Pandemic Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Boris Johnson has claimed he "got on very well" with Nicola Sturgeon when they worked together.

MGM+ has announced the acquisition of the two-part docuseries “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon, debuting on the streamer on March 17 and March 24 at 9 p.m. EDT/PDT.

EXCLUSIVE: Most of the serious candidates for Best Picture and other major awards are known quantities, but if you are looking for a dark horse comp for Everything Everywhere All At Once, get ready for Poor Things. A Golden Lion winner at Venice and buzz title at Telluride, New York and Busan, Poor Things has been a relative secret, because the strike prevented its cast from promoting it.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Writers returned to work two months ago, and the SAG-AFTRA strike has been over for nearly a month. Production has restarted but won’t be back to full strength until mid-January. But even as Hollywood tries to return to normal, dark clouds are forming on the horizon.

Post-pandemic audiences are much more open to different cultures, thanks to streaming and exposure to new types of content, but some of the world’s biggest film industries are still figuring out how to adapt in a rapidly changing landscape, said speakers on the ‘Cinematic Crossovers’ panel in Red Sea Souk. 

Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, has denied deleting WhatsApp messages from February to June 2020. It comes after it was revealed that he had been unable to provide his communications to the Covid-19 inquiry due to a 'technical issue'.

In an intriguing move, yet retro, move for Disney on the 2024 theatrical release calendar which is starving for product, three Pixar movies –2020’s Soul, 2021’s Luca and 2022’s Turning Red –which were sidelined on Disney+ during the pandemic, are getting special engagement theatrical runs. We hear all three will receive moderate to wide theatrical runs. The titles will remain in play on Disney+ during their new theatrical window.

Jordan Moreau Pixar‘s “Soul,” “Turning Red” and “Luca” are coming to theaters after they originally had streaming-only releases on Disney+ during the COVID-19 pandemic. The three movies will come to theaters nationwide in 2024, with tickets going on sale Jan. 2.

A Dragon Market will take over Chinatown on Sunday for the first time ever - featuring a range of stalls from independent makers and local businesses.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Margot Robbie revealed to Cillian Murphy during a conversation for Variety’s “Actors on Actors,” presented by “AIR,” that she got a call from “Oppenheimer” producer Charles Roven in which he asked her to change the “Barbie” release date so that it wouldn’t open on the same day as Christopher Nolan’s atomic bomb epic. Roven also produced Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy and worked with Robbie on James Gunn’s “The Suicide Squad.” “One of your producers, Chuck Roven, called me, because we worked together on some other projects,” Robbie said. “And he was like, ‘I think you guys should move your date.’ And I was like, ‘We’re not moving our date.

Ed Sheeran, Blur, Fatboy Slim, The Killers, Radiohead, The Smiths and IDLES since it opened in 1978 and was one of the last surviving venues from Oasis‘ first tour.Moles announced it would be shutting with immediate effect in a statement on Facebook, in which it cited the cost of living crisis and “huge rent rates, along with massively increased costs on everything from utilities to stock” as reasons for its closure. All future events at the venue have been cancelled.“We’ve weathered many things over the years, including a fire and a pandemic in the last 10 years alone, but this cost of living crisis has crippled the grassroots music sector. Although that is not the only problem, it has accentuated it,” the statement began.

Ellise Shafer For Penélope Cruz, nothing can beat the experience of watching a film at the cinema. During a “BAFTA: A Life in Pictures” conversation in London on Monday night, Cruz reflected on her over three-decade career and how the industry has evolved in that time. But one thing that the actor thinks should never change is films getting a full release in theaters, which has grown increasingly rare with the advent of streamers and the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down cinemas.

I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here viewers have been asking 'how' in some degree of amazement as they continue to be divided over Josie Gibson's time in camp. The This Morning star is among the eight celebrities still Down Under as the week-long eliminations continue.

Give it to ‘em, they’re “Worth It”!

When Harry Met Sally co-star Meg Ryan was on hand to help pay tribute to the comedy actor, and address their most famous scene.“The scene came really naturally to me, and I really have Billy to thank for that,” Ryan, , said in her speech, referring to the iconic moment when her character, Sally Albright, re-enacts an orgasm at a crowded deli to prove to her friend Harry (Crystal) that he can't always tell when a woman is ”faking it." Per , she added, “I’ve actually never been around anyone who made faking an orgasm easier. So thank you, Billy.”In a candid interview, the 62-year-old talks directing during the pandemic, her worst date ever, the joy of parenting, the “moonshot” trifecta of her three highest-grossing rom-coms, and more.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region indie distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment is promoting company execs Nicolas Torloting, Carine Chaiban and Elie Touma to partners as it ramps up operations. The trio joined the company, headed by Gianluca Chakra, in early 2019 as part of an initial revamp.

A mystery pneumonia strain rampaging through China is now threatening the UK - with experts suggesting we could see another “Covid-like” pandemic.

Construction work on a brand new hospital theatre in Wigan is set to begin now planning permission has been granted.

Disney CEO Bob Iger blames the pandemic effect as part of the reason for the dismal box office results on The Marvels.

A decision to write off a debt of almost £1.5m owed to Bolton Council by car parking giant NCP has been slammed by councillors. The council, which has had to make more than £40m of cuts in the past four years, works with National Car Parks Ltd (NCP) who signed a 50-year contract in 2009 to operate the multi-storey car parks at the Octagon, Topp Way and Deane Road, as well as surface car parks on Ashburner Street and the Octagon.

Three hours of exercise and one yogurt at 6pm. It was a daily routine Maddie Blackburn stuck to until she made herself very unwell.

A woman with size 32K breasts claims she was refused reduction surgery on the NHS because she was deemed to be too fat - despite being a size SIX at the time. Summer Roberston, now 26, developed large boobs from the age of eight, which caused her pain and brought "unwanted attention".

Karan Brar has come out publicly as bisexual.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor Hollywood’s Cinerama Dome theater, which has been shuttered since the beginning of the pandemic, will not be reopening in 2024, sources confirmed on background. It’s hoped that the Dome and adjacent Arclight Theatres will be ready for a 2025 opening. The Cinerama Dome and Arclight remained closed even after other theaters reopened after Covid shutdowns, and Pacific Theatres filed for bankruptcy in 2021.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The same day activist investor Nelson Peltz announced he was launching a proxy campaign to get seats on Disney’s board of directors, the company adopted amended bylaws covering nominations of directors by outside parties. In a bid to win shareholder favor amid the brewing proxy battle, Disney separately on Thursday announced a cash dividend of $0.30 per share, payable Jan.

Former health secretary Matt Hancock defended his record as he became the latest high-profile figure to give evidence to the official Covid-19 inquiry on Thursday. Among the revelations, the ex Cabinet minister accused No 10 aide Dominic Cummings of creating a “culture of fear” in government that undermined the pandemic response.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Disney CEO Bob Iger said at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit (via CNBC) following “The Marvels” flopping at the box office that there was a lack of supervision on the set of the film as a result of the COVID pandemic. The combination of pandemic set restrictions and Disney’s increased output due to the launch of streamer Disney+ made it increasingly difficult for studio executives to oversee the onslaught of new productions.

A former care assistant who joined a Stockport care home nine years ago has been named the UK's top Deputy Care Manager at a national awards ceremony.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The latest episode of Variety‘s “Strictly Business” podcast features Aaron Dessner — the man Swifties are indebted to for collaborating on big chunks of “Folklore” and “Evermore,” but who more than earned his keep for a quarter-century prior to that as a member of the exalted-in-their-own-right band the National. Dessner’s Grammy-winning group has been one of the mainstays of rock ’n roll since the late ’90s.

Taylor Swift has wrapped the 2023 dates on the Eras Tour and she still has so many shows left to perform in 2024. We’re taking a look back at the amount of money grossed by all of her world tours!

Tracee Ellis Ross and Eddie Murphy are ready to get you into the Christmas spirit. The legendary actors and comedians have come together for Amazon Prime’s Candy Cane Lane, available to stream this Friday, December 1. Murphy plays Chris, a man determined to win his neighborhood’s annual Christmas home decoration competition.

A desperate pensioner took an hour-long bus journey to visit a food bank so that she could get fresh fruit and veg. Patricia, 90, was one of more than 150 people who faced the cold to collect a free food parcel in Birmingham.

Rishi Sunak has refuted claims that he said it was "OK" to let people die from coronavirus. The allegations surfaced from a diary entry by Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK Government's chief scientific adviser during the pandemic, which was shared with the UK Covid-19 Inquiry.

Kate Garraway has opened up the 'heartbreak' she feels over her husband Derek Draper's health after his latest hospital visit. Last week, the Good Morning Britain star told how Derek was in hospital for a planned visit as part of his on-going treatment.

The UK had “no tests left” as global health chiefs encouraged countries to “test, test, test” during the pandemic’s early days, the Covid-19 public inquiry has been told.

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