Elton John signs on for sequel to Kingsman
Elton John will be appearing in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, the sequel to the 2015 spy movie about a tough-guy turned secret agent. He confirmed the news on his Instagram feed, posting an advert for the movie with the tag line: "Wednesday night's alright for fighting" – a reference to his 1973 song, Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting. He added: "It's been a long time since Tommy", referring to his role in The Who's 1975 musical film. Julianne Moore and Channing Tatum will also join the film alongside the original film's stars. – The National
$80m backing for film based on Tetris game
Tetris, the 1980s video-game hit, is being made into a movie. The US$80 million (Dh293.8m) project is the first from the newly formed Threshold Global Studios, a Chinese-American joint-venture between entertainment investor Bruno Wu's Seven Star Works and producer Larry Kasanoff's California-based Threshold Entertainment Group, which produces live-action movies. Kasanoff said that they will make cross-cultural movies and the 32-year-old video game "is a perfect first project". Filming will begin next year in China, the statement said. Kasanoff previously produced two Mortal Kombat movies. – AP
Painful week for pair of stars in Bollywood
Two Bollywood actors were injured on separate movie shoots this week. Ronit Roy had nine pieces of glass embedded in his arm after falling while shooting an action sequence for the movie Kaabil, directed by Sanjay Gupta and produced by Rakesh Roshan. However, the star didn't let the accident stop production – he carried on filming and delayed treatment for 24 hours to avoid disrupting the schedule. On Tuesday, he had an operation to remove the glass and posted a picture of the shards on his Twitter feed. Arjun Rampa, who is shooting scenes for the suspense thriller Kahaani 2, also took to Twitter to tell fans about an injury. He wrote that he "busted" his knee while filming a chase sequence for the movie, which is due out in November. – IANS
Tito Jackson retraces his brother’s steps
Tito Jackson, the older brother of the late Michael Jackson, has returned to the same favela in Brazil where Jacko recorded his They Don't Care About Us music video. Jackson retraced his brother's steps in Rio de Janeiro to film a cameo appearance for a charity song to promote the launch of a new international charity network. He teamed up with Brazilian pop star Mart'nália and Hollywood producer Ulli Lommel to record the song, called Winning By Giving. The project aims to bring sustainable gardens, clean water and communal safe places to disadvantaged, urban areas in Brazil. – Reuters
Kristen Stewart’s new film gets mixed reaction at Cannes
Kristen Stewart's new film, Personal Shopper, received a mixed reaction at the Cannes Film Festival. The horror/fashion film was met with a smattering of boos from critics at its press screening because of its unclear ending – but later greeted with applause and a standing ovation. The film, by French director Olivier Assayas, stars Stewart as an American fashion assistant in Paris who believes she can communicate with her dead twin brother through text messages. The actress says the use of technology in the film is a sign of the times. "The fact that she can sit behind this phone and feel closer to feeling alive or something, it definitely says a lot about how we interact with each other and conversely technology – and it's a little terrifying," she told Variety magazine. – The National
