Celebrity chef Frank Heppner is ‘suspect’ in German far-right coup plot, according to reports
A celebrity chef is among those arrested over an alleged plot by a far-right terrorist group to overthrow the German government, local press has reported.
Frank Heppner, 62, who is the father of Real Madrid star David Alaba’s girlfriend, is understood to have been arrested in the Austrian ski resort Kitzbuhel, where he has a restaurant.
The foiled coup of the Reichsburger movement – also known as the Reich Citizens movement – led to the biggest ever national police operation against right wing extremism.
German celebrity chef Frank Heppner. Pic: YouTube
The raids took place in 11 of the country’s 16 states last week, with 3,000 armed police storming up to 100 properties across Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Hesse, Lower Saxony, and Thuringia, as well as in Kitzbuhel and the Italian city of Perugia.
The plotters allegedly wanted to install Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, a 71-year-old aristocrat, as the head of a new government. He was among those arrested.
Prosecutors said the group planned to install him as Germany’s new leader.
Heppner’s role, should the alleged coup have been successful, would have been to “take over the canteens of the new German Reich” and supply their troops, according to Austrian daily Die Presse.
A specialist in Euro-Asian cuisine, Heppner has previously worked in five-star hotels all over the world.
David Alaba and Shalimar Heppner at FC Bayern Munich Christmas party in 2018
His daughter, Shalimar Heppner, 28, has a son with Real Madrid’s Alaba, who also captains the Austrian national team. Sky News has contacted him for comment.
Twenty-three suspected members and supporters of the group have been arrested according to German authorities.
Prosecutors said 22 German citizens, and one Russian woman were detained during the raids. They said the extradition of two other people detained in Italy and Austria.
Further arrests are expected to follow.
According to Der Spiegel, among the items seized in the raids were 9mm pistols, swords, knives, stun guns, combat helmets, night vision equipment, and the duty weapons of a police officers who were among the suspects.
The leftwing daily Die Tageszeitung reported that investigators found a “hitlist” with 18 names and addresses on it of prominent German politicians and journalists that the group may have intended to target.
The Reichsburger movement brings together several far-right groups whose aim is to get rid of the current government and replace it with their own.
According to the authorities, members of the Reichsburger group have been preparing to “carry out actions based on their ideology” since November 2021.
Following the raids, German interior minister Nancy Faese said the raids showed the country “fighting back against the enemies of democracy”.
The case has put a spotlight once more on the far-right Alternative for Germany party. A female judge – identified by prosecutors as Birgit M-W – who is understood to have links with the party was also detained during the raids.
Her intended post-coup role was understood to have been justice minister.
Known by its German acronym AfD, the party has increasingly come under scrutiny by German security services due to its ties with extremists.
Entertainment
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John David Washington says he felt like he had to conceal his desire to act because of the external expectations of him being the child of Denzel and Pauletta Washington.
He tells Sky News it took some time for him to pursue an acting career, choosing football instead to assert his “independence” and create his own “identity” separate from his famous family.
“I’ve been wanting to do this my whole life… but I was hiding it,” he said.
“I had to conceal that passion based on my relationship to the world and more specifically, my folks being in the industry, so I chose ball.
“I loved ball, but I was sort of hiding my love for the arts under a helmet – literally an American football helmet – and so when I wanted to become an actor, when I decided to pursue it, that was a big shock to some people.”
The 40-year-old actor says when he decided to pursue an acting career, he kept the decision quiet.
“Some people didn’t know I was even pursuing it professionally until I got a job,” he said.
John David with fellow actor Danielle Deadwyler. Pic: David Lee/ Netflix
Since switching to acting, John David has starred in a number of notable roles including the protagonist in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, Ron Stallworth in BlacKkKlansman and Joshua in The Creator.
He also led the stage revival of the 2022 Tony-nominated play The Piano Lesson on Broadway alongside Samuel L Jackson.
“He [Jackson] originated the role [I play] in 1987 at Yale with Lloyd Richards and August Wilson,” John David said.
“So it was of great importance for us to learn from both he and Michael Potts about August Wilson. It was a great blessing for me, I think, for all of us to have him present on set.”
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The Piano Lesson is the third August Wilson play to be adapted for the screen by Denzel Washington’s production company Mundy Lane Entertainment.
It is part of a pledge made by the Gladiator II actor to make all 10 of the playwright’s works into films.
The Netflix project is directed by another Washington family member, Malcolm, and stars most of the cast from the Broadway revival.
The Piano Lesson is Malcolm Washington’s directorial debut. Pic: Katia Washington/ Netflix
Set in 1936 Pittsburgh in the aftermath of the Great Depression, the film centres on a family heirloom, a piano, that is etched with the carvings of their family history made by their enslaved ancestor.
Malcolm says he started reading the play for the first time during the pandemic and immediately wanted to be involved in the film adaptation.
“I think with this movie, reclamation of story and identity is so central to the theme and it’s something that’s central to my life where I both acknowledge the fertile ground that I was raised on and who I am today.
“That’s what Wining Boy [played by Michael Potts] really is trying to do, he’s trying to build on that legacy, so that’s a story that really resonated with me.”
The filmmaker added: “I take all the gifts that my ancestors laid in front of me, and I’m trying to build something for the next generation to pass down – all of their gifts, plus mine to the next generation and let them build on it.”
Malcolm has dedicated his directorial debut to his mother, Pauletta Washington. Pic: David Lee/Netflix
Malcolm says his goal was to put family at the forefront of the production. By dedicating his feature debut to “Mama”, he is acknowledging the dedication and sacrifices that mothers make for the growth of their families.
“There’s so much pointing to my mother in particular, who inspired this adaptation so much. I see so much of her life in Berniece’s character [played by Danielle Deadwyler] – and that became a guiding light for me in this adaptation,” he said.
“As we made this thing and started reconnecting with our ancestors, my mum became like a kind of representative of them.
“She’s the matriarch of our family. She tells me about my grandparents and great-grandparents and the line that I come from, and I see them in her.
“And when the movie ends, I want people to kind of have that moment of reflection for their own lives. So in dedicating it to her, I was trying to dedicate it to all mums everywhere.”
The Piano Lesson is now available on Netflix.
Blockbuster Wicked has landed the largest opening weekend of 2024 at Vue International.
The film, starring Oscar-nominated actress Cynthia Erivo and Grammy-winning pop star Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Glinda, surpassed both Gladiator II and Paddington In Peru.
It has also had the largest opening weekend for a stage musical adaptation in the cinema chain’s history.
A boss for Vue International said it had seen a “sea of pink and green” over the weekend.
Ariana Grande (left) as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in the film. Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Pic: PA
Released on Friday, Wicked is up 60% on Les Miserables’ opening weekend in 2012 and three times larger than the 2022 film adaptation of Matilda.
Founder and chief executive of Vue International Tim Richards said: “Vue has seen a sea of pink and green over the opening weekend of Wicked, which has shown continued high demand for the big screen experience.
“We saw record-breaking pre-sales for Wicked, followed by a chart-topping opening weekend – the biggest for 2024.”
The film is the first of two parts, with the second expected in November next year.
Wicked and Gladiator II – known together as Glicked – have reportedly failed to beat out Barbenheimer, Barbie and Oppenheimer, in its own opening weekend last summer.
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Glicked brought in £215m in worldwide ticket sales – with Wicked making the majority of that.
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