UK Film & TV Production Spend Hit Record $7.8BN In 2022; Box Office Bounces Back But Indie Film Flounders

Oscars slap in his opening speech at the BAFTAs 2023.During the ceremony on Tuesday (February 19) at London’s Royal Festival Hall, the actor, who hosted the ceremony alongside Alison Hammond, told the crowd: “Nobody on my watch gets slapped tonight – except on the back.”The joke refers to the moment Will Smith slapped presenter Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, during last year’s Oscars.Following a number of apologies after the incident, Smith resigned from the Academy and was later banned from attending all Academy events for 10 years.In July last year, Smith posted an apology video to address questions surrounding the incident. “I’ve reached out to Chris [Rock] and the message that came back is he’s not ready to talk and when he is, he will reach out.”All Quiet On The Western Front led the winners at the BAFTAs, picking up seven awards including Best Film and Film Not In The English Language.The Banshees Of Inisherin, which was nominated for 10 awards, went onto win four trophies including Supporting Actress for Kerry Condon and Supporting Actor for Barry Keoghan.Other winners include Austin Butler, who won Leading Actor for Elvis, and Cate Blanchett who won Leading Actress for TÁR.

BAFTA Awards in London on Sunday night with a record-breaking seven wins, including for Best Director, Best Film and Best Film Not in the English Language. The tally means the World War One epic now holds the record for a film not in the English language. The previous record was held by 1988 film “Cinema Paradiso,” which won five BAFTAs. Meanwhile Colin Farrell starrer “The Banshees Of Inisherin” won the second largest number of awards of the night, including both supporting actor categories with wins for Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon (who emerged as the correct winner after fellow nominee Carey Mulligan’s name was initially called in error.) Writer and director Martin Mcdonagh also won for Original Screenplay and Outstanding British Film, although his swipe at the film’s producer Searchlight – when he quipped that he had landed an award for the script without any notes from the studio – prompted a mixed response from the audience, with some possibly perceiving the comment as arrogant. The director quickly made it clear he wasn’t being serious, saying “kidding, kidding.”

Following in the footsteps of comedy stars such as Stephen Fry and Richard Ayoade, this year’s BAFTA film awards will be hosted by Hollywood actor Richard E Grant and This Morning presenter Alison Hammond. Dressed to the nines for one night only, the charismatic duo will be joining forces as the reveal the winners of this year’s closely run awards race, to see who will get to take home of of the iconic BAFTA mask trophies.

A posh evening! The 76th British Academy Film Awards are almost upon Us — and fans can expect Hollywood’s biggest names to turn heads. 

Alison Hammon d was “shamed” by movie icon Richard E Grant in the leadup to their hosting gig at the EE British Academy Film Awards. Alison, who recently celebrated her birthday alongside her son and the likes of Holly Willoughby, is co-hosting this year's EE Baftas alongside Richard on Sunday night Before taking to the stage at the Royal Festive Hall alongside the national treasure, Richard, 65, revealed the awkward moment Alison, 48, forgot she’d already met him. While speaking with Emma Willis, who recently set off on an adventure alongside Rylan Clark and Oti Mabuse, Richard said: "I did, because I was on the show that she's on - on another channel, in the morning! "And so when we met, I said, 'Alison, we met before'.

With the annual BAFTAs right around the corner, many will be anxious to see which of their favourite films and actors will receive the prestigious award and who will be handing them out.

The Great British Bake Off‘s executive producer has said that people were justified in criticizing Season 13 of the hit competition series.

Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Puss in Boots: The Last Wish had a happy Valentine’s Day, swashbuckling to a new global milestone. The spinoff sequel crossed $400M with Tuesday’s numbers bringing the worldwide kitty to $401.5M. The split is $160.1M domestic and $241.4M at the international box office. 

Chloe Sims appears to be living her best life in America after recently taking the plunge and relocating to Los Angeles. The Only Way Is Essex favourite Chloe, 41, officially swapped Essex for sunny California in January, after jet setting between the US and UK for several months prior to the big move.The mum-of-one, who has moved with her daughter Madison, 17, appears to be making the most of the sunshine over in the US, and was recently snapped enjoying a day out at Miami Beach, Florida.

EXCLUSIVE: When the British government launched its £500M ($601M) Film & TV Production Restart Scheme (PRS) in October 2020, independent producers breathed a sigh of relief. The scheme promised to kickstart film and TV production by offering cover for Covid-related costs that was necessary to getting the cameras rolling again.

Zack Sharf Idris Elba ignited a firestorm on social media after he told Esquire UK that he has stopped calling himself a “Black actor” because it creates limitations for his career. While some accused Elba of renouncing his Blackness, others came to the “Luther” actor’s defense and agreed with him regarding Hollywood’s penchant to put labels on and stereotype Black actors. “Star Wars” alum John Boyega recently took to Twitter to tell his followers that Elba’s detractors were having the wrong takeaway from his comment. “I think we should fixate on who is typecasting and putting actors in boxes because of this,” Boyega wrote. “Not on making weird adjustments for them. We continuously focus on what we have to do so they don’t do this or that. Very worrying. We BLACK and that’s that.”

EXCLUSIVE: BAFTA winner Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd) has been set to direct and stars in The Semplica Girl Diaries, written by Ayoade and Booker Prize-winning author George Saunders.

Refresh for latest…: The latest rerelease of James Cameron’s Titanic 3D has buoyed the big boat movie to $2.217B globally, meaning it still stands as the No. 3 worldwide release of all time. Right up in its wake, Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has now reached $2,213.5M, still the fourth biggest movie ever and less than $4M from Titanic through Sunday. It will overtake Titanic, it’s just a matter of when.

Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton, have been confirmed as attendees at this year’s BAFTA Film Awards.

EXCLUSIVE: Arthouse streamer and distributor Mubi has traditionally been shy about revealing performance numbers for its movies, but today we can reveal that BAFTA and Oscar hopeful Aftersun has become the company’s most streamed release globally.

David Schwimmer will don his apron and compete for the coveted Star Baker prize as he joins the cast of The Great Celebrity Bake Off.

Sky is seeking inspiration from Happy Valley for its next hit show as programs boss Zai Bennett says the pay-TV giant is taking a ‘less is more’ approach to original content.

Refresh for latest…: James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water has overtaken the filmmaker’s own Titanic at the international box office with an estimated $1.538B through Sunday. That makes it the No. 3 movie of all time abroad, behind the original Avatar and Avengers: Endgame.

Leave it to Stephen Frears to make another project about recent British history. But in fairness, “The Lost King” looks like a lighter romp than the likes of “A Very English Scandal” and “The Queen.” It’s not like every film has Sally Potter hallucinating a long-deceased monarch, right? READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2023 Based on Phillippa Langley‘s 2013 book “The King’s Grave: The Search For Richard III,” “The Lost King” traces the discovery of Richard III’s grave under a car park in Leceister, and how the Langley’s amateur research led up to it.

BBC3 has named Nasfim Haque as its Head of Content after controller Fiona Campbell was promoted to a new role overseeing the British broadcaster’s youth audience.