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Dwayne Johnson takes a serious turn as UFC fighter Mark Kerr in “The Smashing Machine,” which has its world premiere Monday at the Venice Film Festival.Reviews aren’t out yet, but the actor is already sparking Oscar buzz for his transformation in the film from Benny Safdie. The festival has launched several recent best actor Oscar winners, from Brendan Fraser in “The Whale” to Adrien Brody in “The Brutalist.” Like both of those films, “The Smashing Machine” is being released by A24.Venice’s artistic director Alberto Barbera said he wouldn’t be surprised to see Johnson, who he called “absolutely amazing” in the…

Travel advisors now have a compelling new option for clients seeking unique Southern experiences with the August 2025 launch of Amtrak’s Mardi Gras Service. This twice-daily rail connection between New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama, creates fresh itinerary possibilities while addressing common client concerns about transportation costs and logistics in the Gulf Coast region. The service positions New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal as a strategic hub for multi-destination bookings. Located within walking distance of the Superdome and connected directly to the streetcar system, the terminal offers convenient access to French Quarter accommodations and major attractions. This central location eliminates typical ground transportation challenges…

LONDON (AP) — When pop groups and rock bands practice or perform, they rely on their guitars, keyboards and drumsticks to make music. Oliver McCann, a British AI music creator who goes by the stage name imoliver, fires up his chatbot. McCann’s songs span a range of genres, from indie-pop to electro-soul to country-rap. There’s just one crucial difference between McCann and traditional musicians.“I have no musical talent at all,” he said. “I can’t sing, I can’t play instruments, and I have no musical background at all.” McCann, 37, who has a background as a visual designer, started experimenting with…

As someone who typically travels solo or with a single companion, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I decided to branch out and try a group tour with National Geographic Expeditions. I’ve long admired Nat Geo for its alignment with cultural education, conservation, and exploration. However, despite my respect for the brand, I was still skeptical of group travel as a whole. My first group travel experience was Nat Geo’s offering, Portugal & the Azores: Explorers, Ecological Wonders & Epicurean Delights. If you’re considering booking a National Geographic Expedition, here are a first-timer’s highlights and honest considerations to help…

Veteran indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch premiered his new movie “Father Mother Sister Brother” today at the Venice Film Festival, where journalists asked him about Mubi, the streaming platform that co-produced the film — specifically, about Mubi’s recent $100 million funding round led by Sequoia Capital. “I was disappointed and disconcerted by this relationship,” Jarmusch said, while noting that his own “relationship with Mubi started much before that, and they were fantastic to work with on this film.” Numerous filmmakers — including those with ties to Mubi — signed an open letter criticizing the streamer for accepting money from Sequoia and…

The United Kingdom recently started enforcing the Online Safety Act’s age-check rules, and The Washington Post reports that it’s already having a significant effect on web traffic. U.K. law now requires pornography websites to verify their users’ ages through means such as face scans and driver’s licenses; it also requires that online platforms prevent children from being exposed to adult content (which is why sites like Bluesky and Reddit have begun checking some users’ ages). To study the law’s effect, the Post says it examined the top 90 porn sites based on U.K. visitor data from Similarweb, finding 14 sites…

NEW YORK (AP) — Coping with a sudden loss in federal funding, PBS affiliate KSPS in Spokane, Washington, faced a surprise extra hurdle. Many of its contributing members — at one point almost half — lived in Canada, and they were withdrawing support out of anger at President Donald Trump’s desire to make the country the 51st member of the United States.When Congress decided this summer to eliminate $1.1 billion allocated to public broadcasting, it left some 330 PBS and 246 NPR stations, each with unique issues related to their communities and history, to figure out what that means.Many launched…

Andrew Ferguson, the Trump-appointed chair of the Federal Trade Commission, recently expressed concern that “Alphabet’s administration of Gmail is designed to have partisan effects.” In a letter addressed to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, Ferguson pointed to a recent story in the New York Post describing complaints by Targeted Victory (a consulting and PR firm that’s worked with the Republican National Committee and Elon Musk’s X) claiming that Gmail flags emails linking to the Republican fundraising platform WinRed as spam, without doing the same to emails linking to the Democratic platform ActBlue. “My understanding from recent reporting is that Gmail’s spam…

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Weapons” found its way back on top during the Labor Day weekend, culminating a summer box office that’s likely to fall right below meeting last year’s earnings. Zach Cregger’s horror proved its staying power as a late-summer viral success and regained the top spot after last weekend saw “Kpop Demon Hunters” give Netflix its first box-office win. “Weapons” generated $10.2 million during its fourth weekend in theaters. Universal’s 50th rerelease of “Jaws” also made a splash in theaters, securing the second spot. Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film took “a bite out of the box office,” said Paul…

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights on the future of transportation. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility! Wow, y’all aren’t exactly bullish on EV sales in the U.S. once the federal tax credit expires. For those wondering what I am referring to: I included a poll in the last edition of TechCrunch Mobility. Yup, only email subscribers get to participate in polls. The question was: “What’s your prediction for EV sales over the next two quarters after the EV tax credit expires?” And about 60%…