The Guardian Culture

Brain-breaking sex, bad boys in leather and queer glory: why TV vampires are so intoxicating

The Vampire Lestat has seduced fans around the world with his eye-popping antics. But this obsession with hot vamps goes way beyond forbidden love, bare chests and a taste for LSD-laced bloodIf you want TV audiences to forgive a fictional man for absolutely anything, just sharpen his fangs and stick him in velvet. Case in point? The horny musical drama The Vampire Lestat, which became a cult hit in the US earlier this year. The show has now arrived in the UK and Sam Reid’s searing performance as

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

Variety

Publicis Groupe, 3 Arts, Travis Kelce Launch Venture to Help Advertisers Strike Deals With College Athletes

French advertising giant Publicis Groupe has a new American teammate: Travis Kelce. The ad-holding company and the popular Kansas City Chiefs tight end are forming a joint venture that aims to help advertisers find and start partnerships with college athletes and universities, a sign of the growing importance of so-called “name, image and likeness” deals […]

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

Peacock Reveals Another Price Hike After NBCU Streamer’s First Profitable Quarter

Subscription rates for new and returning customers are on the way up, again, after the studio's marquee streaming platform recently posted its first quarterly profit.

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

Variety

ABC Files First Amendment Lawsuit Against FCC

Disney’s ABC filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, raising the pitch of the company’s efforts to countermand unusual pressure from the federal government to force the company’s stations to submit licenses for early renewal proceedings. ABC has found itself at cross purposes with the FCC at several moments in […]

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

‘How to Change the World,’ Exec Produced by Mark Cuban, Puts Spotlight on Social Entrepreneurs (Exclusive)

The 10-episode series from World Within Studios, in partnership with Religion of Sports, will premiere on YouTube in September and feature such expert voices as former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz.

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

Variety

Peacock Raises Prices Across All Plans, NBCU’s Fourth Increase in Four Years

NBCUniversal’s Peacock just turned profitable for the first time. And now the company is raising prices for all customers, marking the streamer’s fourth fee increase in four years. Starting Aug. 18, Peacock will increase its prices for new and returning customers, and on or after Sept. 17 for current customers (depending on their next billing […]

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian Culture

‘The ultimate gamers’ mascot’: Sonic the Hedgehog at 35 – from 2D to 3D to a billion-dollar film franchise

Sonic’s creators explain how the speedy scamp has kept on running through generations as an enduring avatar of ‘attitude in the face of adversity’One day in the early 1990s, I came home from university for the weekend and discovered that my dad had bought himself a Sega Mega Drive, bundled with a copy of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. I knew about Sega’s mascot of course. The launch of the original Sonic the Hedgehog game in 1991 was a landmark moment for the company, massively boosting the sales of its

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

‘Ice Princess’ Director Pays Tribute to Hayden Panettiere, Michelle Trachtenberg: “Two Shining Talents, Gone Far Too Soon”

Tim Fywell ('Happy Valley', 'The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency') remembers the "amazing pair."

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

“I Don’t Believe Cinema Is Dying”: Asghar Farhadi on War, Hope and Receiving Sarajevo’s Most Prestigious Honor

The Oscar winner talks to The Hollywood Reporter at the Sarajevo Film Festival about his next film – and why the people of his native Iran deserve more than conflict: "I love them, I love that culture."

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

Variety

‘Ice Princess’ Director Remembers Stars Hayden Panettiere and Michelle Trachtenberg as an ‘Amazing Pair’: ‘Two Shining Talents, Gone Far Too Soon’

“Ice Princess” director Tim Fywell has penned a sweet tribute to the two stars of his beloved 2005 ice skating movie, Hayden Panettiere and Michelle Trachtenberg, following Panettiere’s death on Sunday at the age of 36. Trachtenberg also passed away in February of last year, at 39 years old. After the news of Panettiere’s death, […]

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Vans, ghosts, sofas and a kiss from Katy Perry: artist France-Lise McGurn and her paint-everything ethos

Tackling grief, time, parties and spaceflight, the Scottish artist uses film stills, magazine ads, family photos and even her own furniture to create a show you can settle into and figure out‘I love parties,” says France-Lise McGurn, “but they’re complicated, and there’s a time when you leave.” Her new show at Dundee Contemporary Arts, called The Charm Offensive, carries her dynamic, vital paintings into a new era – and on an unprecedented huge scale. Grappling with grief, the passing of time, a

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

Variety

Oscars: Taiwan Selects ‘A Foggy Tale’ for International Feature Race

“A Foggy Tale,” directed by Chen Yu-hsun, has been selected to represent Taiwan in the best international feature film category at the 99th Academy Awards, Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture has revealed. The film was chosen from seven domestic submissions by majority vote. The selection committee praised the film for its “vivid characters, smooth narrative and […]

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

Variety

Diego Luna on Challenging How Migrants Are Viewed With ‘Ashes’: ‘We’re Not Thinking About What They Left Behind’

Between conducting a masterclass and attending an open-air screening of his fourth directorial feature, “Ashes,” Diego Luna dropped by the Variety Lounge presented by the Sarajevo Film Festival and BH Telecom to chat about his first time in the Bosnian capital. The Mexican actor-director-producer, who broke out in Alfonso Cuaron’s “Y Tu Mama Tambien” and […]

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Match review – gory and slyly satirical catfishing horror for the age of Hinge

Online dating’s eternal bugbear reaches a horrific apotheosis in this funny, grimy and impishly directed shockerPaola (Humberly González) is a pretty young woman about to turn 30 who hasn’t found herself a steady boyfriend – so, like many people of her generation, she’s on all the dating apps. The algorithm finds her match in Henry, who looks clean cut and kind eyed – or, at least, that’s what he seems from a very short video conversation on the phone, which breaks up due to bad signal. Paola’s

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian Culture

How architect Paul Revere Williams fought racism and changed the face of Los Angeles

Creating homes for Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant and Lucille Ball made Williams a star. A trio of new exhibitions shows he belongs among the 20th century’s greatsWhen you fly into the Los Angeles airport LAX, a spindly space-age contraption is the first thing that greets your eyes outside the window. Built in the early 1960s, the Theme Building – which once attracted travelers to its in-house restaurant, designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, towering above airfields – was built by a supergroup of ar

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

BBC, A24’s ‘The Ministry of Time’ Series Casts Aoife Hinds, Billy Howle as Leads

The 'Dune: Prophecy' and 'The Perfect Couple' actors will star in the six-part show based on Kaliane Bradley’s bestselling novel, which has been adapted by Alice Birch ('Normal People').

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

Hayden Panettiere’s Ex Wladimir Klitschko Speaks Out: “She Left This World Far Too Soon”

The boxer and the late actress were a couple from 2009 to 2018 and had a child together.

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

Variety

Hayden Panettiere’s Ex Wladimir Klitschko Remembers Her ‘Immense Talent While Also Facing the Darker Sides’ of the Industry: ‘She Left This World Far Too Soon’

Hayden Panettiere’s ex Wladimir Klitschko, who is the father of her 11-year-old daughter Kaya, is mourning the actress following her death on Sunday at the age of 36. In an Instagram post late Monday night, the heavyweight boxing champion wrote that his “family is going through a time of profound shock and grief.” He continued: […]

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

Variety

Croatian Crime Drama ‘Red Water,’ Directed by Cannes Prizewinner Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic, to Be Co-Produced by ZDF/Arte, Beta Film (EXCLUSIVE)

Beta Film has teamed up with ZDF/Arte and Antitalent to co-produce the Croatian crime drama “Red Water,” winner of the 2025 Council of Europe Series Co-Production Development Award at the Sarajevo Film Festival’s CineLink Industry Days. “Red Water,” a six-hour series, is based on Jurica Pavičić’s bestselling novel of the same name, which ranked among […]

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Phoebe Bridgers review – high priestess of ambiguity turns grief Technicolor in intimate church show

Union Chapel, LondonAhead of playing arenas this winter, Bridgers gives her third album, Lost Weekend, a stripped-back UK debut that makes its bewitching songs sound even more astoundingThree days after the rapturous release of her third album, Lost Weekend, Phoebe Bridgers invites 900 people into her bedroom to hear her play some of its devastating songs live – or at least, that’s how it feels inside Union Chapel in north London on this Monday night. With Bridgers plopped on a throw-covered sof

entertainment  Aug 18, 2026