'Greedy' accountant stole £35k from employer while colleagues lost their jobs

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief It seems Hollywood’s “sequel-itis” has reached China’s box office too. Despite the country’s dramatic overnight removal of COVID restrictions in December 2022 and film imports quickly restarting with the triumphant debut of “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Hollywood’s new normal in the Middle Kingdom bears little resemblance to its pre-pandemic status. During the three-year disruption of 2020-22, caused by the pandemic and soured U.S.-China diplomatic relations, few Hollywood films — and no Marvel titles — made their way onto Chinese screens. But if Hollywood studios read the $240 million-grossing “Avatar 2” feeding frenzy as a sign that pent-up Chinese demand for their sequels and superheroes slate might continue throughout 2023, they were sorely disappointed. In the world’s second-largest box office territory, with a cume to date of $7.3 billion, the market share for all imported films in China has crashed, standing at less than 15% at the beginning of December. Hollywood films’ share is just 12%, consultancy Artisan Gateway calculates. This month, “Napoleon” and “Wonka” have continued the trend of dismal flops, with $5 million and $3 million opening weekends, respectively. The slump is particularly disappointing given that the Chinese authorities that carefully control the film industry have this year made several moves designed to put Hollywood releasing back on the rails.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group expanded its board of directors from the original trio to a new total of nine board members, effective immediately. The board of Allen Media (originally called Entertainment Studios when it was founded in 1993) has comprised founder, chairman and CEO Byron Allen, film producer Carolyn Folks (Allen’s mother) and chief operating officer Terence Hill.

the 2005 Broadway musical and a perfect 2015 revival of that same stage show.Running time: 140 minutes. Rated PG-13 (mature thematic content, sexual content, violence and language).

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Roberto Benigni, whose film “Life Is Beautiful” won three Oscars in 1999, has come out of the woodwork to support Matteo Garrone’s Golden Globe-nominated “Io Capitano,” which is Italy’s current Oscar candidate for best international feature film. The revered yet reclusive Italian actor/director, whose most recent big screen role is playing Geppetto in Matteo Garrone’s hit 2019 live-action adaptation of “Pinocchio,” is clearly a big fan of “Io Capitano” (the title translates to “Me Captain”). The movie narrates the Homeric journey of two young African men, Seydou and Moussa, who decide to leave Dakar to reach Europe.

charged with involuntary manslaughter in January. However, special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis announced the state was dropping Baldwin’s charges in April as “new facts” had been revealed that required further investigation.

told the Daily Mail.“This follows last year’s inaugural address to the nation when officials were only allowed to make minor alterations to fit with archive footage inserted by the producers.”“The King has learnt that he speaks best when he does so as off-the-cuff as possible, a talent he learnt relatively late in life,” Hardcastle added.The Post has reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.Charles last year delivered a moving message of grief and loss in his first Christmas address since taking the throne following Queen Elizabeth’s death on Sept.

EXCLUSIVE: While the headlines around the COP28 climate change conference focused on the protracted negotiations around the final agreement, Deadline can reveal how BAFTA and albert set up on the ground for the first time, putting film and TV in the spotlight and ensuring the industry is part of the conversation about the journey to net zero.

The Chase host Bradley Walsh was left stunned during a recent episode of the ITV show as Mark Labbett, also known as The Beast, revealed Jenny Ryan's surprising old job.

A Scot could make history tomorrow – becoming the producer with the most consecutive Christmas No1s.

The cheapest and most expensive areas to live in Scotland have been named in a new report by the UK Government.

Scots rugby star Stuart Hogg is reportedly spending Christmas Day at his family home with his wife and children.

Katie Price has revealed the heartbreaking reason why she buys cheaper gifts for her son Harvey Price than her other kids at Christmas time.

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor Top prizes were handed out by the CineGouna Platform (CGP) at the El Gouna Film Festival this week to projects in various stages of inception or completion. Winning a $15,000 prize for a project in development, “Theft of Fire” is Palestinian filmmaker Amer Shomali’s hybrid documentary, retelling the true story of an art heist “that never happened” to steal back antiquities pilfered from Palestinian lands by former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan.

Martin Scorsese, whose latest film “Killers of the Flower Moon” is one of the most buzzed about movies of this awards season, will receive the Honorary Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival on Feb. 20. The festival’s directors, Carlo Chatrian and Mariëtte Rissenbeek said Scorsese in “an unmatched role model” for “anyone who considers cinema as the art of shaping a story in such a way that is both completely personal and universal.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent As CEO of Canal+ for more than a decade, Rodolphe Belmer pushed the pay TV giant to make original scripted content — a bet that paid off with award-winning shows such “Spiral” and “The Returned.” So what does he have planned at TF1, the French television company he took over last year? From his office on the top floor of a 14-level skyscraper, with a panoramic view that includes the Eiffel Tower and La Defénse in the distance, Belmer reveals that TF1 hopes to expand its reach into other European countries, while launching an ad-supported streaming service on Jan. 8.

Martin Scorsese will be feted with an honorary Golden Bear at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, running from February 15 to 25, 2024.

Two East Ayrshire community councils have taken differing views over a new bid for the £60m Barony eco-therapy park.

New figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) show that there are now more than 3.4 million people over the age of 16 claiming Personal Independence Payments (PIP). However, those statistics do not include people in Scotland who have either transferred from PIP to Adult Disability Payment (ADP), or new claimants of the devolved disability benefit.

An elderly woman faces a freezing cold Christmas as she feels 'abandoned' over a broken heating system. Yvonne Johnson has lived in a flat block designed for those over 60 for the last nine years but now faces an anxious wait to see if it will be heated by the big day.

It's the Boxing Day sale many of us eagerly anticipate every single year, and now we have some information on the Next shopping event this year.

Scotland is home to countless pretty villages that are all special in their own way, but everyone will have visited at least one that felt noticeably fancy.

BBC Strictly Come Dancing finalists Layton Williams and Bobby Brazier both delivered outstanding performances yet they still couldn't beat winner Ellie Leach to the top spot for an unknown reason, an expert claims.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is to leave his role next week.Kotick became CEO of Activision in 1991 after purchasing a 25 per cent share in the near-bankrupt company the previous year. Over the next 32 years, he headed up the company as it grew to become one of the biggest and most influential pillars in the world of video games, acquiring a number of other studios on the way.However, it was claimed Kotick knew about cases of sexual misconduct happening within the company and kept it secret, even after state regulators started investigating the company in 2018.

EXIT Festival in Serbia, which is set to return to the city of Novi Sad in July.Headliners over the weekend are set to include Black Eyed Peas and Gucci Mane, with the remaining headliners set to be revealed in the new year.Also announced for the bill are Tom Morello, Carl Cox, Bonobo, Rudimental, John Newman and Dub FX. Check out the full list of names so far in the poster below.The festival, located in the dramatic abandoned fortress Petrovaradin, on the banks of the Danube in Serbia’s second city, will run from July 10-14.

Helen Flanagan has admitted to 'crying all day' as she showed support to others who may be finding the season tough. The actress took to social media to openly chat to her fans and followers,

Manchester United's defensive woes have come back to bite them as 2023 draws to a close.

Michelle Keegan has said she's been left 'screaming' as her co-star revealed something rather exciting about their upcoming project. Over the summer, the actress declared 'that's a wrap' as she finished filming on her biggest project to date after months of hard work across the North West.

The drab grey Greater Manchester skies were lit up with awesome colour today as rare 'mother of pearl' clouds were spotted across the region.

A driver who caused the death of the former mayoress of Bolton three years ago has been locked up again after leading police on high-speed chase past the scene of fatal crash.

Coronation Street fans have said they're 'disappointed' as they pointed out some problems with Daisy Midgeley and Jenny Connor's plan to get back behind the Rovers Return bar. Landlady Jenny was devastated earlier this year when she had to sell the beloved boozer due to crippling costs.

Plans to build more than 300 new homes on the site of a former playing field in Gorton have been revealed.

Naman Ramachandran Fremantle has acquired the international distribution rights for Sky original documentary “Zuckerberg: King of the Metaverse” from Rogan Productions. The feature documentary unveils Mark Zuckerberg’s journey from Harvard student to founder and CEO behind one of the biggest social media platforms in the modern world – Facebook, which is now Meta.

Naman Ramachandran In a landmark judgement that could change the face of global soccer forever, Europe’s top court ruled on Thursday that sport’s leading bodies, the UEFA and FIFA, has “acted contrary to competition law” in their efforts to block the launch of a European Super League. The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed to the Commercial Court in Madrid by the European Superleague Company against FIFA and UEFA.

Naman Ramachandran Colman Domingo will receive the London Film Critics’ Circle’s inaugural Innovation Award. Domingo has been recognized for his work as an actor, producer, writer, director and musician in film, television and theater. He won an Emmy for his role in “Euphoria.” He starred in Broadway musical “The Scottsboro Boys” (2011) for which he received a Tony nomination, and an Olivier nomination when the production transferred to London’s West End in 2014.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Content Americas, the fast-rising trade event in Miami, has unveiled the finalists for its 2024 Content Americas CoPro Pitch and Content Americas Hispanic Kids Programming Pitch. According to event organizer C21, more than 80 submissions rolled in for the CoPro Pitch and over 50 for the Kids Pitch from seasoned producers across Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Among the CoPro Pitch finalists are scripted series “Hot Sur,” an adaptation of the Laura Restrepo bestseller about an undocumented Mexican immigrant looking after her bipolar sister in the U.S.

K.J. Yossman For many families in the U.K., sitting down on Christmas Day to watch the BBC’s annual adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s children’s books has become as much a holiday tradition as tinsel and mince pies. The eleventh book to be turned into a star-studded animation by London-based production company Magic Light Pictures is “Tabby McTat,” which was originally published in 2016.