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Universal to Open First European Theme Park Near London

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech about the building in the UK of the first Universal theme park and resort in Europe by US media giant Comcast Corp during a visit to Bedford, north of London, on April 9, 2025. (AFP)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech about the building in the UK of the first Universal theme park and resort in Europe by US media giant Comcast Corp during a visit to Bedford, north of London, on April 9, 2025. (AFP)
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Universal to Open First European Theme Park Near London

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech about the building in the UK of the first Universal theme park and resort in Europe by US media giant Comcast Corp during a visit to Bedford, north of London, on April 9, 2025. (AFP)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech about the building in the UK of the first Universal theme park and resort in Europe by US media giant Comcast Corp during a visit to Bedford, north of London, on April 9, 2025. (AFP)

US media giant Comcast Corp has chosen an area north of London for its first Universal theme park and resort in Europe, pledging to build rides and attractions based on its movie franchises that it hopes will rival Disneyland Paris.

The group, which owns the Jurassic Park and Back to the Future movie franchises and the Harry Potter theme park license, said the park in Bedford would create 20,000 jobs during construction and a further 8,000 across the hospitality and creative industries when it opens in 2031.

It is expected to attract 8.5 million visitors in its first year, a number currently only exceeded in Europe by Disneyland Paris to the east of the French capital.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and finance minister Rachel Reeves joined Comcast bosses to announce the theme park on Wednesday.

"This will drive growth here and across the country," Starmer said.

The Labor government has pledged to boost investment in infrastructure since it was elected last year, and Britain's economy needs fresh momentum after the highest tax-raising budget since 1993 in October dented business confidence.

The government has pledged to speed up planning decisions and the announcement comes after it approved the expansion of Luton Airport, which is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the Universal site, boosting the area's international connectivity.

"This (theme park) is our 'Plan for Change' in action, bringing investment, bringing opportunity, growth, jobs and, of course, joy to Britain," Starmer said.

Universal has five resorts and parks, in the US states of California and Florida as well as in Singapore, Japan and China, offering rides and attractions based on its movie franchises.

Plans for the new site include a park, featuring several themed lands, a 500-room hotel and a retail, dining and entertainment complex.

Comcast President Mike Cavanagh showed Starmer the plan in London on Tuesday, saying he "could not be more excited" to create a Universal theme park and resort in the heart of the United Kingdom.

Comcast bought a 500-acre former brickworks in Bedfordshire, about 55 miles north of London, in 2023 and had been in talks with the government since last year. It already owns Sky, which is Europe's biggest pay-TV business.

The theme park and resort are subject to planning permission, the government said.

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Entertainment

‘The Four Seasons’ Star Tina Fey Says Old Friends Are Gold

Cast members Tina Fey and Will Forte attend a premiere for season 2 of the television series "The Four Seasons" at the Egyptian Theatre Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, US, May 19, 2026. (Reuters)
Cast members Tina Fey and Will Forte attend a premiere for season 2 of the television series "The Four Seasons" at the Egyptian Theatre Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, US, May 19, 2026. (Reuters)
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‘The Four Seasons’ Star Tina Fey Says Old Friends Are Gold

Cast members Tina Fey and Will Forte attend a premiere for season 2 of the television series "The Four Seasons" at the Egyptian Theatre Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, US, May 19, 2026. (Reuters)
Cast members Tina Fey and Will Forte attend a premiere for season 2 of the television series "The Four Seasons" at the Egyptian Theatre Hollywood in Los Angeles, California, US, May 19, 2026. (Reuters)

American actress Tina Fey hopes the latest installment of Netflix comedy "The Four Seasons" will inspire viewers to pick up the phone and check in with old friends.

"Lifelong friendships are what really hold it together," Fey told AFP at a premier for the new season, which drops on May 28.

"It's great to be married but you also meet your friends to keep the married people safe," she said from the red carpet at Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre.

"The Four Seasons," which first premiered a year ago, is based on the Alan Alda film of the same name that follows a group of friends as they navigate life's challenges.

The new season will take the group -- played by Fey, Colman Domingo, Will Forte, Marco Calvani, Kerri Kenney-Silver and Erika Henningsen -- on an adventure through Italy as they deal with the death of their friend Nick (Steve Carell).

The group's on-screen connection extends to the real world, cast members said.

"We are friends in real life as well... I think you feel that, I think it comes off the screen," Kenney-Silver said, adding that "the universal story of friendship" is key to the show's success.

While the show sees the friends -- who stay in touch via group chat even when they are not filming -- face the challenges of adulthood, they believe it has the potential to attract a multigenerational audience.

"We're a bunch of oldies, but everyone gets stressed, everyone suffers loss and gets sad, everyone's happy, everyone has people in their life they love and people who annoy them," Forte said.

"So, you know, it's all relatable stuff."

"Even if you're not the age we are, we're like a museum piece," the actor added. "Check out these old artifacts, learn something."

Entertainment

Actor Jon Voight Met with Trump to Advocate for Hollywood Tax Incentives

Cast member Jon Voight attends a premiere for the film "Reagan" at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California, US, August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni Purchase Licensing Rights
Cast member Jon Voight attends a premiere for the film "Reagan" at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California, US, August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni Purchase Licensing Rights
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Actor Jon Voight Met with Trump to Advocate for Hollywood Tax Incentives

Cast member Jon Voight attends a premiere for the film "Reagan" at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California, US, August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni Purchase Licensing Rights
Cast member Jon Voight attends a premiere for the film "Reagan" at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California, US, August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni Purchase Licensing Rights

Actor Jon Voight met with President Donald Trump earlier this year to advocate for a federal tax credit intended to help boost film and TV production in the United States, representatives of the actor said on Monday.

The previously undisclosed meeting at the White House on February 11 is part of a Hollywood effort to secure federal assistance to fight the flight of production overseas, Reuters reported.

When asked about the meeting, a White House spokesperson said Trump "is committed to Make Hollywood Great Again, and his administration continues to explore all possible policy options to ensure Hollywood remains a potent force of American culture.”

Trump named Voight, who rose to fame following ‌his role ‌in the 1969 film "Midnight Cowboy," as one of three special ambassadors ‌to ⁠Hollywood along with ⁠Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson in January 2025.

To fight an exodus of entertainment production abroad, Voight is working with a coalition that includes the Motion Picture Association, the Directors Guild of America and unions representing actors, writers and other talent.

SP Media Group CEO Steven Paul, a film producer and Voight's agent, and SP Media President Scott Karol have proposed a 20% federal tax credit for labor ⁠costs on a film or television production in the United ‌States.

An additional 5% could be earned for ‌independent films or for filming in a disaster zone or a defined “enterprise zone.” Those credits ‌could be used in tandem with state incentives.

The goal is to ‌make the cost of domestic production competitive with Britain and other places around the world that offer tax credits, lower labor costs and world-class soundstages.

Overseas incentives have been luring movie and TV producers to locations outside the United States for years. Filming in the US ‌declined 10% in the first quarter, compared with a year ago, according to ProdPro, which tracks worldwide film ⁠and television production.

The United ⁠States accounted for roughly 38% of film and television work in the first quarter of the year, while the United Kingdom and Canada together represented nearly one-third of global production, ProdPro reported.

In September 2025, Trump floated the idea of a 100% tariff on movies made abroad as a way to bring production back to the United States. Industry advocates welcomed Trump's desire to fight production flight but have urged the president to support tax incentives.

California more than doubled its annual tax incentives for film and television production in June 2025 to $750 million. Early results show the effort helped bring some projects back to Hollywood. Shoot days in Los Angeles rose nearly 11% in the first quarter of this year, according to permitting agency FilmLA.

Entertainment

Kylie Minogue Looks Back on Life in Pop Music in New Documentary

Kylie Minogue arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party after the 96th Academy Awards, known as the Oscars, in Beverly Hills, California, US, March 10, 2024. (Reuters)
Kylie Minogue arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party after the 96th Academy Awards, known as the Oscars, in Beverly Hills, California, US, March 10, 2024. (Reuters)
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Kylie Minogue Looks Back on Life in Pop Music in New Documentary

Kylie Minogue arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party after the 96th Academy Awards, known as the Oscars, in Beverly Hills, California, US, March 10, 2024. (Reuters)
Kylie Minogue arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party after the 96th Academy Awards, known as the Oscars, in Beverly Hills, California, US, March 10, 2024. (Reuters)

Kylie Minogue opens ‌up about her life in pop music for new documentary "KYLIE", looking back on her career as well as the personal challenges she has faced, such as the scrutiny when she was starting out and overcoming breast cancer.

The three-part series, which premieres on Netflix on Wednesday, sees the "Spinning Around" and "Padam Padam" singer share videos and photos from her personal archive and talk about her rise to stardom.

“Oh, there were surprises ‌left, right and ‌center, like 'Ooh, er, no, yes, ‌that ⁠was good. That ⁠should never have happened'. Like, there was worlds within worlds within worlds of the archive," Minogue told Reuters on making the docuseries.

"A nice surprise is that I can kind of recognize myself from the beginning ... I don't know that I've changed that ⁠much. My level of experience has changed... ‌But I can see ... ‌the seed of who I was and I think that's ‌really moving."

Minogue, 57, first starred on Australian ‌soap "Neighbours" in the 1980s before kicking off her music career with hits such as "The Loco-Motion" and "I Should Be So Lucky". She has gone on to sell more than 80 ‌million records worldwide and has won numerous awards, including two Grammys.

In the docuseries, she ⁠talks ⁠about success but also about the scrutiny and criticism she faced early in her career, being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, as well as her personal relationships. There are also interviews with her sister, singer Dannii Minogue, her former "Neighbours" co-star Jason Donovan and singer Nick Cave.

"I just go with my gut. I go with what's inspiring me at the time. I think whatever I do depends on what I've done previously," she said on reinventing herself during her career.