Historic Oxford cinema under threat as Oriel College refuses to extend lease

The survival of one of the UK’s oldest independent cinemas is under threat while its landlord, the University of Oxford’s Oriel College, refuses to extend its lease to allow what its director says are vital renovations.The Ultimate Picture Palace in east Oxford opened in 1911, and has entertained generations of students and residents, including the Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes. It sells tickets for its 106 seats through an old-fashioned box office window to patrons queueing on the street, and its screen is behind a manually opened curtain.After decades of instability, the UPP, as it is known by locals, recently became a community-owned business when more than 1,200 supporters raised funds to keep the cinema operating in the Grade II-listed building.But plans to secure its long-term future have been dashed by Oriel College’s reluctance to approve an extension that would allow further investments and renovations to take place

Arthur Miller opens up about marriage to Marilyn Monroe in newly unearthed recordings

He was one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century and she was one of the greatest actors. In newly unearthed recordings made over a period of nearly three decades, Arthur Miller opened up about his short-lived marriage to Marilyn Monroe, saying she wanted a husband who was a “father, lover, friend and agent,” and the child she longed for would have been an “additional problem”.In taped conversations with his friend and biographer Prof Christopher Bigsby, Miller said he had felt “death was always on her [Monroe’s] shoulder – always”. He had believed that if he did not “take care of her life” she would come to a “catastrophic end”.“One time I brought doctors to pump her out because she had swallowed enough stuff [drugs] to kill her,” he said

In the 60s and 70s, Black students demanded a voice on radio. A new project ensures that history isn’t lost

The HBCU Radio Preservation Project celebrates stations that were an outgrowth of the civil rights movement, to help people understand their importanceAfter Shaw University’s WSHA radio station went on air in 1968, several other historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) followed the North Carolina school’s lead, launching a wave of their own.For decades, the students who worked on these channels used them to inform listeners about happenings on campus, while also playing musical selections and offering cultural programming. In doing so, the radio stations at HBCUs became pivotal resources for both the campus and the surrounding community.But the landscape of university-based media is changing. Today, of the more than 100 HBCUs across the country, about 30 have radio stations

Seth Meyers on Trump’s poll ratings: ‘His disapproval is higher than Covid and January 6’

On Monday night, late-night hosts weighed in on Donald Trump’s erratic statements on Iran, rising oil prices and the shuttering of every budget-conscious traveller’s favorite low-cost airline.Seth Meyers opened his Monday night monologue with news of a new poll finding that Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to the Iran war and Trump’s plan to peacefully guide oil tankers through the strait of Hormuz.“Oh wait, I’m getting word that the administration has unveiled a new name for the mission,” the host joked. “Let’s see, what is it called: Operation Clusterfuck.”Meyers then reacted to a new Ipsos poll which showed Trump’s disapproval ratings at a record 62%, in large part due to gas prices rising $1

The Parallax View: remember when Hollywood made potent political cinema?

Watching Hollywood cinema in 2026 can make for a curious experience. Take a look out the window and you’ll notice that the US, and indeed the world, is in a polycrisis – though you’d hardly know it from the films at the multiplex. The odd timely picture aside, Hollywood today directly engages with the present moment only rarely; more Minecraft Movie than One Battle After Another.In the 70s, when things were arguably last in a comparably sorry state – Kent State, Vietnam and Watergate for the US, economic crises and violent acts of world revolution globally – popular cinema responded very differently. Out of the establishment-sceptical New Hollywood that emerged after the demise of the Hays code, there came a wave of confronting social and political dramas, strongly allegorical sci-fi and paranoid thrillers, including one of the most deliriously entertaining examples of the latter ever made: The Parallax View

‘We got a drive-by egging in Baltimore’: Super Furry Animals on making The Man Don’t Give a Fuck

Gruff was the first person I ever met who could just churn out songs – good, catchy ones. I joined his band Ffa Coffi Pawb, but by 1992 they’d split and Gruff and I were living in Cardiff, as were Bunf, Guto and my brother Cian, the other future Furries. We started out doing techno sets, and I had a little home studio where we demoed ideas for songs. Our first singer, the actor Rhys Ifans, slept on a mattress in the corner.I had this Steely Dan album, Countdown to Ecstasy