, thanks to the charm and intelligence of its host. The gimmick: Mr. Zimmern, a Minneapolis chef, food writer and radio host, travels the globe eating grubs, grouper throats and mammalian unmentionables, all to demonstrate that offal isn’t so bad. The reality: By taking an anthropological approach to food, Mr. Zimmern broadens his subject, conveying a vivid sense of place and a serious appreciation for social and culinary diversity. Now back to those grouper throats, and mullet gizzards, tongue and chitlins. That was the Gulf Coast, last week. Before that Mr. Zimmern went to Ecuador, where he ingested guinea pig (“absolutely fall-off-the-bone delicious”), “lemony tasting” live ants in the rain forest and grubs, served on banana leaves at a family feast. Then … [Read more...] about One Man’s Biodiversity Is Another Man’s Lunch
This Mexican Chef Is Having a Very Good Year
SAN FRANCISCO — Gabriela Cámara is having a very good year. Five years after she moved to the United States from her native Mexico, she is at the tipping point of world culinary fame. Her 20-year-old restaurant, Contramar , is both a beloved institution and a power-lunch destination: the Union Square Cafe of Mexico City. Her San Francisco restaurant, Cala , has established her here as both an eloquent translator of modern Mexican food and an advocate for social justice: She provides health insurance and other benefits to all full-time employees, many of whom are recruited through job programs for the formerly incarcerated. A glowing documentary film about the restaurants, “A Tale of Two Kitchens,” executive-produced by the actor Gael García Bernal, premiered two weeks ago on Netflix. She has just published a cookbook, “My Mexico City Kitchen” ( Sqirl , whose casually fabulous cooking mirrors her own. And Council of Cultural Diplomacy , composed of people who bring … [Read more...] about This Mexican Chef Is Having a Very Good Year
New this week: ‘Your Place or Mine’ and ‘All That Breathes’
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music and video game platforms this week. MOVIES — Shaunak Sen’s “All That Breathes,” one of the more transfixing and beautiful documentaries of the past year, is about a pair of brothers in New Dehli who make a makeshift clinic to mend and heal the birds of prey who are increasingly falling to Earth in the pollution-choked Indian capital. The film, nominated for best documentary at the Academy Awards, is a stirring and poetic portrait of ecological urban rescue that begins streaming on HBO Max on Tuesday. (It also premieres on HBO on Tuesday.) Nadeem Shehzad and Mohammad Saud may be amateurs, but they've saved some 20,000 birds. — With Valentine's Day fast approaching, the rom-coms cometh. Two notable ones are on tap this week: “Your Place or Mine” on … [Read more...] about New this week: ‘Your Place or Mine’ and ‘All That Breathes’
As Trade War Spreads to Mexico, Companies Lose a Safe Harbor
When trade tensions with China flared last year, many companies sought refuge in a country with a long, stable relationship with the United States: Mexico. Now, that alternative for production and materials may also be in jeopardy with President Trump’s threat to impose escalating tariffs on imports from Mexico, aimed at forcing action on illegal immigration. In the short term, the tariffs would mean lower profits for American importers and higher prices for American consumers on everything from avocados to Volkswagens. In the long run, they could force companies to reconsider the continent-spanning supply chains that have made North America one of the world’s most interconnected economies. That disruption, experts warn, could be far more damaging to the United States economy than the cost of tariffs themselves. The United States imported more than $345 billion in goods from Mexico last year, and shipped $265 billion the other way. But if anything, those numbers understate the … [Read more...] about As Trade War Spreads to Mexico, Companies Lose a Safe Harbor
Why Chinese Companies Are Investing Billions in Mexico
Bill Chan had never set foot anywhere in Mexico, let alone the lonely stretch of desert in the north of the country where he abruptly decided to build a $300 million factory. But that seemed a trifling detail amid the pressure to adapt to a swiftly changing global economy. It was January 2022, and Mr. Chan’s company, Man Wah Furniture Manufacturing, was confronting grave challenges in moving sofas from its factories in China to customers in the United States. Shipping prices were skyrocketing. Washington and Beijing were locked in a fierce trade war. Man Wah, one of China’s largest furniture companies, was eager to make its products on the North American side of the Pacific. “Our main market is the United States,” said Mr. Chan, chief executive of Man Wah’s Mexico subsidiary. “We don’t want to lose that market.” That same objective explains why scores of major Chinese companies are investing aggressively in Mexico, taking advantage of an expansive North American trade … [Read more...] about Why Chinese Companies Are Investing Billions in Mexico
