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Drew Goddard, writer, director and producer

Bad Times at the El Royale is a 2018 American neo-noir, hyperlink, thriller film written, directed, and produced by Drew Goddard (pictured). The film follows six strangers and an employee at the El Royale, a hotel located on the California–Nevada border, on a night in the late 1960s, exploring themes of morality, faith, redemption, and the concepts of right and wrong. Principal photography began on January 29, 2018, with cinematographer Seamus McGarvey, and concluded on April 6. Post-production editing was completed by Lisa Lassek and the musical score was composed by Michael Giacchino. The film underperformed at the box office, grossing $31.8 million against its $32 million production budget. Despite this, critics praised the soundtrack, performances of the cast, and McGarvey's cinematography, although they criticized its pacing, runtime, character beats, and Goddard’s writing. At the 45th Saturn Awards, the film received five nominations and won for Best Thriller Film. (Full article...)

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Did you know...

Porcelain snuff bottle, 18th century

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... that Ann Perkins often taught graduate students at Yale University even though, as a woman, she could not teach undergraduates?
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... that Matt Koehl stated that Adolf Hitler was "a gift of Almighty Providence"?
... that Eritrea's abortion law was based on Ethiopia's, which was based on Switzerland's, which was based on France's?

In the news

Paetongtarn Shinawatra

Prime Minister of Thailand Paetongtarn Shinawatra (pictured) is removed from office by the Constitutional Court.
Protests in Indonesia erupt over increased benefits and salaries given to parliament members.
The United Nations–backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification confirms a famine in the Gaza Governorate, Palestine.
A multi-vehicle collision involving a bus carrying migrants deported from Iran kills at least 79 people in Herat Province, Afghanistan.
Colombian senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, a pre-candidate in the 2026 presidential election, dies two months after being shot.

On this day

August 31: Independence Day in Malaysia (1957); Romanian Language Day in Moldova and Romania

Ngô Đình Nhu

1814 – War of 1812: American militia forces repelled a British force at the Battle of Caulk's Field, killing 41 people including Captain Peter Parker of the Royal Navy.
1876 – Sultan Murad V of the Ottoman Empire was deposed after a reign of 93 days on grounds of mental illness.
1939 – Nazi forces, posing as Poles, staged an attack against the German radio station Sender Gleiwitz in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, Germany, creating an excuse to invade Poland the next day.
1959 – A parcel bomb sent by Ngô Đình Nhu (pictured), younger brother and chief adviser of South Vietnamese president Ngô Đình Diệm, failed to kill Norodom Sihanouk, Prime Minister of Cambodia.
2010 – The last episode of The Bill, the longest-running police drama in British television history, was broadcast.

Agnes Bulmer (b. 1775)
Itzhak Perlman (b. 1945)
Sara Ramirez (b. 1975)
Tantely Andrianarivo (d. 2023)

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Today's featured picture

Sparassis crispa is a species of fungus in the family Sparassidaceae. It is sometimes called cauliflower fungus. It is common in Great Britain and temperate Europe (but not in the boreal zone), from July to November. Sparassis crispa grows in an entangled globe that is up to 10 inches (24 centimetres) in diameter, with larger specimens weighing up to 14 kilograms (30 lb) or more. It is considered a good edible fungus when young and fresh, but is difficult to clean before use. This S. crispa was photographed in Joure, Netherlands. The picture was focus-stacked from 20 separate images.

Photograph credit: Dominicus Johannes Bergsma

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