‘Phantom of the Opera’ heads to Dubai
The Phantom of the Opera (pictured), Andrew Lloyd Webber’s recordbreaking theatrical blockbuster, will come to Dubai Opera next year. The world’s most popular musical and the longest-running show in Broadway history will make its Middle East debut in Autumn 2019 and the public can register for pre-sale tickets from today. Adapted from Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel, The Phantom of the Opera, the show opened in London’s West End in 1986 and tells the story of a disfigured musical genius who lurks in the depths of the Paris Opera House and falls in love with a beautiful young soprano called Christine. The musical features classic songs, such as Think of Me and Music of the Night. The show, which has a cast of 130, has won seven Tony Awards and four Olivier Awards, while earlier this year it celebrated its 13,000th performance.
“The Phantom of the Opera is a musical theatre phenomenon,” said Jasper Hope, chief executive of Dubai Opera. “Audiences will love the original London production of this brilliant story of romance and intrigue with its breathtaking special effects, set to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hauntingly beautiful score.”
‘6 Underground’ cast release photo featuring UAE officials
Principal photography on Netflix action movie
6 Underground wrapped last week in Abu Dhabi. The team (pictured below) – which includes Transformers director Michael Bay and Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds – have now released a photo of the crew with senior UAE officials at a military base. The group snap also features Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, and Saif Al Hajeri, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development. Reynolds and company arrived in the UAE on November 12, with production starting on Reem Island. The crew then moved to sites in Al Ain, Liwa and Ras Al Khaimah, before they wrapped up filming on December 5 back in the capital. Twenty-four locations were used during the 27-day shoot. “The UAE, and Abu Dhabi in particular, has provided diverse backdrops that have added to the richness of our production,” Bay said. “I look forward to returning to the UAE in the future to spend time exploring all that the country has to offer.”
Female-led movies outperform those starring men, study shows
A new study that analysed four years’ worth of films found female-led movies have consistently outperformed those in which men have top billing. The study examined the 350 top-grossing films worldwide released between January 2014 and December 2017. Researchers found that in films with small, medium and large budgets, all averaged better global grosses when a woman was listed as the lead star. Conducted by the Creative Artists Agency and the tech company shift7, the study found that films which passed the Bechdel test do better, too. The Bechdel test, an invention of US cartoonist Alison Bechdel, rates whether a movie features two female characters having a conversation about something other than a man. “Women comprise half the box office, yet there has been an assumption in the industry that female-led films led were generally less successful,” CAA agent Christy Haubegger, who participated in the research, said. “We found that the data does not support that assumption.” For budget data and determining lead actor, researchers depended on data from the Nielsen’s data collection company Gracenote. Gracenote’s Studio System defines a “female lead” as a woman who is listed first in official press materials. Of the 350 films studied, 105 qualified as female-led and 245 registered as male-led. The greatest gap was in bigger-budget films. In movies with a budget greater than $100 million, there were 75 male-led films and 19 female-led films.