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    Movie Review

    An animated Will Smith makes Spies in Disguise fly high

    Alex Bentley
    Dec 24, 2019 | 2:02 pm
    An animated Will Smith makes Spies in Disguise fly high
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    As a live action actor, Will Smith has not exactly been lighting it up in recent years. In fact, in the past 10 years, his only true success was 2015’s Focus, and even that got middling reviews. However, as the mostly animated Genie in the new version of Aladdin and now as the lead in the animated Spies in Disguise, the ability to utilize elements not available to him in live action movies has proven to be a boon for his career.

    Smith plays Lance Sterling, a spy who plays by his own rules and prefers to work by himself. His antics raise the ire of his boss (Reba McEntire), but earn him praise and admiration from most of his co-workers. They include gadget engineer Walter Beckett (Tom Holland), whose ideas are way outside of the box and get him banished to a cubicle just outside of the bathroom.

    When one of Sterling’s missions runs him afoul of evil mastermind Killian (Ben Mendelsohn) and his own agency, he decides to go into hiding. He turns to Walter, who had been developing a new idea that could make things disappear. When Sterling accidentally ingests the potion, it becomes mixed with one of Walter’s pigeon’s feathers, turning Sterling into, you guessed it, a pigeon.

    The spy genre, especially as portrayed in the James Bond and Mission: Impossible series, is one where filmmakers can let their creativity go wild. Directors Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, working from a script by Brad Copeland and Lloyd Taylor, go all in, dreaming up innumerable outlandish concepts. Because it’s an animated film, none of seems out of place and almost everything shown is tons of fun.

    Sterling’s inability to use his normal skills as a pigeon and the way he and Walter find alternative methods is also highly entertaining. Things that would seem unnatural and goofy in a live action film make total sense in the context of this film. Sterling also attracts the attention of an eccentric group of real pigeons, and the way they help him throughout the film is both hilarious and strangely touching.

    The filmmakers also do a great job fleshing out their characters. As the main characters, Sterling and Walter are a given, but Killian is given more than just evil plotting to do. Also interesting is Marcy (Rashida Jones), an internal affairs officer at the spy agency who tracks Sterling around the world.

    At his best, Smith has just seemed cooler than most other actors, and that comes through loud and clear here, even in animated form. As Holland has shown as Spider-Man, he has an innocent goofiness that works well for this character, too. Jones gives Marcy a nice spunk, and Mendelsohn, experienced at playing villains in movies like Rogue One, is right at home.

    With lots of Oscar-worthy dramas and Star Wars dominating theaters right now, Spies in Disguise is great counter-programming and a perfect holiday option for families. It’s also the best thing Smith has made in years; maybe he’ll use it as a springboard toward better live action choices in the future.

    Walter (Tom Holland) and Sterling (Will Smith) in Spies in Disguise.

    Walter (Tom Holland) and Sterling (Will Smith) in Spies in Disguise
      
    Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
    Walter (Tom Holland) and Sterling (Will Smith) in Spies in Disguise.
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    bigger and stronger

    Winner of Ren Fest lawsuit plans to keep the event mostly unchanged

    Jef Rouner
    May 14, 2025 | 2:34 pm
    Texas Renaissance Festival
    Photo courtesy of Texas Renaissance Festival
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    The Texas Renaissance Festival will soon be under new ownership, but will remain much the same as it has been for the last half century, attorney Anthony Laporte of Houston law firm Hanszen Laporte tells CultureMap.

    "All of the vendor contracts are in place for 2025," says Laporte. "Everyone who was already there will be there this year. Maybe one Dippin' Dots guy here and there will be swapped out with another, but we're sticking with what works. Even when the litigation was ongoing, they're having entertainment auditions. Both the old owners and the new ones are planning to give visitors a great time."

    Founder George Coulam has owned the Texas Renaissance Festivals since 1974. Now in his late 80s, Coulam has teased selling the festival multiple times, a process chronicled in a recent HBO docuseries. After pulling out of the latest sales agreement, the prospective buyer sued Coulam for breach of contract. Grimes County Judge Gary W. Chaney ruled against Coulam on May 7, paving the way for the sale to finally go through.

    The identity of the new owner was a mystery for some time. Court documents listed only the corporate entities RW Lands, Texas Stargate, and Royal Campgrounds. The prospective new owner is Meril Rivard, a real estate investor with no prior festival experience who sought to purchase the fair for $60 million. However, Rivard's son is married to the daughter of Geoff Wilson, owner of several Greek food establishments in the festival. Wilson's clan, referred to as "The Greeks" in the HBO documentary, were one of the groups featured in the show trying to buy the fair.

    "This is a family business now," says Laporte. "He has family that lives it, works it, and is part of it."

    According to Laporte, an appeal by Coulam and his counsel seems unlikely. He reports that all parties mostly feel relief that the case is over, though until the judgment is finalized in the next couple of months there is still the possibility that Coulam will try one last time to remain king of the festival.

    The rough final sales price of the Texas Renaissance Festivals is $60 million, Laporte says. This includes the intellectual property rights, some physical property owned by the festival but not strictly part of its grounds, and other assets. The festival is also partially owned by some of the larger business owners. The recently-settled lawsuit does not change those arrangements.

    "It's hard to say what will happen [to the partial owners]," Laporte says. "This judgment does not affect them, per se, but there will be ripple effects. However, no one wants the festival to fail."

    Coulam will no longer have an official role in the running of Texas Renaissance Festival, though he may advise in an unofficial capacity. Laporte did say there will be no more parades in his honor. Coulam has repeatedly been accused of sexual harassment by former employees.

    Until the judgement is finalized, no official date for the transfer of ownership will be set. In addition to the money changing hands for the sale, Coulam owes Rovard and the other plaintiffs $22 million in damages and another $1 million in attorney fees, the judge ruled. None of this is projected to impact the October opening of the festival in any way.

    "Everyone is ready to make Ren Fest bigger and stronger," says Laporte.

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