MOVIES

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The United Arab Emirates announced on Sunday that it will no longer censor films released in cinemas, the country's latest effort to boost its brand as a liberal hub attractive to foreigners.

Instead of cutting sensitive scenes that could offend traditional Islamic sensibilities, the Emirati Media Regulatory Authority will introduce a new 21+ age category for viewers.

“The movies will be screened in cinemas according to their international version,” the authority said in a Twitter post.

Censors in the UAE, like elsewhere in the Middle East, have long removed scenes in cinematic releases that show nudity, homosexuality, sex and other content deemed inappropriate  sometimes leading to plot holes.

Foreigners outnumber locals nearly nine to one in the federation of seven sheikhdoms. The diversity of culture and religion in the tourism-dependent country has at times been at odds with its Islamic laws and traditions.

But that's changing as the nation promotes its socially liberal environment to lure international workers. The government has reformed its Islamic legal code and next year will change its weekend to Saturday-Sunday to align with the Western businesses and markets.

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Photo Credit: Kevin Lamarque

Leonardo DiCaprio is in final talks to play religious cult leader Jim Jones in MGM’s upcoming feature film.

Written by “Venom” scribe Scott Rosenberg, “Jim Jones” will also have DiCaprio on board as producer.

According to Deadline, the Oscar-winner will back the project via his Appian Way company alongside Jennifer Davisson.

Jim Jones was the leader of the Peoples Temple religious group, founded in Indianapolis in 1955. He was behind the November 1978 mass suicide at his Jonestown settlement that took more than 900 lives, including 304 children.

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Antonio Banderas is joining the star-studded cast of Indiana Jones 5. The news was announced Thursday but with no clues as to the character the 60-year-old Spanish actor will be playing, Variety reported. 

Production on the highly-anticipated project is currently underway in the UK although star Harrison Ford, 79, is currently unable to film due to a shoulder injury he sustained on set.

He's most famous for voicing Puss In Boots in the Shrek animated franchise and first came to prominence in Hollywood in the 1990s with roles in Philadelphia, Interview With The Vampire and Mask of Zorro.

Photo Credit: Variety

The head of the Cannes Film Festival took a swipe at rival events on Monday, saying some had been too quick to allow movies made by streaming giants into their main competitions without applying strict rules, and had harmed cinema as a result.

Platforms like Netflix have thrived during the COVID-19 pandemic and picked up several top film awards, while studios and cinemas have struggled as coronavirus restrictions closed movie theatres and pushed more viewers online.

Cannes, the world's biggest cinema showcase which kicks off on the French Riviera on Tuesday, has long been at odds with streaming companies, insisting on a theatrical release in France for any film selected to compete for its top film award.