Directed by Sean Durkin, The Iron Claw takes inspiration from the lives of the Von Erichs – a renowned professional wrestling family in the US.
The A24 film centres on wrestling, of course, but also takes a deep dive into the impact of toxic masculinity and the refusal to examine emotions.
“That’s one of the things that Sean spoke about early on in this process that drew me to the story”, Zac Efron says.
The 36-year-old actor plays Kevin in the film – the oldest of the Von Erich siblings who has dedicated his life to professional wrestling under his father’s wing.
Efron adds: “Examining it, whatever you want to call it, being a guy is hard to do and I think Sean really accomplished it with this movie.”
His performance has been widely acclaimed by critics but he failed to pick up any nominations at the Oscars, Golden Globes or BAFTAs.
Image: Zac Efron in The Iron Claw. Pic: Brian Roedel/A24
Despite this, The Greatest Showman actor is glad that it’s resonating with audiences.
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“I think everyone’s going to walk away moved or feeling in some capacity – and that’s everything,” he says.
Sean Durkin, who previously wrote and directed Martha Marcy May Marlene starring Elizabeth Olsen and Sarah Paulson, also penned the script and led production on The Iron Claw.
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The idea was sparked from his “all-consuming” love for professional wrestling when he was younger.
The 42-year-old says the Von Erich brothers “revolutionised wrestling” but their fictionalised family story showcases an “extremely misguided expression of masculinity that has harmed our culture in ways we are only just beginning to understand”.
Drawing similarities from the real family, the Von Erichs in The Iron Claw are dedicated to their craft.
Image: Harris Dickinson, Zac Efron, Stanley Simons, Jeremy Allen White (left to right). Pic: Eric Chakeen/a24
Fritz Von Erich, the patriarch played by Holt McCallany, holds onto the possibility of his family winning the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt. This overpowering desire for success blinds him to the devastating misfortunes that unfold within his household.
The director calls the wrestling drama a “true Greek tragedy” that is about family at its heart.
He says: “I think my favourite reaction is often that people leave the cinema, and they call their brother or sister.”
Unthinkable losses occur in the film – the storyline echoing true unfortunate events that occurred in the family.
And although The Iron Claw depicts five Von Erich brothers, in truth, there were six.
Between 1959 and 1995, five of the six siblings – Kerry, David, Chris, Mike and Jack Jr – had died suddenly and soon the family became synonymous with the rumoured “Von Erich curse”.
Kevin Von Erich, the only surviving sibling, rejects the idea of a curse but showed his support for the film by attending the Los Angeles premiere.
Speaking on Chris Jericho’s podcast in December, the now 66-year-old reiterated that the film is made for entertainment and that despite his dad being seen as “pretty rank” in the film, “he was an honourable, good man”.
The Von Erich family were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.
Former Hollyoaks star Paul Danan died by misadventure after taking a cocktail of drugs, a coroner has ruled.
The 46-year-old played Sol Patrick on the Channel 4 soap from 1997 to 2001 and was later known for his reality TV appearances on Celebrity Big Brother and Celebrity Love Island.
An inquest into Danan’s death was told he was found unresponsive and slumped on his sofa in front of the TV at his home in Brislington, Bristol, on 15 January.
Image: Paul Danan appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2017. Pic: PA
Emergency services attended and confirmed he had died, with his body being identified at the scene by his partner Melissa Crooks.
A post-mortem examination concluded his death was due to the combined toxicity of heroin, methadone, codeine, pregabalin, cocaine and zopiclone, contributed to by benzodiazepine use.
Assistant Coroner Debbie Rookes reached the conclusion Danan had died by misadventure after hearing written statements from emergency services doctors and his mother Beverley Danan.
In a statement, Mrs Danan said: “Paul helped so many people from all walks of life but just couldn’t help himself in the same way.
“His smiling face and love of life will always be remembered.”
Ms Rookes concluded Danan had died from the combined effects of prescribed and illicit drugs.
She told the hearing at Avon Coroner’s Court in Flax Bourton, near Bristol, that there was no evidence Danan, who suffered an accidental overdose in May 2024, had intended to take his own life.
A previous hearing was told Danan did not leave a note.
The coroner said: “Paul Danan was clearly much loved and is very much missed.
“Mr Danan had a long history of drug misuse and struggles with his mental health. His death was caused by a combination of drugs, both prescription and illicit.
“Paul had struggled with his mental health for many years. He had taken an overdose in May 2024 but he was adamant that this was accidental and he didn’t have any intention to end his life.
“Although he had occasional suicidal thoughts, he didn’t have any active plans. I don’t have any evidence before me that Paul intended to take his own life at this time.
“Therefore, the conclusion is misadventure.”
Image: Paul Danan pictured outside court in 2010. Pic: PA
The coroner said none of the drugs Danan had taken were found in high levels but their combined effect resulted in “fatal respiratory depression”.
Danan had previously spoken about his struggles with addiction and going into rehab.
The actor had been due to appear for a plea hearing at Warrington Magistrates’ Court on 16 January after being charged with possession of cocaine and cannabis, according to court documents.
He was also accused of driving while under the influence of drugs in Warrington, Cheshire, on 2 October last year.
Sean “Diddy” Combs kidnapped a former aide at gunpoint to join him as he attempted to confront love rival rapper Kid Cudi, his sex-trafficking trial has been told.
Capricorn Clark, who worked for the Bad Boy Records co-founder in different roles on and off for several years, told the court he banged on her door and told her: “Get dressed, we’re going to kill Mescudi.”
Ms Clark became tearful a few times as she gave evidence – which marked the start of the third week of the high-profile trial. She told the court her situation working for the hip-hop mogul was “complicated”.
Combs, 55, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution, is accused of subjecting his former long-term partner Cassie and others to years of physical, sexual and emotional abuse.
Image: Ms Clark became tearful a few times as she gave evidence. Pic: Jane Rosenberg via Reuters
While giving her own evidence in the first week of the trial, Cassie told jurors she dated Cudi briefly during a difficult period in her on-off relationship with Combs.
On Tuesday, Ms Clark said she warned Cassie about seeing Cudi, saying she took her to buy a burner phone as she thought it could be dangerous given how Combs might react. “The way she was moving, she was going to get us all killed,” Ms Clark said.
Combs arrived at her home with a gun in his hand on the morning of the attempted confrontation with Cudi, she told the court, and looked “furious”.
She says she told him she did not want to go with him, to which he allegedly replied: “I don’t give a f**k what you want to do.”
Image: Rapper Kid Cudi gave evidence last week. Pic: AP/ Richard Drew
Ms Clark said she had never seen “anything like this before”, but got dressed and left with Combs in a black Cadillac to head to the property in the Hollywood Hills.
She said she waited in the car as Combs went into the residence, and called Cassie to warn her. The rapper had her “with a gun and brought me to Cudi’s house to kill him”, she said she told her.
Cudi could be heard in the background of the call, she said, asking: “He’s in my house?”
After the incident, Ms Clark alleged Combs warned her and Cassie not to speak to police and threatened to “kill all you” if they did not convince Cudi not to either.
In the aftermath of this incident, Ms Clark alleged Combs “came at” Cassie with “100% full force”, repeatedly kicking her while she crouched “more and more” into a foetal position and cried “silently”.
The rapper told Ms Clark that if she tried to intervene, “he was going to f**k me up too”, she said.
Image: Diddy’s mother Janice Combs was in court to support him again. Pic: Reuters
Earlier in her testimony, she told the court about the start of her employment with Combs and his label Bad Boy Records in 2004.
She said after he discovered she had previously worked for Marion “Suge” Knight’s Death Row Records – the West Coast rival to East Coast Bad Boy – he told her “if anything happened, he would have to kill me”.
Ms Clark said she perceived this as a “very serious” threat. She also told the court about another alleged incident just a few weeks into the job, when some diamond jewellery on loan to Combs went missing.
She told the court she was taken to a building in Manhattan and forced to repeatedly take lie detector tests over five days.
Image: Combs with his legal team before court began for the day. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
The man who carried out the test told her that if she failed, “they’re going to throw you in the East River”, she said.
Combs was not present for the tests and never spoke to her about them, she said, when questioned by defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo.
During her testimony, Ms Clark mentioned an incident involving fellow rapper 50 Cent’s manager, after both 50 Cent and Combs had done interviews for MTV.
Combs mentioned to the manager that they had some issues and told him, “I like guns”, she said, which she perceived as a vague threat.
Ms Clark also described attempting to leave Combs’s home in Miami on one occasion in 2006, when she was allegedly told to “get the f**k back here” by the rapper.
According to Ms Clark, he told her: “Your problem is you want a life, and you can’t have that here.”
The trial continues tomorrow, with evidence expected from LA police and fire officers.
If convicted, Combs could face between 15 years and life in prison.
The Duchess of Sussex has spoken about the challenges of balancing being an entrepreneur and a mother.
Meghan, speaking on the final episode of her podcast Confessions of a Female Founder, made the comments while talking with her guest Sara Blakely – mother of four children, and founder of shapewear brand Spanx.
She said to Blakely: “The amount of what you have created, evolved through – the level of what you have done while having this many children, all at that age. It’s something that I think people often forget.”
Reflecting on her own experiences, Meghan said: “People forget that Lili is three, and Archie is five.
“So you look at the past five, six years of my life, it’s yes, with being pregnant or with a newborn or with a toddler, and then another one.”
Meghan has previously revealed that she has an “amazing” nanny, who has been with the family for five years.
Alongside Prince Harry, the duchess stepped back from her duties as a senior working royal in 2020 – before starting a new life in the US.
Since then, she has launched her own brand, As Ever, a “curated collection” of products inspired by her “long-lasting love of cooking, entertaining and hostessing with ease”, according to the website.
She has, alongside Harry, also worked on Archewell, which includes the couple’s non-profit charitable organisation and their for-profit media production business.
Image: Meghan, recently launched her Netflix show With Love, Meghan
Pic: Jenna Peffley/Netflix
In conjunction with her new business venture, Meghan launched her Netflix show With Love, Meghan – a lifestyle show where the duchess would invite friends and famous guests, and shared cooking, hosting, and gardening tips.
Her podcast followed shortly afterwards.
Meghan also discussed a “guilty mentality” facing female chief executives who have a lot of money.
She said: “I think so many women, especially, were taught to not even talk about money. And there’s lots of guilt mentality surrounding having a lot.”
“It wasn’t until the 70s that women could even have a credit card, a line of credit on a credit card without her husband.”
The discussion, which was wide-ranging in nature, also foregrounded the importance of self-care.
“I remember my acupuncturist in the UK said to me, and it has always stayed with me, he said, if the baby’s crying, treat the mother.
“It all starts with us. Good Lord, we have to take care of ourselves first.”