By Sandy Cohen, Entertainment Writer
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) --Mel Brooks made it clear that he was not paid to appear at the premiere of the new HBO documentary "If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast."
"They never pay, they never pay," he joked. "How funny I was tonight and I don't get a penny."
Brooks stole the show from fellow Hollywood legends Carl Reiner, Dick Van Dyke and Norman Lear, with whom he shared the stage after the screening Wednesday. The four longtime friends star in the film, which explores what makes for a vibrant, active life after age 90. Non-famous nonagenarians and centenarians are also featured, including a 101-year-old competitive runner, a 100-year-old pianist and a 98-year-old yoga teacher.
Producer George Shapiro ("Seinfeld") said the cast is "truly sending a love letter to the human race."
Reiner, 95, serves as host of the film, interviewing his friends Brooks and Lear, along with 95-year-old Betty White and 100-year-old Kirk Douglas.
All the active elders say the key is keeping yourself healthy and staying engaged with life by doing what you love. The film and its subjects are vivacious and inspiring.
Van Dyke is still singing and dancing – onscreen in the new "Mary Poppins," in theaters next year, and off-screen with his wife, who's more than four decades his junior. His advice is to "keep moving," which is also the title of his book on aging published in 2015. Lear is working on a reboot of his 1975 series "One Day at a Time." Reiner said writing every day gives his life purpose, adding that he just finished a book called "Too Busy to Die."
"I just say eat bran," Brooks quipped.
Tom Bergeron moderated the post-screening discussion with the stars. Once they got going, Brooks declared, "Tom, you're superfluous, really. Everybody here is a self-starter."
The conversation was actually one of mutual admiration. Reiner called Brooks "the funniest human being in the world" and Van Dyke "the single most talented man that ever lived." Van Dyke described his stage-mates as "creative giants" and said Reiner has been his mentor and idol since they met.
When Bergeron asked if any of the men had ever considered retirement, Brooks said, "I thought of retiring Carl, but he won't."
They also talked about Donald Trump, the "2000 Year Old Man" and who had the nicest shoes (Brooks).
"Well, I have the most money here, except for Norman," Brooks said. "Norman, you should dress better."
Among the guests taking in the screening at the film academy's headquarters in Beverly Hills were Jim Carrey, Larry David, Henry Winkler, Richard Lewis and Kevin Nealon.
"If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast" is set to debut June 5.
South Korea fines Meta $15 million for illegally collecting information on Facebook users
South Korea's privacy watchdog on Tuesday fined social media company Meta 21.6 billion won ($15 million) for illegally collecting sensitive personal information from Facebook users, including data about their political views and sexual orientation, and sharing it with thousands of advertisers.
It was the latest in a series of penalties against Meta by South Korean authorities in recent years as they increase their scrutiny of how the company, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, handles private information.
Following a four-year investigation, South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission concluded that Meta unlawfully collected sensitive information about around 980,000 Facebook users, including their religion, political views and whether they were in same-sex unions, from July 2018 to March 2022.
It said the company shared the data with around 4,000 advertisers.
South Korea's privacy law provides strict protection for information related to personal beliefs, political views and sexual behavior, and bars companies from processing or using such data without the specific consent of the person involved.
The commission said Meta amassed sensitive information by analyzing the pages the Facebook users liked or the advertisements they clicked on.
The company categorized ads to identify users interested in themes such as specific religions, same-sex and transgender issues, and issues related to North Korean escapees, said Lee Eun Jung, a director at the commission who led the investigation on Meta.
"While Meta collected this sensitive information and used it for individualized services, they made only vague mentions of this use in their data policy and did not obtain specific consent," Lee said.
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