Princess Diana wanted to run away with bodyguard: new tapes

Agencies
July 31, 2017

London, Jul 30: Princess Diana wanted to run away with a bodyguard with whom she had fallen "deeply in love" to escape her loveless marriage with Prince Charles, according to Diana's privately recorded videos with her voice coach which are set to be aired for the first time in the UK.

The former Princess of Wales, who was killed in a car crash in Paris 20 years ago, had recorded the tapes with Peter Settelen at Kensington Palace in 1992-1993.

They are now set to be aired for the first time as part of a documentary on the UK's Channel 4 next week.

In the recordings, she admits falling in love with her bodyguard Barry Mannakee and also discloses her conversations with Charles over his affair with then Camilla Parker-Bowles.

"When I was 24 or 25 I fell deeply in love with someone who worked in this environment. I was quite happy to give all this up..just to go off and live. He [Mannakee] kept saying he thought it a good idea too," she is heard saying in excerpts published in 'The Sunday Times'.

"I just needed someone to tell me I was all right and he mentally kicked me outside and made me go and do my engagements because I used to scream in this room [in Kensington Palace]. I should never have played with fire and I did and I got burnt," she says.

Diana, however, denies that it was a sexual relationship and says that "it was all found out and he was chucked out and then he was killed [in a motorbike accident] and that was the biggest blow of my life".

"He was the greatest friend I've ever had. That was a real killer," she says.In the tapes, she also describes the blunt response by Charles on being confronted about his affair as, "I refuse to be the only Prince of Wales who never had a mistress".

She also recounts going to see her mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II, at the height of the crisis in the royal marriage, who reportedly said of her son, "I don't know what you should do, Charles is hopeless".Diana's brother Earl Spencer has urged Channel 4 to refrain from airing extracts from the tapes next week as they would cause distress to Diana's sons Princes William and Harry.

Settelen had been hired to help Diana prepare to publicly present her account of events after the couple separated in 1991.

Although much of the footage is of voice lessons, at times she answered personal questions.

The Channel 4 extracts are taken from seven tapes but there were believed to be 12 in all, with five still missing.

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Agencies
February 10,2020

Hollywood star Joaquin Phoenix finally ended his dry run at the Oscars as he picked up the best actor trophy for his performance in and as "Joker" at the 92nd Academy Awards.

The 45-year-old actor had earlier bagged a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his turn as a failed, unhinged stand-up comedian who descends into chaos.

In a lengthy and rambling speech, Phoenix touched upon racism, climate change and gender inequality. He also remembered his brother River Phoenix, who died of a drug overdose at the age of 23 in 1993.

"When he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric. He said, 'run to the rescue with love and peace will follow'," Phoenix said. At the Academy Awards and the entire Hollywood award season, Phoenix had emerged as an undisputed frontrunner even though he was up against the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio ("Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"), Adam Driver ("Marriage Story"), "Antonio Banderas ("Pain & Glory") and Jonathan Pryce ("The Two Popes").

An Oscar had eluded Phoenix for the most part of his career, despite his successful collaborations with Ridley Scott ("Gladiator"), James Mangold ("Walk The Line") and Paul Thomas Anderson ("The Master"), all of which had earned him nominations.

But as Arthur Fleck aka The Joker, Phoenix finally managed to break that jinx and became the second actor to win an Oscar for playing the DC comic book villain after the posthumous best supporting actor win to Heath Ledger in 2008.

As Joker, Phoenix took a deep dive into character, capturing its essence as well as maniacal spirit in both body and soul.

He lost 52 pounds to get into the physicality of Fleck and turned to a pathological disorder to get his distinct laughter right.

Phillips wrote the part keeping Phoenix in mind though the actor took some convincing to play the role.

Phoenix started the film's festival circuit tour on a positive note at Cannes last year that followed by stops at Venice and Toronto.

The film had also courted controversies, owing to its theme of gun violence in the movie as well as Phoenix's temperamental press tour that saw him walking out of an interview midway.

But critics and the fans loved the actor's riveting turn in the movie and his pointed speeches.

At the Golden Globes, he called out the industry for its insensitivity towards climate change and pulled up his peers for using private jets for travel, while at the SAGs, he joked how he would always lose a role to DiCaprio and asked Christian Bale to deliver a bad performance for once in his career.

In his acceptance speech at the BAFTAs, Phoenix acknowledged the lack of diversity in the nominations, calling himself a part of the problem. Phoenix's career most praised performances include "Signs ", "We Own the Night", "Two Lovers", "The Immigrant", "Her", "You Were Never Really Here" and "Inherent Vice".

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Agencies
June 7,2020

Washington D.C., Jun 7: South Korean pop band BTS and their record label Big Hit Entertainment have donated USD one million to support Black Lives Matter.

According to Variety, the donation was transferred earlier this week, with Black Lives Matter confirming receipt to the label on Friday.

"Black people all over the world are in pain at this moment from the trauma of centuries of oppression. We are moved by the generosity of BTS and allies all over the world who stand in solidarity in the fight for Black lives," the outlet quoted Kailee Scales, managing director for Black Lives Matter as saying.

The widely lauded band, earlier on Wednesday, took to Twitter to show their solidarity with the people fighting against the social injustice.

"We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together," the tweet read.

The pledge of the donation from the Korean boy band and its label comes during a time when people and celebrities from the industry have come forward to demonstrate their support for the black community.

Several big names from the music and acting industry also observed 'Blackout Tuesday' earlier the week as a message of solidarity in response o the death of George Floyd, an African-American man in the United States.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Mumbai, Jan 10: Superstar Salman Khan on Friday announced that his Eid 2021 release will be titled "Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali".

The 54-year-old actor took to Twitter to announce the movie which will be written and produced by filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala.

"Housefull 4" helmer Farhad Samjhi will be directing the film.

"Announcing my next film... 'Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali'. Story and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. Directed by Farhad Samji. Eid 2021," Salman tweeted.

The actor, whose last release "Dabangg 3" performed moderately at the box office, will next be seen in Prabhudheva's "Radhe". The film will hit the theatres on Eid this year.

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