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Dany Boon to Make First Film on Confinement During Pandemic

Dany Boon to Make First Film on Confinement During Pandemic
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Dany Boon to Make First Film on Confinement During Pandemic

Dany Boon to Make First Film on Confinement During Pandemic

The first film about confinement amid the pandemic is being written, and many other similar productions are expected to follow. The brain behind the idea is the French producer and actor Dany Boon known for his popular high-grossing movies. In an interview with the RTL television, he announced he is currently writing a movie about a residential building whose inhabitants are confined in order to avoid the Covid-19 infection.

Boon, 53, who was born to an Algerian father, is one of the most popular actors in France. In 2008, he starred and directed a movie named "Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis" (Welcome to the Sticks), which was seen by 20.5 million people, hitting an unprecedented number of views in the history of French cinema.

During the interview, Boon said the confinement weeks inspired him to make a new movie, and that he and his wife Laurence Arné are currently working on the script. They are taking advantage of their free time to create a fruitful work, he explained. The French director said he was surprised he managed to accept isolation and adapt to it in an unexpected way especially that his life was all about travel, work, festivals, and big events. Earlier this year, right before the coronavirus outbreak, he partook in the "Festival du film de comédie de l'Alpe d'Huez 2020", during which he introduced his latest movie "Le Lion" (The Lion).

Boon was also prepping to shoot a new movie this summer named "The Palm", however, the pandemic made him postpone the project and gave him a new idea. Like any other citizen in this world, the actor has spent confinement weeks with his small family waiting for life to return to normal, despite the persisting concerns linked to the virus.

The new movie highlights the daily life issues of the inhabitants of a Parisian residential building who found themselves banned from leaving their apartments. Each one of them has his own story, from the owners of small shops on the ground floor to the low-income residents living in the small rooms on the roof. The shooting is set to kick off once the lockdown ends, so the movie becomes ready for screening before the end of 2020.

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Varieties

Moto Guzzi’s Renovated Lake Como Headquarters Welcomes Motorcycle-Bound Aficionados

Riders and visitors enjoy Guzzi motorcycles displayed at the museum during the Guzzi opening inaugurating its completely redeveloped historic factory and new museum as the motorcycle maker celebrates its 105th anniversary, in Mandello del Lario, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (AP)
Riders and visitors enjoy Guzzi motorcycles displayed at the museum during the Guzzi opening inaugurating its completely redeveloped historic factory and new museum as the motorcycle maker celebrates its 105th anniversary, in Mandello del Lario, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (AP)
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Moto Guzzi’s Renovated Lake Como Headquarters Welcomes Motorcycle-Bound Aficionados

Riders and visitors enjoy Guzzi motorcycles displayed at the museum during the Guzzi opening inaugurating its completely redeveloped historic factory and new museum as the motorcycle maker celebrates its 105th anniversary, in Mandello del Lario, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (AP)
Riders and visitors enjoy Guzzi motorcycles displayed at the museum during the Guzzi opening inaugurating its completely redeveloped historic factory and new museum as the motorcycle maker celebrates its 105th anniversary, in Mandello del Lario, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. (AP)

After extensive renovation by the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Moto Guzzi, aficionados this year had fresh reasons for a pilgrimage to the lakeside spot where their beloved two-cylinder bikes are hand-built.

Thousands of Moto Guzzi riders pulled up Saturday for an annual gathering and informal ride along the winding lakeside roads. They started arriving on Thursday for the unveiling of the headquarters, new museum and expanded factory on the shores of northern Italy’s Lake Como.

The headquarters, nestled between a mountainside and the lakeshore, received an additional 5,500 square meters (nearly 60,000 square feet) for factory space and the museum that honors the iconic brand that has been owned by Vespa-maker Piaggio since 2004. Works took five years and cost more than 50 million euros ($58 million).

Timothy Bennett, who lives in the US state of Georgia, was making his second trip to the headquarters after attending a toned-down 100th anniversary celebration during the pandemic. His first Moto Guzzi — made distinctive by its dual cylinders projecting from either side of the bike — was an 850-T, and now he owns a 2018 California 1400 Touring.

“I’ve owned a Moto Guzzi since my 20s,” said Bennett, 58. “The first time I saw one in a magazine, I thought it looked very interesting. And then I went ahead and saved up some money and bought a used one, and fell in love.”

This year, Bennett and other visitors to the World Guzzi Days could peek through new observation points to see workers hand-assembling the motorcycles, just as they have for 105 years. The company prides itself on its processes.

“Moto Guzzi is handmade, it is an artisanal product, it’s a piece of art,” said Matteo Boddi, head of manufacturing for the Piaggio Group. “And we never substitute automation for this core part. Automation is for safety and for sustainability.”

The new factory includes the addition of an automation belt to move parts and engines through the factories and robotics to transport the finished motorcycles for their final test. The factory expansion potentially doubles the maximum production to 30,000 motorcycles a year.

“We tried to make an accessible place both for passionate motorcyclists and people who are just curious about motorcycles being made in Italy, on Lake Como, and may never even have heard of Moto Guzzi before,” said US architect Greg Lynn.

Celebrity spottings and weddings have long been a pastime at Lake Como, known for its majestic views of the Alps. The lake is featured in the James Bond film Casino Royale, and George Clooney owns a villa on its shore. But that glitz isn't why the Moto Guzzi fans turn out in droves.

Roland Rampnoux has been visiting the factory regularly since 1980 and belongs to a 150-strong Moto Guzzi club in Paris. He was impressed by the factory, but his interest was mostly in the bikes and the camaraderie.

“I like the mentality of the people who ride them,” Rampnoux said. “When you see a Moto Guzzi it is immediately recognizable. It is a legendary brand.”

Varieties

Sydney Sweats in Spring Hot Spell, Faces ‘Extreme’ Bushfire Risk

A ferry passes in front of apartments in Sydney, Australia, August 18, 2026. (Reuters)
A ferry passes in front of apartments in Sydney, Australia, August 18, 2026. (Reuters)
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Sydney Sweats in Spring Hot Spell, Faces ‘Extreme’ Bushfire Risk

A ferry passes in front of apartments in Sydney, Australia, August 18, 2026. (Reuters)
A ferry passes in front of apartments in Sydney, Australia, August 18, 2026. (Reuters)

Australia's most ‌populous city Sydney baked in a burst of sweltering spring heat on Saturday, raising the risk of bushfires and prompting authorities to issue a ban on lighting fires.

The heat comes as a powerful El Nino weather pattern in the Pacific, expected to be among the strongest in decades, drives hotter and drier ‌conditions across ‌southern Australia during the September-November spring ‌season.

On ⁠Saturday, the nation's ⁠weather forecaster said temperatures in the New South Wales capital, home to 5.6 million people, were set to hit 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 degrees Fahrenheit), nearly 13C above average.

At Sydney Airport, the temperature ⁠was already 28.6C (83.48F) at 11:30 ‌a.m. (0130 GMT)local ‌time, more than seven degrees above the September mean ‌maximum temperature, according to forecaster data.

"Fresh ‌to strong and gusty northwesterly winds developing during the morning, combined with dry, unseasonably warm conditions, will result in elevated fire dangers ‌across the Greater Sydney Region today," the forecaster said.

State fire authorities ⁠issued ⁠a total fire ban for Sydney where they rated fire risk as "extreme", the second highest danger rating.

Climate change is causing extreme heat and fire weather to become more common in Australia, a bushfire-prone country of around 27 million. In January, thousands of firefighters battled bushfires in the southeast that razed homes, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swathes of bushland.

Varieties

How Haze from Indonesian Fires Impacts Southeast Asia

This aerial photo taken from a commercial plane shows haze from Indonesian forest fires blanketing a residential district in Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak state on the island of Borneo on September 5, 2026. (AFP)
This aerial photo taken from a commercial plane shows haze from Indonesian forest fires blanketing a residential district in Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak state on the island of Borneo on September 5, 2026. (AFP)
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How Haze from Indonesian Fires Impacts Southeast Asia

This aerial photo taken from a commercial plane shows haze from Indonesian forest fires blanketing a residential district in Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak state on the island of Borneo on September 5, 2026. (AFP)
This aerial photo taken from a commercial plane shows haze from Indonesian forest fires blanketing a residential district in Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak state on the island of Borneo on September 5, 2026. (AFP)

Thick smog has blanketed parts of Indonesia as the vast archipelago for weeks battles to contain fires that have burned large swathes of Borneo and Sumatra.

The hazardous smoke has led to an increase in respiratory problems, forced schools to close, and has been drifting to neighbouring countries including -- Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines.

Here's what to know:

- Where are the fires? -

Most of the fires are concentrated on Borneo island, home to vast tropical jungle that Indonesia shares with Brunei and Malaysia, as well as Sumatra.

So far this year, nearly 300,000 hectares of land have burned in Indonesia, according to an independent estimate from the Nusantara Atlas portal.

Indonesia saw an uptick in carbon emissions since late July, and by the end of last month the levels were comparable to previous El Nino years of 2015 and 2019, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) senior scientist Mark Parrington told AFP.

"We're seeing already now... really extreme fire emissions comparable to those previous strong El Nino years, and also the extent of the smoke and the haze and the air quality impacts," Parrington said.

Fires in the archipelago have released more than 23 million metric tons of carbon emissions between August 28 and September 3, according to CAMS' Fire Emission Watch portal.

It was higher than 20.7 million metric tons of emissions from fires over the same period in 2015, which was a strong El Nino year.

- What causes the fires? -

Analysts said that the El Nino weather phenomenon, which the United Nations said this week could turn out to be the strongest in four decades, has contributed to creating drier conditions in Indonesia and made it easier for fires to spread.

But slash-and-burn land-clearing practices also contributed to the damage, said David Gaveau, founder of the Nusantara Atlas.

"El Nino does not ignite fires. It creates the dry conditions that allow human-started fires to escape and become very large," he told AFP.

The fires are difficult to extinguish because many occurred on peatlands, a wetland ecosystem with layers of partially decomposed organic materials that become flammable when dry.

Between January and August this year, more than 210,000 hotspots were detected in peatland areas across the country, according to NGO Pantau Gambut.

"Peat is a naturally wet ecosystem and stores large amounts of organic material. When peat is drained, this organic material is converted into fuel," Pantau Gambut spokesman Wahyu Perdana said.

- What is the impact? -

More than five million people across Borneo and Sumatra are directly exposed to the health risks from haze, deputy health minister Dante Saksono Harbuwono said last month.

Over 1.4 million students were attending classes remotely, with many schools closed due to worsening air quality, an education ministry official said this week.

In Malaysia, soaring pollution levels prompted the government on Friday to declare an emergency in a region of the Sarawak state in Borneo, with nearly 650 schools closed next week.

In the Philippines, air quality was slowly returning to normal after a week of reaching "very unhealthy" and "severely unhealthy" PM 2.5 levels that saw officials shutter schools in cities and provinces citing the drifting haze.

The haze also drove air quality in Singapore's central region to an "unhealthy" level on Friday, the country's National Environment Agency data showed.