Entertainment News Roundup: 'The Harder They Fall' opens London Film Festival with glam red carpet; YouTube drops R&B singer R. Kelly's official channels and more

"I am very grateful to the Swedish Academy for nominating me and my work." Tanzania's Gurnah, novelist of colonialism and refuge, wins 2021 Nobel Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah, 72, won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee," the award-giving body said on Thursday.


Reuters | Updated: 07-10-2021 18:53 IST | Created: 07-10-2021 18:30 IST
Entertainment News Roundup: 'The Harder They Fall' opens London Film Festival with glam red carpet; YouTube drops R&B singer R. Kelly's official channels and more
Image Credit: Flickr/ Lean-Op

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

'The Harder They Fall' opens London Film Festival with glam red carpet

Netflix Western "The Harder They Fall" opened the London Film Festival on Wednesday, with an all-star red carpet kicking off the return to glitzy in-person premieres at the annual event following a mainly virtual 2020 version. Oscar-winner Regina King, "Luther" star Idris Elba and "Da 5 Bloods" actor Jonathan Majors feature in the movie about an outlaw who joins forces with his old gang to hunt down a crime boss recently freed from jail.

YouTube drops R&B singer R. Kelly's official channels

Alphabet Inc's YouTube said it has removed R&B singer R. Kelly's channels from its video platform, distancing itself from the singer who was convicted of sex trafficking last month. R. Kelly was convicted by a federal jury in September in his sex trafficking trial, where prosecutors accused the singer of exploiting his stardom over a quarter-century to lure women and underage girls into his orbit for sex.

Netflix to edit 'Squid Game' phone number after woman inundated with calls

A South Korean woman who was deluged with thousands of prank calls and text messages after her phone number was highlighted as a key plot point in Netflix's hit show "Squid Game https://www.netflix.com/kr-en/title/81040344" may soon get some relief. Netflix and local production company Siren Pictures said on Wednesday they would edit scenes to remove the phone number, which appears on a mysterious invitation card given to potential players of a series of deadly children's games.

'Winnie-the-Pooh' bridge seen selling up to $80,000 at auction

An old bridge that inspired "Winnie-the-Pooh" author A.A. Milne and was depicted in his much-loved children's stories about the honey-loving bear is being sold at auction on Wednesday, with a price estimate of up to around $80,000. Originally known as Posingford Bridge, it was built in 1907 in Ashdown Forest, in southern England, as a river crossing.

'It's just wonderful' Tanzanian writer Gurnah says on winning Nobel Prize

Tanzanian writer Abdulrazak Gurnah, who won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature, said on Thursday it was just wonderful to win the prize and that he was honored to be recognized with an award that has been given to such a huge list of accomplished writers. "I think its just brilliant and wonderful," Gurnah told Reuters when asked how he felt to win the prize. "I am very grateful to the Swedish Academy for nominating me and my work."

Tanzania's Gurnah, novelist of colonialism and refuge, wins 2021 Nobel

Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah, 72, won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee," the award-giving body said on Thursday. Based in Britain, Gurnah is the first African writer to win the award since the Zimbabwean Doris Lessing in 2007, and only the second writer of color from sub-Saharan Africa, after Nigeria's Wole Soyinka, who won in 1986.

Chinese labels flock to Paris to go global in high fashion

Chinese fashion labels, including Shang Xia, Icicle and Fosun Fashion Group, are embracing Paris as a springboard for their international ambitions, opening flagship stores in the city and hiring French designers to burnish their credentials. Chinese shoppers are the biggest buyers of luxury goods worldwide, including those of big European players like LVMH and Gucci owner Kering. But China also has its own fashion companies that are growing fast at home and are now targeting the global market.

Singer Tina Turner sells music rights to BMG

Soul and rock star Tina Turner has sold the rights to her music catalogue to music company BMG, the latest vocal artist to strike such a deal for their work. In a statement on Wednesday, BMG, owned by German media company Bertelsmann AG, said it would "be a partner in all of Tina Turner’s music interests".

Goodbye Bond, hello Walk of Fame star for Daniel Craig

Daniel Craig finally got a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame on Wednesday, days before his last movie as James Bond opens in the United States. "No Time to Die" marks Craig's fifth and final outing as the suave British secret agent, ending a role that has spanned 15 years.

Two Congos seek UNESCO listing to reclaim rumba's rhythms

Perched on a corner of the stage at La Septente, an open-air club in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa, Manda Chante sings the lilting opening to "Independence Cha Cha", an old anthem for African anti-colonial movements. The song debuted one evening in Brussels in February 1960, during negotiations for Congo's liberation from Belgium, electrifying delegates. Within four months, Congo was free.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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