Month: August 2023

Iranian cinema directors have ridiculed a six-month suspended prison sentence handed down to Saeed Roustayi and his producer for showcasing their movie at last year’s Cannes Film Festival without authorization, saying the move was designed to divert attention from the upcoming anniversary of the eruption of nationwide protests.

They also said international reaction to the sentence earlier this week was laughable.

The Iranian Cinema Directors Association said in an Instagram post that it was “the strangest judiciary sentence in the history of Iranian cinema.”

It said that the movie, “Leila’s Brothers,” had been approved by the government, and that the Iranian government itself had participated at the Cannes festival for years. “Such a strange sentence is a futile attempt to humiliate this young and intelligent filmmaker of Iranian cinema,” the association said.

Roustayi and Javad Noruzbegi have received heavy government funding throughout their careers.

Several independent filmmakers said they saw the sentence as a diversion from the upcoming anniversary of the Sept. 16, 2022, death in custody of Mahsa Amini. She had been detained for allegedly flouting the dress code, and her death sparked nationwide protests in the Islamic republic.

“The sentence is a joke. They [the authorities] want us to forget Mahsa’s anniversary,” filmmaker Mahnaz Mohammadi told Reuters.

She also said international filmmakers’ reaction was laughable as they had fallen into what she called the authorities’ trap in giving the sentence too much importance.

Filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola have shared a petition calling for “justice” for Roustayi and Noruzbegi.

Roustayi, 34, and Noruzbegi, 57, will serve one-twentieth of their jail sentence, about nine days. The remainder will be suspended over five years, according to the reformist Etemad newspaper.

During their suspension period, the defendants will have to take a filmmaking course on the “preservation of national and ethical interests.” They will also not be allowed to meet with other cinema professionals.

“Please, Mr. Scorsese! Do not, for a six-month suspended sentence, divert the attention from Mahsa’s anniversary and women’s demands for their rights, which are being increasingly violated by the day,” said an Iranian film director, asking not to be identified further.
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A Swiss citizen was arrested in military-ruled Myanmar for creating a film that allegedly insulted Buddhism, state media reported Saturday.

Didier Nusbaumer, 52, was arrested on Aug. 8 along with 13 Myanmar nationals, including a 12-year-old girl, Myanma Alinn newspaper said.

Insulting Buddhism is a punishable offense in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where religious nationalism has surged in recent years. About 90% of Myanmar people are Buddhist.

The news report said that Nusbaumer wrote, filmed and edited the 75-minute movie Don’t Expect Anything, which was posted on YouTube on July 24. Short clips from the movie spread on social media including on TikTok and Facebook, drawing rebukes from Buddhist nationalists in Myanmar.

“Although the people in the film’s main roles are Buddhist, they behaved inappropriately and degraded the dignity and morals of monks through their physical gestures and dialogue,” the media report said.

The report did not say where any of the suspects were being held.

Myanmar has been ruled by its army since February 2021, when it seized power from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Nusbaumer is not the first foreigner to be detained in Myanmar after being accused of insulting Buddhism.

In March 2015, a New Zealand citizen who was arrested with two Myanmar nationals was sentenced to 2 1/2 years imprisonment with hard labor for insulting Buddhism in an online advertisement that showed a psychedelic depiction of Buddha wearing DJ-style headphones. He was deported the following year.

In October 2016, a Dutch tourist was jailed for three months with hard labor for insulting Buddhism after he unplugged a loudspeaker used by Buddhist monks to broadcast a late-night sermon in the country’s second-largest city, Mandalay. He was deported after serving his jail term.

In the same year, a Spanish tourist was deported from Myanmar after authorities found a tattoo of Buddha on his leg.
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North Korean taekwondo athletes and officials were traveling through Beijing on Friday morning, apparently the country’s first delegation to travel abroad since the nation closed its borders in early 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group of around 80 men and women wearing white track suits with “Taekwondo-Do” printed on the back and the North Korean flag on the front were in the departure hall of Beijing’s international airport checking in and walking to customs. They reportedly arrived Wednesday or Thursday.

The group was expected to take an Air Astana flight to Kazakhstan to compete at the International Taekwon-do Federation World Championships, according to Japanese and South Korean media. The competition is being held in Astana through Aug. 30.

North Korea has extremely limited air connections at the best of times and travel all but ended when Pyongyang closed the national borders to prevent the spread of COVID-19. How badly North Koreans were affected by the illness is unknown, since most of the country’s 26 million people have no access to vaccines, lack basic health care and are restricted from sharing information with the outside world.

In September 2022, North Korea resumed freight train service with China, its biggest trading partner and economic pipeline.

On Thursday, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers that North Korea is preparing to further reopen its border gradually as part of its efforts to revitalize its struggling economy.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing that North Korea’s economy shrank each year in 2020-22 and its gross domestic product last year was 12% less than in 2016, according to Yoo Sang-bum, one of the lawmakers who attended the briefing.

The apparent resumption of travel came as the U.N. rights chief, Volker Türk, told the first open meeting of the U.N. Security Council since 2017 on North Korean human rights that the country was increasing its repression and people were becoming more desperate, with some reported to be starving as the economic situation worsens.

Türk said North Korea’s restrictions are even more extensive, with guards authorized to shoot any unauthorized person approaching the border and with almost all foreigners, including U.N. staff, still barred from the country.
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Australia already captivated a nation as co-hosts of the Women’s World Cup. Now there’s one more thing to play for, even if it’s not the fairytale ending the team had wanted for this tournament.

The Matildas play Sweden on Saturday for third place in Brisbane. Australia lost 3-1 to England in the semifinals on Wednesday, dashing hopes of playing in the title match.

“I know we’ve got the support of everyone, I know that they’re still going to come out to the game against Sweden,” midfielder Katrina Gorry said. “I know they’re always going to have our backs, but yeah, it’s just disappointing. You never want to do that on home soil.”

Indeed, the fans came out for the Matildas during their World Cup journey.

Bars and restaurants were packed around Sydney and there were live watching parties across the country for the semifinal. The sold-out crowd at Stadium Sydney was announced at 75,784, with even more gathered outside.

Australia’s men’s basketball team, the Boomers, were slated to play a tune-up game against Brazil on Wednesday night in preparation for their World Cup but moved the game up two hours to watch the Matildas in the semifinals.

Despite star Sam Kerr’s stunning goal for the hosts, the team couldn’t get by England. Even after the disappointing loss, a sign in a shop window on Sydney’s George Street read “Thank you Matildas.”

“Hopefully this has been life-changing for women’s football in Australia,” Kerr said. “I don’t think this was once in a lifetime. If you bring the product to the show, we’ve proven people will come out and support it. Hopefully we’ll get a few new fans that will stick around. Now it is time for funding and all of that stuff to be invested in the game because we’ve shown we can play the game.”

Kerr, one of the best players in the world, struggled with a calf injury at the start of the tournament, but started against England. She was a second-half substitute in the Matildas’ shootout victory over France in the quarterfinals.

Sweden was similarly disappointed to once again be out of the running for the title. The Swedes fell 2-1 to Spain on Tuesday night in Auckland.

Sweden, ranked third in the World, has never won a World Cup title. The Swedes were runners-up in 2003 to Germany and they’ve won the third-place match three times, including four years ago in France.

The Swedes were also silver medalists in both the Tokyo Olympics and the Rio Games in 2016.

“I’m tired of crying big tournament tears,” Sweden captain Kosovare Asllani said.

The Swedes made a mark on the tournament in the round of 16 when they ended the U.S. team’s run toward an unprecedented third consecutive World Cup title. Zecira Musovic had a World Cup record 11 saves and Sweden advanced on penalties after a scoreless draw — sending the Americans home earlier than ever before.

Sweden has some individual achievements to play for in its final match, including the Golden Boot award. Amanda Ilestedt has four goals, just one behind tournament leader Hinata Miyazawa of Japan.

Saturday’s match will be the last for Sweden midfielder Caroline Seger, who has played in five World Cups. She has battled a calf injury throughout the tournament and has played only sparingly.

Seger has appeared in 235 matches for Sweden, most of any player, man or woman. She did not play in the team’s knockout round matches. Should she play on Saturday, it would be her 21st appearance in a World Cup for Sweden, breaking former goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl’s record.

For both teams there’s also financial incentive.

At this World Cup, FIFA designated individual bonuses for the players out of the prize money pool. Each player in the tournament earned a base of $30,000, which grew as their teams progressed. Players on the third-place winning team will be due $185,000.
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A new study on inclusion in film shows just how much of a rarity Barbie is. For every woman as a speaking character in the most popular films of 2022, there were more than two men, according to report by University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.

The USC report, published Thursday, found that 34.6% of speaking parts were female in the top 100 box-office hits of last year. The Annenberg Inclusion Initiative has been annually tracking that and many other metrics since 2007.

And in its first such study in three years, USC researchers found that in many areas, progress toward parity on screen has stalled since the pandemic — and in some respects hasn’t changed all that much since 14 years ago. In 2019, 34% of speaking characters were female. In 2008, it was 32.8%.

“It is clear that the entertainment industry has little desire or motivation to improve casting processes in a way that creates meaningful change for girls and women,” said Stacy L. Smith, founder and director of the Inclusion Initiative, in a statement. “The lack of progress is particularly disappointing following decades of activism and advocacy.”

In analyzing the top films in ticket sales, the report doesn’t include the large amount of films produced for streaming platforms and smaller releases. But it does offer a snapshot of how Hollywood is evolving — or not.

And it comes on the heels of the enormous success of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, which has made $1.2 billion worldwide since opening last month and domestically has become the highest grossing movie ever from a female filmmaker. Last year, one in 10 of the biggest box-office films were directed by women, down from record rates in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Some findings in the study point to progress in inclusivity on screen. There are more female leading or co-leading roles in the top grossing movies than ever. Some 44% of such lead roles were girls or women in 2022, a historical high and more than double the rate of 2007 (20%).

Speaking characters from underrepresented ethnic groups have also made sizable gains. In 2022, Black, Hispanic, Asian and other non-white minorities accounted for 38.3% of speaking characters, nearly matching the U.S. population percentage of 41%. Most notably, Asian characters have gone from 3.4% of characters in 2007 to 15.9% last year, a movie year that culminated with the best picture win for Everything Everywhere All at Once.

But other metrics show that the film industry regressed in some areas of diversity during the pandemic. In 2022, the top grossing movies featured 31% of leads from underrepresented ethnic groups, down from 37% in 2021. Out of those 100 2022 movies, 46 didn’t include a Latino speaking character.

“These trends suggest that any improvement for people from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups is limited,” said Smith. “While it is encouraging to see changes for leading characters and for the Asian community, our data on invisibility suggests that there is still much more to be done to ensure that the diversity that exists in reality is portrayed on screen.”

Of the top 100 films in 2022, just 2.1% of speaking characters were LGBTQ+ — roughly the same number as a decade ago. Of the 100 films, 72 didn’t feature a single LGBTQ+ character. Only one was nonbinary.

The number of characters with disabilities has also flatlined. In 2022, 1.9% of speaking characters were depicted with a disability. In 2015, the percentage was 2.4%.

With actors and screenwriters striking over fair pay, AI and other issues, Smith said Thursday’s report should add to the demands of workers on screen and off in Hollywood.

“When people from these communities are rendered invisible both on screen and behind the camera, the need to ensure that every opportunity merits a living wage is essential. This cannot happen if people are not working at all,” said Smith. “Hollywood has a long road ahead to address the exclusion still happening in the industry alongside the concerns actors and writers are bringing to the forefront.”
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Martin Scorsese has backed a petition against the jailing of prominent Iranian movie director Saeed Roustaee for screening a film at the Cannes Film Festival.

Scorsese, the Oscar-winning director of “Taxi Driver” and “Goodfellas,” reposted a campaign launched by his daughter Francesca this week after news of Roustaee’s prison sentence emerged.

“Please sign this petition to bring justice to Saeed,” Scorsese wrote on Instagram.

Roustaee, 34, was sentenced to six months’ prison for the screening of his film “Leila’s Brothers” at the Cannes festival last year, Iranian media reported Tuesday.

The film, which recounts the economic struggles of a family in Tehran, is banned in Iran.

Roustaee and the movie’s producer, Javad Noruzbegi, were found guilty of “contributing to propaganda of the opposition against the Islamic system,” Iranian reformist daily Etemad said.

The sentence includes a ban on working for five years.

The filmmakers will only serve about nine days in prison, while the remainder “will be suspended over five years,” according to Etemad, which added that the verdict can be appealed.

In her petition Francesca Scorsese, an actor and director, wrote: “We now have less than 20 DAYS to help garner enough attention to appeal his sentence.”

She urged supporters to sign so that Roustaee “can continue to be a force of good in the world.”

The petition was two-thirds of the way to reaching its 15,000-signature target Thursday.

“Leila’s Brothers” won the International Federation of Film Critics award at Cannes last year.

Official Iranian media has said the film “broke the rules by being entered at international film festivals without authorization,” and the director refused to “correct” it as requested by the culture ministry.

Cannes festival organizers this week denounced “a serious violation of free speech for Iranian artists, filmmakers, producers and technicians.”

Iran has long had a thriving cinema scene, with figures like Jafar Panahi and Asghar Farhadi receiving awards around the world.

Roustaee has gained international renown since the 2019 release of his film “Just 6.5,” an uncompromising look at Iran’s drug problem and the brutal, and fruitless, police response.
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England will play Spain in the final of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Sydney on Sunday. Spain beat Sweden 2-1 in its semifinal while England defeated co-hosts Australia 3-1 to reach the final.

Thirty-two teams started the 2023 Women’s soccer World Cup co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia. Two remain.

On Tuesday, Spain defeated Sweden by two goals to one at Eden Park in Auckland to reach its first World Cup final.

Spain first qualified for the event in 2015 and will face England, the current European champion, in Sunday’s final at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium.

England defeated co-hosts Australia in front of more than 75,000 supporters in Sydney. It was arguably the biggest match on home soil in the host nation’s football history.

Australian player Mary Fowler told reporters after the game that it was an honor to play in a team that had inspired the nation.

“It was unreal tonight, just like it has been for all the games, actually,” she said. “It is really nice even when we are under the pump and we are down by some goals to hear the crowd get behind us and really try to cheer us on. Not many people get to experience that in their life being able to play at a home World Cup and really feel the support of the country behind them. So, [it is] something, you know, we are all very lucky to be part of.”

The Australians – known as the Matildas – had reached the World Cup semifinals for the first time. Co-host New Zealand failed to advance from the group stage of the competition, where four teams competed in eight sections. The top two countries progressed to the knockout round of 16.

Players – both past and present – as well as coaches and administrators hope that the co-hosts’ world cup journey will leave a legacy for female sport in Australia and New Zealand.  It is hoped the performances of other nations, including Nigeria, Morocco and South Africa, will also promote the sport in other parts of the world.

Angela Iannotta, a former Matilda forward who scored Australia’s first World Cup goal in 1995, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that women’s football is changing dramatically.

“It is quite interesting,” she said, “because I remember when I am sitting at the airport with the Australian tracksuit and people would say, ‘Oh, what are you doing with Australian colors?’ and I said, ‘Oh, I am playing for the Australian women’s football team.’ ‘Oh, have we really got a national team?’ So, yeah, and the crowds were like, you know, 100 people, 200 people and things like that. So, just to see this change and this growth in women’s football in Australia is really unbelievable.”

Australia’s Matildas play Sweden in the World Cup third- and fourth-place playoff in Brisbane on Saturday.

The final takes place between Spain and England in Sydney on Sunday.

England striker Chloe Kelly told reporters after the semifinal victory against Australia that reaching the final was “what dreams are made of.” 
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The British Museum said Wednesday that a member of its staff has been dismissed after items dating back as far as the 15th century B.C. were found to be missing, stolen or damaged.

The museum said it has also ordered an independent review of security and a “vigorous program to recover the missing items.”

The stolen artifacts include gold jewelry and gems of semiprecious stones and glass dating from the 15th century B.C. to the 19th century A.D. Most were small items kept in a storeroom and none had been on display recently, the museum said.

“Our priority is now threefold: first, to recover the stolen items; second, to find out what, if anything, could have been done to stop this; and third, to do whatever it takes, with investment in security and collection records, to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” said George Osborne, the museum’s chair.

“This incident only reinforces the case for the reimagination of the museum we have embarked upon,” Osborne said.

The museum said that legal action would be taken against the dismissed staff member and that the matter was under investigation by London’s Metropolitan Police Service.

The 264-year-old British Museum is a major London tourist attraction, drawing visitors from around the world who come to see a vast collection of artifacts ranging from the Rosetta Stone that unlocked the language of ancient Egypt to scrolls bearing 12th century Chinese poetry and masks created by the indigenous people of Canada.

But the museum has also attracted controversy because it has resisted calls from communities around the world to return items of historical significance that were acquired during the era of the British Empire. The most famous of these disputes include marble carvings from the Parthenon in Greece and the Benin bronzes from West Africa.

Hartwig Fischer, the director of the British Museum, apologized and said the institution was determined to put things right.

“This is a highly unusual incident,” said Fischer said. “I know I speak for all colleagues when I say that we take the safeguarding of all the items in our care extremely seriously.”
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When Britain granted India independence in 1947, the subcontinent was divided along religious lines, triggering an exodus of an estimated 12 million people amid carnage and violence across the newly carved borders of the two countries, India and Pakistan.

Among the cities that received a massive influx of refugees was the Indian capital, Delhi.

A partition museum that opened in the city three months ago, documents the traumatic legacy of the times through the stories and memorabilia of the men, women and children who came there 76 years ago.

“Delhi was inundated with refugees. They came without any hope, without any home, they had lost their family, they had lost their friends, very often they came with very little money, and they had to start life all over again,” said Kishwar Desai, chairperson of The Arts and Cultural Heritage Trust that has set up the museum.

The museum, housed in a revamped Mughal-era building given by the government, is the second one set up by the non-profit group – it opened one in the northern city of Amritsar six years ago.

The purpose is to ensure that future generations can learn of the massive scale of loss and displacement that accompanied the subcontinent’s chaotic division. “It’s a very important but forgotten narrative,” said Desai.

One of the seven galleries in the museum recreates a train in which millions fled across both sides of the border. Even some of the trains were ambushed by mobs.

The journeys were difficult, with refugees clambering onto trains clutching a handful of possessions – some meant to secure livelihoods, others as memorabilia. Some of these items that were carefully preserved by families for decades have been donated to the museum. They are diverse — a sewing machine, a chair, a drum used to store wheat.

In another gallery, a tent symbolizes the sprawling refugee camps that sprang up in the city for those who survived the slaughtering and rioting in which half-a-million to one million people were killed.

There are black and white photographs of the times, newspaper clippings and interviews running on screens of those who made it across the border.

But the exhibits also demonstrate that, despite the violence at that time and the decades-long political rivalry between India and Pakistan that persists, the bond among ordinary people on both sides of the border remains strong.

There is an old electricity meter handed over to an Indian family when it revisited their former home in Pakistan – the Pakistani family living there had kept it in memory of the earlier occupant. A frayed ledger on display belonged to an Indian man who once ran a shop in the neighboring country. It had been carefully preserved by the shop’s new owner in Pakistan.

“These small things, memories which are kept alive by both sides, add to the fact that there is still hope,” said Desai. “Even if politically, it is a very difficult narrative, when people from here go back to Pakistan, the contact is just wonderful. They are treated like VIP’s (very important persons). People say come in, this is your own home, and this happens on both sides of the border.”

Many survivors of partition carry no bitterness. Like Ashok Kumar Talwar, who has donated a brass bowl to the museum – it was among the handful of things his family had carried when they brought him to Delhi as a five-year-old.

Why a brass bowl? “I don’t know,” he answers. He speculates that it is probably because his family thought they would be able to return and reclaim their more precious possessions like jewelry, so they only carried what they needed during the journey.

Talwar’s family still fondly calls him “Shaukat,” a Muslim name given to him in Pakistan by his father’s student. And he has not forgotten his Pakistani roots. “I am fond of Pakistani things. I watch Pakistani movies and shows on TV. I have friends who are Muslim in the city. I am doing very well with them. There is no enmity at the grassroot level.”

The political relationship is starkly different – ties between the two bitter South Asian rivals have been in deep freeze for nearly eight years.

Many visitors to the museum are young people. Some draw a lesson from an event that left a deep mark on millions in both India and Pakistan but about which they had so far learned largely from fiction or movies.

For Sangeeta Geet, a postgraduate student, the museum highlighted the dangers of polarization that she says is driven by politicians on both sides of the border.

“We should learn from 1947. Here we can see what happens when we divide on the basis of religion,” said Geet. “So, we should step forward toward peace.”

That is the message the museum reinforces in the last section. Here a red mail box “of dreams and hope” underlines the hope that two countries with a shared heritage can have a better future. Visitors can write down their thoughts on postcards – many have said they had no idea what an older generation had experienced.

“We want people to leave the museum saying this should never happen again,” said Desai, who grew up hearing stories of partition from her parents, who also had to leave their homes in Pakistan in 1947.
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A court in Iran has sentenced prominent movie director Saeed Roustaee to six months in prison for the screening of his film “Leila’s Brothers” at the Cannes Film Festival last year, local media reported Tuesday.

“Leila’s Brothers,” a rich and complex tale of a family struggling with economic hardship in Tehran, has been banned in Iran since its release last year.

The movie was in competition for the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes festival. It missed the top prize but won the International Federation of Film Critics award.

On Tuesday, the reformist daily Etemad said that Roustaee, along with the movie’s producer Javad Noruzbegi, “were sentenced to six months in prison for screening the movie at Cannes Film festival.”

Roustaee and Noruzbegi were found guilty of “contributing to propaganda of the opposition against the Islamic system.”

“Leila’s Brothers” was banned after it “broke the rules by being entered at international film festivals without authorization,” and the director refused to “correct” it as requested by the culture ministry, official media said at the time.

The filmmakers will only serve about nine days of their sentence, while the remainder “will be suspended over five years,” according to Etemad, which added the verdict can be appealed.

During the suspension period, the defendants will be required to take a filmmaking course while “preserving national and ethical interests” and refrain from associating with other cinema professionals, the newspaper said.

Roustaee, 34, has gained international renown since the 2019 release of his film “Just 6.5,” an uncompromising look at Iran’s drug problem and the brutal, and fruitless, police response.

Iran has long had a thriving cinema scene, with figures like Jafar Panahi and Asghar Farhadi winning awards around the world.
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Brazil forward Neymar has signed for Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain, the clubs announced on Tuesday, joining Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema as the latest big name lured to the oil-rich Gulf state.

“I am here in Saudi Arabia, I am Hilali,” the 31-year-old Neymar said in a video posted to Al Hilal’s social media accounts.

“It is always difficult to say goodbye to an amazing player like Neymar, one of the best players in the world,” said PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi in a statement from the French champions.

“I will never forget the day he arrived at Paris Saint-Germain, and what he has contributed to our club and our project over the last six years. We had a great moment and Neymar will always be a big part of our history,” he added.

Neymar joined PSG from Barcelona in 2017 for a world record fee of $242 million, a few weeks before they recruited Kylian Mbappe.

The Brazilian scored 118 goals in 173 matches for PSG, winning five Ligue 1 titles and three French Cups, but his time at PSG was blighted by injuries.

Although he helped the club to the 2020 Champions League final, which they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich, he was sidelined for key games.

Neymar underwent surgery on his right ankle in early March, only returning to join PSG on their preseason tour of Asia.

However, he no longer figured in new coach Luis Enrique’s plans and was immediately linked with a move to Al Hilal, where he will earn “100 million euros a season,” according to a source close to the matter.

PSG will not come close to recouping the fee they paid for Neymar but will still pocket close to 100 million euros as well, according to the same source.

Al Hilal have traditionally been one of Saudi Arabia’s top clubs and have been crowned Asian Champions League winners on four occasions.

They are coached by Portugal’s Jorge Jesus, who is in his second spell at the club, while the squad currently boasts four international players recently lured from Europe — Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Kalidou Koulibaly and Neymar’s Brazilian compatriot Malcom.

Last month Al Hilal made a $328 million bid for Mbappe, though the striker reportedly refused to meet with officials from the team.

Neymar’s departure from PSG follows that of Lionel Messi who now plays for Inter Miami in the United States.
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The music genre hip-hop celebrates its 50th anniversary this year with events across the United States. A Los Angeles art gallery is showing photographs of hip-hop legends. Genia Dulot visited the gallery and files this report. (Camera: Genia Dulot)
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The word “manga” is used to describe a wide variety of comic books and graphic novels originally produced in Japan. It has long been associated with Asian culture. But new generations of Asian Americans are identifying more with American comic books. Genia Dulot has the report. (Camera: Genia Dulot)
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“Barbie” has legs. Director Greta Gerwig ‘s film phenomenon remained a runaway No. 1 at the box office in its fourth week, bringing in $33.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Margot Robbie-led and produced film from Warner Bros., still in 4,137 theaters, refused to drop off as most box-office toppers have this year, surpassing $500 million in North America overall a week after it crossed the $1 billion mark globally — a record for a female director.

The second half of the “Barbenheimer” duo, “Oppenheimer,” returned to the No. 2 spot in its own fourth week after a week at No. 3 overall. The Christopher Nolan-directed film from Universal Pictures brought in $18.8 million from 3,761 locations for an overall domestic total of $264.3 million.

The top pair had thin competition. The week’s only major wide release, Universal’s “The Last Voyage of the Demeter,” finished fifth with a $6.5 million opening weekend.

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” in its second week, earned $15.6 million domestically for third place, and the Jason Statham shark sequel, “Meg 2: The Trench,” brought in $12.7 million, dropping from second to fifth in its second week in theaters.

“Barbie” is poised to become 2023’s top film. Its $526.3 million domestic total and $1.18 billion global bankroll currently sits second behind “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which earned $574.2 million North America, and $1.358 billion globally in the spring. It’s also the second-highest grossing film in the history of “Warner Bros.,” behind only 2011’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.”

The sustained performance of the Mattel movie continues to flip the script on what had been a weak year in theaters, with major sequels underperforming including “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part I,” which remained in the top 10 this week with $4.7 million.

“‘Barbie’ is as hot a commodity as it was in its first week. It’s just ensconced at the No. 1 spot, and I don’t know if it’s going anywhere soon,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “And Oppenheimer right there with it. They’re just drafting off each other in this box office NASCAR race.”

The midsummer “Barbenheimer” put the industry-wide summer total ahead of 2022. It was lagging behind just a month ago.

“If you think of what ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ together — just those two movies — have contributed in these weekends at the box office, it’s really a staggering number,” Dergarabedian said.

All movies combined this summer have earned $3.63 billion in North America. With significant releases remaining in August, including DC Comics’ “Blue Beetle,” the video game adaptation “Gran Turismo,” and the Denzel Washington sequel “The Equalizer 3,” the box office has a chance of reaching the $4 billion that was considered a domestic benchmark for a strong summer before the pandemic.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Barbie,” $33.7 million.

2. “Oppenheimer,” $18.8 million.

3. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” $15.6 million.

4. “Meg 2: The Trench,” $12.7 million.

5. “The Last Voyage of the Demeter,” $6.5 million.

6. “Haunted Mansion,” $5.6 million.

7. “Talk to Me,” $5.1 million.

8. “Sound of Freedom,” $4.8 million.

9. “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part I,” $4.7 million.

10. “Jailer,” 2.6 million.
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