Ask Stacy for 9/15/18

Stacy Jenel Smith
Fri, 14 Sep 2018 21:00:00 -0700
Lifestyle

DEAR STACY: I went to a "Sound of Music" singalong recently and fell in love with Julie Andrews all over again. What is she up to these days? — Norm

DEAR NORM: The 82-year-old icon doesn't have a film or TV project in the pipeline as of this writing, but that will likely change before long; she stays fairly busy with her work, both in performing and publishing. Her critically acclaimed "Julie's Greenroom" Netflix series, introducing children to the arts, seems to be in a state of limbo as far as a second season. It hasn't been canceled, but it hasn't been renewed, either. There is a "Despicable Me 4" in the works, so perhaps she'll repeat her voice role as Gru's mother. Meanwhile, the grandmother of nine and great-grandma of three continues to press the cause of the arts. As she and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, wrote in their 2017 letter in response to Donald Trump's move to cut arts funding, "the arts benefit our lives and our world. They foster collaboration and creativity, essential skills for navigating in the workplace and surviving in a challenging world. They cultivate empathy and tolerance, by bridging cultural and socioeconomic divides. They're also good for business: They spur urban renewal, promote tourism and generate hundreds of billions of dollars in economic activity annually." Hear, hear!
Updated: Sat Sep 15, 2018

DEAR STACY: I went to a "Sound of Music" singalong recently and fell in love with Julie Andrews all over again. What is she up to these days? — Norm

DEAR NORM: The 82-year-old icon doesn't have a film or TV project in the pipeline as of this writing, but that will likely change before long; she stays fairly busy with her work, both in performing and publishing. Her critically acclaimed "Julie's Greenroom" Netflix series, introducing children to the arts, seems to be in a state of limbo as far as a second season. It hasn't been canceled, but it hasn't been renewed, either. There is a "Despicable Me 4" in the works, so perhaps she'll repeat her voice role as Gru's mother. Meanwhile, the grandmother of nine and great-grandma of three continues to press the cause of the arts. As she and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, wrote in their 2017 letter in response to Donald Trump's move to cut arts funding, "the arts benefit our lives and our world. They foster collaboration and creativity, essential skills for navigating in the workplace and surviving in a challenging world. They cultivate empathy and tolerance, by bridging cultural and socioeconomic divides. They're also good for business: They spur urban renewal, promote tourism and generate hundreds of billions of dollars in economic activity annually." Hear, hear!

DEAR STACY: Is there going to be another "Shrek" movie? — Cheryl

DEAR CHERYL: There have been reports of a new "Shrek" coming our way in 2019 or 2020. The story for the film was written by "Austin Powers" and "The Boss Baby" writer Michael McCullers, based on his own idea, with an intention to reinvent the series.

DEAR STACY: Is Larry David of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" really is related to Bernie Sanders? — RyanT

DEAR RYANT: Yes, in a fun twist for the "Seinfeld" creator, who has impersonated Sanders on "Saturday Night Live," it turned out that he and the former presidential candidate share DNA, a fact explored on the PBS show, "Finding Your Roots." He described the relation as "like a third cousin or something," and said he was very happy to learn about the connection since he's a big Bernie fan.

DEAR STACY: Whatever became of the actor who originally played Darth Vader/Anakin in "Return of the Jedi"? — Tamara

DEAR TAMARA: Esteemed Shakespearean actor Sebastian Shaw, who appeared as the unmasked Darth Vader and as Anakin's ghost in "Return of the Jedi," died in 1994 — 10 years before the movie's rerelease, in which his ghostly visage was replaced by the image of Hayden Christensen.