Zendaya steals show at Dune: Part Two premiere in London – as Florence Pugh says movie is ‘best I’ve ever watched’
Much of the attention at the world premiere of Dune: Part Two in London was on Emmy award-winning actor-cum-fashion icon Zendaya’s scene-stealing silver C-3PO-esque robot outfit.
But for actress Florence Pugh the focus should be firmly on director Denis Villeneuve for creating a film she believes will be studied by students of cinema for years to come.
Speaking to Sky News on the red carpet at Leicester Square, she said: “When I watched the movie I said ‘I think this might be the best movie I’ve ever watched in my life.’
“And people will study this movie for a long, long time, removing myself out of it.”
Zendaya arrives at the premiere of Dune: Part Two. Pic: AP
Florence Pugh arrives at the premiere of Dune: Part Two. Pic: AP
While Timothee Chalamet returns as Paul Atreides – now seeking revenge against those who decimated his family tree – Pugh is a newcomer to the desert planet of Arrakis.
She joins as the Emperor’s daughter, Princess Irulan, whose father was played by acting legend Christopher Walken.
“Take away the characters, I’m just glad that I got to spend that much time with Christopher Walken. I just got to watch him and learn and take in everything,” she says.
“He’s someone that I’ve admired since I was a child… it’s a gift, truly.”
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Dune: Part Two stars in London for premiere of new film
For Pugh, joining the cast under Villeneuve’s direction felt almost like a return to a kind of old-fashioned filmmaking she relished working on.
“It takes you back to how movies should be made,” she explains. “Putting people in the right spaces with the right costumes and the right actors.
“You know, there can be as many green screens in the world, but ultimately, when you’re in those locations and when you’re on those unbelievable sets, it does lots of the acting for you. I feel very, very, very lucky to be here.”
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Movies like Dune ‘saving cinema’ – Pugh
Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya at the premiere. Pic: AP
The film is based on author Frank Herbert’s highly acclaimed 1965 novel and tackles politics, religion, the fight for precious resources and the environment.
In real life, with claims of Russia developing space nuclear weapons, Pugh commented on how while we think of Dune as a distant science fiction future, actually some of its themes are equally representative of wider issues we are experiencing today.
“This book was written a long time ago and… I think it says something how as humans, we struggle with bumping into the same issues again and again and again.”
Dune: Part Two is released in UK cinemas on 1 March.
The mother of Cassie Ventura has told a court she felt “physically sick” when her daughter told her Sean “Diddy” Combs had threatened to “release two explicit sex tapes” after discovering his long-time girlfriend was dating someone else.
Giving evidence on Tuesday, the seventh day of the trial, Regina Ventura said she did not initially understand the email Cassie sent her in December 2011, saying, “The sex tape threw me, [Diddy] was trying to hurt my daughter.”
The email said Combs was planning to release two explicit videos of her and send someone to hurt her and the man she was seeing, rapper Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi.
Regina said the family took out a home equity loan and paid Diddy $20,000 to recoup money he had spent on Cassie “because he demanded it,” angry that Cassie was now dating Cudi.
She said the money was returned days later.
During her evidence, jurors were shown photographs of bruises on Cassie’s body Ms Ventura said were taken when her daughter returned home for Christmas in 2011.
Regina’s time on the stand was fairly brief, as the defence declined the opportunity to question her.
Scott Mescudi, aka Kid Cudi, who dated Cassie in 2011. Pic: Reuters
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial: Day 7 – As it happened
Prosecutors say Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, forced women to take part in days-long, drug-fuelled sexual performances known as “Freak Offs” from 2004 to 2024, facilitated by his large retinue of staff. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty.
The rapper faces five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
Combs and Cassie pictured in 2015. Pic: Reuters
Last week, the prosecutors’ star witness, Cassie Ventura, who dated Combs for over a decade, spent four days giving evidence.
Combs’s legal team has sought to show jurors that his relationship with Ventura was complicated, and while they acknowledge he was an abusive partner, and had substance issues, they say the sex acts described by the prosecution were consensual.
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‘Diddy wanted our bodies to shine’
A male exotic dancer nicknamed “The Punisher” also gave testimony, telling jurors that in the autumn of 2012, Cassie contacted him asking him to “create a sexy, erotic scene” Diddy, and using the pseudonym “Janet”.
Male exotic dancer Sharay Hayes, aka The Punisher. Pic: Reuters
Sharay Hayes said he went on to have eight to 12 more encounters with the couple, having sex with Cassie, while Diddy watched from a distance.
He described the hotel rooms as routinely being dressed with electric candles and sheet-covered furniture, and says Cassie told him not to “acknowledge” her husband, and to “try not to look at him and no communication”.
He says Diddy would often wear a cap, and he could not see his face, but he later realised it was the famous rapper.
“The Punisher” mentioned using a “considerable amount of baby oil” during the performances, saying “[Diddy] wanted us to keep our bodies covered, to shine”.
He later described the acts as “a fetish type thing,” and while he said he believed Cassie was fully consensual, he also said he “did occasionally see her sigh or wince” and said she would frequently look at Diddy “for cues”.
Paid between $1,200 (£900) and $2,000 (£1.500) for each performance, he said he was not called back after struggling to get an erection during one encounter.
He said he never saw Diddy use drugs or saw filming during any of the performances.
Car park dispute with Suge Knight
David James, Diddy’s ex-personal assistant, also completed his evidence and testified that he never saw physical violence between Cassie and his former boss.
David James, Combs’s former assistant. Pic: Reuters
James, who worked for Diddy for two years, said he left Diddy’s employment after he realised his “life was in danger” following a dispute in a car park with rival record label owner Suge Knight, which culminated in Diddy bringing three handguns to try to find Knight and his entourage.
He also detailed an altercation between Diddy and his personal chef, Jourdan Atkinson, and said he refused to file a police report after Diddy told him to say “Chef Jourdan hit him first”.
The final person to give evidence was a special agent responsible for planning the March 2024 raids on Combs’s Miami home on Star Island.
Steve Gannon showed photos of items taken during the raid, including sex toys, high heels and loaded guns, and explained how an armoured vehicle was used to break down the mansion’s front gate to gain entry while the family was away on a trip.
Combs has been held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since September and faces at least 15 years or possibly life in prison if convicted.
The trial is set to last for around two months.
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