Godzilla has morphed over the years, but one constant is the devotion of its fans, who celebrated the Japanese monster’s 70th anniversary at the pop culture convention Comic-Con.The Japanese studio Toho, which created Godzilla, maintains a calendar of events to celebrate the beast often called the king of monsters, and Comic-Con is on the agenda.Godzilla was born on November 3, 1954 with the launch of the first movie about it, directed by Ishiro Honda. “I am a very big fan of Godzilla,” said Angela Hill, a teacher who traveled from Arizona to take part in Comic-Con, which this year featured events and displays celebrating Godzilla.One of the world’s largest celebrations of pop culture, Comic-Con brings together 130,000 people, many of whom come dressed as wizards, princesses or characters from movies, games or TV series.As the story of Godzilla goes, a prehistoric amphibious beast is awakened and mutated by nuclear bomb testing in the Pacific. It emerges from the sea and attacks Japan in a rage, symbolizing the deadly power of nukes.”I think because he came from such a historic event — like, a lot of other monsters are just interesting creatures, but they don’t hold the grief of a nation,” Hill said, referring to the US nuclear bomb attacks against Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II.At the pop culture watering hole in San Diego, people lined up to shoot pictures and video with an image of Godzilla, which was also the theme of a panel discussion on Friday that featured Shinji Higuchi, who co-directed a reboot in 2016 called “Shin Godzilla.”The movie franchise includes nearly 40 films and has spawned hundreds of animated productions about the monster as well as TV series and graphic work.- ‘Rooting for him’ – On Saturday the writers Ed Godziszewski and Steve Ryfle signed autographs of their book “Godzilla: The First 70 Years,” which sold out at Comic-Con. “It’s a rich history,” Ryfle told AFP.”This is the longest running feature film franchise in cinematic history that’s focused on a single, continuous character. It’s been around longer than James Bond.”He said the key to its longevity is that Godzilla has evolved over time but stayed faithful to its origins.”Godzilla has been serious, it’s been scary, it’s been heroic, it’s been funny. But at the same time this is a movie character that’s rooted in something that’s very real,” Ryfle said.”And that’s the trauma that Japan experienced, both during World War II, and also the trauma of the aftermath of World War II, the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” he added.He said Honda, who directed the first Godzilla movie, was a veteran who used the film to send a message against war and in particular against nuclear weapons.Michelle Pena, a Godzilla fan who waited in line to get the autograph of the two writers, said part of the monster’s charm is how it has changed over the years.”Good, bad, hero, anti-hero, you know. And I like that,” she said.”He’s not, like, lovable,” she added.”He’s a big dinosaur-looking thing, you know. He’s scary. But, like, you really, really find yourself rooting for him.”

Comic-Con fans pulled out their lightsabers Sunday to welcome “Star Wars” creator George Lucas to the prominent pop culture convention for the very first time.Attendees lined up for hours to grab a seat inside the 6,500-person capacity venue in San Diego, California to see the legendary filmmaker behind the “Indiana Jones” franchise speak at the event on its final day.Comic-Con, which draws some 130,000 attendees, has become an important platform for movie studios and their stars to showcase the latest film and television offerings, especially those with a genre fan base.”We’ve been waiting five decades for this!” said panel moderator Queen Latifah, who oversaw the discussion by Lucas and other filmmakers.Instead of discussing his film works, however, Lucas graced the convention to preview the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art — opening in Los Angeles in 2026 — which the director co-founded with his wife, businesswoman Mellody Hobson.”I’ve been collecting art since I was in college,” Lucas, 81, told the crowd, adding that he has amassed tens of thousands of pieces in his collection.”I’ve been doing this for 50 years now, and then it occurred to me that what am I going to do with it all because I, I refuse to sell it.”I could never do that, it’s just, it’s not what I think art is — I think it’s more about an emotional connection,” the director said.In his description of the museum, Lucas said the institution will feature a blend of works.They include illustrations by Normal Rockwell, Jessie Willcox Smith and N.C. Wyeth; artworks by Frida Kahlo, Jacob Lawrence, Charles White and Robert Colescott; and pieces by cartoonists and artists like Winsor McCay, Frank Frazetta and Jack Kirby.”This is sort of a temple to the people’s art,” he said in summation.The museum, housed in a sleek, curved building, will also feature items from Lucas’s films and other exclusive pieces.For the “Star Wars” mastermind, the museum aims to be a tribute to the importance of narrative art.”When you’re born, the baseline is fear. And as you go through life, you’re curious about things, but you’re especially curious about things you don’t understand, and therefore that’s a threat to you.”And as a result, you make up stories to make it feel good,” he continued.”Science fiction is a myth… but we’ve made it real because of science fiction books and art.”- ‘A critical moment’ -Among the other members of the panel were Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro and production designer Doug Chiang, who shaped the aesthetic of the “Star Wars” universe for decades.”What’s remarkable about George is that he leads from the heart, and this museum is him,” Chiang said. Del Toro, who will release his latest film “Frankenstein” in November, said many of the museum’s pieces will celebrate freedom of speech.”We are in a critical moment in which one of the things they like to disappear is the past, you know, and this is memorializing a popular, vociferous, expressive and eloquent moment in our visual past that belongs to all of us,” Del Toro said. The fantasy filmmaker also described comics as a medium with “a lot of social conscience” and joked that comic artists “were the first one to punch a Nazi” in their works.”What a panel!” said attendee Jesse Goldwater, who traveled to San Diego from Los Angeles. “They are the embodiment of Comic-Con itself, without them Comic-Con wouldn’t exist.”

The United States and European Union on Sunday clinched what President Donald Trump described as the “biggest-ever” deal to resolve a transatlantic tariff stand-off that threatened to explode into a full-blown trade war.Trump emerged from a high-stakes meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf resort in Scotland to announce that a baseline tariff of 15 percent would be levied on EU exports to the US.The deal, which the leaders struck in around an hour, came as the clock ticked down on an August 1 deadline to avoid an across-the-board US levy of 30 percent on European goods.”We’ve reached a deal. It’s a good deal for everybody. This is probably the biggest deal ever reached in any capacity,” said Trump.Trump said the 15-percent tariff would apply across the board, including for Europe’s crucial automobile sector, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.As part of the deal, Trump said the 27-nation EU bloc had agreed to purchase “$750 billion worth of energy” from the United States, as well as make $600 billion in additional investments.Von der Leyen said the “significant” purchases of US liquefied natural gas, oil and nuclear fuels would come over three years, as part of the bloc’s bid to diversify away from Russian sources.Negotiating on behalf of the EU’s 27 countries, von der Leyen had been pushing hard to salvage a trading relationship worth an annual $1.9 trillion in goods and services.”It’s a good deal,” the EU chief told reporters.”It will bring stability. It will bring predictability. That’s very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic,” she said.She said bilateral tariff exemptions had been agreed on a number of “strategic products,” notably aircraft, certain chemicals, some agricultural products and critical raw materials.Von der Leyen said the EU still hoped to secure further so-called “zero-for-zero” agreements, notably for alcohol, which she hoped to be “sorted out” in coming days.Trump also said EU countries — which recently pledged to ramp up their defence spending within NATO — would be purchasing “hundreds of billions of dollars worth of military equipment.”- ‘Best we could get’ -The EU has been hit by multiple waves of tariffs since Trump reclaimed the White House.It is currently subject to a 25-percent levy on cars, 50 percent on steel and aluminium, and an across-the-board tariff of 10 percent, which Washington threatened to hike to 30 percent in a no-deal scenario.The bloc had been pushing hard for tariff carve-outs for critical industries from aircraft to spirits, and its auto industry, crucial for France and Germany, is already reeling from the levies imposed so far.”Fifteen percent is not to be underestimated, but it is the best we could get,” acknowledged von der Leyen.Any deal will need to be approved by EU member states — whose ambassadors, on a visit to Greenland, were updated by the commission Sunday morning. They were set to meet again after the deal struck in Scotland.German Chancellor Friedrich Merz rapidly hailed the deal, saying it avoided “needless escalation in transatlantic trade relations”.But German exporters were less enthusiastic. The powerful BDI federation of industrial groups said the accord would have “considerable negative repercussions” while the country’s VCI chemical trade association said the accord left rates “too high”. The EU had pushed for a compromise on steel that could allow a certain quota into the United States before tariffs would apply.Trump appeared to rule that out, saying steel was “staying the way it is”, but the EU chief insisted later that “tariffs will be cut and a quota system will be put in place” for steel.- ‘The big one’ -While 15 percent is much higher than pre-existing US tariffs on European goods, which average around 4.8 percent, it mirrors the status quo, with companies currently facing an additional flat rate of 10 percent.Had the talks failed, EU states had greenlit counter tariffs on $109 billion (93 billion euros) of US goods including aircraft and cars to take effect in stages from August 7. Trump has embarked on a campaign to reshape US trade with the world, and has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive tariffs if they do not reach a pact with Washington by August 1.Asked what the next deal would be, Trump replied: “This was the big one. This is the biggest of them all.”burs-gv/jj

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” Disney’s hotly anticipated reboot of the Marvel Comics superhero franchise, conquered the North American weekend box office, earning $118 million and sidelining “Superman,” industry estimates showed Sunday.”Fantastic Four” — starring actor-of-the-moment Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Emmy winner Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn (“Stranger Things’) — tells the story of a team of heroes trying to save a retro-futuristic world from the evil Galactus.”This is an outstanding opening,” said David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. “‘Fantastic Four’ was a modest and struggling superhero series; it just caught up with the biggest and the best.””Superman,” the latest big-budget action film featuring the iconic superhero from Warner Bros. and DC Studios, slipped to second place at $24.9 million, Exhibitor Relations said.That puts the global take of the film, starring David Corenswet as the Man of Steel, over the $500 million mark.”Jurassic World: Rebirth” — the latest installment in the blockbuster dinosaur saga — finished in third place at $13 million. Its worldwide total stands at $672.5 million.The Universal film, starring Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali, takes viewers to an abandoned island research facility, where secrets — and genetically mutated dinosaurs — are lurking. “F1: The Movie,” the Apple and Warner Bros. flick starring Brad Pitt as a washed-up Formula One driver who gets one last shot at redemption, moved up to fourth place at $6.2 million.”Smurfs,” the latest film featuring the adorable blue creatures and starring Rihanna as Smurfette, slipped to fifth place in only its second week in theaters with $5.4 million in North American ticket sales.”The box office is on an excellent run that started two weeks ago,” Gross said.”These are not the good old days, but ‘Fantastic Four’ and ‘Superman’ are performing extremely well. Superheroes are showing some swagger, and it’s good news for the industry.”Rounding out the top 10 were:”I Know What You Did Last Summer” ($5.1 million)”How to Train Your Dragon” ($2.8 million)”Eddington” ($1.7 million)”Saiyaara” ($1.3 million)”Oh, Hi!” ($1.1 million)

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen clinched an agreement Sunday with US President Donald Trump to avoid crippling tariffs from hitting the bloc, with both leaders hailing a “good deal”.The stakes were high with a looming August 1 deadline and $1.9 trillion transatlantic trading relationship on the line.Many European businesses will breathe a sigh of relief after the leaders agreed the 27-country bloc will face a baseline levy of 15 percent instead of a threatened 30 percent — but the deal will not satisfy everyone.Here is what we know so far:- What did EU, US agree? -Both sides confirmed there will be a 15-percent across-the-board rate on a majority of EU goods — the same level secured by Japan this month — with bilateral tariff exemptions on some products.The deal will bring relief for the bloc’s auto sector, employing around 13 million people — and hit by Trump with 25-percent tariffs, on top of a pre-existing 2.5 percent.”Obviously, it is good news for the car industry. So Germany will be happy. And all the EU members with auto supply chains, they go from 27.5 to 15 percent,” said Jacob Funk Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute For International Economics.A 15-percent levy will remain “costly” for German automakers, “but it is manageable”, said trade geopolitics expert Elvire Fabry at the Jacques Delors Institute.While 15 percent is much higher than pre-existing US tariffs on European goods — averaging 4.8 percent — it mirrors the status quo, with companies currently facing an additional flat rate of 10 percent imposed by Trump since April.The EU also committed to buy $750 billion of liquefied natural gas, oil and nuclear fuels from the United States — split equally over three years — to replace Russian energy sources.And it will pour $600 billion more in additional investments in the United States.Trump said EU countries — which recently pledged to ramp up their defence spending within NATO — would be purchasing “hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of military equipment”.- Are there exemptions? -Von der Leyen said the 15-percent rate applied across most sectors, including semiconductors and pharmaceuticals — a critical export for Ireland, which the bloc has sought to protect.Trump in April launched probes that could lead to significantly steeper tariffs on the two key sectors, warning this month he could slap 200-percent levies on drugs.Brussels and Washington agreed a bilateral tariff exemption for key goods including aircraft, certain chemicals, semiconductor equipment, certain agricultural products and critical raw materials, von der Leyen said.The EU currently faces 50-percent tariffs on its steel exports to the United States, but von der Leyen said a compromise on the metal had been reached with Trump.”Between us, tariffs will be cut and a quota system will be put in place,” she said.It is understood that European steel would be hit with 50-percent levies only after a certain amount of the metal arrived in the United States, but no details were initially provided on the mechanism.- What happens next? -The deal needs to be approved by EU member states, whose ambassadors will meet first thing Monday morning for a debrief from the European Commission.And there are still technical talks to come, since the agreement needs to be fully fleshed out.Von der Leyen described the deal as a “framework” agreement. “Details have to be sorted out, and that will happen over the next weeks,” she said.In particular, she said there has yet to be a final decision on alcohol, critical since France and The Netherlands have been pushing for carve-outs for wine and beer respectively.”This is something which has to be sorted out in the next days,” von der Leyen said.