Culture news · 29 October 2026
Prime Video Releases Turkish AI Drama "Castle Walls" Globally
Amazon Prime Video has launched *Castle Walls*, a Turkish production billed as an AI-first streaming milestone, though human creative contributions complicate that label and a scathing review challenges its artistic payoff.
Barbara Barrie, Oscar- and Tony-Nominated Stage and Screen Star, Dies at 95
Actress Barbara Barrie, a original cast member of Stephen Sondheim's Broadway *Company* and Oscar nominee for *Breaking Away*, died on October 28 at her Manhattan home at age 95 following a terminal cancer diagnosis.
Guggenheim Heir Moves to Abu Dhabi Ahead of Landmark Museum Opening
Dillon Lawson-Johnston, great-great-grandson of Solomon R. Guggenheim, has relocated to Abu Dhabi with his family as the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi — the network's largest museum ever, designed by Frank Gehry — prepares to open on Saadiyat Island on 11 December 2026.
Skydance Begins Trading on NYSE With an $80 Billion Debt Load
Skydance Corp. started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on October 6 after its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closed, leaving the new media giant carrying roughly $80 billion in pro forma long-term debt and setting debt reduction as CEO David Ellison's most pressing task.
Declan O'Rourke Releases Eighth Studio Album 'Oceanic' Recorded in Sydney
Irish singer-songwriter Declan O'Rourke has released his eighth studio album, Oceanic, recorded in Sydney with Midnight Oil's Jim Moginie, and will support it with live dates across Ireland in October and November.