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Lady Gaga, Joaquin Phoenix Bring 'Joker: Folie à Deux’ to Venice Film Festival

People wait for actors to arrive for the screening of the movie "Joker: Folie a Deux", in competition, at the 81st Venice Film Festival, Venice, Italy, September 4, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
People wait for actors to arrive for the screening of the movie "Joker: Folie a Deux", in competition, at the 81st Venice Film Festival, Venice, Italy, September 4, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
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Lady Gaga, Joaquin Phoenix Bring 'Joker: Folie à Deux’ to Venice Film Festival

People wait for actors to arrive for the screening of the movie "Joker: Folie a Deux", in competition, at the 81st Venice Film Festival, Venice, Italy, September 4, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
People wait for actors to arrive for the screening of the movie "Joker: Folie a Deux", in competition, at the 81st Venice Film Festival, Venice, Italy, September 4, 2024. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki

The Venice Film Festival is getting ready to welcome Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix for the world premiere of “Joker: Folie à Deux” Wednesday evening.
Todd Phillips’ film is one of the most highly anticipated of the festival, playing in the official competition five years after “Joker” won the Golden Lion. Warner Bros. is giving the dark comic book film the glitzy festival treatment before it’s released in theaters in October.
“Joker: Folie à Deux” finds’ Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck institutionalized at Arkham and awaiting trial for his crimes. There he meets Gaga’s Harley Quinn, The Associated Press.
“We knew we had to swing for the fences; we wanted to create something as crazy and fearless as Joker himself,” Phillips wrote in his directors’ statement. “So, Scott Silver and I wrote a script that delved further into the idea of identity. Who is Arthur Fleck? And where does the music inside him come from?”
The Joker sequel is competing for the festival’s main prizes against the likes of Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Room Next Door,”Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer,”Pablo Larraín’s “Maria” and Halina Reijn’s “Babygirl.” Awards will be presented on the final day of the festival, Sept. 7.
In a lineup full of major Hollywood stars, including the likes of Angelina Jolie, George Clooney and Brad Pitt, there is also quite a bit of excitement about what Gaga might wear.
Six years ago, for “A Star Is Born,” she played the part of movie star perfectly, with grand looks and entrances that gave the festival some of its most iconic shots this century. Remember her perched on the side of the private water taxi in that black Jonathan Simkhai bustier dress, blowing kisses to fans and photographers? Later, for the red carpet, she wore a show-stopping pale pink feathered Valentino Couture gown that seemed to pop even more against the rainy backdrop.

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Entertainment

France Split over Bardot Tribute

Portraits of late French actress Brigitte Bardot and flowers are displayed on barriers at the entrance of "La Madrague" house, property of late Brigitte Bardot in Saint-Tropez, southeastern France on December 28, 2025. (AFP)
Portraits of late French actress Brigitte Bardot and flowers are displayed on barriers at the entrance of "La Madrague" house, property of late Brigitte Bardot in Saint-Tropez, southeastern France on December 28, 2025. (AFP)
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France Split over Bardot Tribute

Portraits of late French actress Brigitte Bardot and flowers are displayed on barriers at the entrance of "La Madrague" house, property of late Brigitte Bardot in Saint-Tropez, southeastern France on December 28, 2025. (AFP)
Portraits of late French actress Brigitte Bardot and flowers are displayed on barriers at the entrance of "La Madrague" house, property of late Brigitte Bardot in Saint-Tropez, southeastern France on December 28, 2025. (AFP)

French politicians were divided on Monday over how to pay tribute to the late Brigitte Bardot, who despite her screen legend courted controversy and convictions in later life with her far-right views.

The film star died on Sunday aged 91 at home in the south of France. Media around the globe splashed iconic images of her and tributes following the announcement.

Bardot shot to fame in 1956 and went on to appear in about 50 films, but turned her back on cinema in 1973 to throw herself into fighting for animal rights.

Her links to the far-right stirred controversy however.

Bardot was convicted five times for hate speech, mostly about Muslims, but also the inhabitants of the French island of Reunion whom she described as "savages".

She slipped away before dawn on Sunday morning with her fourth husband Bernard d'Ormale, a former adviser to the far right, by her side.

"She whispered a word of love to him ... and she was gone," Bruno Jacquelin, a representative of her foundation for animals, told BFM television.

- 'Cynicism' -

President Emmanuel Macron hailed the actor as a "legend" of the 20th century cinema who "embodied a life of freedom".

Far-right figures were among the first to mourn her.

Marine le Pen, whose National Rally party is riding high in polls called her "incredibly French: free, untamable, whole".

Bardot backed Le Pen for president in 2012 and 2017, and described her as a modern "Joan of Arc" she hoped could "save" France.

Conservative politician Eric Ciotti suggested a national farewell like one organized for French rock legend Johnny Hallyday who died in 2017.

He launched a petition online that had garnered just over 7,000 signatures on Monday.
But few left-wing politicians have spoken about Bardot's passing.

"Brigitte Bardot was a towering figure, a symbol of freedom, rebellion, and passion," Philippe Brun, a senior Socialist party deputy, told Europe 1 radio.

"We are sad she is gone," he said, adding he did not oppose a national homage.

But he did hint at her controversial political views.

"As for her political commitments, there will be time enough -- in the coming days and weeks -- to talk about them," he said.

Communist party leader Fabien Roussel called Bardot a divisive figure.

But "we all agree French cinema created BB and that she made it shine throughout the world," he wrote on X.

Greens lawmaker Sandrine Rousseau was more critical.

"To be moved by the fate of dolphins but remain indifferent to the deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean -- what level of cynicism is that?" she quipped on BlueSky.

- Garden burial? -

Bardot said she wanted to be buried in her garden with a simple wooden cross above her grave -- just like for her animals -- and wanted to avoid "a crowd of idiots" at her funeral.

Such a burial is possible in France if local authorities grant permission.

Born on September 28, 1934 in Paris, Bardot was raised in a well-off traditional Catholic household.

Married four times, she had one child, Nicolas-Jacques Charrier, with her second husband, actor Jacques Charrier.

After quitting the cinema, Bardot withdrew to her home in the Saint-Tropez to devote herself to animal rights.

Her calling apparently came when she encountered a goat on the set of her final film, "The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot". To save it from being killed, she bought the animal and kept it in her hotel room.

"I'm very proud of the first chapter of my life," she told AFP in a 2024 interview ahead of her 90th birthday.

"It gave me fame, and that fame allows me to protect animals -- the only cause that truly matters to me."

Entertainment

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.