Dave Chappelle Attacked; Obi-Wan Kenobi Trailer; Nancy Kerrigan Attacker Redeemed

Dave Chappelle is attacked onstage; a film set in 1963 becomes strikingly relevant; Obi-Wan Kenobi is back for more Jedi mind tricks. Plus: What happened to Nancy Kerrigan’s attacker. All in today’s Movie News Rundown.

Happening: The new film from Audrey Diwan follows a young woman who seeks an illegal abortion in France in 1963 — and just became stunningly relevant to America in 2022. Here is Margeux Sippell’s interview with Diwan and the Happening star Anamaria Vartolomei.

Out Today: We also recommend the very surprising — and surprisingly moving — indie documentary My Hero the Hitman, about Shane Stant, the man who brutally struck skater Nancy Kerrigan in 1994 to help Tonya Harding get into the Winter Olympics. It tells the unlikely story of how Stant became a protector and hero to his little sister, Maile, and tried to turn his life around after his horrendous crime. The film, out now on VOD, also examines how both siblings dealt in different ways with their abusive father, who was also a victim of child abuse. We’ll have a podcast interview up soon with the film’s excellent first-time director, Justin Kawika Young.

Mammoth Lakes: The Mammoth Lakes Film Festival, one of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee, just announced the lineup for this year’s festival, taking place May 25-29. Its Spotlight films are two documentaries about the raw power of our planet, and the desperate hopes of the people who inhabit it. Buried, directed by Jason Drake and Steven Siig, follows a harrowing rescue effort after a 1982 avalanche. Fire of Love, directed by Sara Dosa, follows two volcanologists in love. The judges include MovieMaker managing editor extraordinaire Caleb Hammond.

Dave Chappelle Attacked: Dave Chappelle was tackled by an audience member who ran onstage at the comedian’s Hollywood Bowl show last night. I feel like I’m supposed to say “allegedly,” but here’s the video:

Security staff chased the attacker and detained him off stage. Video that widely circulated afterward appeared to show him with injuries to his arm and face:

 

The Jokes: Chappelle reportedly quipped, “That was a trans man,” in reference to his reputation for transphobic jokes. Chris Rock later appeared onstage to deliver a line so good it made the whole thing feel like a setup: “Was that Will Smith?”

But Seriously Folks: It seems like the whole thing was very serious. NBC Los Angeles reports that the attacker had a replica gun, and that his weapon could eject a knife blade “when you discharge it correctly.” The station added: “It is unclear if the fan made an attempt to use the weapon.” (With respect to NBC, I have to object here to the use of the word “fan.”)

Ugh: This has been part of our unfortunately continuing series, Whatever Happened to Security? We also want to remind everyone that the role of security is to prevent attacks, not beat people up after the fact.

Obi-Wan Kenobi: Disney+ celebrated Star Wars Day (which is still not a federal holiday) by releasing the new trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi, which will debut on the streaming site on May 27. Feel free to skip past my nonsense and watch it below.

Still Here? Thanks! May I Editorialize Again? One promising detail: Obi-Wan Kenobi will be six episodes, which will hopefully prevent the sort of aimless meandering that plagued The Book of Boba Fett. I wonder sometimes what my eight-year-old self would think if I told him Boba Fett has his own television show but that his older self bailed out because not much happened. One rather discouraging thing about the Obi-Wan Kenobi trailer is that it again goes back to the Vader-is-breathing well, as if we’re all still supposed to freak out every time we hear it. Honestly, I only kind of do.

Main image: Obi-Wan Kenobi has a new adversary.

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