Latest news with #TheHobbit
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
Ed Sheeran releases new song 'Drive' featuring John Mayer, Dave Grohl: Watch music video
Ed Sheeran has released new music. The singer-songwriter dropped the song "Drive" on Friday, his contribution to the soundtrack of the upcoming Brad Pitt Formula One racing film " F1." There's also a video to go along with the rocking track, which features guitar by John Mayer and drums courtesy of Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl. Watch the full video below. "i knew that i wanted to make a proper rock song for [the movie], a proper driving song. something you'd wanna turn up to the fullest amount whilst driving," Sheeran wrote in the caption of an Instagram post Friday. He noted that he co-wrote the song with Mayer and songwriter Blake Slatkin, and that Grohl and musician Pino Palladino, a session bassist, were "the final jigsaw pieces of the song." "pure dream team for the genre of rock, and i really feel what we created fits the scene in the movie so well," he continued. "i LOVE making songs for movies, ever since i did 'I See Fire' for The Hobbit. it really lets me as a movie fan, behind the curtain, help create the perfect song for a scene in a movie." In the accompanying music video, Sheeran sings on a racetrack while Formula One cars whiz by him and fly through the air. At the end, he gets behind the wheel of what looks like a super-charged dune buggy and drives through the desert and onto a beach. "Movies and art are the only hobbies outside of music i really have, and i love my time at [F1 events] whenever i get to go play there. so this was like a match made in heaven," Sheeran wrote in his Instagram post Friday. "i'm so honored to work with such great musicians on it, and hope you guys love the end result." "F1" follows veteran racer Sonny Hayes (Pitt), who is recruited by Ruben Cervantes, played by Javier Bardem, to join his Formula One team and race alongside Joshua Pearce, played by Damson Idris. The movie and the soundtrack are both out June 27.
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Glamour of Hollywood greats on show at Wicklow exhibit
The exhibition was a unique showcase of work for the Bray venue, which appealed in particular to fans of the silver screen, featuring pencil portraits from the golden age of cinema – Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Joan Crawford and Judy Garland. Lots of original art was on display, from vintage movie memorabilia and small dioramas. Shane McCormack is a graduate of Bray Institute of Further Education and IADT, and as a freelance illustrator specialising in portraits from film and TV, has worked on licensed subjects like Star Wars, Star Trek, The Walking Dead and The Hobbit. His short film, The Hotel, which was screened as part of Culture Night last September, is a fascinating piece of social history focusing on the former Bray Head Hotel – a favourite of the stars when filming at Ardmore, and where scenes from Frank, Breakfast on Pluto and The Commitments were also shot. In the notes for the exhibition, it presents an artist 'fascinated by how the photograph or film frame captures a fleeting moment, one that is forever frozen in time yet continues to evolve in its significance'. "What remains poignant is how these images continue to resonate today as artefacts of both escapism and aspiration, as well as reminders of the complexities behind the facade. The power of image in vintage Hollywood lies not just in its glamour, but in its ability to shape memory and influence culture long after the original light has faded. Through this exploration, Shane seeks to uncover the layers of artifice and authenticity that intersect in the history of cinema and visual culture.' You can find out more about Shane on his website, – if you know your movies, you should know the inspirational character behind that one. Just don't confuse it with Harry Lyme. The exhibition closes at Signal Arts Centre in Bray on Sunday, June 22.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
‘Goblin Prince': New armored lizard that lived alongside dinosaurs found
A raccoon-sized armored lizard has been identified through the fossilized remains found in Southern Utah. The discovery reveals a surprising diversity of large reptiles thriving right alongside the titans of the Late Cretaceous. The new species has been named Bolg amondol. And yes, if that name sounds familiar, it's inspired by the goblin prince from J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit." A fitting moniker for a creature that looks like it stepped right out of a fantasy epic. 'Bolg is a great sounding name. It's a goblin prince from 'The Hobbit,' and I think of these lizards as goblin-like, especially looking at their skulls,' Hank Woolley, lead author from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County's Dinosaur Institute. 'We know very little about large-bodied lizards from the Kaiparowits Formation in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, so I knew this was significant right away,' Woolley added. This incredible find wasn't made in the field, but hidden away in a museum drawer for years. 'I opened this jar of bones labeled 'lizard' at the Natural History Museum of Utah, and was like, oh wow, there's a fragmentary skeleton here,' added Woolley. It highlights the vital role natural history museums play in scientific discovery, proving that even fragments can hold a treasure trove of information. Researchers pieced together the story of this ancient lizard from tiny bits of skull, limbs, vertebrae, and those characteristic bony armor plates called osteoderms. Despite having a history spanning approximately 100 million years, their fossil record is notably incomplete. Even though it's fragmentary, these pieces contain enough clues to place Bolg firmly on the lizard family tree. This newly discovered lizard species lived roughly 76 million years ago. Its coexistence with several other large lizard species suggests it was part of a stable and productive ancient ecosystem. Bolg amondol is a member of an ancient lineage called monstersaurs – large, often armored lizards that still have modern-day relatives roaming deserts today, like the Gila monster. The ancient reptile stood at about three feet long from tip to tail. To put its size in perspective, it was comparable to a modern Savannah monitor lizard, making it an animal you wouldn't want to encounter casually. But perhaps one of the most surprising revelations is Bolg's closest known relative, who lives across the globe in Asia's Gobi Desert. It suggests that not just large dinosaurs, but smaller creatures like this lizard also journeyed between these ancient, once-connected continents. It's shedding new light on how life spread across our planet millions of years ago. The Kaiparowits Formation within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument continues to be a paleontological hotspot, yielding an astonishing record of prehistoric life. 'The exceptional record of big lizards from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument may prove to be a normal part of dinosaur-dominated ecosystems from North America, filling key roles as smaller predators hunting down eggs and small animals in the forests of Laramidia,' said co-author Joe Sertich from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Colorado State University. The findings were published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Bones of a raccoon-sized prehistoric lizard sat in a jar for 20 years
For 20 years, the remains of a giant lizard that lived alongside dinosaurs were tucked away in a jar at the Natural History Museum of Utah. Simply labeled 'lizard,' the fragmented and several millennia-old bones actually belonged to an entirely new species of giant lizard dug up from the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah in 2005. Bolg amondol was a raccoon-sized armored mostesaurian lizard that lived about 77 million years ago, similar to today's Gila monsters (Heloderma horridum). It is named after the goblin prince from The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien and is described in a study published June 17 in the open-access journal Royal Society Open Science. It also serves as another reminder to double check those museum cabinets. The living and fossil lizards in the clade Monstersauria are defined by their large size and distinctive features, including pitted, polygonal armor attached to their skulls and sharp, spire-like teeth. While these lizards have been on Earth for roughly 100 million years, their fossil record is largely incomplete. Finding this new species of Bolg was a step towards understanding more about these lizards–and Bolg would have been quite the formidable monster. 'Three feet tip to tail, maybe even bigger than that, depending on the length of the tail and torso,' said Hank Woolley, a study co-author and paleontologist at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles' Dinosaur Institute who found the unsuspecting glass jar. 'So by modern lizard standards, a very large animal, similar in size to a Savannah monitor lizard; something that you wouldn't want to mess around with.' [ Related: Giant lizards could keep flesh-eating maggots off Australia's sheep. ] Finding this new species of monstersaur indicates that there were probably many more kinds of big lizards roaming the Earth during the Late Cretaceous–just before the dinosaurs went extinct. Bolg's closest known relative, Gobiderma pulchrum, once stalked Asia's Gobi Desert. While paleontologists have long known that dinosaurs traveled between the once connected continents during the Late Cretaceous Period, Bolg reveals that smaller animals made similar treks. According to the team, this suggests common patterns of biogeography across land-dwelling vertebrates during this time. The specimens in this study were first uncovered in 2005 in the Kaiparowits Formation of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This area overseen by the United States Bureau of Land Management has emerged as a paleontological hotspot over the past 25 years, producing dozens of new species. Discoveries like this also underscore the importance of keeping public lands in the United States safe for future scientific research. The team used tiny pieces of the skull, vertebrae, girdles, limbs, and the bony armor called osteoderms to identify this new species. 'What's really interesting about this holotype specimen of Bolg is that it's fragmentary, yes, but we have a broad sample of the skeleton preserved,' Woolley said. 'There's no overlapping bones—there's not two left hip bones or anything like that. So we can be confident that these remains likely belonged to a single individual.' Most of the fossil lizards that lived during the Age of Dinosaurs were even more fragmented. Only single isolated bones or teeth are left over. Even though Bolg was found in pieces, the parts of its skeleton that survived so many millions of years contain a treasure trove of information. 'That means more characteristics are available for us to assess and compared to similar-looking lizards,' said Woolley. 'Importantly, we can use those characteristics to understand this animal's evolutionary relationships and test hypotheses about where it fits on the lizard tree of life.' Paleontologist and co-author Randy Irmis from the University of Utah adds, 'Bolg is a great example of the importance of natural history museum collections. Although we knew the specimen was significant when it was discovered back in 2005, it took a specialist in lizard evolution like Hank to truly recognize its scientific importance, and take on the task of researching and scientifically describing this new species.' Woolley used Sindarin—the language Tolkien created for his elves—to craft the species epithet. 'Amon' means 'mound,' and 'dol' means 'head' in the Elvish language, referencing the mound-like osteoderms found on the skulls of Bolg and other monstersaurs. 'Bolg is a great sounding name. It's a goblin prince from The Hobbit, and I think of these lizards as goblin-like, especially looking at their skulls,' Woolley said in a statement. [ Related: Gila monster spit inspired a new way to detect rare pancreatic tumors. ] Some of the other fossils described in the study include well-armored skull bones. This indicates that the ancient, seasonally tropical forests that once covered present day southern Utah were home to at least three species of large, predatory lizards. This land was once part of a 'lost continent' called Laramidia. Laramidia formed about 99 million years ago, when an ancient shallow sea flooded central North America. The seaway split eastern and western portions of the continent for millions of years. 'Even though these lizards were large, their skeletons are quite rare, with most of their fossil record based on single bones and teeth,' said co-author Joe Sertich from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Colorado State University. 'The exceptional record of big lizards from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument may prove to be a normal part of dinosaur-dominated ecosystems from North America, filling key roles as smaller predators hunting down eggs and small animals in the forests of Laramidia.'
Scoop
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Comedy And Calamity Collide In Mr & Mrs Macbeth Of Duart Valley Road At Toitoi This July
Two of Aotearoa's most beloved stage performers, Mark Hadlow and Lara Macgregor, bring their razor-sharp timing and explosive chemistry to the Toitoi Opera House stage this July in the hit theatrical comedy Mr & Mrs Macbeth of Duart Valley Road. Running for two nights only—Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 July—this modern, fast-paced two-hander promises a hilarious and heartfelt exploration of partnership, performance, and the chaos of live theatre. Written and directed by Gregory Cooper, the show takes audiences behind the scenes as married actors Tom and Jo Macbeth prepare to take the stage in a production of Macbeth. Jo is ready. Tom is not. What follows is a rollercoaster of sharp dialogue, emotional landmines, theatrical mishaps, and one very unexpected celebrity audience member. 'Watching Mark and Lara together is electric,' says Glen Pickering, Presenter Services Manager at Toitoi. 'They deliver a pitch-perfect mix of comedy and vulnerability that's both relatable and wildly entertaining. This is New Zealand theatre at its best—sharp, funny, and brilliantly performed.' Celebrated for his roles in MAMIL, The Hobbit, and King Kong, Hadlow joins acclaimed actor-director Lara Macgregor (Clickbait, One of Us Is Lying) in this crowd-pleasing theatrical farce that Theatreview calls 'a sublime masterclass in farce, physical comedy, gnawing vulnerability and on-point poignancy... a must-see treat.' Whether you're a Shakespeare lover—or someone who avoids the Bard entirely—Mr & Mrs Macbeth of Duart Valley Road is a hilarious take on life behind the curtain that promises to entertain from start to curtain call. Tickets are available now from Toitoi's website, or from the Hastings or Havelock North isites.
