Tag: Entertainment – Variety

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for Season 3, Episode 7 of “House of the Dragon,” now streaming on HBO Max.

Gayle Rankin‘s Alys Rivers has dealt with an Oedipus complex before during her time at Harrenhal, but this week’s “House of the Dragon” marked the first time Alys was directly dragged into the Targaryens’ incestuous scene herself.

At the beginning of Episode 7, Season 3 of “House of the Dragon,” we see Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) has already carried out the mission given to her by Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and arrived at Harrenhal. Sent there in an attempt to lure Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) out so Rhaenyra’s men can finally kill him and properly secure Rhaenyra the Iron Throne, Alicent greets her son with maternal love and praise about his superiority to his siblings, which appears to be a tactic for lulling him into submission. But Alicent’s actions quickly turn much more intimate and soon the mother and son are having sex.

It’s a jarring scene until it’s revealed Aemond has been hallucinating visions of his mother while having sex with his lover, Alys (Rankin), as part of a new plan to breed more Targaryens and build their own dynasty.

“It was very intimate and very odd but very professional,” Rankin says of filming the sex scene between mother, son and son’s new girlfriend. “We tried to like make jokes, just to keep it lighthearted because those scenes are not easy and they’re complicated and very technical. So it was also just like it was another day at the office for being like a very odd, fucked-up scene.”

From there, the episode’s mommy-issues plot thickens as the real Alicent does show up at Harrenhal and Alys tries (and fails) to convince Aemond his mother is not there to help him. Though they first have to go through what Rankin calls an “unbearable” family dinner, the episode ends with Alys being proven right: Alicent steals away in the night after poisoning Aemond and “idiot” Aemond comes crawling to a very annoyed Alys looking for help.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to everyone at Harrenhal and King’s Landing, Aemond’s brother Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) has been reunited with his very much alive dragon, Sunfyre, while Aemond’s dragon, Vhagar, is still MIA. This could prove to be a problem for Alys and Aemond, who are currently sitting on a supply of dragon eggs, but have no full-grown dragon to defend themselves with should Aegon or Rhaenyra choose to come their way on next week’s Season 3 finale.

See below for more from Variety’s interview with Rankin about Episode 7 and what comes next.

Do you think Alys’s feelings for Aemond are genuine?

Yeah, I do. I think they’re not uncomplicated, like anyone, you know. Especially if you’re going through a war and you want a castle and you are a witch. But like those things aside, I think they really are.

So if that’s the case, what is it about Aemond that she is so interested in? This is a very complicated woman who has been around for we’re not sure how long — so what is it about Aemond that appeals to her?

I think he’s pretty unabashedly himself. I think that refreshing to her. I think that he’s, in some ways, very misunderstood. In some ways. And he has behaved horrendously but he’s also gotten, in some ways, what he’s wanted and I think she respects that. And I think they’re kind of like a dark power couple.

Alys has revealed the dragon eggs to Aemond. She had Daemon there for quite a while and never chose to show him. What do you think drove her to decide that Aemond was the one to show them to? She had been asking Daemon for Harrenhal and wanted that castle, but still only chose to reveal the eggs to Aemond.

I don’t think Daemon ever really let his guard down with Alys. Really, really, really. And then he broke her heart. And she’s prophetic and she also can read people like a book. So she knew that Daemon was never going to get there with her, and Daemon was not her answer. I think Aemond is a different story, and I think she knows that instinctively.

The fact Alys even knows about the dragon eggs that have been hidden away for decades means she might have actually been around Harrenhal for as long as she claims she has. Just how old do you think Alys actually is?

I think she’s like 400 years old. I mean, give or take. I think we’re gonna like find out more soon, but she could be 400 years old. Like, I believe her, that’s the thing. I think there’s a lot of skepticism about, is she telling the truth? Is she manipulating? I’m like, believe the woman.

The opening scene for this one, what was it like for you all shooting that and figuring out what that would look like, because we transition from Aemond in bed with his mother to Aemond with Alys? And it’s the trippy Harrenhal hallucination kind of scene, but also seems very specific to what Aemond is actually thinking.

It was very intimate and very odd but very professional. We tried to like make jokes, just to keep it lighthearted because those scenes are not easy and they’re complicated and very technical. So it was also just like it was another day at the office for being like a very odd, fucked-up scene.

It seems like Alys takes this pretty well. Like, she takes it in stride when Aemond talks to her about how much he loves his mother when his mother actually does appear, and she’s like, “All you Targaryen boys want the same thing,” and is very clearly referring to these mother issues with Aemond here and Daemon before. What do you think makes it so that she is willing to put up with this dynamic? Is it because she sees that Alicent’s going to leave and how — and she’s just trying to get through this time as quickly as possible?

I think she sees everything. I don’t think she sees everything, but she can see a lot. So there is a prophetic nature to who she is, and so she’s just like, “Wow! So we have to go through this? OK, here we go.”

During that dinner sequence, it’s so weird that they’re all sitting on the same side and they’re on either side, surrounding him. What was it like filming that family dinner? Because as awkward as the first scene was, that dinner was very hard to watch.

Oh, terrible! I mean awful, but I kind of loved it. I think Alys is in her element but also kind of terrified at the same time. But I think she feels like the stakes are very high, and I think Alys thrives in that. I think she intentionally wants it to feel unbearable. You know, because she wants her to go.

She is ultimately proven right. We have Aemond come to her and he’s drugged by his mother or poisoned by his mother, and she just says “Idiot” before coming around to help him. Is this said with love? Is it said with resignation? Is it a combination of things?

A combination. I think many people, and certainly many women, can probably relate to the tone.

Going into the Season 3 finale, what do you think is the most likely way that we will see Alys eventually go? She’s lived for 400 years, so do you think she’ll make it to the end of this season at the very least? She doesn’t seem in immediate danger right now.

I don’t feel like she’s in immediate danger of dying. I think she’s in immediate danger always, and maybe in immediate danger of something more emotionally profound happening, but not of dying. I think we have more time.

Alys doesn’t know this year and neither does Aemond, but the audience finds out by the end of the episode that Sunfyre is still alive and reunited with Aegon. So now Aegon has Sunfyre back and Vhagar is still nowhere to be seen. You’ve said a lot now that you think Alys is often telling the truth, so does she genuinely not know where Vhagar is? Does she know when Vhagar might be coming back? Because they might need her with Sunfyre back in play.

Girl, I know. Low-key, for real, I don’t think she knows. Like I don’t even know where Vhagar is. I, Gayle, do not even know where Vhagar is. You know what I mean? So I’m like, girl, where are you? Vhagar went to Crumbl Cookies and she needs to get back.

I think it shows a lot of actual dedication to Aemond that she’s with him when he doesn’t have a dragon.

Right? He has no dragon. I have dragon eggs. That’s the thing, I don’t really need him. But I think she might want him. I think it’s complicated.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman made a surprise appearance at a screening of “Practical Magic” on Saturday night in L.A.

Attendees came to the place, the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, for magic — and many, many Midnight Margaritas — but few expected an appearance by the Owens sisters themselves to introduce the 1998 cult classic.

“Thank you so much for coming out tonight. Perfect movie to show in a cemetery,” Bullock, who stars as Sally Owens, said over the crowd’s roar of enthusiasm. “We should also thank the spirits that are floating around us as well because you’re on their seats.”

Kidman, who plays Gilly, added: “Thank you for all your support for getting this 2nd film made that’s coming to you.”

Then, Bullock introduced the “next generation” of Owens sisters: Joey King and Maisie Williams, who play Sally’s adult daughters in Warner Bros.’ sure-to-be-spellbinding sequel, in theaters Sept. 11. The duo sauntered on the screen with margaritas in hand. 

“To the coven,” Kidman said, proposing that the crowd — clad in all types of 90s witchy attire, from flowy black robes and pointy hats “Practical Magic” t-shirts — raise their glasses. 

“Maisie and I are so excited to be joining the coven as Kylie and Antonia,” King told the crowd. “We really hope you enjoy the new movie as much as we did making it.”

“Practical Magic 2,” directed by Susanne Bier, “returns to a world steeped in moonlit mischief and powerful ancestral magic, as the Owens sisters must confront the dark curse that threatens to unravel their family once and for all in a must-see cinematic event of fun, magic and mayhem.”

The new movie follows 28 years later, as Sally bakes cakes and avoids men, while Gilly attracts men named Chad on Tinder. But the Owens family’s 300-year-old curse carries one generation forward, striking Sally daughter Kylie’s and her lover (Xolo Maridueña), who gets hit by a car while bicycling with several bouquets of roses. Kylie is determined to reverse the curse by any means necessary, forcing Sally and Gillian to band together to keep her away from the darkness and break the spell for good. Lee Pace also stars in the film, with Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest returning and Frances and Jet Owens, Sally and Gilly’s aunts. 

Akiva Goldsman and Georgia Pritchett wrote the script for the sequel, which is based on the 2021 novel “The Book of Magic” by Alice Hoffman, the fourth in her “Practical Magic” book series. Denise DiNovi, Bullock and Kidman produced the Warner Bros. film. Andrew Kosove, Broderick Johnson, Donald Sabourin and Hoffman serve as executive producers.

The special “Practical Magic” screening was part of Cinespia‘s annual lineup of exhibitions at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The outdoor screening series, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, has “The Mummy,” a double feature of Mia Goth’s “X” and “Pearl,” “Coming to America” and a 40th anniversary showing of “Labyrinth” scheduled for the month of August. Cinespia is presented by Amazon MGM Studios and Prime Video.

Hannah Einbinder says working with Gillian Anderson on the new film “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” has actually given her a new perspective on the end of “Hacks” and its legacy.

“Doing all this press with Gillian for the movie, she talks about ‘X-Files’ constantly,” Einbinder tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast. “She’s asked about it constantly. It’s made me feel like, ‘oh, I’m gonna talk about “Hacks” for the rest of my life!’ I’m so happy that will always be something that I can come back to and meditate on and express gratitude for. When you are a part of something that has a deeply connected base of people who love it, that stays.”

Meanwhile, given how many photo shoots and events Paul W. Downs and his “Hacks” co-star Megan Stalter seem to show up at, why isn’t there a Jimmy and Kayla spinoff in the works?

“I would love for it to happen, and I have said this: You know we had a very specific plan for the way we wanted to end the story in the finale,” he says. “It’s such it’s so much pressure to deliver a satisfying ending … so, even to the last minute, even though we had this plan for a long time, we were like, ‘Should we stretch it out? Should we do two half seasons?’ But in the end, I’m so happy we stuck to our guns, and it resonated with people the way that it did. And because of that, I don’t I don’t want anything else to come after. I want that to be the last thing people remember.”

When grilled about “Jimmy and Kayla,” he adds, “getting to play these characters and having these characters evolve as much as they have over the five seasons has been so gratifying that it’s terrifying to think there won’t be more between the two of us. But I think it would have to be something different.”

OK … we’re getting somewhere. So what might a “Hacks” spinoff look like? “There’s so many characters in the show that if we could do a universe, I want to see Mayor Jo in her first election. I want to see Marty coming to to Vegas in the ’70s.”

Einbinder likes the Mayor Jo idea. “‘Better Call Saul’ vibes,” she says. “Her just being a fucking absolute criminal. Are you kidding? I’m in the freaking seats with the popcorn on that one.”

Give it time. Maybe we’ll wear them down! But for now, we’ve got Downs and Einbinder on this week’s Awards Circuit Podcast, where they talk more about the “Hacks” ending and what they’ve got in store next. Plus, they take the 10 Questions quiz!

But first, on the Roundtable, Variety TV critic Aramide Tinubu joins us to give some of her summer TV picks and hot takes on the Emmy noms. Listen below!

He might be a bit biased, but Downs raves about Einbinder’s part in the upcoming slasher film “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” which opens August 7. “I’ll give you the review,” he says. “This is a pull quote now from Variety. Absolutely beautiful, absolutely terrifying and absolutely funny. And Hannah is a revelation. She is such a star. I’m not even kidding. The stuff that she does, her range being on display yet again in this is really impressive.”

As for Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky, the trio has a number of projects in the works — including one in development with Kaley Cuoco — although she’s busy on something else right now, so schedules will have to align for their project. And then the trio also has another project they’re working on for HBO.

“I can say it’s a it’s a limited series,” he says. “It’s an hourlong limited. I can say that. So it’s a slight tone shift, but there’s definitely going to be humor.”

Einbinder says she’d be game to join them again for this next project. “I told Paul, Jen and Lucia that I want to be their non-problematic Rob Schneider. I just want to pop up in everything they do forever.”

Meanwhile, Einbinder says she’s still thinking a lot about her time on “Hacks,” and how she found a video that she recorded for herself in Season 1. Now it feels like a bit of a time capsule: “It was in my trailer, and the sound is pretty muffled, and it’s kind of a shitty video, but I just was kind of reflecting, like kind of a diary, and one of the things that I said was ‘I think these people are going to mean so much to me.’”

Einbinder’s come a long way in those six years since “Hacks” first became a reality. “Most nights when I get into bed and feel the relief of making it back to my bed at the end of a long day, I go, ‘wow.’ I just am filled with gratitude. This experience has made so much possible for me in every conceivable way. On an emotional level, obviously we have a very strong bond. When I was auditioning for Ava initially, I was opening for other comics on the road. That went away because of COVID, and the job I had before that was working at a coffee shop, and that also went away. I was just really, ‘I actually don’t know what I’m gonna do.’ And so just on every level, [this success] has never been lost on me.”

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10 QUESTIONS WITH HANNAH EINBINDER and PAUL W. DOWNS:

1. Childhood nickname: Einbinder: “‘Pud,’ short for ‘Pudding.’ My parents called me that.” Downs: “‘Chubb.’ I think it came from my love of pasta and pizza. I think it honestly came from my love of Swiss Miss. I would take Swiss Miss packets with half and half, and I would make like a sludge that I would drink. It was my version of child cocaine, I guess.”

2. Something you loved as a kid but can’t believe you were into it now: Downs: “I used to kind of collect these, they were basically little figurines that were like a dragon or an Excalibur or a wizard, and they were on amethyst. They were sold at a kiosk at the Rockaway Town Square Mall, and I was into these bizarre — I don’t know what that is. Fantasy figurines. They were also very like Sedona. You know, they were very like hippie figurines. I can’t believe I was so into that” Einbinder: “I have done so much inner child work that I have love and affection for the things that I maybe was into. I took baton. I had a baton unit. I was very into baton at one time. I did baton classes. I learned from a stripper named Heather. Thank you, Heather. She taught baton on the side. She was like, ‘I do flaming baton at my where I dance,’ and we were like, ‘We want to come see you dance, Heather!’ And she was like, ‘It’s not for kids.’”

3. Go-to Karaoke or sing-in-the-shower song: Einbinder: “‘What’s Up,’ by 4 Non Blondes.” Downs: “‘All I Wanna Do’ by Sheryl Crow. It’s a real crowd pleaser.”

4. Give me an alternate title for your show: [Not asked]

5. What’s your secret talent?: Downs: “I can give a good massage.” Einbinder: “I can create a bubble ring underwater. Or a smoke ring. I can do that too. But that’s featured in the show ‘Hacks.’”

6. Favorite ice cream flavor: Downs: “As a kid, I loved strawberry. Now I want like a like a dark chocolate double fudge chunk.” Einbinder: “Mint chip.”

7. The one item you couldn’t live without: Einbinder: “Cell phone.” Downs: “I was gonna say toothpaste. You really want toothpaste.”

8. What TV show in all of history do you wish you were a cast member of?: Einbinder: “‘Sopranos,’ ‘Mad Men.’” Downs: “Some of my favorite shows like ‘Arrested Development’ or ‘Succession’ or ‘Fleabag,’ I don’t know that I want to be on those shows. I think I want to be on ‘Friends.’ I think I would have had a blast.”

9. Fictional character you most admire: [Not asked]

10. Your favorite piece of advice: Einbinder: “‘Faster and funnier.’” Downs: “I’ve uttered those words. You know what else I uttered recently, and I’m taking a great piece of advice that Maya Angelou gave to Oprah, which is when someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time. I think that’s a really good piece of advice.”

Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts.

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“Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is shaping up to be a big hit at the box office, challenging 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” for the biggest North American movie opening of all time.

Now, fans can also compete in a different type of challenge, with toymaker Hasbro re-releasing a number of its most popular board games with Spider-Man-themed gameplay. The releases include Spider-Man editions of games like Monopoly, Connect 4, Yahtzee and Chutes & Ladders. Even better: Amazon has put a number of the games on sale on the heels of the “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” release (note: prices were accurate as of this writing, but as with all Amazon deals, the discount could change at anytime).

Here’s a look at some of the Spider-Man-themed board games available to buy online now.

This Spider-Man edition of Connect 4 swaps the red and yellow discs of the original game for red and black discs, in a game of Peter Parker vs. Miles Morales. The game “board” is also rendered in a Spider-Man-inspired blue and red colorway. The first person to form a horizontal, vertical or diagonal line with four of their team’s tokens, wins.

Amazon says more than 1,000 shoppers have picked up this Spider-Man version of Connect 4 in the last month alone, and it’s selling fast on the heels of the new film.

This version of Chutes and Ladders lets you move around the gameboard as Spider-Man, White Tiger, Iron Spider, Power Man, Venom, Black Cat, Green Goblin or Rhino, with the ability to climb and slide your way to the finish line. Characters from the film franchise also line the board, which is framed by a blue spider web print.

The classic dice game gets re-imagined for younger players and Spider-Man fans alike. In this version of Yahtzee, players shake up the dice and roll them try to match as many characters as they can. Characters include Spidey, Miles Morales and Ghost Spider, among others.

Amazon says more than 2,000 people have purchased this game in the last few weeks, with almost 80% of shoppers giving it a full, five-star review online.

The iconic buying and trading board game swaps collecting properties for capturing super villains as players move around the board as one of six characters from across the Spider-verse, including Peter Parker, Miles Morales and Ghost Spider.

In this version of Monopoly, players can take the subway for shortcuts, grab the “Symbol of Great Responsibility” to unlock special abilities, and use Daily Bugle cards to find new gameplay options against opponents. Get this game on sale right now at Walmart.com.

Younger players, meantime, can pick up this Spider-Man edition of Monopoly Junior, with players competing as Spidey, Spider-Man, Ghost-Spider, or Ms. Marvel to protect their neighborhood.

The game swaps properties with Marvel characters like Ant-Man, Doc Ock, Iron Man, Wasp and Hulk.

And Amazon has this Marvel edition of Guess Who?, with players competing to guess 24 of the most celebrated characters from Stan Lee’s superhero universe. Spider-Man is included, as is Captain America, Black Window and Black Panther, among others.

Hasbro has long been a licensing partner for Marvel, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company. In addition to the Spider-Man-themed games above, Hasbro also recently released a Marvel Superheroes Commander Deck as part of Magic: The Gathering’s latest “Universes Beyond” set.

Vincent Pastore, who is best known for playing Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero on HBO’s “The Sopranos,” has died, according to TMZ. He was 80.

Pastore was a key player on the first two seasons of “The Sopranos,” and helped deliver one of the mob drama’s most iconic moments. In the show, Big Pussy was part of Tony Soprano’s (James Galdofini) most trusted inner circle, until he started wearing a wire for the FBI. In the Season 2 finale, Tony, along with Silvio (Steven Van Zandt) and Paulie (Tony Sirico), makes the difficult decision to kill him off while out on a boat.

Pastore was cast as a mobster many times throughout his career. He had small parts in early ‘90s crime dramas like “Carlito’s Way” and “Goodfellas.” He saw his stock rise with a pair of roles in the 1995 film “The Jerky Boys: The Movie” and HBO’s 1996 TV movie “Gotti.”

His other film credits include “Shark Tale,” “Mickey Blue Eyes,” “Witness to the Mob,” “The Deli,” “Spinning Gold,” “Once Upon a Time in Brooklyn,” “Revolver,” “This Thing of Ours,” “Bachelor Party Vegas,” “A Brooklyn State of Mind” and many others.

On the TV side, Pastore appeared on “New York Undercover,” “Law & Order,” “Bull,” “Son of the Beach,” “Queens Supreme,” “General Hospital” and “Pair of Kings.” He was also a contestant on several reality shows, including “Dancing With the Stars,” “Shark Tank“ and “Celebrity Family Feud.”

Pastore also hosted “The Wise Guy” show on SiriusXM, which was a weekly three-hour broadcast during which Pastore would interview celebrities and other prominent figures from the Italian-American community.

Pastore is survived by his daughter, Renee.

As horror fans eagerly await the next chapter in Pennywise’s (Bill Skarsgård) horrifying reign of terror, “It: Welcome to Derry” co-creator Andy Muschietti has shared some details on the current status of Season 2.

“We’re very excited, we’re in the writers’ room right now,” Muschietti confirms to Variety.

The new season will take place in 1935, centering around one of the interludes in Stephen King’s “It” novel — the Bradley Gang Massacre. As recalled in the book, a group of outlaws hides out in the town of Derry while fleeing the FBI, robbing and murdering store owners and causing all-around chaos. It takes place 27 years before the first season of “It: Welcome to Derry,” which follows the mystery surrounding a young boy gone missing amidst a Cold War military plot.

“There’s gonna be a lot of that depression-era hustling in the air in our characters. Everybody’s trying to get by and survive the circumstances. They are gonna do crazy things,” Muschietti says. “And of course, the social, cultural, horrible things that were happening in the era, too. We’re not going to skip those. [They are the] very center and the heart of our story.”

While “It” fans have become accustomed to the franchise’s focus on the horror that lurks underneath images of suburban comfort and kids riding bicycles, Muschietti says Season 2’s aesthetic will differ: “In this case, on the surface, Derry is a graveyard almost. It’s a carcass of something because people are depleted, poor, tired, jobless, homeless. The kids don’t have a suburban, comforting life. They’re in a very different situation. Some of them are orphans or runaways, and so the environment is pretty bleak. But there’s always the aspect of hope that is always there, burning, and it’s what keeps our new group going.”

Going back another 27 years gives Muschietti and his creative team, including co-creators Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs, more of a canvas to play with; after all, the ’30s interlude in King’s original novel doesn’t take up much of the overall story. But the family bloodline will help fans connect the different timelines.

“There will always be the connection, there’s a family tree that appears,” Muschietti explains.

Muschietti began exploring the world of Derry and Pennywise in the 2017 hit film “It” and its 2019 sequel “It: Chapter Two.” He previously told Variety of his three-season plan for “Welcome to Derry,” exploring the time periods of 1962, 1935 and 1908, respectively, with an interest in King’s interludes: “I realized there was a hidden story there, and that Stephen King was leaving crumbs that could guide us somewhere. It’s a story told backwards.”

But the horror director and screenwriter still has his eyes set on adapting other King stories.

“I cannot talk too much about it because some of them are [active] projects. One that I did touch that’s not a current project, but I would love to go back to at some point is ‘The Juant,’ which is a short story that blew my mind when I read it. I was 14 or something,” Muschietti says of the short story in King’s “Skeleton Crew” collection. “It just completely shattered me.”

“It: Welcome to Derry” Season 1 is currently streaming on HBO Max.

Both members of Massive Attack have been permanently barred from re-entering Singapore after unfurling a Palestinian flag during the British trip-hop group’s concert in the city-state, according to a joint statement from the Singapore Police Force and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).

The statement said police investigated both band members for “their actions of support for a political cause and unfurling of a foreign flag” during the show at The Star Theatre on July 29. Following the investigation, and in consultation with the Attorney-General’s Chambers, police administered stern warnings to both men for offences under Section 3 of the Foreign National Emblems (Control of Display) Act 1949 and Section 16 of the Public Order Act.

“Both men will also be banned from re-entering Singapore,” the statement said.

According to the statement, the event organizer had acknowledged the licensing conditions attached to the concert beforehand, but both band members held up a “foreign flag” onstage during the performance, with one shouting “Free Palestine.” The IMDA said it is investigating a possible breach of several licence conditions, including one barring performers from displaying flags tied to any cause, and will act once that inquiry concludes. The regulator added it will not approve any future application for the band to perform in Singapore given the entry ban.

The concert was the band’s only scheduled Singapore date on its current tour, with video of the flag display circulating widely online alongside footage of the crowd joining in chants of “Free Palestine.” The two men are Massive Attack’s founding members, Robert “3D” Del Naja and Grant “Daddy G” Marshall, who make up its current touring lineup; authorities did not name them in the statement.

Singapore maintains strict rules on the public display of foreign flags and emblems without a permit, framing the laws as necessary to protect the country’s racial and religious harmony. The joint statement reiterated that position, with authorities saying they “take a serious view of acts which could potentially harm the racial and religious harmony in Singapore” and urging the public, including foreigners, “to refrain from importing foreign politics” into the country.

“The peace and harmony between different races and religions in Singapore should not be taken for granted, and we must not let external events affect our society,” the statement said.

Massive Attack has been among the more vocal acts in music in its support for Palestinian causes. Del Naja was arrested earlier this year during a demonstration in London tied to Palestine Action, a group proscribed in the U.K.

Variety has reached out to Massive Attack’s representation for comment.

Gianni Infantino, the embattled president of soccer’s governing body FIFA, has abandoned his controversial plan to create a $20 billion company, FIFA Forward Enterprise, that would control the commercial rights to its events, principally the World Cup.

In a statement released late Friday, Infantino said it had “become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place.”

The survival of Infantino, who is up for re-election for a fourth term as president at the FIFA Congress in March, is now in doubt.

Infantino said, “Our purpose has always been – and will always be – to unite and improve. Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game.”

The climbdown by Infantino follows a threat by European countries, represented by the continent’s soccer governing body UEFA, to boycott all FIFA events, including the World Cup, if the plan moved forward.

Opposition to Infantino’s plan had also come from Concacaf, which governs soccer in North, Central America and the Caribbean, and the sport’s governing body in Asia, the Asian Football Confederation.

Resistance to the plan had also come from within FIFA. Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino’s senior adviser on global strategy and governance, resigned over the issue, saying the proposal was “a bad deal” for soccer and would “mortgage” its future.

Then on Friday, the organization’s chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said its own administration had been “deceived” about the project. Lamour described the plan as “the project of one person,” and said, “the time has now come for [soccer’s] political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions.”

Lamour added that he had a duty of loyalty to “certain values” and supporting his colleagues. “If that means I lose my job, then so be it. I will understand and respect that decision. At least I’ll sleep well tonight.”

Under Infantino’s proposal, each FIFA member country would have received an initial payment of $20 million and a doubling of their annual stipend to $5 million. This would have been partially funded by the sale of a roughly 20% stake in FIFA Forward Enterprise to an investor group led by Thrive Eternal. Thrive Eternal is run by Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared Kushner is married to President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka.