Hollywood figures Ridley Scott and Nicole Kidman make news

In Hollywood news, 12-year-old Diego Maggio was selected as an extra for Ridley Scott’s upcoming post-apocalyptic thriller, ‘The Dog Stars – Le stelle dopo la fine’. The film, based on a 2017 bestseller, depicts a world devastated by a pandemic. Filming took place in the hills and mountains between Belluno and Treviso, Italy, which the director chose to represent an untouched landscape inhabited by a community of Mennonites.

Separately, several high-profile figures in the film industry, including actress Nicole Kidman and Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao, have begun training to become ‘death doulas’. These end-of-life assistants provide emotional and physical support to individuals in their final days. Kidman’s interest reportedly stems from her experience following her mother’s passing in 2024, while Zhao sought training in the United Kingdom to confront her own fears regarding mortality.