Bonnie Stoll is not a woman who’s easy to fool – but Jodie Foster pulled it off.
The Oscar winning actress plays the former racquetball champion in Nyad, the story of endurance-swimmer Diana Nyad who aged 60 decided to re-attempt the punishing 110-mile swim from Cuba to Florida which eluded her in her youth.
(L-R) Foster and Annette Bening. Pic: Kimberley French/Netflix
Stoll, who was both Nyad’s best friend and professional trainer, tells Sky News: “The first time I saw [the film], I definitely thought it was me…
“It’s surreal and unbelievable and a real tribute to this actor. I mean, she did it. It surprises me almost every time I see the movie and I see it quite a bit. I think it’s me up there.”
Foster, 60, is reported to have completely immersed herself in Stoll’s way of life: training, nutrition, supplements, workouts, everything.
Quickly noting Stoll’s “salt of the earth quality,” she described her as “the kind of person you’d want to be in a storm with”. Which is lucky, because the movie has several storms to get through.
Annette Bening too – who plays Nyad in the film – trained for over a year to get into peak physical condition for the role, which of course demanded prolonged stretches of swimming.
World class actors, meeting a world class athletes and making a movie together. It’s a recipe that Netflix will be hoping might be a hit with the critics.
The movie re-creates some of the most challenging moments of the real-life crossing, which was completed without the use of a shark-cage, despite the risk of predator infested waters.
Bening trained for the role for over a year. Pic: Kimberley French/Netflix
But it was not sharks that turned out to be the biggest problem.
Stoll explained the biggest threat to their success came from deadly box jellyfish.
“We did not expect them. We had no idea they were already in the Gulf. But it was not a pleasant surprise… It was kind of a nightmare.”
She explains how Dr Angel Yanagihara, a bio-medical researcher considered to be one of the world’s pre-eminent experts in box jellyfish, helped them overcome the potentially fatal sticking point by helping design a mask.
However, that came at a cost.
“Diana was getting prosthetic for her face, the mask, so the box couldn’t get in. And then we heard about a box getting into someone’s mouth and they swallowed it. And that was not a good result.
“The swimming in that mask was a nightmare, for me especially. I can’t even look at it. It’s claustrophobic.”
Bening and Foster pictured on set alongside their real-life characters. Pic: Kimberley French/Netflix
The film’s director, Chai Vasarhelyi says they replicated everything Diana wore down to the last detail: “It was that authentic. The same suit that Diana wore, the same goggles, everything”.
And while they had two silicone face masks made for Bening to wear, Vasarhelyi admitted: “It was so painful we cut out the mouthpiece”.
It’s a move Stoll approved of, echoing: “Good, good”.
Vasarhelyi worked with her husband, professional climber, skier, filmmaker and photographer Jimmy Chin on the film, and the couple have two young children together.
She explained: “It was a really good way of keeping the family together all in one spot and who knew that you can grow in your forties? That you can grow after 12 years of marriage?”
The couple’s past films together include The Rescue (the rescue of 12 boys and their coach from a flooded cave in Northern Thailand) and Free Solo (an Oscar-winning portrait of rock climber Alex Honnold).
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Vasarhelyi summed up their unique area of interest as, “stories about humans who push the possibility”.
And proving that working with your partner isn’t necessarily the recipe for disaster that many might assume, she joked: “We were such old news, you know, me and him. But suddenly, like, we just got stronger. We got better. We saw what each other does even more clearly. And the kids had a great time.”
She added: “It ultimately caused some real deep changes afterwards about how we went, the way we work together.”
It seems the Nyad magic – that propelled the film’s real-life protagonist to wake up one day aged 60 and decide she wasn’t done – has rubbed off on its director.
And that is just the sparkle Netflix will be hoping makes its way into voters’ hearts come awards season.
Nyad is streaming now on Netflix.
Entertainment
New Universal theme park set to open in UK – with promise of ‘billions’ of pounds for the economy
A deal for a new Universal theme park in Bedfordshire has been confirmed, which Rachel Reeves says will bring “billions” to the economy and create thousands of jobs.
It will be the first Universal-branded theme park and resort in Europe and is set to open in 2031, when it is expected to become the UK’s most popular visitor attraction.
The government said it will bring an estimated £50bn into the British economy and will create about 28,000 jobs – nearly 20,000 during the construction phase, and 8,000 more in hospitality and the creative industries when it opens.
A 500-room hotel and a retail and entertainment complex is planned alongside the theme park, which will be built on a former brickworks.
Universal, which is owned by Sky News’ US parent company Comcast, expects the 476-acre site just south of Bedford to generate nearly £50bn for the economy by 2055, with 8.5m visitors in its first year.
The plan remains subject to a formal planning decision process from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Universal has committed to working with local colleges and universities to train students for hospitality jobs.
There are Universal theme parks in Florida (pictured), California, Japan, Beijing and Singapore. Pic: AP
Among some of the famous Universal films are Wicked, Minions, Oppenheimer, Bridget Jones, Fast and the Furious, and Jurassic World.
There are five Universal theme parks already: Orlando in Florida, Hollywood, Japan, Beijing, and Singapore.
The new Universal theme park will be just south of Bedford
Speaking to Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the deal was “huge”.
“This is not just about numbers on the spreadsheet,” she said.
“This is about good jobs. It’s about growth. It’s about raising people’s living standards and putting money in people’s pockets. And it’s a massive vote of confidence in the United Kingdom.”
Welcoming the timing of the announcement, Ms Nandy added: “This deal comes off the back of one of the most tumultuous few weeks in global markets that I think anyone can remember within living memory.”
She said the fact that the government had been able to show it kept a “cool head” and “we don’t take knee-jerk decisions in response to global events” was one of the reasons it was able to announce the deal.
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The proposals to transform the site, a former brickworks, remain subject to a formal planning decision process
The government has said about 80% of employees at the theme park are expected to come from local areas, and it will support the “Oxford-Cambridge corridor” revived by the chancellor in January after the Conservatives scrapped plans for an Abingdon-Milton Keynes train link in 2021.
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It will also commit to a “major investment” in infrastructure around the Universal site to ensure it is well-connected and easily accessible.
The announcement comes days after the government approved an expansion of nearby Luton Airport.
Mike Cavanagh, President of Comcast Corporation, said: “We could not be more excited to take this very important step in our plan to create and deliver an incredible Universal theme park and resort in the heart of the United Kingdom, which complements our growing US-based parks business by expanding our global footprint to Europe.
“We appreciate the leadership and support of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Minister for Investment Poppy Gustafsson, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and their teams, as we work together to create and deliver a fantastic new landmark destination.”
Entertainment
BAFTA Games Awards: Astro Bot tops leaderboard – with psychological horror close behind
Astro Bot was the big winner at this year’s BAFTA Games Awards, taking home five prizes, including the coveted best game.
The 3D platformer, which was launched to critical acclaim in September to mark PlayStation’s 30th anniversary, was nominated for eight gongs, while Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, led with 11 nods.
But in the end, the critics – some of whom had dubbed Astro Bot a “perfect game” – were right as it dominated the awards at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, hosted by comedian Phil Wang for the second year running.
Astro Bot. Pic: Team Asobi
Nicolas Doucet with his five awards for Astro Bot. Pic: PA
BAFTAs for audio achievement, game design, animation, and best family game completed the set for developers Team Asobi, who designed multiple galaxies and dozens of levels for the titular Astro to journey through, retrieving spaceship parts and rescuing lost robots.
“We’re a team based in Japan, but we have over 12 nationalities. We really mix it up and get ideas from everyone,” Nicolas Doucet, president of Team Asobi, told Sky News.
“We do a lot of jokes in the game, but the joke has a different meaning depending on where you are in the world. So it’s really, really nice to go around and ask everyone ‘is that joke fine in your country?’ And then together we come to a kind of universal playfulness.”
Among the gongs for Astro Bot was the best game award. Pic: BAFTA
It’s a very different atmosphere than that generated by British psychological horror Still Wakes The Deep, which won three awards for best new intellectual property and best supporting and leading roles.
Compared to John Carpenter’s 1980 sci-fi horror The Thing but on a Scottish oil rig, the game sees players take on the role of an electrician trapped on a damaged facility while being pursued by monsters.
Still Wakes The Deep. Pic: Sumo Digital Limited
Developer The Chinese Room has been praised for using home-grown talent to voice the characters, including comedian and actress Karen Dunbar, who picked up best performer in a supporting role for voicing Finlay.
“I’ve been nominated for quite a few BAFTAs in my time in Scotland, and I’ve never won one,” said Dunbar.
“It was such a great category, so many great performances. When they shouted my name, I think I started clapping for someone else!”
Read more: See full list of winners
Still Wakes The Deep star Karen Dunbar won best performer in a supporting role. Pic: BAFTA
Meanwhile, best multiplayer game went to Helldivers II – a satirical, sci-fi shooter that sees players fight bugs, aliens and robots with the gumption and gullibility of the characters in Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers.
It has gained a cult following since launching in February 2024 with so much initial interest it created server problems.
“Games for me are about connecting people and forging those bonds of friendship and the multiplayer award is exactly what it stands for,” said Johan Pilestedt, chief executive of Arrowhead Game Studios.
Helldivers II. Pic: Arrowhead/Sony
From outer space to a fictional Yorkshire town called Barnsworth. Thank Goodness You’re Here! – a cartoonish, comedy platformer – won Best British Game. Like Still Wakes The Deep, it has won praise for the authenticity of its actors and setting.
“I think it’s been a real privilege to be able to represent Barnsley on the silver screen,” said Will Todd, who is from the town and one of two game designers behind the project.
Thank Goodness You’re Here! Pic: Coal Supper/Panic Inc
Co-creator James Carbutt added: “Me and Will wrote everything in our tone of voice, quite literally. The further along development we got, the more we lent into it. I think the voices from different parts of the UK and different voices in gaming are super important, and hopefully we’re one of them.”
By the time the BAFTAs wrapped up, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was only handed one of the 11 BAFTAs it was nominated for, technical achievement.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. Pic: Ninja Theory
But developers Ninja Theory are already adding this year’s win to a tally of five BAFTAs they were awarded for the first game in the series, which created a protagonist with psychosis by drawing on clinical neuroscience and the experiences of people living with the condition.
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