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Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning to start free streaming without “Part One” on title

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning to start free streaming without “Part One” on title

News comes from IGN, where it says it’ll be on Paramount+ next week, and it’ll have the Part One dropped from titled. I’m sure this kind bums all of the merchandising people got.

A week from now, you can watch the latest Mission: Impossible film on Paramount+.

In a press release, Paramount Pictures confirmed that Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning will arrive on its streaming service Paramount Plus on January 25. Perhaps more interesting, however, Paramount has dropped “Part One” from its title.

Its sequel was previously called Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning: Part 2, which was delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike last year and is now set to release in theaters on May 23, 2025. In announcing the delay back in October, Paramount simply called the eighth film in the franchise “Mission: Impossible,” without any numbers or subtitles.

We don’t know if that means the next installment will take a Scream (2022) or Halloween (2019) approach, but between that and today’s news, we can safely assume it’ll no longer be called “Dead Reckoning Part 2.”

Released last July, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning has Tom Cruise’s character, Ethan Hunt, and his crew facing off against an advanced sentient AI. The film’s story even influenced President Joe Biden, who said he was more concerned about the use of artificial intelligence after watching the film.

Despite a strong opening weekend, with the film making $56.2 million domestically, it was later reported by Variety that the film was on track to lose $100 million. It was no doubt impacted by opening just a week ahead of the box office phenomenon that was Barbenheimer, the name given to the simultaneous release date of Barbie and Oppenheimer.

In our review of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, we said: “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning sees Tom Cruise’s anti-algorithm crusade take hilariously literal form in a fun, intense, and self-reflexive action saga that works despite itself.”

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Warner Bros. MPG And Tom Cruise Develop And Produce Original and Franchise Films

Warner Bros. MPG And Tom Cruise Develop And Produce Original and Franchise Films

Warner Bros. Press Release about a new joint contract with Tom Cruise.

Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group’s Co-Chairs and CEOs Michael De Luca & Pam Abdy and Tom Cruise today announced they will jointly develop and produce original and franchise theatrical films starring Cruise in 2024 under a new strategic partnership between Cruise and Warner Bros. Discovery. Cruise and his production company will have offices on the Warner Bros. Discovery lot in Burbank.

The partnership marks a return to Warner Bros. for Cruise, whose storied filmography with the studio includes Edge of Tomorrow, Rock of Ages, The Last Samurai, Eyes Wide Shut, Interview with the Vampire, Risky Business, The Outsiders, and New Line’s Magnolia.

Said De Luca and Abdy, “We are thrilled to be working with Tom, an absolute legend in the film industry. Our vision, from day one, has been to rebuild this iconic studio to the heights of its glory days, and, in fact, when we first sat down with David Zaslav to talk about joining the Warner Bros. Discovery team, he said to us, ‘We are on a mission to bring Warner Bros. back – we have the best resources, storytelling IP, and talent in the business – and we need to bring Tom Cruise back to Warner Bros!’ Today, that becomes a reality and we are one step closer to achieving our ambition. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Tom back to Warner Bros. and look forward to bringing more of his genius to life on screen in the years ahead.”

Said Cruise, “I have great respect and admiration for David, Pam, Mike, and the entire team at Warner Bros. Discovery and their commitment to movies, movie fans, and the theatrical experience. I look forward to making great movies together!”

Tom Cruise is a global cultural icon who has made an immeasurable impact on cinema by creating some of the most memorable characters of all time. Having achieved extraordinary success as an actor, producer, and philanthropist in a career spanning over five decades, Cruise is a three-time Oscar® nominee whose films have earned nearly $13 billion in worldwide box office—an incomparable accomplishment.

Fueled by a lifetime goal to entertain audiences around the world, Cruise has worked over the last 40 years to produce and star in movies that stand the test of time.  As a result, he has played a leading role in numerous legendary films such as Top Gun, Jerry Maguire, Risky Business, Minority Report, Interview with the Vampire, A Few Good Men, The Firm, Rain Man, Collateral, The Last Samurai, Edge of Tomorrow, Born on the Fourth of July, The Color of Money, and the Mission: Impossible series, among many others. Dialogue and scenes from Cruise’s films are part of the very fabric of global culture and are regularly referred to and quoted by four generations of worldwide fans daily.

The True Story Behind ‘The Last Samurai’

The True Story Behind ‘The Last Samurai’

Beautiful article by Jason Shomer for Collider.

Tom Cruise plays an American who winds up fighting alongside the Samurai. But how much of this story is based on real history?

When you see a movie poster that says that it’s “based on a true story,” it’s fairly understood that there are going to be at least some Hollywood changes made to the story, making the film not 100% historically accurate. However, before it was easy to research on the internet what was fact from fiction, it was tough to know whether you were watching an accurate history lesson or a blend of Hollywood and an encyclopedia. One film that left many moviegoers wondering was 2003’s The Last Samurai. Although this movie was constructed to resemble a first-hand account of Japan’s past, the truth was that plenty of it was created for entertainment purposes. This leads to the question of what was the real story behind The Last Samurai?

What Is ‘The Last Samurai’ About?

Tom Cruise in The Last SamuraiThe depiction of the Samurai is nothing new in TV and film. This Edward Zwick-directed movie starred Tom Cruise as an American military officer who has been hired by the Japanese government to train their army to combat the rising rebellion led by a group of outcast Samurai warriors. These warriors fight to resist Japan’s rapidly growing modernization, which has been influenced by Western cultures. Cruise’s character, Captain Nathan Algren, is clearly there for a paycheck with no allegiance to the Japanese government whatsoever. In fact, Algren is facing his own demons with his involvement in the American Indian wars.

The leader of the Samurai warriors is Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), a compassionate yet deadly swordsman who heads the rebellion. In the first battle between the Algren-led Japanese forces and the Samurai, the American leader defeats a prominent warrior, resulting in him avoiding execution when captured. However, during his time with the Samurai, Algren learns to not only respect and understand the reasons for this rebellion but also how to fight like a Japanese warrior. Eventually, he joins the rebels to fight alongside them against the Imperial army. All of this makes for a highly entertaining film, yet it only somewhat borrows from the actual events that occurred during that time period.

The Real Events That Led To War

Tom Cruise in The Last SamuraiHistory, as well as many old and new Samurai productions, has taught us that the Samurai are highly skilled warriors from Japan, emerging during the Heian period, which fell between the years of 794 to 1185 AD. Following a strict code of conduct and ethics called Bushido, the leading warrior faction at the time focused on loyalty, self-discipline, and especially honor. Contrary to what many might believe, the Samurai were not only swordsmen but also served as protectors and guards, possessing many other skills such as archery and horse riding. There is no doubt that the Samurai were a force to be reckoned with.

By the mid-1300s, the Samurai had become a well-established military elite culture separate from the commoners. They grew so powerful that they began to obtain political influence during Japan’s period of government instability. Somewhere between 1400 and 1600, known as the Sengoku period, the Samurai reached the peak of their political and physical strength, possessing significant influence over the country. Their will and discipline helped unify Japan and brought stability to the nation.

With this new stability, the Samurai became more involved in government and civil issues as battles became less frequent. The combination of politicians and Samurai brought in a period of more cultural and intellectual pursuits. However, in the late 19th century, Japan underwent rapid modernization under the influence of Western powers. The Samurai, intensely focused on preserving their culture and heritage, rejected this expansion and change, resulting in them becoming outcasts of rebellion and ultimately leading to the Boshin War. This type of conflict is nothing new, as there have been plenty of Japanese stories depicting wars and battles.

The Actual Man Who Influenced Tom Cruise’s Character

Tom Cruise in The Last SamuraiThe story of The Last Samurai was fictionalized for the most part, but Tom Cruise’s character, Captain Nathan Algren, is based on a real person named Jules Brunet, who was involved in the Boshin War. The Boshin War took place between 1868 and 1869, and was a clash between the Japanese government and the Samurai rebellion. Brunet was brought to Japan (more like rented) to train and advise the Japanese national army to combat the Samurai. But this fact was not the only connection to the fictional character Cruise portrayed in The Last Samurai.

Much like other characters’ features in other Samurai films, there are often as many untruths as there are facts. For example, true is the fact that Brunet developed sympathy for the Samurai’s cause and eventually sided with them to fight against the imperial Japanese forces. Close to the epic conclusion of the film’s last stand, the real American military leader became part of the Battle of Hakodate, where the Samurai made their final resistance against their enemy forces. However, the fate of the character and the real-life person did not align. While at the end of The Last Samurai, Captain Algren ends up returning to America, Brunet decided to stay in Japan, got married, and continued his career as a military advisor to the then-fully established and modernized Japanese Imperial army.

Katsumoto Was Based On a True Samurai Leader

Ken Watanabe in The Last SamuraiOf course, when telling the story of a country’s historical battle, there has to be two sides. As for the leader of the rebel force, Ken Watanabe portrayed the character Katsumoto, who held a significant role. And just like Tom Cruise’s character, this character was also fictionalized but based on a real Samurai warrior. Katsumoto can be directly linked to the iconic Japanese Samurai Saigō Takamori. Takamori strongly opposed and resisted the Japanese government’s sudden transition from traditional culture and feudalism to Western-like modernization. His vocal opposition caused a rift between the traditional faction and the Meiji government.

Like the character in the film, Takamori would not budge from his commitment to traditional Samurai culture, values, and an intense sense of honor. He and the rest of the rebels believed that preserving the core values of Japanese culture was paramount, even over the growing influence of foreign Western powers on the country’s government. In addition to these values, the Samurai possessed incredible skill in the art of war and the concept of Bushido.

The eventual demise of Takamori was portrayed at the end of The Last Samurai, with the leader fighting to the death to defend his people and what he believed in. However, in reality, the Samurai warrior was only injured, and the exact way he met his end remains unknown. Nevertheless, his principles and actions for the Samurai and their cause were significant enough to be passed down through history, eventually inspiring the fascinating character in the film.

‘The Last Samurai’ Was Overall Fairly Close to History

Tom Cruise in The Last SamuraiWhen comparing the real-life main characters of ‘The Last Samurai to actual history, it’s also interesting to examine the reality of the Japanese conflict itself. The Meiji Restoration, which occurred from roughly 1868 to 1912, marked the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the rise of imperial control under Emperor Meiji. The government, previously connected with the Samurai and their traditional values, was replaced by military rule focused on modernization.

With increasing Western influence in the Meiji Empire, the Samurai felt they had no choice but to separate and form a rebellion to reclaim their rapidly changing country. In contrast to what The Last Samurai portrayed, the clash between the government and the rebels lasted longer than a few uneven battles. Despite the noble efforts of the Samurai, they were eventually defeated by the Meiji Imperial forces, and the focus on modernization and industrial progress continued to shape Japan’s government.

As mentioned earlier, the character portrayed by Tom Cruise and the rest of the cast are fictionalized but are loosely based on actual historical figures. However, the real Samurai rebellion was much more complex than what The Last Samurai depicts. The rebels were not just warriors who broke away from the Japanese imperial government; they were also advocates for preserving the country’s centuries-old values and culture, resisting the Western-driven financial progress. Despite the historical inaccuracies, the film does a commendable job of presenting a condensed and to-the-point version of what happened during that time, making it more accessible for a general audience.

There’s Nothing Wrong With Fact Checking

Epic period films have been a staple in theaters for decades. Separating fact from fiction has become easier than ever with access to vast amounts of information on the Internet. Filmmakers can no longer simply present depictions of the past without disclaimers and comparisons between what’s true and what’s made up. When The Last Samurai was released in 2003, it fell somewhere in between the era before this type of public revelation and the present time when we can evaluate how accurately films like this one portray historical events.

Let’s face it, with TV, film, and even animation, Hollywood’s goal is to entertain and attract audiences. While many historically accurate Samurai-based pieces come in the form of documentaries and series, there is still a fascination with stories that blur the lines between fact and fiction, especially when exploring the history of different civilizations.The Last Samurai is the type of story that has been copied and reproduced in various ways over the decades in cinema. Now, with the luxury of the Internet and connections with other interested individuals, it’s fascinating to look back and examine the true story behind the film and how closely it aligns with historical events.

By revisiting the past and examining the accuracy of movies like The Last Samurai, we can gain a deeper upstanding for how history played out, and the challenges faced by different factions of societies during different country-wide changes. While the film may take creative liberties for the sake of storytelling and entertainment, it still manages to capture the essence of a captivating time in Japanese history.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One Test Screening (Possible Spoilers)

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One Test Screening (Possible Spoilers)

There was a test screening for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One last night, here is the article from worldofreel.com:

Please note that this may contain SPOILERS and unless something really important comes out of these test screenings, I don’t plan on posting about any other reaction, review or anything before the movie is released. I want to be fully unspoiled for the movie and I’d hate to spoil it to anyone

3+ Hour Cut of ‘Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning’ Wows Test-Screening Audience

I’ll play it safe with this one and just say that the reactions coming in for “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning (Part One)” are INCREDIBLE. Nerve-jangling. A lot of cliff jumping. Steep mountain riding. “Tom Cruise is certifiably nuts,” one person says. Oh, and the cut screened last night was a little over 3 hours.

Watched it last night. Best movie of the entire franchise. Wow. Three hours. The stunts are jaw-dropping but there’s also more emotion and more drama in this one. Unlike the other Mission Impossible movies, you get the sense that there’s a finiteness to Ethan Hunt. It’s actually going to end. Did I mention the stunts? Tom Cruise is a madman. The audience roared at the end of the movie.

There have been constant delays in relation to ‘Dead Reckoning,’ especially due to the pandemic’s effect on global supply-chain, production workers and locations.

The film started shooting in Italy on February 2020, but it had to stop and start production seven different times since then. Notice the location, Italy, that was the epicentre of COVID during the early months of the pandemic. Terrible luck.

In contrast, the most recent film in the series, 2018’s “Mission: Impossible — Fallout,” cost $190 million to make. This one had its budget balloon to $290 million.

The end result is that M:I7 has been delayed to summer 2023 because the film ends on a cliff-hanger, and Tom Cruise wanted to finish making the 8th film before releasing the 7th. The plan is to have both films serve as a sendoff for Cruise’s Ethan Hunt character.

‘Dead Reckoning’ is coming off the immense success of Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” so we bet it’ll probably make a lot of money this summer.

TopGun: Maverick took home our #GoldenTomato Award for Best-Reviewed Movie of 2022.

TopGun: Maverick took home our #GoldenTomato Award for Best-Reviewed Movie of 2022.

Top Gun: Maverick scored a 96% Fresh rating from Critics and 99% from Audience. You can view the reviews at Rotten Tomatoes website.

It was a long delay for takeoff but Top Gun: Maverick is why we love the blockbuster experience: Exhilarating action with big emotional stakes and an on-your-feet sunset ending.

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Looking To Land At CinemaCon

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Looking To Land At CinemaCon

CinemaCon viewers are in for a treat!

DEADLINE EXCLUSIVE: The most highly anticipated sequel of arguably the last 36 years, Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick, is firing up its jets heading into its Memorial Day opening weekend on May 27.

We hear that exhibition is likely set to see the movie first during Paramount’s presentation at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Thursday, April 28. No word if Cruise will be making an appearance. Theater owners already got a taste of the Joseph Kosinski directed movie back in August when Paramount showed off the pic’s 13 opening minutes, in addition to Cruise’s next big stunt in Mission: Impossible 7, which entails jumping a motorcycle off a cliff and parachuting.

In addition, Deadline understands that the global premiere of Top Gun: Maverick will be in San Diego, CA on May 4 on a retired aircraft carrier. The city is hallowed ground for the movie as much of it was shot around there. In fact, it was at San Diego Comic-Con 2019 when Cruise made a surprise appearance in Hall H to show off the first trailer to Top Gun: Maverick, the star appearing at the tail-end of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator: Dark Fate panel.

All of this precedes the Cannes Official Screening & Tom Cruise Tribute in Cannes, France on May 18, which we previously reported.

Following that, there will be a Royal Film Performance of Top Gun: Maverick in London on Thursday, May 18. The UK premiere of the sequel marks the 72nd Royal Film Performance delivered by the charity in its near 100-year history. The Royal Film Performance is the flagship fundraiser for long-time Paramount non-profit partner, The Film and TV Charity, an organization that supports the tens of thousands of people working behind the scenes in the UK’s world-leading film and television industry.

In the sequel, after more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. When he finds himself training a detachment of Top Gun graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen, Maverick encounters Lt. Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller), call sign: “Rooster,” the son of Maverick’s late friend and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Nick Bradshaw, aka “Goose”.

Facing an uncertain future and confronting the ghosts of his past, Maverick is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to fly it. Top Gun: Maverick also stars Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Charles Parnell, Bashir Salahuddin, Monica Barbaro, Jay Ellis, Danny Ramirez, Greg Tarzan Davis with Ed Harris.

The first Top Gun in 1986 made $180.2M domestic, $357.2M WW and was directed by the late Tony Scott. The soundtrack became one of the most popular ones to date, going 9x platinum in sales and winning the Oscar for Best Original Song for “Take My Breath Away” performed by Berlin. The pic was also nominated for three other Oscars including Sound, Editing, and Sound Effects Editing.

Tom Cruise To Be Feted In Career Retrospective At Cannes, Followed By ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Premiere; Full Details

Tom Cruise To Be Feted In Career Retrospective At Cannes, Followed By ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Premiere; Full Details

The Official Premiere and Tribute to Tom to be shown at Cannes on May 25th.

DEADLINE EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has the scoop on what is happening with Tom Cruise, Top Gun: Maverick and the 75th Cannes Film Festival.

It has been rumored for months that Cannes head Thierry Frémaux wanted Cruise and his eagerly anticipated Paramount sequel to be part of the Croisette proceedings this year. Deadline can reveal that the film will premiere May 18 in an Official Selection screening at Cannes. But it’s much more than that. Cruise will be in attendance at the Palais des festivals, and the evening will begin with a special tribute to the actor-producer and his illustrious film career. On the day of his tribute, Cruise will also be in conversation with journalist Didier Allouch, followed by the premiere of Top Gun: Maverick.

This tribute comes 30 years to the day after Cruise attended the closing ceremony of the 45th edition of Cannes for Ron Howard’s Far and Away on May 18, 1992. That evening, he presented the Palme d’Or to Billie August’s Best Intentions.

A decade ago, I interviewed Cruise for Playboy Magazine, and was fascinated by the genesis of his tireless international promotion of his films. Cruise told me that when he started landing leads, he would press the studios to send him overseas to as many countries as possible to do press. At the time, studios were focused on domestic returns and they were reluctant to spend the money. Cruise said that his motivation was a simple desire to see the places he had observed in the movies he grew up watching. When he was a kid his family didn’t have the money to travel, and so he spared some time in those later press tours to see the world. His promotional strategy became a playbook for stars who wanted to build themselves into global stars.

Paramount Pictures will release Top Gun: Maverick on May 25 in France and May 27 in the U.S. The Cannes lineup has been scheduled to be announced in full on April 14.

Top Gun: Maverick expected to screen at Cannes Film Festival

Top Gun: Maverick expected to screen at Cannes Film Festival

It looks like Top Gun: Maverick may be hitting Cannes Film Festival in May for a screening!

In what has seemed likely for quite some time sources tell Deadline Paramount and Skydance’s Top Gun: Maverick is expected to screen at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Speculation has gone on for several weeks with many believing that even with Tom Cruise’s busy schedule, things could be worked out and the film would likely land at the festival. Sources add the world premiere is still expected to happen in San Diego and that this would come after.

Paramount had no comment.

The Cannes Film Festival has been a launching pad for years for major tentpoles to go along with its usual festival fare and the highly-anticipated sequel has been on the top of everyone’s list to one of a handful of films bowing this summer to make screen at the festival.

Via Deadline.

Tom Cruise Opens Up About Berating MI7 Crew Over COVID Protocols

Tom Cruise Opens Up About Berating MI7 Crew Over COVID Protocols

Late last year, a video of Tom Cruise berating the Mission: Impossible 7 crew surfaced, with Cruise going on a tirade about those who allegedly broke COVID-19 protocols. Despite the video becoming public, Cruise stands by what he said and offered details about what transpired and why.

During a new interview with Empire magazine (via ET Canada), Cruise was asked about the moment caught on tape. “It can get fraught. Fraught and personal,” Cruise said. “I said what I said. There was a surge happening in England also at that point. And there was a lot at stake at that point. But it wasn’t my entire crew. I had the crew leave the set, and it was just select people. And the wonderful thing is that we never shut down again. And here we are, continuing to film.”

Cruise added that avoiding any additional shutdowns and getting back to filming, in general, was a huge relief for him. “All those emotions were going through my mind,” Cruise said. “And for the whole crew to know that we’d started rolling on a movie was just a huge relief… it was very emotional.”

Joining Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell are returning Mission: Impossible alums Rebecca Ferguson (Doctor Sleep), Simon Pegg (Ready Player One), Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction), Vanessa Kirby (Hobbs & Shaw) and Henry Czerny (Ready or Not) along with newcomers Shea Whigham (Joker), Pom Klementieff (Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Avengers: Infinity War) and Esai Morales (La Bamba, Titans) who will replace Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road) for the villain role.

The Mission: Impossible franchise spans almost 25 years and six films, starting off with modest critical and major box office success in the first two films before launching its lead protagonist into grittier and more explosive stories, each film getting progressively better reviews than its predecessor, with the most recent installment, Fallout, earning the highest reviews for both the franchise and the action genre, currently maintaining a 97% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes while also acquiring the highest box office gross of the franchise at over $790 million worldwide.

Mission: Impossible 7 is set to premiere on May 27, 2022, followed by Mission: Impossible 8 on July 7, 2023.

Tom Cruise Returns Golden Globes Statues Amid HFPA Controversy

Tom Cruise Returns Golden Globes Statues Amid HFPA Controversy

Tom Cruise has joined the protests against the HFPA lack of diversity and refusal to change it’s structure:

Via THR:

Tom Cruise has returned his three Golden Globes statues amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Cruise won the best actor honor in 1990 for Born on the Fourth of July and in 1997 for Jerry Maguire, as well as a best supporting actor award in 2000 for Magnolia.

Earlier today, NBC announced that it would not be airing the 2022 iteration of the Golden Globes. Said the network in a statement: “We continue to believe that the HFPA is committed to meaningful reform. However, change of this magnitude takes time and work, and we feel strongly that the HFPA needs time to do it right.”

The backlash began after an L.A. Times report detailing that the organization counted zero Black journalists among its then-87 members. Last week, the HFPA’s membership voted to approve a proposal of reforms aimed at addressing its lack of diversity and other ethics issues, but many in Hollywood, including Time’s Up and a coalition of PR Firms, noted that the reforms do not go far enough.

Monday’s news comes after Netflix and Amazon Studios each announced they would no longer be working with the HFPA until the organization enacted sweeping changes.

Cruise is the latest Hollywood talent to express their disapproval with the HFPA. Scarlett Johansson, who has been nominated for four Golden Globes awards, urged Hollywood to take a “step back” from the HFPA, while Golden Globe winner Mark Ruffalo recently offered a statement: “Now is the time to step up and right the wrongs of the past.”

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