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Culture

The latest published reporting in this category.

Entertainment

‘Too many stories exist only to make you think you’re on the right side’: Cristian Mungiu on Fjord, the Cannes winner that divided Europe

The Romanian auteur’s new film could have been the kind of homogenous ‘Europudding’ he’s railed against for years. Instead, it’s a culture-clash skewering of conservative and liberal values worthy of its Palme d’Or ‘Pffff!” Cristian Mungiu lets out an exasperated sigh. We are sitting in the basement of a London hotel, at the end of a long morning of back-to-back interviews for the Romanian film-maker, and his press handler has just snuck into the room to remind him of his next appointment across town. But Mungiu blanks him and leans on to his table, because he wants to tell one more story. In

The Guardian
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Entertainment

This extraordinary new Hamlet turns Shakespeare inside out with infinite jest – and cuddly toys

Sadler’s Wells East, London Ben Duke’s clever, witty and wholly unpredictable new show, The Last Hamlet, takes big liberties with the story that pay off Hamlet is trying to get a hire car. He has missed his dad’s funeral because he was at a silent retreat, dealing with his abandonment issues and the disturbing memory of a year 7 disco when his uncle and mum danced together to Yazoo’s Only You. There have been many takes on the troubled Prince of Denmark, but performer/director Ben Duke, co-founder of Lost Dog, has a talent for fresh readings. If Duke has a shtick – which after similar reworkin

The Guardian
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Entertainment

‘It’s a new world. It’s a little fascistic. And it needs a different response’: U2 on 50 years together – and why Bono can’t work with Trump

After some so-so albums, can U2’s new one, Carnaval de Luz, restore them to glory? They discuss male egos, working with Dolly Parton, and explain why, despite Trump, they still believe in democracy – at least in their band La Petite Maison, in Nice, has a certain reputation as a five-star celebrity haunt. Beyoncé eats here. So do Elton John, Tom Cruise, Harry Styles and Leonardo DiCaprio, their meals presided over by the restaurant’s founder, Nicole, variously described in print as “eccentric”, “unique” and “truculent” (she’s standing by the entrance when I arrive, and suffice to say, doesn’t

The Guardian
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Entertainment

Rise of the Rockstar Chef review – Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White serve up the most sizzling TV of the year

Heston Blumenthal is a third wheel as the pair reveal all about their culinary stardom and infamous beef. Expect endless juicy gossip, from pan-throwing to gatecrashing weddings … and mid-service kitchen sex Never mind the scallops, here’s the Chef Pistols. Rise of the Rockstar Chef portrays the fine-dining dons of the 90s and 00s in the manner of a band biopic. In place of musical differences is a stolen reservations book and an argument about red mullet that reduced Gordon Ramsay to tears. How’s that for a kitchen nightmare? As Ramsay, Marco Pierre White and Heston Blumenthal look back at th

The Guardian
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Entertainment

Russell Brand faces ‘significant’ prison term for rape and sexual assault

Actor and comedian, 51, found guilty of raping a woman and assaulting three others Flashbulbs, lies and victim blaming: how Russell Brand’s trial unfolded The downfall of Russell Brand: from Big Brother and Hollywood to convicted rapist Russell Brand has been found guilty of raping a fan and sexually assaulting three other women, ending a years-long legal saga that has raised questions about how he was able to commit his crimes at the height of his fame. Brand, 51, was described during his trial as a ruthless, calculated and manipulative sexual predator. He was convicted of raping a woman at h

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Entertainment

‘A hero’s origins’: the true story of the first drag queen presidential candidate

In off-Broadway show Ms Blakk for President, Oscar-winning Moonlight writer Tarell Alvin McCraney explores a slice of under-appreciated queer history At the height of the Aids crisis, Chicago activist Terence Alan Smith put on his drag persona, Joan Jett Blakk, and announced she was running for president. Her slogan: “Lick Bush in ‘92!” Her platform: fire everyone in the White House and paint it pink, reroute the military budget towards education and healthcare, then give the land back to Indigenous people “and let them take it from there”. The campaign did not advance. But Blakk did make it o

The Guardian
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Entertainment

Is that an explosion, an implosion or an orgasm? Pixies bass-player Emma Richardson’s realm-leaping life in painting

Huge, ecstatic canvases are just one of the vocations of the musician who joined the art rockers in 2024. As her show Hotwire My Heart opens, she talks terror, awe and teabags Emma Richardson loves to eavesdrop when people look at her paintings and talk about what they see in them. “They turn into these Rorschach inkblot tests,” she grins. Looking at her works, you do stand back in awe wondering. Is that a nebula, a god or a fleshy, baroque orgy? An explosion, an implosion or an orgasm? Richardson implies all of these and more, her paintbrush chasing in vivid oils the hedonism, desire and brea

The Guardian
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Entertainment

‘George Lucas told me off for wearing lipstick’: Celia Imrie on Traitors, Star Wars and treating the lens like a lover

The actor answers your questions about trapeze lessons, Bond villain ambitions and Michael Caine’s top tips You looked as if you had such a good time on Celebrity Traitors last year – you had them hanging on your every word. What was it like? Who have you kept in touch with? breezehillpete They absolutely didn’t hang on my every word. I’m fascinated to watch it now, because at a distance, I can see how people follow each other. That herd mentality is very evident at the round table, but I always went in a different direction and people didn’t follow me. Then, of course, I accused Alan [Carr] a

The Guardian
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Entertainment

Full of life and catching feelings: Christine and the Queens’ greatest songs – ranked!

As the French avant-popper returns with new single Rendez-vous avec toi, we celebrate the best of an artist who uses sleek songwriting to grapple with knotty emotion Originally leaked online by the artist himself, Christine and the Queens’ fifth album, Hopecore, was released under a new name of Rahim Redcar (he’s now back to releasing as Christine and the Queens, and using Chris as his own name). Hopecore eschewed the sophisticated pop of his early years in favour of lo-fi, roughly drawn sonic sketches, and this flighty opener is built around ricocheting drum beat patterns that are eventually

The Guardian
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Entertainment

‘Children were wearing fake life jackets’: one Syrian family’s terrifying, 10-year journey

In 2015, two film-makers first met 11-year-old refugee Israa, forced to abandon Aleppo for a new life in Europe, along with her parents and siblings. None of them imagined what would come next In 2015, an 11-year-old Syrian girl called Israa matter-of-factly explained how her family would survive if their dinghy sank crossing the sea from Turkey to Greece. Her father would grab her disabled sister; her mother would look after the baby. “And I,” said Israa, a huge smile lighting her face, “I know how to rescue myself.” Wife-and-husband documentary-makers Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes met Israa w

The Guardian
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Entertainment

Rare Renaissance masterpiece hidden for 70 years could fetch £5m at auction

Exclusive: Experts say Albrecht Altdorfer’s 1520 landscape is ‘one of the most exciting discoveries imaginable’ An exceptionally rare painting, described as one of the earliest landscapes in western art, goes on auction in London next month. It was completed around 1520 by Albrecht Altdorfer, who is widely regarded as Europe’s first pure landscape oil artist. Continue reading...

The Guardian
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Entertainment

‘It’s so glossy and sexy!’: 10 movies (and one TV show) that inspired Grand Theft Auto

As GTA 6 looms, we look at the films that have influenced Rockstar’s creatives, from Heat to Bonnie and Clyde, via Boyz n the Hood and Speed Grand Theft Auto is arguably the most cinematic video game series ever made. Over the past three decades, the games have studied and stolen the themes, conventions and visual dynamism of great gangster and action movies, applying them to open worlds filled with low-life characters and grand set-piece possibilities. Here then are the movies (and TV show) that have shaped the GTA experience, from the 1996 original to this year’s inescapable instalment. Cont

The Guardian
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