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Spencer: Cast actors with disabilities CELEBRITIES Tribune news services

Capital - 7/28/2020

Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer says Hollywood needs to do better casting people with disabilities.

The star of "The Help" and "Hidden Figures" is part of a new video campaign timed with the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act this month.

"Casting able-bodied actors in roles for characters with disabilities is offensive, unjust, and deprives an entire community of people from opportunities," she says in the nearly three-minute clip.

Spencer argues that the industry needs to recognize that "nothing can replace lived experience and authentic representation." She also notes how the entertainment industry has been notoriously slow at embracing diversity.

"It's only been a few decades since white actors would portray Black, Asian and even Native American characters on screen," Spencer says. "There is no reason that we should continue to repeat the same mistakes of the past. Together, we should and can do better."

The campaign was launched by the Ruderman Family Foundation.

Turner, Jonas welcome first child: Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas have had their first child. Turner, 24, and Jonas, 30, announced the birth Monday.

"Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas are delighted to announce the birth of their baby," they said in a statement released through his label, Republic Records. They were quiet about the pregnancy and gave no further details on the baby.

Turner, who played Sansa Stark on "Game of Thrones," and Jonas, who came to fame in a band with his brothers, began dating in 2016 and married last year. The baby is the first for both.

Hanks, Wilson get Greek citizenship: Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, have been granted Greek citizenship.

In an Instagram post Sunday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitstotakis shared a photograph of him and his wife at a meeting with Hanks and Wilson, who were holding up their new Greek passports.

"Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks are now proud Greek citizens," Mitsotakis wrote in the post.

Greece offered citizenship to Hanks, Wilson and their two children in recognition of the family's help in raising funds for the victims of a deadly wildfire near Athens in 2018. Wilson, an actress and producer, has Greek and Bulgarian ancestry.

'Tenet' to open internationally first: In the latest plan for Hollywood's return to moviegoing, Warner Bros. will release Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" in an unprecedented fashion, opening it internationally first on Aug. 26, with a U.S. release in select cities over Labor Day weekend.

Warner Bros. on Monday said "Tenet" will arrive in more than 70 countries on Aug. 26. The $200 million thriller will open in the U.S. on Sept. 2.

Instead of the usual global launch of a summer blockbuster, "Tenet" will make its way through theaters as they are open. The film was originally set for release July 17.

July 28 birthdays: Actor Darryl Hickman is 89. Cartoonist Jim Davis is 75. Drummer Simon Kirke is 71. Guitarist Steve Morse is 66. News anchor Scott Pelley is 63. Actor Lori Loughlin is 56. Actor Elizabeth Berkley is 48. Singer Afroman is 46. Actor John David Washington is 36. Actor Dustin Milligan is 35. Rapper Soulja Boy is 30.

Caption: Octavia Spencer is part of a video campaign timed with the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Mike Coppola/Getty 2019

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