Olympics 2024 are set to conclude with a bang, courtesy of Hollywood’s own daredevil, Tom Cruise. The Top Gun actor will perform a heart-stopping skydiving stunt to mark the end of the Games in Paris and hand over the torch to Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympiad. Cruise attended the opening ceremony of the Games.
During the women’s swimming competition, Cruise said, “It’s awesome. Great stories, great athletes. It’s incredible what they have to do, the sense of accomplishment.”
Preliminary data from Comcast’s NBCUniversal shows that 28.6 million US viewers watched the Paris Olympics opening ceremony, making it the most watched summer Games opening night since London in 2012.
Amazon Prime Video is set to bring the incredible story of boxing legend Muhammad Ali to life in the first-ever authorised series titled ‘The Greatest.’
This exciting new project promises to explore his legendary fights and the man behind the icon.
Actor Jaalen Best will play Ali’s character, while Ben Watkins will take on the role of showrunner. Watkins said, “To be trusted with the honour of telling the story of my most cherished hero, Muhammad Ali, is humbling and scary, and a dream come true.”
‘The Greatest’ will showcase the victories and challenges that shaped Ali’s life, highlighting moments that often go unnoticed. The series aims to present Ali not only as a boxing champion but also as a husband, father, brother, and son.
Produced in collaboration with Ali’s estate, with his widow, Lonnie Ali, serving as executive producer, she expressed her excitement for the project, stating, “I’m thrilled to be producing ‘The Greatest’ alongside Ben Watkins, who captured the essence of Muhammad. Jaalen Best is a talented young man who embodies Muhammad’s resilience, courage, and charisma.”
Jaalen Best, known for his roles in ‘All American: Homecoming,’ ‘Magnum P.I.,’ and ‘American Horror Stories,’ is set to star in the series.
Muhammad Ali has been portrayed on screen before, including himself in 1977’s ‘The Greatest,’ Will Smith in the 2001 film ‘Ali,’ Terrence Howard in ‘King of the World,’ and David Ramsey in ‘Ali: An American Hero.’ With ‘The Greatest,’ fans can look forward to a fresh and deeper look into Ali’s extraordinary life.
Did you know, Faran Tahir replaced Bollywood superstar in ‘The Jungle Book’
Hollywood actor Faran Tahir, star of such smash hits as ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Star Trek’ is in Pakistan to promote his latest venture, ‘Umro Ayyar.
Faran and Usman Mukhtar appeared as guests on the FHM Podcast.
Among other things, the Hollywood actor discussed the industry’s obsession with Bollywood
“I was initially selected for a role in the 1994 Hollywood film ‘The Jungle Book’, but the producers later opted for Sanjay Dutt instead. However, when Sanjay got entangled in his personal issues, I was called back to replace him and fill in the role,” he revealed.
“We can draw inspiration from Bollywood and Hollywood, but we must also bring our own unique ideas to the table. We don’t need to compare our industry to our neighbors’; just as we don’t compare ourselves to China and Japan. We should focus on building our own strengths and identity in the film industry.” Faran added.
His film is coming to cinemas on this Eid Ul Azha, June 17.
Pakistan’s most expensive film is set to make its debut in cinemas, marking a new era for the film industry.
Actors Usman Mukhtar and Faran Tahir, recently appeared on FHM podcast, where they talked about their film ‘Umro Ayyar’, calling it the most expensive production in the country’s history. Hollywood star Faran Tahir, who plays the primary antagonist, expressed immense pride on being part of the project.
“This film marks the dawn of a new era for our industry, introducing a genre that we’ve traditionally left uncharted. The movie’s title is only one part of this new beginning’s excitement and complexity,: the Iron Man star said.
Usman Mukhtar, who plays the legendary ‘Umro Ayyar’, highlighted the need for local support for Pakistani science fiction projects.
Usman asked the public, “You watch similar films from our neighboring country, so you should definitely watch this one since it’s derived from our own literature. Pakistan’s first superhero movie.”
Faran took the opportunity to highlight the gap between Pakistani literary heritage and the current generation. “Though we’re not expanding as an industry, we’re taking a bold and dangerous step forward today. We’re making important content for our youth, bridging the gap between them and our traditional stories like Umro Ayyar.”
The actors found great satisfaction in the film’s basis in classic literature. Faran provided more information on the creative methods used in the production, especially the use of European stunt directors with prior expertise on popular television shows like ‘Game of Thrones.’
“We identified gaps and brought in international talent where necessary. However, we also established our own VFX studio in Islamabad, which is now fully operational,” he pointed out.
UmroAyyar – A New Beginning
The fantasy film is about Umro, a character from the classic beloved Urdu novel.
The cast includes Ali Kazmi, Farhan Tahir, Hamza Ali Abbasi, Manzar Sehbai, Sana Fakhar, Sanam Saeed, Simi Raheal, Usman Mukhtar. The genre of the film is sci-fi movie. It is directed by Azfar Jafri and produced by VR Chili Production. It’s coming to cinemas on this Eid Ul Azha, June 17.
Cillian Murphy, Oscar-winning actor who played Thomas Shelby in the superhit series Peaky Blinders, will star in a new Netflix movie based on the show. The film, also called Peaky Blinders, will be directed by Tom Harper and produced in partnership with BBC Films. Filming is set to start later this year, but the plot and additional cast members have not been announced yet.
Murphy said, “It seems like Tommy Shelby wasn’t finished with me. … It is very gratifying to be recollaborating with Steven Knight and Tom Harper on the film version of ‘Peaky Blinders.’ This is one for the fans.”
Tom Harper, who is directing the upcoming ‘Peaky Blinders’ film, said: “When I first directed ‘Peaky Blinders’ over 10 years ago, we didn’t know what the series would become, but we did know that there was something in the alchemy of the cast and the writing that felt explosive. ‘Peaky’ has always been a story about family – and so it’s incredibly exciting to be reuniting with Steve and Cillian to bring the movie to audiences across the world on Netflix.” Steven Knight, who produced the ‘Peaky Blinders’ television series, wrote the film’s script and is producing it alongside Guy Heeley, Cillian Murphy, and Caryn Mandabach.
For the role he played of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the US physicist who designed the atomic bomb, Murphy received his first Oscar for Best Actor, closing a dazzling awards season that also saw him win a BAFTA, a Golden Globe, and other honors.
Chris Evans, famous for playing Captain America, took to his Instagram to issue a clarification for a photo floating on the internet. The picture, which showed him signing ammunition with a soldier, was being shared with misleading information that the soldier was from the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).
As Israel’s genocide in Gaza continues unabated, people across the world slammed Evans for the photo.
This clarification came amid heightened speculations of Evans having gone to Israel to meet IDF soldiers and signing a missile for them like other American dignitaries including Nikki Haley.
While Reuters did a fact-check story on this picture earlier in February, Evans posted a story earlier in the day (May 31). In his Instagram story, he wrote, “This image was taken during a USO tour in 2016. I went with a group of actors, athletes and musicians to show appreciation for our service members.” He went on to add that, “The object he was asked to sign is not a bomb, or a missile, or a weapon of any kind. It is an inert object used for training or display purposes only.”
It’s been close to nine months since the genocide in Gaza started but the actor neither condemned it nor uttered a word of support for the oppressed Gazans. His clarification is thus receiving flak for still not mentioning Palestine.
A netizen wrote, “Chris Evans can say all this to defend himself and still not use his platform spread awareness about Palestine is truly so evil.”
chris evans can say all this to defend himself and still not use his platform spread awareness about palestine is truly so evil. pic.twitter.com/G4OjnT0siw
A supporter of Free Palestine lambasted Captain America for signing something that merely represents the bomb but no information or donation link about Palestine.
Ohhhh, sure thing, Chris Evans. It’s perfectly all right for you to sign something that merely REPRESENTS the bombs being dropped by our military on human beings. And it’s just fine for you to post about this, but not any info or donation links about Palestine. pic.twitter.com/i4LQPby7Ef
— Arthur (Free Palestine ) (@arthur_ant18) May 31, 2024
Nicole on X (formerly Twitter) called him out for not shedding light on the genocide and said, “Anyway, don’t be like Chris, call for a free Palestine.”
Instead of calling for a ceasefire or shedding light on the genocide that’s going on, Chris Evans used his platform to first make sure you know he signed an inert “training” objet.
— Nicole | Godless Entity (@WestenrasKiss) May 31, 2024
A proponent of Ceasefire Now posted, “The thing that bothers me about this post, even though it should be reassuring he’s not gross is the fact he said nothing about Palestine whatsoever in conjunction with this picture.”
Chris Evans apparently didn’t actually sign a missile, it was a fake one for educational purposes. The thing that bothers me about this post ,even though it should be reassuring he’s not gross is the fact he said nothing about Palestine whatsoever in conjunction with this picture pic.twitter.com/oTpNcKdMm4
American supermodel Bella Hadid used her platform at the Cannes Film Festival to show solidarity with her ancestral land, Palestine. She wore a vintage dress with a red and white chequered pattern, similar to the traditional Palestinian keffiyeh scarf. The outfit was a powerful statement of support for the Palestinian people.
A bold representation of resilience The keffiyeh, a traditional headscarf from the Middle East, has become a strong symbol of Palestinian identity and resistance. Its unique pattern has been seen on famous people, protesters, and even in political settings around the world, showing support for Palestine.
In keeping with her heritage, Hadid whose father Mohamed Hadid is Palestinian, stepped out on the French Riviera donning an old Michael and Hushi outfit. Hadid has long been an advocate of the ‘Free Palestine’ cause.Hadid rocked a vintage dress made from traditional Palestinian keffiyeh fabric, complete with tassels, from the 2001 runway. She kept the look simple yet chic with red sandals, a hair scrunchie, tinted sunglasses, and gold hoops (earnings)Reposting a picture of the dress from the designer’s original post on her Instagram story, Hadid reaffirmed her support for Palestine with the caption “Free Palestine forever.”
Actor and model Adnan Shah Tipu appeared in ‘Zarbardast’ show on a recent episode with host Wasi Shah. The host asked, “Tipu, you’ve had a diverse range of experiences from working with BBC to National Geographic, and even delving into Hollywood before coming back to Bollywood. Where did you find the most rewarding payments during your journey?”
“You get paid really well in Hollywood. I got paid more for just two scenes in a Hollywood project than I did for an entire Bollywood film, plus a stay at a 7-star hotel for me and my wife,” Adnan replied.
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that the production of a Hollywood film on Pakistan’s culture will give people around the world an opportunity to know more about the country and highlight its soft and positive image. During a meeting with the members of the Hollywood production team visiting Pakistan to shoot an international film on Pakistani culture, the minister remarked that the film, produced by the Hollywood production team, would represent a significant milestone for the Pakistani film industry.
Discussions were held regarding the great cultural heritage and history of the country. The minister also apprised the production team about the progress in the film industry in the country. Attaullah Tarar thanked the Hollywood production team, stating, “It is a big honour for our culture and people.”
“Our history, literature, music, and art are unique and appreciated worldwide,” The minister said, “I believed that this film would give the world a new opportunity to see the beauty and diversity of Pakistan. He clarified the government’s efforts to revive the film industry while claiming that it was the only one in Pakistan to receive tax amnesty.
Attaullah Tarar also said, “The film policy was reinstated during the previous term of the government led by Shehbaz Sharif.”
. He said, “A film finance fund of rupees one billion was established in the 2022-23 budget, which has greatly benefited the film industry and its related sectors.”
Additionally, the govt introduced medical insurance for artists and tax incentives for filmmakers, which has further boosted the industry. In the 2022-23 budget, the govt also granted a five-year tax exemption to filmmakers and a five-year income tax exemption on the establishment of new film-related businesses.
As Taylor Swift’s UK tour approaches, fans are being warned about scams that have already cheated thousands of people out of more than £1 million or more than three billion rupees. Lloyds Bank says about 3,000 fans have been tricked since July, losing an average of £332 each, with some losing over £1,000. Most of the scams happen on Facebook, where more than 90 percent of cases come from fake ads or posts. It’s not just Swift fans getting targeted; scams for other artists like Beyonce, Coldplay, and Harry Styles have gone up too.
Unofficial Facebook groups are part of the problem. They’re popping up to buy and sell tickets, with many listings on Facebook Marketplace. Scammers promise cheap or sold-out tickets, then disappear once they get the money through bank transfers.
To stay safe, Lloyds Bank says only buy from trusted places. If possible, use debit or credit cards for more protection. As Swift’s tour gets closer, fans need to be careful and listen to warnings to avoiding getting scammed out of their concert experience.
