Top Gear finds vroom for improvement; Jennifer Aniston's new movie mysteriously breaks records; and Tom Hanks recalls his magnificent time in Wexford - here are the stories that got everyone’s tongues wagging or eyes rolling over the past week
Calm down! Katy Perry stars in Taylor Swift's new video
Taylor Swift released the gloriously camp video for her new single You Need to Calm Down and it features a host of her famous friends, including Katy Perry, who she recently made peace with following a long-running feud.
We need your consent to load this YouTube contentWe use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
The second single from her forthcoming album Lover, the new song is a pro-LGBT anthem that takes aim at homophobia.
The accompanying video, which was co-directed by Swift with Drew Kirsch, features an impressive line-up of cameos including chat show host Ellen DeGeneres, Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds, Modern Family's Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ciara, Laverne Cox, RuPaul,Adam Lambert and, much to fans delight, Katy Perry. Full story here
Has Top Gear turned a corner?
BBC motor show Top Gear was beginning to look like a bit of a jalopy but its latest incarnation, which aired last Sunday night, has won praise from critics.
Since the trio of Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond departed in 2015, the show has chugged along with shrinking viewership and a seeming loss of direction.
However, the new line-up of professional driver Chris Harris, retired cricketer Freddie Flintoff and comic/TV presenter Paddy McGuinness may just have got its motor running again. Full story here
The toys are back in town - Woody and Buzz return with an emotional farewell
The toys are back in Toy Story 4 and the word is good, real good. Here’s what RTÉ Entertainment’s Sinead Brennan had to say about the latest adventure from the gang, "There was arguably no need to make a fourth Toy Story film, but this outing is undeniably funny and heartfelt and will give you all the warm and fuzzies that only Toy Story can.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
"By any other standards Toy Story 4 would be an absolute knockout, but when it follows the masterpiece that was Toy Story 3 it is naturally held to the highest bar. Although it doesn't quite stay at that level of perfection, it feels like a sort of epilogue or added bonus to what has come before it. Full story here
Are these guys the Lennon & McCartney of film-making?
New Beatles-inspired comedy fantasy Yesterday is in cinemas this Friday and it sees an unlikely pairing behind the camera - Trainspotting director Danny Boyle and Love Actually and Notting Hill writer Richard Curtis.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Chalk and cheese, crack dens and posh bookshops, anyone? In fact, these guys might just be the Lennon and McCartney of movie-making.
Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment, Boyle said, "I don't know about Lennon and McCartney - I think we’re more the Cannon and Ball of film making." Full story here
Aniston's Murder Mystery breaks Netflix records
In yet another sign of the End Times, Jennifer Aniston's new comedy Murder Mystery has broken records for the biggest opening weekend ever for a Netflix Film.
The real mystery, of course, is how it did so well. The criminally unfunny romp also stars Adam Sandler and follows a married couple who get framed for the killing of a billionaire's elderly uncle while on holiday in Europe. It’s racked up the biggest opening weekend ever for a Netflix movie, with 30,869,863 unique accounts watching it in the first three days. I suppose you could call it a whodunit but we like to call it a whytheydidmakeit? Full story here
U2's The Edge loses appeal to build Malibu homes
The California Supreme Court threw a brick through the window (what?) of an appeal lodged by The Edge to review a court decision to deny him permission to begin construction on five luxury homes in the beach city of Malibu.
The U2 guitarist has been locked in a legal battle for 14 years over the building of the ultra-modern development on an idyllic plot he bought in 2005 for $9 million.
In March of this year, a state appeals court in Los Angeles put a halt to any planned building works, ruling the California Coastal Commission had lost the authority to approve the musician's $79 million residential development. Full story here
Electro star Philippe Zdar dies after accidental fall
Very tragic news during the week when Philipper Zdar, one half of the French house duo Cassius, died after falling from a window in Paris. He was 52.
The French electro star's death was confirmed by his agent. "He made an accidental fall, through the window of a high floor of a Parisian building," Sebastien Farran said, without giving any further details.
The DJ and producer had worked with a host of famous musicians throughout his career including Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, Cat Power and the Beastie Boys' Mike D. Full story here
Tom Hanks recalls 'magnificent' time spent in Wexford
Tom Hanks recalled the "magnificent" experience he had filming 1998's Saving Private Ryan in Co. Wexford.
The award-winning actor described his time filming on Curracloe Beach in Co Wexford as "magic and wonderful.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Speaking to RTÉ's Stephen Byrne, Hanks, who is reprising his role as Woody in Toy Story 4, remembered, in particular, a young Irish boy that made a big impression on him during his time in the sunny south-east. Full story here
Russell Crowe bought a dinosaur head from DiCaprio
If we ever needed proof that celebrities spend their riches JUST LIKE US, then this is it. Russell Crowe has revealed that he once bought a dinosaur head for his children from fellow Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio.
We need your consent to load this YouTube contentWe use YouTube to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
55-year-old Crowe paid $35,000 to Leonardo DiCaprio for a dinosaur's head that he had on display in his house. The pair were hanging out in between filming Body of Lies and DiCaprio mentioned he wanted to get rid of the precious historical piece because he had his eye on another one.
And just like that Crowe offered to buy it "for his children". Full story here
Lena Headey reveals key Game of Thrones scene deleted
Yes, we are still talking about Game of Thrones. Why? Because so many questions were left unanswered after the recent final episode and we can't let it go . . .
And now, Lena Headey, who played Cersei on the epic fantasy, has admitted that a key scene deleted from season seven would have answered a lot of questions surrounding her character's pregnancy.
Here's a little breakdown to jog your memories.
Towards the end of season seven Cersei told her brothers, Jaime and Tyrion, that she was expecting, however, we weren't sure if this was just a ploy to gain the sympathy or if she was really pregnant with Jaime's child . . . Full story here
