In what appears to be a film with the potential to be the most disastrous vanity project since the John Travolta-produced and starring ode to scientology Battlefield Earth, renowned Irish dancer of Riverdance fame Michael Flatley has produced, directed, written and starred in his own movie, the "coming soon" spy romance Blackbird.
Flatley will have some way to go to match the achievements of Travolta's much-derided sci-fi adaptation of L Ron Hubbard's writings. Battlefield Earth has picked up an impressive 10 Razzie Awards since its release in 2000, including a prestigious Worst Film of the Decade gong in 2010.
To be fair to Flatley, we don't know the film will be terrible. There's no trailer as yet and so far the only information we have on the film is two posters and a synopsis: "Troubled secret agent Blackbird abruptly retires from service and opens a luxurious nightclub in the Caribbean to escape the dark shadows of his past. An old flame arrives and reignites love in his life but she brings danger with her."
What we do know is that Flatley has never written, directed, produced or starred in a film before. Of course that’s not conclusive – there was presumably a point in time at which Steven Spielberg had never written, directed or produced a film before and things seem to have worked out pretty well for him, so the jury's out on that one.
We also know that, from the synopsis, the film sounds remarkably similar to a certain Casablanca, save for the Caribbean standing in for the Moroccan Seaside setting of Michael Kurtiz' 1942 classic. If Flatley thinks he's found space for improving on that masterpiece of twentieth century cinema, he's clearly not lacking in confidence in his own project.
The film also stars Patrick Bergin, of Sleeping with the Enemy and Eastenders fame, and Eric Roberts, star of OSN Movies perennial Stalked by my Doctor, so there's a pedigree of sorts among the supporting cast.
The movie's posters feature the dramatic tag line "Some things are still worth dying for," which implies that some things aren't still worth dying for, but doesn't go into specifics. It also implies that Flatley's Blackbird will either die, which seems unlikely given the nature of vanity projects, or will put himself in a variety of dangerous situations in which he possibly could die, for a "thing," which will most likely be love, judging by the synopsis.
With no release date yet announced, and the film reported by IMDB to still be in post-production, we’ll be on the edge of our seats waiting to find out.
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Read more:
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What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Where to Find Me by Alba Arikha
Alma Books
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Take Me Apart
Kelela
(Warp)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
