Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip will go on tour this summer because it "feels like the right thing to do" after lead singer Gord Downie found out he has terminal brain cancer. Downie, 52, considered by many as one of Canada's greatest songwriters, was given the diagnosis in December and has been "fighting hard", the band said on their website and Facebook page. "So after 30-some years together as The Tragically Hip, thousands of shows, and hundreds of tours ... We've decided to do another one," the band said. "This feels like the right thing to do now, for Gord, and for all of us." Details of the tour will be announced this week. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau was among those who expressed admiration for Downie on Twitter after his illness was announced. – Reuters
Twofour54 to host workshops by leading names in TV comedy
The brains behind some of the world's most successful TV comedy shows are coming to Abu Dhabi to host a series of workshops on how to thrive in the media world. Twofour54 and America Abroad Media (AAM) are bringing Greg Daniels, a former writer of The Simpsons and co-creator of King of the Hill, the US version of The Office, and Parks & Recreation; and Benjamin Silverman, executive director of The Office, The Tudors and Ugly Betty. Also appearing will be Howard T Owens, founder of production company Propagate Content and former president of National Geographic Channels; and Brian Edelman, the chief executive of digital agency Rain. The workshops will take place from Monday to Wednesday at twofour54's HQ, including three free sessions open to all. Visit www.twofour54.com/events for more details. – Jessica Hill
Pink Panther star Burt Kwouk dead at 85
British actor Burt Kwouk, best known for his role as Inspector Clouseau's manservant Cato Fong in the Pink Panther films, has died at the age of 85. Born in northern England but raised in China, Kwouk's career began on British television in the 1950s. He appeared in some of the best-known shows, most notably Last of the Summer Wine and the 1980s drama Tenko, about women in a Japanese prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. He also starred in numerous films, among them three James Bond movies, including Goldfinger. – Reuters
Salman Khan performs his own wrestling stunts
Actor Salman Khan, who plays a wrestler in director Ali Abbas Zafar's film Sultan says that most of the fights in the movie were 100 per cent authentic. "When Ali told me the story, I thought, 'I'll be able to do it'. But then while doing it, opposite me were ... real wrestlers." he says "Most of the shots in the film are real ... there is lot of contact happening in the film. When they lift you and put to the ground it used to hurt, they were 120 to 130 kilos." Salman plays the title character in the film, a wrestler who won a gold medal for India and who returns to the sport after many years and has to be coached back to peak fitness. "When a wrestler trains, he trains for two to three hours and then two to three hours again in the evening ... and six to seven hours of shooting every day non-stop, fighting non-stop. So those six hours in those lights and the training, that took a toll," says Khan. – IANS
Being a mother is Bachchan’s main priority
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who has a four-year-old daughter with husband and fellow actor Abhishek Bachchan, says while she loves acting, raising a family is her main calling. During a question-and-answer session on Twitter, she wrote: "Being a mom tops my priority list. I am committed as an actor and it's there for you to see." Talking about her latest movie Sarbjit, in cinemas now, which tells the hard-hitting story of an Indian farmer who was held captive in a Pakistan jail after wandering over the border, Bachchan said that she hoped to do more biopics. When she was asked about her father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan's reaction to her performance in the film, she said: "Pa put his arm around me and said 'You did a very good job'". – IANS
