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Pharrell Williams to Bring Star Power to Web Summit Tech Event

File photo: Pharrell Williams upon arrival at the Louis Vuitton Foundation on the eve of Paris Olympics opening ceremony, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP)
File photo: Pharrell Williams upon arrival at the Louis Vuitton Foundation on the eve of Paris Olympics opening ceremony, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP)
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Pharrell Williams to Bring Star Power to Web Summit Tech Event

File photo: Pharrell Williams upon arrival at the Louis Vuitton Foundation on the eve of Paris Olympics opening ceremony, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP)
File photo: Pharrell Williams upon arrival at the Louis Vuitton Foundation on the eve of Paris Olympics opening ceremony, at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP)

Singer Pharrell Williams is due to kick off one of Europe's biggest tech events on Monday, the Web Summit in Lisbon, with organizers keen to move on from last year's edition when several big firms pulled out.
The event will bring together some 70,000 attendees with more than 3,000 startups and 1,000 investors, according to the organizers.
Google, Meta and a string of other firms pulled out of last year's event after Web Summit chief executive Paddy Cosgrave wrote social media posts accusing Israel of war crimes in Gaza, AFP said.
He was forced to apologize and step down from his role, though he is now back in charge of the organization, which also holds events in other parts of the world.
"Those cancellations revolved more around big tech," Web Summit's head of startups Ricardo Lima told AFP in an interview on Wednesday, stressing the focus on smaller firms and innovation.
"It's safe to say the impacts were felt in 2023 but in 2024 (big tech firms) were all part of the events and part of the discussion."
Trump effect
Google and Meta have a low-key presence this year in Lisbon.
Microsoft President Brad Smith is the highest-profile big tech executive at the event.
He is due to lay out how the software juggernaut envisages the next phase of its artificial intelligence strategy, after spending billions to infuse the technology into most of its products.
AI is expected to be the central theme of the get together.
The conference said in a statement there would be discussions on "the impact of AI on the planet, art, and social interactions, as well as the government's role in regulating technology and the responsibilities of tech giants".
The re-election of Donald Trump as US president, with tech mogul Elon Musk expected to be given a key role in his administration, is also expected to be top-of-mind.
Some of the sessions will deal directly with the election's impact on the tech industry but Lima said it was still too early to judge the reaction.
"I think everyone is still digesting the news, I am also very curious to understand the impact," he said.
The opening night on Monday broadens the agenda with a speaker list that this year includes Pharrell Williams, who is about to star in the latest Lego movie "Piece by Piece".
The summit wrote on its X account that Williams would be talking about "the intersection of culture and commerce".
"Discover how Pharrell's visionary approach has led to extraordinary success across multiple industries," the post said.

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Entertainment

Source: Sony Pictures to Trim Workforce by a Few Hundreds in Strategic Reset

FILE - A Sony PlayStation 5 video game console is for sale in Fairfield, Connecticut, on December 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
FILE - A Sony PlayStation 5 video game console is for sale in Fairfield, Connecticut, on December 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
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Source: Sony Pictures to Trim Workforce by a Few Hundreds in Strategic Reset

FILE - A Sony PlayStation 5 video game console is for sale in Fairfield, Connecticut, on December 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
FILE - A Sony PlayStation 5 video game console is for sale in Fairfield, Connecticut, on December 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

Sony Pictures Entertainment is laying off a few hundred employees, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, as the company restructures parts of its business to align with its long-term growth strategy.

The layoffs are not a cost-cutting exercise but are targeted and strategic, the source added, according to Reuters.

The job reductions come as Hollywood studios contend with shifting audience habits, mounting pressure on traditional television businesses and a reassessment ⁠of spending after ⁠years of heavy investment in streaming.

Unlike many rivals, Sony Pictures primarily licenses content to third-party streaming platforms, giving it flexibility to partner widely rather than rely on a single in-house service.

In a letter sent internally earlier on ⁠Tuesday, Sony Pictures Chief Executive Ravi Ahuja told employees the company was reducing roles in some areas while increasing focus and investment in others, describing the changes as necessary to operate with greater speed and alignment.

"These are difficult decisions," Ahuja said in the message, adding that affected employees would be supported through the transition.

Ahuja said Sony Pictures remains well positioned despite ⁠broader ⁠industry disruption, citing the strength of its independent film and television studios, which allow it to partner widely across platforms rather than rely on a single in-house streaming service.

Media companies have increasingly streamlined operations while prioritizing franchises, global intellectual property and more flexible distribution models.

Sony Pictures is a major Hollywood studio known for franchises such as Spider-Man, Jumanji and Ghostbusters, and television shows including The Boys and Jeopardy!

Entertainment

‘Outcome’ Film Captures Keanu Reeves’ Character at Center of Image Crisis

(From L) Canadian actor Keanu Reeves, US actor Matt Bomer, US actress Cameron Diaz and US actor Jonah Hill attends the premiere of Apple TV's "Outcome" in New York, on April 6, 2026. (AFP)
(From L) Canadian actor Keanu Reeves, US actor Matt Bomer, US actress Cameron Diaz and US actor Jonah Hill attends the premiere of Apple TV's "Outcome" in New York, on April 6, 2026. (AFP)
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‘Outcome’ Film Captures Keanu Reeves’ Character at Center of Image Crisis

(From L) Canadian actor Keanu Reeves, US actor Matt Bomer, US actress Cameron Diaz and US actor Jonah Hill attends the premiere of Apple TV's "Outcome" in New York, on April 6, 2026. (AFP)
(From L) Canadian actor Keanu Reeves, US actor Matt Bomer, US actress Cameron Diaz and US actor Jonah Hill attends the premiere of Apple TV's "Outcome" in New York, on April 6, 2026. (AFP)

In the dark comedy film “Outcome,” Keanu Reeves plays a Hollywood movie star whose carefully crafted public image begins to unravel when he is blackmailed with a mysterious video that threatens his career.

Reeves portrays Reef Hawk, a beloved film icon who turns to his closest circle - including lifelong friends Kyle and Xander, played by Cameron Diaz and Matt Bomer, and ‌his crisis ‌lawyer Ira, portrayed by Jonah Hill - ‌to ⁠contain the fallout. ⁠Hill also directed the film and co-wrote it with Ezra Woods.

As pressure mounts, Reef launches an unconventional apology tour, revisiting people he believes he may have wronged in hopes of uncovering the identity of the extorter.

Hill balances heightened ⁠comedy with moments of emotional reflection, using ‌the premise to ‌explore accountability and authenticity in an era defined by ‌public scrutiny. Reeves said working with Hill on ‌the Apple TV movie brought a distinctive energy to the set.

“Energy, vibrancy, creative yummy,” he described.

Diaz said the film probes what makes an apology ‌meaningful.

“It’s really about the person receiving it,” she said. “Whether it matters is ⁠relative ⁠to their experience."

For Bomer, the story’s focus on friendship resonated during production.

“It made me realize the value of deep friendships that transcend public perception,” he said, adding that the set encouraged creative freedom.

Laverne Cox, who appears as part of Reef’s crisis-management team, said the film poses pointed questions about accountability, highlighting a line delivered by Martin Scorsese in the trailer: “What are you sorry for?”

“Outcome” premieres globally on Apple TV on April 10.

Entertainment

Now It’s All Come Together: Forgotten Beatles Photos Released

The Beatles in New York in 1968. (AFP)
The Beatles in New York in 1968. (AFP)
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Now It’s All Come Together: Forgotten Beatles Photos Released

The Beatles in New York in 1968. (AFP)
The Beatles in New York in 1968. (AFP)

The venue that hosted The Beatles' only concerts in Japan has released long-forgotten photos of the legendary British band six decades after the gigs.

At the height of Beatlemania in 1966, when the quartet was the world's most famous pop group, the Beatles staged five summer performances in Tokyo in front of screaming fans.

Crowds reportedly thronged their hotel, where they stayed in the finest suite.

Then in 2009, more than 100 photos shot during the gigs "were discovered on a shelf" inside an office at the concert venue Nippon Budokan, the arena's operator told AFP.

But the 19 rolls of negative film -- reportedly wrapped in paper and labelled in such a way that it suggested they belonged to Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun -- remained "stored as they were" until recently, the operator in a statement.

However, as the 60th anniversary of the Japan tour approached, the venue operator asked a Beatles expert to examine the negatives, and "his assessment revealed that the photos appear to have never been published" in newspapers or other media.

Among the photos released by the concert venue is a shot of John Lennon smiling beside a Japanese doll that resembles a figurine featuring on the album cover of the 1967 album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".

The global stars were under tight security during their visit, but the doll may have been purchased during a hurried shopping trip, the Yomiuri Shimbun daily said.

The newspaper is investigating who took the photos and why the negatives had been kept in Nippon Budokan despite being wrapped in paper labelled "The Yomiuri Shimbun archives room", it said.

The photos capture "the atmosphere of that one and only Japan tour -- now remembered as a historic event -- as well as various moments from their stay in Japan," the Nippon Budokan statement said.