Connect with us

Published

on

Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde are “taking a break” from their relationship after nearly two years together, it has been reported.

The former One Direction star, 28, and actress and director, 38, have been in a relationship since working together on Wilde’s latest film, Don’t Worry Darling, confirming their relationship early last year.

News of their split was reported in People Magazine, who called the breakup, “very amicable”.

The 79th Venice Film Festival - Photo call for the film "Don't Worry Darling" out of competition - Venice, Italy, September 5, 2022 - Director Olivia Wilde poses with cast members Harry Styles, Chris Pine, and Gemma Chan. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Image:
The cast of Don’t Worry Darling: (L-R) Styles, Gemma Chan, Chris Pine, and Wilde

Multiple sources confirmed the breakup to the magazine, with one telling them: “He’s still touring and is now going abroad. She is focusing on her kids and her work in LA”.

Sky News has contacted both Styles and Wilde for comment.

Both stars have previously said they have received online abuse and “toxic negativity” about their relationship, despite their attempts to keep it out of the public eye.

Wilde split up with her former partner, Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis, 47, two years ago, after nearly 10 years together. The couple have two children, son Otis Alexander, eight, and daughter Daisy Josephine, six.

More on Harry Styles

Just last month, Wilde was pictured at Styles’ LA concert, dancing with her children.

Earlier this year, Wilde spoke out about being publicly served with custody documents while on stage at CinemaCon in Las Vegas in April, calling the incident “vicious” and “scary”.

She was successful in the first part of the custody battle, with the judge ruling that the children’s home state is California, rather than New York as Sudeikis had hoped to establish.

Actress Olivia Wilde and husband Jason Sudeikis arrive at the 88th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California February 28, 2016. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
Image:
Wilde and former partner Jason Sudeikis the 2016 Oscars

The film Don’t Worry Darling, which was released in September, has been somewhat overshadowed by repeated speculation about some of the cast members not getting on.

In September, a short video of Styles and fellow cast member Chris Pine at Venice Film Festival went viral, after fans speculated it showed the pop star spitting on the Hollywood star.

Representatives for Pine at the time denied the incident took place, calling it an “odd illusion of sorts”. Styles went on to joke about it at his Madison Square Garden gig in New York.

Wilde also refuted that there was an on-set feud between herself and her leading lady, British actress Florence Pugh, telling Elle magazine the rumours were “untruths”.

Don’t Worry Darling is a psychological thriller set in the 1950s, with Wilde appearing in the film as well as working behind the camera.

Actor Shia LaBeouf was originally cast in the leading man role but was later replaced by Styles.

Click to subscribe to Backstage wherever you get your podcasts

One of the biggest music stars in the world, Styles is currently performing in Mexico as part of a world tour which runs until March 2023.

He has recently received a glut of music award nominations including the Mercury Prize, the MTV EMAs and The Grammys, for which he has seven nods.

Wilde is slated to direct the film Perfect, about American gymnast Kerri Strug competing for gold in the 1996 Olympics. She will also be working on an as yet untitled Marvel project according to movie and TV database IMDB.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Man arrested after death of Gogglebox star George Gilbey is released under investigation

Published

on

By

Man arrested after death of Gogglebox star George Gilbey is released under investigation

A man arrested in connection with the death of Gogglebox star George Gilbey has been released under investigation.

The man, who is in his 40s, was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter in connection with Gilbey’s death on Thursday.

The 40-year-old star reportedly died following an accident at work on Wednesday.

Essex Police said: “As part of our ongoing investigation into the death of a man in Campfield Road, Shoebury, on Wednesday 27 March, a man aged in his 40s from the Witham area was arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.

“He has now been released under investigation.

“This is a joint investigation with the Health and Safety Executive and our enquiries are ongoing.”

Police previously said they were called to an incident in Shoebury at around 10am on Wednesday after “a man who was working at height had fallen and sustained an injury”.

More on Essex

Gilbey was best known for appearing on the Channel 4 show alongside his mother Linda McGarry and stepfather Pete McGarry, who died in 2021 aged 71.

George Gilbey. Pic: Shutterstock
Image:
Reality star Gilbey. Pic: Shutterstock

Read more from Sky News:
Strong winds to batter UK as millions set to hit roads
Sunak criticised for ‘surprise’ honours list

The family first appeared on the second series of Gogglebox in 2013 but were dropped the following year when the reality star signed up for the 14th series of Celebrity Big Brother in 2014, reaching the final.

Gilbey appeared on the Channel 5 version of the show alongside other famous faces including The Hills star Stephanie Pratt and American actor Gary Busey, who won the series.

The family later returned to Gogglebox and a spokesperson for the award-winning programme said: “George was part of the Gogglebox family for eight series alongside his mum Linda and stepdad Pete.

“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with Linda and George’s family and friends at this very sad time. The family has asked for privacy.”

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Bill Nighy on style, social media and holy socks: ‘I can’t operate in the wrong kind of trousers’

Published

on

By

Bill Nighy on style, social media and holy socks: 'I can't operate in the wrong kind of trousers'

Bill Nighy is a man of many talents – but he knows his limitations – most specifically in the trouser department.

The 74-year-old actor tells Sky News he has very clear sartorial demands when it comes to his acting rider.

“It’s odd, people used to say: ‘There’s a significant lack of classical work on your CV’. And I would say something like: ‘The reason is, I can’t operate in those kind of trousers,’ which is a joke, but it’s also kind of true.

“If you want me at my best, put me in a decent lounge suit. It’s a stupid thing for an actor to say, but art does reflect life.”

And he’s not afraid to bring his own life quite literally into his films, adding: “If it’s a contemporary film and it’s an independent film and they haven’t got a lot of money, I just say, ‘Come to my flat,’ and I open the wardrobe and they can take out whatever they want for that movie. So, the two things do blend.”

He’s currently starring in underdog sports drama The Beautiful Game, playing a retired football talent scout coaching England’s team in the Homeless World Cup.

Founded in 2001, the real-life international tournament that inspired the movie now involves over 70 countries and has transformed the lives of more than one million homeless people.

More on Bill Nighy

Former Homeless World Cup players – who are no longer homeless – feature in the film, playing team members from other countries, which Nighy calls “a wonderful piece of symmetry”.

He of course wore a suit and tie for the majority of the film, despite it being shot in Rome during a heatwave. Scorching weather aside, he says: “It was quite fun to stand on the touchline and scream.”

Pic: Netflix
Image:
Nighy as football talent scout Mal in The Beautiful Game. Pic: Netflix

While Nighy may not necessarily look the part of a stereotypical football coach, he does work on his fitness, training three times a week. It’s something he insists he won’t be “winning any prizes for”, and he certainly won’t be sharing snaps of his workouts on Instagram.

‘My iPhone doesn’t see a lot of action’

He explains: “I’ve never been on social media. I’m lucky in that regard because I’m of an age where I can just about get away with it.

“I nearly went on it. I got very close to, I think it was Instagram, but I didn’t in the end make that jump.

“I don’t have a laptop. I mean, I’m carrying a computer in my pocket, obviously, like everybody else, but I’ve never had a computer. I’ve never owned one, again because I’m fortunate. I don’t need one for anything. I’ve got an iPhone, but there’s not a lot of action on it apart from, you know, the obvious.”

I can only guess ‘the obvious’ is phoning his nearest and dearest, including his daughter and friends. Nighy keeps his romantic dealings close to his chest, and since splitting with his partner of 26 years, he hasn’t been publicly linked to anyone new – either in the public eye or out.

Nighy and Anna Wintour at the Met Gala last year. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Nighy with friend Anna Wintour at the Met Gala last year. Pic: Reuters

As one of Britain’s most recognisable actors, he’s humble in his appraisal of his five decade career spanning theatre, TV and film – reaching to Hollywood and back.

‘I didn’t expect acting to last’

“I don’t know what I’m cut out to be, but it probably isn’t an actor, although I don’t know if anybody is. I think we all have to bend ourselves out of shape to do whatever it is we do.

“I didn’t expect to be an actor. I didn’t expect when I became an actor that it would last very long. I didn’t have a Plan B, it was all basically out of necessity.

“I flunked school, so I didn’t have any qualifications for anything, and I didn’t have a Plan B, so I had no safety net. But, you know, it gradually worked out.”

With two BAFTAs, a Golden Globe and Teen Choice Award (yes really) to name but a few of his accolades, he’s being modest.

And his acting career is about to take a step into the unknown, with his first big horror role in First Omen coming to the screen next month.

Nighy as Cardinal Lawrence in The First Omen. Pic: 20th Century Studios
Image:
Nighy as Cardinal Lawrence in The First Omen. Pic: Disney/20th Century Studios

A prequel to the 1976 original, it returns to the very beginning of the story, with Nighy warning it’s not a film for the feint hearted: “The early signs suggest that it is truly horrible.”

Red satin and holy socks

He does have a wide experience of otherworldly roles, if not out and out horror. Nighy lists a few. “In Shaun Of The Dead I was a werewolf. Yeah, I was a werewolf.”

(Nighy was actually a zombie, but the movie was filmed 20 years ago, and who’s splitting hairs?)

He goes on: “And I’ve been a vampire several times. And I’ve been a squid. If you count animations, I’ve been a rattle snake with a machine gun in its tail. But they’re not straight horror. [First Omen] is really my first horror movie, like what you’d call straight horror. So, it is a departure.”

It goes without saying he was well suited and booted for the role.

“I was dressed by the Vatican tailor. So, you can see I look my best if you’re going to be a priest. And I’m drenched in red satin”.

Rumour has it he was given holy socks from the Vatican shop as part of his costume. Blessed beyond doubt.

Nighy ‘can’t stand’ his own films

He says it “will frighten the life” out of its viewers, adding “a few people I’ve met who’ve seen it and who are horror freaks were stunned. One journalist actually said [they were] traumatised.”

But he doesn’t have to worry about nightmares himself. “I’ve never seen it and I’m never going to see it because I don’t watch films I’m in because I can’t stand it.”

Pic: Netflix
Image:
Pic: Netflix

Meanwhile, his latest offering, The Beautiful Game, is a very different prospect, crafted to leave the viewer uplifted rather than in pieces.

Nighy says it’s a feelgood nostalgia that takes him right back to his childhood. “The deal was when I was a kid, you went, you paid some money, you went to the cinema, and you came out feeling a bit better than you did when you went in. This is what [The Beautiful Game] is.”

The Beautiful Game is streaming now on Netflix, and The First Omen will be in cinemas from 5 April.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Song lyrics have become angrier and more repetitive since the 80s, study finds

Published

on

By

Song lyrics have become angrier and more repetitive since the 80s, study finds

Song lyrics have become angrier and more repetitive over the past four decades, a study has found.

Lyrics in rock, rap, country, pop, and R&B songs have also become simpler and more personal, according to research published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Rap songs showed the strongest increase in anger and negative emotions, while country songs had the lowest, the researchers said.

Eva Zangerle, an assistant professor at the University of Innsbruck’s department of computer science in Austria, said anger-related words may have become more common because music “reflects more general changes in society and culture”.

Prof Zangerle and her colleagues analysed the lyrics of 12,000 English-language songs released between 1980 and 2020, as well as the page views of the lyrics on online platform Genius.

They found lyrics have become simpler and easier to understand over time, while also becoming more emotional and personal.

Analysis also showed the number of different words used within songs has decreased, particularly among rap and rock songs.

The team speculated this may be because of changes in how music is enjoyed, such as increases in songs being used as background music.

Read more from Sky News:
Nick Cave has ‘feelings of culpability’ over deaths of his sons
Beyonce releases tracklist for upcoming country album
Springsteen first international songwriter to be Ivors Academy fellow

Prof Zangerle said: “In the last 40 years, we have witnessed a change from buying records in the store to being able to choose from hundreds of millions of songs on streaming platforms on the phone.

“This has also changed the way music is consumed.”

By analysing the page views on Genius, the team found older rock songs were viewed more than newer ones, but the reverse was true for country songs. They said it could indicate rock listeners prefer lyrics from older songs, while country listeners may prefer those from newer songs.

Prof Zangerle gave Bruce Springsteen’s 1973 song Spirit In The Night as a good example of complex songwriting, while she said Miley Cyrus’s 2019 hit Slide Away has simpler and repetitive lyrics.

Continue Reading

Trending