Condé Nast Union Members Plan 24-Hour Work Stoppage on Oscar Nominations Day

Campaigners fighting for the reopening of Kirkcudbright Hospital have branded the latest round of consultation “something of a sham”.

Gregor Hiddleston has signed a professional deal with Glasgow Warriors.

Dumfries and Galloway curlers are aiming for glory in the World Junior Curling Championships.

Creetown gaffer Jamie Adams reckons his side haven’t received the credit they deserve for their achievements.

Threave Rovers caretaker Paul McGinley reckoned Saturday’s draw at Irvine Victoria was a point gained.

EXCLUSIVE: France TV Distribution has posted new deals for French director Delphine Deloget’s custody battle drama All To Play For (Rien à perdre) starring Virgine Efira.

“It’s about a whole bunch of things,” Mexican filmmaker Alonso Ruizpalacios says when quizzed on the subject of his latest feature, La Cocina, debuting this evening at the Berlin Film Festival. “In equal parts, it explores the topic of work, the American dream, the failure of the American dream, and abortion rights. That’s a really tough question as a director.” 

It’s Friday, and one star sign will plan a romantic weekend with a partner, while another can expect conflict in the workplace to cause a division. There are 12 zodiac signs - Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces - and the horoscopes for each can give you the lowdown on what your future holds, be it in work, your love life, your friends and family or more. These daily forecasts have been compiled by astrologer Russell Grant, who has been reading star signs for over 50 years.

Naman Ramachandran U.K. sales and distribution outfit Blue Finch Films has boarded worldwide rights to thriller “Cold Wallet.” In the film, after losing everything in a cryptocurrency scam, a ragtag team of vigilante Redditors attempt to kidnap the kingpin who cheated them But when the home invasion takes a turn for the worst, they become victims in a sadistic game. The cast includes Raul Castillo (“Cassandro”), Melonie Diaz (“The First Purge”), Tony Cavalero (“The Righteous Gemstones”) Josh Brener (“Silicon Valley”) and Zoe Winters (“Succession”).

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent FilmSharks has taken world sales rights outside Spain to “The Bus of Life,” next up from Arcadia Motion Pictures, producer of Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s Cesar and Goya winner “The Beasts” and Neon U.S. pick-up “Robot Dreams,” nominated last month for a best animated feature Academy Award.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Culturally pluralistic and gender-diverse Taiwan is the backdrop for “The Chronicles of Libidoists,” a new film by Gilles Yang, a director whose three previous films have also explored the erotic. The story is inspired by “The Little Mermaid,” the traditional fairy tale in which a mermaid princess falls in love with a human prince. But in Yang’s hands there is a twist in that the mermaid turns out to be a boy.

Annika Pham Copenhagen-based TrustNordisk has inked multiple deals on the Danish thriller “Boundless,” based on Jussi Adler-Olsen’s “Department Q” novel, which is currently dominating the Danish box office. Ahead of the pic’s market screening Feb 17 at the Berlin European Film Market, the title, helmed by Ole Christian Madsen (“Banshee,” “Flame & Citron”) has sold to Wild Bunch Distribution for France, Vértigo Films for Spain, Frenetic Films for Switzerland, Film Europe Slovakia for Czech Republic, Vertigo Media for Hungary and Contents Panda for Korea.

Christopher Vourlias MetFilm Sales has secured international rights to “The Battle for Laikipia,” Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi’s multi-layered portrait of the conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in Kenya. The film had its world premiere as part of the World Cinema Documentary section at the Sundance Film Festival. Submarine Entertainment Sales negotiated the deal with MetFilm on behalf of the filmmakers and is handling North American sales.

We finally have an update on Gerard Butler‘s Greenland sequel!

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck may be reuniting for a new movie!

The stars of the upcoming live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series are stepping out for the premiere of their new Netflix show!

Heather Rae El Moussa is addressing all of the backlash surrounding her Valentine’s Day post.

Ariana Grande and Mariah Carey‘s new collab is out now!

Austin Butler is celebrating the premiere of his new movie with his girlfriend by his side!

Bow Wow is opening up about his battle with addiction.

Christopher Vourlias K5 Intl., the international sales arm of K5 Media Group, has acquired world sales rights excluding North America to “Stay Online,” a tense Ukraine war drama that was entirely shot in the Eastern European country after the Russian invasion, the company announced at the European Film Market. The film, which debuted last year at Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival, recently sold to Dark Star Pictures for North American distribution in a deal brokered by XYZ Films. A U.S.

Having recently left Millennium Media after a 14-year run, Jeffrey Greenstein is launching production and sales company, A Higher Standard.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Inspired by Arnold Wesker’s 1959 stage play, “The Kitchen,” Alonso Ruizpalacios’ “La Cocina” dives deep into the bowels of the industrial-size kitchen of a restaurant in New York City’s Times Square where food is churned out to serve throngs of diners, mostly tourists. For Ruizpalacios, whose feature debut, “Güeros,” won the best first feature award at the Berlinale nearly 10 years ago, “La Cocina” (“The Kitchen”) is basically an anti-food-porn movie. “I wanted to show the other side of the food industry where expediency is more important than the quality of the food.

Naman Ramachandran Blue Finch Films have sold North American rights to thriller “Last Straw” to Shout! Studios at the Berlin European Film Market. Written by Taylor Sardoni, “Last Straw” pays homage to the pressure- cooker genre films of the past and aims to present a raw and unrelenting twist on the home-invasion thriller. The story revolves around a young waitress working the late shift alone at a rural roadside diner.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Dark Star Pictures has acquired North American rights to “Zenithal,” a kung fu comedy directed by Jean-Baptiste Saurel, an up-and-coming filmmaker whose previous short, “The Dickslap,” premiered at Cannes’ Critics Week. “Zenithal” is being represented in international markets by Best Friend Forever, which will unveil an exclusive promo reel at the EFM. Currently in post-production, the film will world premiere this year.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Upscale crossover sales agent Latido Films has acquired international sales rights to “Re-creation,” directed by legendary Irish filmmaker Jim Sheridan, whose “In the Name of the Father” won a Berlin Golden Bear in 1994. Starring Vicky Krieps, a Cannes’ Un Certain Regard winner for “Corsage,” the docu-drama is co-written and co-directed by Irish artist and filmmaker David Merriman (“Rock Against Homelessness”). It will be unveiled to buyers at the European Film Market.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Asia Argento (“xXx,” “Land of the Dead”) and Melvil Poupaud (“Speed Racer,” “Laurence Anyways”) will star in French crime thriller “Stronger Than the Devil.” The project will be pitched for the first time at the European Film Market, attached to the Berlin Film Festival, by All Rights Entertainment, the Hong Kong, Paris and Los Angeles-based film sales agency which has picked up the rights. The picture, which heads into production later this month, is written and directed by Graham Guit (“Les Kidnappeurs,” “Hello, Goodbye”). The finished film is expected to be completed by the autumn.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent U.S. specialty distributor Shadow Distribution has taken North American rights to Italian director Giorgio Diritti’s ethnic cleansing drama “Lubo,” toplining Franz Rogowski, from Italy’s True Colours.

Emiliano De Pablos Pink Parrot Media, the Montreal and Madrid-based international sales house, has revealed a flurry of deals for the German-Canadian CG animated fantasy feature “Elli and Her Monster Team!,” which is making its market premiere at the EFM. Underlining the appetite for toon family features by European distributors, the film has been sold to Just Entertainment in Benelux, Bim Distribuzione in Italy, NOS Lusomundo in Portugal, Flins&Piniculas in Spain and GPI for Baltics. “Elli” has also been acquired by Pro Films in Bulgaria, Rocket Releasing for CIS, Forum (Czech Republic/Slovak), MCF Megacom Film (Former Yugoslavia), Cinetel (Hungary), Forum for Poland, Romania and Israel, and Front Row in the Middle East.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Taipei and Los Angeles-based Organic Media Group has picked up rights to U.S.-produced classical music documentary title “Crescendo” and will be launching it at the European Film Market, which accompanies the Berlin Film Festival. The picture had its first commercial release in South Korea in December and became the highest grossing foreign documentary in the last three years.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Pulsar Content has closed major deals on “Niki,” a biopic of French-American artist Niki de Saint-Phalle. “Niki” marks the feature debut of popular French actor Céline Sallette and stars Charlotte Le Bon (“The Walk” “Saint-Laurent”) as de Saint-Phalle. Pulsar closed deals with Neue Visionen (Germany), Movies Inspired (Italy), Paradiso (Benelux), Praessens (Switzerland), Vercine (Spain), Magic Films (CIS), Best Films (Baltics), Shaw (Singapour), Sky Digi (Taiwan) and Immovision (Brazil).

Naman Ramachandran Top Indian star Allu Arjun has revealed franchise expansion plans for his 2021 blockbuster film “Pushpa: The Rise — Part 1.” Directed by Sukumar and produced by Mythri Movie Makers, the film traced the rise of Pushpa Raj (Arjun), a laborer who rises through the ranks of a red sandalwood smuggling syndicate and faces off against an egotistical police officer. The Telugu-language film was also dubbed into other Indian languages and went on to become India’s biggest box office hit of 2021. Arjun won best actor at India’s National Film Awards for the film.

Paul McCartney has finally been reunited with his famed Höfner bass guitar.The bass guitar – which has been dubbed the most important bass in history for its role in recording numerous Beatles hits – was stolen from the musician in 1972, and was last week returned to McCartney, according to his official website.According to the post, the bass was returned to McCartney and was authenticated by Höfner.The statement read: “Following the launch of last year’s Lost Bass project, Paul’s 1961 Höfner 500/1 bass guitar, which was stolen in 1972, has been returned. The guitar has been authenticated by Höfner and Paul is incredibly grateful to all those involved.”The long-lost instrument was discovered through the Lost Bass campaign, which began in 2018 but only began to make progress last year to locate the historic bass.

With long commutes and busy morning routines, it can be hard to squeeze in a bite to eat before heading to the workplace. While we all may know the importance of breakfast, a lack of time can cause many of us to simply skip what some regard as the most important meal of the day.

Jennifer Lopez’s much-anticipated new album “This Is Me… Now” — the sequel to 2002’s “This Is Me… Then,” which drops on Friday — once again revolves around her Hollywood love affair with “Gigli” co-star Ben Affleck.But just like that much-maligned romantic comedy did in 2003, Lopez’s first studio album in 10 years — since 2014’s “A.K.A.” — proves yet again that sometimes art and amor just don’t mix.First off, like most sequels, it pales compared to the original.While it was hardly Janet Jackson’s “The Velvet Rope,” Rihanna’s “Anti” or Beyoncé’s anything, “This Is Me… Then” was probably J.Lo’s most “artistic” album.Yes, it had two hit hip-pop bops in “Jenny from the Block” — which infamously featured Affleck in its video — and the lip-licking LL Cool J collab “All I Have.” But Lopez’s third studio LP also found the singer-actress digging for more emotional depth than she had shown on either 1999’s “On the 6” or 2001’s “J.Lo.”But you know what? “On the 6” and “J.Lo” were ultimately better albums because Lopez played to her strengths with booty-shaking beats — the better to hoof it up in some killer couture — rather than heart-tugging feels.And “This Is Me… Now” leans even more into J.Lover rather than J.Lo.While the first single, “Can’t Get Enough” — another hip-pop bop that samples Alton Ellis’ ’60s reggae classic “I’m Still in Love with You” while nodding to Marcia Aitken’s 1977 version of the song— would’ve been a hit 20 years ago, the rest of Lopez’s ninth studio album finds the Bronx-born diva stuck in a romantic rut.

unmasked during the third season of “The Masked Singer” following a hilarious rendition of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s “Baby Got Back,” Sarah Palin popped up on another Fox reality singing competition show.The 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee and former governor of Alaska surprised viewers when she appeared on Wednesday night’s episode of “We Are Family.” Hosted by actor and comedian Anthony Anderson and his mother, Doris Bowman, who are both fresh off of their joint appearance at the 2024 Emmys, the guessing game show features non-famous relatives of celebrities performing solo. Later in the show, they return to the stage to duet with their secret famous family member.