Los Angeles, Aug 1 (IANS) Hollywood stars Matt Damon and Casey Affleck attended the New York premiere of ‘The Instigators’, where Matt Damon opened up about his friendship with Casey Affleck and his brother Ben Affleck.

The Affleck brothers and Matt Damon have been friends for more than 25 years since the latter and Ben co-wrote ‘Good Will Hunting’.

Matt Damon said that after all these years, there are no surprises with the two siblings.

He told People: “They’re consistently great. They’re consistently incredible partners to work with. And no, there aren’t really, usually, any surprises.”

While the three collaborators will “get in creative arguments”, Damon noted: “Those are healthy, and we know each other well enough that our feelings don’t really get involved and our egos don’t get involved. So it’s a pretty healthy working relationship with both of them.”

As per People, Damon and Casey, returned to their hometown of Boston to shoot the film in 2023. However, the project almost didn’t come to fruition until Casey enlisted help from Damon’s wife, Luciana Barroso, Damon confirmed. Casey asked Barroso, 48, to get Damon to read ‘The Instigators’ script.

Damon noted that Barroso also served as a producer on the film, adding that “like Casey and like Ben” he “just trusts her taste.”

“So when they say something, when they dig their heels in on something — any of them do — I pay attention,” he admitted. “We all have blind spots creatively or otherwise. And, when I see somebody that I agree with so much feeling strongly about something, I look really carefully at it.”

As per the movie’s official synopsis, ‘The Instigators’ follows Damon and Casey as Rory and Cobby: a father and an ex-con who team up to steal from a corrupt politician. When things go awry, the reluctant duo enlist the help of Rory’s therapist to evade capture. The movie is directed by Doug Liman, and written by Casey and Chuck Maclean.

Casey also told ExtraTV in an interview alongside Damon earlier this week that Barroso was instrumental in getting Damon to join him in the movie.

“I went through Lucy,” Casey said, referring to Barroso, “Who’s way more agreeable and has got better taste than Matt does.”

–IANS

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New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) Actor Siddhanth Kapoor, known for his ability to tackle a variety of roles and acclaimed for both commercial and critically successful films, shared that the rejections he has encountered throughout his career have strengthened his resolve and intensified his pursuit of his goals.

Siddhanth Kapoor was recently seen in the film ‘Chalti Rahe Zindagi’ which premiered on ZEE5 on July 26th and is garnering great appreciation for her role of Krishna Bhagat in the film.

In a candid conversation, the ‘Haseena Parkar’ actor spoke about facing rejections in his career. He said, “I have faced 200 rejections in my life. I have signed 20 films and taken out of them. But I feel rejections have made me stronger. They make me more driven. I believe the universe has a plan for you and whatever happens with you adds up to your experience.”

Talking about his role in the film, he said, “I play the role of a local bread and milk supplier in a compound. He has a very good relationship with many people. His wife sells pickles. He has a lot of debt but still remains happy. The role was challenging for me to play but I enjoyed it.”

He further added, “It was a very positive character to play. A change from all the grey shades that I have played before. I learnt a lot from this film.”

‘Chalti Rahe Zindagi’ is based on how people’s lives changed during Covid. It features Siddhant Kapoor, Manjari Fadnnis, Indraneil Sengupta, Seema Biswas, Barkha Sengupta and Rohit Khandelwal. The film is directed by Aarti Bagdi.

The film is currently streaming on ZEE5.

–IANS

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Mumbai, July 31 (IANS) Playback singer Neha Karode, who has lent her voice to the track ‘Noida ka Superman’ from the streaming series ‘Tribhuvan Mishra CA Topper’, has had a long journey professionally from the art of baking, and directing documentaries.

Reflecting on her journey, Neha said, “Even my oldest memory includes me singing; I started singing as a child. I feel very grateful that just when I began singing professionally, I was called to sing the scratch for a song called ‘Mon’ by the legendary Jeet Ganguli da. He was extremely kind to me, and I now consider him my mentor. It was a Bengali song and turned out to be a success. I couldn’t believe I got my first song with Jubin Nautiyal.”

She has earlier sung ‘Likhna Mitana’ from the Shahid Kapoor-starrer ‘Bloody Daddy’, ‘Oh Mama’ from the Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer ‘Anek’ and ‘Pipni’ from ‘Mismatched’.

Neha, who hails from Noida, vividly remembered helping her father’s company during Diwali, baking and packing cakes as gifts.

She said, “I remember he would pay me Rs 10,000 for that. So yeah, I’ve dabbled a lot. From baking, working in a corporate job, directing documentaries to now being able to start living my childhood dream of being a singer, I have had a very unique journey.”

“I honestly feel very blessed to be associated with such incredible people. I come from a non-music background, so seeing my musical dreams turning into reality is overwhelming. The support I’ve received from my mentors and friends has been invaluable. Their belief in me has fueled my passion and determination to keep pushing boundaries,” she added.

–IANS

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Los Angeles, July 31 (IANS) Actress-singer Selena Gomez has shared throwback pictures with her baby sister Gracie Teefey, saying that she will always protect her.

Gomez took to Instagram to share throwback images with her sibling.

In the first couple of photos, Gomez is seen flaunting blonde hair embraced by Gracie as a young child. The siblings sat together on the floor in what appeared to be a dressing room.

“There’s nothing like a little sister and the bond you have,” Gomez wrote in the caption.

“I will forever protect you, help guide you, and love you through every single moment in life baby girl,” she added.

In some other images, Gomez is seen smiling as she looks down at Gracie hugging her leg while standing together in the same room, people.com reported.

Gracie is the daughter of Mandy Teefey and Gomez’s stepfather Brian Teefey. The siblings remain close despite the 20-year age gap, and Gomez regularly shares loving messages for Gracie on social media.

In other news, Gomez recently opened up about her feelings about the time in her life when she was photographed by the paparazzi and was dating American popstar Justin Bieber.

A clip of Bieber’s song ‘Company’ was shared with the caption: “I know and so do you that at the time she would never have gotten engaged to Benny (Blanco) (when) she was in her IT GIRL era.”

The text over the video also said Gomez’s former self “would never date Benny Blanco”.

Hitting back at the claim, she said: “Kinda makes me laugh because I was so depressed back then lol.”

–IANS

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Mumbai, July 31 (IANS) Actress Trisha Krishnan, who is gearing up for her upcoming film ‘Brinda’, has shared what intrigued her about the project and made her choose it as her OTT series debut.

In ‘Brinda’, she essays the role of a cop, which is a first for her.

She shared that she rummaged through the pages of the script on a flight.

She said, “Surya had sent me his script to read and when I was on flight I picked it up and decided to read a few pages. I was drawn into the story from the very first chapter and now the rest as we say is history.”

The series, which also stars Indrajith Sukumaran, Jaya Prakash, Aamani, Ravindra Vijay, Anand Sami, Rakendu Mouli and others in pivotal roles, weaves together elements of drama, crime, and mystery, delivering an enthralling viewing experience.

The screenplay of the series is penned by Surya Manoj Vangala and Padmavathi Malladi, with music by Shakthikanth Karthik, and Avinash Kolla as the production designer.

Talking about her character, the actress said, “The fact that I’m playing a police officer for the first time was a major draw. Any character is a fun challenge when you have a director with 100 per cent clarity on how he wants to portray his lead actor. We did a few readings and had extensive discussions about the body language and character sketch for Brinda. Readings, rehearsals, and brainstorming with the team make a world of difference. Sitting together and working with the entire cast before we start rolling makes life so much simpler on set.”

Written and directed by Surya Manoj Vangala and produced by Ashish Kolla under the banner Adding Advertising LLP, ‘Brinda’ is set to stream from August 2 in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, and Hindi on Sony LIV.

–IANS

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