Holly to Bolly: Paramount announces fourth Star Trek; Céline Dion back with album; and more

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Paramount announces fourth Star Trek, Chris Hemsworth to return

Paramount Pictures has announced a fourth Star Trek film with Chris Hemsworth returning to the rebooted franchise. The studio announced on July 18 that the next chapter in the sci-fi saga would focus on Chris Pine's Captain Kirk crossing paths with the father he never met. Hemsworth, who appeared in the 2009 Star Trek reboot, will reprise his role as Kirk's father, George Kirk. No title or release date was announced. The third film in the series, Star Trek Beyond, is releasing on July 21 and sees Fast and Furious director Justin Lin takes over from JJ Abrams. No director was announced for the next Star Trek sequel. – AP

Dishoom gets a clean chit from the censor board

Varun Dhawan and John Abraham-starrer action-adventure film Dishoom was cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in India without any cuts on July 18. The film received a UA certificate (parental guidance for children under the age of 12) instead of a U (Universal) certificate due to the subject of betting in cricket, a source from the CBFC said. While promoting the film on the popular Kapil Sharma Show, Varun Dhawan was challenged by a fan to imitate internet star Taher Shah. Rising to the dare, Dhawan borrowed a robe and wig from the sets and broke into an impromptu performance of Angel, much to the delight of the studio audience of the yet-to-be-aired episode. Dishoom, parts of which were shot in Abu Dhabi, will release in the UAE on July 28. – Sonali Kokra

Legendary singer Mubarak Begum Shaikh dead at 80

Bollywood playback singer and ghazal maestro Mubarak Begum Shaikh passed away after a prolonged illness on July 18, a family member said. The Rajasthan-born singer is survived by her son, Hussain, daughter-in-law, Zarina, and granddaughter, Sana, with whom she was living for many years. "She breathed her last around 10pm on Monday night at her Jogeshwari home. She had been ailing and hospitalised frequently since over a year with various health problems," her Zarina Shaikh said. Born in Sujangarh, Mubarak Begum was proficient in Hindi and Urdu, and launched her career at All India Radio with singing programmes and light musical recitals. She moved to Mumbai 70 years ago and sang her first playback song in 1949 for the film Aaiye, for which the music was composed by the late music director Nashad. That was the launch of a notable singing career spanning over 110 films over four decades until the early 1980s. Besides playback singing, she used to give regular stage performances and musical concerts. – IANS

Céline Dion back with album as she mourns husband

Canadian musician Céline Dion is ready with a new album, the first since her husband's death. The album, which will come out on August 26, is entitled Encore Un Soir. Dion released the title track, which means One More Night, in May. The pop diva, 48, had dedicated the ballad to her late husband, René Angélil, who died in January from throat cancer at age 73. Angélil was taken by Dion's voice when she was a child, and became her musical guide and manager. They married n 1994 when she was 26. Sony Music said that the album will also feature Dion's first song written by prominent French rockers, Francis Cabrel and Serge Lama." Céline voluntarily chose uplifting themes that focused on life and positivity," the label said in a statement. Dion will also delve into her Quebecois heritage with a cover of Ordinaire by Robert Charlebois, a major artist of the French-speaking province. Dion, who also sings in English, has sold 220 million albums, placing her among the ranks of the most successful recording artists of all time. – AFP

Virtuoso launches concerto for Instagram

In an experiment that acknowledges the modern era’s shortening attention spans, mandolin virtuoso Avi Avital on July 18 launched a concerto for Instagram with movements of 15 seconds. The Israeli artist, who has led a revival of his instrument and regularly plays premier classical venues, posted the first of five movements of his InstaConcerto. Avital plans to post the subsequent movements of the concerto – composed by Slovak-born conductor and pianist Peter Breiner – each day on his Instagram account at @aviavital. “We wanted to raise questions with this project, both about the artistic value of the composition within the given restrictions of the time frame, and about the attention span of our generation and its relationship to classical music,” Avital said in a statement. Concertos have traditionally consisted of three movements – and they have virtually always lasted more than 15 seconds. – AFP

Michael J Fox and Coldplay go Back to the Future in concert

Michael J Fox joined Coldplay on stage at a New Jersey concert where they paid tribute to Back to the Future by playing two songs Fox performed in the iconic 1985 movie. The actor walked on stage at MetLife Stadium on July 17 just moments after the band showed a video of a fan asking them to play a tune from the "greatest movie of all time". He then played guitar on the early rock n' roll classics Earth Angel and Johnny B Goode. Band leader Chris Martin called the moment a "dream come true". But this was not the first time Fox has played with the British pop rockers. They performed together in 2013 at a New York City benefit show for the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. – AP

Guns N’ Roses say Canada detained them over gun

On their long-awaited reunion tour, Guns N' Roses have largely avoided the antics that once made the band so notorious – but not entirely. Frontman Axl Rose said that the hard-rock legends were briefly detained in Canada for trying to bring in a gun. "Yeah, we found a gun," he told a sold-out crowd on July 16 at the Rogers Centre arena in Toronto, according to a video posted online afterward by a fan. "So we weren't exactly arrested. We were detained," he said, adding that Canadian customs officers were "very nice" about the incident. "They were very understanding. You know, it happens – you can forget you had a ... gun," he said, before playing Out Ta Get Me. Rose did not give more details, but said the gun was not his. Canada has much stricter controls on firearms than the United States. – AFP