Andrew Garfield must feel like the luckiest man alive. A Bafta-winner, he has already shared the screen with everyone from Robert Redford to Heath Ledger and Keira Knightley. But all that must feel insignificant next to his latest achievement: winning the lead role in The Amazing Spider-Man. Forget the fame and fortune that comes with playing the iconic superhero, for the 28-year-old Garfield, this is the culmination of a lifelong ambition. "I dreamed of becoming Spider-Man when I was a kid," he says.
He's not joking, either. From dressing up like him at Halloween to taking up gymnastics to emulating his acrobatics, his childhood was filled with Spider-Man hero worship. Growing up in England, in the quiet middle-class town of Guildford, he felt like Spider-Man's teenage alter-ego Peter Parker - an outcast who was bullied at school. "That's why everyone loves this character so much," says Garfield. "He's just the most universally normal, teenage kid - rebelling, and kicking out against his hormones and situation."
It didn't stop there. Garfield can remember being 19 and watching Sam Raimi's 2002 Spider-Man twice, back-to-back, then reciting the dialogue with a friend. No wonder he's super-charged to play the role, even if it means following Tobey Maguire, who played the character in Raimi's US$2.5 billion (Dh9.18bn) grossing trilogy. Intimidating? "Yeah, just like it would be intimidating to play Hamlet after Laurence Olivier, or Ben Whishaw or Rory Kinnear or Jude Law," he nods. "Of course it is. But you just have to make it as personal to you as possible."
If the cynics will sneer at the opportunism of rebooting a franchise that saw Maguire last play the character just five years ago, there are differences - from the new villain (Rhys Ifans as Dr Curt Connors aka The Lizard) to the love interest (Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy). Today, looking trim in a maroon suit, Garfield's natural athleticism - gymnastics aside, he loves surfing, swimming, rock climbing and skateboarding - makes him a more natural fit for the character than Maguire.
While the purists will complain that Spider-Man's latest incarnation is British, at least Garfield can point to the fact that he was born in California, which is where his father is from. His family moved to England when he was three and his parents ran an interior design business.
Garfield studied acting at London's Central School of Speech and Drama before graduating to parts in British TV shows like Doctor Who, a Bafta-winning turn in Channel 4 film Boy A and a starring role opposite Robert Redford in his 2007 film Lions For Lambs.
Yet Garfield's artistic leanings, and how he'd handle them, were in evidence much earlier. "I used to draw so much as a kid," he recalls. "I remember there was one day, my mum and dad saw something I drew and I got the first bit of praise for something I did. They put it on the fridge, and suddenly I was like 'That felt so good!' So then your creativity is stripped. You start to tailor everything to getting on the fridge! So I stopped that."
It sounds trivial, but it highlights what an instinctive performer Garfield is - for him, it's about the process, not the praise. Which may explain why he's indifferent to all the plaudits that will surely come in the wake of playing Spider-Man. "That's hypothetical," he shrugs. "You don't know that. You can guess that. In the same breath, I can guess people won't be interested at all. It's totally hypothetical. Who knows what the future holds? I have absolutely no idea."
While Hollywood is awash with rumours that Garfield and co-star Emma Stone are dating, the actor isn't about to confirm or deny. "My life is very separate to my work," he says. "I don't need to talk about who I am in my day-to-day. I don't think it would be good for me as an actor, because I don't want people to know much about me, because it doesn't really matter. I'm not interested in me, and I don't think other people should be interested in me."
A period of re-adjustment to the spotlight will undoubtedly be required. For the moment, despite starring as the Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin in The Social Network, Garfield doesn't have a Facebook account or a major Twitter presence. "Certain people use that well, and want people to know about them, and they want to be connected with the people that are watching them in films," he acknowledges. "But for me, I put all of that [energy] into work."
If it makes him sound a little precious, having worked on The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Heath Ledger's last film before he died from an overdose of prescription drugs, Garfield must be aware of the corrosive effects of fame. But he has other ideas for the after-effects of The Amazing Spider-Man. "If you can inspire kids to look after each other, and to maybe consider next time they want to throw a punch in a schoolyard, then that's an awesome message."
• The Amazing Spider-Man opens across the UAE today
Suiting up
It's the suit that makes the man, they say and Andrew Garfield knows that only too well. Donning Spider-Man's famous all-in-one red-and-blue outfit was no mean feat - not least because it took 20 minutes to pull on. "I think we got it down to 10 [minutes] but at the beginning, it was just hell," he laughs. "You had to bend yourself and contort yourself." Looking to create a less muscular look, costume designer Kym Barrett took inspiration from the stretchy wind-resistant fabrics worn by cyclists and Winter Olympics athletes. Problem is, once Garfield was in it, it was impossible to go to the bathroom. "I had to exhibit great bladder control. The suit was designed very beautifully, but not with a human being in mind, with functioning body parts that needed respite! So yeah, it was rough!" In total, 56 suits were made - 17 for Garfield and the rest for the stuntmen, all designed to show different stages of duress (some with claw marks, some with broken web-shooters and so on). To date, Garfield hasn't managed to keep one as a souvenir. "They wouldn't let me but I intend to steal at least one of those suits. They have a bunch, so they could do without one!"
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Honeymoonish
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Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
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.”
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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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Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Asian Cup 2019
Quarter-final
UAE v Australia, Friday, 8pm, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
Results
5.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,600m, Winner: Panadol, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)
6.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Turf) 1,400m, Winner: Mayehaab, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
6.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh85,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Monoski, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
7.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Eastern World, Royston Ffrench, Charlie Appleby
7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (D) 1,200m, Winner: Madkal, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
8.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Taneen, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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.
