While North Korea has denounced "The Interview," the country has its own film industry with a not-so-rosy portrayals of Americans. Plus, a new warning on prenatal screenings, and Charles' Phoenix's Christmas cake ideas.
President Obama's criticism on Sony canceling 'The Interview'
President Barack Obama doubled down on his criticism of Sony Pictures in an interview with CNN on Sunday. He told CNN's Candy Crowley the move set a dangerous precedent of allowing a foreign dictator to disrupt our business and censor our expression.
Jonathan Allen, who has been reporting on this topic for Bloomberg News, has more.
Sony cyber-attack brings out Hollywood Schadenfreude
November's massive Sony hack exposed the social security numbers, personal bank information, and salary histories of over 100,000 employees. But it also revealed unsavory commentary from some of Hollywood's top players -- and that's what's garnering the most attention.
The emails leaked run the gamut from snarky and distasteful to downright offensive. Just a sampling of them exposes Channing Tatum gloating over the success of "22 Jumpstreet" (let's just say he sure does like the word HA!), Oscar-winning producer Scott Rudin ranting about Angelina Jolie, (calling her a "minimally talented spoiled brat"), and gender pay disparities among Hollywood's top actors.
President Obama and the FBI have taken the Sony hack seriously, and some in the media have suggested that the focus should be on how vulnerable companies are to such attacks. Yet, much of the coverage has focused on the name calling and private pandering in the emails of Hollywood's elite. Has the mainstream media lost sight of the significance of this attack?
Tom Carson writes about this in "Black Christmas: Scandal, Schadenfreude, and the Spectacle of the Sony Hack" for Grantland. He joins Take Two to talk about the hack and why it pleases us to observe, as he writes, "the destruction of more working relationships between fundamentally unpleasant rich people than you could shake an Oscar at."
How are Americans portrayed in North Korean films?
The cyber attack against Sony over the release of "The Interview" has stirred a lot of debate about whether U.S. filmmakers went too far with their portrayal of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The North Korean government denounced the film as a "most blatant act of terrorism and war." But is this a case of the pot calling the kettle black?
Turns out North Korea has its own film industry and let's just say their portrayal of Americans is less than flattering.
Paul Fischer, a film producer and author of the upcoming book "A Kim Jong-Il Production," joins Take Two to discuss the mostly secret world of North Korean filmmaking.
Secret screenings in support of The Interview take place globally
The fallout from Sony cancelling the original show date of The Interview continues. North Korea has denied involvement and President Obama has pledged a "proportional response."
In the meantime, some independent movie houses are weighing in with what they called a secret screening event Sunday.
For more, we're joined by Hadrian Belove, executive director of Cinefamily.
Four months after ceasefire, many Gazans still displaced amid damaged city
This weekend, tensions rose again between Hamas and Israel after both sides exchanged rocket fire. It was the first time such an exchange occurred since a cease-fire in August ended two months of conflict.
This past summer was a brutal one in the region – especially in the area of Gaza.
That's where more than 2,000 people were killed by Israeli strikes, three-fourths of them were civilians, according to UN figures.
As part of our look back at the top stories of the year, we reached out again to Lara Aburamadan.
She's a photojournalist living in Gaza City. Along with her husband, Jehad Saftawi, they live-streamed the view from their 11th floor apartment during the summer's conflict.
Much of it is still fresh in their minds, said Saftawi.
"The sound of the airstrikes, the bombardments, the sound of the warplanes," said Saftawi. "I don't want to remember all these details."
Four months later, many residents are still seeking basic services, like housing, said the couple.
"They are trying to find shelter," said Aburamadan. "They don't have anywhere to go."
The bombings in Gaza destroyed or damaged more than 113,000 homes in Gaza, affecting 13 percent of houses, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA. During the conflict, the Israeli Defense Forces said it employed unmanned drones, or UAVs, "in order to prevent civilian casualties."
Listen to Lara and Jehad's previous interview with Take Two during the height of the conflict: Gaza couple live streams sights and sounds of city under seige
Prenatal testing accuracy called into question
Prenatal testing is intended to give parents-to-be early warnings of potential problems and conditions which can be fatal to a fetus.
But new research from the New England Center for Investigative Reporting finds companies are over-selling the accuracy of their tests and not doing enough to educate parents and physicians alike about the risks of false alarms.
The Center's Beth Daley joins the show for more. You can read her full article here.
Children's Christmas, Hanukah books to revamp holiday storytime
Looking for an offbeat holiday story to refresh your tired repertoire of "Night Before Christmas" and "Frosty the Snowman"?
Children's librarian Mara Alpert brings us her favorite holiday children's books for all ages.
These books include:
- Mrs. Claus Takes a Vacation by Linas Alsenas, ISBN 0439779782
- Christmas Parade by Sandra Boynton, ISBN 9781442468139
- Guess Who's Coming to Santa's For Dinner? by Tomie DePaola, ISBN 0399242716
- The Santa Trap, by Jonathan Emmett, ISBN 9781561456703
- How Santa Really Works by Alan Snow, ISBN 0689858175
- D is for Dreidel by Tanya Lee Stone, ISBN 0843145765
- Frankenstein's Fright Before Christmas by Rick Walton (aka Ludworst Bemonster), ISBN 9780312553678
- How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah? by Jane Yolen, ISBN 9780545416771
Charles Phoenix makes his crazy candy cane cake
Christmas is just a few days a way and if you're bored with traditional ginger bread cookies and fruitcakes, boy do we have some treats for you! A crazy candy cane cake is the latest culinary concoction from the test kitchen of our friend, Charles Phoenix.
Check out his recipe here. And if you want to see him make the cake - take a look at his appearance on The Queen Latifah Show, below.
http://youtu.be/9HH-QCHzZ4Y?t=3s
Frosty, Rudolph, the Grinch and... the Red Raider?
Christmas is a time for familiar stories like Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and The Grinch who Stole Christmas.
But some of the best holiday tales often never make it mainstream. Like the one KPCC listener Bob Weis grew up with as a kid, called "The Red Raider."
"The Red Raider" is a short story written by Frank Kingston Smith. It first appeared in an aviation publication called Flying Magazine back in 1962. The story takes place one Christmas Eve, when the skies erupted with chatter as pilots reported an unidentified flying object.
Weis says his father used to read the story to him and his siblings every Christmas Eve. "We just were riveted by it because it was in a magazine. It was by a noted pilot so it had to be real. We never doubted it."
Now Weis and his wife Diane have put together a contemporized version of the story, complete with narration from Weis's parents and actor Patrick Warburton (of "Seinfeld" and "Family Guy" fame):
While the audio version is a little more modern, Weis says, "I think it's still very heartwarming. It kind of takes you back to a romantic view of Santa Claus and Christmas."
He says what's been great about this new version is that "we get a lot of comments, I think they're mostly from kids, who debate when they see whether or not its real. And it has its own life as a result of that."