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Monday August 7, 2017 16 ENtertainment

Cynthia Nixon

Cynthia Nixon a possible candidate for NY governor

“SEX and the City” actress Cynthia Nixon set fans abuzz last week with reports that she’s mulling a starring role in politics.

The Wall Street Journal fi rst reported that Nixon is among the prominent Democrats considering challenging New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo next year. Some liberal supporters had “approached” Nixon to run against the governor, the Journal said Thursday, citing unidenti-fi ed associates of the actress.

The 51-year-old star is an outspoken advocate on politi-cal issues, public education funding in particular. She’s not held back in her criticisms of Cuomo, who’s seeking re-elec-tion in the November 2018 race, and she has close ties with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“She’s an out-of-the-box candidate with progressive credentials who would excite people,” Billy Easton, execu-tive director of the Alliance for Quality Education, a public-education advocacy group, told the Journal.

Appearing on “The View” in April, Nixon blamed the gov-

ernor for a lack of funding for public schools. “I think that, basically, Governor Cuomo is

short-changing the children of New York State,” she said.

When the hosts pointed out

Cuomo’s announcement that month that New York State would offer free tuition at four-year colleges, Nixon was quick to point out the fi ne print.

“Basically, it only affects families that make between US$75,000 and US$125,000 a year,” Nixon said. “And it doesn’t apply to people who go part-time, which means they might have to work while they’re there, or they don’t graduate in four years, or they’re dreamers.”

The actress has already played a large role in New York City politics, particularly since 2014 when de Blasio placed her on the advisory board for the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City. Earlier the same year, Christine Marinoni, Nixon’s wife, became the special adviser for commu-nity partnerships with the city’s Department of Education. But fans shouldn’t get their hopes up. The Wall Street Journal reported analysts as saying that while Nixon’s candidacy “would spark fanfare, it remains a long shot.”

Nixon’s representatives declined to comment on the reports. (SD-Agencies)

‘Aladdin’MARWAN KANZARI, the actor who is poised to break through as part of the all-star cast of the upcoming “Murder on the Orient Express,” is in negotiations to star as the villain in Disney’s live-action remake of Aladdin.

At the same time, former “Saturday Night Live” comedi-enne Nasim Pedrad has landed a role created specifi cally for the new movie.

Will Smith is toplining as the wish-granting genie while Mena Massoud will play the title character, a street rat who ends up over his head when he pretends to be a prince in order to win the hand of Princess Jas-mine, played by Naomi Scott.

‘Ibiza’“GAME of Thrones” and “Cin-derella” star Richard Madden is heading to “Ibiza.” The actor joins Gillian Jacobs, Phoebe Robinson and Vanessa Bayer in the feature comedy, which is set up at Netfl ix.

With a script by Lauren Kahn, the story follows a woman (Jacobs) who goes on a business trip to Spain to close a big deal but instead fi nds her-self on a wild ride of partying and clubbing, where she falls in love with a world-famous DJ and realizes there is more to life than showing up to a job she hates.

‘Pulse’NEW Line Cinema has picked up “Pulse,” a unique superhero-crime project that sees produc-ers Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen of 21 Laps reteaming with their “Stranger Things” writer Jessie Nickson-Lopez.

Nickson-Lopez developed a pitch that adapts “Pulse,” an upcoming novel by Michael Harvey. She will write the script. The story follows a teenager investigating the murder of his older brother alongside the police. During this period, and with the help of a mysterious mentor, the young man begins developing a unique ability that helps him uncover the truth and protect himself along the way.

‘Annihilation’PARAMOUNT has set a Feb. 23, 2018 release date for “Anni-hilation,” the adaptation of the acclaimed sci-fi novel from Jeff VanderMeer.

The fi lm, directed by Alex Garland, stars Natalie Port-man as the lead character, an unnamed biologist sent on a special mission.

In the novel, the government sends expeditions to Area X, an uninhabited land in which unexplainable things happen. Those who enter Area X either don’t live long or return not quite as themselves. The novel “Annihilation” is the fi rst book in VanderMeer’s “Southern Reach” trilogy, which debuted in 2014.

(SD-Agencies)

At a Glance

THE music video for the No. 1 hit song “Despacito” has a new record — it’s become the most popular clip on YouTube of all-time with more than three billion views.

YouTube announced Friday that Luis Fonsi’s ubiquitous song with Daddy Yankee has surpassed previous record holder “See You Again,” the song by Wiz Khalifa and Char-lie Puth from the “Furious 7” soundtrack.

“Despacito” became an international smash hit this year, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The record-breaking video does not include the pop-ular remix with Justin Bieber; that version has been viewed more than 464 million times.

“Despacito” is on track to become the fi rst video to reach three billion views on YouTube.

The video is also the most “liked” video on YouTube.

(SD-Agencies)

‘Despacito’ becomes most viewed on YouTube

In this April 27, 2017 fi le photo, singers Luis Fonsi (L) and Daddy Yankee perform during the Latin Billboard Awards in Coral Gables, Florida. SD-Agencies

SWITZERLAND has picked “The Divine Order,” a feel-good drama about the fi ght for women’s suffrage in Europe’s last patriarchal holdout, as its entry for the 2018 foreign-lan-guage Oscar race.

The fi lm chronicles Switzer-land’s long-suffering suffrag-ettes, who fi nally won women the right to vote in 1971. Marie Leuenberger stars as a young housewife and mother living in a Swiss village who gets caught up in the campaign.

Directed by Petra Volpe, “The Divine Order” premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it won an audience award, as well as actress honors for Leuen-berger and the festival’s Nora Ephron Prize for Volpe.

At home, the movie has a been a box-offi ce smash, selling more than 300,000 tickets for a total box offi ce of some US$4.5 mil-lion, a huge fi gure for the tiny Alpine nation. Switzerland has punched above its weight at the Oscars, with fi ve nominations and two Academy Awards in the foreign-language category: in 1984 for Richard Dembo’s “Dangerous Moves” and for Xavier Koller’s “Journey of Hope” in 1990.

The 90th Academy Awards will be held in Los Angeles on March 4, 2018. (SD-Agencies)

Switzerland selects ‘The

Divine Order’ for Oscar