MUMBAI: Here we bring exciting updates from Hollywood industry to keep you amused. Read on.

Liam Neeson film event cancelled amid racism row  

A New York red carpet opening of Liam Neeson's latest film has been cancelled amid a row over his comments that he once wanted to kill a random black man after a friend was raped.

Reporters were told the event for Cold Pursuit was being pulled two hours before it was scheduled to happen, the BBC reported. Organisers of the event said there would be no photographs or interviews at the New York City showing.

The actor was speaking to promote the film, a revenge thriller, when he spoke of the alleged rape that took place a long time ago and he found out about it when he came back from a trip abroad.

He said, "She handled the situation of the rape in the most extraordinary way.

"But my immediate reaction was... I asked, did she know who it was? No. What colour were they? She said it was a black person.

"I went up and down areas with a cosh, hoping I'd be approached by somebody -- I'm ashamed to say that -- and I did it for maybe a week, hoping some (uses air quotes with fingers) 'black bastard' would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know? So that I could kill him."

Neeson has denied he is racist but the remarks, published by The Independent on Monday, sparked an outcry.

After widespread criticism, he told ABC's Good Morning America "I'm not racist".

Asked what he wanted people to take from his experience, he told the host, "To talk. To open up. We all pretend we're all politically correct in this country... in mine, too. You sometimes just scratch the surface and you discover this racism and bigotry and it's there."

He said learning of his friend's rape about 40 years ago -- she has since died -- gave him a "primal urge to lash out".

Former England footballer and anti-racism campaigner, John Barnes, has defended Neeson in an interview.

"He was ashamed a week into it. He understood that he was wrong for thinking what he did. And we have to have this conversation," Barnes said.

Neetu Chandra learns new language for international project

Actress Neetu Chandra says she is enjoying the phase of getting to "master a new language" for her next project.

She is currently here preparing for her role in a Korean Taekwondo youth action drama show titled Narae.

She has been busy attending a workshop here and interacting with the people of Koreatown to get an understanding of the dialect.

"I have always believed in doing complete justice to every character that I've essayed on screen.

"My character in the Korean Taekwondo youth action drama requires me to speak the Korean language. Hence, I've decided to do a workshop here in Los Angeles to learn the nuances of the language," Neetu said in a statement.

"I have also been interacting with the locals of Koreatown which would enable me to perceive the language in a certain way and adapt the dialect well.

"Although a task, it has been fun and I'm enjoying this phase of getting to master a new language," added the actress, who is in the US for other projects as well.

Narae, which will be shot in Seoul, South Korea, will go on floors by April-May.

No feeling quite like it: Prashant Mistry on Grammy nomination

London-based Indian music producer, mix and mastering engineer Prashant Mistry says that getting nominated for a Grammy this year is an incredible honour and there is no feeling quite like it.    

His album Symbol is nominated for the Best Immerse Audio Album at the 61st Grammy Awards, which will be held here on 10 February. It will be aired on Vh1 India in the country on 11 February.

"It's an incredible honour to have my album nominated for a Grammy, and to see (singer) Jorja Smith whom I engineer for, nominated for Best New Artist. In fact, there is no feeling quite like it," Mistry said in a statement.

"As a musician, when you start out, you dream of things like this. You then spend your whole life learning and studying, trying to perfect your craft. This album Symbol is especially important for me as it's a call for empathy in times when powers seek to drive us apart," added Mistry, whose hometown is Rajkot.

Cooper terrified about Oscar performance

Actor-director Bradley Cooper says he is terrified to perform Shallow live at the Oscars.           

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced last week that Cooper and Lady Gaga will perform their Oscar-nominated song Shallow from movie A Star Is Born, Cooper's directorial debut. In the film he plays a famous country singer and she a rising music star.   

When asked about his Oscars performance with Gaga, Cooper said, "I'm sure I'll be terrified," eonline.com quoted Cooper as saying.

"I just had to like, Zen out and just pray that I wouldn't ruin her show. Because, think about it, she just crushed it or two hours..and I thought, 'Please let me just be on pitch'," he added.

Cooper and Gaga are nominated for Oscars for their roles in A Star Is Born, which has been nominated for the Best Picture. Cooper was not nominated in the directing category.

The 91st Academy Awards will be held on 24 February. It will be telecast in India on Star Movies.

'Riverdale' actress Ashleigh Murray joins 'Katy Keene' spin-off  

Ashleigh Murray, who plays aspiring singer-songwriter Josie McCoy in the series Riverdale, will continue playing the character in the spin-off pilot Katy Keene.

The show follows four Archie Comics characters, including Josie and the title character, future fashion icon Katy Keene as they pursue their twenty-something dreams in New York City, reports leading publication.

The musical dramedy will chronicle the origins and struggles of the four aspiring artists who are trying to make it on Broadway, on the runway and in the recording studio. Should the project, which won't air as a planted spinoff on Riverdale get picked up, Murray would depart Riverdale.

Katy Keene jumps ahead several years from the current Riverdale timeline, so crossovers are not planned.

"If anyone from Riverdale were to come to Katy, they would come as their older self," said Mark Pedowitz, chief of network CW.

Jussie Smollett was hesitant to report attack: Police

Actor Jussie Smollett was initially reluctant to report that he had been racially attacked by two men last month in Chicago, according to a police report.

Smollett, the 36-year-old musician and actor who appears on the show Empire, told the police that he was accosted on the street at 2 a.m. on 29 January.

Television station ABC7 here obtained a partially redacted copy of the report through a Freedom of Information Request on Monday, reports leading publication.

According to the report, the officers were told that Smollett "did not want to report the offence however he believed it to be in the best interest to".

The report states that police found Smollett with a white rope around his neck, and that he stated the attackers threw an unknown chemical substance on him, staining his clothes.

Smollett said he was accosted by two men dressed in black, one of whom was wearing a ski mask. He did not remember any other details of the suspects.

Chicago Police have reviewed hundreds of hours of surveillance footage in an effort to find the attackers, but have not found video of the attack. The department released an image of two "persons of interest" in the case on 30 January.  

Smollett performed on 2 February at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, during which he sought to clarify some details of the incident.

"I was bruised but my ribs were not cracked; they were not broken. I went to the doctor immediately... I was not hospitalised. And above all: I fought the f-back," he said on stage.

(Source: IANS)