From the government, officials speak of unnecessary “alarmism,” but thousands of citizens are not convinced. They are training to respond to any potential interference in the upcoming midterm elections. Many were previously active in efforts to protect migrants from raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and their focus has now shifted to defending democracy against possible threats.
It was all thanks to a small metal screw – an orthodontic mini-screw, to be precise – that was placed in the jawbone underneath José Antonio Jiménez’s gums. His wife, Priscila Murrieta, waited in the hallways of the Attorney General’s office in Mazatlán, a city in the south of the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Meanwhile, the forensic dentist went in and out of a room. Of the bodies recovered from the mass graves in the small town of El Verde, Jiménez could be one of them. With moles and tattoos ruled out, only two bodies remained with similar characteristics. Both of the victims wore braces on their teeth.
On the night of March 20, 2024, unusually humid and mild in London, three people in their twenties pulled up at an industrial estate in the east of the city in a cherry-red Kia Picanto. They went inside, set fire to a warehouse, and filmed the blaze on a cellphone. The video of the flames consuming the premises ended up in the hands of another 20-year-old, Dylan Earl, who was reached via the Telegram messaging app by the Russian paramilitary organization Wagner, linked to the Kremlin, which had in turn recruited others to do the dirty work. One of the burned units contained humanitarian aid and Starlink satellite equipment destined for Ukraine. According to the British investigation, the three young men who lit the fuse did not know they were actually working for Russia.
There are three versions of Saint John’s Book of theApocalypse, a text that never loses relevance and now seems to presage the impacts of artificial intelligence (AI).
The economist Mariana Mazzucato believes in getting out into the field, rolling up her sleeves and seeing how her ideas are put into practice to improve people’s lives. She has just returned from Brazil and Mexico after several weeks working with local communities. She welcomes EL PAÍS into her London home, in the Camden neighborhood, with an energy that seems remarkable for someone who should still be battling jet lag.
Victimhood, its exploitation and its political use to justify cruelty have been among the topics most extensively researched by Sarah Schulman. A decade has passed since the writer, LGBTQ+ activist and AIDS historian published Conflict Is Not Abuse: Overstating Harm, Community Responsibility, and the Duty of Repair, which is now being released in Spanish. “Sadly, it turns out the book was prophetic,” the 68-year-old author explains to EL PAÍS via video conference. “It came out before Trump was elected, and he’s proven all the arguments presented to be true. All of his rhetoric revolves around him being a victim. We see the same thing with Netanyahu. This idea of the perpetrator presenting themselves as the victim is now the global norm, unfortunately.”
Brad Pitt’s recent visit to Spain revealed his affinity for the local culture. The actor greeted crowds outside the Hotel María Cristina in San Sebastián; he viewed the abstract works sculpted by Eduardo Chillida; he denied knowing or having had an affair with Makoke Giaever, a Spanish TV personality; and he made a surprise appearance at a christening in Madrid’s Santa Bárbara Church to meet the family of his girlfriend, Inés de Ramón.
The so-called “delayed prescribing” is an evidence-based strategy that remains underused despite concerns over the misuse of antibiotics and the rise of superbugs, which are responsible for an estimated 1.2 million deaths worldwide each year. Under this approach, a doctor prescribes treatment for a patient with a respiratory infection but advises them to monitor their symptoms and wait up to 72 hours before collecting the medication from the pharmacy and starting the course.
Fifty years later, Carrie White is returning to American high schools. Prime Video’s new series revisits the bullied teenager who became one of horror’s defining figures, first in Stephen King’s novel and later in Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation. But there is one image that remains impossible to escape: Sissy Spacek, drenched in blood, staring directly into the camera after unleashing her telekinetic powers. For several generations, the role has been synonymous with Spacek. Now, as a new actress takes on Carrie, we look back at what became of the 76-year-old performer who brought to life some of the most memorable characters of 1970s and 1980s cinema.
Spacek was 26 when Brian De Palma cast her as a high school student in 'Carrie.' The film changed her career forever, earned her first Oscar nomination and secured her a place in the cultural imagination that remains remarkably intact 50 years after its release. The actress says that teenagers still approach her today to show off tattoos of the outcast heroine. Incidentally, unlike Carrie, Spacek was her high school’s prom queen.
Born Mary Elizabeth in a small rural town in Texas, Spacek acquired the nickname “Sissy” from her two older brothers, a name by which she would eventually become known around the world. Following the death of one of them, she left home one summer for New York with an actor cousin in an attempt to escape the family tragedy. She abandoned plans to attend college and, under the stage name Rainbo, tried to make it as a folk singer in late-1960s Manhattan. It didn’t work out. Her record label dropped her, and Spacek decided to enroll in acting school instead.
Terrence Malick’s cult classic 'Badlands' marked Spacek’s first leading role in a feature film and became her breakthrough. She played a teenage girl who runs away with a rebellious young man she has just met, played by Martin Sheen, and becomes a fugitive after her father rejects the relationship. The film won the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, and Spacek, who had been studying acting for only a matter of months, emerged as an unlikely Hollywood star: an anti-diva whose red hair, freckles, diminutive stature and youthful appearance set her apart from the era’s conventional screen icons.
The film also changed her life in another way: it was on the set that she met the love of her life, production designer Jack Fisk. After first crossing paths in 1972, the two married a couple of years later and have now been together for half a century, making them one of Hollywood’s longest-lasting couples. They have two daughters, Schuyler and Madison, and both remain active in the industry. Fisk's recent production design credits include 'Marty Supreme,' 'The Revenant' and 'Killers of the Flower Moon.'
Spacek became one of the defining stars of the New Hollywood era, a movement heavily influenced by the French New Wave and Italian neorealism. Beginning in 1977, the Texas-born actress received five Oscar nominations in less than a decade. Among her most memorable performances from that era are 'Missing,' directed by Costa-Gavras; 'The River,' opposite Mel Gibson; and 'Crimes of the Heart,' alongside Jessica Lange and Diane Keaton.
Spacek won her first and only Oscar in 1981 for 'Coal Miner’s Daughter,' the biopic of country singer Loretta Lynn. Lynn had risen from humble beginnings in rural Kentucky, marrying at 13 and becoming a mother of four before the age of 20. In a twist of fate, when Spacek was trying to launch a music career years earlier, a record label turned her down because her voice sounded too much like that of another artist on its roster: Loretta Lynn. That very similarity would later help earn her an Academy Award. Spacek performed all of the songs in the film herself and even received a Grammy nomination for her work.
The greatest tragedy of Spacek’s life came when she was just 17. Her brother Robert, only a few months older than she was, died of leukemia. Spacek was just beginning to work at the time and, despite the devastation, managed to turn that trauma into a source of strength throughout her career.
Spacek and Fisk married in Santa Monica in a ceremony so private that their dog was their only witness, and so informal that both wore jeans. The actress credits the longevity of their relationship to the constant collaboration between them.
At the height of their fame, Spacek and Fisk left Hollywood behind and moved to a farm in rural Virginia, determined to raise their daughters away from red carpets and the glare of the spotlight. There, they raised horses and grew their own vegetables, while Spacek returned to acting only for roles that truly resonated with her. In 2001, she earned a sixth Oscar nomination for her performance in 'In the Bedroom.'
Their daughters have followed their parents into the film industry as well. Schuyler Fisk became an actress and, while she never came close to matching her mother’s level of fame, she has enjoyed a steady career in American television and film. Madison, meanwhile, learned the ropes from her father and has worked in the art department on a number of feature films, following in his footsteps as a production designer.
One of the best-known stories from 1970s Hollywood is how Spacek landed the role of Carrie. As close friends, George Lucas and Brian De Palma held joint auditions for their next projects, 'Star Wars' and 'Carrie,' respectively. Spacek auditioned for Lucas’s film, while Carrie Fisher also took part in casting sessions connected to the horror movie. In the end, the roles found their way to the actresses who would make them iconic: Fisher as Princess Leia and Spacek as Carrie White.
Spacek’s performance left such a deep mark on popular culture that screenwriter and producer Mike Flanagan, who is once again adapting 'Carrie' for Prime Video, has said it was the biggest hurdle in casting the role anew. According to Flanagan, most of the 1,400 actresses who auditioned for the series arrived trying to imitate Spacek’s iconic performance. The part ultimately went to Summer H. Howell, whose reinterpretation of Carrie has drawn widespread praise from critics.
Although she was never associated with method acting in the way her contemporary Robert De Niro was, Spacek’s approach to her craft also relied on total immersion in her characters. For '’night, Mother,' in which she played a daughter struggling with suicidal thoughts, she would spend weeks inhabiting a deeply depressed emotional state until filming wrapped. It was none other than Jack Lemmon who warned her that if she remained so committed to despair, she might end up being consumed by it herself.
Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain and Emma Stone — whom Spacek once advised never to hide her freckles on screen again — are among the younger generation of stars who have publicly expressed their admiration for the 76-year-old actress. Stone, who also worked with Spacek on 'The Help,' has reunited with the veteran actress for 'The Catch,' the new film directed by Stone’s husband, Dave McCary.
At 76, Spacek appears to have settled on a definition of happiness far less ambitious than the one Hollywood usually sells. In a 2022 interview with 'Esquire,' when asked how she managed to remain so upbeat, she said happiness is overrated and that we need to be content and simply be.
When motherhood came calling, Spacek had little doubt about what should take priority. She even turned down the role that would eventually go to Debra Winger in 'Terms of Endearment' because she did not want to be separated from her daughter Schuyler, who was only a few months old.
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