Holly to Bolly: VH1 celebrates hip hop’s leading ladies; Colin Firth to return for Kingsman sequel; and more

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Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox

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VH1 celebrates hip hop’s leading ladies

The pioneering ladies of rap music were feted on Monday by music network VH1. Lil Kim, Queen Latifah, Salt-n-Pepa and Missy Elliot were celebrated for their trendsetting music, style and relevance to the hip-hop culture.

A tribute to Missy Elliot included the songs she had created for other artists such as Monica and Fantasia, as well as her own hits. Canadian singer Nelly Furtado sang Missy Elliot's 2001 chart topper Get Ur Freak On.

Queen Latifah closed the show with her 1993 women's anthem Unity surrounded by her co-honourees and fellow female rappers including MC Lyte and Da Brat.

The awards show returned after a six-year hiatus and was aired live on VH1. - Reuters

Melissa McCarthy found 'Ghostbusters' experience a 'little creepy'

Melissa McCarthy says working in Ghostbusters was fun but a "little creepy".

McCarthy will be seen in Paul Feig’s version of the famous 1984 eponymous American supernatural horror comedy along with Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon. It also stars Chris Hemsworth. The movie releases in the UAE this weekend.

She said Feig insisted that people be dressed as ghosts, with some scenes taking more than eight hours of prosthetics. She said that was creepy.

The film is produced by Ivan Reitman and Amy Pascal, and written by Katie Dippold and Feig, based on the 1984 film Ghostbusters, an Ivan Reitman film, written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. - IANS

Colin Firth to return for Kingsman sequel

Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth could be on board for the sequel of Kingsman: The Secret Service, if a new photograph shared by actor Perdo Pascal is anything to go by.

Firth, whose character Harry Hart was shot in the face by the villainous Valentine in the first instalment, has featured in a new image shared by Pascal, hinting that he might star in Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

"Hide behind Harry. Safe place. Kingsman 2'. The Golden Circle," Pascal captioned the photograph which shows him standing behind Firth, who dons a full Harry Hart attire complete with his signature glasses, reports aceshowbiz.com.

Earlier in April, a teaser poster released indicated that his character survives despite being shot at in the first film.

“Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” read the words on the poster which also showed the character’s signature glasses with one of the lenses missing.

The sequel will see Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton) and his supervisor Merlin (Mark Strong) heading to the US to join forces with the “Statesman”, the Kingsman agency’s American counterparts, after Kingsman’s head quarter was destroyed by evil mastermind Poppy (Julianne Moore).

Channing Tatum, Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges and Elton John are also in the cast of the movie, directed by Matthew Vaughn. Kingsman: The Golden Circle is slated for a June 16, 2017 release in the US. – The National Staff

Lil Wayne denies he is hospitalised

Lil Wayne says he is “good”, in response to a report which claimed that he suffered another seizure over the weekend.

Responding to the report, the rapper thanked his fans for their prayers and assured them they had nothing to worry about, reports aceshowbiz.com.

“False alarm! I appreciate the prayers and concern, but I’m good! Love!” Wayne tweeted on Tuesday.

According to the report, the 33-year-old star was admitted to hospital last week after falling ill just minutes before he was due to take to the stage at the TAO nightclub in Las Vegas.

Wayne has a history of medical problems and it had previously been reported he had adjusted his lifestyle in order to take better care of himself. – IANS

Hrithik Roshan agreed to do ‘Mohenjo Daro’ when the director shortened script

Actor Hrithik Roshan says that he was happy about director Ashutosh Gowariker chose him for the film but agreed to do it only when the script came down from 200 to 80 pages.

The actor said his first thought was to do the movie for his friend but then only signed when the director reworked the script.

Gowariker is known for his lengthy movies, most of which have been more than three hours in running time.

Roshan's last film Bang Bang! released in 2014. His next film after Mohenjo Daro will be Kaabil directed by Sanjay Gupta. - IANS