Pakistani teenage activist Malala Yousafzai says the United Nations goodwill ambassador and Harry Potter star Emma Watson inspired her to call herself a "feminist". The Nobel Peace Prize laureate met Watson at the UK premiere of He Named Me Malala, a documentary following the young activist's life and the Taliban's attack on the then 14-year-old Yousafzai. Last year Watson launched the HeForShe campaign in a speech that pushed for men to stand up for gender equality. In a question-and-answer session to open the Into Film Festival, Watson asked Yousafzai about the documentary, the power of education and the goals of The Malala Fund for girls' education. Yousafzai also addressed the question of whether she identified as a feminist, noting it was Watson's HeForShe speech that inspired her to embrace the term. Watson posted a video of the meeting on Facebook and added that she hadn't meant to bring up the topic of feminism during the interview but that the activist brought it up herself. – The National Staff
Huma excited about starring in Oculus remake
Bollywood actress Huma Qureshi, who stars with her brother Saqib Saleem in a Hindi remake of Hollywood film Oculus, says that with the movie they will "unleash terror on people". Qureshi says their off-screen mischief will translate on screen, and the audience will enjoy their chemistry. The 2013 horror film Oculus is a story of a brother-sister duo battling paranormal activity. The real-life brother-sister Qureshis' will reprise the characters played by Karen Gillan and Brenton Thwaites in the original. Relativity Media, the distributors of the original, decided to make the Hindi version and are closely associated with the process. The film will be directed by Prawaal Raman of Main Aur Charles fame. – IANS
Elvis Presley tops UK album chart again, 40 years on
If I Can Dream is a new collection of Elvis classics featuring orchestral re-workings by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This means Elvis now has more Number 1 albums in the UK United Kingdom than any other male solo artist, and puts him level with Madonna in second place for the most chart-topping LPs, behind the Beatles, who have 15, the Official Charts Company said on Friday. Elvis claimed top spot with 79,000 chart sales, giving him the second-fastest selling album of the year behind Noel Gallagher's Highflying Birds' Chasing Yesterday. Rod Stewart landed his 34th Top 10 album with Another Country, new at Number 2, while Elbow frontman Guy Garvey was third with his first solo release Courting the Squall. In the singles charts, Adele was top for a second week with Hello, Britain's fastest-selling record of 2015, keeping Justin Bieber's Sorry down in second spot. Sam Smith's James Bond theme Writing's On The Wall climbed back up one place to Number 3. – Reuters
Tamil actor Ajith injured during shoot
Tamil actor Ajith Kumar was injured during the climax sequence of forthcoming Tamil film Vedalam, and will be undergoing surgery on his knee and shoulder at a private hospital later this month. This is the second time the actor will undergo surgery for his knee and shoulder. In 2013, he injured himself while shooting for Tamil film Aarrambam.
Kumar is currently walking on crutches. The 44-year-old actor has been advised nine weeks of total rest post the surgery, as well. Vedalam, which also stars Shruti Haasan and directed by Siva, releases worldwide on November 10. – IANS
Angelina Jolie Receives WSJ Magazine Innovator Award
Writer, director and star of Universal Pictures' upcoming movie By the Sea, Jolie received the WSJ Magazine Innovator Award for Entertainment and Film in New York City on Thursday, and rather than focus on her own accomplishments, she found a way to honour her late mother, actress and producer Marcheline Bertrand, in addition to her six children with Brad Pitt, her husband of just over a year, reports E! News. The actress thanked her mother for driving her passion for making movies with "soul" and to experiment and innovate. She also mentioned that her kids had the same inquisitive spirit.
Jolie said she accepted the award being mindful of the fact that a lot of people, especially women, around the world do not get many opportunities of self-expression, freedom and independence. – The National Staff
Johnny Depp Lending his voice to Sherlock Gnomes
Four years after the $245.7 million hit Rango, Johnny Depp is heading back to Paramount Animation for Sherlock Gnomes, a sequel to the Elton John-run Rocket Pictures feature toon hit Gnomeo And Juliet. MGM is co-producing and Depp will star as the title character, reports Deadline. Returning stars James McAvoy as Gnomeo and Emily Blunt as Juliet are joining Depp in a script wrote by Ben Zazove (Rex Libris, Captain Planet). In Sherlock Gnomes, a string of garden gnome disappearances occur in London, when Gnomeo and Juliet look to legendary detective Sherlock Gnomes to solve the case. Feature toon is directed by Kung Fu Panda director John Stevenson and the movie will be released in 2018. The producing team behind Sherlock Gnomes includes Elton John, David Furnish (Gnomeo & Juliet), Steve Hamilton-Shaw (Gnomeo & Juliet), and Carolyn Soper, who was the Disney production executive on such titles as Tangled and Princess and the Frog. – The National staff
Rishi Kapoor is ‘afraid’ to do plays
Veteran Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor says despite a strong desire to act in plays he is afraid of the stage. The actor made the comments during the Prithvi Festival at the Prithvi Theatre that honours his grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor on his birth anniversary. The actor also hared a picture of his grandfather on Twitter, posting “Good looking, Greek God Grandfather!”. Kapoor says he believes theatre is progressing and that more platforms like this festival will encourage more creativity. The Prithvi theatre, set up by legendary filmmaker Prithviraj Kapoor, is one of the iconic venues for the medium of theatre in the country, having completed almost 70 years since its inception. – IANS
Force Awakens screened for terminally ill Star Wars fan
A terminally ill Star Wars fan is one of the first to see Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. Daniel Fleetwood, a 31-year-old Texan who is suffering from cancer, had his wish granted to see the highly anticipated film on Thursday. His wife, Ashley, posted on her Facebook page that Daniel saw an unfinished version of the movie, thanks to the film's producers and director, J J Abrams. Disney Studios confirmed the screening. The news has drawn so much attention that Ashley Fleetwood on Friday requested news outlets to stop calling. She would prefer, she said, to spend more time with Daniel. Daniel had lobbied online for a chance to see the movie, due out December 18. Diagnosed with spindle cell carcinoma, he's been given just a few months to live. – AP
