Actress Juliette Binoche, from right, director Kore-eda Hirokazu, and actress Catherine Deneuve pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'The Truth' and the opening gala at the 76th edition of the Venice Film Festival, Venice, Italy, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)
By Lindsey Bahr, Film Writer
VENICE, Italy (AP) --
French actress Catherine Deneuve says the language barrier working with Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda caused some frustration but that she was happy in the end.
The 75-year-old stars in his latest film, "The Truth," which opened the 76th Venice International Film Festival Wednesday night.
Deneuve plays a French movie star whose tricky relationship with her grown daughter comes to a head after the publication of her memoir. Juliette Binoche plays the daughter.
"The Truth" is Kore-eda's first film shot outside of Japan and not in the Japanese language. Deneuve says the process of working through an interpreter to speak to the director was very unique and sometimes difficult.
"The Truth" is one of 21 films at the festival competing for the Golden Lion which will be announced on Sept. 7.
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
