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Showbiz in 2024: Taylor Swift, Oasis and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Make Headlines

A man walks past a mural of Oasis band members Liam and Noel Gallagher by artist Snow Graffiti on a wall in Whitefield, near Manchester, Britain, August 31, 2024. (Reuters)
A man walks past a mural of Oasis band members Liam and Noel Gallagher by artist Snow Graffiti on a wall in Whitefield, near Manchester, Britain, August 31, 2024. (Reuters)
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Showbiz in 2024: Taylor Swift, Oasis and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Make Headlines

A man walks past a mural of Oasis band members Liam and Noel Gallagher by artist Snow Graffiti on a wall in Whitefield, near Manchester, Britain, August 31, 2024. (Reuters)
A man walks past a mural of Oasis band members Liam and Noel Gallagher by artist Snow Graffiti on a wall in Whitefield, near Manchester, Britain, August 31, 2024. (Reuters)

From Taylor Swift's record-breaking Eras tour to Sean 'Diddy' Combs' arrest, 2024 saw various stories from the entertainment world dominate headlines.

Below are some of the biggest.

* Taylor Swift won more awards, released another hit album and performed her Eras tour, the first to surpass $1 billion in revenue. Her Vienna shows were cancelled after authorities foiled a planned attack. Swift closed Eras' European leg in London before she wraps it completely in Vancouver on Dec. 8.

* US rapper and producer Sean "Diddy" Combs pleaded not guilty to charges he used his business empire, including his record label Bad Boy Entertainment, to sexually abuse women.

Combs has denied wrongdoing and his lawyers have argued the sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual.

* One Direction member Liam Payne was found dead after falling from a third-floor hotel room balcony in Buenos Aires, triggering an outpouring of tributes from fans.

* Oasis announced a series of reunion gigs. Fans waited long hours in virtual queues to buy tickets only to find hiked prices as part of a "dynamic pricing" scheme, sparking probes into Ticketmaster over the sale.

* A New Mexico judge dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against actor Alec Baldwin, agreeing with his lawyers that prosecutors and police withheld evidence on the source of the live round that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when he pointed a gun at her on the set of Western "Rust" in 2021.

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months.

The film premiered at a low-key Polish film festival in November.

* Harvey Weinstein's 2020 conviction for sexual assault and rape was overturned by New York's highest court, reopening the landmark case that fueled the #MeToo movement.

* Singer Justin Timberlake pleaded guilty in a New York State court to a lesser traffic charge than drunk driving - driving while ability impaired - after he was arrested when police spotted him failing to obey a stop sign and veering off lane.

* Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter" became the first album by a Black woman to land at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.

* "Inside Out 2" became the highest-grossing animated film of all time, taking $1.698 billion at the global box office.

* The world said goodbye to: actors Donald Sutherland, James Earl Jones, Maggie Smith, Shannen Doherty, Carl Weathers and Louis Gossett Jr., music supremo Quincy Jones and singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson among others.

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Entertainment

‘Moana 2’ Rides Musical Wave of Pacific Culture and Creativity

US actress Auli'i Cravalho (L) and US actor Dwayne Johnson pose on the red carpet upon arrival for the UK Premier of "Moana 2", at the Cineworld, in Leicester Square, in central London, on November 24, 2024. (AFP)
US actress Auli'i Cravalho (L) and US actor Dwayne Johnson pose on the red carpet upon arrival for the UK Premier of "Moana 2", at the Cineworld, in Leicester Square, in central London, on November 24, 2024. (AFP)
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‘Moana 2’ Rides Musical Wave of Pacific Culture and Creativity

US actress Auli'i Cravalho (L) and US actor Dwayne Johnson pose on the red carpet upon arrival for the UK Premier of "Moana 2", at the Cineworld, in Leicester Square, in central London, on November 24, 2024. (AFP)
US actress Auli'i Cravalho (L) and US actor Dwayne Johnson pose on the red carpet upon arrival for the UK Premier of "Moana 2", at the Cineworld, in Leicester Square, in central London, on November 24, 2024. (AFP)

For Auli'i Cravalho, returning for the Walt Disney sequel film 'Moana 2" was a Hawaiian homecoming for both herself as an actor and for her character.

"Moana's journey will take her very far, but also that growth means coming back home and experiencing that with your community," the Hawaiian native told Reuters.

"Speaking of community, the connection of all of the people across the Pacific, this feels like a celebration of Pan Pacific, Pan Polynesian culture," she added.

For the cast and creators of "Moana 2," the project was not just professional, it was personal.

"It feels so incredible that my growth as a human seems to be juxtaposed with hers (Moana's)," Cravalho said.

"Moana 2," directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller, opens on Wednesday.

The Stagwell Group's entertainment and technology arm, National Research Group, predicts "Moana 2" will bring in $145 million over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend.

The film follows wayfinder Moana, who receives a sudden call from her wayfinding ancestors to travel the seas and break the curse of god Nalo, which prevents the people of various islands from reconnecting.

She forms her own crew, which reunites her with demigod Maui, played by Dwayne Johnson.

The music for the first "Moana" was written by "Encanto" songwriter Lin Manuel Miranda, while the sequel introduces the songwriting duo Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear.

The duo, which rose to prominence on TikTok, won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in 2022 for "The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical," attracting a lawsuit from Netflix. It also created an opportunity to take over the songs for the sequel.

While they wanted to "pay homage to the beautiful world" of the first "Moana" with the music, they also aimed to add their own "flair to it."

Part of the flair for the entire film was figuring out how to add even more Pacific Islander culture within all aspects of the sequel, which was key for the director trio.

"I think it's so special that we get to celebrate the Pacific in these films, and that we get to have a heroine who is just so compelling and empathetic and awesome and weird and goofy," said Ledoux Miller.

"I think we can see a little bit of ourselves in her," the Samoan director added, noting that many Pacific Islander communities have the same values of family and togetherness that Moana does.

For the directors, it was about going on a "new adventure with old friends" and striking a balance between familiarity and something brand new.

The film is highly anticipated after Disney's other 2024 animated sequel "Inside Out 2" crossed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office in less than three weeks of release, reaching that level in the fastest time of any animated film in history.

The first "Moana" found box office success as well, topping 2016 box office numbers by earning $81.1 million over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday period and $55.5 million for the weekend.