German film-maker was known for action and suspense thrillers, including In the Line of Fire, Outbreak and The Perfect Storm
The German film-maker Wolfgang Petersen has died at the age of 81.
The Oscar-nominated writer-director was known for films such as Das Boot, Air Force One and In the Line of Fire. He died of pancreatic cancer at home in the company of his wife, Maria Borgel Petersen. His death was confirmed by his representative.
Continue reading...After Covid thwarted two attempts to bring out Christian Spuck’s acclaimed Messa da Requiem, the festival has finally announced it as next year’s centrepiece
For Adelaide festival’s 2023 opera centrepiece a cast of almost 200 singers, dancers and musicians will take the stage under the direction of one of the world’s most celebrated choreographers.
Dance will be foregrounded in Messa da Requiem: the celebrated production of Giuseppe Verdi’s masterpiece Requiem by the German choreographer Christian Spuck, which debuted in Zurich in 2016.
Continue reading...In their first statement since legal issues began, non-binary actor says they have begun treatment for ‘complex mental health issues’
Actor Ezra Miller has broken their silence amid a growing list of legal issues and allegations of erratic behaviour, saying they are seeking treatment for “complex mental health issues”.
In a statement provided by a representative of the actor to Variety on Tuesday, the 29-year-old non-binary actor apologised for any alarm they may have caused.
Continue reading...Nearly 50 years after speech on behalf of Marlon Brando about depiction of Native Americans, Academy apologises for ‘unwarranted’ abuse she endured
Nearly 50 years after Sacheen Littlefeather stood on the Academy Awards stage on behalf of Marlon Brando to speak out about the depiction of Native Americans in Hollywood films, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences apologised to her for the abuse she endured.
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Monday said that it will host Littlefeather, now 75, for an evening of “conversation, healing and celebration” in September.
Continue reading...Actor tells Radio Times of social media backlash after landing part in Game of Thrones prequel
Steve Toussaint has revealed he received racist abuse online after he was cast as Corlys Velaryon in the upcoming Game Of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon.
The 57-year-old British actor has previously starred in Doctor Who, Line of Duty and Death in Paradise.
Continue reading...Boat built by Friedrich-Alexander University as part of EU-funded history project visits Hungary’s capital
A replica of a Roman-era boat of the kind that once sailed along the Danube from Germany to the river’s delta at the Black Sea is cruising in Hungary this week, stopping along its journey in the Hungarian capital, Budapest.
The Danuvia Alacris is crewed by volunteers wearing Roman tunics and the expedition is part of an EU-funded project to raise awareness of the region’s Roman past.
Continue reading...The actor, severely injured in a car crash on 5 August, had been legally declared dead, but had life support maintained to facilitate organ donation
Anne Heche has been taken off life support, a family representative said, following the announcement of her death on Friday.
Heche, 53, had been severely injured in a single-vehicle car crash on 5 August, and had suffered a “severe anoxic brain injury”, according to a statement to CNN by Heche’s family. Her “brain death” was confirmed on Friday, meeting a legal definition of death in California, but it is understood life support was maintained to facilitate organ donation. A family representative said she had been “peacefully taken off life support” on Sunday.
Continue reading...Songwriter behind hits including 1998 Eurovision winner, and Quentin Tarantino’s father-in-law, dies at home
Svika Pick, a prolific songwriter and musician who was known as Israel’s “king of pop” and by the moniker the Maestro, has died at the age of 72.
He died on Sunday in his home. The cause of death is yet to be announced.
Continue reading...Presenter also admits the reason for his departure was new BBC schedule for Sunday afternoon show
Paul O’Grady thanked his listeners and said he can now “run free” as he signed off from his final BBC Radio 2 show on Sunday.
O’Grady, 67, had hosted the Sunday afternoon programme for nearly 14 years, before a schedule shake-up meant he shared the hosting role with comic Rob Beckett, swapping every 13 weeks.
Continue reading...Stand-up comic Red Richardson on his pedigree comedy childhood
Driving Rik Mayall around would be entertaining work for anyone, but for the young Red Richardson, the job he had in his 20s was the continuation of a childhood bond.
Mayall, who died suddenly in 2014 at the age of 56, was a near neighbour in South Devon, but he was also Richardson’s father’s close friend.
Continue reading...Suspect had a ticket for Chautauqua event but some say protections should have been enhanced given sensitivies
A day after the bloody attack on Salman Rushdie in western New York, questions are being asked about how the perpetrator gained untrammeled access to the event with apparently minimal security precautions.
Rushdie, 75, was attacked at 10.47am on Friday, moments after he had sat down on stage in the Chautauqua Institution, a historic community of artists and thinkers about 15 miles south of Lake Erie. The auditorium, which accommodates about 4,000 people, was two-thirds full.
Continue reading...Countryfile and former Blue Peter presenter completes lineup of dancers in 2022 show, due to air in September
The Countryfile presenter Helen Skelton has been confirmed as the final contestant for Strictly Come Dancing 2022.
The 39-year-old’s participation was announced on Saturday morning by Claudia Winkleman, who co-hosts the celebrity dance show with Tess Daly, during her BBC Radio 2 show.
Continue reading...Jason Alexander arrived uninvited at pop star’s California home as she got ready to marry Sam Asghari
A man once briefly married to Britney Spears has been convicted of aggravated trespassing and battery after appearing uninvited at the pop star’s wedding in June.
Jason Alexander, 40, pleaded no contest to two misdemeanour counts in a California court, prosecutors in Ventura County said.
Continue reading...Here are more reactions on Rushdie’s stabbing from those in the writing community, from Maya Yang for the Guardian:
Journalists, writers and celebrities reacted with shock and horror after author Salman Rushdie was attacked onstage at an event in New York state on Friday.
Rushdie was attacked as he was about to deliver a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York, according to witnesses. Police later said he had been taken to hospital with an apparent stabbing wound to the neck.
Continue reading...The writer had no idea his novel would unleash such anger and become a litmus test of freedom of expression
When Salman Rushdie wrote his novel The Satanic Verses in September 1988, he thought its many references to Islam might cause some ripples.
“I expected a few mullahs would be offended, call me names, and then I could defend myself in public,” Rushdie would tell an interviewer much later.
Continue reading...The critically acclaimed writer rose to fame in 1981 and later received death threats for The Satanic Verses
Sir Salman Rushdie has been attacked and stabbed in the neck while appearing at an event in New York.
Here is a timeline of his controversial, critically acclaimed career:
Continue reading...The removal of Slingshot Rat has sparked debate over the legality of taking cultural artefacts from occupied land
A lost Banksy piece originally spray painted to protest against Israel’s separation barrier in the West Bank has resurfaced in a Tel Aviv gallery, sparking debate over the role of public art and the legality of removing cultural artefacts from occupied land.
Slingshot Rat, a stencil painting, appeared on a concrete block at an abandoned Israeli army position in Bethlehem next to a section of the wall in 2007, one of several works in the Palestinian town created in secret. Some time later, the painting was obscured and graffitied with the words, “RIP Banksy Rat”, and eventually cut out and removed by unknown persons.
Continue reading...The US actor will be taken off life support after it is determined if her organs are viable for donation, following a severe collision that left her car in flames
The family of Anne Heche say the US actor is “not expected to survive” a severe collision that left her vehicle engulfed in flames last Friday.
In a statement, Heche’s family said through a representative that she had suffered “a severe anoxic brain injury” and was now being kept on life support to determine whether her organs were viable for donation.
Continue reading...Crucifixion mosaic and fresco saved from destruction after two-year campaign
A stunning mural created in a Catholic church by a Jewish refugee from the Nazis has been saved from destruction, decay and vandalism after being granted Grade II-listed status by the UK government.
The Crucifixion, by the leading 20th-century artist George Mayer-Marton, is a rare combination of mosaic and fresco standing almost 8 metres (26ft) high, taking up an entire wall inside the Holy Rosary church in Oldham.
Continue reading...‘Deviant’ works by artists including Picasso and Warhol return to display at exhibition in Iranian capital
Some of the world’s most prized works of contemporary western art have been unveiled for the first time in decades in Tehran.
The Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline cleric, rails against the influence of the west. Authorities have condemned “deviant” artists for “attacking Iran’s revolutionary culture”. And the Islamic Republic has plunged further into confrontation with the US and Europe as it rapidly accelerates its nuclear programme and diplomatic efforts stall.
Continue reading...