Crown Media Family Networks Appoints Annie Howell As Chief Communications Officer

Andreas Wiseman, Jake Kanter The London Film Festival’s Screen Talks and events program will include speakers Riz Ahmed, Letitia Wright, Michel Franco, Miranda July, Tsai Ming-liang, Christian Petzold, David Byrne and artist Es Devlin, who will each talk about their most recent work.

asylum seeker who was forced to sew his lips shut during a hunger strike has been granted temporary leave to remain after waiting 12 years for a decision.Abdul Rahman Safi went on a hunger strike outside the Home Office building in Glasgow on Monday to raise awareness of his plight.The 59-year-old diabetic vowed to continue his protest for as long as possible in a last-ditch bid to get the UK Government to grant him a visa.The father-of-four was forced to leave his wife and three of his children

Kaleem Aftab “It’s really a film about friendship,” says Matt Dillon, about “The Great Fellove” [El Gran Fellove], his documentary chronicling the musical career of Cuban scat singer and showman Francisco ‘el Gran’ Fellove  and the recording of his last album, “Fellove & Joey.”“The whole thing started because of my friendship with bandleader Joey Altruda and our shared love of Cuban music,” says Dillon.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterChris Spadaccini, chief marketing officer of WarnerMedia Entertainment, is exiting his role at the company, Variety has confirmed.Spadaccini is an HBO veteran, having been with the company for 21 years upon the time of his departure. He was named CMO of WarnerMedia Entertainment in 2019.“My 21 years at HBO have been nothing short of an extraordinary experience,” Spadaccini said in a statement.

Dade Hayes Finance EditorEXCLUSIVE: Chris Spadaccini, who spent two decades at HBO and became WarnerMedia Entertainment’s chief marketing officer in 2019, is exiting the company.His departure comes as WarnerMedia continues to undergo significant reshaping at the direction of CEO Jason Kilar, the former Hulu CEO and Amazon executive who took over in the spring.Spadaccini spearheaded campaigns for shows like Watchmen and Succession, which led HBO to a dominant showing at Sunday night’s Emmys.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterMatt Dillon is at Spain’s San Sebastian Film Festival this week for the world premiere of The Great Fellove, his second feature as a director after a 17-year gap since his debut City Of Ghosts.

coronavirus.

Kaleem Aftab Actor and filmmaker Matt Dillon has released two clips from “The Great Fellove” [“El Gran Fellove”], a long-gestating documentary chronicling the musical career of Cuban scat singer and showman Francisco ‘el Gran’ Fellove and the recording of his last album. The film is world premiering at the San Sebastian Film Festival and is being sold by Nick Shumaker of United Talent Agency.It is Academy-Award nominee Dillon’s second feature film in the director’s chair.

coronavirus lockdown.More than 1.6 million people across the UK in receipt of Universal Credit had an average of £60 deducted from their benefits in May when thousands had to claim benefits because of lockdown, according to the Department of Work and Pension’s own figures.The staggering sum has been uncovered by Glasgow MP Chris Stephens who has campaigned for the UC advance loans to be abolished and converted into grants.In his own Glasgow South West constituency some 3,800 people, 48 per cent

Andreas Wiseman International EditorEXCLUSIVE: German major Leonine has scored a coup with the hire of long-time Bavaria Fiction exec Oliver Vogel as MD of Dark producer W&B Television.The Das Boot exec will remain at Bavaria until the end of January, 2021, joining Leonine-owned W&B from 1 February, 2020, with a focus on development, acquisition and production of TV projects for the German and international markets.

coronavirus cases, according to a former director at the World Health OrganisationEx-WHO expert Anthony Costello tweeted: "I'm hearing from a well-connected person that government now thinks, in absence of testing, there are 38,000 infections per day."Chris Whitty is advising PM for a two week national lockdown."However, health minister Edward Argar has denied the claims."It is not something I have seen within the department," he told Sky News."The Prime Minister has been very clear on this.

Element Pictures, the Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning production banner behind Normal People, The Favourite, Lobster and Room, has bolstered its creative team with the hire of two executive producers working primarily in TV. Lucas Ochoa joins from Pulse Films, where he was the chief creative officer of the scripted division.

Naman Ramachandran U.K. broadcaster BBC’s new chief content officer Charlotte Moore will be stepping away from commissioning and her role as controller of flagship channel BBC One “in order to focus on the strategy and shape of the new BBC Content division,” the BBC has confirmed to Variety.Beginning Sept.

Dade Hayes Finance EditorSeasoned marketer and corporate executive Ukonwa Ojo has joined Amazon as Chief Marketing Officer for Prime Video and Amazon Studios.The former M∙A∙C Cosmetics and Coty CMO will be responsible for leading global brand and originals marketing, reporting to Mike Hopkins, SVP of Prime Video and Amazon Studios.In a memo to staff (read it in full below), Hopkins said Andy Donkin will shift from his current position as head of global marketing for the video operation to a new,

After its debut at this year’s Sundance, “Charm City Kings” was poised to have a great run in theaters thanks to a distribution deal with Sony Pictures Classics. In fact, the film was going to play at SXSW and then get a release in April.

Cuba Gooding, Jr. saved a man set on fire during a party over the weekend.

Kate Aurthur editorDuring a scene in the season 3 premiere of Bravo’s “Southern Charm,” which originally aired in April 2016, cast member Kathryn Dennis gives a tour of her family’s South Carolina home — a plantation — to her guest, K. Cooper Ray.“And there’s actually a slave cemetery over there — no joke!” Dennis says.