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Ariana Grande Wins Top MTV Video Music Award

Ariana Grande accepts her award for Video of the Year for her song "Brighter Days Ahead" in Elmont, New York. ANGELA WEISS / AFP
Ariana Grande accepts her award for Video of the Year for her song "Brighter Days Ahead" in Elmont, New York. ANGELA WEISS / AFP
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Ariana Grande Wins Top MTV Video Music Award

Ariana Grande accepts her award for Video of the Year for her song "Brighter Days Ahead" in Elmont, New York. ANGELA WEISS / AFP
Ariana Grande accepts her award for Video of the Year for her song "Brighter Days Ahead" in Elmont, New York. ANGELA WEISS / AFP

Ariana Grande won the MTV Video Music Awards' top honor on Sunday, taking home Video of the Year for "Brighter Days Ahead", which also claimed Best Pop Song at the ceremony near New York City.

Visibly emotional while accepting the evening's most prestigious award, the 32-year-old singer-songwriter and actor delivered an extended thank you to her fans, whom she described as "fiercely loving and supportive."

"Thank you for growing with me and being so supportive of me as a human being," said Grande, who thanked her "therapist and gay people" while accepting her first prize earlier in the night.

Lady Gaga emerged as another major winner, beating out industry heavyweights including Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd for the top artist honor.

The 39-year-old interrupted her concert series to accept the Artist of the Year award on stage and also won Best Collaboration with Bruno Mars for "Die with a Smile".

Rose, who is pursuing a solo career after rising to fame with K-pop group Blackpink, received Song of the Year for "APT", also co-written with Bruno Mars.

Sabrina Carpenter won Best Album of the Year for "Short n' Sweet".

The evening featured a nostalgic aesthetic with performances by veteran artists including Mariah Carey, Busta Rhymes and Ricky Martin, while newer performers like Doja Cat and Tate McRae incorporated choreography heavily borrowed from the 1980s and 1990s.

Notably, rapper Kendrick Lamar, who dominated the recent Grammy Awards with five wins, left empty-handed despite multiple nominations.

Unlike last year's ceremony, which occurred during election season and saw winner Taylor Swift urge fans to vote for Kamala Harris, this year's event appeared to carefully avoid political messaging.

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Entertainment

‘Shame on Hollywood’: Cannes-Winning Writer Rails at Stance on Gaza

(L-R) Host Didier Allouch, Jury Members Diego Cespedes, Ruth Negga, Stellan Skarsgard, Demi Moore, Jury President Park Chan-wook, Chloe Zhao, Isaach de Bankole, Laura Wandel and Paul Laverty attend the press conference for Feature Films Jury during the 79th annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, 12 May 2026. (EPA)
(L-R) Host Didier Allouch, Jury Members Diego Cespedes, Ruth Negga, Stellan Skarsgard, Demi Moore, Jury President Park Chan-wook, Chloe Zhao, Isaach de Bankole, Laura Wandel and Paul Laverty attend the press conference for Feature Films Jury during the 79th annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, 12 May 2026. (EPA)
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‘Shame on Hollywood’: Cannes-Winning Writer Rails at Stance on Gaza

(L-R) Host Didier Allouch, Jury Members Diego Cespedes, Ruth Negga, Stellan Skarsgard, Demi Moore, Jury President Park Chan-wook, Chloe Zhao, Isaach de Bankole, Laura Wandel and Paul Laverty attend the press conference for Feature Films Jury during the 79th annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, 12 May 2026. (EPA)
(L-R) Host Didier Allouch, Jury Members Diego Cespedes, Ruth Negga, Stellan Skarsgard, Demi Moore, Jury President Park Chan-wook, Chloe Zhao, Isaach de Bankole, Laura Wandel and Paul Laverty attend the press conference for Feature Films Jury during the 79th annual Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France, 12 May 2026. (EPA)

Hollywood should be ashamed of the way it has treated stars like Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo for opposing Israel's war in Gaza, a member of the Cannes Film Festival jury said Tuesday, with big studios conspicuously absent this year.

Paul Laverty, who wrote two films that won Cannes' top prize, was cheered as he lambasted the studios and praised the French festival for using an image of Sarandon in "Thelma and Louise" for its poster this year.

"Isn't it fascinating to see Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo blacklisted because of their views in opposing the murder of women and children in Gaza? Shame on Hollywood, people who do that," the Scottish-born writer, who was arrested last year at a pro-Palestine protest, added.

"They're the best of us," said Laverty, who won best screenplay at Cannes for Ken Loach's "I, Daniel Blake" and "The Wind that Shakes the Barley".

"I just hope we don't get bombed now," he joked.

The leftwinger made an impassioned plea for filmmakers not to shy away from politics "when madmen lead the blind", quoting Shakespeare's "King Lear".

Laverty did not mention US leader Donald Trump, but his presidency and the war in Gaza have hung heavy over film festivals over the last few years.

South Korea director Park Chan-wook, who heads the jury awarding the Palme d'Or, the top prize at Cannes, also defended the place of politics in film.

"Art and politics are not concepts that are in conflict with each other. As long as they are artistically expressed, they are valuable," said the maker of "Oldboy" and "The Handmaiden".

With Meta, the owners of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, signing a multi-year sponsorship deal with Cannes, Laverty also warned about "the concentration of power" by Big Tech.

"We are beginning to realize that we should not let these tech bros billionaires, mostly right-wing libertarians, dictate how we live our lives," he added, with artificial intelligence another hot topic at the festival.

Hollywood star Demi Moore, who is also on the jury, said she was also skeptical of AI's place in the industry, though not against it.

"There is nothing to fear because one can never replace what true art comes from, because it comes from the soul," she told reporters.

"That, they can never recreate."

Entertainment

‘Fast & Furious’ TV Series in the Works for Peacock

US actor Vin Diesel at the Universal Studios backlot in Universal City, California, on May 20, 2023. (AFP)
US actor Vin Diesel at the Universal Studios backlot in Universal City, California, on May 20, 2023. (AFP)
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‘Fast & Furious’ TV Series in the Works for Peacock

US actor Vin Diesel at the Universal Studios backlot in Universal City, California, on May 20, 2023. (AFP)
US actor Vin Diesel at the Universal Studios backlot in Universal City, California, on May 20, 2023. (AFP)

A television series based on the blockbuster "Fast & Furious" movie franchise is being developed for the Peacock streaming service, NBCUniversal said on Monday. Vin Diesel, who plays Dominic Toretto in the films, announced that the series was coming to the small screen at a presentation to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall.

At the event, Diesel said four TV shows were in the works. An NBCUniversal press release ‌distributed later ‌in the day listed only one "Fast & Furious" show ‌in ⁠development.

The actor said ⁠he was initially hesitant to commit to sequels for "Fast & Furious," fearing that continuing the story about a group of street racers might prevent the original film from ever being considered a classic.

That concern has since been put to rest: this Wednesday, the Cannes Film Festival will mark the high-speed franchise’s 25th anniversary ⁠with a midnight screening, honoring it as ‌a classic.

Diesel will attend the ‌Cannes screening alongside several of his co-stars from the films.

Since the first "Fast & ‌Furious" movie in 2001, the 11 films in the series ‌have brought in more than $7 billion at global box offices.

The celebration of the franchise extends well beyond the screen. A new "Fast & Furious" roller coaster is set to open at Universal Studios Hollywood this summer, ‌with another attraction planned for Universal’s Orlando theme parks.

"For the last decade, we realized the ⁠fans want ⁠more," Diesel said, noting that longtime viewers are eager to see the continuation of the franchise’s legacy characters and storylines.

Diesel praised Donna Langley, chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment & Studios and chief content officer, who oversees film and television programming.

"I had to wait until it was right," he said.

"It became right when Donna Langley started to oversee it all. That’s when I knew the integrity of the characters, the international appeal, and what makes us all feel like family would be protected in the TV space," the 58-year-old actor said.

The final "Fast & Furious" film is scheduled to debut on March 17, 2028.

Entertainment

A Cannes Film Festival Light on Hollywood but Not Lacking in Star Power Kicks off in France

Cannes Film Festival General Delegate Thierry Frémaux attends a press conference on the eve of the opening ceremony of the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 11, 2026. (Reuters)
Cannes Film Festival General Delegate Thierry Frémaux attends a press conference on the eve of the opening ceremony of the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 11, 2026. (Reuters)
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A Cannes Film Festival Light on Hollywood but Not Lacking in Star Power Kicks off in France

Cannes Film Festival General Delegate Thierry Frémaux attends a press conference on the eve of the opening ceremony of the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 11, 2026. (Reuters)
Cannes Film Festival General Delegate Thierry Frémaux attends a press conference on the eve of the opening ceremony of the 79th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 11, 2026. (Reuters)

The red carpet has been rolled out at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in the South of France.

The French Riviera festival beginning Tuesday will include 12 days of nonstop world premieres before culminating May 23 with the presentation of the Palme d’Or, the festival's top honor and one of the film industry's most prestigious awards.

The festivities kick off with the opening-night film, “The Electric Kiss,” a French period-comedy, and the awarding of an honorary Palme d’Or to the “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson.

What isn’t at Cannes has been as buzzed about as much as what is. Hollywood is largely absent this year.

While blockbusters like “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Elvis” have touched down at previous incarnations, studio films this year have been either scared away by the possibility of a rocky reception or by the high cost of flying in A-listers to the Cote d’Azur. The closest thing in Cannes' slate is an anniversary celebration for “Fast & Furious.”

Speaking to members of the press Monday, Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux said Hollywood “is reshaping” in the midst of Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

“I hope the studio films will come back,” Frémaux said.

Cannes has become better known for its lengthy standing ovations than its boos. This year, a long list of big-name filmmakers will have center stage.

Among the filmmakers set to unveil new movies are Pedro Almodóvar (“Bitter Christmas”), James Gray (“Paper Tiger”), Na Hong-jin (“Hope”), Pawel Pawlikowski (“Fatherland”) and Ryusuke Hamaguchi (“All of a Sudden”).

If Cannes has waned as a global launchpad for studio releases, it has grown as a breeding ground for Oscar contenders.

Two years ago, Sean Baker’s “Anora” won the Palme in Cannes before winning best picture. Last year, Cannes selections like “Sentimental Value,” “The Secret Agent” and “It Was Just an Accident” went on to play prominent roles in awards season.

More often than not, the specialty distributor Neon has been at the forefront of the Cannes-to-Oscars pipeline. Neon has backed the past six Palme d’Or winners, an unprecedented streak that it may be poised to extend. Neon is attached to more than a quarter of the 22 films in competition for the Palme d’Or.

On Tuesday, the jury deciding that award and others will hold a news conference before beginning their sequestered movie watching. South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook is serving as president of the nine-member panel, along with Demi Moore, Chloé Zhao, Stellan Skarsgård and others.

How much any of this will serve as backdrop for “The White Lotus” remains to be seen. The fourth season of Mike White’s acclaimed HBO series is based around a trip to Cannes. Last month, the show began shooting on the French Riviera.

While Cannes may be light on big Hollywood movies, it isn't lacking in stars. Set to appear over the next two weeks are Kristen Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Adam Driver, Javier Bardem, Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Rami Malek, Sebastian Stan, Sandra Hüller and many others.