Black Public Media Gifts $610K To Film And Immersive Media Projects At PitchBLACK Awards; Sam Pollard Gets BPM’s Trailblazer Award

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Roadmap Writers, a screenwriting education and training platform based in Los Angeles, is partnering with Hollywood producer Barry Josephson to identify short stories fit for film and television adaptation. The competition, open now and running through June 14, seeks commercial-leaning work and carries a cash prize of $7,000. The top three stories will be published on Roadmap Writers.

Ben Affleck made a colossal mistake on Sunday night’s livestream on Netflix. He was supposed to be there for the Roast of Tom Brady.

He may be sixth in line to the British throne, but Prince Archie's upbringing in Montecito, California is world's away from the centuries of Kings and Queens he descends from. Today, as Archie turns five, just how might the young royal be celebrating? "I wish we knew more about little Archie", former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond tells OK!.

Morgan Freeman, Olivier Marchal and Simone Ashley will be lauded at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival in June. Prince Albert II of Monaco will present Freeman with Festival’s Crystal Nymph award.

Rangers could be boosted by the return of Ibrox Old Firm hero Rabbi Matondo for Saturday's massive Scottish Premiership showdown against Celtic.

Annette Badland, the 71-year-old actress known for her role as Mrs Fitz in Outlander, has expressed her delight at being able to portray a Scottish character and honour her mother's heritage.

The latest Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures indicate that fraud and error in the benefit system is falling after the UK Government restated its determination to drive levels down further and protect taxpayers’ money. The most-recent national statistics show that in the 2022/23 financial year, fraud and error rates fell to 3.6 per cent (£8.3 billion) from 4.0 per cent (£8.7 billion) - figures for 2023/24 are due to be published next month.

EXCLUSIVE: A24 has acquired North American rights to Parthenope, the new film from Oscar winning filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino, ahead of its world premiere at the 77th Festival de Cannes.

Brent Lang Executive Editor FilmNation and Charades are teaming up to present “Alpha,” the new film from Julia Ducournau, to buyers at Cannes. It’s the same place where Ducournau caused a sensation with 2021’s “Titane,” her subversive and divisive body horror film, which won the Palme d’Or, the festival’s top award.

Daniel Zirilli, a prolific director, producer and writer of action films and more than 200 music videos including the Rolling Stones’ “Voodoo Lounge,” died April 28. He was 58.

Netflix is removing a number of titles from the platform this month as they make way for a whole new load of fresh content.While many films and television shows are being removed at the start of the month, there’s still time to catch some before they go.Among the list of titles leaving the UK service this month are Ad Astra, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Primal Fear.There are also a number of TV and comedy shows being taken off Netflix this month, as well as historical documentary Einsatzgruppen: The Nazi Death Squads and climbing documentary, The Wall: Climb For Gold.May 16 will see many films leaving the platform, including Winston Churchill biopic, Darkest Hour, Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds, and autobiographical drama movie starring Eminem, 8 Mile.Check out the full list of titles leaving Netflix UK this month (via What’s On Netflix).May 1AustenlandAwakeningsBaby GeniusesCoach CarterThe CoreGods Of EgyptHeatKnuckleKung Fu Panda 3Munafik 2MunichPrimal FearSinisterThe Skeleton KeyThe Story Of Film: A New GenerationSun Cry MoonSur Sapata13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of BenghaziColonyHarry Enfield’s Television ProgrammeIrisMediciEinsatzgruppen: The Nazi Death SquadsThe Wall: Climb For GoldBarbie Dreamhouse AdventuresOctonautsMay 2Bennett’s WarBoys Over FlowersLady DriverRopedThe Stand At Paxton County23 WalksChris Distefano: Speshy WeshyMay 3Despicable Me 3The SouvenirMay 5The Football FactoryResident EvilResident Evil: ExtinctionResident Evil: RetributionResident Evil: The Final ChapterThe Secret: Dare To DreamMay 6Daughters OfReminiscenceMay 8TaskmasterMay 10Ad AstraHigh CrimesThe Princess WeiyoungMay 11Studio 666May 15Big Momma’s HouseBig Mommas: Like Father, Like SonFantastic Mr FoxPure As SnowMay 168 MileDarkest

Alex Ritman In the coming months, British actors’ union Equity and producer trade body Pact are expected to kick off negotiations to thrash out new contracts that will cover the vast majority of U.K. TV and indie film. There’s going to be several major sticking points on the table, many that are near-identical to those that dominated the lengthy and fraught talks between SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP in the U.S.

Tony Hinchcliffe, the idea of conforming to these restrictions is as likely as finding a unicorn at a rodeo. “There’s no room for victim mentality here,” Hinchcliffe tells Variety. “When you step into a dark, dingy comedy club, what do you want to see? Think about it like a strip club.

Germany network RTL Deutschland has struck a long-term strategic deal with Wiedemann & Berg Film and the producer’s parent, Leonine Studios.

Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon) and Bowen Yang (SNL) have been tapped to star in a reimagining of Ang Lee’s classic romance The Wedding Banquet from filmmaker Andrew Ahn (Fire Island), Deadline can confirm.

Two NHS Ayrshire & Arran nurses have been announced as finalists at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) Scotland Nurse of the Year awards.

Outlander’s Sam Heughan has spoken out about the upcoming spin-off series Blood of my Blood that is currently filming in Scotland alongside the eighth and final season of Outlander. It’s a prequel of sorts thanks to the original series’ time-travelling timelines that will delve into the early lives of Jamie’s parents in the 18th century, and also focus on Claire Fraser’s parents in England during World War I.

Naman Ramachandran Studiocanal’s Amy Winehouse biopic “Back to Black” stayed atop the U.K. and Ireland box office for the second consecutive weekend with £1.8 million ($2.3 million), according to numbers from Comscore. The film now has a running total of £6.3 million.

GLAAD said Tuesday that Jennifer Hudson and country singer Orville Peck will be honored with special awards at the 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards ceremony May 11 in New York.

Ellise Shafer The Cannes Film Festival has announced the selections for its Immersive lineup, including projects voiced by stars like Cate Blanchett, Colin Farrell and Jessica Chastain. According to a press release, the Immersive competition includes “collective location-based virtual reality and mixed reality experiences, and projection mapping and holographic works.