Names and faces
■ With a few swipes of a paint roller, actor Christopher Walken wiped away a real Banksy painting from the side of a building in England on an episode of BBC’s “The Outlaws” that aired Wednesday night. Although Banksy’s work has fetched millions of dollars at auction, Walken unceremoniously painted over the artwork on the comedy-drama series, which is set in Banksy’s hometown, Bristol. A spokesperson from Big Talk Productions, the show’s production company, confirmed that the artwork was “an original Banksy” and that Walken painted over it during filming, “ultimately destroying it.” The production company offered no more details, and a representative for Banksy did not respond to a request for comment. Banksy, a street artist and one of the world’s most expensive artists, has rigidly maintained his anonymity. He has often manipulated the media with stunts, notably in 2018 when a painting self-destructed moments after it was sold for $1.4 million at auction. In the BBC show, Walken’s character, Frank, is ordered to perform community service by cleaning graffiti from a wall on the side of a building in Bristol. Walken’s character knocks over a board leaning against the wall, revealing a painted black-and-white rat and two canisters, recognizable in Banksy’s style even if the word “BANKSY” weren’t spray-painted on the wall in orange. “Look at this rat I found,” he says to his supervisor, played by Jessica Gunning, who, responds: “Council said paint over any graffiti, so crack on.” “It’s awfully good,” he protests. “Less debating, more painting,” she shoots back. Walken shrugs, and then the camera zooms tightly on the artwork as he covers it entirely with six strokes.
■ WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been granted permission to marry his partner, Stella Moris, in prison, British authorities said. Assange has been held in London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison since 2019 as he fights a U.S. attempt to extradite him on espionage charges. The couple began their relationship during Assange’s seven years living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London to avoid extradition to Sweden on unrelated sex offenses allegations. U.S. prosecutors have indicted Assange on espionage charges over WikiLeaks’ publication of thousands of leaked military and diplomatic documents a decade ago. Assange and Moris, a South Africa-born lawyer, have two young sons: Gabriel, 4, and Max, 2. Assange and Moris made their relationship public in April 2020. They threatened legal action against the prison governor and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, accusing them of trying to prevent the marriage from taking place. In January, a judge refused a U.S. request to extradite Assange, but he remains in prison while the U.S. government’s appeal is heard. No date has yet been set for the wedding.