County Gulf Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Grab your snacks and settle in! Viewers may tune in for the big game and epic halftime show — but the Super Bowl’s night full of entertainment starts much earlier than that.

Continuing its powerhouse run at worldwide turnstiles, Shah Rukh Khan espionage actioner Pathaan has topped the global box office century mark, getting there in 12 days on Sunday and now with $103.6M through Monday. It is the first Bollywood movie to the $100M milestone without a China release.

EXCLUSIVE: Saudi feelgood comedy-drama Sattar, which has enjoyed a record-breaking theatrical run at home, will hit U.K. cinemas next month in a release spearheaded by MENA region distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment.

A Scots SAS hero who executed his girlfriend with a Gulf War machine gun is feared to have returned here after being released early.

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here. World Cup fever has gripped Deadline Towers and while our U.S. colleagues gobble up their turkey with all the trimmings, we’ve got plenty to round up in the world of international TV and film.

An Ayrshire daughter has told sick vandals to 'hang their head in shame' after trashing a poppy wreath laid in memory of her late dad.

As controversy continues to swirl around World Cup hosts Qatar, and with the tournament due to begin next Sunday, British comedian Joe Lycett has said he will give £10,000 to charities that support gay people in football if David Beckham pulls out of a reported £10 million deal to act as an ambassador for the event. If Beckham does not, Lycett said he would put the money through a shredder and livestream himself doing so ahead of the opening ceremony. 

Soccer’s governing body FIFA estimates that five billion people will tune in to watch the Qatar World Cup, marking a new record for a global sporting event. This will be a spectacle like no other.

A British holidaymaker died after being beaten and starved by cruel guards in a Dubai police station, an inquest heard. The hearing was told that Lee Brown passed away after five days in custody at the Bur Dubai police station.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Sony Music Entertainment Middle East and Kuwait-based music studio and video production company Ghmza have forged a partnership to produce music and promote emerging pop artists from the Gulf Cooperation Council and across the Middle East. Under the deal, popular actor and Arabic pop singer Bader Al Shuaibi, and Kuwaiti singer, songwriter and television personality Bashar al-Shatti will be the first two artists to work with Sony Music in the Gulf region. A pioneer in the genre known as Khaleeji pop reinvention – the term Khaleeji refers to nationals of six states: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the U.A.E. and Oman – Bader Al Shuaibi has over one billion audio and video streams and three million social media followers, according to a Sony Music statement.

Three House Democrats are introducing a bill to remove U.S. defense systems from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in response to the OPEC+ decision to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day – a move that is expected to drive up gas prices in the U.S.

Netflix has previewed a selection of upcoming films and shows aimed at the Arab world and hailing from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Egypt, and Jordan.

Hurricane Ian has torn into western Cuba as a major hurricane, with nothing to stop it from intensifying into a Category 4 storm before it hits Florida.

US President Joe Biden has taken a swipe at Liz Truss's economic plan ahead of their meeting in New York at the United Nations tomorrow.

A group of Gulf states are threatening Netflix with legal action if the streamer does not remove what they class as content that “contradicts” Islamic values. The six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) issued a statement saying it has contacted the SVoD to demand the content, which was not specified publicly, is removed.

Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries in the Middle East have told global streaming giant Netflix to remove un-Islamic content. Although not specified, this is understood to mean that it should take down content including LGBTQ elements. The announcement was made Tuesday by the Committee of the Electronic Media Officials within the Gulf Cooperation Council, a trade and political association that includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. issued similar, separate statements. Associated Press reported that Saudi state television also aired video of an interview it conducted with a woman it identified as a behavioral consultant who described Netflix as being an “official sponsor of homosexuality.” It aired footage of a cartoon that had two women embrace, though the footage was blurred out. “Saudi state television also aired a segment suggesting Netflix could be banned in the kingdom over that programming reaching children,” AP reported.

Dianne Buswell had a whirlwind weekend!MORE: Dianne Buswell's behind-the-scenes wedding photo with Amy Dowden will confuse youTaking to Instagram, the Strictly star revealed she had jetted to the Gulf of Naples for the ultimate surprise. WATCH: Strictly's Dianne Buswell comments about having children with boyfriend Joe SuggDianne, 33, shared a series of fun snapshots showing her with groups of friends.

Selome Hailu SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you haven’t watched Season 1 of “Mo” on Netflix. As I finish interviewing comedian Mo Amer and ask him if there’s anything else he’d like to talk about, he says, “I don’t have a lean addiction, nor have I ever been addicted to lean. I keep saying that every chance I can, because it gets weird out here.” It’s an important distinction to make, as the mixture of prescription cough syrup, soda and candy has killed many, especially in Houston, where Amer grew up. He is the co-creator, executive producer and star of “Mo,” a comedy-drama series that heavily draws from his true experiences as a refugee — his parents were displaced from Palestine to Kuwait where Amer was born, before the whole family fled to Texas during the Gulf War. Several of the show’s most painful moments — like when, 20 years after his father’s death from a heart attack, is looking over paperwork with his immigration lawyer (Lee Eddy) and finds out for the first time that his father was captured and tortured during the war — are lifted directly from Amer’s life. But when Mo begins sipping lean to cope with an injury he sustains in Episode 1 — Amer says that’s all for the plot.

Disney/Pixar’s Lightyear begins offshore rollout this week, but won’t be hitting cinemas in such Middle East markets as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. Nor will it go to theaters in Malaysia or Indonesia. Deadline understands the film has not received distribution certificates in these markets. As with other recent Hollywood films, the issue is believed to be related to LGBTQ content.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentCharades has closed a raft of deals on “Little Nicholas: Happy as Can Be,” an animated feature which world premiered at Cannes in the Special Screenings section and will go on to compete at Annecy festival. Directed by Benjamin Massoubre and Amandine Fredon, “Little Nicholas: Happy as Can Be” is based on author René Goscinny and New Yorker cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempé’s popular children books from the 1960’s which have been translated into than 30 languages.

Kate Middleton channeled the late Princess Diana during Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The celebration – which honors the Queen’s 70 years on the throne – kicked off on Thursday with the Trooping the Colour ceremony.  Middleton stunned during the ceremony in a white Alexander McQueen coat dress, paired with her late mother-in-law’s diamond and sapphire earrings. She also wore Diana’s matching necklace.  Kate Middleton wore a Princess Diana inspired look to the Trooping of Colour Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

The UK's foreign travel advice for the United Arab Emirates has been updated with a warning urging holidaymakers to 'show respect' while visiting the country. Dubai is a hotspot for British tourists and has proved a popular destination for holidaymakers for years due to its luxurious lifestyle, remarkable architecture and warm climate.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentLola Arabia and Dubai’s Charisma Group are readying Agustí Villaronga’s “Arabian Aroma” and Pau Miró’s “Lost Symphony,” the first two titles in a 12-pic production alliance unveiled during the Berlin. FestivalBoth movies are in pre-production, budgeted around $6 million and feature women “who passionately set themselves on a mission,” the partners announced.

Doja Cart will not be touring with The Weeknd this summer.

Naman Ramachandran Nayla Al Khaja, the first female filmmaker in the United Arab Emirates, is teaming with Oscar, BAFTA and Grammy winning Indian composer A.R. Rahman (“Slumdog Millionaire”) on her upcoming feature film “Baab.”Written by Al Khaja and Masoud Amralla Al Ali, the film follows Wahida, who is unable to make sense of her twin sister’s mysterious death and is plagued by a haunting rhythm in her ears.

EXCLUSIVE: A24 and AGBO’s fantasy hit Everything Everywhere All At Once has been banned in parts of the Middle East, we understand.

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].

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.

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.

You only need a quick glance at photos of Anantara five-star Bophut Koh Samui Resort in the Gulf of Thailand to see why it’s the idyllic spot for a dose of luxury and low-key leisure amid lush, verdant nature. It sits on the edge of a palm-fringed beach and is just minutes away on foot from Bophut, once home to a thriving fishing industry but now geared towards holidaymakers.The tropical playground of Samui is Thailand’s second largest island and renowned for its coconut groves and mountainous dense rainforest. It’s less touristy and much quieter than the neighbouring isle of Koh Phangan and for this reason attracts couples, especially newlyweds, wanting to get away from the crowds – and the notorious full moon parties of Phangan.

A police officer who fought in the Gulf War is building a café for former servicemen and women in Salford. Eccles local police officer Carl Blower has secured a unit at the Eccles Shopping Centre and plans to turn it into The Salford Veterans Community Centre.

Fox Sports, which will broadcast the 2022 World Cup in the U.S., has set the schedule for the 64 matches it will carry between November 21 and December 18.