News review
Casting directors find the stars we love. Now they are finally getting their own Oscar
The contribution of casting directors to great films has been sidelined for decades – this year their work will be recognised at the Academy Awards.
- Nell Geraets
Latest
‘Complete joke’: Efforts to reduce funding wait times ends with longer blowout
A long campaign to improve Australia’s sclerotic research bureaucracy has culminated in an extraordinary blowout to grant approval times, leaving scientists despondent.
- Liam Mannix
There was once a code even the most ruthless crims lived by. Those days are long gone
Accepted norms in Sydney’s underworld are crumbling and the vicious killing of Chris Baghsarian is just one example of the shift.
- Riley Walter
Why this video of ‘Brad Pitt’ and ‘Tom Cruise’ brawling has Hollywood alarmed
Hollywood’s elite are sounding the alarm as Seedance 2.0 proves AI can generate cinematic blockbusters from a single prompt. Is this the democratisation of film, or a death knell for human creativity?
- Nell Geraets
Injuries, burnout, huge bills: Are pushy parents ruining children’s sport?
Too much pressure is being placed on kids to excel in elite sport, with the goal being Olympic gold, not enjoyment.
- Jordan Baker
A protest vote is brewing in Sussan Ley’s seat – but it won’t be simple
Like many Australians, dairy farmer Nick Flanagan finds his WhatsApp group chat is a good barometer of what people are thinking about politics. Its contents will worry the Coalition.
- Natassia Chrysanthos
The PM’s high-speed gamble: The world’s longest rail tunnel or deepest money pit
A decades-long dream of high-speed rail is within touching distance. But don’t start packing your suitcase for a trip to Newcastle quite yet.
- Shane Wright and Matt O'Sullivan
Bob Carr on marriage, grief and finally learning how to do a load of laundry
Life became very dark for the former foreign minister after the sudden death of his beloved wife Helena.
- Jacqueline Maley
How PM’s tough line on IS brides has left 34 women and children in no man’s land
Buried in the fine print of Anthony Albanese’s harsh words is a caveat: almost all of these people are entitled by law to come back to Australia from Syria.
- Michael Bachelard
Inside the towns where kids wear balaclavas and carry machetes – and locals live in fear
Violent break-ins and car thefts in some country towns have become so normalised – even glamorised – that it’s regarded by some kids as a standard night out.
- Jordan Baker