Entertainment

TORONTO – Toronto Blue Jays brass used all the bells and whistles when they tried to land two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani in the fall of 2023. The once-in-a-lifetime pursuit of the Japanese free agent, as author Keegan Matheson writes in his new book, “The Franchise: Toronto Blue Jays,” included taking Ohtani, his agent and interpreter at the time on a tour of the team’s renovated player development complex, complete with a few special touches.Three lockers in the clubhouse were set aside for Ohtani, along with jerseys, gear, hats, bags and accessories. It was all part of an elaborate effort to sell him on the team.An impressed Ohtani — whose camp wanted total secrecy throughout the process — walked out of the Dunedin, Fla., facility with bags of team gear and a Blue Jays hat on his head, ...

Actor Darsheel Safary will soon be seen in the upcoming comedy drama, `Gamerlog`. The series is directed by Arya Deo and produced by Abhinay Deo and Neeta Shah. The makers recently unveiled the trailer of the upcoming series, which is set against the backdrop of India`s rapidly evolving E-sports gaming culture. Apart from Darsheel Safary, it also stars Anjali Sivaraman, Chinmay Chandraunshuh, Kunal Bhan, Chetan Dhawan, Shubroy Chowdhury, and Akash Menon in prominent roles. Taking to its official Instagram handle, Amazon MX Player posted the trailer along with the caption, "Battles, bootcamp aur bohot saara drama...Kuch aisa hi hai gaming ka grind..@realmeindia presents #Gamerlog releasing 12 June on Amazon MX Player for FREE".           View this post on Instagram ...

Descrease article font size Increase article font size Former MuchMusic and MusiquePlus host Juliette Powell died last week. She was 54. The news was shared in an obituary, which said Powell, who spent much of her life living in Montreal and Toronto, died on June 3 from acute bacterial meningitis.Born in New York in 1970, Powell got her start in the spotlight at a young age, spending time on the pageant circuit and as a model after moving to Montreal with her mother at the age of eight.In 1989, at the age of 18, she made history as the first Black Canadian to be crowned Miss Canada, earning her a chance to represent Canada at the Miss Universe pageant. She joined the pageant circuit “motivated by a desire to challenge racial biases in beauty p...

In the latest sneak peek from Prime Video’s upcoming reality show, The Traitors, tensions reach a fever pitch as players begin to turn on each other, and the paranoia starts to take its toll. The fight to unmask the Traitor has officially begun, turning allies into threats and doubts into daggers. Apoorva Mukhija calls Maheep Kapoor a traitor Apoorva turns the tables with a chilling accusation, “100&#37 Maheep is a traitor.” What begins as a pointed suspicion soon unravels into something far more personal. “Get some acting classes. You’re literally Bollywood Wives.” The words hit hard—sharp, intentional, and impossible to ignore. Is Maheep really the Traitor? Or has Apoorva misjudged her? The truth is still buried and only time will say. Maheep, meanwhile, remains composed. “Sabki a...

Sly Stone, the revolutionary musician and dynamic showman whose Sly and the Family Stone transformed popular music in the 1960s and ’70s and beyond with such hits as Everyday People, Stand! and Family Affair, has died. He was 82 Stone, born Sylvester Stewart, had been in poor health in recent years. His publicist Carleen Donovan said Monday that Stone died in Los Angeles surrounded by family after contending with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and other ailments.Formed in 1966-67, Sly and the Family Stone was the first major group to include Black and white men and women, and well embodied a time when anything seemed possible — riots and assassinations, communes and love-ins. The singers screeched, chanted, crooned and hollered. The music was a blowout of frantic horns, rapid-fire g...

Returning to a show’s set for a second season is an alien feeling to Abhishek Banerjee, even though he has been part of several popular series, including Paatal Lok and Mirzapur. “Rana Naidu is the only show where I am alive in the second season,” he grins.  Banerjee plays the protagonist’s younger brother in the Netflix series that stars Venkatesh Daggubati, Rana Daggubati, Surveen Chawla, and Arjun Rampal. Shooting for the action drama’s second edition was not only a novel experience for the actor, but also freeing. “In the first season, you’re still building your character. After you watch yourself perform, you know where you lacked. The second instalment is actually where you’re playing and enjoying the character because you don’t have any insecurities about it,” he explains. Before ...

A judge dismissed Justin Baldoni’s US$400-million defamation claim against It Ends With Us co-star Blake Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds on Monday after finding that her accusations of sexual harassment were legally protected, making them exempt from libel claims. Judge Lewis J. Liman dismissed Baldoni and production company Wayfarer Studios’ lawsuit, which also alleged extortion, but allowed him and his legal team to amend the complaint to change the “allegations relevant to the claims of tortious interference with contract and breach of implied covenant,” with a deadline of June 23.Liman also ruled that Baldoni’s claims that Lively stole creative control of the film didn’t count as extortion under California law.“The Wayfarer Parties have not alleged that Lively is responsible for a...

Brace yourselves — the thoko taali is back and so is Navjot Singh Sidhu! The Great Indian Kapil Show, on Netflix, kicks off its third season on June 21 with a twist audiences didn’t see coming: the original laughter king returns to his rightful place — on the throne, right next to laughter queen Archana Puran Singh! Yes, you read that right. It’s now a two-judge comedy court, and the verdict is unanimous — double the laughter, double the trouble, and definitely double the taaliyaan. Navjot Singh Sidhu is back! Netflix and Kapil promised fans earlier this month that ‘Har Funnyvaar Badhega Humara Parivaar’ and keeping that promise they have made the comedy family bigger by bringing Sidhu Paaji into the fold. Additionally, this time around fans won’t just be in the audience — they’ll be on...

Since her breakout role in Season 3 of HBO’s hit dramedy White Lotus, acting offers have been pouring in for Charlotte Le Bon. But for now, the Montreal native is just not interested.“Making films is my main focus more than acting, to be honest,” Le Bon said during a sit-down interview in Toronto Thursday.Le Bon recently returned from the Cannes Film Festival, where she held meetings in search of a financing partner for her sophomore feature — a still-untitled Montreal-shot drama exploring themes of loss.“It’s autobiographique,” says the bilingual actor, reluctant to reveal too much.“It’s a very, very personal movie and I think the goal is to try to make a very light-hearted movie on grief. It’s a challenge, but that’s what I’m aiming for.” Story continues below advertisement ...

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has slammed Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos’ comment about launching Sacred Games as Netflix India’s first original series. Sacred Games was the first Indian original series ever produced by Netflix. The series, based on the book of the same name by Vikram Chandra, was directed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane. It starred Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Anurag Kashyap calls Netflix CEO `dumb` Recently, Sarandos stated that the show was not the ideal way to enter the Indian market. Kashyap reacted strongly to Sarandos’ statement and didn’t mince his words while sharing his opinion. He shared a screenshot of an article referencing Sarandos` comment and wrote, “He should have started with Saas-Bahu… he would have done well. Which he is doing now. I always ...