Not So Quiet on the BAFTA Front as Anti-war Remake Tops the Billing

US actress Jamie Lee Curtis poses on the red carpet upon arrival at the BAFTA British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centrer, in London, on February 19, 2023. (AFP)
US actress Jamie Lee Curtis poses on the red carpet upon arrival at the BAFTA British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centrer, in London, on February 19, 2023. (AFP)
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Not So Quiet on the BAFTA Front as Anti-war Remake Tops the Billing

US actress Jamie Lee Curtis poses on the red carpet upon arrival at the BAFTA British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centrer, in London, on February 19, 2023. (AFP)
US actress Jamie Lee Curtis poses on the red carpet upon arrival at the BAFTA British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centrer, in London, on February 19, 2023. (AFP)

A German remake of anti-war classic "All Quiet on the Western Front" leads the contenders at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, the country's highest accolade for the industry.

Based on the 1928 novel by German author Erich Maria Remarque about the horrors of World War One from the perspective of a young German soldier, the Netflix drama overtook other award season favorites to gather 14 nominations.

It will compete for the night's top prize - best film - alongside dark comedy "The Banshees of Inisherin", the biopic "Elvis", dimension-hopping "Everything Everywhere All At Once" and music drama "Tár".

"Banshees", about two feuding friends on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, and "Everything Everywhere" each have received 10 nominations.

The latter's Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert were named the best film directors of 2022 at the Directors Guild of America awards on Saturday.

Competition is tight in the leading actor category, which includes "Banshees"'s Colin Farrell, Brendan Fraser for "The Whale", in which he plays a sick obese man trying to reconnect with his daughter, as well as Austin Butler for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in "Elvis".

Bill Nighy ("Living"), Paul Mescal (Aftersun") and Daryl McCormack ("Good Luck to You, Leo Grande") complete the leading actor nominees list.

Michelle Yeoh, who has already won awards for her portrayal of a laundromat owner unexpectedly introduced to an alternate multiverse in "Everything Everywhere", and Cate Blanchett, who plays a conductor of a Berlin orchestra whose career comes tumbling down due to an abuse scandal in "Tár", are the two favorites for the leading actress prize.

Celebrities and Britain's Prince and Princess of Wales will attend the awards ceremony at London's Royal Festival Hall overlooking the River Thames.

One person who will stay away is Bulgarian investigative journalist Christo Grozev, who features in nominated documentary "Navalny" about jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny.

Grozev, whom Russia put on a wanted list in December, said on Twitter on Friday he and his family had been "banned by British police from attending".

"The reason stated: we 'represent a public security risk'," he wrote.

In response, London's Metropolitan's Police said "police do not and cannot ban anyone from attending a private event," adding that decisions on attendance were for event organizers.

"We cannot comment on the safety of an individual or the advice they may have been given," it said.

"However, the situation that journalists face around the world and the fact that some journalists face the hostile intentions of foreign states whilst in the UK is a reality that we are absolutely concerned with."

BAFTA Chief Executive Jane Millichip said while Grozev would not attend the ceremony, the film's nominated producers would.

"There's quite a party from the 'Navalny' doc coming," she told Reuters on the red carpet.



K-pop Stars BTS to Release Album in March Ahead of World Tour

Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea's tallest building in Seoul during New Year's Day celebrations on January 1, 2026. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea's tallest building in Seoul during New Year's Day celebrations on January 1, 2026. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
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K-pop Stars BTS to Release Album in March Ahead of World Tour

Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea's tallest building in Seoul during New Year's Day celebrations on January 1, 2026. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
Fireworks light up the midnight sky over the Lotte World Tower, South Korea's tallest building in Seoul during New Year's Day celebrations on January 1, 2026. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)

K-pop megastars BTS will release a new album in March ahead of a world tour, the group announced on Thursday.

South Korea's biggest musical act has been on self-described hiatus since 2022 as its members undertook national military service required of all men under the age of 30.

All seven members were discharged last year, and the group announced a comeback for the spring of 2026.

They confirmed on Thursday that they would release an album on March 20 before heading on tour, AFP reported.

The exact date was revealed in handwritten letters sent to paid members of the official BTS fan group, and later confirmed by their label Big Hit Music.

"I have been waiting more earnestly than anyone else," group leader RM wrote in the letter.

No further details about the album or tour were given.

The album will be BTS's first since the anthology "Proof" which became South Korea's bestselling record of 2022.

Before their military service, BTS generated more than 5.5 trillion won ($3.8 billion) in South Korea per year, according to the government-backed Korea Culture and Tourism Institute.

The figure is equivalent to roughly 0.2 percent of the country's total GDP.

BTS has expanded beyond their home nation to become a global musical phenomenon in recent years.

They hold the record as the most-streamed group on Spotify, and became the first K-pop act to top both the Billboard 200 and the Billboard Artist 100 charts in the United States.


‘Zootopia 2’ Breaks Record to Become Top-grossing Disney Animation Film

FILE PHOTO: Moviegoers hold character cutouts to pose for a photo at a movie theater on the release day of the movie Zootopia 2, in Shanghai, China, November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Moviegoers hold character cutouts to pose for a photo at a movie theater on the release day of the movie Zootopia 2, in Shanghai, China, November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo
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‘Zootopia 2’ Breaks Record to Become Top-grossing Disney Animation Film

FILE PHOTO: Moviegoers hold character cutouts to pose for a photo at a movie theater on the release day of the movie Zootopia 2, in Shanghai, China, November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Moviegoers hold character cutouts to pose for a photo at a movie theater on the release day of the movie Zootopia 2, in Shanghai, China, November 26, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo

Walt Disney Animation Studios' "Zootopia 2" surpassed 2019's "Frozen 2" to become its highest-grossing film ever, the company said on Wednesday, marking a bright spot in a year when global box office continues to trail pre-pandemic levels.

The animated sequel is the fifth Walt Disney Animation Studios film to cross $1 billion globally, ⁠grossing around $1.46 billion at the box office after its strong US Thanksgiving weekend opening, Reuters reported.

The film's success has been fueled by an extraordinary reception in China, where "Zootopia 2" has grossed over $560 million. ⁠The sequel dominated its opening weekend in China, capturing approximately 95% of all movie ticket sales.

"Zootopia 2" launched Hollywood's crucial holiday season with an estimated $556 million in global ticket sales in the opening weekend. The film reunites rabbit police officer Judy Hopps and her fox ⁠partner Nick Wilde in a new adventure through the bustling animal metropolis.

With global box office still falling short of pre-pandemic 2019 levels, the sequel's success has been a welcome relief to the studio and theater owners banking on packed shows during the year's second-busiest moviegoing season.


French Minister Criticizes Clooney’s ‘Double Standard’ Passport

France's junior Minister of the Interior Marie-Pierre Vedrenne reacts as she addresses MPs during a session to discuss France's social security budget (PLFSS) for 2026, at the National Assembly, French Parliament lower house, in Paris on November 5, 2025. (AFP)
France's junior Minister of the Interior Marie-Pierre Vedrenne reacts as she addresses MPs during a session to discuss France's social security budget (PLFSS) for 2026, at the National Assembly, French Parliament lower house, in Paris on November 5, 2025. (AFP)
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French Minister Criticizes Clooney’s ‘Double Standard’ Passport

France's junior Minister of the Interior Marie-Pierre Vedrenne reacts as she addresses MPs during a session to discuss France's social security budget (PLFSS) for 2026, at the National Assembly, French Parliament lower house, in Paris on November 5, 2025. (AFP)
France's junior Minister of the Interior Marie-Pierre Vedrenne reacts as she addresses MPs during a session to discuss France's social security budget (PLFSS) for 2026, at the National Assembly, French Parliament lower house, in Paris on November 5, 2025. (AFP)

A junior member of President Emmanuel Macron's government Wednesday criticized the French passports given to Hollywood superstar George Clooney despite him speaking poor French, saying the move suggested a "double standard".

The news of Clooney, his wife Amal Clooney and their two children becoming French comes ahead of language requirements for citizenship being toughened for everyone else under new immigration rules from January 1.

"Personally, I understand the feeling of some French people of a double standard," Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, a junior interior minister, told the France Info radio station.

"We need to be careful about the message we're sending."

Her boss, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, and the foreign ministry however defended the decision.

The civil code states that "French nationality may be conferred by naturalization, upon the proposal of the minister of foreign affairs, to any French-speaking foreigner who applies for it and who contributes through their distinguished service to France's influence and the prosperity of its international economic relations."

But the 64-year-old Oscar winner has admitted that his French remains poor despite hundreds of lessons.

Under the new immigration rules from Thursday, applicants will need a certificate showing they have a level of French that could get them into a French university. They will also have to pass a civic knowledge test.

Clooney has a property in southern France and said he has hailed French privacy laws that keep his family largely protected from international media intrusion.

"I love the French culture, your language, even if I'm still bad at it after 400 days of courses," the actor told RTL radio -- in English -- in December.

His wife, an international human rights lawyer and dual UK-Lebanese national, speaks fluent French.

- 'Meets the conditions' -

Clooney bought the Domaine du Canadel, a former wine estate, near the Provence town of Brignoles, in 2021. He said it is where his family is "happiest".

Nunez, the interior minister, said he was "very happy" with the actor and his family becoming French, saying the country was lucky to have them.

The French foreign ministry said the passport allocation for the Clooneys "meets the conditions set by law" for naturalization.

The family "followed a rigorous procedure including security investigations, regulatory naturalization interviews at the prefecture, and the payment of tax stamps," the ministry added.

It highlighted the Clooneys had a French home and they "contribute through their distinguished service to France's international influence and cultural prestige" through the actor's role in the film industry.

This "can only contribute to maintaining and promoting France's position in this essential economic sector", it said.

Amal Clooney is "a renowned lawyer" who "regularly collaborates with academic institutions and international organizations based in France," the ministry added.

Some 48,800 people acquired French nationality by decree in 2024, according to interior ministry figures.

Clooney is not alone in wanting a French passport.

Hollywood director Jim Jarmusch announced on Friday that he was also applying, telling French radio that he wanted "a place to where I can escape the United States".