Donnie Yen Lauds Hong Kong’s Return to China as He Starts New Films ‘Sleeping Dogs,’ ‘Golden Empire’

Pretty well from when he started out in 2002, melding fiction, recreation and direct reportage in films that won him two San Sebastián Golden Shells but bamboozled more mainstream critics, Spain’s Isaki Lacuesta has maintained that he wanted to make larger audience movies.With his tenth feature, Berlin competition player “One Year, One Night,” taking in the 2015 Bataclan Paris terrorist attack, he finally has his chance.Produced by Lacuesta’s label La Termita Films and Spain’s Bambu Producciones, the company behind milestone Spanish TV shows “Grand Hotel,” “Velvet” and “Cable Girls,” “One Year, One Night” cost six times the budget of Lacuesta’s most expensive film before that, the director says. It stars Argentina’s Nahuel Pérez (“BPM (Beats Per Minute)”) and Noémie Merlant (“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”), two of the most admired young actors currently working in France, and it’s backed by the distribution and sales muscle of Studiocanal, which took a minority stake in Bambu in 2016.“I’ve never tried to make films of a size whose budget I didn’t have,” says Lacuesta.

Along with Robert Eggers and Ari Aster, Jordan Peele is one of modern horror’s new masters. Well, good news, horror fans: all three directors have new films out this year.

Merging the male and female acting categories into gender-neutral ones at the Bafta Awards is something that has been discussed and remains under consideration, according to outgoing chief executive Amanda Berry. 

Known for speaking her mind, The Only Way is Essex star Gemma Collins has revealed more about her own self-harming and how she feared being “locked up” if she was discovered. Gemma, also known by her public persona The GC, has recently spoken candidly about self-harm in her Channel 4 documentary Gemma Collins: Self Harm and Me, which is set to be aired on Wednesday 16 February.The reality star, 41, is set to show a more raw and emotional side to her than viewers usually see and speaks with psychotherapists, self-harmers, friends and family in a bid to get to the bottom of what drives people to self-harm. Ahead of the the programme's air date, the TV favourite spoke to The Mirror about the issue admitting she feared she’d be “locked up” if she was found out.

Strictly Come Dancing bosses allegedly intend to keep Anton Du Beke as a judge this year, axing Bruno Tonioli, according to a report. Bruno, 66, was unable to take part in last year’s judging panel after Covid restrictions prevented him from travelling to the UK, however was he expected to return to the show after Craig Revel Horwood gave his support by casting him on the Strictly live tour. But, a BBC source has reportedly suggested that show bosses have now decided in Anton’s favour, claiming that his contract is due to be renewed.The source told The Sun: “We have been told Anton’s contract as a judge is going to be renewed.The bosses were really happy with his performance.

Kate Garraway has said she is discovering a 'new way to be in love' with her husband.

Less than a year after his appointment, the Stephen Glass experiment at Aberdeen is officially over.

Davina McCall stunned diners at an Ayrshire restaurant after making a shock visit.

A Rutherglen man has praised a new NHS weight loss programme after shedding a staggering four stone in less than a year.

CHARLOTTE Church was unmasked at The Masked Singer's Mushroom on Saturday night - much to the delight of fans. The Welsh classical singer was finally revealed to be under the mask after weeks of the tough TV competition.

The end is near! Hollywood is gearing up for spring by buying plenty of spring and summer pieces to refresh their closets.

Brandon Boyd has shared a new animated video for his latest single, ‘A Better Universe’ – you can watch it below.Produced by John Congleton, the rousing new track is the fourth to be lifted from the Incubus frontman’s upcoming new solo album, ‘Echoes And Cocoons’.In a statement explaining the inspiration behind ‘A Better Universe’, Boyd said: “Did you ever encounter someone so far gone in their malignant narcissism and self aggrandizing, self assured egomania that all you could do was take a deep breath and walk away? Of course you have, you see a potential ‘them’ in the mirror each day.“Have you ever wished that that ‘someone’ would die? Would that even solve the problem? For if they found an audience so eager and ready to glutton themselves on the message, could it not be argued that there will be yet another wolf in wolf’s clothing waiting in the wings to rush in and fill that void? I found myself in the teeth of this dilemma recently and I struggled with the ethical problem that was clinging to its heels. Then, shortly after locking horns with this philosophical bull, I met the person whom I’d come to this unfortunate impasse with in a dream.”Boyd then went on to quote some of the song’s lyrics: “I met you in a dream, and in the dream you died/ I slow danced on your grave, and I got all teary eyed/ I woke up with a smile, wiped the tears away/ I wished that it were real/ So it goes, so I’ll say, I’m sorry but it’s a better universe without you in it/ Did you read the book or did you just see the movie?/ Every breath you take is just a waste of air.”“Do I wish ill upon my fomenter? I do not.

Former Hamilton boss Alex Neil says he's aiming to rack up plenty of wins to help his new Sunderland side into the English Championship.

Ex Pussycat Dolls singer Kimberly Wyatt is said to be feeling “awkward” after discovering that her fellow Dancing on Ice celebs have a group chat she knew nothing about, it has been reported. Kimberly, 40, is said to have been unaware that some of her fellow cast mates from the ITV skating show had been chatting in a WhatsApp group. And after discovering news of the chat, Kimberly reportedly felt "excluded" by the move.

Holly Jones Bolivian-Mexican filmmaker Natalia López Gallardo enjoyed tandem careers in editing (“Jauja,” “Post Tenebras Lux”) and acting (“Nuestro Tiempo”), as she made her debut as auteur with the short film “En el cielo como en la tierra.” In her first feature-length project, “Robe of Gems,” she tackles the parallel individual struggles of three women against a backdrop of unrelenting cartel infiltration.What lured you into directing after careers in editing and acting? Was it a natural progression?Definitely, yes, it was there, but I think maybe it took time to accumulate the big necessity. I think it’s very important to have that need to do a film. It’s not a desire; it’s not an objective; you have to need it because that impulse that makes you start a film has to last maybe five years with the same power.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentThe Berlin Film Festival, whose scaled-down edition kicked off on Thursday evening with strict COVID measures, has recorded only eight positive cases among the film teams, the festival spokesperson confirmed to Variety. Unlike at Cannes or Venice, the Berlinale is requiring guests to take a daily test, even if they’re vaccinated three times, in order to access screenings, as well as select events and venues.

Netflix's recent documentary The Tinder Swindler has had international attention after it shared the story of several women on their mission to track down the man who tricked them into giving him tens of thousands of dollars after meeting him on a dating app. Shimon Hayut, 31, known to his victims as Simon Leviev, is estimated to have stolen $10m (£7.4m) through expensive dates and manipulative ploys. He was arrested and sentenced to 15 months on fraud, theft and forgery charges in December 2019, but only served five months of his sentence, being released on 'good behaviour' in May 2020.The women met Simon on the dating app Tinder, so OK! caught up with life and relationship coach Kapil Gupta on if, and how, we can avoid matching with people using the app for sinister purposes.

Rebekah Vardy is said to have secretly invited Coleen Rooney to stay with her after husband Wayne was caught drink-driving in 2017, according to a new report. One source alleged that Rebekah, 39, invited Coleen, 35, to come and stay at her house with her children, two years before Coleen accused Becky's Instagram account of leaking "false stories" about the Rooneys to the press.

EMILY Atack has been spotted spending quality time with her family this weekend - including her rarely-seen dad Keith. The Inbetweeners star - who is best known for playing Charlotte Hinchcliffe - travelled home with her brother George and sister Martha.

KANYE West accused Kid Cudi of betrayal as the Donda rapper dropped him from his upcoming album and even crossed out Pete Davidson from a photo. Kanye, 44, opened up about his friend split with Cudi, 38, in an Instagram post.

MULAN'S release has been postponed by Disney due to the coronavirus outbreak. The film, which is a live-action remake of the 1998 cartoon, will no longer hit screens on March 27 in the US and UK as the virus crisis intensifies.

In Disney’s upcoming live action remake of “Mulan,” the Chinese characters for “loyal,” “brave” and “true” are emblazoned on the titular character’s sword — and those three words certainly resonate with the stars of the film.

Yifei Liu was the embodiment of a real-life Disney princess at the Mulan premiere on Monday night.

Donnie Yen and Jet Li look handsome while stepping out for the premiere of Mulan on Monday (March 9) at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

When actress Liu Yifei was younger, she needed to choose a song to perform for a school audition. She picked one from a movie she loved as a child: "Reflection," sung by Lea Salonga and Christina Aguilera for. Years later, Liu would fly halfway around the world to audition for the titular role in Disney's live-action remake.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterEXCLUSIVE: Chinese megastar Donnie Yen is set to star in and produce crime thriller Golden Empire, in which he will play a notorious drug kingpin who hits the top of the most wanted list for both the U.S. and Mexican governments.Yen will also produce the movie alongside Peter Luo, CEO at Starlight Media, which is lead financing alongside SA Inc.