Funding Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

The BFI today announced it has awarded $18m (£15.2M) of National Lottery funding over three years to 11 UK-wide partner organizations as the first cash award under its new 10-Year National Lottery funding strategy.

A Scots man who is cancer-free after taking part in a clinical trial has welcomed £3.9 million in funding to help further developments in treating the 'insidious' disease. Jim McCallum, 76, from Paisley, was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2017 after going to the doctor and hoping he would be told it was a "harmless lump".

A rape crisis centre has closed its waiting list for victims amid a row over SNP/Green Government funding coming to an end. Edinburgh has a backlog of nearly 300 survivors and has stopped putting any more people on their books.

Even on a cold and frosty January morning there is still a buzz at the small industrial unit where the members of Forth Valley Men’s Shed meet for one of their regular meet-ups.

Israel’s newly appointed Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar has lashed out against Israeli filmmaker David Wachsmann’s award-winning documentary Two Kids A Day, probing the country’s detention of Palestinian children in the West Bank, and is threatening to take back its state funding.

When Maureen Cummings set up Old Kilpatrick Food Parcels in the spring of 2020 she didn’t imagine she would be using the service herself a year later.

Embattled Health Secretary Humza Yousaf has announced extra social care funding in a desperate bid to free up hospital beds.

Perth and Kinross Council’s SNP leader will write to Nicola Sturgeon “highlighting the massive real-terms cut to council funding” and its impact.

Congress cleared a massive, $1.7 trillion year-end spending bill on Friday that boosts funding for the arts and for public broadcasting.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s AI studio Deep Voodoo said Wednesday that it has secured a $20 million in an investment round led by Connect Ventures. The South Park creators’ startup said it will use the capital to accelerate its development of deep-fake technology, VFX services and original synthetic media projects.

Funding given directly to schools from the Scottish Government has helped some pupils in Falkirk "achieve the unachievable".

While much of the global entertainment industry is witnessing a full-throttled return to in-person events, India’s festival circuit is experiencing a chequered re-emergence from Covid, in part due to political and funding challenges.

The plug could be pulled on North Ayrshire Christmas lights next year if budget plans are ushered in.

A charity for rape victims has warned of “catastrophic” job losses unless “critical” Scottish Government funding is extended. Rape Crisis Scotland sounded the alarm after a grant which had slashed waiting lists ended.

Kirkcudbright Swimming Pool will remain closed until 2023 and a funding dispute is resolved.

A grassroots music venue in Ayr has received a cash boost to develop its space from which the whole community can benefit.

Every council finance director in the country has warned the Scottish Government services may be stopped over a £1bn funding crisis.

Residents have just under a week left to vote for Balloch Park to receive a huge funding boost.

Stepping Stones Foodbank in Castle Douglas has been handed a funding boost.

Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Impact has closed $15 million in series B funding.The online professional network for film and TV crews targets challenges faced by industry productions.More to come …

The education secretary has hinted a teacher strike could be prevented later this month if "additional funding" is found by the Scottish Government.

Voters resoundingly passed state ballot measures protecting a woman’s right to an abortion and another to fund state education programs.

Hong Kong’s government is introducing two new funding schemes under the Hong Kong Film Development Council (HKFDC) aimed at boosting co-productions with other Asian countries and to support the production of streaming content in Hong Kong. The ‘Hong Kong-Asian Film Collaboration Funding Scheme’ will hand out grants of up to HK$9M (US$1.15M) to a maximum of eight films that are co-produced by Hong Kong filmmakers and their counterparts in Asian countries. Applicants will be able to seek other investors in cases where the production budget exceeds the grant. The ‘Content Development Scheme for Streaming Platforms’ will be conducted through a competition to select eight production teams to develop series for streaming platforms.

Johnny Marr has teamed up with the Salford Foundation Trust to provide funding for a young musician based in the city of Salford in Greater Manchester.The financial support provided by the Johnny Marr Award can be used to buy musical instruments or recording equipment, or to otherwise progress the music career of the recipient of the grant of up to £1000. The award will be presented each year for the next three years.Peter Collins, Managing Trustee at the Salford Foundation Trust, says: “I am very grateful for the support from Johnny Marr – we can’t let financial difficulties stand in the way of talent and this fund gives a young person in Salford for each of the next three years a chance to progress their talent”.Meanwhile, Marr himself adds: “It’s a privilege to make a contribution to the creative development of young people.

Citing 19th Century patriotic poetry and Mussolini-era writers and philosophers, the freshly appointed culture minister of Italy’s new right-wing government has promised a new era for the country’s cultural sector and revealed he wants to reform state funding for the performances arts.

Omaha, Nebraska public schools are employing $460,000 in federal funding allocated for COVID-19 relief to invest in social emotional learning (SEL) throughout the district, a practice that is popping up across the state and the country, Parents Defending Education found. "The pandemic’s impact has taken a toll on students in particular, contributing to an increase in mental health problems since 2020, according to statewide and national data," the Omaha World-Herald reported earlier this month.

Skydance Media said today it’s completed a $400 million strategic investment round led by KKR, a first-time investor, and joined by the Ellison family, who remain majority shareholders. Existing investors RedBird Capital Partners and Tencent also participated in the fundraise, which values Skydance at over $4 billion.

The disgraced former Los Angeles city council president said that cutting police funding is a "step" toward ending racism. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, former Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez backed a proposal to slash police funding for the City of Angels.

Naman Ramachandran Singapore’s Momo Film Co has boarded a raft of projects, it was revealed on the opening day of the Busan Asian Contents & Film Market on Saturday. Momo, in which Blue Ant Media’s Beach House Pictures has a majority stake, was founded in 2018 by writer-director Kris Ong (“Sunday”) and Tan Si En, who is a co-producer on Busan and Locarno title “Arnold is a Model Student.” Tan has boarded “Andragogy” by Wregas Bhanuteja (Cannes winner “Prenjak,” Busan 2021 title “Photocopier”) as a co-producer. The film will follow Prani, a middle-aged schoolteacher, whose angry video goes viral and she gets trolled online. Adi Ekatama is producing for Indonesia’s Rekata Studio (“Photocopier”).

The National Park Service is funding recreation and restoration projects in West Virginia state and local parks with $2.4 million. The awards include $900,000 to Mannington Hough Park Pool Replacement, $750,000 to Canaan Valley State Park Trails Accessibility Improvements in South Charleston, $668,117 to Southwood Park Pool Enhancement in Parkersburg, $71,500 to Myles Stadium renovations Phase II in Pennsboro and $54,302 to Paw Paw Municipal Park improvements in Paw Paw.

A congressman from Maine said Wednesday he will file a proposal to withhold federal money from a California aquarium and conservation group that has recommended seafood consumers avoid buying lobster. The move from Democratic Rep. Jared Golden came a week after a spat with Republican former Rep.

A popular West Lothian playgroup will close at Christmas after missing out on funding to provide pre-school care.

France’s CNC Sets Carbon Footprint Stipulations In Return For Support

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Crooked Media is looking to take its progressive-politics podcast empire to the next level. The L.A.-based media company, which produces more than 30 podcasts including the flagship “Pod Save America,” has hired Lucinda Treat, chief legal officer at Vice Media Group for the last four years, as its first CEO. Crooked Media also announced an investment from Soros Fund Management, the investment firm founded by billionaire George Soros, which is taking a minority stake in Crooked. Crooked Media didn’t disclose the amount of funding it received from Soros Fund Management, which represents its first outside financing. The company remains majority owned by founders and “Pod Save America” co-hosts Jon Lovett, Jon Favreau and Tommy Vietor.

The Santa Fe District Attorney has secured partial funding for 4 potential prosecutions over Rust.

New Mexico Board of Finance meeting on Sept. 20 requested emergency funding in order to try as many as four separate jury trials. She clarified that she has yet to review a final report from the Santa Fe Sheriff’s office but that “we are within weeks, if not days,” from receiving it.