Jamal Khashoggi Murder Trials Moved to Saudi Arabia After Turkey Halts Prosecution

Zack Sharf Saudi Arabia’s cinema classification board is disputing reports that the upcoming Marvel tentpole “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” has been banned in the country due to a gay character played by Xochitl Gomez. The movie finds “The Baby-Sitters Club” actor making her debut as America Chavez in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Nawaf Alsabhan, Saudi Arabia’s general supervisor of cinema classification, told AFP (via The Guardian) that Disney is unwilling to remove “barely 12 seconds” from the film in which Gomez’s character refers to her “two moms.”“It’s just her talking about her moms, because she has two moms,” Alsabhan said.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness has been banned in Saudi Arabia over the inclusion of a queer character in the film.The new Marvel sequel focused on Benedict Cumberbatch‘s titular character is due to roll out globally at the beginning of next month.However, following rumours of a ban, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that the film now won’t be released in Saudi Arabia, with Kuwait reportedly also set to ban it. Advanced tickets are no longer available in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, though are still in the United Arab Emirates.The censorship appears to be over the inclusion of the character America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), who is gay in the comic source material.There is often strong censorship on films with LGBTQ+ content in the Gulf as homosexuality is still illegal across the region.Recent Marvel film Eternals was previously banned in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar over a same-sex kiss scene between married couple Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) and Ben (Haaz Sleiman), with Disney reportedly refusing to edit out the moment upon request from local censors.Star Angelina Jolie subsequently addressed the news, telling news.com.au: “I’m sad for [those audiences].

Robert Marich In addition to Constantin Films’ Martin Moszkowicz receiving CinemaCon’s Career Achievement in Film, other executives will be feted at this year’s trade show.Global Achievement in ExhibitionRenana Teperberg Chief Commercial Officer, Cineworld GroupTeperberg lives the lifestyle of her CinemaCon Global Achievement in Exhibition Award. As chief commercial officer at Cineworld Group, Teperberg lives in Tel Aviv, but is a frequent traveler on weekdays to the London headquarters of her multinational circuit and also its Regal Cinemas operation based in Knoxville, Tenn.Her duties range from e-commerce, marketing, food service, HR, new product and business development.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, has been banned from Saudi Arabia due to the film’s inclusion of a queer superhero.The queer character at the centre of this is Marvel’s America Chavez, a lesbian character played by Xochitl Gomez. Chavez is Marvel’s first Latin American character to star in an ongoing LGBTQI series.Prior to Marvel’s confirmation of an additional LGBTQI character to their universe, their officially licensed merch appeared on Amazon with prints of Chavez’s signature denim jacket, which featured a pride flag pin, a skull referencing the Mexican Day of the Dead, and her Latin American heritage.This is not the first time that Saudi Arabia has banned a film from the banner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Another Marvel movie has been banned in multiple Middle East states.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will not be getting a theatrical release in Saudi Arabia.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentMarvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” won’t be playing in Saudi Arabia and several other Arab countries due to the inclusion of a gay character.Saudi Arabian censors did not issue a permit to release the film in the kingdom, since the changes they requested were not approved by Disney, according to a source.The new Sam Raimi-directed sequel stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular character, and it also features the new hero America Chavez, played by “The Baby-Sitters Club” star Xochitl Gomez. Her character in the movie is reportedly gay, true to how she is portrayed in the Marvel comics.The “Doctor Strange” sequel, which will go on release in the U.S.

Deadline has confirmed that Disney/Marvel’s upcoming big global blockbuster Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is banned for theatrical release in Saudi Arabia.

Eternals,” which also featured a gay superhero in a same-sex relationship, and “West Side Story,” which has a character who identifies as trans. And in each case, the films had not been edited to remove the characters or plot lines in order to appease international censors.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentDubai-based broadcaster and streamer MBC is ramping up production with several new high-end shows.These include “Rise of The Witches,” being touted as the biggest-budget Saudi Arabian TV series to date, “The Devil’s Promise,” created by U.K. writer Tony Jordan, and crime thriller “1001 Nights.”MBC Group CEO Sam Barnett in an interview said MBC Studios now has 65 projects in various stages and reiterated the the Saudi-owned company is committed to serve as a driver to help kickstart the kingdom’s nascent industry.“Rise of The Witches” (first look image, above) is based on a Saudi novel described by Barnett as “a fantasy novel set 1,500 years ago in a time of witches” with a strong female empowerment theme.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentDubai-based MBC Group CEO Sam Barnett is navigating what he calls the “difficult transition” of going from being the MENA region’s top satellite free-to-air player to also being its top premium streamer.At the start of the holy month of Ramadan, which is marathon TV time in the region after iftar (breaking fast), Barnett spoke to Variety about how the Saudi-owned broadcaster is managing this feat. Edited excerpts.MBC is now operating in both the linear TV and the streaming space. How’s the streaming side going?We are celebrating this month because we just got data in that [MBC’s streaming service] Shahid VIP has become the market leader in streaming in MENA.

Irvine Welsh has lambasted the Scottish Conservatives after they created their own version of the iconic Trainspotting 'Choose Life' speech for a promotional poster.