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YouTube The United Society Of Believers In Christ’s Second Appearing, a Christian sect better known as the Shakers, has quite the story. Today, they exist as a historical relic, as a mere three members remain as of 2025. Their past, though, is cinematic enough to get the movie treatment in the upcoming The Testament Of Ann Lee. The film focuses on Ann Lee, one of the religious movement’s founders, and the story of her vision for the church. Amanda Seyfried stars, as do Lewis Pullman, Tim Blake Nelson, and more. Ahead of the movie’s release, keep reading for everything you need to know before it hits theaters. Plot An official description reads, “From award-winning writer-director Mona Fastvold comes the extraordinary true legend of Ann Lee, founder of the devotional sect known as the Shakers. Academy Award nominee Amanda Seyfried stars as the Shaker’s irrepressible leader, who preached gender and social equality and was revered by her followers. The Testament Of Ann Lee captures the ecstasy and agony of her quest to build a utopia, featuring more than a dozen traditional Shaker hymns reimagined as rapturous movements with choreography by Celia Rowlson-Hall and original songs & score by Academy Award winner Daniel Blumberg.” Fastvold told IndieWire of her approach to the movie: “Very recently, a third Shaker joined, and no one has joined [since 1978]. It’s quite extraordinary that a third joined, but no, I didn’t want to consult them because my interpretation of this story is probably quite different from theirs. I’ve taken creative liberties. I’ve merged characters. I’ve imagined things. My reason for telling the story is different probably from their reason to be part of this religion. I thought it was more respectful to let them have their relationship and me have mine.” Cast The movie stars Amanda Seyfried, Lewis Pullman, Thomasin McKenzie, Christopher Abbott, Tim Blake Nelson, Stacy Martin, Scott Handy, Matthew Beard, Viola Prettejohn, Jamie Bogyo, and David Cale. Seyfried spoke with The Wrap about the challenges this role presented, saying: “Getting over my own insecurities with playing somebody who had so much power and felt so strong-willed and someone so committed and someone so devoted. That’s it. That’s not me. But there’s so many qualities about her I could relate to. In terms of what I couldn’t relate to, the accent, the technical aspect of the accent. I had to let go of my own ear when I’m listening to my own singing because it didn’t need to sound good, it just needed to sound devoted. Just needed to sound true, which is a different way of singing. […] It was just a lot. Choreography is like math to me; I don’t get it. So I had to work extra hard on that. Everything was hard about it. Everything.” Release Date The film is set to hit theaters on December 25. Trailer Watch the The Testament Of Ann Lee trailer below.

Grocery stores and pharmacies across Costa Mesa could soon be required to have employees oversee self-checkout stands. It comes after city council members took their first steps in considering an ordinance aimed at putting workers at self checkouts. The issue is playing out after the City of Long Beach recently adopted an ordinance setting staffing requirements at grocery and drug retail stores. During the city council’s Nov. 4 meeting, officials voted 5-2 to have staff return with an ordinance proposal, with council members Jeff Pettis and Mike Buley dissenting. Many employees and union members spoke in favor of the ordinance requiring employees at self checkouts, looking to the Long Beach ordinance as a guide. “We are extraordinarily pleased at the seven week mark that the ordinance is working as intended,” said United Food and Commercial Workers 324 Political Director, Derek Smith at the meeting. At the same time, the California Grocers Association argued against the idea, saying some of the issues the ordinance is aimed at solving – like theft – are not that prevalent in stores. The Long Beach ordinance – adopted in August – aims to reduce theft and protect employees by requiring one employee per every three self-checkout stations and limiting self-checkout to 15 items or less. Councilmember Manuel Chavez argued in favor of the ordinance, saying “It does give me concern when I have a young person or a more older person manning multiple self checkouts. I think the idea that having better quality of life for our workers is very important,” added Chavez. “As we move forward with this ordinance, I want to copy from who has done it right and done it well,” said Chavez, who motioned to direct staff to model the proposal on Long Beach’s law. Costa Mesa City Council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC Scores of retail workers voiced support for the ordinance during the public comment portion of Costa Mesa City Council’s meeting. “Over the past month I have spoken to many workers from Ralphs, Vons and CVS here in Costa Mesa about their thoughts and experiences about self checkout. A common response from many is that they feel overwhelmed and overworked,” said Costa Mesa resident Matt Walters, who said he’s been working in the grocery industry for around 24 years. “Regular checkstands handle one customer at a time. Those working self checkout must monitor five, six, seven, even nine customers at a time,” added Walters. Walters also presented a petition to the city clerk which had been signed by 179 workers at Vons, CVS and Ralphs. Tim James from the California Grocers Association said the association wanted a similar opportunity to weigh in and tried contacting the city council but were ignored. James criticized the surveys in the city staff report and said local stores weren’t contacted to verify the information. “We have heard nothing from any council member. We have heard nothing from any staff. We now come to find out we had some level of surveillance in our stores without those stores being asked either before or afterwards if the information that was compiled was accurate,” said James. “We believe that committing to a direction to move an ordinance forward at this time would be further disrespectful to grocery and also not taking into full account all the points of this issue going forward,” added James. The Costa Mesa City Hall sign in Costa Mesa, Calif., on July 15, 2025. Credit: JOSIAH MENDOZA, Voice of OC. City Councilmember Loren Gameros disputed James’ comments. “I don’t recall ever being reached out to specifically with their concerns so I wouldn’t really know how to address the claims made on the Dias earlier,” Gameros said. Some city council members came out against the idea of an ordinance. “We should not be in the business of regulating what private business does,” said Councilmember Jeff Pettis, who voted against the motion. “I’m sympathetic and empathetic to what I heard tonight…

Holiday media is starting to roll out as we approach the middle of November. For instance, director Michael Showalter’s Christmas movie Oh. What. Fun. is set to hit Amazon’s Prime Video on December 3. It turns out that the soundtrack, which will be available the same day as the film, is pretty stacked, with covers of holiday classics from Fleet Foxes, St. Vincent, Jeff Tweedy, and many more. A bunch of the artists on the soundtrack shared statements. Here’s Sharon Van Etten (whose rendition of The Pretenders’ “2000 Miles” with her band The Attachment Theory is out now): “I connected deeply with the underlying narrative from the mother’s perspective in this film. As a mother myself, I resonated with the constant seeking of perfection and the expectations that holidays inherently bring. It reignited the compassion I hold for my mother and mothers everywhere who aspire to provide a place for their families to feel loved, appreciated, needed and relevant. […] Oh. What. Fun. is a story of a mom finding herself again and reestablishing her connection with her family and what’s at the heart of it all. I am usually very wary of doing covers, especially a ‘holiday’ song — but I connected with the depth of the lyrics and how our feelings around the holidays can be complicated. I tried to honor Chrissie Hynde’s version by collaborating with my band, The Attachment Theory. I hope if The Pretenders hear it, they feel our appreciation and love for Chrissie, the band and this song.” Jeff Tweedy: “The Band pulled off the impossible. They wrote a Christmas song that’s joyful and appropriate for the occasion while being strange, emotional, and poetic. Who else would call baby Jesus ‘the little stranger?’ To me, this song gets at what this season is about, at its best: the light. ‘Mary carried the light.’ How are we making ourselves a light to each other? How do I bring light into my life? I start with a song like this.” St. Vincent: “My favorite Christmas songs have an underlying sense of melancholy mixed in with the warmth of their familiarity. Sung by a person who is presumably alone, ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ is a prime example: ’Next year all our troubles will be out of sight’… the holiday season and its festivities are a temporary refuge, a reprieve after a sh*tty year. Hopefully the year to come will be better.” The Bird And The Bee’s Inara George: “Greg and I were so delighted to be asked to be a part of this movie. It’s always flattering when someone chooses our music to be in their film, but it feels extra special to have been brought in on the early stages of the filming process. We’re excited!” Empress Of’s Lorely Rodriguez: “Was a blast making this cover of a classic for Oh. What. Fun.! This movie is such a good time and moms deserve the spotlight every Christmas!” And lastly, Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes: “‘Angel in the Snow’ has always been one of my favorite songs by Elliott, one I’d always listen to around the holidays, so it was a huge joy to make this for such a sweet film. It wasn’t even my idea! Took me back to handing out ‘RIP Elliott’ flyers at my high school graduation in 2004. Elliott Smith forever.” The movie stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Felicity Jones, Chloë Grace Moretz, Danielle Brooks, Dominic Sessa, Denis Leary, Havana Rose Liu, Maude Apatow, Devery Jacobs, Jason Schwartzman, Eva Longoria, Joan Chen, and Rose Abdoo. An official description reads: “Claire Clauster (Michelle Pfeiffer) is the glue that holds her chaotic, lovable family together every holiday season. From perfectly frosted cookies to meticulously wrapped gifts, no one decks the halls quite like Claire. But this year, as her grown kids and distracted husband get swept up in their own seasonal dramas, they make one crucial mistake: they forget their mom. By the time they realize she’s missing, Claire’s already set off on a festive adventure of her own – one that doesn’t involve cooking, cleaning, or coordinating anyone else’s chaos. As her…

The November 2025 update ensures safer emergency calls and smoother performance on Pixel phones.