City Singapore Showbiz Latest News and Updates

A new photograph of Prince Harry has emerged online with the Duke seeming to have thick, dark hair, despite being pictured just days earlier with thinner receding locks. Pictures taken at a polo match in Singapore showed the 38-year-old royal's ageing appearance as his hair looked light and thin.

Yeo Siew Hua, the Singaporean director whose “A Land Imagined” won the Locarno Film Festival’s top prize in 2018, has cast acclaimed Taiwanese actors Lee Kang-Sheng (“What Time Is It There?”, “Days”) and Wu Chien-Ho (“A Sun”) in his new “Stranger Eyes.” The film, a thriller with domestic surveillance at its core, is currently shooting. It is set to wrap post-production by early 2024 and start a festival run thereafter. International sales are handled by France’s Playtime.

Lucasfilm is closing its Singapore visual effects and animation studio after nearly two decades, potentially leading to around 300 layoffs.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Disney-owned Lucasfilm/ Industrial Light & Magic is to close its VFX and animation facility in Singapore, where more than 300 people are employed. The company points to changes in the global entertainment industry as a factor behind the decision. “Over the next several months, ILM will be consolidating its global footprint and winding down its Singapore studio due to economic factors affecting the industry,” Disney said in a statement emailed to Variety.

Prince Harry's "royal status has gone" after he recently appeared at a polo tournament and was "virtually ignored" by other attendees, according to an expert.

Prince Harry, understandably, missed his wife Meghan Markle during his recent trip to Singapore.

Prince Harry is missing Meghan Markle on his trip to Japan and Singapore!

Prince Harry proved his equestrian skills on the polo field during a charity match in Singapore on Saturday, August 12.

Prince Harry is stepping out to support a good cause.

Meghan Markle isn’t having a cruel summer. The Duchess of Sussex attended a Taylor Swift concert on Tuesday at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, a source confirmed to People magazine.The performance was part of the singer’s Eras Tour. A spokesperson for Swift, 33, and the former American actress, 42, didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Morrissey has announced new 2023 tour dates in Asia and Australia – see the full list of dates below.The former Smiths frontman has just finished a UK and Ireland headline tour, and will head back out on the road in November.The gigs will begin on November 9 in Singapore, with gigs then taking place in Thailand, Japan and more.Morrissey will then hit Australia and New Zealand for seven gigs, ending up in Auckland in mid-December.See the full list of gigs below. Ticket details can be found here.NOVEMBER 20239 – Singapore, Star Theater16 – Chek Lap Kok, Asia World Expo18 – Bangkok, Samyan Hall22 – Jakarta, Istora Senayan28 – Tokyo, Toyosu PitDECEMBER 20231 – Perth, Concert Hall4 – Melbourne, Palais Theater5 – Melbourne, Palais Theater8 – Fortitude Valley, Fortitude Music Hall10 – Sydney, State Theater11 – Sydney, State Theater14 – Auckland, The CivicLast month, Morrissey cancelled his scheduled sold-out gig in Nottingham at the last minute.“Due to unforeseen circumstances, Morrissey’s show at Nottingham Royal Concert Hall will not be going ahead tonight,” read a tweet from Gigs And Tours, the official website of promoters SJM Concerts.“Ticket holders are asked to hold onto their tickets and a further announcement will be made in due course.”Elsewhere, the singer wrote a scathing critique of the music industry’s response to the death of Sinead O’Connor.In a blog post titled ‘You Know I Couldn’t Last’, Morrissey criticised the wider industry’s response to her death, arguing that it was hypocritical when they “hadn’t the guts to support her when she was alive and she was looking for you”.“She had only so much ‘self’ to give,” he began.

Momo Film Co, one of Singapore’s most prominent production-distribution outfits. Indeed, Yeo’s film feels uniquely Singaporean in its reflection of the complex psychic state of the country, which can teeter between a coastal dreamland and a cloistered urban nightmare. Before trying his hand at filmmaking, Yeo studied animation.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Heavens: The Boy and His Robot,” a Singapore-produced movie, will have its world and commercial premiere in Japanese cinemas this November. The film is Singapore’s first live-action feature film of the mecha genre, a genre of Japanese manga and anime that features or focuses on mechanical innovations such as robots and cyborgs.

Warner Bros Discovery has announced the first ever localized version of the Tom And Jerry series, featuring the famous cat and mouse duo as they take their rivalry to Singapore.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Tom and Jerry,” one of the most iconic animation franchises in history, is to get a localized new version made with Southeast Asian audiences in mind. The cat and mouse duo will take their chases to the streets, buildings and cityscapes of Singapore in a 7 x 3-minute series of shorts, produced locally in Asia, and in association with Warner Bros. Animation.

Coldplay have added more shows to their upcoming European tour, set to kick off in summer 2024.The British indie-rock veterans announced details of their new tour last week (July 20) — set to kick off in June, and feature their first-ever live dates in Greece, Romania and Finland.Featuring stops across Europe – including dates in Italy, France, Germany, Austria and more – Chris Martin and co. have now added seven additional dates to the 2024 ‘Music Of The Spheres’ tour.Extra dates in Bucharest, Lyon, Rome and Helsinki have been added as of today (July 25), as well as an additional show in Dublin’s Croke Park Stadium at the beginning of September, making for three back-to-back shows in the Ireland capital.The 2024 tour – which shares its name with the group’s latest album, 2021’s ‘Music Of The Spheres’ – arrives on the heels of their ongoing 2023 stadium shows, which kicked off in May.

Harry Styles closed out his ‘Love On Tour’ shows in Italy last night (July 22), closing the set with a new instrumental piano song.The singer has been on an extensive world tour behind his album ‘Harry’s House’ and the run of gigs came to an end on Saturday in Reggio nell’Emilia, Italy.To close out the performance at the RCF Arena Campovolo, Styles performed a new song alone at the piano, so far without lyrics.See footage of the 10-minute performance below.At a recent show as part of ‘Love On Tour’, Harry Styles invited Wet Leg onstage for a rendition of their track ‘Wet Dream’.“It has been the most wonderful, wonderful tour, getting to watch them play every night,” he said to the audience, introducing the band. “They’re one of my favourite bands.

Harry Styles waxworks across their international locations.The seven new statues are located around the world with one placed in Madame Tussauds  London, New York, Hollywood, Amsterdam, Berlin, Singapore and Sydney. Each one depicts Styles in some of his most memorable outfits.The majority of the looks are based on his ‘Love On Tour’ style with two featuring his iconic Coachella 2022 performance and three others recreating his fits from his shows in Glasgow, San Jose and Long Island.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean TV series and films are increasing still further their hold on streaming audiences across East Asia. They accounted for half of viewing time in the first half of the year, according to new third-party research. Korean-made premium VOD content captured 50% of SVOD viewership and 42% of freemium viewership between January and June 2023, with a record 58 million VOD users tuning in nine East Asian territories (Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam), according to Singapore-based research and consultancy firm Media Partners Asia. The analysis is based on the measured media consumption activity of 40,000 Asia Pacific consumers, conducted by AMPD, the analysis firm’s sister company.

Harry Styles' Love On Tour shows may be ending but fans will still have a chance to see him all around the world — in wax! Madame Tussauds announced seven new wax figures in honor of the «Golden» singer that will be placed in London, New York, Hollywood, Amsterdam, Berlin, Singapore, Berlin and Sydney. Each figurine will pay homage to some of the 29-year-old entertainer's most iconic looks and will feature poses showing off the GRAMMY winner's personality. Six of the figurines went on display on Monday. In New York City, Styles' statue rocks the rainbow bodysuit from his headlining set at Coachella.

Get your selfie with multiple Harry Styles.

It's a busy time for holidays and lots of people in our region will be jetting off from Manchester Airport.

Italy-based sales agent Lights On has acquired world rights for Dreaming & Dying, directed by Singaporean filmmaker Nelson Yeo, ahead of its world premiere in Locarno Film Festival’s Concorso Cineasti del presente.

Ubisoft Singapore is remaking Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, which might spell more delays for Skull and Bones.On June 30, Kotaku published its claim that there is a remake of the 2013 pirate-themed adventure game in the works, with Ubisoft Singapore spearheading the development of the next-gen game. The two sources asked to remain anonymous as they are not sanctioned to announce anything about this project, but added that the new Black Flag is in the “earliest stages” of development at the moment.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is headed for a couple of important benchmarks that have a “B” attached, according to a report in Pollstar. As the global trek moves on from America and proceeds to Europe in 2024, it will assuredly become the first tour in the history of the business to gross a billion dollars. It won’t stop there, though; Pollstar is estimating that the final gross will wind up around $1.4 billion. The live music trade publication concedes that it is doing a fair amount of estimating on current and future grosses, but says its “crack numbers team” believes the tour will cross the historic $1 billion mark at some point during Swift’s shows in Singapore, which will take place during the March 2-9, 2024 window.

Taylor Swift has announced international 2024 dates for her massively successful Eras Tour, with scheduled stops in Melbourne, Sydney, Singapore, Paris, Stockholm, Liverpool, London, Dublin and many more.

Joy of K-pop girl group Red Velvet is set to resume her activities with the quintet after a short hiatus.Today (June 20), Joy’s agency, SM Entertainment, announced in a statement that the K-pop idol would be resuming all scheduled activities starting tomorrow (June 21) with the filming of TV Animal Farm.“Joy has been resting, and her health has improved a lot in the meantime, and after discussions with our agency and medical staff, she has decided to return to her activities,” SM Entertainment added.“We would like to thank all the fans who gave Joy lots of support and encouragement, and we will do our best to support Joy so that she can continue her activities in good health in the future.”In April, SM Entertainment announced that Joy would not be participating in any planned activities for the time being due to the “poor condition” of her health. “After consultation and examination [at a hospital, the medical staff advised that she needs treatment and rest,” the label said at the time.Joy had been unable to join Red Velvet on the vast majority of their ‘R to V’ world tour from May to early-June due to her hiatus.

Aisling Bea inspired Kodaline’s Mark Prendergast to go solo in new solo outing, Man Alive.Prendergast has now shared the debut single of his new solo project, ‘Be Someone’ that you can listen to below.According to a statement, his friend, actor Aisling Bea, proved to be “a pivotal influence for him to take Man Alive to the wider world.”A statement revealed that “he played her an early version of ‘Be Someone’ when they were in Los Angeles in 2021, and her belief in the project really pushed him to make it happen.” It also noted that she encouraged him to change the first provisional name he had for his solo project, ‘Blood Type’, telling him it was “shit and doesn’t match your music.” Eventually, he went with Man Alive.Speaking about his new single, Prendergast said: “‘Be Someone’ is about a long-distance relationship falling apart, and how when you’re with somebody, they make you feel like a certain type of person, but then when you end the relationship and you’re by yourself, you always become a completely different person.”A statement added that the break-up, followed by lockdown, inspired Prendergast to write, record and produce a catalogue of songs from his home studio.You can listen to the song here:Earlier this year, Kodaline announced a tour of Asia this autumn, where they will travel to Singapore, Philippines, Taipei, Bangkok and more.They will kick off the tour September 5 in Singapore and then play shows in Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Seoul.

ceremony since ascension to the throne—and first since assuming her new title as Princess of Wales.Fitting, then, that she eschewed in favor of something a little more daring: a custom look by Singapore-born, Paris-based designer Andrew GN, paired with a hat. The shamrock-green hue is, of course, a nod to Kate’s role as colonel of the Irish guards—as is the Cartier brooch affixed to her lapel, which the Princess of Wales also wore on earlier this year.

2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has stoked outrage in Malaysia and Singapore — but the US comedian who told it isn’t saying sorry.Jocelyn Chia, a Boston-born, American-Singaporean stand-up comedian, performed the bit at Manhattan’s Comedy Cellar back in April. This week, social media users were incensed after the club posted a clip of the joke in which Chia made light of the historical tensions between Malaysia and Singapore.The now-viral joke dives into the historical separation of the two nations, noting that Singapore has become a “first world country” while Malaysia has remained a “developing” one.She then likened the split to a romantic breakup and imagined Malaysia trying to woo Singapore back, saying that it hadn’t visited because “my airplanes cannot fly,” she said in the video clip, adding: “What? Malaysia Airlines going missing not funny?”She then quipped, “Some jokes don’t land.” Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, China, in March 2019 when it disappeared with 239 passengers aboard.

Anthony Ramos and Dominque Fishback share a few laughs together during the Transformers: Rise of the Beasts photocall held at Gardens by the Bay on Friday (May 26) in Singapore.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief French independent producer Haut Les Mains has come on board “A Useful Ghost,” a film project that is both topical and supernatural. The deal was announced on the margins of the Cannes Film Festival and its accompanying rights market. “A Useful Ghost” follows March and Nat, a happily married couple, and their seven-year-old son Dot. Nat dies of respiratory disease caused by air pollution. A saddened March is worried that the same fate will befall his son, who gradually develops similar symptoms. Nat then returns as a ghost haunting the house vacuum cleaner to try and suck up the dust hurting her son. She also longs to be accepted as part of society and intends to prove that by getting rid of the less useful ghosts.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A Singapore-based Russian national Lev Panfilov is now on trial in the city on four charges of molesting, sexually assaulting and raping a woman. The man is an actor and online personality known to the public from the WahBanana YouTube channel, where he appeared between 2020 and May 2021. He is currently employed in the job recruitment industry. The incident is alleged to have occurred in January 2021 after Panfilov and the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, met in person for the first time. Singapore media report that Panfilov has requested that the case move to trial. Proceedings that began on Tuesday included testimony from a police officer who took Panfilov’s underwear and bedding as samples.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Funding from Singaporean state sources is involved in two features that make their debut at the Cannes Film Festival this month. A third film, “The Breaking Ice,” is directed by Singapore-born filmmaker Anthony Chen. “We are absolutely thrilled that we have the most number of Made with Singapore films debuting in Cannes this year,” said Justin Ang, assistant chief executive of media, innovation, communications and marketing at Singapore’s InfoComm Media Development Authority.Malaysian-produced “Tiger Stripes,” which will play in the Critics’ Week section, and Vietnamese-made “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell,” which will play in the Directors’ Fortnight section, both received cash injections from the Southeast Asia Co-Production Grant under the ‘Media Talent Progression Programme,’ which is backed by the Singapore Film Commission and the IMDA.

BTS member Suga recently brought singer Halsey onstage as a surprise guest at the Los Angeles stop of his ongoing world tour.On the final day of Suga’s three-day concert at the Kia Forum on May 14 in Los Angeles, as part of his ongoing ‘Suga Agust D’ world tour, the rapper surprised fans by inviting American singer-songwriter onstage as a guest.As seen in a clip uploaded by the Kia Forum on Twitter, the pair teamed up for a performance of their 2020 track ‘Suga’s Interlude’, from Halsey’s third studio album ‘Manic’. This marks the first time the two artists have performed ‘Suga’s Interlude’ together.“I’ve been trying all my life / To separate the time / In between the having it all and giving it up, yeah,” Halsey sings in the chorus.

B.I has unveiled the tracklist for his upcoming studio album ‘To Die For’, featuring collaborations with BIG Naughty, Jessi and more.On May 5, the ex-iKON member took to Twitter to share the tracklist for ‘To Die For’, which arrives June 1 at 6pm KST. The record will be led by two title tracks: ‘Dare To Love’ featuring rapper BIG Naughty, and ‘Die for love’ with Korean-American singer-rapper Jessi.The album also includes several other features, including one with rappers Kid Milli and Lil Cherry on ‘Wave’ and ‘Beautiful Life’ with South Korean punk band Crying Nut.