By Jake Coyle, Film Writer
TORONTO (AP) --"Hidden Figures," a drama about an African-American mathematician at NASA in the early 1960s, isn't finished yet, but a sneak peak of about 30 minutes of footage was enough to move one of its stars, Taraji P. Henson, to tears.
Twentieth Century Fox previewed the film Saturday at the Toronto International Film Festival for press, before its producer and co-composer Pharrell Williams treated wet festival-goers to a brief outdoor concert. The film is about a trio of lesser-known NASA figures Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer), Katherine Johnson (Henson) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae) who played an integral role in the program that put John Glenn into space.
As the three took the stage for a Q&A following the screening, Henson was fighting back tears, exclaiming "It's so important."
"If I had known about these women coming up, maybe I would have aspired to be a rocket scientist," the "Empire" star said. "Not to say that I have a bad journey. Let me clear that up. But nowadays, this is all that kids of color feel like they have: sports, rap, acting. And there's so much more work to be done."
Directed by Theodore Melfi ("St. Vincent") and based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly, "Hidden Figures" is to open in theaters Jan. 13. But many expect the film — comic and crowd-pleasing from the looks of the footage — will first play in December in order to make a late awards push.
Williams said he and "my brother," co-composer Hans Zimmer, are working on score: "I dare say it's revolutionary," claimed Williams.
He and the cast, however, were certain that "Hidden Figures" will prove a timely movie and one that inspires many that they have the Right Stuff. "No women, not black or white, were mentioned in 'Apollo 13' or all of these other movies," said Spencer.
"I just see them as heroes," said Monae.
California governor signs law to protect children from social media addiction
California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday.
California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to block their kids from getting social media posts suggested by a platform's algorithm. Utah has passed laws in recent years aimed at limiting children's access to social media, but they have faced challenges in court.
The California law will take effect in a state home to some of the largest technology companies in the world. Similar proposals have failed to pass in recent years, but Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law in 2022 barring online platforms from using users' personal information in ways that could harm children. It is part of a growing push in states across the country to try to address the impacts of social media on the well-being of children.
"Every parent knows the harm social media addiction can inflict on their children โ isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours wasted late into the night," Newsom said in a statement. "With this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits."
The law bans platforms from sending notifications without permission from parents to minors between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m., and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays from September through May, when children are typically in school. The legislation also makes platforms set children's accounts to private by default.
Opponents of the legislation say it could inadvertently prevent adults from accessing content if they cannot verify their... Read More