Category: 5. Entertainment

Before guests stepped into the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris on Sunday night for the inaugural Bal d’Été, stickers were affixed to the lenses of their smartphone cameras so they wouldn’t take pictures of the potted palms and crystal chandeliers decorating the central nave; of the round tables set with flickering votives and gobsmacking arrangements of flowers and fruit; of the chrysanthemums frozen into the ring of ice used to ferry oval scoops of strawberry ice cream to the strawberry tarts for dessert; or of Sophia Coppola, a vision in Chanel haute couture and bouncy hair, arriving at a party completely art directed by her, from the fiery rose dinner napkins to the blistering after-party set by pop band Phoenix, fronted by her husband Thomas Mars.

It was lovely, evoking a pre-Instagram era where you simply had to savor how stunning Diane Kruger looked in her pale, fluttering Alberta Ferretti gown; the spectacle of Jordan Roth arriving in a Valentino couture gown that required four men to manage the train; and the surprising ingredients that went into Total Madness, a vodka-based cocktail created by Colin Field, the famous bartender from the Hemingway at the Ritz.

“I just stepped in. It looks gorgeous,” Kirsten Dunst, the star of Coppola’s “Marie Antoinette” and “Virgin Suicides” said as she shimmied between the closely spaced dinner tables in a silver sequin gown.

“It’s stunning,” concurred makeup artist Pat McGrath, eying the dense, pink and red table arrangements by Belgian florist Thierry Boutemy. “There’s a lot of lipstick inspiration, and also perfume inspiration here,” she enthused.

Penelope Cruz, Keira Knightley and a host of fashion designers including Pieter Mulier, Zac Posen, Julie de Libran and Gabriela Hearst piled into the party, pausing for official portraits amid carefully arranged greenery and copious delphiniums.

“I glammed up for once,” said Hearst, wearing a strapless blue gown of her own design and singing the praises of Les Arts Decoratifs.

“The recent Christofle exhibit that they did was mind-blowing,” she said. “There are very few places in the world were you can visit the treasure chest of how beautiful things are made.”

“Everything can be looked at for its esthetic beauty – toys, shoes, flowers, chests of drawers, cookware,” Roth concurred.

“My favorite show here was the Maharaja show, it was to die for,” said Betty Catroux, referring to the 2019 exhibition at Les Arts Décoratifs that shed light on the life of art patron Maharaja Yeshwant Rao Holkar II, who became Maharaja of Indore in 1930.

Opera singer Pretty Yende, who performed “O mio babbino caro” to the rapt room, said 18th-century interiors are her favorite, and she was relishing the opulence of the dinner decor. “It’s colorful, it’s beautiful. It’s so warm in the room. I love it.”

Told that the Paris museum’s collection spans from furniture, tableware, textiles and jewelry to toys, advertising, drawings and photographs, Knightley exclaimed: “Maybe I should visit the chairs!”

The English actress, also in Paris to attend the Chanel haute couture show, said she would start work on season 2 of the spy thriller “Black Doves” in about a month. “We’re filming in London and around, I should imagine.”

No summer holidays yet either for Kruger, who has about 10 days of filming left in Spain for “Each of Us,” a drama about the Ravensbrück women’s concentration camp during the final days of the Second Word War. “So this is quite a departure,” she commented. 

Paloma Picasso fondly recalled a trawl through the museums’s archives a few years back when she was working on the scenery a theater production set in the 1910s. “They didn’t have the cushions, but they had the drawings of the cushions,” she said.

The Bal d’Été, which helped kick off Paris Couture Week, helped raise funds for upcoming exhibitions, which will include “1925-2025: One Hundred Years of Art Deco,” slated to open on Oct. 22.

Film-makers have long used their movies as Trojan horses to express their political beliefs and values and Catherine Hardwicke is no different. In her 2003 debut feature, Thirteen, and her 2008 teen vampire hit Twilight, the writer-director bolstered the stories with environmentally and socially conscious messaging to inspire people to “save the planet”. And with her latest film, Street Smart, which she describes as “a kind of homeless The Breakfast Club”, she is still “sneaking in” her “good values”.

Street Smart, now in post-production, is a low-budget ensemble drama, executive-produced by Gerard Butler and partnered with charities Covenant House and Safe Place for Youth, that centres on a group of unhoused teens bonding through music, trauma and humour while fending for themselves on the margins of LA society. It stars Yara Shahidi (Grown-ish), Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan) and Michael Cimino (Never Have I Ever), as well as a group of unknown actors whom Hardwicke describes as having “big hearts and compassion for others; otherwise, they would be trying to work on a superhero film”.

Homelessness is a major issue affecting the Californian city. Just last week, US district judge David O Carter ruled that Los Angeles officials had “flouted” their responsibility to create new shelters for unhoused people by June 2027. The humanitarian crisis in Los Angeles, exacerbated by the Pacific Palisades and Altadena wildfires in January, is an issue that longtime Venice Beach resident Hardwicke was keen to explore. “We shot on my street, so it’s very close to my heart,” she says. “It’s a love letter to Venice, because we have so many eccentric, strange characters of all economic levels.

“Everybody’s going through so much, and [there’s] such high rent in LA,” she adds. “Even if you have a job, you still might be homeless, crashing here [and] there, because a job doesn’t pay that much. The kids in our movie have jobs – how do you make ends meet?”

Hardwicke, who is in Malta as a jury member at the Mediterrane film festival, says her film addresses a bigger target: Trump’s rollback ofprovisions such as reproductive healthcare access, welfare budgets, and diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. “Even though we wrote it before he got elected, Street Smart is directly addressing some of [these] issues,” she says. “It’s telling a compelling story that shows people who do not look like Donald Trump, or think like him.”

Hardwicke is no stranger to film-making hardship. Despite her early successes, which included sparking the YA movie boom with the hugely successful adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s novel Twilight, Hardwicke discovered a harsh truth: “No, people aren’t going to hire more women directors. They’re not going to give you the next job and let you do something great. It was an earth-shattering reality right away.”

She recalls the offices of Twilight producers Summit Entertainment soon after the film’s initial box-office success in 2008. She knew that successful male directors might be gifted “a car, or a three-picture deal, or [getting] to do basically whatever you want” – but none of that happened. “I walked into a room with all these gifts, and everybody was congratulating the studio, and they gave me a box,” Hardwicke says. “I opened it up, and it was a mini cupcake.”

Hardwicke was replaced by Chris Weitz for the first Twilight sequel, New Moon, and male directors were hired to helm the remaining three films in the franchise. Hardwicke went on to direct 2011’s Red Riding Hood, produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and starring Amanda Seyfried, but “it was much more challenging”, she says. “It had a lower budget than we had on Twilight, and it was all fantasy, so we couldn’t shoot any real locations and had to build all the sets. They didn’t give me much freedom.”

Still, Hardwicke has been able to exert her will when it comes to casting, and in the process has launched the careers of some of Hollywood’s biggest actors, from Evan Rachel Wood and Robert Pattinson – she was at his birthday party 18 months ago – to Oscar Isaac in The Nativity Story and her “buddy” Jeremy Renner in Lords of Dogtown, which this year marks its 20th anniversary. “I gave him an early shot,” Hardwicke says of the Hawkeye and Avengers star. “I thought Jeremy and Shea Whigham would be funny brothers who sell [cocaine]. I love all of my kids.”

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Hardwicke also has a cheerful memory of working with Tom Cruise. Before switching to directing, she was a production designer with credits on Richard Linklater’s The Newton Boys, David O Russell’s Three Kings and Cameron Crowe’s Vanilla Sky, the last of which Cruise starred in and produced. Hardwicke had been a last-minute addition, replacing the previous production designer two weeks into the shoot. She remembers late nights with the actor-producer: “He was inspiring because he does not settle for anything less than excellence.”

Hardwicke says Cruise offered to stay late to work out a conference-room set up. “He and I are acting out the scene, we’re rearranging the furniture until one in the morning,” she says. “I’m like, ‘Dude, aren’t you even tired?’ He had to be back at [7 am], but he wanted to get it right. Every chance he had. He never stopped.”

Nowadays, Cruise’s intense commitment is mostly seen in the Mission: Impossible franchise, but despite her fondness for Cruise’s work ethic, when asked if she’d ever helm one of his spy films, Hardwicke chuckles: “Not necessarily.”

LAHORE –  Pakistan’s film industry earned international acclaim at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Film Festival 2025, as two Pakistani films, Deemak and Nayab, received top honors at the prestigious event held in Yangzhou, China.

The five-day festival concluded with Deemak winning the Best Editing Award, while Nayab secured the Special Jury Award, marking a significant moment for Pakistani cinema on the global stage.

Director Rafiq Rashdi and actress Sonya Hussyn accepted the Best Editing award on behalf of Deemak while Nayab’s director Umair Nasir Ali and lead actor Usama Khan received the Special Jury Award.

A high-profile Pakistani delegation attended the festival, comprising Shehzad Rafique, Chairman of the Pakistan Film Producers Association and jury member; prominent film distributor Nadeem Mandviwalla; Irfan Malik; Minister of State for Education Wajiha Qamar; Director General DEMP Samina Farzeen; Manzoor Ali from the Pakistani Embassy in China; Nayab’s producer Romina Umair; Nauman Khan; and actor Usama Khan.

Deemak stars renowned actors Faisal Qureshi, Sonya Hussyn, and Samina Peerzada in lead roles, while Nayab features Yumna Zaidi and Usama Khan.

Lewis Capaldi is officially bringing his powerhouse vocals back to Australia and New Zealand later this year, marking his first headline tour in the region in more than five years.

The Scottish singer-songwriter will hit arenas across seven cities, kicking off at Christchurch’s Wolfbrook Arena on Nov. 30 before making stops in Auckland, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and wrapping at Perth’s RAC Arena on Dec. 17. The tour is presented by Secret Sounds, Live Nation and WME.

The announcement follows Capaldi’s emotional return to the stage at Glastonbury Festival last month, where he drew a headline-sized Pyramid Stage crowd for a hit-packed set that doubled as a triumphant comeback after two years out of the spotlight. “Second time’s a charm on this one,” Capaldi told the crowd. “I just wanted to come and finish what I couldn’t finish last time.”

During the set, he debuted his new single “Survive” alongside fan favorites “Before You Go,” “Grace,” “Hold Me While You Wait,” “Bruises” and a unifying performance of “Someone You Loved.” The appearance came after warm-up gigs in Scotland for Mental Health Awareness Week, which were held in partnership with mental health charity CALM.

Fans who purchased tickets to his cancelled 2023 tour will have priority access through a Past Ticket Holders Presale running from July 10 at 11 a.m. local time until July 14 at 11 a.m. local. A Secret Sounds presale follows on July 11, before tickets open to the general public on July 14 at 12 p.m. local time.

The tour arrives as Capaldi enters a new chapter in his career. His latest single “Survive” reunites him with Romans, co-writer of his global smash “Someone You Loved.” That song recently hit 10x Platinum in Australia and remains the U.K.’s most streamed song of all time.

Capaldi’s sophomore album, Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent, gave him his second U.K. No. 1 album and spawned three chart-topping singles: “Pointless,” “Wish You The Best” and the platinum-certified “Forget Me.” His 2019 debut, Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent, was the biggest-selling U.K. album of 2019 and 2020 and earned him BRIT Awards and a Grammy nomination.

The star also found global streaming success with his Netflix documentary Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now, which became the platform’s most-watched film upon release in April 2023, offering fans an unflinching look at the pressures of fame and the mental health struggles behind his meteoric rise.

Tickets and tour information are available at secretsounds.com.

Lewis Capaldi 2025 Australia and New Zealand Tour Dates

Nov. 30 – Wolfbrook Arena, Christchurch

Dec. 2 – Spark Arena, Auckland

Dec. 4 – Entertainment Centre, Brisbane

Dec. 6 – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney

Dec. 12 – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne

Dec. 15 – Entertainment Centre, Adelaide

Dec. 17 – RAC Arena, Perth

MELBOURNE, Australia — A woman has sustained severe injuries to an arm when she was attacked by a lion at an Australian zoo.

The Darling Downs Zoo in Queensland state said the 50-year-old woman was watching animal keepers working in the zoo’s carnivore precinct before opening hours Sunday morning when she was attacked.

She was flown by helicopter from the rural town of Pilton to the state capital Brisbane where she underwent surgery. Her condition was stable, the zoo said in a statement Sunday. Several news media reported the woman lost the injured arm.

The zoo said staff were working with government workplace safety investigators to determine how the incident happened. The state government confirmed an investigation was underway.

“Inexplicably, at this stage, one animal grabbed her by one arm and caused severe damage to it,” the zoo statement said.

“At no stage did this animal leave its enclosure and there was no risk at all to staff members or members of the public.”

The woman was not a staff member but a “much loved member” of the zoo’s “family,” the statement added.

She had watched keepers at work many times over the past 20 years and was “well versed in safety protocols around potentially dangerous animals,” the zoo said.

Staff at the 48-hectare (119-acre) zoo declined media interviews on Monday. The zoo planned to reopen Tuesday for the first time since the attack.

“The animal will definitely not be put down or punished in any way,” the statement said.

Five years ago, two lions mauled and critically injured a keeper inside their enclosure at the Shoalhaven Zoo in the state of New South Wales.

Lauryn Hill played to a largely empty stadium on Friday night as part of the 2025 Essence Festival of Culture, after taking the stage hours after scheduled.

While Hill has a bit of a reputation for late shows, this time it appeared out of her hands as Essence’s first day as a whole started late on Friday. Hill had been added to the lineup days prior — with the rest of Friday’s lineup including GloRilla, the Isley Brothers, Babyface and Maxwell. Coco Jones, who also stars on the Peacock show Bel-Air, was an unannounced performer. Singer Lucky Daye and Kandi Burruss’ girl group, Psiryn, were also early performers.

GloRilla ended her set when The Isley Brothers had been scheduled to end theirs, forcing the group to start at Babyface’s original time. After the Isleys’ hour, Babyface didn’t start until after midnight, with the the 19-time Grammy winner digging into his substantial songwriting catalogue delivering renditions of hits that included Bobby Brown (“Don’t Be Cruel,” “Every Little Step I Take”), Boys II Men (“I’ll Make Love to You,” “End of the Road”), TLC (“Baby-Baby-Baby,” “Red Light Special”), The Whispers (“Rock Steady”) and Toni Braxton (“Another Sad Love Song,” “Love Shoulda Brought You Home” from the film Boomerang).

Maxwell began performing mere minutes before 1 a.m. After delivering several of his hits from his debut album, Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite, the “Fortunate” singer cut his set short. Not long after Maxwell’s exit, Kenny Burns, an Essence Festival emcee, announced that Hill was in the building. As multiple workers took the stage to change the setup for the beloved star’s performance, time kept ticking away. Even as the stage appeared equipped for a performance, the delay continued. Technical difficulties were only announced about five to 10 minutes before Hill was announced to be finally coming to the stage.

“Family is family and around here we protect our own no matter what the PEOPLE have to say,” Essence Festival wrote in a statement on Instagram Sunday. “She arrived on schedule,” the fest continued, taking responsibility for the delay and defending Hill. “Let’s be very clear— WE don’t play about Ms. Lauryn Hill. She stepped on that stage, and delivered the kind of performance only a legend can. The delay? Not hers. We will take that. The moment? One for the books. The legacy? Still unmatched.”

While some fans were giving her grief online over the late start, several others came to her defense.

Or, let’s post what actually happened.

It’s very easy to get Lauryn Hill trending with false narratives.

Let’s provide the facts. The entire festival was pushed back.

This was literally not her fault.

Me on the other hand, I would have gone home. Contract or not. Bye. https://t.co/F5JUeXUbQv

— ERIC LAMONT (@EricUnedited) July 5, 2025

Fans who stuck around for Hill’s performance got a treat. A robust band of more than 10 members played as Black history montages filled the background screens. Hill emerged in a blue polka dot full-length dress wearing a gele atop her head and a low-hanging statement necklace showcasing what appeared to be fertility figurines.

While Hill rarely performs songs as arranged on her critically acclaimed The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, the sped-up versions she typically opts for live landed exceptionally well. Her rendition of “Ex-Factor” packed an emotional punch. So did “To Zion.”

Hill’s voice was fierce and clear as she subtly recounted the pressures she faced within the music industry not to carry her first child. “Essence Festival — 27, 28 years ago, I sang that song about this young man right here. I need you to make some noise for Zion Marley. Come on!” she commanded.

After Zion performed a couple of songs, Hill resumed in extremely personable fashion. She later brought out another of her sons, YG Marley, and demanded the audience give him a proper greeting. He rewarded them with a robust but brief performance of reggae songs like his hit “Marching to Freedom,” reminiscent in tone of those of his iconic grandfather Bob Marley. Hill returned after his performance with even more force, delivering an impassioned rendition of “Killing Me Softly With His Song” in tribute to Roberta Flack, as photographs of the iconic singer who died in February flashed behind her.

Asking for permission to do one more song, Hill issued a request to the crowd, declaring that “I need y’all to get low, come on,” before asking for the Fugees fans in the venue and performing their hit “Fu-Gee-La,” amazingly high-spirited as she rhymed furiously and only making the song truly recognizable with the “Fu-la-la” chorus.

“Thank you. Good night y’all. God bless you,” Hill said as she ended the show in the early morning. It was arguably one of her best performances in recent memory, and she delivered it as if the house was packed, even as only the very faithful few remained.