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Darius Campbell Danesh: Pop Idol and West End star dies aged 41

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Darius Campbell Danesh, a singer and actor who gained popularity on the ITV talent series Popstars and Pop Idol two decades ago, has passed away at age 41.

In 2002, the Scot finished third on Pop Idol behind Gareth Gates and Will Young. Later that year, he debuted at number one in the UK with Colorblind, while his album Dive In peaked at number ten.

He went on to become a West End sensation after his chart-topping performance, making appearances in shows like Chicago and the Olivier Award-winning Guys and Dolls.

He was found dead in his US apartment room, his family announced on Tuesday.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Darius Campbell Danesh,” they said in a statement. “Darius was found unresponsive in bed in his apartment room in Rochester, Minnesota, on August 11 and was pronounced dead in the afternoon by the local medical examiners’ office.

There were no indications of malice or strange circumstances, according to the local police department. His unexpected death has no known cause at this time, however investigations into his health are ongoing.

“Please accept our request for privacy at this time as we process the devastating death of our son and brother,” the request reads.

Campbell, who studied English literature and philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, was born in Glasgow in 1980 to a Scottish mother and an Iranian father.

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Roger E. Mosley: Magnum P.I. actor dies aged 83 after car crash

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The original Magnum P.I. actor Roger E. Mosley, who starred in all eight seasons, passed away at the age of 83. He played Theodore “T.C.” Calvin, Tom Selleck’s character’s friend and a helicopter pilot.

Last week, Mosley passed away as a result of injuries received in an automobile accident in Lynwood, Los Angeles. His death was verified to the Hollywood Reporter by his daughter Ch-a, who had earlier informed fans about the vehicle accident. We could never grieve such a lovely man, she later remarked on Facebook. Any wailing made in his honour would make him angry. It is time to honour the legacy he has left for all of us.

“I love you daddy. You loved me too. My heart is heavy but I am strong. I will care for mommy, your love of almost 60 years. You raised me well and she is in good hands. Rest easy.”

Tina Andrews, a friend of his, tweeted: “What a nice guy and talented actor who had fantastic parties. R.I.P., Roger. We will miss you and how much we loved you.”

Critics liked Mosley’s portrayal of The Midnight Special musician Huddie Ledbetter in the 1976 film Leadbelly.

Additionally, he made cameos in the movies Sweet, Jesus Preacherman, The Mack, Hit Man, The Greatest, and Darktown Strutters.

However, Mosley’s most well-known part was in Magnum P.I., where he appeared in 158 of the show’s 162 episodes from 1980 to 1988.

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Will Smith says he has ‘reached out’ to Chris Rock about Oscars slap

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After slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars, Will Smith claims he “reached out” to him, but the comedian has stated he is “not ready to talk.”

After the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife at the Academy Awards in March, the actor smacked Rock on stage.

Smith renewed his apology in a video that he published on Friday in which he reflected on the slap. This was the first time Smith had been seen talking about the incident.

“Chris, I apologise to you. My behaviour was unacceptable,” he said.

“I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”

Smith has only ever made written statements regarding the altercation in the past. He responds to questions that seem to have been submitted by fans in the video on his personal YouTube account. He speaks to the camera directly while reading out the questions.

I have spent the last three months going over what transpired in that instant and trying to understand its complexity and subtleties “explained the actor.

“I wasn’t considering how many people were injured at the time. No part of me believes that was the appropriate course of action at that particular time.”

“I’ve reached out to Chris,” Smith said, “and the word that came back is that he’s not ready to discuss and he will contact out when he is.”

Additionally, he said that Jada Pinkett Smith did not ask him to defend her after Rock made the joke. Jada wasn’t involved, according to Smith.

“I want to say sorry to my kids and my family for the heat that I brought on all of us.”

Rock had targeted Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, which was a result of the alopecia ailment.

In a recent interview, Pinkett Smith expressed her “deepest wish” that her husband and Rock will “reconcile” following the event. After the slap, she had earlier stated on her social media that it was a “season for healing.”

Smith earned his first Oscar for his performance in King Richard, a movie about the father of Serena and Venus Williams, after the incident on stage.

Smith has been prohibited from attending Academy functions for the next 10 years as a result of what the Oscars have called his “unacceptable and damaging behaviour” on stage.

It was stated that following the slap, Smith was asked to leave the award ceremony, but he refused. A producer later clarified that Rock himself had not intended for Smith to be expelled violently or taken into custody by the police.

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Actor David Warner, who appeared in the films Titanic and Omen, passed away at the age of 80

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At the age of 80, actor David Warner, who appeared in movies like The Omen and Tron, passed away from a cancer-related illness. His family expressed their “extremely heavy heart” on announcing the news.

In James Cameron’s 1997 picture Titanic, Warner played Spicer Lovejoy, Billy Zane’s evil sidekick. In Mary Poppins Returns, he most recently played the eccentric admiral Boom, a naval officer. At Denville Hall, a care facility for persons working in the entertainment industry, Warner passed away on Sunday.

“Over the past 18 months he approached his diagnosis with a characteristic grace and dignity,” his family said.

“He will be missed hugely by us, his family and friends, and remembered as a kind-hearted, generous and compassionate man, partner and father, whose legacy of extraordinary work has touched the lives of so many over the years. We are heartbroken,” it continued.

In movies like The Thirty Nine Steps (1978) and Time Bandits, Warner frequently portrayed the villain (1981). Many may be familiar with his portrayal of photojournalist Keith Jennings, who met an unjust death in the spooky classic The Omen from 1976.

When asked if he knew what had happened to his severed head during an interview for a horror movie programme hosted by Mark Gatiss, Warner deadpanned, “I lost it in the divorce.”

In George C. Scott’s 1984 production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Warner portrayed Bob Cratchit. He noted that it was enjoyable to play a character who wasn’t a villain for a change.

He also had a great television career, appearing in shows including Penny Dreadful, Ripper Street, Doctor Who, the original Twin Peaks, Wallander, in which he played Kenneth Branagh’s father.

In addition, Warner portrayed a number of characters in the Star Trek series and appeared in several Doctor Who audio plays.

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Keanu Reeves’ comic book makes history

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In San Diego, Keanu Reeves created Comic-Con history. The actor is the author and co-writer of the comic book BRZRKR, which has become the first comic book to appear in the renowned Hall H of the convention, where early glimpses of new projects are showcased.

Even though the wildly popular comic book series will finish after two more volumes, Keanu assured thousands of Comic-Con attendees that the story will continue. To offer viewers a clearer picture of what the series featured, Boom Studios’ BRZRKR also released a trailer that outlined the entire plot and was narrated by Keanu Reeves.

Keanu Reeves collaborated with Matt Kindt, Ron Garney, and the comic book studio on the BRZRKR comic book series, which was released by Boom Studios.

BRZRKR is also set to receive a movie in the future on Netflix, showing how the Boom Studio’s property is set to expand.

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Michael Longley: Belfast poet wins €250,000 Feltrinelli Poetry Prize

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Michael Longley, a poet from Belfast, has received a €250,000 (£216,000) European cultural award. At a ceremony in November, Longley will accept the Feltrinelli International Prize for Poetry. Former winners of the award include John Ashbery, Eugenio Montale, and WH Auden.

Longley was born in 1939, and at the age of 30, he released No Continuing City, his debut book of poetry. From 2007 to 2010, he served as Ireland’s professor of poetry. Italy’s Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei bestows the prize once every five years in each discipline, on a national and international level.

According to the Accademia dei Lincei, Mr. Longley won because of “the extraordinarily relevant nature of his ideas and the cultural ramifications they have, as well as the very high level of stylistic excellence of his work.”

It read: “Longley is a tragic singer of Ireland and its dramatic past and an amazing poet of landscape, especially of the Irish West, which he examines with the careful and passionate attention of an ecology.

But he has also addressed subjects such as loss, grief, and sympathy in his poetry, as well as the seduction, conquest, and enchantment of love, the shock of war in all times, the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the gulags.

The Belfast native’s parents, both Londoners who emigrated to Northern Ireland prior to the birth of their son, were both World War One veterans from England.

He and his twin brother were born on July 27, 1939, in Lower Crescent, a neighbourhood off University Road in Belfast, only weeks before World War Two broke out.

Both the Royal Belfast Academical Institution (also known as Inst) and Trinity College in Dublin, where Longley later studied classics, had an impact on his career.

When he “fell in love very strongly” with a girl from a local school, Methodist College, he began his writing career in his early teens.

He was given the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2001, as well as the Wilfred Owen Award in 2003. In 2010, he was appointed CBE.

For his contributions to literary and cultural life in Belfast, where he and his wife, the critic Edna Longley, reside and work, he was given the freedom of the city in 2015.

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Philip Baker Hall, who played Jerry Seinfeld, died at the age of 90

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Philip Baker Hall, a popular US character actor who appeared on the sitcom Seinfeld in a memorable guest role, has died at the age of 90. In a classic 1991 episode, Hall played a huffy librarian who accused Jerry Seinfeld of not returning a long-overdue library book.

The actor’s performance was so well received that he returned for the show’s finale. Hall also appeared in The Truman Show, Rush Hour, Magnolia, and Boogie Nights, all directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

In Ben Affleck’s Oscar-winning film Argo, he portrayed a CIA detective, and he also appeared in Lars von Trier’s Dogville, Bruce Almighty, and The Talented Mr Ripley. Modern Family, The West Wing, and Curb Your Enthusiasm are among his other TV credits.

Holly Wolfle Hall, Hall’s widow, claimed the actor died in Glendale, California, surrounded by his family. Hall’s talent would be valued, according to the official Seinfeld Twitter account.

When he was cast in Paul Thomas Anderson’s first feature picture, Hard Eight, he began working with him. Hall was born in 1931 in Toledo, Ohio, and is survived by his wife, four kids, four grandsons, and brother.

Mark Ruffalo, who co-starred with him in the film Zodiac, tweeted: “Philip Baker Hall, rest in peace. One of the all-time greats. It’s been a pleasure to observe you. It was a pleasure to work with you on Zodiac. Kindness, compassion, humility, and remarkable talent are all qualities that stand out “.

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Palme d’Or: Triangle of Sadness wins top prize in Cannes for Ruben Ostlund

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On Saturday, Ruben Ostlund’s Triangle of Sadness won the Palme d’Or, a film in which models and the ultra-rich have their status questioned by unexpected events.

The award is the second for the Swedish director, who previously won it in 2017 for The Square. Park Chan-wook of South Korea took home the award for best director. Park, who is best known for the 2003 thriller Oldboy, took home the award for his erotic crime film Decision to Leave.

The best actor award went to Song Kang-ho for Broker, capping off a strong night for South Korea. Song gained international acclaim for his role in the Oscar-winning film Parasite in 2019. Ostlund, dubbed the “King of Cringe,” told reporters that he wanted to make a film that would make people laugh.

“I think we had one goal when we started making this film – to really, really try to make an exciting film for the audience and bring thought-provoking content,” Ostlund said, adding, “We wanted to entertain them, we wanted them to ask themselves questions, we wanted them to go out and have something to talk about after the screening.”

During its premiere, his film elicited a strong reaction from the audience, with news agency AFP reporting that one scene in particular “left viewers either howling with laughter or turning green.” The story of Triangle of Sadness revolves around two models, played by British actor Harris Dickinson and South African Charlbi Dean, who embark on a luxury cruise.

However, unexpected events have left them stranded, and the need to survive has thrown the social order into disarray.

While the film “makes you laugh,” Ostlund “also makes you think,” according to the entertainment magazine Variety. “We’re bound to see the world differently no matter what sphere he tackles,” it says in its review.

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Elvis biopic: Austin Butler praised, but mixed reviews for film

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Many critics praised actor Austin Butler’s portrayal of Elvis Presley in a new biopic of the singer, which has received generally positive reviews.

The film, directed by Baz Luhrmann, had its world premiere on Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival. Butler “throws himself into the performance,” according to The Wrap, and Total Film predicted an Oscar nomination.

Vanity Fair, on the other hand, called Butler “the only thing that works,” while IndieWire called the film “deliriously awful.” “Yes, it’s a bright and splashy jukebox epic with an irresistible central performance from Austin Butler,” wrote Robbie Collin of The Telegraph, who gave the film four stars.

“But it veers in and out of fashion on a scene-by-scene basis, in that signature Luhrmann way: it’s the most impeccably styled and blaringly gaudy thing you’ll see all year, and all the more fun for it.”

Elvis is “easily Luhrmann’s best movie since Romeo + Juliet,” according to Kevin Maher of the New York Times, in another four-star review. “The musical numbers have a lot of power because of Butler’s performance, but also because of Luhrmann’s editing, which has the kind of frenetic rhythms that are almost impossible to resist (feet will tap),” he said.

When Butler was cast as Elvis Presley in 2019, he reportedly beat out Harry Styles, Ansel Elgort, and Miles Teller.

Butler’s performance was praised by Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent, who wrote that the actor “makes a compelling argument for Elvis’ power, at a time when the musician’s arguably lost a little of his cultural cachet.”

“Butler has the looks, voice, stance, and wiggle down pat,” she said, “but what’s truly impressive is that indescribable, undistillable essence of Elvis-ness – magnetic, gentle, and fierce all at once.”

Steve Pond of The Wrap described the star’s performance as “wildly physical but never cartoonish or disrespectful.”

Total Film’s Jordan Farley said: “Some may be offended by the length of the film, which clocks in at over 150 minutes, but a lack of action isn’t the issue; there’s enough to Elvis’ story to fill 150 hours.

“The problem is that well-edited montages or a time jump bridged by a newspaper headline to fill in the gaps miss a lot of interesting material. Most of Elvis’s Hollywood years, as well as his initial rise to chart-topping fame, are relegated to one of these montage.

“In the end, nothing in Elvis’ life happens gradually – this is a fast-paced life story, but such is the energy that Luhrmann cultivates. At the very least, it’s never dull.”

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Heard’s team has changed their mind about Johnny Depp’s testimony

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According to a source close to Amber Heard, her team will not call Johnny Depp to the stand in the high-profile trial’s final days.

Ms. Heard’s team had planned to question Mr. Depp further on Monday, but at midday, they abruptly changed course. Mr Depp, 58, is suing his ex-wife for $50 million (£40 million) over a column she wrote in which she claimed to have been the victim of domestic abuse. Ms. Heard, 36, has filed a counterclaim.

This week is expected to be the end of the case. In the remaining days of the defamation trial, British supermodel Kate Moss, a former girlfriend of Mr Depp, is expected to testify.

Ms Heard’s team called several witnesses, including psychologist David Spiegel, to testify in court on Monday in Fairfax, Virginia.

Mr. Depp, according to Dr. Spiegel, “has behaviours that are consistent with both someone who has substance use disorder and someone who is a perpetrator of intimate partner violence.” Dr. Spiegel told jurors that 40-60% of intimate partner violence is committed while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.

On cross-examination, Mr. Depp’s lawyers tried to discredit this testimony by pointing out that Dr. Spiegel reached his conclusions without speaking with Mr. Depp.

On Monday, a hand surgeon testified that Mr Depp’s finger was unlikely to have been cut in the way he described during a fight with Ms Heard in Australia.

When Ms Heard threw a vodka bottle at him, Mr Depp claims the tip of his middle finger was severed. Dr. Richard Moore told the jury that the damage to Mr. Depp’s finger was more consistent with being pinched by a closing door.

At the time of the accident, Dr Moore did not examine Mr Depp physically. Mr Depp’s team is expected to rest its case early this week, giving Ms Heard’s team one last chance to persuade the jury.

Mr Depp, according to Ms Heard, was prone to alcohol and drug binges, was easily triggered by jealousy, and was frequently consumed by violent rages.

Mr Depp, for his part, claimed he was a victim of Ms Heard’s erratic behaviour, telling jurors he was subjected to her verbal, emotional, and physical abuse on a regular basis.

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