The new Michael Jackson biopic is an almost sure-fire hit, on track to make $60 million when it opens next weekend. The movie’s star, Michael’s nephew Jaafar Jackson, and his proud sons Prince and Bigi triumphantly appeared at the first two premieres in Berlin, Germany, and Gary, Indiana — helming the biggest project of their … Read more
History’s in the making — and brimstone’s on the horizon. On Friday, February 20, Saturn, our planet of karma, responsibility, reality, and limits, will form an exact conjunction with Neptune, our dream-weaving planet of fantasy, spirituality, and escape. This conjunction is a rare phenomenon that occurs only every 36 years — making this transit pivotal and its … Read more
The Berlin Film Festival head defended actors and filmmakers who choose to avoid politics in press interviews in a lengthy statement Saturday night. Director Tricia Tuttle made the comments after actors like Neil Patrick Harris and Michelle Yeoh declined to comment on US political matters while attending the festival. Festival jury head and German filmmaker … Read more
English singer and songwriter Harry Styles ran the Berlin Marathon in under three hours on Sunday. Organizers confirmed to news agency dpa that Styles took part. Local newspaper Der Tagesspiegel was the first to report his participation. The 31-year-old former member of the One Direction boy band was among some 55,000 runners taking part in the race … Read more
A cyberattack at a service provider for check-in and boarding systems has disrupted operations at several major European airports including London’s Heathrow, Brussels and Berlin, causing flight delays and cancellations on Saturday. Collins Aerospace, which provides check-in and boarding systems for several airlines across multiple airports globally, is experiencing a technical issue that may cause … Read more
Take it on the road, folks. With so many places to go and a finite number of days to live, we can seek the stars to point the way to the best destinations. Just as astrology can indicate our sexual proclivities, ice cream allegiances and taste in power ballads, so too can it shine a … Read more
Sebastian Stan spoke out against a reporter who used an offensive term to describe his co-star who has facial disfigurement. At the Berlin Film Festival in February, a journalist asked the cast of “A Different Man” at a press conference, “What do you think happens after the transformation from this so-called beast, as they call him, … Read more
In 1992, Vladimir Putin— who at the time was deputy mayor of the Russian port city of St. Petersburg— commissioned a film about himself called “Vlast,” a Russian word meaning power. In it, he argued passionately for the West to invest in Russian industry. After he became Russia’s president in 2012, he continued to project … Read more
German newspapers also highlighted a speech on Saturday by Ben Russell, an American filmmaker who jointly won a prize for best experimental film. He appeared onstage wearing a kaffiyeh, the traditional Palestinian scarf, and decried a “genocide” in Gaza. In an interview, Russell said that the reaction in the news media “had been surprising in … Read more
The top prize at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival was given to “Dahomey,” a documentary by the French filmmaker Mati Diop about 26 looted artworks that were returned to Benin from France in 2021. The unconventional feature, narrated in part by the gravelly, imagined voice of one of the artworks, is a playful exploration … Read more
Doubt gets a bad rap. Doubt is fussy and forgetful, whereas certainty strides around, all action and achievement. As a film critic, swift, declarative certainty is a quality I’ve learned to aspire to. And at times, to fake. But this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, which runs through Sunday, has been buffeted outside and in … Read more
When Mariëtte Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian took over the Berlin International Film Festival in 2019, many hoped it would mark a new beginning for the festival, one of the most important in world cinema and the largest by audience numbers. Under its previous leadership, some argued, the event had grown bloated and unglamorous compared with … Read more
Start spreading the news, Time Out ranked the 50 best cities in the world and people want to be a part of it — New York, New York, that is, which came in at no. 1. Time Out interviewed its 100-plus staff of travel writers and editors as well as 20,000 city denizens about the … Read more
This elephant found a more a-peel-ing way to eat her snack. Just like humans, elephants love to eat bananas, but they don’t usually peel them first. They pick them up with their trunks and eat the fruit whole — peel and all. An Asian elephant named Pang Pha who lives at the Berlin Zoo set … Read more
Everyone can now swim topless at public pools in Berlin after a woman lodged a discrimination complaint. Authorities have agreed all visitors at public pools in the German capital city should be allowed to be topless. The Berlin senate for justice, diversity and anti-discrimination issued a statement last week making clear public baths must have non-discriminatory rules … Read more
“Gimme That” phone! Chris Brown, 33, chucked a concertgoer’s phone into the air at his Berlin show Wednesday after she tried to capture the once-in-a-lifetime experience of a lap dance on stage. In now-viral fan footage, the embattled entertainer selects a ticketholder to take a seat while he sensually performs his 2007 song “Take You … Read more
This was not music to his ears. Henry Beasley — from the New Zealand band Balu Brigada — shared a “29-hour flight” to Berlin with a screaming child that allegedly yelled the entire trip. The TikToker and musician was traveling last week when he unfortunately sat near the inconsolable baby. “Hey babe, how was your … Read more