Prolific film composer Hans Zimmer has spoken of his Brexit frustrations, the “grim” state of the world and says he fears the consequences of what’s happening in Number 10 “are going to be dreadful”.
The 12-time Oscar nominee – who is the subject of a new BBC documentary, Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel – told Sky News: “The world is really grim so we need music, we need the arts, more than we ever did.”
Born in Germany, Zimmer was 14 when he moved to England. Now one of the most sought-after men in Hollywood, having produced hundreds of film scores during his 40-year career, he now divides his time between LA and London.
“There are so many wonderful, horrible things you can say about Hollywood, you know, and they are all true,” he teases, “cut-throat is like the best thing you can say… but the thing is, it does commission orchestral music on an hourly basis.
“If the symphony orchestras go, such a large chunk of our culture would go,” he explains before letting out a big sigh.
“I mean, how political do we want to get? Brexit was sort of a surprise to me as a foreigner, especially because, you know, I kept bringing movies back to England and employing orchestras all the time.
Zimmer says he experienced the “bureaucracy” first hand as he toured across Europe for a series of live performances of his work earlier this year.
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“My orchestra came from Odessa, Ukraine. The war had started so we only managed to get 10 people out and it was really difficult. But for all of Europe – no problem. Going across borders everybody was welcoming them with open arms….
“[then] Trying to get across the Channel it was a different thing. I had to leave seven behind. They just couldn’t get visas.
As a country, for Zimmer, Britain seems to have lost sight of the importance of what the arts can offer.
“If you’re too literal about these things, you know, you are going to come up with a disaster of just scrapping the arts. Yes, the symphony orchestra is a very, very expensive hobby but if you think about what it means to humanity, to human culture… if the symphony orchestras go, such a large chunk of our culture would go.
“The other thing that’s very important to me, is the operative word in music is ‘play’,” he explains.
Referring to Liz Truss, he teases: “If people were just a little bit more playful, they might stay a little longer as premier of the United Kingdom, no never mind, I didn’t mean to say that.
“I mean, either we weep or let’s be a little bit playful about the whole thing because the consequences are going to be dreadful,” he adds.
While Zimmer has written scores for movie classics like the Lion King, Gladiator, even The Dark Knight, he’s also written music for the natural world, working on a number of projects with veteran broadcaster Sir David Attenborough, including Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II.
“That’s actually the most important work I’m doing because, I don’t know if you noticed, it was quite warm this summer.
“We desperately need a voice in this world that speaks to us about how we are just a small part of this planet, and that maybe – despite of what we did in Interstellar – it might not be such a good idea to leave this planet, it might be better to be a little bit more mindful about who we share this planet with.”
Hans Zimmer – Hollywood Rebel is available now on BBC iPlayer.
Five people have been charged in connection with the death of One Direction star Liam Payne in Argentina.
Three people have been charged with negligent homicide and two have been charged with supplying drugs, the Argentinian Public Prosecutor’s Office said.
Negligent homicide – similar to gross negligent manslaughter in the UK – carries a sentence of one to five years, while supplying drugs carries a sentence of up to 15 years.
Roger Nores, described as a “representative” of Payne, was one of those charged with negligent homicide, alongside hotel manager Gilda Martin and receptionist Esteban Grassi.
A hotel employee, Ezequiel Pereyra, and waiter, Braian Paiz, have been charged with supplying drugs on two occasions.
All five have been summoned to appear in court.
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A statement from the judge and public prosecutor today said Payne had been “demanding” drugs and alcohol during his stay at the hotel.
On the 16 December, Payne was in the hotel lobby and “unable to stand” due to the “consumption of various substances”, the court document said.
The receptionist and two others “dragged” the singer to his room, and the manager allowed this to happen “at least by omission”.
Given Payne’s “altered” consciousness and the access to a balcony from the room, the “proper thing to do was to leave him in a safe place and with company until a doctor arrived”, according to the judge.
They also accused Payne’s representative, Nores, of leaving Payne on his own in the hotel in a “state of vulnerability”, despite knowing about Payne’s previous addiction problems and that the fact Nores could “not trust that the rest of the hotel staff would act appropriately”.
The judge described Payne’s death as “foreseeable”.
The prosecutor’s office previously ruled out self-harm as a factor in the One Direction star’s death, and said he did not adopt a reflex posture to protect himself from the fall, meaning it can be inferred he may have fallen “in a state of semi or total unconsciousness”.
The new document today reiterated the hypothesis that Payne had “tried to leave the room through the balcony and thus fell”.
The results of toxicology tests revealed that before his death, Payne had traces of alcohol, cocaine, and a prescription antidepressant in his body.
According to the post-mortem examination, Payne died from “multiple” injuries and internal and external bleeding.
Argentine investigators found what appeared to be narcotics and alcohol strewn around broken objects and furniture in Payne’s hotel room, leading the public prosecution to surmise he had suffered a substance abuse-induced breakdown around the time of his fall.
World chess number one Magnus Carlsen is back in a major tournament after he quit because he was told to change his jeans.
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) has now relaxed its dress code to allow “elegant minor deviations”.
Those deviations “may, in particular, include appropriate jeans matching the jacket”, the new rules state.
Carlsen was defending his titles at the Fide World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in New York when he was told to change his trousers.
He had been to a lunch meeting before the competition and had to change quickly.
“I put on a shirt, jacket and honestly like I didn’t even think about jeans,” he told chess publication Take Take Take.
After playing a few rounds of the tournament, he was told he would face a fine because of his jeans, and then was told he wouldn’t be able to play at all if he didn’t change.
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The Norwegian refused and left the competition on Saturday, saying he’d go somewhere where the weather was a “bit nicer”, adding: “I am too old at this point to care too much.”
FIDE quickly rewrote the rules after the spat and Carlsen will now return to the championships, which the federation described as “great news for the chess world”.
“The situation was badly mishandled on their side,” said Carlsen in an interview with Take Take Take.
“I was about to book my plane tickets.”
But he told the publication he was pleased to be playing again, as he loved the tournament.
The chess federation has warned players against taking liberties with their outfits.
“I sincerely hope that nobody would try to undermine the festive mood, including by abusing this additional flexibility,” said Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE president in a statement.
“Special assistants” will be on hand to help judges decide whether players’ outfits are acceptable, according to Mr Dvorkovich.
Five-time World Chess champion Carlsen was previously involved in a dispute with rival Hans Niemann.
He accused Niemann of cheating after he was beaten at a tournament in 2022, but Niemann denied the allegations and said he would “strip fully naked” to prove his innocence.
The pair settled a $100m (£79m) lawsuit in August last year.
Actress Michelle Keegan is expecting her first baby with husband Mark Wright, the celebrity couple have announced.
Keegan and former The Only Way Is Essex star Wright, both 37, shared the news on their Instagram accounts with the caption “2025 is going to be a special one for us” followed by a baby emoji.
A picture on the social media site posted on Sunday shows the couple standing opposite each other on a beach as former Coronation Street actress Keegan holds her bump.
Keegan, also known for her roles in Sky comedy Brassic and Netflix’s Fool Me Once, is wearing a white off-the-shoulder top and skirt, while Wright is dressed in a beige shirt and trousers.
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