Akira Toriyama: Manga artist who created Dragon Ball and Dr Slump, dies

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2 months ago

March 8, 2024

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Japanese manga comic creator Akira Toriyama, best known for his work on popular titles like Dragon Ball and Dr Slump, has died aged 68, his publisher has said.

He died of acute subdural haematoma, a type of bleeding near the brain, on 1 March, Bird Studio, the company he created, said in a statement on Friday.

Announcing the news “with deep regret”, the statement said “he would have many more things to achieve”, but “he has left many manga titles and works of art to this world.

“We hope that Akira Toriyama’s unique world of creation continues to be loved by everyone for a long time to come,” it added.

Only his family and very few friends attended his funeral, the statement said, adding that he was working on other projects when he died.

Dragon Ball first appeared in the Weekly Shonen Jump comic in 1984 and was later adapted into movies, video games and TV series, which were distributed in more than 80 countries.

It has sold 260 million copies altogether worldwide, according to the studio.

The story centres around a boy named Son Goku, who has a monkey’s tail and enormous strength, and his quest to collect magical dragon balls to defend Earth against aliens called Saiyans.

To many fans, Son Goku’s journey from a kid who fumbles his martial arts training to a high-flying hero who can shoot bolts of electricity from his hands reminds them of their own struggles against self-doubt as they grew into adulthood, the BBC said.

A fan wrote on the official Dragon Ball website: “We will never forget Akira Toriyama for the gift he left on this earth. I can’t imagine a world without Dragon Ball.”

Toriyama, who began contributing to Shonen Jump in 1978, also designed characters and monsters for the popular role-playing game series Dragon Quest.

His Dr Slump series that started in 1980 became a huge hit, elevating him to a best-selling young comic artist.

He received manga and art awards in and outside Japan, including the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters from France in 2019.

Born in Nagoya in central Japan in 1955, Toriyama was married with a son and daughter, Encyclopedia.com said.

Entertainment

Cannes Film Festival 2024: The Apprentice to the new Mad Max – five films to look out for as stars hit the red carpet

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2 hours ago

May 14, 2024

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Cannes Film Festival 2024: The Apprentice to the new Mad Max - five films to look out for as stars hit the red carpet

This year’s Cannes Film Festival is getting under way with, as always, a French movie opening proceedings and celebrities lining the red carpet.

Lea Seydoux is among the stars in The Second Act, which tells the story of actors working on a doomed movie production – a delightfully wicked way to kick off the world’s most famous film festival.

Away from opening night, here are five more films playing at Cannes that are worth keeping an eye on.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

A post-apocalyptic action adventure, this is a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road – which won six Oscars and is largely regarded as one of the best action films ever. Furiosa is by the same director, George Miller, and early reviews suggest it’s somewhat different to its predecessor but equally brilliant. With stars including Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hardy, it should be a great way to kick off summer blockbuster season – in cinemas from 24 May, so audiences who aren’t on the French Riviera don’t have long to wait too long.

Megalopolis

Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola‘s self-financed passion project is playing in competition at the festival. The filmmaker is reported to have spent several decades and more than a million dollars of his own money making the sci-fi, which is described as a Roman epic fable set in an imagined modern America. The ensemble cast includes Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne and Dustin Hoffman – and as Coppola’s first film to be released since 2011, expectations are high for this one.

The Apprentice

As Donald Trump continues to grab headlines in the US, this film looks at the former president’s life before politics, his career in real estate in New York in the 1970s and 1980s. Sebastian Stan stars as Trump, but little else is known about the drama ahead of its world premiere at Cannes. Promoters say it tackles themes of power, corruption and deception – so now it’s a watch and wait to see if the billionaire has anything to say about his life becoming fodder for the big screen.

Horizon: An American Saga

Another passion project making its way to the south of France is the first half of this two-parter Western co-written, starring and directed by Kevin Costner. The actor first pitched a version of this movie back in 1988 so it’s been brewing since long before the Western drama series Yellowstone that he’s been busy with during recent years. Audiences will be going in knowing they won’t get the whole story, and with a 181 minute running time it’s quite the commitment – but perhaps not as big as Costner’s himself; he’s personally financed the films, which currently have a budget of almost $100m.

Kinds Of Kindness

Mere months after Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things won four Oscars, the director has got the gang back together for a new film premiering at Cannes, also starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley. Described as a “triptych fable”, the film tells three stories that are loosely connected. Known for his strange tales and specific vison, while Lanthimos’s movies aren’t for everyone they certainly can’t be accused of being dull. However, with little to be gleaned from the teaser trailer that’s been released so far, it will be all eyes on Cannes to see what audiences make of this one.

Entertainment

Baby Reindeer star’s fresh plea to fans speculating about characters’ identities

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5 hours ago

May 14, 2024

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Baby Reindeer star's fresh plea to fans speculating about characters' identities

The creator and star of hit Netflix series Baby Reindeer has issued a fresh plea to fans to stop trying to discover the identities of characters in the show – and warned he will refrain from commenting for good.

Described as a true story, Richard Gadd’s series – in which he plays barman and aspiring comedian Donny Dunn – sparked an online frenzy over the real-life identities of some of the characters – including a stalker played by actress Jessica Gunning.

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Gadd called on fans to stop their searches, saying: “If I wanted the real life people to be found, I would’ve made it a documentary”.

Gadd also said he was concerned any further comment on identities would cause yet more speculation.

“I’ve spoken publicly about how I don’t want people to do it and if I start playing a game of whack-a-mole, then I’m almost adding to it,” he added.

“I don’t think I’ll ever comment on it ever again.”

It follows a previous appeal in an Instagram story, when Gadd said: “People I love, have worked with, and admire… are unfairly getting caught up in speculation.

“Please don’t speculate on who any of the real-life people could be. That’s not the point of our show.

“Lots of love, Richard.”

Baby Reindeer is about the traumatic life of a struggling comedian who is stalked by a woman called Martha Scott and is sexually assaulted by someone seemingly high up in the entertainment industry.

In the opening sequence of the series, viewers are told in an on-screen message: “This is a true story.”

A woman alleged to be the inspiration for the stalker character of Martha has since appeared in an interview with journalist Piers Morgan, saying she was “forced” to come forward after receiving online death threats from “internet sleuths”.

Fiona Harvey repeatedly denied being a stalker and described the series as “a work of fiction”.

When asked if she will “categorically be taking legal action”, she replied: “Absolutely, against both him (Gadd) and Netflix.”

Gadd’s interview with the Hollywood Reporter was published on Monday but was carried out before the Morgan interview with Ms Harvey aired.

Gadd also revealed he lost almost 20 kilos to play the role because he wanted “to feel vulnerable and fragile” in his body so when filming was over “there was a bit of piecing myself back together”.

“To play Donny Dunn, I had to go back to that head space where I was at the time [in real life], which was very raw and very damaged,” he added.

Entertainment

Eurovision says some contestants did not respect ‘spirit of rules’ after controversial competition

Published

8 hours ago

May 14, 2024

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Eurovision says some contestants did not respect 'spirit of rules' after controversial competition

The organiser of the Eurovision Song Contest has said it “regrets” that some contestants did not respect the “spirit of the rules” when taking part in the competition in Sweden.

In a statement on Monday, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) said it had spoken to a number of delegations during the event regarding what it referred to as “various issues that were brought to our attention”.

It comes after Ireland’s Bambie Thug said they had raised “multiple complaints” to the EBU in the build up to the grand finale in the city of Malmo on Saturday after accusing Israeli broadcaster, Kan, of a rule breach.

The Irish performer accused the Israeli broadcaster of “inciting violence” against them three times and added they were waiting for the EBU to respond.

Bambie – who finished sixth with their gothic song Doomsday Blue – had repeatedly criticised the involvement of Israel’s representative, Eden Golan, who came fifth in the competition, given the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

The EBU said this week its governing bodies will work with the heads of delegations to review the events that took place at this year’s Eurovision and “move forward in a positive way and to ensure the values of the event are respected by everyone”.

“Individual cases will be discussed by the event’s governing body, the Eurovision Song Contest Reference Group, made up of representatives from participating broadcasters, at its next meeting,” it said.

The 68th edition of the annual song contest was won by Nemo from Switzerland – the first non-binary performer to take the trophy.

But the week of the competition was marred by controversy, after the disqualification of The Netherlands’s contestant Joost Klein who was stopped from taking part over an “incident” where he was alleged to have made verbal threats to a female production worker.

It was the first time in Eurovision history that an act has been disqualified after reaching the grand final.

Meanwhile, around 10,000-12,000 people, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, took to the streets of Malmo across the weekend to call for Israel to be excluded from the contest.

Numerous contestants – including Lithuania, France and Portugal – also tentatively brought politics to the stage after performing in the final, with all of them commenting on the importance of peace.

Israel’s Ms Golan told Sky News after the contest she had ignored all the controversy and was “over the moon” about coming fifth in the competition.