title: Blue-eyed soul

text: According to scholar Joanna Teresa Demers, the "successors [of Presley] in blue-eyed soul and white funk" embittered poet Gil Scott-Heron, as it proved that "blacks were still being victimized by cultural appropriation, making their contributions to American history virtually invisible and inaudible." The "long tradition of white co-optation of black cultural identity" since Elvis amounting to "artistic theft" was, in Scott-Heron's words, "no new thing."


title: Blue-eyed soul

text: Daryl Hall has described the term "blue-eyed soul" as racist, saying "it assumes I’m coming from the outside. There’s always been that thing in America, where if you’re a white guy and you’re singing or playing in a black idiom, it’s like: ‘Why is he doing that? Is he from the outside, looking in? Is he copying? What’s the point of it?’ C’mon, it's music! It's music."


title: Ethan Cutkosky

text: Ethan Francis Cutkosky (born August 19, 1999) is an American actor and singer, best known for his roles as Barto in "The Unborn" and as Carl Gallagher on the Showtime series "Shameless".


title: Ethan Cutkosky

text: Ethan Francis Cutkosky was born on August 19, 1999, in Campton Hills, Illinois, the only child of Yvonne Cabrera Cutkosky, a teacher, and David Cutkosky, a computer software engineer. Cutkosky's mother is of Mexican descent. Cutkosky attended Bell Graham Elementary School, located in Campton Hills, Illinois and Thompson Middle School, located in St. Charles, Illinois. He attended St. Charles East High School in St. Charles, Illinois.


title: Ethan Cutkosky

text: Cutkosky began doing photo ads when he was four years old as a way for his mother and him to spend time together. After a few ads he was asked to audition for commercials and then movies. He landed his first film role playing Carl with Vince Vaughn in the Christmas comedy "Fred Claus" (2007) when he was seven years old. At the age of nine Cutkosky played a mythical spirit named Barto in the supernatural horror film "The Unborn" (2009), where he had the opportunity to play opposite Gary Oldman.


title: Ethan Cutkosky

text: In 2009 Cutkosky was selected to play Carl Gallagher in the Showtime television series "Shameless", the second youngest Gallagher sibling and biggest troublemaker, whose protagonists are played by Emmy Rossum and William H. Macy. Shameless ran for 11 seasons until 2021, and is currently the longest running original scripted series in Showtime's history.


title: Ethan Cutkosky

text: Cutkosky continues to expand his voice as an artist, creating his own fashion brand Khaotic Collective in 2018 and producing music. Cutkosky released a single, "Erase Me", on July 16, 2021.


title: Ethan Cutkosky

text: On November 6, 2017, Cutkosky was arrested for driving under the influence in Los Angeles. He accepted a plea deal and charges were dismissed.


title: LaVar Ball

text: LaVar Christopher Ball (born October 23, 1967) is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the sports apparel company Big Baller Brand and founder of the now defunct Junior Basketball Association (JBA). He is the father of three basketball players: Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo, Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo and shooting guard LiAngelo.


title: LaVar Ball

text: Ball played basketball and football while at Canoga Park High School, going on to play basketball at the collegiate level for West Los Angeles College, Washington State and Cal State Los Angeles. He also played football at Long Beach City College for a season. He had a brief professional career as a tight end with the London Monarchs of the World League of American Football, where he had a total of 28 kickoff return yards, and no receptions. He was a practice squad member of the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers in 1995, but never played an official regular season game in the National Football League.


title: LaVar Ball

text: Following a series of bold statements in the spring of 2017, Ball began repeatedly making national sports headlines. His early remarks included saying that his son Lonzo is better than Stephen Curry and claiming that he himself could defeat Michael Jordan one-on-one in basketball. He was subject to both praise and criticism as he continued making similar comments, some of which involved his company, Big Baller Brand. Ball has made several appearances on national TV and has routinely drawn attention from major sports media outlets. He has also been in the spotlight for his criticism of his sons' teams, most notably the Lakers for their treatment of Lonzo, as well as for his exchange with U.S. President Donald Trump after LiAngelo was detained in China for shoplifting.


title: LaVar Ball

text: Ball was born on October 23, 1967 to Anderson and Maria Ball, and was brought up in South Los Angeles, California. He is considered the middle child of his family. He has four brothers, named LaFrance, LaValle, LaRenzo, and LaShon, as well as two sisters. Ball attended Canoga Park High School in Canoga Park, Los Angeles, where he was a prominent quarterback on the football team and played basketball as a forward. In one season, Ball grabbed a total of 316 rebounds to break the school record. He stood 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) and weighed 250 lbs (113 kg) by college. Aside from sports, Ball majored in criminal justice at college and had hopes of being a U.S. Marshal. His favorite basketball player when growing up at the time was Charles Barkley.


title: LaVar Ball

text: Ball first began playing college basketball at West Los Angeles College in the low-tier Western State Conference despite having little experience at the prep level. In the season opener in 1986, he recorded 33 points and 18 rebounds against Porterville College. Ball then transferred to NCAA Division I Washington State and became a starting forward. In 26 games for the Cougars, however; he averaged only 2.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game. After one season, Ball transferred again to Cal State Los Angeles, which competed in the NCAA Division II, playing alongside three of his four brothers.


title: LaVar Ball

text: Following college, Ball was invited to a football tryout and eventually made a return to the sport. After finishing his college basketball career, he played a single year of college football at Long Beach City College as a tight end. On May 1, 1994, Ball signed with the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL) as a defensive end.


title: LaVar Ball

text: Ball returned to the Jets on March 7, 1995, as a tight end and was immediately sent to the London Monarchs of the World League of American Football (WLAF) the same year. In the 1995 season for the Monarchs, Ball had zero catches, but did record 28 yards in kick returns. According to his teammate Kenny McEntyre, Ball was "garbage".


title: LaVar Ball

text: During his NFL career, Ball was also a part of the practice squads of both the Jets and Carolina Panthers, remaining with the latter team until late November 1995, albeit with no games played due to injury. His football career would come to an end after said injury, and he would retire to initially be a personal trainer in California.


title: LaVar Ball

text: Although LaVar Ball initially received minimal public attention at the start of 2016, his sons gave him a media platform that he would begin to use increasingly, starting at the end of the year. In July 2015, Ball and his sons made national sports headlines when Gary Parrish of CBS Sports wrote a feature story about the Ball family. In a March 2016 interview with MaxPreps, he first began displaying his confident personality to the public. When asked who Lonzo plays like, he described his son as "Magic (Johnson) with a jumper." The family continued rising in popularity after "SLAM" magazine featured them in an article in August 2016. Subsequently, Ball himself rapidly rose in profile through a series of incredible comments about his children, such as on November 26, 2016, when in a TV interview he guaranteed that UCLA, spearheaded by Lonzo, would win the 2017 NCAA Division I Tournament. On December 14, Ball predicted that all three of his sons would be one-and-done prospects for the NBA draft by playing only one year of college basketball.


title: LaVar Ball

text: Many of Ball's eccentric claims have involved well-known basketball players. In early March 2017, he said that he viewed Lonzo as a better player than Stephen Curry, the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2015 and 2016. UCLA all-time leading scorer Don MacLean called the comments "outrageous," and many bloggers ridiculed Ball for them. Ball has also stated that he believes his eldest son is "the best player in the world," specifically comparing him with NBA MVPs LeBron James and Russell Westbrook. Kyle Boone of CBS Sports responded: "There's no way in the world Lonzo would be taking down LeBron or Westbrook in any form of basketball right now."


title: LaVar Ball

text: On March 13, 2017, Ball said in an interview with Josh Peter of "USA Today": "Back in my heyday, I would kill Michael Jordan one-on-one," saying Jordan could only foul him if he did a jump hook, that Jordan could not stop him one-on-one, that Jordan was slower. Ball was widely mocked for making the statement due to having averaged only 2.2 points per game while playing basketball at Washington State. His comments comparing himself with Jordan resulted in a significant increase in media attention. Following his claim, he appeared on the ESPN show "First Take", in which he argued with Stephen A. Smith about his comments on Jordan. As of March 2020 a YouTube video of the segment has received more than 6 million views. In June 2018, Ball later mentioned that he could take on Kobe Bryant one-on-one also, although he admitted that it would mainly be due to Kobe's injury that ultimately took him out of the game in 2016. In 2020 Ball said on Shannon Sharpe's "Club Shay Shay" podcast that he would play a one-on-one match against Jordan on pay-per-view for $200 million. On December 3, 2020 Bleacher Report posted a video of LaVar Ball playing Michael Jordan in a simulated first to 21, one-on-one match in NBA 2K21, the simulation showed Jordan beating Ball 22–3 with Jordan going on a 12–0 run against Ball during the game.


title: LaVar Ball

text: On November 7, 2017, days before UCLA opened the 2017–18 season in Shanghai, China, Ball's son LiAngelo and teammates Cody Riley and Jalen Hill were arrested for shoplifting from a high-end shopping center near their team hotel in Hangzhou. The players were accused of stealing sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store in the mall. Although LiAngelo faced a fine and three to ten years in prison if convicted, LaVar largely downplayed the situation. Upon an alleged request from U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration, who were on a 12-day visit to Asia at the time, to Chinese president Xi Jinping, the UCLA players were released from custody. Trump then tweeted on November 15, "Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!" According to a timeline published by ESPN, Chinese authorities had dropped shoplifting charges against the players on November 7, 2017, five days before Trump got involved.


title: LaVar Ball

text: On November 17, LaVar Ball responded to Trump: "Who? What was he over there for? Don't tell me nothing. Everybody wants to make it seem like he helped me out." Two days later, Trump labeled Ball "very ungrateful" and stated that he "should have left them in jail" in a series of tweets. On November 20, Ball featured in a 20-minute interview with Chris Cuomo on CNN, where he continued refusing to thank Trump. In the following days, Trump reasserted his role in releasing the UCLA players, while likening Ball to a "poor man's version of Don King" and calling him an "ungrateful fool." In the midst of the exchange, UCLA suspended LiAngelo and his teammates indefinitely, after their public apology, in which they thanked Trump. The decision led to LiAngelo's withdrawal from the UCLA basketball program on December 4, following LaVar's desires. Following a March 3, 2018 ESPN report that Trump had no involvement in the incident, Ball wrote on Twitter, "Thank you for what again @realDonaldTrump ?" Ball also mentioned that if he was going to thank anyone during that ordeal, it would be towards the Chinese president instead, as well as claimed the President was trying to ride the coattails of the Ball family at that time.


title: LaVar Ball

text: In the aftermath of President Trump's tweet talking about LeBron James and his interview with CNN journalist Don Lemon on August 5, 2018, Ball mentioned to reporters at TMZ that the president is a racist and that "everybody knows that. It's not a secret." He also encouraged his sons to be political in the event it's necessary for them to do so, live their lives to the fullest, be passionate at the sport of basketball, and love everyone that's nice to them. However, on February 25, 2019, when talking about the U.S.A.'s relationship with China, President Trump reaffirmed his stance on the situation with LiAngelo and the two other players, stating he conversed with Xi Jinping about the college students and that LaVar's consultant would have gone nowhere in their conversations. Ball later stated he wouldn't vote for Trump at all in the 2020 Presidential elections. After Trump lost the 2020 United States presidential election LaVar suggested Trump lost the election because of their feud.


title: LaVar Ball

text: In November 2017, Ball criticized Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton for what he thought was a wrong approach to coaching his eldest son, Lonzo. Ball mentioned that his son was focusing on getting the victory for his team in a November loss to the Phoenix Suns, before stating that the coaching is making him appear soft. Later that same month, after an overtime loss to the defending champion Golden State Warriors, Ball criticized Walton again in a post-game interview with ESPN. Ball claimed that the game should not have gone to overtime and that Lonzo's teammate, Julius Randle, should have passed the ball to his son for the potential game-winning play and that the head coach should not have called a timeout late in the fourth quarter. Starting in December, the Lakers would enforce a new rule, dubbed by employees at the Staples Center to be the "LaVar Ball Rule," to forbid media to talk with the team's family members at home games. On December 12, 2017, the Lakers' front office met with LaVar, asking him to tone down the criticisms on their head coach and help create a more positive environment for his son to prosper in. However, less than a month later while in Lithuania in January 2018, Ball noticed that even though he considers the Lakers to be a good team, he thought they were no longer playing for their coach, resulting in them having the worst record in the Western Conference at the time. This resulted in not only Luke Walton responding that the Lakers have "100% confidence" in his abilities, but also other NBA coaches like Rick Carlisle, Stan Van Gundy, Jeff Hornacek, Gregg Popovich, and Steve Kerr responding to Ball's comments as well. Other Lakers players like Kyle Kuzma also voiced their support for Luke Walton, with Lonzo saying that nothing's really going to stop his father from being who he is. On January 13, 2018, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss posted a Tweet showing her support for Walton alongside general manager Rob Pelinka, with Magic Johnson giving huge support for their head coach after their fourth straight win since Ball's latest comments after originally having a 9-game losing streak at the time. However, Ball would show some respect towards Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka on the situation, noting they're down to Earth with him while also noting the problems with the media industry as a whole. Ball would ultimately end his quibbles with Walton on June 13, 2018, where he mentions he's a good coach that just needed to figure things out during the previous season.


title: LaVar Ball

text: Ball is the co-founder and CEO of Big Baller Brand, a sports apparel company that he launched alongside Alan Foster's help in 2016. However, it was later reported that despite creating the company, LaVar held a minor share of the business, with his son Lonzo being majority holder within it. During his rise in March 2017, he often promoted his brand on national TV, comparing it with major shoe companies like Nike and Adidas. Soon after, Lonzo's connection to the brand while he played college basketball at UCLA raised questions about whether it broke National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules. In mid-March, "Time" wrote an article describing the Ball's campaign against the NCAA rules. On April 20, George Raveling, the global basketball sports marketing director of Nike, called Ball "the worst thing to happen to basketball in the last hundred years." In response, Ball claimed that Big Baller Brand would eventually compete with Nike. In the following week, Nike, Under Armour and Adidas declined to sign an endorsement deal with Lonzo, according to Ball.


title: LaVar Ball

text: On May 4, 2017, Big Baller Brand announced its first shoes, the ZO2, which had a retail price of $495 and would be shipped later on, by as late as November 24. Shaquille O'Neal criticized Ball for overpricing the shoes, while Dick Vitale took aim at the price by citing Lonzo's performance against Kentucky at the NCAA Tournament. On Twitter, many NFL players like Golden Tate were critical of the shoe price, while Arian Foster and others showed their support. Ball answered by posting on Twitter, "If you can't afford the ZO2'S, you're NOT a BIG BALLER!" "The Washington Post" wrote that Ball's style of promoting of the shoe was both shameless and smart.


title: LaVar Ball

text: On September 1, 2017, Big Baller Brand announced a signature shoe for LaVar's youngest son LaMelo Ball, the Melo Ball 1 (MB1), on its website for pre-order for $395. The announcement once again stirred controversy regarding LaMelo's NCAA eligibility. NCAA spokesperson Emily James said, "Generally speaking, a college athlete or prospect paid for use of their athletics reputation or ability risks their future eligibility in that sport. This includes profiting from the sale of items bearing the young person's name. NCAA rules, however, do allow prospects to promote commercial products prior to enrollment, provided it is not for pay." LaVar expressed a general disregard for the NCAA rules, saying that the shoe would be released whether or not his son would become ineligible. After his son LiAngelo was suspended and later removed from UCLA, Ball would create his own brand of shoes for his son called the Gelo 3 on December 4, 2017. Similar to the MB1, the Gelo 3 is also set at around $395; the shoes would later be rebranded as the G3 Lux. LaVar also announced he and his wife would have signature shoes later on as well, with LaVar's shoes considered to be LaVariccis and Tina's shoes titled as "The Comeback" for her battle on regaining her health after a stroke back in 2017.


title: LaVar Ball

text: In March 2019, news came out that his eldest son Lonzo had cut ties with the Big Baller Brand's manager and co-founder Alan Foster, claiming from his financial manager, Humble Lukanga, that Foster had previously been arrested in 2002 for money laundering and fraud, as well as noting that he allegedly stole $1.5 million from within the company. Lonzo would also change his shoes that he'd wear from the usual ZO2 shoes from the Big Baller Brand to various Nike shoes instead, getting rid of his old shoes in a video promoting the boycott from within the company. LaVar later stated that he always believed in the best of people, but regrets putting trust in Foster to manage his eldest son's business affairs. He also fully supports Lonzo's decisions moving forward and looks to make things right within his family moving forward from the incident. The family also discussed about folding the business altogether after news of the situation came out to the public eye.


title: LaVar Ball

text: After his sons LaMelo and LiAngelo began playing with the Lithuanian team Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas in January 2018, Ball began multiple business endeavors involving the team and Big Baller Brand. Immediately following the Ball brothers' arrival in Lithuania, Vytautas withdrew from the Baltic Basketball League (BBL) and instead created a five-game exhibition series to showcase the Ball brothers, known as the Big Baller Brand Challenge Games. The event took place from January 9 through January 29 and games were live streamed through Facebook. The games were noted for their heavy advertisement of Big Baller Brand, with Business Insider commenting that the company was "the real star of the show." Shortly after the Ball brothers began playing professionally, LaVar Ball reportedly gave "a lot of money" to Vytautas to help it pay off its debts, which allowed the Big Baller Brand to officially become the team's main sponsor during the season, which was reported later on to be around 100,000 Euros. Ball also expressed his love for the nation of Lithuania, noting that everything about it is pure, starting from the people onward.


title: LaVar Ball

text: During his time spent with Vytautas, however, Ball would also disparage their head coach Virginijus Šeškus, as he had attacked Lakers coach Luke Walton during the 2017-18 NBA season. Šeškus would ultimately tune out Ball near the end of Vytautas's season, noting his own experience as a player, tuning out the negative responses behind the bench. On April 25, after a loss to Šiauliai without either one of his sons playing, Ball announced that he was pulling his younger sons off the team and would return to the US for the 2018 NBA draft. Vytautas's head coach Šeškus stated that the Ball family essentially "came for the show, not for basketball" (referring to their Facebook Live show Ball in the Family), and that it was a pity they did not understand the benefits of being on a professional team in Lithuania. LaVar would later comment that everything involved with his time out in Lithuania went exactly as planned for his two sons there. Ultimately, LaVar, his sons LiAngelo and LaMelo, and his brother LaValle expressed their thanks and gratitude to the fans of Vytautas before officially leaving. Furthermore, despite finishing their season in last place, Vytautas would remain in the LKL, although they would lose their Vytautas team sponsorship name after the end of that season, as well as no longer have the Big Baller Brand as an official sponsor for the team. Later on, in August 2018, the team issued a statement stating that LaVar and his sons were the problem throughout early 2018, claiming they didn't pay money to the Big Baller Brand's tournament winners, as well as withdrawing financial support for the team and taking back shooting machines that were presented as gifts.


title: LaVar Ball

text: On December 20, 2017, Ball announced that under complete funding of the Big Baller Brand, he would help set up the creation of the Junior Basketball Association (JBA). Under his planning, the league is set up as an alternative to college basketball and other alternative methods for high school players that may not want to play in the collegiate level, with 8 teams being involved in the league looking to play in major NBA venues out in places like Los Angeles, Dallas, Brooklyn, and Atlanta. The goal there is to have 80 different players participate in the league, with lower-ranked players earning $3,000 per month and higher-ranked players earning up to $10,000 per month. Its rules are set to be similar to that of the NBA with 12-minute quarters and a three-point line similar to what's seen in professional leagues like the NBA. Players would also wear merchandise from the Big Baller Brand, including shoes and branded uniforms; the Junior Basketball Association's logo is set to have a silhouette of his oldest son, Lonzo. His inspiration for creating the league came from the aftermath of LiAngelo Ball's situation in UCLA, which resulted in his removal from the school earlier in December, as a response to comments made by NCAA President Mark Emmert. On May 1, 2018, Ball announced he would look into bringing his youngest son, LaMelo, into the league to help both upstart it and regain some lost reputation to his name during his time out in Lithuania. Three days later, his youngest son was announced as a member of the Los Angeles Ballers. LiAngelo would also play with his younger brother on July 9, 2018, after being undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft and not participating properly in the 2018 NBA Summer League. During the inaugural All-Star Game on August 3, 2018, Ball coached the Western Conference's All-Star team, which included LiAngelo and LaMelo. The West team defeated East, 202–189, and LiAngelo won the All-Star Game MVP Award for the West.


title: LaVar Ball

text: Due to his increased exposure, Ball put up enough clout to produce certain basketball events in recent years. During the months of January and February 2018, back when his sons LiAngelo and LaMelo were playing in Lithuania, LaVar created the Big Baller Brand Challenge Games and Big Baller Brand International Tournament respectively. The Challenge Games were set up for where Vytautas would play exhibition games against other, mostly younger Lithuanian teams to showcase the nation's talent, while the International Tournament was a round robin tournament where Vytautas competed against other teams from various countries. Vytautas also set up a couple more exhibition games during the Ball brothers' time in Lithuania. After the conclusion of the 2018 JBA season, the league set up an international season to compete against other nations' young basketball teams to increase exposure from within. The event was projected to last longer into 2019, but a fight during one of the games canceled other games in the season.


title: LaVar Ball

text: Many of Ball's decisions, primarily his comments in the media, have raised significant controversy around him and his sons. He has often been subject to criticism and praise from several media outlets for various reasons. Forbes has labeled him "one of the most polarizing figures in sports today."


title: LaVar Ball

text: He has been labeled "outrageous," "wild and crazy," and a "moron." Multiple notable basketball figures, including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have said that Ball has had a negative effect on the sport to some extent. Philadelphia 76ers teammates Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have attacked Ball on social media, while John Wall, Kenyon Martin, Jerry West, and Reggie Miller have also criticized his impact on his children. Steve Kerr also disregarded Ball, calling him 'the Kardashian of the NBA.' On the other hand, some NBA stars like DeMarcus Cousins, Dwyane Wade and Kevin Durant have shown support for Ball.


title: LaVar Ball

text: On March 25, 2017, after Ball's November 2016 prediction that UCLA would win the NCAA championship, the team lost to Kentucky in the Sweet 16 round of the tournament, with Lonzo pulling a hamstring. Weeks after the loss, Ball said, "Realistically you can't win no championship with three white guys because the foot speed is too slow. I told Lonzo: 'One of these games you might need to go for 30 or 40 points.' It turned out that was the one game. Then once they get to the Elite 8, they're right there." He was presumably referring to his son's three white teammates Bryce Alford, T. J. Leaf, and Thomas Welsh. Lonzo downplayed the remarks, viewing them "as a joke." Brian Mazique of "Forbes" criticized Ball's comments as "plain racist," while David Whitley of the "Orlando Sentinel" called them factually correct despite being politically incorrect. Actor Michael Rapaport recorded a profanity-laced rant against Ball as well. One day after making the statement, Ball clarified by saying "I love those guys" and instead pushed blame for the loss onto his son.


title: LaVar Ball

text: Since rising to fame, Ball's words and actions have sparked significant debate over his parenting, which has drawn both praise and criticism. His parenting style, which has produced a wide range of opinions, has been compared to those of Richard Williams, Earl Woods, and Marv Marinovich. Although often praised for raising three high-level basketball players and for his entertaining personality, Ball has also been condemned for several reasons. "The Globe and Mail" has criticized LaVar for trying to "get rich off his kids' accomplishments," labeling him an "addict for attention." Ball received further disapproval after reportedly declining Lonzo's $10 million shoe contract with Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour, instead continuing with his own company Big Baller Brand. Before the 2017 NBA draft, Ball was seen as potential "baggage" that would come with selecting Lonzo, due to his frequent bold claims in the media. An unnamed NBA general manager has condemned Ball for putting too much pressure on his son Lonzo. After Lonzo was picked, "New York Daily News" labeled LaVar "Jerk of the Week" for making "hollow guarantees" instead of celebrating for his son. On October 3, 2017, after Ball removed his son LaMelo from Chino Hills High School to personally train him, Nancy Armour of "USA Today" wrote an article calling Ball the "worst sports parent ever."


title: LaVar Ball

text: Ball met his wife, Tina Slatinsky, at Cal State Los Angeles, and they married in 1997. They have three sons, Lonzo, LiAngelo, and LaMelo. Lonzo is currently a point guard for the Chicago Bulls, LaMelo is a point guard for the Charlotte Hornets, and LiAngelo last played shooting guard/small forward for the Charlotte Hornets in the 2021 NBA Summer League. Both LiAngelo and LaMelo were previously signed with the Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas of the Lithuanian Basketball League from December 11, 2017, until April 25, 2018. LaVar also was an assistant coach during the fourth game of the Big Baller Brand Challenge Games for the Vytautas Prienai–Birštonas on January 23, 2018, and was named head coach for the final game of the event five days later. He later coached Vytautas once again for the Big Baller Brand International Tournament, as well as a couple other exhibition games against other international teams. His wife, Tina, suffered a stroke in 2017, which left her dealing with aphasia in relation to it.


title: LaVar Ball

text: After his youngest son, LaMelo, reached four years of age, Ball began training all of his sons to play basketball. They were taught many skills by their father and later played for his Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team, Big Ballers VXT. For a relatively short period of time in their childhoods, Ball also had them play flag football, with Lonzo playing quarterback and his other sons catching passes. Following an illustrious career at Chino Hills High School in Chino Hills, California, Lonzo became a star at UCLA. Ball's younger sons played at the same high school and originally both committed to UCLA, with LiAngelo briefly attending there in 2017 before joining LaMelo out in Lithuania later that year, as well as with the Los Angeles Ballers in the JBA.


title: LaVar Ball

text: In early July 2017, "Deadline Hollywood" reported that Facebook would be releasing a reality television show featuring the Ball family. It would be a part of a larger project for the social media website to enter the video business. After several weeks, it was announced that the show, called "Ball in the Family", would exclusively air on Facebook on August 31, with the following episodes airing every Sunday, starting on September 10. It was produced by Bunim/Murray Productions, which also helped create the reality TV series "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" on E! and "Real World" on MTV. One impact involved with the show was that a local Lithuanian pizza shop named Tango Pizza expanded their business and revamped their menus to fit more of the American cuisine over the prior Italian specialty, including a popular special named after LaVar that's the equivalent of a meat lover's pizza. On February 15, 2018, Ball and his son Lonzo competed against each other on "Lip Sync Battle", with LaVar winning the episode over his son.


title: Ordinary People

text: Ordinary People is a 1980 American drama film directed by Robert Redford in his directorial debut. The screenplay by Alvin Sargent is based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Judith Guest. The film follows the disintegration of an upper-middle class family in Lake Forest, Illinois, following the accidental death of one of their two sons and the attempted suicide of the other. It stars Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, and Timothy Hutton.


title: Ordinary People

text: "Ordinary People" was released theatrically on September 19, 1980 by Paramount Pictures to critical and commercial success. Reviewers praised Redford's direction, Sargent's screenplay, and the performances of the cast. The film, which grossed $90 million on a $6.2 million budget, was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the , and garnered six nominations at the 53rd Academy Awards, winning four: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor for Hutton (the youngest recipient at age 20). In addition, the film won five awards at the 38th Golden Globe Awards: Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director, Best Actress (Moore), Best Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor (Hutton).


title: Ordinary People

text: The Jarretts are an upper-middle-class family in suburban Chicago trying to return to normal life after the accidental death of their older teenage son, Buck, and the attempted suicide of their younger and surviving son, Conrad. Conrad, who has recently returned home from a four-month stay in a psychiatric hospital, feels alienated from his friends and family and begins seeing a psychiatrist, Dr. Berger. Berger learns that Conrad was involved in the sailing accident that took the life of Buck, whom everyone idolized. Conrad now deals with post-traumatic stress disorder and seeks help from his psychiatrist.


title: Ordinary People

text: Conrad's father, Calvin, tries to connect with his surviving son and understand his wife. Conrad's mother, Beth, denies her loss, hoping to maintain her composure and restore her family to what it once was. She appears to have loved her older son more, and because of the suicide attempt, has grown cold toward Conrad. She is determined to maintain the appearance of perfection and normality. Conrad works with Dr. Berger and learns to try to deal with, rather than control, his emotions. He starts dating a fellow student, Jeannine, who helps him to begin to regain a sense of optimism. Conrad, however, still struggles to communicate and re-establish a normal relationship with his parents and schoolmates. He cannot seem to allow anyone, especially Beth, to get close. Beth makes several guarded attempts to appeal to Conrad for some semblance of normality, but she ends up being cold toward him.


title: Ordinary People

text: Mother and son often argue while Calvin tries to referee, generally taking Conrad's side for fear of pushing him over the edge again. Things come to a climax near Christmas when Conrad becomes furious at Beth for not wanting to take a photo with him, swearing at her in front of his grandparents. Afterwards, Beth discovers Conrad has been lying about his after-school whereabouts. This leads to a heated argument between Conrad and Beth in which Conrad points out that Beth never visited him in the hospital, saying that she "would have come if Buck was in the hospital." Beth replies, "Buck never would have "been" in the hospital!" Beth and Calvin take a trip to see Beth's brother in Houston, where Calvin confronts Beth about her attitude.


title: Ordinary People

text: Conrad suffers a setback when he learns that Karen, a friend of his from the psychiatric hospital, has died by suicide. A cathartic breakthrough session with Dr. Berger allows Conrad to stop blaming himself for Buck's death and accept his mother's frailties. However, when Conrad tries to show affection, Beth is unresponsive, leading Calvin to emotionally confront her one last time. He questions their love and asks whether she is capable of truly loving anyone. Stunned, Beth packs her bags and goes back to Houston. Calvin and Conrad are left to come to terms with their new family situation, affirming their father-son love for each other.


title: Ordinary People

text: Gene Hackman was originally cast as Calvin Jarrett but then later dropped out when he and the studio could not come to a financial agreement.


title: Ordinary People

text: The film was a box-office success, grossing $54 million in the United States and Canada and approximately $36 million overseas for a worldwide gross of $90 million.


title: Ordinary People

text: "Ordinary People" received critical acclaim. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 89%, based on 102 reviews, with an average rating of 8.50/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Robert Redford proves himself a filmmaker of uncommon emotional intelligence with "Ordinary People", an auspicious debut that deftly observes the fractioning of a family unit through a quartet of superb performances."


title: Ordinary People

text: Roger Ebert gave it a full four stars and praised how the film's setting "is seen with an understated matter-of-factness. There are no cheap shots against suburban lifestyles or affluence or mannerisms: The problems of the people in this movie aren't caused by their milieu, but grow out of themselves. ... That's what sets the film apart from the sophisticated suburban soap opera it could easily have become." He later named it the fifth best film of the year 1980; while colleague Gene Siskel ranked it the second best film of 1980.


title: Ordinary People

text: Writing for "The New York Times," Vincent Canby called it "a moving, intelligent and funny film about disasters that are commonplace to everyone except the people who experience them."


title: Ordinary People

text: The film marked Mary Tyler Moore's career breakout from the personality of her other two famous roles as Laura Petrie on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and Mary Richards on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show". Moore's complex performance as the mother to Hutton's character was well-received and obtained a nomination for Best Actress. Donald Sutherland's performance as the father was also well received, and he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. He was not nominated for an Academy Award along with his co-stars, however, which "Entertainment Weekly" has described as one of the worst acting snubs in the history of the Academy Awards.


title: Ordinary People

text: Judd Hirsch's portrayal of Dr. Berger was a departure from his work on the sitcom "Taxi", and drew praise from many in the psychiatric community as one of the rare times their profession is shown in a positive light in film. Hirsch was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor, losing out to co-star Hutton. Additionally, "Ordinary People" launched the career of Elizabeth McGovern who played Hutton's character's love interest, and who received special permission to film while attending Juilliard.


title: Ordinary People

text: The film's prominent usage of Pachelbel's "Canon", which had been relatively obscure for centuries, helped to usher the piece into mainstream popular culture.


title: Ordinary People

text: Julia L. Hall, a journalist who has written extensively about narcissistic personality disorder, wrote in 2017 upon Moore's death that she "portrays her character's narcissism to a tee in turn after turn." She praised Moore for taking such a career risk so soon after having played such a memorable and likable character on television, "scaffolding gaping emptiness with a persona of perfection, supported by denial, blame, rejection, and rage."


title: Ordinary People

text: "Ordinary People" won four Oscars for 1980, including the Academy Award for Best Picture. The picture, Robert Redford's debut in directing, won him the Academy Award for Best Director. Alvin Sargent won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Timothy Hutton won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in his first film role (he had previously appeared on television).


title: Ordinary People

text: "Ordinary People" was released on DVD in 2001. It was released on Blu-ray in March 2022, featuring a 4K restoration of the film.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is a Canadian-American lawyer, educator, author, political commentator, and politician serving as the 16th United States secretary of energy since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the 47th governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2011, and as the attorney general of Michigan from 1999 to 2003, as the first woman to hold both offices.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Granholm moved to California at age four. She attended the University of California, Berkeley, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1984 and then a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, where she was editor-in-chief of the "Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review". She then clerked for Judge Damon Keith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, became an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan in 1991 and in 1995 she was appointed to the Wayne County Corporation Counsel.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm ran for Attorney General of Michigan in 1998 to succeed 37-year Democratic incumbent Frank J. Kelley. She defeated Republican John Smietanka, the 1994 nominee and former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Michigan, by 52% to 48% and served from 1999 to 2003. She ran for governor in 2002 to succeed Republican John Engler. She defeated Engler's lieutenant governor Dick Posthumus by 51% to 47% and became Michigan's first female governor on January 1, 2003. She was re-elected to a second term in 2006 against Republican businessman Dick DeVos by a large margin and served until January 1, 2011, when she left office due to state term-limits.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: She was a member of the presidential transition team for Barack Obama before he assumed office in January 2009. After leaving public office, Granholm took a position at the University of California, Berkeley and, with her husband Daniel Mulhern, authored "A Governor's Story: The Fight for Jobs and America's Future", released in 2011. She became host of "The War Room with Jennifer Granholm" on Current TV. In January 2017, she was hired as a CNN political contributor.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: On December 15, 2020, the president-elect, Joe Biden, announced his intention to nominate Granholm to head the United States Department of Energy. She was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 25, 2021, by a vote of 64–35.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, to Shirley Alfreda (née Dowden) and Victor Ivar Granholm, both bank tellers. Granholm's maternal grandparents came from Ireland and Newfoundland, respectively. Her paternal grandfather was Hugo "Anders" Granholm, who immigrated to Penny, British Columbia, Canada in the late 1920s from Robertsfors, Sweden, where his father was the mayor. The former Minister for Enterprise and Energy and former Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden, Maud Olofsson, lives in Robertsfors, and when the two met in Sweden, the media revealed that Olofsson's husband is a relative of Granholm. Her paternal grandmother was Judith Olivia Henriette (Solstad) Granholm, an emigrant from Gjerstad in Southern Norway. She came with the ship SS "Bergensfjord" from Oslo to Halifax, and from there she took the railway to Penny, British Columbia, where her uncles and several others had established a small logging village.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm's family immigrated to California when she was four years old. She grew up in Anaheim, San Jose, and San Carlos. Granholm attended Ida Price Junior High and Del Mar High School before graduating from San Carlos High School in 1977 and won the Miss San Carlos beauty pageant. As a young adult, she attempted to launch a Hollywood acting career but abandoned her efforts at age 21. In 1978, she appeared on "The Dating Game", and held jobs as a tour guide at Universal Studios and in customer service at the "Los Angeles Times" and was the first female tour guide at Marine World Africa USA in Redwood City, piloting boats with 25 tourists aboard.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: In 1980, at age 21, she became a naturalized U.S. citizen, and worked for John B. Anderson's campaign for president of the United States as an Independent in the 1980 election. She then enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, the first person in her family to attend college. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated in 1984 with a B.A. in political science and French. During a year in France, she helped to smuggle clothes and medical supplies to Jewish people in the Soviet Union and became involved in the Anti-Apartheid Movement. She then earned a Juris Doctor degree at Harvard University, also with honors, in 1987. At Harvard Law School, Granholm served as editor-in-chief of the "Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review", the leading progressive law journal in the United States.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: After graduating from Harvard Law School, Granholm clerked for Judge Damon Keith, a senior judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, from 1987 to 1988. She also worked for the Michael Dukakis 1988 presidential campaign. After working as an attorney in the Wayne County executive office from 1989 to 1991, Granholm became an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan in 1991. She helped to prosecute drug dealers, gang members and child pornographers, sued the state and fought against credit card fraud. Of the 154 people Granholm tried, 151 were convicted. In 1995, she was appointed as Corporation Counsel for Wayne County, the youngest person to hold the position. Granholm defended the county against lawsuits, sued the state over road taxes, and fought to uphold environmental laws.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Thirty-seven-year Democratic Attorney General Frank J. Kelley chose not to run for a 10th term in 1998 and Granholm entered the race to succeed him. Unopposed for the Democratic nomination, she faced Republican John Smietanka, the 1994 nominee and former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Michigan, in the general election. The campaign began as a relatively friendly one, with both agreeing that they wanted to expand the Internet Crimes Unit, start neighbourhood-based crime-fighting programmes and continue working as a consumer advocate, as Kelley had done.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: However, the race turned bitter in mid-September, when Smietanka ran television ads that called Granholm an "inexperienced" and "dangerous" liberal. He also tried to link Granholm to Democratic gubernatorial nominee Geoffrey Fieger's crime plan, which called for greater emphasis on rehabilitation for non-violent criminals and shortening their prison terms. Granholm, who had disavowed Fieger's crime plan the day it was released, said the claim was "a lie, just a lie" and that as attorney general, "you are the person who is to protect the consumer from deceitful ads." Asked what separated her from Smietanka, Granholm replied, "Besides honesty?" Kelley also came to Granholm's defence, starring in an advertisement where he called Smietanka's ads "garbage" and a "con" and accused him of running a "dishonest campaign". For his part, Smietanka was angered by Democratic advertisements that referred to late child support payments he had made and claimed that he had lied about how much of his own money he donated to his campaign.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: After a close race, with polls showing the two candidates with virtually identical votes, Granholm defeated Smietanka by 1,557,310 votes (52.09%) to 1,432,604 (47.91%). After Granholm was elected governor in 2002, arguments arose between Smietanka and then-Republican Governor John Engler about who was most responsible for Granholm's meteoric rise in Michigan politics. Smietanka blamed Engler for trying to force him out of the 1998 race in favour of G. Scott Romney, for dredging up the issue of his missed child support payments and for not supporting him more fully after he defeated Romney at the Republican convention. Engler countered that Smietanka was a weak candidate who should have stepped aside for Romney, who would have beaten the inexperienced Granholm; she would then not have had a launch pad for her gubernatorial campaign in 2002.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm was sworn into office on January 1, 1999, becoming the first female attorney general of Michigan. She served a single term, from 1999 to 2003. In office, she continued Kelley's work on protecting citizens and consumers' rights and established Michigan's first High Tech Crime Unit, appointing Terrence Berg as its first chief.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: In April 1999, Granholm announced a lawsuit against RVP Development, builders of the Arcadia Bluffs Golf Course, alleging that poor construction of the course had led to illegal discharges of sediment into Lake Michigan from erosion following heavy storms in 1998, which had "turned a ravine into a ravaged gorge". Development company President Richard Postma refused to pay the $425,000 of state fines, saying he had made moves to stop the erosion and accused Granholm of trying to make him "a poster child for her campaign of the future". Granholm responded that his "perception of the political landscape in Michigan is as poor as his ability to construct a golf landscape". After years of negotiations and legal wrangling, the lawsuit was settled in August 2003, with RVP Development agreeing to pay a $125,000 fine.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: During her tenure as Attorney General, Granholm became a harsh critic of the annual tradition at The University of Michigan called The Naked Mile. Through her efforts, the event was essentially cancelled by April 2000 never to emerge again.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: In July 2000, Granholm's office settled with J.C. Penney after the retailer made numerous pricing and scanning errors in stores in Michigan. The issue came to the attention of the attorney general's office after a "repeat and progressively worse error rate" that saw 33% of items sold in December 1999 being sold for more at the register than they were listed for on the shelves. J.C. Penney paid a fine and agreed to designate "pricing associates" to monitor for errors in pricing.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Granholm directed state agencies to work with lawmakers in keeping the fight against terrorism within the powers of the state. She also imposed a regulation on gasoline dealers to keep them from raising prices dramatically, something which occurred sporadically across Michigan immediately following the attacks. In February 2002, Granholm announced that her office was joining with the AARP Michigan State Office to help consumers fight calls from telemarketers.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: In the 2002 election, incumbent Republican governor John Engler was term-limited and not able to run for re-election to a fourth term in office. The Republicans unified around Engler's lieutenant governor, Dick Posthumus. Meanwhile, Granholm faced a competitive primary against former U.S. Ambassador to Canada and governor James Blanchard and U.S. Representative and former House Minority Whip David E. Bonior. Blanchard had been defeated for reelection by Engler in 1990 and Bonior had resigned as Democratic whip to run for governor, his House district having been redrawn to make it all but unwinnable for him.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm, seen by many as a "fresh face" after the 12-year Engler administration, raised more money than Blanchard and Bonior and consistently led them in polls by large margins. Her campaign led to increased turnout among women and she comfortably won the Democratic primary with 499,129 votes (47.69%) to Bonior's 292,958 (27.99%) and Blanchard's 254,586 (24.32%).


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm was the heavy favorite in the general election, boasting strong support from working women, African-Americans and voters under 30 years of age. She campaigned on her record on crime and was seen as more charismatic than Posthumus. Despite the 2002 elections being a good year for Republicans nationwide, who gained control of the U.S. Senate and increased their hold on the U.S. House, Granholm defeated Posthumus by 1,633,796 votes (51.42%) to 1,506,104 (47.40%).


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm was sworn in as the 47th governor of the state of Michigan on January 1, 2003. Upon her inauguration, in addition to becoming the state's first female governor, she also became its third governor who was not a natural-born citizen of the United States and its fourth who was not born within the United States. The earlier two non-natural-born citizens were Fred M. Warner, who was born in England and was the 26th governor from 1905 to 1911; and John Swainson, who was also born in Canada and was the 42nd governor from 1961 to 1963. George W. Romney, who was born in Mexico and was the 27th governor from 1963 to 1969, was a natural-born citizen by virtue of his parents' U.S. citizenship at the time of his birth.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm emphasized Michigan's need to attract young people and businesses via the Cool Cities Initiative. As governor, she was a member of the National Governors Association, chairing its Health and Human Services Committee and co‑chairing its Health Care Task Force. She is also a former chair of the Midwestern Governors Association. She lived in the official Michigan Governor's Residence, located near the Capitol Building.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: During Granholm's first year in office, she made a significant number of budget cuts to deal with a $1.7billion deficit (about two percent of the annual state budget). She was upset by proposals to cut state funding to social welfare programs, such as homeless shelters and mental health agencies.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm has been a proponent of education reform since the first year of her term. In her first State of the State Address in 2003, Granholm announced Project Great Start to focus on reforming education for children from birth to age five. Project Great Start has coordinated public and private efforts to encourage educating new parents and encouraging parents to read to their children.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm emphasized post-secondary education for Michiganders following the decline in Michigan manufacturing jobs, many of which did not require a college degree. In 2004 she asked Lieutenant Governor John D. Cherry to lead the Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth to double the number of college graduates in Michigan. Many of the commission's recommendations were enacted into law during Granholm's tenure as governor, e.g. increasing high school graduation standards (The Michigan Merit Curriculum) so that every Michigan high school student takes a college preparatory curriculum, which includes four years of math and English/language arts and three years of science and social studies, beginning with students who entered high school in the fall of 2006.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: At an awards ceremony on October 28, 2004, Granholm was inducted into the "Michigan Women's Hall of Fame". She has also been the recipient of the Michigan Jaycees 1999 "Outstanding Young Michiganders" and the YWCA "Woman of the Year" awards.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: During the 2004 presidential election in Michigan, Granholm campaigned hard for Democratic nominee John Kerry after early polls showed President George W. Bush with a narrow lead. She cited the economy as the main concern for Michiganders, not the Iraq War or the War on Terror, which meant that with "the deficit larger; the Dow dropping; unemployment claims up, hitting an all-time high; General Motors profits below expectations, with health claims crippling profits; flu vaccine in short supply; oil prices rising" her state was badly hit.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: In February 2005, Michigan's Republican-dominated legislature refused to vote on Granholm's proposed state budget, citing concerns over cuts to state funding for higher education. In the previous years of Granholm's term, many cuts to higher education had been demanded and voted in the legislature in order to balance the state budget. The year before, Republican leaders had called Granholm a "do‑nothing governor", claiming that she failed to lead, while Democrats accused legislative Republicans of being obstructionist. In January 2005, Granholm presented an early budget proposal, demanded immediate response from the Legislature, and held a press conference outlining the highlights of the proposed budget. After refusing to consider, debate, or vote on the proposed budget, Republicans stated they would prefer that the legislature have more involvement in the formation of the state budget.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Michigan's economy had been losing jobs since 2000, largely owing to the decline in the American manufacturing sector. Granholm supported diversification of Michigan's economy away from its historical reliance on automotive manufacturing. She pushed through a $2billion 21st Century Jobs Fund to attract jobs to Michigan in the life sciences, alternative energy, advanced manufacturing, and homeland security sectors. Granholm also supported alternative energy jobs to Michigan to replace lost auto manufacturing jobs.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm ran for a second term in the 2006 election. Her opponent was Republican businessman and politician Dick DeVos.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Both the Granholm campaign and the Michigan Democratic Party put out television commercials produced by Joe Slade White focusing on her efforts to revive Michigan's economy and accusing DeVos of cutting Michigan jobs while he was head of what was then called Amway. Granholm won re-election, defeating DeVos. The election results were 56 percent for Granholm, 42 percent for DeVos, and a little over one percent for minor-party candidates Gregory Creswell, Douglas Campbell, and Bhagwan Dashairya. Granholm's share of the vote was 4.9 percent higher than in her first gubernatorial election in 2002. Granholm's campaign was managed by Howard Edelson.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: The 2006 elections saw a return to power by the Democrats in the Michigan State House of Representatives and the retention of Republican control over the Michigan Senate. The partisan division of power in Michigan's state government led to a showdown between Granholm and lawmakers over the FY 2008 state budget that resulted in a four-hour shutdown of nonessential state services in the early morning of October 1, 2007, until a budget was passed and signed. The budget cut services, froze state spending in areas such as the arts, increased the state income tax, and created a new set of service taxes on a variety of businesses, e.g. ski lifts and interior design and landscaping companies, to address a state budget shortfall. As a result of the controversial budget, some taxpayer and business advocates called for a recall campaign against Granholm and lawmakers who voted for the tax increases.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: The budget crisis eventually led Standard & Poor's to downgrade Michigan's credit rating from AA to AA-. Additionally, the crisis contributed to sinking approval ratings for Granholm, which went from 43 percent in August 2007 to a low of 32 percent in December 2007. She had one of the lowest approval ratings for any governor in the United States.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: In 2007 Granholm proposed and signed into law the No Worker Left Behind Act to provide two years of free training or community college for unemployed and displaced workers. Since its launch in August 2007, more than 130,000 people have enrolled in retraining. The program caps tuition assistance at $5000 per year for two years, or $10,000 per person, and covers retraining in high-demand occupations and emerging industries.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: The Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth reported back in October 2009 that 62,206 people had enrolled and that of the 34,355 who had completed training, 72% had found work or retained their positions and a further 18,000 were still in long-term or short-term training. 16% of all enrollees had withdrawn or failed to complete the training. As of July 2010, more than two years after the program was launched, 65,536 people were in training or involved in on-the-job training. Dropouts had been reduced to 13.1% of enrollments.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm delivered her sixth State of the State address on January 29, 2008. The speech focused mainly on creating jobs in Michigan through bringing alternative energy companies to Michigan. Through passing a renewable portfolio standard, which would require that ten percent of Michigan's energy would come from renewable sources by 2015 and twenty-five percent by 2025, Granholm expected the alternative energy industry to emerge in Michigan. Since the passage of the standard, Mariah Power, Global Wind Systems, Cascade Swift Turbine, Great Lakes Turbine, and 38 other companies have announced new projects in Michigan. The solar and wind power industries now provide more than ten thousand jobs in Michigan.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm also called in the speech for an incentive package to offer tax breaks to filmmakers who shoot in Michigan and use local crews in production. A package of bills offering film industry incentives was approved by both houses of the Michigan legislature and signed into law by Granholm on April 7, 2008.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Partly because of pressure from Granholm, Michigan's Democratic presidential primary was moved up to January 15, leading the Democratic National Committee to strip the Michigan Democratic Party of its delegates (Michigan historically had held its caucuses on February 9). Granholm has been named by some as a possible candidate for United States attorney general. She was the policy chair of the Democratic Governors Association.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: On April 29, 2008, Granholm had emergency surgery to fix a health issue that stemmed from a 1993 accident. Because of the surgery, Granholm had to postpone a trip to Israel and Kuwait. She finally made the journey in November 2008 and signed a water technology partnership agreement with the Israeli government. In addition, she delivered the keynote address at an automotive event organized by the Michigan Israel Business Bridge and the Israel Export Institute.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: In response to a May 14, 2008, resolution by the Detroit City Council that Granholm remove Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office because of eight (later ten) felony counts against him, Granholm began an inquiry that culminated in a removal hearing on September 3, 2008. On September 3, Granholm outlined the legal basis for the hearings, arguments were made, and three witnesses were called. On the morning of September 4, Kilpatrick agreed to two plea deals in which he pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury and no contest one count of assaulting and obstructing a police officer in two separate cases. Both deals required his resignation. When the hearing reconvened later that day, Granholm said the hearing would be adjourned until September 22 as a result of the plea deals, and if Kilpatrick's resignation became effective before then the hearing would be cancelled.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: In September 2008, Governor Granholm undertook the role of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin in a series of practice debates with Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: With the election of Barack Obama as president, Granholm joined his economic advisory team, having had extensive experience running the Michigan economy, and there was speculation that she might join the Obama administration. On May 13, 2009, the Associated Press reported that President Obama was considering Granholm, among others, for possible appointment to the United States Supreme Court. Eventually Obama chose Sonia Sotomayor.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: In 2010, Granholm was barred from seeking re-election due to Michigan's term limits law. Her governorship ended on January 1, 2011, when Republican Rick Snyder, who won the 2010 election, was sworn in.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm is a distinguished adjunct professor of law and public policy at the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy and UC Berkeley School of Law. In the Autumn of 2011, she taught a graduate course entitled "Governing in Tough Times". She is also a senior research fellow at the Berkeley Energy and Climate Institute (BECI). As a senior advisor to The Pew Charitable Trusts' Clean Energy Program and founder of The American Jobs Project at UC Berkeley, Granholm spearheads a campaign for a national clean energy policy that promotes and funds American energy independence and home-grown manufacturing and innovation for wind, solar, and advanced battery industries across the United States. She is a regular contributor to NBC's political talk show "Meet the Press", has written on U.S. energy policy and has co-authored a book with her husband, "A Governor's Story: The Fight For Jobs and America's Economic Future", which was released in September 2011 and was about the lessons Michigan's experience can offer to America.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm served on the board of directors of the Dow Chemical Company from March to October 2011. In May 2011, she joined the board of directors of Marinette Marine Corporation, a Wisconsin ship builder and Defense contractor. Granholm is currently serving as the sponsor of , a warship under construction by the company. In August 2013, she joined the board of Talmer Bancorp, a Michigan financial institution. Granholm continued to serve on the Talmer board until the company was acquired by the Chemical Financial Corporation at the end of August 2016. In August 2016, she joined the board of ChargePoint, a corporation which manages a network of electric vehicle charging stations. In March 2017, Granholm also joined the board of Proterra, a manufacturer of electric buses and charging stations.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: In October 2011, Current TV announced that she would be joining its new political primetime lineup as host of the new program "The War Room with Jennifer Granholm". In January 2013, she announced that she was leaving the network due to the sale to Al Jazeera.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: In October 2012, she became a "household name" after delivering what has been described as a "hyperactive" and "sharp-tongued" speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 6. Granholm's speech centered on the automotive industry crisis of 2008–2010; specifically, President Obama's decision to bail out General Motors and Chrysler, its beneficial effects on the U.S. economy, and Mitt Romney's opposition to the bailout.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: In January 2014, she was picked to co-chair Priorities USA Action opposite Jim Messina. She has previously said Hillary Clinton "is the strongest candidate out there should she decide to raise her hand" in regard to the upcoming 2016 presidential election. Granholm previously supported Clinton over Barack Obama in the 2008 election campaign. She considered running for the United States Senate in 2014 to replace retiring Democrat Carl Levin, but decided against doing so.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: In August 2015, months after Hillary Clinton's campaign announcement for the 2016 presidential election, Granholm transitioned from Priorities USA Action to Correct the Record, another Clinton-aligned political committee whose classification allows Granholm to serve as a direct "surrogate" for Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail. In August 2016, Granholm was named by Clinton to the team planning for her potential presidential transition.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm was twice mentioned as a possible U.S. Secretary of Energy, first in December 2008 when President-elect Obama was assembling his first-term Cabinet and again in December 2010, when it was rumoured that Secretary Steven Chu might resign.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm was also twice considered by President Obama to be a potential Supreme Court candidate. In May 2009, she was on the shortlist of candidates to replace the retiring Associate Justice David Souter. She attended a CAFE standards meeting at the White House on May 19 and spoke with Obama, but officials would not comment on whether the two discussed a potential court appointment. Obama chose Sonia Sotomayor, who was confirmed by the Senate in August. After the retirement of Associate Justice John Paul Stevens in May 2010, Granholm was again spoken of as a potential candidate; Obama chose Elena Kagan, who was confirmed in August.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: In March 2011, with Tim Kaine poised to resign as chairman of the Democratic National Committee to run for the U.S. Senate from Virginia in 2012, Granholm was mentioned as a potential successor. However, she made clear early on that she was not interested, which was reported to have "stunned" senior Democrats, who were "surprised and disappointed" that Granholm had taken herself out of the running. U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida was elected instead.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: After President Obama was re-elected in 2012, Granholm was reportedly considered for a position in Obama's second-term Cabinet, specifically to succeed Chu as secretary of energy, Ray LaHood as U.S. secretary of transportation, Hilda Solis as U.S. secretary of labor or Eric Holder as U.S attorney general. Granholm herself dampened such speculation, citing her sharp criticism of Republicans during the 2012 election and her time presenting on Current TV.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: In March 2013, Michigan's senior U.S. senator, Democrat Carl Levin, announced that he would not run for a seventh term in 2014. Granholm was mentioned as a candidate to succeed him, but she announced shortly after that she would not run. She endorsed U.S. Representative Gary Peters, who defeated Republican nominee Terri Lynn Land in the general election.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: In September 2014, when U.S Attorney General Eric Holder announced his intention to step down, there was speculation that Granholm might be a potential candidate to succeed him. Loretta Lynch was ultimately nominated and confirmed for the position.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: There was speculation that Granholm's increased visibility from her senior role in the Clinton campaign indicated that she would be under consideration for a position in the U.S. Cabinet or Democratic National Committee leadership if Clinton had won the 2016 election.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Then-President-elect Joe Biden nominated Granholm to be the next secretary of energy. Granholm was seen as one of Biden’s least controversial nominees, winning support from unions, environmental groups, and some Republicans. A University of California, Berkeley professor of energy, who worked with Granholm at UC Berkeley, said she will be "phenomenal for DOE" because "she understands the technology, she understands deployment and she knows how to run a big agency." She appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on January 27, 2021, and the committee voted to advance her nomination in a 13–4 vote on February 3, 2021. She was confirmed by the Senate 64–35 on February 25, 2021, and was sworn into office later that day by Vice President Kamala Harris. She is the first secretary of energy born outside the United States.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: In April 2021, she said President Joe Biden "has a goal of getting to net zero carbon dioxide for this country by 2050. And that means that we have got to figure out ways to clean up our fossil fuel industry." On May 19, 2022, the Department of Energy announced a $3.5 billion program funded under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to create four large-scale regional direct air capture hubs each consisting of a network of carbon dioxide removal projects.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm had a call with Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud. They discussed closer cooperation in the energy field. In late 2021, she blamed the OPEC oil cartel led by Saudi Arabia and the U.S. gas and petroleum industry for rising fuel prices in the United States. When asked what her plans were to increase oil production in the United States, she laughingly replied: "That is hilarious. Would that I had the magic wand on this."


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: Granholm signed a detailed ethics agreement for the top energy government job and has since then, violated certain provisions of the STOCK Act.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: On December 16, 2022, Granholm cleared J. Robert Oppenheimer, American theoretical physicist, often credited as the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project – the World War II undertaking that developed the first nuclear weapons, of the 1954 revocation of his security clearance due to a "flawed investigation".


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: While Granholm was at Harvard, she met fellow law student and Michigan native Daniel Mulhern, a theology graduate from Yale University. They married in 1986 and they took each other's surname as their middle names. They have three children.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: On February 21, 2010, when dual-citizen Granholm was asked about her preferred team to win the then heavily-anticipated gold medal match for men’s hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics, between the United States men’s national ice hockey team and the Canadian men’s national ice hockey team, she mentioned that “of course” she supported the United States in gold medal game, while half-jokingly pointing out that she left Canada at the age of four.


title: Jennifer Granholm

text: On October 21, 2010, Granholm was made a Commander of the Royal Order of the Polar Star, First Class, by the King of Sweden "for her work in fostering relations between Michigan and Sweden to promote a clean energy economy."


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: Raees ( Rich) is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Rahul Dholakia and produced by Gauri Khan, Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar under their banners Red Chillies Entertainment and Excel Entertainment. It stars Shah Rukh Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Mahira Khan. "Raees" is said to be based on the criminal Abdul Latif's life, however, the filmmakers have denied this.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: The film was released on 25 January 2017 during India's Republic Day weekend. It received overall positive reviews from the critics, who appreciated the performances of Khan and Siddiqui, production design, cinematography and visual effects, and was a success at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2017 until it was surpassed by "Hindi Medium". "Raees" was also the most pirated Hindi film of 2017. The film's soundtrack has also received over 1.5billion streams on YouTube. The film received five nominations at the 63rd Filmfare Awards, including Best Actor for Khan. It became the 43rd highest-grossing Indian film of all time.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: "Raees", a sharp-minded boy, lives in Fatehpur, Gujarat, a dry state and gets involved in the illegal liquor trade from a young age. He uses his mother's philosophy: no occupation is low and no religion greater than any occupation as a mechanism of self-deception. Along with his best friend, Sadiq, he starts working for a local gangster, Jairaj — who prefers Raees as he comes up with novel ideas for smuggling. As his power and influence grow, he decides to part ways with Jairaj and takes the help of a crime boss, Musabhai to start his own business. He gains immense popularity in his community: he provides them liquor, employs them for receiving and delivering orders and thus enjoys political support from both the Chief Minister and Pashabhai, the leader of the opposition.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: Meanwhile, an honest and powerful police officer, ACP J. A. Majmudar is transferred to Fatehpur and starts a major crackdown on alcohol dealers, focusing on Raees. This affects most of the dealers except him as he manages to smuggle past Majmudar — leading to hostile relations and a failed assassination attempt by Jairaj. Raees subsequently kills him in retaliation. In the meantime, Raees marries his neighbour Aasiya and has a son with her.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: At the baby shower, he convinces the CM to transfer Majmudar to the Police Control Room and takes on a new real-estate project offered to him. With Majmudar gone and construction in full swing, all seems to be going well for him. Majmudar, however, is still keeping track of his activities through phone taps and moles he planted earlier.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: Raees publicly assaults Pashabhai over a disagreement and the CM sends him to jail temporarily as a PR stunt. With Raees locked up, the CM and Pasha ally the upcoming local elections. Realizing he has been betrayed, Raees decides to stand in the elections, uses his popularity and wins.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: Seeing him as an imminent threat, the CM recalls Majmudar back to Fatehpur and declares his real-estate project's plot as protected land — rendering the construction illegal. Raees incurs huge debt to his community, whom he had convinced to invest in the project. To worsen the situation, communal rioting in the state leads to the imposition of a curfew jeopardizing his liquor business.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: Completely broke, a desperate Raees reaches out to Musabhai for help, who offers him money for smuggling in gold by sea. Soon, serial bombings occur across India. Raees becomes aware that Musa used the gold as a cover to smuggle RDX. The police lead a massive cross-country crackdown; all of Raees's associates are either caught or killed. Heartbroken and grieving, Raees kills Musabhai and his men for using him to kill innocents. Subsequently, he surrenders to Majmudar, well aware that he will kill him. Majmudar and Raees deliberate over their time together, following which Majmudar shoots Raees. As he falls, he recalls memories from his life and his mother's teachings. Majmudar drives away, musing about Raees's last words.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: The shooting of the film began in April 2015. The film has been shot in Mumbai, and sets were re-designed to depict Ahmedabad slums. The last schedule of the film was shot in Gujarat in January 2016. Despite protests, the film was shot in Bhuj without disruptions between January and February 2016. There was a clearance issue by the Archaeological Survey of India for a shooting at Ahmedabad at the medieval mosque and tomb complex, Sarkhej Roza.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: The film was scheduled to be released on Eid, 6 July 2016, but was postponed to avoid box office competition with Salman Khan starrer "Sultan". The film was then rescheduled to be released on 26 January 2017, India's Republic Day, which conflicted with Hrithik Roshan starrer "Kaabil", but then both films were moved to 25 January 2017. "Raees" opened to 3500 screens worldwide.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: In March 2016, a legal notice was sent by an alleged gangster, Abdul Latif's son, Mustak, asking why a film on his father's life was being made.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: A few days after the 2016 Uri terror attack, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) asked for a ban on films featuring Pakistani actors on the basis that the actors were not openly condemning terrorism. "Raees" was on their list because cast member Mahira Khan is Pakistani. MNS put forward a condition to lift the ban, that producers shall never cast Pakistani artists in future and they have to give crores as penance to the Indian Army welfare fund, but the Indian Army refused to accept it by saying sacrifices should not be politicised. Later, ban was lifted without the conditions on "Raees" as demanded by MNS.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: Farhan Akhtar, co-producer of the film said "Raees" will never pay, and was threatened by MNS. The Chief Minister of Maharashtra and member of the BJP and the RSS, Devendra Fadnavis said at the meeting with MNS and the producers ₹50 million as contribution to the Indian Army welfare fund was not quoted compulsory and was never a condition for lifting ban on films featuring Pakistani actors demanded by MNS, and earlier at an event praised Shah Rukh Khan as an "icon" and a "proud Mumbaikar".


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: Worldwide, "Raees" has grossed , making it the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2017 at the time, the highest-grossing January release for a Hindi film since 1994, and one of the top 20 highest-grossing Indian films of all time.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: "Raees" grossed 1.28 billion worldwide in its opening weekend. Domestically, it grossed in India. With a budget of 910 million, it has a domestic net collection of , and a distributor share of 673 million.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: "Raees" was the most pirated Hindi film of 2017, with 6.2 million online file sharers worldwide, primarily in India and Pakistan. This negatively affected the film's domestic box office performance in India.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: In domestic market, on the first day of the release, "Raees" grossed , on the second day it grossed , on the third day it grossed , on the fourth day it grossed and on the fifth day it grossed making a total gross of in the extended weekend. On the sixth day it grossed and on the seventh day it grossed making a total gross of in the week. In three weeks film grossed . In four weeks film grossed .


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: In overseas market, in the five-day extended first weekend "Raees" grossed 6.7 million (45.63 crore). In four weeks film grossed . Overseas, "Raees" grossed US$14.1 million (958.8 million), making it Bollywood's highest overseas grosser of 2017. It also set the record for being the highest earning Bollywood weekend grosser ever in Singapore.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and said director Dholakia "depicts the power play and the cat and mouse chase between Raees and the honest cop Jaideep with flourish and that, in my opinion, is the mainstay of the enterprise." Nihit Bhave of "The Times of India" rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "The movie can feel a bit long, but if you're going for a great SRK performance and some good ol' popcorn-entertainment, it might just 'raees' to the occasion." Devarshi Ghosh of "India Today" rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "The filmmaking is pure masala and this is one well-cooked masala movie. The story is not surprising, but Rahul Dholakia's treatment seems fresh."


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: Rajeev Masand of News 18 gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and said, "The film, expectedly, is powered by the star wattage of Shah Rukh Khan himself, as most of his films usually are. From his introduction scene, lacerating his back during a Moharram gathering, to a Scarface-like shootout, all guns blazing, to his many moments simmering with rage, Shah Rukh commands your attention. In more pensive moments and a quiet breakdown scene, he reveals the actor behind the star."


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: Writing for "The Hindu", Namrata Joshi gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "In "Raees", he (SRK) and Dholakia would rather dare than play it safe. The character, a complicated portrayal, is in line with grounding SRK in his faith, and making him rise above it." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and commented, ""Raees" might be markedly unfamiliar territory, but [Dholakia] doesn't let that fact undermine the content and its context. The balance that he achieves lends the film sustained solidity." Shubhra Gupta of "The Indian Express" rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "SRK breaks through in some moments but is stymied by florid, seen-too-many-times flourishes in "Raees". It is Nawazuddin Siddiqui who really shines through." and Anupama Chopra gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, saying "The best way to enjoy "Raees" then is to manage expectations first. This is an uneven film. In places, you will applaud and whistle. But you might also find yourself utterly exhausted."


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: Rohit Bhatnagar of "Deccan Chronicle" rated the film 2 out of 5 stars and said, "The film could have been much more thrilling and gut-wrenching." Raghav Jaitly from Zee News rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and applauded its "powerhouse performances". He described the film, "From dialogue delivery to slow-motion sequences, the movie will give you goosebumps at times. If you want to witness high-octane actions, intense emotions and sincere filmmaking, then go for 'Raees'. It amalgamates Shah Rukh's charm and Rahul's intelligence." Writing for "Hindustan Times", Sarit Ray gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, saying ""Raees" also deserves credit for going with a principal set of Muslim protagonists, a rarity for present-day Bollywood. Nawazuddin Siddiqui has the best lines. "Raees" perhaps works only as an SRK showcase."


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: Sneha May Francis and Mahwash Ajaz of "Dawn" respectively commented, "This isn't a fine film. It's vintage Bollywood fluff, which SRK will manage to turn into box-office gold." and, ""Raees" is the story of neither a hero nor a villain – it is the story of a man who lived in a corrupted system with corrupted morals." Manjusha Radhakrishnan of "Gulf News" gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "While the film is engaging, what lets it down are some of the contrived and ridiculous twists in the second half. But the climax packs a punch, and that misgiving – 'where is this film going?' – is erased." Rachel Saltz of "The New York Times" stated that "Avoiding flabby subplots, Mr. Dholakia keeps "Raees" taut and suspenseful, even at two and a half hours, though it probably has a song too many."


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: Ankita Shorey was the first choice for the female lead of the film, but Mahira Khan got the role; Shorey confirmed that the consideration was not due to the nationality. A news report stated that Shorey had been "replaced" and had been a "part of the project." Shorey later stated that she did not speak about "replacement", and did not spell the "part of the project" phrase in the interview, the actual phrase was "strongly considered for the project." The journalist who took her interview, later apologized for it.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: Farhan Akhtar clarified that if the film was shot after the terror attack, they never would have signed Mahira Khan. He concluded by saying showing solidarity to Indian Army is up to them, and the only Indian government has the authority to brief them regarding dealing with their conscience, and not by any outsiders.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: On 1 December 2016, Shah Rukh Khan met MNS supreme Raj Thackeray to assure him that Mahira Khan won't be coming to India to promote the film. On 11 January 2017, it was reported that Shiv Sena again demanded a ban on the movie. They had reportedly threatened the cinema owners in Chhattisgarh not to screen the film.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: Three days before the release of the film, Kailash Vijayvargiya, National General Secretary of BJP, termed "Raees" as "dishonest" and "anti-national" film, while termed "Kaabil" as "Patriotic" film; he had stated in 2015 that Shah Rukh Khan was a defector and had not reacted to the 1993 Bombay bombings or 2008 Mumbai attacks.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: The film is banned in Pakistan due to its "objectionable content" by Central Board of Film Censors, the regulatory body and censorship board of Pakistan.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: The song "Laila Main Laila" from the 1980 film "Qurbani" was written by Indeevar, and was originally composed by Kalyanji–Anandji, and it was sung by Kanchan, Amit Kumar, Chorus, has been recreated for the film by composer Ram Sampath. Additional lyrics are written by Javed Akhtar.


title: Raees (2017 film)

text: "Raees" was promoted on various shows which includes "The Kapil Sharma Show" and "Bigg Boss 10", and was also promoted in Dubai. Shah Rukh Khan and Sunny Leone even took a special train ride on August Kranti Rajdhani Express from Mumbai to Delhi on 23–24 January 2017 for promotions, but Farid Khan Sherani, fan of Shah Rukh Khan, also a member of Samajwadi Party died in hospital due to stampede on Vadodara railway platform when the train was leaving the station after a long halt for the promotion in front of huge crowd, many were injured too. Shah Rukh Khan later condoled for his fan's death.


title: Shantaram (novel)

text: Shantaram is a 2003 novel by Gregory David Roberts, in which a convicted Australian bank robber and heroin addict escapes from Pentridge Prison and flees to India. The novel is commended by many for its vivid portrayal of life in Bombay in the early to late 1980s.


title: Shantaram (novel)

text: The novel is reportedly influenced by real events in the life of the author, though some claims made by Roberts are contested by others involved in the story.


title: Shantaram (novel)

text: In 1978, Roberts was sentenced to a 19-year imprisonment in Australia after being convicted of a series of armed robberies of building society branches, credit unions, and shops. In July 1980, he escaped from Victoria's Pentridge Prison in broad daylight, thereby becoming one of Australia's most wanted men for the next ten years.


title: Shantaram (novel)

text: The protagonist Lindsay (according to the book, Roberts' fake name) arrives in Bombay carrying a false passport in the name of Lindsay Ford. Mumbai was supposed to be only a stopover on a journey that was to take him from New Zealand to Germany, but he decides to stay in the city. Lindsay soon meets a local man named Prabhakar whom he hires as a guide. Prabhakar soon becomes his friend and names him Lin (Linbaba). Both men visit Prabhakar's native village, Sunder, where Prabhakar's mother decided to give Lin a new Maharashtrian name, like her own. Because she judged his nature to be blessed with peaceful happiness, she decided to call him "Shantaram", meaning "Man of God's Peace". On their way back to Mumbai, Lin and Prabhakar are robbed. With all his possessions gone, Lin is forced to live in the slums, which shelters him from the authorities. After a massive fire on the day of his arrival in the slum, he sets up a free health clinic as a way to contribute to the community. He learns about the local culture and customs in this crammed environment, gets to know and love the people he encounters, and even becomes fluent in Marathi, the local language. He also witnesses and battles outbreaks of cholera and firestorms, becomes involved in trading with the lepers, and experiences how ethnic and marital conflicts are resolved in this densely crowded and diverse community.


title: Shantaram (novel)

text: The novel describes a number of foreigners of various origins, as well as local Indians, highlighting the rich diversity of life in Mumbai. Lin falls in love with Karla, a Swiss-American woman, befriends local artists and actors, landing him roles as an extra in several Bollywood movies, and is recruited by the Mumbai underworld for various criminal operations, including drug and weapons trade. Lin eventually lands in Mumbai's Arthur Road Prison. There, along with hundreds of other inmates, he endures brutal physical and mental abuse from the guards, while existing under extremely squalid conditions. However, thanks to the protection of the Afghan mafia don "Abdel Khader Khan", Lin is eventually released, and begins to work in a black market currency exchange and passport forgery. Having travelled as far as Africa on trips commissioned by the mafia, Lin later goes to Afghanistan to smuggle weapons for mujahideen freedom fighters. When his mentor Khan is killed, Lin realizes he has become everything he grew to loathe and falls into depression after he returns to India. He decides that he must fight for what he believes is right, and build an honest life. The story ends with him planning to go to Sri Lanka, which lays the premise for the sequel to this book.


title: Shantaram (novel)

text: While parts of the novel, based on Roberts' known biography, such as Roberts' criminal history and escape from prison in Australia, are a matter of public record, and read as reportedly factual, numerous significant claims by Roberts remain harder (or impossible) to verify and are disputed by the family of one of the main Indian characters in the book.


title: Shantaram (novel)

text: There is a great deal of debate as to where the boundaries lie between fact and fiction in the book. Roberts has stated the characters in the story are largely invented, and that he merged different elements taken from true events and people into such events and characters like Prabaker 'of the big smile'. Prabhakar Kisan Khare was a real-life individual, as are the members of Khare family from the book (Kisan, Rukhma, Kishor and Parvati Khare) whose names appear on government issued identity cards. The family resides in the Navy Nagar slum where the lead character Shantaram also lived. The Khare family disputes many of Roberts' claims, although they acknowledge close association with Gregory Roberts in the 1980s. Prabhakar died in an accident in 1988 in circumstances matching the event in the book.


title: Shantaram (novel)

text: In March 2006, the "Mumbai Mirror" reported they may have discovered the inspiration for the big smile of the character Prabhakar as belonging to a still living cab driver called Kishore, who took Roberts to his home village. Kishore Khare, brother of Prabhakar, who drives tourists around Mumbai, has told his story.


title: Shantaram (novel)

text: "With respect, "Shantaram" is not an autobiography, it’s a novel. If the book reads like an autobiography, I take that as a very high compliment, because I structured the created narrative to read like fiction but feel like fact. I wanted the novel to have the page-turning drive of a work of fiction but to be informed by such a powerful stream of real experience that it had the authentic feel of fact."


title: Shantaram (novel)

text: "As with the novel "Shantaram", the experiences in "The Mountain Shadow" are derived from my own real experiences, and the characters, dialogue, and narrative structure are all created."


title: Shantaram (novel)

text: Originally, "Shantaram" was published by Scribe Publications as a hardcover and later as a paperback. Following the mediated resolution in 2004 of a dispute that arose in 2003 between Scribe and the book's author, Gregory David Roberts, rights to all forms of the local publication of "Shantaram" reverted to the author after Scribe sold its remaining stock of hardbacks. Pan Macmillan then took over publication under the Picador label.


title: Shantaram (novel)

text: Megan O'Grady of The New York Times wrote "Few stand out quite like "Shantaram"", calling it a "gentle giant".


title: Shantaram (novel)

text: Carole Burns of The Washington Post discribed Gregory David Robert's as "blatantly autobiographical" novel as sprawling and intelligent.


title: Shantaram (novel)

text: Emma Lee-Potter of "The Independent" listed it as one of the 12 best Indian novels, calling it a "page-turning debut".


title: Shantaram (novel)

text: Gregory Roberts has said that "Shantaram" is the first book in a planned quartet. A sequel entitled "The Mountain Shadow" was released on 13 October 2015 by Little Brown. In this long-awaited sequel, Lin strives to survive in the new Bombay run by the new mafia.


title: Shantaram (novel)

text: When the novel "Shantaram" was published in 2003, several parties, including actor Russell Crowe, expressed interest in a film adaptation. Although Crowe was temporarily attached to a bid, Warner Bros. went forward with a $2 million bid primarily due to actor Johnny Depp's expression of love for the book to studio executive Brad Grey. With the rights won, Depp was attached to star in the film, which was to be based on a script written by the book's author Gregory David Roberts. Roberts commended the casting choice, and the author said of his intended script, "The screenplay I am writing will be as complex and will have the same sense of layering and texturing. Thematically, it will reflect everything that is in the heart of the book and that is the exile experience, and the power of love to transform and change the heart of a person. But the book is a book and the film is a film—they are different art forms so the film will have an independent life." In October 2005, Warner Bros. hired screenwriter Eric Roth to rewrite the initial draft created by Roberts. The following November, director Peter Weir was hired by the studio to helm "Shantaram" and develop the script with Roth. The studio originally planned to schedule production for late 2006.


title: Shantaram (novel)

text: By June 2006, Weir departed from the project with a studio spokesperson citing different interpretations between the director and the studio and producers. In January 2007, director Mira Nair replaced Weir at the helm. The studio anticipated production would begin by autumn 2007 for a 2008 release. Roth began rewriting the script to lower project costs, and actor Amitabh Bachchan joined to star opposite Depp. By November 2007, the anticipated February production start was cancelled by Warner Bros, who cited the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike's interference with the script's readiness, the impending monsoon season in India, and Depp's schedule difficulties in filming between India and New Mexico in the United States. The studio anticipated that production would finally begin in September 2008, but by November 2009, with production not starting, "The Independent" reported the project had been cancelled.