Jamie Dornan knew “critics would despise” ‘Fifty Shades’ movies

Christopher Vourlias It’s not every director who gets to turn Cate Blanchett down. Rarer still for a first-time filmmaker from Europe whose arty, offbeat debut — a poetic, surreal, soulful meditation on memory and grief — might have easily escaped the attention of Hollywood royalty. But “Apples,” by Greek director Christos Nikou, charmed audiences after its 2020 premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where Blanchett presided over the main competition jury.

TORONTO – The biggest surprise in Kristin Scott Thomas’ directorial debut, “North Star,” doesn’t occur in front of the camera. In this case, Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, and Emily Beecham deliver exactly what you’d expect as three sisters reuniting for their mother’s latest marriage in the British countryside.

Schools, hospitals and a theatre in Greater Manchester have been identified as having dangerous crumbling concrete. Councils and social housing providers across the region are checking their estates for signs of the problem.

Addie Morfoot Contributor When it comes to documentary filmmakers, Alex Gibney, Errol Morris and Raoul Peck are at the top of their game. Along with tremendous talent, each helmer possesses what every successful documentarian needs — business savvy — which in turn has allowed them to experience continued success over many years.

Diane Garrett Ellen Kuras is having a full-circle moment. The celebrated cinematographer, who has worked for directors including Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee and Michel Gondry, wanted to be a politically minded filmmaker like Costa-Gavras when she was starting out, but found herself primarily working behind the camera for many years. With “Lee,” a Toronto premiere starring Kate Winslet as famed World War II photographer Lee Miller, she is finally making her debut as a feature film director.

Scots caught up in the Moroccan earthquake have spoken of the moment the shock hit their Marrakesh hotel.

Residents living in a housing estate which still hasn't been completed five years after people moved in have called for action. Hygrove Homes opened in Morfa, Swansea, back in 2018 "offering convenience and good connections with affordable quality homes built to the highest standards".

As spider mating season begins this month, thousands of the creepy crawlies are set to be invading homes across the UK - the worst nightmare for arachnophobes.

Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara have been updating fans as they experience parent life for the first time. The pair welcomed daughter Lyra Rose Skorjanec into the world in July, and since the couple have been smitten with their new arrival.

Gregg Goldstein Oscar- and Emmy-winning actress Patricia Arquette was cast in her latest, most challenging role by an unlikely group: her colleagues. “For many years, the crews I worked with were always saying, ‘You should direct,’” Arquette says of helming her first feature, the Toronto world premiere “Gonzo Girl.” “Or actors in a scene would say, ‘Was that good? Should I ask for another take? Do you think there’s anything I should try?’ You get to a point where you’ve learned a lot about the nuts and bolts of how filmmaking works, and a lot of directors just aren’t as familiar with the process of acting as an actor is.” The star, who’ll be feted with TIFF’s Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award on Sept.

Demi Lovato has signed a new management deal after recently parting ways with former manager Scooter Braun.The singer has joined Brandon Creed’s Good World Management, whose roster includes Charli XCX, Mark Ronson, Orville Peck and Troye Sivan, according to Billboard. He also previously managed Bruno Mars.The deal arrives one week ahead of her forthcoming album ‘Revamped’, which will see her reimagine hits from her career as rock songs and feature artists including a revamped version of ‘Sorry Not Sorry (Rock Version)’ with Slash.Two other tracks, ‘Heart Attack (Rock Version)’ and ‘Cool For The Summer (Rock Version)’ have previously been shared from the project.It comes just weeks after reports said Lovato and Ariana Grande parted ways with Braun last month.The news of Lovato ending her working relationship with Braun came from Variety, which reported that, although the reasons for the split are unknown, the separation was “amicable”.A month earlier J Balvin, also left Braun’s management to join Jay-Z‘s Roc Nation.Shortly after, Braun shared a jokey response to reports that a host of his artists were seeking new management, writing: “Breaking news… I’m no longer managing myself.”Other clients of his include Justin Bieber, David Guetta, Black Eyed Peas, Ava Max and Carly Rae Jepsen.Braun first rose to fame in 2008 after helping launch the career of a then-12-year-old Bieber, after seeing him performing on YouTube, and has since gone on to represent him for 15 years.

Billie Eilish and Peter Gabriel have joined a new music coalition to tackle gun violence.Artist For Action To Prevent Gun Violence, which also features Sheryl Crow and Nile Rodgers, describes itself as a “non-political” organisation which asks Americans to volunteer and vote to eradicate gun violence in the country.Eilish said in a statement: “As a community of artists, we need to band together to make common sense change.”Gabriel added: “This needs to stop. So many needless deaths.

MS MR have returned after a seven year hiatus to drop a final single and announce they are breaking up.Celebrating the 10th anniversary of their debut album ‘Secondhand Rapture’ with the announcement, the band shared their desire to move on from the project.“When we realised we were coming up on the ten-year anniversary of our first album, ‘Secondhand Rapture’, we knew we wanted to do SOMETHING,” the band said in a statement.“It felt like the right time to finally bring the band to a formal end while also celebrating and thanking our fans and each other for such an exciting and meaningful time in our lives.”The band have also shared a cover of Harvey Danger’s ‘Flagpole Sitta’ – listen to that and ‘Saturn Return’ below.The band emerged in 2012 with debut single ‘Hurricane’, and followed up 2013 debut album ‘Secondhand Rapture’ with a second LP, ‘How Does It Feel’, in 2015.Their breakup statement added: “With an enormous amount of gratitude, we’re ready to move on from the MS MR project – we’ve each developed into new people with expanded ambitions, interests and tastes.“But we’re excited and committed to continuing to be a part of one another’s personal and creative lives. So while this is the end of the band, it’s not the end of our collaboration on each other’s work as LPX and alexmaax.“Our new, final single ‘Saturn Return’ is a promise of that.

The world of entertainment has paid tribute to Mike Yarwood after the death of the comedian and impersonator famed for his impressions of a young King Charles.

Manchester United fans are split on the success of the summer transfer window but have urged Erik ten Hag to spend again in January.

The Red Arrows' Southport Air Show display as cancelled at the last minute due to poor weather on the coast, leaving aviation fans disappointed.

An 'industrial scale' cannabis farm packed with plants worth £500,000 - and two quails - were found in a town centre police raid, GMP revealed today.

Jade Goody was known best in the world of entertainment for her cheeky smile and funny nature. The Big Brother star was embroiled in a sickening race row in 2007 - however, she learnt from her mistakes and came back from then.

Rishi Sunak has raised the case of detained Scots man Jagtar Singh Johal with the Indian Prime Minister at the G20 summit in New Delhi. The UK Prime Minister confirmed he brought up Jagtar's case with Narendra Modi during a meeting, alongside a range of other consular issues.

Callum McLennan Toronto’s Platform is set to be enriched by Jaione Camborda’s poignant second feature “The Rye Horn.” The film, set against the backdrop of 1970s Galicia, unravels the tale of María, a midwife thrust into a life on the run following a devastating incident. Her path to freedom takes her from Galicia to Portugal, retracing ancient smugglers’ trails.

McKinley Franklin editor Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk were tired of the garbled Gen Z stereotypes plastered about modern Hollywood — so, they created their own narrative in “Hell of a Summer.” “Our number one conversation was how annoying it is to see new teen movies and how badly our age group is represented,” says Wolfhard. “And we’re like, ‘Why don’t we just do it?’” And so they did. Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival Sept.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor In Billy Luther’s (Navajo, Hopi and Laguna Pueblo) feature film debut, “Frybread Face and Me,” Benny (Keir Tallman) is taken out of his comfort zone after he’s sent to spend the summer at his grandmother’s ranch on the reservation. It’s a feeling most adults can relate to — that first time when they were kids and sent away for the summer, whether it was to camp or to spend time with a family member. The film premieres in Toronto on Sept.

Jennie Punter Filmmaker Chloé Robichaud would often listen to classical music in the background to help focus her writing process — a subliminal influence that led to the creation of the main character of “Days of Happiness,” which world premieres in Toronto Sept. 9. Her third feature follows gifted young conductor Emma (Sophie Desmarais) at a pivotal moment in her career as she tries to reset her relationship with her controlling father (who is also her manager) and strengthen a complicated new romantic relationship.

Catherine Bray In a typical scene from “An Endless Sunday,” three teenage delinquents wander beside a canal. They end up killing a frog with a brick. Another group of children slightly younger than they are are also mucking about, and one of them is playing the recorder, blasting out a wobbly but recognizable version of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the second movement.

Todd Gilchrist editor After helming a series of based-on-a-true-story projects including “Million Dollar Arm,” “The Finest Hours,” “I, Tonya” and “Pam & Tommy,” Craig Gillespie was the natural candidate to direct “Dumb Money,” Rebecca Angelo and Lauren Schuker Blum’s chronicle of the January 2021 GameStop stock short squeeze and its reverberations throughout Wall Street. But Gillespie tells Variety it wasn’t his developing pedigree in this eclectic subgenre but an experience closer to home that prompted him to take on the story of Keith Gill, aka Roaring Kitty, and the scrappy bunch of investors who rattled two hedge funds and changed investment culture forever.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent British director Luna Carmoon’s first feature “Hoard” has scored three prizes at the Venice Critics’ Week where the other standout title is Chilean documentary “Malqueridas.” In “Hoard,” which is set in 1984 London, 7-year-old Maria and her mother live in their own loving world built on sorting through bins and collecting shiny rubbish. One night, their world falls apart, and the film joins Maria a decade later, living with her foster mother.

Carol Vorderman has revealed she has had "Botox and treatments" to keep herself looking young.The mathematician joined Channel 4's Countdown show back in 1982, from then on she has become known for her beauty and brains.The 62-year-old insists that keeping on-top of her youthful looks is part of being in the television business. Mum-of-two Carol insists that Botox and other beauty treatments are just "part of the job," adding: "It would be less important if I weren’t on the telly." She continued to tell The Times: "I have Botox and a lot of treatments to my face and neck. Everyone does." When asked if she thinks of herself as “amazingly foxy”, she laughed.

French director Ladj Ly is at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend with second feature Les Indésirables.

A woman attempts to sort through her past while also dealing with the traumatic repercussions of surviving a terrorist attack in Elisabeth Scharang’s elliptical film “Woodland,” based on Doris Knect’s 2015 WALD. A non-linear slow burn that’s more interested in unpacking the layers of trauma that Marian (Brigette Hobmeier) is dealing with than outright showing the aftermath of the terrorist attack, Scharang’s film works best when it’s narrowed in on the small farming community she returns to, less so when it skirts around her present-day relationships and the actual shooting that serves as the inciting incident for her trip back.

Top-billed Vicky Krieps dies in the opening frame of Viggo Mortensen’s “The Dead Don’t Hurt,” with a tear running down her cheek and her co-star/director keeping vigil at her bedside, which might prompt some confusion from the casual viewer; is this a Western zombie movie? It is not, but it’s a picture that takes some time to reveal its methodology and motives; the viewer’s patience is required but rewarded.   Continue reading ‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’ Review: Writer/Director/Star Viggo Mortensen’s Contemplative Western Is A Dazzling Showcase For Vicky Krieps [TIFF] at The Playlist.

Joe Jonas has stepped out on stage without his wedding ring, after recently announcing his divorce.The Jonas Brothers singer filed for divorce from British actress Sophie Turner, after four years of marriage this week. Last week, there was no sign of troubles, as the musician was seen wearing his wedding band at the trio's concert in Austin, Texas.

Basketball superstar Tristan Thompson has requested the legal guardianship of his younger brother Amari, nine months after their mother Andrea's heartbreaking passing in January this year.The sportsman, 32 - former flame of reality star Khloe Kardashian and father of her two children, daughter True, five, and son, Tatum, who she welcomed last year - became Amari's primary caregiver immediately upon Andrea's death earlier this year. She died of a heart attack at her home in Toronto.The NBA star is understood to have filed legal documentation yesterday (8 September), in which he requests the sole legal guardianship of his 17 year old brother.

TV star Amanda Holden has said that “it’s absolutely ridiculous” that people still talk about her risqué outfit choices as she gets set to front the new Sky History documentary Sex: A Bonkers History. Amanda, 52, who has been a judge on Britain’s Got Talent since 2007, is famed for her sensational looks on the show, though some have been known to attract a flurry of Ofcom complaints in the past.

Jamie Dornan opened up about one of the roles that got away and his feelings about the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Jamie Dornan said on a recent episode of the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast that he was fully aware film critics would ridicule the “Fifty Shades of Grey” movies before he accepted the role of the BDSM-loving businessman Christian Grey. Dornan starred opposite Dakota Johnson in the film trilogy, which grossed $1.3 billion worldwide but averaged a paltry 15% Rotten Tomatoes score. “It wasn’t an instant yes by any means,” Dornan said about accepting the role.

Gal Gadot‘s new Netflix movie Heart Of Stone have been reacting to a character spotted wearing an old Middlesbrough FC football shirt.It comes after a scene in the new spy thriller, which was released on Friday (11 August), shows Gadot being chased by a gang in Senegal bribed by her MI6 colleague Parker (Jamie Dornan).During the scene, many viewers noticed that one of the locals chasing the Wonder Woman actress was wearing a Middlesborough FC shirt from the 2009/10 season.“Not often you see a ⁦@Boro shirt on a bad guy in a movie,” wrote one user while another called it a “wild inclusion”, adding: “Did not expect to see an old @Boro shirt in #HeartOfStone.”Another added: “Watching ‘Heart of Stone’ on Netflix with Gal Gadot and the bad guy in it is wearing a Boro top. Howling.”Did not expect to see an old @Boro shirt in #HeartOfStone.