NPR Says Elon Musk Threatened to Give Its Twitter Handle Away Unless It Tweets Again

Michelle Yeoh finally became an Oscar-winning actor just two months ago for “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” Yeoh says Asian performers were ignored for far too long, but she is hopeful for the future. Speaking during the Kering Women in Motion talks at Cannes, Yeoh reflected on the first time she came to the prestigious festival with “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” more than 20 years ago. Yeoh says “it’s quite obvious” that Hollywood was not ready to recognize Asian actors at that time. The Ang Lee film was a box office success, making more than $200 million worldwide and garnering 10 Oscar nominations, including best picture, best director and screenplay. But none of the actors were nominated.

Christopher Vourlias With a Ukrainian cinema union issuing a strident call on Thursday for participants of the Cannes Film Market to halt all business with Russia rather than support “terrorism,” industry professionals are again weighing the moral cost of working in the country against the financial upside of releasing films in the lucrative Russian market. Many U.S. and foreign companies quietly continued to do business with the pariah state after the Ukraine invasion or resumed the dealmaking that was put on pause once the war began. Honoring contracts that were signed before fighting commenced or working through third-party distributors in other jurisdictions, they’ve ensured that a steady stream of foreign content — including Lionsgate’s “John Wick: Chapter 4” and A24’s Oscar-winner “Everything Everywhere All at Once” — continues to reach Russian movie theaters.

Jessica Kiang It is somehow emblematic of modern China — at least of its seamier side, as frequently explored in director Wang Bing’s unsparing documentaries — that the street on which his long, oppressive new film “Youth (Spring)” takes place should be called “Happiness Road.” A collection of clothing manufacturing workshops, arranged like a mall around a rubble-strewn central thoroughfare 150 miles and a world away from Shanghai, this semi-derelict location is so poorly described by its name that one could suspect its planners of having a little joke. Except that here in Zhili City, irony — like leisure time, fresh air and natural light — is a luxury few can afford, least of all the teens and twentysomethings spending 15-hour workdays on site before retiring to equally rundown flophouse dormitories.

Sophia Scorziello editor Montana has become the first state in the U.S. to ban TikTok. If the bill holds up against expected legal challenges, it will be put into effect on Jan. 1, 2024. State Gov. Greg Gianforte signed the bill on Wednesday, writing in a statement: “Today, Montana takes the most decisive action of any state to protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal information from being harvested by the Chinese Communist Party.” Gianforte added on Twitter, “TikTok is just one app tied to foreign adversaries. Today I directed the state’s Chief Information Officer to ban any application that provides personal information or data to foreign adversaries from the state network.”

Universal’s Fast X has started its engines overseas, opening notably in China and Korea on Wednesday and clocking $18.4M from just those two markets. 

, it’s not going anywhere, and it likely never will. Sheer fashion’s latest champion is star Sydney Sweeney, who wore a mostly sheer floor-length Schiaparelli couture dress to a screening of latest movie, HBOMax’s Reality, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City on Tuesday, May 16. Sweeney’s strapless black gown has a mermaid fit, with alternating panels of sheer and opaque fabrics.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Net profits at Tencent Music Entertainment, China’s largest digital music operation, grew by 89% in the first quarter of the new year, hitting RMB1.15 billion ($167 million), even as revenue progressed by only 5% to RMB7.0 billion ($1.02 billion). The group, which is backed by Chinese tech and entertainment giant Tencent and has stock market listings on the New York Stock Exchange and in Hong Kong, controls large equity stakes in Spotify and (in a consortium with Tencent) Universal Music Group. Its own music operations divide loosely into two clusters: mass market music streaming, with paid-for and free tiers; and “social entertainment,” including karaoke and other derivative products.

Former Manchester United midfielder Jordi Cruyff will leave his position as Barcelona sporting director this summer after nearly two years in the job.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Hong Kong Disneyland theme park managed a 22% increase in visitor numbers in its most recent financial year allowing it to modestly reduce its annual losses. The park, which is jointly owned by the Hong Kong government and Walt Disney, with the government holding a narrow majority, reports a financial year to the end of September – and does so more than seven months in arrears. It has been loss-making for the past eight financial years and has made profits in only three years since its opening in 2005. The 2021-2022 financial year was again complicated by the city’s strict anti-COVID restrictions. It was fully closed for three and a half months (longer than the previous financial year) and operated under other social distancing and pandemic measures. Additionally, inbound tourism was heavily curtailed, especially from mainland China. That meant that during the reporting period, the park and hotels were largely visited by locals only.

Eurovision Song Contest viewers say they were 'emotional' as they were quick to spot a massive change to Graham Norton's role on the show. The Irish TV star is, quite frankly, a Eurovision legend and viewers are used to watching the action unfold with his quick-witted commentary.

Those tuning in to watch the Eurovision Song Contest were left doing a double take as they thought a famous pop star invaded the show. After months of build-up the grand final of the biggest music competition in the world finally kicked off on Saturday night (May 13).

Michelle Yeoh’s career has surprised even herself.

J. Kim Murphy President Joe Biden commented on the ongoing strike by the Writers Guild of America on Monday evening, offering remarks ahead of a screening of the new Disney+ series “American Born Chinese” at the White House. President Biden’s comments drew a round of applause from the crowd, as he called for a “fair deal” to be reached “as soon as possible.” The White House had previously declined to issue a comment on the situation last week, after the Writers Guild of America called for a strike on the evening of May 1, when contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers fell apart. “Nights like these are a reminder of the power of stories and the importance of treating storytellers with the dignity, respect and value they deserve,” the President stated. “I sincerely hope that the writers strike in Hollywood gets resolved — and the writers are given the fair deal they deserve, as soon as possible. This is an iconic, meaningful American industry. We need the writers — and all the workers — and everyone involved to tell the stories of our nation. And the stories of all of us.”

Biden’s comments came after a special screening of the upcoming Disney+ series “American Born Chinese,” held to honor Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.“Nights like these are a reminder of stories and the importance of treating storytellers with the dignity, respect and the value they deserve. I sincerely hope the writers strike in Hollywood gets resolved and the writers are given a fair deal they deserve as soon as possible,” Biden said.“This is an iconic, meaningful American industry.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s potential summer sleeper “The Meg 2: The Trench” dropped its first teaser trailer, essentially the same mouth-watering footage audiences saw at last month’s CinemaCon presentation. As noted last month, the trailer’s tagline is “They’re back… for seconds,” mimicking the refreshingly cheeky marketing that helped turn “The Meg” into a surprise super-smash.

The recently launched Toonz Feature Film and China’s Golden Valley Films have struck a co-production and co-financing deal for six animated pictures over the course of the next three years.

A leading weight loss Doctor is urging people to consider eating three 'anti-ageing' foods that can help to slow or reverse the ageing process. There are many anti-ageing creams and serums on the beauty market, but few people realise that what you eat can also have an effect on how the body ages. - beyond just the skin

Reality TV star Chloe Ferry hit back at fans on social media after they suggested that she should “go see a doctor” about her breasts.The former Geordie Shore star, who joined the MTV show in 2015 with Gary Beadle, Charlotte Crosby and Holly Hagan, went under the knife back in 2017 after cruel fans said she had saggy boobs.The reality TV star often poses in bikini-clad shots, sending fans into a meltdown, as she did earlier this week when she was soaking up the sun in Greece. Chloe, 27, could be seen leaning against a pole as she sported an ivory two-piece with the top featuring full-length sleeves and a bralette that connected in the middle.

Queen singer Freddie Mercury‘s personal belongings are going up on auction later this year.According to a Rolling Stone report, 1,500 items from Mercury’s London home – which had gone untouched for 30 years – are now set to be put up for auction by Sothesby this September following a June tour across Sotheby’s houses in New York, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong. A portion of the sale’s income will go to charity.Among the items being put up for auction later this year are handwritten lyrics to ‘We Are The Champions’ and ‘Killer Queen’, which are expected to fetch between £200,000 to £300,000, per the Associated Press.Also going up on auction is Mercury’s custom crown, which was modelled on St Edward’s crown and its accompanying rhinestone-embedded, fake fur and red velvet cloak.

according to insiders with knowledge of the matter. All that’s known right now is that, according to multiple reports, it’s somehow related to the ongoing lawsuit filed by former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg, and might, or might not, also have something to do with the whole Dominion mess.It’s a developing story so, as they say, stay tuned. Meanwhile, back to Kimmel.“Fox News has severed bow ties with Tucker Carlson after all these years.