Secret Cinema Creator Launches Art/Activism Venture LOST; Co-Acquires Ladj Ly’s ‘Les Miserables’ For Debut Event

Luisa Bradshaw-White has played Tina Carter in hit BBC soap EastEnders since she joined the soap in 2013. She took on the role as Mick Carter's aunt starring alongside Danny Dyer and Linda Henry who plays Shirley Carter – her onscreen sister.The actress has been on the soap for five years now and recently revealed that the role was made especially for her.

EastEnders actress Linda Henry has played the role of Shirley Carter since 2006. Shirley has been embroiled in some turbulent storylines over the years, including her best friend Heather Trott being murdered by then-boyfriend Phil Mitchell’s son Ben.The character has a complicated family life, with her son Mick Carter – played by Danny Dyer – originally thought to be her brother, while her two other children, Deano and Carly, no longer live in Albert Square.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterImmersive film experience outfit Secret Cinema is undertaking its second international expansion, this time into the U.S. where it will partner with Netflix to deliver Stranger Things: The Drive-Into Experience.The company has had a series of successful events in the UK, several of which have made a dent in the UK box office chart, including the 2019 Casino Royale run which grossed more than $10M.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNext week’s virtual FilMart will mark the market debut for newly-launched Blossoms Entertainment, a film sales agency based in mainland China. Among its available titles, the new outfit will be representing partial rights to Chinese blockbuster “The Eight Hundred.”Blossoms is owned and headed by Vicky Ding, an executive with sales and distribution experience at Beijing Culture and the now-defunct Hollywood sales and finance group IM Global.

Beirut Musicians’ Fund to help musicians who have been directly affected by the incident.The fund is aiming to raise $34,935 (USD), the amount needed to replace artists’ damaged, lost or destroyed gear.All donations will be managed by Tabbal’s own Tunefork Recording Studios and divided evenly among those musicians affected by the blast.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorWithin two months, TikTok’s U.S. business likely will be under the wing of a new owner — after Donald Trump’s move to force China’s ByteDance to divest the popular video app over what he says are national-security concerns.Amid that backdrop of uncertainty, TikTok is carrying on in business-as-usual fashion: Starting this week in the U.S., it’s unleashing its biggest ad campaign to date, aiming to lure even more American users to the platform.

Reese Witherspoon is going back to her Nashville country roots by launching a country music talent competition series with Apple+ TV.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaBlockbuster Video was recently back in the news after its last remaining outpost in Bend, Oregon began offering movie lovers a chance to spend the night on an air mattress or pull-out couch, surrounded by rows and rows of new releases. The cost was the same as a movie rental — $4 (not accounting for those exorbitant late fees!).

Rebecca Davis editorPeter Chan’s hotly anticipated biographical sports drama “Leap” is set to hit China on Sept. 30, becoming the first of the Chinese New Year blockbusters canceled due to COVID-19 to set a theatrical outing.Local animation “Jiang Ziya: Legend of Deification,” which was also originally scheduled to premiere over the lunar new year, will premiere the day after.

Nick Cannon is planning to file a $1.5 billion lawsuit against ViacomCBS for the rights to "Wild 'N Out," an MTV show he created. TMZ claims those reports are blatantly false. Nick was fired by ViacomCBS — which owns MTV — on July 14 after he made controversial comments on his podcast that were widely viewed as vile and anti-Semitic.

Rebecca Davis editorUniversal Music Group’s China division on Thursday announced the launch of “Magic Muses,” its first local label in over a decade.It will be focused solely on soundtracks and scores, seeking to work with local artists and composers to create tracks for Chinese film and TV projects.Veteran film marketing executive Kelvin Hou will be the Beijing-based label’s CEO. Hou is the founder and former CEO of Chinese film website Mtime.

Kamala Harris is paying tribute to the women who came before her as she makes history as the first Black woman and first Asian American to join a major political party's presidential ticket. The California senator — who was announced as presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's vice presidential pick on Tuesday — appeared together with Biden for the first time in Delaware on Wednesday.

Rebecca Davis editorSam Mendes’ World War I saga “1917” took the top spot at China’s box office this weekend with a $5.3 million debut, according to data from industry tracker Maoyan, as overall nationwide ticket sales dipped down from the week before.Meanwhile, the China premiere of the 20th Century Fox’s racing drama “Ford V. Ferrari” flopped and came in fifth with just $1.2 million.

Manori Ravindran International EditorNetflix has launched a user interface in Hindi — a new functionality that will cater to almost half of India’s 1.4 billion population.The platform’s subscribers will be able to switch over to the Hindi interface from the “language” option on the platform — which has largely been accessible only in English to date in India —  allowing every aspect of the service to appear in Hindi.

Elle Fanning will be starring in the upcoming Hulu series The Girl From Plainville, which is inspired by the true story of Michelle Carter and her controversial “texting-suicide” case.

Art & Activism showcases artworks that have been inspired by one or more of the social movements of our time: from Black Lives Matter to immigration reform, women’s rights to LGBTQ equality, climate change to the coronavirus pandemic.Available for viewing either as a traditional exhibition in the reopened gallery space or as a virtual display, Art & Activism features works by member artists, among them Gordon Binder, Gary Anthes, Kimberley Bursic, William Bowser, Deborah Addison Coburn, Suzanne

Rebecca Rubin News Editor, OnlineChristopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic “Tenet” will launch in Chinese theaters on Sept. 4.The movie, starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson, is expected to be the first major Hollywood release since the pandemic forced cinemas to close in the country starting in January.The studio got approval last week to debut “Tenet” in China, signaling a reversal in reopening guideline from the National Film Bureau.

Russell Crowe and an Edinburgh-born musical theatre star have gone viral with their lockdown recording of The Confrontation from hit West End musical Les Miserables. The video racked up over a million hits in just 48-hours with fans clamouring for more from Pilton-born Jeff Leyton and the Hollywood A-lister.