Your social media feeds are probably lighting up with Americans being smug about the Parks and Recreation reunion special.
And why wouldn’t they be? If we could watch the cast of Parks and Recreation salute Lil Sebastian in song we would be pretty smug too!
Sadly, Australians will have to contend with the crumbs left scattered on social media – all those beloved Pawnee-ians on the screen at the same time – because the reunion special will not be available here.
Looking for things to pass the time? The best shows to watch, the funniest videos, the best hacks? Find it all at our Life (goes on) in Lockdown section
The reunion special was a charity event to benefit Feeding America and therefore won’t be made available to Australian platforms.
The 30-minute episode came together at the last minute and was written by co-creator Mike Schur along with his Parks colleagues.
Every regular cast member, except for Paul Schneider’s Mark Brendanawicz, came back to give everyone virtual hugs.
The story takes place in the present, during the coronavirus pandemic and involves Leslie checking in on her friends – Ben (Adam Scott), Anne (Rashida Jones), Ron (Nick Offerman), Tom (Aziz Ansari), Donna (Retta), April (Aubrey Plaza), Chris (Rob Lowe), Jerry, or is that Garry (Jim O’Heir) and Andy (Chris Pratt), who was managed to lock himself in the shed, because of course he has.
Even the likes of Jean-Ralphio (Ben Schwartz), Dennis (Jason Mantzoukas) and Perd (Jay Jackson) popped up for cameos. And, of course, Tammy #2 (Megan Mullaly).
Each actor filmed their parts on an iPhone from lockdown in their own homes, and it was edited together.
Leslie Knope’s irrepressible spirit is exactly what we need during the pandemic, a timely reminder of the best of humanity.
Locally, all seven seasons of the original series which ran from 2009 to 2015 can be found on Foxtel Now, Stan and Amazon Prime Video.
So unless you’re planning to do something illegal (naughty, naughty), then you’ll have to be satisfied with rewatching the original batch, which, to be fair, is a mighty fine binge.
Another picture featured an elaborately decorated cake, complete with candles in the shape of the number 32.
“Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes and love,” the Knives Out star wrote in the caption, which she also repeated in Spanish. “Cheers to another great year.”
Reports swirled the Deep Water co-stars were an item in March when they were spotted smooching at the airport.
“They are definitely dating,” a source told People magazine at the time.
In mid-March, they were snapped by paparazzi walking hand-in-hand on the beach while on holiday together in Costa Rica.
The two actors spent weeks on location in New Orleans filming Deep Water and were photographed laughing together and hanging out off-camera as well.
Neither Affleck nor de Armas have commented on their romance.
Affleck was married to actress Jennifer Garner for 13 years before separating in 2018. They have three children together.
This story originally appeared on Fox News and has been reproduced here with permission
It seems Ben Ungermann has finally disappeared from MasterChef after he was arrested earlier this year.
Eagle-eyed fans noticed Ungermann was mysteriously missing from last night’s episode of the Channel 10 cooking show, following previous news of his departure.
He had appeared on each episode up until this point, despite Endemol Shine putting out a press release in March that he had been booted.
In March, Endemol Shine released a statement saying that Ungermann had been removed because he had been arrested by police for what was described as an incident of a “personal nature”.
“We can confirm Ben Ungermann has left the MasterChef Australia competition. As this is a police matter, we will not be making further comment,” the spokesman said.
The reason for his arrest is still unclear.
Ungermann hasn’t spoken publicly about the arrest yet but he did reply to a fan’s comment on Instagram about how his exit will be covered by the show.
“I’m actually devastated,” the fan wrote to Ungermann. “How do they edit you out?”
The former contestant replied: “That’s up to MasterChef Australia. Appreciate the support.”
Ungermann first appeared on MasterChef in Season 9 in 2017. He finished second behind Diana Chan.
After the show, he opened an ice cream shop with his brother called Ungermann Brothers in Ipswich, Queensland.
Ungermann was announced as a cast member of Back To Win in February, in a season which features 24 previous MasterChef contestants returning to the series for another shot at the coveted title.
The 34-year-old was involved in filming for the earlier scenes of the series, which began shooting in January in Melbourne.
MasterChef continues tonight on Channel 10 at 7.30pm
Sex scenes … Are they as awkward as we think they are?
According to Australian actor David Berry, the answer is yes. At least in his case.
The 36-year-old star of the wildly popular period drama Outlander, which is streaming its latest season on Foxtel Now, has only had to shoot one intimate scene during his time on the show. Sex scenes are usually reserved for central stars Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) and Clare Randall (Caitriona Balfe).
Playing gay man Lord John Grey – a beloved character, reportedly in talks for its own spin-off series – Berry told news.com.au exactly what it was like to have to shoot his sex scene, which aired in season 4 last year.
“I haven’t really had to do much of them so I don’t want to speak on their behalf, I’ve only had to do one, and I guess that was a little bit awkward,” said Berry, who has also appeared in A Place To Call Home.
“The gentleman’s name was Andrew … We’d only just met and we had to negotiate who was doing what, and where, and how much noise there would be in terms of grunting.
“You don’t want to oversell it or underplay it, you just have to commit to it in that moment on set.”
An ultimate professional, Berry said the pair engaged in “a speed dating thing” to get to know each other before they got intimate on camera.
“What I attempted to do, we asked a few questions to each other in a speed dating thing, and then we had to get into it.
“For Sam and Cat, they’re very experienced. They’ve been doing it for five years.
“If it’s someone there for the day, it’s going to be (a bit awkward) but I’ve done them before in other things, but in this age of growing awareness with #MeToo, relating to intimate scenes, people are trying to be more discretionary and sensitive to actors when they come to set.
“But you just have to talk to each other. You’re simulating as much as you can without doing the act so you want to sell it.”
As for what’s been the hardest scene to film, Berry said he put a lot of pressure on himself to do justice to a scene where Jamie offers himself to Lord John, who despite being in love with Jamie, declines his advances.
“I’m still not happy with it to this day, and I know fans received it very well but I found it extremely challenging,” he said.
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Lord John Grey (David Berry) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) have a unique relationship.
“It’s a very sort of nuanced and unusual sort of situation for both characters and how they reacted in this instance says a lot about them and how much they respect each other.
“It was very difficult to get inside the delicacy of how to play that moment, I didn’t want to undo too much humour but at the same time, Lord John has a good sense of humour.
“I wanted to give it the dignity it deserved.
“I still look back at it and to my satisfaction, I wasn’t happy 100 per cent. Nevertheless, it was instrumental in their relationship going forward and you got a sense of how deeply they respect each other.”
Season 5 of Outlander is nearing its final episode, and production on the sixth and final season was slated to begin last month however has been put on ice amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In some news that might upset fans of Lord John, Berry isn’t entirely sure whether his character will appear next season.
But, he does welcome talks he could potentially get his own series down the track.
“There’s so much uncertainty in the world with John’s involvement in the series, whether he goes ahead with Outlander is still undetermined,” Berry said.
“There was a point where I was in negotiations for talks about a potential spin-off but that’s sort of out of my hands, and at this point it’s all in the realm of hypotheticals.
“I think it’s just circling back to what I said before, that John’s future in the Outlander series is undetermined.”
The show has garnered a fierce cult following since it first aired in 2014. Berry came on-board for season 3, and admits he was taken off guard initially by the extreme popularity of it.
“I really just came in blind, and then the fandom hit me after that,” he said.
“And it did hit me like a brick wall. Like a tidal wave. It’s a very big, passionate and encompassing fan base. People are really invested in this show.
“I’d experienced that microcosm in Australia with A Place To Call Home, which certainly had an international following but not to the same intensity as Outlander.
“The first time I got an inkling of how immense this fandom was when the casting notice went out and minutes later my Instagram was blowing up with new followers.
“It was definitely intimidating knowing so many people would be invested in my performance, and when you get a role you honestly feel this huge sense of impostor syndrome.”
New episodes of season 5 of Outlander air every Monday on Foxtel
News of her change of heart comes after The Sun on Sunday revealed the 46-year-old designer’s company was using a government scheme to furlough 25 members of staff – despite boasting a family worth of £335 million ($A649 million).
A source added: “Victoria is devastated about the backlash she’s faced.
“The original decision to furlough wasn’t actually hers – it was more a board thing, and she was persuaded that it was the right thing to do. Obviously she now realises this is wrong.
“Victoria realises she still has some way to go when it comes to endearing herself again with the great British public, but she is going to use her position and influence to start giving more back.”
BACKLASH
The former Spice Girl, married to ex-England captain David, has had a relatively rough few months.
Her business empire has taken numerous hits, and in November it emerged the company had recorded losses of over £12 million ($A23 million).
She has also made dramatic cuts to the business empire, slashing her own salary and even losing the use of her chauffeur.
Since its formation in 2008, it has made losses of around £35 million ($A68 million) despite boasting celebrity fans including Michelle Obama, Cara Delevingne, Jennifer Lopez and Meghan Markle.
And after news of her decision to furlough staff emerged – albeit on an ‘enhanced package’ – social media was flooded with scathing comments.
In contrast, stars including Ed Sheeran, Gwyneth Paltrow and Simon Cowell refused to take advantage of the taxpayer-funded scheme.
Comedian Ricky Gervais ‘liked’ a comment on Twitter which said: “The f***ing Beckhams, sorry I’m done with them now. Shame on them.”
Piers Morgan then waded in, saying: “Lost money year after year. Been bailed out by her famously rich husband David Beckham. Sorry, this furlough scheme was not for prima donna millionaires like you.”
The Beckhams are currently holed-up in their sprawling £6 million ($A11.6 million) Cotswolds mansion, and recently splashed out £20 million ($A39 million) on a new Miami home.
This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission
I planned a breezy backstory about a gentle, warm wind of an Australian Story about beloved he-might-be-a-Kiwi-but-we-think-of-him-as-our-own actor Sam Neill.
But looking back over the last two months I recognise that doing anything during the coronavirus crisis is far from normal.
We started this story before coronavirus became a pandemic and ended production with most of the population in isolation.
The fear and anxiety that gripped me along the way seemed to be also gripping the nation.
Australia knows Sam Neill as the actor who came to fame as a young man in the 1979 film My Brilliant Career and has graced our screens for the last 40 years.
Sam Neill and Judy Davis in the 1979 film My Brilliant Career.(Supplied)
We planned to also tell the story of his lesser-known passion for winemaking.
"Come and film at the vineyards when it's green and lush," he had said when we were making plans to visit late last year.
We spent the few days there anxiously watching the weather and ducking out in the breaks to film Sam around the vines.
He was patient and full of forbearance, taking us up the hill to film with his comically photogenic pig Angelica and over to the dam to call for his beloved duck Charlie Pickering.
Neill relishes the chance to be home at his vineyards in Central Otago with his favourite duck Charlie Pickering.(Australian Story: Vanessa Gorman)
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Sam's menagerie of farm animals have become Twitter and Instagram stars in their own right.
It was like meeting royalty when Charlie Pickering came waddling up that bank.
Neill took us over to his fourth vineyard, The Last Chance, so named as it's the most southern place grapes are grown anywhere in the world.
There was only a chance that the Austin would make it up the hill where we intended to film Sam as master of his domain on a rock overlooking the vines.
Lending a hand to push Sam Neill's car into position for filming.(Australian Story)
What I love about this position of producer on Australian Story is it defies any boundary of job description.
And if your job that day involves pushing Sam Neill's car up a boggy hill, then get the job done.
Sam was patient and helpful.
Like the old documentary-maker he is, he knew what we were trying for and made good suggestions about locations and camera angles.
It was obvious how strongly connected he was to his land.
"I think my first responsibility is to look after my land in a way that leaves it better than when I found it," he said.
"I'd like to think these vineyards will be going in 100, 200, 300 years — they'll be famous and I'll be long gone and long forgotten."
Cameraman Quentin Davis filming Neill in Sydney.(Australian Story)
Back in Sydney a week or two later, we filmed the main interview and after a day listening to Sam Neill my face ached from trying not to laugh out loud.
Nobody told me how dry, witty and funny he is.
A couple of half days filming here and there and then he was off to Marrakesh to film a sci-fi movie.
"You might be able to do some picks-ups when he comes back," we were told, but then he would be heading off to London to film Jurassic World: Dominion, a reprise of his star turn as palaeontologist Dr Alan Grant in the original Jurassic Park blockbuster.
Sam Neill plays Alan Grant in the 1993 film, Jurassic Park.(Supplied: IMDB, Universal Pictures)
Instead, COVID-19 invaded Australia in its relentless march across the world.
Sam Neill beat a hasty retreat from Morocco and endured two weeks of isolation in his Sydney apartment.
He posted a Twitter video of his achievement one day of washing all his sneakers.
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Meanwhile, I was shot-listing and trying to script.
The office over a few days started to empty out and it became clear that we all had to start working from home.
I downloaded everything onto a trusty hard drive and set up in a bedroom in Sydney.
We were due to do some more filming with Sam, but even after he had cleared his quarantine period, he was unsure about filming with us and we were unsure whether we should be filming with him.
I cancelled plans and regrouped on structure and script, working out what sequences of overlay we could live without.
Meanwhile, editor Ian Harley set up an edit suite in his home that could cope with hours of footage we'd shot, variously formatted archival footage, graphics and music.
From a distance it seemed like he was taking it in his stride, but certain things were taking longer to do and I could hear the frustration in his voice.
Editor Ian Harley at work on a pop-up edit suite at home.(Supplied)
By the week of March 15, COVID-19 cases were steadily ramping up in most states.
I was trying to write and structure the complex mosaic that is an Australian Story script.
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That week, it was made harder as the notifications of rising COVID-19 cases and news stories of disasters unfolding in Italian, Spanish and New York hospital wards flashed across the screen.
By Sunday, March 22, ABC News alerts were announcing various lockdowns around the country.
I rang my sister and brother-in-law on their Gundagai farm.
They didn't hesitate.
"Come down here."
I gathered up my 86-year-old mother who, truth be told, although a fabulous person on most accounts, had never been great at walking within society's structures.
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Set up in a bedroom far from the madding but now isolated crowds, 40 minutes out of Gundagai, I could finally relax and concentrate on the job at hand, trying to keep the script ahead of gun editor Ian Harley in his now home edit suite in Cherrybrook, Sydney.
"I can hardly hear the soundtrack for the noise of the birds out the window," he laughed on the phone.
We'd call to talk through something but end up sharing our mutual shock at how quickly the world was changing as shops and businesses closed and heartbreaking unemployment lines grew outside Centrelink offices.
To deal with the anxiety I stopped watching the news cycle obsessively and also kept up with Sam's funny Twitter and Instagram posts from his isolation in Sydney, or with his partner Laura Tingle — ABC 7.30's chief political correspondent and Sam's connection to the Canberra bubble.
Ian would upload a cut of the program and send us the link and executive producer Caitlin Shea in Brisbane and series producer Rebecca Latham from Sydney would send their feedback.
I hesitate to suggest Ian might have been happy having the usually meddling producer at arm's length instead of sitting in his edit suite.
Interviewing Sam Neill in lockdown.(ABC News: Greg Nelson)
For the last pick-up interview with Sam, Canberra-based cinematographer Greg Nelson drove to Sydney and set up to film from a distance on a flat roof on the apartment block next to Sam's.
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Instead of me next to the camera he positioned an iPad with a feed of me set up in my bedroom and a Bluetooth speaker near Sam so he could hear my questions.
Sam talked about posting to social media and reflected on the times we are living through, again, a reassuring gentle presence asking us to give new things a go and obey the rules of social isolation.
And so, in a way, the subject of my story showed me the way through it.
With a gentle message reassuring us that it will all be OK, and that we will get through it together.
Filming a story on Sam Neill during a pandemic was an unexpectedly difficult but also delightful job.
From finger paintings and crayon scribbles to water colours and pencil sketches, children are prolific artists — particularly during these COVID-19 home-bound times.
But before you head straight for the bin, artwork in hand, pause a moment — it could be a good idea to hang on to some of those pieces.
After all, you might be parenting a future Brett Whitely or Grace Cossington Smith.
Preserving artwork for nostalgic and sentimental reasons is one thing, but conservator Victoria Pearce says a child's paintings could be valuable to more than just their parents one day.
"We're curious about the history and the past and the provenance of say our leaders, and our key personalities, " she said.
"Those sorts of things end up being quite collectible, and curiosity points."
It doesn't take long for children's artworks to fill up your home - and your available wall space!(ABC News: Penny Travers)
Ms Pearce specialises in preserving and protecting items of personal and cultural significance. But even if you do doubt your child's artistic prowess, she sees great value in selecting some special pieces from your child's portfolio to preserve for the future.
"I can absolutely guarantee that your grandkids are going to love seeing things that your kids did, just as we would love to see things that our mums and dads did when they were kids," she said.
So just what should you do with your child's masterpieces, to ensure they stand the test of time?
Display and rotate artworks to preserve them
Val Crane says her daughters enjoy seeing their artwork on display around the family home.(Supplied)
The first thing to do is put your child's art on display, even if it is only for a day or two.
When Valentyna Crane's daughters, Jane and Sarah, create a new artwork, the first place it goes is on the fridge for all to see.
The Canberra landscape painter also uses cork boards and string with pegs to display pictures and avoid clutter on the kitchen bench.
She frames sentimental pieces, like a drawing then four-year-old Jane did when her younger sister was born.
"She did her first drawing of us as a family," Ms Crane said.
"It's important to frame things like that. Jane is 11 now and she still looks at it and remembers the day she drew it."
Canberra conservator Victoria Pearce has many practical tips for storing art.(Supplied)
Ms Pearce agrees that it is essential to display a child's artwork, but she says you should rotate what is on show and not leave items on the fridge indefinitely.
"Put things up for a short period of time. Take them down and put something else up," she said.
"The reason we change our art in our institutions isn't just to entertain the public, but it's because we can mitigate the light damage by putting something back into dark storage again."
Ms Pearce also suggests avoiding blu tack and sticky tape to display items, because they leave oily residue on the paper.
Instead, you should use perspex in frames (rather than glass), to protect items from UV damage.
Name, date and archive your art
When it comes to choosing which items to archive and which ones to discard, you may like to involve your child in the process and allow them to curate the collection.
Ask them which pieces they like best and why, then name and date the chosen pieces — Ms Pearce recommends using a graphite pencil.
Ms Pearce says today's washable paints, edible inks and recycled papers mean children's artworks are typically very fragile.
It is also why colourful paintings left on the fridge for months fade and the paper turns yellow.
"The dyes for paints and pens are basically a food dye, so they've got a very weak bond so they can wash out of clothing," she said.
"They will be effected by heat and light, and aren't very robust."
Pictures left on the fridge for too long fade and yellow.(ABC News: Penny Travers)
So, to give these drawings the best chance of survival, Ms Pearce recommends interleaving paper-based artworks with tissue in a portfolio, or storing them in archival sleeves that pass the photographic activity test.
Then, store the portfolio or archival box in a cool, dark location.
"If you put things up in a roof space or in a shed or somewhere that's baking in the sun, it's going to deteriorate much, much faster than if it's in a nice cool dark folio in a cupboard inside or under a bed," Ms Pearce explained.
No time or space to archive? No worries
Val Crane's daughter, Jane, enjoys looking back at her early artworks.(Supplied)
Time is at a premium for many of us, so if you find yourself unable to follow Ms Pearce's advice, there are still some things you can do.
You can start by photographing each artwork — a quick snap on a smartphone will do the trick, before you discard the item.
However, be mindful that your child may ask to see their work again, so choosing a storage system they can flick through is a good idea.
You could simply gather the digital images in a folder on your home computer, creating a gallery without the clutter. Or, you could use a specific app that allows you to easily store and share artworks with friends and family without taking up physical space in your home.
Ms Crane makes photobooks and collages so her children can easily look back at their work.
"My daughter likes to flick through them and see how she's changed her style," she said.
There are so many ways to preserve precious art done by your children.(ABC News: Penny Travers)
Photography is also the answer to recording those big 3-D creations featuring macaroni, playdough or papier mache, which are really difficult to store and preserve.
Finally, when it does come time to discard those physical items, a common tip from other parents — do so while your little artist isn't watching.
