Film

In 1957, Cary Grant turned down an Oscar-winning role to work with a legend. That actor quit the movie before production began

• Grant passed on *The Bridge on the River Kwai* for a Brando film.
• Brando left before filming and Sinatra replaced him.
• Alec Guinness won the Oscar for the role Grant declined.

Cary Grant turned down the role of Colonel Nicholson in *The Bridge on the River Kwai* to work with Marlon Brando in *The Pride and the Passion*. The choice meant passing on a part that won Alec Guinness the Best Actor Oscar, while the film Grant chose was…

5 Addictive Books Where You Absolutely Hate the Main Character

• Five novels centre on protagonists who are difficult to like.
• Flawed behaviour and questionable choices drive the stories.
• The examples explore grief, isolation and marital distrust.

The article recommends five novels built around protagonists whose selfish, cruel or deeply flawed behaviour makes them hard to like but compelling to follow. It argues that their poor choices and unreliable perspectives can keep readers turning pages, showing that a lead character need not be sympathetic for…

Warner Bros takes aim at Harrison’s new show as Twilight returns to US charts

The Vow teaser sparks a legal clash, while the Green Party’s Ashok Kumar faces a BBC Politics Live confrontation. The bulletin also revisits Emilio Estevez’s career and ranks crime dramas and classic rock hits.

Watch Ali G mock Noel Gallagher’s Oasis comeback and try to kick him out of cinema

• Ali G teased Noel Gallagher about Oasis’s comeback at a cinema.
• The clip promotes Sacha Baron Cohen’s new film.
• Oasis have 42 sold-out tour dates planned for 2027.

Sacha Baron Cohen’s Ali G character surprised Noel Gallagher at a packed cinema, teasing the Oasis reunion and pretending to mistake him for “Nigel Gallagher”. The video was shared to promote Cohen’s new film, which opened in cinemas the day before, and revisits the pair’s earlier public joke…

‘Clayface’s Max Minghella Reveals How DC’s Most Disturbing Movie Pulled Off Its Grotesque Effects

• *Clayface* relies on practical effects for its body horror.
• Max Minghella praises Tom Rhys Harries’s demanding lead performance.
• Minghella also discusses *The White Lotus* and directing *The Shards*.

Max Minghella says *Clayface* uses practical, tactile effects to create its disturbing body horror, marking a striking departure for a DC film. He credits director James Watkins’s approach and lead actor Tom Rhys Harries’s physically and emotionally demanding performance with helping the film deliver its grotesque story. Minghella…

17 Years Later, This 20-Minute Opener Is Still Better Than Every World War II Movie Since

• The article praises *Inglourious Basterds*’ tense opening.
• Hans Landa’s interrogation drives the scene.
• Christoph Waltz’s performance is key to its impact.

An opinion piece argues that *Inglourious Basterds* has one of the most effective opening sequences in any World War II film. It says Quentin Tarantino’s carefully paced tension establishes the film’s central conflict and makes the scene’s impact linger long after it ends. The sequence centres on Nazi…

8 Books to Read if You Love Taylor Sheridan Shows

• Eight books are suggested for fans of Taylor Sheridan’s shows.
• The picks include Western classics and a prison survival guide.
• Some books explore themes that also shape Sheridan’s dramas.

The article recommends eight books for fans of Taylor Sheridan’s television dramas, which blend Western settings with morally complex characters, family conflict and harsh landscapes. It argues that the books offer similar stories of frontier life, survival and changing traditions, and notes that some helped inspire Sheridan’s world-building.…

Elden Ring film reportedly becomes A24’s costliest production at $200m

• Elden Ring’s film budget is reportedly $200 million.
• That would make it A24’s most expensive production.
• The figure has not been officially confirmed.

A reported $200 million budget would make the Elden Ring film A24’s most expensive production to date. The scale points to a major investment in adapting FromSoftware’s fantasy role-playing game for cinema. The figure has been reported, rather than confirmed as an official budget. Elden Ring is a…

Egyptian Cinema Eyes Its Next Act as Industry Veterans Call for Better Scripts, Wider Distribution

• Egyptian film output rose to 67 features in 2023.
• Veterans say better scripts are needed to sustain growth.
• Streaming and distinctive local stories could widen audiences.

Industry veterans at the El Gouna Film Festival say Egyptian cinema needs stronger scripts and better routes to audiences to build on a recent rise in production. They argue that streaming has opened new opportunities, but filmmakers must meet higher audience expectations at home and make stories that…