Swedish House Mafia take on Dubai
Swedish House Mafia are coming to the UAE. The electronic dance music trio will be performing at the Dubai World Trade Center on November 16. It is their first visit to the Middle East. Tickets for the show will go on sale on Friday from midday at Virgin Megastores and Grand Cinemas outlets along with the online ticketing sites www.peppermint-experience.com and www.timeouttickets.com. For more details, visit www.onelasttour.com.
No Doubt ready to rock again
No Doubt return this month with their first studio album in more than a decade, Push and Shove, which blends their signature mix of ska and British New Wave with lyrics that reveal some anguish at their new lives. "Here we go again / Are you insane?" Stefani sings in Settle Down, the first single. "I'm writing about being overwhelmed by trying to do all these things at one time," Stefani says. "You just never know when you become a mum what it's really going to be like." The band reveal few outward signs that it's been 26 years since they formed. "Sometimes in my mind I still think I'm 16 onstage and my body tells me I'm not 16 anymore," says Tony Kanal, the 42-year-old bassist. Eleven years without new material is a lifetime in pop and the band has returned to a changed musical landscape. But they insist they just make the music they like, without an eye on the marketplace. "It's more about pleasing ourselves," Stefani says. * AP
Gellar gives birth to boy
The American actress Sarah Michelle Gellar and her husband, Freddie Prinze Jr, have announced the birth of their baby boy. Their publicist says the baby was born in Los Angeles, but his name and details of the birth weren't released. The couple have a three-year-old daughter named Charlotte. They celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary this month. * AP
Del Toro making vampire series
The filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, of Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy fame, will direct, write and produce The Strain, a vampire television series based on his novel trilogy, for the FX network. "Creatively, it is the richest field to mine a long arc of character," del Toro says of the cable-series approach. He believes his books can fill three to five TV seasons. Carlton Cuse, who produced and wrote for Lost, will be the showrunner, with del Toro directing some episodes.
Polanski to adapt Venus in Fur
Roman Polanski has announced he will follow his last film, Carnage (2011), a black comedy based on the play by Yasmina Reza, with another theatrical adaptation, Venus in Fur, which he has co-scripted with the playwright David Ives. The story chronicles the power play between a director and an auditioning actress. Polanski has cast his wife, Emmanuelle Seigner, in the lead role.
