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Celine Dion halts tour due to rare neurological disorder
Deutsche Welle
09 Dec 2022, 11:22
Stiff-Person Syndrome affects one in a million people. The star vocalist has cancelled performances and said she is receiving support from doctors to improve her condition.
Acclaimed singer Celine Dion has halted her upcoming tour and cancelled shows in Europe after she was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder.
The Canadian singer announced on Thursday that she had been diagnosed with Stiff-Person Syndrome, which causes spasms that affect her ability to walk and sing.
What did Celine say?
"Unfortunately, the spasms affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I'm used to,'' Dion said in an emotional video posted to Instagram.
"It hurts me to tell you today this means I won't be ready to restart my tour in Europe in February," she added.
The "Courage" world tour — which was halted at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 — was due to continue in Europe in early 2023.
Most of those concerts have now been postponed until 2024, while others have been cancelled altogether.
What do we know about the disorder?
Stiff-Person Syndrome causes muscle stiffness and spasms. The exact cause of the condition is unknown, and there is no cure.
It affects around one in a million people, normally between the ages of 30 to 60, and affects twice as many women as men.
The 54-year-old singer is receiving support from doctors and her children to improve her condition.
"All I know is singing, it's what I've done all my life and it's what I love to do the most," Dion said, breaking into tears.
The performer from Quebec rose to worldwide stardom in the 1990s with hits like "The Power of Love," "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" and "Titanic" theme "My Heart Will Go On."
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'We Live in Time' director calls Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh 'extraordinary'
In a recent interview, director John Crowley praised his leads, Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, for their performances in 'We Live in Time'. He highlighted the chemistry between the two actors and described their performances as thrilling. The film is currently in post-production.
Director John Crowley, in a recent interview, raved about and praised Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh - his leads for 'We Live in Time'. John is well-known for his work in 'Boy A' and 'Brooklyn', is all set for the upcoming film. The film, which is currently in post-production, marks his reunion with actor Andrew Garfield after a gap of 15 years. The film also features actor Florence Pugh.
In a recent interview on the UCC Talking Pictures podcast, Crowley spoke highly of the chemistry between Garfield and Pugh in the film. He mentioned that while Garfield has grown significantly in his craft over the years, Pugh, despite being relatively new in her career, has shown immense fearlessness.
He said, "It was a blast. And you know, it's sort of 15 years or something 16 years since I worked with Andrew, and so much that he's done so much in his work in that time, both on film and on stage. And he's still the same creature he was but, craft wise, you know, he's very, very sophisticated. He developed how he works, which is incredible to see, and a gift on set. And Florence is earlier in our in her career, but it's like, it's like watching a rocket man or something when she's just fearless."
Source: India Today
The Lion King' prequel released
The first look of the much-awaited prequel to 'The Lion King', 'Mufasa: The Lion King', has been released. The film delves into the origins of the iconic Disney character, Mufasa.
The live-action film 'Mufasa: The Lion King' by Barry Jenkins has revealed its first look. The prequel to the 2019 blockbuster hit, 'The Lion King', shared the first glimpse of Mufasa on a rock on Thursday, over two years since the title poster was released. The film aims to explore the backstory of Mufasa and his relationship with his brother, Scar.
Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr. are the voices of Mufasa and Scar, respectively. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jeremy Irons will also provide supporting roles to unidentified characters. Billy Eichner will voice Timon, the meerkat, and John Kani will lend his voice for Rafiki, the baboon. Seth Rogen will voice Pumbaa, the warthog.
The film is a notable addition to the 'The Lion King' franchise, which is one of the most iconic and well-received animated movies, grossing over $960 million. The film arrives five years after the 2019 live-action remake, which, despite mixed reviews, grossed over $1 billion worldwide.
Attendees at D23 Expo 2022 got a sneak peek of the film, showcasing Mufasa's early life as an orphaned cub in a harsh desert before his journey to Pride Rock. 'Mufasa: The Lion King' marks Jenkins' third directorial venture after 'Moonlight' and 'If Beale Street Could Talk' and is set to release on December 20.
Source: India Today
ABBA: Unexpected success story that started 50 years ago
On March 6, 1974, the Swedish pop band ABBA won the 19th Eurovision Song Contest, held in the English seaside resort of Brighton. Nobody expected the five strangely dressed Swedes with a song about Napoleon to win.
The bookies had put their money on British singer Olivia Newton-John. She was already a star at the time and the clear favorite. Singer Gigliola Cinquetti, who had already lifted the trophy for Italy in 1964, was also given good odds. But Sweden? The country had never won the competition before, and nobody believed it would. The band ABBA was unknown outside their home country. Their previous attempt to win Eurovision the year before with the song "Ring Ring" was thwarted when they failed to advance past the preliminary round. But in 1974, the stars aligned for them: At the "Melodifestivalen," as the Swedish preliminary round is called, the quartet won with "Waterloo" and was allowed to travel to England to represent Sweden. The rest is music history.
Napoleon's Waterloo reinterpreted as a love song
Thirty-two countries participated in the event, at that time still known as the "Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson." When ABBA's performance was announced as the eighth of a total of 17 that evening, a man dressed as Napoleon walked out on stage. His name was Sven-Olof Walldoff, and he was to conduct the song that would make ABBA famous. He was followed by Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad — not in historical costume, but in glittery clothes, velvet pants and dizzyingly high platform shoes.
Their song was written by the band's manager, Stig Anderson. He hummed it to Ulvaeus and Andersson over the phone and they composed the music for it in the isolation of the island of Viggso. It's about love, and surrendering to it the way the French commander Napoleon capitulated at the Battle of Waterloo. In addition to this song, the band also considered the track "Hasta Manana" to be a promising Eurovision entry. But Stig was against it "Just leave it to me to decide which song we take," he allegedly said to Ulvaeus and Andersson. "If it goes wrong, you can kill me afterwards." There was no murder. On the contrary: Abba won the competition with 24 points, ahead of Italy with 18.
Betting to win
For Anderson, the victory was not the most important goal. He was most concerned with introducing ABBA to a television audience of some 500 million people, and to sell a lot of records. Still, he was optimistic and even bet 120 British pounds that his group would win.
"Waterloo" lasted no longer than two minutes and 45 seconds. And 90 minutes later, ABBA were the winners of the Grand Prix. But the presentation of the award was delayed when an usher refused to let Ulvaeus on stage, unable to believe that this man in a strange glittery outfit was actually a contestant. The Swede later found the confusion understandable, saying, "no one ever got onstage dressed as badly and ugly as we were."
'Waterloo' storms the charts
Immediately after the contest in Brighton, "Waterloo" was released as a single in 54 countries and reached the top ten in almost 20 of them. In Germany and the UK, it became the first of many ABBA singles to hit number one. The song was recorded in Swedish, English, German and French and the single sold more than 5 million copies. In 2004, the song even reached number 20 on the British charts when it was re-released for its 30th anniversary. And on October 22, 2005, "Waterloo" was voted "best song in the history of the competition" at the 50th Eurovision Song Contest.
ABBA forever — even virtually
Benny Andersson later said the Swedes were at first dismissed as a one-hit wonder whose fame would soon fade. Nothing could have been further from the truth. In the ensuing 50 years, ABBA has sold 400 million records, landed 17 number-one hits — such as "The Winner Takes It All," "Dancing Queen," "Thank You For The Music" and "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme" — opened their own dedicated museum, and produced "Mamma Mia!," a successful stage musical for more than 20 years now. It was also adapted into a hit movie.
The fact that the band actually broke up in 1982 has done nothing to dampen their success. For decades, fans hoped for a reunion, and the quartetfinally obliged in 2021 with the album "Voyage" and a virtual reality concert show featuring their digitally-produced "Abbatars." And of course, the set list for the show included — what else? — "Waterloo."
Angelina Jolie alleges ‘history’ of Brad Pitt’s physical abuse
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s fight over the French winery they once owned together is coming to a head and reigniting older conflicts, as new legal documents allege a “history of physical abuse of Jolie” on the part of Pitt prior to their fateful plane ride in 2016.
On Thursday, Jolie filed a motion with the Los Angeles Superior Court, a copy of which CNN has obtained, wherein she claims that she attempted to sell Pitt her stake in the Miraval winery and that their negotiations ultimately broke down after Pitt conditioned the sale on Jolie signing an NDA that “prohibited Jolie from speaking (other than in court) about Pitt’s abuse of Jolie and their children by attempting to tie Pitt’s personal reputation to Miraval’s business.”
This week’s new filing stems from Pitt’s 2022 lawsuit, in which he claimed that he and Jolie had an agreement that neither would sell their stake in the winery without the other’s consent. In a June 2023 filing, he alleged that Jolie’s sale of her stake in the winery was “vindictive” after an “adverse custody ruling.”
Jolie also claims in Thursday’s filing that Pitt’s “history of physical abuse of Jolie started well before the family’s September 2016 plane trip from France to Los Angeles,” but does not go into further detail about the alleged prior abuse.
“At trial, Jolie will prove through testimony, emails, photographs, and other evidence why Pitt was so concerned about his own misconduct that he blew up his own deal to purchase Jolie’s interest in Miraval because she refused to agree to his new, expansive NDA,” the filing reads.
Jolie claims in the filing on Thursday that she agreed to sign an NDA that was “limited to not disparaging Miraval’s wine business” as part of her initial deal to sell Pitt her stake in the winery, which they were close to finalizing at the time.
Pitt had previously claimed in his June 2023 amended complaint that after Jolie would not agree to sign his NDA, she proposed an even broader NDA that “would have provided that “[o]ther than in court pleadings or testimony, neither party shall directly or through a party’s representatives make in a public forum any derogatory remark about the other party.”
CNN has reached out to a representative for Pitt seeking comment on the new allegations outlined in Thursday’s filing.
“Mr. Pitt refused to purchase Ms. Jolie’s interest when she would not be silenced by his NDA. By refusing to buy her interest but then suing her, Mr. Pitt put directly at issue why that NDA was so important to him and what he hoped it would bury: his abuse of Ms. Jolie and their family,” Paul Murphy, Jolie’s attorney, told CNN in a statement on Thursday. “After eight months of delays, this motion asks the Court to force Mr. Pitt to finally produce that evidence.”
Jolie never ended up pressing charges against Pitt in relation to the 2016 altercation, according to the filing, because she believed “the best course was for Pitt to accept responsibility and help the family recover from the post-traumatic stress he caused.”
CNN previously reported that Pitt was not arrested or charged in connection with the 2016 incident after the FBI completed its investigation, and a representative for Pitt disputed Jolie’s account of that incident included in an October 2022 filing. Pitt’s representative said in a statement to CNN at the time that “Brad has accepted responsibility for what he did but will not for things he didn’t do.”
In October 2021, Jolie sold her half of the winery to Tenute del Mondo, a subsidiary of Stoli Group, controlled by Russian oligarch Yuri Shefler.
The ongoing legal proceedings and “Pitt’s unyielding attempts to control and punish Jolie continue to take a huge emotional and financial toll on her and their family,” the filing reads. “Jolie longs for their family to be able to heal and their children to be spared further pain and trauma, and truly wishes Pitt would want the same too.”
Jolie filed for divorce from Pitt in 2016. They were declared legally single in 2019, and a joint custody arrangement was established in 2021.
Legal proceedings as they pertain to the Miraval dispute also remain ongoing. The former couple purchased the country estate and winery in the south of France in 2008.
Source: CNN
Allu Arjun gets rousing welcome from die-hard fans on his 42nd birthday
Allu Arjun, who is awaiting the release of 'Pushpa: The Rule', was in for a surprise as he turned 42 on April 8.
Hundreds of his fans gathered outside his house in Hyderabad at midnight to greet him on his birthday. Overwhelmed by their love, Allu Arjun greeted them, waved at them and also thanked them for coming all the way to wish him. His fans gave him the loudest cheer on his birthday.
A video of Allu Arjun waving to his fans outside his home is now going viral. In the video, he can also be seen greeting them with folded hands. He blew flying kisses to them as they chanted 'Pushpa' several times.
Source: India Today
Robert Downey on Jimmy Kimmel's Oscar joke about his addiction: Don't care
Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr recently opened up about the viral joke that host Jimmy Kimmel had made about the actor's addiction issues on Oscars night.
Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr has finally opened up about how he feels regarding host Jimmy Kimmel's viral Oscar joke regarding his addiction issues. While many people deemed the joke problematic, Downey Jr himself is not too bothered about it.
Speaking to Esquire, Robert Downey Jr said, "I don’t care. I love Jimmy Kimmel. I think he’s a national treasure.”
That night, Downey won an Oscar for his role in the Christopher Nolan directorial, Oppenheimer. Prior to his win, Kimmel had made a joke about how the night is one of the 'highest' points of his career. The camera then panned to Downey, who laughed and pointed towards his nose and then mimed the words 'keep it moving' to Jimmy.
In the same interview, Downey's close friend, Jodie Foster, said that she was worried for Downey's health at one point.
“I took him aside at one point during filming and said, ‘Look, I couldn’t be more grateful for what you’ve given in this film. But I’m scared of what happens to you next. Right now, you are incredibly good at balancing on the barstool. But it’s really precarious, and I’m not sure how that’s going to end,'” Jodie told the publication.
Downey has been open about battling addiction.
On the work front, he will next be seen in Park Chan-wook's TV series, The Sympathizer.
Source: India Today
Shakib is the prince of my life: Bubly
Love, marriage, children, then separation, this news is not unknown to Shakib-Bubly fans. The two celebrities have not lived under the same roof for a long time.
Mentioning that there is no place for any other man in her life except Bubly Shakib, the heroine said, "Shakib is the prince of my life. He is the only man i love."
Marrying Shakib is a wrong decision of life, did it ever feel like that? In response to such a question, Bubly said, yes it seems. Because, in many difficult times of my life, when I needed him by my side, I did not have him by my side. At that time, it seemed that the decision to marry him was wrong.
"My son is everything now. No love, no relationship can get close to me. In the future, I will spend time with films, children, family," she added.
