JAMIE FOXX launches furious rant at audience member after he’s forced to stop show.
The actor and musician, 57, was performing at his daughter’s music festival when a concert-goer reportedly hurled a bottle on stage at another huge US rapper.
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Jamie Foxx stopped his show and launched into a furious rantCredit: TikTokThe US star asked an audience member ‘why would you do that?’Credit: TikTok
A two minute clip making the rounds on social media shows the moment Jamie abruptly stops performance to unleash a furious on stage rant.
The actor who is known for his roles in films including Django Unchained and Baby Driver appeared at SKVLK Fest, a Halloween-themed party which was organised by his teen daughter Anelise.
Also taking to the stage was female rapper GloRilla who was forced to stop her set after a glass bottle was thrown at her.
Jamie immediately jumped to the music star’s defence, exclaiming: “ Who did it? Why would you do that?”
They added: “The police were called and the matter is now in law enforcement’s hands.”
Jamie reportedly left the restaurant by the time law authorities arrived and did not receive any medical attention at the scene despite needing stitches.
Jamie was left injured after reportedly being involved in an altercation last yearCredit: Getty
Ex-Premier League striker Jamie Cureton tells Monday Night Club on his desire to still play football aged 50, after scoring his debut goal for Kings Park Rangers meaning he has scored in the top-10 tiers of English football.
While Brook has had two weeks in New Zealand, Root, Smith and fellow opener Ben Duckett were in the middle for the first time in more than six weeks.
The two remaining matches in this series, plus the one warm-up in Australia, will be their only further opportunities to find form before the first Test on 21 November.
Four runs combined for three players so crucial to England’s hopes is clearly not ideal but significant credit must be given to New Zealand’s new-ball bowlers.
Henry began the match with a delivery that jagged back significantly to bowl Smith through the gate and barely relented with his accuracy throughout his opening spell of eight overs.
Playing only his second ODI, Zak Foulkes was highly impressive and found 0.96 degrees of seam movement plus 1.99 degrees of swing in the first 10 overs – a significant jump from the recent average of 0.89 and 1.41 respectively at this ground.
Duckett nicked a Foulkes ball from round the wicket that angled in before moving away and Root was bowled by a hooping inswinger, albeit one not full enough for his booming drive.
Perhaps the 23-year-old’s best delivery was saved for Jacob Bethell.
The left-hander looked to play another from Foulkes straight down the pitch but was bowled when the ball swung away late to beat his outside edge.
It left Bethell helpless as he tried to apply more pressure to Ollie Pope’s position as Test number three.
The three other options tabled by the WRU include two proposals suggesting a reduction in one side by keeping three teams. These choices are now seriously being considered by the WRU board.
Cardiff are owned by the WRU after the side temporarily went into administration in April.
With WRU chief executive Abi Tierney having already said she cannot see a situation where professional rugby would not be played in the Welsh capital, Dragons, Ospreys and Scarlets will be nervously watching what happens.
Reddin says he hopes a consensus could be reached if regions needed to be cut, with mergers an option.
Ospreys chief executive Lance Bradley says he can not imagine any possible merger with west Wales rivals Scarlets – that prospect having previously come close in 2019.
“I credit myself as a rather imaginative person but even I can’t imagine that,” Bradley told BBC Radio Wales Sport.
“I can’t see how it could work. It was proposed a few years ago but there would be so many barriers to it now, that I find it very hard to imagine.”
Bradley says he hopes to have some clarity by the end of October.
“We have been working closely with the WRU but at the end of the day it will be them who has to make the decision,” said Bradley.
“We have had a lot of conversations and they have been constructive.
“We felt that in a meeting we had with Dave Reddin that he genuinely listened to what we said and we hope that will be taken on board.”
TV chef Jamie Oliver raked in £28.5million last year as he continued to bounce back from his restaurant chain collapse.
Jamie Oliver Holdings’ bumper 2024 income came from TV shows, book sales and restaurants.
It also covered his cookery school and fees for promoting Tesco.
Jamie’s Italian chain collapsed in 2018, with debts of £83million.
But he now has international brands and a restaurant in Covent Garden, central London.
Revenues were up from £27.1million in 2023, Companies House files show.
read more on jamie oliver
But profits took a slight dip to £4.6million last year, from £5.2million.
The chef and his wife Jools, both 50, received dividends of £3million.
A report said: “The principal drivers of this decrease in profitability were reduced revenue from the effects of the cyclical nature of long term partnerships contracts, partially offset by savings in central staff costs (excluding Owned and Operated sites)
“We have delivered new Jamie Oliver titles in both book and TV formats during the year and there has been continued strong performance from back catalogue book titles and our international television content distributor.
“The Board recognises that the Jamie Oliver brand is a key asset of the Group and is confident that the night controls are in place to protect its value.”
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Jamie Oliver raked in £28.5million last year as he continued to bounce back from his restaurant chain collapseCredit: PA
Netflix documentary looks at the careers of four legendary Chefs
Rebekah and Jamie Vardy have signed a huge TV deal with ITV which will give viewers an insight into their personal and professional lives as they start a new life in Italy
Rebekah and Jamie Vardy land their own reality TV show with ITV(Image: PA)
Rebekah Vardy may be able to put the humiliation of Wagatha Chrisitie firmly behind her after landing a lucrative TV deal to film a reality show with her husband and family. According to reports, Rebekah, 43, will document the couple’s personal and professional life as they film their transition to Italy.
Jamie has now signed for football team US Cremonese. As yet an official title has not been confirmed but The Sun has reported a working title of The Vardys. The family have already relocated to Lombardy with their five children.
And a source told the publication: “There is huge interest in Becky and her life as a Wag, a mother and a TV personality, not to mention the relationship between her and Jamie.”
They added: “She’ll be seen opening up her home and heart as she provides unprecedented access at a crucial point in their history. It’s a real coup for her to have this with a channel as huge as ITV.”
ITV declined to make an official comment. Rebekah was caught in a legal dispute with Coleen Rooney after she was accused of selling information to the media about Coleen’s private life.
News of Rebekah and Jamie’s TV deal with ITV comes after it was confirmed by Disney+ that Wayne Rooney and Coleen have signed a ten-part series focusing on their family life.
Viewers will get to see how Coleen deals with her business life while Wayne, who has retired as a professional footballer, now takes on the school run. Keen to give viewers a real insight into their life, fans will witness the highs and the lows.
Sean Doyle, Executive Director of Unscripted at Disney+, said: “We’ve seen great success over the past couple of years with our Disney+ Original unscripted series such as Finding Michael, Coleen Rooney: The Real Wagatha Story, Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story and more recently, Flintoff.”
He added: “Our distinctive offering of combining the most talked-about household names and their incredible life experiences has hit the right note with our audiences who are looking for authentic and captivating real-life stories.”
Sean went on to say: “As our slate evolves, we want to continue working with world-class producers and homegrown talent in the reality space, with a focus on female-skewed factual.”
Another addition to the reality TV sector of the streaming platform is Jamie Laing and his wife Sophie, who were on Made In Chelsea.
Due to the success of their podcast the couple have become popular with the nation.
Now Freddie has caused a stir with his latest TikTok video where he flaunted his sleek black wide leg suit and double breasted jacket he wore to the event.
But in a more pointed nod, the song he used as the backing track was Rihanna‘s 2007 hit track, Breakin’ Dishes.
In an even more cheeky move, the lyrics of the song are: “Is he cheatin’?
“Man, I don’t know. I’m lookin’ ’round for somethin’ else to throw.”
Given the recent news, fans could not help but see the irony of the track as they took to the comments section with a flurry of speculation.
One user exclaimed: “The song seems fitting.”
Love Island’s Jamie tries to track down Yasmin after NTAs
A second fan took note of the lyrics as they simply commented with their spin on the quote, writing: “Is she cheating…..cause her man don’t know”!!”
“[Crying with laughter emoji] song choice,” said a third follower.
While a fourth stated: “The song choice is wildddd after the reports today [bold eyes emoji]”
As someone else claimed: “Sings really fitting well rn [two skull emojis].”
LOVE ISLAND VOTING PERCENTAGES
TONI and Cach won the Love Island 2025 final – yet what were the exact voting percentages?
Las Vegas waitressToni Laitesand professional dancer Cach Mercer went head-to-head with OG islandersShakira KhanandHarry Cooksleyin a nail-biting finale.
However, Toni and Cach were triumphant andwon the summer seriesafter surviving a love triangle just two weeks before the final.
A results table shared on Love Island’s Instagram account this afternoon showed Toni and Cach were the runaway winners on the night, taking over a third of the votes, with 33.5% of viewers backing them for the crown.
However, Shakira and Harry drew a sizeable 26.2% of the votes, and Yas and Jamie were not far behind taking 22% on the nose.
Aesthetics practitionerAngel, 26, only made her debut on July 17, but managed to secure an impressive 18.3% of the overall voting audience with Casa Amor boy Ty.
While a sixth remarked: “The song choice is crazy if I’m being honest”
And a seventh added: “The song choice [crying with laughter emoji],” alongside a GIF of Sharon Osbourne bursting into hysterics on The X Factor.
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The Traitors star showed off his sleek black wide leg suitCredit: Tiktok
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The pair looked cosy as they attended the after party togetherCredit: Instagram
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The Love Island couple confirmed that they have split upCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Love Island star Yasmin Pettet shut down the rumours claiming she cheated on Jamie Rhodes at the National Television Awards and revealed the two had split up before the event
Love Island’s Yasmin slams ‘laughable’ rumours she cheated on Jamie as she confirms split(Image: Getty Images for the NTA’s)
Love Island’s Yasmin Pettet slammed the “laughable” rumours she cheated on Jamie Rhodes with The Traitors star Freddie Fraser as she confirmed their split. After the National Television Awards last week, reports claimed Jamie supposedly told friends Yasmin ‘f***ed off’ by the end of the night.
It was also reported Yasmin had been seen holding hands with The Traitors star Freddie at the same event. And now, Yasmin took to social media to set the record straight and revealed she and Jamie went their separate ways before the NTAs but didn’t “formally announce it yet”.
“We’re still really good friends, and I’ll always have so much love and care for him for making my Love Island experience what it was,” she explained.
Love Island star Yasmin breaks silence on split from Jamie
“I find it laughable that everyone thinks I cheated on Jamie with Freddie from Traitors, which is not true, and anyone who knows me knows my type is late 20s, 30s plus. @__jamierhodes___ is literally the most amazing man ever, and I’m forever grateful for the memories we made and time we spent together.”
Jamie also took to his Instagram page to reveal what actually went down last night as he defended Yasmin.
He said: “There has been a lot of speculation over the past few days about what happened at the NTA’s covered by a lot of different news outlets that really don’t seem to have a straight story. A lot of the stories coming out don’t make any sense as the sources have heard short snippets of conversations that they weren’t apart of, and are subsequently playing a guessing game about the context and facts of each scenario.
The duo met on Love Island this summer(Image: ITV/Shutterstock)
“I wasn’t desperately trying to find Yas after the NTA’S I was trying to hitch a ride back to my hotel with Cach and Toni, and when asked where Yas was and I said she f***ed off. This is what I say every time I’m with company and they leave, it’s strong set in my vocabulary.
“It was also said that I was fuming at the a party the following day after the NTA’s when it was the complete opposite actually, it was a great night!”
He continued: “One part that the press have gotten correct is that Yas and I have decided to move away from getting to know each other romantically to just being friends. However unlike the news has said, it was in a very amicable manner and before the NTA’S.
“Yasmin did not cheat on me nor was we in a relationship, we both have big love for one another and want the best for each of us. I hope this clears up any press speculation and puts any rumours to bed. And thank you once again to everyone who supported me and Yasmin inside and outside the villa.”
The apparent split comes weeks after Yasmin explained the pair were yet to be intimate outside the villa. She admitted she had been grieving the loss of her pet cat, Miaow Miaow.
And she praised Jamie for providing her with emotional support during the tough times. She also said the couple weren’t in a rush to progress with the romance.
TORONTO — Welcome to a special daily edition of the Envelope at TIFF, a newsletter collecting the latest developments out of Canada’s annual film showcase. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
Have you seen the images from our photo gallery? Staff photographer Christina House and her crew are truly capturing the best of the fest.
There are wonderful shots up now, including Elle Fanning, Ethan Hawke, Channing Tatum and more, but this link will be updated periodically with others.
Expect Cillian Murphy, the cast of Rian Johnson’s ‘Wake Up Dead Man,’ Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Cillian Murphy and more surprises!
The day’s buzziest premieres
‘Good Fortune’
Aziz Ansari, left, and Keanu Reeves in the movie “Good Fortune.”
(Eddy Chen/Lionsgate/Eddy Chen / Lionsgate)
A low-level guardian angel righting a wrong feels like the set-up to a classic comedy. But amid a premise motivated by income inequality, there’s a distinctly current edge to “Good Fortune,” the debut feature of writer-director-star Aziz Ansari.
A struggling film editor who makes ends meet as a food delivery driver, Arj (Ansari) is at the end of his rope when said angel Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) switches his life with Jeff (Seth Rogen), a wealthy, self-important tech investor.
Except, instead of realizing things are tough all over, Arj decides he likes Jeff’s life better and doesn’t want to switch back. Which is only the beginning of the complications for these three lost souls.
Looking for hope in an out-of-balance world while laced with a righteously indignant anger (and set against distinctly L.A. locations), “Good Fortune” is social satire with a big heart. — Mark Olsen
‘Canceled: The Paula Deen Story’
Paula Deen in the documentary “Canceled: The Paula Deen Story.”
(TIFF)
Hungry for a brisk, witty documentary that’s as easy to enjoy as a plate of hot biscuits? Filmmaker Billy Corben analyzes the tabloid feeding frenzy that chewed up celebrity TV chef Paula Deen when she admitted to using a racial slur.
Going in, I only knew two things about Deen: the 2013 scandal and her staunch devotion to butter. Her full story is fascinating, especially buttressed by contemporary interviews with Deen and her two sons, Bobby and Jamie, who all specialize in Southern-fried zingers: “It came on like a snowball full of chainsaws,” says Jamie of the media blitz.
A complex schematic of the cancelation machine, “Canceled” argues that Deen was punished double that summer because Trayvon Martin’s killer wasn’t punished at all. The great archival footage makes you get why audiences once loved Deen — and it’s evident how much her family and friends still do, even if Corben greases her mea culpa to the point that you feel a little queasy. — Amy Nicholson
‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’
Josh O’Connor, left, and Daniel Craig in Rian Johnson’s movie “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery,” having its world premiere as part of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.
(Netflix)
One of the real pleasures of the witty, surprising films made by writer-director Rian Johnson starring Daniel Craig as Southern gentleman detective Benoit Blanc is that, within the confines of the murder mystery, they could take place just about anywhere: a patriarch’s creaky mansion, a billionaire’s private island and now a small town’s historic church.
Or at least that’s the best we know from the scant details made public about the new “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” ahead of its TIFF world premiere tonight. Craig returns as Blanc but joining the cast this time are Josh O’Connor, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Kerry Washington, Jeremy Renner, Daryl McCormack, Cailee Spaeny, Thomas Haden Church, Andrew Scott and Glenn Close.
The festival has been a good luck charm so far, with the previous two “Knives Out” movies premiering at TIFF in the same theater, day and time slot and both going on to Oscar nominations for their screenplays. — Mark Olsen
They couldn’t stop talking, even before the cameras for ‘Poetic License’ were rolling
Andrew Barth Feldman, left, Cooper Hoffman and Leslie Mann in “Poetic License,” having its world premiere as part of the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.
(TIFF)
Mark Olsen has a fun interview with the banter-ific Andrew Barth Feldman and Cooper Hoffman, costars of Maude Apatow’s new movie “Poetic Licence.” They were friends before they shot the film and their verbal mutual affection — honed to a crazy degree of anticipation — is something to behold. They’ve raised bromance to an art form.
His apocalyptic art film ‘Sirât’ dances in the face of oblivion. That’s why people love it
Director Oliver Laxe, photographed in the Los Angeles Times Studios at RBC House during the Toronto International Film Festival.
(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)
Director Oliver Laxe has made a truly unique art film about a restless group of ravers who drive out in the the desert on the eve of what could be the end of the world. Since its debut at Cannes, “Sirât” is acquiring superfans — critics and audiences alike — wherever it plays. On the occasion of his first TIFF screening, Laxe spoke to me about his commitment to risk.
Jamie Overton removes Akash Deep for 66 as England finally get their breakthrough in a frustrating morning session against India, with the tourists 189-3 at lunch on day three of the fifth Test at the Oval.
It was the return of one of the most iconic challenges in tonight’s Love Island, the baby challenge – but it lead to some tense conversations between Yas and Jamie…
22:45, 31 Jul 2025Updated 23:28, 31 Jul 2025
The Love Island villa were moved to tears by tonight’s shock dumping, but they didn’t have long to mope around, as they had some babies to take care of…
Tonight saw the return of the iconic Love Island baby challenge, as the Islanders put their parenting skills to the test. The challenge has been part of the show for as long as fans can remember, with clips of Tommy Fury and Molly-Mae taking part in series three still floating around to this day.
Despite a number of couples being over the moon at the challenge, Yas was less than impressed, as she told her partner Jamie that she’s not maternal and has no interest in becoming a mother. Despite seeing kids in his future, Jamie assured Yas it wasn’t a deal breaker for their relationship. However, fans aren’t so convinced.
Yasmin and Jamie became exclusive during last night’s episode (Image: ITV)
During the tense conversation, Jamie told Yas he was surrounded by children in his family, and “probably would” like kids down the line, although Yas said she’d rather spend time with her friends babies as she can “give them back”.
“I’ve never had the desire to have a family,” Yas said.
“It’s not a complete deal breaker, but it’s definitely up there,” Jamie responded, as Yas said she definitely wouldn’t change her mind.
Many fans agreed with Yas on X, formerly known as Twitter, as one fan wrote: “Having this conversation about motherhood is very refreshing.”
However, some are now concerned for the future of her relationship with Jamie on the outside world. “Oh dear – Yas & Jamie might fall out over wanting kids…” wrote one concerned fan, while another penned: “Not sure Jamie likes Yas’s reaction….”
Yas and Jamie connected from the moment they met – but now some fans fear for their future (Image: ITV/Shutterstock)
A third concerned fan said: “i fear this is slowly the end of jamie and yas,” while a third penned: “i love yas and jamie but this will not work out unfortunately, when two people can’t see eye to eye on a family it’s a huge thing.”
It was a different story for Ty and Angel, as the challenge brought them even closer together. Despite only meeting a couple of weeks ago, the pair formed a strong connection from the start – as they took things to the next level.
“I really do enjoy spending time with you. I do really see a future with you,” Ty told Angel, adding: “I’ve never got on with anyone this well. It’s only right we make this exclusive.”
The chat between the two comes just days after Yas and Jamie closed things off – with Dejon recently making Meg his girlfriend.
LOVE ISLAND CONTINUES TOMORROW NIGHT AT 9PM ON ITV2 AND ITVX
A fusion of body horror and couples therapy, it centers on a sunken cave with a pool of water that, when sipped, makes cells thirst to meld with the nearest mammal. In the opening sequence, this urge to merge overtakes two dogs who smush together like the monster mutt in “The Thing.” (Thankfully, the camera doesn’t linger; the whimpering is plenty.) Now, it’s Tim and Millie’s turn. The unhappy boyfriend and girlfriend, played by real-life spouses Dave Franco and Alison Brie, have moved from the city to the forest anticipating that the scenery change will make or break their relationship. Blend is more like it.
How does ancient philosophy squeeze into a gooey metaphor for codependence? According to Jamie (Damon Herriman), a history teacher at the school where Millie works, Plato’s “Symposium” claims that humans were once rebellious, eight-limbed beings who tumbled around doing cartwheels. Zeus cleaved us pesky mortals in two as a form of control, figuring that we’d be so consumed by the quest to find our other half that we’d never get around to toppling Mount Olympus — and if that didn’t work, he’d leave us “on one leg, hopping.” (Shanks can save that for the sequel.)
It’s worth noting that Plato was kidding, a three-millennium-old joke that’s essentially, “Take my wife — Zeus!” But mating does preoccupy our mental bandwidth, and welding together two lives is unwieldy. Tim and Millie have been dating for a decade, from their hopeful 20s to their resigned 30s, and have become so mismatched in maturity that their efforts to stick together feel less like giddy Grecian handsprings and more like a three-legged race. As Millie confesses early on, “I’m not sure if we love each other or if we’re just used to each other.”
Brie and Franco lend the fictional couple their intimacy, but dial down their spark. Only a few scenes allow their characters any welcome emotional connection. There’s no sense of peeking behind their celebrity curtain, so we’re with Millie’s best friend Cath (Mia Morrissey) when she openly wishes the pair would split for good. But Millie and Tim have leaned on each other so long that neither is sure how to stand on their own. The emotional and physical pain to come has the sense of being aboard a train chugging toward certain disaster. There’s opportunities to jump off, but no one has the nerve to try.
Alison Brie, left, and Dave Franco in “Together.”
(Ben King / Neon)
Shanks is attuned to how a long-term twosome divides up duties (and identities), defining themselves by what each one contributes and, in the process, becoming less of a whole person. Tim can’t drive. Millie can’t cook. Tim is the broke musician. Millie has the steady job. “I’m the boring one,” she says begrudgingly. Meanwhile, the resentful girl struggles to label Tim’s role, stammering to Jamie that she lives with, “my partner, my Tim, my boy-partner Tim.”
“Boy-partner” sounds right. The design teams have outfitted Franco’s hipster with goofy sweatshirts and a fledgling mullet. He can’t even commit to the most famously noncommittal hairstyle. Yet, before long, Tim finds he’s unable to leave Millie’s side for a moment. Every time he touches her, the rest of the world seems to disappear: The focus goes shallow, the fine hairs on Brie’s skin dapple in the light, her muscles creak as loudly as tectonic plates. She’s confused. He keeps apologizing, becoming increasingly flustered and frantic.
The film will go on to have memorably fleshy visuals. (Picture massaging butter underneath the raw skin of a Thanksgiving turkey.) “It Happened One Night’s” Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable relied on a flimsy Wall of Jericho to keep themselves separated. Here, when things get tricky, Millie and Tim reach for an electric handsaw.
Gross? Totally. But empathetic too. Brie’s Millie is sensible and vulnerable, while Franco manages to makes us pity his bad boyfriend Tim. Part of his aloofness comes from grieving his father’s death and his mother’s subsequent mental breakdown; the rest is his shame that his rock ‘n’ roll dreams have yet to become reality. “I thought you’d make Millie cooler,” her younger brother Luke (Jack Kenny) says. “Instead …” Luke adds with a snort, as the rest of the sentence slides into the abyss, taking Tim’s ego with it.
For a first-time feature director, Shanks expertly fuses himself to the audience’s POV. He knows that we know where this is going — the title gives the game away — so his job is to goose the inevitable in ways that make us squirm and gasp. Working with the cinematographer Germain McMicking and the production designer Nicholas Dare, he plunks us into standard jump scare scenarios — the dark hallway, the subterranean lair — and then tricks our eyes into looking at the wrong corner of the frame.
His talent for misdirection also applies to the narrative. Shanks expects us to clock the unacknowledged wedding ring on Herriman’s Jamie, a Hallmark rom-com charmer, and so his script takes our suspicions and twists them once, twice and a third time for good measure. Even steeled for a plot point we’re dreading — the couple making the terrible choice to do something more adult than hold hands — when the scene finally arrives, it’s ickier and more humiliating than we could have imagined.
My quibbles with the ending are too close to spoilers to cite outright. But the delight of the film is that its editor Sean Lahiff has the rhythm of a shock comic. He favors nasty jolts and cartoonish rim shots, like when Millie advises Tim not to do anything stupid and Lahiff immediately smash-cuts to the guy running off full-tilt. Nothing about “Together” screams comedy, yet that’s precisely how it’s put together. Awkward humor is the skeleton under its prestige nightmare surface, even as it’s wonderfully, heartbreakingly tragic to watch our leads roil to melt together like mozzarella. How’s that for an update on the old quip? Make my wife — cheese!
‘Together’
Rated: R, for violent/disturbing content, sexual content, graphic nudity, language and brief drug content
Jamie Smith offers admirable final-day resistance but India’s superb bowlers complete a thumping 336-run victory over England in the second Test at Edgbaston to level the series at 1-1.
Zombies were dormant when screenwriter Alex Garland convinced director Danny Boyle to resurrect the undead — and make them run. The galloping ghouls in their low-budget 2002 thriller “28 Days Later” reinvigorated the genre. There’s now been so many of them that they’ve come to feel moldy. So Garland and Boyle have teamed up again to see if there’s life in these old bones.
There is, albeit sporadically and spasmodically. “28 Years Later,” the first entry of a promised trilogy, has a dull central plot beefed up by unusual ambition, quirky side characters and maniacal editing. It’s a kooky spectacle, a movie that aggressively cuts from moments of philosophy to violence, from pathos to comedy. Tonally, it’s an ungainly creature. From scene to scene, it lurches like the brain doesn’t know what the body is doing. Garland and Boyle don’t want the audience to know either, at least not yet.
The plot picks up nearly three decades into a viral “rage” pandemic that’s isolated the British Isles from the civilized world. A couple hundred people have settled into a safe-enough life on Lindisfarne, an island that’s less than a mile from shore. The tide recedes every day for a few hours, long enough to walk across a narrow strip of causeway to the mainland. Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Isla (Jodie Comer) were young when normality collapsed, roughly the same age as the kids in the film’s cheeky opening flashback who are watching a VHS tape of “Teletubbies” while hearing the screams of their babysitters getting bitten. But these survivors have managed to grow up and become parents themselves. Given their harsh circumstances, Jamie and Isla have called their son Spike.
Name notwithstanding, 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams) is a sweet kid. When his father slips him a precious ration of bacon, he gives his share to his mother, who now lies weak and confused in an upstairs bedroom. The script pushes too hard to make Spike naive — blank and moldable — instead of what narrative logic tells us he is, the hardscrabble child of two stunted children. His career paths are hunter, forager or watchtower guard, but he seems more like the product of a progressive Montessori school, even with his dad urging him to cackle at shredded deer intestines. When the boy’s not looking, Jamie’s shoulders sag as he trudges up the stairs to Isla’s sickbed, showing us a hint of adult complexities he alone understands.
Spike’s storyline is a fairly simple coming-of-age journey. Once he’s slayed his first infected (“The more you kill, the easier it gets,” his dad gloats), Spike decides to sneak his sick mother to the mainland in search of a mythological being: a general medical practitioner. But straightaway, the movie’s editing (by Jon Harris) starts having a fit, seizing our attention as it splices in herky-jerky black-and-white archival footage of earlier generations of kids marching to protect their homes, both in newsreels and classical retellings including Laurence Olivier’s 1944 film of “Henry V.” The chilling electronic score by the Scottish group Young Fathers blurps and drones while an unseen voice recites Rudyard Kipling’s “Boots,” a poem about the grinding Boer War that was first published in 1903, but whose sense of slogging exhaustion sounds just as relevant to us as it would to Beowulf. These theatrics sound fancy, but they play deliberately abrasive and confounding. “28 Days Later” forced the audience to adapt to the ugliness of digital cameras, and despite the years and prestige that Garland and Boyle have accumulated since, they’ve still got a punk streak.
The filmmakers seem to be making the point that our own kinder, gentler idealism is the outlier. Humankind’s natural state is struggle and division. In this evocative setting, with its crumbling castle towers and tattered English flags, we’re elbowed to think of battles, from Brexit to the Vikings, who first attacked the British on this very same island in 793. A 9th century account describes the Lindisfarne massacre as nightmarish scenes of blood and trampling and terror, of “heathen men made lamentable havoc.” Those words could have been recycled into “28 Years Later’s” pitch deck.
As a side note, Lindisfarne remains so small and remote that it doesn’t even have any doctors today. The one we meet, Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), doesn’t show up until the last act. But he’s worth the wait, as is the messianic Jimmy (Jack O’Connell), who appears three minutes before the end credits and successfully gets us excited for the sequel, which has already been shot. (Jimmy’s tracksuits and bleached hair are evidence that his understanding of pop culture really did stop at Eminem.) Their characters inject so much energy into the movie that Boyle and Garland seem to be rationing their best material as strictly as Spike denies himself that slice of pork.
This confounding and headstrong movie doesn’t reveal everything it’s after. But it’s an intriguing comment on human progress. The uninfected Brits have had to rewind their society back a millennium. When a Swedish sailor named Erik (Edvin Ryding, marvelous) is forced ashore, he talks down to all the Brits like they’re cavemen. They’ve never even seen an iPhone (although the movie was itself shot on them). Upon seeing a picture of a modern Instagram babe plumped to a Kardashian ripeness, Spike gasps, “What’s wrong with her face?”
The infected ones have regressed further still and they’ve split into two sub-species: the grub-like “slow-low” zombies, who suck up worms with a vile slurp, and the Neanderthalish sprinters who hunt in packs. The fast ones even have an alpha (Chi Lewis-Parry) who is hellbent on taking big strides forward. One funny way he shows it is he’s made a hobby of ripping off his prey’s heads to use their spines as tools, or maybe even as décor.
Dr. Kelson, a shaman, sculptor and anthropologist, insists that even the infected still share a common humanity. “Every skull has had a thought,” he says, stabbing a freshly decapitated one with his pitchfork. He’s made an art of honoring death over these decades and his occasionally hallucinatory sequence is truly emotional, even if Fiennes, smeared with iodine and resembling a jaundiced Colonel Kurtz, made me burst out into giggles at the way he says “placenta.” Yet, I think we’re meant to laugh — he’s the exact mix of smart and silly the film is chasing.
So who, then, are the savages? The infected or us? The film shifts alliances without taking sides (yet). I’m unconvinced that sweetie pie Spike is the protagonist I want to follow for two more movies. But whatever happens, it’s a given that humans will eventually, stubbornly, relentlessly find a way to tear other humans to pieces, as we do in every movie, and just as we’ve done since the first homo sapien went after his rival with a stick. That’s the zombie genre’s visceral power: It reveals that the things that make us feel safe — love, loyalty, civility — are also our weaknesses. “28 Years Later” dares us to devolve.
’28 Years Later’
Rated: R, for strong bloody violence, grisly images, graphic nudity, language and brief sexuality
“Adolescence” co-creator Stephen Graham isn’t exactly shy when it comes to praising Owen Cooper, the young actor at the center of his hit Netflix limited series.
“This may be a big thing to say, but I haven’t seen a performance [of this caliber] from someone so young since Leo [DiCaprio] in ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,’” Graham tells me via Zoom. “And I say that because I love Leo and he’s a good friend. And that’s a performance beyond someone his age. It’s the same when I watch Owen.”
Not content to leave it at that, Graham later points out that he recently related a story on Graham Norton’s BBC talk show about the time he told Cooper’s mom that her son was the “next Robert De Niro.” Cooper happened to be on the show too, taking it all in, smiling shyly. And wouldn’t you know it, De Niro was there as well, sitting next to Cooper on the couch, giving him a tender pat on the knee.
So, DiCaprio, De Niro … Do you want to drop a Brando comparison to complete the trifecta? I ask.
“I can’t find enough superlatives to describe the boy,” says Graham, who also co-wrote the show and stars as his father.
Honestly, I can’t either. Apart from Noah Wyle’s heroic, beleaguered doctor in “The Pitt,” you could make the case that Cooper’s turn as Jamie, a 13-year-old accused of murdering a classmate, is the year’s best work on television. The show’s third episode, a two-hander where Jamie is interviewed and evaluated by a psychologist (Erin Doherty) at a juvenile detention facility, is an astonishing showcase, particularly when you consider that it, like all four of the series’ episodes, is shot as a continuous scene.
It also bears mentioning that “Adolescence” marks Cooper’s professional debut as an actor. He is now 15.
Cooper with Stephen Graham in “Adolescence.”
(Netflix)
It’s an extraordinary story, though you have to wonder if some Emmy voters will see it that way. The Emmys have not embraced child actors over the years, with only four teenagers winning trophies: Roxana Zal, 14 when she won for her supporting role in the 1984 TV movie “Something About Amelia”; Kristy McNichol, 15 and 17 at the time of her two supporting drama actress wins for the 1970s series “Family”; Scott Jacoby, 16, for the 1972 TV movie “That Certain Summer”; and Anthony Murphy for the 1971 British limited series “Tom Brown’s Schooldays.”
Murphy was 17 when he won and, like Cooper, had never acted professionally. And after “Tom Brown’s Schooldays,” he never acted again, pursuing painting instead and enjoying a long career in that medium.
Perhaps that explains Emmy voters’ reluctance to go all in and reward young actors. Are they in it for the long haul? Or are they going to do something crazy like go off to college and chase a more stable career, like … just about any other line of work?
With Cooper, such concerns appear to be unfounded. Since “Adolescence,” he has made a BBC comedy, “Film Club,” starring Aimee Lou Wood, and just finished playing young Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell’s upcoming adaptation of Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights.”
Fennell obviously saw the tortured antihero that everyone else did in “Adolescence.”
Easy to see that now. But finding the next De Niro from a pool of 500 to 600 young actors, most of them unknowns, almost all of them around Jamie’s age, was a taller order. Graham says the casting team had considered looking for an older boy, given the demands of the role and the show’s unsettling subject matter.
“But that age is unique,” Graham says. “It’s that breaking point. Your body is changing. Your voice is changing. We needed that authenticity.”
That’s all well and good. But what was it like for Doherty, a veteran actor with many credits — including Princess Anne in “The Crown” — to take on a single-shot, 52-minute episode requiring her to parry and push and prod a young actor on his first job?
Cooper with Erin Doherty in “Adolescence.”
(Netflix)
“It was definitely the cause of most of my nerves before I met Owen,” Doherty tells me. “I was so unflinchingly aware that it is a huge ask, even for an actor who has been doing it for 40 years.”
Then she met him on the first day of rehearsal, and Doherty, who says she is obsessed with the elements, saw that Cooper was a “very earthy human being.” Grounded. Present. Real.
They rehearsed for two weeks and then spent a week shooting the episode, Monday through Friday, two takes a day. They used the last take. Probably because they felt confident they had already nailed it, Doherty says that last time through was like they were “doing it for free.”
“There was more of a playful dynamic between the two of us,” Doherty says. “We were poking each other in ways we hadn’t done before.”
As Doherty’s psychologist nudges Jamie to recognize truths about himself that he doesn’t want to acknowledge and admit that he holds certain toxic beliefs, you see Cooper shift Jamie from guarded innocence to explosive rage and then to surrendering desperation. There are a lot of showy moments, but one of the best comes shortly after the two characters meet when Jamie lets out a yawn. “Am I boring you?” she asks. Look at that self-satisfied smile on his face.
“That was the only time he did that,” Doherty says. “And Owen was probably genuinely tired. But also, I’m thinking, ‘This kid Jamie is really trying to push my buttons.’ We were really playing a cat-and-mouse game.”
With young actors, there’s sometimes the perception that the director is guiding them — which, of course, is the director’s job with any actor. But in that moment, you see Cooper using an accident and turning it into something malevolent.
“Owen has an unspoken magic,” Doherty says. “That’s nothing to do with his age. He has something that can’t be taught, and it’s always going to be with him.”
EASTENDERS star Jamie Borthwick has been dramatically suspended by the BBC for using a vile disabled slur on the set of Strictly.
The actor 30, apologised for “any offence and upset” after aiming the sick jibe at Blackpool locals.
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Jamie Borthwick was dramatically suspended by the BBC for using a sickening disabled slur on the Strictly setCredit: BBC
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EastEnders star Borthwick issued a grovelling apology after his offensive comment emerged on a videoCredit: BBC
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The Sun on Sunday understands Jamie has been suspended by the BBC from his role playing Jay Slater on EastEnders
Disability equality charity Scope said the remarks were “ignorant and hurtful”, adding: “Attitudes and language like this are never acceptable.”
The EastEnders star was suspended by the BBC after a video emerged of him on the Strictly set using the term “m********s” to describe the people of Blackpool, the seaside town where the show was being filmed.
Blackpool Council’s Tory group leader Paul Galley blasted: “Everyone will be shocked at such a horrible comment and I join them in condemning it.”
And the BBC told The Sun on Sunday: “This language is entirely unacceptable and in no way reflects the values or standards we hold and expect at the BBC. We have robust processes in place for this.”
Read More on JAMIE BORTHWICK
The Sun on Sunday understands Jamie has been suspended by the BBC from his role playing Jay Slater on EastEnders.
Jamie made the offensive remark on a mobile phone video while the Strictly cast and crew were at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom last November for the flagship BBC1 series live show.
He was backstage during rehearsals with his Strictly co-star Wynne Evans who said “Oh my God” on the footage sent to a pal of Jamie’s.
Jamie, who has been on EastEnders since 2006, said in a statement to The Sun on Sunday: “I want to apologise sincerely and wholeheartedly for the words I used in the video showing my reaction to making it through Blackpool week on Strictly.
“I am deeply sorry for any offence and upset my words and actions have caused.
“It is no excuse, but I did not fully understand the derogatory term I used and its meaning.
Strictly’s Jamie Borthwick cheated on me during the show and then used co-star to try and smooth it over, ex tells pals
“That is on me completely.
“Now I am aware, I am deeply embarrassed to have used the term and directed it in the way I did.
“It was wrong.
“When I made the video, I was excited and caught up in the moment.
“Again, that is no excuse.
“But my regrettable actions are not a true reflection of my views, or who I am.
“I enjoyed every minute of my time in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom and the town itself.
“The people of Blackpool have always been amazing with the Strictly crew, dancers and cast members.
“I know they will be again for this year’s show and those in years to come.
“I am truly sorry.”
The actor and Wynne were sharing their excitement after being told they were selected for the lucrative Strictly tour – which was staged nationwide earlier this year.
Jamie, laughing, says on the video: “Blackpool by the way. “Absolute m********s’.”
The soap star and his professional dance partner Michelle Tsiakkas were lauded in Blackpool after dancing the Jive to The Ketchup Song by Las Ketchup in the live show on November 16.
Borthwick pictured with dance partner Michelle Tsiakkas on StrictlyCredit: PA
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The comments sparked an angry reaction from disability campaigners and the people of BlackpoolCredit: Alamy
And it follows The Sun on Sunday revealing in April how Jamie and Wynne were rapped by BBC bosses for sharing a joke over a sex toy video backstage at the Strictly tour in Birmingham – which happened before the latter’s suspension.
Now Jamie is at the centre of a new storm after The Sun on Sunday alerted his team and the BBC to the latest video.
It sparked an angry reaction from disability campaigners and the people of Blackpool.
Warren Kirwan, Media Manager at disability equality charity Scope said: “Attitudes and language like this are never acceptable.
“It’s not just ignorant and hurtful to disabled people, it has wider consequences.
“Negative attitudes hold disabled people back in all areas of life from getting a job to shopping on the high street.
It’s not just ignorant and hurtful to disabled people, it has wider consequences. Negative attitudes hold disabled people back in all areas of life from getting a job to shopping on the high street
Warren Kirwan, Scope
“Mr Borthwick needs to reflect on what he said, educate himself and do better.
“We hope he takes the opportunity to get to know the reality of disabled people’s lives.”
Councillor Paul Galley, Blackpool Council’s Conservative group leader, condemned Jamie Borthwick’s comments.
He said: “Blackpool’s best asset is its amazing people, along with the millions of people from around the UK who genuinely love the town.
“Everyone will be shocked at such a horrible comment and I join them in condemning it.”
Meanwhile, a source explained how the Blackpool show is the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the Strictly series – with celebs and pro dancers often saying how much they enjoy performing there.
The source added: “This will be considered a real blow and hugely embarrassing to the BBC and the show’s very warm relationship with the people of Blackpool and the Blackpool Tower Ballroom.”
He has a technically solid defence and drives through the covers with ease. But he can also pick the ball off a length and deposit it over mid-wicket as he did on Tuesday.
“He’s not a slogger, is he? He’s playing proper shots,” was how Brook put it succinctly.
England also know the importance of an opening partnership if their rebirth after the troubles of Jos Buttler’s final 18 months as captain is to be successful.
Eoin Morgan’s World Cup-winning team had Buttler’s fireworks, a match-winner in Ben Stokes and Joe Root’s calmness but none of that would have been possible without Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow setting platforms that would have been too big for the 1970s.
In Tests, England’s best performances under McCullum’s leadership – in Rawalpindi, at The Oval, or at Edgbaston – have all been built on significant opening partnerships.
Like Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley against the red ball, Duckett and Smith attack the white like they are playing different sports.
To get technical, Duckett’s average interception point against seamers is around 1.77m, 33cm behind Smith’s.
While right-hander Smith targets boundaries in front of him, left-hander Duckett has scored only 18% his career runs against pacers in the ‘V’.
And in McCullum, Smith has a coach who opened 107 times in ODIs and did so in a New Zealand side that reached a World Cup final – an ideal sounding board should one be needed.
As one may expect with England’s relaxed approach, however, Smith has largely been left to create his own plans during his first week in the job.
“He knows how to bat,” Brook said.
“Like I said so many times, he’s done it in Test cricket for periods.
“He’s gonna have a good go at it at the top in one-day cricket and I think everybody’s excited to see how he goes.”
Brook knows there will be bumps to come but Smith will be given every chance to lead England on their ride.
Fast bowler Jamie Overton has been ruled out of England’s remaining two one-day internationals against West Indies with a broken finger.
Overton suffered a broken little finger while attempting to take a return catch during England’s huge win in the series-opener at Edgbaston on Thursday.
The 31-year-old immediately left the field for treatment but came back on to bowl and took three wickets.
Overton is expected to be out for about a month, so will also miss the three T20s against West Indies that follow the ODIs.
No replacement has been called up for the second ODI in Cardiff on Sunday, when England could secure the series.
Sister Jade McKay said she flew out to Peru with her partner in a bid to find her missing brother.
In a public posting urging people to help find Jamie, she wrote: “My brother, Jamie Cooke, 39 years old, is missing in Peru.
“I have travelled from the UK to search for him and am currently in Miraflores with my partner.
“We are very worried and would appreciate any information from UK citizens travelling in the area.
“Please share and contact us if you have any news.”
Ms McKay shared two pictures of Jamie as part of her appeal to find him.
And anyone with information about the Brit’s disappearance has been urged to come forward as soon as possible.
An FCDO spokesperson told The Sun: “We are supporting the family of a British man reported as missing in Peru and are in contact with his local authorities.”
The Sun has reached out to Jamie’s family for further details.
Mum of missing Scots teen Cole Cooper, 19, reveals living ‘nightmare’ in heartbreaking interview over his disappearance
It comes as Brit woman Hannah Almond continues to live on the streets after she became too terrified to trust anyone.
Ms Almond, 32, disappeared after a violent robbery left her without a passport, phone, or money – and sparked a terrifying mental health spiral.
The yoga-loving fashion graduate from Grimsby had travelled to Cusco in March for a spiritual retreat to “find herself”, but ended up living under a bridge with an elderly homeless man.
Locals torched her few remaining belongings in a sickening attack.
After three days without contact, friends feared the worst.
But a man she met briefly in Lima caught a flight to Cusco and “just started wandering the streets asking after her” until he found her slumped on the pavement.
Despite being located, Ms Almond is still sleeping rough and refusing support – including food, shelter, and help from the British embassy – due to trauma from the robbery that’s left her terrified of strangers.
One of her pals has now flown from the UK in a desperate bid to persuade her to return home before she disappears again.
Piero Villanueva, the man who found the Brit, revealed their emotional reunion and said she immediately recognised him and began crying.
He told local media: “I have just found her. She is safe and well.
“Hannah recognised me and approached me crying and I asked her to leave with me. Thanks God she’s safe.”
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Hannah Almond has been found after she was feared missing in PeruCredit: Instagram
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Piero Villanueva, who briefly met Hannah in Lima, managed to track her down and find the Brit backpackerCredit: LR Noticias en Cusco
Piero, who met Hannah briefly in Lima earlier in her trip, travelled to Cusco after seeing news of her disappearance on social media.
“I decided to travel to Cusco at the request of her friends and family,” he said.
“I wanted to come and help find her and assist her because she didn’t have money or her passport and other documents because she had been robbed.”
He confirmed he is in touch with Hannah’s family, the British Consul, and a friend flying in from the UK.
“A friend of Hannah is arriving in Cusco today and I’m talking with him to be able to assist her,” he said.
“We have to see now what’s going to happen, talk with Hannah’s mum and see what she wants to do,” he added.
“Hannah and her mum haven’t spoken yet. I’m talking with her mum but she’s an elderly lady and we don’t want to worry her anymore.”
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Footage from local media shows the pair together walking through Cusco together shortly after their reunionCredit: CuscoNoticias CTV47
Match of the Day 2 celebrates a perfect final game in a Leicester shirt for the “inspirational” Jamie Vardy as he scores his 200th goal for the club in his 500th appearance as the Foxes beat Ipswich 2-0 in the Premier League.
