Entertainment

The first time I heard the name Damien Chazelle, it was at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Filmmaker Jason Reitman was there as the producer of an under-the-radar short film called “Whiplash”, starring J.K. Simmons as a gnarly band instructor. “This kid is talented”, Reitman said of the film’s young …

MONTREAL, Sept 1, (AFP): He snowboards, he hikes, he surfs — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is already a bit of an action hero. But now, Marvel has made him into a real superhero, in a comic book that hit news-stands Wednesday. Trudeau graces one of two covers of the …

VENICE, Aug 31, (Agencies): A bewitching musical starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone will open the Venice Film Festival Wednesday, kicking off a US-heavy line-up of flicks vying for the coveted Golden Lion. Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land”, described as a tribute to the Golden Age of American musicals, reunites …

Out with the summer, in with the fall. Please hurry. After a bruising three months when moviegoers often had to strain to find something good to see, this year’s fall film season looms like an oasis. It’s about to get better at the multiplex. Here are 10 movies, performances and story …

NEW YORK, Aug 30, (Agencies): Neither Michael Fassbender nor Alicia Vikander was especially keen on living at a remote New Zealand lighthouse for the duration of shooting Derek Cianfrance’s 1920s period drama “The Light Between Oceans.” Cianfrance, the director of the gritty independent films “Blue Valentine” and “The Place Beyond …

LOS ANGELES, Aug 30, (RTRS): Gene Wilder, who regularly stole the show in such comedic gems as “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles”, “Young Frankenstein”, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Stir Crazy,” died Monday at his home in Stamford, Conn. His nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman said he died of complications from …

NEW YORK, Aug 30, (Agencies): “Cats” is back on Broadway, purring along. “Hamilton” tickets are still hard to get. What else is new this fall? Some big celebrities are coming, including Cate Blanchett, Diane Lane, Janet McTeer, Josh Groban and Liev Schreiber. Some old writers are also showing up, like …

NEW YORK, Aug 29, (Agencies): Beyonce on Sunday dominated the MTV Video Music Awards as she won a near-record award haul and awed the audience with a fiery dance medley with an unstated political message. The pop superstar won Video of the Year for “Formation”, the most controversial work of …

MEXICO CITY, Aug 29, (Agencies): Juan Gabriel, a superstar Mexican songwriter and singer who was an icon in the Latin music world, died Sunday at his home in California at age 66, his publicist said. Juan Gabriel was Mexico’s leading singer-songwriter and top-selling artist. His ballads about love and heartbreak …

Kuwaiti Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Mr. Fari is perhaps one of the most popular proponents of contemporary Kuwaiti music, embraced for the easy charm that unravels affecting stories in song. On the heels of his third project release and an international trip to Chile showcasing the diversity of Kuwaiti music, he …