‘Dune 2’ Aims for Blockbuster Glory: How a Strike Delay, Imax and ‘Oppenheimer’ Success Can Boost Denis Villeneuve’s Sequel

Kneecap and Sprints are the latest artists to announce their withdrawal from this year’s South By Southwest Festival in solidarity with Palestine.The Irish artists join the likes of Lambrini Girls, Scowl, Gel, Okay Shalom and Squirrelflower in pulling out of performing at the festival due to the event’s association with the US army and weapons companies amid the Israel-Palestine conflict.The annual music, culture and arts showcase takes place in Austin, Texas from March 12-14.Belfast hip-hop trio Kneecap shared in a statement yesterday (March 10) that their decision to not perform was made “in solidarity with the people of Palestine”.They also highlighted the “unacceptable deep links” the festival had to the US army – which is a “super sponsor” of the event – and defence contractor RTX Corporation, which has supplied weapons to Israel.The group added that the US military and other platformed weapons companies who are “at this very moment are enabling a genocide and famine against a trapped population”.The band continued that their decision would have a “significant financial impact” on them, but that it wasn’t “an iota of hardship when compared with the unimaginable suffering being inflicted every minute of every day on the people of Gaza”.A post shared by KNEECAP (@kneecap32)Kneecap also cited the platforming of collins Aerospace and BAE Systems as a reason for their boycott, adding that collectively with RTX, the companies were selling the weapons that have “murdered 31,000 Palestinians, over 21,000 of them women and children”.Sprints made their own statement this morning (March 11) in which they announced their withdrawal, writing: “In solidarity with the Palestinian people and as a stand against the US Army

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Issues around the use of AI in the production process is the big sticking point in SAG-AFTRA’s negotiations with the largest video game companies, SAG-AFTRA chief Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said Saturday during a wide-ranging Q&A at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Crabtree-Ireland, who is national executive director and chief negotiator of the performers union, said he put the chances of union members striking against key game companies is “50-50, or more likely than that we will go on strike in the next four to six weeks because of our inability to get past these issues,” Crabtree-Ireland told Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company, during a conversation focused on AI.

Everything Meghan Markle wears these days goes straight onto our style inspo Pinterest boards. We loved her snow bunny looks when she visited Whistler, Canada, last month, and now we're loving her latest ensemble: a coordinated two-piece that screams understated and sophisticated.

“bullying” on social media while she was pregnant with her kids, Archie, 4, and Lilibet, 2. The Duchess of Sussex spoke on the dangers of social media during the “Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen” keynote discussion at South By South West in Austin, Texas.Moderator Errin Haines asked, “Social media really has become the place for women and girls to, be scrutinized, objectified, bullied, and unfortunately I know this is something you are all too familiar with.

Per , the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were spotted looking “happy and in great spirits” while seated in a secluded corner booth on Thursday night."Harry was very animated throughout the dinner,” a source added. “They were super low-key and seemed happy to be around the upbeat vibes at the lively venue.”Famously, Prince Harry took his now wife to Soho House in London for their first date in July 2016.

Dune: Part Two has become one of the defining blockbusters of 2024, but not all the attention has been around the film itself.Directed by Denis Villeneuve, the sequel picks up as Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) unites with the Fremen people on Arrakis to wage war against House Harkonnen.Along with Chalamet, the film stars Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgard, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Javier Bardem and Austin Butler.Dune: Part Two managed to earn $200million at the worldwide box office within its first week, making it the highest-grossing film of the year so far.Sandworm

Austin Butler has revealed to NME that he drew inspiration from Gary Oldman and Heath Ledger for his performance in Dune: Part Two.Butler plays the role of Feyd-Rautha, the villainous nephew of and heir to Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård), in Denis Villeneuve’s new film.When asked if there were any classic movie bad guys that he took a lead from while preparing to play the role, Butler said that it was the broad career work of the two stars that motivates him.“I’ve always been inspired by Gary Oldman in many of his roles,” he said. “Léon: The Professional, or True Romance, or The Fifth Element.”“And you know, we’ve talked about Heath Ledger a lot, the sense of play that he had.

First Lady Jill Biden‘s guests at President Joe Biden‘s State of the Union address tonight will include Maria Shriver, singer and civil rights advocate Bettie Mae Fikes and UAW President Shawn Fain.

Southern Living feature published Wednesday. They originally made the move in 2014, and Alves — who met McConaughey in a West Hollywood nightclub in 2006 and married him in 2012 — opened up more about it. “We were living a happy life in Malibu,” she said.

Nikki Haley is officially dropping out of the U.S. presidential race following her Super Tuesday defeat, according to reports.

UPDATED, with first results: As the first polls closed on Super Tuesday, Joe Biden and Donald Trump were projected to be the winners of Virginia’s Democratic and Republican primaries, on a night where he and Donald Trump are expected to solidify the chances of a November general election rematch.

The suspense this Super Tuesday may be in watching how all of the networks try to make the night suspenseful.

Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks will team up for a gig at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium as part of their ongoing ‘Two Icons, One Night Tour.’Based on our findings, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers — currently also conducting their own solo tours — don’t skimp at these co-headliner shows and play all the classics.For Joel, that means “Piano Man,” “Uptown Girl,” “We Didn’t Start The Fire” and more; according to Set List FM, he played 23 songs at their last concert.Alternately, Nicks performed 15 tracks that night including “Rhiannon,” “Landslide” and “Edge of Seventeen.”If this sounds like the classic rock hit parade for you, it isn’t too late to grab last-minute tickets.At the time of publication, the lowest price we could find was $120 before fees on Vivid Seats.Floor-level tickets start at $363 before fees.Can’t wait to jam out with Joel and Nicks but need a few more details?We’ve got everything you need to know and more about their Arlington ‘Two Icons, One Night’ concert below.All prices listed above are subject to fluctuation.A complete breakdown of all the best prices by section can be found here:(Note: The New York Post confirmed all above prices at the publication time. All prices are in US dollars, subject to fluctuation and include additional fees at checkout.)Vivid Seats is a verified secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor In a stunning cinematic universe where sand dunes rise like mountains and the fate of galaxies hangs in the balance, Denis Villeneuve‘s first voyage into the Frank Herbert’s “Dune” saga clinched six of its 10 Oscar nominations. Yet, in a twist as dramatic as Dr.

Sting still owns the famous codpiece that he wore in David Lynch’s 1984 film version of Dune.The musician played the role of Feyd-Rautha in the film – the nephew of and heir to Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Kenneth McMillan). In one memorable scene in the film, Sting is naked, apart from a bright blue winged codpiece.Now, Austin Butler, who plays the same character in the second part of Denis Villeneuve’s new film adaptation of Dune, has revealed that Sting told him personally that he still owns the legendary item of clothing.“Sting obviously played the part in David Lynch’s [version],” Butler said during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this week.

Sting and Billy Joel kicked off their co-headlining concert in Tampa, Florida by treating their fans to a duet – watch fan-shot clips of the concert below.Performing at the Raymond James Stadium this past Saturday (January 24), Sting wasted no time surprising fans, kicking off the pair’s co-headlining concert by bringing out Billy Joel to perform ‘Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic’.While the surprise duet to start the night was undoubtedly a big event in itself, the Tampa Bay Times reports that a big chunk of the night’s audience were unable to catch it as they were stuck in traffic outside the stadium.Fortunately, these unlucky fans were able to catch the night’s second duet when Billy Joel brought Sting out to perform ‘Big Man on Mulberry Street’ late into his set. Watch fan-shot footage of the performance below.Sting and Billy Joel will next share co-headlining dates together in April and September as part of Joel’s ongoing tour, which also includes stops with Stevie Nicks.

In the latest sign of difficulty for niche streaming, Warner Bros. Discovery is shifting programming from its MotorTrend+ streaming service onto Max and Discovery+ and will shut down the stand-alone auto enthusiast app.

Austin Butler‘s breakout came from a Method acting performance for the ages in Baz Luhrmann‘s “Elvis,” with the actor living in the role on camera and off for about three years. But Butler wasn’t about to do that for Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in “Dune: Part Two“.

“Dune: Part Two,” which hits theaters March 1.“I’ve definitely in the past, with ‘Elvis,’ explored living within that world for three years and that being the only thing that I think about day and night,” Butler told the Los Angeles Times in an interview with the movie’s director, Denis Villeneuve.“With Feyd, I knew that that would be unhealthy for my family and friends.”Butler was so immersed in playing Elvis Presley in “Elvis” that, for a long time after finishing his role on the movie, he still spoke in Presley’s Southern drawl.Villeneuve joked that, if Butler absorbed himself as much in Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen as he did with Presley, it would also be unhealthy for the director.“So I made a conscious decision to have a boundary,” Butler said. “It allowed for more freedom between action and cut because I knew I was going to protect everybody else outside of the context of what we were doing.“That’s not to say that it doesn’t bleed into your life,” he said.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Austin Butler‘s transformation into Elvis was widely documented last year. He spent three years researching the music icon and went fell Method actor during production, never abandoning Presley’s trademark southern drawl for months on end. For his role as the sociopathic villain Feyd-Rautha in Denis Villeneuve‘s “Dune: Part Two,” Butler toned down the Method acting considerably.