This is Beirut - culture

Asterix in Germany: France’s Irrepressible Gaul to Conquer Neighbor

This is Beirut, 17:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Leisure Cartoon Asterix France Germany Culture

A theme park based on the beloved French comic strip series Asterix is to open in Germany, the first time the adventures of the pugnacious Gaul are to be the focus of an attraction outside France, its operator said on Tuesday. An existing theme park called Belantis outside the east German city of Leipzig is to morph into an Asterix theme park by ...

Netflix Targets Warner Bros Discovery in Major Hollywood Shake-Up

This is Beirut, 15:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Entertainment Netflix Warner Bros Discovery Film US Culture

Streaming giant Netflix has made a mostly cash offer to buy TV and film group Warner Bros Discovery as the storied yet debt-laden Hollywood studio presses on with a sale that could remake the US media landscape, a report said Monday. According to Bloomberg, Netflix joined Paramount Skydance and Comcast, the owner of NBCUniversal, in a second ...

Iranian Filmmaker Jafar Panahi Sentenced in Absentia Amid Cannes Triumph

This is Beirut, 13:00 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Film Jafar Panahi Justice Iran Culture

Iran has sentenced Palme d'Or-winning filmmaker Jafar Panahi in absentia to one year in prison and a travel ban over "propaganda activities" against the country, his lawyer told AFP on Monday. The sentence includes a two-year travel ban and prohibition of Panahi from membership in any political or social groups, lawyer Mostafa Nili told AFP, ...

Historic Pont Neuf Set to Become Artist JR’s Latest Monumental Installation

This is Beirut, 10:00 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Art Pont Neuf Installation JR street-artist France Culture

French artist JR, who made his way from tagging graffiti on the street to being one of the most recognizable figures on the country's art scene, has told AFP how he plans to turn the oldest bridge in Paris into an "immersive cave" for his latest project. Once hailed as the "French Banksy" after the secretive British street artist, JR has become ...

From Porcelain to Tweed, EU Opens Protected Label to Crafts

This is Beirut, 01/12 18:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Europe European Union Porcelain Tweed Culture

Traditional crafts, from French Limoges porcelain to Irish Donegal tweed, became entitled to EU protected status as of Monday, placing them on par with agricultural products such as Champagne and Parma ham. Europe’s glassblowers, potters, jewellers, and other artisans will now be able to register their product names under the bloc’s new ...

Disney’s 'Zootopia 2' Leaps to the Top of the North American Thanksgiving Charts

This is Beirut, 01/12 12:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Film North American Box Office Animation Canada US Culture

Disney's feel-good animated sequel Zootopia 2 ruled the Thanksgiving box office in North America, taking in $156 million over the five-day holiday weekend, industry estimates showed Sunday. Zootopia 2, the buddy cop comedy featuring a menagerie of talking animals battling stereotypes, is the much-anticipated follow-up to the 2016 hit, which won ...

‘End of an Era’: MTV Pulling Plug on Global Music Channels

This is Beirut, 01/12 10:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Farewell Culture MTV Music Music Europe

MTV kick-started a new era of music and pop culture in 1981, when it went on air for the first time, emblematically playing Video Killed the Radio Star as its debut music video. More than four decades later, the channel, now owned by US media giant Paramount Skydance, will wind down its international music broadcasting by the end of the year as ...

Paris Arthouse Cinemas Reinvent Themselves to Survive the Attendance Slump

This is Beirut, 29/11 14:10 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Paris Cinemas Culture

Paris is one of the world's arthouse cinema hotspots, but falling attendance levels mean beloved independent operators must innovate and invest to survive. The centre of the City of Light has the highest density of silver screens in the world per capita and arguably one of the most cinephile local populations. That has long supported its dense ...

Saida Designated 2027 Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue

This is Beirut, 28/11 18:10 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Saida Mediterranean Capital 2027 UfM Dialogue Culture

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has congratulated the city of Saida for its designation, alongside Córdoba (Spain), as the “Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue for 2027.” “Saida, the gateway to the South and a regional capital connected to all of Lebanon, reaffirms its historic role in culture, dialogue, and diversity,” the ...

Convicted French Rapist Dominique Pelicot Seeks Publisher For Prison Writings

This is Beirut, 28/11 13:00 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Gisèle Pélicot Women rights Culture Publishing Justice

Frenchman Dominique Pelicot, convicted of organizing the rape of his then-wife, Gisèle Pelicot, by dozens of strangers, is seeking a publisher for writings he penned behind bars, his lawyer said Friday. Dominique Pelicot, 73, was jailed for 20 years after admitting to drugging her with sedatives and inviting dozens of strangers to rape and abuse ...

Rare Fabergé 'Winter Egg' Expected to Break Records in London

This is Beirut, 28/11 10:35 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Auction The Winter Egg Fabergé History Britain Culture

The Winter Egg, one of Faberge's most dazzling creations, is due to be auctioned in London next week and set another sales price record for the legendary jeweler of Imperial Russia. The egg, commissioned by Tsar Nicholas II in 1913 as an Easter gift to his mother, is expected to fetch at least £20 million ($26 million), according to Christie's ...

Johnny Depp Calls Life With Vanessa Paradis “Bliss” in Rare Interview

This is Beirut, 27/11 18:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Actor Johnny Depp Vanessa Paradis Japan Culture

Johnny Depp's life with former French partner Vanessa Paradis and their two children was "bliss," the US actor told AFP in an interview on Thursday. "I have nothing but incredible memories from those days. They gave me time to be a tour father," Depp said in Tokyo. "Vanessa was doing her shows, you know, various tours. I got to be just Daddy for ...

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