Arcade Fire top Billboard chart
The Canadian alternative rock group Arcade Fire scored their second US No 1 record by knocking Katy Perry off the top spot of this week's Billboard 200 album chart. Reflektor, the fourth studio album from Arcade Fire, beat Perry's Prism, which debuted at No 1 last week. Kelly Clarkson landed at No 3 with her Christmas album Wrapped in Red. On the Digital Songs chart, which measures song downloads, Eminem shot to No 1 with his new track, Monster, featuring Rihanna. One Direction's latest song, Story of My Life, came in at No 2, while the New Zealand singer Lorde's Royals dropped two spots to No 3.
Punit Malhotra enlists Akshay Kumar for Gutka as he moves into ‘drama space’
The filmmaker Punit Malhotra, who has been associated with Bollywood love stories, says his next film Gutka, starring Akshay Kumar, will be completely different from his past projects and will be in the drama space. "I am making a drama with my next film, Gutka. Akshay plays the lead in the film. It's completely different from what I have made earlier," Malhotra said. Without divulging more about the project, he added: "It's too early to talk about it. We have to lock the script and then it will go on the floors. We haven't finalised the leading actress yet."
Ranbir Kapoor to open children’s film fest
The 18th edition of the International Children's Film Festival India, which begins on Thursday in Hyderabad, will be inaugurated by the Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor. The Indian child actors Darsheel Safary and Saloni Daini host. Salman Khan will lend his support through an audio-visual presentation. This year, 200 films from 48 countries will be screened.
Samer Nasrallah wins Tropfest Arabia
The Syrian filmmaker Samer Nasrallah won the third annual edition of Tropfest Arabia on Friday. He was awarded by a judging panel comprising the Emirati filmmaker Ali F Mostafa, the Tunisian actress Dorra Zarrouk, the Syrian actor Basel Khayat, the Kuwaiti actor Khaled Amin and the Jordanian film producer Rula Nasser. Samer received a prize of US$11,000 (Dh40,403), a trip to meet industry professionals in Los Angeles and a Nikon D7100 SLR camera. His winning short film, The Runner, is about a former Olympic gold-medal hurdler suffering with an illness that has left him housebound. It was chosen from among the 16 shortlisted films. "All of the finalist films were really amazing and the competition was very strong," said Nasrallah. "I am very honoured and humbled to be recognised for my work." The entries can be viewed at www.youtube.com/tropfestarabia. Tropfest Arabia, the world's largest short film festival, is organised by twofour54.
December 2015 release for Star Wars
Star Wars fans have a date for their diaries after filmmakers announced that the long-awaited new instalment of the sci-fi franchise will be released on December 18, 2015. It laid to rest reports that the film might be delayed after one of the screenwriters was replaced last month. "Star Wars for Christmas!" wrote one fan on theforce.net website. J J Abrams is directing, while George Lucas will serve as a creative consultant for at least three new films, which are expected to come out every two to three years. Filming is due to begin next spring in Pinewood Studios near London.
[ artslife@thenational.ae ]