A day after one of Hollywood’s most powerful men publicly scolded actor Tom Cruise, the film capital began to think cost-conscious studios may finally be fed up with giving stars the star treatment. But some industry insiders believe Viacom chairperson Sumner Redstone’s rebuke of Cruise was more a sign that a great money-making career was on the wane.
Apple Computer said on Wednesday it would pay -million to Creative Technology to settle all patent litigation over Apple’s popular iPod music player. The agreement gives Apple a license to use a Creative patent in its music player and other products and settles all legal disputes between the two companies, Apple said.
Australia coach John Connolly has left prop Greg Holmes out of a 25-man squad for next month’s Tri-Nations Test in South Africa, the Australian Rugby Union said on Thursday. Holmes will stay at home to rest after starting all eight of the Wallabies’ tests in 2006. His place was taken by Benn Robinson.
The United States marine corps has been forced to call up its reserves for compulsory service in Iraq and Afghanistan because it has not been able to find enough volunteers — a reflection of the strain the two wars are putting on the US’s armed forces.
South African resources group Mvelaphanda Resources on Thursday reported a sharp rise in headline earnings per share for the year to end June to 1 663 cents from 91 cents a year ago, largely due to a R3,4-billion increase in the value of its Gold Fields investment to R7,4-billion.
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Former deputy president Jacob Zuma should not pursue the race to become president of the African National Congress, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said on Wednesday. He said although he liked Zuma, he could not condone his behaviour — admitting to having had sex with a woman young enough to be his daughter, and taking a shower to prevent HIV/Aids infection.
China may be giving striptease funerals the last rites after officials arrested five people and ordered an end to the practice, state media said on Thursday. Strip shows have been commonly used to attract more mourners to funerals, as villagers believe a crowded send-off brings more honor to the deceased, Xinhua news agency said.
"The novel, more than any other art form, defines a people’s identity; the 19th-century novel did this for Europe. The 20th-century novel in Africa — I shall call it the classical African novel – tried to open a window into the African mind." Helon Habila is encouraged by writers who have gone beyond their colonial legacy.
Craig Freimond is trying to quit smoking. He is buying his cigarettes loose, as if that helps. He can’t take the cold, but we have to sit outside on the balcony of the Wits University theatre nearby the rehearsal room of his new play. It is a toss-up between heat and smoke, appropriate since his first movie is about the downside of addiction. Matthew Krouse speaks to director Craig Freimond.
‘God forbid! White people are moving into the townships! Crime will go up! Property prices will go down!” This was the greeting Wits doctoral fellow Detlev Krige received when he announced to his companion at a drinking hole in Rockville, Soweto, that he was about to become a neighbour. A recent conference revealed the extent to which <i>ikasi</i> and metropolitan cultures have crossed over, report Sizwe samaYende and Liz McGregor.