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Taika Waititi to take on new Judge Dredd movie

Taika Waititi to take on new Judge Dredd movie

The Guardian5 days ago
Oscar-winner Taika Waititi is set to take on a new Judge Dredd movie.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the writer-director will take the reins of the latest attempt to bring the comic book character to the screen with Drew Pearce set to take on the script.
Pearce's credits include Iron Man 3, Hobbs & Shaw and The Fall Guy. He has also written the script for a new take on The Thomas Crown Affair led by Michael B Jordan.
Sources tell the Hollywood Reporter that both Waititi and Pearce were childhood fans of the character. In a 2022 interview, Waititi name-checked Judge Dredd as an influence on his Marvel films.
Judge Dredd is a law enforcement officer working in a dystopian society who first appeared in the British publication 2000 AD in the late 70s. In 1995, Sylvester Stallone played him in a film that underperformed at the box office and received negative reviews. The character was brought back in 2012 and played by Karl Urban in the Alex Garland-scripted Dredd which received stronger notices, but was also a commercial disappointment.
The new version is reportedly more faithful to the original comics and will lean into dark humour. The aim is to kick off a new universe that could expand to both the big and small screen.
New Zealand-born Waititi won the Oscar for best original screenplay for his second world war comedy Jojo Rabbit and has also directed two Thor sequels.
His last film, the fact-based football comedy Next Goal Wins, was a critical and financial failure. His next is an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun starring Amy Adams and Jenna Ortega. Last year saw reports that he was looking to team up with Steven Spielberg for an adaptation of Percival Everett's Pulitzer prize-winning novel James.
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Ozzy Osbourne: did he really bite the head off a live bat?
Ozzy Osbourne: did he really bite the head off a live bat?

BBC News

time23 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Ozzy Osbourne: did he really bite the head off a live bat?

When it comes to the unruly world of rock, shocking behaviour is rarely frowned upon. Just the opposite. Most of the time it's practically there are limits, few performers have pushed those generous boundaries more than John Michael Osbourne, aka Ozzy Osbourne, or the Prince of Darkness, who has died aged don't get a nickname like that by Sabbath fans initially dubbed him with it thanks to his jet black onstage persona, decadent aura and lyrics that seemed obsessed by the his actions on the night of 20 January 1982, when the body of an unfortunate creature ended up separated from its head, were bat-split crazy, even by Ozzy's excessive an event that, decades later, is still discussed as one of the most notorious moments in heavy metal oddly, this wasn't even the first time that the singer had seemingly been involved in the decapitation of an innocent more of that it comes to Ozzy and the bat, it's unsurprising that, over the years, recollections have differed on the precise turn of that was because people's memories clashed. But mostly it depended on which version of the story Ozzy was in the mood to facts about the incident, however, are unambiguous. In January 1982, Ozzy was two months into a gruelling tour promoting his second solo album, Diary of a Madman. A tradition had developed where the singer would catapult pieces of raw meat and animal parts - including intestines and liver - into the far, so revolting. And perhaps, not totally inexplicable behaviour for a man who'd once served an apprenticeship at an the tour, word quickly spread about the practice, and Ozzy's fans were nothing if not resourceful. At every venue, they knew exactly what was coming, and they turned up armed and ready to when something small and black landed on stage during a rowdy Wednesday night show at Des Moines' Veterans Memorial Auditorium, the singer thought it was a rubber here's where recollections start to veer off in different his 2010 autobiography I Am Ozzy the singer says he picked it up, stuffed it in his mouth, and chomped down."Immediately, though, something felt wrong. Very wrong. For a start my mouth was instantly full of this warm, gloopy liquid," he recalled. "Then the head in my mouth twitched." "Somebody threw a bat. I just thought it was a rubber bat. And I picked it up and put it in my mouth. I bit into it," he told the he says he realised: "Oh no, it's real. It was a real live bat."So is this the definitive version of the story - live bat thrown on stage, Ozzy bites into it? Far from hadn't always insisted the bat was alive when it was thrown towards in 2006, he gave the BBC a take on the story that was subtly, but crucially different."This bat comes on. I thought it was one of them Hallowe'en joke bats 'cos it had some string around its neck," he said."I bite into it, and I look to my left and Sharon [Osbourne, his wife and then manager] was going [gesturing no]."And I'm like, what you talking about? She [says], 'it's a dead real bat'. And I'm... I know now!"So was the unfortunate winged mammal dead or alive?Who better to confirm whether it was bereft of life and had ceased to be, than the person who claims to have actually brought the bat to the concert? Dead or alive? According to the Des Moines Register, that man was Mark was 17 at the time of the concert. And his account of the events leading up to the gory night was this: His younger brother had brought the bat home a fortnight before but, sadly, it hadn't said that, by the time he took it to the concert, it had been dead for it seems that the available evidence about this legendary piece of heavy metal excess, placed at number two in Rolling Stone magazine's list of Rock's Wildest Myths, does point to it being largely agrees that the bat did find its way into Ozzy's mouth, although it seems likely it was no longer alive by that point - something Ozzy himself concurred with. what of an eerily similar incident some nine months before in Los Angeles? Again the details vary, usually depending on who Ozzy was talking basic facts have never been in dispute. Ozzy was due to meet a group of CBS record label executives in Los Angeles, and Sharon had the idea of him bringing three live doves with giving a short speech of thanks, the plan was for Ozzy to throw them into the air, so everyone could watch them flutter away, in a symbolic gesture of alert: That's not what ended up happening. Doves of peace Ozzy had been drinking brandy all morning, and he later told rock biographer Mick Wall that a PR woman at the meeting had been seriously annoying to Wall's book, Black Sabbath: Symptoms of the Universe, Ozzy "pulled out one of these doves and bit its [expletive] head off just to shut her up"."Then I did it again with the next dove," he added, "spitting the head out on the table"."That's when they threw me out. They said I'd never work for CBS again." In version two, recounted some months later, he told Sounds' magazine's Garry Bushell a slightly different story."The scam is the bird was dead. We were planning to release it there, but it died beforehand. So rather than waste it, I bit its head off."You should have seen their faces. They all went white. They were speechless." The ringmaster of rock excess Ozzy, of course, had a reputation to uphold. After all, this was the man who'd been thrown out of Black Sabbath because, even by rock's astronomically lax standards, his drink and drug consumption was considered too while his encounters with bat and dove may not have seemed cricket to many, they - with helpful dollops of exaggeration - added significantly to Ozzy's outrageous undoubtedly gave him even greater publicity and notoriety, helping his solo career to skyrocket like a bat out of even though he might not be guilty of every misdemeanour that was attributed to him over the years, there's little doubt that he reached heights (or depths) that other rock stars never dared to meant that he was seen as the undoubted ringmaster of rock excess - a career defining reputation that stayed with him right to the end.

David Letterman's brutal six-word swipe at CBS over Stephen Colbert's Late Show cancellation
David Letterman's brutal six-word swipe at CBS over Stephen Colbert's Late Show cancellation

Daily Mail​

time25 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

David Letterman's brutal six-word swipe at CBS over Stephen Colbert's Late Show cancellation

David Letterman used his YouTube page to make a statement in support of Stephen Colbert on Monday following his CBS cancelation. The late night legend, 78, posted a video more than 20 minutes long of him trashing the network, which he worked for from 1993 to 2015. He captioned the curated clip, 'You can't spell CBS without BS' - amid widespread speculation the move was politically-motivated. The montage showcased various jokes Letterman told about the network, with eight clips spanning two decades, from 1994-2013. Colbert on Monday returned for his first full program after last week's announcement that CBS was canceling his Late Show with some supportive late-night guests, a joke about cancel culture and an extremely pointed remark directed at President Donald Trump. 'I'm going to go ahead and say it: Cancel culture's gone way too far,' Colbert said to a rambunctious audience that loudly chanted his name. CBS and parent Paramount Global said the decision to end the 'Late Show' next May was purely financial. It hasn't gone unnoticed - and was mentioned by Colbert Monday night - that the announcement came days after the comic had sharply criticized Paramount's $16 million settlement of Trump's lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview. Colbert, known for his sharp comic takedowns of the Republican president, said that 'over the weekend, it sunk in that they killed off our show. But they made one mistake. They left me alive.' Now, he said, 'I can say what I really think of Donald Trump, starting right now.' As his audience cheered him on, Colbert said, 'I don't care for him. Doesn't seem to have the skill set to be president.' He read a passage from a Trump social media message saying that he loved that the 'untalented' Colbert had been fired. 'How dare you, sir,' Colbert said. 'Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism?' The show switched to a close-up camera where Colbert appeared to say, 'f—- you,' the word bleeped out and his mouth blurred. Noting CBS' explanation for his firing, Colbert said, 'how can it purely be a financial decision if the show is No. 1 in the ratings? It's confusing. A lot of folks are asking that question, mainly my staff's parents and spouses.' With some apparent irritation, he said some news stories over the weekend reported the apparently leaked information that Late Show was losing between $40 million and $50 million a year. Ad revenue for late-night entertainment broadcasts has shrunk sharply as the audience, particularly young men, turn to streaming or other priorities. 'I could see us losing $24 million,' Colbert said. 'But where would Paramount have ever spent the other $16 million? Oh, yeah.' Colbert introduced the odd duo of 'Weird Al' Yankovic and Lin-Manuel Miranda to sing Coldplay's Viva La Vida. In a sly reference to the couple caught on camera last week at a Coldplay concert, Late Show cameras panned the audience to find some supportive friends — fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Jon Stewart and John Oliver, as well as Adam Sandler, Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen. On Comedy Central's The Daily Show, also owned by Paramount, Stewart delivered an impassioned defense of his friend and former co-worker and suggested it was futile to try to satisfy Trump, certainly not by taking away programs that have helped build the company's value over the years. 'This is not the moment to give in,' Stewart said. 'I'm not giving in. I'm not going anywhere. I think.' On his own show, Colbert turned serious - briefly - to address people who had expressed support for him since the announcement was made. 'Some people see this show going away as the sign of something truly dire. And while I'm a big fan of me, I don't necessarily agree with that statement,' he said, 'because we here at the 'Late Show' never saw our job as changing anything other than how you felt at the end of the day, which I think is a worthy goal.

Industry shock as free-to-air network is sold for just $1
Industry shock as free-to-air network is sold for just $1

Daily Mail​

timean hour ago

  • Daily Mail​

Industry shock as free-to-air network is sold for just $1

In a major shake-up of New Zealand 's media landscape, Sky TV will buy Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD)'s free-to-air network for just one dollar. The announcement was made to the New Zealand stock exchange on Tuesday. Sky TV, which operates a pay-to-view service similar to Foxtel in New Zealand, will acquire all of WBD's television channels, including Three (formerly TV3), Bravo, Eden, Rush, HGTV, and BVOD catch-up service ThreeNow. Sky announced it had 'agreed to acquire 100% of the shares in Discovery NZ Limited from Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific Pte Ltd (a subsidiary of Warner Bros Discovery, Inc)' for $1 on a cash-free, debt-free basis. The shocking news comes five years after Discovery purchased Three from MediaWorks in 2020 for a rumoured US$20million. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Discovery said the completion of the sale is expected to take place on August 1. This deal will profoundly reshape the commercial TV and streaming landscape in New Zealand, as it forges the biggest media company in the country by revenue and audience — all for the price of a singular gold coin. In April last year, WBD confirmed the closure of its New Zealand newsroom Newshub, ending the 6pm and AM TV news bulletins on channel Three. Sky will assume all of WBD's ongoing commercial contracts, including a partnership deal with Stuff ( that was struck with WBD days after Newshub closed last year. The digital publisher has been providing ThreeNews since June 6, 2024. Effectively, the 6pm news moved online – with Stuff hiring several beloved Newshub presenters who had been made redundant. Sinead Boucher, who purchased the Stuff company from Australia's Nine Entertainment for $1 in 2020, said she is 'delighted' to see Sky bring TV3 back into New Zealand ownership 'for the first time in decades'. 'My word this industry moves at pace!' ThreeNews presenter Samantha Hayes posted to Instagram on Tuesday. 'I was only just getting around to marking our one year anniversary of ThreeNews this month and now another seismic shift in the media landscape with Sky buying Three, ThreeNow and Discovery NZ's many other assets. 'We'll keep making our 6pm news bulletin like we always do and I'm excited about what the future holds... watch this space!' Sky's chief executive Sophie Moloney told Stuff the deal made sense, both strategically and financially for the pay TV giant. 'We've made no secret of the fact we want to grow our advertising revenue and the one platform we're actually missing in that ecosystem was a BVOD [broadcast video on demand] platform,' she said. 'Ultimately, we think this shores up the local media ecosystem which we're thrilled to participate in.' Warner Bros. Discovery will remain in New Zealand through its 'highly successful' film production business WBITVP, suite of pay TV channels, and a content licensing deal with Sky's streaming platform, Neon. Kiwi media pundits are saying the $1 price tag indicates that Discovery NZ's parent, WBD, simply wanted to exit the free-to-air business. 'Our decision to sell the business follows an extensive review of options to ensure long-term success for our New Zealand operations,' Australia and NZ managing director Michael Brooks said. 'Advertiser behaviour has shifted, viewer habits have shifted, and we're still going through this digital transition,' he told Stuff. 'The media industry has changed right across the board. I don't think there's a market or a company that hasn't been impacted over the last few years.' The sale is the latest move in WBD's global restructuring efforts, as the media Goliath splits its businesses up. One arm of the company will focus on streaming, and the other on global networks - many of which were downsized, or shut down, across Europe in 2023. Brooks said the New Zealand sale has 'absolutely no connection' to the global restructuring efforts. Meanwhile, NZ Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was unbothered about the deal. 'Yeah, I saw those reports,' Luxon said in parliament.

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