For example, it can’t buy Eve Jobs a happy love life, at least not at the moment. The 24-year-old model recently broke up with Drew Taggart, and the Chainsmokers DJ has already started a romance with Selena Gomez, an even more famous celebrity who happens to share his musical interests, Us Weekly reported.

This news about Taggart and Gomez, which came via Us Weekly on Monday, apparently prompted Jobs to deactivate her Instagram account, just a few weeks after she posted a tribute to Taggart in December, celebrating his 33rd birthday, Page Six said. She gushed in a caption,  “Happy birthday lover.”

Jobs, an accomplished equestrian whose mother is Laurene Powell Jobs, and Taggart reportedly started what Us Weekly described as a “casual summer fling” last year. The romance supposedly fizzled by the end of the year, though Us Weekly said the split was “totally amicable.”

Still, it must be disconcerting for Jobs to have her private life caught up in the maw of celebrity news, especially as Taggart and Gomez, 30, started their romance so quickly and are not “trying to hide” it, a source told Us Weekly.

Gomez is “so affectionate” with Taggart and “can hardly keep her hands off him,” the source also said. Still, the two are trying to keep the relationship “very casual and low-key” while they are “having lots of fun together.”

Gomez’s love life has been the subject of celebrity gossip for years. The singer has experienced her shares of high and lows when it comes to her love life, particularly her high-profile, on-off romance with Justin Bieber from 2011 to 2018. On one of her breaks from Bieber, she dated The Weeknd for nine months in 2017. She’s also been linked to Niall Horan, Zedd and Charlie Puth.

“I feel like giving myself completely to something is the best way I can love,” Gomez said in an interview in November for Jay Shetty‘s “On Purpose” podcast. “But I never wanted the pain that I endured to put some sort of guard on myself — an armor if you will — and I never let that happen because I still believe and I still hope. … I would rather continue to get my heart broken than to not feel at all.”

Eve Jobs previously dated singer-songwriter Harry Hudson, who’s pals of Kylie Jenner and Jaden Smith.

Randall Park made a pact with himself some years ago that he wouldn’t attend the Sundance Film Festival if he didn’t have a project there. But the “Fresh Off the Boat” star never imagined that his first time would be as a director and not as an actor.

His adaptation of “Shortcomings,” Adrian Tomine’s graphic novel about three young-ish Asian Americans finding themselves in the Bay Area, is among the films debuting in competition at the festival, which begins Thursday night in Park City, Utah.

“Sundance is the pinnacle to me,” Park said in a recent interview. “I still can’t believe we’re going.”

Park is just one of hundreds of filmmakers putting finishing touches on passion projects and making the sojourn to Park City this week, looking to make a splash at the first in-person edition of the storied independent film festival in two years.

Festivalgoers will see some unexpected turns from stars, like Jonathan Majors as an amateur bodybuilder in “Magazine Dreams,” Emilia Clarke as a futuristic parent in “Pod Generation,” Daisy Ridley as a cubicle worker in “Sometimes I Think About Dying” and Anne Hathaway as a glamourous counselor working at a youth prison in 1960s Massachusetts in “Eileen.”

“Bridgerton” star Phoebe Dynevor also breaks out of her corset leading the contemporary adult thriller “Fair Play” as an ambitious woman working at a high stakes hedge fund with a boyfriend played by Alden Ehrenreich. Sundance will be her first film festival ever and she’s especially excited that it’s with one of the best scripts she’s ever read.

“It’s quite a polarizing one,” Dynevor said. “I can’t wait to see how everyone responds to it.”

The slate of over 100 films premiering around the clock (from 8am to midnight) over 10 days are as diverse as ever. There are three films about Iranian women (“The Persian Version,” “Joonam” and “Shayda”), stories about transgender sex workers (“The Stroll,” “KOKOMO CITY”), indigenous people (“Twice Colonoized,” “Bad Press”), women’s rights and sexuality (“The Disappearance of Shere Hite”) and the war in Ukraine (“20 Days in Mariupol,” a joint project between The Associated Press and PBS “Frontline.”)

And, as always, there are intimate portraits of famous faces, like Michael J. Fox, Little Richard, Stephen Curry, Judy Blume, the Indigo Girls and Brooke Shields.

Lana Wilson (” Miss Americana “) directed the much-anticipated Shields documentary “Pretty Baby,” in which Shields reflects on her experiences from child model to teen superstar and beyond, including her complex relationship with her mother, Andre Agassi and the time Tom Cruise publicly criticized her for taking antidepressants.

“I kept coming back to this idea of agency and of her slowly gaining agency first over her mind, then over her career and then over her identity,” Wilson said.

If the past two years have proved anything, it’s that Sundance doesn’t need its picturesque mountainside location to thrive. After all, it was at a virtual edition that the festival hosted the premiere of ” CODA,” which would become the first Sundance movie to win best picture at the Oscars. “Summer of Soul,” another virtual Sundance premiere, also won best documentary last year, and both are getting encore, in-person screenings this year.

But even so, the independent film community — from the newcomers to the veterans — has felt the lack of the real thing. There is, after all, a certain magic about seeing a new film from an unknown in the dead of winter at 7,000 feet elevation wondering, as the lights go down in a cinema overflowing with puffy coats if you might just be among the first to witness the debut of the next Ryan Coogler or Kelly Reichardt.

Erik Feig, the founder and CEO of Picturestart, joked that he’s been going to the festival for “a billion years.” It’s where he saw “Thirteen” and hired Catherine Hardwicke to direct “Twilight,” and, years later, “Whiplash,” beginning a relationship with Damien Chazelle that would lead to “La La Land.” Sundance also is where he saw “Napoleon Dynamite” and “Little Miss Sunshine” for the first time, too, and others that “feel iconic and have been part of the cultural zeitgeist forever. That moment of discovery was at Sundance.”

This year, his company is coming armed with a new comedy that could very well enter that canon of Sundance discoveries: “Theater Camp,” a heartfelt satire of the musical theater world set at a crumbling upstate New York summer camp (AdirondACTS). The film is a collaboration of longtime friends Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman, Ben Platt and Noah Galvin.

“I felt so inspired by so many collectives of people that had come up together like Christopher Guest, The Groundlings, The Lonely Island, who made stuff with their friends,” Gordon, who co-directed and stars, said. “We thought, let’s make something about a world that we know really well and a world that we love. And because we love it, we can make a lot of fun of it.”

Some films offer moody genre escapes, like William Oldroyd’s adaptation of author Otessa Moshfegh’s award-winning “Eileen” starring Thomasin McKenzie and Hathaway.

“It plays into the fantasy that I had as a young woman, like, can I run away and be a different person,” Moshfegh said. “I still kind of have that, especially in cinema because we watch movies in order to run away and be different people.”

Others promise to open minds about the lives of marginalized communities. Vuk Lungulov-Klotz, who is a transgender filmmaker of Chilean and Serbian descent, is hoping to push trans masculine narratives forward with his film “Mutt,” about a trans man who encounters three significant people he hasn’t seen in some time one hectic day in New York City.

“It’s really exciting to see people want to see stories about trans masculine people and also understand that they can see themselves reflected in us and that we’re not very different,” Lungulov-Klotz said.

Veteran indie filmmakers will be there with fresh offerings too like Ira Sachs (“Passages”) and Sebastián Silva (“Rotting in the Sun”). “Once” director John Carney has a new musical with Eve Hewson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“Flora and Son”), Nicole Holofcener reunites with Julia Louis-Dreyfus in “You Hurt My Feelings” and Susanna Fogel adapts the viral New Yorker story “Cat Person” with Emilia Jones and Nicholas Braun.

With COVID-19 outbreaks still happening, some events and gatherings are requiring tests and proof of vaccination. People like Luis Miranda Jr., coming with a documentary he helped produce, “Going Varsity in Mariachi,” is planning to mask up while celebrating the movie.

“We’re bringing real mariachis to Utah and will have a party with real mariachi music,” Miranda said excitedly.

The festival is embracing a different kind of hybrid approach after the success of previous years. Starting on Jan. 24, five days in, many of the films will be available to watch online for people who bought that now sold-out package.

Some films already have distributors in place but many do not and onlookers are interested to see how those acquisitions play out. After several years of deep pocketed streaming services making big plays, the market may have stabilized. Streamers are more cautious and traditional studios have learned how to compete.

Producer Tommy Oliver, the CEO and founder of Confluential Films, has four movies at the festival up for sale: “Fancy Dance,” “Young. Wild. Free,” “To Live and Die and Live” and “Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project.” He knows as well as any that Sundance isn’t just a place for celebration and discovery, but for connections too.

His advice for any first timers is simple: “Talk to everyone. Talk to the people who haven’t made stuff yet. Talk to the people who are hustling,” he said. “And be patient, because you’re going to look up in five, 10 years and they’ll have made ‘Fruitvale Station,’ they’ll have made ‘Beale Street.’”

The Sundance Film Festival runs from Jan. 19 through the 29.

Renner, 52, tweeted Monday night that he watched the Season 2 premiere of his show “Mayor of Kingstown” at home, TMZ reported, instead of in a Reno hospital. Renner was transported to the hospital on New Year’s Day after being run over by his own 14,000-pound snowplow while helping a family member whose car was stuck in the snow near his Lake Tahoe home.

“Outside my brain fog in recovery, I was very excited to watch episode 201 with my family at home,” Renner tweeted.

It’s not clear if “at home” means what Renner calls his “special place,” his property in the mountains between Lake Tahoe and Reno, or if the actor is recovering elsewhere. And even if the Hawkeye actor has been released from the hospital, he still has a long recovery due to the severity of his injuries, according to the Daily Mail.

Shortly after the accident, Renner’s representatives said he suffered blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries. Friends said that Renner’s injuries were much worse than feared and that he “nearly bled out” and “almost died” while waiting for help to arrive the morning of Jan. 1, the Daily Mail said, citing a report in RadarOnline.

“The right side of Jeremy’s chest was crushed, and his upper torso had collapsed,” a friend said. “He also had a bad head wound that was bleeding and a leg injury.”

The actor is aware of the extent of his injuries and knows he has a long recovery ahead of him, with friends saying it could take up to two years “before he is back in fighting shape,” the Daily Mail said.

Despite his injuries and the need for multiple surgeries while in the hospital, Renner has posted on social media a few times, last week thanking fans for their “kind words.” He also shared a video of him getting a head massage while in the intensive-care unit. He acknowledged last week on Instagram that he was “too messed up to type. But I send love to you all.”

A “not no great” ICU DAY, turned to amazing spa day with my sis and mama. Thank you sooooo much pic.twitter.com/pvu1aWeEXY

— Jeremy Renner (@JeremyRenner) January 5, 2023

Renner’s family members have been by his side, including his mother Cearley and sister Kym, the Daily Mail said. Last week, his sister Kym told People that the actor is working hard to recover with the help of physical therapy.

“If anyone knows Jeremy, he is a fighter and doesn’t mess around,” Renner’s sister told People. “He is crushing all the progress goals. We couldn’t feel more positive about the road ahead.”

That opportunity arrives Jan. 20-Jan. 29 at the Sundance Film Festival, which returns to live screenings after two virtual versions and offers a robust showcase for some of the best features the world has to offer.

Numerous world premieres and buzzy titles will attract movie lovers, ear-muffed celebrities, journalists, publicists, studio reps and onlookers to Park City, Utah.

But if you can’t make it there, know that some of the titles will be available to stream beginning Jan. 24. More information on these and more films is available at festival.sundance.org.

Here are 15 to look out for, a number of which have Bay Area associations.

“Stephen Curry: Underrated”: Award-winning Oakland documentary-maker Peter Nicks (“Homeroom,” “The Waiting Room,” “The Force”) bring his ever-observant eye to the life and career of one of our most popular and respected NBA players — Golden State Warriors icon Stephen Curry. Filmmaker and Oakland native Ryan Coogler is one of the producers of this Apple TV+ documentary, which relates the inspirational story of Curry and how the four-time NBA champ defied naysayers and became a phenomenon. Sadly, it’s not available online, and there’s no word yet on when Apple TV+ will release it.

“Shortcomings”: Sacramento-born graphic novelist Adrian Tomine has drawn deserved comparisons to America’s most daring cartoonists. If you haven’t read any of the UC Berkeley alum’s rich works — and you really should — this edgy adaptation from director Randall Park (yes, the cute actor from “Fresh off the Boat”) will likely make you a fan. It follows three Berkeley chums fumbling about with love, desire, heritage and expectations. It’s available online.

“Fremont”: For his fourth feature film, Iranian filmmaker Babak Jalali comes up with a novel and timely concept.  A former Afghan translator (newcomer Anaita Wali Zada) finds herself saddled with an empty life in the titular East Bay city, but things change when she assigned to write Chinese fortune cookie messages at the factory where she works. “The Bear’s” Jeremy Allen White costars. Shot in B&W, Jalali’s feature will be available online.

“Earth Mama”: Some films get snapped up by studios and distributors even before they get their world premiere at Sundance. Such is the case with 29-year-old Savanah Leaf’s debut feature set in the Bay Area. A24 swooped in to grab the former Olympic volleyball player’s coming-of-age drama about Gia (Oakland newcomer Tia Nomore), a pregnant single mom with two other children in foster care. The film is not available online, and there’s no release date from A24 yet.

“Fairyland”: Debut filmmaker Andrew Durham wrote and directed this adaptation of Alysia Abbott’s memoir about growing up in the ‘70s with a free-spirited father (Scoot McNairy) following the sudden death of her mother. Alysia is often left to her own devices as her father begins to date men once they relocate to San Francisco. Geena Davis, rock singer Adam Lambert and Maria Bakalova costar. The film is not available online.

“Fancy Dance”: Sundance loves coming-of-age stories. This exciting release from first-timer Erica Tremblay attests to that. The world premiere drama is about two girls from an Oklahoma reservation — the resourceful Jax (Lily Gladstone) and her niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson) — taking a road trip to find Roki’s missing mother. It’s available online.

“Cassandro”: Gael Garcia Bernal lands a juicy, high-profile role as the real-life gay luchador (professional wrestler) Saúl Armendáriz, who, with the assistance of his trainer, breaks barriers by assuming the identity of an alter ego — the out and proud Cassandro. This is documentary filmmaker Roger Ross Williams’ feature debut, and it looks like a winner. Bad Bunny and Raúl Castillo costar. It’s not available online.

“Infinity Pool”: His horror freakout (“Possessor”) rattled Sundance a few years ago, now director Brandon Cronenberg (David Cronenberg’s son) follows it up with what looks to be another unabashedly bizarre and brazen horror shocker. Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgård lend their magnetic star power to this dark look at the festering underbelly of tourism. It might even make you think twice about booking that next trip to a tropical paradise. It’s not available online, but will arrive in theaters to disturb Jan. 27.

“Mamacruz”: Dramas about sexual awakenings (or re-awakenings), in general,  tend to focus on characters under the age of 50. Director/co-writer Patricia Ortega makes an exception here with a story about a buttoned-up, religious grandmother who dares to dip into porn and talk more freely about sex — to the chagrin of some, and the acceptance of others. Kiti Manver will be a Sundance standout. It’s available online.

“You Hurt My Feelings”: Nicole Holofcener writes and directs what sounds like another one of her refreshingly unique dramedies. It’s her fourth film at Sundance and follows novelist Beth (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and how she reconsiders her relationship with her therapist hubby Don (Tobias Menzies) when she overhears him dissing her new novel. Oops. It’s not available online.

“Rye Lane”: Director Raine Allen-Miller’s feature debut is a romantic dramedy wherein a teary-eyed Dom (David Jonsson) gains more pep in his step courtesy of a wild day spent in South London with Yas (Vivian Oparah). It looks to be a charming and telling look at two 20-something people of color who might be ready to fall in love. It’s not available online.

“Twice Colonized”: What often distinguishes the Sundance is its dedication to illuminating various perspectives, cultures and ideas. Such is the case with this topical and engrossing documentary from director Lin Alluna on Greenlandic Inuit lawyer and activist Aaju Peter. It’s a fascinating character portrayal that takes the time to reflect on the Inuit experience and on colonialism. It’s available online.

“Magazine Dreams”: Expect Jonathan Majors’ career to soar higher than ever after the world premiere of director/writer Elijah Bynum’s character study of a fiercely devoted bodybuilder. Majors, so great in “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” physically inhabits the part in what promises to be a gritty, explosive and complex look at the world of bodybuilding. It has the potential to be one of the biggest talkers at Sundance, and it’s available online as well.

“Cat Person”: Ready to get a bit uncomfortable? The perils of dating will likely come into all-too-sharp focus in this drama by director Susanna Fogel (a co-writer on “Booksmart”) about a 20-year-old student (Emilia Jones) learning that the alleged “cat person” (Nicholas Braun) she’s dating isn’t exactly who he pretends to be. Screenwriter Michelle Ashford adapts the New Yorker short story that was a viral sensation. It’s also available online.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com

The girls, Finley and Harper, are too traumatized to return to the Calabasas home where their mother suffered a fatal cardiac arrest Jan. 12, TMZ reported. Meanwhile, their father, Michael Lockwood, may be gearing up to go to court to demand full custody, TMZ also reported. If so, he would reignite a bitter years-long custody battle that involved a trial, ferocious disputes about money and allegations about Presley’s acknowledged substance abuse problems and mental anguish following the 2020 suicide of her 27-year-old son Benjamin Keough, as the Daily Mail reported.

Praying for Priscilla Presley, Riley, Finley and Harper pic.twitter.com/9IgDowCdmD

— Ms. Venable (@FrozenInScream) January 13, 2023

These contentious legal issues may be temporarily put aside as Presley’s family prepare to honor her with a public memorial service Sunday at Graceland, the Memphis, Tennessee estate that Presley inherited from her father, Elvis Presley. “Riley, Harper, Finley and Priscilla are grateful for the support, well-wishes, and outpouring of love honoring their beloved Lisa Marie,” a representative for Riley Keough said in a statement to People.

Presley died last week after being rushed to a Los Angeles hospital for a reported cardiac arrest. She was 54. People said that Presley’s final resting place will be Graceland’s Meditation Garden, where Elvis Presley and her son, Benjamin, also are buried.

People magazine also confirmed that Presley’s three daughters will inherit Graceland, which Rolling Stone estimated is worth about $500 million, because it is open to the public for tours and other events.

After Elvis died in 1977, the estate was placed in a trust to benefit 9-year-old Lisa Marie, and now that trust will be passed to Riley Keough and teenagers Harper and Finley Lockwood. https://t.co/V5JZcTB9jt

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) January 17, 2023

Since Presley’s death, Finley and Harper have been spending a lot of time at the Los Angeles home of their grandmother, Priscilla Presley, TMZ said. Their older half-sister, actor Riley Keough, has been spending time there as well, while Lockwood has “been central” to making sure the girls’ needs are met during this difficult time.

However, Lockwood is determined that the girls will ultimately live with him, TMZ said. Presley and Lockwood were married in 2006. After Presley filed for divorce in 2016, the estranged couple became locked in a dispute over custody and money. As recently as November, the exes were in court fighting over financial support and attorneys’ fees, according to The Blast.

Sources connected to the Presley family told TMZ that Lockwood will definitely go to court to get full custody. “It’ll be a cold day in hell before he gives up custody of those children,” a source close to Lockwood told TMZ

Complications could arise if Danny Keough, Presley’s other ex-husband, decides to make a case for custody, TMZ said. Presley and Danny Keough were married from 1988 to 1994, and the couple and the twins were living together at the time of her sudden death, TMZ said. Keough came to regard himself as the girls’ stepfather. Some family members also told TMZ that Riley Keough or Priscilla Presley might make a bid for custody.

Weir’s latest sci-fi novel, “Project Hail Mary” (Ballantine Books, $29), is very much an apocalyptic story. It deals with an imminent climate disaster that threatens all of humanity. And if that sounds familiar, you’ve either been reading the news or you’ve stepped into a bookshop.

The past few years have seen an explosion of speculative fiction mirroring real-life emergencies, from the rise of fascism to environmental degradation to the toxic legacy of colonialism.

Why would authors want to dabble in apocalypse and dystopia, when the world is doom-filled as is? For Weir, a former Mountain View resident who lives in Chicago now, it boils down to the belief that society will eventually make things better.

“I’m a fairly optimistic person, at least when it comes to humanity. I think we’re a fairly cool species,” he says. “I think we can all agree that 2020 sucked, right? But I’d rather live through 2020 again than 1920. I don’t know about you, but none of my friends has died of typhoid fever. My Black friends can go into any business they want. I would rather live through the peak of the pandemic than the routine year of 1920 – although they had a pandemic just finishing up then, too.”

In “Project Hail Mary,” scientists notice that the sun is dimming at an alarming rate. The culprit is a weird space organism that imbibes the star’s energy in order to breed. Astronauts must venture forth and figure out what makes it tick. Fortunately, Weir has given his hero, Ryland Grace, some tools to battle Armageddon – he’s a former microbiologist from San Francisco, albeit a goofy one prone to making dad jokes. (Grace is partly based on the author himself; look for Ryan Gosling to play him in the movie version.)

The novel’s enemy is reminiscent of blue-green algae blooms, which are caused by pollution and warming waters and can extinguish life from vast marine zones. Weir wasn’t particularly inspired by such real-life concerns; he was more interested in structuring a book around a nifty, hypothetical space fuel. “I’m just a dork who for some reason gets to write about science stuff, and people like it,” he says. “For me, it’s just like, ‘Look at this cool science-y thing! Isn’t that cool? This is so cool.’”

Indeed, the novel has gotten the stamp of approval from science-y types the likes of Bill Gates who, in his typical expression of enthusiasm, dubbed it a “fun diversion.” Of course, not all speculative fiction offers such a romp. “The Confession of Copeland Cane” by Keenan Norris presents a near-future Oakland that’s a little too close to today’s urban dystopia.

“What I wanted to do is imagine forward some trend lines that are already present,” says Norris, who lives in San Leandro, “and think about their logical conclusions, particularly for those who are not so privileged, aren’t receiving the best education and who live in places with environmental harms.”

On his first birthday, the Black protagonist of “Confession” is automatically entered into California’s gang database. He spends time in the exclusive city-within-a-city known as Piedmont – sorry, “Piedmontagne” – which has its own private police force. After trying to sterilize black mold in his home with chemicals, he’s imprisoned for attempted arson and goes on the run. Tracking his movements is a powerful media corporation called the Sinclair Broadcast Group – whoops again, that’s “Soclear” – that was founded by Stephen Miller and signs off with “Sieg Heil.”

At one point, the hero falls into a sinkhole on Treasure Island and believes he’s irradiated. “It is left up to the reader to decide whether these are simply the maturations that a young man, given his circumstances, would go through,” says Norris, “or whether there’s something deeper related to the environment of Treasure Island, which both in the book and actual fact is a hazardous-waste site.”

“Confession” won the 2022 Northern California Book Award for fiction, putting it in a crowd of dystopian novels that have garnered critical acclaim this year — “Babel” by RF Kuang and “The City Inside” by Samit Basu among them. These works build upon a long literary tradition of imagining how much worse things could get. It’s a tradition some would argue dates back to the Bible or at least to Mary Shelley’s “The Last Man” and George Orwell’s “1984.” So why the genre’s enduring popularity?

There’s evidence that dystopian content triggers something powerful in the human brain. In a study published in 2018, researchers exposed people to “The Hunger Games” and “Divergent,” two YA series that feature heroes who rebel against totalitarian regimes. Afterward, those people were “more likely to believe that radical and even violent political action against a government perceived as unjust would be justified,” says Calvert Jones, one of the authors at the University of Maryland.

Young people connected especially vigorously with dystopian narratives. “A strong attraction here may be a need for agency against powerful forces, which characters like Katniss in the ‘Hunger Games’ or Tris in the ‘Divergent’ series showed,” says Jones. “When people feel relatively helpless against forces beyond their control – wars, economic distress, natural disasters, for example – that feeling of efficacy can be very compelling.”

Charlie Jane Anders is a sci-fi author in San Francisco who’s won the Hugo, Nebula and Theodore Sturgeon awards. Her latest trilogy is geared directly at this demographic. It’s a space opera about exploring far reaches and fighting quasi-fascists. (It’s been picked up for TV by Amazon and Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society.) The middle book, 2022’s “Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak,” opens in the “Age of Despair,” something kids today can probably relate to.

“I think young people are painfully aware at this point we’re living in a slow-motion compound apocalypse in which climate change, the collapse of unsustainable systems and our political dysfunction are leading to problems that will eventually cause damage on a scale that’s hard to comprehend,” Anders says.

The series’ universe has many clever technologies you can imagine breaking into our own world. Because it’s an advanced space community, home to many LGBTQ characters, people use an automatic translator to ensure they use correct gender pronouns. There’s a popular game called “WorstBestFriend” that pits the player against a virtual frenemy who passive-aggressively bullies them – self-destructive fun at its best.

The bad guys are called the Compassion, cynical doublespeak that could have been torn from today’s political playbook. They believe in the innate superiority of humanoids with two arms and legs over, say, a species with tentacles or a head in a different place.

“They don’t just go around trying to motivate people on anger. They really play on fear and uncertainty and chaos,” says Anders. “I think for a story for kids and teens about saving the galaxy, it’s good to explore the fact that the adults around you don’t always know what they’re doing.”

Anders hopes her books might inspire action for a future not so far, far away.

“People who grew up on stories like ‘The Hunger Games,’ we’re starting to see them believe they can fight against unfair regimes in real life,” she says. “And I really hope that they do. I hope everyone who grew up reading those books – and that’s a lot of people – all become adults who want to tear down oppressive systems.”

Netflix is planning its largest-ever lineup of South Korean content, with 34 new and returning titles set to roll out this year.

The streaming giant made the announcement last week. It said that audience data showed “over 60% of all Netflix members” watched Korean titles in 2022.

The nearly three dozen new programs include a range of TV series and films, which run the gamut from thrillers to dramas. The company declined to disclose how much it planned to spend.

In 2021, company executives said Netflix planned to invest about $500 million into Korean content, on top of $700 million already spent since 2016.

The move underscores how Netflix is increasingly doubling down on Korean content as fans worldwide continue to buzz over it.

Last year, the streaming giant announced the launch of approximately 25 Korean titles — at the time “our largest number to date,” it said in a statement then. The previous year, the company unveiled 15.

“The global popularity of K-content has continued apace over 2022,” Don Kang, the company’s vice president of Korean content, said in a brief statement. “Over the last year, Korean series and films have regularly featured in our Global Top 10 list in more than 90 countries, and three of Netflix’s most-watched shows ever are from Korea.”

One of those shows is “Squid Game,” which shows contestants playing deadly children’s games to win cash prizes. The survival drama became the company’s top show worldwide in 2021.

Last year, “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” a series that followed titular character Woo Young-woo as “a newbie at a top law firm and a woman on the autism spectrum,” also shot to the top of the streaming platform’s charts for several weeks.

The forthcoming titles for 2023 include six Korean movies, starting with the debut of a sci-fi thriller, “JUNG-E,” on Friday, according to Netflix.

It will also include new shows such as “Destined With You,” a romance between a hotshot lawyer and a civil servant, as well as the latest installment of returning series “Sweet Home,” which depicts a teen’s fight to survive as humans turn into monsters.

Netflix is increasingly producing original international content and leaning on prospects overseas as its growth in North America slows.

Other media behemoths, such as Disney, are also betting big on Korean content. The company has recently greenlit scores of new titles from South Korea, including a slate of original shows with K-pop band BTS.

Here’s a baker’s dozen of highlights to get you started, but there’s way, way, way more going on than can possibly be listed here, including A-List out-of-town performers, local comedy heroes and more sketch, improv and standup than you can shake your head ruefully at. We’re skipping shows in this roundup that are already sold out.

For the full schedule and tickets, visit www.sfsketchfest.com

The Black Version: African American comedians from the Groundlings improvise “the Black version” of popular films suggested by the audience. Performers include creator Jordan Black, Karen Maruyama, Cedric Yarbrough (“Reno 911!”) Nyima Funk and Gary Anthony Williams of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” and Phil LaMarr and Daniele Gaither of “Mad TV.”

Details: 7:30 and 10 p.m. Jan. 20; Brava Theater Center; $30-$40.

Upright Citizens Brigade — “ASSSSCAT”: UCB’s signature long-form improv show features founders Matt Besser and Ian Roberts alongside guest improvisors such as Tim Meadows of “SNL” and guest monologist Nichole Sakura of “Superstore.”

Details: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21; Sydney Goldstein Theatre; $35-$55.

Celebrity Autobiography: Enjoy hilarious excerpts from the memoirs of celebs such as Matthew McConaughey and Mariah Carey as performed by an all-star cast of funny people including Beverly D’Angelo, John Michael Higgins, Laraine Newman, Oscar Nunez, Andy Richter, George Wendt and creator Eugene Pack.

Details: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 27; Cobb’s Comedy Club; $45-$65.

Stop Joking for 100 Years and Other Requests from My Kid: Comedians swap stories about their own childhoods or parenting experiences. Eugene Mirman chats with Janeane Garofalo, Bobcat Goldthwait, Dana Gould, Mary Lynn Rajskub and Baron Vaughn at the early show and Nore Davis, Natasha Leggero, Bobby Tisdale, Reggie Watts and Jenny Yang at the late one.

Details: 7:30 and 10 p.m. Jan. 27; Swedish American Hall; $45.

Futurama vs COVID-3019!: The cast and head writer of TV’s “Futurama” assemble for a live episode reading about a somehow even more horrific pandemic of the future, followed by an audience Q&A.

Details: 1 p.m. Jan. 28; Cobb’s Comedy Club; $45-$65.

SF Sketchfest Tribute: An Evening with Elliott Gould: The Long Goodbye: Silver screen legend Elliott Gould discusses a life in the pictures after a 50th anniversary screening of perhaps the most unusual film adaptation of a Raymond Chandler mystery, Robert Altman’s “The Long Goodbye” with Gould as detective Philip Marlowe.  Details: 5 p.m. Jan. 28; Castro Theatre; $20-$35.

The SF Sketchfest Roast of Bruce Campbell: The iconic “Evil Dead” star and his iconic chin subjects himself to loving mockery from comedic pals including Cassandra (Elvira) Peterson, Ted Raimi, David Alan Grier, Kevin Pollak, Dana Gould, Dana DeLorenzo and Peaches Christ.

Details: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 28; Sydney Goldstein Theatre; $35-$55 ($20 streaming).

SF Sketchfest Tribute to Cheech & Chong: Legendary stoner comedy duo Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong celebrate their 50th anniversary in a conversation moderated by journalist Ben Fong-Torres. The honorees of other tributes this year include David Alan Grier of “In Living Color,” original “Saturday Night Live” cast member Laraine Newman and “The State” spinoff “Viva Variety.”

Details: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31; Sydney Goldstein Theatre; $45-$65.

Play Date with Puddles, Dave Hill and Steve Agee: The sad clown with the golden voice Puddles Pity Party teams up with other music-comedy double threats Dave Hill (“The King of Miami”) and Steve Agee (“Peacemaker”) to form a strange sort of supergroup.

Details: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 3; Swedish American Hall; $50.

Bruce and Friend Kevin with Bruce McCulloch and Kevin McDonald: The two “Kids in the Hall” members with “Mc” in their names that aren’t Mark McKinney get up to whatever comedic hijinks they deem right and proper, joined by guitarist and fellow Canadian Allyson Baker (Dirty Ghosts, Red Room Orchestra).

Details: 4 p.m. Feb. 4, 1 p.m. Feb. 5; Gateway Theatre; $30-$40.

Yo, Is This Racist?: “Star Trek: Lower Decks” star Tawny Newsome and “That ’90s Show” writer Andrew Ti answer voicemail questions about micro and macroaggressions in this live version of their podcast, joined by Eugene Cordero (Pillboi on “The Good Place”) and standup comedian Mohanad Elshieky. Details: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4; Cobb’s Comedy Club; $30-$40.

John Hodgman & Adam Savage — Spin-a-Wheel Conversation: The name says it all. Professorial “Daily Show” contributor and expert in all things John Hodgman and insatiably curious “MythBusters” tinkerer Adam Savage have a probably hilarious conversation about whatever topic chance dictates through a spin of the wheel.

Details: 4 p.m. Feb. 5; Great Star Theater; $35-$45.

Riffapalooza: “Mystery Science Theater 3000” veterans Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy, J. Elvis Weinstein and Mary Jo Pehl, and Sketchfest cofounder Cole Stratton, unite for improvised live mockery of some movie that almost certainly deserves it. Details: 8 p.m. Feb. 5; Great Star Theater; $35-$45.

ROME — Italian film legend Gina Lollobrigida, who achieved international stardom during the 1950s and was dubbed “the most beautiful woman in the world” after the title of one of her movies, died in Rome on Monday, her agent said. She was 95.

The agent, Paola Comin, didn’t provide details. Lollobrigida had surgery in September to repair a thigh bone broken in a fall. She returned home and said she had quickly resumed walking.

A drawn portrait of the diva graced a 1954 cover of Time magazine, which likened her to a “goddess” in an article about Italian movie-making. More than a half-century later, Lollobrigida still turned heads with her brown, curly hair and statuesque figure, and preferred to be called an actress instead of the gender-neutral term actor.

“Lollo,” as she was lovingly nicknamed by Italians, began making movies in Italy just after the end of World War II, as the country began to promote on the big screen a stereotypical concept of Mediterranean beauty as buxom and brunette.

Besides “The World’s Most Beautiful Woman” in 1955, career highlights included Golden Globe-winner “Come September,” with Rock Hudson; “Trapeze;” “Beat the Devil,” a 1953 John Huston film starring Humphrey Bogart and Jennifer Jones; and “Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell,” which won Lollobrigida Italy’s top movie award, a David di Donatello, as best actress in 1969.

In Italy, she worked with some of the country’s top directors following the war, including Mario Monicelli, Luigi Comencini, Pietro Germi and Vittorio De Sica.

Two of her more popular films at home were Comencini’s “Pane Amore e Fantasia” (“Bread, Love and Dreams”) in 1953, and the sequel a year later, “Pane Amore e Gelosia” (“Bread, Love and Jealousy”). Her male foil was Vittorio Gassman, one of Italy’s leading men on the screen.

Lollobrigida also was an accomplished sculptor, painter and photographer, and eventually essentially dropped film for the other arts. With her camera, she roamed the world from what was then the Soviet Union to Australia. In 1974, Fidel Castro hosted her as a guest in Cuba for 12 days as she worked on a photo reportage.

Lollobrigida was born on July 4, 1927 in Subiaco, a picturesque hill town near Rome, where her father was a furniture maker. Lollobrigida began her career in beauty contests, posing for the covers of magazines and making brief appearances in minor films. Producer Mario Costa plucked her from the streets of Rome to appear on the big screen.

Eccentric mogul Howard Hughes eventually brought Lollobrigida to the United States, where she performed with some of Hollywood’s leading men of the 1950s and 60s, including Frank Sinatra, Sean Connery, Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Yul Brynner.

Over the years, her co-stars also included Europe’s most dashing male stars of the era, among them Louis Jourdan, Fernando Rey, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Alec Guinness.

While Lollobrigida played some dramatic roles, her sex symbol image defined her career, and her most popular characters were in lighthearted comedies such as the “Bread, Love” trilogy.

With lush eyelashes and thick, brown curls framing her face, Lollobrigida started a hairstyle rage in the 1950s known as the “poodle cut.” Gossip columnists commented on alleged rivalries between her and Sophia Loren, another Italian film star celebrated for her beauty,

In middle age, Lollobrigida’s romance with a man 34 years her junior, Javier Rigau, from Barcelona, Spain, kept gossip pages buzzing for years.

“I have always had a weakness for younger men because they are generous and have no complexes,” the actress told Spain’s “Hola” magazine. After more than 20 years of dating, in 2006, the then-79-year-old Lollobrigida announced that she would marry Rigau, but the wedding never happened.

Her first marriage, to Milko Skofic, a Yugoslavia-born doctor, ended in divorce in 1971.

In the last years of her life, Lollobrigida’s name more frequently appeared in articles by journalists covering Rome’s courts, not the glamour scene, as legal battles were waged over whether she had the mental competence to tend to her finances.

Maria Grazia Murru contributed reporting.

El Campanil Theatre’s Lobby Series starts this year at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31 with Nashville, Tennessee, recording artist Andy Kahrs and “Always On My Mind: A Country Songbook.”

A cross-country move to San Francisco deepened the love and longing for his Southern roots and now, comfortably based in Nashville, a seasoned blend of blues, country, and bluegrass can be heard in his recorded music and live shows. Visit elcampaniltheatre.com online for tickets, which are $20 each.

— El Campanil Theatre

BRENTWOOD

Community chorus seeks new members for spring season

The Brentwood Community Chorus, under the direction of Susan Stuart, is preparing for its spring season and looking for new members. The chorus meets from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesdays at Brentwood Community United Methodist Church and is open to all ages and abilities.

If it sounds like fun, but you’re afraid you can’t commit to every Tuesday, organizers have a solution. Rehearsal tracks are provided when you register so you can practice on your own. Registration information is available online at brentwoodcommunitychorus.com.

— Brentwood Community Chorus

WALNUT CREEK

Audition Jan. 23 for Diablo Women’s Chorale’s new season

Diablo Women’s Chorale begins its new season on Jan. 23, and will hold auditions by appointment that evening from 6 to 9 p.m. The group encourages any woman with a love of music and spirited company to audition. Choral experience and music-reading ability are pluses but not required.

Full rehearsals are Mondays from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Walnut Creek United Methodist Church at 1543 Sunnyvale Ave. For information on membership and auditions, visit DiabloWomensChorale.org/join-us online or contact membership chair Nancy Hickman at 925-899-5050 or hickmandg@gmail.com.

— Diablo Women’s Chorale

See Valley Art Gallery’s ‘Wintermission’ exhibit till Feb. 4

“Wintermission,” Valley Art Gallery’s new show-between-shows, features selected works by gallery artists designed to warm and brighten even the longest, darkest winter days. Reflecting a wide range of styles, prices, motifs and media, it continues the gallery’s mission of presenting the best of the best from more than 100 East Bay artists.  Also on hand is a juried selection of locally created, one-of-a-kind fine crafts and jewelry. It will continue through Feb. 4.

“Wintermission” will be followed by an exhibit featuring the well-known East Bay artist Maralyn Miller. Miller works primarily in oils and pastels, painting the golden, rolling hills of California and depicting the rhythm of the lights and shadows as they sweep across the horizon. Her show will open Feb. 7 and run until March 18.

At 1661 Botelho Drive, Suite 110, in Walnut Creek, the Valley Art Gallery is free and open to the public from 11 a.m to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. For more information, go to valleyartgallery.org, call 925-935-4311 or e-mail valleyartgallery@gmail.com.

— Valley Art Gallery

Bedford Gallery to host Fong’s ‘Sensation of Color’ exhibit

The Bedford Gallery will soon present “Erin Fong: The Sensation of Color,” an exhibition that explores how the world’s myriad hues inform day-to-day experiences in subtle, often unconscious ways.

Through dedicated experimentation, the Bay Area artist and letterpress printer delves into how color affects emotional responses. “The Sensation of Color” will transform the Bedford Gallery into a vibrant lab full of the artist’s prints, paintings and installations. Visitors will be invited to tap into their individual and collective experience as they are immersed in hues across the spectrum, considering how colors make people feel and how they foster human connection.

This exhibition will feature several immersive installations, including “The Color Corridor,” a 17-foot maze that gradually changes color, allowing viewers to gauge how their feelings and mood change as they journey through it; and “Color Communion,” a large-scale sensory experience that incorporates light and sound components to let visitors further connect with themselves and the colors that surround them. Paintings and prints from Fong’s studio practice will also be highlighted.

The exhibit is on view from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday now through April 2 at the Bedford Gallery inside the Lesher Center for the Arts at 1601 Civic Drive in Walnut Creek. For more information or to purchase tickets ($5 for general admission and free for Bedford Gallery members and children younger than 13), visit bedfordgallery.org online. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door.

— Bedford Gallery

ORINDA

‘My Sailor, My Love’ showing for a week starting Friday

The Orinda Theatre will present the premiere of “My Sailor, My Love,” a co-production from Finland and Ireland, for one week starting Friday. Klaus Haro (“The Fencer,” “Elina”) directed this touching English-language film.

“My Sailor, My Love” is a story about a guilt-affected daughter-father relationship, but it’s also a love story between two elderly people, proving that a new beginning is never too late. The film centers around Howard, a retired sea captain who refuses any help from his daughter, Grace. When she hires Annie as domestic help for him, Howard unexpectedly falls in love. He gives all his affection to Annie and her family but rejects his own daughter. For more information, go to internationalshowcase.org.

— International Film Showcase

DANVILLE

Art gallery’s clay art, technology exhibit to open Jan. 21

The Village Theatre Art Gallery will start the new year with an exhibit featuring examples of different applications in clay alongside detailed information on the process of how they were made and how they are used.

“From Sand to Silicon Chip: New Technology in Clay” will open Jan. 21 and will be curated by longtime Bay Area resident John Toki, who has had a robust career as an artist, arts educator and lecturer and has been the recipient of many accolades and awards.

The exhibit will feature a comprehensive examination of the many uses of clay, how technology has been used to advance clay and vice versa. “From Sand to Silicon Chip” will run through March 18 with an artists’ opening reception from 4 to 6 p.m. Jan. 21 in the Village Theatre Art Gallery at 233 Front St. in Danville. Toki will be at the reception along with exhibiting artists and engineers. A date for a panel discussion will be announced in January.

The Village Theatre Art Gallery is open Wednesdays through Fridays from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Viewings are available by appointment Monday and Tuesday. For more information, contact Visual Arts Coordinator Marija Nelson Bleier at 925-314-3460 or mnelsonbleier@danville.ca.gov. Exhibit details are available online at danville.ca.gov/artgallery.

— Village Theatre Art Gallery

LIVERMORE

Bankhead Theatre offers taste of Broadway this month

Livermore Valley Arts is continuing a January packed with hits in the new year with a taste of the Great White Way (the iconic lights of Broadway) in the Tri-Valley. From a comedy stacked with Broadway-level talents in “Lucy Loves Desi: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom” at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 23 to a current Broadway star, Jessica Vosk from “Wicked” at 8 p.m. Jan. 27, the Bankhead will bring some dazzling live theater offerings for the community in this first month of the year.

Both of these performances will be at the Bankhead Theater. Tickets are $2 to $80 for “Lucy Loves Desi” and $55 to $65 for the Vosk show. Call 925-373-6800 or go to livermorearts.org/event-list.

— Livermore Valley Arts

Submit area arts-and-entertainment On Tap items to Judith Prieve at jprieve@bayareanewsgroup.com.