Five stories you might have missed
It was not the only artwork in the news, as upgrades to the city's iconic archway at Thorpe Meadows got underway.
Meanwhile, a heritage railway with a taste for fame hopes to get back in the spotlight after starring opposite 007 in the 1980s.
Here is more on these stories and others you might have missed.
The name's Valley Railway. Nene Valley Railway.
There are hopes a heritage railway which featured in the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy and scores of other productions could land another starring role.
Chairman of Nene Valley Railway Michael Purcell said a return to the silver screen could help ease the railway's "unprecedented financial pressures" as the city council promises to set up a film office to promote Peterborough as a movie location. The railway will feature in its promotional video.
An artificial intelligence chatbot named Bridgit has been rolled out to carers in Peterborough.
It was discussed at a council meeting this week and described as evidence the authority is "not running away" from technology, but "running towards it".
Bridgit is hosted by the Caring Together Charity. Users can send it questions via WhatsApp.
A mural celebrating the two occasions The Beatles performed in the city was unveiled.
Artist Nathan Murdoch said the reaction to the painting on the side of a Poundland store at the Hereward Cross shopping centre has been "amazing".
The Fab Four played at The Embassy Theatre in 1962 and 1963, lodging at the Bull Hotel in Westgate.
The Peterborough Arch at Thorpe Meadows is being restored after it was found to have suffered extensive damage in 2022.
Nene Park says it will be given new footings and raised slightly off the ground to try to prevent water damage. It aims to return the arch later this year.
A contraption that skims litter from water was floated in the River Nene.
The 'seabin' does not just extract debris, but also microplastics which cannot be seen by the naked eye.
Peterborough United slipped to their 10th away defeat of the League One season as they lost 2-1 at Charlton Athletic.
Posh conceded the winner in the 89th minute having been reduced to 10 men following the sending off of defender Manny Fernandez.
The loss leaves Darren Ferguson's side just three points above the relegation zone.
Peterborough Sports got back to winning ways with a last-gasp winner against Oxford City in the National League North.
The Turbines won 2-1 with Dan Jarvis scoring the winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
Peterborough Phantoms lost to playoff rivals Hull Seahawks at the Bretton Rink on Sunday.
Phantoms have now lost three of their last four games and are sixth in the National Ice Hockey League standings.
The Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Labour's Dr Nik Johnson, said he did not have the energy to keep going. He said he would not stand for re-election in May.
Meanwhile, Peterborough City Council's cabinet signed off on their final budget proposals, which include cutting Peterborough Museum and Art Gallery's opening hours.
They said they would draw up detailed proposals for the city's library stock after carrying out a needs assessment.
Bretton Library could be reduced in size after plans to cut it down to make way for a dementia resource centre were recommended to the council for approval. Campaigners have suggested it would no longer be fit for purpose if floor space was reduced.
A £3.5m regeneration of Lincoln Road can get underway after the council awarded the contract to its usual delivery partner, Milestone Infrastructure. It will involve widening pavements and installing a new pedestrian crossing on a stretch between Searjeant Street and Alma Road.
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New York Post
6 hours ago
- New York Post
Ringo Starr demanded script changes in Sam Mendes' Beatles biopic: ‘That's not how we were'
Don't pass him by. Ringo Starr, 84, recently revealed that he demanded script changes in filmmaker Sam Mendes' upcoming Beatles biopic about his life. The 'Yellow Submarine' hitmaker opened up about the movie and how he spent two days offering 'extensive notes' to Mendes in an interview with The New York Times published Wednesday, July 2. Advertisement 9 Ringo Starr recently revealed that he demanded script changes in filmmaker Sam Mendes' upcoming Beatles biopic about his life. Larry Marano/Shutterstock 9 Starr opened up about the biopic, and how he spent two days offering 'extensive notes' to director Sam Mendes, in an interview with The New York Times published Wednesday. Getty Images Starr said that most of his problems had to do with how his relationship with his first wife, Maureen Starkey Tigrett, was being portrayed. Advertisement 'He had a writer – very good writer, great reputation, and he wrote it great, but it had nothing to do with Maureen and I,' Starr explained. 'That's not how we were. I'd say, 'We would never do that.'' Starr and Tigrett married in 1965 at the height of Beatlemania. They welcomed three children together, including famous drummer Zak Starkey, between 1965 and 1970. The pair divorced in 1975 after 10 years of marriage. 9 'He had a writer – very good writer, great reputation, and he wrote it great, but it had nothing to do with Maureen and I,' Starr explained. 'That's not how we were. I'd say, 'We would never do that.'' Getty Images 9 The 'Octopus's Garden' songwriter in July 2023. Getty Images Advertisement Although Starr admitted that he is now satisfied with how his relationship with his family will be depicted on the big screen, he still had some doubts about other aspects of the film, including its current April 2028 release date. 'But he'll do what he's doing,' Starr said. 'And I'll send him peace and love.' Mendes, 59, revealed which actors will be portraying each Beatle in his 'The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event' biopic project earlier this year. 9 Mendes revealed earlier this year which actors would be portraying each Beatle in his 'The Beatles – A Four-Film Cinematic Event' biopic project. Getty Images Advertisement While 'Banshees of Inisherin' star Barry Keoghan, 32, will depict Starr, Paul Mescal has been cast as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison. 'We're not just making one film about the Beatles — we're making four,' Mendes said during the announcement at CinemaCon 2025 in March. 'Perhaps this is a chance to understand them a little more deeply.' 'There had to be a way to tell the epic story for a new generation,' the 'Skyfall' director added at the time. 'I can assure you there is still plenty left to explore and I think we found a way to do that.' 9 The Beatles at the height of Beatlemania in 1964. Getty Images 9 Barry Keoghan will depict Ringo Starr, and Paul Mescal has been cast as Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson as John Lennon and Joseph Quinn as George Harrison. Getty Images Mendes plans to release each of the four separate biopics simultaneously to create what he calls 'the first binge-able theatrical experience.' Besides announcing the main cast members, Mendes also revealed that writers Jez Butterworth ('Ford v Ferrari'), Peter Straughan ('Conclave') and Jack Thorne ('Adolescence') would pen the scripts for the four upcoming Beatles flicks. Meanwhile, Starr previously said that he was 'excited' to see the films about himself and his three legendary former bandmates. Advertisement 9 Ringo Starr at the height of Beatlemania in 1964. Bettmann Archive 9 'My job is to observe and kinda take in mannerisms and study him,' Keoghan said regarding how he is preparing to portray Ringo Starr. 'I want to humanize him and bring feelings to it and not just sort of imitate.' Getty Images 'My life as a lad, John's life, Paul's life, George's life, I mean, it must interact in some way,' he told People in March. 'There'll be Beatles in mine around when I joined, and there'll be Beatles in Paul's. We'll all be there,' Starr added. 'So I'm excited to see what he does with it.' Advertisement As for Keoghan, he has reportedly been taking drum lessons to prepare for his role as the 'Octopus's Garden' singer. 'I met him at his house, and he played the drums for me,' the 'Saltburn' star said during 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' in May regarding a once-in-a-lifetime hangout with Starr. 'He asked me to play, but I wasn't playing the drums for Ringo.' 'My job is to observe and kinda take in mannerisms and study him,' Keoghan added. 'I want to humanize him and bring feelings to it and not just sort of imitate.'
Tom's Guide
21 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
This budget-friendly soundbar with Dolby Atmos blew me away — I felt like I was at the movies
If one of your primary concerns is cost, then the Sharp 3.1.2 HT-SBW53121 soundbar could be one of the best soundbars for you. At just £329, the soundbar and subwoofer combo provides an immersive Dolby Atmos (and DTS Virtual:X) experience. I could feel the famous James Bond Italian car chase scene in my soul, and physically flinched every time a gun was fired. With a 3.1.2 setup and compatibility with 2.0.2 rear speakers, this soundbar is one of the most affordable ways to elevate any home theatre experience. Sharp also makes a £449 5.1.2 soundbar, which is just as impressive. If you want to upgrade your home setup for the least amount of money possible (who doesn't?) then I can't recommend the Sharp 3.1.2 setup enough. Find out the full story, including its flaws, in this Sharp 3.1.2 HT-SBW53121 review. If you're in the U.S. and want a similar performance, I'd check out the Polk Signa S4 soundbar, which is a 3.1.2 channel setup for $399. Price £329 (+ optional £179 rear surround speakers) Connectivity HDMI (with 4K pass-through), eARC, Optical, Bluetooth 5.3, 3.5mm aux Weight 4.5kg Dimensions 100 x 7.6 x 12.5 cm Colors Black, white Subwoofer Yes Dolby Atmos Yes Channel 3.1.2 The Sharp 3.1.2 HT-SBW53121 soundbar is pretty affordable, all things considered: it's £329 from Amazon U.K. Yep — it's only available in the U.K., so if you're a U.S. reader, I'd recommend the Polk Signa S4 ($399) instead. It has a 3.1.2 setup too, and it's a genuinely fantastic soundbar. As I said, £329 for a soundbar + subwoofer combo is a great deal. Usually, soundbars of this channel setup start from around £400. Heck, the Samsung Ultra Slim soundbar is £549 for a 3.1.2 setup. The Sharp price/performance sacrifice is almost certainly in the subwoofer: I do wish it was more powerful. However, it could be a worthy tradeoff. Sharp also makes a 5.1.2 channel soundbar and subwoofer for £449, which is also an incredibly reasonable price for a soundbar of this quality. If you want a more immersive experience, I'd recommend that model. Just like its older sibling, the Sharp 5.1.2 soundbar, the Sharp 3.1.2 Soundbar looks like just about every other soundbar. It's quite long, at 40 inches, but relatively low-profile. I was able to fit it on my testing TV's stand easily. Instead of having a plastic or metallic mesh covering, the Sharp 3.1.2 Soundbar is lined with fabric, which gives it a more premium appearance. It's definitely worth taking ease of cleaning into consideration, though: dust could look more prevalent on a fabric soundbar. The top of the mesh houses six buttons that control volume, Bluetooth, and power. I found myself solely using the remote, though. It's quite weighty and well-made when compared to rivals like Bose and Majority's flimsy feeling remotes. At the back of the soundbar, you'll find the ports: there's one eARC HDMI, 2 x HDMI, an Optical, USB, 3.5mm aux, and power input. I tested via eARC, as this provides the best quality. The subwoofer is wirelessly connected, so it only has a power input at its rear. Controlling the subwoofer is easy via the remote, which has subwoofer controls and a bass volume increase. If you want to spend another £179, the 3.1.2 Soundbar is also compatible with Sharp's 2.0.2 rear speakers. I don't think these speakers are essential, but they are nice to have. I found it very easy to connect via the 'Pair' button on the reverse of each speaker. You can also independently increase the volume via the remote control. Considering the £329 price, it's not surprising that the 3.1.2 Soundbar doesn't have a huge range of features. It does, however, have a range of listening EQs. These are: Movie, music, game, night, voice, sport, and independent treble and bass controls. I found myself using 'Movie', which increased the bass. I'd recommend cycling through these features and figuring out which one sounds the best, as there's no one-size-fits-all approach here. The Sharp 3.1.2 soundbar also has Bluetooth connectivity for instant music playback. Accessing the connection is super easy: just press Bluetooth on the soundbar (or change the source input on the remote) and the soundbar will pop up instantly in your phone settings. Again, if you're after a huge range of smart home or AI features, it's worth checking out a pricier soundbar like the Bose Smart Soundbar ($499) or the Samsung Ultra Slim soundbar I mentioned earlier. I don't mind having a simple soundbar, though. If you just want a soundbar that'll make movies sound even more epic, and don't necessarily care about being able to link it to your smart home, then the Sharp 3.1.2 is more than enough. I test every soundbar with 'Top Gun: Maverick' on 4K UHD Blu-Ray, TV shows on Netflix, and music on Spotify and Qobuz. To test the Sharp 3.1.2 Soundbar, I watched 'Top Gun: Maverick', as always. The opening scene has the perfect amount of bass, high-frequency sound effects, and challenging treble, which makes it perfect for testing soundbars. I'm looking for intense bass in the jet engines, clear treble in the 'Danger Zone' track, and clear high-frequency diegetic sounds like ropes whooshing, metal clinking, and radio dialogue. I upped the bass to the max, but I was still a little disappointed by the subwoofer's performance, just as I was with the Sharp 5.1.2 Soundbar. It's to be expected, as the 3.1.2 uses the same physical subwoofer as the 5.1.2. Despite this semi-disappointing subwoofer performance, I was still impressed by the dialogue clarity. The soundbar itself definitely excels with treble; percussion in the soundtrack was rich and piercing without being pinching or tinny. On top of the soundtrack excellence, I never struggled to hear anyone, even over radioed dialogue. I switched it up for the next movie and watched 'Wicked'. I wanted to evaluate the musical performance and figure out if 'Movie' or 'Music' EQ would suit. In both EQ modes, I found the dialogue crystal-clear. The dialogue performance equals that of the Sharp 5.1.2 Soundbar, but, again, the bass was a little disappointing. However, I was still able to enjoy the movie. I wasn't blown away by the Dolby Atmos performance, but 'Wicked' isn't as well-known for Dolby Atmos as, say, 'No Time To Die', which I watched next to test the Sharp 3.1.2 Soundbar's 360° audio performance. In the iconic Matera chase scene, not only was the dialogue clear and audible, but the mixture of the engines, soundtrack, and environmental sounds made for an incredibly immersive listen. I could feel Bond shouting and the squeal of the tyres on the road in my soul. When Bond and Madeline are being shot at, the bullets seem to ricochet off the inside of my brain. I was much more impressed with the Dolby Atmos performance in 'No Time To Die' than 'Wicked'. Actually, 'No Time To Die' was probably the most impressive movie I watched with this soundbar. I would recommend getting this movie just to be amazed by the soundbar's performance. On the whole, I was impressed by the movie performance. I felt immersed in the scenes and I honestly could've been at the movie theatre. I just wish the bass had a touch more power. To replicate real-world usage, I watched TV on the basic tier of Netflix. Not everyone has premium streaming services or UHD 4K Blu-rays, so it's only fair to test with standard resolution audio as well as the premium options. I watched 'Stranger Things' on Netflix, which has a great combination of a synthy, bassy soundtrack, dialogue, and action scenes. Overall, I was really impressed with the performance. Obviously, the lack of bass oomph meant that some action scenes weren't as overpowering as I'd want them to be. Even so, the high-frequency sound effects were clear, which added to the atmosphere. The underground scenes were particularly great: I could really feel the characters' stress due to the immersive soundscape and the buzzing of the fluorescent lights in the scene. This is 100% a worthy upgrade for TV. To test music performance, I listened to a variety of genres using Qobuz, our best music streaming service for audiophiles. 'Money' by Pink Floyd was a little tinny at the top of the percussion section. The bass was a little quiet too, but soundbars are never excellent at music performance. 'Money for Nothing' by Dire Straits was atmospheric at the start and affecting throughout, but, again, disappointing bass. I still had a great time listening to these tracks, but it wouldn't be my first choice of home speaker. 'Bad guy' by Billie Eilish is a very bassy song, so I wanted to see how the Sharp 3.1.2 would deal with its sonic makeup. Surprisingly, it was the best sounding song I listened to on the soundbar. This is likely because there wasn't much sonic differentiation: as the song is almost entirely bass, the subwoofer had to put in extra hours and couldn't sneak away without clocking out. In general, the music performance was a little lacklustre, but soundbars are never amazing in this regard. If you want a home sound system setup, I'd definitely recommend getting some dedicated speakers for music like the Fluance Ri71. For the low, low price of £329, the Sharp 3.1.2 Soundbar is really competitive. The sound excels with dialogue and high-frequency sound effects. With the optional 2.0.2 rear speaker upgrade, the Dolby Atmos performance is truly excellent. However, if you haven't got Premium Netflix or the like, then this 360° audio will be lost. Even so, when I was watching basic tier Netflix, I was still really impressed by the Sharp HT-SBW53121's performance. This is a very versatile setup. It's much better value than the competition, including Bose, Sonos (the $449 Beam 2 is 5.0, so no sub), and Samsung. As a result, I'd recommend the Sharp 3.1.2 Soundbar wholeheartedly for those trying to upgrade their home cinema setup on a budget. As I said earlier, if you're in the U.S. and want a similar performance, I'd check out the Polk Signa S4 soundbar, which is a 3.1.2 channel setup for $399.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Bob Vylan Dropped From Europe Music Festivals in Wake of 'Death to the IDF' Controversy
Music act Bob Vylan has been dropped from the lineup of a Manchester music festival in the wake of controversy. The rap duo were set to headline the Radar Festival at the city's Victoria Warehouse on Saturday, but organizers posted to social media that they will not make an appearance. The group told fans in response on Instagram Wednesday: 'Manchester, we will be back.' More from The Hollywood Reporter James Bond Movies With Sean Connery, Renee Zellweger-Directed Short Set for Edinburgh Fest True Brit Entertainment Touts 'The Death of Robin Hood,' 'Christmas Karma,' Slate Investment A Demon, Peruvian Time Travel and the "Czechoslovak Tom Jones": Eight Offbeat Films in Karlovy Vary Bob Vylan had been scheduled to play a French music festival, Kave Fest, on Sunday, but a spokesperson told the BBC that won't be happening either. An appearance at a gig in Germany will also no longer go ahead as planned in September. It comes after the British act sparked outcry at Glastonbury Festival for chanting 'death, death to the IDF [Israeli Defense Forces]' on the West Holts stage last week. Glastonbury organizer Emily Eavis condemned the 'utterly unacceptable' statements made during the set and the BBC, TV partner of the festival, released a statement expressing 'regrets' over not pulling the livestream as 'antisemitic sentiments' aired. ''The BBC respects freedom of expression but stands firmly against incitement to violence,' the statement said. 'The team were dealing with a live situation, but with hindsight, we should have pulled the stream during the performance. We regret this did not happen.' U.K. prime minister Keir Starmer called the chants 'appalling hate speech,' and the band's U.S. visas have been revoked in light of their 'hateful Glastonbury tirade.' They were dropped by the United Talent Agency earlier this week, The Hollywood Reporter reported. Bob Vylan responded to the controversy via Instagram on Tuesday, saying they felt like they'd been 'targeted for speaking up.' 'We are not for the death of Jews, Arabs or any other race or group of people. We are for the dismantling of a violent military machine,' Bob Vylan said, adding: 'We, like those in the spotlight before us, are not the story. We are a distraction from the story, and whatever sanctions we receive will be a distraction.' Glastonbury Festival was a politically charged event this year with various acts using the opportunity on stage to express their own views. Olivia Rodrigo wrapped up this year's fest with a raucous headline set Sunday night. Best of The Hollywood Reporter From 'Party in the U.S.A.' to 'Born in the U.S.A.': 20 of America's Most Patriotic (and Un-Patriotic) Musical Offerings Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025
