Arts & Entertainment
-
S.W.A.T. actor Steve Forrest dead at age 87
US actor Steve Forrest, who was best known for a leading role on the short-lived 1970s television drama S.W.A.T., has died at the age of 87 in Thousand Oaks, California, near Los Angeles, his wife Christine said yesterday. Forrest appeared in 1954’s...
-
Piaf songwriter Moustaki dies
Georges Moustaki, an Egyptian-born composer, singer and poet who wrote songs for Edith Piaf and other French stars, has died aged 79. He died at his home in Nice overnight after a long illness, said Marie-Ange Mirande of Moustaki’s Paris-based...
-
Cow handbag design offal-y daring
As fashion designs go, some might say it is just offal. An Edinburgh-based student is certain to divide opinions after creating a handbag line using the stomach lining of a Highland cow. Jocelyn Mather, a fourth-year design student at Edinburgh...
-
Contemporary Italy laid bare
Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty, a nostalgic, melancholic ode to the eternal city Rome, is one of several films that touch on the unravelling of contemporary Italy in the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival this year. Also competing...
-
Liberace film throws spotlight on gay rights
The relationship between the flamboyant pianist Liberace and his young lover dazzled at the Cannes Film Festival and threw the spotlight on gay rights at the movie industry’s largest annual gathering. Director Steven Soderbergh said he struggled...
-
Jagger plans family fun at Glasto
Sir Mick Jagger has revealed that he is planning to make a weekend of it when he headlines Glastonbury with The Rolling Stones and will hang out with his children. Rather than heading down simply to play his slot at the event, the veteran star said...
-
Saxophone under the spotlight
Batera Duo is celebrating the early history of the saxophone repertoire while drawing attention to research projects by raising funds for the University of Malta’s Research, Innovation and Development Trust (RIDT). Formed in April last year, the duo...
-
Saxophonist to round off MPO series
Malta Philharmonic Orchestra’s resident conductor Michael Laus brings the very successful MPO Concert Series at the Manoel Theatre to a close with an enticing programme of Stravinsky and Rachmaninov alongside Heitor Villa-Lobos’s colourful Fantasia...
-
Speak now or never!
TheatreSecret Bridesmaids’ BusinessSt James Cavalier When a close group of people are put under pressure in a specific situation and pushed by unravelling events, their bonds of loyalty and friendship are often put to the test. The effects of this...
-
Rare, authentic baroque performance
RecitalPatrick Bismuth, violin; Bruo Procopio, harpsichordBir Miftuħ Chapel The 17th edition of the Bir Miftuħ festival opened last Friday with a superb concert of baroque music, featuring Patrick Bismuth from France on the baroque violin,...
-
Russia claims vote theft at Eurovision
Russia is investigating an alleged vote theft at the Eurovision Song Contest. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was meeting his counterpart from Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic which is trying to find out why its announced votes did not give any...
-
Cannes gets explosive
Japanese director Takashi Miike got the final week of the Cannes Film Festival off to an explosive start on Monday, with big-budget cop thriller Shield of Straw a sharp contrast to the more intense, intimate movies screened so far. Typically for...
-
Keanu Reeves makes directorial debut
He has played a science-fiction hero, policeman and even Hamlet. But now, actor Keanu Reeves is taking on a new role – as director of a contemporary martial arts movie aimed at both Chinese and Western audiences. Reeves has stepped behind the...
-
A showcase for Melissa McCarthy
Identity Thief (2013)Certified: 16Duration: 111 minutesDirector: Seth GordonStarring: Jason Bateman, Melissa McCarthy, Jon Favreau, Amanda Peet, T.I., Génesis Rodríguez, Morris Chestnut, John Cho, Robert Patrick, Eric Stonestreet, Jonathan BanksKRS...
-
Duo on the hunt
Dead Man Down (2013)Certified: 16Duration: 117 minutesDirected by: Niels Arden OplevStarring: Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Dominic Cooper, Terrence Howard, Isabelle Huppert, Luis Da Silva, Wade Barrett, F. Murray Abraham, Armand AssanteKRS release A...
-
Doors founder Manzarek dies at 74
Ray Manzarek, the keyboardist and founding member of The Doors who had a dramatic impact on rock ‘n’ roll, has died at 74 after a battle with cancer. Manzarek died in Rosenheim, Germany, surrounded by his family, said publicist Heidi...
-
Swift is a red hot winner
Taylor Swift was the red hot winner at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday. She won eight of 11 awards, including top artist and top Billboard 200 album for Red. “You are the longest and best relationship I ever had,” she told the crowd. She also...
-
Angry Birds to invade screens in 3D film
The popular video game Angry Birds is jumping off smartphones and on to the big screen in a new animated 3D film due to be released in 2016, Sony Pictures Entertainment announced. The film will be a joint venture between Sony Pictures Entertainment...
-
Von Trier’s hotly-awaited film gets December launch
Danish film-maker Lars Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, one of the most hotly anticipated movies of 2013 for its erotic content and all-star cast, will open in theatres on Christmas Day, the producers said. The provocative director, expelled from the...
-
Finding our own voice
Stories are powerful. A good story can sell a product, win an election, unite a nation. A rumour – a story by another name – can ruin a man’s life. Think of an important figure or nation, and you find yourself thinking about a story. Einstein was a...
