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Pop Culture

How Brendan Fraser once helped an entire VFX crew get paid after a studio went bankrupt

“Brendan Fraser is a righteous dude.”

brendan fraser

Brendan Fraser in "Journey to the Center of the Earth"

After an epic Hollywood comeback—including a momentous Oscar win—could the well of heartwarming, inspiring Brendan Fraser stories run dry?

Of course not. It’s Brendan Fraser.

Granted, this anecdote is technically from 2007, but thanks to it recently being shared by FX artist Dave Rand, it’s like the world is now privy to a whole new layer of Fraser’s enduring kindness.

In a lengthy two-part Twitter post, Rand detailed how his special effects crew for “Journey to the Center of the Earth” had nearly been robbed of $1.3 million dollars worth of work.

“In November 2007 our paychecks stopped,” he wrote. Meteor Studios, the company producing the film, had convinced Rand and his crew to complete their work on the handful of shots left, guaranteeing that they'd be compensated with overtime.

Then, the studio filed for bankruptcy. “As soon as we delivered the last shot, we were escorted out. It was two weeks before Christmas and we'd soon learn there was no money,” Rand said.

Rand had tried to share his plight with Hollywood news outlets, to no avail. Even Variety rejected him, saying “another visual effects company going bankrupt, however sad, is really not newsworthy at this time."Even trying to publish their own press release was met with threats.

Desperate, Rand attempted reaching out to Fraser, who was the star and a producer on the film. Or rather, he tried to contact Fraser’s “people.” According to Rand, “they said they'd tell him, they did not.”

Finally, thanks to gossip column Page Six, Fraser actually did see what was happening. And he immediately called Rand.

“My phone rang as I was reading the piece, a 212 area code, I answered to thank the girl, but a man answered and he said. ‘Is this Dave Rand?’ I said ‘Yes,’” he wrote. "’This is Brendan Fraser, what the f**k is going on?’"

Rand continued, “He had no idea that artists were not paid on his movie. He listened intently, asked a lot of questions and promised he would call me regularly until this was solved.”

Fraser publicly campaigned for the artist, starting with a tell-all with The Post. Two years later, the crew got 80% of what they were owed.

Rand concluded with perhaps the world’s most accurate statement:

“Brendan Fraser is a righteous dude.”

It’s all too often that artists do not get paid what they deserve for the work they do. That goes especially for those who work in crafts that aren’t exactly the center of attention. Fraser using his celebrity to offer these people some leverage in a dire situation is reason #132 why he’s seriously the coolest guy in Hollywood.

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

The sweet-faced, loveable Labrador Retriever is no longer America’s favorite dog breed. The breed best known for having a heart of gold has been replaced by the smaller, more urban-friendly French Bulldog.

According to the American Kennel Club, for the past 31 years, the Labrador Retriever was America’s favorite dog, but it was eclipsed in 2022 by the Frenchie. The rankings are based on nearly 716,500 dogs newly registered in 2022, of which about 1 in 7 were Frenchies. Around 108,000 French Bulldogs were recorded in the U.S. in 2022, surpassing Labrador Retrievers by over 21,000.

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via Google and Freepik

Google's new personal information removal submission page.

In the internet era, the idea of personal privacy is all but a myth. With a few keystrokes just about anyone can get your home address, phone number, email, age and the names of your family members. The fact that this information is readily available puts us all in the dangerous position of being the victim of fraud, stalking and violence.

What makes the situation even worse is that our information was put online without any of our consent.

The good news is that Google just made a big change that gives us all a little more control over our personal information. On April 27, the company announced it will allow anyone to request removals of their personal information from its Search feature.

“Open access to information is a key goal of Search, but so is empowering people with the tools they need to protect themselves and keep their sensitive, personally identifiable information private. That’s why we’re updating our policies to help people take more control of their online presence in Search,” Michelle Chang, Google’s Global Policy Lead for Search, announced on the company’s blog.

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Joy

An 8-year-old snuck his handwritten book onto a library shelf. Now it has a 56-person waiting list.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel— written by "Dillon His Self"—captured the hearts of his local librarians and their patrons.

Dillon Helbig's 81-page graphic novel captured the hearts of his local librarians.

Writing a book is no easy task, even for adult professional writers. Many would-be authors dream of a day when their work can be found on library shelves, unsure if it will ever come.

But for 8-year-old Dillon Helbig, that day has already arrived—in truly unconventional fashion—thanks to his own determination to make it happen.

Dillon wrote his 81-page graphic novel, "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" (written by "Dillon His Self") in a hardcover journal with colored pencils over the course of a few days. He even put a label on the back of the book that reads "Made in Idho" [sic] and put an illustrated spine label on it as well. Then, without telling anyone, he brought it to his local library in Boise, Idaho, and slipped it in among the books in the children's section.

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Becca Moore and Raul Torres having margaritas.

Becca Moore is a popular TikToker with over 800,000 followers who's known for her funny, laid-back takes on dating. Like any influencer-type she was at the Coachella music and arts festival in Indio, California recently. While she was at Coachella, she was robbed of her phone, rental car keys and wallet.

“I went to Coachella this weekend and I thought this guy was kinda hitting on me but then he just robbed me,” Becca says at the beginning of her three-minute TikTok video with over 3 million views. After the festival, she was left with no ride, money, or means to get in contact with friends and family. She was stranded in the desert.

Becca’s friend’s hotel called her an Uber so she could get to a local store to buy a new phone. The driver she was incredibly lucky to be connected with was a lot more than a guy with a car in a time of need, he was a guardian angel named Raul Torres from Fresno, California, six hours north of Indio.

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Joy

44 years ago he became her protector after a terrible act. Today, they've been reunited in love.

Betsy and Irv are finally getting the happy ending they deserve. Together.

It’s pretty safe to say that everyone loves a good love story.

There’s a whole genre of music and movies dedicated to the idea of someone being swept off of their feet after circumstances tried to keep them from their true love. Romance novels could single handedly keep public libraries and bookstores afloat. Everyone loves "love" and the story of Betsy and Irv just takes the cake. Betsy Sailor attended Penn State University as a business major, which was almost unheard of in 1978 and Irv Pankey attended the university while playing football. The pair’s paths never crossed, until an unfortunate incident bonded the two forever.

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@SopheAlice/TikTok

Best way to travel, really.

As they say, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”

This old adage was brought to life in a whole new way after two friends who thought they booked tickets to Budapest, Hungary, instead found themselves heading to Bucharest, Romania.

Just a minor 500-mile difference, but who’s counting?

TikToker @SophAlice posted a video of the pair realizing their mix-up, which went viral and set them off on an impromptu adventure based entirely on the comments they received.
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