If Dev Patel's life is charmed, then he's been the wizard casting his own magic spell with talent, enthusiasm and hard work. At the ripe old age of 22, this unassuming Brit has already shot to worldwide fame as Jamal Malik, an Indian Muslim boy born and raised in the poverty of Mumbai and the lovestruck hero of Danny Boyle's Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire (2008).
As of late, he's basking in golden reviews as Sonny - a name that hints at his warmth and positive energy - the young and ebullient manager of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, trading lines with British movie icons Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith and Tom Wilkinson, portraying British pensioners who wind up in less-than-luxurious quarters when they "outsource" their retirement to seemingly less expensive India.
Now Patel, linked to his Slumdog co-star Freida Pinto since 2009, has landed on the hotly anticipated new HBO series The Newsroom, the latest creation from executive producer and scriptwriter extraordinaire Aaron Sorkin(The Social Network, The West Wing).
The Newsroom takes a behind-the-scenes look at a cable-news programme at the fictional ACN Networ; Patel joins a stellar cast that includes Jeff Daniels as anchor, Sam Waterson as news boss and Jane Fonda, giving a rare appearance as the head of the network.
When senior staff quit en masse, the ACN network newsroom falls into the hands of "very young, very green people", says Sorkin. Patel plays Neil Sampat, a nerdy blog writer and news scanner who covered the London subway bombings with a camera phone.
"We cast Dev Patel as Neil," adds Sorkin, "and with a small role he was so great in the pilot that you just want to write more and more for him."
Dev Patel: in his own words
* On giving voice to Aaron Sorkin's dialogue in The Newsroom — "He's one of the most intelligent men I've ever met. I feel like I'm way too stupid to be on the show. But I'm incredibly blessed to be on it. The scripts he writes every two weeks … I don't know how he does it. They rival any movie script I've read. I can't wait for the world to see it."
* On pleasing Aaron Sorkin — "If you see white on the page with him, you're lucky. He's such a perfectionist, down to the significance of a single comma. So as an actor, to gain his trust is a beautiful thing, because he demands so much. You can't circulate — you've got to smack the nail on the head."
* On what he learnt from the acting greats — "More than anything, I learnt to just stay humble and stay intrigued. They've been in the business so long, and they still have that excitement about going to work and experiencing new things."
* On returning to India to shoot The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel — "That place is really special to me, especially after Slumdog… When I went there before, no one knew who ... I was. I wasn't a Bollywood movie star. And I went out there after doing this movie that was so dear to the nation, and everyone was so enthusiastic and well-wishing."
The Newsroom premieres on Sunday on HBO in North America; a date for the UAE is yet to be confirmed.
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Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group C
Liverpool v Napoli, midnight
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
The team
Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
Videographer: Jear Valasquez
Fashion director: Sarah Maisey
Make-up: Gulum Erzincan at Art Factory
Model: Randa at Art Factory Videographer’s assistant: Zanong Magat
Photographer’s assistant: Sophia Shlykova
With thanks to Jubail Mangrove Park, Jubail Island, Abu Dhabi
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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