Duncan Crabtree-Ireland Urges Lawmakers To Extend AI Bill Protections In Perpetuity, Calls Deepfakes An “Existential Threat”

Ireland’s screen industry is having a moment. With the Cannes Film Festival well underway, there’s a notable strong Irish presence in this year’s line-up including Element Pictures’ three entrants – Competition title Kinds of Kindness from Yorgos Lanthimos, Rungano Nyoni’s sophomore feature On Becoming A Guinea Fowl and Ariane Labed’s directorial debut September Says (both in Un Certain Regard). There’s also Competition title The Apprentice, which is co-produced with Irish outfit Tailored Films and Lorcan Finnegan’s Nicolas Cage starrer The Surfer premiering in the Midnight Screenings strand. Even Andrea Arnold’s Competition title Bird is rich with Irish talent with star Barry Keoghan and Oscar-nominated cinematographer Robbie Ryan both having worked on the film. 

It’s been 31 years since Screen Ireland (formerly the Irish Film Board) was re-established by the now President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins. In those years, the government has continued to give strong support to the screen sectors, with the country offering an attractive 32% tax incentive on eligible spend for film and television production. Last year, the country’s government increased its section 481 tax incentive cap on eligible expenditure from €70 million to €125 million in a move to attract larger scale productions.  

A lot of Drake fans have been in denial for the past couple years only to have all the rumors hit them in the face at once thanks to the Kendrick Lamar diss track battle. But now that they’re facing them, they’re look at all his old quotes — and lyrics — through a particular prism.

Jeremy Clarkson has been named the UK and Ireland’s sexiest man for the second year running, beating the likes of Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland and Idris Elba.The Clarkson’s Farm star scored an impressive nine out of 10 points in the annual poll conducted by Illicit Encounters, which proclaims to be “the best online dating site for married people”.Entering the UK’s top 10 for the first time was Spider-Man star Tom Holland, who came second with a score of eight out 10. Completing the top three is the Prince of Wales, who has shot right up after coming near the bottom of the list last year.The annual Sexiest Man poll from Illicitencounters.com takes votes from 2,000 of its female members.

EXCLUSIVE: Signature Entertainment has picked up UK and Irish rights to Unit 234, a thriller starring Don Johnson (Knives Out), Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan: First Kill) and Jack Huston (Kill Your Darlings) from sales agent Radiant Films. 

Studiocanal has acquired UK and Ireland rights for Ali Abbasi’s Cannes Palme d’Or contender The Apprentice.

Billy Corgan‘s new unscripted series Adventures in Carnyland has just dropped – watch the trailer below.The Smashing Pumpkins co-founder first announced the news in February, and the show will reportedly focus on his involvement in wrestling. Corgan has served as the president of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) since 2017.The eight-episode series, Billy Corgan‘s Adventures In Carnyland, is set to premiere on the CW on May 14 and will let fans “see behind the scenes of SP, Billy’s family and wedding, the NWA and more”.Speaking about the series, Corgan said: “Rebuilding the historic NWA brand has been both an honor and challenge, and this show opens the doors wide so to speak.

Naman Ramachandran Disney’s “Kingdom of The Planet of the Apes” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £3.8 million ($4.7 million), according to numbers from Comscore. Universal’s “The Fall Guy” dropped down to second place with £948,970 and now has a running total of £6.7 million.

Bruce Springsteen has paid tribute to the late Shane MacGowan with a rousing cover of a Pogues classic while performing in Ireland – watch fan-shot footage of the performance below.On Sunday night (May 12), Springsteen performed at the Nowlan Park in Kilkenny, Ireland. To kick off the show in a special way, Springsteen and The E Street Band began their setlist with a cover of The Pogues’ ‘A Rainy Night In Soho’.Watch fan-shot footage of ‘A Rainy Night In Soho’ below.@springsteen OPENING UP KILKENNY WITH @poguesofficial RAINY NIGHT IN SOHO!! @springsteen #SpringsteenTour2024 #Springsteen #estreetband pic.twitter.com/3vfabQ4WGa— Spring-Nuts (@SpringNuts_) May 12, 2024While ‘A Rainy Night In Soho’ was the first song to be performed during the concert, it wasn’t the first song that Springsteen played on Sunday.

Ireland's very own Bambie Thug delivered a powerful six-word mantra following their Eurovision Song Contest performance. After wowing the audience with an electrifying rendition of "Doomsday Blue," complete with enchanting witchcraft visuals, Bambie Thug made sure their message was heard loud and clear. As the final note echoed and the camera closed in, Bambie Thug proclaimed: "Love will always win over hate! " The performance left fans ecstatic, prompting a flurry of support on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

As music lovers around the world tuned into the Eurovision Song Contest’ s grand final on Saturday night, all eyes were on the 25 acts that were hoping to secure victory. Initially 26 countries had been due to compete, but following a controversial decision by the European Broadcasting Union to ban Dutch entrant Joost Klein, only 25 made it to the stage on Saturday evening.

Eurovision's Bambie Thug was moved to tears after learning that Israel had secured a spot in the grand finale of the Eurovision Song Contest.

After a year of waiting, it’s finally time to get out the fancy dress, put on a party playlist and rustle up some delicious snacks and celebrate this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.Taking place on Saturday, 11 May in Malmö, Sweden, the event is set to be one to remember as Olly Alexander hopes to become the UK’s first winner since Katrina and the Waves in 1997. However, it’s not just Olly who’s got people talking. Contestant Bambie Thug made history earlier this week when they became the first Irish Eurovision Song Contest finalist since 2018.

Rising Riyadh-based independent studio Telfaz11 and newly launched UK distribution label Metis Films are partnering to release Saudi hit Mandoob in the UK and Ireland.

Eurovision entry Bambie Thug has been forced to change their pro-Palestine message by the competition’s organisers.The non-binary contestant has become Ireland’s first finalist in the Eurovision Song Contest since 2018, winning a place in Saturday’s final (May 11) with a performance of their track ‘Doomsday Blue’ at yesterday’s (May 7) semi-finals.However, the artist, whose real name is Bambie Ray Robinson, has criticised the competition’s organisers after being forced to change their pro-Palestine message ahead of the final. Originally, they wore body paint in Ogham script – an early Medieval alphabet – which translated to ceasefire and freedom.

Katcy Stephan Celine Song‘s “Materialists” has rounded out its cast with Zoë Winters (“Succession”), Dasha Nekrasova (“Bad Behaviour,” “Wobble Palace”), Louisa Jacobson (“The Gilded Age”) and Marin Ireland (“Eileen”). The A24 feature starring Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal is described as a New York-set rom-com following a high-end matchmaker who gets involved with a wealthy man.

Wednesday season two.The second season of the supernatural mystery series, which topped Netflix viewership charts as the most popular TV show of all time on the platform, is underway as production has reportedly commenced in Ireland.The first instalment of The Addams Family spin-off starred Jenna Ortega in the lead, along with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Christina Ricci and Game Of Thrones’ Gwendoline Christie.Now, a whole host of guest stars have been confirmed for the second season, which is set for a spring 2025 release.Netflix made the announcement through a teaser trailer, which featured the disembodied hand character, Thing, delivering scripts to the doors of various actors, revealing the characters they will be playing.Among the new cast are Steve Buscemi, Billie Piper, Joanna Lumley and Thandie Newton. Not featured in the video but included in the full list of guest stars is original The Addams Family star Christopher Lloyd, whose role is currently unconfirmed.However, Lloyd, who is also well-known for playing Dr.

Naman Ramachandran Universal’s “The Fall Guy” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £3.5 million ($4.5 million), according to numbers from Comscore. But the force was strong with Disney’s 25th anniversary rerelease of “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” as it debuted in second place with £1.1 million.

Netflix has revealed the main cast and guest stars for the upcoming second season of hit supernatural mystery Wednesday, headlined by Jenna Ortega, which has started production in Ireland.

Jeremy Clarkson is back with a third series of Clarkson's Farm on Amazon Prime Video, and the TV star has continued to run into problems on Diddly Squat Farm. Minutes into the first episode of the new series, Jeremy was dealt a huge blow and fans were left devastated by the scenes. Jeremy, 64, found out he had been served an enforcement notice by West Oxfordshire District Council, banning him from reopening his restaurant at the farm in Chipping Norton.