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All BLACKPINK Members Renew Contracts with Label YG

K-Pop band Blackpink's members, Lalisa "Lisa" Manoban, Roseanne "Rose" Park, Kim Ji-soo and Jennie Kim, pose with their medals following a special investiture ceremony to present them with Honorary MBEs (Member of the Order of the British Empire), at Buckingham Palace in London on November 22, 2023. (AFP)
K-Pop band Blackpink's members, Lalisa "Lisa" Manoban, Roseanne "Rose" Park, Kim Ji-soo and Jennie Kim, pose with their medals following a special investiture ceremony to present them with Honorary MBEs (Member of the Order of the British Empire), at Buckingham Palace in London on November 22, 2023. (AFP)
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All BLACKPINK Members Renew Contracts with Label YG

K-Pop band Blackpink's members, Lalisa "Lisa" Manoban, Roseanne "Rose" Park, Kim Ji-soo and Jennie Kim, pose with their medals following a special investiture ceremony to present them with Honorary MBEs (Member of the Order of the British Empire), at Buckingham Palace in London on November 22, 2023. (AFP)
K-Pop band Blackpink's members, Lalisa "Lisa" Manoban, Roseanne "Rose" Park, Kim Ji-soo and Jennie Kim, pose with their medals following a special investiture ceremony to present them with Honorary MBEs (Member of the Order of the British Empire), at Buckingham Palace in London on November 22, 2023. (AFP)

All members of the megastar girl group BLACKPINK renewed their contracts with YG Entertainment on Wednesday, the company said, ending speculation around their future and driving up shares in the leading K-pop label by over 20 percent.

Rumors surrounding BLACKPINK -- one of K-pop's most successful girl groups -- and their potential future plans have abounded since the quartet's original contracts expired in August, with local reports even claiming in September that member Lisa rejected YG's renewal offer.

But YG announced on Wednesday that all members -- Jenny, Lisa, Jisoo and Rose -- had renewed their contracts with the company for "group activities".

"After careful discussion with BLACKPINK, we signed an exclusive contract for group activities based on deep trust," the label said in a statement sent to AFP.

"With YG's full support, BLACKPINK plans to repay the love of fans around the world with activities commensurate with their global status, including the release of a new album and a large-scale world tour," it added.

BLACKPINK, who first emerged out of South Korea's wildly popular K-pop scene in 2016, has also been recognized for the group's efforts on climate advocacy.

Last month, the members were given one of Britain's most prestigious honors by King Charles III, for their work for the COP26 climate summit in 2021.

Their official YouTube channel has a staggering 92.3 million subscribers, making them one of the most subscribed artists in the world on the platform.

BLACKPINK's other achievements include being the first-ever K-pop girl group to reach the top of the US Billboard 200 chart, and the first Asian artists to headline prestigious music events such as Coachella.

YG, on the other hand, was at the center of the notorious "Burning Sun" entertainment and sex scandal -- which revolved around a Gangnam nightclub of the same name -- that rattled South Korea in 2018.

The label was hard hit when Seungri -- a former member of popular boyband BIGBANG and co-director of Burning Sun -- retired from show business in 2019 amid mounting criminal investigations.

He was later sentenced to 18 months in prison for offering women to potential investors for sexual services, among other charges.

YG Entertainment's shares were up 24.58 percent to 59,800 won in afternoon trading in Seoul.

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Venice Film Festival Lineup includes ‘Joker 2,’ Films with Pitt, Clooney, Jolie, More

The lineup for the 81st edition of the festival, unveiled early Tuesday, also includes new films starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Jude Law - The AP
The lineup for the 81st edition of the festival, unveiled early Tuesday, also includes new films starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Jude Law - The AP
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Venice Film Festival Lineup includes ‘Joker 2,’ Films with Pitt, Clooney, Jolie, More

The lineup for the 81st edition of the festival, unveiled early Tuesday, also includes new films starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Jude Law - The AP
The lineup for the 81st edition of the festival, unveiled early Tuesday, also includes new films starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Jude Law - The AP

Five years after “Joker” won the top prize at the Venice Film Festival, filmmaker Todd Phillips is returning with the sequel. “Joker: Folie à Deux” will play in competition with 20 other titles, festival organizers said Tuesday.

The highly anticipated follow-up to the blockbuster comic book film stars Joaquin Phoenix as the mentally ill Arthur Fleck and Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn.

The lineup for the 81st edition of the festival, unveiled early Tuesday, also includes new films starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig and Jude Law, The AP reported.

Among the films playing alongside “Joker 2” in competition are Pablo Larraín's Maria Callas film “Maria,” starring Jolie; Walter Salles' “I'm Still Here"; the erotic thriller “Babygirl” starring Kidman and Harris Dickinson from filmmaker Halina Reijn; Luca Guadagnino’s William S. Burrough’s adaptation “Queer,” with Craig and Jason Schwartzman; and Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language film, “The Room Next Door,” starring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton. Set in New England, the filmmaker has said it’s about an imperfect mother and a resentful daughter.

“The Order,” Justin Kurzel’s 80s-set crime thriller about the white supremacist group starring Law as an FBI agent, Nicholas Hoult and Jurnee Smollett, will also be in competition, as will Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist,” with Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones and Joe Alwyn. Shot on 70mm, the 215-minute epic is about a Hungarian Auschwitz survivor who goes to the United States.

Pitt and Clooney will reunite in Jon Watts’ “Wolfs,” an adrenaline packed action-comedy about a few fixers that will screen out of competition.

Several interesting films playing in the horizons extra section include “September 5,” about the live television coverage of the Munich Olympics, starring Peter Sarsgaard; John Swab’s “King Ivory,” with Ben Foster and James Badge Dale; and Alex Ross Perry’s film about Stephen Malkmus’ California rock band Pavement.

Venice will also screen Peter Weir’s 2003 epic “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World,” in conjunction with his lifetime achievement award.

Seven episodes of Alfonso Cuarón’s psychological thriller series “Disclaimer” will also premiere at the festival. The AppleTV+ show is based on a novel about a documentary journalist and a secret she’s been keeping. It stars Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline and will debut on the streamer in October.

Among the nonfiction titles playing out of competition are Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edwards’ “One to One: John & Yoko,” which reconstructs the New York years of the Beatle and his wife; Errol Morris’ “Separated,” about the separation of immigrant children from their parents in the US; Anastasia Trofimova’s “Russians at War”; Göran Hugo Olsson's “Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989”; “Riefenstahl,” about the German propagandist; And another Beatles-focused doc, “The Things We Said Today,” a time capsule of their arrival in New York and first concert at Shea Stadium.

Last year’s festival took place amid the actors’ strike. Although some attended under interim agreements, like Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz for “Ferrari” and “Priscilla” stars Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi, the festival was lacking its usual, consistent supply of star power. But its awards season influence remained strong: Seven Venice world premieres went on to get 24 Oscar nominations and five wins: Four for “Poor Things” and one for Wes Anderson’s “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.”

Venice is a significant launching ground for awards hopefuls and the first major stop of a busy fall film festival season, with Toronto, Telluride and the New York Film Festivals close behind.

The 81st edition kicks off on August 28, with the world premiere of Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.” All of the main cast, including Michael Keaton, are expected to grace the red carpet. The Venice Film Festival runs through Sept. 7.