Gang members fire at Bollywood star’s home in antelope killing row

Two men from Bishnoi gang, whose leader has threatened to kill Salman Khan, arrested over Mumbai shooting

Two members of a criminal gang have been arrested by Indian police for firing at the home of the Bollywood actor Salman Khan in retaliation for the star’s killing of two antelopes.

The Bishnoi gang, accused of several murders and extortion rackets, hails from a wider desert-based religious sect that considers the species to be the reincarnation of their guru.

Continue reading...

Margot Robbie to produce ‘blockbuster’ Monopoly movie with Hasbro

Barbie star and producer will return to world of films based on toys with project based on the much-loved board game

Margot Robbie is set to partner with Hasbro for a new film based on the board game Monopoly.

The Oscar-nominated star of Barbie will help to shepherd the long-gestating project to the screen with her production company LuckyChap and Lionsgate.

Continue reading...

Billy Dee Williams says actors ‘should’ be allowed to wear blackface

Star Wars actor says he believes actors should be free to ‘do anything you want to do’, in a discussion about Laurence Olivier’s performance in Othello

Billy Dee Williams has said that actors should be able to perform in blackface, with the Star Wars actor revealing that he believes, “If you’re an actor, you should do anything you want to do”.

Speaking to Bill Maher on the Club Random podcast, the 87-year-old actor recalled laughing while watching the 1965 film Othello, where the titular character played by Laurence Olivier is in blackface. Williams said he thought the performance was “really interesting”.

Continue reading...

Susan Sarandon, Olivia Colman and Paul Mescal join star donors of Cinema for Gaza auction

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn gives jam as swathe of film and TV celebrities add support, including Zone of Interest’s Jonathan Glazer and Thor’s Tessa Thompson

A host of film directors and stars, including Susan Sarandon, Paul Mescal and Olivia Colman, have added their names to those offering time and memorabilia to a Cinema for Gaza auction that is raising funds for humanitarian relief in Palestine.

Joining the celebrities is the former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn – billed as the star of Sumotherhood, thanks to his cameo in last year’s Adam Deacon urban thriller – who is donating a Zoom poetry reading and a selection of homemade jam.

Continue reading...

Jonathan Majors sentenced to probation but no prison time for assaulting ex-girlfriend

Creed III star faced up to a year in prison after he was convicted of misdemeanor assault in December of 2023

Actor Jonathan Majors was sentenced to probation but avoided prison time Monday for assaulting his ex-girlfriend in a high-profile case that derailed the once-promising star’s career.

The 34-year-old star of Creed III and other films had faced up to a year behind bars after he was convicted of misdemeanor assault by a Manhattan jury in December.

Continue reading...

‘All the romance of film-making is gone’: Woody Allen hints at retirement – again

The 88-year-old director says he is ‘on the fence’ about making another film due to the work needed to get distribution and financial backing

Woody Allen has once again hinted at his retirement from film-making, saying that he is “on the fence” about making another film after the US release of his latest, Coup de Chance.

In an interview with Air Mail, the 88-year-old director was asked whether the French-language erotic thriller Coup de Chance would be his final film.

Continue reading...

Amsterdam to mark role of tram system in transportation of Jews to death camps

Documentary on deportation of 48,000 Jewish Amsterdammers during Holocaust prompts city to act

On 8 August 1944, an Amsterdam tram took Anne Frank from Weteringschans prison, past the “secret annexe” where she had hidden from the Nazis, on the start of a journey to her death.

It was one of a series of Dutch night trams that deported 48,000 Jewish Amsterdammers during the Holocaust, trams commissioned by the Nazis and paid for with the Jewish wealth they stole.

Continue reading...

M Emmet Walsh, Blade Runner, Blood Simple and Knives Out actor, dies aged 88

Character actor, who appeared in more than 220 roles across seven decades, died in Vermont on Tuesday

M Emmet Walsh, the character actor who appeared in more than 220 film and television roles including Blade Runner, Knives Out and the Coen brothers’ films Blood Simple and Raising Arizona, has died aged 88.

Walsh’s manager, Sandy Joseph, confirmed to the industry publication Variety that he had died Tuesday in Vermont.

Continue reading...

Jonathan Majors sued by former girlfriend for assault and defamation

Grace Jabbari lawsuit also accuses Marvel actor of intentional infliction of emotional distress, battery and malicious prosecution

Jonathan Majors’s former girlfriend has filed a lawsuit accusing the Creed III and Marvel actor of battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, malicious prosecution and defamation.

Majors, 34, in December was found guilty of misdemeanor charges of assault and harassment in connection to a March 2023 altercation with his then girlfriend, the actor and dancer Grace Jabbari. Sentencing for the criminal case is set for 8 April.

Continue reading...

UK film board tightens guidance on sex scenes in 12/12A-rated releases

BBFC survey finds sexual violence remains biggest area of concern while views on some drug use have eased

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has introduced stricter guidelines for sex scenes and nudity in 12 and 12A productions, saying the public are concerned about the amount of explicit content to which young people are being exposed.

In the BBFC’s first major audience research for five years, sexual violence remained the biggest area of concern.

Continue reading...

‘My soul is so tired’: Stormy Daniels stands up to Maga hate in new film

The adult film star – at center of hush-money payments in run-up to 2016 election – is featured in the new documentary Stormy

Stormy Daniels, the adult movie star who received hush-money payments at the center of one of Donald Trump’s pending criminal cases, says she is “so tired” as she confronts the prospect of testifying against the former president, whose supporters have flooded her social media accounts with threats.

“I’m desensitized to some of it … but I’m also tired,” Daniels says in a new documentary premiering on Monday on Peacock, according to Slate, which reported viewing the film in advance. “Like, my soul is so tired. And I don’t know if I’m so much a warrior now as out of fucks, man. I’m out of fucks.”

Continue reading...

Cara Delevingne’s Los Angeles home reportedly destroyed by a fire

The model and actor wrote on Instagram ‘My heart is broken’ after house in Studio City apparently collapsed after a fire broke out

A Los Angeles home that appears to belong to the model and actor Cara Delevingne was destroyed in a fire Friday.

One firefighter was taken to a hospital in fair condition with unspecified injuries, and a housesitter who was inside at the time was treated for minor injuries, a Los Angeles fire department spokesperson, Nicholas Prange, said.

Continue reading...

‘Irreplaceable’: will Hayao Miyazaki, Japan’s animation auteur, ever retire?

The Boy and the Heron’s Oscar win has prompted debate over whether the 83-year-old could put down his pencil

It could have been the perfect send-off – recognition at the Academy Awards of the artistry of Japan’s peerless animator Hayao Miyazaki.

The moment The Boy and the Heron was named the winner of best animated feature in Los Angeles last weekend gave Japan a chance to reflect on Miyazaki’s towering influence, and contemplate whether the 83-year-old is truly finished making films.

Continue reading...

‘So angry with God’: Regina King says she’s ‘a different person’ after son’s suicide

If Beale Street Could Talk star says sadness at death of son Ian in January 2022 ‘is a reminder of how much he means to me’

Regina King is “a different person” after her son’s death by suicide, the actor and director said in her first interview about her son since his death.

“Grief is a journey,” King told Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts in a segment that aired on Thursday morning. “I understand that grief is love, that it has no place to go. I know that it’s important for me to honor Ian in the totality of who he is.”

In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 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 befrienders.org

Continue reading...

A Separation director Asghar Farhadi cleared of plagiarism claims, says agent

The double Oscar winner’s film A Hero won the grand prix at Cannes in 2021 but was the subject of an alleged copyright infringement brought by a former student

Iranian director Asghar Farhadi has been cleared of charges of plagiarism over his film A Hero brought by one of his students, the agency representing him said on Wednesday.

The film, about a prisoner in the Iranian city of Shiraz, won the grand prix at the Cannes film festival in 2021.

Continue reading...

Roman Polanski to face civil trial in LA next year for alleged 1973 rape of teen

Film-maker is accused of rape, sexual battery and intentional affliction of severe emotional distress for alleged incident

Film-maker Roman Polanski will face a civil trial in Los Angeles in 2025 for allegedly raping a teenager in 1973.

Attorney Gloria Allred, who has represented the victims of Jeffery Epstein and Bill Cosby, confirmed in a press conference on Tuesday that a judge has set Polanski’s trial for August 2025.

Continue reading...

‘Real awe’: wave of Irish jubilation greets Cillian Murphy’s Oscars win

President of Ireland, artists, academics and friends pay tribute to actor, who dedicated award to ‘peacemakers’

Ireland used to take pride in begrudgery – a venerable tradition of belittling success – but Cillian Murphy’s win at the Oscars has ruined that legacy by uniting the country in delight.

The actor’s triumph in Los Angeles prompted a wave of tributes from Michael D Higgins, the president of Ireland, as well as the government, artists, academics, commentators and childhood friends, with no dissenter.

Continue reading...

Al Pacino to release ‘revealing’ memoir in October

Sonny Boy, the actor’s first memoir, will cover his upbringing in New York, Hollywood career and thoughts on ‘love and purpose’

The Oscar-winning actor Al Pacino’s memoir Sonny Boy is set to release this October.

The book, launched by Penguin Random House, is the “memoir of a man who has nothing left to fear and nothing left to hide”, according to a statement from the publisher. “All the great roles, the essential collaborations, and the important relationships are given their full due, as is the vexed marriage between creativity and commerce at the highest levels.”

Continue reading...

Oscars 2024: your catchup with all the action from Hollywood’s biggest night

From Billie to Barbie and Pacino to the pins, here’s where to get up to speed with the winners, the losers, the talking points and the dud moments

Just want to know who won? Here’s our list of winners and all those nominated, or you can relive every minute of the ceremony in our live blog.

Continue reading...

Oppenheimer wins best picture Oscar as Emma Stone pulls surprise win

Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster picked up seven awards while Poor Things star won over Lily Gladstone for best actress

Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic Oppenheimer has triumphed at this year’s Oscars taking home seven awards including best picture, best actor and best director.

The drama, telling the story of the “father of the atomic bomb”, lost the box office battle to Barbie during last summer’s Barbenheimer showdown but has now won the awards war with Greta Gerwig’s Mattel comedy winning just one Oscar for best original song.

Continue reading...