Entertainment

Paws and popcorn: Thai cinema goes pet-friendly

A fluffy white cat in a yellow dress perched on the top of a Bangkok cinema seat while, nearby, a Chihuahua in a Sebastian the Crab costume geared up to watch Disney's 'The Little Mermaid' with their owner.. One long-time Bangkok expat said that, while her cat frequently falls asleep beside her on the couch watching TV at home, she would never take her pet to the cinema and thinks the concept is "unnatural" and "torture".

Takashi Murakami loves and fears AI

Neo-pop art superstar Takashi Murakami has always embraced new technology and was an early adopter of crypto and NFTs, but even he admits fearing that AI might make him obsolete. . He sees this work as building a bridge between traditional and digital art, but admits they can be a hard sell. 

Massive 'chirping' egg sculpture hatches in Warsaw

In a square in central Warsaw, a couple of people are bent over a huge sculpture of a blue egg, their heads turned and pressed against the shell.. The colour is more intense than the real blue because the sculpture will inevitably fade in the sun.

Pixar returns with immigrant fable 'Elemental'

Pixar is seeking to rediscover its box office fortunes with timely immigrant fable "Elemental," the animation studio's first totally original new film to hit theaters since the start of the pandemic.. Its last original, non-franchise movie to hit big screens, 2020's "Onward," launched and swiftly vanished as Covid shuttered theaters.

Skies clear as New York's Gov Ball music fest kicks off

New York's Governors Ball kicked off Friday under clearer skies after days of wildfire-induced noxious smog blanketed the city and threatened to derail the annual music festival.. The three-day Governors Ball music festival is set to continue through Sunday, and along with the headliners will feature Lil Nas X, Haim, Lil Uzi Vert, Rina Sawayama, Omar Apollo and Ice Spice. mdo/mlm

AI statue designed by Michelango on show in Sweden

A historical dream team of five master sculptors, including Michelangelo, Rodin and Takamura, have trained artificial intelligence (AI) to design a sculpture dubbed "the Impossible Statue", now on show in a Swedish museum.. Sandvik's engineers trained the AI by feeding it a slew of images of sculptures created by the five artists.

Acrobats show off Art Nouveau heritage of Brussels

Belgium's capital Brussels is a treasure trove of Art Nouveau gems and now the city is trying to attract new audiences to its rich heritage, with the help of acrobats and trapeze artists.. Among the initiatives aimed at shining a spotlight on the Art Nouveau riches is the eye-catching decision to invite acrobats into these museum-like spaces. 

Vienna Symphony appoints Petr Popelka as chief conductor

The Vienna Symphony on Friday announced it had appointed Petr Popelka as its new chief conductor to replace Andres Orozco-Estrada, who walked out 14 months ago.. Popelka is currently chief conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra Oslo as well as the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra.

A decade on, giant duck brings a friend home to roost in Hong Kong

Ten years after a giant inflatable yellow duck captivated crowds in Hong Kong, the art installation returned to the city's Victoria Harbour on Friday as a double-bill exhibition.. Setting sail in front of Hong Kong's landmark Convention and Exhibition Centre, the mighty ducks moved through the harbour before stopping to nest near the city government's headquarters.

New Madrid museum showcases Spain's royal treasures

A new museum packed with hundreds of treasures collected by Spain's monarchs over the past five centuries is set to open in Madrid this month.. - 'Spectacular' - The idea to set up a museum to display Spain's royal collections first emerged nearly a century ago but it was interrupted by the 1936-39 civil war.