Category Archives: Culture

‘Give Ryan Gosling an Oscar nom!’: first Barbie reactions suggest film is a doll

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Reviewers rave about Greta Gerwig’s ‘funny and smart’ satire, whose all-star cast includes Gosling as Ken alongside Margot Robbie’s Barbie and singer Dua Lipa

Barbie, Greta Gerwig’s ambitious satire in which Margot Robbie’s titular blonde escapes Barbieland to experience the real world, has drawn ecstatic reactions from audiences at an early screening.

Variety’s social media editor Katcy Stephan called the movie “perfection” and added: “Greta Gerwig delivers a nuanced commentary on what it means to be a woman in a whimsical, wonderful and laugh-out-loud funny romp. The entire cast shines, especially Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in roles they were clearly born to play.”

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Acropolis now: crisis as soaring visitor numbers overwhelm Greek treasure

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With cruise ships decanting thousands of tourists in Athens, tough new controls have been imposed at the country’s most visited site

It’s official: more than 25 centuries after it was built and nearly 200 years after it began attracting tourists, the Acropolis will adopt crowd control policies to ease the very modern plague of soaring visitor numbers.

Unprecedented queues at the foot of the site, a dramatic rise in sightseers since the Covid-19 pandemic and unruly scenes at the gateway to the sanctuary have spurred the Greek government to take action.

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K-pop megastars BTS release keenly awaited memoir

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Fans of boyband brave heavy rain to gather at Seoul bookshop for Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS

The K-pop megastars BTS have released their hotly anticipated memoir in South Korea, marking their 10th anniversary as a group.

Beyond the Story: 10-Year Record of BTS is the group’s first official book, and contains a chronological summary of their musical career as well as hints at their future endeavours.

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‘It’s like a hostile environment’: London’s creative core at risk as artists in poverty quit

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UK capital as ‘huge generator of wealth’ under threat as a third of visual artists struggle to pay for studios

What makes Britain’s capital city so magnetic? Familiar landmarks? The nightlife? Or its financial, fashion and art trades? Maybe. But behind the glamour and money a network of artists is giving London the crucial appeal of a place where new things happen, while working on the edge of poverty.

A survey released on 13 July is to reveal just how close many of London’s visual artists are to giving up on a career that has pushed them to the bottom of the pile. Close to a third of those asked said lack of funds might force them out within five years. And just under half said they cannot afford to build savings or pay into a pension plan.

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‘You’re in my head, heart and soul’: Elton John thanks fans at farewell show

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76-year-old pays touching tribute to audience as he performs final date of huge tour in Sweden

Sir Elton John has told his fans they will remain in his “head, heart and soul” as he closed the final show of his big farewell tour in Sweden in spectacular fashion.

The 76-year-old has been travelling around the globe performing his Farewell Yellow Brick Road show since 2018, and his second night at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm finally brought the 330-date run to a close.

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Wealthy may have to pay more for BBC services in future, says former chair

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‘Regressive’ licence fee could be replaced by a broadband tax or a levy based on property value, says Richard Sharp

The former BBC chair Richard Sharp has suggested that wealthier families may have to pay more to access the corporation’s services.

The “regressive” licence fee system could be replaced by a tax on broadband bills or a household levy based on property value, Richard Sharp told the Daily Telegraph’s Chopper’s Politics podcast.

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Sir Elton John to perform final farewell show in Sweden

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The megastar behind Rocketman and Your Song to call time on more than 50 years of live performance

Sir Elton John will hold what he has described as his “final farewell show” in Sweden this weekend as his tour comes to an end.

The megastar played his last UK date at Glastonbury festival last month and will bring the tour to an end on Saturday at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm.

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No charges to be filed in altercation between Britney Spears and NBA player’s guard

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Pop-star had said she was struck by Victor Wembanyama’s security when she tried to approach the basketball player for a photograph

No charges will be filed following a brief investigation of the altercation involving pop star Britney Spears, San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama and a member of the basketball player’s security team, Las Vegas police said on Friday.

Spears said she was struck by a security guard as she tried to approach Wembanyama on the way into a restaurant in a Las Vegas casino complex on Wednesday night. Wembanyama said a person – he later was told it was Spears – grabbed him from behind.

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Kanye West sued by teacher fired from his California private school

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Former employee Isaiah Meadows of Yeezy Christian Academy says he was fired in retaliation for reporting unsafe conditions

Kanye West is facing legal action after a former employee of his private school in California alleged that he was fired after reporting unsafe conditions in the school.

Ye, as the rapper now goes by, was named as a defendant in a lawsuit by former employee Isaiah Meadows of the Yeezy Christian Academy, a private Christian school started by Ye, according to the lawsuit shared with the Guardian.

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Leeds hospital trust apologises after rapper MF Doom Dumile Daniel Thompson died in its care

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London-born musician Dumile Daniel Thompson, 49, had a lack of oxygen to his brain after a reaction to a blood pressure drug

An NHS trust has apologised for the substandard care given to MF Doom, an underground rap icon who died aged 49 while having hospital treatment.

The artist behind songs including Accordion and That’s That, whose real name was Dumile Daniel Thompson, died in October 2020 due to a lack of oxygen to his brain after a reaction to a drug prescribed for blood pressure.

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Hong Kong-born singer Coco Lee dies by suicide aged 48, siblings confirm

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The singer was known for voicing Mulan in the Mandarin version and becoming the first Chinese American to perform at the Oscars

Coco Lee, a Hong Kong-born singer and songwriter who had a highly successful career in Asia, has died by suicide, her siblings said on Wednesday. She was 48.

The star had depression for several years, Lee’s elder sisters Carol and Nancy Lee said in a statement posted on Facebook and Instagram, with her condition deteriorating drastically over recent months.

In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is at 800-273-8255 and online chat is also available. You can also text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis text line counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org

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Daniel Kaluuya’s Barney the Dinosaur film to be ‘adult’ and ‘lean into millennial angst’

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Mattel says the Barney movie will be inspired by Charlie Kaufman, while Barbie director Greta Gerwig is planning two Narnia movies for Netflix

The Daniel Kaluuya-produced movie featuring Barney the Dinosaur will be an “adult”, “surrealistic” and “A24-type” film inspired by Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze, it has been revealed.

In a wide-ranging report on the film-making plans of toymaker Mattel in the New Yorker, Mattel Films executive Kevin McKeon said of the project: “We’re leaning into the millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids. It’s really a play for adults. Not that it’s R-rated, but it’ll focus on some of the trials and tribulations of being thirtysomething, growing up with Barney – just the level of disenchantment within the generation.”

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Vietnam bans Barbie film over disputed map of China’s South China Sea claims

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Scene shows map of China’s controversial ‘nine-dash line’ – repudiated in international ruling

Vietnam has banned Warner Bros’s Barbie film from domestic distribution over a scene featuring a map that shows China’s unilaterally claimed territory in the South China Sea, state media have reported.

The U-shaped “nine-dash line” is used on Chinese maps to illustrate its claims over vast areas of the South China Sea, including swathes of what Vietnam considers its continental shelf, where it has awarded oil concessions.

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‘Translation is an art’: why translators are battling for recognition

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Like any author, translators want to receive credit for their work instead of being treated as an afterthought

They have often been overlooked in the artistic and literary process, but translators have long claimed they have the power to change everything.

There are tales of myths being born, societies being forged and cities destroyed with just a slip of the pen, such as the supposed translation error that allegedly led to the US deciding to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, or the speculation about life on Mars after the mistranslation of an Italian astronomer.

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Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina dies after being wounded in Kramatorsk strike

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Author who had been working to document Russian war crimes since the invasion was hospitalised with skull fractures after Tuesday’s missile strike

An award-winning Ukrainian writer and war crimes researcher wounded in a Russian missile strike on a restaurant last week has died, the freedom of expression group PEN has said.

Victoria Amelina, 37, was wounded when a Russian missile destroyed the Ria Pizza restaurant in the eastern city of Kramatorsk on Tuesday, killing 12 people, including four children, and wounding dozens.

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Emmerdale actor Meg Johnson dies aged 86

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Soap star who also acted in Coronation Street, Brookside and the musical Chicago, had dementia, her family said

The soap opera stalwart Meg Johnson has died at the age of 86 after having had dementia “for the last few years”, it has been confirmed.

The death of Johnson, who had played Pearl Ladderbanks in Emmerdale since 2003, was announced in a joint statement from her family, the talent agency Jorg Betts Associates and the ITV show.

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Rick Froberg, acclaimed post-hardcore frontman for Drive Like Jehu and more, dies aged 55

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Impassioned singer and guitarist, who has died of natural causes, also fronted the bands Hot Snakes, Pitchfork and Obits

Rick Froberg, the strident frontman with US post-hardcore bands Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes, Pitchfork and Obits, has died aged 55.

His death was announced by longtime collaborator John Reis, who wrote on Instagram:

Rick passed away suddenly last night from natural causes. His art made life better. The only thing he loved more than art and rock n roll was his friends. He will forever be remembered for his creativity, vision and his ability to bring beauty into this world. I love you, Rick. I will miss you for the rest of my life.

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US actors union agrees to extend talks as A-list stars show they are ready to strike

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Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and others lend their names to demand a strong deal as writers’ strike enters third month

The US actors’ union and Hollywood studios announced in a statement on Friday that the two sides had agreed to extend their current labor deal through 12 July, hours before a midnight deadline.

“The parties will continue to negotiate under a mutually agreed upon media blackout,” the parties said.

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How much is Taylor Swift making from the Australian concerts of her Eras tour?

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It is estimated the seven shows will earn the singer $35m on top of the expected $700m for her US concerts

Australians will be playing their part in possibly inducting Taylor Swift into the billionaires club, with some industry insiders estimating the pop star could pocket as much as A$35m from the Australian leg of her Eras tour alone.

Estimates in the US put Swift’s earnings at an average of US$13.6m (A$20.5m) a show, based on an average ticket price of US$215, meaning she would gross more than US$700m from the 52 dates in the North American leg. That is without taking into account the more than 50 concerts she is performing around the world.

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Texas grand jury declines to indict Travis Scott over deadly festival crush

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Rapper, promoter Live Nation and others had been investigated after 10 died and thousands were injured at Astroworld in 2021

A Texas grand jury has declined to indict the rapper Travis Scott in a criminal investigation into a massive crowd surge that killed 10 people at the 2021 Astroworld music festival in Houston, his attorney said on Thursday.

Lawyer Kent Schaffer confirmed that the grand jury had met and decided not to indict his client on any criminal charges stemming from the concert. Schaffer said he was not sure what charges the grand jury had considered.

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