Entertainment

After a jury found rapper A$AP Rocky not guilty at his trial on two felony counts of assault with a semi-automatic firearm, he celebrated by diving into the arms of Rihanna in the packed courtroom. The Los Angeles courtroom, full of fans and family, exploded into celebration as Rocky leapt from the defence table, over a barrier and into the gallery, where Rihanna sat between his mother, Renee Black, and sister, Erika B. Mayers. They embraced and sobbed.Amid the chaos, it took the clerk a few minutes to read the second not guilty verdict once Rocky returned to the defence table after hugging his longtime girlfriend. Rakim Mayers, aka A$AP Rocky, dives towards the gallery as the verdict is given in his felony assault trial at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Ce...

Prime Video launched the enthralling trailer for the second season of its critically acclaimed Tamil crime thriller Original series Suzhal—The Vortex, which transported the audience right into the eye of the storm. Produced under the banner of Wallwatcher Films, written and created by Pushkar and Gayatri, and directed by Bramma and Sarjun KM, the series features a highly talented ensemble cast, including Kathir and Aishwarya Rajesh returning in lead roles, along with Lal, Saravanan, Gouri Kishan (Muthu), Samyuktha Vishwanathan (Naachi), Monisha Blessy (Muppi), Rini (Gaandhari), Shrisha (Veera), Abhirami Bose (Senbagam), Nikhila Sankar (Sandhanam), Kalaivani Bhaskar (Ulagu), and Ashwini Nambiar in pivotal roles, along with Manjima Mohan and Kayal Chandran making special appearances. Suzhal—...

A lawsuit against Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs over the alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl at a party in 2000 has been dismissed by the lawyer representing the Jane Doe, according to court filings. In December, the unidentified woman added Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, to a lawsuit she had filed against Combs in Manhattan federal court, alleging she was attacked by the singers in 2000 after Combs’ limo driver offered her a ride to an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty.The court document submitted by the woman’s lawyers announcing the voluntary dismissal did not include any reasons or explanation for the withdrawal. The lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed with prejudice, which means the plantiff cannot refile the some complaint in court. Story continues below advertisement ...

Patrick Schwarzenegger, son of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, shared a special moment with his family after he broke the news of his casting in the third season of the Emmy-winning show, `The White Lotus`. The third season of The White Lotus, currently streaming on HBO, stars Patrick as Saxon Ratliff. The actor is garnering praise for his performance in the film. Taking to his Instagram handle, the `Gen V` actor shared an adorable reaction from his mother, Maria Shriver, and sister, Katherine Schwarzenegger, after he told them that he would be joining the lead cast of HBO`s `The White Lotus` show for its third season.           View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Patrick Schwarzenegger (@patrickschwarzeneg...

In the last decade-and-a-half, Ira Dubey has largely concentrated on acting, be it in a wide range of plays or in shows like Potluck and Scoop. But now, the actor is ready for the next step in her career—writing and direction. Will wearing multiple hats be overwhelming? Maybe. But Dubey is excited about the road ahead that will see her not only direct her first film but also return to the new season of Freedom at Midnight where she plays Fatima Jinnah, a leading women’s rights activist in Pakistan. In conversation with mid-day, she talks about life of an actor on stage, films and OTT, her love for writing, and battling self-doubt. Edited excerpts from the interview. Does juggling writing, acting and producing a show get overwhelming?One has to try and find [the time]. I have been a stage...

Hollywood star Kate Winslet, best known for her performances in `Titanic`, `Quills` and `Hamlet`, is now all set to don the hat of a director. As per The Hollywood Reporter, Kate has come on board to direct feature film titled `Goodbye June` for Netflix. The Oscar winner will also produce and act in the movie, which will star Toni Collette, Johnny Flynn, Andrea Riseborough, Timothy Spall and Helen Mirren. Joe Anders, Winslet`s son with ex-husband Sam Mendes, wrote the screenplay and Kate Solomon will produce with Winslet. Netflix describes Goodbye June as a "touching, yet humorous" drama, "which sees a fractured group of siblings pull together under sudden and trying circumstances." The film will go on floors soon in the U.K. Solomon also produced Winslet`s most recent feature, the Le...

Fifty seasons of “Saturday Night Live” sketches, songs and special guests will be celebrated Sunday as the variety show celebrates its landmark anniversary. The pop culture juggernaut has launched the careers of generations of comedians, from Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig and many Canadians, including Dan Aykroyd, Martin Short and Norm Macdonald. The cast of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” pose on the show’s set in New York on Sept. 22, 1992, including Chris Farley, Al Franken, Melanie Hutsell, Chris Rock, Julia Sweeney, Dana Carvey, Rob Schneider, Adam Sandler, David Spade, Ellen Cleghorne, Kevin Nealon, Phil Hartman and Tim Meadows. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Justin Sutcliffe Many of those stars will be on hand for “SN...

Fans of the Lord of the Rings franchise can rejoice as the third season of the Prime Video series has been confirmed. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 is in pre-production and will begin filming this spring in the series’ new production home at Shepperton Studios in the UK. Three directors, two returning and one new - Charlotte Brändström, Sanaa Hamri, and Stefan Schwartz - will be a part of this season. The globally successful series, which has attracted over 170 million viewers worldwide, continues to be one of Amazon`s strongest drivers for new Prime membership sign-ups. Season 3 of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power confirmed "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continues to captivate audiences worldwide, and we`re thrilled that a third season is underway. ...

Artificial intelligence is rightly viewed as a potential threat to music. Models are being trained (illegally, in most cases) on copyrighted music created by flesh-and-blood humans without permission or compensation. AI compositions are being passed off as real human composers on streaming music platforms, taking away streams and income from proper artists. Beyond all the legal issues record labels have against companies producing AI music, they’re also very interested in its cost-saving, career-extending and money-making potential.Last year, Universal Music released a new Spanish version of Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee, a 1958 hit recorded when she was just 13. Lee is 80 now, so it wasn’t like they could get her back into the studio. Instead, they used AI to create a pe...

Director duo Raj-DK’s ambitious fantasy actioner Rakt Bramhand—The Bloody Kingdom has apparently hit a roadblock, forcing the makers to delay its upcoming schedule. Word is that Raj-DK, along with co-director Rahi Anil Barve, were to kick off the second schedule in Mumbai in February. However, the plan has been pushed by two months as the battle sequences of the Aditya Roy Kapur, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Ali Fazal and Wamiqa Gabbi-starrer are being reimagined. Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK A source close to the production reveals, “Rakt Bramhand has been mounted as a big-budget fantasy series about warring empires. Naturally, the war sequences are crucial to the story. The team wasn’t fully satisfied with how they were shaping up on paper, and is revisiting the portions.”  Rakt Bramhand is a...