‘The King of Laughter’ Review: Mario Martone’s Lavish, Ultra-Italian Theatrical Biopic is a Lot to Digest

LCD Soundsystem‘s James Murphy along with Jonathan Galkin and Tim Goldsworthy, and they’ve since released records by the likes of LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture and Hot Chip.Next month marks the 20th anniversary of DFA’s first releases – The Rapture’s ‘House of Jealous Lovers’ and The Juan MacLean’s ‘By The Time I Get To Venus’ – and the label is set to celebrate the milestone with a special event at the Knockdown Center in New York City on March 26.“Anniversaries, schmaniversaries, but given everything we’ve all collectively been through, this feels like a plausible excuse to throw a party. So that’s what we’re doing,” DFA said in a statement.It’s crazy, really.

Biffy Clyro have announced details of a new documentary called Cultural Sons Of Scotland, premiering on Amazon Prime Video next week (February 25).The new film is described as an “intimate documentary film showing the back-to-basics recording process they adopted to create their ninth studio album, ‘The Myth of the Happily Ever After’.“With unprecedented access to the band, the new feature length film takes viewers on the journey with Simon, Ben and James as they return to their home in Ayrshire to create their latest, critically acclaimed album in the most unusual of studio environments.”The synopsis adds: “The film explores how the experience of recording an album in Scotland for the first time prompted the band to reflect on the importance of where they’re from, how this has influenced their career to date and reinforced their lifelong bond as friends and bandmates.”Watch the first trailer for Biffy Clyro: Cultural Sons Of Scotland below.Speaking of the new film, which also traces Biffy Clyro’s 20-year history and sees them return to Glasgow for a massive 2021 show at Glasgow Green, frontman Simon Neil said: “In the same part of the world as I wrote my very first song is where we’re making this record, and there’s something really pure about that.”Drummer Ben Johnston added: “We don’t need all the bells and whistles for us to be fulfilled and happy, we just need the three of us to be making music together and have that vibe in a room – and that’s what keeps our hearts beating.”“Everyone should join a band…” bassist James Johnston said.

Futurama star John DiMaggio has said that he will only return for the show’s revival if the whole cast receives a pay rise.The voice actor, who plays chain-smoking robot Bender in the series, took to social media to explain his conditions to reprise his role.“I’ve been thinking about everything that’s been going on these past months and just to be clear, I don’t think that only I deserve to be paid more. I think the entire cast does,” DiMaggio wrote on Twitter yesterday (February 15).“Negotiations are a natural part of working in show business.

Madonna has revealed that the audition process is underway for her forthcoming film biopic.The singer and actor confirmed back in 2020 that she is co-directing and co-writing the forthcoming film, and later described the project as a “visual autobiography”.After announcing back in October that the script for the untitled biopic was “almost finished”, Madonna has now confirmed that auditions for the film are underway.Posting on Instagram overnight, the singer shared a clip of herself dancing to her track ‘Burning Up’, which was released in 1983.A post shared by Madonna (@madonna)“Auditions for my film are a surreal experience,” she wrote in the caption for the clip.

Future Islands have returned today (February 16) with a brand new track – listen to the groove-led ‘King Of Sweden’ below.The new song follows the standalone track ‘Peach’, which the band released last summer and was their first original track since their sixth album, ‘As Long As You Are’, came out in 2020.It’s not clear yet whether ‘King Of Sweden’ and ‘Peach’ are tasters of the band’s seventh studio album, which they confirmed in 2021 they had already started work on.For now, listen to ‘King Of Sweden’ below.Next week (February 21), Future Islands are set to head out on an extensive UK and European headline tour, their first since 2018.See the full list of dates, which include a show at London’s Alexandra Palace, below.FEBRUARY 202221 – Helsinki, The House Of Culture23 – Stockholm, Annexet24 – Oslo, Sentrum Scene26 – Copenhagen, VegaMARCH 20221 – Berlin, Columbiahalle2 – Warsaw, Palladium Warszawa4 – Munich, TonHalle5 – Zagreb, Tvornica Kulture6 – Milan, Fabrique8 – Barcelona, Razzmatazz9 – Madrid, La Riviera10 – Lisbon, Camp Pequeno12 – Nimes, La Paloma13 – Paris, Olympia15 – Utrecht, Ronda17 – Frankfurt, Batschkapp19 – Lille, Aeronef20 – Antwerp, De Roma21 – Cologne, E-Werk23 – Manchester, Academy25 – London, Alexandra Palace27 – Belfast, Ulster Hall28 – Dublin, Vicar Street31 – Newcastle, Northumbria SU InstituteAPRIL 20221 – Edinburgh, Usher Hall2 – Glasgow, O2 Academy Reviewing Future Islands’ new album ‘As Long As You Are’, NME wrote: “‘As Long As You Are’ maybe an unexpected handbrake turn for Future Islands and it may not be as hit-laden as its predecessor, but it’s a refreshing record in its own right and one that throws up plenty of existential quandaries.”

Here’s another walking-and-talking film from festival favorite Hong Sang-soo, encapsulating a sliver of Korean life with his customary elusive delicacy. Shot largely in creamy black and white, Berlin competition entry The Novelist’s Film centers on the meeting between two artists who, for different reasons, have simply stopped working.

This Morning presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary were left in tears of laughter during the latest episode, as one guest shared his wild "spanking" story.The ITV show welcomed former rich kid tutor Matt Knott to the sofa to discuss his memoir A Class of Their Own: Adventures in Tutoring the Super-Rich.One part of the interview saw Matt recall his experience with a wealthy Russian family, which ended with him being spanked by a naked Russian oligarch in his own personal sauna.The funny anecdote left Alison and Dermot in floods of laughter as the lively pair giggled between themselves.Matt said of the oligarch: "He invited me to have a sauna, which being an oligarch, he had one in his basement and he walked in completely naked."He was showing me who's boss and it was surreal."As Alison and Dermot chuckled, he added: "Then, part of the traditional Russian [sauna] experience is that you get spanked."At this point, Alison doubled over in laughter and Dermot put a hand to his mouth. Matt concluded his funny tale with: "There's not a line in the tutoring handbook about what you do when a naked Russian oligarch offers to spank you.""The client is always right, so I let him spank me as much as I liked.

The managing director of a kitchen company has been jailed for more than six years for his part in a £10 million cocaine smuggling operation.

animals was slammed by charity RSPCA as he was banned from keeping animals for five years.The animal abuser was also ordered to pay £2,000 in costs for the horrendous crimes.Having investigated the premises in Rugby, Warwickshire, in November 2020, the RSPCA found that the man, who now lives in Manchester, had keep five adult dogs and two litters of 17 puppies all varieties of the Cane Corso breed.They also found five individual cat carriers holding a single underweight puppy each.Images from the inspection show that the poor pooches were so thin that their hips, spines and ribcages were all visible, while the charity said that the man had no food at all in his flat. Inspector Nichola Johnson said that urgent veterinary checks found that the animals had “unnecessarily suffered”.

Falkirk councillors have been challenged to leave the ‘gladiator style’ arguments behind and start co-operating ahead of a vital budget meeting next month.

swimwear category, the advertised product was an oversized T-shirt and the product listing appeared as a result of searches for T-shirts or tops.It ruled that two of the images were 'sexually suggestive' while the image of the model lifting the T-shirt to expose her stomach and side emphasised her exposed skin instead of the product.The regulator added: "We also noted that neither the partial nudity nor the bikini bottoms were relevant to the product and that the images did not show the product as it would usually be worn."For those reasons, we concluded that the ad objectified and sexualised women. It was therefore irresponsible and likely to cause serious offence."The ASA ruled that the ad must not appear again in its current form, adding: "We told Boohoo.com UK to ensure that future ads were prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society, and that they did not cause serious or widespread offence or harm by objectifying women."Boohoo said the images were part of their swimwear category and explained the model was wearing the T-shirt with a bikini.The retailer said it understood the importance of the issues raised and had removed the images from their website.A Boohoo Group spokesman said: "We are disappointed by the findings of this ruling because we pride ourselves in our inclusive, body positive imagery."Our marketing reflects the vibrant and confident culture of our brand, and is not designed to intentionally cause offence."We removed the associated images from our website when we received details of the complaint from the ASA."Get all the biggest Lifestyle news straight to your inbox. Sign up for the free Daily Star Hot Topics newsletter

Khabib Nurmagomedov has vowed to personally resolve Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United dilemma.Ronaldo, 37, re-joined the club where he made his name as a youngster on Deadline Day of the summer transfer window in what became a dream signing for many United fans across the globe.But despite an impressive individual tally of 14 goals this season, the legendary Portugal forward has reportedly been left feeling jaded as a result of the Red Devils’ lacklustre performances and new manager Ralf Rangnick’s methods.And now retired UFC lightweight champion Khabib has revealed his plan to “talk” privately with Ronaldo as the veteran debates his future at Old Trafford.Khabib told Sky Sports: "He became 37 years old, this is not his best age but even how he plays, I think affect his whole team. His energy, his experience, his advice."They have a very good, strong, young team.

reports the Irish Mirror. Garda Nagle said that the offences finally emerged in July 2020 when a social welfare inspector at Hanover Street, Cork received notification of a pensioner in Cork, Donald O'Callaghan, who was due to reach 100.He told the court: "This would result in the issuing of a congratulatory letter from the president as well as a cheque for €2,540.

Paris Saint-Germain’s victory on Tuesday night.The Ligue 1 outfit beat Real Madrid 1-0 in the Champions League Round of 16.French forward Kylian Mbappe scored the all-important goal with just seconds left on the clock, cutting in off of the left-wing and rolling the ball between the legs of Thibaut Courtois to send Le Parc des Princes into a frenzy.Speaking about his celebrations, former Tottenham Hotspur manager said: “I felt two things. The first was joy, then Paredes ran towards me and hit my nose with his chest.“And I thought I had broken it.

Whilst every wedding guest outfit starts with finding the perfect clothes to wear, the accessories you team them with are of course equally as important.The biggest concern when putting together a show-stopping look is the shoes. If you’re looking for something to dance all night in, a platform heel will serve you well, but if it’s a destination wedding, perhaps a summer-style sandal will suit the warmer temperatures.

Long gone are the days when tampons and sanitary pads were the only period products available at your time of the month. If you head to your local chemist you'll find more options than you could ever have imagined, including menstrual cups, period pants and re-usable pads – there are now (thankfully!) so many options on how to handle your period. And sustainable period brand WUKA have now unveiled another intriguing innovation – period leggings that claim to absorb up to three tampons' worth of your flow.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe Venice Film Festival is exerting a positive impact on the Italian box office where Mario Martone’s “The King of Laughter” (“Qui Rido Io”) got a boost over the weekend from its Lido launch that landed the Toni Servillo-starrer in the number two spot after Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”Italy’s box office results this past weekend saw “King of Laughter,” in which Servillo plays Neapolitan theater luminary Eduardo Scarpetta, score €314,840 ($372,000) from 291 screens via 01 Distribution for a €1,079 ($1,276) per screen average.

The Great Beauty and The Hand Of God star Toni Servillo plays Neopolitan actor and playwright Eduardo Scarpetta in The King Of Laughter (Qui Rido Io), Mario Martone’s latest Venice Film Festival competition premiere. An affectionate, theatrical portrait set in the early 20th century, it culminates in an historic court case, but the build-up is leisurely to a fault.

Guy Lodge Film Critic“Leave No Marks” would be a more apt translation from the Polish title of “Leave No Traces,” referring as it does to a horrifying command from one police officer to another, heard early on in this marathon fact-based drama: “Hit the stomach so you leave no marks, not on the back.” They’re in the middle of administering a merciless, unprovoked beating — a hard rain of combat boots and handheld batons — to a very soft target in 18-year-old student Grzegorz Przemyk, holding nothing back but acute physical evidence of their ire, even as the victim’s stunned best friend looks on.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItalian auteur Mario Martone is a Venice aficionado. He was recently in competition on the Lido in 2018 with “Capri Revolution,” and then again in 2019 with “The Mayor of Rione Sanità,” a contemporary adaptation of the play about organized crime by late Neapolitan playwright Eduardo De Filippo.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentFilm Movement has acquired U.S. rights to Italian director Mario Martone’s “The King of Laughter” (“Qui Rido Io”) ahead of its world premiere Tuesday in competition at the Venice Film Festival.The film, being sold internationally by Italy’s True Colours, toplines Toni Servillo (“The Great Beauty”) as popular and prolific early 20th century Neapolitan actor and playwright Eduardo Scarpetta.In 1904, at the height of his popularity, Scarpetta took a great risk: he staged a parody of “La figlia di Iorio,” a tragedy written by the greatest Italian poet of the day, Gabriele D’Annunzio.