• Home

Harrison Ford hurt in action in Star Wars filming

Ironically, last week that very spacecraft had the star laid low when a hydraulic door detached and landed on the actor’s leg, breaking it.

Harrison Ford, has been in the news ever since the incident occurred. The 71-year-old star of such memorable movies such as ‘Indian Jones’, ‘Clear and Present Danger’ and ‘Air Force One’ will be away from the sets of the keenly awaited ‘Star Wars 7’ that is being filmed in England just now and there is speculation that the incident could delay the film’s journey to the screen.

News is now out that the star could be out of action for as long as four months after surgery with his spokesperson confirming the entire process of recuperation, including physiotherapy, could take this long.

While an ordinary actor would well have been written out of a script if something like this were to happen to them, we are talking about an iconic actor who played the memorable role of Han Solo in the original ‘Star Wars’ trilogy which went on to make celluloid history. The folks who are making ‘Star Wars 7’ has a lot of money — $200 million — riding on the film and there is no way they are going to risk edging him out of this movie, especially considering a lot of folks from his generation are going to be eagerly waiting to watch their hero back in action.

Ford, true to his character — he is known to be a perfectionist — is already said to be pushing to come back on sets, despite a 4-8 week curfew his doctors have imposed. The actor seems to, however, have found a middle path so that he can be back on sets: he is believed to have convinced the makers of the movie that while he cannot do any heavy duty running or action scenes there is nothing to prevent them from shooting portions where he can be filmed from waist upwards. We are sure the director is more than happy to hear this.

The movie, meanwhile, is already creating much excitement in England where Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, recently dropped in on the sets to have a look at the latest edition of the late seventies classic. Then came the news that music icon John Williams is composing the music for the movie. It has also recently been speculated that well-know director Rian Johnson will direct the next two editions of the movie which continues to grip audience attention decades after it was first launched.

A new bird for Prince William

Ordinary people get ties and cuff links for their birthdays. Grandmothers of mere mortals slip a small amount of moolah into the hands of fond grandchildren come birthday time. But if you are the second in line to the throne, you can pretty much ask for anything you want and your grandmother is able to give it to you without blinking an eyelid.

Britain’s much-loved royal, Prince William, got a new set of wings earlier this week when his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, decided to dip into her purse to treat him to a birthday present in advance: an £8 million helicopter. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge can now take off in this new bird to attend to their multiple royal engagements. Their bonny baby too, can have a bird’s eye view of the country on occasions when the royal couple decide the baby can have a day out.

The 32-year-old Prince is no greenhorn when it comes to flying. He is a qualified helicopter pilot and will take to the 2008 Augusta A109S Grand like duck to water or, in this case, a bird to the sky. When it is not being used by the royal couple, the helicopter will be available for lease and also to others in the family. Prince Harry might want to take off in the smart new acquisition too, in case he wants to escape the humdrum of life. The aircraft, UK media say, can travel 530 miles on a full tank. That is a lot of time in the air to have a great summer day trip across the country. Will the royals take a romantic break up in the sky? We will keep you posted…

In the meantime, we are wondering about the fact that not so long ago the royals were reportedly finding their resources shrinking and were actually cutting back on expenses. About last week’s surprise purchase of an expensive helicopter, the Queen said it was “better value for money”. Oh, well...

sudhamenon2006@gmail.com

Raising a stink and 
admiring it

It is summer time and the air is rich with the fragrance of dozens of different flowers blooming, right? But not in Costa Mesa. Here, at the Orange Coast College, the air is heavy, not with the scent of flowers blooming but with the stench of just one exotic flower which is blooming just now.

The rare and rather huge Indonesian flower is known for the putrid smell it raises when it blooms. Some have likened it to the stench of rotting corpses, which is why, it is called the Corpse Flower.

You would think the stink would keep the crowds away from college but such is the attraction of the strange and exotic that a steady stream of visitors, all holding their noses, are now dropping in to see the flower which is blooming in the school’s greenhouse. The flower typically used flies instead of bees to spread its pollen, producing smelly sulphurous chemicals inside its leaves, to attract the unsuspecting flies.

We are not sure we would like to go have a look at this flower in bloom.

sudhamenon2006@gmail.com

• UAE