‘Squid Game’ creator addresses series USA spin-off rumour
Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has addressed the rumours surrounding a USA spin-off of the show.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he candidly talked about Cate Blanchett’s role as a recruiter in the last scene of Squid Game season 3.
Following this, fans assumed that her appearance was designed to set-up a US-based spinoff series.
“I didn’t end it on that note in order to deliberately leave room for further stories to happen. Gi-hun and Front Man, through these characters, the Games in Korea have ended,” Dong-hyuk responded.
“And because this story started out with me wanting to tackle issues about the limitless competition and the system that’s created in late capitalism,” he explained.
Dong-hyuk added, “I wanted to leave it on a note highlighting the fact that these systems, even if one comes down, it’s not easy to dismantle the whole system — it will always repeat itself.”
“That’s why I wanted to end it with an American recruiter. And I wrote that scene wanting an impactful ending for the show, not in order to open rooms for anything else.”
However, the Korean director noted that nothing has been officially discussed with him about the US-spinoff.
As, it has been rumoured that David Fincher will direct the series, he concluded, “I’ve always been a huge fan of David Fincher’s work — from Se7en — and I’ve loved his films.”
“So if he were to create an American Squid Game, I think that would be very interesting to watch. I would definitely click on it immediately after it’s released, if it were to happen.”
The last and third season of Squid Game was released on Netflix on June 27, 2025.
BERLIN — In a country that saw its democracy die in 1933, the more than 170,000 people crowding into three of Germany’s biggest soccer stadiums for Bruce Springsteen’s rock concerts in recent weeks have been especially receptive to his message and dire warnings about a politically perilous moment in the United States, one that has reminded some of Adolf Hitler’s power grab in the ’30s.
At these gigantic open-air concerts in Berlin, Frankfurt and Gelsenkirchen, which have been among the largest concerts to date in Springsteen’s two-month-long, 16-show Land of Hope & Dreams tour across Europe, the 75-year-old rock star from New Jersey has interspersed short but poignant political speeches into his exhausting, sweat-drenched performances to describe the dangers he sees in the United States under the Trump administration.
“The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock ’n’ roll in dangerous times,” Springsteen says to cheers at the start of each concert. “In my home — the America I love, the America I have written about — the America that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration. Tonight, we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experience to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring.”
Springsteen’s words have had special resonance in Germany, where memories of the Nazi past are never far from the surface and the cataclysmic demise of the Weimar Republic, which led directly to Hitler’s takeover, is studied in great detail in schools and universities. With that Nazi past embedded in their DNA, German fears of President Trump’s tactics probably run higher than anywhere else.
“Germans tend to have angst about a lot of things and they are really afraid of Trump,” said Michael Pilz, a music critic for the Welt newspaper, who agrees that the death of German democracy in 1933 is a contributing factor to the popularity of Springsteen’s anti-Trump concerts this summer. “A lot of Germans think Trump is a fool. It’s not only his politics but the way he is, just so completely over the top. Germans love to see Trump getting hit. And they admire Springsteen for standing up and taking it to him.”
“The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock ’n’ roll in dangerous times,” Springsteen says to cheers at the start of each concert.
(Markus Schreiber / Associated Press)
The crowds in Germany have been as large as they are enthusiastic. More than 75,000 filled Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on June 11; 44,500 were in Frankfurt on June 18; and another 51,000 watched his concert in the faded Ruhr River industrial town of Gelsenkirchen on June 27. All told, more than 700,000 tickets have been sold for the 16 shows in Springsteen’s tour (for concerts that last three or more hours), which concludes on July 3 in Milan, Italy.
“The German aversion to Trump has now become more extreme in his second term — Germans just don’t understand how the Americans could elect someone like Trump,” said Jochen Staadt, a political science professor at the Free University in Berlin who is also a drummer in an amateur Berlin rock band. Staadt believes Springsteen’s 1988 concert may well have helped pave the way for the Berlin Wall to fall a little over a year later in 1989. “Germans are drawn to Springsteen as someone who played an important role in our history when Germany was still divided and as someone who may have helped overcome that division with rock music.”
Springsteen has been filling stadiums across Europe in the warm summertime evenings with his high-energy shows that not only entertain the tremendous crowds but also take on Trump’s policies on civil liberties, free speech, immigrants and universities in thoughtfully constructed messages. To ensure nothing is lost in translation, Springsteen’s brief forays into politics of about two to three minutes each are translated for local audiences in German, French, Spanish, Basque and Italian subtitles on the giant video walls onstage.
To ram the message home to more people, Springsteen also released a 30-minute recording from the first stop of the tour in Manchester, England, that contains three songs and three of his speeches onstage.
“I’ve always tried to be a good ambassador for America,” said Springsteen while introducing “My City of Ruins,” a song he wrote after the 9/11 terror attacks that has taken on a new meaning this summer. “I’ve spent my life singing about where we have succeeded and where we’ve come up short in living up to our civic ideals and our dreams. I always just thought that was my job. Things are happening right now in my home that are altering the very nature of our country’s democracy and they’re simply too important to ignore.”
Springsteen’s first speech during the tour’s Manchester show on May 17 prompted a sharp rebuke from Trump on his Truth Social platform. “Springsteen is ‘dumb as a rock’… and this dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied!) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare’. Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”
Springsteen did not respond directly. Instead, he repeated his messages at every concert across Europe. He delivered more political commentary in introducing his song “House of a Thousand Guitars” by saying: “The last check on power, after the checks and balances of government have failed, are the people. You and me. It’s the union of people around a common set of values. That’s all that stands between democracy and authoritarianism. So at the end of the day, all we’ve really got is each other.” In the song, Springsteen sings about “the criminal clown has stolen the throne / He steals what he can never own.”
His concerts also included the live debut of “Rainmaker,” about a con man, from his 2020 “Letter to You” album. At the concerts in Europe, Springsteen dedicates the song to “our dear leader,” with a line that goes: “Rainmaker says white’s black and black’s white / Says night’s day and day’s night.”
More than 75,000 filled Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on June 11, 44,500 were in Frankfurt on June 18, and another 51,000 watched his concert in the faded Ruhr River industrial town of Gelsenkirchen on June 27.
(Markus Schreiber / Associated Press)
He also changed one line in the song from “they don’t care or understand what it really takes for the sky to open up the land,” to “they don’t care or understand how easy it is to let freedom slip through your hands.”
Springsteen’s enormous popularity across Europe has long been on a different level than in the United States, and that gap could grow even wider in the future. Springsteen’s close friend and the band’s lead guitarist, Steve Van Zandt, recently observed in an interview with the German issue of Playboy magazine that the E Street Band may have lost half of its audience back home because of the group’s unabashed opposition to Trump. (The band’s concerts in the United States are often held in smaller indoor arenas.)
Bruce Springsteen, left, performs with Steven Van Zandt: at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, June 11, 2025.
(Markus Schreiber / Associated Press)
But in Europe, Springsteen and his band have been reliably filling cavernous stadiums during the long, daylight-filled summertime evenings for decades with improbably enthusiastic crowds that sing along to the lyrics of his songs and spent most of the concerts on their feet dancing and cheering. There are also large numbers of hearty Springsteen fans from scores of countries who use their entire yearly allotment of vacation to follow him from show to show across the continent. This summer, Springsteen’s message has been amplified even more, sending many in the boomer-dominated crowds into states of near-ecstasy and attracting considerable media attention in countries across Europe.
“The message of his music always touched a deep nerve in Europe and especially Germany, but ever since Trump was elected president, Springsteen’s voice has been incredibly important for us,” said Katrin Schlemmer, a 56-year-old IT analyst from Zwickau who saw five Springsteen concerts in June — from Berlin to Prague to Frankfurt and two in San Sebastián, Spain. All told, Schlemmer has seen 60 Springsteen concerts in 11 countries around the world since her first in East Berlin in 1988 — a record-breaking, history-changing concert with more than 300,000 spectators that some historians believe may have contributed to the fall of the Berlin Wall just 16 months later.
“A lot of Germans can’t fathom why the Americans elected someone like Trump,” said Schlemmer, who had the chance to thank Springsteen for the 1988 East Berlin concert at a chance meeting after a 2014 concert in Cape Town, South Africa. “We saw for ourselves how quickly a democracy was destroyed by an authoritarian. The alarm bells are ringing about what a danger Trump is. People love [Springsteen] here because he tells it like it is and because he is standing up to Trump.”
Stephan Cyrus, a 56-year-old manager from Hamburg, said Germans view Springsteen as a trustworthy American voice during a period of uncertainty.
“When Germans hear Springsteen speaking about his worries about the United States, they listen, because so many of us have so much admiration and longing for the United States and are worried about the country’s direction too,” said Cyrus, who saw the June 11 concert in Berlin. “He definitely touched us with his words.”
In one of his concert speeches, Springsteen goes after Trump without mentioning his name.
Spectators watch Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band perform at the Olympic Stadium, in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, June 11, 2025.
(Markus Schreiber / Associated Press)
“There is some very weird, strange and dangerous s— going on out there right now. In America, they are persecuting people for using their right to free speech and voicing their dissent. This is happening now. In America, the richest men are taking satisfaction in abandoning the world’s poorest children to sickness and death. This is happening now.”
Springsteen then adds: “In my country, they’re taking sadistic pleasure in the pain they are inflicting on loyal American workers. They’re rolling back historic civil rights legislation that led to a more just and plural society. They are abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom. They’re defunding American universities that won’t back down to their ideological demands. They’re removing residents off American streets and, without due process of law, are deporting them to foreign detention centers and prisons. This is all happening now. A majority of our elected representatives have failed to protect the American people from the abuses of an unfit president and a rogue government.”
He tells the audiences that those in the administration “have no concern or idea of what it means to be deeply American.”
But Springsteen ends on a hopeful note, promising his audiences: “We’ll survive this moment.”
In HBO’s signature drama “Six Feet Under,” Hall was consistently praised for his role as David Fisher, the closeted gay member of a dysfunctional family operating a funeral home.
His star status was secured with his portrayal of Dexter Morgan, a Miami-based blood spatter analyst who moonlighted as a serial killer in “Dexter.” The drama flavored with dark comedy was Showtime’s most popular series during its eight-season run, which ended in 2013. And a 2021 reboot, “Dexter: New Blood,” scored solid ratings.
That limited series was most notable for its finale, in which Dexter Morgan was shot and killed by his emotionally damaged son Harrison (Jack Alcott). Acknowledging that devoted fans would likely be upset by Morgan’s demise, Hall was still eager to end the “Dexter” saga.
“It feels justifiable,” said Hall of the conclusion in a 2022 Times interview. “As upsetting as it may be, I hope audiences will appreciate the resonance of Dexter dying this way at the hands of his son.”
He also signaled at that time that he was more than ready to shelve the character he had inhabited on and off since 2006: “Playing Dexter … was a kick. It was an experience I’ve never had before and can’t imagine ever having again. But the desire for closure had to do with wanting to move on.”
Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan in “Dexter: Resurrection,” which is set in New York City.
(Zach Dilgard / Paramount+ with Showtime)
But instead of winding up six feet under, Dexter now lives to kill another day. It turns out he miraculously survived that “fatal” gunshot, and is ready to resume his deadly vigilante campaign in “Dexter: Resurrection,” premiering July 11 with two episodes on Paramount+ with Showtime.
Leading the hurrahs for Dexter’s return is Hall: “I feel excited about his story continuing, and I think people will like it.”
During a video interview from New York before leaving for the last day of shooting, Hall’s upbeat demeanor was a clear indication that Dexter’s life after death agrees with him. He is already primed to keep playing Morgan for the foreseeable future.
“All I can say is I don’t think we embark on this season imagining it as a one-off,” Hall said. “Without giving away too much, I think the door will be open at the end of this.”
Sharing Hall’s enthusiasm is series creator Clyde Phillips, who is resuming his “Dexter” duties as showrunner and executive producer.
“When Michael called me, it was exhilaration,” Phillips said in a phone interview. “He said, ‘Dexter is in my blood, and he’s in your blood. Can you unkill me?’”
“All I can say is I don’t think we embark on this season imagining it as a one-off,” said Michael C. Hall of “Dexter: Resurrection.” “Without giving away too much, I think the door will be open at the end of this.”
(Justin Jun Lee / For The Times)
The series kicks off with Morgan waking from a 10-day coma. After his recovery, he flees the fictional upstate New York hamlet of Iron Lake, where he had been living under an alias, and heads to New York City to track down — and hopefully reconnect — with Harrison, who is working at a hotel.
It’s not long before Morgan’s killer instincts resurface, eventually joining a group of fellow serial killers. The cast in the 10-episode series includes Uma Thurman, Peter Dinklage, Neil Patrick Harris and Eric Stonestreet.
Morgan’s resurrection had already been previewed in “Dexter: Original Sin,” which premiered last December and has been renewed for a second season. The prequel features Patrick Gibson as a younger Dexter Morgan who starts to indulge his sinister urges while working as a forensics intern at Miami Metro. As he did in “Dexter,” Hall provides the voice-over for his inner thoughts.
Returning from the original cast of “Dexter” for the new drama is James Remar as the ghost of Harry Morgan, Dexter’s adoptive father, and David Zayas as Det. Angel Batista. The series will have a different vibe than the first “Dexter.”
“New York is a completely new environment — different climate, different job,” said Hall, who is also an executive producer. Dexter’s “death” in “New Blood” actually gives the character a new lease on life, literally and figuratively, he added.
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1.David Zayas will reprise his role as Det. Angel Batista in “Dexter: Resurrection.”2.Joining the cast are Uma Thurman as Charley and Peter Dinklage as Leon Prater.(Zach Dilgard/Paramount+ with SHOWTIME)3.Also guest starring is Eric Stonestreet.
“The fact that Dexter didn’t die liberated the character to a degree,” he said. “He can’t go back to who he was, but he can reclaim some of the essential magic of who he is. He is not blind to his past, but he’s not dragging it around in the same way. He’s able to let it be.”
Phillips said there’s a notable difference between the two series when it comes to Hall’s character: “We acknowledge that Dexter is in his 50s. In the pilot of ‘Dexter,’ he was a fit 33-year-old. Now he’s recovering from a gunshot wound. He’s slower and needs to be even smarter.”
Still central to Dexter’s mission is the code inherited from his father, which is to murder only criminals who have escaped punishment. “The code is vital to his integrity and the show,” Phillips said.
The violation of that code sealed Morgan’s fate in “New Blood.” After being arrested as a murder suspect in Iron Lake, Dexter, during a jail escape, killed a police sergeant who had formed a close bond with Harrison.
“He was backed into a corner,” said Hall of Dexter’s dilemma. “He found the consideration of the reality of the wreckage, having played fast and loose with his father’s code, excruciating. He encourages his son to do him in. There was something about what Dexter had come to be that demonstrated that he needed to be taken out.”
But the purpose of “New Blood” was also to correct the biggest stumble in the trajectory of “Dexter” — the series finale.
In that episode, Morgan took his foster sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) off life support after she suffered a stroke. After taking her body out to sea to dispose of it, a distraught Morgan steered his vessel into an approaching hurricane in an apparent suicide attempt. The closing moments revealed that he had survived, winding up in a remote community far from Miami and starting a new life as a lumberjack.
Legions of fans were furious, blasting the ending as perplexing and open-ended. Hall later echoed their unhappiness, stressing that the closure in “New Blood” was much more appropriate and definitive.
“Narratively, it made sense,” Hall said. “But emotionally, it seemed that it was difficult for people to see him go out like that.”
Michael C. Hall on choosing to step away from Dexter for a time: “It was about catching my breath, doing other things, having life go on as it does.”
(Justin Jun Lee / For The Times)
The key to Hall’s interest in reviving the beloved character was getting distance from him.
“It was about catching my breath, doing other things, having life go on as it does,” he said. His post-”New Blood” projects included starring in Broadway’s revival of “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and performing in his band, Princess Goes to the Butterfly Museum, now known as Princess Goes.
Despite those endeavors and others, the possibility of reviving Dexter never completely vanished for Hall, the show’s fan base, or executives at Paramount, which produces the franchise.
The first significant spark ignited a few years ago during a guerrilla-style video shoot in Times Square for Princess Goes that was directed by Marcos Siega, who had helmed several episodes of “Dexter.”
“Seeing Siega and remembering the amazing collaborators we had over the years got me thinking, ‘I know this sounds crazy, but what if Dexter didn’t die?’ ” Hall recalled. “I was compelled by the idea, and once I shared that with others, I realized there was an openness to that notion.”
The studio conducted its own research which revealed that fans found it more plausible that Morgan did not die in “New Blood,” Hall said.
“The fans went crazy after ‘New Blood’ because they love this character so much,” Phillips said. “I’m gratified that Michael wanted to come back.”
Asked about the durability of his character, Hall smiled: “Dexter is cherished or loved for different reasons, but he is nothing if not resilient. It’s undeniable that people relish spending time with someone who is taking responsibility for his darkness. We all have our share of darkness. It’s just not as formidable as Dexter’s.”
Phillips credited Hall’s artistry for the character’s popularity. “Whenever Michael is on screen, there is a power and connection with him,” he said. “As handsome and fit as he is, he’s also an everyman. That is appealing to an audience. This isn’t the Jeffery Dahmer or Ted Bundy story. Dexter has been referred to as America’s favorite serial killer.”
The least of Hall’s challenges was getting back into “Dexter” mode.
“My cycle of cellular regeneration has happened three times over since I started doing this,” he said. “So if Dexter is not in my bones, he’s somewhere in there.”
He smiled again: “The weirdest thing about returning to Dexter is how weird it doesn’t feel. That has to do with the scripts and the stories. I just surrender to it. Whether I return to Dexter or not, it is and will remain at the top of my resume … or obituary.”
No production has been as troubled as the 1979 war epic. As behind-the-scenes documentary Hearts of Darkness is re-released, its director, and two of those who were on set, reveal all.
“The way we made it was very much like the way the Americans were in Vietnam,” explained Francis Ford Coppola, after the Cannes Film Festival screening of Apocalypse Now in 1979. “We were in the jungle. There were too many of us. We had access to too much money, too much equipment, and, little by little, we went insane.”
While the troubled production of Coppola’s epic, brutal, psychedelic war film had been well documented in the press while it was being made – from finance issues to actors being re-cast, and health problems to extreme weather – it would not be until 1991 that the true extent of the chaos would become clear via Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse.
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The shoot was meant to last five months – but ended up taking over a year (Credit: Alamy)
The documentary was assembled from extensive footage that Coppola’s wife Eleanor shot while on set, depicting a film production that while breathtaking in scope, ambition and vision, was equally messy, drug-addled, and riddled with seemingly insurmountable setbacks. Fax Bahr and the late George Hickenlooper were the two young directors tasked with combing through reel after reel to piece together the madness and tell the gripping story of the film’s making. Now that film, having undergone a 4K restoration, is back in US and UK cinemas from this weekend.
Bahr still recalls the first day he saw Coppola’s footage, which had been sitting, largely untouched, for over a decade. “Some of the reports had been, ‘Oh, there’s a lot of out-of-focus stuff,’” he tells the BBC. “But the reels we looked at were extraordinary. Just beautiful footage. Clearly, she had been copiously recording everything that was happening. It was absolute gold.”
The long list of troubles
Apocalypse Now, loosely based on the 1899 novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, is considered one of the greatest works in cinematic history. However, it nearly fell apart at various stages. With filming starting in the Philippines in March 1976, it was initially set to be a five-month shoot – but in the end would last over a year. Coppola fired his leading man, Harvey Keitel, a few weeks in, and replaced him with Martin Sheen, who then suffered a near-fatal heart attack on location. Expensive sets were totally destroyed by a typhoon, and some actors were infected with hookworm parasites, while others leaned into heavy partying and drug-taking on set.
Then Marlon Brando, who was playing the AWOL Colonel Kurtz, showed up on set heavily overweight and completely unprepared, which forced Coppola to re-write and shoot the ending of the film to suit him. As time went on, the film was so drastically over budget that Coppola took on the role of financing it himself, which would have ruined him had it not made its money back. According to Eleanor Coppola’s book, Notes, even after the shoot had wrapped, during post-production, Coppola only gave himself a 20% likelihood that he could pull out a credible film from the wreckage.
Every day it would rain. It would rain like it was mad at you. It would rain sheets like I had never seen before – Damien Leake
The documentary paints a picture of a production that sets out to recreate the Vietnam war and, in many ways, ends up mirroring many of the same patterns of behaviour that took place among soldiers. One person suitably placed to make such a comparison is Chas Gerretsen, the Dutch war photographer and photojournalist who was brought onto the set for six months (the results were collected in the 2021 book Apocalypse Now: The Lost Photo Archive.) “Vietnam was insane, Apocalypse Now only slightly less so,” Gerretsen tells the BBC.
The harsh conditions were totally alien to most people there. “The crew complained a lot about the heat, humidity, hotel rooms, bugs, mosquitoes,” he says. “The mud – sometimes knee-deep – was a real challenge.” Damien Leake, who played a machine gunner in the film, was on set for three weeks and similarly remembers the physical as being unlike anything he had encountered. “The first thing I remember is getting off the plane and the humidity hits you like a wet mop,” he tells the BBC. “Having been from New York, I know humidity, but this was unbelievable.” The water was not safe to drink, geckos climbed the walls of the hut he stayed in, and the weather was biblical. “Every day it would rain,” he says. “It would rain like it was mad at you. It would rain sheets like I had never seen before.”
STUDIOCANAL
Francis Ford Coppola on set with his wife Eleanor, whose footage forms the core of Hearts of Darkness (Credit: STUDIOCANAL)
As the production dragged on, it became tough for the cast and crew, who started to miss life back home. “They were pretty much like the soldiers in Vietnam, who had never been further away from home than Canada,” recalls Gerretsen. “There was a lot of homesickness. One member of the crew went nearly every weekend to Manila – a three-to-four-hour trip, each way, over a bad road – and rented a hotel room overlooking the airport, just watching planes take off for the USA.”
It was such a unique film in film-making history. I don’t think anybody will ever be able to do anything like that again – Fax Bahr
Coppola’s vision was crumbling more and more as time went on. In particular, he couldn’t nail the ending of the film which, to this day, varies in several different edits and versions of the film. “I call this whole movie the Idiodyssey,” Coppola said at the time, as recorded in Hearts of Darkness. “None of my tools, none of my tricks, none of my ways of doing things works for this ending. I have tried so many times that I know I can’t do it. It might be a big victory to know that I can’t do it. I can’t write the ending to this movie.” However, his cast seemingly stayed loyal and committed. “Actors would walk through fire for Francis,” says Leake, “because he gives them such leeway and such a sense of them being able to make this [scene/character] their own. Then he then shapes it into what he wants. You can’t ask for more than that.”
While homesickness plagued many, Leake had a different experience. He calls his time on the shoot “the most glorious three weeks of my life. I would go hang out with Filipino people, which I adored. I thought they were wonderful. I fell in love with a beautiful girl and if I had had a bigger part in the film, I’d probably still be there. I loved it that much.”
Telling the behind-the-scenes story
Once Bahr began to work through all the footage, it was only then that it sunk in just how miraculous it was that this film existed at all. “I knew that it was an extremely challenging film to pull off, but until you get into the nitty gritty of the footage, you couldn’t really understand the horrendous obstacles that they kept facing.”
As such, the task Bahr had in telling the story behind the story was a challenge itself, requiring him to dig through around 80 hours of footage. “The first cut of the documentary was four and a half hours,” he explains. “Because Ellie (Coppola) kept shooting after the production was over, we had a whole post-production section [in the original cut].” And of course, there was plenty of drama during that process, even when Coppola and his team were out of the jungle and back in the comfort of a studio. “One of the editors absconded with the print and holed up in a hotel room,” Bahr recalls. “Nobody could find him and they thought that the whole thing was stolen. Then he would send back burned celluloid in envelopes saying, ‘I’m getting rid of the film, scene by scene’. They were just freaking out.” Thankfully, the creative differences that had caused the rift and theft were resolved before any serious damage was done.
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Marlon Brando, who played Colonel Kurtz, was notoriously erratic during filming (Credit: Alamy)
Bahr recalls the moment when he knew that the documentary had uncovered something foundational. “The discovery of the audio tapes that Ellie made of Francis was revelatory,” he says of the audio recordings that play out over scenes in the film. “Ellie was the only person on Earth who was capable of capturing Francis like that – up close and personal. This was putting you right here with an American master in his most private moments and it was a real glimpse into the very centre of creativity: its doubt, worry, angst, and working out these ideas. That was incredibly special.”
Coppola gave Bahr and Hickenlooper his blessing to do what they wanted with the footage. His only instruction was: be honest. “He said, ‘There’s some ugly things that happened here, but as long as you tell the story honestly, I’ll support it.’” The only request he made was that the narration, which had been done by a voice actor, was re-recorded by his wife, given that the material was hers and, in many ways, this was a story seen through her eyes. It was a final masterstroke move that made the documentary feel like even more of a raw insider’s look at the film shoot.
“The nicest thing that anyone says to me about the documentary is that it’s a necessary accessory to understanding Apocalypse Now,” says Bahr. “People say, ‘Well, I saw Apocalypse Now and loved it, but after I saw your documentary, I understood it in a more comprehensive way.’ That’s the highest compliment possible.”
For Bahr, Apocalypse Now exists as a total one-off. “It was such a unique film in film-making history,” he says. “I don’t think anybody will ever be able to do anything like that again. Not just because Francis was willing to stake his whole fortune on it, but also just because of the ambition. I mean, he intended to go to the Philippines and recreate Vietnam for the crew and have everybody in the company go through that experience. It was such a brilliant vision.”
For Gerretsen, his experiences have become almost impossible to distinguish from his memories of actual war zones. “The explosions, the coloured smoke, the hours of waiting for the scene to be set up – everything is mixed,” he says. When he did watch the finished film, its impact was significant. “It was incredible in the way it brought it all back. It was a masterpiece, no doubt, but it would be several years before I could watch it again. Both the Vietnam and Cambodian wars, and Apocalypse Now, continue to be with me because the insanity of war is still with us.”
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse is in UK cinemas from 4 July, and will play at New York’s Film Forum from 4 July, and other US cinemas nationally from 18 July. A 4k Blu-ray collector’s edition will be available to buy in the UK from 28 July.
It appears that India is gradually lifting its digital restrictions on Pakistani celebrities and entertainment content, with users across the country reporting renewed access to previously blocked Instagram profiles and YouTube channels.
On Tuesday, several Indian users noticed they could once again view the Instagram accounts of Pakistani stars such as Yumna Zaidi, Dananeer Mobeen, Ahad Raza Mir, Azaan Sami Khan, Mawra Hocane, Ameer Gilani, and Danish Taimoor — all of which were previously restricted following the rise in tensions between the two neighbours following the Pahalgam attack in May, for which India blamed Pakistan, an accusation Pakistan has repeatedly denied.
Indian X user Sonam Mahajan drew attention to the change, posting: “BREAKING: Instagram accounts of Pakistani artists Yumna Zaidi, Dananeer Mobeen, Ahad Raza Mir, Azaan Sami, Mawra Hocane, Ameer Gilani and Danish Taimoor, which were restricted in India in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, are now accessible again.”
She added that official YouTube channels for Pakistani broadcasters HUM TV, Har Pal Geo, and ARY Digital had also been unblocked.
Indian publication Filmfare later confirmed that these profiles and platforms were indeed accessible in the country without VPNs. However, some Pakistani celebrity accounts, including that of actor Hania Aamir — who is currently starring alongside Diljit Dosanjh in Sardaar Ji 3 and enjoyed considerable support in India prior to Pahalgam — remain unaccessible.
Other major names such as Mahira Khan, Fawad Khan, and Atif Aslam continue to remain inaccessible on Indian platforms, according to the outlet. No official explanation has been issued by Indian authorities about the partial rollback.
The move has sparked criticism in India’s online spaces, particularly from those who support the ongoing digital blockout of Pakistani content. “It’s shameful that you have done this,” one user wrote while tagging India’s Ministry of Electronics and IT.
Another questioned the apparent inconsistency: “We banned them for nationalism. Now unbanned them for… nautanki (drama)?”
Many failed to understand the rationale behind the move, calling on the Indian government for an explanation.
One user sarcastically referenced the restrictions on Sardaar Ji 3, which is not releasing in India, writing: “Diljit be like — ‘When this is what you had to do, then why didn’t you let my film release in India?’”
The film has become a flashpoint after India blamed Pakistan for the deadly Pahalgam attack — allegations Pakistan has strongly denied. What followed was a sharp military escalation, including overnight Indian airstrikes on Pakistani territory. According to the ISPR, the strikes hit six sites, killing 31 civilians and injuring 57, including women and children.
Pakistani celebrities, including Aamir, issued statements condemning the attacks. The actor’s Instagram story, calling the strikes “cowardly” and “shameful,” sparked backlash across the border and calls for a boycott of the film.
As part of the fallout, several Pakistani social media accounts and entertainment platforms were blocked in India. That makes the recent quiet reversal all the more surprising.
However, not all reactions were critical. Some Indian fans welcomed the move and called for a broader cultural unblocking. “Then what is the problem in releasing the Sardaar Ji 3 movie?” one user asked.
Others voiced support for restoring access to Pakistani music on Indian platforms. Pakistani songs were removed from Indian libraries on Spotify following a directive from the Indian government.
“What wrong did Atif Aslam do? Please unblock his account,” read one post.
“I just want Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Noor Jehan and Kavish back,” another wrote.
It’s unclear what the Indian government’s strategy is here and whether this signals a softening in its policy on cross-border collaborations and cultural exchanges. Either way, the digital border appears to be shifting once again — albeit quietly.
Meghan Markle upsets Prince Harry with shocking tone-deaf move
Meghan Markle may have been riding high in the success of her booming business ventures, but her insensitive move has seemingly caused deep pain to her husband Prince Harry.
The Duchess of Sussex has been focusing on expanding her lifestyle brand, As Ever, and has quickly been adding new items to her collection. After Meghan’s restock and special summer items sold out within an hour after release on June 20, the former Suits star launched her 2023 Napa Valley Rosé on Tuesday.
As expected, the wine was sold out in the next hour from the website. However, royal experts pointed out how Meghan’s choice date for the launch had been rather tone-deaf.
Prince Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana, passed away in a tragic car crash in 1996, in which the driver was found to be drunk leading to the sad demise of the beloved princess.
Meghan’s wine launch coincided with the same day as what would have been Diana’s 64th birthday.
According to royal reporter and commentator, Kinsey Schofield, Meghan had made a “cruel” move to “hijack” Diana’s memory.
claims that the release of the beverage on the late Princess Diana’s birthday has “struck a nerve” with those in the royal household.
“I think Diana’s death remains one of the most heart-breaking and symbolic moments in modern royal history,” she said during a discussion with The Sun.
“Linking that memory, whether intentionally or accidentally, to a commercial product, especially one tied to alcohol, feels like a profound misjudgement.”
Schofield added, “There are 363 other days to launch a wine or an alcohol brand. Choosing this one, even if unintentional, speaks volumes.”
The expert pointed out that Harry would have been upset by the move which was “shockingly tone deaf”.
She noted that July 1 is a “tough day” for Harry as he would still be “thinking about the mother he lost, the mother that he loved, the mother that he talks to us about constantly”. Meanwhile, Meghan would be “excited” for her launch, a sharp contrast.
Liam Gallagher performing at One Love Manchester. Photograph: Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA
After One Love Manchester, few thought the feud could get any worse. But when Noel’s wife Sara MacDonald is asked if she would watch Liam’s performance at Glastonbury she declines and calls Liam a “fat twat doing his tribute act”. Noel then posts a screenshot of a message Liam sent to Noel’s daughter Anaïs reading “tell your step mam to be very careful”.
“So you’re sending threatening messages via my teenage daughter now are you?”, Noel wrote. “You always were good at intimidating women though eh?” Liam apologises: “My sincere apologies to my beautiful mum Peggy and my lovely niece Anais for getting caught up in all of this childish behaviour I love you both dearly”.
5 August
Noel speaks to the Guardian in an interview headlined with the quote: “I liked my mum until she gave birth to Liam.”
Noel adds: “That’s not the first time he’s sent texts to my daughter, or left threatening phone calls on my wife’s answering machine. So when he’s threatening my wife via my teenage daughter, I’m thinking, you know, if you weren’t a rock star, if you were just an uncle who worked in a garage, you’d be getting a visit from the police. But because you’re a rockstar, wahey, you get away with that shit.”
Noel says the incident means they are unlikely to ever reconcile. “Because I’ve got one fatal flaw in my otherwise perfect makeup as a human being, which is I don’t forgive people. Once you start texting my children – and his two sons have been going for her, too – and legitimise my wife being bullied on the internet, where she has to shut down Instagram accounts because of the vile shit being written about her and my daughter, then it ain’t happening.”
He also uses the interview for a dig at Liam’s new solo music. “I think it’s unsophisticated music. For unsophisticated people. Made by an unsophisticated man. Who’s giving unsophisticated orders to a load of songwriters who think they’re doing the Oasis thing … I reckon if I put my two sons in a room – one’s nine, one’s 11 – for about 45 minutes, they could probably muster up something better than that new single of his.”
American rapper Kanye West has been blocked from entering Australia over a song glorifying Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Australia’s home affairs minister Tony Burke revealed that his department had cancelled West’s valid visa after the song Heil Hitler was released in early May.
West’s song has been widely condemned and has been banned on most platforms.
The highly controversial rapper, also known as Ye, identifies as a Nazi and is known for his anti-Semitic comments. He is married to Australian designer Bianca Censori.
Mr Burke revealed the visa cancellation in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, during a discussion about the visa cancellation of another person over their Islamophobic comments.
“If someone argued that anti-Semitism was rational, I would not let them come here,” Mr Burke said, while bringing up West’s case.
“[West] has been coming to Australia for a long time… and he’s made a lot of offensive comments.
“But my officials looked at it again once he released the Heil Hitler song, and he no longer has a valid visa in Australia.”
It is not clear if West has been permanently banned from Australia. Mr Burke said that visa applications would be reassessed each time they are made, in accordance with Australian law.
But when asked if any visa ban on West would be sustainable, Mr Burke said: “I think that what’s not sustainable is to import hatred… We have enough problems in this country already without deliberately importing bigotry.”
It is not the first time Australia considered blocking West. In 2023, Australia’s education minister Jason Clare had also condemned West’s “awful” comments on Hitler and the Holocaust, and suggested he could be denied entry.
Amid the current backlash, Heil Hitler raked up millions of views within a day of its release in May.
The song is part of the Grammy-winning artist’s new album WW3, which also contains other tracks with controversial lyrics.
The music video for Heil Hitler, released on 8 May, shows a group of men wearing animal skins and chanting the song’s title. It has been banned on streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
But shortly after its release, West said he was “done with anti-Semitism” and released a new version of Heil Hitler – titled Hallelujah. The new song replaced earlier references to Nazism with lyrics relating to Christianity.
West has in recent years sparked controversy for his anti-Semitic remarks. Earlier this year, he declared himself a Nazi and retracted an apology for earlier comments.
In 2022, sportswear giant Adidas announced it was ending its partnership with West over his anti-Semitism.
Late last year, the company said it had reached a settlement with him to end all legal proceedings between them.
