Entertainment

'Top Gun' soars back to surprise lead in N.American theaters

In a reflection of Hollywood's deep late-summer slump, "Top Gun: Maverick," first released 15 weeks ago, climbed back to the top of the North American box office this weekend despite a relatively slim four-day take of $7.9 million.. "Moviegoers have shown that they are willing and able, but without big, regular franchise releases to anchor the schedule, the box office is going to drift lower, before climbing back in the fourth quarter."

Mon, Sep 5, 2022 1 mins read

Entertainment

Laporte: French rugby supremo who relishes challenges

Bernard Laporte, the president of the French Rugby Federation (FFR), has served as a player, coach and even a minister, overcoming controversy and setbacks to become one of the most powerful figures in the sport.. The hard lessons learned from his two years as a minister paid off, for he has worked the corridors of power more effectively in the world he understands, rugby.

Mon, Sep 5, 2022 3 mins read

Entertainment

Liz Truss's political 'journey' reaches Downing Street

The UK's next prime minister, Liz Truss, takes power as a traditional, low-tax Conservative eurosceptic promising to turbo-charge economic growth.. "You really need to understand Elizabeth Truss as a kind of free market liberal," he told AFP.  Truss's rise to become the UK's third female prime minister has inevitably led to comparisons with the first: Margaret Thatcher.

Mon, Sep 5, 2022 4 mins read

Entertainment

Venice gets a dose of Harry Styles fever

Fans went wild for the arrival of music star Harry Styles in Venice on Monday, but any discussion of controversies around his film "Don't Worry Darling" was quickly shut down. . Wilde said she hopes "Don't Worry Darling" will generate discussion about patriarchal control at a contentious moment in US politics. 

Mon, Sep 5, 2022 2 mins read

Entertainment

Queen Elizabeth II's 15 prime ministers

Liz Truss, who won the Conservative party leadership election on Monday, will become the 15th UK prime minister during the reign of head of state Queen Elizabeth II. The monarch will ask Truss to form a government on Tuesday, once Boris Johnson has formally tendered his resignation.. Winston Churchill (Conservative, 1951-55) Anthony Eden (Conservative, 1955-57) Harold Macmillan (Conservative, 1957-63) Alec Douglas-Home (Conservative, 1963-64) Harold Wilson (Labour, 1964-70) Edward Heath (Conservative, 1970-74) Harold Wilson (Labour, 1974-76) James Callaghan (Labour, 1976-79) Margaret Thatcher (Conservative, 1979-90) John Major (Conservative, 1990-97) Tony Blair (Labour, 1997-2007) Gordon Brown (Labour, 2007-10) David Cameron (Conservative, 2010-16) Theresa May (Conservative, 2016-19) Boris Johnson (Conservative, 2019-22) bur/phz/yad

Mon, Sep 5, 2022 0 mins read

Entertainment

Bookish and traumatised: the real Marilyn Monroe comes to Venice

Sixty years after her death, Marilyn Monroe is back in the limelight as the subject of the buzzy Netflix biopic 'Blonde', which premiers at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday. . - Bookish with big ambitions - In the years since Marilyn's death a more complex picture has emerged of the actress and singer, who was objectified as the definitive "blonde bombshell" pin-up.

Mon, Sep 5, 2022 3 mins read

Entertainment

One century on, cult of Mussolini persists in Italy

One hundred years after he took power, the cult of Benito Mussolini persists in the small Italian town of Predappio, where his tomb draws tens of thousands of visitors each year.. - Fascist souvenirs - Mussolini's tomb draws more than 70,000 visitors a year and there is a lively tourist trade in Predappio, where numerous shops sell fascist souvenirs.

Mon, Sep 5, 2022 3 mins read

Entertainment

Film legend Paul Schrader is seriously ill but on a roll

Few thought Paul Schrader would ever match the success of his early scripts for "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull" -- but suddenly, in his seventies, the writer-director is back at the top of his game.. "We don't think of Paul Schrader as writing big parts for women.

Sun, Sep 4, 2022 2 mins read

Entertainment

Brendan Fraser makes 'Whale'-sized comeback in Venice

In one of the most unexpected movie comebacks ever, Brendan Fraser transformed into a morbidly obese man for "The Whale" that premiered at the Venice Film Festival Sunday. . - 'Lighthouse in a dark sea' - "Charlie is by far the most heroic man I've ever played," Fraser said.

Sun, Sep 4, 2022 2 mins read

Entertainment

Judge again dismisses Nirvana baby album cover lawsuit

A US federal judge has again dismissed the child pornography lawsuit filed by the man who as a baby was photographed naked for the cover of Nirvana's "Nevermind" album.. In 1991, when he was four months old, Elden was photographed naked in a swimming pool reaching for a dollar bill on a fish hook, an image that became one of the most iconic album covers of all time.

Sun, Sep 4, 2022 1 mins read