Drying up the delta: 19th century policies underlie today's crises

HAMILTON CITY, Calif. — A shallow inland sea spreads across more than 160 square miles, speckled with egrets poking for crayfish among jewel-green rice shoots.

The flooded fields could be mistaken for the rice paddies of Vietnam or southern China, but this is Northern California at the onset of severe drought.

The scene is a testament to the inequities of California's system of water rights, a hierarchy of haves as old as the state.

Thanks to seniority, powerful Central Valley irrigation districts that most Californians have never heard of are at the head of the line for vast amounts of water, even at the expense of the environment and the rest of the state.

The list of the water-rich includes the Glenn-Colusa, Oakdale, South San Joaquin and Turlock districts. The average amount of Sacramento River water that Glenn-Colusa growers annually pump, for example, is enough to supply Los Angeles and San Francisco for a year.

In 2013, when government water projects slashed allocations to many San Joaquin Valley growers and the urban Southland because of dry conditions, the district drew its usual supply.

And although Glenn-Colusa and other senior diverters in the Sacramento Valley face unprecedented cuts this year because of the continuing drought, they have been promised 40% of their normal deliveries. Most growers supplied by the Central Valley's big irrigation project will probably get nothing.

Senior rights holders have in fact dodged years of delivery cuts triggered by the ecological collapse of California's water hub, the sprawling delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers that lies more than 100 miles downstream of Glenn-Colusa's giant pumps.

The delta's native fish are hovering on the brink of extinction. Its waters are tainted by farm and urban runoff and infested with invasive species. Most problematic, biologists say, is the chronic shortage of what defines the delta: fresh water.

Year in and year out, so much is diverted by farms and cities upstream in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river basins and pumped from the delta itself that the average volume of flows out to San Francisco Bay is about half what it once was.

But blame for the delta's downward spiral falls mostly on the pumping by the junior state and federal water projects that send supplies hundreds of miles south to San Joaquin Valley agribusiness and the urban Southland.

To protect endangered fish species, those southbound water shipments have been subject to escalating restrictions, triggering an endless cycle of lawsuits and proposals to stem the delta's decline. The most recent is a $25-billion state plan to restore habitat and replumb the delta with the construction of two huge water tunnels.

At the same time, the impact on the delta of the massive upstream diversions has essentially been ignored. Regulators don't even know the total quantity that irrigators and cities suck from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and their tributaries.

Diverters with the greatest seniority "just stick a pipe in the river and out it goes," said UC Berkeley geography professor emeritus Richard Walker, an expert on California agribusiness. "They've never been touched."

::

As president of the Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District, Don Bransford is guardian of some of the oldest — and most abundant — water rights in the Central Valley.

They underpin a way of life that in its daily rhythms hasn't changed much since Bransford's grandparents migrated to the Sacramento Valley from Missouri in the 1920s.

Old barns,19th century cemeteries and small towns dot a landscape that lives off the river curling through it, nourishing expansive fields of rice and regiments of gracefully arching walnut trees.

"Nothing is better for me than to wake up with the sun rising, and to look horizon to horizon and look at the beauty out here," said Bransford, 66, who planted his first rice crop more than three decades ago.

Glenn-Colusa's five-story pump station stands on an oxbow bend of the Sacramento River some 80 miles north of the capital, not far from where Will S. Green on Dec.18, 1883, nailed a notice to an oak tree on the west bank.

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Drying up the delta: 19th century policies underlie today's crises

HAMILTON CITY, Calif. — A shallow inland sea spreads across more than 160 square miles, speckled with egrets poking for crayfish among jewel-green rice shoots.

The flooded fields could be mistaken for the rice paddies of Vietnam or southern China, but this is Northern California at the onset of severe drought.

The scene is a testament to the inequities of California's system of water rights, a hierarchy of haves as old as the state.

Thanks to seniority, powerful Central Valley irrigation districts that most Californians have never heard of are at the head of the line for vast amounts of water, even at the expense of the environment and the rest of the state.

The list of the water-rich includes the Glenn-Colusa, Oakdale, South San Joaquin and Turlock districts. The average amount of Sacramento River water that Glenn-Colusa growers annually pump, for example, is enough to supply Los Angeles and San Francisco for a year.

In 2013, when government water projects slashed allocations to many San Joaquin Valley growers and the urban Southland because of dry conditions, the district drew its usual supply.

And although Glenn-Colusa and other senior diverters in the Sacramento Valley face unprecedented cuts this year because of the continuing drought, they have been promised 40% of their normal deliveries. Most growers supplied by the Central Valley's big irrigation project will probably get nothing.

Senior rights holders have in fact dodged years of delivery cuts triggered by the ecological collapse of California's water hub, the sprawling delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers that lies more than 100 miles downstream of Glenn-Colusa's giant pumps.

The delta's native fish are hovering on the brink of extinction. Its waters are tainted by farm and urban runoff and infested with invasive species. Most problematic, biologists say, is the chronic shortage of what defines the delta: fresh water.

Year in and year out, so much is diverted by farms and cities upstream in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river basins and pumped from the delta itself that the average volume of flows out to San Francisco Bay is about half what it once was.

But blame for the delta's downward spiral falls mostly on the pumping by the junior state and federal water projects that send supplies hundreds of miles south to San Joaquin Valley agribusiness and the urban Southland.

To protect endangered fish species, those southbound water shipments have been subject to escalating restrictions, triggering an endless cycle of lawsuits and proposals to stem the delta's decline. The most recent is a $25-billion state plan to restore habitat and replumb the delta with the construction of two huge water tunnels.

At the same time, the impact on the delta of the massive upstream diversions has essentially been ignored. Regulators don't even know the total quantity that irrigators and cities suck from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and their tributaries.

Diverters with the greatest seniority "just stick a pipe in the river and out it goes," said UC Berkeley geography professor emeritus Richard Walker, an expert on California agribusiness. "They've never been touched."

::

As president of the Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District, Don Bransford is guardian of some of the oldest — and most abundant — water rights in the Central Valley.

They underpin a way of life that in its daily rhythms hasn't changed much since Bransford's grandparents migrated to the Sacramento Valley from Missouri in the 1920s.

Old barns,19th century cemeteries and small towns dot a landscape that lives off the river curling through it, nourishing expansive fields of rice and regiments of gracefully arching walnut trees.

"Nothing is better for me than to wake up with the sun rising, and to look horizon to horizon and look at the beauty out here," said Bransford, 66, who planted his first rice crop more than three decades ago.

Glenn-Colusa's five-story pump station stands on an oxbow bend of the Sacramento River some 80 miles north of the capital, not far from where Will S. Green on Dec.18, 1883, nailed a notice to an oak tree on the west bank.

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Artists Drew Struzan and Bob Peak: Hollywood's poster boys

Artists Drew Struzan and the late Bob Peak may not be household names, but their movie posters have graced the walls of museums and galleries as well as countless homes and college dorm rooms.

Struzan's more than 150 posters include ones for "Blade Runner," "E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial," the "Star Wars" franchise since the 1978 re-release poster, the four "Indiana Jones" films, the "Back to the Future" trilogy, "Hellboy," "Pan's Labyrinth," "The Shawshank Redemption" and the AMC series "The Walking Dead."

Over the years he's been a favorite of directors George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Frank Darabont and Guillermo del Toro.

PHOTOS: Movie artwork of Drew Struzan and Bob Peak

Peak, who died in 1992, created the movie posters for more than 100 films, including "My Fair Lady,"  "Funny Girl," the first five "Star Trek" movies, "Superman" and "Apocalypse Now."

A selection of their movie work as well as examples of their fine art are on exhibition at the Forest Lawn Museum at Forest Lawn-Glendale. "Drew & Bob: The Masters of Movie Art: The Illustrations of Fine Art of Drew Struzan and Bob Peak" continues free through May 26.

Joan Adan, the director of the museum, had previously met Struzan when she included some of his paintings of animals for an exhibition. She became acquainted with Peak's art through a conversation with his son, Tom Peak.

"I thought the combination of the two great masters would be really wonderful, and they have never exhibited before," Adan said.

Struzan was a struggling artist with a wife and young daughter when he began designing covers for albums. After a few years, he was approached by a movie studio about bringing his artistry to film posters. His first film poster was for the long-forgotten 1975 George Segal comedy "The Black Bird."

PHOTOS: Behind-the-scenes Classic Hollywood

He got his first break when he was hired by Lucas to do the re-release poster for the 1977 blockbuster "Star Wars."

"George [Lucas] wanted to be an illustrator," Struzan said. "He loves paintings. He wants to use illustrations because they reach the heart, whereas photographs just don't do it for him. Frank Darabont is a collector of my work, so whenever he has a movie he wants me to do the poster. I have worked with Steven Spielberg since 'E.T.' We are the same age [both were born in 1946], and we have gotten along the whole time. That's part of it, being at the right place at the right time."

Creating the posters is a collaborative effort, Struzan said. For Spielberg's "Hook," he read the script, visited the set and "worked with Steven on the whole idea."

In the case of Del Toro, the filmmaker came to Struzan's house to discuss ideas for "Hellboy."

"He was ready to tell me his concept," Struzan recalled. "I said, 'Let me show me you mine first.' So I did this little sketch. It took about 30 seconds and he goes, 'Perfect, do it.' All the work we did together was that one little meeting in my studio."

Before he began illustrating posters, Peak was "reinventing advertising in the '50s and '60s. His work was so colorful," according to his son.

Struzan and Universal monsters | Struzan, San Witwer and Syfy's 'Being HUman'

His innovations came to the attention of Hollywood. After designing a poster for a 1959 Russian film, Peak was hired to illustrate the poster for 1961 Oscar-winning best film "West Side Story.

Tom Peak recalled his father telling him about his visits to the set of 1964 Oscar-wining best picture winner "My Fair Lady" with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison.

"Rex Harrison had a pretty big ego, and he was supposed to be the center of the movie [poster]," said Peak, who wrote "The Art of Bob Peak."

"My dad went back to the studio and ended up putting Audrey Hepburn in the middle and Rex Harrison was over her shoulder. He made sure though that he put a hat on him so at least his head was bigger than hers."

susan.king@latimes.com

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'Infamous: Second Son' review: Art is a weapon

Sony's new superhero fantasy "Infamous: Second Son" opens not with a bang, but with the hissing sound of a spray paint can. As a work of comic-book-inspired fiction, this PlayStation 4 video game aims high, asking right from the start if art can be weaponized.

If sulfur bombs and pink and blue lasers count as art, then the answer is yes.

Conflicted antihero Delsin Rowe, whom "Infamous" players will control, is a rabble-rousing Banksy wannabe who discovers his hands can conjure smoke and set the world ablaze. His stenciled graffiti art pokes fun at a police state set in a Seattle of the future.

Fear brought on by the emergence of humans with superpowers has crippled a nation, turning the Pacific Northwest into a society where segregation and surveillance have run amok. Rowe is thrust into the role of unlikely liberator.

If that setting sounds more than a little like the world inhabited by X-Men, that's because it is, and "Infamous: Second Son" likewise has allegorical ambitions — at least partly.

Developed by Sony-owned, Seattle-based Sucker Punch Productions, "Infamous: Second Son" is also designed to be a showcase title for the PlayStation 4, the system's first major exclusive work that will illustrate the new home console's graceful slickness.

Delsin Rowe and Fetch, who can turn neon light into a weapon in "Infamous: Second Son." (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Computer Entertainment)

On that level, "Infamous: Second Son" is a success. Praise to the PlayStation's 4's handling, as the controller is outfitted with a small touchpad that allows heavy gates to be opened with a swipe of the finger rather than annoying button-mashing of yore. And then there's the look of the game. One of Delsin's superpowers permits him the ability to harness neon light, allowing him to zip through an impressively realized Seattle as a blast of fluorescent pink and blue.

It's hard not to get swept up in a lighthearted game that relies on phosphorescent neon laser-dust as a weapon. Other nice touches abound, whether it's ungrateful citizens complaining that Delsin should "go back to Portland" or simply the detail devoted to re-creating hipster breweries in Georgetown, which are still packed with selfie-taking drinkers, as this is a dystopian future with a narcissistic bent.

But it's the game's highly politicized undercurrent that serves as its most alluring characteristic. Unmanned drones haunt the skies, fingerprint checkpoints protect entry into Seattle, the government is tapping cellphones and Delsin watches the evening news manipulate his own exploits. "Infamous: Second Son," the third and most topical game in the "Infamous" series, hints at quite a bit yet ultimately backs away from most it, as the game ends up content largely to make allusions rather than stake out a point of view.

The mutants here are called "bio-terrorists," a word Delsin is careful to remind his thick-headed cop of a brother is a slur. When Seattle protesters holler that "bio-terrorism is un-American," Delsin attacks their hypocrisy with biblical quotes, and when his sibling tells him he'll find a cure for his magical abilities, the punk-looking rebel makes like Lady Gaga and hollers that he was "born this way."

FULL COVERAGE: Video games

The scenes come quick, all within the first hour or so of the game. While one will have to forgive some clunky Rosa Parks dialogue when Delsin is refused passage on a bus, they make for an exciting entryway, as "Infamous: Second Son" delivers a series of not-so-subtle hints on racism and gay rights. Add in the fact that Delsin hails from a Native American tribe, and "Infamous: Second Son" is overflowing in themes of oppression.

While the Native American back story serves as the revenge-inspired springboard for the action — when it's discovered the Delsin has powers, a corrupt government agency, the Department of Unified Protection (DUP), leaves the tribe for dead — the culture is left unexplored. Likewise, as Delsin meets other "conduits," the politically correct term for those with hidden powers, the subplots of "Infamous: Second Son" obscure its main one.

The supporting cast exists in part to gift Delsin new abilities, as the protagonist has the power to siphon other's traits. A neon-spraying young woman, Fetch, is on her own personal war on drugs, and Eugene, a video-game-obsessed homebody, is tormented by bullies. Weighty subjects both, but what impresses most is their special effects rather than their characterization.

Delsin Rowe is blessed with superpowers in "Infamous: Second Son." (Sucker Punch Productions / Sony Computer Entertainment)

That's likely due to the inherent design of the "Infamous" series, in which players can choose between one of two options at pivotal plot points. One path is good, the other is evil. You can, for instance, "redeem" Fetch, or "corrupt" her. Don't necessarily think of it as a moral decision, as Delsin's very desire to save his tribe would simply make it out of character for him to wreak havoc on the lives of those who are similarly shunned by society.

Instead, it's often a choice between doing right by the plot or making a decision based on what may look neater in the game's action scenes. The main story won't vary too greatly depending on one's choices, but one's special powers will. And as the game gets deeper, the talking points raised at the start stay just that. There's a sense that everything has to stay just vague enough to account for those who play it nice (blasting foes in the feet to stun them) versus those who play it maniacally (destroy it all, civilians included).

While humans are complex, the result is that Delsin is a contradiction. In a sleeveless jean jacket and beanie, he looks the part of the most pretty and generic of grunge-era rockers (think Gavin Rossdale, not the Seattle area's Kurt Cobain), and his dialogue veers from do-gooder excitement to sarcastic one-liners in seconds.

The argument is that players can take away what they want — latch onto whatever aspect best suits their own personalities. That may have worked in prior game generations, but the PlayStation 4 allows for a more vivid rendering of Seattle and its residents, and "Infamous: Second Son" appears eager to be the rare mainstream game that goes to bat with hot-button issues. As it veers more into old-fashioned action-game tactics (cue the machine-gunning turrets), some of the initial excitement present in the game's opening hours can't help but be lost.

Applaud "Infamous: Second Son" for offering so many complexities to play with, but in the end, the extremities presented to the main character make a personal connection difficult and an artistic statement hard to find. But heck if it isn't thrilling to watch Delsin paint Seattle neon pink.

– Todd Martens | @toddmartens | @LATHeroComplex

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China satellite image gives new focus to Malaysia jetliner search

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — China said Saturday that its satellite spotted a large object floating in the same south Indian Ocean area that has become a focal point in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.

A Chinese defense agency said on its website that satellite pictures taken around noon on Tuesday showed an object measuring 74 feet by 43 feet and located about 75 miles southwest of where Australia two days earlier captured images of two indistinct objects, one of them estimated at 79 feet long. Australian officials have said these could be related to the flight that disappeared March 8.

Since Australia reported its satellite sightings on Thursday, an increasingly intensifying effort has been undertaken to comb the waters about 1,500 miles off the coast of the western Australian city of Perth. But Saturday's hunt ended with aircraft equipment and human spotters finding little more than a wooden pallet and clumps of seaweed, said the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is coordinating the operation in that area.

In a statement, the maritime agency said it had plotted the position of the new Chinese satellite image and that it fell within Saturday's search area. The authority said it would take the new information into account in Sunday's search plans, which could be affected by bad weather.

The report of the Chinese image came amid concerns that any objects seen by satellite days ago may already have sunk, but it is still likely to give further impetus to the multinational search in the so-called southern corridor that is thought to be a likely path taken by Flight 370, though it had flown from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing. Malaysia's defense minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, said that China would be dispatching ships to the area of the object sightings.

China already has five ships in the southern corridor and is sending an additional two there, Hishammuddin said in a statement during a daily press briefing, which was cut short by the Chinese satellite news. He also said two Chinese aircraft capable of hauling heavy items were to arrive Saturday in Perth to join Australia, the United States and New Zealand in the search operations.

Two merchant ships and an Australian navy vessel also are in the search area, which encompasses some 13,900 square miles.

Japanese planes will arrive Sunday, and two Indian aircraft that landed in Malaysia on Friday night also will assist with the search in the southern area, Hishammuddin said. In addition, a British vessel equipped with underwater search sensors is en route, he said.

Despite the growing and sophisticated resources, the operation has proved daunting, not only because of the large search area but also the generally strong currents and rough seas in this remote section of the Indian Ocean. Hishammuddin said there was a cyclone warning for the southern corridor.

On Saturday, weather conditions and visibility were good as four Orion military aircraft and two long-range commercial planes scoured the waters, with 10 volunteer air observers helping to look for any objects that could be related to the missing jetliner.

Australia's maritime agency said observers in one of the civilian planes spotted a number of small objects, including a pallet, within a radius of about three miles, but an inspection later by a New Zealand Orion found only seaweed.

Despite the lack of success thus far, Malaysian officials have pledged to keep search and rescue operations going as long as there was hope.

"I know this roller-coaster has been incredibly hard for everyone, especially for the families," Hishammuddin said Saturday in the news briefing. Flight 370 took off with 239 passengers and crew on board. "We hope and pray this difficult search will be resolved, and bring to closure to those whose relatives were on board," he said.

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don.lee@latimes.com

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Ukraine signs deal with European Union

, firmly looking to the West for guidance and support even as Russia pulled the contested

eastward.

The pact revives an agreement that Brussels offered the government in Kiev several months ago but that the then-president of Ukraine jettisoned at the last minute in favor of closer ties with Moscow. The abrupt turnaround touched off months of protests, the toppling of the former president and Russia's incursion into Crimea.

The signing of the EU deal risks further angering Moscow, which sees a European-leaning Ukraine as a threat. But acting Ukraine Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk brushed aside any concern and hailed the agreement.

"Frankly speaking, I don't care about Russia [in] signing this deal. I care about Ukraine, Ukrainians and our European future," Yatsenyuk said. "This deal meets an aspiration of millions of Ukrainians that want to be a part of the European Union."

EU membership is not actually on offer. But the agreement puts Ukraine squarely in the orbit of the EU, which pledged to sign it immediately as a riposte to Russia's takeover of Crimea. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin formally approved the peninsula's annexation, which the West refuses to recognize as legitimate.

An economic deal between Kiev and Brussels, which formed part of the original pact, is being deferred until after Ukrainian elections in May. In a further dig at Moscow, the EU said it would sign similar political agreements with Georgia and Moldova, which Russia sees as also properly in its sphere of influence.

Earlier Friday, the leaders of the 28 EU nations announced their intention to add a dozen more names to the list of mostly Russian and Crimean officials on whom they've imposed travel bans and asset freezes in response to the Crimean crisis. The leaders also instructed EU staff to come up with possible economic sanctions on Moscow if the situation deteriorates – namely, if Russian forces move into eastern Ukraine.

In an unexpected move, the EU said it was slapping a near-embargo on any goods from Crimea that did not transit through Ukraine first.

"We will only accept Crimean goods in the EU if they come from Ukraine and not Russia," British Prime Minister David Cameron said. "From now on, goods from Crimea have to come through Ukraine or they're going to get very hefty penalties and tariffs put on them."

Yatsenyuk said that "the best way to contain Russia is to impose real economic leverage over them," and criticized Moscow's attempt to "impose a new post-Cold War order and to revise the results of the Second World War."

But a pro-Kremlin political scientist in Moscow ridiculed the new accord between the EU and Ukraine – and called for an invasion of Ukraine to keep it from going into effect.

"The Kremlin should stop this farce and deploy Russian troops in Ukraine as soon as possible to create a situation for really free and democratic elections of its organs of power," said Sergei Markov, vice president of Russian Plekhanov University of Economics. "We will not allow Russians and Ukrainians in Ukraine to be turned into slaves."

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Times staff writer Sergei L. Loiko in Moscow contributed to this report.

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Stocks head for solid weekly gains

The stock market looked ready to finish off a turbulent week with solid gains, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index was on track to close Friday at an all-time high. 

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 10 points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,882 as of 11: 30 a.m. Eastern time. If that gain holds through the close of trading, it would mark an all-time high for the index. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 119 points, or 0.7 percent, to 16,451. The Nasdaq composite slipped three points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,316. 

COMPARE, CONTRAST: It might sound surprising that the stock market is trading at an all-time high with all the uncertainty surrounding China's slowing growth and simmering tensions between Russia and the West. But these concerns also highlight the relative health of the U.S. economy and stock market, said Dan Veru, chief investment officer of Palisade Capital Management in Fort Lee, N.J. 

"In a perverse way, these geopolitical issues drive home the fact that the U.S. has been overlooked. The U.S. was the first major economy to go into recession, and it's the first major country coming out of recession right now." 

COMING BACK: A week ago, the S&P 500 index turned in a 1.9 percent weekly loss, its worst slump in nearly two months. This week looks entirely different, with the S&P 500 on track to gain 2.1 percent, as concerns have eased over China's slower economic growth. 

The only stumble came Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve said it could start raising short-term interest rates as soon as next year. Traders drove down prices for gold, government bonds and stocks. 

GOLDEN GATE'S TOUCH: News that Golden Gate Capital has acquired a stake in Ann Inc. shot the retailer's stock up $5.20, or 15 percent, to $42.43. The private equity firm disclosed the 9.5 percent stake in the parent company of Ann Taylor and LOFT late Thursday. 

SWOOSH: Nike fell after warning that a stronger U.S. dollar will dampen its results this quarter. Strong demand for its shoes and apparel ahead of the World Cup in June helped its beat expectations in the previous quarter, the company said late Thursday. Nike, one of the 30 stocks in the Dow, lost $2.50, or 3 percent, to $76.77. 

BOOTED: Symantec slumped $2.85, or 14 percent, to $18.08. The maker of security software abruptly fired its CEO late Thursday. It was the second time in less than two years that the company has dismissed its chief executive. 

OVERSEAS: European indexes closed slightly higher. Germany's DAX rose 0.2 percent and Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.1 percent. Russia's stock market sank 1.3 percent. 

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.2 percent. China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.7 percent. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. 

TREASURYS AND COMMODITIES: Prices for U.S. government bonds were little changed. The yield on the 10-year government was 2.77 percent. The price of crude oil rose $1.15 to $100.05 a barrel. Gold gained $5.60 to $1,336.10 an ounce. 

 

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'Divergent' stars Winslet, Judd share thoughts on Shailene Woodley

Kate Winslet: "We're very fortunate to have Shai playing Tris, because what she brings to that role is very unique and very specific to Shai. She's a very gentle, solid person. She knows herself very well. There are things that are really important to her. She has some strong morals and values that she holds very dear to herself, and she brings that into that girl. She grounds her and she makes her real. she puts her in a place that is believable. It's a futuristic piece, it's a world that we don't know of, it doesn't exist for us, and yet she normalizes all of Tris' experiences through playing her in such a very real way, and that's what makes it work."
(Jaap Buitendijk / Summit Entertainment)

http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/divergent-stars-winslet-judd-share-thoughts-on-shailene-woodley/attachment/kate-winslet/

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Maggie Q: "In Hollywood, it's very, very rare to be blessed to collaborate with someone at such a young age who has such an old soul and such a sure sense of self, who's lovely and kind, but also who is just a real person. I know that sounds gross — it makes Hollywood seem like a bunch of zombies walking around — but it is a really hard business, and I think that turns people inwards.... When you meet someone who has an outward sense of appreciation for people and care and concern, it's very rare. And it's going to serve her well."
(Summit Entertainment)

http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/divergent-stars-winslet-judd-share-thoughts-on-shailene-woodley/attachment/divergent-48/

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"Divergent" opens in theaters today, bringing dystopian adventure heroine Tris Prior to the big screen and launching the film's star Shailene Woodley into the public eye.

The film, based on the bestselling young adult book series by Veronica Roth, takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where people are sorted into factions based on personality. Woodley's Tris finds out she's divergent, meaning she has aptitude for multiple factions — something that's not allowed in the rigidly divided society. She decides to hide her divergence and join Dauntless, the faction that values bravery, and as a result finds herself jumping onto moving trains, throwing knives and shooting guns.

For Woodley, "Divergent" marks her first step into the world of big-budget action. Her previous work includes playing a teen mom in ABC Family television series "The Secret Life of an American Teenager," portraying a young girl in love with an alcoholic in "The Spectacular Now" and acting opposite George Clooney in "The Descendants" — a performance that earned her a supporting actress Golden Globe nomination. She also plays Hazel Grace Lancaster in the upcoming film adaptation of John Green's novel "The Fault in Our Stars," a love story between two teenagers who have cancer.

MORE: Shailene Woodley embraces being divergent

Woodley says that filming "Divergent" was the most challenging thing she's done so far in her career, but her performance on screen and her earnest and kind personality behind the scenes made an impression on her costars and the movie's producers.

Click through the gallery above to see what Kate Winslet, Ashley Judd, Maggie Q and others had to say about the rising star, and read our profile of Shailene Woodley here.

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Turkey tries to block Twitter, is met with worldwide ridicule

GAZIENTEP, Turkey – A government attempt to block access to Twitter in Turkey drew international criticism and widespread ridicule on Friday, much of it online.

The flap, which also exacerbated a growing split between president Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, came nine days before bellwether municipal elections. The polling is considered a key test of Erdogan's standing, which has been eroded by an ongoing corruption scandal.

Access to the micro-blogging site for Turkish users was restricted late Thursday, hours after Erdogan vowed in a speech to "eradicate" it. Would-be users encountered a notice from the state telecommunications authority citing court action in blocking the site.

However, Turkey's 12 million Twitter users could still tweet via text message, or use other technical means to circumvent the restrictions – and they did so with gusto.

Turkish users posted more than half a million tweets in the hours after the ban, while the hashtag #twitterblockedturkey became a trending topic worldwide, according to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet. Many mocked the heavy-handedness of the move, posting images of Twitter's blue-bird icon circling the prime minister's head or vanishing in a cloud of tear gas.

Erdogan, who has been fighting for months to shake off the corruption allegations, has flailed repeatedly at various types of social media, saying they are being used as tools to foment unrest. Turkey has sporadically banned YouTube in the past.

Protest organizers have used Twitter and Facebook to gather demonstrators, and social media users have also posted recordings and documents linked to the corruption probe, much of it appearing to incriminate Erdogan and his inner circle.

Criticism came from both inside and outside Turkey. President Gul took to Twitter to protest, saying the shutdown of social media platforms "cannot be approved." The European Union's enlargement commissioner, Stefan Fule, tweeted that he was "gravely concerned," adding that freedom of communication was a "fundamental EU value."

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Johnson is a special correspondent. Staff writer Laura King contributed to this report from Cairo.

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Indian Ocean search for missing Malaysia airliner comes up empty again

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Despite better weather conditions Friday and the use of some of the world's most advanced surveillance aircraft, an Australian-led search operation came up empty on its second day of scouring the south Indian Ocean for possible debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

Several military aircraft, a commercial jet and two merchant ships combed a large area about 1,500 miles off the coast of Perth, Australia, where two objects had been spotted on satellite imagery. Australian officials reported the images Thursday and said they could be related to the missing jetliner. The weather was fair Friday, making for much better visibility than on Thursday, said the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

Though the search efforts in the area are intensifying, with a number of aircraft, ships and helicopters from China, Japan and other countries heading toward the vicinity, the absence of early success provided a kind of reality check after hopes rose Thursday of a possible breakthrough in the mystery of the Boeing 777 that vanished after departing Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing on March 8.

"This is going to be a long haul," said Malaysia's acting transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, at a news conference. Among other things, he said, he would ask U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on Friday for additional help, including deep-sea salvage vehicles.

Thus far, the aircraft search operations in the area have included four Australian air force P3 Orions, one U.S. Navy P8 Poseidon and a New Zealand P3 Orion. On Thursday, rain and clouds largely limited the search to radar, but aircraft crews Friday were able to make visual inspections flying over the area.

Still, it is "a big area when you're looking out the window trying to see something by eye," said John Young, general manager of the Emergency Response Division at the Australian maritime agency. The search area is about 8,900 square miles, slightly smaller than the size of New Hampshire.

What's more, because of the long distance to fly to that section of the ocean, the aircraft have only about two hours of actual search time before needing to return for refueling.

"Tomorrow's plan is to do the same thing," Young said Friday. "The plan is we want to find these objects because they are the best lead to where we might find people to be rescued."

There was some speculation, however, that the objects spotted on satellite could have submerged since the pictures were captured Sunday. Australian officials said it wasn't until Thursday that the images were reported to authorities because of a large volume of films and time needed for analysis.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Friday defended his decision to announce the satellite imagery. He said he had a duty to pass on the information to families of the missing passengers. At the same time, Abbott reiterated that the two objects detected on the film, one of them about 79 feet long, may have nothing to do with the missing jetliner.

"It could just be a container that has fallen off a ship, we just don't know," he said.

With the investigation of the missing airliner entering its third week this weekend, there were still many unanswered questions.

Malaysian officials Friday said they had no update on the log data that were deleted from the flight simulator made by Flight 370 pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah. Asked about reports that Shah made a phone call before takeoff, Malaysia Airlines' chief executive, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, who has been a regular at the daily news conference by Malaysian officials, said Friday without elaborating that the information was being passed on to authorities.

But now more than anything else, the big question is whether the floating objects captured on satellite are from the missing plane -- and if so, how long it will take to find them.

Cho Byungjae, South Korea's ambassador to Malaysia, is one of a number of foreign diplomats staying on top of the search efforts. South Korea is sending two aircraft to the south Indian Ocean.

After coming out of a meeting with Malaysian officials Friday afternoon, Cho spoke in somewhat sobering terms. "It could take some time," he said.

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don.lee@latimes.com

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