Teen Choice Awards get serious
The rowdy revelry of the Teen Choice Awards took on an uncharacteristically sombre tone on Sunday when actress Jessica Alba and R&B singer Ne-Yo called for an end to gun violence, accompanied by a group of teenagers related to shooting victims in such places as San Bernardino, California; Newtown, Connecticut; and Orlando, Florida. Alba and Ne-Yo, who performed the Marvin Gaye song What's Going On, asked the audience to stand and for everyone to post on social media using the hashtag #StopTheViolence. "Tonight, we stand together with these teens, united in a call for peace and an end to this violence," Alba said. "Now, more than ever, we need to stop, feel and ask, 'What's going on?'" Justin Timberlake added another moment of seriousness when he was presented by Kobe Bryant with the show's version of a lifetime-achievement award. The actor and singer used the occasion to honour the late boxer Muhammad Ali, address the importance of diversity and share some wisdom with the young crowd. "As a relatively new dad and a former teen, I am here to say you will make mistakes along the way," he said. "You will fall down. I have many times – even Ali did." – AP
Venice Film Festival to be a starry affair
The Venice Film Festival has revealed a star-studded line-up for its 73rd annual edition. The world's oldest film festival (which started in 1932) will open with Damien Chazelle's La La Land, starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in a musical romantic comedy-drama about a jazz pianist who falls in love with an aspiring actress. In competition for the top prize are 20 films, including A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, director Ana Lily Amirpour's The Bad Batch, a black comedy about cannibals in a Texas wasteland, and famous fashion designer Tom Ford's thriller Nocturnal Animals, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy Adams. Other films in the main line-up include German director Wim Wenders's Les Beaux Jours d'Aranjuez, Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve's Arrival, Dutch director Martin Koolhoven's Brimstone and Russia's Andrei Konchalovsky's (Paradise). Pablo Larrain's biopic, Jackie, starring Natalie Portman as former American first lady Jacqueline Kennedy was added to the competition at the last minute. The festival runs from August 31 to September 10. – Reuters
Beyoncé set to launch TV channel
Singer Beyoncé Knowles is expanding her empire, which already includes fashion and film her music, by setting up a TV network. The network will feature serious programming, including documentaries about African and American history, a source told the dailystar.co.uk, adding: "She intends to create her own TV network, just like Oprah. Her entertainment company Parkwood is doing very well and her desire is to create a network so she can have the freedom to bring the ideas of her closest creative friends to life. The plan is to develop it within the next decade." – IANS
Lisa Haydon on how to be successful in Bollywood
Model and actress Lisa Haydon has claimed that in the long run, hard work and persistence will make you a Bollywood star, rather than who you know. "If you are hard-working, talented, reasonably charming or good-looking and determined, you have a chance to make it," she said. "There are pros and cons on both sides. In the end, the hard-working and persistent ones are the ones that get 'lucky' – whether in or out of film families." After a successful stint as a model, Haydon made her acting debut in the 2010 film Aisha and went on to appear in Rascals, Queen, The Shaukeens and Housefull 3. She is also co-judging India's Next Top Model with celebrity photographer Dabboo Ratnani. – IANS