Can you date someone with opposing political views? Film producers speaks out about sexist casting process and politically themed Valentine's day cards.
Love and politics: How to prevent the election from ruining your relationship
Democratic presidential candidates, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, shared a stage last night, for a debate in Milwaukee.
As expected, things got testy at times — like when Clinton talked about how she would pay for $100 billion in new policy proposals:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcnv_3GYvk4
Clashes like this one can make a debate more entertaining, but bickering over politics can become a lot less fun when it happens in the home.
What do you do when you like one candidate, but your honey prefers another?
Take Two put that question to dating coach, Damona Hoffman. She penned a guide during the 2012 presidential election and returned with some updates.
Press the blue play button above to hear the interview.
Pope Francis' trip to Mexico not welcomed by all
Pope Francis is scheduled to begin his 5-day trip to Mexico today, fresh from a historic meeting with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Cuba.
He's set to visit some of the most troubled areas of the country. From the state of Michoacán, where armed civilian groups have risen up to counter violent drug gangs to the border city of Ciudad Júarez, once the murder capital of the world.
Along the way, he'll trace the migration route of asylum-seekers, fleeing violence in Central America. The trip could raise some important issues for Mexicans, but it's not being greeted warmly by all.
For more, we're joined by reporter Verónica Calderon, she's with the New York Times en Español in Mexico City.
To hear the full interview, press the blue play button above.
Fatal shooting of 1-year-old girl rocks Compton community
The parents of a one-year-old girl shot dead by a stray bullet in Compton say they're heartbroken.
Questions are being asked about the death of Autumn Johnson, but some in the community say there's reluctance for people to point the finger at the killer.
Compton Mayor Aja Brown, church leaders and community members met Thursday night to address gang violence in the area.
Take Two's Deepa Fernandes spoke with social commentator and political advisor Jasmyne Cannick, who grew up in Compton, about Tuesday's shooting and the community's reaction.
To hear the full interview, click the link above.
Deadpool writers on getting their vision 'vindicated'
If you've driven alongside a bus lately, chances are you've seen ads featuring cheeky slogans featuring a man in a snug-fitting head-to-toe red leather body suit.
These ads are for the new film about a man named Wade Wilson, played by Ryan Reynolds.
He's been diagnosed with cancer and one night he meets a mysterious man who gives him a way out of his death sentence.
Eventually, Wade takes that offer and becomes Deadpool - perhaps the snarkiest superhero ever seen on the silver screen.
Take Two's Alex Cohen spoke with the men who carefully crafted all of his R-rated lines, screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.
The two first started writing the film almost a decade ago. Unfortunately, a number of outside factors got in the way of their passion project seeing the light of day.
They say that just made the film finally getting released all the more satisfying.
Paul Wernick on learning more about Deadpool
We came across the character in 2009 when we first auditioned for the job. We're comic book guys, but the 90's passed us by. We had grown up a little bit and just weren't as into comics as we were when we were kids. When the job became available we educated ourselves on the comics. We poured through all the runs. And it was a character that was so refreshing to us. He's an anti-hero, he's not even a super hero. He breaks the fourth wall and he turns the genre on its head. We really fell in love with the character on the first read.
Rhett Reese on writing jokes with Ryan Reynolds
(Reynold's) sens of humor is very dark and twisted. I think you get that after sitting with him for ten minutes. So I think we felt very safe. We tend to like blue material and just silliness and immaturity. We're essentially teenage boys... I think all of our senses of humor was pretty much on the same page to the point where we realize we couldn't offend anyone so that was very freeing.
To hear the full interview, press the blue pay button above.
Oscar nominated Live Action shorts series: "Shok"
The disputed European territory of Kosovo has already made history at this year's Oscars.
It's bagged its first Academy Award nomination for the live action short, "Shok".
The conflict between Kosovo and Serbia in the '90s provides the backdrop to the film, as the plight of two Albanian boys unfolds
They run into trouble with Serbian thugs, their friendship is threatened, and even worse, their lives -- as the reality of their predicament becomes crystal-clear.
The story was based on the experiences of "Shok" producer and one of the stars of the film, Eshref Durmishi.
A Martinez spoke to him along with writer/director Jaime Donoughue. He started off by asking them how they celebrated their oscar nomination
Audio coming soon.
The next hope for an Alzheimer's cure is a pill
Aging is something that happens, to all of us. But aging well, sadly, is not.
According to a new report in Time Magazine, nearly 50 million people worldwide suffer from dementia - much of which is caused by Alzheimer's.
Researchers have searched and searched for cures to this disease but, so far, none has been found.
The latest hope, however, comes from a pill called LM 11 A-31.
Alice Park writes about it in this week's Time Magazine, in an issue devoted to longevity in aging.
Deepa Fernandes talks to Park about the treatment and the man behind it, Dr. Frank Longo.
To hear the full interview, please click on the blue player above
Film producer tweets how scripts describe women (hint: with sexism)
Ross Putman is a film producer in L.A., and he started to notice a trend in the movie scripts he read.
The first descriptions of the female lead tended to follow a pattern: they were all focused on how attractive (or unattractive) she is.
So he started tweeting them out at @FemScriptIntros, changing the characters' names to "Jane."
Like draping the Venus De Milo in a burlap dress, Jane’s sensational natural beauty fights through her plain blue Ann Taylor outfit.
— Ross Putman (@femscriptintros)
Like draping the Venus De Milo in a burlap dress, Jane’s sensational natural beauty fights through her plain blue Ann Taylor outfit.
— Ross Putman (@femscriptintros) February 10, 2016
JANE is in her mid-30s and attractive, even now with dark semi-circles underlining her closed eyes.
— Ross Putman (@femscriptintros)
JANE is in her mid-30s and attractive, even now with dark semi-circles underlining her closed eyes.
— Ross Putman (@femscriptintros) February 10, 2016
JANE (late 20s) sits hunched over a microscope. She’s attractive, but too much of a professional to care about her appearance.
— Ross Putman (@femscriptintros)
JANE (late 20s) sits hunched over a microscope. She’s attractive, but too much of a professional to care about her appearance.
— Ross Putman (@femscriptintros) February 10, 2016
JANE pours her gorgeous figure into a tight dress, slips into her stiletto-heeled fuck-me shoes, and checks herself in the dresser mirror.
— Ross Putman (@femscriptintros)
JANE pours her gorgeous figure into a tight dress, slips into her stiletto-heeled fuck-me shoes, and checks herself in the dresser mirror.
— Ross Putman (@femscriptintros) February 10, 2016
"You start to see some patterns in how Jane is seen in these scripts, and how women are seen in general," says Putman. "It's pretty dispiriting how much it's about aesthetics."
He says male leads in scripts are generally described as "handsome" or "having a 5 o'clock shadow."
"On the whole, they're given more of a benefit of a personality, whether it's they're sarcastic or they're quiet or button-down," he says. "There's more going at what's going on internally for men than for the women."
Putman tells Take Two that it can be tough to make Hollywood more welcoming to women when these descriptions are baked into the earliest form of a film through its script.
"If you're an actress trying to be in these movies and you're getting these roles and you're getting these scripts," he says, "you start to realize what your role in movies is: it's to be the object of desire or the object of affection or to fit into the male's storyline."
"The point of the point of this Twitter is not about individual writers, and it's not about shaming a single person and saying, 'go back and change your work.' It's about saying that this is a systemic issue."
To hear the full interview, press the blue play button above.
Grammy nominee Jose-Luis Orozco on his bilingual children's album
It's Grammy time.
The big awards show is this Monday, here in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. There are of course the usual headliners, but also some artists you may not have heard of before.
Jose-Luis Orozco doesn't spend a lot of time in hip clubs or on arena tours. He's most often seen performing on the local preschool and elementary school circuit.
This year he's nominated for a Grammy for Best Children's Album for ¡Come Bien! Eat Right!
The dual language album, made collaboration with Smithsonian Folkways, is all about the benefits of healthy eating:
Deepa Fernandes spoke with Orozco about the album and about how he got his start in music and in bilingual education.
To hear the full interview, click the link above.
Jose Luis-Orozco and the other children's album nominees are performing at a benefit concert this Saturday in Hollywood, CA. For tickets and more information, click here.
UCLA gymnast whips the internet into a frenzy
Last week the Internet went crazy over a video, but this time it wasn’t a cute animal or Beyonce. It was UCLA's Sophina Dejesus.
Her performance wowed the crowd and created an online frenzy. We talk about it with UCLA head gymnastics coach,
.
To hear the full interview, press the blue play button above.
Tired of corny hearts and mushy messages? These Valentine's day cards may be for you...
Looking for a card with more than love hearts and mushy messages this Valentine's Day? Writer and broadcaster, Tanzila Ahmed has a whole line of alternative, politically themed Valentine's day cards for your loved one.
These are just a sampling of the Valentine's Day cards created with Muslims in mind.
Taz Ahmed is the woman behind the idea -- and she joined the show to tell us more about them.
To hear the full interview, press the blue play button above.