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‘Am I 68? 69?’ Irvine Welsh on growing old, getting clean, bashing out his new novel – and flirting with guns

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Three decades after he channelled his heroin addiction into the cult classic Trainspotting, the Scottish author has discovered the joys of yoga, breathwork and standing desks. But is he quite as ‘Zen’ as he claims? By rights, Irvine Welsh ought to be photographed somewhere gritty, looking grumpy, he says: “That’s the brand.” Beside a graffitied wall or at the docks, with a beanie pulled low, and definitely not smiling. But here he is, clear-skinned and wholesome in shorts and a T-shirt, drinking tea and – it’s hard to think of anything more off-brand – talking about the health benefits of yoga. Given his reputation for having lived in the worlds his books portray, he should or could look a lot worse. He guffaws at this, eyes a delighted blue, and repeats the phrase as if he’s found a new personal tagline: “Could look a lot worse!” Over the three decades since his cult debut, Trainspotting, was published in 1993, Welsh’s fiction has explored with humour the darker side of life. Drugs, c...
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No change in King’s release date; Shah Rukh Khan ALL SET to take on Avengers: Doomsday, Jumanji: Open World and Dune: Part Three this December

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After a three-year absence from the big screen, superstar Shah Rukh Khan will return this year with the highly anticipated action entertainer, King. A special announcement promo unveiled in January confirmed that the film would arrive in cinemas on December 24. In recent weeks, however, speculation has been rife that King might miss its scheduled release and be pushed to 2027. Bollywood Hungama has now learnt that there are no plans to postpone the film and that King remains firmly on track to release on December 24, 2026. Significantly, King will arrive amid three major Hollywood releases. December 18 will witness the epic clash between Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three. Avengers: Doomsday is expected to take a thunderous start; in fact, the extraordinary box office performance of Spider-Man: Brand New Day has further underlined the massive demand for Marvel films among Indian moviegoers. In comparison, Dune: Part Three is likely to appeal to a relatively niche audience. Howeve...
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‘The greatest arms I’ve ever seen’: Matt Damon’s muscular female stunt double Devyn Dalton

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Canadian stuntwoman is only 4ft 6in and stood in for star to make the giant Laestrygonians appear even bigger A 35-year-old stuntwoman is one of the great unsung heroes of Christopher Nolan’s new blockbuster The Odyssey – standing in for Matt Damon and displaying what the actor called “the greatest arms I’ve ever seen”. Canadian Devyn Dalton was the Hollywood star’s stunt double in a pivotal scene in the film where Odysseus (Damon) and his men are confronted by the Laestrygonians, giant armoured cannibals. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/tgkfJR3 via IFTTT
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Sunny Deol to honour real-life changemakers during Batwara 1947 promotional tour across India: Report

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The promotional campaign for Batwara 1947 is underway, with the film's cast travelling across multiple cities ahead of its theatrical release on August 14, 2026. Now, a new report suggests that the makers have planned a unique initiative during the city tour, with lead actor Sunny Deol expected to honour individuals who have made noteworthy contributions to society. Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and produced under the banner of Aamir Khan Productions, Batwara 1947 stars Shabana Azmi, Sunny Deol and Preity G Zinta in leading roles. Set against the backdrop of the Partition of India, the film explores the human stories that emerged during one of the most defining moments in the subcontinent's history. According to a source associated with the project, the promotional campaign will go beyond conventional film events by recognising real-life changemakers in every city the team visits. “Makers has planned a very special initiative during the Batwara 1947 promotional city tour. In e...
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From The Wizard of Oz to Trainspotting: 25 films to watch before you turn 25

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As AI slop takes over our screens, what better antidote for enquiring minds than a magical film? We ask directors, producers and critics to pick one must-see movie for each year from infancy to early adulthood *** Screentime has a bad rep these days: it’s allegedly at the root of everything from the collapse of media literacy to the rise of the far right. For parents, and indeed anyone who cares about the future of the planet, the relationship children have to their screens is a particular hot potato. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/XZRbHf2 via IFTTT
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EXCLUSIVE: Side Heroes to have a theatrical release on Friendship’s Day 2027; Varun Sharma says, "It is not just a hilarious friendship film; it’s like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara..."

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On the occasion of Friendship Day, actor Varun Sharma has exclusively spoken about his upcoming film, Side Heroes, a promising story celebrating friendship and centred on three friends. He assured audiences that it is not merely a maddening comedy but also explores important aspects of life. He further drew parallels with the iconic friendship film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011). Varun Sharma said, “Side Heroes is not just a hilarious friendship film. It’s like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara – it makes us realize what truly matters in life, success and views happiness with a fresh lens.” Side Heroes is backed by Imtiaz Ali, Mahaveer Jain and Mrighdeep Singh Lamba. Besides Varun Sharma, the film also stars Abhishek Banerjee and Aparshakti Khurana. A few days ago, Bollywood Hungama exclusively revealed that a fresh face has been cast as the female lead in this coming-of-age friendship film. Set in the heartland of India, Side Heroes tells the poignant yet comical story of three childhood fri...
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The brief life and sudden death of Zyzz: why did the bodybuilding influencer die at just 22?

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Long before looksmaxxers, Aziz ‘Zyzz’ Shavershian was famous online for posting workouts and rage-bait – until he died in Thailand in 2011. A new documentary reveals what really happened Decades before the extreme aesthetic trend of looksmaxxing, there was Zyzz. Aziz Shavershian was an Australian teenager who became a fitness influencer in the 2000s, filming his workouts and thoughts about the world on his Nokia and posting them to YouTube. Zyzz was big in all senses of the word: many of his videos would see him flexing into unabashedly vain bodybuilding poses, hair feathered like an anime character, as he mocked his audience’s envy with slang straight out of bodybuilding forums: “U mirin’, brah?” He was skilled in rage-bait long before anyone had heard of it, creating accounts to troll himself in case the haters ever forgot to hate. He started an anonymous Facebook page, titled “10,000 likes and I’ll bash Zyzz”, and, when the goal was reached, switched the page to one advertising his ...
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Tiger Shroff, Abhishek Banerjee, and Elvish Yadav team up for Remo D'Souza's action franchise as Viccky Jain launches VJ Frames

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Producer and entrepreneur Viccky Jain has announced the launch of his production house, VJ Frames, marking the beginning of a new chapter in his career as a filmmaker. Making the announcement on his birthday, Jain also revealed the banner's maiden project—an ambitious action franchise that will be directed by choreographer-filmmaker Remo D'Souza and feature Tiger Shroff, Abhishek Banerjee, and Elvish Yadav in lead roles. The newly launched banner aims to back commercial entertainers across genres, with its debut project expected to combine action, spectacle and mainstream storytelling. While the makers have kept plot details under wraps, the announcement has already generated curiosity owing to the unusual casting combination of Tiger Shroff, known for his action-packed performances, alongside versatile actor Abhishek Banerjee and content creator-turned-actor Elvish Yadav. Speaking about the launch of VJ Frames, Viccky Jain described the occasion as the fulfilment of a long-ch...
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Gregg Araki on sex, film and queer resistance: ‘All the terrible shit in the world is because of sexual repression’

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As his 12th feature film, I Want Your Sex, hits theaters, the cult gay film-maker is as fired up as ever Is straight sex the most perverse sex of all? Gregg Araki ’s new film makes a convincing case. Titled I Want Your Sex, the movie is a deliriously fun and often hilarious study of desire, power and art that features bondage, full-frontal and a vagina made out of pink chewed-up bubble gum. “For me, it is a very queer story,” the director says, speaking the week of the film’s release in a video call from his Los Angeles home. “It’s a take on kink and alternate sexuality that goes right across the straight-queer spectrum.” While it is not the first heterosexual movie by Gregg Araki – that honor goes to his 1995 acid trip of a road movie The Doom Generation – it features the new queer cinema pioneer’s starriest cast in years, perhaps in a sign that Hollywood at large has caught up to the cult director’s anarchic vision. Forty years into his career, we still want Araki’s sex: the film is...
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‘A towering piece of monoculture’: how The Odyssey discourse has dominated this summer

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Christopher Nolan’s smash hit epic has continued to excite and enrage everyone from rightwingers to academics, an old-fashioned throwback to a uniting big-screen event Peter Bradshaw reviews The Odyssey The Odyssey: jaw-dropping action, dark magic and dolphin cameos – discuss with spoilers Go woke, get rich: why rightwing hate campaigns don’t affect the box office If a high-profile academic is reviewing a movie for the London Review of Books , that movie in question must be making some kind of mark on some kind of culture. And if people are actually reading a movie review in the London Review of Books, and writing thinkpieces in disagreement or favor of said movie or its review, that movie may actually be a cultural phenomenon. Normally, volume of discourse about a movie should not be mistaken for a sign that people are actually seeing it. Sometimes online factions just have a bored fixation not shared by the rest of the world. But Christopher Nolan ’s The Odyssey has some major recei...
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