• In Peter Farrelly's 2018 Oscar-winning film Green Book, chauffeur Tony Lip quips: "The world's full of lonely people afraid to make the first move." Neither Farrelly nor his brother, Bobby Farrelly, the director of 1998's There's Something About Mary, fit that description. Both are being recognized for pressing Hollywood repeatedly and publicly to do a better job of casting and portraying people with disabilities. The Boston-based Ruderman Family Foundation, a leading voice in calling for more opportunities for the disabled, said Wednesday the brothers are the recipients of its sixth annual Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion. Ruderman says its research shows that only 5% of the characters on top TV shows are played by actors with disabilities. The foundation said it picked the Farrellys for their outspoken efforts to make movies more inclusive and authentic. "When you tell a story, you want it to take place in a real world -- and it's not a real world if they don't include everybody," said Peter Farrelly, who co-wrote and directed Green Book, which won Oscars for best picture and best original screenplay. Bobby Farrelly recalled how the brothers played with children with disabilities in their Rhode Island neighborhood. "They made us laugh. They were our friends," he said.
• London fifth graders sang "All I Want for Christmas Is You" after Melania Trump added to their merriment Wednesday by joining them to make wreaths and ornaments at a Salvation Army center. At the center in the Clapton neighborhood of east London, Trump helped attach pine cones to a wreath covered in yellow tinsel. She also helped U.S. Marines put gifts into large holiday-theme plastic sacks. The first lady nodded in apparent enjoyment as the pupils serenaded her, then clapped and appeared to say "bravo" when they finished the song. Trump also donated presents for the charity's holiday drive, including white baseball caps, white Frisbees and soccer balls all stamped with the logo of her "Be Best" youth initiative. She gave the fifth graders "Be Best" ornaments as gifts before she departed. Trump visited the Salvation Army center in London while President Donald Trump attended a NATO leaders' meeting in nearby Watsford. She was accompanied by Suzanne Johnson, the wife of Woody Johnson, the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom. "I thought she was really fun," 10-year-old Isabelle Bates said. "Everyone was expecting her to be very grumpy, but she was actually very nice." Another pupil, Quiana Mullings, 9, said she thought the first lady's face makeup "'was a bit much. It made her look sad, but actually, she was very happy."
A Section on 12/05/2019