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The Daniels Win the DGA’s Top Prize, an Oscar Bellwether

(L-R) Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, winners of the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film award for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” pose in the press room during the 75th Directors Guild of America Awards at The Beverly Hilton on February 18, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
(L-R) Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, winners of the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film award for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” pose in the press room during the 75th Directors Guild of America Awards at The Beverly Hilton on February 18, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
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The Daniels Win the DGA’s Top Prize, an Oscar Bellwether

(L-R) Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, winners of the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film award for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” pose in the press room during the 75th Directors Guild of America Awards at The Beverly Hilton on February 18, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
(L-R) Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, winners of the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film award for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” pose in the press room during the 75th Directors Guild of America Awards at The Beverly Hilton on February 18, 2023 in Beverly Hills, California. (Getty Images/AFP)

The Directors Guild of America handed its top prize for feature filmmaking to Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” putting them on course to win at the Academy Awards next month.

The 75th annual DGA Awards, held at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on Saturday evening, denied Steven Spielberg a record-extending four wins for the guild's top honor. Spielberg had once been expected to cruise through awards season with his autobiographical “The Fabelmans,” but the strong affection for “Everything Everywhere All at Once” — the Oscar favorite with a leading 11 nominations — has come to dominate Hollywood's Oscar run-up.

In the past 10 years, all but once has the DGA winner gone on to win at the Academy Awards. (In 2020, Sam Mendes won at the DGA for “1917,” while Bong Joon Ho won the Oscar for “Parasite.”) Last year, Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”) won at each. In 75 years, only 10 times have the DGA winner and the Oscar winner not aligned.

The other nominees were: Todd Field (“Tár”), Martin McDonagh (“The Banshees of Inisherin”) and Joseph Kosinski (“Top Gun: Maverick”). The same filmmakers are nominated for best director at the March 12 Oscars, with one exception. The academy picked Ruben Östlund (“Triangle of Sadness”) rather than Kosinski.

Kwan and Scheinert, the filmmaking pair known as “The Daniels,” are just the third duo to win the DGA's top award, following Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins for “West Side Story” (1961) and Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for “No Country for Old Men” (2007).

They're also uncommonly young (both are 35) and early in their careers (this is just their second feature film) to win with the guild — especially over a veteran like Spielberg. He holds the record for most DGA nominations with 13.

No women were nominated by the DGA or the film academy for best director this year. But both of the guild's other top awards went to female filmmakers.

Best first feature went to Charlotte Wells for the father-daughter drama “Aftersun.” Best documentary was awarded to Sara Dosa for “Fire of Love,” about an adventurous French volcanologist couple.

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Singer Julio Iglesias Accused of ‘Human Trafficking’ by Former Staff

Spanish singer Julio Iglesias sings during the Telethon television program in Paris on December 6, 2003. (AFP)
Spanish singer Julio Iglesias sings during the Telethon television program in Paris on December 6, 2003. (AFP)
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Singer Julio Iglesias Accused of ‘Human Trafficking’ by Former Staff

Spanish singer Julio Iglesias sings during the Telethon television program in Paris on December 6, 2003. (AFP)
Spanish singer Julio Iglesias sings during the Telethon television program in Paris on December 6, 2003. (AFP)

A criminal complaint filed by two former employees of veteran Spanish singer Julio Iglesias accuses him of "human trafficking" and "forced labor", according to advocacy groups supporting the women.

The women allege they suffered sexual and other forms of abuse while working at Iglesias's properties in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas in 2021, Women's Link Worldwide and Amnesty International said late Tuesday.

The organizations said a complaint filed with Spanish prosecutors on January 5 outlined alleged acts that could be considered "a crime of human trafficking for the purpose of forced labor" and "crimes against sexual freedom".

Iglesias subjected them to "sexual harassment, regularly checked their mobile phones, restricted their ability to leave the home where they worked, and required them to work up to 16 hours a day without days off," according to testimony collected by the two groups.

One of the women, a Dominican identified as Rebeca, who was 22 at the time of the alleged incidents, said she spoke out to seek justice and set an example for other employees of the singer.

"I want to tell them to be strong, to raise their voices, to remember he is not invincible," she said, according to a statement by Women's Link.

The allegations were first detailed in an investigation published Tuesday by US television network Univision and Spanish newspaper elDiario.es.

Spain's Equality Minister, Ana Redondo, has called for "a full investigation" into the allegations.

Iglesias, 82, is one of the most successful Latin artists of all time. Best known for his romantic ballads, he enjoyed huge success during the 1970s and 1980s and has recorded with US artists including Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and Willie Nelson.

Iglesias has not publicly responded to the allegations.

Entertainment

K-Pop Heartthrobs BTS to Kick Off World Tour in April

Pedestrians walk along the stairs displayed with the BTS logo and release date of BTS' 2026 album at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on January 14, 2026. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk along the stairs displayed with the BTS logo and release date of BTS' 2026 album at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on January 14, 2026. (AFP)
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K-Pop Heartthrobs BTS to Kick Off World Tour in April

Pedestrians walk along the stairs displayed with the BTS logo and release date of BTS' 2026 album at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on January 14, 2026. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk along the stairs displayed with the BTS logo and release date of BTS' 2026 album at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on January 14, 2026. (AFP)

K-pop megastars BTS will kick off their first world tour in four years in April, their label said on Wednesday, part of a hotly-anticipated comeback following a hiatus for the South Koreans whose music has become a global phenomenon.

BTS -- known for funky and fun hits like "Dynamite" and "Butter" -- hold the record as the most-streamed group on Spotify and are the first K-pop act to have topped both the Billboard 200 and the Billboard Artist 100 charts in the United States.

But the Bulletproof Boy Scouts -- as their name means in Korean -- haven't toured or released music since 2022 as they underwent the national military service required of all South Korean men under the age of 30.

Now that all seven members have completed their military service the band's label announced on New Year's Day they would release a new album in March before heading on tour the following month.

Spanning 34 cities with 79 performances, it will be the largest-ever single tour by a K-pop group in terms of total shows and the "widest regional reach for a South Korean artist," according to the band's agency, HYBE.

The world tour will kick off in South Korea's Goyang on April 9, with two additional concerts in the city before moving on to neighboring Japan.

They will then head to the United States and Europe, with the tour ending in March 2027 in Manila.

The band's label said that more cities will be announced, including additional stops in Japan and the Middle East.

Their new album -- as yet unnamed -- will be their first since the anthology "Proof", which became South Korea's bestselling record of 2022.

- 'Right kidney is waving' -

BTS's famously loyal fanbase -- known as ARMY -- reacted with elation at news of the world tour.

One fan wrote in response to the news on Facebook that to buy a ticket their "Right kidney is waving".

"Army hunger games are about to start," another wrote, drawing a comparison between fans trying to get tickets and a series of popular young adult novels in which contestants fight to the death.

BTS is big business in South Korea -- before their military service, they generated more than 5.5 trillion won ($3.7 billion) for the country per year, according to Seoul's Korea Culture and Tourism Institute.

The figure is equivalent to roughly 0.2 percent of South Korea's total GDP.

HYBE's shares traded higher at Wednesday's market open on news of their world tour, rising around three percent.

And investment bank IBK Securities on Wednesday projected the firm's operating profits this year would soar tenfold compared to 2025.

Entertainment

Nicolas Cage Film Stopped Amid Nazi Flag Concerns

Nicolas Cage is set to star in WWII espionage thriller Operation Fortitude (Getty Images) 
Nicolas Cage is set to star in WWII espionage thriller Operation Fortitude (Getty Images) 
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Nicolas Cage Film Stopped Amid Nazi Flag Concerns

Nicolas Cage is set to star in WWII espionage thriller Operation Fortitude (Getty Images) 
Nicolas Cage is set to star in WWII espionage thriller Operation Fortitude (Getty Images) 

The East London council shut down the production of an upcoming war film starring Nicolas Cage due to concerns over Nazi iconography, according to British METRO website.

The American Oscar-winning actor, 62, is due to star in Fortitude, a historical spy action-adventure film directed by Simon West.

Set during the Second World War, the film tells the true story of Operation Fortitude, which was undertaken by the Allied Forces in 1944 to deceive Nazi Germany leaders and mislead Nazi Intelligence.

British Intelligence operatives utilized unprecedented strategic operations such as double agents, fake armies, and military equipment to mislead the Nazis about the nature and timing of D-Day, the storming of Normandy.

Filming began in London on September 8, 2025, with other cast members including Matthew Goode, Ed Skrein, Alice Eve, Michael Sheen, and Ben Kingsley.

However, the crew encountered a hurdle when plans to shoot at Waltham Forest Town Hall fell through.

Set dressing would have included draping flags emblazoned with the swastika over the building.

While a filming permit was not formally granted and the council did not collect a fee for such, Waltham Forest Council initially signed off on the project under the conditions that residents would be consulted and “Nazi-era flags and symbols were not publicly visible.”

But production was “abruptly” brought forward to September, having originally been planned for October, meaning there was not enough time for consultation with locals.