Category: 5. Entertainment

Figures from across the film and TV world, including Oscar, BAFTA, Emmy and Palme d’Or winners, have signed a pledge saying they will refuse to work with Israeli institutions and companies that are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.”

The list of signatories — which has surpassed 1,200 names — includes filmmakers such as Yorgos Lanthimos, Ava DuVernay, Adam McKay, Boots Riley, Emma Seligman, Joshua Oppenheimer and Mike Leigh, and actors including Olivia Colman, Ayo Edebiri, Mark Ruffalo, Hannah Einbinder, Aimee Lou Wood, Paapa Essiedu, Emma Seligman, Gael Garcia Bernal, Riz Ahmed, Melissa Barrera, Cynthia Nixon, Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem and Josh O’Connor.

The pledge statement, published on Monday by the organization Film Workers for Palestine, states that examples of complicity include “whitewashing or justifying genocide and apartheid, and/or partnering with the government committing them,” and would include events such as the Jerusalem Film Festival (which partners with the Israeli government).

“Despite operating in Israel’s system of apartheid, and therefore benefiting from it, the vast majority of Israeli film production and distribution companies, sales agents, cinemas and other film institutions have never endorsed the full, internationally-recognized rights of the Palestinian people,” said Film Workers for Palestine.

“In this urgent moment of crisis, where many of our governments are enabling the carnage in Gaza, we must do everything we can to address complicity in that unrelenting horror,” reads the pledge.

According to the organizers, the mass declaration was inspired by Filmmakers United Against Apartheid, founded by Jonathan Demme, Martin Scorsese and 100 other prominent filmmakers in 1987 to demand that the U.S. film industry refuse to distribute films in apartheid South Africa.

“What we have been witnessing in Gaza over the past two years shocks the conscience,” said Einbinder. “As a Jewish American citizen whose tax dollars directly fund Israel’s assault on Gaza, I feel we must do everything in our power to end the genocide. At this pivotal moment, given the failure of our leaders, artists have to step up and refuse complicity.”

Last year, a similar pledge was signed by more than 7000 authors and book workers, including Sally Rooney and Viet Thanh Nguyen, boycotting ‘complicit’ Israeli publishers.

See the filmmaker pledge below:

As filmmakers, actors, film industry workers, and institutions, we recognize the power of cinema to shape perceptions. In this urgent moment of crisis, where many of our governments are enabling the carnage in Gaza, we must do everything we can to address complicity in that unrelenting horror.

The world’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, has ruled that there is a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza, and that Israel’s occupation and apartheid against Palestinians are unlawful. Standing for equality, justice, and freedom for all people is a profound moral duty that none of us can ignore. So too, we must speak out now against the harm done to the Palestinian people.

We answer the call of Palestinian filmmakers, who have urged the international film industry to refuse silence, racism, and dehumanization, as well as to “do everything humanly possible” to end complicity in their oppression.

Inspired by Filmmakers United Against Apartheid who refused to screen their films in apartheid South Africa, we pledge not to screen films, appear at or otherwise work with Israeli film institutions—including festivals, cinemas, broadcasters and production companies—that are implicated* in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.

* Examples of complicity include whitewashing or justifying genocide and apartheid, and/or partnering with the government committing them.

Giorgio Armani, the visionary Italian designer who redefined modern elegance and tailoring on the world’s stage, became a mainstay at red carpets and award shows after launching his eponymous brand in 1975. But despite his global dominance, Armani — who died at age 91 on September 4 — will be honored for the last time in a private funeral ceremony away from the spotlight and near his birthplace.

Armani was born in 1934, in the town of Piacenza, northern Italy. His intimate funeral will take place in Rivalta, a small village nearby. In preparation for the event, Rivalta will be closed off to tourists and visitors. Armani stores will also be closed in the afternoon as a mark of respect.

With around 20 guests expected to attend, the event stands in stark contrast to the weekend’s proceedings. Across Saturday and Sunday, approximately 16,000 people lined up in Milan to visit the designer’s funeral chamber at his headquarters, Armani Teatro, and pay their respects. “I decided to come today to pay tribute to a great man who made Italy great in the world,” Giulia Ponzi, a member of the public, told CNN. Donatella Versace, Milan’s mayor Giuseppe Sala and film directors Gabriele Salvatores and Giuseppe Tornatore were also among the crowds of people mourning.

In June 2025, Armani was absent from his runway show at Milan’s Men’s Fashion Week — the first time in his career. The company released a statement at the time that he was “currently recovering at home” without specifying his health condition. Up until his passing, Armani was working on a retrospective exhibition and a runway show to celebrate 50 years of being in business. Both events are still expected to go ahead.

The ceremony today will be held at the San Martino church. Officials have declared a day of mourning in both Piacenza and Milan.

CNN’s Barbie Latza Nadeau, Sharon Braithwaite and Marianna Cerini contributed to this report.

Ariana Grande attends the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena

FilmMagic

Ariana Grande took home trophies for Video of the Year, Best Pop and Best Longform Video for Brighter Days Ahead at the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards – and all three times at the podium were a charm as she effusively thanked everyone from her fans to her therapist to her father, who makes an appearance in the 26-minute video.

Accepting the biggest award of the night on Sunday, September 7 at New York’s UBS Arena, Grande took the stage with the video’s director Christian Breslauer, and showered her fans with both appreciation and inspiration.

“I’m so grateful that I get to do this with my life and to have such fiercely loving and supportive fans. Thank you for growing with me and being so supportive of me as a human being, navigating in real time which creative itch needs to be scratched next, whether it’s acting, music, musical theater or a little bit of tour,” she said.

“This project is about the hard work that is healing all different kinds of trauma and coming home to our young selves and creating safety in our own lives, which is a lifelong process and a daily exercise,” the Wicked star continued. “If you’re on that journey, please continue onward, because I promise there are brighter days ahead.”

Earlier during the awards show, which was hosted by LL Cool J and broadcast for the first time ever on CBS and also simulcasted on MTV and streamed on Paramount+, Grande noted “it takes a village” to create a music video on the scale of Brighter Days Ahead.

She acknowledged all who had a role, from the producers to the lighting team to the art department and craft services, while accepting the Best Pop trophy. And she gave a few special shout outs.

“Thank you to my dad, who acted in this video for the first time in his life and he is the best scene partner and dad in the world,” she said. Grande concluded by noting, “Thank you to my therapist and gay people. I love you.”

Grande’s triple win came during a night that largely celebrated female artists.

Lady Gaga walked away with four trophies, including for Artist of the Year, where she bested competition from Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift. Sabrina Carpenter picked up three wins, including Best Album for Short N Sweet.

Jenner first got in the saddle at 4-years-old, and now owns four horses herself: Dylandra, Lady Bird, and a foal named Copernicus. She finds that the dual exercise and companionship help alleviate her anxiety. “Whenever I go ride, of course it’s a great excuse to get outside and not be on my phone and forget about work and fully put my brain and my energy into how I’m going to get my horse over these obstacles,” the model told Vogue in her summer 2024 cover story. “It’s like soul food for me. I loved this as a kid. It was something I did every day that I could. I was obsessed, like—boys who? I feel like my kid self when I’m out there.”

Some models even venture into the competitive world. Amanda Murphy and Campbell are both dressage champs. Meanwhile, Bella Hadid has gone full cowgirl, competing in local cutting horse competitions in Texas (plus, she did her 73 Questions in a stable!). Bella isn’t the only member of her family who loves to horse around. Taking after their equestrian mother, Yolanda, Bella and Gigi Hadid both fell in love with the sport. While Bella is a rodeo regular now, Gigi formerly competed in show jumping.

Fashion-loving horse girls have appeared in the pages of Vogue, too. Jenner shared her summer cover spread with some majestic co-stars, while Bella Hadid covered Vogue Italia posing atop a horse’s back. Writer and former model Plum Sykes was also featured in the magazine, decked out in full riding gear.

Below, check out some of our favorite model horse girls, in the pages of Vogue and beyond.

Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid, Vogue World Paris 2024

Marc Piasecki/Getty Images

Rick Davies, a founding member of the British rock group Supertramp, has died.

The 81-year-old, who had been battling multiple myeloma – a type of blood cancer – for the last decade, died on Saturday, a statement from the band said.

The band’s lead singer wrote many of their hits, including Breakfast In America and The Logical Song, alongside Roger Hodgson.

The band’s statement, posted with a photo of Davies walking his dog by the sea and soundtrack of Goodbye Stranger, paid tribute to both his musical legacy and his warm personality.

The statement read: “As co-writer, along with partner Roger Hodgson, he was the voice and pianist behind Supertramp’s most iconic songs, leaving an indelible mark on rock music history.

“His soulful vocals and unmistakable touch on the Wurlitzer became the heartbeat of the band’s sound.”

“Beyond the stage, Rick was known for his warmth, resilience, and devotion to his wife Sue, with whom he shared over five decades,” the band said.

“After facing serious health challenges, which kept him unable to continue touring as Supertramp, he enjoyed performing with his hometown buds as Ricky and the Rockets.

“Rick’s music and legacy continue to inspire many and bear testament to the fact that great songs never die, they live on.”

Born in Swindon, Wiltshire, in 1944, Davies’s love of music began in his childhood, the group said, listening to Gene Krupa’s Drummin’ Man, which sparked a lifelong passion for jazz, blues and rock ‘n’ roll.

Davies and Hodgson formed the band that would become Supertramp in 1969.

The line-up changed numerous times over the years, with the band best remembered for the period from 1973 to 1983, when Davies and Hodgson performed with Dougie Thomson on bass, Bob Siebenberg on drums and John Helliwell on saxophone.

Crime of the Century, their breakthrough album, came out in 1974, followed by their biggest hit in 1979 with Breakfast In America, and hit singles The Logical Song, Breakfast in America, Goodbye Stranger and Take the Long Way Home.

Amid creative disputes, Hodgson left the band to go solo in 1983. Davies eventually became the only constant member throughout its history.

While a reunion tour was announced in 2015, it was cancelled when Davies was diagnosed with cancer.

He settled a royalties lawsuit in 2023 after a long-running dispute with ex-bandmates. Just last month, a US appeals court ruled that Hodgson must share royalties for three of Supertramp’s songs with his ex-bandmates.

Davies leaves behind his wife Sue, who had managed the band since the mid-80s.

Mascara: it’s a tricky one to reinvent the wheel. While it’s one of the essential items in any makeup bag, it can often be seen as an afterthought, well, in my case anyways.

A mascara is something I throw into my shopping cart because I remembered I’m running out. As I’ve never found “the one”, I have gone through numerous tubes in my time as a beauty writer, but recently I have come across a new formula that I will be repurchasing over and over again: Vieve’s Icon Mascara. If you’re already a fan of the Vieve Modern Mascara, see this as an amped up version. More volume. More length. More everything.

What I love about the Vieve Icon Mascara:

• It provides dramatic volume (in fact, brand studies found that lash volume increased by 356 percent)
• It instantly adds length and defines, without going clumpy
• It lasts all day without flaking off or smudging under my eyes
• The weighty, gold packaging feels very luxurious

The best way I can describe the result is like false lashes from a tube. The volume of my lashes transformed with one swipe, but they weren’t at all clumpy – in fact, brand statistics found that volume increased by 356%. Now those are the kinda stats I like to see. In the same way that falsies give you that volumised, fluffy effect, this is exactly what the Icon Mascara did for me, all while depositing a jet-black pigment.

To be fully transparent, I naturally have long lashes, but even so I was impressed at how well the brush grabbed onto each lash to lift to its highest potential. Seriously, I could almost feel them getting caught in my eyebrows.

Now, I’ll be honest, when I first saw the wand I didn’t think we’d be friends. I’m more of a plastic wand girlie, but this has a jumbo, fluffy bristle wand which, from past experiences, usually flicks the product onto my eyelids. In this case, my lids remained mascara-free.

In terms of application, Jamie Genevieve, founder of Vieve, says: “Apply while looking down into a mirror – it helps catch every single lash, from the root to the tip.” Following her advice, I wiggled the wand up from my roots and allowed the formula to dry before going in with a second layer. The wand also tapers in ever-so slightly at the end, so you can use it to catch shorter hairs in the inner corner or bottom lashes.

As for the staying power, I really can’t fault it. Nothing turns me off a mascara more than under-eye smudging, so I was thrilled to find that the mascara was still on my lashes by the end of the day – and not down my face. I also found that the volume remained throughout the day. Even after hours of wear, they still looked as long and bold as they did when I first applied the product. An “icon” indeed, I say.

Poking fun at the absurdity of celebrity is of course never unwarranted but it also frequently comes across as a little fatiguing. The target is easier than ever and too often, so are the jokes, incisive satire proving hard to nail when the subjects have become so indistinguishably cartoonish. The same has become true of the wealthy in general and recent films that have tried to lampoon either have felt lazy, pointing and laughing at something that’s stopped being funny a long time ago.

There’s an initial kick then to the new film from French music video provocateur turned film-maker Romain Gavras, who finds a more precise section of the VIP area to ridicule: performative environmentalists. As the world continues to burn, artists and those who use that word loosely, have attached themselves to the crisis whether it be to make themselves seem worthier to their fanbase or to make terrible art in its name. There’s both here in Sacrifice, a biting comedy thriller that lands us at another meaningless gala, set inside a remote location in Greece. We arrive with troubled movie star Mike (Chris Evans), panicking over his perceived hair loss (his assistant, played by Sam Richardson, ensures him that another trip to Turkey is easily scheduled) and eager to move past a rather embarrassing viral clip of him ranting with a flame-thrower at the premiere of his action vehicle Octavius: The Last Centurion. He’s technically there to do good for the environment but he’s really just there to do good for his image, something that takes a setback when he sees Bezos-styled billionaire Ben (Vincent Cassel) showing a Daily Mail TikTok of his freakout to others. Ben’s wife Gloria (Salma Hayek) is a pop star whose latest album is designed to be from the perspective of a flood.

After Ben announces a new mining scheme that he claims will actually help the ocean (!), Mike takes the stage for another rant, turning himself into an internet joke once again. But things are about to get a lot worse as a group of cultish eco-terrorists (dubbed “Green Isis” on the ground) take the event hostage, pausing a dance performance designed to help save the environment (featuring Charli xcx in a cameo as Mother Nature). They are led by Joan (Anya Taylor-Joy) who announces that the world is days from extinction and to prevent a volcano from erupting, they must throw some celebrities in it.

It’s the kind of setup one might expect from Ruben Östlund and Taylor-Joy herself starred in the adjacent eat-the-rich foodie satire The Menu but Gavras, and co-writer Will Arbery, known for Succession, find their own spark in the witty and well-observed first act. Their jabs are obvious but amusing and there’s something recognisably nauseating about the self-importance of hearing a certain brand of modern celebrity convinced their work will somehow contribute to global betterment. But as we leave the event, as the quest truly begins, Gavras starts to lose his grasp, less confident when tackling a world outside the poppy excess he’s come to know (and sometimes hate) so well. The larking around starts to turn more serious but the film can’t quite decide just how seriously we should be taking it and debates over proven science v fixed beliefs go from circular and repetitive to genuinely baffling when a last act John Malkovich appears.

What keeps us glued throughout is Evans, who gives an unusually top-tier performance, finding space to make his spiralling actor both pathetically funny and affectingly human, It’s the kind of film one can imagine Evans taking on back when he was still taking chances and before he was completely subsumed within the Marvel universe. He’s technically out now but he’s not really found much of a groove since, getting involved with some of the shoddiest streaming projects of the last few years (Ghosted, Red One, The Gray Man, Pain Hustlers), bad films that he’s also been bad in, adding a worrying question mark to his star status. Gavras has given him perhaps his greatest role to date here and he runs with it. Cassel has far less to do but has fun ragging on him (“I can’t believe I’m going to die next to a Golden Globe loser”) and there’s a wordless yet utterly transfixing performance from Jade Croot, who was similarly chilling in this year’s Sundance horror Rabbit Trap.

They make for a fine cast (Hayek is underused yet in small moments provides a reminder of just how great she can be at comedy) but Gavras leaves them and us stranded on the way to his out-there ending. Even before we’re looking into a volcano, Sacrifice has fallen over the edge.

Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande and Sabrina Carpenter triumphed at the MTV Video Music awards, taking home two moonman trophies each in a relatively muted show that once again largely celebrated female pop artists and legacy acts.

Gaga, the most nominated artist of the evening with 12 nods, took home the first award at Long Island’s UBS arena, for artist of the year, winning over fellow superstars Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny and Beyoncé, all of whom were not in attendance.

The Disease singer dedicated the award to the audience and her partner, Michael Polansky, then dashed off to the final show on her Mayhem tour at Madison Square Garden.

“I cannot begin tell you what this means to me,” the singer said, dressed in a baroque black gown. “I hope as you navigate through the mayhem of daily life, you are reminded of the importance of the art of your life, that you can count on yourself and your simple skills to keep you whole.”

Gaga’s absence was one of many in a three-hour show that was relatively light on star power and awards. The ceremony was emceed by a largely off-screen LL Cool J and handed out only seven awards during the telecast, all of them to female artists and Bruno Mars for his collaborations with two female artists: his duet with Lady Gaga, Die With A Smile, won best collaboration, while Apt, his track with Blackpink member Rosé, was crowned song of the year.

“This is a really big moment for 16-year-old me and anyone else who has dreamed about being accepted equally for their hard work,” Rosé said in a lengthy and emotional speech.

Sabrina Carpenter won album of the year for Short n’ Sweet and best pop artist, while Grande won best pop video and the evening’s top award, video of year, for Brighter Days Ahead, which she accepted alongside director Christian Breslauer.

“This project is about the hard work that is healing all different kinds of trauma and coming home to our young selves and creating safety in our own lives, which is a lifelong process and a daily exercise,” Grande said, accepting the award. “If you’re on that journey, please continue onward, because I promise there are brighter days ahead.”

As is now typical, the VMAs nodded toward the globalization and genre blends in popular music – Colombian superstar J Balvin and French producer DJ Snake teamed up for their track Noventa; multinational girl group Katseye, with members from the Philippines, South Korea, Switzerland and the US, won for Push performance of the year; and Post Malone and Jelly Roll, beaming in from their tour stop in Munich, represented the ongoing country-ification of pop with their booze-soaked anthem Losers.

But the show skewed heavily toward the women in pop, with performances from Doja Cat, Canadian singer Tate McRae and Carpenter, who delivered a retro-themed performance of Tears accompanied by a who’s who of RuPaul’s Drag Race stars and ballroom icons as a statement on protecting trans rights.

In recent years, the show once known for delivering culture-defining moments has been more attuned to legacy than its potential to produce new ones, introducing two new lifetime achievement awards.

Inaugural Latin Icon honoree Ricky Martin performed a medley of hits including Livin’ La Vida Loca, Pégate, Maria and The Cup of Life, and attributed his 40-year career to his fans. “This is very simple: this is for you all,” he said. “I am addicted to your applause, that’s why I keep coming back.”

LL Cool J celebrated fellow hip-hop pioneer Busta Rhymes for the Rock the Bells Visionary Award, calling him a “sonic equivalent of a timebomb”. Busta Rhymes powered through a heavily bleeped medley of his rapid-fire bars alongside guests GloRilla, Spliff Star and Joyner Lucas, before accepting the award – named for a 1985 LL Cool J track – with a brief speech.

“The next time y’all take 35 years to give me one of these, then I’ll talk as long as I want,” he joked, thanking his family, God, DJ Scratch, and the late Ananda Lewis, a 1990s MTV host who “loved the culture and lifted us up” and died of cancer this year at the age of 52.

Mariah Carey was presented with the Video Vanguard Award by Ariana Grande, becoming the eighth consecutive woman to win the evening’s top lifetime achievement honor.

“I can’t believe I’m getting my first VMA tonight. I just have one question: what in the Sam Hill were you waiting for?” Carey joked, after performing a medley of her hits.

“Music videos are my way of life, of bringing music to my own life,” she continued. “Let’s be honest, sometimes they’re just an excuse to bring the drama and do things I wouldn’t do in real life … Music evolves, but fun? That is eternal.”

The show also celebrated Ozzy Osbourne, who died in July. English singer Yungblud paid tribute to the “prince of darkness” with a rendition of the Black Sabbath classics Crazy Train and Changes, and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry joining in for Mama, I’m Coming Home.

Additional performers on the night included Sombr, Conan Gray and TikTok star turned musician Alex Warren, who was awarded best new artist before the telecast and sang his improbable hit Ordinary, the longest-running No 1 of the year.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

---

I thought today’s NYT Strands puzzle was going to be a breeze — I enjoy Star Trek and that was right in the theme. But I found it to be kind of a tough one. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story. 

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: One for the Trekkies.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Sail in the stars.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

• TINE, NINE, TEEN, TINT, SOYA, PERT, DOVE, STAR, STARS, DISC

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

• TITAN, VOYAGER, INTREPID, ENTERPRISE, DISCOVERY

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is STARSHIPS. To find it, look for the S that is four letters down on the far-left row, and wind across.

Quick tips for Strands

#1: To get more clue words, see if you can tweak the words you’ve already found, by adding an “S” or other variants. And if you find a word like WILL, see if other letters are close enough to help you make SILL, or BILL.

#2: Once you get one theme word, look at the puzzle to see if you can spot other related words.

#3: If you’ve been given the letters for a theme word, but can’t figure it out, guess three more clue words, and the puzzle will light up each letter in order, revealing the word.