The Joker Origins film, to be directed by Todd Phillips, will serve as a prequel to Christopher Nolan's 2008 movie "The Dark Knight", it has been confirmed.
The newly-released synopsis for the DC film from Warner Bros revealed how The Joker, once a "well-meaning man", came to become one of the most notorious criminals of all time, ContactMusic reported.
Martin Scorsese will produce the film with Phillips.
"Twenty years before Batman saved the city in THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY, Gotham was a dangerous place. In the crime-ridden Narrows, one man tries to escape his unfortunate lot through a passion for theatrics and stand-up comedy. However, one bad day is all it takes in this city, and soon the well-meaning man has become the most dangerous criminal of all: the Joker.
"Directed by Academy Award Nominee Todd Phillips ("WAR DOGS") and produced by Academy Award Winner Martin Scorsese ("GOODFELLAS"), this prequel to Academy Award Nominee Christopher Nolan's "THE DARK KNIGHT" will explore how .

Joker Origins movie will be prequel to Nolan's 'The Dark Knight'

PTI Automatic

Hollywood star Dwayne Johnson has opened up about his secret struggle with depression as he revealed he had his first brush with the condition when he was a teenager.
"Struggle and pain is real. I was devastated and depressed. I reached a point where I didn't want to do a thing or go anywhere. I was crying constantly," Johnson told The Express.
The 45-year-old professional wrestler-turned-actor said he was broken when he saw his mother, Ata, try to commit suicide in front of his then 15-year-old self, months after they were evicted from their apartment.
"She got out of the car on Interstate 65 in Nashville and walked into oncoming traffic. Big rigs and cars were swerving out of the way. I grabbed her and pulled her back on the gravel shoulder of the road.
"What's crazy about that suicide attempt is that to this day, she has no recollection of it whatsoever. Probably best she doesn't," he said.
Johnson said, years later, his dream of becoming a professional football player turned to ...

Dwayne Johnson opens up about secret struggle with depression

Former music group Westlife is in talks to reform for an appearance on South Korean TV show "Immortal Song".
The musicians would feature on the show, which traditionally features a celebrity guest musician, usually a K-pop singer, and a selection of amateur vocalists who perform the guest's songs.
"Immortal Song" is a competition-style programme and a winner that is chosen in the end.
According to Metro, all band members have signed for the TV gig, Shane Filan who has been pursuing a solo career.
Website Allkpop.com claim representatives from KBS revealed the negotiations are on.
Westlife, who still enjoy an active fanbase in South Korea, would be performing some of their hits.
The group, which also consisted of Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily and Brian McFadden as members, disbanded in 2012 after forming in 1997.

Westlife 'in talks' to reunite for a South Korean show

Actor Emily Blunt, who essays the role of Mary Poppins in the film's reboot, feels the character is a bit "creepy".
Appearing on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert", the host noted that he always found the character "a little sinister".
"Well, I think she's creepy," Blunt replied.
However, the actor then added, "But I loved doing it, it was just the best. It really was awesome."
"Mary Poppins Returns" is directed by Rob Marshall.

Mary Poppins is 'creepy', says Emily Blunt

John Krasinski has a newfound love for his wife Emily Blunt after working with her on their new movie, "A Quiet Place".
The 38-year-old actor starred alongside his spouse, whom he married in 2010 and with whom he has daughters Hazel, four, and Violet, 21 months, in the new film, which he also directed.
"I never have loved my wife more than after we did this movie, and we were really nervous about it. It really could've gone the other way, we could be announcing our divorce right now if it did go the wrong way.
"But I think for me, it was a trust thing. We trust each other in day-to-day life for sure, but when you trust each other in this way it's really different. But the way we went about it was sort of the way we go about our marriage, which is 'Let's be really honest. Let's be honest from the beginning so that nothing surprises us, but we get to say all the things we feel'," Krasinski told People magazine.
"A Quiet Place" also features Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe.

John Krasinski loves wife Emily Blunt 'more' after working with her

Cheryl has quashed rumours that her boyfriend Liam Payne is cheating on her.
The "Fight for This Love" hitmaker posted a response on Twitter to a story that had surfaced about the former One Direction singer getting close to a backing dancer and another "mystery woman" in Dubai.
"I usually don't bother myself to respond to stupid articles. But in my silence they hold the pen. This is a stupid article, clutching at very small straws. But I can't ignore this story involving an innocent dancer colleague of Liam's who has a fiance, and dragging them into this desperate attempt to try and cause problems between Liam and I.
"Nor do I understand the almost daily onslaught of stories. The other 'mystery woman' in the story happens to my long term friend and manager (that's embarrassing). I also happen to love Katy Perry," Cheryl wrote.
The singer confessed to loving Perry after Payne shared a photo of himself with the "American Idol" judge, and later followed up her post with another tweet ...

Cheryl puts an end to Liam Payne cheating rumours

Rapper Professor Green has revealed he nearly died due to his health problems last year.
The 34-year-old rapper suffered a series of complications, including a collapsed lung and pneumonia, after undergoing a five-hour operation to remove three areas.
"It nearly killed me but I'm fine now. Kind of. I should have been dead but I was still laughing. I'm still here," Green told Closer magazine.
The "Lullaby" hitmaker had previously opened up about his health struggles and the "torture" he had gone through.
"I'm on the mend. Turns out I'm only the second person in the world to have an allergic reaction to the mesh used to fix my hernia. I've had a giggle on Instagram but here's the reality. I didn't want to worry anyone, least of all my nan. I came back to hospital with pneumonia, a partially collapsed lung, distension, fluid build up and ileus (my guts had shut down).
"I'm getting better. Everything is starting to work again, all my bloods are looking better and I finally got some sleep .

Professor Green almost died

Singer Meghan Trainor says she wants to record a duet with former One Direction star Harry Styles.
The 24-year-old singer previously teamed up with Styles to pen "Someday" for Michael Buble.
''My manager works with Harry Styles so this is great. We already wrote a song together so the chemistry is already there we just need to put out a song together. One day Harry! If you can hear this, that would be amazing. Any one of (One Direction), they're all so talented, but Harry is my fave," Trainor told BANG Showbiz.
The singer would also like to work with Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, Adele and Beyonce.
"Justin Timberlake - I'm dying to work with him," she added.

Meghan Trainor wants to collaborate with Harry Styles

Singer Sam Smith says his relationship with "13 Reasons Why" star Brandon Flynn is "everything" he ever wanted and dreamed of.
Smith said the fact they are both dealing with fame has helped their relationship because of the understanding they share, Femalefirst reported.
"I am having a really beautiful time right now. I am in a really happy headspace and learning so much. It's everything I've ever wanted or dreamed of. Just like any relationship, it's important to have someone who understands your life.
"We are opposites but also similar in many ways and it is nice to have someone who understands -- especially with the travelling. I have a house in LA and am all over the place. It's great, we are young and it's good to travel," Smith said.
The 25-year-old star said he never felt any "guilt or shame" when he came out as gay.
"I am a spiritual person but wouldn't say I'm religious, though I went to Catholic school. When I came out there was no guilt or shame. I was always proud of who I 

Everything I've ever dreamed of: Sam Smith on dating Brandon Flynn

"Jurassic Park" star Jeff Goldblum says he had to fight to keep his character, Ian Malcolm, in the original film.
The actor, who will be making a comeback to the franchise with "Jurassic World 2", said the original film's director Steven Spielberg almost wrote out the character entirely.
Speaking with Vanity Fair, Goldblum said he "felt moved to advocate for my inclusion" after Spielberg told him he may no longer be needed.
He said Spielberg insisted, "The people want that character melded into the Sam Neill character - I don't think Sam Neill was doing it yet, but the Alan Grant character - and I said no no no, I think keep that character but, um... I don't know what I said, but anyway, it turns out that I got to be in it and that's the way it goes."
"Jurassic World 2" is set to release on June 22.

Ian Malcolm was almost cut from 'Jurassic Park', says Jeff Goldblum

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has voiced his concern over the medium of film losing its importance in the digital world.
The 75-year-old actor, who met renowned filmmaker Christopher Nolan yesterday here to discuss about film preservation and restoration, said the cause deserves serious consideration and it is important that people from the film industry across the globe come together to save the medium.
Nolan is in Indian on a three day trip along with visual artiste Tacita Dean to promote  the cause of film preservation and restoration,
"Prominent dignitaries from the world of cinema gathered here in round table to debate and ascertain the importance of film heritage and its preservation. The word film has suddenly lost its charm ; for there does not seem to be any need to shoot films on film. It's all digital now.
"It was known as the 'film industry', they were known as 'film stars'. So in the complete absence of that medium and that product, it would be quite in order to call ...

Film has suddenly lost its charm as its all digital now, says Amitabh Bachchan

"Theory of Everything" stars Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones joined Stephen Hawking's family and friends at the physicist's funeral at University Church of St Mary the Great in Cambridge, England.
The renowned British physicist died peacefully at his home in Cambridge on March 14. He was 76 years old.
According to the New York Times, 500 hundred people attended the church service and that thousands of people lined the streets of Cambridge, applauding when Hawking's hearse drove by.
During the service, Redmayne, 36, who won the Oscar for his role as Hawking, gave a Bible reading from Ecclesiastes.
Hawking, who had a rare motor neurone disease (ALS) that debilitated him throughout his life, was a fellow at Cambridge University for 52 years.
Other celebs in attendance included Elon Musk, Cinderella's Lily Cole, James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli, playwright Alan Bennett, and comedian Dara O Brian.

Eddie Redmayne attends Stephen Hawking's funeral

Singer Dua Lipa has opened up about the sexism that persists in music industry and said women artistes struggle to get recognition.
In an interview with British GQ for an upcoming issue, Dua said female artists have to work harder for success as compared to their male counterparts.
"For a female artist, it takes a lot more to be taken seriously if you're not sat down at a piano or with a guitar," she said.
"For a male artist, people instantly assume they write their own music, but for women, they assume it's all manufactured," she added.
Dua also talked about the importance of the #MeToo movement and said the behaviour to harass women has been long engrained in society.
"I'm lucky in that I haven't really had any sexual harassment in any way. But I think (#MeToo) is so important. You know, even from school, growing up with kiss chase or whatever, it's been ingrained in our heads that boys will be boys and its harmless fun and no big deal and to brush things off. Like catcalling.
"To ..

It's hard 'to be taken seriously' as a female artist, says Dua Lipa

Ryan Reynolds has said he wants some "me time" as he quashed rumours about turmoil in marriage to Blake Lively.
The "Deadpool" star retweeted a recent report which stated that two actors were struggling to spend quality time together.
"I wish. I could use a little 'me time'," Reynolds wrote along side the report.
The couple has been married since 2012. They have two daughters, James and Ines, together.

Ryan Reynolds shuts down rumours of marriage problems with Blake Lively

It was a packed house screening for renowned filmmaker Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" and "Dunkirk" here.
A 70 mm IMAX film screening of "Dunkirk" was held at 6 pm at Carnival Cinemas, IMAX, Wadala and a 35 mm film screening of "Interstellar" at 8.30pm at Carnival Liberty Cinema, Marine Lines, where Nolan took the centre stage, last evening.
Nolan is in India to support filmmaker-archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, founder of Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) in drawing attention to the importance of celluloid in the digital age through "Reframing the Future of Film" along with noted visual artiste Tacita Dean.
The 47-year-old director first arrived for the screening of "Dunkirk" with his producer wife Emma Thomas and Tacita, where they were greeted in traditional style with tilak and garland.
"We can't wait for this day when we are going to watch after 26 years a film on 70mm. Isn't it emotional? We are going to watch an original creation created by a creator, who is going to show .

Nolan takes centre stage as films screened in Mumbai

Taylor Swift has come out in defence of singer Hayley Kiyoko who was trolled over the comments she made against her.
Kiyoko was blasted by Swift's fans on Twitter after she criticised the singer, saying, "Taylor Swift sings about men in every single song and video, and no one complains that she's unoriginal."
Kiyoko was talking about double standard that normalizes heterosexual relationships on screen and defended her desire to feature women as love interests in her videos.
But Swift came to her rescue in a thread on Tumblr, in which she wrote, "Exactly. We should applaud artists who are brave enough to tell their honest romantic narrative through their art, and the fact is that I've never encountered homophobia and she has.
"It's her right to call out anyone who has double standards about gay vs straight love interests," she added.
Kiyoko thanked Swift for the support and tweeted, "Love and respect to @taylorswift13 and all the brave artists out there sharing their truth with the ...

Taylor Swift defends Hayley Kiyoko after fans misinterpret her comments

With films such as "Rangeela", "Daud" and "Judaai", Urmila Matondkar became one of the most popular mainstream actors in the '90s but she soon decided to shift her focus to character driven projects as she picked "Kaun", "Pinjar" and "Satya".
Looking back at her journey in films, Urmila says making money was never her agenda and her aim was to choose parts which had scope for performance.
"Being a star means doing the kind of work you want to do. As stars we need to take risks and I was up for those challenges. I took risks and I did pay a price for it. I was made to answer because a 'Kaun' can't do business like a popcorn entertainer or a romantic film would do.
"...I could have earned lots of crores by doing hundreds of more 'Rangeela' that came my way. But I said no to all that and others did it and made money. I had moved to 'Kaun' or 'Pinjar'. Even in commercial space I was offered exciting and different parts like 'Dillagi'. There was no repetition in my work," Urmila told PTI ..

I took risks and I did pay a price for it: Urmila Matondkar

With an unusual story about a protagonist suffering from Tourette syndrome, Sidharth P Malhotra approached a lot of producers for "Hichki" only to get rejected, but the director is now beaming with a smile and enjoying the success of the film.
The Rani Mukerji-starrer, which released last week, has been lauded by both the critics as well as the audience, and Malhotra is "still numb" that the movie he "breathed, lived, consumed" for five years is getting overwhelming response at the box-office.
"I pitched it to every person in the world and everyone told me 'don't make a film about a teacher, what is Tourette syndrome, are you mad and this isn't a commercial film'. Some heard me, some said I've lost the plot," Malhotra told PTI.
"Then even I questioned myself - do I have it in me, have I really lost it? I went through this many times. I've been really fortunate that I got Yash RajFilms to back my story," he adds.
Malhotra says he holds no grudges towards anyone for rejecting the ...

People told me not make a film like 'Hichki': Sidharth P Malhotra

Akshay Kumar and Hrithik Roshan have praised Tiger Shroff's performance in "Baaghi 2", calling him Bollywood's next action star.
"Baaghi 2", directed by Ahmed Khan and also featuring Disha Patani, minted Rs 25.10 crore of the first day of its release.
Akshay compared Tiger to Thai action hero Tony Jaa, best known for "Ong Bak" and "Tom-Yum-Goong" films, and said the actor is a "force to reckon with" in Bollywood.
"Take a bow Tiger Shroff. Bollywood can proudly announce that we have our very own Tony Jaa in the industry. Your action is a force to be reckoned with. #Baaghi2," Akshay tweeted.
Calling Akshay the original action star of Hindi films, Tiger said, "Thank you so much sir means the world coming from you! But we had you much before me and thank you for giving guys like me an opportunity to follow after you."
Hrithik, who will star along side Tiger in an upcoming YRF project, lauded the 28-year-old actor for his performance in the film.
"Tiger Shroff! You've done it! I'm now ...

Akshay, Hrithik hail Tiger Shroff as Bollywood's new action star

He has been acting in Bollywood for 14 years now but it was in the last couple of years that Pankaj Tripathi finally tasted success and the actor says the new found fame is good but is nothing more than an "illusion".
Since making his debut in "Run" in 2004, Tripathi has acted in many films and has received critical acclaim for his performance in movies such as "Apaharan", "Omkara", "Gangs of Wasseypur" series and "Nil Battey Sanaata".
And by doing author-backed roles in mainstream hits like "Dabangg 2", "Fukrey", "Gunday", "Singham Returns", "Bareilly ki Barfi" and "Fukrey Returns", he also won audiences' hearts.
In an interview with PTI, Tripathi spoke about new-found fame, how the success changed the outlook of industry people towards him, the increasing number of offers and his priorities in life.
"Fame is nice but it is also an illusion. May be, it won't be there 10 years later. I won't lose my mind now that I have fame, nor will I lose myself once it goes away.
"I am a Sufi guy, 

Fame is nice but it is an illusion: Pankaj Tripathi

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has lauded the makers of "Blackmail", calling the film "delightful" watch with a "unique story".
The comedy, directed by Abhinay Deo, features an ensemble cast of  Irrfan Khan, Kirti Kulhari, Divya Dutta, Arunoday Singh, Omi Vaidya, Anuja Sathe and others.
The makers of the film, Bhushan Kumar and Abhinay Deo had hosted a special screening for Bachchan on behalf of Irrfan, who is indisposed due to his health issues.
Taking to Twitter, the 75-year-old star lauded the films screenplay and performance by the cast.
" Saw a delightful film today... 'Blackmail'... A brilliant screenplay, unique story, exemplary performances and great presentation and editing. Actors excel from Irrfan Khan to some fresh new faces. So happy to see such creativity," Bachchan tweeted.
The film will release on April 6 as per its original schedule after Irrfan, who was recently diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour, stressed that his illness should not affect the movie.

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