Scholarships are one of the top prizes in a new American Idol-style UAE Singing Challenge launched in Dubai. The winners of the competition, organised by events-management company ImpreZions, will receive funding to pursue their passion. Full details have yet to be announced, but the contest will be open to three age groups – juniors (ages 7 to 12), teens (13 to 19) and adults (20 and over) – who will be judged based on their singing skills, self-esteem and discipline. There will also be an over-20 category. Professionals will guide the participants to help them understand music and self-expression. The contest will begin in November, with the finals in February. Auditions are due to begin this month, with organisers set to launch a public-voting system. – The National Staff
Jackie Chan film brings traffic to a standstill at JLT
Traffic was brought to a halt in Jumeirah Lakes Towers yesterday morning by a film crew, which was thought to be shooting more scenes for the Jackie Chan movie Kung Fu Yoga. The production also shut down roads in Downtown Dubai on Saturday and spent almost a week shooting in Atlantis The Palm last week. Eyewitnesses yesterday reported "a lot of commotion", long traffic queues, the closure of JLT metro station and a high police presence, although whether this was part of the film or for traffic and crowd control was uncertain. Some bystanders also said they had spotted Chan close to the metro station. Traffic was moving normally again by midmorning, and the metro station was also reopened as normal. – The National staff
Lethal Weapon to get TV reboot
The Lethal Weapon buddy-cop movie series, which began in 1987 and starred Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, is set for a remake, this time on the small screen. Fox has ordered a pilot episode that will be produced by Warner Bros, according to The Hollywood Reporter. If the show is picked up for a full season, it will join Fox's Minority Report, Limitless and the upcoming Rush Hour (both from CBS) on the list of TV spin-offs or reboots of popular films. TV versions of The Notebook, Friday the 13th and Behind Enemy Lines are also in the pipeline. – The National Staff
The Martian impresses Neil deGrasse Tyson
Noted astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson took to Twitter over the weekend to share his thoughts about Hollywood space drama, The Martian. According to Entertainment Weekly, the Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyddey host believes director Ridley Scott did a good job getting the important science facts behind the film right, even allowing for the fictionalisation involved to add to the drama. Scott worked closely with Nasa while making the film, about an American astronaut – played by Matt Damon – who is stranded on Mars and has to use his scientific ingenuity to survive long enough for a rescue mission to reach him. deGrasse Tyson also praised the film for promoting science, technology, engineering and maths – the so-called Stem subjects. He did some nitpicking, however, over scenes that show Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, tracking astronauts – only the Johnson Space Centre does that, he said. The film is due out in the UAE on Thursday. – The National Staff
International debut at Ductac for Indian play
The Siddhus of Upper Juhu, an English-language play by Indian theatre group Rage will have its international premiere at the inaugural premiere Comedy Festival on October 15. The comedy by Rahul da Cunha stars Bollywood actors Rajat Kapur and Shernaz Patel in the lead. Set in urban Mumbai, India, the Siddhus' are a middle-income family battling problems of rubbish, construction noise, howling of stray dogs and pollution in their residential complex. To add to their woes, Balvinder Siddhu, the breadwinner of the household, loses his job, and his attempt to get back on his feet sets the mood for big laughs. The play will be staged on October 15 and 16 from 8pm at Ductac, Mall of the Emirates. Tickets cost from Dh100 on www.ductac.org and www.platinumlist.net. – The National Staff
Strike halts Bollywood filming
Work on several Bollywood movies and TV shows stalled on Saturday due to industrial action by The Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees, a grouping of several unions representing industry workers. Shooting for Deepika Padukone's film Bajirao Mastani and Aamir Khan's Dangal have been affected. Filmmaker Rohit Shetty has also halted work on his film in Chennai. According to IBN-Live the whole film city is affected by the strike. FWICE, along with the Cine and Television Artistes Association, is demanding better wages and improved working conditions. The high court has ordered the association to stay away from venues where filming is still continuing. – The National staff
Tina Fey Developing new comedy
Comedian and writer Tina Fey is working on a new comedy series, about a recently retired athlete who gets on the nerves of his family and friends. Entertainment Weekly reports that the award-winning actor and producer, who has teamed up with producer Robert Carlock and writer Jack Burditt for the project, has received a CBS commitment for a pilot episode of the unnamed series. Fey and Carlock worked together on NBC's acclaimed comedy 30 Rock, and as creators of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt at Netflix. Burditt wrote and executive produced both of those shows and also created Last Man Standing, which currently airs on CBS. – The National Staff
Marvel lines up Kiwi director for Thor: Ragnarok
Marvel's search for a director to steer their third Thor movie has taken bosses to the other side of the world. The company is in talks with New Zealand-born director Taika Waititi to make Thor: Ragnarok. Negotiations are ongoing, according to The Wrap. Waititi has only recently started to make a name for himself in the film industry, and Thor will be his first big-budget movie. A regular collaborator with fellow New Zealanders Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, from Flight of the Conchords. His best-known film to date was the critically acclaimed mock-documentary vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows (2014), which starred Clement. He also wrote the screenplay for Disney's upcoming animated movie Moana, a mythic adventure set 2,000 years ago on islands in the South Pacific, which features the voice of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Thor: Ragnarok is due out to be released in June 2017. – The National Staff
