LONDON: American actor Vin Diesel marked his return to the “xXx” franchise at the European premiere of “xXx: Return of Xander Cage” in London on Wednesday.
Diesel, also known for the “Fast & Furious” series, first appeared as crime-fighting government agent Xander Cage in 2002’s “xXx.”
He skipped the sequel “xXx2: The Next Level,” which was led by Ice Cube and Willem Dafoe, but has now made a comeback in the third installment of the series.
This chapter sees Cage end his self-imposed exile and recruit a new team to recover a sinister weapon called Pandora’s Box, according to studio Paramount Pictures.
“I wanted to make a movie that was just pure fun and I wanted to laugh on screen,” Diesel said.
Recalling his stunts he said: “The whole opening sequence was truly extreme, snowless skiing and long boarding. It was too much fun.”
Ruby Rose, who plays sniper Adele Wolff, praised her co-star Diesel saying: “There is nobody else like him in the world. He’s a beautiful soul with the biggest heart.”
Rose was joined by her fellow leading ladies Hermione Corfield, Indian actress Deepika Padukone and Nina Dobrev as well as producer Jeff Kirschenbaum and Thai martial artist Tony Jaa — who also entertained fans with some impromptu karaoke.
“xXx: Return of Xander Cage” begins its global theatrical rollout from Jan 18.
Deepika sizzles at London premiere of ‘xXx’
Deepika sizzles at London premiere of ‘xXx’
Second doctor in Matthew Perry overdose case sentenced to home confinement
- Dr. Mark Chavez, 55, a onetime San Diego-based physician, pleaded guilty in federal court in October
- Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett also sentenced Chavez to 300 hours of community service
LOS ANGELES: A second California doctor was sentenced on Tuesday to eight months of home confinement for illegally supplying “Friends” star Matthew Perry with ketamine, the powerful sedative that caused the actor’s fatal drug overdose in a hot tub in 2023.
Dr. Mark Chavez, 55, a onetime San Diego-based physician, pleaded guilty in federal court in October to a single felony count of conspiracy to distribute the prescription anesthetic and surrendered his medical license in November.
Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett also sentenced Chavez to 300 hours of community service. As part of his plea agreement, Chavez admitted to selling ketamine to another physician Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 44, who in turn supplied the drug to Perry, though not the dose that ultimately killed the performer. Plasencia, who pleaded guilty to four counts of unlawful drug distribution, was sentenced earlier this month to 2 1/2 years behind bars.
He and Chavez were the first two of five people convicted in connection with Perry’s ketamine-induced death to be sent off to prison.
The three others scheduled to be sentenced in the coming weeks — Jasveen Sangha, 42, a drug dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen;” a go-between dealer Erik Fleming, 56; and Perry’s former personal assistant, Iwamasa, 60.
Sangha admitted to supplying the ketamine dose that killed Perry, and Iwamasa acknowledged injecting Perry with it. It was Iwamasa who later found Perry, aged 54, face down and lifeless, in the jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023.
An autopsy report concluded the actor died from the acute effects of ketamine,” which combined with other factors in causing him to lose consciousness and drown.
Perry had publicly acknowledged decades of substance abuse, including the years he starred as Chandler Bing on the hit 1990s NBC television series “Friends.”
According to federal law enforcement officials, Perry had been receiving ketamine infusions for treatment of depression and anxiety at a clinic where he became addicted to the drug.
When doctors there refused to increase his dosage, he turned to unscrupulous providers elsewhere willing to exploit Perry’s drug dependency as a way to make quick money, authorities said. Ketamine is a short-acting anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties that is sometimes prescribed to treat depression and other psychiatric disorders. It also has seen widespread abuse as an illicit party drug.
