Why was Steven Soderbergh’s Star Wars film rejected?
From our US edition
That his film might be seen as a risk says a lot about how tainted the brand has become
Alexander Larman
Alexander Larman is an author and the US books editor of The Spectator.
Tuesday
It's time for King Charles to get tough with Andrew
One of the many horrors of the Prince Andrew scandal is the way that, ever since it worsened a now scarcely imaginable ten days ago, there is the growing sense that it is becoming uncontainable. The depth and extent of public anger became clear yesterday when, during a visit to Lichfield Cathedral, a lone protestor,
Monday
Can Prince Andrew be trusted to live a 'private' life?
When I last wrote about the banned old Duke of York, following his voluntary decision to stop using his titles, I suggested that many will now be wondering why the last step of throwing him out the Royal Family altogether cannot be taken. Over the past week, something that would have been unlikely – even unthinkable –
Thursday
The significance of the King’s visit to Rome
In any other week – or month, or year – King Charles’s visit to Rome would have been a truly seismic occasion, laden with symbolism and religious importance. Some may have recalled the unexpected significance of that great Father Ted line, ‘That would be an ecumenical matter’, when the news was announced that the King
Wednesday
Is Jeremy Strong our John Cazale?
From our US edition
The actor is the best part of Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Tuesday
What is the point of Pizza Hut?
When did you last go to a Pizza Hut? It’s one of those curious groups of fast food establishments – ‘restaurant’ seems rather too grandiose a term – that fell through the reputational cracks several years, perhaps even decades, ago, and has yet to expire. It was too expensive and fancy for those who wanted
Sunday
Nothing can save 'Prince' Andrew now
If the Royal Family had hoped the punishment meted out to ‘the Banned Old Duke of York’ would suffice in the court of public opinion, they would now be disappointed. Since Friday’s revelations that Prince Andrew would ‘no longer use’ his dukedom or other honours following the stream of scandals about his friendship with paedophile
Saturday
The Duke of York's downfall is complete
After much speculation, Prince Andrew has relinquished his royal titles, most notably the Dukedom of York and the Order of the Garter. This represents an existential humiliation for the beleaguered ‘Randy Andy’. This represents an existential humiliation for the beleaguered ‘Randy Andy’ Yet it could have been seen coming a royal mile off. The latest
Friday
Have the Virginia Giuffre revelations got Prince Andrew sweating?
From our US edition
Excerpts from her new memoir are a mixture of the newsworthy and the unremarkable
Wednesday
The Chair Company is the workplace comedy we need right now
From our US edition
Tim Robinson’s latest cringe-fest is sophisticated and hilarious
What’s the point of remaking Amadeus?
At the close of Milos Forman’s Oscar-winning film, Amadeus, the central character, the terminally envious court composer Salieri, declares: ‘I speak for all mediocrities in the world. I am their champion. I am their patron saint.’ It’s one of the many memorable lines in the film, adapted from Peter Shaffer’s play, which revolves around the
No, Meghan: your Netflix deal isn't a sign of 'strength'
The Duchess of Sussex has been largely absent from the public eye since the release of the second series of With Love, Meghan, which came and went without anyone – save sarcastic journalists – bothering to pay it much attention. However, Meghan Markle is nothing if not indomitable. And so, shortly after she and her
Monday
Will the Epstein files ever stop haunting Prince Andrew?
It has not been a good year to be the Duke of York. Firstly, Andrew Lownie’s devastating joint biography of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, Entitled, splashed allegations of the grim antics of the prince over its unforgiving pages, to bestselling effect. In a few weeks, Virginia Giuffre’s posthumously published memoir will also be published.
Sunday
Diane Keaton was a true original
The death of the actress Diane Keaton at the age of 79 was greeted with an understandable mixture of sadness and surprise. Sadness, because the death of one of the leading ladies of the Seventies and Eighties (and beyond) robs the film industry of one of its true originals, and surprise, because nobody had any
Friday
How the Royals jumped on the Mental Health Day bandwagon
Whether you consider World Mental Health Day an important and necessary means of drawing attention to often overlooked issues, or a gimmicky fad that somehow manages to overlook the other 364 days a year that such matters are equally important, there is no doubt that the royal family have been doing their bit to raise awareness. Never
Why does Jared Leto still have a career?
From our US edition
The ‘Tron: Ares’ star represents a cautionary tale for our times
Wednesday
Will Dwayne Johnson always be The Rock?
From our US edition
He struggles to chart a new course in The Smashing Machine
Prince Harry’s white saviour complex has been dealt another blow
You’ve got to feel sorry for Prince Harry. After some of the best headlines he’s had in years during his well-received return to Britain last month, that goodwill has swiftly been dismantled under a blizzard of bad publicity. There was the accusation that he or someone around him leaked sensitive information about his brief meeting
Tuesday
The closest look yet at David Bowie’s mind and imagination
From our US edition
The much-missed musician is the beneficiary of a new, bespoke space inside the Victoria & Albert Museum’s East Storehouse outpost
Has Taylor Swift lost it?
The Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant once remarked that every successful musician has what he called ‘an imperial phase’, during which they can apparently do no wrong. In the case of Taylor Swift, the most successful and famous musician on the planet, her imperial phase has lasted from 2012, when she released her breakthrough album Red, until