By Claire LEE Agence France-Presse SEOUL, June 12, 2023 (AFP) — Fans of K-pop megastars BTS flocked to hotspots around Seoul on Monday to mark the supergroup’s 10-year anniversary, with South Korea unveiling a special commemorative stamp series to celebrate. The group’s fans — known collectively as ARMY — gathered outside the offices of its agency HYBE to take selfies and record TikTok videos in front of a huge mural of the stars being painted […]
Entertainment – International
Here Comes the AI: Fans rejoice in ‘new’ Beatles music
By Issam AHMED Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, June 5, 2023 (AFP) — When the Beatles broke up more than 50 years ago, devastated fans were left yearning for more. Now, artificial intelligence is offering just that. From “re-uniting” the Fab Four on songs from their solo careers, to re-imagining surviving superstar Paul McCartney’s later works with his voice restored to its youthful peak, the new creations show off how far this technology has come — and […]
Simply the best: Rock queen Tina Turner has died at 83
LOS ANGELES, May 24, 2023 (AFP) – Rock legend Tina Turner, the growling songstress who electrified audiences for decades, died Wednesday at the age of 83 after a long illness. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner,” read a statement on the official Instagram page of the eight-time Grammy winner. “With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired […]
Hollywood royalty flood Cannes for DiCaprio-Scorsese premiere
CANNES, France, May 20, 2023 (AFP) – The Hollywood cavalcade descended on Cannes Saturday for the premiere of Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese’s Native American crime epic, “Killers of the Flower Moon.” The three-and-a-half-hour movie, which includes Scorsese’s other long-time muse Robert De Niro, charts a wave of murders among the wealthy Osage Indians in the 1920s and the birth of the FBI. After hours of waiting in the rain that has drenched the French […]
New Indiana Jones director gives ‘best version’ of Spielberg
CANNES, France (AFP) — It is no easy feat taking over an iconic saga like Indiana Jones, but new director James Mangold says he wanted to deliver the “best version” of what his childhood hero Steven Spielberg had done with the four previous films. Mangold took the reins from Spielberg to deliver the fifth film in the franchise with “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday, […]
Indiana Jones: six things to know
By Emilie BICKERTON PARIS (AFP) – Indiana Jones turned archaeology into a swashbuckling adventure of snake pits and lost treasures. As 80-year-old Harrison Ford dons the beat-up fedora and ever-trusty whip for a fifth and final outing in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”, premiering at the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday, here are six facts about one of the world’s best-loved movie heroes: – Born in Hawaii – Fittingly for the globetrotting Indy, […]
Eurovision returns, to Liverpool via Kyiv
LIVERPOOL, May 13, 2023 (AFP) – Twenty-six countries, each with three minutes to convince juries and the voting public: Britain hosts the Eurovision grand final on Saturday night on behalf of last year’s runaway winners Ukraine. The heavily tattooed and plant pot hat-wearing Kalush Orchestra took away the coveted glass microphone trophy with their hip-hop/folk music mash-up “Stefania” last time round. But Russia’s invasion ended Ukraine’s hopes of staging the contest and welcoming legions of […]
Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian folk legend, dead at 84
Washington, United States (AFP) — Canadian singer and performer Gordon Lightfoot, who rose to international fame as a folk music star in the 1960s and ’70s, died on Monday. He was 84. “Gordon Lightfoot passed away this evening in a Toronto hospital at 7:30 pm (2330 GMT),” a post on his official Facebook page read, as obituaries started pouring in from the Canadian press. The immediate cause of death was not made public. “More info […]
DiCaprio and Scorsese talk ‘Killers’ as Rihanna hits CinemaCon
LAS VEGAS, April 27, 2023 (AFP) – Martin Scorsese unveiled the first footage from his film “Killers of the Flower Moon” Thursday at CinemaCon, where his lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio and pop superstar Rihanna were among the surprise guests. Dark Western “Killers” is Scorsese’s sixth movie with DiCaprio, and his tenth with Robert De Niro — but the first time the legendary director has ever brought his go-to A-listers together. A true story of […]
Warner brings ‘Barbie,’ Oprah and DC superheroes to CinemaCon
Las Vegas, United States (AFP) by Andrew MARSZAL Celebrating its 100th year, Warner Bros unveiled a packed lineup of new big-screen films at CinemaCon on Tuesday, from a live-action “Barbie” comedy to Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg’s remake of “The Color Purple.” The historic Hollywood studio also used its presentation at the annual Las Vegas gathering to tease a “10-year plan” to relaunch its DC superhero films, which include beloved characters such as Batman and […]
Netflix to invest $2.5 bn in South Korean content
by Claire LEE Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Netflix will invest $2.5 billion in South Korean content over the next four years, the streaming giant’s CEO Ted Sarandos announced after meeting with the country’s President Yoon Suk Yeol in Washington. South Korea has cemented its status as a global cultural powerhouse in recent years, thanks in part to the explosive success of the Oscar-winning film “Parasite” and the hit Netflix series “Squid Game”. […]
Los Angeles, United States | AFP | Friday 4/21/2023 – 02:48 UTC+2 | 624 words by Andrew MARSZAL Manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin over a fatal shooting on a movie set are to be dropped, the prosecutor said Thursday, citing “new facts” that merit further investigation. Baldwin was charged in January over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of the Western “Rust” in New Mexico in 2021, and pleaded not guilty. He […]