Entertainment

WASHINGTON (AP) – A 3,500-year-old clay tablet discovered in the ruins of the library of an ancient Mesopotamian king, then looted from an Iraqi museum 30 years ago, is finally headed back to Iraq. The $1.7 million cuneiform clay tablet was found in 1853 as part of a 12-tablet collection in the rubble of the library of Assyrian King Assur Banipal. Officials believe it was illegally imported into the United States in 2003, then sold to Hobby Lobby and eventually put on display in its Museum of the Bible in the nation’s capital. Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations seized the tablet - known as the Gilgamesh Dream tablet - from the museum in September 2019. The Gilgamesh tablet is part of a section of a Sumerian poem from the Epic of Gilgamesh. It is one of the world’s oldest ...

NEW YORK (AP) — Melvin Van Peebles, the groundbreaking playwright, musician and movie director whose work ushered in the “Blaxploitation” wave of the 1970s and influenced filmmakers long after, has died. He was 89. His family said in a statement that Van Peebles, father of the actor-director Mario Van Peebles, died Tuesday evening at his home in Manhattan. “Dad knew that Black images matter. If a picture is worth a thousand words, what was a movie worth?” Mario Van Peebles said in a statement Wednesday. “We want to be the success we see, thus we need to see ourselves being free. True liberation did not mean imitating the colonizer’s mentality. It meant appreciating the power, beauty and interconnectivity of all people.” Sometimes called the “godfather of modern Black cinema,” the multitale...

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain — Taking center stage in a prestigious Spanish film festival to receive a top career award, actor Johnny Depp presented himself as a victim of the “cancel culture” that, he said, has spread across the cinema industry. Depp was addressing questions on Wednesday by reporters at the San Sebastian International Film Festival about the loss of Hollywood’s favor for new roles ever since his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard, went public with allegations of domestic violence against him. A British judge last year found the allegations to be “substantially correct.” “It’s a very complex situation, this cancel-culture, or this instant rush to judgment based on essentially what amounts to polluted air,” the 58-year-old actor responded. “It’s got so far out of hand that I can assure y...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Britney Spears said in a court filing Wednesday that she agrees with her father that the conservatorship that has controlled her life and money since 2008 should be terminated. The filing in Los Angeles Superior Court from Spears‘ attorney Mathew Rosengart says she “fully consents” to “expeditiously” ending the conservatorship, which her father James Spears, who has controlled it for most of its 13 years, asked for in a Sept. 7 petition. It’s the first time Britney Spears has called for an end to the arrangement in court documents, though she has called for its termination in hearings. Her filing emphasizes, however, that it is more important to her that her father be removed, calling it “a necessary first — and substantial — step towards Ms. Spears’s freedom and ending ...

A leading women’s advocacy group is calling out the OnlyFans website, saying the content subscription service has no plan to address child sexual abuse and human trafficking since it has reversed its decision to weed out pornographic content. “What is glaringly missing is any serious commitment or outline by OnlyFans about how it plans to stop the criminal activity, sexual abuse and exploitation — including of children — that it is hosting and profiting from on its site,” Lina Nealon, director of corporate and strategic initiatives for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), told The Washington Times. OnlyFans spokeswoman Ami Gan said the London-based company protects minors by requiring users be over 18, following the five-government agreement “Voluntary Principles to Counter ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Willie Garson, who played Stanford Blatch, Carrie Bradshaw’s friend on TV’s “Sex and the City” and its movie sequels, has died, his son announced Tuesday. He was 57. “I love you so much papa. Rest In Peace and I’m so glad you got to share all your adventures with me and were able to accomplish so much,” Nathen Garson wrote on Instagram. “I’m so proud of you.” “You always were the toughest and funniest and smartest person I’ve known,” his son added. PHOTOS: Celebrity deaths in 2021: The famous faces we've lost No details of his death were released. Messages seeking comment from his representatives weren’t immediately returned. Garson portrayed Blatch, a talent agent and the devoted and stylish best male friend to Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie for six seasons. He re...

The Fast and Furious franchise’s latest blockbuster offered the ninth movie in the series this summer with a successful release to theaters worldwide, while still in the midst of a pandemic no less. Director Justin Lin‘s extreme action film now exists in the ultra-high definition disc format in F9: The Fast Saga (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, rated PG-13, 2.39:1 aspect ratio, 149 minutes, $49.98). In the story, intelligence officer Mr. Nobody’s (Kurt Russell) plane goes down after a successful escape attempt by arch-villain and cyberterrorist Cipher (Charlize Theron), and a familiar ragtag team of former street racers and covert ops specialists get back together to find their friend and stop a plot to control the world through its computer systems. Led by Dominic Toretto (Vin Dies...

While some traditional over-the-board tournaments are now coming back to life, the COVID-19 scare is still proving too much for the biennial Chess Olympiad, given the logistical and safety concerns of hosting nearly 200 open and women’s teams from around the world. Still, FIDE’s monthlong “Online Olympiad 2021” is proving a decent second-best alternative, with 155 national squads competing in rapid matches that culminated in an eight-country knockout playoff. In a nice twist, the six-player squads are balanced with at least two female stars and two under-20 junior players. Anchored by GM Jeffery Xiong and Ray Robson, the U.S. team put on a spirited run, upsetting India in the semifinals before losing out on the gold medal in last week’s finals to Russia. Russia’s strong female contingent —...

British guitar legend Eric Clapton played a show over the weekend in a New Orleans arena that conditions entry on COVID-19 vaccination, even though he has said he would avoid those types of venues. Mr. Clapton, who received the AstraZeneca vaccine but is fiercely critical of mandates, played at the Smoothie King Center, which requires patrons older than 12 to show proof of vaccination or a negative test within the prior 72 hours. A review in the Times-Picayune newspaper suggested the “test result loophole apparently allowed Clapton to, in good conscience, perform at the Smoothie King Center.” Mr. Clapton, 76, told activist Robin Monotti Graziadei in July that “unless there is provision made for all people to attend, I reserve the right to cancel the show.” The blues rock guitarist says he ...

LONDON (AP) — Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi have had a baby daughter, Buckingham Palace said Monday. The baby, who was born on Saturday at London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, weighed 6 pounds and 2 ounces (2.78 kilos). Her name was not immediately revealed. The new baby’s grandparents and great-grandparents have all been informed. She is Queen Elizabeth II’s 12th great-grandchild. Beatrice, who is 10th in the line of succession to the British throne, is the eldest daughter of Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York. Beatrice married millionaire property tycoon Mapelli Mozzi in July 2020 in a private wedding ceremony at the Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, Windsor. The ceremony strictly adhered to COVID-19 rules that limited gathering...