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After three years, Adel Tawil (44) is back with new music and deep insights into his innermost being. Because hardly any album has been as personal as "Spiegelbild", which fans can now listen to. Tawil used the corona pandemic to process the "wounds of long years, the demons of even longer nights" in 16 new songs.

"There was a time in my life when it was very dark," he says in an interview with the news agency spot on news. "It's not like that at the moment, but you never know how things will develop and what awaits you in the future. I feel the same as any of us." The pandemic changed the native Berliner. He had reset his priorities, "it is particularly important to me that the time with the family is not neglected".

"Consolation and grief take time"
Last year he had to cope with a "very heavy loss": the death of his close friend, mentor and producer Andreas Herbig. "He was a true genius, but also a good friend and a loving person and father. I still think of him very often and often wonder what the boogieman would have done." With "Nirvana" he wanted to pay tribute to his friend because it was the last title they worked on together. Tawil further explains: "Consolation and sorrow take time. Herbig will stay with us forever through his music and his unique sound. Even if he is no longer with us, he will always be present through his music."

Adel Tawil: "Suddenly my head was on fire"
Tawil "can hardly wait" to perform songs like "Nirvana" or "Autobahn" live again. Because not being able to perform during the pandemic "burdened him more than I thought". "It was a real dry spell for all artists," said the singer. "The anticipation is all the greater now that we can finally be back on stage."

Caution and prudence are now extremely important to Tawil during his performances, because the singer has had many an accident. "In fact, I've fallen off the stage at a confusing spot," he recalls. And there was also a small fire accident during the video shoot for the single "Feuer und Eis": "Unfortunately, a chain of unfortunate coincidences led to my head suddenly burning. Luckily, I instinctively acted correctly and immediately took all my clothes off Body torn, so nothing worse happened. But the shock was great."

Adel Tawil's tour dates
Starting in the summer, fans will have the opportunity to experience Adel Tawil's new songs live. His open-air tour starts on June 17th in Munich. It continues in Hamburg (June 24), Stuttgart (July 19), Chemnitz (August 10) or Oldenburg (August 11). Further performances are planned in Echternach (Luxembourg) on July 20th and in Schaffhausen and Zofingen (Switzerland) on August 12th and 13th.

After a short break, the "Spiegelbild" tour will start on October 5th in Rostock, followed by Erfurt (October 6th), Cologne (October 7th), Bielefeld (October 8th), Koblenz (October 10th), Hanover (October 12), Frankfurt (October 13), Berlin (October 14) and Leipzig (October 15).

The Oscars will be presented in Hollywood in just over a week. Then after the award ceremony, hopefully the winning films will be the focus again and no scandals like the slap that moderator and comedian Chris Rock (58) caught from Will Smith (54) after he made a joke at the expense of his wife Jada Pinkett Smith (51) had made.

Will Smith's slap overshadowed the Oscars

For Will Smith, it was the fall from Hollywood's Mr. Nice Guy to violent bully. Film projects with him were partially put on hold, at least for the time being, and he rarely appeared in public after the incident. We're guaranteed not to see him at this year's Oscars, as he earned himself a ten-year ban from the awards ceremony, despite dropping out of the Academy the very next day. It wasn't all bad for him that night, though, as before he became a Hollywood leper, he picked up the coveted Best Actor trophy for 'King Richard'. His beating victim had so far largely remained silent about the incident.

Chris Rock unpacks

Largely. As it has only now become known, Chris Rock had briefly made the slap in the face an issue when he tried out new material for his upcoming comedy tour to live audiences in January. That reports the 'Wall Street Journal'. The comedian joked, "What everyone wants to know...did it hurt? Yeah, hell, it hurt!" He added: "He played Muhammad Ali, I played Pookie." With that, Chris was alluding to film roles. Will Smith played the famous boxer, while Chris Rock played a loser as Pookie in 'New Jack City'. "I got hit so hard, 'Summertime' rang in my ears," he continued, referring to Will Smith's hit song. At least Chris Rock will be safe at this year's awards.

US actor Michael B. Jordan (36, "Creed III – Rocky's Legacy") has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Wearing a cobalt blue suit, he unveiled his plaque on Wednesday. As the movie star prepared to receive one of the top awards in the entertainment industry, he beamed with pride while his friends, actor Jonathan Majors, 33, and director-writer Ryan Coogler, 36, gave heartfelt speeches praising his career.

The 2,751. person with a star
Coogler recalled her first encounter with Jordan at a Starbucks near Universal Studios. Speaking about working together on Black Panther, he said his late pal Chadwick Boseman (1976-2020) was probably looking at them right now and smiling.

Majors was next on the podium. Among other things, he said, according to "NBC News": "I am very honored to call you my friend...no man on this planet deserves that more...I love you to the moon and back."

Jordan is the 2,751. Person who received a star on the Walk of Fame. A day earlier, actress Courteney Cox (58) received the 2750th plaque - she was celebrated on site by her former "Friends" colleagues.

On March 1st, the third season of the hugely popular "Star Wars" series "The Mandalorian" returns to the Disney+ streaming service. In an interview with news agency Spot on News, Jon Favreau (56), the series creator, reveals what viewers and fans can expect in the new episodes, how the Baby Yoda character is brought to life, and what fascinated him about the Star Wars saga as a child.

During the interview, Favreau recalls being ten years old when he first saw the original "Star Wars" trilogy. As a child growing up in the 1970s, he remembers there wasn't much sci-fi with visual effects, aside from 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, when he saw the Star Destroyer fly over him in the cinema hall, he was blown away by the massive size of the Imperial Star Destroyer in one shot.

Every scene and every single shot is etched into my memory - I believe many people feel the same way. Waiting for the door to open, as it finally does, Darth Vader walks through, silhouetted in black against the white corridors of the ship, with the droids... Laughter echoed throughout the cinema hall and excitement filled the air. It was the first time I had seen a film that was truly made for my generation.

Back then, there were plenty of adult movies, as well as Disney cartoons and such. However, "Star Wars" was the first to be produced with the quality of a major Hollywood production, yet tailored to me as a child.

Many viewers loved the ending of the previous season of The Mandalorian. What can fans expect this time?

Favreau: Well, we'll see how the characters have changed. They were separated for a long time and then reunited in a few episodes of The Book of Boba Fett. We also saw that Grogu was trained as a Jedi. Grogu is no longer the helpless little baby he was when the Mandalorian first rescued him.

The Mandalorian has some things to put right because he took off his helmet. The only way to redeem himself is to return to his home planet, which has been destroyed, and track down the Mandalore mines. So there's room for many different types of adventures, different from what we've seen in the past. At the same time, a world is visited that has not yet been seen in this form in live-action series or films.

Judging by the trailers, we will also see a lot more of the character Bo-Katan Kryze, played by Katee Sackhoff. What can viewers expect from her?

Favreau: If you have seen The Clone Wars series, you actually know Bo-Katan pretty well. She has also appeared here and there on our show. She is a Mandalorian warrior, but she comes from a very different culture where Mandalorians take off their helmets.

The main character, Din Djarin, maintains a much more dogmatic, old-fashioned style. On the other hand, Bo-Katan comes from a more modern, secular tradition, and the two different styles don't seem to get along. Now, in Season 3, we see how the two groups interact. There used to be tension when single individuals met, but now we see what happens when a large crowd of them comes together.

A more general question, do you get occasional visits from George Lucas? Was he on set for the show's third season?

Favreau: We are in contact, and he stopped by a few times. I'm not sure which season it was, but we definitely got to see him. He looks at the different series, and not only we but also other filmmakers from the "Star Wars" world are getting in touch with him more and more. You realize what a fantastic resource he is and how much he still cares about Star Wars.

While he is not the one who tells the stories on a day-to-day basis - not like he was when he was the author of everything - he is still very generous in sharing his insights and knowledge. They are always available to us, to myself, and to other filmmakers. I think that's invaluable.

Do the "Star Wars" fans occasionally scare you personally? Sometimes, there are very strong reactions to individual films and series...

Favreau: Well, recently, what has changed is that there are so many ways to communicate. Because of social networks, there is so much feedback. It quickly creates the feeling that there are thousands of different voices out there. But basically, it has always been like this. People have always been temperamental, for or against the movies, especially Star Wars, even when I was a kid. The only difference today is that back then, it took place at school or work, in the break room, or the canteen.

In my experience, most filmmakers and storytellers have found a healthy balance in that regard. You get a sense of what the group is thinking because it's important to know if they like something or are disappointed by it. As for individual comments, though, I think right now, something programmed for conflict is being highlighted by the nature of social media algorithms - not just Star Wars. Therefore, one should not get lost in the reactions and study them too closely.

"Star Wars" fans know that Baby Yoda, or Grogu, is actually a moving doll. At the same time, computer-generated images are also used to create the end result. How exactly does this work?

Favreau: We use many different combinations of techniques. Most of the time, it's actually an animatronic doll, although we have different specimens and equipment. In the meantime, however, the demands on the doll are increasing, as it has to manage things like running or jumping. Our partners at Legacy Effects are developing various equipment for this.

However, from time to time, it's also necessary to use a bit of CGI, like when removing the bars holding the puppet or when the control team is in the picture. Then we have to remove them.

And there are times when he does something particularly acrobatic. Then we replace him completely with CGI, but we really try to limit that. In addition, the CGI model should move as if it were a doll. The aesthetics of the character represented by a puppet are very important to us - just like the original Yoda.

The organizers of the Cannes Film Festival announced on Tuesday that Swedish director Ruben Östlund will be the president of the jury for this year's festival on the French Riviera. The 48-year-old filmmaker expressed that he was "happy, proud and honored" to receive the appointment. The other jury members and the nominated films will be revealed in March.

Östlund received the Palme d'Or for Best Director at Cannes last May for his biting social satire "Triangle of Sadness". The film has also been nominated for three categories at the upcoming Oscars, which will be held in less than two weeks. Östlund had previously won his first Palme d'Or in 2017 for his film "The Square".