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‘Make Millions Before Grandma Dies’ Brings Tears to Southeast Asia

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Daniel Nico Laudit says he does not cry easily. He decided to test his mettle this month in a movie theater in Manila and documented the experience for his 4.5 million followers on TikTok.

Before the screening, he filmed himself dancing and beaming and said to the camera: “Me before watching ‘How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies.’” About two hours later, he uploaded a very different version of himself: wiping away the tears from his eyes in a bathroom.

“I went straight to the restroom after the movie because I wanted to cry out loud,” Mr. Laudit, 24, a content creator, said in a telephone interview. He said he cried some more when he got back home.

Reactions like Mr. Laudit’s have made the movie, which was filmed in Bangkok mostly in the Thai language, a runaway hit across Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, tickets were sold out on its opening day, theaters had to add more screenings to meet demand, and one chain started handing out tissues to viewers. In Singapore, it topped the box office from June 6-9. In Indonesia, it has drawn millions of viewers. In Thailand, it is the highest-grossing title of the year so far.

The plot revolves around an aimless and unemployed young man, M, whose sole ambition is to livestream his online games. He volunteers to take care of his maternal grandmother after he finds out she has Stage 4 cancer. His motivation is not filial piety; instead, he hopes that he can inherit her house.

After M moves in with his grandmother, he develops a closer understanding of the complicated characters that make up his Thai-Chinese family: Chew, his long-suffering mother, who feels that only she can step up to take care of her mother; Soei, the good-for-nothing youngest uncle who borrows and steals from the grandmother; and Kiang, the eldest uncle who is preoccupied with his daughter and materialistic wife.

“It talks about the thing that we all have in common, which is family,” said Pat Boonnitipat, the director of the film.

This part of the world is “familiar with many generations living in the same house. I think that kind of upbringing creates a unique feeling in your memory,” said Mr. Pat, 33.

The movie explores the tensions that arise in a family before the impending death of one head of the household, and the gender biases that persist. In one memorable line, Chew says, “Sons inherit the house, daughters inherit cancer.”

The grandmother, or Ah Ma, played by the first-time actress Usha Seamkhum, is brusque and bristly, although viewers soon get to see that underneath that tough exterior, she loves her family members deeply, and that she is lonely. Many viewers said they loved the chemistry between Ms. Usha and her co-star Putthipong Assaratanakul, who plays the grandson.

Mr. Putthipong, known more popularly by his nickname, Billkin, is famous in Thailand as a television actor and pop star.

“The strength of this movie lies in the storytelling and how it draws the audience into the story, allowing them to compare the story in the film with their own personal lives,” said Angeline Kartika, 24, a content creator in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. She saw the movie last month.

Like many viewers, Joy Ni Ni Win, a digital marketing executive in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-biggest city, said she heard about the movie on TikTok.

“It roused my interest to see — ‘OK, why are people crying so hard?’” said Ms. Joy, 28.

She quickly understood. Right after the movie’s closing credits, a friend filmed her in the theater with tears streaming down her cheeks.

Diana Setiawati, who watched the movie in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, said it made her think about how she spends too little time with her mother. After the movie was over, she immediately called her.

“How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies” is the first feature film for Mr. Pat, a self-taught filmmaker who previously worked in television. It is an unusual hit in Thailand, he said, where horror and comedy movies typically rule the box office. The film will be screened at the New York Asian Film Festival in July.

The movie is based on a script by Thodsapon Thiptinnakorn, an established scriptwriter. Mr. Pat expanded it, drawing on his own experiences. His maternal grandmother, now 92, was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer 20 years ago. She helped raise him, and the two still live together. He also added more characters, which he based on his Cantonese mother’s family, describing the representation as “exactly the same, even the dialogue.”

They resonated with viewers like Shirley Low, who is the chief marketing officer of Golden Screen Cinemas in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.

“Everything there was like: ‘Oh, my God, this is like my family,’” she said, adding that her company did not anticipate that the movie would be a big hit because it was in Thai.

“There was no way we would ever foresee the conversations around it,” she said.

In Manila, Ruby Ann O. Reyes, the vice president for corporate marketing for SM Supermalls, said her firm’s movie theaters distributed tissues to moviegoers. Employees were also on hand in the theater to give out more tissues during the “tear-jerker parts.”

“Filipinos love to have real-life lessons from every movie they watch, such as taking care of your grandmother and saying sorry while she’s still alive,” Ms. Reyes said.

Ian Jeevan, 27, a financial consultant in Singapore, said the movie reminded him of his relationship with his grandmother. He uploaded a TikTok video of himself choking up, with the caption “Running over to hug my grandma now!!”

Muktita Suhartono and Rin Hindryati contributed reporting.





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For sale: A piece of California’s country music history

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The famed Buck Owens Crystal Palace, where music legends including Willie Nelson, Dwight Yoakam, Garth Brooks and a young Taylor Swift have played, is up for sale, with the foundation that runs the Bakersfield venue planning to list it for $7 million on Monday.

The nightclub, museum and steakhouse was owned by its namesake Buck Owens, the country music trailblazer who bucked the slick commercial melodies of Nashville for a distinctly West Coast twang. Owens opened the Crystal Palace in 1996, watching it become a premier venue for the biggest names in country music, including himself. Buck and the Buckaroos played there every Friday and Saturday night until his death in 2006.

Jim Shaw, a member of the Buckaroos and a director of the Buck Owens Private Foundation, said that after 28 years of running the famed venue, the Owens family plans to step back and find new owners amid a challenging business climate. The foundation said in a statement that “since Buck’s passing in 2006, we’ve tried to maintain the excellence that he expected, even as it became more and more difficult during these challenging times of increasing food and labor costs.”

The venue is not closing and scheduled events will continue as planned, Shaw said.

“It’s business as usual for now,” Shaw said. “Ideally, someone who wants to keep it exactly as it is will come forward.”

Owens’ youngest son, Johnny Owens, wrote on Facebook that the family’s hope “is that a buyer steps forward with a vision for the future and a reverence” for his father and the Bakersfield Sound.

The Crystal Palace, located on Buck Owens Boulevard, is a major tourism staple for Bakersfield. The 18,000-square-foot venue is next to the city’s downtown entrance.

“It’s the No. 1 tourist attraction in Bakersfield,” Shaw said. “There are people stepping forward and we are waiting to see what happens. I am getting a lot of phone calls. I’m anxious to see what happens.”



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2nd local radio host says they were given questions ahead of Biden interview

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A second local radio host on Saturday told ABC News that he was provided a list of questions in advance of his interview with President Joe Biden this week.

“Yes, I was given some questions for Biden,” Earl Ingram of CivicMedia told ABC News. Ingram, a prominent host of a Wisconsin radio station, interviewed Biden this week in the wake of his debate performance.

Ingram said he was given five questions and ended up asking four of them.

“I didn’t get a chance to ask him all the things I wanted to ask,” he said.

Ingram is the second interviewer who now says they were provided questions by Biden aides to ask the president this week. Earlier today, another local radio host who interviewed Biden this week told CNN she was given questions to ask Biden before the interview.

PHOTO: President Joe Biden speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School, on July 5, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin.  (Scott Olson/Getty Images)PHOTO: President Joe Biden speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School, on July 5, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin.  (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

PHOTO: President Joe Biden speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School, on July 5, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

“We do not condition interviews on acceptance of these questions, and hosts are always free to ask the questions they think will best inform their listeners,” the Biden campaign told ABC News on Saturday.

Ingram told ABC he didn’t see anything necessarily wrong with the practice. “To think that I was gonna get an opportunity to ask any question to the President of the United States, I think, is a bit more than anybody should expect,” he said.

He continued that he was grateful for the opportunity to interview Biden at all.

“Certainly the fact that they gave me this opportunity … meant a lot to me,” Ingram said.

MORE: Wealthy Democratic donors sound alarm over Biden staying in race

On CNN earlier today, Andrea Lawful-Sanders, the host of WURD’s “The Source,” said Biden officials provided her with a list of eight questions ahead of their interview with Biden.

“The questions were sent to me for approval; I approved of them,” she said.

“I got several questions — eight of them,” she continued. “And the four that were chosen were the ones that I approved.”

Responding to Lawful-Sanders, Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said in a statement that it’s not “uncommon” for interviewees to share topics they would prefer. She noted that Lawful-Sanders was “free” to ask any questions she saw fit. She also noted that it was the campaign who sent over the questions and not the White House as other reports claim.

Lawful-Sanders did note in her interview with CNN that she ultimately “approved” the questions provided.

“It’s not at all an uncommon practice for interviewees to share topics they would prefer. These questions were relevant to news of the day – the president was asked about this debate performance as well as what he’d delivered for black Americans,” the statement said.

“We do not condition interviews on acceptance of these questions, and hosts are always free to ask the questions they think will best inform their listeners. In addition to these interviews, the President also participated in a press gaggle yesterday as well as an interview with ABC. Americans have had several opportunities to see him unscripted since the debate.”

A source familiar with the Biden booking operation told ABC News that moving forward they will “refrain” from offering suggested questions to interviewers.

“While interview hosts have always been free to ask whatever questions they please, moving forward we will refrain from offering suggested questions.”

2nd local radio host says they were given questions ahead of Biden interview originally appeared on abcnews.go.com



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President George W. Bush turns 78 years old

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George W. Bush, born on July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut, was the 43rd President of the United States.

Bush was born to parents Barbara Bush and former President George H. W. Bush. He has five siblings; Jeb Bush, Marvin Bush, Neil Bush, Dorothy Bush Koch and Pauline Robinson Bush. Pauline was diagnosed with leukemia and passed away at age three.

He was formerly the Republican Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.

WHY FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH IS WINNING … THE POST-PRESIDENCY

Bush was first elected to the White House in November 2000, and officially began his first term as president in January 2001, after he defeated Democrat Al Gore during the presidential election. Bush was reelected to his second term as the incumbent in November 2004, when he prevailed over Democrat John Kerry, and led the United States until January 2009 before handing over his torch to former President Barack Obama.

Bush married Laura Bush on November 5, 1977, the day after her 31st birthday, in her hometown of Midland, Texas. The couple were engaged in September 1977, and married less than two months later in a Methodist church. Bush and Laura met at a barbecue, and he took her to play mini-golf on their first date. 

The Bush’s share twin daughters, Barbara Pierce Bush and Jenna Bush Hager, born on November 25, 1981. Today, the couple also share four grandchildren; Mila, Poppy, Hal and Cora.

GEORGE BUSH, FORMER FIRST LADY ISSUE STATEMENT ON AFGHANISTAN WITH MESSAGE TO US TROOPS, VETERANS

During his presidency, Bush cared for his English springer spaniel, Spot Fetcher, who accompanied him to meetings in the Oval Office and on adventures throughout the White House. The dog was born to his parent’s dog, Millie.

On September 11, 2001, less than one year into Bush’s presidency, the Twin Towers in New York City were attacked by terrorists when airplanes hit both buildings, causing a collapse and thousands of lives lost. At the time, Bush was reading to elementary-aged children at a school in Sarasota, Florida. He was calmly and quietly advised of the attacks and quickly returned to Washington, where he was briefed alongside Vice President Dick Cheney.

Bush was regarded highly for his poise while learning of the attacks and for his demonstration of patriotism and leadership in the uncertain days and weeks following the hijackings of multiple planes on the day that shook America to her core.

SADDAM CAPTURED ‘LIKE A RAT’ IN RAID

On December 30, 2003, during Bush’s first term as POTUS, Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader and executor of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., was captured by the American military

In the early morning of December 30, 2006, during Bush’s presidency, Hussein was hanged and executed for his crimes against humanity. Americans across the nation celebrated the death of Hussein and applauded Bush for promising the country he would take him out and following through.

While Bush was regarded for his dealings with the terrorist attacks, the signing of No Child Left Behind Act and the Patriot Act and the creation of the United States Department of Homeland Security, many Americans were unhappy with the sanctions of interrogation techniques, the war in Iraq and taxes while he was president.

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