Entertainment

Japan's Takeshi Kitano returns with 'queer' warlord epic

Cult Japanese director Takeshi Kitano has returned after more than a decade, premiering his new film at Cannes -- a bloody quest for power punctuated by love between warriors. . But there is also an unexpected focus on the love affairs between warriors. 

Scarlett Johansson says 'intense' in Wes Anderson world

Living in the Spanish desert on a quirky film set imagined by director Wes Anderson for his latest mind-bending movie was an "intense" experience, actress Scarlett Johansson said Wednesday. . His style is so unique it has spawned its own trend of people filming scenes from their lives on TikTok as if they were in a Wes Anderson movie.

In Brazil, Vinicius's hometown shares his pain

Taking a break from training beneath a giant poster of Vinicius Junior, on the same pitch where the Real Madrid star got his professional start, Pierry Amaro Ricardo has a word for the racism his idol endures.. Like all the boys chasing the ball around the rectangle of green artificial turf at the Flamengo youth academy in Sao Goncalo, a poor city outside Rio de Janeiro, Ricardo dreams of following the same meteoric path as Vinicius, who started out here before signing with Real Madrid at age 16.

Filmmakers at Cannes grapple with 'tectonic' AI shift

At an AI talk on a Cannes beach, a presenter's voice is cloned and used to say a random phrase in three languages, while another's face is replaced live on screen as they speak.. - Voice cloning - Magdalena Zielinska of ElevenLabs in Poland which claims to have created the "most expressive" AI voices available, says tools to check if a voice is synthetic will be essential.

US top health official sounds alarm on child social media use

The top US health official on Tuesday issued a stark warning to parents, tech companies and regulators, saying the evidence is growing that social media use may seriously harm children.. Murthy called on policymakers to strengthen safety standards around social media and urged tech companies to responsibly assess the impact of their products on children and share data with researchers.

$6 mn raised to preserve Nina Simone's childhood home

An art auction and New York gala have raised nearly $6 million to preserve and restore the childhood home of soul music legend and civil rights activist Nina Simone, organizers said Tuesday.. The twin events brought in some $5.88 million -- far more than the original $2 million organizers hoped to raise to restore the rural North Carolina abode.

Bulgaria's 'Time Shelter' wins International Booker Prize

Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov and translator Angela Rodel were named Tuesday winners of the International Booker Prize with the novel "Time Shelter" -- a first for a book in Bulgarian.. Last year the International Booker Prize was awarded to the Hindi novel "Tomb of Sand" by Indian author Geetanjali Shree, and translated by Daisy Rockwell. acl/phz/ach/js

Netflix expands password-sharing crackdown worldwide

Netflix on Tuesday expanded its crackdown on users sharing passwords with people beyond their immediate family as it seeks to shore up revenue at the leading streaming television service.. But there is also the risk that people no longer getting Netflix free will opt to "glom onto their friends' and families' Prime Video, Disney+, or Max instead," Benes said, referring to rival streaming services.

Netflix expands password-sharing crackdown worldwide

Netflix on Tuesday expanded its crackdown on users sharing passwords with people beyond their immediate family as it seeks to shore up revenue at the leading streaming television service.. The streaming television giant told financial analysts recently that it had delayed a broad crackdown on sharing of account passwords "to improve the experience for members."