TOP GONG
Tom Cruise’s action-packed Top Gun: Maverick should win Oscars top prize next year
GREETINGS from Planet Earth.
I appreciate you’re not used to taking input from lowly film fans but I saw the trailer for Top Gun: Maverick and really think you ought to see it.
5
5
I’m afraid it’s not shot in sepia, there are no gay cowboys, it doesn’t apologise for paedophilia and the dialogue is in English.
So it will probably blow your minds a bit. But I think for the sake of two and a half minutes, it’s really going to be worth your while.
Because when the most exciting thing to happen at the Oscars for years has absolutely nothing to do with movies any more, you must realise you’ve started to lose sight of what it’s all about.
It’s no wonder fans have been switching off the TV coverage in their millions for years.
Read More on Tom Cruise
But Tom Cruise’s big-budget efforts, which will likely reap even bigger rewards at the box office after battling all sorts of Covid-related setbacks, is a window into what ordinary folk actually enjoy.
And unless the mysterious “Academy members” — whoever the hell you may be — wake up to the idea that going to the cinema for some good old-fashioned entertainment isn’t a shameful concept, they’ll become more and more irrelevant by the minute.
Yesterday Tom reminded fans instantly why he’s the very best in the business when it comes to a proper action blockbuster, with stunning special effects, fast-flying fighter jets, explosions and a raft of beautiful people — including new love interest Jennifer Connelly — showcased in just a couple of minutes of high-octane tease for the hotly anticipated sequel.
Now we’re talking.
Most read in Bizarre
It’s testament to how out of touch the Oscars have been lately that of the ten biggest-grossing films last year, not a single one landed a nomination in the Best Film category.
No James Bond. No Marvel. And next to no laughs.
That isn’t to say there shouldn’t be opportunities for seriously sharp lower-budget pictures to pick up gongs too. I’ve absolutely loved some less glitzy releases in recent years.
Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci’s touching insight into dementia in Supernova was sublime.
Paul Bettany as a university professor tortured by his family’s backwards views in Uncle Frank was wonderfully poignant and thought-provoking.
And Stephen Graham was incredible as an emotionally fragile chef in Boiling Point.
But when did “popular” become such a dirty word?
Why is it that to Hollywood’s pompous elite, the opinion of the hard-working paying punter is the one that counts least?
So unless Hollywood’s snooty Academy members are prepared to recognise the value of high-quality blockbuster cinema, alongside the arty stuff too, it’s time we all turned our backs on their peacocking, their virtue signalling, their sneering and their smugness . . . and consign the Academy Awards to the obscurity they so desperately appear to crave.
I’ll watch Top Gun 2 instead when it lands on May 25.
And for anyone who still misses the Oscars . . . I guess there’s always pay-per-view boxing.
5
Bizbit
ELLIE GOULDING is returning to the dance floor, promising fans her fifth album is packed with bangers.
It sounds like a welcome return to form for the singer, who has had plenty of chart hits including I Need Your Love and Burn.
Teasing the album after landing a place on Time Magazine’s Impact 100 List for her work toward advancing climate change awareness, Ellie tweeted: “Still finishing the album but stopping by to say thank you to Time.
"So excited for you to finally hear these bangers.”
MARIAH HAS A LATTO ENERGY
MARIAH CAREY celebrated her 53rd birthday on Sunday – but looks a whole lot younger here as she poses with US rapper Latto.
Mariah features on a new remix of the newcomer’s 2021 track Big Energy.
5
Latto’s tune of last Sepetember – which sampled Tom Tom Club’s Genius Of Love, as did Mariah’s huge 1995 hit Fantasy – has already been used to soundtrack more than 90,000 videos on TikTok.
The new version, also featuring DJ Khaled, is expected to be even more popular.
Gushing about Mariah, she said: “I’m grateful for her vocals, Mariah’s a legend.
“She was so dope to work with and with such a humble spirit in an industry full of madness. She was definitely a breath of fresh air.
“We’ve talked on the phone countless times, we’ve texted back and forth countless times.
"She’s given me so many good conversations and advice.”
Bizbit
STORMZY showed he’s been hitting the gym hard with his muscular arms on display at London’s O2 Arena, where he was joined on stage by Ed Sheeran.
They performed Own It and Take Me Back To London, while Stormzy made a heartfelt speech about his pal.
He told the crowd: “This is my best friend, I love him with all my heart.”
Stormzy will be back on stage in Dublin this weekend before ending his tour in Glasgow on Monday.
I have a feeling a new album will be with us soon.
Bizbit
AMERICAN rockers THE GASLIGHT ANTHEM will play their biggest UK gig to date at the OVO Wembley Arena on August 18.
The band, who are working on their next record, will then appear at Manchester’s O2 Apollo the following day before moving on to Edinburgh, Birmingham, Dublin and Belfast for dates of their first tour in four years.
Frontman Brian Fallon said: “I am very pleased to announce to you all that The Gaslight Anthem is returning to full-time status as a band.
“We’re also beginning to write new songs for what will be our sixth LP.
“We’re looking forward to the future and seeing you all again.
“We want to thank you for staying with us.”
ODELL…OR NO DEAL
TOM ODELL has split from his record label Columbia after a decade to go independent.
The singer-songwriter was signed in 2012 and has made his name with four albums and hits Another Love and Real Love.
5
But he today returns with new song Best Day Of My Life, which he is putting out by himself.
Tom said: “I feel so free, so liberated to be an independent artist.
“Honestly, there’s a huge amount of relief in this music, of just getting to do exactly what I want to do.
“I wanted to not cram in as many hooks as I could, not have the chorus at the front of the song, just create an environment where people can sit with the music and breathe.”
His most recent album Monsters became his fourth Top Five collection last July, when it peaked at No4.
Tom, who performed on ITV’s Concert for Ukraine last night, said of his new single: “I guess the idea behind this song was from my experience of sadness.
“After you’ve been through a really hard time there are these incredible peaks of euphoria, these moments of almost uncontrollable joy, which you’re almost suspicious of.”
Caught live
SKUNK ANANSIE – Brixton Academy
ROCKERS Skunk Anasie put on the show of a lifetime when they returned to London after the pandemic scuppered their UK and European tour.
Frontwoman Skin and the band, Cass, Ace and Mark Richardson, were electric as they ploughed through 19 of their best songs including Hedonism, Twisted, Charlie Big Potato and Because Of You.
Skin not only looked incredible in a whacky suit, right, she sounded better than ever.
Fans were also treated to an epic three-track encore – including their take on AC/DC’s Highway To Hell.
Skunk kick off their UK tour in Nottingham next Thursday before playing at Glastonbury in June. No fan should miss them live.
And if you’ve never seen them before, take the plunge and get involved.
Bizbit
RYLAN CLARK loves the Spice Girls so much that he has had a tattoo dedicated to them.
The TV and radio presenter, a close pal of Ginger Spice Geri Horner, revealed he got the small inking on his leg.
He said on his Radio 2 show: “This week I had a tattoo done.
“I have had a tattoo on my leg – 'girl power'. It’s real. It’s for the Spice Girls.”
SCAR’S BOTOX BLOCK
SCARLETT MOFFATT is being forced to grow old naturally after doctors banned her from using Botox.
The ex-I’m A Celeb winner has revealed she was told she can never have the wrinkle-reducing injections because they could cause her eyes to droop following her diagnosis with Bell’s palsy as a teenager.
The condition is characterised by part of your face suddenly weakening.
Scarlett said: “One day I was talking away to myself in my bedroom and my mouth just drooped to the side.
“I remember standing in front of the mirror screaming at myself, trying to get my face symmetrical.
“That’s when we found out I had Bell’s palsy.
“My face isn’t symmetrical any more and when I’m very tired it’s worse – and it’s very evident.”
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Read More on The Sun
Scarlett added on Annie Mac’s Changes podcast: “That will never go.
And I was told, unfortunately for me, I can’t ever have Botox in case it causes a droopy eye – which I was gutted about now I’m in my thirties.”
Topics