You’re far from alone, according to a German study released Thursday decrying a “dramatic” decline in book readership as more time is spent online.

The number of people buying books in Germany plummeted by nearly 18 percent between 2013 and 2017, the study commissioned by the German Publishers and Booksellers Association found.

The drop was even steeper at 24 to 37 percent among those aged 20 to 50 — the same age group that now spends more than three hours a day on the internet.

“There’s growing social pressure to constantly react and be tuned in so you don’t get left behind,” Boersenverein head Alexander Skipis said in a statement accompanying the study, titled “Book buyers, where are you going?”.

Streaming services like Netflix with their binge-worthy television series in particular “exert a great appeal” and frequently replace books as a pastime, it said.

The findings are likely to make for grim reading in a country that prides itself on being well-read and is home to the world’s largest book fair.

The study, for which the GfK polling firm questioned 25,000 people, revealed that the long-held truism that every second German was a book buyer no longer stood up.

Last year just 44 percent of Germans over the age of 10 — or 29.6 million people — bought a book.

On a brighter note for the industry, those that are still bookworms are reading and spending more than before.

The average customer bought 12 books last year, up from 11 in 2013. The total amount spent jumped from around 117 euros ($138) to 137 euros.

The story is similar among e-books, with customer numbers slipping nearly eight percent between 2016 and 2017 to 3.5 million, but the amount of titles purchased per person went up.

Reacting to the findings, the Publishers and Booksellers Association said the industry should seize the opportunity to present books as an antidote to today’s hectic, digital world.

“People are yearning for a time-out,” said Skipis, stressing that all age groups reported having a “very positive” attitude towards books.

Some respondents offered their own suggestions for how to better incorporate books in their lives.

These ranged from apps that made personalised recommendations to encounters with fans and authors to make the reading experience more interactive, and putting books in unexpected places like the gym.

Celestial Tiger Entertainment, operator of the largest collection of pan-Asian channels dedicated to Asian entertainment, has announced that it is once again working with the Hong Kong Tourism Board to film the second year of the reality series “Extreme Ends”.

Set in Hong Kong, “Extreme Ends” showcases the richness and diversity of the island, where travellers can experience the best of everything and discover Hong Kong like a local. The four-episode series, slated to begin production in July, will follow the adventures of four celebrities from four different Southeast Asian countries, Thailand among them.

Each celebrity will bring along a travel companion to experience the “extreme” sides of Hong Kong, showing the SAR’s trendy attributes.

Casting has already begun in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, to identify celebrities with vibrant personalities, off-the-chart energy levels and a huge appetite for adventure.

“We are delighted that Hong Kong Tourism Board has come aboard once more to collaborate with us on an original idea that will put a different spin on travel shows,” says Andy Chang, senior vice president of advertising sales, marketing and original productions, Celestial Tiger Entertainment.

“With the success of our previous collaboration, we are certain ‘Extreme Ends’ will show viewers across Asia a completely different side of Hong Kong, and perhaps, a different side of the celebrity cast they have not seen before.”

Betty Tsui, vice president, programming – KIX and Thrill, Celestial Tiger Entertainment concurs, adding, “We are thrilled to produce another exciting and extremely entertaining destination series which goes beyond conventional travelogues. For ‘Extreme Ends’, we plan to utilise different shooting techniques to demonstrate the extreme contrasts more dramatically. This ensures our action-loving and adventure-seeking KIX audience will see the most interesting extremes Hong Kong has to offer.”

For his part, Raymond Chan, regional director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, is delighted to be partnering once again with Celestial Tiger Entertainment.

“Hong Kong remains a destination of choice for its diversified dining options, shopping experiences, nightlife and events; as well as thrilling adventures overseeing breathtaking natural scenery. The celebrities from the different Southeast Asian countries in the series will definitely bring new insights and inspire the audience to create their very own authentic experiences when they visit Hong Kong, and discover Hong Kong like a local,” he says.

CTE’s previous collaboration with the tourist board, “The Ultimate BROcation”, followed the adventures of four male celebrities from across Asia as they went on the ultimate holiday of every guy’s fantasy in Hong Kong.

CTE operates various pay television services including: Celestial Movies, the 24-hour first-run Chinese movie channel that goes out through TrueVisions, CCM, the world’s mostwidely distributed Chinese movie channel with an unparalleled array of Chinese movie masterpieces and KIX, which Thai viewers can watch on the KIK HD Channel 257 on cable TV TOT iptv.

Find out more at http://www.CelestialTiger.com and http://www.DiscoverHongKong.com.

Five of Singapore’s best films make their debut in Bangkok next week as the island state stages the fifth edition of the Singapore Film Festival at SF World Cinema from Thursday to June 17.

The event aims to strengthen diplomatic relations between the two Asean countries and promote cultural exchange. The past four events have been a big success with full houses at almost all the screenings. All films come with Thai and English subtitles and admission is free, with tickets given out prior to each show on a first-come, first-served basis. The five Singaporean films featured are:

Ramen The

After his father’s death, young chef Masato leaves his hometown in Japan and goes to Singapore in search of the truth about his past. In the process, he not only learns about his late Singaporean mother and her family, but also experiences the delightful flavours of local cuisine. He is inspired to create a new fusion dish that combines Ramen and Singapore’s iconic Bak Kut Teh (pork rib soup) – will he succeed?

Chennai 2 Singapore

Struggling filmmaker Harish travels from Chennai to Singapore in the hope of finding a producer for his film. But soon after arriving, he loses his passport and his prospective financier falls into a coma. As Harish stumbles through a series of hilarious misadventures, he bumps into Roshini, who is battling cancer, and is attracted to her. Will Harish reverse his bad fortune and find what his heart is searching for?

667

Specially commissioned by the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, this five-part anthology by five budding Singaporean filmmakers showcases their creative reflections as they embark on a journey in search of their heritage and cultural roots and how they make Singapore their home.

My Love Sinema

Set in colonial Singapore of the 1950s, this film tells the story of Kheong, a young man who moves from a village to the city in order to pursue his ambition of being a film projectionist. There, he falls in love with Wei, a young teacher who finds herself torn between her obligations as a dutiful daughter and her feelings for Kheong.

Diamond Dogs

A stage-three cancer diagnosis leaves Johnny, who is deaf and mute, in despair. With little else to lose, he agrees to join a deadly underground social experiment funded by the elite. The experiment pits fighters against one another in a test of animalistic aggression and adrenaline. Johnny’s battle to the top is brutal, fuelled by a fiery desire to take revenge on the man who caged him.

Already a hot favourite thanks to his role in the Netflix series “Something in the Rain”, South Korean actor Jung Hae-in was in Thailand last Saturday for a sold-out fan meeting at the 800-seat Ultra Arena at Show DC. Not one to waste an opportunity, Netflix quickly organised an interview for him with the press on Sunday morning at the Grand Centre Point Hotel on Soi Thonglor.

The boyish 31-year-old, who is rising fast on the ladder of K drama, has won fans with his sweet smile. He’s modest about it too, shedding a tear when fans at the meet and greet showed him a video clip of how they followed his work while waiting for him to come to Bangkok.

“It was very moving. I received great love from the Thai fans. I really want to come back again with another great project to be able to return all the love that I’ve received. Thais have such beautiful smiles,” says the actor, adding that he came to Thailand with his parents when he was very young but couldn’t remember much about it and on this occasion, he’s been too busy to visit the country properly.

Jung began his career when he was 26, which is late for an actor. Although he only had minor roles at first, he quickly gained recognition for his work in such dramas as “Blood”, “Goblin” and especially 2017’s “While You Were Sleeping”, in which he stole the limelight from the protagonists Lee Jongsok and Bae Suzy. His first lead role came in “Something in the Rain’ in which he co-stars with Korean superstar Son Yaejin. Jung plays Seo Joon-hee, a game designer in his early 30s who has just come back from working in the US. He falls in love with his elder sister’s best friend Yoon Jinah (Son Yaej-in) but the age gap as well as his occupation become an obstacle to winning acceptance from both their families.

The series was first aired on the JTBC TV channel in Korea before Netflix brought it to an international audience. Korean dramas rarely feature romances between a young man and an older woman but the chemistry between the couple quickly turned the series into a major hit.

Son is older than Jung in real life and has more experience in TV dramas. The actor admits he was so nervous when they first met, he couldn’t make eye contact with her. That changed in front of the cameras and the two found a chemistry that had the fans going wild.

“From my experience, the most important thing in a drama is trust. It’s hard to find at first but once there is complete trust, your reactions, your movements and the way you speak come naturally,” explains the actor.

“I think the series has done well outside Korea because it’s about love and everyone can relate to that. I also believe that the soundtrack had a lot to do with it as well,” he says.

Jettisoned into the spotlight, Jung has now become a much sought-after model and a presenter for many products. He earned the Most Popular Actor prize at the recent Baek-Sang Arts Awards and set off on a fan meeting tour that started in Taipei and will also take him to Hong Kong and Manila.

The actor admits that the 16-episode series has been very positive for his career. “As the main character, I quickly learned how to approach the role and carry it through the entire drama. The experience will definitely stand me in good stead,” he says, adding that while they are some similarities between the man he plays and the man he is in real life, there are also many differences.

“Seo is very mature and very serious, traits which I also share. But I’m not as funny and witty as he is, probably because he’s studied abroad and is freer.”

The success of “Something” has changed his life. “A lot of people recognise me and are cheering me, which is great, but there are also a lot of expectations for my next drama or for my next project. That gives me a sense of responsibility about being able to carry the weight of a leading role,” he adds.

“I want to be recognised as someone who delivers joy and happiness to the audience, so they can escape from the burdens of their daily life while they’re watching. That’s what being an actor is all about.”

“It is a good thing they are exposing them,” Allen told Argentina’s Canal 13 television network.

The publication of bombshell articles about movie mogul Harvey Weinstein in October has triggered a watershed moment that has since felled the careers of dozens of powerful men across a variety of industries.

“I should be the poster boy of the MeToo movement. I’ve worked in movies for 50 years, I’ve worked with hundreds of actresses, and not a single one has ever suggested any kind of impropriety at all,” he continued, adding that the women working in production in his films had all been paid the same as men.

The 82-year-old actor and director said that he was frustrated he was being bracketed with abusers exposed by the movement over allegations he molested his adoptive daughter, Dylan Farrow, in 1992 when she was seven years old.

He was cleared of the charges, first leveled by his then-wife Mia Farrow, after two separate monthslong investigations.

“People who have been accused by 20 women, 50 women, 100 women of abuse and abuse and abuse, and I — who was only accused by one woman in a child custody case, which was looked at and proven to be untrue — I get lumped in with these people,” Allen said.

“This is just so crazy. This is something that has been thoroughly looked at 25 years ago by all the authorities, and everybody came to the conclusion that it was untrue. And that was the end, and I’ve gone on with my life.

“And now, for it to come back now, it’s a terrible thing to accuse a person of. I’m a man with a family and my own children. So of course it’s upsetting.”

The allegations resurfaced in the wake of the #MeToo movement, leading a string of actors Allen has worked with to distance themselves from him.

Moses Farrow, the adopted son of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen, released a lengthy personal essay last month, disputing the story and accusing his mother of abuse.

The series first aired on ABC in January 1977. “Roots” received 37 Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won nine. It also won a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings for the finale, which still holds a record as the thirdhighestrated episode for any type of television series, and the secondmost watched overall series finale in US television history. The series introduced LeVar Burton in the role of Kunta Kinte.

A sequel, “Roots: The Next Generations”, first aired in 1979, and a second sequel, “Roots: The Gift”, a Christmas TV movie, starring Burton and Louis Gossett Jr, first aired in 1988. A related film, Alex Haley’s Queen”, is based on the life of Queen Jackson Haley, who was Alex Haley’s paternal grandmother.

In 2016, a remake of the original miniseries, with the same name, was commissioned by the History channel and screened by the channel on Memorial Day.

A saga of AfricanAmerican life, based on Haley’s family history, the central character Kunta Kinte is abducted from his African village, sold into slavery, and taken to America. He makes several escape attempts until he is finally caught and maimed. He marries Bell, his plantation’s cook, and they have a daughter, Kizzy, who is eventually sold away from them. Kizzy has a son by her new master, and the boy grows up to become Chicken George. He’s a legendary cock fighter who leads his family into freedom. Throughout the series, the family observes notable events in US history, such as the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, slave uprisings, and emancipation.

Subscribers to telecom company Du in the UAE also confirmed they were once again receiving pictures from the giant Qatar sports broadcaster after channels were blocked for more than 24 hours.

“A deal has just been signed and programmes are back on Du,” said the source on condition of anonymity.

Earlier on Sunday, beIN said “lengthy” talks had broken down and their programmes would not be carried on Du — including games from the upcoming World Cup.

Du is one of only two telecom companies in the UAE — the other being Etisalat — to show channels from beIN, which has exclusive rights to show all 64 World Cup matches live across the Gulf.

Services to Du had been interrupted since Saturday, with the UAE firm saying the blank screens were the result of action taken by beIN.

The contract squabble came not only less than a fortnight before the World Cup starts but also on the eve of the one-year anniversary of a diplomatic dispute between the countries, raising tensions between Doha and Dubai.

A group of countries including the UAE cut all ties with Qatar on June 5, 2017, accusing Doha of supporting extremism and being too close to regional rival Iran. Qatar denies the allegations.

In the immediate aftermath of the diplomatic crisis beIN channels were blocked in the UAE, but were back on air by July last year.

And as well as ongoing political tensions, beIN says its channels are being pirated in a sophisticated operation across the region, with pictures broadcast illegally by a company called beoutQ.

The source earlier told AFP that the dispute with Du had been caused by ongoing commercial negotiations over TV carriage rights, and had nothing to do with political tensions or pirating claims.

BeIN has urged FIFA to launch legal action against those bootlegging their broadcasts in the region.

Eighty years after his debut in Action Comics #1, dated June 1938, Superman is still an American cultural icon, the hero of reference and the undisputed star of DC Comics.

And today, the comic book publisher — also known for Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and Green Lantern, among others — is counting on Superman more than ever.

“He is the mold people worked with, the template for the idea of a superhero,” explains Jared Smith, who works in a comic book store in Washington.

“Superman is a very idealized character. They call him the Boy Scout of America. He always does the right thing and tries do to the good thing.”

In Action Comics #1, 13 pages were dedicated to the story of Kal-El, an alien from the planet Krypton with supernatural strength, sent to Earth by his father before his home planet was destroyed.

Superman’s debut was a smash success. A year later, DC Comics gave the Man of Steel his own book, and introduced another formidable hero: Batman.

Eighty years on, the formula has not changed: Superman has more or less always appeared in his red, blue and yellow suit with the “S” symbol on the chest.

In his appearances on the silver and small screen, in comic strips and videogames, he has fought for truth, justice and the “American Way.”

In Illinois, the town of Metropolis — which shares a name with Superman’s fictional home — organizes an annual festival celebrating the hero.

This summer, on the heels of a “Man of Steel” mini-series, DC Comics will reboot the standalone “Superman” series. For the challenge, they tapped Brian Michael Bendis, a legend in the genre who worked for two decades at rival publisher Marvel.

“You always feel the legacy of the character when you hop on, and I’ve had that joy a couple of times, but there’s something different about Superman,” Bendis said in an interview with pop culture website Nerdist.

“I think there’s something fascinating about the fact that not only did this character invent the genre but it stayed true and became the core, soul, and center of the genre for the entirety of its existence.”

– Too perfect?-

Superman is an immigrant on Earth, raised by a farmer and his wife from infancy in fictional Smallvillle.

Eventually, he takes the name Clark Kent, moves to Metropolis and becomes a journalist.

His two creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, were Jewish high school students when they first came up with the idea for Superman.

Their parents were immigrants, and their character personified the American dream — a metaphor for immigrants who fled Europe in the 1930s for the peace and prosperity of America.

It’s a theme that Bendis plans to pick up.

“People would come from all over the world just to live in Metropolis, to be watched over by the most famous immigrant,” Bendis told The Washington Post.

“It’s not going to be this huge message, it’s just going to be there — just flavor, the way we see the world.”

From time to time in the past, Superman’s popularity waned — his chiseled perfection was sometimes too much for an imperfect audience, who turned to Spider-Man and the X-Men, whose flaws they could identify with more readily.

“They made him so powerful as a character that there was nothing that could really threaten him, so after that, they introduced the idea of Kryptonite from his planet that could take away some of his powers,” Smith explains.

To keep Superman in step with society, writers tried to keep him in sync with political and societal changes of the times — in 1978, he met boxing legend Muhammad Ali, who took him to the ghettos of Metropolis.

More recently, Superman wanted to surrender his American nationality in protest at the government, which he felt had betrayed him.

In another storyline, he saved migrant workers from a white supremacist, a nod to far-right violence seen in some corners of the country.

Smith even recalls that the Man of Steel had something of a “socialist start,” fighting capitalists “who were taking too much money or not treating their workers well” in the 1930s and 1940s.

As ever, he fights for the American Way, whatever the definition.

Tickets for all shows were sold out by midday of the cult cinema’s final curtain.

Even the popcorn was sold out before the last show began.

Fans unable to grab tickets snapped the last photos and selfies, freezing their last moments at their beloved moviehouse. Inside, boards were plastered with colourful notes reflecting the emotional connection among many filmgoers, including “Thank you for screening quality films … we’ll miss you” and “Goodbye my friend, Lido”.

It was a memorable night for film lovers from different generations. I was among the audience of 270 who savoured the last screening at 8.30pm – silent films from the early years of filmmaking that highlighted cinema culture and its value, and were accompanied by live piano.

The final screening, the closing film in the fifth edition of the Silent Film Festival, was a special treat organised by the Film Archive as a fond farewell for this pioneer art house.

It featured the 1926 US Shortfilm, “45 Minutes from Hollywood” and the newly restored 1924 US feature “Sherlock Jr”. The comedic silent films were even more fun with the lively synchronized piano by Richard Siedhoff.

The hour-long delight ended with loud applause as the big screen turned white and the light broke the darkness.

The spotlight then turned to the guys behind the projector room, who also were honoured with loud audience applause, and returned the respect with wais to the audience. Fans captured the moments with snapshots.

Stepping out of the cinema, the audience appeared surprise as the dozens of members of the theatre’s team greeted them. Led by the owners of Apex Cinema, the crew in typical – men in yellow suits and women in pink – offered their thank-yous and goodbyes with warm and respectful “wai” gestures.

As my eyes watered, a staff member in her official pink touched my hand and suggested I meet them again at the Scala, the sister cinema run by Apex and now the only surviving stand-alone cinema in the heart of Bangkok.

The Lido’s landlord – Chulalongkorn University’s property management office – later confirmed the impending demise of the building in a Facebook post, but were ambiguous about the planned fate of neighbouring Scala Theatre.

The property office wrote that it aimed to develop the land and would therefore be ending Lido’s lease by May.

The Film Archive is joining with urban conservationists, architects and cinema lovers in a campaign to save the Scala.

Production has begun on the sequel to smash hit “Maleficent”, Disney announced on Tuesday, with Elle Fanning and Angelina Jolie reprising their roles as Sleeping Beauty and her conflicted surrogate mother.

The movie is being filmed at Pinewood Studios, near London and in locations around Britain, the world’s largest movie studio said in statement.

“It’s bring your mum to work day on the Maleficent II set,” 20-year-old Fanning joked in an Instagram post that had been shared a quarter of a million times within an hour.

Alongside the message, she posted a picture of her in front of a laughing Jolie, who was in the famous “Maleficent” horns, as well as a pair of sunglasses and a toweling bathrobe.

“Maleficent”, a modern retelling of the life of Sleeping Beauty’s archnemesis, cast an instant spell on audiences in 2014, debuting at the top of the North American box office and going on to gross more than $750 million (Bt24 billion) worldwide.

Joining Fanning and Jolie for the latest adventure are Oscar nominees Michelle Pfeiffer (“Dangerous Liaisons”, “Ant-Man and the Wasp”) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave”, “Doctor Strange”).

Disney also confirmed that acclaimed British stage and screen actor Robert Lindsay (“Wimbledon”) would be among the newcomers, while Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville return from the original movie.

In the sequel, directed by Joachim Ronning (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”), Disney’s most notorious villain continues to explore her complex relationship with Princess Aurora, the soon-to-be queen, as they form alliances against new adversaries.

Fan reaction on social media was mostly positive, with much of the excitement being generated over the addition of screen legend Pfeiffer, 60, to the cast. Disney began scouring its back catalogue in the 1990s for animated classics that it could turn into live-action remakes – a strategy that has so far netted several billion dollars.

Tim Burton’s “Dumbo”, Guy Ritchie’s “Aladdin” and Jon Favreau’s “The Lion King” are all due for release next year, while “The Little Mermaid” will see Lin-Manuel Miranda of “Hamilton” fame collaborating with legendary Disney composer Alan Menken.

Two remakes of “Peter Pan” are in the works along with new versions of “Fantasia”, “Pinocchio”, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and “The Sword in the Stone”.