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‘I Chose to Stay Away from Cinema,’ Dalia el-Behery Tells Asharq Al-Awsat

The jury of the Casablanca Arab Film Festival
The jury of the Casablanca Arab Film Festival
    Cairo - Intissar Dardir
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‘I Chose to Stay Away from Cinema,’ Dalia el-Behery Tells Asharq Al-Awsat

The jury of the Casablanca Arab Film Festival
The jury of the Casablanca Arab Film Festival

Egyptian actress Dalia el-Behery said the “My Very Beautiful Lady” play, which she is set to perform at the National theater during the winter season, has been her dream since she read the original novel in her childhood. During an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Behery explained that the new show differs from the play starred by the couple Fouad el-Mohandes and Shwikar. She also expressed her joy for partaking in the jury of the Feature Film Competition at the Casablanca Arab Film Festival, and noted that she looks forward to the 5th season of the comic series “Diaries of a Very Angry Wife”.

· How do you assess your recent participation in the jury of the Feature Film Competition at the Casablanca Arab Film Festival?

This is the first time I attend this festival upon the invitation of its director Fatima al-Nawali, a very respectful person who’s passionate of her work. I love the Moroccan cinema, and was thrilled with this participation, which was not my first experience as a juror, it’s the tenth maybe. I already partook in juries of the Cairo International Film Festival twice, in Damascus festival before it suspends, in Morocco’s Salé festival, and Aswan International Women's Film Festival.
· As an actress, how did you benefit from these participations?

They were beneficial on all levels. They allowed me to watch non-commercial movies that are screened only in festivals, meet young talents in all fields and cinema figures that I can only see in such events. In Casablanca, I met Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi, and Mohammad Kiblawi, director of Malmo Arab film Festival. These festivals are also beneficial on the artistic and human levels and can open new horizons.

· In your opinion, does a good movie has specific features?

A good movie gets everybody’s applaud. As a jury, we all agreed on the winning movies, mainly the Jordanian film “Farha”, which won the best film award for highlighting a humanitarian cause that touched us all with great acting and amazing cinematography. A good movie should be presented with an esteemed cinematic language that focuses on the image and performance more than the script, and this is why the film should be coherent and attract the spectators from the beginning until the end.

· You had many successful leading roles on the big screen including “The Embassy Next Door”, “Mohami Khulaa”, and “Harim Karim”. Why did you step away from cinema?

Because I respect the audience, myself, and my short journey during which I presented 12 movies. I don’t plan to partake in works that underestimate me, or make the audience respect me less. Recently, I was offered roles that don’t resemble me. I am not used to act just for appearances, or to make money. My roles should be valuable additions to my careers, and make me more proud of my work. Some don’t care about these things, and some have to accept such roles for living, but I am grateful I can say no.
· You started the rehearsals for “My Very Beautiful Lady” which you will perform on the national theater…what does this show represent to you?

I am thrilled to stand on the stage of the national theater, it will be a huge moment for me as an actress. As for the play, I loved it since I was a kid, we had the playscript of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion in my father’s library, and I always dreamed of performing it after I became an actress. Director Hassan Rizk offered me this role in his new play, and I always wished I could work with him because I am sure he can bring new energies in me as an actress.

· Does this mean that we will be watching another version of “Sodfa Baadeshi”?

No, “My Very Beautiful Lady” is not related to “Sodfa Baadeshi”, but it involves the same theme because they are both inspired by Shaw’s Pygmalion. A group of amazing actors will be performing the play alongside me in a comic, musical frame composed by musician Mahmoud Talaat. Luckily, I met Shwikar once, in the premiere of “First Year of Scam”. I sat next to her, and when she watched the movie, she told me that I have a Spanish style and hailed my performance.

· You made four seasons of the series “Diaries of a Very Angry Wife”. What about the fifth?

I heard of a fifth season, and I look forward to it. This series is one of the dearest works to my heart. It could continue for more seasons because it involves non-stop developments. The audience loved it, and it helped me gain more fans, especially among the younger generations who watched it.

· You started your journey as a TV personality, and many actors and actresses have worked as TV presenters after acting. Do you consider returning to TV?

I don’t mind the idea if it would bring me an added value. I presented all kinds of programs (politics, entertainment, and children content…). The most important thing is to make something new. I was recently offered to present a program, but it was aimed at making profit, and meant nothing to me.

· As a former Miss Egypt, how do you see beauty?

Beauty is a combination of factors including the physical features, classiness, culture, and intelligence. I partook many times as a juror in Miss Egypt, but I don’t understand why we call it “Beauty Queen”. The winner is “the lady of Egypt”, which means she’s the one with the perfect Egyptian characteristics, including the Egyptian look, fitness, respect of traditions, and culture. The good look is not everything. There are so many beautiful women who lose their beauty once they speak, or beautiful but lack intelligence.

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Perry Bamonte, Keyboardist and Guitarist for The Cure, Dies at 65

Perry Bamonte of The Cure performs at North Island Credit Union Amphitheater on May 20, 2023 in Chula Vista, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Perry Bamonte of The Cure performs at North Island Credit Union Amphitheater on May 20, 2023 in Chula Vista, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Perry Bamonte, Keyboardist and Guitarist for The Cure, Dies at 65

Perry Bamonte of The Cure performs at North Island Credit Union Amphitheater on May 20, 2023 in Chula Vista, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Perry Bamonte of The Cure performs at North Island Credit Union Amphitheater on May 20, 2023 in Chula Vista, California. (Getty Images/AFP)

Perry Bamonte, keyboardist and guitarist in The Cure, has died at 65, the English indie rock band confirmed through their official website on Friday.

In a statement, the band wrote that Bamonte died "after a short illness at home" on Christmas Day.

"It is with enormous sadness that ‌we confirm ‌the death of our ‌great ⁠friend and ‌bandmate Perry Bamonte who passed away after a short illness at home over Christmas," the statement said, adding he was a "vital part of The Cure story."

The statement said Bamonte was ⁠a full-time member of The Cure since 1990, ‌playing guitar, six-string bass, ‍and keyboards, and ‍performed in more than 400 shows.

Bamonte, ‍born in London, England, in 1960, joined the band's road crew in 1984, working alongside his younger brother Daryl, who worked as tour manager for The Cure.

Bamonte first worked as ⁠an assistant to co-founder and lead vocalist, Robert Smith, before becoming a full member after keyboardist Roger O'Donnell left the band in 1990.

Bamonte's first album with The Cure was "Wish" in 1992. He continued to work with them on the next three albums.

He also had various acting ‌roles in movies: "Judge Dredd,About Time" and "The Crow."

Entertainment

First Bond Game in a Decade Hit by Two-month Delay

'007 First Light' depicts a younger Bond earning his license to kill. Ina FASSBENDER / AFP
'007 First Light' depicts a younger Bond earning his license to kill. Ina FASSBENDER / AFP
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First Bond Game in a Decade Hit by Two-month Delay

'007 First Light' depicts a younger Bond earning his license to kill. Ina FASSBENDER / AFP
'007 First Light' depicts a younger Bond earning his license to kill. Ina FASSBENDER / AFP

A Danish video game studio said it was delaying the release of the first James Bond video game in over a decade by two months to "refine the experience".

Fans will now have to wait until May 27 to play "007 First Light" featuring Ian Fleming's world-famous spy, after IO Interactive said on Tuesday it was postponing the launch to add some final touches.

"007 First Light is our most ambitious project to date, and the team has been fully focused on delivering an unforgettable James Bond experience," the Danish studio wrote on X.

Describing the game as "fully playable", IO Interactive said the two additional months would allow their team "to further polish and refine the experience", giving players "the strongest possible version at launch".

The game, which depicts a younger Bond earning his license to kill, is set to feature "globe-trotting, spycraft, gadgets, car chases, and more", IO Interactive added.

It has been more than a decade since a video game inspired by Bond was released. The initial release date was scheduled for March 27.

Entertainment

Movie Review: An Electric Timothee Chalamet Is the Consummate Striver in Propulsive ‘Marty Supreme’

Timothee Chalamet attends the premiere of "Marty Supreme" at Regal Times Square on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in New York. (AP)
Timothee Chalamet attends the premiere of "Marty Supreme" at Regal Times Square on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in New York. (AP)
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Movie Review: An Electric Timothee Chalamet Is the Consummate Striver in Propulsive ‘Marty Supreme’

Timothee Chalamet attends the premiere of "Marty Supreme" at Regal Times Square on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in New York. (AP)
Timothee Chalamet attends the premiere of "Marty Supreme" at Regal Times Square on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in New York. (AP)

“Everybody wants to rule the world,” goes the Tears for Fears song we hear at a key point in “Marty Supreme,” Josh Safdie’s nerve-busting adrenaline jolt of a movie starring a never-better Timothee Chalamet.

But here’s the thing: everybody may want to rule the world, but not everybody truly believes they CAN. This, one could argue, is what separates the true strivers from the rest of us.

And Marty — played by Chalamet in a delicious synergy of actor, role and whatever fairy dust makes a performance feel both preordained and magically fresh — is a striver. With every fiber of his restless, wiry body. They should add him to the dictionary definition.

Needless to say, Marty is a New Yorker.

Also needless to say, Chalamet is a New Yorker.

And so is Safdie, a writer-director Chalamet has called “the street poet of New York.” So, where else could this story be set?

It’s 1952, on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Marty Mauser is a salesman in his uncle’s shoe store, escaping to the storeroom for a hot tryst with his (married) girlfriend. This witty opening sequence won’t be the only thing recalling “Uncut Gems,” co-directed by Safdie with his brother Benny before the two split for solo projects. That film, which feels much like the precursor to “Marty Supreme,” began as a trip through the shiny innards of a rare opal, only to wind up inside Adam Sandler’s colon, mid-colonoscopy.

Sandler’s Howard Ratner was a New York striver, too, but sadder, and more troubled. Marty is young, determined, brash — with an eye always to the future. He’s a great salesman: “I could sell shoes to an amputee,” he boasts, crassly. But what he’s plotting to unveil to the world has nothing to do with shoes. It’s about table tennis.

How likely is it that this Jewish kid from the Lower East Side can become the very face of a sport in America, soon to be “staring at you from the cover of a Wheaties box?”

To Marty, perfectly likely. Still, he knows nobody in the US cares about table tennis. He’s so determined to prove everyone wrong, starting at the British Open in London, that when there’s a snag obtaining cash for his trip, he brandishes a gun at a colleague to get it.

Shaking off that sorta-armed robbery thing, Marty arrives in London, where he fast-talks his way into a suite at the Ritz. Here, he spies fellow guest Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow, in a wise, stylish return to the screen), a former movie star married to an insufferable tycoon (“Shark Tank” personality Kevin O’Leary, one of many nonactors here.)

Kay’s skeptical, but Marty finds a way to woo her. Really, all he has to say is: “Come watch me.” Once she sees him play, she’s sneaking into his room in a lace corselet.

This would be a good time to stop and consider Chalamet’s subtly transformed appearance. He is stick-thin — duh, he never stops moving. His mustache is skimpy. His skin is acne-scarred — just enough to erase any movie-star sheen. Most strikingly, his eyes, behind the round spectacles, are beady — and smaller. Definitely not those movie-star eyes.

But then, nearly all the faces in “Marty Supreme” are extraordinary. In a movie with more than 100 characters, we have known actors (Fran Drescher, Abel Ferrara); nonacting personalities (O’Leary, and an excellent Tyler Okonma (Tyler, The Creator) as Marty’s friend Wally); and exciting newcomers like Odessa A’Zion as Marty’s feisty girlfriend Rachel.

There are also a slew of nonactors in small parts, plus cameos from the likes of David Mamet and even high wire artist Philippe Petit. The dizzying array makes one curious how it all came together — is casting director Jennifer Venditti taking interns? Production notes tell us that for one hustling scene at a bowling alley, young men were recruited from a sports trading-card convention.

Elsewhere on the creative team, composer Daniel Lopatin succeeds in channeling both Marty’s beating heart and the ricochet of pingpong balls in his propulsive score. The script by Safdie and cowriter Ronald Bronstein, loosely based on real-life table tennis hustler Marty Reisman, beats with its own, never-stopping pulse. The same breakneck aesthetic applies to camera work by Darius Khondji.

Back now to London, where Marty makes the finals against Japanese player Koto Endo (Koto Kawaguchi, like his character a deaf table tennis champion). “I’ll be dropping a third atom bomb on them,” he brags — not his only questionable World War II quip. But Endo, with his unorthodox paddle and grip, prevails.

After a stint as a side act with the Harlem Globetrotters, including pingpong games with a seal — you’ll have to take our word for this, folks, we’re running low on space — Marty returns home, determined to make the imminent world championships in Tokyo.

But he's in trouble — remember he took cash at gunpoint? Worse, he has no money.

So Marty’s on the run. And he’ll do anything, however messy or dangerous, to get to Japan. Even if he has to totally debase himself (mark our words), or endanger friends — or abandon loyal and brave Rachel.

Is there something else for Marty, besides his obsessive goal? If so, he doesn’t know it yet. But the lyrics of another song used in the film are instructive here: “Everybody’s got to learn sometime.”

So can a single-minded striver ultimately learn something new about his own life?

We'll have to see. As Marty might say: “Come watch me.”