Val Kilmer, star of Top Gun and The Doors, dies aged 65

Known for his roles in Batman Forever, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and Tombstone, the prolific actor’s cause of death was pneumonia

Val Kilmer, the actor best known for his roles in Top Gun, Batman Forever and The Doors, has died at the age of 65.

His daughter Mercedes told the New York Times that the cause of death was pneumonia. Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 and later recovered, after treatment with chemotherapy and trachea surgery that had reduced hisability to speak and breathe.

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Democratic senator Cory Booker holding marathon speech to highlight ‘recklessness’ of Trump policies – US politics live

New Jersey Democrat began talking on Monday night to highlight ‘a nation in crisis’ and is still going

US voters are headed to the polls on Tuesday in Wisconsin and Florida in elections that some see as a test of Donald Trump’s popularity and the political clout of his billionaire ally Elon Musk.

The most closely watched contest is a battle for a seat on Wisconsin’s seven-member supreme court. Conservatives are trying to flip ideological control of the court, which currently has a 4-3 liberal majority. The contest, which features liberal judge Susan Crawford facing off against conservative Brad Schimel, will have huge consequences in the state.

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Support for Putin among western celebrities drains away over Ukraine

Steven Seagal is isolated voice in backing Russian president as Gérard Depardieu, Silvio Berlusconi and others condemn invasion

At an upscale restaurant in Moscow, the bubbly was flowing as guests in cocktail dresses and expensive suits danced the night away.

They had gathered on Sunday for the 70th birthday of Steven Seagal, the American-born actor best known for playing hard-bitten cops and commandos in action movies.

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Charlie Sheen on making Platoon: ‘We screamed for the medic!’

‘Forest Whitaker macheted his thumb, Tom Berenger knifed his foot, Willem Dafoe got medivacked – and Oliver Stone jumped up and down with joy’

Charlie Sheen, played Chris Taylor

My brother Emilio Estevez and I were huge fans of Scarface and Midnight Express, which were both written by Oliver Stone. Emilio kept talking to me about Oliver’s new Vietnam film, which he was auditioning for. He got the lead part, Chris Taylor, but then couldn’t do it because of scheduling conflicts. When I auditioned, Oliver said I was “too mannered” and needed to do more work. So I did The Boys Next Door and Lucas – and I got the part, but only if Willem Dafoe approved. I didn’t meet Willem until we got to the Philippines. He ran past me in our hotel and gave me a hug. Later, Oliver came up to me and said: “Willem digs ya.”

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Oliver Stone derided for film about ‘modest’ former Kazakh president

Eight-hour series about Nursultan Nazarbayev criticised for stoking cult of personality of 30-year ruler

Oliver Stone has interviewed Kazakhstan’s former president Nursultan Nazarbayev for a new eight-hour film series which has been attacked as a hagiography that contributes to the leader’s cult of personality.

In the film, Qazaq: History of the Golden Man, Stone employs the same non-confrontational approach to interviewing autocrats that has made him a favourite of Vladimir Putin, Ukraine’s former president Viktor Yanukovych and others seeking to polish their reputations by sitting down with the Oscar-winning director of Platoon and JFK.

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Credulous Oliver Stone on Thug Putin: Why Would ‘Statesman’ Lie to Me?

It seems that, finally, liberal journalists are challenging the credulous, dictator-coddling filmmaking of lefty Oliver Stone. But maybe that's because the communist-friendly director avoided tough questions when talking to Vladimir Putin about the 2016 presidential election.