Category Archives: Film

Johnny Depp testifies that alleged abuse of Amber Heard ‘never happened’

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Actor takes stand in defamation trial and denies Heard’s domestic abuse claims, saying ‘I have never struck any woman in my life’

Taking the stand in his libel lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard, Johnny Depp said her domestic abuse allegations against him were disturbing, heinous and “not based in any species of truth”.

“Nothing of the kind ever happened,” Depp said in court on Tuesday. “Never did I myself reach the point of striking Ms Heard in any way. Nor have I ever struck any woman in my life.”

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Gilbert Gottfried, comedian and actor, dies aged 67

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The standup comic, also known for voicing Iago in Disney’s animated Aladdin, has died after a long illness

Comedian and actor Gilbert Gottfried has died at the age of 67.

His family announced his death after a long illness via his Twitter page. Gottfried was known for his standup comedy and for roles in films including Aladdin and Problem Child.

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Gay references removed from Fantastic Beasts 3 for Chinese release

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Big-budget fantasy sequel has had six seconds cut, as Warner Bros releases statement to say ‘the spirit of the film remains intact’

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore has been edited for release in China to ensure any gay references have been removed.

The fantasy sequel, which has an estimated budget of $200m, contains allusions to a romantic history between the characters of Dumbledore and Grindelwald, played by Jude Law and Mads Mikkelsen respectively. Six seconds of dialogue, including the lines “Because I was in love with you” and “The summer Gellert and I fell in love”, were taken out for the Chinese release on 8 April.

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Sam Elliott apologises for The Power of the Dog comments

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The actor expressed regret for his criticism of Jane Campion’s Oscar-winning film, saying he also wanted to ‘apologise to the cast … brilliant actors all’

The actor Sam Elliott has apologised for comments he made last month about Jane Campion’s western The Power of the Dog.

While speaking with Marc Maron on the latter’s WTF podcast, Elliott had described the film as a “piece of shit” western with “allusions of homosexuality”.

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Will Smith banned from Oscars for 10 years after slapping Chris Rock

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Academy bars actor from all its events, condemning ‘unacceptable and harmful behavior on stage’

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences board of governors has banned Will Smith from all its events, including the Oscars, for 10 years after the best actor winner slapped presenter Chris Rock on stage at the Academy Awards ceremony.

Smith has publicly apologized and resigned from the academy. The Academy’s decision on Friday comes after its president, David Rubin, decided to bring forward a board meeting scheduled for 18 April. In his letter to board members, Rubin said that Ampas rules stipulated a 15-day notice to consider suspending a membership, but after Smith’s resignation that no longer applied.

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Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi faces plagiarism trial in Iranian court

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Director and grand prix winner at last year’s Cannes festival for A Hero was sued by former student for using story from her documentary without credit

Asghar Farhadi, the Oscar winning director of A Separation and The Salesman, has been indicted in a plagiarism case brought by one of his former students, who had claimed he took the idea for his 2021 film A Hero from a documentary she had made for a film class.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Azadeh Masihzadeh brought the case after Farhadi had earlier sued her for defamation; in both cases the courts ruled in Masihzadeh’s favour. The case will now pass to a second judge whose ruling will decide whether or not Farhadi will be convicted. This can then be appealed.

This article was amended on 5 April 2022. It had been originally stated that Asghar Farhadi was convicted of the crime, following widespread misinformation, but has now been changed to reflect that he has been indicted and a trial will decide the outcome.

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Male striptease moves from UK city centres to small clubs – and even homes

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As The Full Monty is remade, entertainers are being booked for gigs in suburban and rural areas

With filming under way in Sheffield and Manchester for the remake of 1990s cult classic The Full Monty, the UK’s male strip scene is undergoing a makeover of its own, and paving the way for changes expected right across the entertainment industry as punters avoid city centre nightlife in favour of at-home entertainment.

Covid led to a surge in activities organised by and for local communities as people were confined to their immediate area. With restrictions lifted across the UK, many entertainers who spent the pandemic struggling for business are now increasingly being booked for out-of-town gigs in suburban and rural areas, and in venues such as social clubs, apartments and even old people’s homes – rather than city centre bars and nightclubs.

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Will Smith resigns from Academy, saying he betrayed its trust

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Actor will accept ‘any further consequences’ the body’s board considers appropriate after Oscars slap

Will Smith has resigned from Hollywood’s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences after he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars ceremony, saying that he “betrayed the trust of the Academy” and will accept “any further consequences”.

In a statement released on Friday afternoon, the actor described his actions at the 94th Academy Awards as “shocking, painful, and inexcusable”.

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Chris Rock says he is ‘still processing’ Will Smith’s Oscars slap

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Comedian makes first public remarks since incident during comedy show in Boston

Chris Rock has made his first public remarks after being slapped on live television by Will Smith during Sunday’s Academy Awards, saying at a Wednesday night comedy show that he was “still processing” the incident.

At his show in Boston, his first since the Oscars and part of a pre-existing tour schedule, Rock addressed the controversy by jokingly asking the crowd, “How was your weekend?” before explaining he “did not have a lot to say” yet about that night.

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Not just ‘cocaine and war’: Colombian pride at Oscar-winning Encanto’s positive portrayal

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Animated film, influenced heavily by magical realism, breaks frequent representation as country beset by drugs and violence

When Encanto was announced the winner of the Oscar for best animated film on Sunday night, Martín Anzellini – the Colombian architect who helped develop the film’s representation of his home country – had little idea. Instead, he was watching Encanto at home with his twin toddler daughters, who had yet to see it.

“Once we finished watching the film, I checked my phone and saw my WhatsApp was going wow!” Anzellini said. “It was so exciting, I almost cried. And I hugged my daughters, as my work on the film was for them.”

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Will Smith apologizes to Chris Rock, Academy and viewers for onstage slap

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Actor says attacking the comedian was ‘out of line’ and calls violence of all kinds ‘poisonous and destructive’

Will Smith has issued an apology to Chris Rock, the Academy and viewers after slapping the comedian on stage at the 94th Academy Awards, saying he was “out of line” and that his actions were “not indicative of the man I want to be”.

The fallout from Sunday’s show continued on Monday as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences condemned Smith’s onstage assault and said it would launch an inquiry. Smith apologised to the Academy during his best actor acceptance speech, which notably didn’t include an apology to Rock.

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‘Violence instead of words’: Will Smith condemned for hitting Chris Rock at the Oscars

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Bernardine Evaristo, Keir Starmer, Kathy Griffin and others respond to incident

Author Bernardine Evaristo is among the public figures to have condemned Will Smith for hitting Chris Rock at the Oscars, saying the actor “resorted to violence instead of utilising the power of words”.

In what quickly became the bombshell moment of the ceremony, Smith struck Rock in the face after the comic made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

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Oscars 2022: Coda triumphs while Will Smith attacks Chris Rock onstage

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The drama picked up three major awards, including best picture, while best actor winner Will Smith had a viral confrontation

Coda has been named this year’s best picture at an Oscars ceremony that featured an unusual confrontation between Will Smith and Chris Rock.

The Apple TV+ drama, bought from 2021’s Sundance film festival for a record-breaking $25m, became the first film from a streamer to win the award. It’s a remake of French film La Famille Bélier, focusing on the only hearing member of a deaf family.

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‘This is going to be cherished’: Samuel L Jackson and Elaine May receive honorary Oscars

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Liv Ullmann and Danny Glover also honoured at Governors Awards, on night when Hollywood lavishes praise on beloved stars for lifetime achievements

Samuel L Jackson grew up watching movies on Saturdays at the Liberty and the Grand, segregated movie theatres in Tennessee. Some of the early roles he got in Hollywood didn’t even have names: he was cast, he said, as “gang member number two’, ‘bum’, ‘hold-up man’, and, unforgettable, ‘Black guy’.” But over fifty years and 152 films later, Jackson has made himself one of America’s most enduring film stars, as well as the actor whose movies have earned “more than any other actor in history,” his friend and fellow star Denzel Washington said. Jackson’s box office total is estimated at $27bn.

Despite this, Jackson, 73, had never won a single Oscar, not even for his celebrated performance as a hit man in Pulp Fiction. The Academy finally awarded him an honorary Oscar on Friday, as part of the annual Governors Awards, which mark lifetime achievement in film and in humanitarian efforts.

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Hollywood Forever cemetery, resting place to the stars, named a historical site

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Los Angeles city council unanimously bestowed the designation to the 123-year-old site where many movie legends are buried

The Hollywood Forever cemetery, the final resting place of stars such as Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney and Burt Reynolds, is now a historic-cultural monument.

The Los Angeles city council unanimously voted this week to grant the designation to the 123-year-old cemetery, which has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1999. An architectural historian who prepared a report on the cemetery for the city found it “exemplifies significant contributions to the broad cultural, economic or social history”.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger appeals to Russian people to reject Kremlin misinformation

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Former California governor, 74, calls on Putin to stop attack on Ukraine and says ‘this is not the Russian people’s war’

Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday told the Russian people that they are being fed misinformation about their country’s assault on Ukraine and appealed to President Vladimir Putin to stop the attack.

The Hollywood star said in the nine-minute video on Twitter that the Kremlin was intentionally lying to Russians by saying the invasion was intended to “denazify” Ukraine. Russia describes its actions as a “special operation”.

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Marvel denounces ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill after Disney apology

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Following Disney’s apology for silence over Florida law, studio pledges ‘strong commitment as allies who promote the values of of equality, acceptance and respect’

Marvel Studios says it “strongly denounces” any legislation that affects the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, following the passing of a controversial bill in Florida.

Republicans in Florida recently passed what opponents have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill which limits teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity to young children in the state.

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Guardian documentary The Black Cop wins Bafta for best short film

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Cherish Oteka’s film is about a former police officer who discusses his memories of homophobia and racial profiling in the Met

The Guardian documentary The Black Cop has won the Bafta for best short film.

Directed by Cherish Oteka and produced by Emma Cooper, The Black Cop is about Gamal “G” Turawa, a former Metropolitan police officer who explores his memories of homophobia, racial profiling and racial harassment in his early career.

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Hoard of the rings: ‘lost’ scripts for BBC Tolkien drama discovered

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Original manuscripts show how author rewrote scenes for 1950s adaptation of his Middle-earth epic Lord of the Rings

Decades before Peter Jackson directed his epic adaptations of The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien was involved with the first ever dramatisation of his trilogy, but its significance was not realised in the 1950s and the BBC’s audio recordings are believed to have been destroyed.

Now an Oxford academic has delved into the BBC archives and discovered the original scripts for the two series of 12 radio episodes broadcast in 1955 and 1956, to the excitement of fellow scholars.

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Patricia Arquette: ‘I’ve buried a lot of people I love’

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As she returns to TV in the mind-bending Severance, the actor talks about life in the ‘never-ending emergency’ that is America, why she’ll never find Trump funny, and her need for a low-drama lifestyle

‘How did I feel?” repeats Patricia Arquette, clearly irritated. I have just asked the actor how it felt to land a role in Medium, the supernatural drama series that won her an Emmy – only to be asked to lose weight for the role. Although it happened in 2005, it is still clearly a sore point. “I felt annoyed and crappy. But I feel like it’s been a conversation my whole life. When True Romance came out, some critics said I was too fat or too heavy. I changed channels recently, happened upon True Romance, and thought, ‘Oh my God, look how young I was! I had a beautiful body. What are you talking about?’”

After True Romance, the Tony Scott-directed film in which she played a sex worker who falls in love with Christian Slater’s comic-book nerd, Arquette went on to star in plenty of acclaimed films, from David Lynch’s Lost Highway to Martin Scorsese’s Bringing Out the Dead. The latter starred Nicolas Cage, who she married in 1995. Their marriage lasted nine months.

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