Entertainment

‘Thrones’ and ‘Rings’ fans ready for battle as Comic-Con returns

by Andrew Marszal Agence France-Presse SAN DIEGO, United States (AFP) — Comic-Con finally returns to San Diego this week, where new “Lord of the Rings” and “Game of Thrones” TV series will compete before tens of thousands of cosplaying geeks and nerds at the world’s most famous pop culture gathering. Disney and its Marvel superheroes will also preview their upcoming films and shows to adoring fans at the sprawling convention, which has not taken place […]

Kevin Spacey pleads not guilty to sexual assault in UK

  by James PHEBY / Joe JACKSON Agence France Presse Hollywood star Kevin Spacey on Thursday pleaded not guilty at London’s Old Bailey court to four charges of sexual assault against three men. The 62-year-old star was wearing a blue suit and blue tie as he stood in the dock at the UK’s top criminal court. He spoke to confirm his name and age before pleading not guilty to four charges of sexual assault and […]

Netflix partners with Microsoft to offer cheaper streaming plan

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Netflix will work with Microsoft to launch a cheaper subscription plan that includes advertisements, the firms said Wednesday, as the streaming giant fights to attract customers. Netflix opted to develop the lower-cost offering after a disappointing first quarter in which it lost subscribers for the first time in a decade, and after years of resistance against the very idea of running ads. The ad-supported subscription will be in addition […]

Global talent, Korean-trained: K-pop’s new recipe for world domination

by Cat Barton Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — From Indian K-pop idols to Swedish songwriters, South Korea’s music industry is now a hotbed of global talent — a smart strategy as it aims for world domination, experts say. K-pop bands have long included non-Koreans: Blackpink’s Lisa is Thai, while Japan and China are both well represented, and Korean-American singers have topped the local charts. But after megastars like Psy and BTS brought K-pop […]

Three disputed Michael Jackson songs pulled from streaming sites

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Three Michael Jackson songs have been removed from streaming sites following longstanding claims that they are sung by someone else, Sony and the late singer’s estate said Wednesday. “Breaking News,” “Monster” and “Keep Your Head Up” appear on the 2010 compilation album “Michael,” released a year after Jackson’s death from a drug-induced cardiac arrest. Some fans have long argued that the vocals on the tracks actually belong to an […]

Singer R. Kelly gets 30 years in jail over sex crimes

by Ana FERNÁNDEZ and Peter HUTCHISON Agence France Presse Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years behind bars on Wednesday for leading a decades-long effort to recruit and trap teenagers and women for sex. The sentence, stiffer than the 25 years in prison that prosecutors had sought, caps a long downfall for the 55-year-old former superstar. “I’m grateful that Robert Sylvester Kelly is away and will stay away and will not be […]

YouTube Shorts touts 1.5 bn users, taking on TikTok

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — YouTube on Wednesday said that more than 1.5 billion people monthly tune into its Shorts video service, which competes with global sensation TikTok. Alphabet-owned YouTube and Facebook-parent Meta both added short-form video sharing formats to their services after TikTok — which late last year said it topped a billion users — became the rage. YouTube Shorts went live less than two years ago, adding videos of no longer than […]

Shares of BTS label tumble after band announces break

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Shares in the management agency of the K-pop supergroup BTS plummeted Wednesday in early trading in Seoul after the band announced they were taking an indefinite break. The seven members, credited with generating billions of dollars for the South Korean economy, dropped the bombshell during their streamed “FESTA” dinner, part of a celebration that marks their anniversary as a group. The news sent shares of the band’s label HYBE tumbling […]

10 years after ‘Gangnam Style’, Psy is happier than ever

by Qasim Nauman and Kang Jin-kyu Agence France-Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Ten years after “Gangnam Style” became a global phenomenon, South Korean rapper Psy is living his best life –- proud of his “greatest trophy” and free from the pressure of repeating that unprecedented success. Uploaded to YouTube on July 15, 2012, the song’s wacky music video became a runaway megahit, with its trademark horse-riding dance spawning thousands of imitations, spoofs and spinoffs. […]

Paramount sued over ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ copyright

The heirs of an author whose article inspired the 1986 film “Top Gun” have sued Paramount Pictures for copyright infringement, according to court documents. Three decades after the blockbuster original, which was based on Ehud Yonay’s 1983 magazine article “Top Guns”, Paramount released a sequel last month that has topped North America’s box office. In their complaint filed Monday to a California court, Shosh Yonay and Yuval Yonay, the writer’s widow and son who live in […]

Depp wins out in bitter Heard defamation trial

  FAIRFAX, United States (AFP) — A US jury Wednesday found both Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard liable for defamation — but sided more strongly with the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star following an intense trial riding on bitterly contested allegations of domestic abuse. The verdict capped a bitterly-fought six-week trial riding on lurid claims and counterclaims of between the Hollywood celebrities. The seven-member jury in Virginia awarded the 58-year-old actor $15 million […]

New ‘Star Wars’ series with Jude Law in works as Disney targets streaming

by Andrew Marszal © Agence France-Presse  Anaheim, UNITED STATES (AFP) — Disney announced a new live-action “Star Wars” series featuring Jude Law at a major fan convention Thursday — but any mention of upcoming films in the beloved sci-fi franchise was conspicuously absent, as the company focuses on its streaming service. Harrison Ford and Ewan McGregor were among the stars who appeared on stage before a raucous and outlandishly dressed crowd in Anaheim, California for […]