Holly to Bolly: Dwayne Johnson is world’s highest paid actor, Michael Kors wants to write series of books, and more

Plus: Beatles record sold at auction, scenes from Beauty and the Beast posted online, and Gaurav Arora focuses on director when choosing films.

Dwayne Johnson now officially the world’s highest-paid actor. Richard Shotwell / Invision / AP

Dwayne Johnson is world’s highest paid actor

Wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson is now officially the world's highest-paid actor. Johnson, 44, knocked Robert Downey Jr off the top spot of the Forbes magazine list of the world's highest-paid actors with an estimated 2016 income of US$64.5 million (Dh236.9m). This is more than double his 2015 earnings, largely thanks to his action comedy Central Intelligence. Johnson, known as "The Rock" during his wrestling career, also collected advance fees from the eighth instalment of the popular Fast and Furious racing-movie franchise. – ­Reuters

Beatles record sold at auction

A "lost" Beatles record that was found after being missing for more than 50 years has sold for £18,000 (Dh66,116) at an auction in the United Kingdom. The demo recording of It's For You, written for Cilla Black by John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney, was discovered by Black's nephew Simon White following her death last year. Scottish Television ­Network reports that the ­record had been given to White's father by his sister when he was 18. And while White's father assumed it was just a copy of his sister's recording of the song, which shot to number seven in the charts, it was in fact the original demo by Sir Paul and delivered to Black at the London Palladium in 1964. Black, who died in August last year at her home in Spain, wrote about the record in her book What's It All About? The record was sold as part of the 25th Beatles ­Memorabilia Auction, ­organised by The Beatles Shop, at the Unity Theatre in Liverpool at the weekend. – The National staff

Michael Kors wants to write series of books

Fashion designer Michael Kors wants to write a series of books based on his 35 years as a fashion industry leader. Speaking about his future plans to The Hamptons Magazine, Kors said: "I think I have five books in me. I have five books in me and a very good memory!" Kors further shared that he has no plans to retire, reports ­www.­femalefirst.co.uk. "I have to say, 35 years in, I am more curious and more engaged than ever because, quite honestly, life is changing, and for a designer, when things change, that's when it's exciting. "People are communicating differently, shopping differently, and living differently. All the old rules are gone, (or at least) diminished, and I think they will continue to evolve," says Kors. – The National staff

Scenes from Beauty and the Beast posted online

One of the producers from Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast currently being filmed has posted some images from the set on his Facebook page. Jack Morrissey, a co-producer on the film, posted images of the candle stick Lumière, who is being voiced by Ewan McGregor, and Cogsworth, the carriage clock who is voiced by Ian McKellen and calls it "concept art". He also posted an out-take of a scene of the song Gaston, sung by the scoundrel character who is trying to win the heart of Belle, played by Emma Watson. The still, which Morrissey writes is taken from B-roll footage, features Luke Evans as Gaston, Josh Gad as his loyal but bumbling sidekick LeFou, and Alexis Loizon as a character named Stanley. Entertainment Weekly reports that the images show how close to the animated original the new film will be. – The National staff

Gaurav Arora focuses on director when choosing films

Actor Gaurav Arora, who is currently gearing up for the release of Raaz Reboot, says his priority is to work with good directors rather than concentrating on which actresses he will share the screen with. The actor, who was last seen in "Love Games", says if given a chance he would like to work with directors like Imtiaz Ali, Zoya Akthar, Mani Ratnam and Mohit Suri and also said that he has a three film deal with Vishesh Films under Mahesh and Mukesh Bhatt. The comments came after he was asked if he would like to act alongside Kriti Sanon, a model-turned-actress who he was rumoured to be in a relationship with. "Yes I do know her since modelling days, but right now my priority is not to choose actresses to work with, but I would rather work with good directors," he said. He added he had other projects going on that he couldn't talk about right now. "[I'm] hoping for this to do well and probably this will lead to several other ventures," he says. Directed by Vikram Bhatt, Raaz Reboot is the fourth instalment in the popular "Raaz" franchise. It also features Emraan Hashmi and Kriti Kharbanda. The film is set to be released on September 16. – IANS