This is Beirut - Culture

Liam Neeson, a Dim-Witted Cop in a Noir Parody

This is Beirut, 01/08 16:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Cinema Film Liam Neeson Pamela Anderson Culture Art

Liam Neeson, in full-on comedy mode: the actor known for Schindler’s List, his reinvention as a violent avenger in Taken, and as a Jedi Master in The Phantom Menace, now plays a clueless, blundering cop in The Naked Gun: Save the World?, opening Wednesday in France. In this send-up of film noir, the Northern Irish star joins Pamela Anderson to ...

Steven Knight to Write Next James Bond Film with Villeneuve

This is Beirut, 01/08 16:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Cinema James Bond 007 Movie Culture Art

Steven Knight, the creator of gritty TV crime series Peaky Blinders, will write the highly anticipated next James Bond movie, studio Amazon MGM announced Thursday. Knight will work alongside previously announced director Denis Villeneuve, best known for Dune, to bring the world's most famous fictional spy back to the big screen after a prolonged ...

Jenna Ortega Returns in Darker, Bolder 'Wednesday' Season Two

This is Beirut, 01/08 15:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Series Netflix Tim Burton Culture Art Cinema

Jenna Ortega returns to screens next week for a second series of Wednesday, Netflix's spin-off of The Addams Family that launched her career and revived Gothic fashion. The first installment of the quirky series in 2022 became Netflix's second most-watched show after Squid Game, clocking up 252 million views. Ortega's deadpan and witty portrayal ...

Bob Wilson, Master of Light and Stage, Passed Away at 83

This is Beirut, 01/08 13:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Theater Heritage Bob Wilson Director Culture Art

It was a silent seven-hour production that first made France fall in love with Bob Wilson. Deafman Glance, born from a moment of trauma—Wilson witnessing a young deaf boy being beaten by a police officer—would become a landmark of modern theater. Wilson later adopted the boy. When the show premiered at the Nancy Festival in 1971, poet Louis ...

Lynette Howell Taylor to Lead Oscars as Academy President

This is Beirut, 01/08 13:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Oscars Film Cinema Culture Art Lynette Howell Taylor

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences elected A Star is Born film producer Lynette Howell Taylor as its new president, the group behind the Oscars said Thursday. Howell Taylor, who is British and also produced Blue Valentine and The Accountant, becomes the fifth woman chosen to run Hollywood's most elite group of filmmakers. Academy ...

Honkytonk Kenya: Country Music’s Unlikely African Capital

This is Beirut, 01/08 11:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Kenya Country Music Art Festival Culture Music

The party is in Kenya, but the vibe is distinctly Americana: a sea of cowboy hats and boots with a soundtrack of whisky-soaked tales about heartbreak and good ol' boys. Kenya has become the unlikely home of a growing country music scene, possibly the biggest in Africa, as testified by the thousands line-dancing in a field in the capital Nairobi at ...

Underwater Serenade: The Surprising Songs of Leopard Seals

This is Beirut, 01/08 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Seals Music Science Culture

When male leopard seals dive down into icy Antarctic waters, they sing songs structured like nursery rhymes in performances that can last up to 13 hours, scientists said Thursday. The Australian-led team of researchers compared the complexity of the songs composed by the big blubbery mammals to those of other animals, as well as human musicians ...

W.Sahara Film Festival Urges Nolan to Drop Scenes Shot in Disputed Territory

This is Beirut, 31/07 16:55 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Movie Christopher Nolan Festival Morocco Politics Culture

The Sahara International Film Festival has called on director Christopher Nolan to exclude scenes filmed in Western Sahara from his upcoming movie, citing concerns over shooting in the disputed territory. Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, has been largely controlled by Morocco since 1975 but is considered a non-self-governing territory by ...

Thousands Honor Ozzy Osbourne at UK Hometown Funeral Procession

This is Beirut, 31/07 12:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Music Tribute Ozzy Osbourne Fans Britain Culture

Thousands lined the streets of the UK city Birmingham on Wednesday to pay an emotional farewell to hometown hero Ozzy Osbourne as the heavy metal hellraiser was laid to rest. Black Sabbath frontman Osbourne, who earned the nicknamed the "Prince of Darkness" and once bit a bat while on stage, died on July 22 at the age of 76. He had been ...

Van Gogh Immersion: At the Heart of Light

Marie-Christine Tayah, 31/07 10:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Painting Exhibition Van Gogh Paris Atelier des Lumières Culture

The immersive Van Gogh exhibition returns to the Atelier des Lumières in 2025 with a revamped edition that’s more powerful and emotionally engaging than ever. Through captivating 360° projections and an evocative soundscape, visitors rediscover the genius of Vincent van Gogh in a setting that feels almost sacred. This artistic and emotional ...

Ziad Is Gone, the Drama Isn’t

Salam El Zaatari, 31/07 10:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Ziad Rahbani Music Fairouz Culture Lebanon

Ziad Rahbani, Lebanon’s most brilliant satirist and musical artist, was finally laid to rest. But instead of a dignified farewell fitting of the man who gave voice to a nation’s contradictions, his funeral devolved into a spectacle, an unintentional parody of the plays he once wrote. Some mocked Dima’s presence, others sneered at Majida’s ...

Pop Memorabilia: Glittery Michael Jackson Sock Fetches $8,822 at French Auction

This is Beirut, 30/07 22:25 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Music Michael Jackson Auction Legend France Culture

A single glittery sock that late pop superstar Michael Jackson wore during a concert in France in the 1990s sold for more than $8,000 on Wednesday, a French auctioneer said. A technician found the used sock discarded near Jackson's dressing room after the concert in the southern city of Nimes in July 1997, auctioneer Aurore Illy told AFP. The ...

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