Solo Sunny review – a rueful East German gem of ambition, loneliness and faded dreams

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Konrad Wolf’s 1980 drama follows a singer trying to escape the drab compromises of GDR life, capturing the melancholy of thwarted ambition with warmth and wit The terrible sadness, tattiness and poisoned idealism of the old GDR is preserved as if in a time capsule in this East German film from 1980; it could be a kind of B-side to Bob Fosse’s Cabaret. The heroine, would-be solo pop singer Sunny, is told by her ungallant MC that she is no Liza Minnelli; Cabaret fans might well incidentally recognise here the brusque German word “bumsen”. Solo Sunny is the work of Konrad “Koni” Wolf, a director with an impressive and strange pedigree: he was a garlanded state-sanctioned artist in East Germany, much admired at the Berlin film festival, whose older brother Markus happened to be one of the highest-ranking officials in the Stasi. It makes Wolf the second most politically compromised German film-maker in history. (The disillusioned communist East German character in Jenny Erpenbeck’s novel Ka...
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James Earl Jones Withdraws His “Star Wars” Voice Role

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The 91-year-old actor has given his blessing for his voice to be used in digital recreations of the renowned villain he has played for over 40 years by Lucasfilm and Disney. It was reported in an article by Vanity Fair that a Ukrainian start-up company called Respeecher has been working with Lucasfilm for years to generate the distinctive voice Jones used 45 years ago. However, age has had a noticeable effect on the actor's voice, and he no longer plays the role of Darth Vader as frequently as he once did. Since the debut of the first Star Wars movie in 1977, which was later given the subtitle A New Hope, Jones has provided the voice for the powerful Darth Vader. Although he has never worn the outfit, helmet, or cape, he has offered memorable words to characters like Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker, such as the reveal in the sequel that "I am your father." Respeecher can generate fresh discourse by employing the voices of performers from the past by utilizing archive recordings and an artificial intelligence system. According to Matthew Wood of Skywalker Sound, who Vanity Fair interviewed, Jones has been recorded "dozens of times." Wood reported that he had mentioned that he was considering how to conclude the story involving this particular character. Consequently, what should our next step be? Jones has given his approval on the technology. Still, he has continued to oversee the acts utilized in current Star Wars offerings, the most recent of which is the series Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+. Wood considers Jones to be a kind of godfather figure in his life. Jones's representatives did not immediately react to a request for comment from PEOPLE seeking clarification as to whether the actor will be leaving the role fully or continuing in this advisory position.

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