This weekend Sunday Night has stories on the Paris attacks and Ron Howard.
AN AUSTRALIAN IN PARIS
Emilie Gassin had fallen in love with Paris. The young Australian musician settled in the city seven years ago to carve out a career performing and recording. Her career was growing strongly as was her following and her circle of friends. The gifted singer/songwriter was living her dream. Then terror struck in the heart of Emilie’s community and took two of her mates. One was among those gunned down by terrorists inside the Bataclan concert hall, the other shot at a neighbourhood café sipping coffee with his girlfriend. It was a senseless, brutal wave of coordinated assaults on one of the world’s great cities and its people and it shocked the world. In this powerful and compelling Sunday Night exclusive, Emilie recounts the harrowing events of the night, the frenzied efforts to find her friends and heartbreaking discovery that they had perished along with scores of other Parisians. Sunday Night’sMelissa Doyle also sheds new light on the events that unfolded inside the Bataclan concert hall, as a survivor recounts for the first time her desperate efforts to elude the rampaging gunmen to stay alive. Ultimately though, this is a story of hope and redemption through Emilie’s efforts to help heal her beloved new city, alongside other musicians and artists who are all determined the terror attacks will not change the heart of Paris or the French way of life.
A FATAL DISTRACTION
It’s inconceivable, isn’t it? How can a loving mum or a doting dad forget they’d left their baby in the back of their car? Well, it’s a heartbreaking occurrence that’s far more frequent than you might expect. And according to experts, any parent is vulnerable to this tragedy because our brains can play tricks on us, even when it comes to the safety of the ones we love and care for the most. On the cusp of another baking summer, Sunday Night examines the phenomenon of Forgotten Baby Syndrome that’s claimed a number of little lives in Australia, and an average of 37 babies and toddlers each year in the United States. Sunday Night’s PJ Madam explores the cases of two American mothers who forgot about their baby sons in almost identical circumstances. Both children died. Lyn Balfour lost her nine-month-old son Bryce after leaving him in her SUV for seven hours while she worked. Stephanie Salvilla left her five-month-old son Gannon in the car for eight hours. Neuroscientist Professor David Diamond explains how this phenomenon could happen to anyone. It’s not bad parenting, he says, it’s the way we’re wired. He explains that sometimes our memory fails us even when it comes to things as precious as children. It’s an argument he’s taken to court in the United States and in Australia in defence of parents who lost their children in this way. With the hot months already here, this is a must-see special investigation for all parents.
THE HAPPIEST DAYS
He’s done it all. Directed box-office blockbusters, critically-acclaimed ground-breakers, won a room full of awards including an Oscar, and managed to harness and guide the talents of some of the world’s (make that Australia’s) most challenging actors into some of Hollywood’s most memorable performances. Ron Howard has ascended to the very top of one of the world’s most cut-throat and competitive businesses. Yet he remains the nicest of guys. And, the world still thinks of him as the adorable square Richie Cunningham from the long-running hit TV series Happy Days. In this remarkable open and candid interview with Sunday Night’sRahni Sadler, Ron Howard opens up on a number of new fronts. He reveals the real reason he took on the role of Richie, he marvels at the talent of the array of Australian stars he’s worked with and talks about how even he, a heavyweight Hollywood director, struggles to get movies he wants to make funded and made. It’s been a very tough week for the world. Time for some Happier Days.
Sunday 7pm on Seven
