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Trump sues BBC for $10 billion over documentary speech edit

US President Donald Trump on Monday filed a lawsuit seeking at least $10 billion from the BBC over a documentary that edited his 2021 speech to supporters ahead of the US Capitol riot.The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Miami, seeks “damages in an amount not less than $5,000,000,000” for each of two counts against the British broadcaster, for alleged defamation and violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.Trump, 79, had said earlier on Monday that the lawsuit was imminent, claiming the BBC had “put words in my mouth,” even positing that “they used AI or something.”The documentary at issue aired last year before the 2024 election, on the BBC’s “Panorama” flagship current affairs program.The video spliced together two separate sections of Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021 in a way that made it appear he explicitly urged supporters to attack the Capitol, where lawmakers were certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election win.”The formerly respected and now disgraced BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally, maliciously, and deceptively doctoring his speech in a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 Presidential Election,” a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said in a statement to AFP.”The BBC has a long pattern of deceiving its audience in coverage of President Trump, all in service of its own leftist political agenda,” the statement added. The British Broadcasting Corporation, whose audience extends well beyond the United Kingdom, faced a period of turmoil last month after a media report brought renewed attention to the edited clip.The scandal led the BBC director-general and the organization’s top news executive to resign.Trump’s lawsuit accuses the edited speech in the documentary of being “fabricated and aired by the Defendants one week before the 2024 Presidential Election in a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence the Election’s outcome to President Trump’s detriment.”The BBC has denied Trump’s claims of legal defamation, though BBC chairman Samir Shah has sent Trump a letter of apology.Shah also told a UK parliamentary committee last month that the broadcaster should have acted sooner to acknowledge its mistake after the error was disclosed in a memo, which was leaked to The Daily Telegraph newspaper.The BBC lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal action Trump has taken against media companies in recent years, several of which have led to multi-million-dollar settlements.

Will OpenAI be the next tech giant or next Netscape?

Three years after ChatGPT made OpenAI the leader in artificial intelligence and a household name, rivals have closed the gap and some investors are wondering if the sensation has the wherewithal to stay dominant.Investor Michael Burry, made famous in the film “The Big Short,” recently likened OpenAI to Netscape, which ruled the web browser market in the mid-1990s only to lose to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.”OpenAI is the next Netscape, doomed and hemorrhaging cash,” Burry said recently in a post on X, formerly Twitter.Researcher Gary Marcus, known for being skeptical of AI hype, sees OpenAI as having lost the lead it captured with the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022.The startup is “burning billions of dollars a month,” Marcus said of OpenAI.”Given how long the writing has been on the wall, I can only shake my head” as it falls.Yet ChatGPT was a tech launch like no other, breaking all consumer product growth records and now boasting more than 800 million — paid subscription and unpaid — weekly users.OpenAI’s valuation has soared to $500 billion in funding rounds, higher than any other private company.But the ChatGPT maker will end this year with a loss of several billion dollars and does not expect to be profitable before 2029, an eternity in the fast-moving and uncertain world of AI.Nonetheless, the startup has committed to paying more than $1.4 trillion to computer chip makers and data center builders to build infrastructure it needs for AI.The fierce cash burn is raising questions, especially since Google claims some 650 million people use its Gemini AI monthly and the tech giant has massive online ad revenue to back its spending on technology.Rivals Amazon, Meta and OpenAI-investor Microsoft have deep pockets the ChatGPT-maker cannot match.- Turbulence ahead? -A charismatic salesman, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman flashed rare annoyance when asked about the startup’s multi-trillion-dollar contracts in early November.A few days later, he warned internally that the startup is likely to face a “turbulent environment” and an “unfavorable economic climate,” particularly given competitive pressure from Google.And when Google released its latest model to positive reactions, Altman issued a “red alert,” urging OpenAI teams to give ChatGPT their best efforts.OpenAI unveiled its latest ChatGPT model last week, that same day announcing Disney would invest in the startup and license characters for use in the bot and Sora video-generating tool.OpenAI’s challenge is inspiring the confidence that the large sums of money it is investing will pay off, according to Foundation Capital partner Ashu Garg.For now OpenAI is raising money at lofty valuations while returns on those investments are questionable, Garg added.Yet OpenAI still has the faith of the world’s deepest-pocketed investors.”I’m always expecting OpenAI’s valuation to come down because competition is coming and its capital structure is so obviously inappropriate,” said Pluris Valuation Advisors president Espen Robak.”But it only seems to be going up.”Opinions are mixed on whether the situation will result in OpenAI postponing becoming a publicly traded company or instead make its way faster to Wall Street to cash in on the AI euphoria.Few AI industry analysts expect OpenAI to implode completely, since there is room in the market for several models to thrive.”At the end of the day, it’s not winner take all,” said CFRA analyst Angelo Zino.”All of these companies will take a piece of the pie, and the pie continues to get bigger,” he said of AI industry frontrunners.Also factored in is that while OpenAI has made dizzying financial commitments, terms of deals tend to be flexible and Microsoft is a major backer of the startup.

Son arrested for murder of movie director Rob Reiner and wife

Los Angeles police charged the son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner with murder on Monday after the suspect’s parents were found stabbed in a brutal double killing that shocked movie fans around the world.Nick Reiner, 32, was detained hours after the bodies of the 78-year-old actor-director and his wife, 70-year-old Michele Singer Reiner, were discovered in the upscale Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles on Sunday, with multiple reports that they had been stabbed to death or had their throats slit.Los Angeles police chief Jim McDonnell told reporters the younger Reiner was arrested a few hours after the alarm was raised.”He was subsequently booked for murder and is being held,” McDonnell said.Nick Reiner, who has a history of substance abuse stretching back to his teenage years, had argued with his parents at a glitzy Hollywood party on Saturday evening, media reported.Entertainment outlet TMZ said the bodies had been found on Sunday afternoon by the couple’s daughter, who told police another family member had killed them.As tributes poured in from entertainers and politicians, Donald Trump unleashed an extraordinary broadside, suggesting that Reiner brought on his own murder by criticizing the US president.Trump claimed the Reiners had died “reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.””He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession,” the Republican leader wrote.Later, he doubled down, telling reporters that Reiner was “very bad for our country.”The comments were blasted by two prominent right-wing Republicans, including Representative Thomas Massie, who called them “inappropriate and disrespectful.”In a twist of fate, Michele Reiner took the portrait photograph that appeared on “The Art of the Deal,” Trump’s ghostwritten memoir that helped forge his reputation as a successful businessman.- A beloved director -Reiner was politically active, an outspoken supporter of progressive causes, and had warned that Trump was mounting an authoritarian takeover.Reiner backed efforts to secure equal gay marriage rights and create California’s First 5 program, which provides child development programs funded by taxes on tobacco products. The son of legendary comedian Carl Reiner — who won 11 Emmy Awards for his television performances and worked with movie greats Mel Brooks and Neil Simon — Reiner started his showbiz career in acting.He won fame as the oafish son-in-law Michael “Meathead” Stivic on groundbreaking 1970s sitcom “All in the Family,” before transitioning to directing. Even while leading behind the camera, he often appeared in cameo roles in his own films.But it was as a director that he struck Hollywood gold.His output included classic films like 1984’s rock music mockumentary “This is Spinal Tap,” fantasy gem “The Princess Bride” from 1987, and the 1992 courtroom drama “A Few Good Men,” as well as seminal coming-of-age movie “Stand By Me.””A Few Good Men,” starring Hollywood heavyweights Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson, earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.Reiner also directed “When Harry Met Sally,” which included the legendary restaurant scene in which Meg Ryan fakes an orgasm in front of Billy Crystal.Reiner cast his own mother as the fellow diner who wryly quips: “I’ll have what she’s having.”Movie heavyweight John Cusack said he was “at a loss for any words that make sense” about the deaths.Horror and thriller writer Stephen King, whose novella “The Body” was the basis for “Stand By Me,” lauded a “wonderful friend.”Kathy Bates, who won an Oscar for her part in Reiner’s “Misery,” said he was “brilliant and kind, a man who made films of every genre to challenge himself as an artist.”Actor-director Ben Stiller paid tribute to “a kind caring person who was really really funny,” and someone who “made some of the most formative movies for my generation.”Democratic politicians also expressed shock.Former president Barack Obama said he and his wife Michelle were “heartbroken.””Beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people,” Obama said on X.California Governor Gavin Newsom said Reiner had “made California a better place.”

Gunman still at large after shooting at elite US university

A gunman remained at large Monday after a weekend mass shooting at elite Brown University left two dead and nine wounded, with US authorities releasing new footage of a masked “person of interest” captured on surveillance cameras.The shooting took place Saturday in a building where exams were underway on the Ivy League campus in Providence, Rhode Island when a man with a rifle burst in and opened fire before fleeing.Authorities initially detained a man in connection with the shooting, but they later released him, saying he was unconnected.Police revealed at a Monday briefing newly acquired security camera footage of another person wanted in connection with the shooting, wearing a dark beanie hat and a mask along with a heavy black coat.The two students killed were Ella Cook, vice president of Brown’s Republican association, and Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, originally from Uzbekistan, who had hoped to become a neurosurgeon.- ‘Complex investigation’ -“We want to see the individual that pulled the trigger on these young kids identified, apprehended and brought the justice,” Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee told the briefing Monday as the perpetrator remained at large.Local police earlier said that officers had “an enhanced presence in Providence neighborhoods” and that they were going door to door requesting surveillance camera footage.”This is a very active investigation, very complex investigation,” Providence chief of police Oscar Perez said at the update.The FBI as well as agents from the US Department of Homeland Security were involved in tracking down the shooter, he added.”We want to make sure…that we identify this individual and bring them to justice,” Perez said.News that a person was being held indicated a breakthrough, with FBI Director Kash Patel announcing that local police had given federal investigations a lead.But authorities had to walk this back, saying late Sunday that there was not enough evidence to connect the person to the shooting.A lockdown and shelter-in-place order went into effect immediately after the shooting, as heavily armed officers flooded the area.Of the nine wounded, one was in critical condition, seven were in stable condition and one had been discharged, Smiley said.”The gun was so big and long that I genuinely thought…Okay, this is the end of the road for me,” Brown University teaching assistant Joseph Oduro told ABC News.Police initially released 10 seconds of footage of the suspect, seen from behind, walking briskly down a deserted street after apparently opening fire inside a first-floor classroom.”This is starting to get very real and very personal,” Smiley said Monday as the manhunt dragged on. “That’s the scary side. The upside is that this is a tight knit community that looks out for one another.”- Latest mass shooting -The attack is the latest incident of mass shooting in the United States, where attempts to restrict access to firearms face political deadlock.There have been more than 300 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as four or more people shot.During a Christmas event Sunday at the White House, President Donald Trump spoke briefly about the shooting, saying “things can happen” and wishing the injured to “get well fast.”Brown, which has around 11,000 students, issued an emergency alert at 4:22 pm (2122 GMT) on Saturday reporting “an active shooter near Barus and Holley Engineering,” which is home to the engineering and physics departments. Two exams had been scheduled at the time.”Lock doors, silence phones and stay hidden until further notice,” the university said.Law enforcement and first responders swarmed the scene, with local news station WPRI reporting “clothing and blood on the sidewalk.”The deadliest school shooting in US history took place at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, when South Korean student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and wounded 17 others before taking his own life.

Trump ‘considering’ push to reclassify marijuana as less dangerous

US President Donald Trump on Monday said his administration could push to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana, reclassifying it as a less dangerous drug.”We are considering that,” Trump told reporters after he was queried whether an executive order on the issue was being discussed.”A lot of people want to see it, the reclassification, because it leads to tremendous amounts of research that can’t be done unless you reclassify, so we are looking at that very strongly.”At the federal level, marijuana is currently classified as a Schedule I substance, in the same league as drugs like heroin and LSD. The government considers these drugs to have high abuse potential without accepted use for medical treatment.But dozens of US states already have legal medical marijuana programs, and many also have approved its recreational use.According to a recent Washington Post report, Trump is aiming to push for a reclassification to Schedule III — substances that are considered to have medical value and less potential for abuse.That class includes ketamine and anabolic steroids.Rescheduling is not legalization or decriminalization — but easing federal restrictions could have ripple effects, including lowering barriers to pursue research, as authorizing clinical studies on Schedule I substances can require many layers of approval.It could also have major tax implications for companies that legally grow and sell cannabis.The US president cannot unilaterally reclassify a drug. The Post reported that Trump is expected to sign an executive order directing federal agencies to pursue reclassification.Joe Biden’s administration had previously pursued reclassification, but efforts stalled and were not completed before Trump took office in early 2025.The US has a patchwork of state-level regulations regarding the commercial distribution, recreational possession and personal cultivation of cannabis. In small amounts it is already legal for recreational use in 24 US states as well as Washington DC.

Trump condemned for saying critical filmmaker brought on own murder

Donald Trump faced a storm of condemnation on Monday after posting “perverse” and “sick” remarks suggesting Rob Reiner and his wife were murdered because of the celebrated filmmaker’s criticism of the US president.Among those voicing shock were some staunch Trump loyalists, and the remarks triggered a wave of unusually negative responses on the Truth Social network he uses to communicate with his base.As tributes poured in, Trump claimed the Reiners had died “reportedly due to the anger” that the director had sparked by criticizing the Republican leader.Trump boasted of his own political success and said Reiner had “driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession” with attacking the president.The comments came as police announced that Reiner’s son, Nick, had been arrested on suspicion of murder — a development that intensified the backlash.”I’d expect to hear something like this from a drunk guy at a bar, not the president of the United States,” Nebraska Republican Don Bacon, who retires from the House of Representatives next year, told CNN.Marjorie Taylor Greene, once one of Trump’s fiercest allies in Congress, scolded Trump over his response to a “family tragedy” that was “not about politics or political enemies.””Many families deal with a family member with drug addiction and mental health issues. It’s incredibly difficult and should be met with empathy especially when it ends in murder,” she posted on X.- Trump doubles down -Thomas Massie, another Trump critic on the Republican side of the House of Representatives, called the president’s comments “inappropriate and disrespectful” while New York moderate Mike Lawler called the remarks “wrong.”Trump has long trafficked in incendiary social media posts, but open rebukes from within his own party were once almost unimaginable.Asked at a White House medal ceremony whether he stood by his remarks, Trump was unapologetic — doubling down and further vilifying the “When Harry Met Sally” director.”I think he hurt himself… career wise. He became like a deranged person, Trump derangement syndrome,” Trump said. “So I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all in any way, shape or form. I thought he was very bad for our country.”Miles Taylor, a former Trump administration homeland security official who became a prominent internal critic after anonymously publishing a 2019 tell-all book, accused the president of “mocking the dead” and branded him a “sick creep.””His attacks on (Republican senator) John McCain after the veteran’s death pushed me to speak out from within his administration. (The) taunting of Rob Reiner’s murder makes me even more determined to defy Trump.”Reiner was an outspoken critic of Trump, calling the billionaire a threat to American democracy and raising funds for Democratic candidates.David Axelrod, the former chief strategist to Democratic President Barack Obama, described Trump’s post as “perverse.””The absence of empathy & grace for the Reiner family in their moment of profound loss and grief is sad and revealing. For @POTUS, his grievances trumps their grief.”Democratic Senator Chris Murphy said Trump had “lost it.””Now saying Rob and Michele Reiner caused their own murder because they didn’t support him. So sick,” he wrote.

Trump says Ukraine deal close, Europe proposes peace force

US President Donald Trump said Monday that a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine was closer than ever, as European leaders proposed a “multinational force” to enforce a potential peace accord.The upbeat remarks came as key powers met in Berlin with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to push forward efforts to end the war — although Russia had yet to react to the latest proposals.”I think we’re closer now than we have been ever,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that he had “very long and very good talks” with Zelensky and others, including the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and NATO.The European leaders in a joint statement at the Berlin talks proposed a force as part of US-backed “robust security guarantees” aimed at guaranteeing that Russia would not violate an agreement to end the war, which started with Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion.Zelensky said earlier that talks with Trump’s envoys were “not easy” but brought “progress” on the question of security guarantees.He met for a second day with Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner for talks aimed at ending the war, building on a proposal initially put forward by Trump.Zelensky hailed new security guarantees offered by Washington but also said differences remained on the question of what territories Ukraine would have to cede to Russia.”There has been sufficient dialogue on the territory, and I think that, frankly speaking, we still have different positions,” Zelensky told reporters.- US security guarantees -An upbeat German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the talks had created the “chance for a real peace process” and praised the US for offering “substantial” security guarantees.The European statement — whose signatories included the leaders of Britain, France and Germany — also outlined what it said were other points of agreement between the European leaders and US officials.Ukraine’s military should continue receiving extensive support and maintain a peacetime strength of 800,000 troops, it said.Peace would also be maintained by a “US-led ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism” that would identify violations and “provide early warning of any future attack”.US officials warned Ukraine must accept the deal, which they said would provide security guarantees in line with NATO’s Article Five — which calls an attack on one ally an attack on all.”The basis of that agreement is basically to have really, really strong guarantees — Article Five-like — also a very, very strong deterrence” in the size of Ukraine’s military, a US official said on condition of anonymity.”Those guarantees will not be on the table forever. Those guarantees are on the table right now if there’s a conclusion that’s reached in a good way,” he said.Trump has previously ruled out a formal entry of Ukraine into NATO and sided with Russia in calling Kyiv’s aspirations to the alliance a reason for the full-scale invasion by Moscow.Merz said “substantial legal and material security guarantees” from the United States were “truly remarkable” and “a very important step forward”.- ‘Criminal attack’ -Zelensky said of the talks with the US side that “these conversations are always not easy” but that it had been “a productive conversation”.An official briefed on the US-Ukrainian talks earlier told AFP that US negotiators still want Ukraine to cede control of the eastern Donbas — made up of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.Moscow controls almost all of Lugansk and about 80 percent of the Donetsk region, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War.Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants territory”, said the official, adding that the United States was demanding that Ukraine “withdraw” from the regions and that Kyiv was refusing.One of the US officials acknowledged that there was no agreement on territory. Trump has called it inevitable that Ukraine would need to surrender territory to Russia, an outcome unacceptable to Zelensky.Russia, meanwhile, has signalled it will insist on its core demands, including on territory and on Ukraine never joining NATO.Moscow has previously objected to any European-led force in Ukraine to police a peace agreement.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia was expecting the United States to “provide us with the concept that is being discussed in Berlin today”.burs-fz/rlp/rmb

Five Rob Reiner films that rocked, romanced and riveted

Rob Reiner’s cinematic career spanned decades and defied categorization, embracing courtroom drama, fantasy, horror, comedy, and satire.Each success was distinguished by incisive writing and a deep humanity that wove his work into the fabric of popular culture.Few filmmakers have matched Reiner’s breadth — or left behind so many lines that endure in memory, quoted everywhere from comedy stages to political podiums.In the wake of his shocking killing, that legacy has only come into sharper focus, as tributes pour in to a filmmaker whose work blended wit, empathy and moral clarity with rare consistency.Here are five Reiner classics, endlessly rewatched and quoted, that now stand as both entertainment and epitaph.- This Is Spinal Tap (1984) -Reiner’s directorial debut didn’t merely lampoon rock culture — it helped invent the modern mockumentary.The film chronicles a hapless British heavy-metal band on a US tour gone spectacularly awry.Initially overlooked, earning just $6 million and no major awards, it later joined the US National Film Registry for its cultural significance.Home video and its endlessly quotable dialogue transformed it into a cult phenomenon.Notable quotable: “These go to 11.” — Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) with a deadpan declaration about an amplifier’s volume knob that has become shorthand for trying to turn everything up beyond the limit.- The Princess Bride (1987) -A fairy tale brimming with swordplay, true love, revenge, rodents of unusual size and — again — relentlessly quotable dialogue.Another modest box-office performer at $31 million, it blossomed into one of the most cherished films of the 1980s.Though it earned no Oscars, its cultural immortality is unquestioned.Notable quotable: “As you wish.” — Westley (Cary Elwes) with a romantic refrain expressing his devotion to Buttercup — later revealed to mean simply “I love you.”- When Harry Met Sally… (1989) -Two neurotic New Yorkers spend more than a decade debating whether men and women can ever be “just friends.” This became the blueprint for the modern rom-com — sharp, adult and emotionally honest. Nora Ephron’s screenplay earned an Oscar nod, and the film grossed $93 million worldwide, cementing Reiner’s commercial clout.Notable quotable: “I’ll have what she’s having.” — Customer (Estelle Reiner) delivers a deadpan line in an iconic diner scene that steals the movie. So beloved it was placed in the American Film Institute’s list of memorable movie quotes.- Misery (1990) -Reiner plunged into psychological horror with this Stephen King adaptation: a novelist (James Caan) survives a car crash only to be held captive by an unhinged superfan who insists he rewrite his latest book — or else.It was proof Reiner could pivot from straight-up comedy into darkness without missing a beat.He directed Kathy Bates to an Academy Award for her turn as deranged nurse Annie Wilkes and the film netted roughly $61 million worldwide on a modest budget.Notable quotable: “I’m your number one fan!” — Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) makes a chilling proclamation of obsessive devotion that perfectly captures her menace.- A Few Good Men (1992) -A taut courtroom drama about a young Navy lawyer uncovering a deadly conspiracy while defending Marines accused of murder at Guantanamo Bay.Reiner delivered a morally complex thriller at full throttle, powered by Aaron Sorkin’s script and Jack Nicholson’s volcanic performance.The film scored four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and grossed $243 million worldwide — Reiner’s biggest hit.Notable quotable: “You can’t handle the truth!” — Col. Nathan R. Jessup (Jack Nicholson) with a thunderous courtroom declaration that has become one of cinema’s most quoted lines, epitomizing the film’s central moral conundrum.

Rob Reiner: Hollywood giant and political activist

Born to Hollywood royalty, Rob Reiner made a string of movie hits showcasing remarkable range and was prominent in Democratic Party circles as a backer of liberal causes.The apparent murder of Reiner and his wife, photographer Michele Singer in Los Angeles, stunned the director’s friends and admirers. The arrest of his troubled son in connection with the killings only deepened the tragedy.Reiner’s film career spanned the romcom “When Harry Met Sally,” the nail-biting thriller “Misery,” adapted from a Stephen King novel, and coming of age classic “Stand by Me,” which launched River Phoenix’s career.Reiner worked in almost every genre, often to critical and Box Office acclaim, with many of his productions becoming cult classics.Born into showbusiness on March 6, 1947, in New York, Reiner was the son of comedian and director Carl Reiner of “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid” fame.After training in film and theater at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), he embarked on a glittering Hollywood career alongside his father’s friends, including Mel Brooks.His first forays were as an actor in television series, notably “All in the Family,” before moving behind the camera.In 1984, his first feature film, the hilarious mockumentary “Spinal Tap” about an imaginary rock band, was an overnight success.Then in 1986, Reiner directed “Stand by Me,” an adaptation of King’s novel “The Body” in which four teenagers in the early 1960s set out to find the body of a missing boy. A coming-of-age film that has become a cult classic, both tragic and funny, it is widely considered to be his first masterpiece. The following year, Reiner directed “The Princess Bride,” a surprising, swashbuckling fantasy genre romp starring Peter Falk. – ‘My wife and kids’ – In 1989, he changed course again with the timeless romantic comedy “When Harry Met Sally” in which Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan made cinema history as the golden couple of the era. Sally’s imitation of a loud orgasm in the middle of a restaurant while her companion looks on stunned remains one of the most memorable scenes in cinema history.”I’ll have what she’s having,” a fellow diner says in the scene’s oft-quoted punchline. Reiner shifted course again in 1990 with “Misery,” also adapted from a King novel. Kathy Bates won the Oscar for Best Actress.A year later, Reiner directed “A Few Good Men,” a chilling courtroom drama starring Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, and Jack Nicholson at his terrifying best.That hit was followed by the more modestly received romcom “The American President” and buddy comedy “The Bucket List” among several other cinematic outings that failed to replicate the magic of his 1990s output.Reiner returned to his acting career, appearing in Martin Scorsese’s 2013 film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. More recently, he starred in the hit TV series “The Bear.”Alongside his Hollywood credits, Reiner was a long-time activist with close ties to the Democratic Party. He championed same-sex marriage and remained a vocal critic of the Trump administration.Prominent Democrats, including former president Barack Obama and former vice president Kamala Harris have paid tribute to him.President Donald Trump issued an extraordinary, crude attack, suggesting that Reiner was to blame for his own murder.For all his success, Reiner told The New York Times last year that “my wife and kids…. That’s the most important to me.”  He told the paper that he had no regrets about his career choices, saying: “Nobody on their death bed ever said, ‘I should have spent more time at the office.'”