British Broadcasting Heavyweight Michael Grade Named Chair Of Regulator Ofcom

EXCLUSIVE: Doctor Who star Catherine Tate’s Netflix comedy Hard Cell is a tonal shift from her previous work, according to exec Kristian Smith, who revealed the mockumentary’s producer Leopard Pictures is working on a feature film adaptation of a Michael Morpurgo novel.

In the Apple TV+ series Pachinko, Solomon (Jin Ha) speaks Korean, Japanese and English. The show, based on Min Jin Lee’s book, traces four generations of his family from Korea and Japan (as Zainichi Koreans), so all three languages are involved. Ha does not speak Japanese and studied the different dialects with vocal coach Yu-Mi Kang.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe British Film Institute has announced five new board members including Netflix’s film chief Scott Stuber.Stuber joins the BFI’s board of governors along with eminent British industry exec and academic Monica Chada; producer Elizabeth Karlsen, co-founder of Number 9 Films (“Carol”); Laura Miele, vice-president and COO of interactive entertainment giant Electronic Arts; and writer, producer and director Edgar Wright (“Baby Driver,” “Shaun of the Dead”).The appointments were announced by U.K. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries.Each new BFI board member will serves a term of four years beginning in May 2022.“It’s a privilege to be appointed a Governor of the BFI, an institution I have long admired,” Stuber said in a statement “I wholeheartedly endorse their mission to promote the next generation of U.K. storytellers, widen access to screen culture and support the continued growth of this extraordinary sector,” he added, noting that, “Our industry is in a state of constant evolution and I look forward to playing my part in ensuring the BFI remains best situated to champion its past, present and future.”The BFI’s new board recruits join the current BFI board, which includes Michael Birshan; Idris Elba; Gerry Fox; Jay Hunt; Robin Saunders; Andrew Smith; Phil Stokes and Nell Whitley.Said BFI Chair Tim Richards: “I am honored to be welcoming five new incredibly talented industry professionals to the BFI Board of Governors.“Their knowledge and experience across film, television, games, technology and business combined with that of our existing governors, will be invaluable to the BFI and the industry as a whole.

The British Film Institute (BFI) has added five experienced executives to its Board of Governors.

APPOINTMENTSUtopia Music has appointed Bastien Vidal to the role of Acting Chief Finance Officer and VP Operational Finance. The acquisitive company says it has further acquisitions planned and that, in his role, Vidal will be “responsible for supporting Utopia’s considerable growth trajectory”.———————————————-RELEASESMichael Franti & Spearhead have announced that their new album ‘Follow Your Heart’ will be released on 3 Jun.

EXCLUSIVE: Screen Media has acquired North American rights to the psychological thriller Cordelia, starring Antonia Campbell-Hughes (It Is In Us All) and Johnny Flynn (Emma), from Great Point Media, which holds world distribution rights outside the UK. The Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment company plans to release the title from director Adrian Shergold (Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman) day-and-date in at least 10 cities in May.

BAFTA-nominated St. Trinian’s, Johnny English Reborn and An Ideal Husband director Oliver Parker has launched a production shingle with former Red Arrow Studios CEO James Baker and Metro International Partner Sam Parker, and the outfit is taking a packed slate to Mip TV.

Naman Ramachandran Veteran businessman Ian Cheshire has been appointed the next chair of U.K. broadcaster Channel 4, media regulator Ofcom revealed on Sunday. Cheshire will join the broadcaster’s board on Apr.

A comedian said he felt let down by Will Smith’s Oscars attack after it overshadowed the three awards won by Coda.

The charity spin-off series tonight saw Ruby Wax, Gareth Malone, Laura Whitmore and Yung Filly compete to win the Star Baker apron. All four celebrities competed in three rounds, the Signature, the Technical and the Showstopper challenges.

It's place in railway history is assured because of its part in the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the world's first inter-city railway which took goods and passengers to local cotton mills and factories in the 19th century.

The Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB) has unveiled its award winners for 2022 ahead of the prize ceremony on Saturday. Scroll down for the full list.

K.J. Yossman Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson will be among the winners at the Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB) awards on Friday night alongside actor Charlotte Riley and senior vice president of studio operations Warner Bros.

Marta Balaga “Vikings” creator Michael Hirst takes on his childhood hero in “Billy the Kid.” Starring Tom Blyth as the legendary gunslinger, born Henry McCarty, the eight-episode series – co-produced by Epix Studios and MGM International Television Productions, in association with Viaplay – is currently screening at French TV festival Series Mania ahead of its April 24 premiere.“It’s probably true that you shouldn’t meet your heroes; I have met a couple of mine and it didn’t go particularly well. But what I want more than anything else is for people to love this Billy,” Hirst tells Variety in Lille.“Michael [Wright, president of Epix] allowed me to tell a story I wanted to tell, which doesn’t happen very often.

HBO Max Unveils ‘The Thaw’ Trailer

Russian news channel RT’s licence to broadcast in the UK has been revoked with immediate effect by the regulator Ofcom, which said it “cannot be satisfied that RT can be a responsible broadcaster in the current circumstances.”

Naman Ramachandran U.K media regulator Ofcom on Friday revoked the Russian-backed RT channel’s licence to broadcast in the country with immediate effect.“We have done so on the basis that we do not consider RT’s licensee, ANO TV Novosti, fit and proper to hold a UK broadcast licence,” Ofcom said in a statement. The decision arrives during 29 ongoing investigations by Ofcom into the due impartiality of RT’s news and current affairs coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Wigan Council is 'exploring options' on how to recognise the life of wrestling legend the British Bulldog, but it is unlikely to be a star on his hometown's 'Walk of Fame'.

Gotham alum Cory Michael Smith, Gillian Jacobs (Community) and Corey Stoll (Billions) are set as the leads of Netflix’s Transatlantic, a limited series set during the 1940 refugee crisis in Marseille, France. Call My Agent star Grégory Montel, Lucas Englander (Bridge of Spies), Ralph Amoussou (Missions) and Deleila Piasko (Boys Are Us) round out the international cast of the series, from Unorthodox creator Anna Winger and her Airlift Productions.