In this Thursday, May 18, 2017 file photo, actress Uma Thurman poses for photographers during the photo call for the Un Certain Regard jury, at the 70th international film festival, Cannes, southern France. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
PRAGUE (AP) --
An annual international film festival in the western Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary is kicking off with awards for Oscar-nominated actress Uma Thurman, Academy Award winner Casey Affleck and film composer James Newton Howard.
Affleck, who won his first Oscar this year for his role in "Manchester by the Sea," and Thurman, nominated for an Oscar in 1994 for best supporting actress in "Pulp Fiction," will both receive the festival president's award Friday on the opening night of the festival's 52nd edition.
Howard, who created music for over 130 movies — including "The Hunger Games" and "Batman Begins" — will be honored for his outstanding contribution to world cinema.
The festival's grand jury will consider 12 movies for the top prize, the Crystal Globe, at event that runs through July 8.
Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)
Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.
Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.
"We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.
Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.
His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.
Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.
"Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More
