Entertainment
What a Film's Age Rating Is Actually Measuring
U, PG, 12A, 15, 18: the letters on a cinema poster are the work of a long-running independent body with a published rulebook. Here is how the system works and where it is easy to misread.
Culture Desk
Stories by Culture Desk
Celebrity
When a Famous Face Is Also an Advert: The Rules on Paid Endorsement
A well-known person praising a product on social media is often an advertisement, and in the UK it is meant to look like one. A plain-English look at what the rules ask of the people who are paid to be seen.
Celebrity
Black Tie, White Tie and the Creative Kind: Reading a Red-Carpet Dress Code
Invitations to formal events come with a short phrase that decides the whole evening's wardrobe. What the traditional codes ask for, where the modern variations come from, and why the red carpet bends the rules.
Entertainment
A Viewer's Year in Film Festivals
Film festivals set the agenda long before a film reaches a cinema near you. A guide to the main ones, roughly when they happen, what each is known for, and how to use them to see what is coming.
Entertainment
How the Singles Chart Is Counted Now
The weekly UK singles chart is no longer a count of records sold. It is a weighted count of purchases and streams, and the weights decide which songs rise, which fall and how long they stay.
Celebrity
How to Read a Celebrity Profile
A profile of a famous person looks like a conversation, but it is usually the product of negotiation, timing and careful editing. Some habits for reading one with a little more attention to what is, and is not, being said.
Entertainment
Reading the Credits: Who Does What on a Film
The long scroll at the end of a film is a map of a very large collaboration. A guide to the main crafts, what each contributes to what you see and hear, and why knowing them makes watching richer.
Celebrity
Public Life, Private Moments: What the UK Press Code Says About Privacy
Being well known does not mean giving up every claim to a private life. What the Editors’ Code of Practice says about privacy, photography and harassment, and how it applies to people in the public eye.