Cinephiles are crossing oceans to see the film at its highest possible resolution – and only 41 cinemas in the world are equipped to do it

In Homer’s Odyssey, the hero Odysseus embarks on an epic journey spanning oceans, monsters and gods to return home to his family. In a remarkable parallel, Christopher Nolan’s fans are embarking on epic journeys of their own to see his adaptation of The Odyssey in one of the few surviving Imax 1570 cinemas around the world, the Oscar-winning film-maker’s preferred format.

Nolan has long been a champion of Imax 1570 film, the highest-resolution film format in existence, named for the width of the film stock (70mm) and the 15 perforations on each frame. The Odyssey is the first feature film ever shot entirely on 1570 cameras, which are notoriously heavy, loud and require frequent reloading; the film stock had to be changed every three minutes during the Odyssey shoot, with Nolan working with Imax to develop a soundproofing “blimp” to house the 180kg camera to make it quiet enough for him to record dialogue on 1570 for the first time.

New Zealand actor built career as dashing romantic leads and charismatic villains across film and television

• Sam Neill’s final interview

• Sam Neill’s 20 best performances

• A life in pictures

• ‘A true gentleman’: actors, directors and leaders pay tribute to Sam Neill

• Obituary

• Neill interviewed in 2023, 2024 and 2026

Sam Neill, the versatile New Zealand actor whose career spanned Oscar winners and blockbusters such as The Piano and Jurassic Park, has died aged 78.

The actor’s death was announced on Monday in a statement shared on his Instagram account. No cause of death was given, but Neill had only recently revealed he was cancer-free after being diagnosed with stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, in 2022.

Broadway star, who is performing on the vessel, expresses shock after authorities ban Scarlet Lady from docking in Kuşadası

A cruise ship carrying 2,000 LGBTQ+ passengers and the Broadway performer Patti LuPone has been blocked from entering Turkey after local authorities said their behaviour didn’t “align with the structure of our society and our moral values”.

Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady set sail from Athens, Greece, on 5 July for what was billed as “an epic all-gay voyage” over 10 days run by Atlantis, a US company that puts on cruises and vacations for LGBTQ+ people.

Singer has likened live show to theatre rather than a conventional concert but fans have criticised the performances and lack of crowd interaction

Lily Allen has defended the live tour of her latest album West End Girl, after fans complained about feeling short-changed by the 55-minute shows that have no crowd interaction.

Allen is currently on the UK leg of the world tour for the album that was inspired by her divorce from the actor David Harbour. The show sees her perform the 45-minute album in its entirety, without speaking to the crowd or performing any of her back catalogue.

Late singer ‘absolutely not high’ when she fell on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2009, says estate after Winfrey claimed she had relapsed

Whitney Houston’s estate has refuted what they call “inaccurate and unfair” claims by Oprah Winfrey that the singer was drug affected when she fell off the stage during an appearance on her talkshow.

Speaking on Tuesday at the Cannes Lions conference in France, Winfrey claimed Houston was “back on drugs” during her two-part appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2009, during which she spoke about being clean after years of substance abuse and two spells in rehab.

Star says her older sister, an actor and film-maker, died ‘in her home, in nature, at peace’

Jamie Lee Curtis has announced the death of her sister, the actor Kelly Curtis, at the age of 69, describing her as “talented” and “jaw droppingly beautiful”.

Jamie Lee said her sister had died “in her home, in nature, at peace” on Saturday, having had roles in films including Trading Places (1983), in which the pair both appeared, Magic Sticks (1987) and The Devil’s Daughter (1991). No cause of death was given.

‘Innovative artist’, who was married to George Lucas until 1983 and worked on several Martin Scorsese films, has died from metastatic cancer

Marcia Lucas, who won an Oscar as editor of the 1977 film Star Wars and was part of a group of pioneering female editors who were essential to film’s New Hollywood era, has died aged 80.

Lucas, who was married to the Star Wars creator, George Lucas, from 1969 to 1983, died on Wednesday from metastatic cancer, her attorney Deidre Von Rock said in an email to the Associated Press.

Outdoor clothing company is suing US environmentalist drag performer for $1 plus legal fees, claiming ‘we wish we didn’t have to do this’

Patagonia has launched a trademark lawsuit against an environmentalist drag queen named Pattie Gonia, who has accused the outdoor clothing company of “trying to erase an activist”.

Wyn Wiley, who performs as Pattie Gonia, has accumulated millions of followers online for their environmental activism, raising almost $4m for non-profits so far. Last year they raised $1m while hiking 100 miles in full drag from Point Reyes national seashore to San Francisco.

Film starring Pedro Pascal next to ‘Baby Yoda’ took $165m globally on opening weekend, failing to surpass the opening of 2018 flop Solo

The Mandalorian and Grogu may have blasted into first place at the box office – but its launch was far, far away from impressive, having the lowest opening weekend for a Star Wars film since Disney took over the franchise.

The film, which stars Pedro Pascal as the titular helmeted warrior who travels the galaxy with a tiny companion better known as “Baby Yoda”, made $102m at the domestic box office (US and Canada) over the US’s four-day Memorial day weekend, contributing to a total $165m global box office.

The actor, who played Tracy Jordan’s gentle bodyguard in 80 episodes of the beloved comedy, died in his sleep after years of health problems

Grizz Chapman, best known for his role as Grizz on the hit comedy 30 Rock, has died aged 52.

His cousin, the Harlem Globetrotter Donte Harrison, confirmed Chapman’s death on social media on Saturday.

Former first lady delivers veiled but sharp remarks on US politics during speaking tour that begins in Melbourne

It was a curious question: who was going to pay A$895 (US$640, £476) to see Michelle Obama speak at 12.30pm on a Tuesday in Melbourne? While she is an indisputably excellent public speaker, the ticket prices for Obama’s first speaking event in Australia raised a few eyebrows, ranging from the $895 “platinum” package (which promised a priority seat, an “exclusive” brunch and a “commemorative lanyard and tote bag”) to the cheapest seats at $195 a pop.

A sign that expectations may have been bigger than our wallets in a cost-of-living crisis: two weeks ago, my “cheap” seat at the back was suddenly upgraded to a much better spot due to a “change in production requirements” that was left unexplained. Another: the visibly empty patches at the front of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

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Australian actor says there are still ‘10 women and 75 men’ on film sets a decade after the gender equality movement dominated conversations

Cate Blanchett has lamented that the #MeToo movement “got killed very quickly” in Hollywood, while speaking at the Cannes film festival.

In a wide-ranging, staged conversation on Sunday, Blanchett lamented that the tide of #MeToo has been turned in Hollywood, where she has been outspoken about gender equality.

Associated Press contributed to this report

‘We know that Mark Carney wants to sort of embrace Europe,’ says competition director Martin Green

Canada is welcome to join Eurovision if it wishes, its director has said, months after the country revealed it wanted to “explore” joining the song contest in its federal budget.

Eurovision director Martin Green told the BBC on Wednesday that Canada hadn’t yet applied, but would be welcome to.

Lai wins $60,000 literary award for her study of a young woman’s repression and rage as she struggles to juggle the needs of those around her

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As the 2026 winner of the Stella prize, Lee Lai has established two new firsts: the first ever non-binary winner with her book Cannon, which is the first graphic novel to win the $60,000 Australian literary award for women and non-binary writers.

Cannon follows the titular, queer Chinese woman living in Montreal on the “uncool side of [her] twenties”. Cannon’s real name is Lucy, which became Luce then (loose) Cannon – and much like her unwanted nickname, she shoulders responsibility without complaint. During the day she cares for her gung-gung (maternal grandfather), a former tyrant enfeebled by age, without any help from her emotionally avoidant mother; and by night she works in the kitchen of a fine-dining restaurant, corralling chaos into order. Cannon’s longtime best friend Trish uses her as a soundboard for all of her problems, and is secretly mining Cannon’s life as a troubling source of inspiration for her writing career.

British singer claims electronics company ‘repeatedly refused’ to stop using a photo of her on its packaging

Dua Lipa is suing Samsung for at least $15m (£11m, A$20.6m), alleging that the electronics company used a photo of her to sell its TVs without financially compensating her or seeking her permission.

According to the legal complaint, filed in a US district court in California on Friday, Samsung began using an image of Lipa on an image of a TV screen printed on its cardboard packaging for “a significant portion” of its TVs sold in the US last year.

Actor and comedian speaks publicly for the first time since his 42-year-old daughter died by suicide in February

Martin Short has spoken for the first time about the death of his daughter, Katherine Short, saying her death has been “a nightmare for the family”.

Katherine died in February aged 42, at her home in the Hollywood Hills. The County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s office confirmed she died by suicide.

In the US, you can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org

Nobel laureate says he previously considered himself a supporter of Israel, but ‘the campaign of annihilation in Gaza has changed all that’

Nobel laureate JM Coetzee has declined to attend an upcoming literature festival in Israel, writing a excoriating letter to organisers citing the country’s “genocidal campaign” in Gaza, stating: “It will take many years for Israel to clear its name”.

The 86-year-old author, who was born in apartheid South Africa and lives in Australia, wrote to organisers of the Jerusalem international writers festival in November.

Ashley MacIsaac, who is seeking $1.5m in civil lawsuit, says inaccurate information led to concert cancellation

An acclaimed Canadian fiddle player has launched a $1.5m civil lawsuit against Google, alleging that the online giant defamed him by falsely identifying him as a sex offender in an AI-generated summary of his life and career.

Ashley MacIsaac, a three-time Juno award-winning musician, filed the claim in the Ontario superior court of justice, asserting that Google was liable for the “foreseeable republication” of its AI-generated Overview feature, which previously published defamatory claims that he had been convicted of multiple criminal offences, including the sexual assault of a woman, internet luring involving a child with the intention of sexual assaulting the child, and assault causing bodily harm.

Actor who plays Dr Trinity Santos in popular TV series is starring in musical Just in Time in New York

The Pitt star Isa Briones has issued a strong message to fans who have taken to shouting references to the medical drama at her while she is on stage in a Broadway musical.

Briones, who is performing in the musical Just in Time, has rapidly risen to fame for her role in the hit HBO show, as resident doctor Trinity Santos. In the second season of the show, which premiered in January, Santos repeatedly struggles with finishing her charting during her shift.

Sequel a rare example of female-skewing movie leading the North American summer offerings – and highest opening weekend yet for a Meryl Streep film

Gird your loins: The Devil Wears Prada 2 has had a huge opening weekend at the box office, making $233m (£171m, A$323m) worldwide from an overwhelmingly female audience.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 earned $77m at the North American box office, and $156.6m internationally. In the US and Canada, the sequel bumped Michael to second place, though the musical biopic held on in its second weekend to earn $54m, falling only 44%.