What with the Golden Globes, the Oscars, the Baftas and the host of other award ceremonies jamming up their calendars, it’s a wonder that the stars of stage, screen and television ever have time to act.
Plus, as British comedian Ricky Gervais liked to point out on each of the four occasions he presented the annual Golden Globes ceremony in Los Angeles, watching the impossibly wealthy and glamorous patting each other on the back year after year can be a little sick-making.
That was why in 2010, after 66 years of handing out its Golden Globes with little more than a deferential bow, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association appointed the controversial Gervais as its first host, hoping to dilute the mutual appreciation and make the awards more palatable in the era of post-modern irony.
But with a host of stars offended since 2010 by the hilariously disrespectful Gervais – particularly and repeatedly merciless towards Mel Gibson – and double-act Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, the news that "nice guy" Jimmy Fallon, host of The Tonight Show, would be fronting the Globes this Sunday appeared to signal that enough was enough.
Yes, NBC Entertainment chair Robert Greenblatt acknowledged when he announced 42-year-old Fallon’s appointment over the summer, the Golden Globes were “the most spontaneous and uninhibited award show on television” (or, as Gervais put it in 2012, “just like the Oscars, but without all that esteem”). But the claim that Fallon’s “playful, disarming comedic brilliance makes him the ideal host to … elevate the sense of fun and irreverence” rang a little hollow.
If even higher levels of irreverence was really what the producers were seeking, they should have stuck with Gervais. By his own admission, Fallon is a fan, rather than a tormentor, of the famous. As New York magazine has observed, his is "the comedy of unabashed celebration", rather than withering disdain.
Born James Thomas Fallon in Brooklyn in 1974, to working-class parents of mixed Irish, German and Norwegian ancestry, the Fallon family moved 160 kilometres north to the town of Saugerties when he was just 1.
Raised a Catholic, for a while he considered becoming a priest. By his teens, however, he had become "obsessed" with Saturday Night Live, the long-running NBC current-affairs comedy show that has given countless big-name comedians and actors their break. He would always watch SNL alone, he once recalled: "I just didn't want anyone ruining my experience."
By the time he went to a Catholic college in upstate New York, study was a formality, and Fallon's energies were going into his weekend stand-up comedy gigs, which he saw as training for SNL. Eventually, he dropped out and moved to Los Angeles.
"If I saw a shooting star, I would wish to be on Saturday Night Live," Fallon told The New York Times in 2013. "I had no other plan," he previously told Rolling Stone. When he did find himself actually on the show at the age of 23, "I thought: 'Wow. I should be a motivational speaker. It really can happen.'"
It happened in 1998, after he auditioned for the show for the second time, with a series of impressions of actors and musicians. He stayed for six seasons, building a reputation as SNL's "cleverest and cutest cast member", before moving on in 2004.
Next stop, following in the footsteps of other SNL alumni, such as Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell and Eddie Murphy, was Hollywood, but it was a step too far for Fallon. He starred in two films, Taxi (2004) and Fever Pitch (2005), but both bombed, leaving him aimless for a few years.
In 2009, Lorne Michaels, the creator of SNL, threw him a lifeline – the high-profile job as host of Late Night as successor to Conan O'Brien, who in turn was taking over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno. Michaels said he was drawn to Fallon's "generosity". As the anchor of SNL's regular Weekend Update segment, Fallon had "never felt diminished by other people being funny. The opposite."
As a dab hand with a guitar and also capable of holding a tune, Fallon's routine has always included affectionate impressions and even duets with rock stars – when he hosted the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards in 2010 he opened with a Bruce Springsteen-meets-Glee-inspired musical number.
Fallon was "a classic", Neil Young wrote in his 2012 autobiography. "He does me so well, I don't have to bother anymore." That year, Fallon's musical-comedy collaborations with the likes of Paul McCartney, Springsteen and others were released as Blow Your Pants Off, which won a Grammy for Best Comedy Album.
The secret of Fallon's popularity is what one critic described as his "unguarded ebullience, his very inability to affect [Tonight Show legend Johnny] Carson cool". This was never more apparent than when he concluded an interview with Paul McCartney in 2013 with the words "You're one of my idols – I love you so much".
From anyone else, it would have been obsequious. From "Mr Sunshine" Fallon, commented Vanity Fair, "it was adorable". When Fallon took over from Jay Leno as the sixth host of NBC's flagship The Tonight Show in February 2014, the magazine described him as a "sweet, childlike … seemingly guileless man".
Which, it seems, is what audiences want – especially the all-important younger viewers drawn to Fallon, as reflected in his 44 million Twitter following. So far under his stewardship, The Tonight Show has gone from strength to strength as the champion of late-night US network television – it's something of a packed field, with more than 20 contenders.
Such has been Fallon’s success, last year NBC announced the seat was his until at least 2021. Small wonder that occasional carping at Fallon’s nice-guy routine is water off a duck’s back.
Many observers criticised Fallon's kid-gloves interview with Donald Trump in September during the American presidential race – it was "an embarrassment", said Atlantic magazine. Unabashed, Fallon responded: "Have you seen my show? I'm never too hard on anyone."
No one expects Fallon to channel Gervais, who famously began his farewell Golden Globes opening speech last year with the words: “I’m going to do this monologue and then go into hiding.” But with the pressure on to “elevate the sense of fun and irreverence”, stepping into Gervais’s shoes might well demand a change of pace from Mr Nice Guy. Will it prove to be too soon for Mel Gibson to show his face again at the Los Angeles Beverly Hilton?
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
