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Around Tinsel Town

>>Jared Leto accused of sexual assault by multiple women; actor-singer denies allegations

Hollywood actor Jared Leto has been accused by multiple women of criminal sexual misconduct in a new BBC documentary titled Jared Leto: Hollywood’s Dark Secret.

One of the women said that she was sexually assaulted by Leto in a motel when she was 17 while another said that the actor threatened her of sexual assault when she was 19.

Bollywood

Pankaj Tripathi to receive Artist of Distinction award at IFFM 2026

Season 2 of Karan Johar-hosted reality show ‘The Traitors’ gets release date

Rekha to receive excellence in cinema award at IFFM 2026

Warner Bros. Discovery unveils new Animal Planet documentary anthology ‘India: Epic Wild Stories’

Hollywood

Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis thanks Christopher Nolan for the ‘The Odyssey’ spotlight

‘The Odyssey’ translator Emily Wilson blasts Christopher Nolan’s film, calls screenplay ‘abysmal’

Oscar winner Glen Hansard, ‘Once’ star and ‘Falling Slowly’ songwriter, dies in motorcycle crash at 56

The dystopian sci-fi actioner ‘Blade Runner 2099’ gets release date; first look teaser unveiled

Satyajit Ray is one of the greatest Indian filmmakers: Christopher Nolan

CBFC orders cuts to ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’, grants UA 13+ certificate ahead of release

Marvel SDCC 2026: David Jonsson takes the Black Panther mantle, Ryan Gosling joins the MCU as Ghost Rider

Regional Cinema

Prithviraj Sukumaran’s action thriller ‘Khalifa’ to release on this date

Prime Video locks premiere date of Sasikumar-starrer ‘Vadhandhi’ Season 2

Naslen to headline ‘Kumbalangi Nights’ director Madhu C Narayanan’s sophomore film

Indian Film Festival of Melbourne: Honour for Rishab Shetty; ‘Ammang Helbeda’ to be screened

Trailers

In ‘Ramayana’ trailer, Ranbir Kapoor’s Rama and Yash’s Ravana prepare for epic stand-off

In ‘Jumanji: Open World’ trailer, Dwayne Johnson and original cast return for one final adventure

In ‘Batwara 1947’ trailer, Sunny Deol vows to protect a mother in Rajkumar Santoshi’s Partition drama

In ‘The Thomas Crown Affair’ trailer, Michael B. Jordan leads with panache in new take on the slick heist film

Paramount unveils first look at epic fantasy adaptation starring Viola Davis and Idris Elba in ‘Children of Blood and Bone’ trailer

In ‘Ted Lasso’ Season 4 trailer, Jason Sudeikis returns to coach AFC Richmond’s new women’s team

‘Onslaught’ trailer shows Adam Wingard unleashing A24’s wild super-soldier action horror

In ‘Carrie’ teaser, Mike Flanagan reimagines Stephen King’s horror classic for Prime Video

Apple TV unveils first look at William Gibson’s cyberpunk classic in ‘Neuromancer’ teaser

In ‘Lanterns’ trailer, Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre lead the hunt

Essential Reading

1) ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ director Destin Daniel Cretton on capturing the spectacle without losing the heart

The filmmaker talks about his memory of watching Toby Maguire’s 2002 classic and his shift from making independent human dramas to Marvel superhero films

2) James Norton on Ormund Hightower: ‘We went big and bold’

Norton talks of the importance of the human story, the dangers of too much research, and how Ormund’s sensitivity to smell was a powerful hook into the character

3) Kunchacko Boban interview on ‘Unmadham’: This cop is unlike any I’ve played before

Boban talks about how his role in ‘Unmadham’ is different from the characters he has essayed in other films written by Shahi Kabir

4) Filmmaker Amit Rai interview: On ‘Ohh My Dog’ and why those who don’t have pets must watch itV

The director seeks compassion for strays and questions the sharp decline in the number of children’s films made in the country

5) Sri Gouri Priya interview: From Miss Hyderabad to ‘Chennai Love Story’s Nivedita

The actor reflects on her choice of Telugu and Tamil films and how she chooses to play characters that matter

6) ‘Mohanlal, Mammootty, and Spider-Man’: Meet Adhisheshan, the boy wonder from ‘Balan: The Boy’

Adhisheshan, the seven-year-old child actor, and his acting coach, Ajithlal Sivalal, speak about how they prepared for the recent Malayalam film ‘Balan: The Boy’

7) Lijomol Jose: ‘Jai Bhim’ gave me the confidence to be an actor

The actor talks about her journey in films, from ‘Maheshinte Prathikaaram’’ to Unmadham,’ with ‘Jai Bhim’ and ‘’Ponman in between

8) Inside ‘Mother Promise’: The risk, humour and honesty behind the Kannada film

‘Mother Promise’, the directorial debut of actor Poornachandra Mysore and produced by actor Dhananjaya, is a refreshing move away from the tried and tested

9) This Malayali creator uses AI to reimagine iconic Malayalam movie scenes as anime

Pune-based Rohit Milan is using generative AI tools to recreate iconic scenes from films such as Mohanlal’s ‘Narasimham’ and ‘Spadikam’ and Rajinikanth’s ‘Sivaji: The Boss’ in the style of Japanese anime

10) Mollywood hails Centre’s crackdown on movie piracy network

Centre’s action against websites and Telegram channels allegedly hosting or distributing copyright-infringing content has given a major push to anti-piracy campaign by Malayalam film industry

11) Finding hope through music: Sheetal Menon on her Spotify short film ‘Duet’

Sheetal Menon opens up on directing ‘Duet,’ which holds the distinction of becoming Spotify’s first-ever short film release

12) What movies taught us about skills

This World Youth Skills Day, here are a few movies to go watch and dive into.

13) A tale of hits and misses: How Mollywood fared in first half of 2026

According to estimates by Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce, of around 80 films that reached the screens, only about 10-12% made a mark at the box-office

What to watch

1) In ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’, Tom Holland finally swings free in Destin Daniel Cretton’s soulful reinvention

2) ‘The Devil’s Mouth’ is a Fun-soaked survival thriller

3) In ‘Unmadham,’ Shahi Kabir’s promising meta-narrative loses steam while juggling genres

4) Sumanth spearheads the largely satisfying, minimalistic crime thriller ‘Newton’s 3rd Law’

3) ‘Pluto’ is a sci-fi comedy that sticks to usual alien narratives

4) In ‘Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender’, post-war Gaang reunion bends under franchise pressure

Published - July 31, 2026 04:51 pm IST