‘We have to work together’: The Eternals cast on saving the planet
Eternals was never intended for release while the COP26 climate summit was taking place, but the timing does seem strangely appropriate.
Pushed back from hitting cinemas in 2020 due to the pandemic, the latest big-budget film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe tells the story of a disparate group of superheroes who find that, with the destruction of Earth at stake, they are more powerful when they work together.
This storyline, coupled with beautiful cinematography showing our planet at its best – thanks to filming taking place in real locations rather than closed-off sets – means it’s hard not to draw comparisons between the messaging in the film and those coming out of the environmental conference in Glasgow.
Gemma Chan stars as Sersi while Kumail Nanjiani (below) plays Kingo. Pics: Marvel/Sophie Mutevelian
With an all-star cast featuring Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Gemma Chan, Kit Harington, Kumail Nanjiani and Richard Madden, it’s a high-profile way of spreading the message about saving the planet.
Harington, who plays human Dane Whitman in the movie, told Sky News he thinks Hollywood has its own part to play in helping push the green agenda.
“It’s important that the industry I’m in, the entertainment industry, not only speaks about that, but also acts on it as well – that the sets we’re on are sustainable, that we reduce our flight numbers where we can,” he said.
“As far as this movie goes, it is talking about a group of eternal beings who’ve seen us as humanity go from 7,000 years ago… and has seen us destroy each other, kill each other, but also show love to each other and come through things.
“I think it’s a bit of a love letter to the world and it’s a love letter to humanity, and it’s full of hope as well as warnings – and I think it’s a really important movie for our time for that reason.”
Chan, who plays superhero Sersi, said she thinks themes of environmentalism are being reflected in the art that is being produced at the moment.
“Hopefully it will come through in the storytelling that we see. I’m doing a project next called Extrapolations [where] climate change is the backdrop to the setting of the show, so I think we’re probably going to see that more and more; it’s the reality that we’re all living in, that we all have to deal with.
“I think with this film as well, the message for me is that we can’t achieve anything by ourselves. We have to work together, we have to try and solve these problems together.”
This is the first Marvel film to be directed by Chloe Zhao, who won Oscars earlier in 2021 for Nomadland. Pics: Marvel/Sophie Mutevelian
For Nanjiani, who plays the superhero Kingo, the conversation around climate change needs to change.
“I think it’s so absolutely unbelievable that environmentalism has become politicised,” he said. “If anything has shown us this last year and a half, we’re all on the same rock and if something happens here it’s all our problem – doesn’t matter what you look like, where you live, what the borders that we’ve drawn are, it affects us all.
“Environmentalism obviously is something that affects every single one of us, so it’s pretty frustrating that it’s become a polarised topic.”
Salma Hayek, who plays Eternals leader Ajak, agreed the pandemic has highlighted the need for people to work together.
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“I think that COVID gives us a taste of it, how we’re in it together and we all have to do something. It’s not like you can wait for the governments to fix it.”
Eternals has a very different feel to the Marvel movies that have come before, perhaps because it was directed by Oscar-winner Chloe Zhao.
Hayek said Zhao is one of the reasons she wanted to be involved in the film.
“I’m so proud of them for choosing this amazing woman, Chloe, who has the capability to do very huge scope and intimacy at the same time, and beauty and imagination, creativity,” she said.
The Eternals cast also includes a deaf superhero, played by Lauren Ridloff, and some of the dialogue is in ASL (American sign language).
Harington said the addition of the character sets this apart from previous Marvel films.
“The fact we’ve got a deaf superhero talking to deaf kids all over the world in a language they understand, dressed in a superheroes outfit – that’s fantastic,” he said. “That’s what’s special about this movie.”
Chan, who starred in Crazy Rich Asians – which featured a majority cast from Chinese descent – said it’s time for diversity on screen to become the norm.
“[Eternals] felt like a kind of natural evolution. I think it’s a great thing that there may be many young girls and boys who might see themselves represented in a film like this, maybe for the first time.
“But I also hope we’re moving towards a point where it’s just normalised, and it’s not a big deal to have a cast like this.”
Eternals is out in cinemas on 5 November
Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.
The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.
The charges relate to four women.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.
Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.
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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges
The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.
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The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.
He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.
Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.
Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.
Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP
Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.
“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.
“I wish you well on the next journey.”
The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.
Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP
Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.
He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.
Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
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He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.
In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.
Bruce Springsteen is to release seven albums of mostly unheard material this summer.
The US singer said the songs, written and re-recorded between 1983 and 2018, were being made public after he began completing “everything I had in my vault” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a short video posted on Instagram, Springsteen said the albums were “records that were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed and not released”.
The 83-song collection is being released in a box set called Tracks II: The Lost Albums and goes on sale on 27 June.
Some 74 of the tracks have never been heard before.
Springsteen first teased the release on Wednesday morning with a short social media video accompanied by text which said: “What was lost has been found”.
Tracks II is the follow-up to the star’s first Tracks volume, a four-CD collection of 66 unreleased songs, released in 1998.
Bruce Springsteen at New York’s Carnegie Hall at a tribute to Patti Smith last month. Pic: PA
The New Jersey-born rocker, nicknamed The Boss, last released a studio album in 2022.
Only the Strong Survive was a collection of covers, including songs by Motown and soul artists, such as the Four Tops, The Temptations, The Supremes, Frankie Wilson and Jimmy Ruffin.
The late soul legend Sam Moore, who died in January and was a frequent Springsteen collaborator, sang on two of the tracks.
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Springsteen is coming to the UK in May to launch a two-month tour of Europe with his E Street Band.
The shows will include performances at the Co-op Live in Manchester and Liverpool’s Anfield stadium.
The singer-songwriter has sold more than 140 million records since his debut on the music scene in 1973, according to his website.
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