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PEOPLE & ARTS Thursday 17 OcTOber 2019
'Patsy and Loretta' highlights bond between iconic singers

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Lynn's life. What not many
Writer-director Callie Khouri people are aware of is their
is drawn to stories about friendship," said Megan
female friendships and Hilty, who plays Cline. "It's
country music, and her lat- about this beautiful sup-
est television film "Patsy and portive friendship between
Loretta" combines those women and that is rarely
passions into the true story done. These stories are not
of a friendship between told in general."
two of country music's most Hilty, who is known for her
powerful voices. Broadway roles in "Wicked"
The biopic about Patsy and "9 to 5" and the TV se-
Cline and Loretta Lynn, ries "Smash," delved deep
which airs Oct. 19 on Life- into Cline's recordings and
time, centers on their videos of her performing
friendship, which has of- and read letters written by
ten been underexplored in Cline to family and friends.
country music history, at a "To play an icon of this
time when the two pioneer- magnitude is extremely
ing women's careers over- daunting," Hilty said. "But
lapped in the early '60s. she's a fascinating person.
Khouri, who wrote the clas- I'm absolutely obsessed
sic female adventure film his image released by Lifetime shows Jessie Mueller as Loretta Lynn, right, and Megan Hilty as and in love with her."
"Thelma and Louise" and Patsy Cline in a scene from the TV film, "Patsy & Loretta." The film airs on Oct. 19 on Lifetime. Jessie Mueller, who won a
brought her country music Associated Press Tony Award for her role as
drama "Nashville" to prime- Carole King in the Broad-
time television, said even country music," said Khouri. songwriter from Kentucky en. But both were dealing way musical "Beautiful,"
she was surprised to find out "I loved both of the artists just getting her footing in with industry demands on also had the challenge
that the two singers had a of course and the fact that Nashville. how they looked and sang, of capturing Lynn's well-
close friendship when her they had this really incred- Their styles were different, juggling being mothers with known Appalachian ac-
stepdaughter brought her ible bond." with Cline's powerful, al- their careers and clashing cent and phrasing.
the script. In the film, Cline is at the most theatrical voice made with husbands that liked to "There's dialect work. There's
"I was just blown away be- peak of her career with her one of country's first fight and drink. guitar work. It's a lot to try to
cause it was a time be- hits like "Walking After Mid- crossover artists, while Lynn "We all know the story of encompass the essence of
fore we really knew much night" and "I Fall to Pieces," penned songs about rural Patsy Cline's life. We all someone like Loretta Lynn,"
about any of the women in while Lynn is a young singer- life and honky-tonk wom- know the story of Loretta Mueller said.q

Vietnam bans animated 'Abominable' over South China Sea map

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — reported Monday. movie fans.
Vietnam has pulled "Abom- "We will be more alert and "It is an insult to Vietnam,"
inable" from theaters be- more vigorous in censor- said student Minh Hieu,
cause the U.S.-Chinese- ship," the head of the gov- who was looking for a mov-
made animated movie ernment's cinema depart- ie to watch on Tuesday af-
showed a map supporting ment, Nguyen Thu Ha, was ternoon.
Chinese claims to the dis- quoted as saying. Another student, Nguyen
puted South China Sea. The department is respon- Mai Huong, said: "I wouldn't
The image in one scene sible for the censorship of watch it even if it still
showed the so-called nine- all movies for violence, sex showed in the cinema. The
dash line, a vague and and unfavorable political (nine-dash) map is straight-
broken outline around the messages in authoritarian up wrong. And I am abso-
resource-rich waters China Vietnam. lutely not going to support
claims as its own territory. Trailers and other associat- it."
Those claims overlap with ed information for "Abomi- "Abominable" began play-
claims by Vietnam and nable" have been removed ing in the Philippines and
other Asian governments, from the Vietnamese dis- another South China Sea In this Sept. 7, 2019, file photo, the character Everest from the
film "Abominable" appears on the red carpet on day three of
and an international tribu- tributors' website and social claimant Taiwan in early the Toronto International Film Festival at Roy Thomson Hall in To-
nal in 2016 invalidated Chi- media channels. The mov- October. ronto.
na's vast claims in a case ie's trailer and posters were In Manila, presidential Associated Press
brought by the Philippines. removed from advertising spokesman Salvador Pane-
"Abominable," the story of screens in theaters. lo told reporters a decision the movie in the Philip- sea since President Rodrigo
a Chinese girl who helps a A Dreamworks representa- on continuing to show the pines. Locsin is known for Duterte took office in mid-
yeti get back to its home on tive did not immediately movie in the Philippines was irreverence on Twitter and 2016.
Mount Everest, is a collabo- reply to a message seeking up to a government movie the government has never Vietnam's ban of the ani-
ration between Dream- comment about the scene censorship board. clarified if his tweets ex- mated movie comes dur-
Works Animation and Chi- and Vietnam's ban. China's Foreign Secretary Teodoro press official policy or per- ing an increasingly tense
na-based Pearl Studio. Foreign Ministry has not re- Locsin Jr. in a conversation sonal views. and months-long standoff
It was shown in Vietnamese sponded to requests for on Twitter suggested cut- The Philippines has tem- between its ships and a Chi-
cinemas for a week be- comment. ting the offending scene pered its once-vocal op- nese survey vessel and es-
fore its removal, the state- The film was also met with might be better than an position to China's asser- cort ships in disputed Van-
owned Tuoi Tre newspaper criticism from Vietnamese unconstitutional ban of tive claims in the disputed guard Bank off Vietnam.q