Amazon’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ Goes Back to (Mostly) Practical Orcs After ‘Hobbit’ CGI, Plus Female Orcs

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has found a link between problem gambling and loot boxes in games, and it has called for game companies to step and “improve protections” for children in a new press release (via GamesIndustry.biz).These findings follow a call for evidence on the impact of loot boxes by the UK government back in 2020, with this release now calling for the in-game purchases to be made unavailable to children unless approved by a parent or guardian. More specifically, Xbox’s parental controls were mentioned, with the government wanting to build on protections like this, otherwise legislation will be considered.“We want to stop children going on spending sprees online without parental consent, spurred on by in-game purchases like loot-boxes,” said culture secretary Nadine Dorries.“Games companies and platforms need to do more to ensure that controls and age-restrictions are applied so that players are protected from the risk of gambling harms.

Pearl Jam fan was kicked out of the band’s Zurich gig by frontman Eddie Vedder for starting a fight with another attendee.The Seattle band were playing the Hallenstadion venue in the Swiss city as part of their UK and European tour.As reported by Rock Feed, during the band’s performance of ‘Animal’ at the gig, Vedder noticed a fight break out in the crowd and stopped the gig to address the alleged perpetrator.“Turn the lights on, please,” he said. “Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey – I saw the whole thing, I know, it was annoying you.

Chris Pratt has responded to long-standing rumours he’s set to play Indiana Jones, saying it’ll never happen.Back in 2015, a Deadline report said Pratt was in talks to star in a rebooted version of Indiana Jones after Disney bought the rights to the character.It was later confirmed that the studio would be going ahead with Indiana Jones 5, with Harrison Ford playing the titular archaeologist. Ford went on to say it was “him or me” when it comes to Pratt starring in the film.In a new interview, Pratt has said it’s unlikely he’ll ever take on the role of Indiana Jones.“All I know is I once saw a quote from Harrison Ford and I don’t even know if it was really him, but it was enough to scare me, that was like, ‘When I die, Indiana Jones dies’,” Pratt said in an interview with the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast.“And I’m like, ‘am I gonna get haunted by the ghost of Harrison Ford one day when he dies if I play (Indiana Jones),” continued Pratt.Ford once said “Don’t you get it? I’m Indiana Jones.

Jay-Z has opened up on appearing on other people’s songs, saying he “never” charges to lay down guest verses.The rapper was speaking to Kevin Hart for an episode of Hart’s new show Hart To Heart, which debuted on Peacock this week.“It’s mostly relationships,” Jay said of his approach to appear in guest form on others’ records. “It’s actually always been mostly relationships. Sometimes it’s talent and sometimes someone asks me to be on something.“Pretty much every song that I’m on I’m asked to be on.

Lorde has spoken about her desire to start playing with the conventions of gender, beauty and form in a new letter to fans.Writing to fans via her mailing list, Lorde started by saying she was currently “growing out my unibrow as an entry point for playing with conventions of beauty/gender/form.”She went on to say she was inspired by seeing an exhibition by painter Walter Sickert “which (was) just his paintings of nude women.”“The shock my brain got seeing these not particularly idealised versions of the female form shocked ME. I realised my brain is getting programmed to want what the algorithms want when it comes to female physical form, just by sheer exposure to these systems and the current beauty standards,” she wrote.She went on to explain that “the algorithm doesn’t want to see certain things, and therefore I’ve stopped looking for them, if that makes sense.

Drake’s recently announced Young Money reunion show.Announced earlier this week, Drake is set to put on a series of shows in Toronto (dubbed the ‘October World Weekend’) ahead of the worldwide expansion of his OVO Fest.Alongside an All Canadian North Stars show and a gig headlined by Chris Brown and Lil Baby, Drake is also putting on a Young Money reunion, with Nicki Minaj and Young Money Entertainment boss Lil Wayne set to appear.However, after tickets went on sale Friday (July 15), fans took to Twitter to complain about the sky high prices.As it stands, resale and “Platinum” tickets for the show at the Budweiser Stage on August 1 are available on Ticketmaster for CA$573 (£370), with the most expensive seat currently costing CA$1480 (£958).“If Ticketmaster really think they could charge me $750 for OVO fest lawn tickets they best be performing on MY lawn,” wrote one fan.@Drake them OvO prices insane my boy no way you can feel comfortable wit charging 750 for general admission— THE ODD BALL (@Mxtra845) July 16, 2022“The prices of the #ovofest tickets…… Drake tell me you’re out of touch with reality without telling me you’re out of touch with reality. Are you even aware of the cost of living in Toronto now,” wrote another.“Drake needs to read the room because who the fuck is paying those prices at a time like this,” said another fan.However, one fan pointed out that originally, tickets were available from CA$120 (£77) and topped out at CA$300 (£194) until Ticketmaster’s surge pricing kicked in.the young money prices are not drake’s fault y’all it’s ticketmaster.

The Rolling Stones invited a Ukrainian choir on stage to perform ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ at a gig this weekend – see footage below.The legendary rockers were playing the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, Austria on Friday (July 15), where they saved a special surprise for the encore.“They came long way to be here tonight,” Mick Jagger told the crowd before introducing the Dzvinochok boys choir and Vognyk girls choir, revealing that they drove 15 hours from Kyiv to Vienna to be at the show.Choirmaster Ruben Tolmachov then told the crowd: “This is a very special night for the two choirs and a chance of a lifetime not to be missed.“I’m so glad we made it here to Vienna a night to remember for all of us.”See footage of the performance below.Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February, the music world has invited many Ukrainian creatives to perform at global events and with world-famous bands.Last month, Eurovision winners Kalush Orchestra were invited to perform at Glastonbury Festival, with frontman Oleh Psiuk telling NME: “We are lucky that we are here, so we’ve tried to prepare for our performance [at Glastonbury]. We are super-happy to be here.”A video message recorded by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was also screened around Worthy Farm on the Friday of the festival.The Rolling Stones resumed their European stadium tour last month after cancelling shows because Mick Jagger tested positive for COVID.The Stones postponed two gigs in Amsterdam, Netherlands and Bern, Switzerland in mid-June due to their frontman’s ill health.

Boris Johnson’s only remaining Scottish Tory ally has said he his sorry to see his “friend” leave Downing Street.

Police have made 13 arrests at Gerry Cinnamon's first of two concerts at Hampden Park - with people detained for "disorder-related offences".

Impressed Steven Gerrard has saluted the success Ange Postecoglou has achieved since becoming Celtic manager.

A park has been sealed off by cops who have remained at the site since last night.

When you are as competitive as John McGinn then friendly games aren’t really in your nature. But the Scotland star was accused of overstepping the mark in a pre-season bounce game for Aston Villa against Leeds United in Australia.

The Queen has paid tribute to the future Queen consort Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, in celebration of her 75th birthday.Taking to Twitter, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who recently joined her son Charles to present the George Cross to the NHS, posted a snap of Camilla sitting down in a blue floral dress with her beloved pet dog Beth sitting calmly on her lap. Alongside a birthday cake emoji, the monarch wrote: "Wishing The Duchess of Cornwall a very Happy 75th Birthday!" The Queen is not the only Royal to celebrate the milestone occasion though as Prince William and Kate Middleton also took to the social media platform to share their well wishes.

EXCLUSIVE: David Harewood, star of stage and screen, was intrigued when an unsolicited short-film screenplay entitled Man to Man arrived in his inbox. “I literally read it in 20 minutes. I was moved by it,” he enthused of the script by youthful writers Selorm Adonu and Ignatius Kalule.

A woman has shared her shocking story of discovering that she and her husband were given the wrong child to take home from the hospital.

A charity that cares for older adults across Renfrewshire has urged people to look out for their vulnerable neighbours as the heatwave hits the area.

The Met Office has extended its amber heatwave warning to more of Scotland for Monday and Tuesday with temperatures in the high 20s and low 30s expected across the eastern edge of the country.

A care home worker has received an award for all the hard work she does.

Mrs Hinch has given her fans a sneak peek inside her eldest son Ronnie's stunning farm-themed bedroom. The 32 year old, who recently enjoyed a sun soaked family holiday to Majorca, has been busy transforming her sprawling new Essex farmhouse over recent months and has continued to document the process on Instagram. After recently finishing decorating two year old Ronnie's bedroom, Mrs Hinch, also known as Sophie Hinchliffe, shared a string of snaps of the space with her 4.5 million followers as she gushed over her eldest child.

Sir Paul McCartney made history on Saturday as the oldest solo artist to headline Glastonbury Festival.

Taika Waititi had a secret to tell on Wednesday’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”.