Bono debuts AppleTV+ documentary at Cannes, criticizes US aid cuts
By Mike Davidson
CANNES, France (Reuters) -For Bono, the U2 frontman used to performing at sold-out arenas, being without his bandmates on a sparsely decorated stage for his one-man show, now subject of the new AppleTV+ documentary "Bono: Stories of Surrender," feels unfamiliar.
"You come from 250 Mack Trucks to a table and chairs. But that's the attraction of it for me," Bono told Reuters ahead of the documentary's premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday.
The black-and-white film is based on Bono's memoir, "Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story" and accompanying tour, where the Irish rock star reflects on fatherhood, religion, death, politics and his band's some five decades of performing.
The documentary, which can be streamed from May 30, is the first feature-length film that can be watched in Apple Immersive Video with the company's Vision Pro wearable headset device.
"It's a story about fathers. It's my relationship with my actual father. It's my life as a father," he said.
"And then it's this relationship with my Father in heaven, whatever you want to call that force of love and logic behind the universe."
AID WORK
Bono, who has long campaigned for debt relief, aid and better trade for Africa, said that he thought of his father's voice when he looked back at the 1985 Live Aid charity concert for Ethiopian famine relief that was also pivotal to launching U2 into superstar territory.
"My father would say, 'If the world was just, you wouldn't need charity.' So we had to push through Live Aid," said the singer about the event organised by rockers Bob Geldof and Midge Ure that raised hundreds of millions of dollars.
Bono said that U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the world's richest man, are squandering the potential of millions of people by making huge cuts to U.S. foreign aid spending, "with glee it would appear".
It was unwise policy as well as "the definition of the absence of love," added the singer.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
2 hours ago
- Business Insider
The best red-carpet looks of 2025 so far
Aside from a few misses, celebrity fashion has been strong in 2025. Stars like Lauren Sánchez and Blake Lively have embraced glamour for dramatic red-carpet moments. Billionaire athletes, including LeBron James, have also stood out in designer fashion. Now that we're halfway through 2025, it's time to reflect on what celebrity fashion has looked like this year. Aside from a few outfits that missed the mark, most celebrities have stunned at movie premieres, awards shows, and other red-carpet events. Lauren Sánchez, LeBron James, and Miley Cyrus are just a few of those who have done the latter. Here's a look at their best ensembles and other standouts worn by celebrities this year. Halle Berry was effortlessly chic at the closing ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival. She walked the red carpet in a cream-colored lace gown from Dior. It had a mock neckline, puffed short sleeves, and a thin black belt tied into a bow around her waist. The dress was glamorous on its own, but Berry accessorized to perfection with Chopard diamonds. Also in France, Lauren Sánchez stunned in black at the Global Gift Gala. Dolce & Gabbana designed her strapless gown. It was covered in sparkles across its structured bodice and wrapped with a ruched fabric around the hips to enhance its floor-length skirt. Sánchez also wore an updo hairstyle and a diamond necklace from Messika to complement the statement dress. Elaine Zhong wore one of the best ball gowns of the year at the "Dossier 137" premiere. The Elie Saab gown made her one of the best-dressed stars at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. It was strapless, with floral appliqués extending across its bodice and the top of its full skirt. Zhong wore the white gown with a thick diamond necklace, a matching bracelet, stud earrings, and a few sparkling rings. LeBron and Savannah James subtly coordinated their looks for the 2025 Hammer Museum Gala, and it paid off. The billionaire basketball star arrived at the event in black trousers, $1,690 Louis Vuitton sneakers, and the designer brand's $3,800 Damier jacket in tan, which is now sold out. Savannah James, on the other hand, wore a dramatic pleated dress from Issey Miyake and $1,795 Giuseppe Zanotti heels with gold snake detailing. Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet matched in black ensembles at the 2025 David di Donatello Awards. Jenner posed in a sleeveless Schiaparelli design that featured form-fitting textured fabric, a deeply scooped neckline, and a floor-length skirt. Chalamet opted for a velvet Tom Ford suit in the same dark shade with a white rose pinned to his jacket. Not only were the stars' outfits sharp on their own, but they also strongly suited each other. Blake Lively had her best fashion moment of the year at the Time100 Gala. She wore a red Zuhair Murad gown and an assortment of jade jewelry. The former had a corseted top with ruched off-the-shoulder sleeves, a form-fitted skirt, and extra fabric attached at the hips. It was one of the best looks on the Time100 red carpet and one of the strongest outfits Lively has worn throughout her career. Sergey Brin dazzled with crystals at the Breakthrough Prize ceremony. As the billionaire cofounder of Google, you might not expect Brin to be overly fashionable. However, he proved those assumptions wrong with straight-legged trousers, a satin button-down top, and a suit jacket encrusted with pearls, crystals, and beads in leaf patterns. Miley Cyrus showed just how stylish she is at the 2025 Oscars. She wore a custom Alexander McQueen gown made from a mix of sparkling fabric and semi-sheer mesh. It also had a halter neckline, a long skirt with a short train, and a row of velvet below her hips. Her accessories and makeup were arguably even better than the standout dress. She wore lace gloves, a silver watch, diamond earrings, a wavy hairstyle, and bleached eyebrows. The look was unique and true to Cyrus' style. Selena Gomez brought the glamour to the EE BAFTA Film Awards. She arrived on the red carpet in a custom Schiaparelli gown that was impossible to miss. Its top layer was sleeveless, sparkling, and decorated from top to bottom with thick crystals. The latter piece also had a scooped neckline so deep that it sat below her chest and revealed a black velvet top with off-the-shoulder sleeves. At the Grammy Awards, Taylor Swift made a fun nod to her 11th studio album and her boyfriend. She wore a ruby-colored minidress designed by Vivienne Westwood. It had a corset top with a single shoulder strap, fabric that wrapped around her hips to create a miniskirt, and all-over sparkles. Most fun, though, was her leg chain, which Swift co-designed with Lorraine Schwartz, People reported. It had multiple rubies in a line that led to a charm of the letter T, seemingly referencing both her boyfriend Travis Kelce and a line Swift sings in her song "Guilty as Sin?" off her 11th studio album, "The Tortured Poets Department." No one has pulled off theme dressing quite like Jennifer Lopez this year. Lopez promoted her film "Kiss of the Spider Woman" at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where she wore a dress with spider-inspired details from Valdrin Sahiti. The long-sleeved design was made from lace and embellished with crystals in the shape of a web. It also had long sleeves, a mock neckline, and a slit in the back of its long skirt. Shaboozey looked cool and comfortable on the Louis Vuitton carpet at Paris Fashion Week. He wore a full ensemble from the designer brand that included light-wash blue jeans, a brown tweed coat, and a printed silk scarf over a white T-shirt. Zendaya looked like a princess in January at the 2025 Golden Globes. She was one of the best-dressed stars of the event thanks to her Louis Vuitton gown. The strapless design fit Zendaya like a glove, though extra fabric was attached at the back to create the illusion of a full skirt.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Unwelcome at Kennedy Center, LGBTQ+ orchestra defiantly plays in Maryland
By Daniel Trotta and Alexandra C. Sarabia NORTH BETHESDA, Maryland (Reuters) - The program contained American favorites: pieces by Aaron Copland and George Gershwin and a choral performance of "America the Beautiful" to celebrate WorldPride, a biennial international festival in support of LGBTQ+ rights that this year is taking place in Washington. The International Pride Orchestra had hoped to play at the Kennedy Center, the most prestigious venue in the United States, but that was before U.S. President Donald Trump pledged on social media that there would be "NO MORE DRAG SHOWS, OR OTHER ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA" at the public-private performing arts center. Instead, the orchestra took to the stage at the Strathmore Music Center in Maryland, just north of the capital, with sequin-clad drag queen Peaches Christ as host, and another drag queen, Thorgy Thor, playing a violin solo to Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" to an audience of 1,166 people. WorldPride events are taking place during a Trump administration that has issued executive orders limiting transgender rights, banned transgender people from serving in the armed forces, and rescinded anti-discrimination policies for LGBTQ+ people as part of a campaign to repeal diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Michael Roest, conductor and founder of the International Pride Orchestra, a nonprofit, reminded the audience that "people don't feel safe to live and love openly." "That is the reason why we have this orchestra," Roest said. The evening offered messages about equality and patriotic ideals as expressed in "America the Beautiful," sung by the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, which accompanied the orchestra in the second half of the show. A transgender pianist, Sara Davis Buechner, dazzled with her grand piano lead on "Rhapsody in Blue." U.S. and rainbow flags were hoisted at the close. Within weeks of taking office, Trump in February fired the leadership of the Kennedy Center and named himself chairman, complaining about what he said was the poor quality of performances. On February 10, he announced on social media that loyalist Richard Grenell would become interim director of the center and made the "NO MORE DRAG SHOWS" post. Two days later, the Kennedy Center sent Roest a message that said, "We are not in a position at this time to advance a contract," according to an email chain seen by Reuters. That message came after months of negotiations over securing the Kennedy Center, orchestra spokesperson David Perry said. Considering themselves "disinvited," event organizers began looking for alternative venues and the Strathmore offered its space, Perry said. Ryan Bos, executive director of the Capital Pride Alliance, which is leading the coordination of WorldPride, explained the move by saying, "We would not be allowed to have any official drag programming." "That defeats the purpose of Pride - in terms of creating a welcoming and safe environment for anybody to feel comfortable being their true, authentic self, which is what Pride's about," Bos said in comments to The Advocate, a magazine reporting LGBT+ news, that were confirmed by the alliance. Asked for a response, a Kennedy Center spokesperson referred Reuters to Bos' remarks and an X post by Grenell saying, "We didn't cancel a single show at the Kennedy Center. We simply ask that shows don't lose money and leave us with the bill." The three-year-old orchestra was created to give LGBTQ+ musicians an avenue to perform free of concerns about their sexual orientation or gender identity. "This performance is in and of itself a form of resistance," said Luke Spence, the orchestra's general manager and also a trumpet player. Jennifer Curtis, a violinist and concert master, welcomed the spotlight that came with the dispute. "That's what you want in the time of struggle, or if you're needing to make a statement," Curtis said. "We got extra publicity out of being at the butt end of Trump."
Business Insider
3 hours ago
- Business Insider
'The Phoenician Scheme' has a star-studded cast — here's where else you might have seen them
Benicio Del Toro plays Zsa-Zsa Korda "The Phoenician Scheme" follows Zsa-zsa Korda, an arms dealer, as he tries to teach his daughter how to run his organization after a near-successful assassination attempt. Benicio Del Toro, who plays the character, who won an Oscar in 2001 for his supporting role in "Traffic." He previously worked with Anderson on his 2021 movie " The French Dispatch." Del Toro also appeared in three Marvel movies as the Collector, and starred in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," "Sicario," and "The Usual Suspects." Mia Threapleton as Liesl Liesl, Zsa-Zsa's eldest daughter, was raised in a convent away from her family's criminal enterprise. Although she wants to be a nun, her father wants her to be the heir to his estate, distracting her from her faith. Mia Threapleton, who plays Liesl, may seem familiar to fans even if they haven't seen her act before. That's because she's Kate Winslet's daughter. Threapleton made her acting debut at 13 with "A Little Chaos." Before "The Phoenician Scheme," her biggest role was playing Honoria Marable in the AppleTV+ series "The Buccaneers." Michael Cera plays Bjorn Bjorn joins Zsa-zsa and Liesl on their adventure as Zsa-zsa's personal tutor about insects. He is played by Michael Cera, who is best known for his roles in films such as "Barbie," "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," "Juno" and "Superbad." Steve Park plays the pilot Early in the film, Steve Park appears as a pilot for Zsa-zsa. This is the third Anderson film Park has appeared after starring in "The French Dispatch" and "Asteroid City." Park has also starred in "Death of a Unicorn," "Mickey 17," "Do the Right Thing," and "Fargo." Rupert Friend plays Excalibur Excalibur leads the shady consortium attempting to sabotage Zsa-zsa's organization in the movie. Rupert Friend, who plays Excalibur, starred in Anderson's 2021 movie "The French Dispatch" and his 2024 short films "The Swan" and "The Rat Catcher." Friend also played Mr Wickham in the 2005 version of "Pride & Prejudice," and starred in the "Obi-Wan Kenobi" and "Anatomy of a Scandal" series. Riz Ahmed plays Prince Farouk Riz Ahmed stars as Prince Farouk, the son of the King of Lower Western Independent Phoenicia, who has partnered with Zsa-zsa to build a tunnel across the region. This is Ahmed's first Wes Anderson movie, but he has starred in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," "Venom," and "Sound of Metal." Tom Hanks plays Leland Leland is part of the Sacramento Consortium, which is in business with Zsa-Zsa and Prince Farouk to build the tunnel. Beloved American actor Tom Hanks plays Leland. Hanks starred in Anderson's 2023 movie "Asteroid City," but is better known for his older roles like "Forrest Gump," "Cast Away," and "Big." Bryan Cranston plays Reagan Reagan is Leland's brother, also part of the Sacramento Consortium. Bryan Cranston, who plays Reagan, has starred in two of Anderson's movies — "Asteroid City and "Isle of Dogs." Cranston is best known for starring in the TV drama "Breaking Bad" and "Malcolm in the Middle." Mathieu Amalric plays Marseille Bob Marseille Bob is a French nightclub owner and leader of the Savarin-Montrachet Gang. He is also part of Zsa-zsa's Phoenician business scheme. Mathieu Amalric, who starred in Anderson's "Isle of Dogs" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel," plays Marseille Bob. Amalric has also played a Bond villain, Dominic Greene, in 2008's "Quantum of Solace." Richard Ayoade plays Sergio Sergio is the leader of the Intercontinental Radical Freedom Militia Corp jungle unit, which attacks Marseille Bob's nightclub in the movie. Richard Ayoade, a British comedian, plays Sergio after starring in two of Anderson's short films, "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar" and "The Rat Catcher." Ayoade mainly has voice acting roles, but has appeared on-screen in the sitcom "The IT Crowd" and "Paddington 2." Jeffrey Wright plays Marty Marty is a shipping magnate and the leader of the Newark Syndicate gang. He is also in cahoots with Zsa-zsa. Jeffrey Wright plays Marty, making "The Phoenician Scheme" his third Anderson movie. He also starred in "Asteroid City" and "The French Dispatch." Wright has also starred in "American Fiction," "The Batman," "Quantum of Solace," and three "Hunger Games" movies. Scarlett Johansson plays Hilda Sussman-Korda Hilda Sussman-Korda is Zsa-zsa's second cousin and has an intimate relationship with him. She is also part of Zsa-zsa's business scheme because she is constructing a trans-basin hydroelectric embankment within her private utopian outpost in Phoenicia. Scarlett Johansson, who is best known for her roles in Marvel movies, "Her" and "Lost in Translation," plays Hilda. Johansson has worked with Anderson twice before, starring in "Asteroid City" and "Isle of Dogs." Benedict Cumberbatch plays Uncle Nubar Benedict Cumberbatch plays Zsa-zsa's brother, Uncle Nubar. Though Uncle Nubar is part of Zsa-zsa's business plan, the brothers often oppose each other. Benedict Cumberbatch, another Marvel star, plays Uncle Nubar. He starred in Anderson's 2024 short films "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar" and "Poison." Cumberbatch is also known for his roles in "Star Trek: Into Darkness," "The Imitation Game," and the "Sherlock" TV series. F. Murray Abraham, Willem Dafoe, Bill Murray, Hope Davis have small cameos in the movie Though they do not appear in the film's trailers, F. Murray Abraham, Willem Dafoe, and Bill Murray all have cameos in hallucination scenes. Abraham, who cameos as a prophet, has starred in Anderson's 2014 movie "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Amadeus" and HBO drama "The White Lotus." Dafoe has brief appearance as a knave and has appeared in 4 of Anderson's films since starring in 2004's "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou." Dafoe has also starred in four "Spider-Man" movies, "Aquaman," "Poor Things," and "Nosferatu." Murray makes a cameo as god and has made appearances in 10 of Anderson's films, skipping only "Bottle Rocket" and "Asteroid City." Murray is best known for starring in "Lost in Translation," "Groundhog Day" and the "Ghostbusters" movies. Hope Davis, who makes a small appearance in the trailers, plays Mother Superior in the movie, Liesl's superior in her convent. She also appeared in Anderson's last feature "Asteroid City," "Captain America: Civil War" and the "Succession" TV series.
