Hugh Jackman in Gary Hart biopic

Sony Pictures announced it has acquired the worldwide rights to Jason Reitman’s The Front Runner, starring Hugh Jackman as former politician Gary Hart.

Hart, now 81, served as a US senator from Colorado from 1975 to 1987. “Having grown up wandering around the Columbia lot as a kid, it is a particular thrill to bring The Front Runner back home to the first studio I can remember. I cannot wait for moviegoers to see Hugh’s humanist transformation into one of the more complicated political figures of our time,” Reitman — who is the son of the late filmmaker Ivan Reitman — said in a statement.

The Front Runner is scheduled for a fall theatrical release.

Annette Bening joins cast of Captain Marvel

Annette Bening has been cast in Marvel’s upcoming superhero epic Captain Marvel starring Brie Larson, their first film featuring a female lead.

Bening’s exact role in the film is unknown but it is noted that the role of scientist is in her job description. Bening joins a cast that also includes Samuel L. Jackson reprising his Marvel role as Nick Fury, Jude Law, Gemma Chan and Ben Mendelsohn as the film’s villains. Djimon Hounsou and Lee Pace will also be featured, reprising their villainous roles from Guardians of the Galaxy.

Captain Marvel, from directing duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, takes place in the ‘90s before the events of Iron Man, which kicked off the Marvel cinematic universe in 2008.

Larson will be seen obtaining her superpowers after fusing with an alien. Marvel previously announced that Captain Marvel would be taking on powerful alien race The Skrulls, who are prominent figures in the pages of Marvel comics.

Captain Marvel is set for release on March 8, 2019.

Taylor Swift’s Reputation tour

Miss Taylor Swift is back! The singer has well and truly kicked off her Reputation tour, starting with just a cosy crowd of about 60,000 at the stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

She performed 24 songs during the two- hour show, which included those from her new album Reputation, as well as all the favourites like “Shake It Off” and “All Too Well”. The set was full of huge stage production, outfit changes and a whole lot of snakes.

Swift performed among snake imagery — there was a snake microphone, snake merchandise and even a whopping great snake prop on stage.

Taylor directly addressed the use of the reptiles with her audience, revealing they were a symbol of standing up to online bullies.

She continued that her use of the imagery was an act of strength: “I wanted to send a message to you guys that if someone uses name calling to bully you on social media, and even if a lot of people jump on board with it, that doesn’t have to defeat you. It can strengthen you instead.”

Published in Dawn, Young World, June 2nd, 2018