Arts, Entertainment, Culture

The third instalment in the "Tron" film franchise is going to be directed by filmmaker Garth Davis and to be starred, and produced, by Jared Leto.

The film will not be a direct sequel to 2010's "Tron: Legacy" and 1982's "Tron," and it is still to be greenlighted by Disney.

Leto said on Instagram: "I am so very excited and proud to confirm that YES - I will be starring in TRON."

The actor has posted on his Twitter account that he has been tested positive for Covid-19 on his 60th birthday.

He stated that he is feeling relatively well, suffering from tiredness and that he is positive towards a fast recovery. During his isolation he is planning on reading, writing and making plans to "give meaning" to his past 60 years, stating that he has lots of enthusiasm.

Italian actress Franca Valeri has died at the age of 100 in her sleep at her Roman home on August 9. Valeri, the pioneer of female comic roles in Italy's post-war, was described by Italy's President Sergio Mattarella as a "versatile and popular actress who will remain in the hearts of Italians for her great talent and her extraordinary likability."

Valeri started working in film in the early 1950s and worked alongside Italian actor Totò and directors Federico Fellini and Mario Monicelli. She died just nine days after her 100th birthday.

Daisy Coleman, an advocate for sexual abuse victim and subject of a Netflix documentary, has taken her own life at the age of 23. After her mother called the police for a wellness check, Coleman was found dead.

Coleman was allegedly sexually assaulted when she was 14 while being unconscious at a high school party. In 2016, she was featured in the Netflix documentary "Audrie & Daisy" which followed the aftermath of both girls' harassment after the assault.

"She was my best friend and amazing daughter. I think she had to make it seem like I could live without her. I can't. I wish I could have taken the pain from her! She never recovered from what those boys did to her and it's just not fair. My baby girl is gone," so her mother, Melinda Coleman, in a post to Facebook.

An FBI swat team has searched the Calabasas residence of 23-year-old YouTuber Jake Paul and confiscated several firearms, including long guns. The reason for the search has not been disclosed but was reportedly related to an ongoing investigation. At the time of the raid, Paul was not present.

"The FBI is executing a federal search warrant at a residence in Calabasas in connection with an ongoing investigation," so a statement by the FBI. "The affidavit in support of the search warrant has been sealed by a judge and I am, therefore, prohibited from commenting as to the nature of the investigation. No arrests are planned."

Neil Young has filed a claim in US federal court in the Southern District of New York against Donald Trump for copyright infringement over the use of his music at Trump's campaign rallies, which the artist refers to as a "campaign of ignorance and hate". The lawsuit further names two songs specifically: "Rockin' In The Free World" and "Devil's Sidewalk" that both have been used "numerous times at rallies and political events for the entertainment and amusement of those attending those rallies and political events."

"This complaint is not intended to disrespect the rights and opinions of American citizens, who are free to support the candidate of their choosing. However, [Young] in good conscience cannot allow his music to be used as a ‘theme song’ for a divisive, un-American campaign of ignorance and hate," so the complaint.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced the movie "Mulan" will premiere on the service on September 4 for $29.99. On markets where Disney Plus is not available, the film will be released theatrically.

The announcement was made on the company’s earnings call after the market close Tuesday.

Mulan was originally scheduled to debut in March but due to the Covid-19 pandemic it was moved to July 24, then to August 21, and few weeks ago it was postponed indefinitely.

According to Spanish media the former king of Spain Juan Carlos has left the country. "La Vanguardia" and "ABC" state that he has allegedly traveled trough Portugal and to the Dominican Republic.

The Spanish royal court has published a letter by Juan Carlos where he tells his son about his intentions to move into a foreign country. The alleged move into the Dominican Republic happens while Carlos is under investigation for possible corruption and tax fraud after allegedly having gotten $100 million in bribes from Saudi-Arabia for the building of a high-speed train route in Saudi-Arabia by a Spanish syndicate.

During the regency a Spanish king is granted immunity. Carlos has forfeited the title in 2014.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has tweeted on Friday that "Aliens built the pyramids obv" (obv = obviously). The tweet has been shared widely on Twitter and received over 500,000 likes.

The Minister of International Co-operation of Egypt Rania al-Mashat has responded to the claim and denied that they were built by aliens. She said that "I invite you & Space X to explore the writings about how the pyramids were built and also to check out the tombs of the pyramid builders".

At a later point, Elon Musk linked a BBC History site that provides information about the history of the workers that built the pyramids.

Actor Wilford Brimley has died at age 85 in St. George, Utah on Saturday after suffering from a kidney ailment. Brimley, who spotted a walrus moustache, is known for his roles in the 1985 fantasy movie "Cocoon", the television series "The Waltons" and sports film "The Natural". He was also a spokesperson for Quaker Oats and Liberty Medical, a diabetes-testing supply company.

Sir Alan Parker, the acclaimed British director of such films as Fame, Evita and Bugsy Malone, has died aged 76.

Parker, a double Oscar nominee, had many other credits including Midnight Express, Mississippi Burning, The Commitments, Angela's Ashes, Birdy and The Life of David Gale.

Instagram flagged on Tuesday a video posted by Madonna as "False Information". The video, about hydroxychloroquine being a cure for Covid-19, spread the same misinformation as a clip that was previously taken down from Twitter after President Donald Trump shared it.

“This woman is my hero,” Madonna wrote in her post. “Thank you Stella Immanuel.”

The post, now deleted, appeared to Instagram users blurred with a warning over the video: "False Information.".

Apple TV+ announced its new Apple Original series "The Oprah Conversation", "a new series that will continue to explore impactful and relevant topics with fascinating thought leaders from all over the world." Oprah Winfrey's new show was filmed remotely and is set to debut on July 30 exclusively on Apple TV+. The first episode, titled "How to Be an Antiracist", will feature bestselling author Professor Ibram X. Kendi. Other guests include Emmanuel Acho, creator and host of "Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man" and Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson.

John Saxon has died of pneumonia at age 83 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The actor played a martial artist in Enter the Dragon alongside Bruce Lee and starred in three Nightmare on Elm Street movies, among others.

Actress and two-time Academy Award winner Olivia de Havilland has died peacefully from natural causes in her Paris Home on July 26. She was 104 years old. De Havilland made her debut in "A Midsummer Night's Dream", but was best known for her role as Melanie Hamilton in the 1939 movie classic "Gone With The Wind" and was considered as one of the movie stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

In the 1950s, she moved to Paris and received the National Medal of the Arts and France's Légion d'Honneur. She was also appointed to Dome Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

After winning the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, Greta Thunberg has pledged to donate $1140,000, a tenth of the prize money, to environmental organisation SOS Amazônia. Besides protecting the rainforest, the organisation has been bringing relief in form of health equipment and food to indigenous territories. Another $114,000 will go to the Stop Ecocide Foundation.

Regis Philbin, the American media personality, actor, television host and singer, has died of at age 88. Philbin is known for hosting the Miss America pageants and ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." He also co-hosted "Live with Regis...", first with Kathie Lee and later with Kelly Ripa. Philbin was nominated for 37 Daytime Emmy Awards, of which he won six, and holds the world record for most hours on US television with over 16,700 hours.

"We are deeply saddened to share that our beloved Regis Philbin passed away last night of natural causes, one month shy of his 89th birthday. His family and friends are forever grateful for the time we got to spend with him -- for his warmth, his legendary sense of humor, and his singular ability to make every day into something worth talking about," so the statement shared by his family with CNN.

Peter Green has died "peacefully in his sleep" at age 73. Green, who was an English blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, co-founded Fleetwood Mac with drummer Mick Fleetwood in 1967. He left the band four years later, though Mick Fleetwood told the Associated Press in 2017, that Green deserved the "lion’s share of the credit for the band’s success."

The Walt Disney Company will not release several movies for the time being. The company announced it is postponing the premiere of Mulan indefinitely and is also pushing back the sequels to James Cameron's Avatar and the release of the Star Wars trilogy films by a year each.

Mulan was initially slated to be released in March, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was delayed to July and then to August.

The memoir of Donald Trump's niece Mary Trump has solved 1.35 million copies in its first week after release. The book has been translated and sold in five different languages and is now in its 17th printing.

"Mary Trump’s memoir has transcended the usual ceiling for political books to reach a larger audience of people who want to read stories about unusual families," so CEO Jonathan Karp of Simon & Schuster.

Chief architect Pascal Prunet said in a press conference that the restoration of the 15th century Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Nantes would likely take "at least three years." The exact scope of the damage is currently still being assessed and the total cost is still uncertain. While the main structure of the Cathédrale was saved by firefighters, a 17th-century organ and many artefacts and paintings were destroyed in the fire.

The co-founder and president of Vale, having developed Counter-Strike, Half-Life. Dota 2, Portal and the gaming client and platform Steam, decided to stay in New Zealand when Covid-19 started spreading. He now announced on the television channel TVNZ 1 that he is organizing a free event together with his partner Teagan Klein and the Aston Martin racecar driver Alex Riberas from Spain to thank the people from New Zealand for their generosity and kindness.

The event will host live music from multiple bands and have workshops, food trucks, art installations and other activities.

Taylor Swift has announced the surprise debut of her 8th studio album called "Folklore" which will be released tonight at midnight, featuring collaborations with Bon Iver, Aaron Dessner and William Bowery.

"Most of the things I had planned this summer didn’t end up happening, but there is something I hadn’t planned on that DID happen. And that thing is my 8th studio album, folklore. Surprise 🤗Tonight at midnight I’ll be releasing my entire brand new album of songs I’ve poured all of my whims, dreams, fears, and musings into," so Swift in a post on Instagram.

Andrew Mlangeni passed away on June 6th in Pretoria, the office of President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed on Wednesday. Mlangeni was the last surviving Rivonia trialists, a trial which brought to light the segregationist policies of apartheid in South Africa. He died in a military hospital after being committed with abdominal complaints.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said: "The passing of Andrew Mekete Mlangeni signifies the end of a generational history and places our future squarely in our hands. Until recently, we were able to sit at Bab’ Mlangeni’s feet and draw on his wealth of wisdom and his unfailing commitment – even at his very advanced age – to a better life for all South Africans. With his passing as the last remaining Rivonia Trialist, Bab’ Mlangeni has indeed passed the baton to his compatriots to build the South Africa he fought to liberate and to reconstruct during our democratic dispensation."

Kanye West has continued to tweet statements and delete them later from his official Twitter account.

He claims that his wife Kim Kardashian"tried to fly in with 2 doctors to 51/50 me" which refers to the law code in California that enables psychiatric patients to be held involuntarily. In addition, he has tweeted that the has "been trying to get divorced" after Kim Kardashian met with Meek Mill adding in stating tweet that "Kim was out of line". All tweets regarding that topic have been deleted but archived online.

Warner Bros. has removed 'Tenet' from its release calendar. Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi thriller was set to hit theatres on August 12 but the company cited "continued uncertainty," to vacate the date.

Toby Emmerich, chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, said: "Our goals throughout this process have been to ensure the highest odds of success for our films while also being ready to support our theater partners with new content as soon as they could safely reopen,".

British fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood is leading the protests outside the Old Bailey in London to stop the extradition of Julian Assange and has suspended herself in a massive birdcage 10ft above the ground.

"If the canary died they all got out. Julian Assange is in a cage and he needs to get out. Don't extradite to America," so Westwood and adding that she was wearing yellow as he still hadn't had any sun and that the cage represented "the space Julian will inhabit if he is extradited to the US."

Assange's extradition battle at Old Bailey is set to resume on September 7.

Fox News's Ed Henry, Sean Hannity & Tucker Carlson have been sued for sexual misconduct by two women on Monday. The suit alleges that Henry, who was fired earlier this month, sexually assaulted, raped and restrained in a hotel room and threatened former Fox News employee Jennifer Eckhart. Former Fox News employee Cathy Are says she was sexually harassed by members of Fox News, including Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Howard Kurtz.

After being an active streamer on Twitch since latest 2016, rapper Logic has announced that he is retiring from music stating that "it came to a point where I felt forced, like I had to do certain things". He has now announced that he has signed a deal to stream a set amount of hours exclusively on Twitch earning seven figures.

While his passion for video games is known he also states that "I’m a musician, I’ll always be one. I’m still gonna, like, rap on songs that probably won’t come out".

Nigerian singer and entrepreneur Mr Eazi raised $20 million with his Africa Music Fund. The musician wants to offer funding and financial support for African music creatives. One of his main investors is Pan-African seed fund 88mph.

Mr Eazi said: "Artists cannot go to banks to get money for their music because financial institutions don't understand how to secure intellectual property. They get it for physical properties but not for music. So, because not a lot of people understand the music business, there is no finance product for musicians."