Roald Dahl Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Selome Hailu As one of the most widely banned authors in American history, Judy Blume has some opinions on censorship. In an interview for the cover of Variety‘s Power of Women issue, the legendary author of “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” spoke about her own experiences being censored and the recent Roald Dahl controversy, wherein Puffin Books came under fire for publishing “updated” editions of Dahl’s books including “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “James and the Giant Peach.” “What do I think about rewriting the Roald Dahl books?” Blume scoffed. “I think if Roald Dahl was around, you would be hearing what he thinks about that. Whatever he is, whatever he’s accused of being, there’s a lot of truth there. But the books are the books. Kids still love the books, and they love them the way he wrote them. So I don’t believe in that.”

Wes Anderson is taking movie fans to the desert.

A Man Called Otto takes its place at Number 1 on the Official Film Chart.

Wes Anderson‘s Asteroid City has been released – you can watch it above.Starring Tom Hanks, Steve Carell and Margot Robbie, the romantic comedy drama is described as a “poetic meditation on the meaning of life”.The film takes place in a fictional American desert town in 1955 as students and parents gather for a junior stargazer convention that’s disrupted by world-changing events. Asteroid City’s story is co-written by Anderson and Roman Coppola.The ensemble cast features a number of Anderson’s frequent collaborators, including Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Willem Dafoe, Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody.Others in the star-studded lineup include Scarlett Johansson, Maya Hawke, Jeff Goldblum, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis, Jeffrey Wright, Liev Schreiber, Tony Revolori, Matt Dillon, Sophia Lillis, Steve Park, Fisher Stevens, Ethan Josh Lee, Hong Chau and Rita Wilson.Jarvis Cocker, who has contributed to the film’s soundtrack with Richard Hawley, is also set to have a cameo role as a cowboy.An official synopsis for the film reads: “The itinerary of a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention (organised to bring together students and parents from across the country for fellowship and scholarly competition) is spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events.”The film is Anderson’s follow-up to 2021’s The French Dispatch, which starred Benicio del Toro and Timothée Chalamet.Along with Asteroid City, Anderson is developing an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar, which is set to be released on Netflix in 2023.

when he got COVID-19). Yes, everyone you’ve ever loved is in this movie.The trailer is pretty much what you’d expect – perfectly composed shots, frantic whip pans, an appreciation for the artificiality of a Western set (but also seemingly filmed in the actual desert) and humor so dry it could start a brush fire.

Julia MacCary editor Focus Features has dropped the trailer for Wes Anderson’s upcoming comedy “Asteroid City.”  “Asteroid City” is set in the 1950s in a fictional American desert town. At a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention, which is designed to unite students and parents in scholarly competition, chaos ensues as world-changing events take place.  The film’s main cast includes Margot Robbie, Tom Hanks, Hong Chau and Scarlett Johansson. Also featured in the film are Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Ed Norton, Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, Hope Davis, Stephen Park, Rupert Friend, Maya Hawke, Steve Carell, Matt Dillon, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Tony Revolori, Jake Ryan, Grace Edwards, Aristou Meehan, Sophia Lillis, Ethan Lee, Jeff Goldblum and Rita Wilson.

Elvis shimmies and shakes its way back to Number 1 on the UK’s Official Film Chart.

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish makes a magical Number 1 debut on the Official Film Chart.

Ben Croll Urban Sales and KMBO have boarded the 2D family film “The Hermit and the Bear,” with the Paris-based exporter handling international sales for the animated title as Gallic distributor KMBO covers the domestic release. This joint distributor/sales agent deal marks a dual show of faith for a development title that recently pitched to substantial buyer interest at the Cartoon Movie pitch and co-production forum in Bordeaux — where KMBO was voted distributor of the year. Adapted from a 1990s tome, the film follows the long apprenticeship between a lonely bear and an irascible hermit. Beginning as an awkward pupil and a rusty teacher, the pair’s bond soon develops into an unusual and life-affirming fellowship. The duo then set off into the forest, singing the benefits of friendship to all the woodland critters.

The Fabelmans, The Banshees of Inisherin, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On and Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical were among the big film winners Thursday at the Casting Society’s 38th annual Artios Awards.

Stacking up a fourth consecutive week at Number 1 on the Official Film Chart is Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical.

The British Film Institute has hired Kristy Matheson as its new Festivals Director.

R.L. Stine is revising his popular Goosebumps books series and making edits to the published work with a more inclusive language. The move from Scholastic comes after Penguin hired sensitivity readers to edit Roald Dahl’s books from language deemed inappropriate in today’s world.

EXCLUSIVE: A musical stage adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, originally co-created in 2006 by Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical director Matthew Warchus, is headed to the English countryside.

Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical bounces into a third week as the UK’s Number 1 film.

Ricky Gervais has had his say in the debate surrounding Puffin’s decision to edit Roald Dahl’s books.Last week, the book publisher announced that Dahl’s books were being edited to remove language deemed offensive in order to make sure the books “can continue to be enjoyed by all today”. Words such as “fat” and “ugly: have been completely removed and there have also been alterations made in relation to subjects such as gender, race and mental health.The decision sparked discourse online and in the press about censorship, creative freedom and treating certain creative works with outdated language as a product of its time. Even the Queen Consort weighed in, saying that the edits were the work of “those who may wish to curb the freedom of your expression or impose limits on your imagination”.In response, Gervais took to Twitter to joke about changing his comedy routines for the benefit of the “fragile” and “easily offended”.He captioned a photo of himself looking pensive with the caption: “This is me pondering whether they’ll change any of the words I’ve used in my work after I’m dead, to spare those who are fragile and easily offended.

Naman Ramachandran After the Roald Dahl text editing controversy that erupted in recent days, it is now the turn of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels to be rewritten. A report in U.K. newspaper The Telegraph reveals that ahead of the reissue of the Bond novels in April to mark 70 years of “Casino Royale,” the first book in the series, rights holders Ian Fleming Publications Ltd commissioned a review by sensitivity readers. Each book will carry the disclaimer, “This book was written at a time when terms and attitudes which might be considered offensive by modern readers were commonplace. A number of updates have been made in this edition, while keeping as close as possible to the original text and the period in which it is set,” The Telegraph said.

Ricky Gervais thinks people have become too "easily offended". The 61-year-old comedian suggested that people have become too "fragile" after it was confirmed that Roald Dahl's books will have various words, including "fat" and "ugly", removed from them. Ricky wrote on Twitter: "This is me pondering whether they'll change any of the words I've used in my work after I'm dead, to spare those who are fragile and easily offended.

Ricky Gervais has entered the debate surrounding Roald Dahl’s books for children, which have been edited to remove words like “fat” and “ugly” in their most recent versions. 

Naman Ramachandran Publisher Puffin U.K. will release “The Roald Dahl Classic Collection,” which will have the author’s original texts. “The Roald Dahl Classic Collection” will be available alongside the newly released Puffin Roald Dahl books for young readers, “which are designed for children who may be navigating written content independently for the first time,” Puffin said. “Readers will be free to choose which version of Dahl’s stories they prefer.” Last week, Puffin was in the eye of a storm when it emerged that the works of Dahl, who died in 1990, had been rewritten, with the phrase “enormously fat” edited to just “enormous” and “most formidable female” to “most formidable woman” among numerous other examples from his most famous books. People who opposed the edits include author Salman Rushdie, who described it as “absurd censorship,” and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

maligned by many, the notorious Roald Dahl word purge could prove a boon to one segment of society: the owners of the original books. “Unedited” versions of the classic children’s novels have reportedly been listed for as much as $7,000 on eBay.This comes after the news broke that Puffin Books — a Penguin Books imprint for children — had tapped so-called sensitivity experts to scrub language they deemed offensive in an effort to appease the “woke” masses.

The language used in the work of writer Roald Dahl has been changed to remove anything that my be deemed offensive. The publisher of Dahl’s work, Puffin books has removed words like “fat” to describe characters and gender neutral terms are also now being used.

It’s a second week at Number 1 for Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical, which continues its reign at the top based on digital download sales only.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has joined in the criticism of changes made to classic works by Roald Dahl which came to light over the weekend. Titles like James and the Giant Peach, The BFG, Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory have been altered by modifying words that are now deemed offensive.

Publisher Puffin Books, an imprint of Penguin Books, has edited Roald Dahl’s books in an effort to reflect a more inclusive language. Titles like James and the Giant Peach, Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory have been altered by modifying words that are now deemed offensive.

Naman Ramachandran Editors at Penguin’s children’s imprint Puffin have taken a red pencil to the works of iconic, but divisive British writer Roald Dahl, known for “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Matilda” among many others. An extensive report by U.K. newspaper The Telegraph says “language related to weight, mental health, violence, gender and race has been cut and rewritten.” In 1964 novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” which has been adapted twice as films in 1971 and 2005, starring Gene Hackman and Johnny Depp respectively, for example, the phrase “enormously fat” has been edited to just “enormous.” The same phrase in 1970 book “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” adapted as an animated film by Wes Anderson with a voice cast of George Clooney and Meryl Streep in 2009, has also been edited to “enormous.”

The Telegraph compared the latest editions by the publisher Puffin to older versions of Dahl’s work and discovered the newer versions edited and/or removed parts of the books that described characters “fat,” “crazy,” “ugly” and “black.”Specifically, “fat” is removed from all of the books, with Augustus Gloop in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” now described as “enormous.” And those orange-ish workers at Willy Wonka’s factory, those Oompa Loompas are no longer “little me;” they are now gender-neutral “little people.” Likewise, the Cloud-Men in “James and the Giant Peach” have become Cloud-People, according to the paper.In 2020, Roald Dahl Story Company and Puffin confirmed they began a review of his books and that any changes made were “small and carefully considered.”“We want to ensure that Roald Dahl’s wonderful stories and characters continue to be enjoyed by all children today,” a spokesperson for Roald Dahl Story Company said at the time. “When publishing new print runs of books written years ago, it’s not unusual to review the language used alongside updating other details including a book’s cover and page layout.”The statement continued, “Our guiding principle throughout has been to maintain the storylines, characters, and the irreverence and sharp-edged spirit of the original text.

Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical dances and sings its way to a Number 1 debut on the UK’s Official Film Chart.

Benedict Cumberbatch is to lead and EP Netflix’s Eric, playing a puppeteer whose son goes missing in 1980s Manhattan.

Refresh for latest…: Sony Pictures Entertainment recorded $179 million in operating income for the third quarter ending December 31, 2022. That figure reps an 86% decrease on a dollar basis versus the same period last year, though it’s tough to compare apples to apples here since Q3 2021 had a massive assist from the phenomenal global box office performance of Spider-Man: No Way Home along with the success of Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Meanwhile, the current quarter felt the absence of a gain from the transfer of GSN Games business in Q3 2021.

Netflix has unveiled its 2023 feature film slate, consisting of 49 titles. 

There’s no surprises on Netflix‘s English-language TV and film charts in the U.S. for the week of January 9 to January 15.

ANIMATIONTHE BAD GUYS – Christi Soper Hilt LIGHTYEAR – Natalie Lyon, Kevin Reher, Kate Hansen-Birnbaum (Associate Casting Director)MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON – Jessica Kelly, Kate Geller (Associate Casting Director)PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH -  Christi Soper HiltTURNING RED – Natalie Lyon, Kevin Reher, Kate Hansen-Birnbaum (Associate Casting Director)BIG BUDGET – COMEDYBROS – Gayle Keller, Allison Kirschner (Associate Casting Director) GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY – Mary Vernieu, Bret HoweTHE MENU – Mary Vernieu, Bret Howe, Lisa Mae Fincannon (Location Casting), Kimberly Wistedt (Location Casting), Becca Burgess (Associate Casting Director)ROALD DAHL’S MATILDA THE MUSICAL – Lucy Bevan, Emily BrockmannWHITE NOISE –Douglas Aibel, D.

Rian Johnson‘s latest whodunit Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery has made a splash at Netflix, securing the top spot on the streamer’s English-language film charts for the week of December 26 to January 1.

Christmas and Emma Thompson seem to go together. The celebrated two-time Oscar-winning actress costarred not only in 2019’s Last Christmas, but in what become a certified holiday classic, 2003’s Love Actually, a yuletide-set romantic comedy that has become so beloved, returning year after year, that ABC News recently devoted an entire Diane Sawyer hour to examining it.

Editors note: Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series debuts and celebrates the scripts of films that will factor in this year’s movie awards races.