Welcome to your Daily Lowdown podcast from HELLO!. Today, we're discussing Madonna's biopic being cancelled in a shock move and the Oscar 2023 nominations causing controversy after no female directors were nominated for this year's awards.
Not only that, Justin Bieber has sold his share of his back catalogue for a huge sum. Take a listen to today's episode below...
The 2023 Oscar nominations have been revealed and it seems they've sparked controversy after no women were nominated in the Best Director category. The Academy Awards announced five directors including Steven Spielberg for his film The Fabelmans and Martin McDonagh for his film The Banshees of Inisherin. But many have left unimpressed that names including Gina Prince-Bythewood, who directed The Woman King and Maria Shrader, who directed She Said, were not recognised. Other big names to be given a nod for this year's glitzy event include Normal People actor Paul Mescal who has received his first nomination for his role in Aftersun. The best actress nominees include Andrea Riseborough, Angele Bassett and more. You can check out the full list of nominees, here.
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© Photo: Getty ImagesThe highly-anticipated Madonna biopic has been scrapped. The movie, which began production in 2020, was scrapped following the superstar's world tour announcement, according to Variety, however, it's now being reported that Universal had made the decision late last year to pull the plug, but the specific reasons why have not been shared. The film was due to star Ozark actress Julia Garner in the leading role and was set to be a retelling of the iconic singer's rise to global stardom thanks to her four-decade music career. Meanwhile, Madonna's tour interest has got off to a successful start after the star's shows in New York, Paris and London sold out within minutes. Madonna will kick off her tour in july.
Congratulations are in order for Paris Hilton and her husband Carter Reum after the couple welcomed their first child together, a baby boy, via surrogate. The 41-year-old heiress shared the happy news on her social media with an adorable photo of her holding the little one's hand. Plenty of other celebrities were quick to send well wishes to the pair including Demi Lovato and Chrissy Teigen.
© Photo: Getty ImagesJustin Bieber has sold his share of the rights to his back catalogue for $200 million dollars. The Peaches hitmaker sold the rights to Hipgnosis Songs Capital meaning the company now owns his stake in some of the artist's biggest hits of recent years including the tracks Sorry and Baby. The huge deal also means that Hipgnosis will receive funds everytime a song they own is played in public. Justin Bieber is not the only artist to sell off rights to his catalogue and follows in the footsteps of others stars including Shakira, Justin Timberlake and Iggy Azalea.
Travis Scott has been announced as a headline for this year's Wireless festival. The trap artist will take to the stage at London's Finsbury Park in July and will mark his return to the event for the first time since 2019. Travis isn't the only big name on the bill as it's been announced that D-Block Europe and Playboi Carti will also headline. More names are due to be announced and tickets for the festival go on sale on 27 January.
© Photo: Getty ImagesAnd there's sad news for fans of Panic! At the Disco as the alternative band have announced they have split. The group, fronted by singer Brendan Urie, confirmed on Instagram that the emo-pop group will be "no more" as Brendan looks forward to becoming a father. The band, who are adored for their hits such as High Hopes and I Write Sins Not Tragedies, are set to embark on a final tour of Europe and confirmed their final show will take place in Manchester in March. Brendan said their career had been one hell of a journey but that sometimes one journey must end for a new one to begin.
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