Names and faces
Director Christopher Nolan and actor Mark Rylance didn’t know quite how famous Harry Styles was before Dunkirk. “I don’t think I was that aware really of how famous Harry was” before casting the pop star in the coming World War II epic, Nolan said Friday. “I mean, my daughter had talked about him. My kids talked about him, but I wasn’t really that aware of it. So the truth is, I cast Harry because he fit the part wonderfully and truly earned a seat at the table.” Styles, 23, who gained fame with One Direction and recently launched his solo career, plays a British soldier in Nolan’s suspense-thriller about the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Allied soldiers from Dunkirk, France, in May and June of 1940. Rylance, also featured in the film, said he learned of Styles from his 11-year-old niece. “She was just more excited than anything I’ve ever done because I was going to be acting with Harry Styles,” said Rylance, who has won an Oscar and three Tonys. Dunkirk opens in North American theaters July 21.
Green Day took the stage shortly after an acrobat’s deadly fall in front of the crowd at a Madrid music festival — but band members were unaware of what happened until after their 2½-hour set, according to frontman Billie Joe Armstrong. “This has never happened in the 30 years Green Day have been performing live,” Armstrong said Sunday in a statement posted to the band’s website. “If we had known prior to our performance we most likely would not have played at all. We are not heartless people.” Pedro Aunion Monroy had been performing an aerial stunt inside a cube being raised by a crane when he fell 100 feet in front of tens of thousands of people at the Mad Cool Festival. The 42-year-old died while being treated for his injuries. Some fans expressed shock that Green Day took the stage after the accident. According to Armstrong, the band was unaware there had even been an acrobatic performance, let alone that Monroy had fallen. About 15 minutes before Green Day’s scheduled start, authorities told them to wait “because there was some sort of security issue,” not an abnormal occurrence at festivals. Then they were cleared to play. “Everything seemed normal. The crowd and fans had a good time. We got off stage and drove back to our artist compound. It was there when we were told the shocking news about Pedro,” Armstrong said.