From westerns to the space race and the latest offerings from Oscar-winning directors, this year’s Venice Film Festival will present a rich lineup of premieres, including a host of Netflix movies and an unfinished Orson Welles work, the organizers said. The 75th edition of the world’s oldest film festival kicks …

They are arguably among the most recognizable figures in American pop culture, and by their daring exploits, capture the imaginations of fans around the world. They are the fictional characters we call superheroes. Comic book and movie fans say characters such as Superman, Spider-Man and Captain America hold values that …

At Comic-Con 2018, fantasy can come to life. Fans dress up as Superman, Spider-Man and Captain America, just to name a few. These names have become some of the most familiar heroes in American popular culture. The values they represent have captured the imaginations of fans from around the world.  …

When four-piece hard rock band Halestorm went back into the studio to work on their fourth album, they had already thrown out a bunch of songs they felt sounded too much like songs they had recorded before.   Led by frontwoman Lzzy Hale, the group has been dealing with critics …

Underprivileged children in an ancient neighborhood in Cairo are getting the chance to trapeze into a brighter future. The al-Darb al-Ahmar arts school, named after the more than 700-year-old neighborhood where it is located, hopes that teaching children performing and circus arts they will also learn valuable life skills. The …

Films starring Timothee Chalamet and Hugh Jackman as well as Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut “A Star Is Born” with Lady Gaga are among the selections announced Tuesday for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.   “Beautiful Boy” stars Chalamet and Steve Carell and will be one of several films having …

Pop star Demi Lovato was taken to a Los Angeles hospital on Tuesday due to a suspected overdose, according to media reports. Lovato, 25, has spoken openly about cocaine and alcohol abuse. Representatives for Lovato did not respond to a request for comment but People magazine, quoting an unidentified source, …

Famous landmarks across Japan were illuminated simultaneously on Tuesday to mark two years to go until the start of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Tokyo Tower and the Yoyogi Building shone in the Japanese capital, while other buildings stretching from the Goryokaku Tower in the northern Hokkaido region to Fukuoka …

Ricki Lake never in her wildest dreams thought she’d be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the film Hairspray at the lofty Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. “I never thought the movie was going to come out, let alone have this lifespan. And for me to be alive 30 …

British actress Vanessa Redgrave will receive the prestigious Golden Lion career prize at this year’s Venice Film Festival. Each year, the Venice Biennale awards two prizes to celebrate careers in cinema, one to a movie director and one to an actor or actress. Together with Redgrave, Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg …

Sean Spicer received poor reviews during his brief stint as White House spokesman and his new memoir, “The Briefing,” which hits bookstores on Tuesday, is not faring much better. “Mr. Spicer’s book is much like his tenure as press secretary: short, littered with inaccuracies and offering up one consistent theme: …

Filmmaker James Cameron and Titanic discoverer Robert Ballard are backing a bid by a group of British museums to acquire a collection of 5,500 artifacts from the sunken vessel. The campaign announced Tuesday aims to raise $20 million (15 million pounds) to buy the items from a private American company …

 A Pennsylvania board recommended that Bill Cosby be classified as a sexually violent predator, which would require the former TV star to attend sex offender counseling — in prison and out — and police to post warning flyers throughout his neighborhood whenever he is freed.   It is now up …

At Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field this June, Kenny Chesney flew in a large group of VIP guests to visit with him before performing for some 55,000 fans. They weren’t music industry bigwigs.   They were school children and teachers from the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Hurricane Irma made landfall last …

For years, Dumbo the Flying Elephant hung from his living room ceiling, a Mr. Toad Wild Ride car was parked in his library and Bashful’s cart from Snow White’s Scary Adventures sat on his front lawn in suburban California. Now collector Richard Kraft is selling off his 750-item collection of …

It was three days of needles, containers of ink and thousands of striking designs that attracted hordes of tattoo enthusiasts and artists to New York’s annual Empire State Tattoo Expo (held July 15-18). The action took place in a mid-town hotel in Manhattan, and VOA’s Elena Wolf was there. Robert …

Gloria Estefan, the Cuban-American pop star who achieved worldwide fame in the 1980s, was honored by the Spanish government on Monday for her contribution to the arts. Accompanied by her music-producer husband Emilio, the singer was presented with the Gold Medal of Merit for the Arts by Culture Minister Jose …

Taylor Swift’s sophomore album, which won album of the year at the 2010 Grammys, has been certified diamond.   Big Machine Label Group President and CEO Scott Borchetta surprised the singer after her show Sunday with a plaque for “Fearless” indicating sales and streaming equivalent sales of 10 million units. …

British pop band The Spice Girls are getting back together again, band member Mel B said on Monday. The singer, also known as Scary Spice, told a British television talk show that all five Spice Girls have agreed to the reunion. “For sure we are getting back together,” she said …

German soccer star Mesut Ozil announced Sunday he would no longer be playing for his country’s national soccer team.  In a letter posted on Twitter Sunday, the 29-year-old midfielder — who is Muslim and of Turkish heritage — cited racism from members of the German media and football organization as …

The first-known recording by David Bowie, when he was the 16-year-old singer of a band called The Konrads, is going up for auction. Omega Auctions in northwestern England said Monday that the reel tape would go on sale Sept. 11, with an expected price of 10,000 pounds ($13,100). The song, …

Twenty-five young musicians from around the world have gathered in California to train and perform this month in an international program called iPalpiti, from the Italian word for heartbeats. The training program and performance festival mark a labor of love for Russian-born conductor and musical director Eduard Schmieder, who says …

Twenty-five young musicians from around the world have gathered in California to train and perform this month. As VOA’s Mike O’Sullivan reports from Los Angeles, the international program called iPalpiti, from the Italian word for heartbeats, is a labor of love for a Russian-born conductor who says music can break …

Jonathan Gold, who became the first restaurant critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for criticism, has died. He was 57. The Los Angeles Times, where Gold most recently worked, reported that he died Saturday after being diagnosed earlier this month with pancreatic cancer. “I can’t imagine the city without him. …

A group of 15 amputees has overcome physical challenges to form a soccer team in the Gaza Strip. A member of the Palestinian Legislative Council has organized what he calls the “Team of Heroes” after watching Turkish and British amputees in a soccer match last year. Arash Arabasadi reports. …