Entertainment

Get it back: new hunt for missing Beatles bass guitar

By Joe JACKSON A guitar expert and two journalists have launched a global hunt for a missing bass guitar owned by Paul McCartney, bidding to solve what they brand “the greatest mystery in rock and roll”. The trio of lifelong Beatles fans are searching for McCartney’s original Höfner bass — last seen in London in 1969 — in order to reunite the instrument with the former Fab Four frontman. McCartney played the instrument throughout the […]

Taylor Swift announces film of massive ‘Eras’ tour

Didn’t score tickets for Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour? Never fear — the culturally defining juggernaut will hit movie theaters with a concert film released on October 13. “The Eras Tour has been the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far and I’m overjoyed to tell you that it’ll be coming to the big screen soon,” Swift said on social media Thursday. “Eras attire, friendship bracelets, singing and dancing encouraged.” The giant AMC movie […]

‘La La Land’ director hopes ‘some good’ will come of Hollywood strike

Damien Chazelle, who heads the jury at the Venice Film Festival that kicks off Wednesday, told AFP he hopes Hollywood will get over its current crisis and said he was confident that movies will survive the AI revolution. Hollywood has been brought to a standstill by a combined writers and actors strike — primarily over pay and concerns over the impact of AI technology. Stars such as Bradley Cooper (“Maestro”) and Emma Stone (“Poor Things”) […]

Strike-hit German stunt performers train kids during filming freeze

By Deborah COLE Ten-year-old Nathaniel squeezes his eyes shut, straightens his back and sucks in his breath as he plunges backward from the reinforced steel roof of a stunt car. The stacked blue mats that catch his fall release a loud hiss as two burly men give the blond primary school pupil high-fives for his successful first attempt at being an action hero. While the actors’ and writers’ strikes in Hollywood freeze up film production […]

‘Total frenzy’: Swift fever grows in Latin America

By Lucero Mendez and Ana Espinosa MEXICO CITY, Aug 22, 2023 (AFP) – Excitement is building among Taylor Swift fans in Latin America who have endured months-long queues, expensive tickets and, in one case, assault to realize their dream of seeing the pop superstar. The 33-year-old singer-songwriter, who holds the women’s record for most number one albums, will bring her “Eras” tour to the region from Thursday starting in Mexico, followed by Argentina and Brazil. […]

Britney Spears’ husband declares end of marriage, initiates legal proceedings

Britney Spears’ husband said Thursday his marriage to the troubled pop star is over, filing for divorce just 14 months after the pair wed. Sam Asghari said the couple would “hold onto the love” they have, but that they were going their separate ways. “After 6 years of love and commitment to each other my wife and I have decided to end our journey together,” the Iranian-born model wrote on Instagram. “We will hold onto […]

Robbie Robertson of The Band dies at 80

By Maggy DONALDSON Robbie Robertson, guitarist and main songwriter of the seminal rock group The Band, has died, his manager said in a statement. He was 80 years old. As the ringleader of the Canadian-American group, Robertson penned The Band’s most iconic songs including “The Weight,” “The Night They Drove Ol’ Dixie Down” and “Up On Cripple Creek.” His manager said in a statement Robertson was surrounded by family at the time of his death, […]

Hollywood writers slam ‘milestone of shame’ as strike hits 100 days

By Andrew MARSZAL Hollywood writers marked the 100th day of their industry-crippling strike Wednesday, dubbing the occasion a “milestone of shame” for studios as the two sides remain deadlocked. Since early May, the Writers Guild of America walkout has brought countless film shoots and productions to a halt, costing the California economy millions of dollars each day, but the two sides have barely spoken. The chaos wrought on the entertainment industry only deepened last month, […]

Everybody hurts: Los Angeles suffers as Hollywood strike hits 100 days

BURBANK, United States, Aug 9, 2023 (AFP) – In his dry cleaning shop near the Warner Bros. and Disney studios, Tom Malian looks in despair at a carousel mostly empty of the shirts, jackets and pants it held before Hollywood went on strike. Film and TV production ground to a halt 100 days ago when writers downed their pens, only to be joined on the picket lines in mid-July by actors. The double strike emptied […]

Sublime! ‘Barbie’ tops $1bn globally in first for solo woman director

Hollywood’s pink wave has yet to crest as Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” dominated for a third straight weekend in North American theaters, pushing the film’s global haul past $1 billion in a first for a solo woman director, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Sunday. The Greta Gerwig-directed blockbuster has tapped into a cultural zeitgeist: not only did it make history by hitting the billion-dollar box office milestone, it also did so faster than any film — […]

Canada PM Trudeau and wife announce separation

By Michel COMTE Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday that he and his wife of 18 years, Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau, are separating. In a post on Instagram, the prime minister said “that after many meaningful and difficult conversations, we have made the decision to separate.” A statement from his office added that the couple have signed “a legal separation agreement.” It said the public can expect to continue seeing them and their three children together […]

‘Barbie’ stays atop ‘hill of cash’ in N.America theaters

LOS ANGELES, July 30, 2023 (AFP) – Warner Bros.’ blockbuster “Barbie” earned an estimated $93 million in North American theaters this weekend as it continued “rolling down a hill of cash,” industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday. Taken together with Universal’s dark biopic “Oppenheimer,” which took in a mighty $46.2 million in its own second weekend out, the two films provided a much-needed “Barbenheimer” boost during a middling Hollywood summer. “July would have been a […]