Affleck thriller, Blackmore return and Cadillac F1 shake-up
Developed over time first seen 2 months ago
Netflix has released a teaser for Animals, the political thriller directed by and starring Ben Affleck. He plays Los Angeles mayoral candidate Mark Kimball, whose family faces a threat that forces him and his wife, played by Kerry Washington, into a desperate response. The cast also includes Steven Yeun and Gillian Anderson. Netflix has scheduled the film for 9 October 2026, with a release in select cinemas as well as on the streaming service. Separately, Deep Purple co-founder Ritchie Blackmore made a one-song guest appearance with the band at the Northwell at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York, performing “Smoke on the Water”. It was his first performance with Deep Purple since leaving in 1993; no further appearances were announced.
Cadillac Formula 1 Team has also changed leadership during its first season. Marcin Budkowski, formerly an Alpine executive director and an FIA, Ferrari and McLaren veteran, was appointed team principal with immediate effect, replacing Graeme Lowdon. Cadillac said Lowdon had played a central role in establishing the team from scratch, while presenting Budkowski’s technical and leadership experience as important for its longer-term competitive development. The announcement came during Formula 1’s summer break and represents an early senior-management change for the new American entrant.
- Ben Affleck’s Animals will arrive in select cinemas and on Netflix on 9 October.
- Ritchie Blackmore rejoined Deep Purple on stage for one song, his first appearance with the group in 33 years.
- Cadillac has appointed Marcin Budkowski as team principal, replacing Graeme Lowdon with immediate effect.
Full account
Deep Purple gave fans a rare piece of rock history on 12 August 2026, when founding guitarist Ritchie Blackmore stepped out with the band for the first time in more than thirty years. The 81-year-old joined his old bandmates at the close of a 100-minute set at the Northwell at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York, appearing for a single encore number: the band's signature song, Smoke on the Water, built around the riff Blackmore wrote and made famous.
Blackmore left Deep Purple under strained circumstances after a gig in Helsinki in November 1993, and his relationship with singer Ian Gillan has been distant ever since. By his own account, given in an Instagram Live broadcast beforehand, Blackmore made the first move, contacting Gillan in Portugal to float the idea of a brief, low-key cameo rather than a full comeback. He described putting the proposal to Gillan in informal terms, framing it as a nostalgic, one-off gesture rather than any kind of reconciliation tour, and said the band responded warmly to the request. Gillan confirmed as much on stage, introducing Blackmore to the crowd as the group's founding member before the song, while Blackmore's partner, Candice Night, later shared a backstage photograph of the six musicians together, calling it heart-warming. The guitarist's own remarks suggest the appearance was intended as a nod to their shared history rather than a signal of a permanent return, and Deep Purple's Splat! tour continues through North America over the following weeks before moving on to European dates in the autumn.
Away from the concert stage, Formula 1's newest team has confirmed a change at the top. Cadillac's F1 outfit announced on 12 August 2026 that Marcin Budkowski, a 49-year-old Polish-French engineer, has been appointed team principal, taking over during the squad's first season in the championship. The team said the move followed a planned handover as the operation shifts from its start-up phase into a more established competitive footing, and it thanked outgoing leader Graeme Lowdon for his part in building the team from scratch.
Budkowski arrives with more than two decades of experience across the sport, having held senior positions at Prost, Ferrari, McLaren, the FIA and, more recently, Renault/Alpine, where he served as executive director during the team's rebrand. Cadillac chief executive Dan Towriss framed the appointment as part of a longer-term ambition to establish the team as a genuine front-running outfit rather than simply a participant in the grid, citing Budkowski's technical, regulatory and organisational background as central to that goal.
Where outlets differ
The Blackmore story comes from a music-industry outlet with first-hand colour: direct quotes from Blackmore describing how he approached Gillan, Gillan's on-stage tribute, and a personal reaction from Blackmore's partner, plus a full tour-date listing — giving it a more narrative, fan-facing tone.
The Cadillac F1 item is drawn from the team's own press release, so it reads as a promotional announcement built around quotes from the CEO rather than independent reporting; it emphasises the team's long-term competitive ambitions and frames the change as a planned transition rather than a shake-up.
The supplied sources cover the Deep Purple reunion and the Cadillac F1 leadership change only; no source material was provided on the 'Affleck thriller' referenced in the headline, so that element could not be included in this account.
More coverage
- Louder — Ritchie Blackmore returns to the stage with Deep Purple
- Cadillac Formula 1 Team — Cadillac Formula 1 Team appoints Marcin Budkowski as new team principal
AI Art Culture Entertainment Film Gadgets Motorsport Offbeat Sport Technology Weird & Viral World