fashion

Stars turn out for Valentino's funeral in Rome

  • Hollywood actress Hathaway, who attended the funeral with her husband Adam Shulman, this week paid tribute to a "titan of a designer" who was also a friend with whom she shared dancing and karaoke. 
  • Anne Hathaway and Donatella Versace were among the stars who attended the funeral Friday of legendary Italian designer Valentino Garavani, with some mourners wearing touches of his trademark red in tribute.
  • Hollywood actress Hathaway, who attended the funeral with her husband Adam Shulman, this week paid tribute to a "titan of a designer" who was also a friend with whom she shared dancing and karaoke. 
Anne Hathaway and Donatella Versace were among the stars who attended the funeral Friday of legendary Italian designer Valentino Garavani, with some mourners wearing touches of his trademark red in tribute.
Rome's Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels and of the Martyrs was decorated with wreaths of white roses while a large photo of the designer, who died on Monday aged 93, was placed in front of the altar.
Throughout a long career, Valentino dressed some of the world's most elegant women, from Elizabeth Taylor and Jackie Kennedy to Princess Diana, Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Hollywood actress Hathaway, who attended the funeral with her husband Adam Shulman, this week paid tribute to a "titan of a designer" who was also a friend with whom she shared dancing and karaoke. 
He "made my world so much brighter, grander and more delightful than I could have ever understood it to be", she wrote on Instagram.
"Now he rests forever surrounded by eternal beauty, a most fitting next chapter for the one true Emperor who gifted us all a legacy of unparalleled magnificence... I love you my darling, and I miss you already," she wrote.
Designers Versace, Tom Ford, Alessandro Michele -- the creative director of Valentino -- Balenciaga's Pier Paolo Piccioli, Anna Fendi and Brunello Cucinelli were also among the guests, as was fashion editor Anna Wintour.
Led by Valentino's partner Giancarlo Giammetti, most of the mourners -- who also included many of Valentino's employees -- wore black.
But several wore a red hat, scarf or shawl, recalling the designer's signature colour.
Valentino died on Monday at his home in Rome, and his coffin was put on public display at his foundation in the city centre on Wednesday and Thursday.
"We'll never find the class that Valentino had again," said one member of the public who came to pay his respects, Francesco Sangiovanni, 81.
"He conquered the world with his refinement... and he enhanced Italy, because he brought Italy to the world. The greatest people wore Valentino," he told AFP.
jra-ar/yad

film

'Navalny' director hits right notes in Sundance fiction debut

BY HUW GRIFFITH

  • Roher said the process of making a feature film had been fascinating, not least because after years in documentary, he was suddenly working with actors.
  • Academy Award-winning documentary director Daniel Roher was back at Sundance on Thursday for the film festival's opening day, showcasing a sharp turn in his work.
  • Roher said the process of making a feature film had been fascinating, not least because after years in documentary, he was suddenly working with actors.
Academy Award-winning documentary director Daniel Roher was back at Sundance on Thursday for the film festival's opening day, showcasing a sharp turn in his work.
Roher, whose "Navalny" scooped Best Documentary Oscar for its poignant telling of the life of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, shifted gears into fiction for "Tuner," starring Dustin Hoffman and Leo Woodall.
Part odd-couple, part heartbreaking romance and part thriller, "Tuner" was the answer to the question: "Now what?" after Roher scooped Hollywood's biggest prize in 2023, the director said.
"I was 29 and I was sitting there thinking to myself: 'What... do I do now?" Roher told an audience in Park City, Utah.
"I actually fell into this little rut... I didn't feel like making anything. I was really scared and overwhelmed by the magnitude of the moment and everything."
A chance encounter with a piano tuner -- the husband of his wife's friend -- set him wondering what this previously unconsidered profession was all about.
"He was like, 'it's about atrophy and entropy and the forces of the universe'," he said. "'They want to pull these strings out of tune, and it's my job to keep them in tune so people can play'."
"And I was like: let me write this down."
Hoffman -- in stunning form as the eccentric owner of a piano tuning business who refuses to wear his hearing aids -- plays mentor and father figure to Woodall's Nikki, a talented former pianist who had to stop playing because his oversensitive hearing makes any kind of loud noise impossible.
Alone on a tuning job one evening in a wealthy house, Nikki meets a gang of thieves who discover his incredible hearing means he can crack safes.
What starts out as a side-earner quickly degenerates, and Nikki is thrust into dangerous situations that jeopardise his burgeoning relationship with a gifted composition student, played by Havana Rose Liu.
Roher said the process of making a feature film had been fascinating, not least because after years in documentary, he was suddenly working with actors.
"Everything they do is just bizarre, but interesting and fascinating," he said. "I have tremendous respect for them, for their abilities, for the way that they operate. But I don't understand it."
Working with a veteran like Hoffman, whom he called a "legend" of the screen, however, helped put him at ease.
"He treated me like it was 1968, I was Mike Nichols, and we were shooting (Hoffman's breakout film) 'The Graduate'.
"He called me sir. He called me boss. And he just loved being there."

Rescue

Elsewhere at Sundance on Thursday, filmgoers got their first look at "Hanging By A Wire."
Director Mohammed Ali Naqvi's pacey documentary tells the real life story of the rescue of Pakistani schoolboys stranded hundreds of feet above a Himalayan valley in a rusting cable car when wires snap.
Told largely through footage filmed by the hundreds of terrified villagers who gathered below, the film showcases how the ubiquity of the cellphone and connections to social media affect the way that events unfold.
It is through grainy online footage that a local journalist first becomes aware of the drama. Her report, boosted by stunning drone footage provided by a local amateur, alerts the international media and galvanises a rescue response.
The military, police, a local zipline entrepreneur and a have-a-go hero are all involved in the pulse-racing rescue.
For Naqvi, the pacing and feel of the film needed to be as urgent and driving as if it were fiction.
"I love action thriller films from the '80s and 90s, and those are some of the films that have inspired us to make this," Naqvi told a Sundance audience.
Other highlights of the opening day included debut director Louis Paxton's dark comedy "The Incomer," which is infused with Scottish folklore.
Domhnall Gleeson ("Harry Potter") plays the man from the council sent to evict oddball islanders, Isla and Sandy (Gayle Rankin and Grant O'Rourke).
Inevitably, he is sucked in to the weird island life, in a film that explores loneliness and fitting in.
Sundance runs until February 1.
hg/lga/cms

entertainment

NYC sues to block Dr. Phil-fronted police TV show

  • Dr. Phil is the stage name of Phil McGraw, who was made famous to daytime television audiences by Oprah Winfrey, who had him on her show, and went on to host his own long-running series as a tough-talking psychologist. 
  • New York City has sued to block a TV show about the police department fronted by celebrity psychologist Dr. Phil that local officials say is "extremely problematic."
  • Dr. Phil is the stage name of Phil McGraw, who was made famous to daytime television audiences by Oprah Winfrey, who had him on her show, and went on to host his own long-running series as a tough-talking psychologist. 
New York City has sued to block a TV show about the police department fronted by celebrity psychologist Dr. Phil that local officials say is "extremely problematic."
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, the city argues episodes of "Behind the Badge," which was given the green light by former mayor Eric Adams, "pose an imminent threat to the life and safety of active NYPD officers." 
"For example, the faces, voices, and names of undercover officers conducting operations in plainclothes are not obscured," the complaint alleges.
"There are numerous other pieces of harmful footage that cannot be released to the public. For example, the identities of individuals in NYPD custody are depicted in the rough cuts without any blurring or redactions applied to their faces."
The city, now led by Democratic mayor Zohran Mamdani, is asking the court to prohibit the sale, distribution, or broadcast of the material, which a New York State Supreme Court judge temporarily granted on Wednesday.
"The  Production  company is disappointed that this lawsuit was filed without advance notice and an opportunity to respond to the request for a restraint on publication which the United States Constitution prohibits," said Chip Babcock, a lawyer for the TV show.
Dr. Phil is the stage name of Phil McGraw, who was made famous to daytime television audiences by Oprah Winfrey, who had him on her show, and went on to host his own long-running series as a tough-talking psychologist. 
Since his eponymous show was dropped from the network television, the 75-year-old has transitioned to other reality television ventures for his own channel.
Mamdani has sought to chart a starkly different course from his predecessor Adams, a flamboyant former police captain known for his idiosyncratic style and love of publicity.
On Friday, a judge will hold a hearing on the documentary that is produced by TV talkshow host Dr. Phil's son Jordan McGraw and his production company McGraw Media, court filings showed.
pel/gw/sla

film

'Sinners' breaks all-time Oscars record with 16 nominations

BY ANDREW MARSZAL

  • Recently appointed Academy president Lynette Howell Taylor opened the early-morning announcement in Los Angeles with a warning about the threat of artificial intelligence.
  • Vampire period horror film "Sinners" smashed the all-time Oscars record with 16 nominations, the Academy announced Thursday.
  • Recently appointed Academy president Lynette Howell Taylor opened the early-morning announcement in Los Angeles with a warning about the threat of artificial intelligence.
Vampire period horror film "Sinners" smashed the all-time Oscars record with 16 nominations, the Academy announced Thursday.
The blues-inflected race allegory from director Ryan Coogler scored nominations in nearly every category possible, including best picture.
In doing so, "Sinners" blasted past the previous record of 14, jointly held by "Titanic," "La La Land" and "All About Eve."
Coogler told industry website Deadline that the "pretty crazy" record haul of nominations was "so rewarding." 
A rare original Hollywood film that is not based on any existing franchise, "Sinners" was viewed with skepticism by many in the business before its April release, but became a $360 million global hit.
Coogler said he "did not have any expectations" for awards, adding that "people just showing up to the movies and having a good time, that would've been enough."
But its huge tally included a best actor nomination for Michael B. Jordan -- who plays twins returning home to the 1930s segregated US South -- plus nods for everything from screenplay to score.
There was also a nomination for best casting, the first new category to be added to Hollywood's most prestigious awards in more than two decades.
"One Battle After Another" came in second place with 13 nods including best picture, best actor for Leonardo DiCaprio and best director for Paul Thomas Anderson.
But its female lead, 25-year-old newcomer Chase Infiniti, was surprisingly snubbed by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voters.
Both of the top two nomination getters came from Warner Bros, the movie studio that is currently the target of a bidding war between Netflix and Paramount.
Guillermo del Toro's monster epic "Frankenstein," Timothee Chalamet's ping-pong drama "Marty Supreme" and Norwegian arthouse favorite "Sentimental Value" each bagged nine nominations.
"Hamnet," a period drama in which William Shakespeare and his wife struggle to cope with the loss of their son in plague-ravaged Elizabethan England, secured eight.
Jessie Buckley was nominated for playing the Bard's long-suffering wife Agnes, though the film's male lead Paul Mescal missed out.
"There's no part of Agnes that exists without Paul... and what he poured into this story," Buckley told The Hollywood Reporter after the announcement.

Acting races

The nominations set the stage for the 98th Oscars ceremony on March 15.
While "Sinners" tops the nominations, "One Battle" remains the frontrunner to win best picture, having won almost every precursor prize going so far this awards season.
The zany thriller about a retired revolutionary looking for his teen daughter against a wild backdrop of radical violence, immigration raids and white supremacists broke the all-time record for nominations by Hollywood's Screen Actors Guild.
DiCaprio, Chalamet and Jordan will do battle for the best actor Oscar, along with Ethan Hawke for Broadway period drama "Blue Moon," and Wagner Moura from Brazilian political thriller "The Secret Agent."
For best actress, Buckley will compete with Emma Stone playing an alien -- or is she? -- in conspiracy theorist drama "Bugonia," Renate Reinsve in "Sentimental Value," Kate Hudson in quirky music biopic "Song Sung Blue," and Rose Byrne as a struggling mom in indie hit "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You."

International voters

With the Academy's overseas voter base rapidly expanding, both "Sentimental Value" and "The Secret Agent" were nominated for best picture.
But Persian-language Palme d'Or winner "It Was Just An Accident" missed out in the top category, and will compete for best international film, along with Spain's nomadic hippie odyssey "Sirat" and heart-wrenching Palestinian docudrama "The Voice of Hind Rajab."
Pop megastar Ariana Grande surprisingly missed out on a best supporting actress nomination for her portrayal of Glinda in "Wicked: For Good," which failed to pick up any nods.
Recently appointed Academy president Lynette Howell Taylor opened the early-morning announcement in Los Angeles with a warning about the threat of artificial intelligence.
"We live in a time of limitless technology that enables us to push the boundaries of our cinematic experience," she said.
"And our profound belief is that the heartbeat of film is and will always remain unmistakably human."
amz/sst

film

Basking in Oscar nod, Russian videographer ready for Hollywood

  • "I've already dusted off the shelf for it," he joked from Prague, where he lives in exile.
  • Pavel Talankin, a self-exiled Russian videographer behind an anti-propaganda documentary nominated for an Oscar, said Thursday he was ready to go to Hollywood and had "already dusted off the shelf" for a prize.
  • "I've already dusted off the shelf for it," he joked from Prague, where he lives in exile.
Pavel Talankin, a self-exiled Russian videographer behind an anti-propaganda documentary nominated for an Oscar, said Thursday he was ready to go to Hollywood and had "already dusted off the shelf" for a prize.
David Borenstein's "Mr Nobody Against Putin", based on footage smuggled by Talankin out of Russia, was nominated in the Documentary Feature Film category.
The film exposes the intensity of pro-war propaganda at a secondary school in a small Russian town.
Talankin, 34, told AFP it was hard to put in words how he felt, but he definitely wanted now to win the Academy Award.
"I've already dusted off the shelf for it," he joked from Prague, where he lives in exile.
"I'd like to go to Hollywood," he said. "I have a visa."
Talankin used to work as an event organiser and videographer at a secondary school in the industrial town of Karabash in the Ural mountains.
After teaming up with Borenstein on a project to document the abrupt militarisation of his school in the wake of Russia's February 2022 invasion of its neighbour Ukraine, Talankin filmed patriotic lessons, songs and morning drills.
He then fled Russia with the hard discs of what would become the 90-minute award-winning documentary.
Russia outlawed all criticism of the Russian military after Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.
The project cost Talankin dearly, making him a hate figure in Russia for supporters of the war. He has left behind his mother, brothers and sisters.
Talankin said things were hard for him after he fled his native country.
But he added: "Of course it was all worth it."
When the film was shortlisted for the Oscars in December, Borenstein told AFP he was "shocked" and called the feeling "surreal".
He said Talankin "sacrificed so much to make this film and he deserves to make as big of an impact as possible".
The nominations set the stage for the 98th Academy Awards ceremony on March 15.
as/giv/jhb

fashion

Men's fashion turns to embroidery as guys want 'something different’

BY ADAM PLOWRIGHT

  • "There's a real trend for embroidery, particularly of Indian origin," he added.
  • Men's fashion is embracing embroidery and handcrafted textiles that were once viewed as old-fashioned or feminine, with a clutch of modern Indian brands poised to benefit from the catwalk and celeb-driven trend.
  • "There's a real trend for embroidery, particularly of Indian origin," he added.
Men's fashion is embracing embroidery and handcrafted textiles that were once viewed as old-fashioned or feminine, with a clutch of modern Indian brands poised to benefit from the catwalk and celeb-driven trend.
Embroidery is a historic mainstay of traditional clothing in Asia or the Middle East, as well as Western Haute Couture, but it is increasingly present in Paris, Milan or New York on modern men's shirts, bomber jackets or blazers. 
Designers at Dior, Dolce Gabbana, Kenzo or Gucci have adopted it in recent runway shows, while Louis Vuitton's celebrity rapper-designer Pharell Williams dedicated his entire June collection to India after visiting the country.
At Men's Fashion Week in Paris on Thursday, New Delhi-based Kartik Research put on its second show, having joined the world's most prestigious style calendar for the first time last year with its modern take on traditional fabrics and crafts.
"It's cool that we're building something that has this momentum and is being appreciated in the way that it is," founder Kartik Kumra told AFP in a pre-show interview. 
The 26-year-old, who opened a flagship store in New York last year and counts actor Paul Mescal and rapper Kendrick Lamar as past clients, likens showing in Paris to being a footballer in the European Champions League.
"Just to get there, it means you're doing something right. And then once you're there, you want to do well in it, and so it pushes you," he said.

'Gender fluid'

Rikki Kher, founder of fellow Delhi-based brand KARDO, says the taste for handwoven fabrics or intricate embroidery among men reflects both societal change and the industry's desire for novelty.
"Fashion is driven through music and young people, and young people are becoming more gender fluid," the boss of the label, which has championed hand-crafted artisanal textiles since 2013, told AFP.
Embroidery appears to be on the same route as handbags and jewellery, which have entered men's fashion in recent years and blurred the industry's traditional gender lines.
The enthusiasm also reflects a loss of interest in "workwear" or "quiet luxury", trends that have dominated menswear for years with their simple and often monochrome fabrics.
"Guys are looking for something different," explained Kher, who was showcasing his Fall/Winter collection in Paris during Fashion Week. "They're able to express themselves a bit more."
He said he recently spotted mass-market retailers Zara and Marks & Spencer selling embroidered shirts -- a sign that the trend has trickled down from catwalks to the high street. 
Other Indian brands helping modernise their country's craft traditions include 11.11/Eleven Eleven, Pero, Mii, or Rkive City. 

Searching for a story

Western buyers have also noted the changes.
"We're coming out of a few seasons that were more on the neutral side ... Now we want to revamp everything with patterns and colours," Franck Nauerz, head of menswear at Paris fashion stores Le Bon Marche and La Samaritaine.
"There's a real trend for embroidery, particularly of Indian origin," he added.
Carlan Pickings, who runs the PPHH fashion store in Melbourne, Australia, said she had seen demand and men's styles change radically over the last few years.
"Ten years ago, we'd never have believed that we'd now be buying things that were embroidered, colourful, floral," she told AFP in Paris, where she was meeting brands she works with during Fashion Week.
Her clients want "something interesting but that also has a story behind it."
"The changes we've seen in the last five years, particularly coming out of the Indian market, but also Japan, are really interesting," she added.
adp/cc

politics

Macron squares up to Trump in rebel shades at macho Davos gathering

  • "Top Gun or Terminator?"
  • Top Gun or Terminator?
  • "Top Gun or Terminator?"
Top Gun or Terminator? French President Emmanuel Macron's sporting of aviator shades at Davos this week tickled the press and inspired viral memes online, while prompting a surge in visitors to the eyewear brand's website.
Macron, speaking at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, wore sunglasses on stage due to a broken blood vessel that has left him with a bloodshot eye since last week, according to the Elysee's chief physician.
While the French president stood up for European sovereignty and blasted "unacceptable" threats by his US counterpart Donald Trump to impose tariffs on countries opposed to his plans to seize Greenland, it was Macron's flashy blue sunglasses that grabbed much of the attention.
"Top Gun or Terminator?", read a headline in Le Parisien daily, highlighting the viral commentary which ranged from memes photoshopping laser beams shooting from Macron's eyes to his face on the "Miami Vice" film poster.
Other images on social media showed Macron playing the rebel Maverick from the Top Gun franchise, while facing off to Trump.
"These sunglasses were unintentionally a very fitting visual vocabulary for the message he wanted to convey," said communications professor Philippe Moreau-Chevrolet at Paris's Sciences Po university.
"It gave a Hollywood-style dimension -- cool and masculine at once -- that answered Trump."
Trump mocked the look, stating: "I watched him yesterday with those beautiful sunglasses. What the hell happened?"
"But I watched him sort of be tough," Trump added, after Macron said France rejected "bullies".
The UK's Telegraph newspaper published the headline "Can Macron's sunglasses save the West?" in an analysis of the heated and divisive tone taken by largely male world leaders at the summit.
"Testosterone is the primary currency in Davos this year, and the French president's aviators have placed him at the top of the pecking order," the Telegraph wrote.
The hype surrounding Macron's look led to a surge in traffic to the French eyewear maker Henry Jullien's website, causing it to crash.
"Our eShop website is experiencing an exceptional volume of visits and enquiries" following the "significant visibility" given to the sunglasses by Macron, said a notice on the brand's website.
It added that it had launched a "temporary page" featuring solely the 'Pacific' model worn by Macron, "to ensure stable and secure access for everyone".
bur-giv/ah/rlp

film

Ariana snubbed and Chalamet supreme? Five Oscars takeaways

BY ANDREW MARSZAL

  • - Records tumble - Sixteen nominations for "Sinners" was not the only record broken at Thursday's announcement.
  • "Sinners" set a new Oscars record with 16 nominations on Thursday, but that was not the only surprise from the Academy's announcement.
  • - Records tumble - Sixteen nominations for "Sinners" was not the only record broken at Thursday's announcement.
"Sinners" set a new Oscars record with 16 nominations on Thursday, but that was not the only surprise from the Academy's announcement.
Here are five takeaways from this year's Oscars nominations, ahead of the March 15 gala:

Snubs and surprises

Every year, the Oscars nominations bring hand-wringing over the names that were not read out.
This year's highest-profile "snub" was Ariana Grande. 
The pop sensation had earned a best supporting nod last year for the first "Wicked" film, but missed out this year despite taking a more prominent role in the Broadway adaptation's second chapter.
Indeed, there was no love at all for "Wicked: For Good," which failed to earn any nominations -- despite the first movie landing 10 nods, and winning two Oscars.
Other notable omissions this year included "One Battle After Another" female star Chase Infiniti, and "Hamnet" male lead Paul Mescal.
Among the surprises were supporting acting nominations for veteran Delroy Lindo ("Sinners") and Elle Fanning in Norwegian dramedy "Sentimental Value."

Warner swansong?

It is a rare feat for a single Hollywood studio to boast the two clear Oscar frontrunners.
With "Sinners" (16 nominations) and "One Battle After Another" (13), Warner Bros has pulled that off. 
The studio has recently backed original fare from auteur filmmakers -- like Zach Cregger's horror hit "Weapons" (one nomination) and Bong Joon-ho's "Mickey 17" -- along with more commercial hits like "Superman" and "A Minecraft Movie."
Ironically, that success comes in what could be the century-old studio's swansong year as an independent distributor.
Warner Bros is the target of a fierce bidding war between Paramount Skydance and Netflix.

Records tumble

Sixteen nominations for "Sinners" was not the only record broken at Thursday's announcement.
In a sign of the increasingly global outlook of Oscars voters, a record four non-English-language acting performances are nominated this year.
That includes three Norwegian actors from "Sentimental Value" -- Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgard and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas -- and Brazil's Wagner Moura, the star of "The Secret Agent."
Meanwhile, "Hamnet" director Chloe Zhao became only the second woman to achieve multiple directing nominations, after Jane Campion. Zhao previously won the category with her best picture winner "Nomadland."

Best casting

This year, the Oscars introduced a prize for best casting -- the Academy's first new category since the animated film award was created in 2002.
With no precedent, it was unclear what exactly voters would be looking for -- star power, new discoveries, or a cohesive ensemble.
In the end, the category mostly mirrored the expected best picture frontrunners, with nominations going to "Hamnet," "Marty Supreme," "One Battle after Another," "The Secret Agent" and "Sinners." 

Chalamet supreme

Timothee Chalamet is only 30, yet his Oscar nomination for "Marty Supreme" is his third for best actor -- after "Call Me By Your Name" in 2018 and last year for playing Bob Dylan in "A Complete Unknown."
Arguably the biggest star of his generation, Chalamet also earned a nod for his role as a producer in best picture nominee "Marty Supreme," the semi-fictional tale of a talented, always-hustling ping-pong player in 1950s New York and Japan.
Will it be third time lucky for Chalamet, at the Oscars ceremony in March?
Though up against Leonardo DiCaprio, Chalamet's chances are boosted by a strong all-round showing for "Marty Supreme" at Thursday's nominations announcement.
The movie exceeded most pundits' expectations with nine nods, including best director for Josh Safdie, best cinematography and best production design -- suggesting Oscars voters are paying close attention.
amz/sst

film

Oscar nominees in main categories

  • Here are the nominees in key categories for the 98th Academy Awards, to be handed out in Hollywood on March 15.
Here are the nominees in key categories for the 98th Academy Awards, to be handed out in Hollywood on March 15.
Vampire period horror film "Sinners" shattered the all-time record for nominations with 16, followed by "One Battle After Another" with 13. 
"Frankenstein," "Marty Supreme" and "Sentimental Value" tied with nine nominations each.

Best picture

"Bugonia"
"F1"
"Frankenstein"
"Hamnet"
"Marty Supreme" 
"One Battle After Another"
"The Secret Agent"
"Sentimental Value"
"Sinners"
"Train Dreams"
- Best director - 
Paul Thomas Anderson, "One Battle After Another"
Ryan Coogler, "Sinners"
Josh Safdie, "Marty Supreme"
Joachim Trier, "Sentimental Value"
Chloe Zhao, "Hamnet"
- Best actor - 
Timothee Chalamet, "Marty Supreme"
Leonardo DiCaprio, "One Battle After Another"
Ethan Hawke, "Blue Moon"
Michael B. Jordan, "Sinners"
Wagner Moura, "The Secret Agent"

Best actress

Jessie Buckley, "Hamnet"
Rose Byrne, "If I Had Legs I'd Kick You"
Kate Hudson, "Song Sung Blue"
Renate Reinsve, "Sentimental Value"
Emma Stone, "Bugonia"
- Best supporting actor - 
Benicio Del Toro, "One Battle After Another"
Jacob Elordi, "Frankenstein"
Delroy Lindo, "Sinners"
Sean Penn, "One Battle After Another"
Stellan Skarsgard, "Sentimental Value"

Best supporting actress

Elle Fanning, "Sentimental Value"
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, "Sentimental Value"
Amy Madigan, "Weapons"
Wunmi Mosaku, "Sinners"
Teyana Taylor, "One Battle After Another"
- Best international feature film - 
"The Secret Agent" (Brazil)
"It Was Just an Accident" (France)
"Sentimental Value" (Norway)
"Sirat" (Spain)
"The Voice of Hind Rajab" (Tunisia)
- Best animated feature - 
"Arco"
"Elio"
"Kpop Demon Hunters"
"Little Amelie or the Character of Rain"
"Zootopia 2"

Best documentary feature

"The Alabama Solution"
"Come See Me In The Good Light"
"Cutting Through Rocks"
"Mr. Nobody Against Putin"
"The Perfect Neighbor"
- Films with eight or more nominations - 
"Sinners" - 16
"One Battle After Another" - 13
"Frankenstein" - 9
"Marty Supreme" - 9
"Sentimental Value" - 9
"Hamnet" - 8
bur-sst/acb

media

Actor Liz Hurley in tears as accuses UK tabloid of 'monstrous' conduct

BY JOE JACKSON

  • She also accused the tabloid of "stealing my medical information when I was pregnant" with her son Damian and "other monstrous, staggering things".
  • Actor Liz Hurley on Thursday broke down in tears in the witness box of London's High Court as she accused a tabloid publisher of "monstrous" conduct including planting secret microphones on her home windows.
  • She also accused the tabloid of "stealing my medical information when I was pregnant" with her son Damian and "other monstrous, staggering things".
Actor Liz Hurley on Thursday broke down in tears in the witness box of London's High Court as she accused a tabloid publisher of "monstrous" conduct including planting secret microphones on her home windows.
Hurley, 60, the former partner of Hollywood star Hugh Grant, is suing Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday, over alleged privacy breaches along with Prince Harry and five other high-profile figures.
Harry, who gave his own emotional testimony Wednesday, was back in court to "show solidarity with the other claimants", his spokesman told UK media.
Hurley repeatedly became tearful and struggled to speak as she defended her claim -- which relates to 15 articles from 2002 to 2011 -- during questioning by ANL's lawyer.
"There were microphones on the windowsill of my dining room... I was being listened to," Hurley told the court, calling the press intrusion "deeply hurtful".
In a written statement, she claimed "The Mail's Unlawful Acts against me involve landline tapping my phones and recording my live telephone conversations, placing surreptitious mics on my home windows."
She also accused the tabloid of "stealing my medical information when I was pregnant" with her son Damian and "other monstrous, staggering things".
Hurley alleges ANL journalists commissioned and paid various private investigators to conduct the unlawful information-gathering.

'Mortifying'

In her statement, she claimed one investigator biked tapes of the illegally obtained phone recordings "to the defendant's newspaper for £2,000 plus, in cash, hidden in an envelope". 
"It was disgusting, mortifying, humiliating," she stated.
The actor said she was "not looking for sympathy" but "only for accountability".
ANL has consistently denied all the claims against it -- which relate to more than 50 articles in a period from at least 1993 to 2018 -- calling them "lurid" and "preposterous".
Like Harry, Hurley has previously successfully sued other British tabloids for privacy breaches, receiving in 2017 "substantial" damages and an apology from Mirror Group Newspapers for phone-hacking.
She also settled a claim against Rupert Murdoch's UK tabloid publisher NGN in 2019.
The seven claimants suing ANL also include pop icon Elton John and his husband David Furnish, actor Sadie Frost, and two other public figures.
Their legal team opened the trial, which is expected to last nine weeks, on Monday by vowing to show "there was clear and systematic use of unlawful gathering of information" at ANL.
But ANL's lead lawyer has countered that evidence will prove it sourced its stories legitimately and that claims around the use of private investigators were "clutching at straws in the wind".
jj/har/rlp

film

Sundance Film Festival hits Utah, one last time

BY HUW GRIFFITH

  • Amy Redford, daughter of the "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" star who created the festival in 1978, said this year's get-together would be an emotional experience, just four months after her father's death.
  • The first Sundance Film Festival since the death of founder Robert Redford begins in Park City Thursday -- the final time it will be held in the mountains of Utah.
  • Amy Redford, daughter of the "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" star who created the festival in 1978, said this year's get-together would be an emotional experience, just four months after her father's death.
The first Sundance Film Festival since the death of founder Robert Redford begins in Park City Thursday -- the final time it will be held in the mountains of Utah.
Hollywood A-listers Olivia Wilde, Natalie Portman and Ethan Hawke are expected to walk the red carpet at the snowcapped Rocky Mountain resort, along with a host of lesser-known filmmakers at one of the most important gatherings in the global movie calendar.
Amy Redford, daughter of the "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" star who created the festival in 1978, said this year's get-together would be an emotional experience, just four months after her father's death.
"Very proud," she said, when asked how she felt about her father's legacy.
"He was somebody that created from the field, not from on high," she told AFP.
"He never meant to be the center of focus for this whole organization. The center of focus was always the storytellers."

Line-up

Among the dozens of feature-length films and documentaries on show over the coming days will be "The Invite" directed by and starring Wilde, opposite Seth Rogen and Edward Norton.
The script, co-written by Rashida Jones ("Parks and Recreation"), deals with a couple whose mysterious neighbors come over for dinner.
"Mad Men" stars Jon Hamm and John Slattery reunite in "Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass," where a Midwestern bride-to-be rampages through Hollywood in an effort to even the score after her fiance uses the couple's "free celebrity pass" on his famous crush.
In "The Gallerist" -- starring Oscar winners Natalie Portman and Da'Vine Joy Randolph, along with Jenna Ortega and Sterling K. Brown -- a desperate curator tries to sell a dead body at Art Basel Miami.
Among the most hotly anticipated non-celebrity films premiering at the festival is "The History of Concrete," a sideways look by John Wilson about how to sell a film about building materials.
A strong international lineup includes director Molly Manners debut feature "Extra Geography" from the UK and queer genre film "Leviticus" from Australia.
"Hanging by a Wire" tells the story of the nail-biting race to save schoolboys dangling from a stranded cable car in the Himalayan foothills.
"Hold On to Me" from Cyprus traces the efforts of an 11-year-old tracking down her estranged father, while documentary "Kikuyu Land" from Kenya examines how powerful outside forces use local corruption to dispossess a people.
All of them will offer something special, Amy Redford said.
"I think the look on the faces of people that premiere their films and realize they're looking out into an audience who understand what they were trying to say...it always just is kind of a stunning experience," she said.

Moving on

The festival moves next year to Boulder, Colorado, having outgrown its current host city.
For festival programmer John Nein, who has been at every edition since 1996, leaving Park City will be bittersweet.
"It's a special place," he told AFP.
"It's a place that has been so tied to how the festival works in terms of people coming to this place. It's not particularly convenient. It's really cold."
"But in a weird way, that's what brings people here and it's what creates the audience that we have here. So I feel like that's part of what made it special."
Festival director Eugene Hernandez said the Sundance Institute will continue to have roots in Utah, even as the festival moves to Colorado.
But this year's program will be one to remember.
"There's going to be a lot of laughter, there will probably also be some tears, there will be joy, there will be connection, there will be community," he said.
"I think those are all aspects that make a festival."
hg/sla/lga/cms

fashion

Jonathan Anderson reimagines aristocrats in second Dior Homme collection

BY MARINE DO-VALE AND ADAM PLOWRIGHT

  • Anderson said he was thinking about "What is a new aristocracy today?
  • Dior designer Jonathan Anderson delivered his vision Wednesday of "today's aristocracy" in his second menswear show for the brand in Paris, mixing new gender-mixed creations with house symbols.
  • Anderson said he was thinking about "What is a new aristocracy today?
Dior designer Jonathan Anderson delivered his vision Wednesday of "today's aristocracy" in his second menswear show for the brand in Paris, mixing new gender-mixed creations with house symbols.
The celeb-heavy runway show in the gardens of the Rodin Museum drew actor Robert Pattinson, Louis Vuitton designer Pharrell Williams and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, who sat on a power-packed front row. 
Anderson said he was thinking about "What is a new aristocracy today? What can it be ... this idea of dressing?" as he designed the collection, which was one of the most keenly watched moments of the Fall-Winter 2026-27 Men's Fashion Week.
The 41-year-old from Northern Ireland is the first creative director to oversee womenswear, menswear and haute couture since Christian Dior himself, having started the job last year with a stellar reputation.
His debut summer menswear show in June last year won widespread praise, but his women's collection in October did not earn universal plaudits, raising the stakes for Tuesday's catwalk show.
He said he didn't want "normality" in his reimagined aristocrats, adding that his designs included some "angst and a kind of wrongness, engulfing wrong taste".
The show opened with a series of violet, green and silver sequined tops in a 1920s style -- reproductions of a bodice designed by early 20th-century French designer Paul Poiret who Anderson namechecked as inspiration. 
The collection also featured brocade capes, puffer jackets and long wool coats with oversized fur cuffs.
There were also long wool dresses and very wide skirts -- a further move towards presenting unisex collections which the industry is increasingly adopting, further blurring the lines between women's and men's fashion. 

'The world is evolving'

Running until Sunday, Paris Men's Fashion Week will see 66 houses unveil their new winter wardrobes through 36 runway shows and 30 presentations. 
Trend watchers say designers appear to be reverting to more classic, regular tailoring, either as a response to geopolitical uncertainty or as a bankable commercial move at a time when the luxury clothing industry faces a slowdown.
The very large oversize jackets and trousers trend appears to have peaked.
Parisian designer Emeric Tchatchoua behind the 3.Paradis brand said his tailoring was "narrowing a bit." 
"I think that with age and the way my view of the world is evolving now, I wanted to create a silhouette that's ... a bit more fitted," he told AFP.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Jaden Smith -- son of US rapper-actor Will Smith -- presented his debut collection for Christian Louboutin while wearing thick red make-up, mimicking the red soles of the brand's shoes.
The model and musician, 27, was unveiled as creative director last September by founder Louboutin, who appears to be preparing to hand over the reins to the Gen Z trendsetter.
Other highlights this week will be a final show by Veronique Nichanian at Hermes on Saturday.
She is bowing out after 37 years at the helm of the men’s line and will hand over to London designer Grace Wales Bonner in 2027.
mdv-adp/cc

China

US hip-hop label Def Jam launches China division in Chengdu

  • "Launching Def Jam Recordings China reflects our long-term commitment to this market and our belief that Chinese hip-hop has a powerful role to play in the global evolution of the genre."
  • Def Jam, the influential US record label, will launch a division in the "capital of Chinese hip-hop" Chengdu, its parent company Universal Music announced late Tuesday, in a vote of confidence for China's music scene.
  • "Launching Def Jam Recordings China reflects our long-term commitment to this market and our belief that Chinese hip-hop has a powerful role to play in the global evolution of the genre."
Def Jam, the influential US record label, will launch a division in the "capital of Chinese hip-hop" Chengdu, its parent company Universal Music announced late Tuesday, in a vote of confidence for China's music scene.
The New York-based label worked on the first records of Public Enemy and Beastie Boys, as well as some albums from Jay-Z and Kanye West -- all mainstays of American hip-hop.
"China is one of the most important and dynamic music markets in the world today, with a new generation of artists shaping culture both locally and globally," Adam Granite, executive vice president of market development at Universal Music, said in a statement. 
"Launching Def Jam Recordings China reflects our long-term commitment to this market and our belief that Chinese hip-hop has a powerful role to play in the global evolution of the genre."
Def Jam has also worked with African and European artists through its regional divisions. 
Chengdu is China's fourth-largest city and the capital of southwestern Sichuan province, home to the country's iconic giant pandas.
Chengdu is "widely recognized for its vibrant music ecosystem and deep-rooted hip-hop culture," Universal Music wrote in a press release. 
Higher Brothers, known for blending Mandarin and the local dialect, is one of the main hip-hop groups originating from the city. 
Def Jam will work with three acclaimed Chinese rappers -- Xie Di, Yitai Wang and Deng Dianguo "DDG" -- to help identify and mentor emerging artists. 
rh/eml/bjt/acb

luxury

Mourners pay last respects to Italian icon Valentino

BY ELLA IDE

  • The designer's coffin is on display for two days at the Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti Foundation in Rome's historic centre, ahead of his church funeral in the city on Friday.
  • Mourners paid their respects Wednesday to legendary Italian designer Valentino Garavani, as his coffin went on public display following his death this week aged 93.
  • The designer's coffin is on display for two days at the Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti Foundation in Rome's historic centre, ahead of his church funeral in the city on Friday.
Mourners paid their respects Wednesday to legendary Italian designer Valentino Garavani, as his coffin went on public display following his death this week aged 93.
White roses and lilies lined the path into the simple room at Valentino's foundation headquarters where his wooden coffin was laid out, with loved ones sitting on either side.
"It's a perfect, simple, sober homage" to not only a talented artist but a "courteous, splendidly refined" person, said Giulia Carraro, 75, a former personal assistant who moved in his circle.
The designer, who launched his fashion house in 1960, dressed some of the world's most famous women, from Julia Roberts and Sharon Stone to Elizabeth Taylor and Nancy Reagan.
Next to the closed coffin, which was topped by a single red rose, sat Valentino's partner Giancarlo Giammetti, whose business acumen helped elevate the label to global prominence.
The designer was "an extremely professional person, very meticulous in his work", but also "a dreamer", Giammetti told reporters.
"I met him when he was 26, so he was still young enough to dream, and we tried to let him do so until the very end."
Valentino's creative director, Alessandro Michele, who earlier paid tribute to the designer's "rare sensibility", was also in attendance.
Another mourner held one of Valentino's beloved pugs.
Though Valentino loved white, he was perhaps best known for his gowns in a vivid "Valentino red". 
"It is a red with the lightest touch of orange and magenta," created after the designer saw a woman in a red dress at an opera in Barcelona and "used her as his inspiration", Carraro told AFP.

Seamstresses say goodbye

Seamstresses from the Valentino atelier, next to the Foundation, joined the hundreds of mourners paying their respects. 
Lucia Laporta told AFP she and the other seamstresses were "always afraid" when presenting their work because Valentino was "very strict", but that he was also "a great master, always kind to us".
The windows in the Valentino shop were shrouded by blackout blinds, with the designer's motto written across them in white: "I love beauty. It's not my fault."
Mexican mourner Maotzin Contreras-Bejarano in Marchesi, dressed all in black but with her lips painted the famous red, told AFP: "I really wanted to be here, I had to be here."
"I have admired Valentino for so long, because he didn't just create things, he was beauty, he was love, he was passion", she said.
The designer came from "an epoch where things were made with heart and soul".
He embodied "the things the fashion world has lost: it's all business now", she said.
The designer's coffin is on display for two days at the Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti Foundation in Rome's historic centre, ahead of his church funeral in the city on Friday.
Valentino's death comes just months after the passing of another Italian great, Giorgio Armani, and along with flowers left outside the Foundation was a note suggesting the pair would now be designing clothes for angels.
Silvia Bocchino, 55, said she had taken a day off work and travelled to Rome as she felt a "duty" to pay her respects.
"Valentino has always been a legend to me, a role model. I was born in the 70s and witnessed his rise," she said.
She owned "a few little things" by the designer, bought "more than anything to have the feeling of touching beauty". 
Valentino "left an imprint on what it means to be Italian, on how we are known in the world", she told AFP.
ide/ams/phz

fashion

Men's Fashion Week kicks off in Paris with Louis Vuitton show

BY ADAM PLOWRIGHT AND MARINE DO-VALE

  • Designers, supermodels and actresses have publicly mourned the loss of another Italian style legend, just four months after the passing of Giorgio Armani.
  • Men's Fashion Week kicked off in Paris on Tuesday with a celeb-heavy Louis Vuitton show as designers and industry leaders mourned the loss of Italian maestro Valentino.
  • Designers, supermodels and actresses have publicly mourned the loss of another Italian style legend, just four months after the passing of Giorgio Armani.
Men's Fashion Week kicked off in Paris on Tuesday with a celeb-heavy Louis Vuitton show as designers and industry leaders mourned the loss of Italian maestro Valentino.
Celebrity designer Pharrell Williams sent out models wearing long wool coats, loose-fitting suits --sometimes with Bermuda shorts -- short jackets, or fitted parkas with fur-trimmed hoods.
A guestlist heavy in US performers included Usher, John Legend, SZA and Joe Keery who took their places on the front row alongside Louis Vuitton owner and tycoon Bernard Arnault.
Arnault was one of many leading industry lights to pay tribute to Italian designer Valentino Garavani's "refined, radiant and sumptuous fashion" after his death aged 93 on Monday. 
Designers, supermodels and actresses have publicly mourned the loss of another Italian style legend, just four months after the passing of Giorgio Armani.
The Fall-Winter 2026 Paris Fashion Week follows on from Milan where trend-spotters say the recent fad for large oversized tailoring appears to have peaked.
Designers seem to be reverting to more classic, regular tailoring, either as a response to geopolitical uncertainty or as a bankable commercial move at a time when the luxury clothing industry faces a slowdown.
As well as setting the trends for the end of the year, the six days of Men's Fashion Week will also feature a final farewell for Veronique Nichanian, who is stepping down at Hermes after 37 years of designing their men's collections.
The 71-year-old Parisian -- one of the few women designing in menswear -- will leave behind a brand in tremendous financial shape with an image of timeless, refined masculinity.
Her successor, London designer Grace Wales Bonner, who is of English and Jamaican heritage, represents a generational and stylistic shift for the classic family-run French house.

Fresh faces

On Wednesday, fashionistas have been vying for spots at the debut Christian Louboutin show by Jaden Smith -- son of US rapper-actor Will Smith -- who will present his debut collection.
The model and musician, 27, was unveiled as the creative director of the famed French brand last September by founder Louboutin, who appears to be preparing to hand over the reins to the Gen Z trendsetter.
The choice is seen as a bold bet on relatively inexperienced youth by the veteran maker of red-soled stilettos, whose ready-to-wear menswear and accessories are estimated by analysts to account for about a quarter of his sales.
Also on Wednesday, much-hyped Dior designer Jonathan Anderson will unveil his second Homme collection, having made his debut in June last year with a widely praised unisex show.
But the 41-year-old's womenswear collection in September didn't convince everyone, and some observers expect him to put a more decisive mark on Dior and cement the new identity he's begun sketching out. 
"There's a lot of anticipation, a lot of pressure," Alice Feillard, men's buying director at Paris department store Galeries Lafayette, told AFP. 
The luxury fashion industry has undergone a wave of changes over the last 12 months at a time of weak international growth following the bumper buying frenzy of the post-Covid period.
Slowing demand from China, US tariffs on imports and uncertainty about the global economy have all weighed on sales of European brands.

Kenzo house

New faces such as Anderson, Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, Demna at Gucci or Sarah Burton at Givenchy signal a new stable of couturiers who look set to dominate the major houses over the next decade.
Elsewhere over the week, Japanese brands from Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake to Auralee and Mihara Yasuhiro will be out in force.
LVMH-owned Kenzo, will hold a presentation instead of a runway show on Tuesday inside the vast Parisian house of late founder Kenzo Takada in the French capital's trendy 11th district.
The four-storey modernist building, which features a Japanese garden, will host a day-long gathering of design, food and music curated by chief creative Nigo.
Outspoken US designer Willy Chavarria, who is one of a handful unafraid to express political views, also returns for his third season in Paris and might have something to say about Donald Trump's presidency on Friday.
He paid tribute to Valentino, saying in a statement reported by the WWD fashion website that "the fashion world will be quieter" with his passing.
adp-mdv/gv

Beckham

'I do not want to reconcile with my family,' says Brooklyn Peltz Beckham

BY MARTIN POLLARD AND ANNE-LAURE MONDESERT

  • "My parents have been trying endlessly to ruin my relationship since before my wedding, and it hasn't stopped," Brooklyn Peltz Beckham said.
  • A searing family rift between Brooklyn Peltz Beckham and his celebrity parents, David and Victoria Beckham, dominated UK media Tuesday after he exploded on social media saying he had no wish for a reconciliation.
  • "My parents have been trying endlessly to ruin my relationship since before my wedding, and it hasn't stopped," Brooklyn Peltz Beckham said.
A searing family rift between Brooklyn Peltz Beckham and his celebrity parents, David and Victoria Beckham, dominated UK media Tuesday after he exploded on social media saying he had no wish for a reconciliation.
The 26-year-old said late Monday that his parents have been controlling narratives in the press about his family and tried to "ruin" his relationship with his wife Nicola Peltz Beckham.
"I do not want to reconcile with my family," he wrote in a post to his 16.2 million Instagram followers, confirming the long-rumoured estrangement between Brooklyn and his mother and father.
"I'm not being controlled, I'm standing up for myself for the first time in my life."
Brooklyn is the eldest son of the former England football captain, David, and Victoria, who shot to fame with the Spice Girls pop group and is now a fashion designer.
David Beckham was recently knighted by King Charles III, becoming "Sir David", and both he and now Lady Victoria have starred in carefully curated Netflix documentaries tracing their stories.
Brooklyn married Nicola, an American actress and the daughter of billionaire businessman Nelson Peltz and former model Claudia Heffner Peltz, in 2022.
Spokespeople for David and Victoria Beckham did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment on their son's statements. 
"My parents have been trying endlessly to ruin my relationship since before my wedding, and it hasn't stopped," Brooklyn Peltz Beckham said.
"My mum cancelled making Nicola's dress in the eleventh hour despite how excited she was to wear her design, forcing her to urgently find a new dress."
Brooklyn went on to allege that his mother "hijacked" his first dance with Nicola on their wedding day and danced "inappropriately on me" in front of hundreds of guests, adding he had never felt more "uncomfortable or humiliated" in his life.
He also alleged that his wife had been "disrespected" by his family and that she was not invited to his father's 50th birthday party.
"My family values public promotion and endorsements above all else. Brand Beckham comes first," he added. 
He concluded by saying that he grew up with "overwhelming anxiety", but now he has found "peace".

'Diplomacy' key

Brooklyn's surprise attack on his parents made front-page news in UK tabloids on Tuesday.
His father David did not respond to questions about Brooklyn's accusations during a public appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday. 
But when asked by US broadcaster CNBC about children using social media, he said parents should let children "make mistakes". 
The former Manchester United, Real Madrid, LA Galaxy and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder stressed the importance of using social media "for the right reasons". 
"I've been able to use my platform and my following, you know, for UNICEF and it's been the biggest tool to make people aware of what's going on around the world for children, and I've tried to do the same, I've tried to do the same with my children, to educate them," he said.
"They make mistakes, children are allowed to make mistakes, that's how they learn. So that's what I try to teach my kids. But you know, you have to sometimes let them make those mistakes as well."
The Beckham family's woes even came up during Tuesday's Downing Street press briefing. 
"The prime minister is obviously dealing with a number of other issues at the moment, but I think he's always been clear that diplomacy is very important," Starmer's spokesperson said when asked about the matter. 
mp-alm/jkb/phz

assault

UK comedian Russell Brand in court on two new rape charges

  • In May last year, he had already pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault for alleged incidents involving four different women between 1999 and 2005. 
  • Actor and comedian Russell Brand appeared before a UK court Tuesday facing two new charges of rape and sexual assault. 
  • In May last year, he had already pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault for alleged incidents involving four different women between 1999 and 2005. 
Actor and comedian Russell Brand appeared before a UK court Tuesday facing two new charges of rape and sexual assault. 
The two new charges against Brand, 50, were brought in December 2025 and relate to two alleged incidents with separate women in London in 2009.
In May last year, he had already pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault for alleged incidents involving four different women between 1999 and 2005. 
Appearing remotely via video-link wearing a partially buttoned pale blue shirt, Brand, the ex-husband of popstar Katy Perry, only spoke to confirm his name and his date of birth.
He was granted conditional bail and is due to appear again in Southwark Crown Court in south London on February 17 for a pre-trial hearing. 
He was originally charged following an investigation conducted by the Sunday Times newspaper and Channel 4 television in 2023, which included several allegations of a sexual nature against him.
A trial is set to begin at Southwark Crown Court in June on the five original charges.
Brand is a former stand-up comedian who gained Hollywood fame in the early 2010s. He married singer Perry in 2010, although the two divorced in 2012.
Once a left-leaning political campaigner and Hollywood star, he has rebranded himself as a conservative guru to his millions of social media followers.
In 2024, he said he became a Christian after being baptised in the River Thames.
str/jkb/phz

Valentino

Valentino taught us to respect women, says partner

  • - 'Nothing left' - The designer's body will lie in state from Wednesday at the Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti Foundation, next to the Valentino atelier in the historic centre.
  • Italian designer Valentino Garavani loved creating outfits that made women beautiful, his partner Giancarlo Giammetti said Tuesday, following the style legend's death aged 93.
  • - 'Nothing left' - The designer's body will lie in state from Wednesday at the Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti Foundation, next to the Valentino atelier in the historic centre.
Italian designer Valentino Garavani loved creating outfits that made women beautiful, his partner Giancarlo Giammetti said Tuesday, following the style legend's death aged 93.
"He always said, 'It's not my fault, I just like beauty,'" Giammetti told journalists outside the Valentino headquarters in Rome.
The designer, who launched his fashion house in 1960, dressed some of the world's most famous women, from Elizabeth Taylor and Nancy Reagan through to Sharon Stone and Julia Roberts.
He was responsible for many iconic red carpet outfits, and was perhaps best known for his gowns in a vivid "Valentino red".
His legacy was that "fashion serves to embellish and not to ridicule", said Giammetti, whose business acumen helped elevate the label to global prominence.
Valentino believed "clothes should be recognised for what they give to women, not for what the design wants to convey", he said.
"From a creative point of view, he taught us to respect women."

'Nothing left'

The designer's body will lie in state from Wednesday at the Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti Foundation, next to the Valentino atelier in the historic centre.
There will then be a funeral on Friday at the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels and of the Martyrs in the Italian capital.
Luca Bonilli, a 21-year-old fashion student at Rome's Belle Arti academy, was among those paying their respects Tuesday in front of the Foundation, where red roses lay in tribute.
Despite not knowing Valentino personally, the designer "had been a sort of mentor", he said.
"It is a great loss. Even for those who are not interested in fashion, he was an important figure," he told AFP.
And with Valentino's death coming just months after the passing of another Italian great, Giorgio Armani, "there is little or nothing left" of Italian fashion today, Bonilli said.
"When many Italian stylists and designers were still alive, I sense... the world of fashion was much more carefree and beautiful," he added.
sl-ide/ams/jxb

Beckham

'I do not want to reconcile with my family' says Brooklyn Peltz Beckham

  • Brooklyn is the eldest son of the former England football captain, David and his fashion designer and former pop star wife, Victoria.
  • Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, son of the British celebrity couple David and Victoria Beckham, said he did not want to reconcile with his parents after a family rift he described in a lengthy post on social media on Monday.
  • Brooklyn is the eldest son of the former England football captain, David and his fashion designer and former pop star wife, Victoria.
Brooklyn Peltz Beckham, son of the British celebrity couple David and Victoria Beckham, said he did not want to reconcile with his parents after a family rift he described in a lengthy post on social media on Monday.
The 26-year-old said that his parents have been controlling narratives in the press about his family and tried to "ruin" his relationship with his wife Nicola Peltz Beckham.
"I do not want to reconcile with my family," he wrote in a post to his 16.2 million Instagram followers. 
"I’m not being controlled, I’m standing up for myself for the first time in my life."
Brooklyn is the eldest son of the former England football captain, David and his fashion designer and former pop star wife, Victoria.
Brooklyn married Nicola, an American actress and the daughter of billionaire businessman Nelson Peltz and former model Claudia Heffner Peltz, in 2022.
Spokespeople for David and Victoria Beckham did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment on their son's statements. 
"My parents have been trying endlessly to ruin my relationship since before my wedding, and it hasn't stopped," Brooklyn Peltz Beckham said.
"My mum cancelled making Nicola’s dress in the eleventh hour despite how excited she was to wear her design, forcing her to urgently find a new dress."
Brooklyn went on to allege that his mother "hijacked" his first dance with Nicola on their wedding day and danced "inappropriately on me" in front of hundreds of guests, adding that he had never felt more "uncomfortable or humiliated" in his life.
He also alleged that his wife had been "disrespected" by his family and that she was not invited to his father's 50th birthday party.
"My family values public promotion and endorsements above all else. Brand Beckham comes first," he added. 
He concluded by saying that he grew up with "overwhelming anxiety", but now he has found "peace". 
mp/ceg

film

Warner hits 'Sinners' and 'One Battle' tipped for Oscar nominations

BY ANDREW MARSZAL

  • Former best actor Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio is all but certain to secure his seventh acting nomination from the Academy.
  • Warner Bros may be for sale, but the studio's acclaimed hits "Sinners" and "One Battle After Another" are expected to dominate the Oscar nominations when the Academy announces its final contenders Thursday.
  • Former best actor Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio is all but certain to secure his seventh acting nomination from the Academy.
Warner Bros may be for sale, but the studio's acclaimed hits "Sinners" and "One Battle After Another" are expected to dominate the Oscar nominations when the Academy announces its final contenders Thursday.
Both are tipped to rack up a dozen or more nods for Hollywood's grandest awards ceremony -- from best picture and best actor to the new best casting prize.
The rare and enviable position of a single Hollywood studio boasting the two clear Oscars frontrunners ironically comes in what could be Warner Bros' swansong year as an independent distributor.
Warner Bros is the target of a fierce bidding war between Paramount Skydance and Netflix.
Yet despite the struggles of its parent company Warner Bros Discovery, the storied movie studio has enjoyed a banner year, bucking Tinseltown's obsession with sequels and backing original fare from auteur filmmakers.
"Sinners," a blues-inflected period horror film about the segregated US South, comes from "Black Panther" director Ryan Coogler.
It is expected to land a best actor nomination for Michael B. Jordan, who plays two twins battling vampires and racists in 1930s Mississippi, plus everything from screenplay to score.
According to Variety awards expert Clayton Davis, "Sinners" could break the all-time record for most nominations by a single film -- currently 14, by "All About Eve," "Titanic" and "La La Land."
Coogler is "rewriting the math entirely," and could enter "a statistical stratosphere no filmmaker has ever touched," Davis wrote.
But so far this awards season, Paul Thomas Anderson -- whose formidable, eclectic filmography runs from "Boogie Nights" to "There Will Be Blood" -- has won almost every prize going for "One Battle After Another."
A zany thriller about a retired revolutionary looking for his teen daughter against a wild backdrop of radical violence, immigration raids and white supremacists, it broke the all-time record for nominations by Hollywood's actors guild.
Former best actor Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio is all but certain to secure his seventh acting nomination from the Academy.
Netflix has its own hopefuls in Guillermo del Toro's monster horror flick "Frankenstein," tragic Western pioneer drama "Train Dreams" and animated musical sensation "KPop Demon Hunters."
By contrast, rival Paramount's awards hopefuls shelf is noticeably bare.

Best casting

"Hamnet," a tragic literary adaptation that imagines William Shakespeare coping with the death of his son, is likely to land a bagful of nominations.
Jessie Buckley, who plays the Bard's long-suffering wife Agnes, appears a lock for a best actress nomination.
She is likely to be joined by Emma Stone playing an alien -- or is she? -- in conspiracy theorist drama "Bugonia," and Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve in arthouse darling "Sentimental Value."
With the Academy's overseas voter base rapidly expanding, "Sentimental Value" is one of a trio of non-English-language films that could contend for best picture.
Along with Persian-language Palme d'Or winner "It Was Just An Accident," there is also Brazil's "The Secret Agent," though "space feels limited" for all three to make the list, wrote Davis.
"The Secret Agent" star Wagner Moura, playing a scientist on the run from Brazil's 1970s dictatorship, is expected to vie with DiCaprio and Jordan for best actor.
But that category's frontrunner is Timothee Chalamet, whose turn as a bratty, talented and fiercely ambitious ping pong player in 1950s New York in "Marty Supreme," has already won a Golden Globe, a Critics Choice Award and more.
This year sees the introduction of a new Oscar for best casting, honoring the experts who attach actors to projects long before future blockbusters or indie hits begin production.
With no precedent, it is unclear what exactly voters will be looking for. 
"Is it star power? Ensemble cohesion? Finding a discovery?" asked Davis.
The nominations will be unveiled Thursday at 5:30am (1330 GMT) in Los Angeles, with the 98th Oscars ceremony to follow on March 15.
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