Ruckus September 22, 2023

‘Trust Me’

RACHEL HERGETT

For the Chronicle

“Trust Me,” a documentary about media literacy, makes plain that we are much more easily fooled by what we see and read than we realize. A story may be presented with a political spin that changes its perception. Details could be changed. Or maybe none of it was true to begin with.

“We’re all vulnerable,” executive producer and Paradise Valley resident Joe Phelps said over the phone last week.

Elk River Arts & Lectures will present a screening of “Trust Me” followed by a panel discussion about media literacy, on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. at Elk River Books, 122 S. Second St. in Livingston. e event is free and open to the public.

“Elk River Arts & Lectures is thrilled to be hosting this screening and panel discussion about how technology is

transforming our relationships and the world we live in — a seriously important topic in a community where isolation and division are such pressing issues,” the nonpro t’s executive director Amy Zanoni wrote in an email. “We believe that creating space for such conversations is an integral part of our work to foster community connection and enrichment through substantive arts programming.”

e conversation will be moderated by investigative journalist Johnathan Hettinger. Panelists will include Scott McMillion, editor of the Montana Quarterly; Kate Lende, Park High School’s librarian and the co-teacher of multimedia journalism, the class that produces the student newspaper and yearbook; and Phelps, whose foundation seeks to build “trust through truth.”

What’s Available NOW On

“Krapopolis” - Season 1 (Sept. 25)

Set in mythical ancient Greece, this new animated comedy from Fox tells the story of a dysfunctional family of humans, gods and monsters trying to run one of the world’s first cities, while also trying their best to not kill each other in the process. The series features the voices of Hannah Waddingham, Richard Ayoade, Matt Berry, Pam Murphy and Duncan Trussell.

“Kitchen Nightmares”Season

8 (Sept. 26)

This Fox reality series follows chef Gordon Ramsay as he hits the road in search of restaurants in crisis, where he steps in and addresses some of the most stressful aspects of running a successful food business. Ramsay and his team redecorate each eatery to give it a fresh look in the hope of attracting a larger crowd, with the ultimate goal of making the restaurants he visits profitable for their struggling owners.

celebrityscoop

BY JAY BOBBIN

Checking in with

GINA RODRIGUEZ

“Movie: No One Will Save You” (Available Now)

“The Kardashians”Season 4 Premiere (Sept. 28)

The cameras are back with all access to the personal and private lives of Kris, Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, Kendall and Kylie. From second chances and new beginnings to unexpected blessings, they continue to bare it all together, a reminder that the most beautiful part of life is family.

Gina Rodriguez might seem a bit young to be playing the mother to the latest incarnation of “Spy Kids,” but Netflix evidently doesn’t think so.

The “Jane the Virgin” alum – who’s had more series work lately via the ABC sitcom “Not Dead Yet,” which has been renewed for a second season – is teamed with Zachary Levi (“Chuck,” “Shazam!”) in playing secret agents whose children (Everly Carganilla, Connor Esterson) enter the espionage game in “Spy Kids: Armageddon,” director and co-writer Robert Rodriguez’s new reboot of the franchise that’s now streaming on Netflix. The youngsters are duped into helping a game developer release a computer virus that could make him all-powerful technologically, prompting the kids to try to counteract what they’ve done before it’s too late. Billy Magnussen (“No Time to Die”) and D.J. Cotrona also star.

Though the entertainment-industry strikes have impacted her career as they have for so many others, Rodriguez has kept up a steady output of work in recent years, even with having given birth to her first child last March. In addition to performing in such other shows as “Diary of a Future President” (which she also executive-produced) and “Lost Ollie,” plus movies including “I Want You Back” and “Awake,” she has directed episodes of “Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.” and Sophia Bush’s short-lived “Good Sam” (as well as the aforementioned “Diary of a Future President”).

Rodriguez cut her directing teeth with three episodes of “Jane the Virgin,” the series that delivered her to stardom over a five-season run

This sci-fi thriller stars Kaitlyn Dever as Brynn Adams, a creative and talented young woman who’s been alienated from her community. Lonely but ever hopeful, Brynn finds solace within the walls of the home where she grew up—until she’s awakened one night by strange noises from decidedly unearthly intruders. What follows is an action-packed face-off between Brynn and a host of extraterrestrial beings who threaten her future while forcing her to deal with her past.

(and exactly 100 episodes) and earned her a Golden Globe Award. Her success in that show set her up to pursue other projects on both sides of the camera, and she launched her own company, tellingly named I Can & I Will Productions. She has stated her intention for much of her work to be an accurate reflection of the Latino community, and since filmmaker (Robert) Rodriguez has maintained a similar aim, they make very logical colleagues on “Spy Kids: Armageddon.”

Birthdate: July 30, 1984

Birthplace: Chicago

Current residence: Los Angeles

Marital status: Married to actor and mixed martial arts fighter Joe LoCicero; they have a son

Other television work includes: “Not Dead Yet,” “Lost Ollie,” “Diary of a Future President” (also executive producer), “Carmen Sandiego” (voice only), “Elena of Avalor” (voice only), “Big Mouth” (voice only), “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Jane the Virgin,” “Drop the Mic,” “Lip Sync Battle,” “Rizzoli & Isles,” “Longmire,” “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “The Mentalist,” “Happy Endings,” “Army Wives,” “Jonny Zero,” “Law & Order”

Movie credits include: “I Want You Back,” “Awake,” “Scoob!,” “Someone Great” (also producer), “Miss Bala,” “Smallfoot” (voice only), “Annihilation,” “Ferdinand” (voice only), “Deepwater Horizon,” “Sticky Notes,” “Sleeping With the Fishes,” “The Price We Pay,” “Enter the Dangerous Mind,” “Filly Brown,” “Go for It!,” “Our Family Wedding”

Across

1. Mark Harmon CBS series

5. Grp. that the Jennings worked for in “The Americans”

8. Steven Yeun/Ali Wong dark comedy

12. Italy’s shape

14. Spoken aloud

16. Poppycock

17. “We Own This ___”

18. Reality show family with Kim, Khloe, Kris, etc.

34. Chemical cousin

38. Charlie Brooker’s sci-fi anthology series

43. “Better Call ___”

44. Suffix with president

45. “___-daisy!”

47. Too

48. Italian monk’s title

49. Left-handed, in chemistry

50. Davidson of “SNL”

51. Music-lovers’ game show on CBS: “Super___”

52. Locker room shower?

Down

1. Nuggets org.?

2. Bop on the bean

9. “___ go bragh”

10. Has some lunch

11. Bug out

19. Actor West of “The Crown”

20. Attacking force

22. Refuse

23. Baby’s “piggie”

24. Letter after kay

26. Veto

27. Moo goo ___ pan

28. The Trojans of the N.C.A.A.

29. Summer abroad

35. Small boat

36. “The Man in the High Castle” actor Jason

25.

30.

31.

BY JAY BOBBIN

The Marx Brothers run wild in “A Night at the Opera”

Numerous admirers of movie comedy know that some of the genre’s best moments came early, thanks in sizable part to the Marx Brothers.

Groucho, Harpo and Chico (minus sibling Zeppo, who had just left the act) refined their material to perfection, and “A Night at the Opera” – a Turner Classic Movies staple that the channel shows again Thursday, Oct. 28, to start an evening of attractions chosen by guest-programmer filmmaker Rebecca Miller – shows just how well they honed their work. The 1935 laughfest does turn an operatic performance into something of a circus, and the siblings are up for every humorous turn of the plot. And there are plenty of those.

Though the picture works best by just taking the fast-paced chuckles as they come, there is a linear plot with Groucho as shyster lawyer Otis B. Driftwood, who’s overseeing a client’s (frequent Marx foil Margaret Dumont) investment in an opera company. A celebrated, pompous tenor (Walter Woolf King) has his eye on the same role as an earnest aspiring singer (Allan Jones), and both men have a romantic interest in the show’s soprano (later game-show panelist and socialite Kitty Carlisle).

Driftwood tries to see to it that the right man gets the role; that would be Jones, who stows away on a voyage from Italy to New York along with two other hidden passengers (Harpo, Chico). Everyone’s presence pretty much becomes known in the film’s legendary scene that crowds countless characters into a relatively small stateroom, with waiters basically reduced to body-surfing above others’ heads as they try to deliver food.

3. Isle near Scotland

4. 1994 sci-fi film with a 1997 spin-off TV series

5. Goldsmith’s units

6. Poltergeist

7. Soaked in a tub

8. Florida resort north of the Keys

celebrity q&a

37. Where to see “The Last Supper”

38. Bundle of hay

39. A deadly sin

40. ___ vera

41. Unlocks, poetically

42. Invitation request

43. Maple product

46. Thither

BY JAY BOBBIN

Q: With all the changes to the CNN lineup lately, it’s good to see Pamela Brown get a new show of her own. I thought I read that she is related to someone famous. Is that true?

A: It is, and on two counts, given who her parents were. Her mother, Phyllis George – a former Miss America – is widely remembered as a trailblazer among national television sportscasters, and she gave birth to Pamela in 1983 while serving as one of the regulars on the CBS pregame show “The NFL Today.”

Brown’s father, John Y. Brown Jr., was the governor of Kentucky from 1979 to 1983 … and he also was a pro-basketball-team owner and an owner of Kentucky Fried Chicken who bought the latter company from Colonel Harland Sanders.

Brown now has a weekday-afternoon program on CNN, “The Bulletin With Pamela Brown,” the latest step in her career with the cable news network where she began working in 2013. Before that, she had been an anchor-reporter at WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C.

During her CNN tenure, Brown also has been a senior Washington correspondent and senior White House correspondent, plus a “CNN Newsroom” week- end anchor and a fill-in anchor on “The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer” and “Erin Burnett OutFront”; she has been Emmy-nominated on a number of occasions. Brown recently earned a Master of Studies in Law degree from George Washington University, and she and her husband have a son and a daughter.

Pamela Brown

OF THE BULLETIN WITH PAMELA BROWN ON CNN

Kitty Carlisle and Harpo Marx in “A Night at the Opera”

What’s Available NOW On

“Gen V” - Season 1 (Sept. 29)

From the world of “The Boys” comes this new action comedy, which explores the training of the first generation of superheroes to know about Compound V, and that their powers were injected into them, rather than God-given. These young, competitive heroes put their physical and moral boundaries to the test, competing for the school’s highly coveted top ranking. When the university’s dark secrets come to light, the students must come to grips with what type of heroes they are going to become.

in focus

“Loki” - Season 2 (Disney+ — Oct. 6, Season Premiere)

In the aftermath of the shocking Season 1 finale, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) finds himself in a battle for the soul of the Time Variance Authority. Along with Mobius (Owen Wilson), Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) and a team of new and returning characters, Loki navigates an ever-expanding and increasingly dangerous multiverse in search of Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), Judge Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), Miss Minutes (Tara Strong) and the truth of what it means to possess free will and glorious purpose.

“Movie: John Wick: Chapter 4”

(Sept. 29)

With the price on his head ever increasing, legendary hit man John Wick (Keanu Reeves) takes his fight against the High Table global as he seeks out the most powerful players in the underworld, from New York to Paris to Japan to Berlin.

“Movie: Hot Fuzz”

(Available Now)

A skilled London police officer, after irritating superiors with his embarrassing effectiveness, is transferred to a village where the easygoing officers object to his fervor for regulations, as a string of grisly murders strikes the town. Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman and Bill Nighy star.

“Movie: Killer Klowns from Outer Space” (Available Now)

In this horror comedy classic, when a small town is invaded by aliens from outer space who are capturing and killing the townspeople, no one takes them seriously. Why? The aliens all look like circus clowns, use weapons that look clown like, and all have painted on smiles. Only a few of the young people in the town realize the danger and, armed with an ice cream truck, try to rescue their friends.

Solution on page 12

Me et the Di rec tor s

Steph P

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uneral

F D

Director

Stephanie w ID ame in . She bec ser vic ssed a er dad pa e h unexpec the funer er guided h thr ir loss the k

ephanie was raised in Pocatello, became interested in funeral when her dad passed away xpec tedly, and she saw how funeral direc tor guided her family ough their loss She k new she wanted to help people in that same way.

Valley’

In my spare time I love spending time with my family, dancing, and suppor ting the ar ts in our community.

BY CAROLINE COLLACUTT

Ramsay reclaims fall: ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ returns for Season 8

Superstar chef Gordon Ramsay is adding an old-favorite dish to Fox’s fall menu as “Kitchen Nightmares” returns with its highly anticipated eighth season after a decade-long hiatus. New episodes premiere Monday, Sept. 25, on Fox.

The network is no stranger to Ramsay’s distinct – now practically trademarked – in-yourface, abrupt and (sometimes) devastatingly honest critiques, as Fox is currently home to four other shows hosted by the celebrity chef: “Next Level Chef,” “MasterChef,” “MasterChef Jr.” and “Hell’s Kitchen,” which is slated to return with its 22nd season – dubbed “Hell’s Kitchen: American Dream” – on Thursday, Sept. 28 (also on Fox).

His most popular (and perhaps most quoted) series – “Kitchen Nightmares” – first aired in the U.K. as “Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares” before making its debut on Fox in 2007. The series ran for nearly 100 episodes before concluding in 2014, much to viewers’ dismay.

Later, in 2017, Ramsay told the Daily News: “Yes, it was wrong to pull my own show off air. ... The biggest demand over the last four years is for ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ (to come back).” Hungry fans have been waiting since then for word of the show’s potential return.

Now, with Season 8 around the corner, Fox has shared an updated synopsis for the series: “Chef Gordon Ramsay hits the road to help struggling restaurants all over the United States turn their luck around. Ramsay examines the problems each establishment faces, from unsanitary refrigerators to lazy or inexperienced staff, and searches for resolutions. With help from his team, Ramsay redecorates each eatery to give it a fresh new look and updates the menu as needed.

Ramsay’s ultimate goal is to make the restaurants he visits popular and profitable, but it’s up to the restaurateurs to take his advice and turn their business nightmare into the American dream.”

In each episode, Ramsay gives himself, restaurant owners and the rest of their team one week to turn their failing restaurant into spick-andspan, neatly operating (and with any luck, delicious) businesses.

Originally produced by ITV Studios (now known as ITV America), the series will now be produced by Gordon’s very own Studio Ramsay Global – and the more Gordon Ramsay, the better. With more insults, code violations and stomach-churning dishes, “Kitchen Nightmares” returns to Fox, Monday, Sept. 25.

Gordon Ramsay in “Kitchen Nightmares”

What’s Available NOW On

“Movie: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” (Sept. 27)

Director and writer Wes Anderson brings a beloved Roald Dahl story to the screen in this short film. It chronicles a variety of stories, but the main one follows Henry Sugar (Benedict Cumberbatch), a rich man who learns about a guru who can see without using his eyes and then sets out to master the skill in order to cheat at gambling. Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Dev Patel, Richard Ayoade and Rupert Friend star.

“Encounters” (Sept. 27)

Taking a closer look at some extraordinary true stories, this new, four-part docuseries travels the globe to explore encounters with otherworldly phenomena. Looking into strange lights in the sky over small-town Texas; submersible space crafts haunting a coastal Welsh village; an alien encounter with schoolchildren in Zimbabwe; and non-human intelligence reportedly interfering with a nuclear power plant in Japan, the stories are told from the perspective of firsthand experiencers.

celebrity quotes

“It’s a story of revenge and making amends for what I think is taken from [my character], and that’s my love and my family.”

- “The Continental: From the World of John Wick” star Colin Woodell , speaking to Empire ahead of the actors’ strike

“Movie: Street Flow 2” (Sept. 27)

Two years after his brush with death, Demba (Kery James) tries to turn his life around and resist the desire for revenge. Noumouké (Bakary Diombera) gets involved in brawls between rival neighborhoods, and Soulaymaan (Jammeh Diangana), torn between his convictions and ambitions, takes his first steps as a lawyer. Can the three brothers resist the wave of violence and the brutality of the events that befall them?

“Movie: Love Is in the Air”

(Sept. 28)

Dana Randall (Delta Goodrem) is an ultra-committed pilot for non-profit air service, Fullerton Airways, located in picturesque Far North Queensland. When a London-based financial representative, William (Joshua Sasse), is sent to Fullerton Airways to review the organization’s financials, Dana welcomes him, aware that they rely heavily on his company’s subsidies. What Dana doesn’t know is that William’s audit is to confirm the business’s financial struggles and to prepare for its closure. As William spends time with Dana and the Island community, his loyalty is torn his job and a blossoming romance.

“It’s about our life and times together: our friendship, careers, our womanhood, our motherhood.” - Naomi Campbell in a 2022 interview with Vogue about the docu-series “The Super Models” premiering this week

ca reers, our woman mother 2022 interview with do

“There’s an effort to keep things really tight, and part of the charm of that is, whatever happens, happens. The chemistry that happens between the people is real.”

The chemistry that happens between

- “That’s My Jam” executive producer Mike Yurchuk in an interview with GoldDerby

14.

34.

44. Eight fluid ounces

45. Extremities

46. Jungle beast Down

1. Chew the fat

2. “Just so you know,” on a memo

3. Nairobi’s nation

4. Fedora feature

5. Tombstone letters

6. Had something

7. Singer Lady ___

8. Last Greek letter

9. Flyspeck

19. Concrete section

20. Like candles

22. Its job is decreasing

23. Old latenight Jay

29. Prepare to score on a sac fly

31. Howler

33. Raison

d’___

34. Lather

35. Pampering, initially

36. Promissory note

37. One rising at dawn

38. Proof letters

39. Use a ray gun

35.

10. Minialbums, for short

40. Pupil’s place

What’s Available NOW On

“Pupstruction” - Season 1, New Episodes

This imaginative and vibrant new animated series follows the adventures of the Pupstruction team — a hard-working construction crew that includes Phinny, the crew leader, an innovative young corgi; Luna, a comically spontaneous sheepdog; Roxy, a can-do rottweiler; and Tank, a lovable, snack-obsessed mastiff. Although Phinny might be the smallest pup on the crew, he proves that you don’t need big paws to have big ideas. Together, the Pupstruction crew uses mud, sweat, drool and plenty of heart to build and create.

“To Catch a Smuggler”Season 5

Millions enter the US through airports each year, and hid amongst them are a stream of contraband. DHS will stop at nothing to catch these smugglers. This series takes a behind-the-scenes look at the work of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, who protect the country from criminals.

Surprisingly great rates that fit any budget.

“Marvel Studios Legends”Season 2, New Episodes (Sept. 29)

This series showcases individual characters from the MCU, whom viewers have come to know and love over the years and revisit some of their most iconic moments. In the 2 newest installments from Season 2, “Variants” and “TVA,” the series digs into the mysteries and intricacies of the world of “Loki” in anticipation of the series’ second season (set to premiere Oct. 6).

in focus

“Movie: Totally Killer” (Prime Video — Oct. 6, Premiere)

35 years after the shocking murder of three teens, the infamous “Sweet Sixteen Killer” returns on Halloween night to claim a fourth victim. 17-year-old Jamie (Kiernan Shipka) ignores her overprotective mom’s (Julie Bowen) warning and comes face to face with the masked maniac and, on the run for her life, accidentally time travels back to 1987, the year of the original killings. Forced to navigate the unfamiliar and outrageous culture of the 1980s, Jamie teams up with her teen mom (Olivia Holt) to take down the killer once and for all before she’s stuck in the past forever.

“Disney’s Launchpad” - Season 2 (Sept. 29)

“Disney’s Launchpad” program selects filmmakers from underrepresented backgrounds and gives them the opportunity to share their stories and visions. The newest round of shorts include: “Beautiful, FL,” from director Gabriela Ortega and writers Joel Perez and Adrian Ferbeyrel; “The Ghost,” from director Erica Eng and writer Kevin Park; “Black Belts,” from director Spencer Glover and writer Xavier Stiles; “Maxine,” from director and writer Niki Ang; “Project CC,” from director Cashmere Jasmine and writer Jasmine Johnson; and “The Roof,” by director Alexander Bocchieri and writer W.A.W. Parker.

BY STAFF WRITERS

The Gordon Ramsay way

Questions:

1) Hosted by Gordon Ramsay, “Kitchen Nightmares” and “Hell’s Kitchen” are both returning for another season. Which of these two Fox series was the first to bring Ramsay to American audiences?

2) Where was Gordon Ramsay born?

3) What did Ramsay aspire to be before suffering a serious knee injury?

4) Ramsay’s first wholly-owned restaurant, Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road, opened in 1998. How many Michelin stars was it awarded just a few years later (and still retains today)?

4) Three

3) A professional footballer (soccer player)

2) Johnstone, Scotland

1) “Hell’s Kitchen”

Answers:

Solution on page 12

BY JAY BOBBIN

Recalling Kaley

Cuoco’s “Charmed” existence

What turned out to be the final season of “Charmed” added someone to the cast who would become an even bigger star on another show soon afterward: Kaley Cuoco. TNT runs the eighth-and-last-season premiere episode of the sibling-witch saga (titled “Still Charmed & Kicking”) Friday, Sept. 29, with Phoebe, Piper and Paige (played by Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs and Rose McGowan) presumed to be deceased … which is not the case. They hope that being free of any expectations from others will allow them to reboot their lives, but that wish crumbles fairly quickly, as Paige has to help another sorceress (Cuoco) who has gotten herself into trouble while on a quest to locate her own missing sister. Though she only was in the concluding year of this series, Cuoco wouldn’t be out of work very long, relatively speaking, since “The Big Bang Theory” started a year later.

Puzzle Solutions

Kaley Cuoco in “Charmed”

BY ROBERTO JOZEF

Hovland looks to bring youthful spark at 2023 Ryder Cup

The 44th edition of the Ryder Cup returns as players tee off in Rome beginning Sept. 30 and finishing on Oct. 1, at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club. USA Network and NBC will feature live coverage.

As the 2023 Ryder Cup gets underway, Team Europe aims to return to its winning ways after what was a dominant victory for Team U.S. in 2021 (19-9). While the Americans on paper look to have more talent, the Europeans have gone 7-3 in the past 10 Ryder Cups prior to the less-than-par performance at Whistling Straits.

But Team Europe, now led by four-time Ryder Cup winner Luke Donald, is going into this tournament having put together a team with a good balance of youth, talent and experience. With the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rham, U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry and the world No. 4-ranked Viktor Hovland of Norway, who is participating in his second Ryder Cup tournament.

Having burst onto the scene making his Ryder Cup debut in 2021, Hovland has been excellent all season, having earned three top-five finishes, including defending his title at the Hero World Challenge. His proven ability to perform in big moments and against the world’s top golfers is proven in his performances. The Norwegian has placed in the Top 20 at The Masters, U.S. Open and The Open, and was a runner-up at the PGA Championship.

Proving to be one of the best golfers all year, he’s earned his spot at the Ryder Cup, and Team Europe will surely look to absorb some of that momentum.

As the European side boasts elite talent, look for Team U.S. to come out with a strong game looking to defend its title for the first time and hoping to snap a decades-long losing streak.

Catch all your 2023 Ryder Cup action live Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 on USA Network and NBC, as Team Europe tees off against the U.S. team at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy.

Full name: Viktor Hovland

Birthdate: Sept. 18, 1997 (25)

Birthplace: Oslo, Norway

Height/weight: 5-10/165 pounds

Honors and achievements: 2023 FedEx Cup Champion

Top Ten Finishes: 2023 Masters Tournament (T7), 2023 PGA Championship (T2), 2022 The Open Championship (T4)

Phelps started the Getting Better Foundation in 2015, frustrated by the pervasive idea that the world is getting worse, or, he said, drawing from a playlist of idioms, “going to hell in a handbasket.”

“Data shows that crime is at about the same rate as it was when I graduated (high school) in 1967,” Phelps said, noting the school in question was in Paris, Arkansas. “Life is so much more comfortable. Health care, you name it, is better than it used to be.”

The root of the cause, Phelps had determined, was an inability for people to process the massive amounts of information taken in through various forms of media each day, much of it exaggerated to keep the consumer’s interest.

“We’ve never had to deal with this volume or velocity,” Phelps said. “People are sharing this stuff not knowing that it’s maybe disinformation or misinformation.”

Legislative solutions can only go so far in a country that takes pride in its freedom of speech and of the press. This means the change must come through education, “teaching people how to properly consume media so you can separate the truth from whatever,” Phelps said, pausing for effect before the final word.

If the Getting Better Foundation wanted to speak to the truth, the organization needed a board of respected experts, educators, researchers, authors, journalists and more.

“Just like we are what we eat, we are kind of the people that we hang out with,” Phelps said.

Many of the board members, like Harvard University psychology professor Steven Pinker and member of the United Kingdom’s House of Lords Matt Ridley, are featured in the film.

Politically, Phelps said, the film doesn’t “have an ax to grind.” It aims to help people discern what is real, to seek out

information from outlets that maintain standards of journalistic integrity, to check multiple sources. Phelps acknowledges that the full-length 90-minute version of “Trust Me” in itself can be a lot to take in.

“Watching the film is like drinking water from a firehose,” Phelps said. “They keep the information coming at you.”

Beyond the documentary, school licensing includes 15

shorter, more easily digestible clips with a K-12 curriculum, parent and college discussion guides.

The film “shows how an avalanche of biased news and misinformation is undermining trust in society. Sensational media take advantage of our survival instincts to earn more clicks and ad revenue with shocking headlines that we enable each time we share,” according to an event

IF YOU GO ...

elk river arts & Lectures will present a screening of “ trust me” followed by a panel discussion about media literacy, on tuesday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. at elk river books, 122 S. Second St. in Livingston. the event is free and open to the public.

Lear Center at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, award programs that combat disinformation.

“Judges praised the filmmakers for embracing the mission of media literacy — taking on the worldwide effects of disinformation, and spelling out how to spot and debunk it. ‘It shows how dangerous disinformation is to anyone who scrolls media sites… This story should cause all of us to rethink media practices by the unscrupulous,’” the award website states.

press release.

While some media is “trying to make a profit by capturing our eyeballs with clickbait,” according to Phelps, others remain trustworthy. “Trust Me” aims to help us tell the difference. For their efforts, Phelps and director Roko Belic were honored for “special achievement in news literacy” in the 2023 Walter Cronkite Awards. The Cronkites, administered by the Norman

Consequences of not knowing who to trust can be dire. “Trust Me” lends a warning by showcasing the extremes — a mother whose reluctance to childhood vaccines ultimately led to her child’s hospitalization and the father of a man who died because of a rumor that a crime had taken place. It includes interviews with media literacy experts and with people who knowingly spread false information. It looks at the widespread effects of internet trolls and Russian troll farms. But in the end, it also offers solutions and tactics to navigate the tangled web of information that confronts us each day.

“We’ll figure this out,” Phelps said. “It might get worse before it gets better, but it will get better. That’s what I really believe.”

For more information about the event, call (406) 220-8630 or visit elkriverarts.org. To learn more about the film and organization, visit www.trustmedocumentary.com and www.gettingbetterfoundation.org.

Still from documentary “ trust me,” filmed in india.

Solution on page 12

MLB’s Ace Pitchers

Questions:

1) Which ace pitcher won a World Series ring, along with Comeback Player of the Year and Cy Young awards, all within the same season?

2) Which polarizing pitcher, currently absent from Cooperstown, won a record-breaking 7 Cy Young awards?

3) This player’s 5,714 strikeouts make this feared Texan hurler, the all-time career strikeouts leader. Who is he?

4) Who won a World Series with the Boston Red Sox, then signed with New York the following season?

5) Don Newcombe won the inaugural Cy Young award in 1956 - who won the following year?

6) This former Cy Young winner pitched a perfect game for the New York Yankees on July 18, 1999. Who was he?

“Movie: Pet Sematary: Bloodlines”

(Paramount+ — Oct. 6, Premiere)

Serving as a 1969-set prequel to the Stephen King novel, this film follows a young Jud Crandall (Jackson White), who has dreams of leaving his hometown of Ludlow, Maine, behind. But, he soon discovers sinister secrets buried within and is forced to confront a dark family history that will forever keep him connected to Ludlow. Banding together, Jud and his childhood friends must fight an ancient evil that has gripped Ludlow since its founding. Forrest Goodluck, Natalie Alyn Lind, Henry Thomas, Pam Grier and David Duchovny also star.

7) Winning 305 games in Major League Baseball - later also picked in the NHL Draft - who traded ice skates for baseball?

8) What pitcher holds the record for most strikeouts in the final MLB season of his career?

9) Who was the first foreign-born player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame?

10) Name the knuckleball-throwing pitcher who captured baseball fan’s hearts - and a Cy Young award - in 2012.

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Answers:

10) R.A. Dickey (2012 NL Cy Young, New York Mets)

9) Juan Marichal

8) Sandy Koufax (317 K’s in 1966)

7) Tom Glavine

6) David Cone

5) Warren Spahn

4) Pedro Martinez (New York Mets, 2005)

3) Nolan Ryan

2) Roger Clemens

1) Justin Verlander (Houston Astros, 2022)

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