Category: 5. Entertainment

The PUMA x Skepta “White” Pack drops July 5, 2025, via PUMA.com, PUMA flagship stores, and select retailers. 

Unless you are a big fan of what the American charts call “mainstream rock” and entering late middle age round about now, you may never have heard of 90s outfit Collective Soul. And yet this clearly band-endorsed documentary hypes them so much, you may question your own remembrance of things past. For instance, much is made of Collective Soul’s first big hit, Shine from 1993, which first broke out via airplay at an Atlanta college radio station, with the film giving the impression that everyone was humming this tune back in the day. This may not in fact have been the case: you might associate the time more with the likes of Whitney Houston, Nirvana and dancefloor fillers like Rhythm Is a Dancer.

It turns out that Collective Soul, named after a phrase in Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, is a classic rawk outfit with a guitar-heavy, chunky-riff and wailing-vocals sound, somewhat generic but enjoyable. The group is built around Stockbridge, Georgia, brothers Ed Roland (the lead singer and songwriter) and his rhythm guitarist brother Dean; they are the sons of a preacher man and father figures and old friends feature very heavily in their story. The film works its way through the band’s pre-history and story methodically, with Ed Roland dominant throughout as literally and figuratively the group’s loudest voice.

Give Me a Word hits every station of the rock band cross, from the years of toil in obscurity, working in music shops and trying out different sounds and collaborators, then the aforementioned big break, and the years when they should have been making bank but were getting ripped off by poor contract reading skills. At one point they even play Woodstock (the 1994 edition, not the big ’69 event) in front of nearly half a million people, and yet they were still sleeping four people to a room and taking home about $150 a week.

Soon, the inevitable musical differences and fallings out reshuffle the line-up. But they’re all such nice guys, despite the flamboyant swearing and boasting about the partying, that the film only barely mentions that the bust-up between Ed and lead guitarist Ross Childress had something to do with a romantic betrayal. Indeed, the film seems rather ripe with pendulant silences on certain subjects and areas of the band members’ lives. We meet no current wives or girlfriends, although their existence is often invoked. And yet one of the people Ed gets most weepy about is a gay friend from high school who died of a drug overdose back in the day, leaving the singer with an enduring and overwhelming sense of loss.

Apart from Ed and Dean’s still living mother and one or two others, there are practically no women in the movie, except for the great Dolly Parton, who covered Shine. Somehow it says it all about the slippery nature of fame when Ed mentions – with amusement, rue and just a tiny trace of resentment – that people just assume that Shine was written by Parton rather than himself.

WEAVE: biophilic, experience-led destination

Benoy celebrates the opening of WEAVE at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) — a bold new lifestyle destination that reimagines the guest experience through biophilic architecture, sensory immersion and sustainable design.

Designed by Benoy, WEAVE sets a new benchmark for tropical, experience-led architecture in Singapore, a design-forward hub where architecture, nature and community seamlessly converge.

A living landscape inspired by nature

Spanning over 20,000 sqm across three interconnected levels, WEAVE blends lush greenery, organic forms and nature-integrated retail into a living environment that transforms throughout the day. Its architecture draws from the island’s natural topography and cultural richness, inviting guests on a journey that is both restorative and inspiring.

Azaria Lee stated, ​“WEAVE was envisioned as a living, breathing sanctuary, an architecture of movement, light and landscape. We sought to dissolve boundaries between indoor and outdoor, inviting guests to slow down, explore and reconnect with nature through spatial moments that surprise, shelter and inspire.”

A rainforest-inspired experience

Guided by a rainforest-inspired spatial concept, WEAVE unfolds from cool, shaded botanical valleys at the lower levels to vibrant floral terraces above. Natural textures, asymmetrical façades and open-air walkways foster a sense of fluidity and calm, while encouraging moments of community, rest and discovery.

Greening the guest experience

Sustainability is integrated in every level throughout WEAVE’s design, from ETFE canopies that reduce solar heat gain by up to 80%, to passive cooling, green walls, rainwater harvesting and recyclable structural materials. Together, these strategies support RWS’s ambition to become a carbon-neutral destination by 2030.

A gateway between nature, community and commerce

Strategically positioned within the wider RWS masterplan, WEAVE functions as a dynamic gateway, its central location linking key guest flows across the resort and iconic attractions, while shaping an immersive day-to-night journey through space, nature and experience. 

Its distinctive Lifestyle Villas feature expansive glass façades and multi-storey decks that open to nature, overlooking lively corridors framed by greenery and seasonal activity. These spaces offer a vibrant platform where community and commerce meet, inviting both local and global brands to thrive.

Looking ahead

Benoy congratulates Resorts World Sentosa on the launch of WEAVE and is proud to have shaped its architectural vision. We look forward to seeing how this vibrant, nature-led destination invites people to explore, connect and linger.

Download the full press release here.

Image courtesy of Resorts World Sentosa

Rev the engines! Keanu Reeves is looking to challenge Brad Pitt for the pole position.

F1: The Movie, the Formula One movie starring Pitt, was off to the races in its opening weekend, bringing Apple Original Films its first major theatrical win. Now, film star and motorsport enthusiast Keanu Reeves has unveiled a documentary series produced in partnership with North One, part of RedBird IMI‘s production giant All3Media, that will showcase the behind-the-scenes story of the Cadillac Formula 1 Team in its effort to build a racing team from the ground up amid signs of U.S. audiences’ growing need for speed.

With exclusive access to the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, owned by Mark Walter and Thomas Tull’s TWG Motorsports and General Motors, “the series traces the creation of the sport’s newest and uniquely American team as it prepares for its debut at the 2026 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season opener in Melbourne,” the producers said on Wednesday. “Reeves rejoins the production team from North One with his own KR+SH production company for this new series, serving as host and executive producer mere months after his International Emmy-award win for the acclaimed Disney+ docuseries Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story.”

Developed by Emmy-award-winning director and executive producer Simon Hammerson and three-time BAFTA-winning executive producer Neil Duncanson, the docuseries promises “to capture the ultimate story of sporting jeopardy in the high-octane world of Formula 1 and offer audiences a trackside seat for the whole ride,” according to the creative team. 
 
“I’m very honoured and excited to be a part of telling the remarkable Cadillac Formula 1 Team story and its incredible journey into the world of Formula 1 racing,” said Reeves. “Our goal with the docuseries is to bring audiences into the heart of this journey and showcase what it takes to participate in one of the most exclusive sports arenas in the world.”
  
In the new show, audiences will get “an intimate look at the unique challenges of assembling a competitive team on an accelerated timeline and receive a first-hand account of the vision behind establishing a distinctly American presence in a sport long dominated by European powerhouses,” North One said. “By documenting the challenges, setbacks, drive, and determination required to build a new contender in Formula 1, the series will captivate both motorsport fans and viewers interested in stories of resilience, cultural aspiration, and the pursuit of ambitious goals. The story will also explore the journey to build the first American-based team amidst the backdrop of Formula 1’s continuing growth with audiences in the U.S. and around the world.” 
 
The new team looking to join the pinnacle of motorsports is happy to let audiences peek under the hood. “This is a story of bold ambition and relentless drive,” said Dan Towriss, CEO of TWG Motorsports and the Cadillac Formula 1 Team. “We’re honored to work with Keanu, whose passion and knowledge of racing runs deep, and proud to partner with General Motors on this incredible story. We have an opportunity to welcome a new generation of fans to Formula 1, and Keanu’s creativity is the perfect spark to ignite that journey.”

KR&SH Productions is a documentary-focused production company founded by Reeves and Hammerson that created Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story.

King Charles’ senior aide issued a major update about the monarch’s cancer journey after Prince Harry expressed his concerns about his father’s health.

GB reported that the King’s new Keeper of the Privy Purse spoke at the annual Sovereign Grant briefing on Monday, where he praised the commitment and resilience of William and Harry’s papa.

While presenting royal finances for the year ending March 31, James Chalmers lauded King Charles’ “personal commitment to duty.

He added, “The King demonstrated remarkable resilience by undertaking a wide programme of public and state duties at home and overseas while continuing to receive treatment.”

For the unversed, Buckingham Palace announced King Charles’ cancer diagnosis in February 2024. The monarch returned to public-facing duties in April of the same year, the period in which finances were included in the Sovereign Grant Report.

James talked about the financial year as “something of a return to normal business after the health challenges faced by members of the family in the previous fiscal year.”

Despite undergoing treatment to cure his undisclosed form of cancer, the royal family’s aide said that the King’s only focus was his “personal commitment to duty, but also the adaptability and resilience of the Royal Household in ensuring continuity of service, no matter the personal circumstances.”

It is also important to note that Princess Catherine also revealed her cancer diagnosis during the same time, leaving royal fans deeply concerned about her and the King.

However, the future Queen is in remission from cancer after undergoing preventative chemotherapy. On the other hand, King Charles is still receiving medical treatment. 

Mawra Hocane.
| Photo Credit: mawrellous/Instagram

Creative Australia has reinstated artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino as Australia’s artistic team for the 2026 Venice Biennale, following an independent external review of the decision.

The pair had been dumped from the prestigious art exhibition earlier this year after Creative Australia’s board took the unprecedented decision to revoke their appointment.

“Today, we were officially informed by Creative Australia that we have been recommissioned as the Artistic Team for the Australia Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale,” the team said in a statement.

“We accept this invitation and welcome the opportunity to represent our country on this prestigious international stage.”

Just days after their selection was made public in February and following negative media and political commentary about two of Sabsabi’s historical artworks dating back nearly 20 years, Creative Australia’s board rescinded their contract, saying it wanted to avoid a “divisive debate”.

The artistic duo said the decision has renewed their confidence in Creative Australia and “in the integrity of its selection process”.

“It offers a sense of resolution and allows us to move forward with optimism and hope after a period of significant personal and collective hardship,” their statement said.

“We acknowledge that this challenging journey has impacted not only us, but also our families, friends, the staff at Creative Australia, and many others across the broader artistic community here and abroad.

“We would not have reached this point without the unwavering support of the Australian and international creative community.”

More details to follow

Edited by Valentin Bansac, Mike Fritsch, Alice Loumeau and Peter Szendy

Published by Spector Books

The Luxembourg Pavilion at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale is an invitation to close our eyes and actively listen. The installation hosted in the pavilion, Sonic Investigations, operates a radical shift away from the visual: it offers a cartography of various environments exclusively through sound. The volume, conceived as a companion to the sound installation in Venice, has a broad ambition: it argues for a counter-project to the hegemony of images.

Since the climate crisis can also be understood as a crisis of sensory perception and representation, it is all the more urgent to find new ways of approaching the ongoing environmental transformations. The act of listening allows for different forays into both anthropic and natural ecosystems. It directs our attention toward the vocality of other-than-human agencies; it empowers them with a voice of their own.

Field recording can thus be the prelude to another mapping of the world, attuning our ears to its various fault lines, to its tensions. And sounding becomes a powerful investigative tool, a way of auscultating the infrastructures of the present as well as the times to come. The concept of ecotone, a transitional space between two ecosystems, is a guiding thread for the authors of this volume as they listen to boundaries between territories, to urban patterns, to natural balances and imbalances, or to political fractures.

The book includes contributions by Peter Szendy, Shannon Mattern, Tim Ingold, Soline Nivet and Ariane Wilson, David George Haskell, Ludwig Berger, Philip Samartzis and Madelynne Cornish (Bogong Centre for Sound Culture), Nadine Schütz, Laure Brayer (AAU-CRESSON), Julia Grillmayr, Christina Gruber and Sophia Rut (Lobau Listening Comprehensions), Yuri Tuma (Institute for Postnatural Studies), Emma McCormick Goodhart, as well as a fiction piece by Xabi Molia and poems by Laura Vazquez and Cole Swensen. The graphic identity is designed by Pierre Vanni.

 

Public events of Sonic Investigations, Luxembourg Pavilion at the Venice Biennale
The activations extend the reflection on embodied practices and sensorial approaches to space through sound, offering a unique exploration of the performer’s and the audience’s body within soundscapes. The events will create a dialogue between the space of the pavilion and the infrastructural apparatus of the Venetian lagoon, together with local Italian sound artists and researchers.

October 7–10, 2025
Ecotongues (Residency and Performance inside the pavilion): Gaia Ginevra Giorgi (author, sound artist and performer)
Ecotongues explores mediumship as the ability to inhabit the threshold between the visible and the invisible, the audible and the inaudible, as a performative practice of interspecific intimacy between human and more-than-human entities.

October 25–26, 2025
Attunement Exercises: Nicola Di Croce (researcher and sound artist)
The two public exercises address the idea of ‘attunement’ as the possibility of entering ‘into resonance with’ the non-human, through an investigation of the sound sources of the Venice lagoon taking particularly into account the infrastructure systems and their relation to wilder ecosystems.

 

19th International Venice Architecture Biennale, Luxembourg Pavilion, Arsenale, Sale d’Armi, 1st floor / May 10–November 23, 2025.
Valentin Bansac, Mike Fritsch, Alice Loumeau with Ludwig Berger, Peter Szendy: Sonic Investigations

Commissioners appointed by the Luxembourg Ministry of Culture: Kultur | lx—Arts Council Luxembourg, LUCA—Luxembourg Center for Architecture / Curators: Valentin Bansac, Mike Fritsch, Alice Loumeau / Exhibitors: Valentin Bansac, Ludwig Berger, Anthea Caddy, Mike Fritsch, Alice Loumeau, Peter Szendy / Visual identity: Pierre Vanni.

Press contact: Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg
Emilie Gouleme, emilie.gouleme [​at​] kulturlx.lu,  T +352 621 680 028

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What’s the story

Aamir Khan’s latest film, Sitaare Zameen Par, has crossed the ₹130 crore mark at the box office within two weeks of its release.
The movie raked in around ₹4 crore on its second Tuesday (Day 12), taking the total collection to a solid ₹130.4 crore, reported Sacnilk.
The film started its box office journey with good numbers and has maintained steady growth since then.