1 hour ago Taylor Swift reportedly set to film huge music video in London this week

The video will pay tribute to British-American actress Elizabeth Taylor

Culture

6 h. ago 'One of the best musical films in the 21st century' is on Netflix

The star-studded film has finally landed on Netflix UK and Ireland

Culture

10 h. ago What to Stream: 'Wicked: For Good' soundtrack, Ted Danson, 'The Bad Guys 2' and Black cowboys

Ted Danson’s “A Man on the Inside” returning to Netflix for its second season and Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo belting out the “Wicked: For Good” soundtrack are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you

Politics

19 h. ago ‘It’s important that we tell our own stories’: how the Wicked movies are helping disability representation on screen

Marissa Bode is the first disabled actor to play Nessarose, a key character in the stage turned film franchise – but has had to respond to online abuseDisabled actor Marissa Bode, who plays the prominent role of Nessarose Thropp in the hit film musical Wicked and its forthcoming sequel Wicked: For Good, has called for improved representation for disabled performers in the entertainment industry – and specifically an end to what activists call “cripping up” – casting non-disabled actors in disabled character roles.“I really hope my casting sets precedent,” says Bode, adding: “It’s just navigating a world and a system that we have just not been acknowledged in as we should be.” A recent study by the Rudderman Family Foundation found that only 21% of disabled characters on US TV between 2016 and 2023 were played by disabled actors. Continue reading...

Politics

25 h. ago Welsh mountain goats being 'forced out' by social media tourists

The iconic Welsh mountain goat may be facing a very 21st Century threat

Politics

3 d. ago The 25 best movies of this century, as selected by BRIAN VINER: From blockbusters to little

We're a quarter of the way through the 21st century, which seems like an appropriate time to list the century's 25 greatest feature films so far.

Politics

4 d. ago Sabrina Carpenter lands a major role in bold new musical take on British classic

Sabrina has bagged herself her first major film move, and this time its a musical take on a British classic we all know and love. While her role is yet to be announced, we expect it to be big.

Politics

4 d. ago Portishead’s Geoff Barrow: ‘I can’t think of any worse music to make love to than ours’

As he moves into film production with the thriller Game, the musician – also known for Beak> – answers your questions on Myspace rappers, Bristol greats and whether Portishead will ever make new musicWhat made you decide to make a film, Game, and can you tell us a little bit about it? Zoe2025As I’ve grown older, I’ve found myself having more film ideas than musical ones. Having an independent label, Invada Records, I wondered if I could actually make a film. I was at school with [co-writer and actor] Marc Bessant, I’ve worked with [director] John Minton for 20 years and I met [co-writer] Rob Williams – a scriptwriter for Judge Dredd and stuff – when he moved to Portishead [Somerset]. The idea of someone trapped in an upside down car comes from JG Ballard’s Concrete Island. Initially it was gonna be a horror film where the character was attacked by rabid dogs, but instead we set it during the end of rave culture. I immediately thought of Jason Williamson from Sleaford Mods for the...

Culture

5 d. ago Holy see: three of Pope Leo’s favourite films are divine. The fourth is hard to forgive

Praise be for The Sound of Music, Ordinary People and It’s a Wonderful Life! But the sinfully twee and queasy Life is Beautiful must be renouncedRobert Wise’s The Sound of Music, Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, Robert Redford’s Ordinary People and Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful. These are a few of his fav-our-ite films Pope Leo’s that is. This white-bread movie playlist has been released in advance of His Holiness’s “meeting with the world of cinema” on Saturday, part of a longstanding Vatican policy of engaging with creatives.The pope has, according to a Vatican statement “expressed his desire to deepen the dialogue with the world of cinema, and in particular with actors and directors, exploring the possibilities that artistic creativity offers to the mission of the Church and the promotion of human values.” The pope will chat with movie notables including Cate Blanchett, Spike Lee, George Miller, Gus Van Sant and Giuseppe Tornatore. Continue reading...

Culture

6 d. ago Under the Stars review – picturesque Italian setting is backdrop for AI prompt of a romcom

The tale of two strangers finding love ticks all the right boxes – including big-name support in Toni Collette and Andy Garcia – yet feels clunky and unconvincingAnyone who thinks it’s easy to make a romcom should take a look at this. It has all the ingredients: good-looking leads (Alex Pettyfer, Eva De Dominici), picturesque locations (the film is mainly set in Puglia, and benefits from funding from the region), lightly comic music underlining the scenes, charismatic veterans in supporting roles (“with Toni Collette and Andy Garcia”), transparently engineered third-act jeopardy, and so on and so forth. But like a failed soufflé on Bake Off, it never rises to the necessary level.Pettyfer plays the hero, a romance novelist named Ian. (Yes, Ian. The sitcom Peep Show made great capital out of the ludicrousness of naming a baby Ian in the 21st century. Without wishing to do down the name, it’s an odd choice and speaks to a wider tone-deafness in the script.) In fact the plotline for Und...

Politics

7 d. ago Bread of Angels: A Memoir, by Patti Smith review – a wild ride with the poet of punk

Smith’s incantatory voice shines through in this surprisingly revelatory follow up to Just Kids and M TrainThe post-pandemic flood of artist memoirs continues, but Patti Smith stands apart. The poet who wrote punk into existence before pivoting to pop stardom then ghosting fans to raise a family has, in the 21st century, leaned into literature and music with such vitality it has become hard to say which medium suits her better. It hardly matters. At 78 years old, Smith lives and breathes both.Her latest memoir follows the tightly focused coming-of-age story Just Kids, published to great acclaim in 2010, and 2015’s more ruminative M Train. Bread of Angels splits the difference to create a more conventional autobiography. It could be described as Just Kids’ prequel and sequel, moving from Smith’s hardscrabble childhood to the near-present, where a striking twist takes the narrative back to her literal conception. It’s one of a number of revelations about ...

Politics

7 d. ago What to Stream: 'Freakier Friday,' NF, 'Landman,' 'Palm Royale' and Black Ops 7

Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan re-teaming as the body-swapping mother and daughter duo in “Freakier Friday” and albums from 5 Seconds of Summer and the rapper NF are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you

Politics

9 d. ago Mel C, 51, shows off impressive abs in revealing workout gear as she films sexy new music video

SPICE Girl Mel C has cranked up the heat and put her rock hard abs on display during a shoot for her new music video - Sweat. The toned 51-year-old star gave fans a glimpse at work behind-the-scenes of her latest musical offering. She told followers alongside the footage: "Little SWEAT shoot BTS clip now...

Culture

9 d. ago Mel C, 51, flaunts her incredibly toned abs in skimpy workout gear as she films steamy new music video

Mel C flaunted her incredibly toned physique as she shared behind-the-scenes footage of her latest music video for new single Sweat on Friday.

Culture

1 week ago Extremely offline: what happened when a Pacific island was cut off from the internet – podcast

A colossal volcanic eruption in January 2022 ripped apart the underwater cables that connect Tonga to the world – and exposed the fragility of 21st-century lifeBy Samanth Subramanian. Read by Raj Ghatak Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Hatchie: Liquorice review – dizzying dream pop with welcome flashes of depravity

Eschewing the fairyfloss hooks of her earlier work, the Australian’s third album is both more mature and less immediately palatableGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailAlmost all of Hatchie’s music could slot frictionlessly into a coming-of-age film. Her songs, mostly, are misty-eyed ruminations on puppy love and its ensuing devastation; they yearn for a redamancy that feels both fated and vexingly out of reach. You can imagine Harriette Pilbeam’s millefeuille harmonies soundtracking a high school prom dappled with a disco ball’s refractive glimmer, or picture her fleecy guitars over a montage of light teenage debauchery. These are tracks prefabbed for telegraphing big feelings; everyone knows the outsize melodrama of a first, second or 20th crush.Liquorice, the title of Pilbeam’s potent third album, winks at her 2018 breakout EP Sugar and Spice. That formative work was a candy blast of dreampop, emphasis on pop – indebted as much to Carly Rae Jepsen as Cocteau Twins, whose co...

Politics

1 week ago Hatchie: Liquorice review – dizzying dreampop with welcome flashes of depravity

Eschewing the fairyfloss hooks of her earlier work, the Australian’s third album is both more mature and less immediately palatableGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailAlmost all of Hatchie’s music could slot frictionlessly into a coming-of-age film. Her songs, mostly, are misty-eyed ruminations on puppy love and its ensuing devastation; they yearn for a redamancy that feels both fated and vexingly out of reach. You can imagine Harriette Pilbeam’s mille-feuille harmonies soundtracking a high school prom dappled with a disco ball’s refractive glimmer, or picture her fleecy guitars over a montage of light teenage debauchery. These are tracks prefabbed for telegraphing big feelings; everyone knows the outsize melodrama of a first, second or 20th crush.Liquorice, the title of Pilbeam’s potent third album, winks at her 2018 breakout EP, Sugar and Spice. That formative work was a candy blast of dreampop, emphasis on pop – indebted as much to Carly Rae Jepsen as Cocteau Twins, whose ...

Politics

1 week ago Keir Starmer makes major pledge as he arrives at climate summit

The PM Keir Starmer will meet with global leaders at COP 30 in Belem, Brazil, where he will outline how clean energy is the economic opportunity of the 21st century

Politics

1 week ago Brits reveal top cultural icons who predicted the way we live today

A study of 2,000 people asked Brits to identify the cultural figures — from TV, music, film, and beyond — who most accurately predicted the technological and societal shifts that define modern life

Politics

1 week ago Inside the whacky world of Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard's parenting: Hollywood couple's children drink non

Its no secret that parenting in the 21st century comes with a host of challenges, however the couple often shock fans with their candid admissions over how they are bringing up their two daughters.

Society