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Luke Skywalker’s ‘Empire Strikes Back’ lightsaber with severed hand attached auctioned for $3.75M
LOS ANGELES | A lightsaber with Luke Skywalker’s severed hand from “The Empire Strikes Back” has sold for $3.75 million at auction. Heritage Auctions announced the results of its Hollywood & Entertainment Signature Auction on Monday. The lightsaber, used onscreen by Mark Hamill in the climactic Cloud City fight where Darth Vader declares “I am […]
What to Stream: Charli xcx, ‘The Dink,’ ‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe’ and ’72 Hours’
Charli xcx’s new album and a pickleball movie starring Jake Johnson are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: the “Big Bang Theory” spin-off “Stuart Fails to Save the […]
Not Greek to them. Scholars question Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’
NEW YORK | For Greek translator Emily Wilson, the release of director Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” has been gratifying in various ways. Her acclaimed 2017 edition of Homer’s epic has reached the top 5 on Amazon.com, leading a wave of similar books boosted by the movie. Nolan has even cited her translation, notably the opening […]
Toronto International Film Festival sets lineup with films by Chris Rock, Peter Farrelly
NEW YORK | The Toronto International Film Festival unveiled the bulk of the lineup to its 51st edition on Monday, setting world premieres for Chris Rock’s drama “Misty Green” and Peter Farrelly’s Sylvester Stallone film “I Play Rocky.” TIFF, North America’s largest film festival, annually hosts some of the fall’s most anticipated titles. On Monday, […]
Guns shaped America. Dirty Harry’s .44 Magnum is king
There are as many handguns in the U.S. as there are adults. Perhaps none is more iconic than the .44 Magnum revolver. “The most powerful handgun in the world,” Clint Eastwood says with a mix of pleasure and malice as detective “Dirty Harry” takes aim at a bank robber. The 1971 movie made the hefty […]
Ava DuVernay announces ’14th’ documentary on birthright amendment contested by Trump
NEW YORK | Ava DuVernay announced Thursday that she has made a documentary for Netflix on the 14th Amendment, which gave liberty and rights to formerly enslaved people following the Civil War, and which has come under legal attack from President Donald Trump. Netflix said Thursday that it will release “14th” later this year. The […]
Tom Cruise’s love for ‘Amores Perros’ led him to ‘Digger’
BURBANK, Calif. | Tom Cruise still remembers being in awe of Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s feature directorial debut “Amores Perros,” which took home the Academy Award for best international feature film in 2001. “What a brilliant film. It was amazing,” Cruise told journalists at a recent press event. “Every aspect of that film was very thought […]
Greece awaits Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ with anticipation despite casting controversy
ATHENS, Greece | Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” opens Friday, to global anticipation and some controversy over his casting choices — but what do Greeks think? Conversation about adaptations often revolves around how closely they follow a source text. But in a country where Homer’s story is taught and retold at all schools, many point to […]
What to Stream: ‘Heartstopper Forever,’ ‘Lucky’ and Steve Lacy
A new album from Steve Lacy and the conclusion of the “Heartstopper” series are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: “Lucky,” which stars Anya Taylor-Joy, the game “D-topia” […]
Sam Neill, New Zealand actor who starred in ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Piano,’ dies at 78
WELLINGTON, New Zealand | Sam Neill, the smoothly elegant and versatile actor whose prolific career moved from art films to blockbusters as he dodged velociraptors in “Jurassic Park” and played Holly Hunter’s husband in “The Piano,” has died. He was 78. In 2023, Neill disclosed he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare […]