What are Saudi Arabia and France building for manga fans?

We will always love you!

Dolly Parton, one of country music’s most enduring stars, has died in Nashville at the age of 80, her family announced. Her family said her funeral will be small and private, in keeping with her wishes.

Tributes poured in from Beyoncé, Paul McCartney, Eminem, Mick Jagger, Tom Jones, Julia Roberts, Billy Ray Cyrus, Katy Perry, Elton John, Patti LaBelle and Christina Aguilera.

The White House also lowered its flag to half-staff in her honor, while fans left flowers and candles near her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Black Mirror is back

Black Mirror Season 8 has entered production, although a release date has not yet been announced.

The new season will continue the series’ exploration of the darker side of modern technology and its impact on society.

Kit Harington enters Hogwarts

Kit Harington is joining HBO’s Harry Potter series as the flamboyant and self-obsessed wizard Gilderoy Lockhart, replacing Nicholas Hoult, who exited the role due to scheduling conflicts.

Harington, best known for playing Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, will appear in the second season, based on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. He previously voiced Lockhart in the Harry Potter full-cast audiobook series.

Netherlands pulls out of Eurovision

Dutch public broadcaster AVROTROS will not participate in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest, saying the competition can no longer be considered neutral while a participating country remains involved in a large-scale military conflict.

The broadcaster said geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have created deep divisions around the contest. It also criticized recent changes announced by the European Broadcasting Union, saying they do not provide enough confidence that Eurovision’s independent and neutral character has been restored.

Manga gets a €6 billion playground

France is set to get a major manga-inspired theme park project near Paris, with three theme parks planned in Cergy-Pontoise.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced the project with Saudi Arabia, saying it will involve €6 billion in investment and create 22,000 jobs.

Macron described the development as an unprecedented project for France and said it would create a new global destination.

Australia draws the line at AI music

Fully AI-generated songs will no longer be eligible for Australia’s ARIA Charts.

The Australian Recording Industry Association said recordings that use generative AI in a supporting role can still qualify, provided they are substantially human-made and do not raise concerns about chart or streaming manipulation.

The new rules will take effect with the ARIA chart dated Aug. 31. Ineligible recordings can be removed from the charts and will also be excluded from consideration for ARIA Awards.

How to lose a guy, again

Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey could be heading back to the world of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, with a sequel officially in development at Paramount.

The 2003 romantic comedy starred Hudson as magazine writer Andie Anderson and McConaughey as advertising executive Benjamin Barry. The pair enter a bet that leads them into a deliberately doomed romance, only to develop real feelings for each other.

The Flintstones grow up

Ryan Gosling and his producing partner Jessie Henderson are reportedly in early development on a live-action Flintstones movie at Warner Bros.

The project would center on a grown-up Bamm-Bamm Rubble, the adopted son of Barney and Betty Rubble and one of the most recognizable characters from the classic animated franchise.

You can read last week’s edition of Popcorn in form here.