Ill Jagger cancels Australia gig
SYDNEY (AFP): The Rolling Stones cancelled a show in Australia with frontman Mick Jagger unable to perform as he struggles to overcome a throat infection, the band said. It is another blow for fans after the group called off their original tour earlier this year after the suicide of Jagger’s girlfriend L’Wren Scott. It was rescheduled for October and November and they were due to play at Hanging Rock in Victoria state on Saturday after rave reviews for a show in Melbourne earlier this week. ‘The Rolling Stones have been forced to cancel the next date of their Australian tour after Mick has developed a throat infection,’ the band said. ‘He is under strict doctor’s orders to rest his vocal cords for the next few days in order to recuperate for the remainder of the tour.’
The legendary rockers are scheduled to play in Sydney on Wednesday.
Star Wars ‘turns into’ Force Awakens
CALIFORNIA (AFP): ‘Star Wars’ fans were sent into a frenzy Thursday as studio giant Disney revealed the title of the iconic franchise’s seventh episode - ‘The Force Awakens’ - and said filming was over. ‘The Force Awakens’ immediately shot to the top of trending topics on Twitter after Walt Disney Pictures and the official ‘Star Wars’ account released the much-anticipated title. ‘’Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ has completed principal photography,’ the tweets said, with the title set in the franchise’s retro typeface in yellow and white against a background of stars. The film will now require months of post-production before its worldwide release scheduled for December 18, 2015. It is directed by J.J. Abrams, one of Hollywood’s A-list directors who recently oversaw the successful rebooting of the ‘Star Trek’ franchise.
Speculation about what the title means centers on it being a follow-up to ‘The Return of the Jedi’ - in which Luke Skywalker was left as the only known Jedi Knight holder of the Force, with no rivals from the ‘dark side’ Sith camp. Fan sites wonder if ‘The Force Awakens’ refers to both the light side and dark side, Jedis and Siths. ‘If you want to make Star Wars movies every year for the foreseeable future, you can’t just have one Jedi and no Sith, right?’ asks a blogger at slashfilm.com. ‘The Force Awakens likely refers to more people becoming one with the Force, on both the good side and Dark Side,’ he wrote. ‘Star Wars’ has attracted generations of loyal fans ever since the first film arrived in 1977 recounting the adventures of Skywalker, Han Solo and Darth Vader. Filming began in Britain in May on Episode VII. Original cast members Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Kenny Baker will star in the new film, along with several newcomers including Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o. Other cast members include veteran actor Max von Sydow, ‘Girls’ star Adam Driver, motion-capture expert Andy Serkis and ‘Harry Potter’ veteran Domhnall Gleeson. Filming on the new movie was not without hiccups: in June, the 72-year-old Ford broke his leg on the set when a garage door fell and hit him at Pinewood Studios outside London.
Lollapalooza expands to Europe
NEW YORK (AFP): Lollapalooza, the Chicago-based festival that grew out of the US alternative rock scene, on Thursday announced an expansion to Europe with a first edition next year in Berlin. The move comes amid rapid growth in the world’s music festivals and marks the fourth international edition for Lollapalooza, which also has versions in Argentina, Brazil and Chile. Lollapalooza’s founder Perry Farrell, the lead singer of Jane’s Addiction, said that he had long wanted to bring the festival to Europe and pointed to Berlin’s reputation as a hub for up-and-coming artists. ‘Berlin’s energy, vibrant art, fashion and music scenes are a mirror reflection of what Lollapalooza is all about and I can’t wait to share in this cultural exchange,’ Farrell said in a statement. Jane’s Addiction launched Lollapalooza as a traveling festival around US.
Lucy biggest French success abroad
PARIS (AFP): Luc Besson’s thriller ‘Lucy’ starring Scarlett Johansson has taken the global market by storm, becoming the most successful French film abroad in 20 years, movie agency UniFrance announced Friday. The sci-fi film about a woman who becomes superhuman by using 100 percent of her brain has sold 57.3 million tickets throughout the world, and has just come out in China where it drew nearly six million people to movie theatres in just 10 days. Directed by Besson, it was produced by the French filmmaker’s EuropaCorp company. UniFrance, which promotes French cinema abroad, started compiling statistics about the popularity of Gallic films on the global market in 1994, and as such ‘Lucy’ has had the most success since the organisation began this process.
Disney announces Toy Story 4
LOS ANGELES (REUTERS): Walt Disney Co said on Thursday it will extend one of Pixar’s most successful film franchises by making ‘Toy Story 4’ for release in 2017, directed by John Lasseter. ‘John created ‘Toy Story’ and directed its first two films and it’s great to have him back directing one of our most valuable properties,’ Disney chief executive Bob Iger said on an earnings call. Iger called 2010’s ‘Toy Story 3’ a ‘tremendous success’ with more than $1 billion at the global box office and $10 billion in retail sales. He said that demonstrated that ‘these wonderful characters are clearly just as relevant and beloved as ever.’ ‘Toy Story’ was the first feature film made by Pixar Animation Studios, in 1995, and gave the famous animated characters Woody, the toy cowboy, and space ranger Buzz Lightyear a prominent place in pop culture.
The first installment made $362 million at the global box office, while ‘Toy Story 2’ brought in $485 million. Disney bought Pixar in 2006 in a deal worth $7.4 billion.