Entertainment

Auckland's Polyfest welcomes crowds back for 48th year

With crowds allowed back to watch performances, around 60,000 people took the opportunity to do this over the four-day event reports Tagata Pasifika. 

And it was a welcome return, says new Samoan stage judge Nafanuatele Lafitaga Mafaufau-Peters, who was thoroughly impressed by the turn out. 

“It’s been amazing,” she says.

“Coming from being a teacher and being on the other side of this whole process I’ve just been so proud of the students in terms of their energy (and) their effort.” 

Wellington hosting Pasifika Festival

It will be held at Odlins Plaza on the waterfront and feature performances by traditional and contemporary Pacific artists.

There will also be traditional pacific food, including a Pacific Island Cook-Off and a range of family-friendly activities.

The festival will be MCed by Tofiga Fepulea'i a former member of the comedy duo the Laughing Samoans.

The Wellington council says it is an opportunity for all Pacific people to celebrate and share their knowledge, values and beliefs.

The Wellington Pasifika Festival runs from 12 noon until 6pm.

 

Rita Ora to host EMA in London

The ceremony is being held in London for the first time in more than 20 years.

"I've always watched it, since I was younger," says Rita, who was born in Kosovo. "I've always kind of had memories from the MTV EMAs and I'm from Europe."

The singer will perform her new music at the event on 12 November at the SSE Arena in Wembley.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced the venue news in February as part of his London Is Open campaign.

Mr Khan said it was proof England's capital hadn't become "insular" since the UK voted to leave the EU in last year's referendum.

Sofia Vergara is highest paid actress

It's not a huge surprise - she's been top of the list for the last six years in a row.

Between 1 June 2016 and 1 June 2017 she made $41.5m (£30m) before taxes from a variety of different projects.

Roughly a quarter of her money comes from her role in the show Modern Family and the rest comes from licensing and endorsement deals.

The reason Sofia, who plays Gloria Delgado-Pritchett in Modern Family is making so much money is because she is a good businesswoman.

The actress is the face for brands such as Head & Shoulders, Pepsi and CoverGirl.

Harry Styles T-shirt cost more

Fans noticed that while XS, small and medium sizes cost $40 (£29), large, XL and XXL shirts cost $45 (£33).

The company selling merchandise at his LA gig says it was an error.

"There was a mistake in size pricing at [Wednesday] night's show," according to a representative for Live Nation. "Harry and his team were unaware and this has now been rectified."

Harry Styles opened his North America tour in San Francisco on Tuesday before playing at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Inside the Fast & Furious arena show

The show will bring film sequences to life in an arena, as well as bring in new elements.

It will debut in London at the O2 in January 2018 before a four-year world tour.

"I just took a few weeks off work and wrote the whole show," writer and creative director Roland French tells Newsbeat.

"I always believed Fast & Furious would make an incredible live show.

"Nobody had asked me to write it."

Madonna: 'I want to reinvent pop tours'

From its hydraulic stage to Jean-Paul Gaultier's iconic costumes, it raised the bar for stadium-sized spectacle.

Now, after seven huge world tours, the star tells the BBC she's "exploring" a smaller-scale show in the future.

"I've done so many shows - world tours, stadiums, sports arenas, you name it - that I feel like I have to reinvent that now too," she explains.

"I like doing intimate shows and being able to talk directly to the audience.

'American Assassin' helped Dylan O'Brien get back on his feet

O'Brien knows what it's like to come out of the other side of a traumatic incident, and he used it to bring this character, based on the one created by Vince Flynn for a series of novels, from page to big screen.

"I felt like I really understood this character in a way more than I ever could have, funny enough," he told CNN.

In March 2016, O'Brien was seriously injured while filming the third film in the "Maze Runner" franchise.

The actor suffered multiple injuries, including a facial fracture, and production on the film was shuttered for months.

Long time actor, Harry Dean Stanton dies

Stanton passed away Friday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Stanton, whose gaunt, worn looks were more recognizable to many than his name, appeared in more than 100 films and 50 television shows, including the films "Alien" and "Repo Man" and the series "Big Love" and the recent version of "Twin Peaks."

For many years, Stanton played lesser-billed characters. In 1984, he got his first part as a leading man in "Paris, Texas," which won a host of awards, including the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

'It' breaks box office records with monster opening weekend

The new adaptation of Stephen King's classic novel brought in an estimated $117.1 million for Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema at the North American box office this weekend, its first in theaters.

That is the largest opening for a film debuting in September, nearly $70 million more than the previous record. According to Warner Bros., it is also the largest opening for a horror movie ever.

"It" was also the third biggest opening of the year. Only Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" and Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" did better in their first weekends.