Tickets for Emirati pop superstar Hussain Al Jassmi's October 10 performance at Dubai Opera go on sale from 9am today at dubaiopera.com. The singer, famous for hits such as Fegadtek, Ma Yeswa and Bawada'ak, will be the first Arab performer to take centre stage at the city's opera house when it opens later this year. Al Jassmi, who has more than 500 million views on YouTube, merges traditional Khaleeji and modern Arabic beats. "I am very proud to be performing in my hometown, in front of my fans at this inspiring venue," he said. Dubai Opera is a multi-format performing arts arena located in Downtown Dubai. – The National staff
Deer Hunter director Michael Cimino is dead
Michael Cimino, the Oscar-winning director whose film The Deer Hunter became one of the great triumphs of Hollywood's 1970s heyday, and whose disastrous Heaven's Gate helped bring that era to a close, has died. Cimino passed away on Saturday at the age of 77, Los Angeles County's acting coroner Lt B Kim said. Cimino had been living in Beverly Hills, but there are no further details on the circumstances of his death. Eric Weissmann, a friend and former lawyer of Cimino's, said friends had been unable to reach the director by phone for the last few days, and called the police who found him dead in his bed. He said Cimino had not been ill that he had known of. Cimino's masterpiece was 1978's The Deer Hunter, the story of the effect of Vietnam War on a small steel-working town in Pennsylvania. The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Cimino, and helped lift the emerging-legend status of Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep. – AP
‘Internet has brought India and Pakistan together’ says filmmaker Sabiha Sumar
Pakistani filmmaker Sabiha Sumar, best known for directing Khamosh Pani, Good Morning Karachia and Chotay Shah, claims the evolution of the digital media has brought the people of India and Pakistan closer than ever. Sumar told journalists at the 7th Jagran Film Festival that India's Bollywood has a "huge impact" on the entire subcontinent, and many Pakistanis have learnt Hindi language by seeing Bollywood films. Speaking at a panel discussion, titled Cinema Beyond Borders, on Saturday, she said: "The internet has brought India and Pakistan together. Even when I went to college at the Cambridge University, I met students of my age from India. They were just like us." Addressing the demand for Indian films across the border, Sumar added: "Bollywood has definitely had a huge impact on the entire subcontinent. When I went to a village in Sindh, people there talk about Govinda. Even when I go to Thar desert, people there say that we see everything on our phones only. Indians and Pakistanis connect with each other through music and stories as they are an important part of our culture." – IANS
Janelle Monáe joins film on black women at Nasa
Janelle Monáe says she's honoured to be part of an upcoming film that tells the little-known story of three black women who were a crucial part of Nasa's history, including one who helped John Glenn become the first American to orbit Earth. The Grammy-nominated singer is making her big-screen debut in Hidden Figures, which tells the story of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson – three women who worked at Nasa in the 1960s. "It is so important, that we as women, African-American women, tell our stories," Monáe said. "These three women opened doors for us and literally helped change the world." Hidden Figures, stars Taraji P Henson as Johnson, Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer as Vaughan and Monáe as Jackson. The women were mathematicians, and Johnson helped calculate the trajectory for Glenn's orbit around Earth, among other accomplishments. The cast also includes Aldis Hodge, Kevin Costner and Kirsten Dunst. – AP
Varun Dhawan faked confidence during ‘scary’ helicopter scene
Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan says that he faked confidence during the shoot of the helicopter sequence in his upcoming film Dishoom, as he was a "hero", a scene he branded as "scary" and "crazy". At a promotional event for the film – which was partly filmed in Abu Dhabi – Dhawan was asked about the scene, which see him and co-star John Abraham dressed in jumpsuits, hanging from a helicopter and chasing a car at about 180kmh. "It was scary. It was crazy, I've never had such an adrenaline rush in my life," he said. "I don't know how to react, how do you react when you're in the air and you're just hanging off the helicopter and someone's asking 'You're OK?' Honestly, I faked the whole thing, because we have the action director in, so this is a two-hero film. I'm a hero after all, so some confidence I have to show." – IANS
Lady Gaga gets driver’s licence
Singer Lady Gaga can legally drive a car alone for the first time. The 30-year-old star took to Instagram on Friday to share that she officially has a driver's licence, reports ETonline.com. "... And yes I finally got my licence after years of driving with an adult present and a learner's permit," Gaga wrote on the photo-sharing website. "I am free. Rollin with the homies," she added. Gaga has been learning to drive for several years, sharing her trials with fans on social media. Back in 2012, she tweeted: "Maybe while I'm learning to drive you don't need to sneak up on me and stick your giant camera in a moving vehicle." – IANS
Shah Rukh Khan tried to get daughter’s bikini images taken off the Web
In March, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan's 16-year-old daughter Suhana Khan's beach photographs went viral. On July 2, during an interview with Huffington Post, the 50-year-old actor reacted to the incident and admitted that he had tried to get the photos removed. HuffPost quoted Khan as saying, "She was in a bikini, she was on a beach, and she was with her little brother. You went ahead and wrote a headline: "SRK's daughter flaunts her body". Is it a little cheap? Maybe I felt it was. I reached out nicely and said, dude, your website is not going to run on my daughter's bikini body, can you please take it out? (...) My daughter was a little awkward about it. She's 16, yaar. And the headlines some sites use are... Wow." – Sonali Kokra
Gauri Khan impressed by Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
It's no secret that filmmaker Karan Johar and Shah Rukh Khan's wife, Gauri Khan, are extremely close friends. It was not surprising, then, that Johar chose to show the teaser of his much-awaited film, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, to Gauri Khan before anyone else. The usually reticent Khan was so impressed with the teaser that she posted a selfie with the director on Instagram, congratulating him and calling the teaser impressive and melodious. Ae Dil Hai Mushkil's lead cast includes Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and Fawad Khan, and is slated for release in October this year. – Sonali Kokra
Matthew McConaughey turns to teaching
Matthew McConaughey will soon be seen playing the part of a professor – in real life. The Interstellar star will be joining the faculty of his alma mater, the University of Texas, Austin, and will teach a class of 30 film students via recorded videos and in-person lectures. McCaonaughey, 46, will be joined by his Free State of Jones director, Gary Ross, as faculty. McConaughey graduated with a bachelor's degree in film-television-radio from the University of Texas in 1993, before finding fame in Hollywood in comedy film Dazed and Confused the same year. – Sonali Kokra
