Entertainment

Jon Fosse, A Norwegian Master Of Spare Nordic Writing, Wins The Nobel Prize In Literature

Published

1 year ago

2023-10-05

STOCKHOLM — Norwegian author Jon Fosse, whose sparse Nordic prose addresses birth, mortality, faith, and other “elementary stuff” of life, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday for “giving voice to the unsayable” writing.

The novelist and playwright stated that the award recognized “literature that first and foremost aims to be literature, without other considerations” — a philosophy expressed in dozens of cryptic plays, short stories, and novels, including a seven-volume epic composed of a single sentence.

Fosse’s work, rooted in his Norwegian heritage, “focuses on human insecurity and anxiety,” said Anders Olsson, chairman of the Nobel Literature Committee, in an interview with The Associated Press. The fundamental decisions you make in life are extremely fundamental.

Fosse, one of the most-performed dramatists in his country, stated that he had “cautiously prepared” himself for years to hear the news of his victory.

“I was both surprised and not surprised when they called,” the 64-year-old told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. It was a wonderful pleasure to receive the phone call.

WHY DID JON FOSSE RECEIVE THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE?

Author of 40 plays in addition to novels, short stories, children’s books, poetry, and essays, Fosse was recognized “for his innovative plays and prose, which give voice to the unsayable,” according to the Swedish Academy, which awards the prize.

Fosse has cited Samuel Beckett, the 1969 Nobel laureate in literature, as influencing his minimalist approach. Beckett is an Irish writer whose work is dark and enigmatic.

Fosse has also taught writing — Karl Ove Knausgaard, the best-selling Norwegian novelist, was one of his students — and consulted on a Norwegian Bible translation.

Guy Puzey, senior lecturer in Scandinavian Studies at the University of Edinburgh, remarked, “He tends to write in a fairly sparse style.” There is a great deal of repetition of relatively basic expressions, which then take on a much deeper meaning and cause the reader to ponder what lies between the lines.

What is the language of Nynorsk?
Although Fosse is the fourth Norwegian author to receive the Nobel Prize, he is the first to do so in nearly a century and the first to write in Nynorsk, one of the two official written forms of the Norwegian language. According to the Language Council of Norway, it is used by only 10% of the country’s 5,4 million inhabitants but is completely understandable to Bokmaal users.

Still, according to Puzey, Bokmaal is “the language of power, the language of urban centers, and the language of the press.” In contrast, most of those who speak Nynorsk live in rural western Norway.

“This is a monumental day for a minority language,” he stated.

Lubna Jaffery, the culture minister of Norway, told the news agency NTB that it was “a historic day for the Nynorsk language and Nynorsk literature” and that it had been 95 years since a Norwegian author had won the Nobel Prize for literature.

The prize was awarded to Bjrnstjerne Bjrnsson in 1903, Knut Hamsun in 1920, and Sigrid Undset in 1928.

Fosse was granted an honorary residence on the premises of the Royal Palace in 2011 in recognition of his cultural contributions to Norway.

WHAT WROTE JON FOSSE?

His first novel, “Red, Black,” was released in 1983, and his first play, “Someone Is Going to Come,” was produced in 1992.

Olsson characterized “A New Name: Septology VI-VII” as Fosse’s magnum opus, and it was a 2022 International Booker Prize finalist. The seven-volume exploration of life, mortality, and spirituality contains no sentence breaks.

His other significant works of prose include “Melancholy;” and “Morning and Evening,” whose two segments depict a birth and a death, accompanied by “Wakefulness” and “Olav’s Dreams.”

His plays include “The Name,” “Dream of Autumn,” and “I Am the Wind,” which have been performed in Europe and the United States.

Mats Malm, the academy’s permanent secretary, called Fosse to inform him of his victory. He reported that the author, who resides in the western Norwegian city of Bergen, was driving in the countryside and promising to return home safely.

Fosse told TV2: “As I stand here, I feel a little numb but am, of course, overjoyed by this great honour.”

SHOULD I BE FAMILIAR WITH JON FOSSE?

Even though his books have been translated into dozens of languages and his plays have been performed worldwide, some critics may view Fosse as a secure, classic Nobel choice: A gentleman from Europe with little name recognition outside of tiny literary circles.

The prize has been criticized for a long time for focusing too heavily on European and North American authors of style-heavy, plot-light prose. Among its 119 laureates, only 17 women, including last year’s victor, the French author Annie Ernaux.

Others note that in recent years, the prize has been awarded to a diverse group of critically acclaimed and commercially successful authors, such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Alice Munro. The most popular selection by the committee, 2016 laureate Bob Dylan, provoked much controversy and debate over whether his lyrics were literary.

The Nobel Prize contains a monetary award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) due to a legacy made by the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. At the December award ceremonies, the winners receive an 18-karat gold medal and a diploma.

___SOURCE – (AP)

Entertainment

Gladiator II Rakes in $87 Million in Weekend Debut

Published

6 days ago

2024-11-18

Geoff Brown

Despite not playing in theaters in the United States, Canada, and China until this coming Friday, Gladiator II earned $87 million over the weekend, which is the best foreign opening for a Ridley Scott film to date.

Last week, the picture premiered in 63 countries, including the UK, and grossed $11.4 million from 722 theatres. Particularly impressive was its performance in France, where it raised $10.3 million from 729 outlets.

But this one is a little weaker compared to February’s smash hit sequel, Dune: Part Two, which grossed $97 million worldwide in its opening weekend. At the same time, Deadpool & Wolverine made $233 million for Disney, while Inside Out 2 for Pixar grossed $140 million.

The Fall Guy, an action comedy starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, earned $36.7 million in its opening weekend worldwide, while Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga earned $30 million.

Last Monday, King Charles III attended a screening of Gladiator II in London, capping off a weeks-long worldwide press tour for the film’s cast and production. A Mexican biscuit brand, Rome’s public transportation system, and a German bank VR are just a few multinational brands it has teamed up with to boost its visibility.

In Australia, dessert merchant Oliver Brown offered a special edition of pistachio-heavy puds and drinks dubbed the Emperor’s Collection. The Gladiator II salted caramel latte is available at French Coffee Shop, a business in Paris.

After poor statistics for Venom: The Last Dance and The Rock’s comedy Red One, which premiered worldwide last week, fans hope that Scott’s delayed sequel can lift the global box office for the last month and a half of the year.

Some are predicting a Barbenheimer-style struggle for the top spot in the US box office when Gladiator II and the highly anticipated musical Wicked premiere on the same day, even though double-bill events are unlikely to be very popular.

Gladiator Star Russell Crowe Honored in Rome

Gladiator Star Russell Crowe Honored in Rome

Entertainment

Blizzard’s Remastered Versions Of Warcraft 1 And 2 Are Now Available On PCs.

Published

2 weeks ago

2024-11-13

Salman Ahmad

Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment

(VOR News) – It has been said by Blizzard that it does not intend to remake Warcraft 1 and 2 since the company believes that these games are “just not that fun any longer.”

When the corporation first made this declaration, it has been almost exactly eight years since it was delivered.

However, the firm has only recently made the news that it will be doing precisely that, and as part of the celebrations for Warcraft’s 30th anniversary, both of the remastered versions are now available to play. The celebrations did not start until today.

The public first played Warcraft in 1994.

This game played a significant role in Blizzard’s rise to the top of the competition. In the year that followed, Warcraft 2 was hastily created in order to suit the requirements of the burgeoning fanbase that the first Warcraft had established.

Additionally, the company has just disclosed that they will be remastering the games, and these remasters will contain a variety of additions to the traditional real-time strategic action that is included in the games.

The initial stage of these enhancements to the development process consists of a new collection of hand-drawn pictures that may be toggled on and off in real time. The artistic style of the originals has been said to be completely captured by these photos, according to the assertions made.

Specifically, Blizzard has implemented “modern controls” for Warcraft 1, which include the option to move with a right click, the ability to pick bounding boxes, and a faster progression rate.

These features are all present in the Warcraft game.

The alterations that have been made include these, however they are not the only ones. It is important to note that these changes have been introduced in addition to the user interface and user experience enhancements that have been implemented throughout both games.

Tool tips, health bars, mission decision screens, and increased unit selection are some of the enhancements that have been introduced in this version of the game. As an additional feature, the multiplayer mode that was included in the first version of Warcraft 2 is still included in the remastered version of the game.

As an additional point of interest, each and every one of the legacy custom maps is entirely compatible with the new edition and may be played in the same capacity.

Despite the fact that there is currently no information regarding whether or not Warcraft 1 Remastered and Warcraft 2 Remastered will eventually be made available on other markets, both of these remastered versions of the game are currently available for purchase on Battle.net for personal computers at prices of $9.99 and $14.99, respectively.

Both of these versions of the game are remastered versions of the original game. A Battle Chest bundle is also available for purchase, and it can be purchased for the price of $39.99. All of the titles that have been remastered are included in this bundle, in addition to Blizzard’s Warcraft 3: Reforged, which has been met with a considerable deal of criticism.

Blizzard has been making continual efforts to improve the game ever since it was first made available to the public in the year 2020.

This is despite the fact that the game was met with poor reviews practically immediately after it was released. An entirely new upgrade, version 2.0, is currently being made available to all gamers without delay.

One of the numerous enhancements to the quality of life that are included in this is “much, much more,” in addition to a wide range of options for personalizing the hockey experience within the game and a new ladder.

In addition to the high-definition versions of all of the older Warcraft assets, these upgrades also include new environments and lighting, a redesigned user interface, and a variety of other enhancements.

SOURCE: EG

Entertainment

Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 Returns Without Kevin Costner

Published

2 weeks ago

2024-11-11

Geoff Brown

Yellowstone is finally returning for the second half of its fifth season without Kevin Costner

Yellowstone will finally return for the second half of its fifth season. We have a lot to speak about, such as recalling what is going on in this program, Kevin Costner’s departure, and whether or not season 5, part 2, will truly end Yellowstone.

Season 5 Part 1 ended on a cliffhanger—we could be in for a full-fledged Dutton family civil war—and we’ve been waiting for nearly two years.

A quick recap: nothing changes from how this program usually goes, except it’s a little more intense. Beth Dutton (Kelly Reilly) despised Jamie Dutton. Jamie Dutton (Wes Bentley) despised Beth Dutton.

That has always been the case since childhood trauma, but now things have escalated. Their father, John Dutton (Kevin Costner), is now Montana’s Governor, and Jamie, who should be his top legal thinker, is played by a group of local businessmen known as Market Equities.

Anyway, Jamie and Beth are attempting to kill each other, and John appears to be leaning toward Beth’s side.

Given Kevin Costner’s public exit from the program, part 2 of season 5 will be especially noteworthy. Long story short, he departed to make his Horizon films and never returned.

So, how will Yellowstone pick up the tale without John? That much is unknown, which adds to the season’s appeal!

Of course, our other characters continue to do what they do. Rip (Cole Hauser) is doing his Rip thing. Kayce (Luke Grimes) oversees the ranch. His wife, Monica (Kelsey Asbille), is still grieving the loss of their unborn son.

But we do have some high stakes to pick up—and they will begin on Sunday, November 10th, whether Kevin Costner appears on screen or not.

Another twist: While we believed season 5 would conclude the Yellowstone story, part 2 is in the works.

There have also been suggestions that Yellowstone could return for a sixth season, starring Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly as Rip and Beth. Hmm, certainly!

Yellowstone’s fifth season, part 2, will air each episode of the truncated half-season on Sunday nights at 8:00 PM EST.

The episodes will then be shown on linear TV, Hulu with Live TV, or the Paramount Network website and app for those with a cable subscription. The premiere will also re-air on CBS at 10:00 p.m. EST.

Yellowstone season 5, part 2, will consist of six episodes, the first of which is currently accessible to watch and stream. That implies the series might end with five more episodes of Western family drama.