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Disneyland Paris Unveils Spectacular Nighttime Show Using Paris Games Laser Technology

A firework display lights up the castle of Sleeping Beauty in Disneyland, in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, Friday Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
A firework display lights up the castle of Sleeping Beauty in Disneyland, in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, Friday Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
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Disneyland Paris Unveils Spectacular Nighttime Show Using Paris Games Laser Technology

A firework display lights up the castle of Sleeping Beauty in Disneyland, in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, Friday Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
A firework display lights up the castle of Sleeping Beauty in Disneyland, in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, Friday Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

A cutting-edge nighttime show at Disneyland Paris is heralding a bold new chapter for Europe’s most-visited theme park, as a raft of ambitious developments comes to fruition under a 2 billion euro ($2.05 billion) expansion plan.
The overhaul includes the completed revamp of the luxury Disneyland Hotel, the upcoming renaming and doubling in size of Walt Disney Studios Park, and the much-anticipated arrival of The World of Frozen and a first-of-its-kind The Lion King land — cementing the resort’s gains after the wilderness years for theme parks during the pandemic, The Associated Press said.
Disney Tales of Magic Disney Tales of Magic was unveiled this month. It's a dazzling 20-minute spectacle blending drones, synchronized fountains, high-definition projections and ultra-bright lasers.
“For the very first time, not only will we be projecting onto Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, but also Main Street USA,” said Tim Lutkin, artistic director of the production, referring to the park’s main commercial artery lined with boutiques and merchandise.
The show’s standout feature — ultra-bright lasers — has been used only once before, at the Paris 2024 Olympics at the Eiffel Tower during the iconic opening ceremony that featured a performance with Celine Dion. The lasers, which travel 23 miles (37 kilometers), deliver extraordinary power while remaining safe near crowds.
“The Paris Olympics used it first. But we saw it first,” said Dana Harrel, executive entertainment director at Disneyland Paris.
Featuring Disney and Pixar tales brought to life by drone-made 3D figures, synchronized fountains and a 100-piece orchestra, the show is elevated further by the original anthem “Live in Magic.”
Audiences have been awestruck. “It’s marvelous. We’ve never seen such a beautiful light show,” said Sacha Tellier, a 33-year-old mother visiting with her family. “It gave me goosebumps,” added Nathan Ruiz, a graphic designer from Madrid. “The combination of music, lights, and the drones felt like pure magic. I’ve been to Disney before, but this show is on another level.”
The spectacle also reflects Disney’s storytelling evolution. Lutkin noted the shift from classic ballgown tales to modern narratives like “Encanto” and “Inside Out 2,” which delves into deeper themes such as anxiety and depression. The latter’s unexpected box office success, Lutkin said, proved that “the world and its relationship with Disney are ready to embrace more complex stories.” This shift is mirrored in the show’s selection of movies, spanning Disney’s timeless classics and emotionally resonant modern hits.
Disney Adventure World At the heart of Disneyland Paris’ expansion is the transformation of Walt Disney Studios Park, doubling in size and reimagined as Disney Adventure World. Opening in spring 2025, a new park entrance, World Premiere, will greet visitors with the glamour of a Hollywood film premiere, leading them into immersive themed areas.
“These projects reflect our commitment to innovation and storytelling,” said Natacha Rafalski, head of Disneyland Paris, adding that they will further strengthen it as Europe’s top tourist destination.
Already Europe’s most-visited theme park and France’s top tourist attraction outdrawing the Louvre, Disneyland Paris welcomed over 10 million visitors in 2023.
The expansion includes two eagerly awaited themed lands. The World of Frozen, debuting in 2026, will transport guests to Arendelle with a central lake hosting water performances and the Frozen Ever After boat ride, alongside themed dining, shopping, and accommodations. Meanwhile, The Lion King land will bring the Pride Lands to life with a log flume cascading from Pride Rock and encounters with beloved characters like Simba and Timon.
Life after the pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic delivered one the toughest challenges to Disneyland Paris, as with all resort parks around the world, forcing an eight-month closure in 2020 and another in 2021.
But Disney doubled down.
The ongoing €2 billion expansion is part of a $60 billion global investment announced in September 2023, aiming to redefine Disney parks, cruises and attractions over the next decade.
A centerpiece of the Paris overhaul is the revamped Disneyland Hotel, with suites themed around classic Disney royalty.
Birth and evolution Disneyland Paris opened in 1992 under its original name, Euro Disney Resort. Situated just outside Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, it marked Disney’s first foray into Europe. However, the park’s early years were fraught with challenges, including cultural missteps, financial struggles and lower-than-expected visitor numbers. Critics in France derided it as an American cultural invasion, dubbing it a “cultural Chernobyl.”
To reverse its fortunes, the park underwent significant rebranding, changing its name to Disneyland Paris in 1994 to emphasize its French location and connection to the capital. Over time, strategic changes, including the addition of new attractions and a shift in marketing, helped the resort recover. It is now a cornerstone of Disney’s global operations.

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Entertainment

‘Sinners,’ ‘Wicked: For Good,’ ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Advance in Oscars Shortlists 

US film director Ryan Coogler poses on the red carpet upon arrival for the European Premiere of "Sinners" at Cineworld Leicester Square, central London, on April 14, 2025. (AFP)
US film director Ryan Coogler poses on the red carpet upon arrival for the European Premiere of "Sinners" at Cineworld Leicester Square, central London, on April 14, 2025. (AFP)
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‘Sinners,’ ‘Wicked: For Good,’ ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Advance in Oscars Shortlists 

US film director Ryan Coogler poses on the red carpet upon arrival for the European Premiere of "Sinners" at Cineworld Leicester Square, central London, on April 14, 2025. (AFP)
US film director Ryan Coogler poses on the red carpet upon arrival for the European Premiere of "Sinners" at Cineworld Leicester Square, central London, on April 14, 2025. (AFP)

Ryan Coogler’s bluesy vampire thriller “Sinners,” the big screen musical “Wicked: For Good” and the Netflix phenomenon “KPop Demon Hunters” are all a step closer to an Oscar nomination.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released shortlists for 12 categories Tuesday, including for best song, score, international and documentary film, cinematography and this year’s new prize, casting.

“Sinners” and “Wicked: For Good” received the most shortlist mentions with eight each, including makeup and hair, sound, visual effects, score, casting and cinematography. Both have two original songs advancing as well. For “Wicked” it’s Stephen Schwartz’s “The Girl in the Bubble” and “No Place Like Home.” For “Sinners,” it’s Ludwig Göransson, Miles Caton and Alice Smith’s “Last Time (I Seen the Sun),” and Göransson and Raphael Saadiq’s “I Lied to You.”

The “KPop Demon Hunters” hit “Golden,” by EJAE and Mark Sonnenblick, was another shortlisted song alongside other notable artists like: Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner for “Train Dreams”; John Mayer, Ed Sheeran and Blake Slatkin for the “F1” song “Drive”; Sara Bareilles, Brandi Carlile and Andrea Gibson for “Salt Then Sour Then Sweet” from “Come See Me In the Good Light"; and Miley Cyrus, Simon Franglen, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt for “Dream as One” from “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” Diane Warren also might be on her way to a 17th nomination with “Dear Me” from “Diane Warren: Relentless.”

One of the highest profile shortlist categories is the best international feature, where 15 films were named including “Sentimental Value” (Norway), “Sirât” (Spain), “No Other Choice” (South Korea), “The Secret Agent” (Brazil), “It Was Just an Accident” (France), “The Voice of Hind Rajab” (Tunisia), “Sound of Falling” (Germany) and “The President's Cake” (Iraq).

Notable documentaries among the 15 include “My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow,” “The Perfect Neighbor,” “The Alabama Solution,” “Come See Me in the Good Light,” “Cover-Up” and Mstyslav Chernov’s “2000 Meters to Andriivka,” a co-production between The Associated Press and PBS Frontline.

The Oscars' new award for casting shortlisted 10 films that will vie for the five nomination slots: “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” “One Battle After Another,” “The Secret Agent,” “Sentimental Value,” “Sinners,” “Sirāt,” “Weapons,” and “Wicked: For Good.” Notably “Jay Kelly and “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” did not make the list.

Composers who made the shortlist for best score include Göransson (“Sinners”), Jonny Greenwood (“One Battle After Another”), Max Richter (“Hamnet”), Alexandre Desplat (“Frankenstein”) and Kangding Ray (“Sirāt”).

For the most part, shortlists are determined by members in their respective categories, though the specifics vary from branch to branch: Some have committees, some have minimum viewing requirements.

As most of the shortlists are in below-the-line categories celebrating crafts like sound and visual effects, there are also films that aren’t necessarily the most obvious of Oscar contenders like “The Alto Knights,” shortlisted in hair and makeup, as well as the widely panned “Tron: Ares” and “The Electric State,” both shortlisted for visual effects. “Tron: Ares” also made the lists for score and song with Nine Inch Nails' “As Alive As You Need Me To Be”

The lists will narrow to five when final nominations are announced on Jan. 22. The 98th Oscars, hosted by Conan O’Brien, will air live on ABC on March 15.

Entertainment

Netflix Boss Promises Warner Bros Films Would Still be Seen in Cinemas

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos poses during the avant-premiere of TV serie "Emily in Paris" season 5, at the Grand Rex, in Paris on December 15, 2025. (Photo by Blanca CRUZ / AFP)
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos poses during the avant-premiere of TV serie "Emily in Paris" season 5, at the Grand Rex, in Paris on December 15, 2025. (Photo by Blanca CRUZ / AFP)
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Netflix Boss Promises Warner Bros Films Would Still be Seen in Cinemas

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos poses during the avant-premiere of TV serie "Emily in Paris" season 5, at the Grand Rex, in Paris on December 15, 2025. (Photo by Blanca CRUZ / AFP)
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos poses during the avant-premiere of TV serie "Emily in Paris" season 5, at the Grand Rex, in Paris on December 15, 2025. (Photo by Blanca CRUZ / AFP)

Netflix will continue to distribute Warner Bros. films in cinemas if its takeover bid for the storied studio is successful, the streaming service's chief executive Ted Sarandos said in an interview Tuesday in Paris.

"We're going to continue to operate Warner Bros. studios independently and release the movies traditionally in cinema," he said during an event in the French capital, while admitting his past comments on theatrical distribution "now confuse people".

Previously, Sarandos had suggested that the cinema experience was outdated, surpassed by the convenience of streaming.

The Netflix boss was being interviewed by Maxime Saada, head of France's Canal+ media group, in a Paris theater that was presenting Canal+'s projects for 2026, Agence France Presse reported.

Netflix only began to produce its own programs a dozen years ago, Sarandos explained, so "our library only extends back a decade, where Warner Bros. extends back 100 years. So they know a lot about things that we haven't ever done, like theatrical distribution."

In early December, Netflix announced that it had reached an agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to acquire most of the group for $83 billion.

However, doubts remain about whether the deal will be approved by regulators, and in the meantime television and film group Paramount Skydance has made a counter-offer valued at $108.4 billion.

If Netflix's bid is successful, it would acquire HBO Max, one of the world's largest media platforms, and it would find itself at the head of a movie catalogue including the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings sagas, as well as the superheroes of DC Studios.

Entertainment

Donna Summer Is Posthumously Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame

Donna Summer. (Reuters)
Donna Summer. (Reuters)
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Donna Summer Is Posthumously Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame

Donna Summer. (Reuters)
Donna Summer. (Reuters)

There are giants, and then there is Donna Summer. The Queen of Disco and then some, known for such timeless tunes as “Love to Love You Baby,” “I Feel Love,” “Bad Girls,” “Dim All the Lights,” “On the Radio” and “She Works Hard for the Money,” has been posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the hall said.

Summer, who died in 2012 at age 63, was welcomed into the Songwriters Hall on Monday at a ceremony at The Butterfly Room at Cecconi’s in Los Angeles. It was led by Academy Award-winning songwriter Paul Williams. Summer's husband, Bruce Sudano and their daughters Brooklyn Sudano and Amanda Sudano Ramirez were in attendance.

“Donna Summer is not only one of the defining voices and performers of the 20th century; she is one of the great songwriters of all time who changed the course of music,” said Williams in a statement. “She wrote timeless and transcendent songs that continue to captivate our souls and imaginations, inspiring the world to dance and, above all, feel love.”

Summer's smooth blend of R&B, soul, pop, funk, rock, disco and electronica launched numerous chart-topping hits in the ‘70s and ’80s as well as three multiplatinum albums. She won five Grammys. She was unstoppable — both as a performer and a writer.

“It’s important to me because I know how important it was for Donna,” said Sudano in a press release. “The backstory is, with all the accolades that she received over her career, being respected as a songwriter was always the thing that she felt was overlooked. So, for her to be accepted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame I know that she’s very happy ... somewhere.”

The Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1969. A songwriter with a notable catalog of songs qualifies for induction 20 years after the first commercial release of a song.

The annual Songwriters Hall of Fame gala does not usually include posthumous inductions; those are reserved for separate events.

Songwriter Pete Bellotte — known for his work with Summer on “Hot Stuff,” “I Feel Love” and “Love To Love You Baby” — is a current nominee for the 2026 Songwriters Hall of Fame class. “Love To Love You Baby” was co-written with Summer and producer Giorgio Moroder. One of Summer's best-known hits, the song has been sampled many times, including in tracks by Beyoncé, LL Cool J and Timbaland.

The 2026 inductees will be announced in early 2026.