The Guardian Culture

Julio Le Parc obituary

Radical Argentinian artist who demanded the viewer participate in his kinetic art“Art today is nothing but a tremendous bluff,” Julio Le Parc complained in his 1963 manifesto, presenting a series of home truths to the French cultural establishment. “The public is a million miles away from artistic events.” The Argentinian artist, who has died aged 97, had relocated to Paris and was caught up in the social revolts of the decade. His solution was a radical series of works that experimented with li

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

The Guardian Culture

‘David Hockney caught the look of the modern world’: a tribute to the artist whose work was a feast of visual pleasure

He was subversive and bold, yet also playful and accepting – putting the fun into pop art and finding freedom and fulfilment amid the blue skies and pools of California. David Hockney, who has died aged 88, lived and painted the truthDavid Hockney changed the world just by looking at it. His art was a feast of unabashed visual pleasure, one long orgy of the gaze, the delighted lifelong epiphany of someone who cherished flowers in a vase and freeways in the sun and thought endlessly about new way

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Revolutionary British artist David Hockney dies aged 88

Bradford painter whose sun-kissed visions of California broke world records at auction has diedDavid Hockney, the iconic British painter who cast a revolutionary gaze across 20th-century art, has died aged 88.He made his name as a pop artist during the swinging 60s and was perhaps best known for his paintings of swimming pools that helped define the Los Angeles aesthetic. Works such as A Bigger Splash and Portrait of an Artist (Pool With Two Figures) depicted hedonistic scenes of love, lust and

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Ruth Ozeki: ‘All my books are an attempt to recreate Charlotte’s Web’

The US author, film-maker and Zen Buddhist priest on smart young girls, the difference between irony and cynicism, and working her way through 13 volumes of ChekhovMy earliest reading memory I was reading – or pretending to read – before my brain could encode memories, so probably around three or four? I “read” Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd, but that was mostly pictures.My favourite book growing up Charlotte’s Web by EB White. For years, I remembered it as a story

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

The Guardian Culture

The Long Drop review – Denise Mina’s whisky-soaked tale of triple murder is horribly gripping

Citizens theatre, GlasgowThe novel is adapted with equal parts wit and horror to capture the depravity of a notorious crime in GlasgowOn the bare brick wall backing Jen McGinley’s set – half courtroom, half saloon – there is a faded poster of The Searchers, John Ford’s 1956 western. The whisky-swilling hard men who haunt the clubs and dives of The Long Drop may well see themselves as cowboys. They are double dealers and grandstanders, full of bluff and bluster; sometimes cosplay baddies, acting

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

The Guardian Culture

The best podcasts of 2026 so far

Surreal genius from Harry Hill, trailblazing women and a passionate ode to an incredible New York rapper – these are the best listens from the last six months*** Continue reading...

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

Variety

Charades, Diaphana Board ‘The Little Run,’ Julien Bisaro and Claire Paoletti’s Follow-Up to ‘Shooom’s Odyssey’ (EXCLUSIVE)

“The Little Run” (“La Petite Cavale”), Julien Bisaro and Claire Paoletti’s follow-up to “Shooom’s Odyssey” and one of France’s most-awaited of upcoming animated features, has been boarded by Charades and Diaphana Distribution.  A renowned director-driven sales banner intent on bringing new voices to the world such as Gints Zilbalodis’ Oscar winner “Flow,” Charades is handling international […]

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Pussy Riot: CYKA review – debut album from iconic Russian agitators is let down by blunt-force EDM

(Pussy Riot)On a disappointing record helmed by co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova, corny guitars and generically moody synths undermine the activist group’s political acuityGreat music rarely makes for great activism, and the reverse is true on Pussy Riot’s official debut album. A scattergun mix of icy electronics, pumping EDM and whispered rap, CYKA (“bitch” in Russian) follows a decade of musical protest performances from the activist collective. Made by co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova (she and Ma

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

Disney+, Dutch Public Broadcaster NPO Team on Local ‘Werewolves’ Adaptation ‘Wolven’

"It's the kind of show you want to watch together," Disney+ EMEA general manager Karl Holmes says about the unscripted strategy-driven reality series.

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

Variety

‘Wednesday’ Shooting Location Romania Looks to Rebuild Trust, Confidence With Revamped 30% Cash Rebate

After pressing pause on its cash rebate program due to outstanding debts and suffering through a prolonged production drought, Romania is finally coming in from the cold, with a revamped incentive scheme that is bolstering the hopes of the domestic industry heading into the Transilvania Intl. Film Festival and bringing foreign productions back to the […]

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Brown Wimpenny: Long Live Brown Wimpenny review | Jude Rogers' folk album of the month

(Broadside Hacks)Named after a 19th-century relative, this sprawling group foreground folk’s rough edges, but are best in the emotional, less showy momentsBrown Wimpenny arrive with a name suggesting the softness of a twee indie band, before you discover it belonged to a fourth great-uncle of banjo player Seth Lockwood, who emigrated from a West Yorkshire farm to the 19th-century US. Then you hear the exploratory, hour-long debut album of this sprawling young collective, formed in Sunday session

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

Variety

Tudor Giurgiu on Charting a New Direction in Rollicking Transilvania Film Festival Opener ‘3 Days in September’

A picture-perfect wedding goes horribly awry when the groom’s mistress crashes the festivities, sending the bride-to-be into a tailspin — and toward her ultimate redemption — in “3 Days in September,” the latest from veteran Romanian director and producer Tudor Giurgiu (“Freedom”).  The film, which opens the 25th Transilvania Intl. Film Festival, stars Andreea Vasile as Bianca, […]

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

Margaret Kerry, the Model for Tinker Bell in ‘Peter Pan,’ Dies at 97

She also starred opposite Eddie Cantor in ‘If You Knew Susie’ and on the early ABC sitcom ‘The Ruggles’ and did lots of voice work on cartoons.

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

Variety

Transilvania Film Festival Founder, Industry Head on Growing the International-Facing Program While Staying True to Its Romanian Roots

When Transilvania Intl. Film Festival founder Tudor Giurgiu began sketching the blueprint for the first edition 25 years ago, the then up-and-coming director knew he wanted the country’s first international film event to be more than just a showcase of new Romanian cinema. “I was dreaming that we could not just screen our films but […]

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

The Disco Ball Is No More! Spotify Reverts Back to Old App Icon

The divisive disco ball turned out to be a temporary switch as the streamer sought to draw attention to its 20th anniversary content.

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Proud review – the gorgeous tale of a hard-partying model who ends up a dad

This Polish drama is beautifully shot, darkly funny and full of social commentary about the difficulty of being a gay father in Poland. Even the toddler seems like an accomplished actorFilip Raczyński (Ignacy Liss) is really enjoying his late 20s. We meet him on a modelling assignment, this vocation having been handed to him by his sparkling eyes and soft jawline, good looks he accentuates with a biker jacket and bleached hair. He has vodka and Diet Coke for breakfast and a bump of powder in an

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

Variety

Transilvania at 25: How the Romanian Festival’s Founders Keep Its Bold, ‘Subversive,’ ‘All-or-Nothing’ Spirit Alive

With memories of Cristian Mungiu’s second Palme d’Or, for the Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve-starring “Fjord,” still fresh just weeks after the director’s latest Cannes triumph, you’d be hard-pressed to recall a time when Romanian filmmakers weren’t feted on world cinema’s biggest stages. Unless, that is, you asked the organizers of the Transilvania Intl. Film […]

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Sally Beamish: House of Wonder album review

Beamish/Corbett/Whitehead/Havlat/ Irvine/Thomson/Ventris(Delphian)The British composer’s celebratory album is a family affairSally Beamish celebrates 70 years on planet Earth with an eclectic and profoundly personal album featuring friends and members of her talented musical family. At the centre of it all is Beamish herself, a musical shapeshifter, at home in classical, jazz or folk fiddle, performing on her own instrument, the viola.It opens with April, a luminous chaconne for viola and accord

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

Taylor Swift Gives Teary-Eyed Thanks to Family At Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction: “I’ll Never Be Able to Express My Gratitude”

"If I look back at my entire 23 year career in music, the ups and downs, the industry battles, the trials and tribulations… songwriting was the easiest thing I ever did,” Swift said in her speech at the event in New York.

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026

The Guardian Culture

20 ways Taylor Swift remade pop culture in her image

Eras. Easter eggs. Masters. Monoculture. It has been 20 years since Swift released her debut single, setting in motion a career so extraordinary, it permanently redefined the concept of pop stardom. Not only did her fight to own her music educate a generation of fans in how the music industry works, she also bent that industry to her will, outwitting the competition and defying norms to reset its terms. This is how she did it Continue reading...

entertainment  Jun 12, 2026