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Winnie the Pooh stars in an R-rated slasher movie

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Winnie the Pooh stars in an R-rated slasher movie

The Hundred Acre Wood has seen some pretty unsettling things over the years. A honey jar shortage. Rather blustery days. The omnipresent threat of a Heffalump.

But in “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey,” a new microbudget R-rated horror film, Pooh wades into far darker territory than even Eeyore could have ever imagined. After 95 years of saying things like “A hug is always the right size,” Pooh — newly freed from copyright — is now violently terrorizing a remote house of young women.

Countless cherished characters have passed into public domain before, but perhaps never so abruptly and savagely as Pooh.

Pooh, Piglet, Kanga, Roo, Owl, Eeyore and Christopher Robin all became public domain on January 1 last year when the copyright on A.A. Milne’s 1926 book, “Winnie-the-Pooh,” with illustrations by E.H. Shepard, expired. Just a year later, Pooh and Piglet can now be found on a murderous rampage in nationwide movie theaters — a head-spinning development that’s happened faster than a bear could say “Oh, bother.”

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Depending on how you look at it, “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” is either a crass way to capitalize on a beloved bear or an ingenious bit of independent filmmaking foresight. Either way, it’s probably a harbinger of what’s to come.

In the next 10 years, some of the most iconic characters in pop culture — including Bugs Bunny, Batman and Superman — will pass into public domain, or at least their most early incarnations. Some elements of Pooh are still off-limits, like his red shirt, since they apply to later interpretations. Tigger, who debuted in 1928’s “The House at Pooh Corner,” isn’t public until 2024.

Many have next Jan. 1 circled. That’s when the original version of Mickey Mouse, from “Steamboat Willie,” becomes public domain. It will be open on season on the face of the Walt Disney Co. — or at least that early whistling variety of Mickey.

Pop culture, as a concept, was born in the 1920s, meaning many of the most indelible — and still very culturally present — works will fall into public domain in the coming years. There will be all kinds of new and unlikely contexts for some of these characters. Some could be wonderful, some schlocky. But “Winnie Pooh: Blood and Honey” may just be a taste of what’s in store.

“When Superman and Batman fall into the public domain, there’s going to be some wild films, I’m sure of it,” says “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” writer, director and co-producer Rhys Waterfield. “There’s going to be so many different and cool unique iterations coming off that. I might do one.”

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Though made for less than $100,000, “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” will open Friday on some 1,500 screens in North America, an unusually wide release for such a little-funded movie. It’s already made $1 million in Mexico and has many more international territories booked. For Waterfield, a British film producer of direct-to-DVD titles (credits include “Dinosaur Hotel” and “Easter Killing”), it’s already a hit way beyond expectation.

“I kind of thought this could do a small theatrical run in some places and do quite well commercially,” says Waterfield. “But it’s blown up way beyond that to a scale that’s absolutely insane.”

In a 2021 tally of media franchises by Statista, Winnie the Pooh, with $80.3 billion in worldwide revenue, tied Mickey Mouse for No. 3, trailing only Pokémon and Hello Kitty. But unlike them, Pooh accounts for a veritable religion for his kind-hearted witticisms and contented spiritual outlook. Pooh is as much a gentle sage as he is a round-tummied toon. When Waterfield realized Pooh was entering public domain, “I had a spark in my eye,” he says.

Here was much-coveted intellectual property that could sell just about any film. “I’ve never met anyone that doesn’t know who Winnie the Pooh is,” Waterfield said in a recent phone interview speaking from Amsterdam.

But certainly, not everyone has been so happy about the idea of one of the most benevolent bears turning feral monster. Waterfield says he receives daily messages telling him he’s evil, and even some death threats. One person said they were calling the police.

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“You’ve got to be pretty thick-skinned to do a movie like this,” Waterfield says. “It baffles me. People think making an alternative version of him is somehow infiltrating their mind and destroying their memories. When I get claims that I ruined people’s childhoods, I’m genuinely confused. I just kind of brush it off and carry on making more of them.”

Waterfield is already planning sequels with Peter Pan, Bambi and many more. (The Felix Salten book “Bambi, A Life in the Woods” also became public domain last year.)

Jennifer Jenkins, a professor of law and director of Duke’s Center for the Study of Public Domain, is used to operating in a relatively quiet and byzantine realm of copyright law and thorny rights issues. She writes an annual Jan. 1 column for “Public Domain Day.” But nothing has caused her phone to ring off the hook quite like “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.”

The movie has clearly touched a nerve; millions have watched its trailer online. (Typical comment: “I can’t believe that this movie is real.”) And Jenkins, a firm believer in the long-range benefits of public domain, has been somewhat bemused by the storm kicked up by a movie like “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.” She compares public domain issues like these to the way free speech is a right, regardless of whether you agree with what’s said.

“Some uses of public domain material will be welcome to some and disturbing to others,” Jenkins says. “But I don’t think new content uniformly saps the value of the original work. I have the original books. I adore them. The fact that this slasher film is out there has no effect whatsoever on how I feel about A.A. Milne’s original creation or E.H. Shepard’s pencil sketches.”

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It’s worth noting that much of the Disney empire was, itself, built on public domain. “Beauty and the Beast” comes from Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s 1756 version of the fairy tale. “Sleeping Beauty” came from Charles Perrault’s 1697 fairy tale. “Aladdin” comes from the folk tale collection “The Book of One Thousand and One Nights.”

Though Jenkins can’t think of too many characters who had such a jarring entry to public domain as Pooh, films like “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” (2016) and the 2021 book “The Great Gatsby Undead” are reference points.

“People love adding zombies to public domain works,” says Jenkins.

To her, “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” may not be the most glorious example of the effects of public domain, but it’s part of a process that human creativity depends upon and thrives on. “Blood and Honey” may not make a lasting mark in the Hundred Acre Woods, but something, someday will. Chalk it up to growing pains.

“The fact that some people may be disturbed or revolted by this particular re-use of some of the characters from Winnie the Pooh doesn’t detract from the value of the public domain,” says Jenkins. “This is how people throughout history have created. They’ve always drawn on or been inspired by earlier works. Time will tell with this movie or any other reuse of Winnie the Pooh and Piglet whether movies like this will be rewarded in the marketplace or have any enduring appeal.

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“My thing is always: Time will tell.” 

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Blackpink’s Jisoo makes solo debut with ‘ME’

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Blackpink's Jisoo makes solo debut with 'ME'

SEOUL, (Reuters) – K-pop group Blackpink’s Jisoo became the last member to make a solo debut with her EP “ME” released on Friday.

Having debuted in 2016, Blackpink has become one of the biggest girl groups in the world, breaking records such as having the most subscribers on YouTube as an artist.

Local media reported this week that the group would put on a joint performance with pop star Lady Gaga at a state dinner U.S. President Joe Biden will host for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in late April. 

YG Entertainment (122870.KQ), Blackpink’s agency, said it was reviewing the offer, though the presidential office denied the reports on Friday.

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“We have our concerts and Coachella in April as a group. We have great things coming up.” Jisoo told fans in an online news conference.

Many meetings and a lot of thought went into her first record, she said, before adding that she was not nervous about her solo debut.

Jennie, another member of Blackpink, released her first solo work in 2018. Rose and Lisa also made their solo debut in 2021.

The group embarked on a world tour “Born Pink” in Seoul in October which is scheduled to continue until June.

YG Entertainment said pre-orders for Jisoo’s debut album surpassed 1.31 million copies as of Thursday.

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Earlier this month, the K-pop superstars also became the most-streamed female band on streaming app Spotify, according to Guinness World Records.

Their songs had a whopping 8,880,030,049 individual streams, overtaking British pop group Little Mix, Guinness World Records said at that time.

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Keanu Reeves gets paid for every word in John Wick 4

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Hollywood star Keanu Reeves has returned once again as John Wick, which fans have been waiting for a long time.

But did you know that in the 169-minute long film John Wick 4, this famous Hollywood hero spoke only 380 words?

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Keanu Reeves spoke 484 words in the first film of the John Wick series and then his number decreased with each film.

His longest dialogue in this new film was ‘You and I left a good life behind a long time ago, my friend’.

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But the important thing is that Keanu Reeves got paid $39,473,000 (more than one crore 11 lakh Pakistani rupees) for each word.

It is believed that Keanu Reeves was paid over one and a half million dollars (over 4.25 billion Pakistani rupees) to act in this film.

That is, he earned $552,622,000 for speaking the longest dialogue of the film.

27% of Keanu Reeves’ dialogues in the film consisted of one word such as thanks, oh, right and what.

He was paid between 10 and 20 million dollars to work in the first part of the series. 

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General Hospital spoilers: Will Spencer join hands with Viktor against Esme?

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The television drama series General Hospital has been providing viewers with drama, farewells, and shocking revelations in recent episodes. The audience can expect even more plotting, startling discoveries and drama in the upcoming episodes.

General Hospital Spoilers Highlights

Sonny, played by Maurice Benard, is still confused trying to figure out who wanted him dead when he was in the warehouse a few weeks ago. He also found the information he got by questioning Selina Wu, played by Lydia Look, to be of no help. But it is now Selina who has some other information she wants to share with Sonny.

Meanwhile, Sonny’s new right-hand man Dex, played by Evan Hofer sees a body when they are standing on the pier. Drew, played by Cameron Mathison, feels happy that he has something to do besides worry about the problems of Aurora, ELQ, and Carly, played by Laura Wright. He is also excited about the idea of bringing down Viktor, played by Charles Shaughnessy, who had held him prisoner for two years.

Drew updates Anna, played by Finola Hughes, and Valentin, played by James Patrick Stuart, that Eileen did not leave the town by choice. Spencer, played by Nicholas Alexander Chavez, is still hell-bent on making Esme, played by Avery Kristen Pohl, pay for hurting him. He also wants to get custody of his baby brother, Ace alongside the revenge. Spencer starts recalling Viktor’s promise that he could make Esme’s legal troubles reappear easily which would lead to Ace being raised by the Cassadines.

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When Esme tells Spencer that he never gets Ace, he meets Viktor and asks for more details of his plan. Will Spencer join hands with Viktor to take down Esme or will he realize how dangerous Viktor’s plan could possibly be? Will Trina, played by Tabyana Ali, be the one to talk him out of teaming up with Viktor? Josslyn, played by Eden McCoy, warns Trina that certain information can’t be made public. Will she finally confess that she is in a relationship with Dex and is scared of Sonny finding out about it?

Lastly, Maxie, played by Kirsten Storms, has been planning the Nurses Ball but when another disaster strikes, she declares exasperatedly that it is not possible to save the ball anymore. Will Lucy, played by Lynn Herring, be the one to save the day and the ball? 

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