Latest news with #StarWars


Gizmodo
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
San Diego Comic-Con 2025: All the Coolest Things We Saw On the Floor
San Diego Comic-Con is upon us, and, as always, it's instantly overwhelming. The second you get onto the convention center show floor, you're smacked in the face by not just a wave of humanity but a monsoon of awesome stuff. Almost anything you can imagine in the world of pop culture is represented, either for sale or on display. And after a frantic two hours running up and down the aisle, looking for anything that stands out, we came up with this. What follows are about two dozen of the things we saw on the show floor at Comic-Con that stopped us in our tracks. Maybe it's because they were simply too big to ignore. Others are because we hadn't seen them before. And others, well, are just really freaking cool. But, below, check out all of the coolest things we saw on the floor at Comic-Con 2025. The first batch of images is centered on things that are large and in charge. Some of these are available for purchase, like the Vader and Devastator from Premium Collectibles, and others are just there for you to take photos with, like the Jaws and Voltron. But all together, these are undeniable. Next up, we have costumes and props. Two of these, the Masters of the Universe pieces, are so cool we're going to do more on those in another article. But they're just a taste of what we found on display. For example, at the Star Wars booth, there are maquettes used in all of their animated shows, as well as the actual prosthetic used to bring one of those characters, Cad Bane, to life. There are too many incredible toys on display at Comic-Con. In fact, there are so many, we'll do many more articles this week on them. But we had to call out a few, both from the NECA booth and Enesco Studios. Finally, not everything can be categorized. Here are three pieces of just randomness that we loved. One, our first U.S. look at Maul: Shadow Lord from the Star Wars booth, an amazing Action Comics #1 photo op from the DC booth, and one of the convention's most sought-after collectibles, a Tron: Ares album, courtesy of friend of the site, Jon Chang. Which of these stands out to you? What big things did we miss? Let us know below. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

Bangkok Post
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Bangkok Post
'Star Wars' creator George Lucas to hit Comic-Con for first time
SAN DIEGO — Comic-Con kicks off Thursday in San Diego, California, with expectations running high among devoted fans keen to catch a glimpse of George Lucas at his first-ever appearance at the convention. Other expected highlights of the gathering -- one of the world's biggest celebrations of pop culture -- include the world premiere of the prequel series " Alien: Earth." Comic-Con began holding events in San Diego in 1970, as a low-key and rather niche huddle, but has now grown to an annual get-together that attracts 130,000 people eager to hear behind-the-scenes tidbits from Hollywood stars and directors unveiling their latest projects. This year's edition will be marked by the presence of legendary filmmaker Lucas, who has never visited the convention before despite Comic-Con culture being deeply rooted in his " Star Wars" and " Indiana Jones" franchises. In a session on Sunday set to be moderated by Queen Latifah, Lucas will discuss the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art with Mexican director Guillermo del Toro and Oscar-winning artist Doug Chiang, who has shaped the iconic " Star Wars" universe for decades. The museum, scheduled to open in Los Angeles next year, will be dedicated to illustrated narratives and will house the Lucas archive. "Nearly five decades ago, Star Wars made one of its earliest public appearances at our convention, along with a booth featuring (comic book artist) Howard Chaykin's now legendary Star Wars poster as a promotional item," said David Glanzer, Chief Communications and Strategy Officer. "Now, to have Mr Lucas... is a true full-circle moment. His lifelong dedication to visual storytelling and world-building resonates deeply with us and our community." Alien, Predator, and the End of the World Marvel Studios will have a smaller presence at the convention this year, skipping its eagerly awaited annual presentation in Hall H. According to Variety, changes to the premiere of the new " Avengers" installment complicated logistics for the studio, whose cast is currently filming in Britain. Despite this notable absence, events at coveted Hall H still promise great excitement for fans of science fiction, a core genre of the convention. On Friday, it will host the world premiere of the pilot episode of the prequel " Alien: Earth," directed by Noah Hawley and slated to hit streaming platforms in August. The series takes place a couple of years before the events depicted in Ridley Scott's 1979 film " Alien," offering an expansion of the venerated franchise. Another fan favourite that will have its moment in the spotlight is " Predator: Badlands," with a panel Friday set to include director Dan Trachtenberg, who revitalised the brand with "Prey" (2022). Joining him will be stars Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, who plays the predator Dek. The panel is expected to reveal more from the production, which centers the predator as prey, not hunter, for the first time. On Saturday, award-winning actor Ryan Gosling and directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (behind the new "Spider-Verse" trilogy) will present their "Project Hail Mary," which is due in theaters next year. The film, based on the book by Andy Weir (" The Martian"), follows Ryland Grace (Gosling), a former science teacher who wakes up on a spaceship to discover he's on a mission to save the Earth. Another buzzed-about presentation is for the highly anticipated second season of " Peacemaker," in which James Gunn (" Superman") and his cast are expected to offer sneak peeks. But it will not all be deadly serious -- thousands of those in attendance will come dressed as princesses, warriors, aliens and other characters from the pantheon of pop culture. Comic-Con runs from Thursday to Sunday, July 27.


Int'l Business Times
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Int'l Business Times
'Star Wars' Creator George Lucas To Hit Comic-Con For First Time
Comic-Con kicks off Thursday in San Diego, California, with expectations running high among devoted fans keen to catch a glimpse of George Lucas at his first-ever appearance at the convention. Other expected highlights of the gathering -- one of the world's biggest celebrations of pop culture -- include the world premiere of the prequel series "Alien: Earth." Comic-Con began holding events in San Diego in 1970, as a low-key and rather niche huddle, but has now grown to an annual get-together that attracts 130,000 people eager to hear behind-the-scenes tidbits from Hollywood stars and directors unveiling their latest projects. This year's edition will be marked by the presence of legendary filmmaker Lucas, who has never visited the convention before despite Comic-Con culture being deeply rooted in his "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" franchises. In a session on Sunday set to be moderated by Queen Latifah, Lucas will discuss the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art with Mexican director Guillermo del Toro and Oscar-winning artist Doug Chiang, who has shaped the iconic "Star Wars" universe for decades. The museum, scheduled to open in Los Angeles next year, will be dedicated to illustrated narratives and will house the Lucas archive. "Nearly five decades ago, Star Wars made one of its earliest public appearances at our convention, along with a booth featuring (comic book artist) Howard Chaykin's now legendary Star Wars poster as a promotional item," said David Glanzer, Chief Communications and Strategy Officer. "Now, to have Mr. Lucas... is a true full-circle moment. His lifelong dedication to visual storytelling and world-building resonates deeply with us and our community." Marvel Studios will have a smaller presence at the convention this year, skipping its eagerly awaited annual presentation in Hall H. According to Variety, changes to the premiere of the new "Avengers" installment complicated logistics for the studio, whose cast is currently filming in Britain. Despite this notable absence, events at coveted Hall H still promise great excitement for fans of science fiction, a core genre of the convention. On Friday, it will host the world premiere of the pilot episode of the prequel "Alien: Earth," directed by Noah Hawley and slated to hit streaming platforms in August. The series takes place a couple of years before the events depicted in Ridley Scott's 1979 film "Alien," offering an expansion of the venerated franchise. Another fan favorite that will have its moment in the spotlight is "Predator: Badlands," with a panel Friday set to include director Dan Trachtenberg, who revitalized the brand with "Prey" (2022). Joining him will be stars Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, who plays the predator Dek. The panel is expected to reveal more from the production, which centers the predator as prey, not hunter, for the first time. On Saturday, award-winning actor Ryan Gosling and directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (behind the new "Spider-Verse" trilogy) will present their "Project Hail Mary," which is due in theaters next year. The film, based on the book by Andy Weir ("The Martian"), follows Ryland Grace (Gosling), a former science teacher who wakes up on a spaceship to discover he's on a mission to save the Earth. Another buzzed-about presentation is for the highly anticipated second season of "Peacemaker," in which James Gunn ("Superman") and his cast are expected to offer sneak peeks. But it won't all be deadly serious -- thousands of those in attendance will come dressed as princesses, warriors, aliens and other characters from the pantheon of pop culture. Comic-Con runs from Thursday to Sunday, July 27. Actor Ryan Gosling is expected to attend Comic-Con in San Diego to promote "The Martian" AFP


Buzz Feed
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
60 Pop Culture Photos That You Probably Have Never Seen
Titanic was originally supposed to open in the summer of 1997, but the movie went over schedule and was delayed until December of '97. This advance poster, which was created for its summer release date, marketed the film more in the style of an action summer blockbuster: James Cameron had a 2/3 scale of the Titanic built for the movie in Mexico. These images show just how huge the ship set was: Coincidentally, CBS aired a two-part made-for-TV movie titled Titanic a little bit over a year earlier, in November of '96. The movie starred a then-unknown Catherine Zeta-Jones, Tim Curry, Peter Gallagher, George Scott, and Marilu Henner as Molly Brown: Here's a behind-the-scenes photo of Dave Prowse in the Darth Vader costume, trying to cool off during the filming of Star Wars: A New Hope: The very first Star Wars spoof was on the Season 3 premiere of the Donny & Marie show in September of 1977 (the film, which opened in May, was still the No. 1 movie in theaters then, and Star Wars mania was in full swing). It featured Donny and Marie as Luke and Leia, Kris Kirstofferson as Han Solo, and Redd Foxx as Obi-Wan Kenobi, and featured dancing Stormtroopers, cheesy jokes, and Chewie hugging Darth Vader: The spoof was made with the approval of George Lucas, who allowed the show to use the original Stormtrooper and Darth Vader costumes. Along with the authentic costumes and props (including the actual R2-D2 used in the movie), Anthony Daniels played C-3PO, and Peter Mayhew played Chewbacca: Revenge of the Jedi was the original working title of Return of the Jedi, the change in the name was so last-minute that a (now rare) pre-release poster and teaser trailer for the movie both had the title Revenge of the Jedi in it: By all accounts, George Lucas always wanted to call the film Return of the Jedi, but the film's co-writer, Lawrence Kasdan, felt that "Return" was "too weak" and thought "Revenge" sounded better. Lucas changed the name close to the film's release because he thought that revenge was out of character for the Jedi. These are a couple of photos of Sarah Jessica Parker filming the very first episode of Sex and the City in June of 1997: Here's a promotional photo taken of Jonathan Taylor Thomas while he was recording the speaking voice of Young Simba for The Lion King: Gone With the Wind is a classic and considered one of the greatest films of all time. The film also did a lot of firsts, including being the first color movie to win the Best Picture Oscar and having the first Black actor to be nominated and win an Oscar — which was Hattie McDaniel for Best Supporting Actress. However, one first you might not know is that it was the first film to have its premiere televised (and yes, TVs existed back in the '30s, but they were EXTREMELY rare). Gone With the Wind's New York premiere was televised, and below is a photo from the premiere announcing it: The development of television was delayed because of WWII. Speaking of firsts, in 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first US president to appear on TV — FDR gave a speech to open the 1939 World's Fair in New York, which was televised. It also wouldn't be the only time he appeared on TV: The original opening credits for I Love Lucy throughout its run were actually animated. They were changed to the classic satin and heart credits when the show was syndicated (put into reruns), as the animated credits wouldn't work because they incorporated whichever brand was sponsoring that week's episode: The very first issue of TV Guide, released on April 3, 1953, featured Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's newborn son, Desi Arnaz Jr., on the cover: In 1977, 26 years after first costarring together on I Love Lucy, Vivian Vance and Lucille Ball would costar together one last time in the TV special Lucy Calls The President: Lucille and Vivian became friends and first costarred together when Truman was president — and their deep friendship and working relationship would span over seven presidents. Before Kermit the Frog became famous as the leader of The Muppets, he was actually well-known for his drag act! He went by "Kermina" and performed a lipsync-comedy act to Rosemary Clooney's "I've Grown Accustomed to Your Face." Here's a screenshot of him performing it on The Steve Allen Show in 1956: And here is a screenshot of Kermit performing the lipsync-comedy act on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1967: Here is a rare color photo of Coco Chanel at her 1958 Chanel Spring-Summer collection show: This is what the set of the Petries' living room on The Dick Van Dyke Show looked like in color: The iconic Hollywood sign was actually built in 1923 to advertise the Hollywoodland real estate development in the hills below it. The sign was originally only supposed to be up for 18 months, but it became a visual symbol of Los Angeles. Throughout most of the Golden Age of Hollywood the Hollywood sign read "Hollywoodland," with the "land" part only being removed in 1949: If you look at this photo of Hollywood (looking up Vine St.) from 1949, you can see that the sign still spells out "Hollywoodland" in the distance: In 1992, a seductive 75-foot cartoon cutout of the character of Holli Would from the movie Cool World was placed on top of the "D" in the Hollywood sign as part of the publicity stunt for the film. People who lived in the area were not happy: The movie was an adult animated/live-action film, in the vein of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and starred Brad Pitt and Kim Basinger as Holli Would: This is what the Bayside High set from Saved by the Bell looked like behind-the-scenes (which, TBH, looks a lot smaller than I imagined): Also, Saved by the Bell didn't use canned laughter; it was filmed before a live studio audience: Jean Stapleton and Carroll O'Connor were actually not that old when All In The Family premiered in 1971. Stapleton was 48, and O'Connor was 46 — for context, Reese Witherspoon is currently 48, and Ashton Kutcher is 46: This is what a 20-year-old Madonna looked like in 1978, when she first moved to New York: While filming Scooby-Doo, the actors employed various methods to help them act opposite a CGI Scooby. One method was to memorize exactly where (the creepy) Scooby's head on a stick — which was used for camera placement — was during the set-up: In case you were wondering, the scene in the airport where Scooby is in disguise as a grandma was filmed using a man dressed in costume and wearing a green screen hood: Here's Cameron Diaz... And Eddie Murphy recording their lines for Shrek: Michael Keaton's Batman wears Nike shoes in Batman and Batman Returns, but there are contradictory reasons why that came to be. According to the assistant costume designer on the 1989 Batman film, one of the producers had struck a product deal with Nike and needed them in the movie, and because they didn't fit stylistically with any of the other characters or background actors, they incorporated them into Batman's costume. While the lead costume designer on the 1989 movie remembers Nike gifting it to them without a tie-in: You might have never noticed, but Jack Nicholson gets top billing on the poster and opening credits of Batman (over the lead, Micheal Keaton). This was part of Nicholson's list of demands for signing on to play the Joker: This promotional photo of Jack Nicholson in the "Here's Johnny!" moment in The Shining was what got him cast as the Joker. In 1980, Michael Uslan, who would go on to executive produce all the Batman films, picked up a copy of the New York Post, and when he opened up the movie section, he saw this photo of Nicholson, which was advertising that The Shining was opening that weekend. Uslan, who had bought the film rights for Batman the year prior, immediately thought that Nicholson was the only one who could play the Joker. When he got home, he tore the photo from the paper and drew the Joker's face over it using Wite-Out and markers. The drawing, indeed, looks a lot like the Joker from the film: According to Uslan, "The day Jack Nicholson was hired was the best day of my career to that point." Here's what Humphrey Bogart looked like in color as his Casablanca character Rick Blaine: If you've ever seen Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot, then you know it's one of the funniest movies ever and has aged surprisingly well. This is what Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis looked like in color as their drag characters Josephine and Jerraldine/Daphne: While here's a color photo of the rehearsal on the train scene in from Some Like It Hot: And here's a color photo of Marilyn Monroe as Sugar Kane: Popular Hollywood movies being adapted into Broadway musicals is not a new phenomenon. In 1970, one of the greatest films of all time, All About Eve, was adapted into the popular musical Applause, with Lauren Bacall in the role of Margo Channing (who was iconically portrayed by Bette Davis in the film). Below are some photos of the production when it was adapted for a CBS television special: In 1999, in an interview on The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Lauren Bacall spoke about how Bette Davis approved of her performance. In 1966, Breakfast at Tiffany's was adapted into a musical, with Mary Tyler Moore and Richard Chamberlain as Holly Golightly and Paul Varjak. The show was a huge failure, closing quickly after only four previews on Broadway. Here are a couple of photos of Moore and Chamberlain rehearsing for the show: These clay models of Woody and Buzz's faces were created for Toy Story so that they could be scanned into the computer whenever needed so that animators could always get the right shape, depth, and scale when animating them: To promote the remake of Child's Play in 2019, promotional posters of Chucky killing Toy Story characters were released: The poster designs were based on the promotional character posters for Toy Story 4 — which was released on the same day as Child's Play: Here's a behind-the-scenes photo of Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews rehearsing a dance number for Mary Poppins: Here is a screenshot of Britney Spears and Madonna rehearsing the iconic kiss they did during the 2003 VMA's "Like A Virgin"/"Hollywood" opening performance: And here's a screenshot of Christina Aguilera kissing Madonna during rehearsal, which wasn't seen during the original telecast because the camera people cut to Justin Timberlake to get his reaction: This is Ronald Reagan modeling for a sculpture class in 1939-ish: Here's a photo of Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks putting their handprints and signatures in cement outside the Chinese Theater in 1927. They were the first two celebrities to ever do it: This is an awesome (at least to me) photo of George Lucas, David Bowie, and Jim Henson taken to promote Labyrinth: Here's Princess Diana at the London premiere of Labyrinth, alongside Jim Henson, as she meets Ludo: And here's Princess Di at the London premiere of Jurassic Park in 1993, warmly greeting her longtime friend, actor-director Sir Richard Attenborough, who played John Hammond in the film: In fact, the last premiere Princess Di attended was for Attenborough's In Love and War in February of 1997: Here's Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger in 1967, having a conversation as they wait for their train to depart: These photos are of the Apple Boutique, a short-lived London store owned by the Beatles. The store was open from December 1967 to July 1968 — closing for several reasons, including too much shoplifting and not being able to make a profit because they sold rather expensive to produce clothes at low prices: But the shop was open long enough for a young Maggie Smith to film a scene there for the movie Hot Millions, where her character goes shopping at the Apple Boutique for psychedelic clothing: When Forrest Gump was released in 1994, the special effects scenes that incorporated archived footage with Forrest in them were pretty mind-blowing. Here's a behind-the-scenes photo of how the scene where Forrest meets Richard Nixon was filmed: And here's how the scene looked in the film: This is what the mysterious and spooky, and all together ooky cast of The Addams Family looked like in color: While Salvador Dalí is an artist who is most associated with the surrealism movement of the '20s and '30s, he was actually still a very active artist at the same time Andy Warhol was in the '60s and '70s (in fact, Dalí outlived Warhol). Below is a photo of the two in 1975, at a screening of the film Shampoo: Here's a behind-the-scenes photo of the Clueless cast with the movie's director, Amy Heckerling, taken while they filmed the movie's final scene: Jackie Kennedy's iconic pink suit is, of course, forever linked to JFK's assassination. However, she wore the suit publicly at least six times before that day. Below is a photo of her wearing it to visit her sister, Lee Radziwill, in London in March 1962. She also wore it when the Maharajah and Maharani of Jaipur visited the White House in October 1962. When The Wizard of Oz started filming, the Wicked Witch of West was not as menacing looking as she would be in the final film, with Margaret Hamilton wearing less makeup and a long bob wig. While Judy Garland's Dorothy wore a strawberry blonde wig and a lot of makeup to give her a "baby-doll" look: Two weeks' worth of footage was shot with the characters having these looks until the film's director, Richard Thrope, was let go from the film, after MGM executives thought that the scenes he shot "did not have the right air of fantasy about them." The movie was paused and Dorothy and the Wicked Witch of the West's costumes were redesigned to what we saw in the final film: Also, none of the footage Thrope shot survived. Here's a photo of Martin Luther King Jr., along with his kids, Yolanda and Martin Luther III, in 1964, riding the Ford Magic Skyway attraction that was built by Disney for the New York World's Fair: It's A Small World was actually an attraction that Disney originally built for the 1964 New York World's Fair, and this is what the exterior of the ride looked like: Here's a behind-the-scenes photo of Alfred Hitchcock directing Janet Leigh in the iconic shower scene in Psycho: This is a marketing poster for Psycho featuring Alfred Hitchcock telling people they needed to arrive at the movie on time or else they wouldn't be allowed to be let in. Before the 1970s, it was common for people to buy tickets and drop into a theater at any point during a movie. The poster was created because Hitchcock wanted to ensure that people didn't have the plot twists spoiled by showing up late — and the campaign worked: If you've been on TikTok, then you might have stumbled upon a video of some younger people who didn't know that we used to have commercial supersonic planes. This is a photo of Queen Elizabeth on a chartered Concorde on her way back to London in 1977, after her Silver Jubilee tour of Canada and the West Indies: Did the late Queen Elizabeth ever watch a Lindsay Lohan movie? The answer is YES! Here's the Queen meeting Natasha Richardson at The Parent Trap's Royal Premiere in London in 1998: This is how the water balloon scene was filmed in The Parent Trap: Here's a behind-the-scenes photo of director Mark Waters showing Daniel Franzese how to grab Lindsay Lohan's hair in the "Is that your natural hair color" moment in Mean Girls: And here's a behind-the-scenes photo of Tina Fey filming the gym scene in Mean Girls: And lastly, here are Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Daniel Radcliffe at a photo-call in London, in August 2000, after it was announced that they would be playing Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter in the upcoming Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone film:


Observer
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Observer
Breaking free from scrolling; back to the big screen
Cinema owners need to make an effort to captivate their audiences and encourage them to return. There is a need to offer a better cinematic experience. Just been to the cinema. It is my second time since the Covid-19 pandemic ended. My first visit was to watch Oppenheimer, the story about the development of the atomic bomb and the first nuclear explosion that forever changed the world. Oppenheimer drew crowds back to theatres. The cinema industry has been severely impacted by the Covid pandemic. We saw theatres being closed and the rise of over-the-top media service (OTT). Streaming platforms have changed cinema-goers' preferences. While OTT services were a blessing during the pandemic, they now pose a significant threat to cinema because audiences have become too comfortable with their subscriptions. People still prefer watching films at home. When the Barbie movie was released in 2023, I was eager to watch it at the cinema. However, as it was prohibited in Oman, I had to depend on streaming services. There's nothing wrong with subscribing to popular streaming providers like Netflix, YouTube and Disney. They offer convenient access to services that bypass traditional cable, broadcast and satellite television platforms, as well as censorship. However, there are still many reasons to watch films on the big screen. The feeling of total immersion is akin to being transported to the scenes and stories. All the boring things are removed; what truly matters is what is within the frame. The thrills of the Star Wars theatrical trilogy are more enjoyable on a large screen. Several iconic big-budget films, including Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World and Gladiator II, are returning. Fortunately, local cinemas have been gaining small-scale audiences. With the summer's sweltering temperatures, people are flocking to malls and cinemas. They are heading to theatres for a few hours of entertainment and to escape into a world of imagination. After all, there is nothing better than watching fantasy on a large, advanced screen with immersive sound, high-quality visuals, and, of course, delicious popcorn, nachos and soda. Shakespeare would have loved cinema. Innovative thinking is key to boosting theatre attendance. There are discussions in the film industry about releasing films exclusively for the big screen to prevent OTT services from profiting from them. The recent internationally coordinated effort to revive the big screen is worthwhile; it allows content creators the chance to play significant roles in producing innovative advertising material; it provides job opportunities and it keeps food courts busy with customers. All these are part of the economic cycle – money exchanging hands. Special events can attract new audiences while also finding new ways to make films culturally and socially relevant. Theatres might get a makeover from private and business events. The live sports screening trend, like the 2025 Uefa Champions League and the 2022 Fifa World Cup, is fantastic, as long as opposing groups do not engage in scuffles. Younger audiences can learn to enjoy the big screen, while older audiences can rediscover the magic of cinema and be drawn to movie theatres. Documentary films are becoming increasingly popular. Although not theatrical, documentaries can both entertain and educate. In the meantime, efforts are underway to promote and showcase Oman's film industry. There are plans for a 'Film City' aiming to provide production services and encourage local talent. In Oman, audiences are avid viewers of international movies. Action films are the most popular, followed by family films, animation and horror. Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi productions are also well-liked. There is something unique about cinema. It is a magical medium that offers an emotional journey; the shared laughter and screams foster social connection, enhance empathy and provide psychological benefits. Let's be happier together!