Tom Cruise, Barbie Are Hollywood’s Last Hope for Summer Success
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the fifth film in the Walt Disney Co. series about a
2023-07-06 17:58
Lioness Katie Zelem: Nerves are good – it’s just about channelling them the right way
Manchester United star Katie Zelem wants one thing if England win the World Cup: Oreo milkshakes. “After games, I like to have an Oreo milkshake. That’s my go-to thing – so simple and easy, but I just love it. So, if we win, I will have a lot of Oreo milkshakes,” Zelem, 27, says with a laugh. But if Oreo milkshakes are Zelem’s top priority after she’s played, what fuels her before a match? “Before games, I’ll always eat pasta. I lived in Italy for a year, so pasta is one of my favourite things and [living in Italy] really gave me inspiration for different types, rather than just the basic stuff.” Training for a major tournament is no small feat, and combined with nutrition, camp before the tournament will be intense.“Obviously, people are all at different stages of [fitness]; some finished the league a bit earlier, and some played more minutes than others, so it’s about getting on the same page, and then ramping it up. It’ll be running, training, gym, everything you can think of.” Facing disappointment when she was not selected for the Euros team, the fresh Lioness has worked hard to get the call-up.“Last year, with the Euros, it didn’t quite go to plan, so I’m so proud of the season I’ve had. We’ve got our rewards by being selected to represent England at a World Cup,” Manchester-born Zelem divulges. “My first major tournament and I’m so excited.” But waiting for the news as to whether she would be heading to Australia and New Zealand, where the Women’s World Cup is taking place this summer, was nerve-wracking. Zelem didn’t want to miss her shot again. “I was actually at home, waiting,” she says. We knew we were going to get a FaceTime call, so it was an anxious morning for everyone.” Heading to her first World Cup, there are bound to be some nerves. “It is a good thing to feel nervous. You’re out. You’re at a World Cup. It should be a little bit nerve-wracking, playing with and against the best players in the world. Nerves are good. It’s just about channelling them in the right way,” Zelem adds calmly. Zelem is looking forward to being reunited with legendary Lioness, fellow midfielder and Barcelona player, Keira Walsh. “I do love joining up with the girls and playing with everyone, but Keira Walsh is a really good friend of mine and I have known her for about 15 years. We played together at the youth age groups a lot, we have done a lot of training camps in England,” the footballer explains. “She moved, and went from being on the doorstep to a totally different country. So, there’ll be a nice reunion at our first major tournament together.” Of course, there will be some noticeable players missing in Beth Mead and Leah Williamson, as ACL injuries have ravaged teams all over the world this season. “One or two is unlucky, but I think so many is just crazy. It certainly needs to be looked at – whether it’s our training load or the changes in play in minutes. As you see the women’s game rise and grow, the expectations become to play more games and have less recovery,” Zelem notes. It means the Lionesses of the Euros have had a shake-up. The new squad is missing its captain and top scorer, but Zelem and the rest of the team are still dreaming of World Cup victory. Katie Zelem, England Lioness and Manchester United Captain, is the brand ambassador for the healthy recipe box service Green Chef which is all about healthy living, your way.
2023-07-06 17:23
Lewis Hamilton must be ‘cold-blooded’ in new Mercedes contract negotiations
Damon Hill insists Lewis Hamilton has to be “cold-blooded” in contract negotiations with Mercedes with a new deal yet to be penned. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion, who has won six of his seven titles with Mercedes, has been with the Silver Arrows since 2013 and while both Hamilton and team boss Toto Wolff maintain a fresh contract is an inevitability, the deal has still not been completed. The 38-year-old, an eight-time winner at his home grand prix at Silverstone where the F1 paddock roll into this weekend, was heavily linked with Ferrari a few months back but quickly downplayed suggestions a switch to the Scuderia was in the works. And 1996 F1 world champion Hill, while appreciating the “romance” of such a move, insists switching allegiance would represent a “huge risk.” “Any driver who doesn’t know what the options are is missing an opportunity,” Hill tells The Independent, ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix. “But would he really go to Ferrari? From a strategic point of view, it would be a huge risk to go to Ferrari. Everyone would love to be in red and win, see what happened with Nigel [Mansell]. “It’s a romance really but you’ve got to be cold-blooded about it. He’s not going to go to Red Bull either.” Elaborating on why a new contract has been so long in the pipeline, Hill said: “As I understand it, the contract won’t just be a racing contract – it will be a full Mercedes ambassadorial contract. “That requires a different board to sign off on it, can’t just be signed off by Toto. There’ll be some board meetings in Germany.” Red Bull have won all nine races so far this season and are cruising to another double title win, with Max Verstappen 81 points ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez in the world championship. Hill, himself a British GP winner in 1994, now believes the most exciting storyline in 2023 is whether Christian Horner’s team can do the unprecedented and win every grand prix, with 22 races in total on this year’s calendar. “Can they win every race? It’s never been done before – they’ll be sitting there thinking ‘we can’t count on it, but we’d love to do it.’ “My experience tells me that something will prevent that – Fernando [Alonso] or Lewis will win again. But if they don’t, Max could win everything frankly. “What an achievement that would be and how tense would that make the last few races.” Red Bull, however, will need to break a Silverstone hoodoo this weekend – they have not won the British Grand Prix since 2012 with Mark Webber. Verstappen was foiled by a mechanical issue during last year’s thrilling race, won by Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz after a lengthy stoppage following Zhou Guanyu’s upside-down crash, and should something similar with the Dutchman happen this year, Horner will turn to Perez to bring home the trophy. Yet the Mexican has struggled in recent months since winning in Azerbaijan at the end of April, though did have something of a return to form with second place in last week’s race in Austria. Nevertheless, Hill says Perez should be looking over his shoulder. “I think he’s already under pressure,” he says. “They cannot afford to have a car that good and not have two cars right up there for the championship. Pressed on who could replace Perez should Red Bull, as has been customary in the past, look to ruthlessly move on from Perez when his contract expires at the end of 2024, Hill added: “Is Daniel Ricciardo fit enough to come back? “That’s what the noises are. Maybe that plan is simmering away. I think they’d want a fresh face. “Possibly Lando [Norris]. He’s still got a few more years left at McLaren – I was surprised when he signed such a long-term deal [until end of 2025]. It’s a long time, I’d have done three years tops. “If you’re that confident in yourself, you need to be able to move when the time is right.” Hill was speaking at the Damon Hill Festival of Karting at Daytona Sandown, which raised funds for Halow – a charity which supports young people with learning disabilities and autism. Hill is a co-founder of the Halow project. Read More Why is Brad Pitt filming at Silverstone during the British Grand Prix? It hurts – Lando Norris reflects on his ‘toughest season’ ahead of British GP David Coulthard looks at the key issues surrounding Lewis Hamilton’s next deal F1 release 2024 calendar with radical change to start of the season F1 descends into farce again after results shake-up – the FIA has to be better Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz demoted after Austrian Grand Prix penalty chaos
2023-07-06 16:28
Heather Locklear's friends concerned after troubled star loses 20lbs and can't stay off tequila
Heather Locklear's 25-year-old daughter, Ava, has reportedly witnessed her mother's struggles with addiction firsthand
2023-07-06 15:53
The Barbie press tour has finally rescued Margot Robbie’s red carpet reputation
There are still three weeks to go before anyone gets to actually see Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie, but it’s already completely monopolised pop culture, from music to fashion to furniture. Google “Barbiecore” and you’ll find the film’s pink-plastic aesthetic infiltrating everything you can imagine, with TikTok clips offering detailed outfit suggestions to viral Twitter threads praising individual looks from the film’s characters. But nothing is getting quite as much attention as Barbie herself. Or, more specifically, the red carpet wardrobe of the actor playing her. Across social media, Margot Robbie has been the subject of endless posts, threads and reels as a result of her chosen ensembles. “Margot Robbie had the chance to do the greatest fashion press tour ever and lord did she take it,” reads one tweet. “Margot Robbie just absolutely slaying all her Barbie press tour looks,” adds another. Meanwhile, British Vogue recently described her as an “unstoppable fashion force”. In typical Hollywood, none of this would be particularly remarkable. Robbie is, after all, an A-list star with an entire entourage of people whose job it is to make sure she looks her best all of the time. The fact that she keeps knocking it out of the park on the Barbie press tour, then, should just be par for the course. But, for Robbie, this carries special significance. Rewind just a few months, and Robbie’s red carpet presence had become something of a political issue. In January, social media was alight with derision for her red carpet wardrobe, mostly due to her long-standing partnership with Chanel. According to Robbie’s fans, the actor’s sense of personal style had been neutered by the luxury Franch conglomerates, with many insisting – albeit without any real evidence – that she was being forced into wearing garments she didn’t actually like. Celebrity stylist Elliot Garnaut labelled Robbie the “worst-dressed” celebrity in Hollywood, adding that someone at Chanel “obviously hates her”. Of course, nobody knew how true or false such claims were. But fans noticed a marked difference in Robbie’s demeanour whenever she stepped out in a designer ensemble that wasn’t Chanel. There was an entire Bottega Veneta phase, for example, where photos of the actor went viral alongside speculation that she was entering her “new fashion era”, finally unshackled from Chanel’s chains. What all of this taught us was that people quite clearly care quite a lot about what Robbie wears. Now it seems they care more than ever. The actor truly hasn’t missed a beat with her press tour wardrobe, tapping into cult vintage looks and recreating actual Barbie doll outfits. As is expected, there is a lot of pink. But it’s not just happening on the red carpet. Remember the iconic tweed blazer originally worn by Claudia Schiffer on the spring/summer Chanel 1996 runway? Robbie was spotted wearing it with jeans and a white crop top when she landed at Sydney airport last month. Her luggage was also pink, naturally. Another Chanel moment came via a sunshine-yellow tweed suit that looked like it had been plucked straight out of Cher Horowitz’s wardrobe. Speaking of co-ords, we’ve seen plenty. There was the pink gingham Prada set Robbie wore to CinemaCon 2023, and the bespoke Bottega Veneta pleated skirt and crop top that the label made especially for the press tour (the exact shade of pink matches that of Barbie’s car). Elsewhere, we’ve seen Robbie wearing the iconic pink polo neck and metallic skirt by Versace from its autumn/winter 1994 collection – fashion fans will remember photos of Kate Moss wearing this on the runway. She paired the look with white platform sandals and lilac socks: a perfect way to accessorise like a doll. Another standout vintage Versace look from the same collection came at a Barbie event in Sydney, where the star wore a pink sequin minidress complete with a corseted bodice. But the undisputed highlight has been the moments in which Robbie directly references Barbie herself, with looks taken from 1950s dolls. At a press conference in Seoul, Robbie dressed in a pink sparkling skirt suit covered in crystal studs, complete with a heart-shaped bag and a pillbox hat. Then there was the “day to night” doll look from 1985 that Robbie recreated – courtesy of Versace – in a pink pencil skirt suit with white lapels and matching high heels. The actor referenced another look worn by the same doll later that night, in a tulle Versace dress complete with a sparkling bodysuit. Over in Sydney, we saw the actor don a striped bodycon minidress by Hervé Léger that paid homage to a swimsuit worn by a Barbie doll from 1959. And at a photocall in LA, Robbie wore a pink polka dot cutout dress from Valentino that referenced a similar frock worn by another original Barbie doll. And in a double whammy of references, it was also a remake of a similar gown worn by Karen Mulder on the brand’s spring 1993 runway. All of this has been the work of celebrity styling mastermind Andrew Mukamal, who has worked with everyone from Zoe Kravitz and Billie Eilish to Kieran Culkin and Irina Shayk. “We’re always thinking about risks to take,” Mukami once told Vogue of his long-standing partnership with Kravitz. “We want to make an impact and create iconic moments that people will remember and be drawn to.” It seems he’s taken this exact modus operandi and applied it to Robbie, too. And thank goodness, because Barbie is nothing if not defined by what she wears. In 2023, that might sound reductive. But given Gerwig’s esteemed reputation and what we know about the film so far, we have every reason to believe that fashion, much like everything else, will prove to be an important and meaningful platform in the script. Robbie’s archival wardrobe also marks the latest sign that red carpet fashion is leaning increasingly backwards. The only outfits that matter are those that we’ve seen before. At least, that’s how it seems when you consider the fanfare surrounding celebrities any time they get their hands on a cult vintage look. This taps into the sartorial zeitgeist of shunning fast fashion in favour of sustainable alternatives. But it also suggests a slightly less exciting prospect that fashion is running out of new ideas. Even at the Met Gala, fashion’s greatest global stage, some of the most talked-about looks were vintage. Is this the death knell for originality? And what of Robbie’s own style progression? Once the Barbie press tour is over, will she go back to grinning weakly in Chanel pastels? Nodding to fashion history is a worthwhile cause. But it’s something the Queen of fashion herself, Vogue’s Anna Wintour, famously despises: “Fashion’s not about looking back. It’s always about looking forward,” she once said. Try as she might, Robbie can’t dress like a doll for the rest of her life. So perhaps this marks the start of a new costume-orientated era for the actor, one where fashion will be taken more seriously than ever before. Funnily enough, it’s a modus operandi that puts her more in sync with Barbie than anyone could have anticipated. ‘Barbie’ is in cinemas from 21 July Read More Hostage to fashion: Margot Robbie’s Chanel problem speaks to a wider red carpet crisis Walk this way... but not like that: How men’s walks became sexualised Plastic fantastic: Barbiecore is the fashion movement turning hyper-femininity on its head
2023-07-06 13:56
First Saudi at Paris Fashion Week underlines dramatic changes
Saudi Arabia is continuing its multi-billion-dollar entry into all aspects of global culture, hitting a new milestone on Thursday with the first Saudi designer presenting...
2023-07-06 13:28
A year after Sri Lanka unrest, Slave Island hungers
As Sri Lankans flocked to a jubilant street party celebrating their president's ouster, retired accountant Milton Perera sat at home pondering whether his family could...
2023-07-06 11:58
President-toppling Sri Lanka activist girds for new revolt
A Sri Lankan jail witnessed a rare moment of accord last year when both prisoners and guards clamoured to greet its newest inmate: the man...
2023-07-06 11:48
Man accused of raping and impregnating child in Ohio is sentenced to life in prison after guilty plea
A man accused of impregnating an Ohio child -- a girl who then went to Indiana for an abortion in a case that became a flashpoint in debates about post-Roe v. Wade abortion rights -- was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to rape, according to court documents.
2023-07-06 09:48
Iowa GOP governor calls special session with 'sole purpose' of passing abortion restrictions
Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Wednesday that she will convene a special legislative session next week for the sole task of passing abortion restrictions.
2023-07-06 07:24
Fictional pop stars ranked: from 'The Idol's Jocelyn to Hannah Montana
The Idol's release has rehashed my love for fictional pop stars. Sure, Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp)
2023-07-06 04:50
Iowa's Republican governor calls a special legislative session to revive abortion restrictions
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has called a special legislative session so lawmakers can enact new abortion restrictions
2023-07-06 03:59