Page 291 - Entertainment Culture

'Perry Mason' gets series order at HBO

Robert Downey Jr-produced "Perry Mason" series has been picked up by HBO. The series, starring "The Americans" actor Matthew Rhys, will be helmed by Tim Van Patten, best known for directing many episodes of "The Sopranos", "Boardwalk Empire" and "Game of Thrones". Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald will be serving as writers and showrunners. Based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner, the limited series is set in 1932 Los Angeles and follows the origins of American fiction's most legendary criminal defense lawyer (Rhys). When a child kidnapping case breaks down his door, Mason's relentless pursuit of the truth reveals a fractured city and just maybe, a pathway to redemption for himself. The show will be executive produced by Downey Jr, Susan Downey and Amanda Burrell of Team Downey, along with Jones, Fitzgerald, Joe Horacek and Van Patten. Rhys will also serve as producer.

Kangana Ranaut to play Jayalalithaa in biopic

Actress Kangana Ranaut, who recently delivered a hit film 'ManikarnikaFilm critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh took to his Instagram account to share the news: "The biopic would be made in two languages titled 'Thalaivi' in Tamil and 'Jaya' in Hindi.""#BigNews: Kangana Ranaut to play Jayalalithaa... Biopic will be made in two languages. Titled #Thalaivi in Tamil and #Jaya in Hindi... Directed by AL Vijay... Written by KV Vijayendra Prasad [#Baahubali and #Manikarnika]... Produced by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Shaailesh R Singh."The movie will be helmed by AL Vijay, known for directing movies like Madrasapattinam and Deiva Thirumagal.The film is penned by KV Vijayendra Prasad of Baahubali and Manikarnika fame and produced by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Shaailesh R Singh.

'The Conners' renewed for second season by ABC

"Roseanne" spin-off, "The Conners", has landed a second season order at ABC. The spin-off, starring John Goodman, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson, Ames McNamara and Laurie Metcalf, was born out of a controversy surrounding "Roseanne" lead star Roseanne Barr. The original show was cancelled in the aftermath of Barr's racist tweets against former President Barack Obama's aide Valerie Jarrett. "The Connors", which debuted in the US in October last year, revolved around the family of Roseanne Conner (Barr) grappling with her sudden death due to opioid abuse. The spin-off was a solid performer for the network as it averaged 9.5 million viewers per episode in the first season, reported Variety. "We are proud to be continuing the story of the iconic Conner family. This team is fearless in their willingness to tackle contemporary issues with humour and heart, and I have no doubt they will continue to outdo themselves," said ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke in a statement. The first season .

New 'Scooby-Doo' film casts Zac Efron as Fred, Amanda Seyfried as Daphne

Actors Zac Efron and Amanda Seyfried have joined the cast of the new animated Scooby-Doo film. According to Variety, Efron, 31, will take on the role of Fred Jones, while Seyfried, 33, will voice star as Daphne Blake. The film, titled "Scooby", is set to be directed by Tony Cervone from a script by Matt Lieberman. The two stars join Will Forte, Gina Rodriguez, Tracy Morgan and Frank Welker in the project. Forte will lend voice to the iconic character of Shaggy, the best friend of Scooby-Doo, who will be voiced by Welker in the animated feature. Rodriguez will take on the role of Velma, the brains of the group known as Mystery Inc, while Morgan will voice star as Captain Caveman, a character who has appeared in other Hanna Barbera cartoons, but not the original "Scooby-Doo". The story sees the Mystery Inc. gang join forces with other heroes of the Hanna-Barbera universe to save the world from Dick Dastardly and his evil plans. The film has a release date of May 2020. The last ...

Idris Elba in talks for Fox's 'Mouse Guard' film

British star Idris Elba is in negotiations to join the cast of Fox Studios' fantasy action film "Mouse Guard". Based on David Petersen's comics and graphic novel of the same name, the film will be directed by "Maze Runner" helmer Wes Ball, reported Variety. If finalised, the 46-year-old actor will join actors Andy Serkis and Thomas Brodie-Sangster in the project. The story, set in a medieval world, is about an order of mice who are the sworn protectors of their realm. Their enemies range from predators such as foxes and eagles to other rodents. Serkis, who recently directed and starred in "Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle", will be essaying the villainous blacksmith, Midnight. Brodie-Sangster, best known for playing Jojen Reed on "Game of Thrones", will be portraying Lieam, one of the Mouse Guard's youngest members. The film will be shot using motion capture technology which Serkis has mastered while working on his "Lord of the Rings" and "Planet of the Apes" series. Director Matt Reeves,

Salman bonds with nephew Ahil, sister Arpita

Salman Khan's sister Arpita shared a heart-melting photograph of the superstar bonding with his nephew Ahil.

Netflix orders coming-of-age comedy series from Mindy Kaling

Actor-comedian Mindy Kaling is working on a new Netflix series which will be inspired by her own childhood. The 10-episode series is about the complicated life of a modern-day first generation Indian American teenage girl, the streaming giant said in a statement. Kaling, who has created the series, will write and executive produce it. She will also serve as showrunner alongside Lang Fisher, who collaborated with her on "The Mindy Project". Howard Klein and David Miner will be co-executive producers.

Janelle Monae to star in film from Gerard Bush Christopher Renz

Singer-actor Janelle Monae is all set to star in the debut film of activists Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz. The activist-turned-director duo have worked on campaigns for the MLK Memorial Foundation and Amnesty International, in addition to directing Jay-Z's music video "Kill Jay Z" and the police brutality PSA "Against the Wall", starring Michael B. Jordan, Danny Glover, and Michael K Williams, reported Deadline. The yet-untitled project hails from Lionsgate Studios. The film will be produced by Ray Mansfield and Sean McKittrick of QC Entertainment, along with Zev Foreman and Lezlie Wills.

Kangana to play Jayalalithaa in biopic 'Thalaivi'

Actress Kangana Ranaut, last seen on screen in "Manikarnika", will be playing late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa in the upcoming multilingual biopic "Thalaivi", its makers have announced.

Want to make women feel confident: Zendaya

Actress Zendaya says her Spring 2019 TommyXZendaya collection was created to make "every woman feel confident".

Diane Kruger dreamed of being female Bond

Actress Diane Kruger, who has played the role of a spy in "The Operative", says she had a dream of playing female James Bond in films.

DJ Snake calls SRK a 'legend' in his latest post

The craze for Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan knows no boundaries. From top Hollywood celebrities to well-known musicians from across the world, all love Badshah of Bollywood.The latest star to join the fan list is none other than French DJ and record producer from Paris, William Sami Etienne Grigahcine, popularly known as DJ Snake.The international sensation, who landed in Mumbai, a day before Holi for an event, shared a photo with SRK, calling him a "Legend."Sharing the frame, the duo can be seen posing for the camera, as they joined hands doing Namastey together.While DJ Snake can be seen dressed in a multi-colored outfit, SRK donned a plain black tee.The international music producer has been documenting his visit to India on his Instagram stories.This is not the first time a renowned foreign artist has expressed his love for the Indian star. SRK's fan base also includes Hugh Jackman, James Cameron, Akon, Leonardo Di Caprio, and Brad Pitt, to name a few.

Indian music, Bollywood set to wow Brazil

The Brazilian music festival Rock in Rio this year will put the spotlight on Asia by showcasing musicians, dancers and folkloric spectacles from India, China and Japan, its organisers said.

Haven't written songs for Modi biopic: Javed Akhtar

Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar on Friday denied writing songs for Omung Kumar B directorial film "PM Narendra Modi".

Javed Akhtar shocked to find his name on 'PM Narendra Modi' credits

Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar on Friday said he has not written any song for Vivek Oberoi-starrer "PM Narendra Modi" and he is shocked to find his name in the credits of the film's trailer. The 74-year-old writer shared a photo of the credits, where his name appears alongside other lyricists Prasoon Joshi, Sameer, Abhendra Kumar Upadhyay, Sardaraa,Parry G and Lavraj. "(I) am shocked to find my name on the poster of this film. Have not written any songs for it!" Akhtar wrote on the microblogging site. His post was retweeted by his wife, veteran actor Shabana Azmi. The first trailer of the Omung Kumar-directed biopic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, featuring Oberoi in the lead, released on Wednesday. The film, which also features Boman Irani, Manoj Joshi, Zarina Wahab and Prashant Narayanan, releases on April 5 countrywide.

Alia's first visit to Gaiety for 'First class'

Actress Alia Bhatt, who is playing one of the leading ladies in the upcoming film "Kalank", on Friday visited Mumbai's iconic Gaiety theatre for the first time in her life.

'First Class' song from the movie 'Kalank' is out

The wait is over for the fans with the release of another song from film Kalank starring Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan. Dhawan took to his Instagram account to share the picture of the song.The song choreographed by Remo D'Souza, features Varun Dhawan and Kiara Advani. The song has been composed by Pritam and sung by Arijit Singh. Bhatt took to her Twitter to share the video of the song.The song begins with teary-eyed Bhatt sitting with Sidharth Malhotra in the Mandap. As the song progresses, Dhawan makes a stunning entry with his energy packed dance and later Advani joins him and dances with him.Adorning the traditional Indian outfit, Advani looks breathtakingly gorgeous in the song. Earlier, the makers had released the melodious track 'Ghar More Pardesiya' featuring Madhuri Dixit and Bhatt in jugalbandi.With a star-studded cast of Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Madhuri Dixit, Sonakshi Sinha, Aditya Roy Kapur, and Sanjay Dutt, this period drama set in the 1940s India, is definitely going to

It's fab to work with Vijay, Atlee: Jackie Shroff

Actor Jackie Shroff, who has joined the sets of the upcoming movie tentatively titled "Thalapathy 63", describes working with Tamil actor Vijay and the film's director Atlee as fabulous.

Shah Rukh Khan backs Karan Johar on viral tweet, blames his 'fat fingers'

Bollywood powerhouse Shah Rukh Khan backed his best friend and filmmaker Karan Johar after the latter liked an offensive tweet against SRK. Jumping to his friend's defense, SRK took to his Twitter handle and wrote, "I hate clarifications on SM. @karanjohar is technologically challenged but has other good qualities like his taste in clothes!? Just like Life, twitter doesn't come with instructions, so mistakes r natural.... & also he has fat fingers. Go easy all, Make Lov not War...it's more fun."This comes almost an hour after KJo tweeted clarifying his stance on the situation. Fans of SRK assumed that the like was intentional, until Karan himself tweeted to clear the air, calling it a "technical problem" with his Twitter account."Guys having a technical problem with my twitter account! Strange things are going on! from uploading shoe picture and gibberish to liking tweets I haven't even read and would NEVER even acknowledge! Please bear with me and I apologise for any ...

'How To Train Your Dragon' is best avoided

Film: "How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (animation), Director: Dean DeBlois, Rating: * ½ (one and a half stars)