Jon M. Chu Responds To Accusations of 'White Washing' Afro-Latinx Roles in 'In The Heights'

Amanda Holden is making the most of her time off as she celebrates her 51st birthday with her loved ones in Dubai.MORE: Amanda Holden struts in sheer top and leather hotpants to mark 51st birthdayTaking to her Instagram page on Wednesday, the Heart FM radio presenter gave fans a glimpse inside her celebrations - which included a meal with her two daughters and husband at a swanky restaurant.A post shared by Amanda Holden (@noholdenback)WATCH: Amanda Holden shares cute clip with her lookalike daughters"My babies [heart emojis] #familytime," she remarked alongside a clip of herself posing with her daughters Lexie, 16, and Hollie, ten – both of whom she shares with husband Chris Hughes.MORE: Amanda Holden celebrates anniversary with husband ChrisREAD: Amanda Holden honours heartbreaking milestone - friends rally around to comfort herFriends and fans of the star were quick to comment, with one post reading: "I love this so much! What a beautiful family you are." Another commented: "Your daughters are lovely, but what a beautiful young lady your eldest is, model in the making."A third person wrote: "You must be so proud of yourself all the work you do, your beauty, your dress sense and two stunning daughters not forgetting your handsome hubby."A post shared by Amanda Holden (@noholdenback)The TV star celebrated her 51st birthday with her loved onesEarlier on, the family headed on to the beach for some water sports where Amanda was handed several balloons. "Feeling very spoilt," she stated.The following day, Amanda continued to share more snippets into their family holiday which also involved paragliding.

Brooklyn Beckham has once again proved his dedication to fiancée Nicola Peltz by getting a new tattoo in her honour. The lovebirds, who are set to tie the knot this spring, are gearing up for their big day with their friends and family.MORE: Brooklyn Beckham's fiancée Nicola Peltz smoulders in intimate bed selfie after big announcementAhead of the wedding, Brooklyn unveiled a bold new inking of the word, "Peltz," across his chest between his cherub tattoos.

Coronation Street icon Eileen Derbyshire landed her role as Emily Bishop on the cobbles in 1961 before she left in 2016. The legendary actress, 90, who spent 55 years in Weatherfield as Emily Bishop which made her the longest-serving female cast member in a British soap, devastated fans where she departed to travel to Peru for charity work and reunite with her nephew Spider. At the time, Kym Marsh, who plays Michelle Connor, revealed that Eileen hadn't left the show for good but had taken a sabbatical.

Vicky Pattison has given her social media followers a sneak peek into her lavish getaway to Dubai.The 34 year old former Geordie Shore star jetted off to the sun-soaked location with her boyfriend Ercan Ramadan.The couple recently celebrated Valentine’s Day together as they headed out for a romantic night out in London. But now Vicky has been sharing glimpses of her luxury trip to the United Arab Emirates with her 4.9million followers, as well as on her travel Instagram account.The TV personality took to her Instagram Stories to reveal that she was heading on the trip after waiting for two years.

Kanye West has hit the follow button to keep tabs on his ex Kim Kardashian's boyfriend Pete Davidson on Instagram.The comedian, 28, who has seemingly been dating the KUWTK star since October 2021, relaunched his social media account on Wednesday 16 February after four years but is yet to post anything onto his feed. Despite the lack of content, the Saturday Night Live star has already got over 663,000 followers – including Kim, 41, and her 44 year old ex. Kanye's move comes after he revealed he was waging a civil war against his ex-wife and her beau alongside a string of stars he's also fallen out with recently.

Alison Hammond sported yet another incredible outfit on Thursday's This Morning as she sat beside co-host Dermot O'Leary. This comes as no surprise, as the 47-year-old has been ticking all of the style boxes this week while she and Dermot have been standing in for usual presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield. Whilst the Dancing On Ice duo enjoy their half term break from the show, viewers have loved seeing Alison and Dermot step up to the plate.

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s a strong first English-language trailer for director Rama Burshtein’s (Fill The Void) anticipated TV debut Fire Dance, which has just been announced for Series Mania’s main competition.

Al Roker has had some momentous occasions in his career and in his family life too, and he and his wife Deborah Roberts are ready for another. The Today show host reminded fans on Friday, that his son Nick is about to embark on a life-altering challenge and it appears he can't get it off his mind. MORE: Al Roker deemed 'inspirating' by fans after health revelation in hilarious video Because 19-year-old Nick will soon be headed off to college after being accepted at the end of 2021. WATCH: Al Roker's son receives incredible news and his parents are thrilledAl is clearly relishing every moment with his youngest as he shared a photo of his breakfast - made for his boy - on social media and it sparked an emotional response. Alongside the simple snapshot of an egg and bacon croissant, the weatherman wrote: "When your #collegebound kid asks you to make #breakfast."A post shared by Al Roker (@alroker)Even Al's breakfasts are making him nostalgic about his son going to collegeIt turns out that it's not just Al and Deborah who are noting how quickly Nick is growing up as fans commented: "Al, I’ve been watching you for years and it’s hard to believe that Nick is college bound this year," and another added: "Such a great dad."Al is incredibly proud of Nick and shared the moment he found out he had been accepted to college on Instagram too. MORE: Al Roker and son Nick open the doors into their never-ending living room as they watch the Super BowlMORE: Al Roker majorly divides fans as he shares Today Show change for 2022 OlympicsThe 30-second clip showed Nick Wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with a vaccinated sign, he smiled and admitted he was excited at the news as his mom hugged him and dad congratulated him too.

Emmerdale viewers were left scratching their heads over Manpreet Sharma’s (Rebecca Sarker) bizarre reaction to hearing her murdering sister Meena Jutla (Paige Sandhu) was back in the village. On Wednesday 16 February’s episode of the ITV soap, news got around that Meena had returned to get her revenge on the Emmerdale residents, including newlyweds Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley) and Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle). But rather than surround herself with the safety of people, Manpreet, who was recently held hostage by her evil sibling, decided to go out for a walk alone.

Jack Smethurst, best known for starring in sitcom Love Thy Neighbour, has died aged 89. The actor was surrounded by his family when he died peacefully, according to the Daily Star. Jack played the bigoted Eddie Booth in the controversial 1970s comedy, alongside EastEnders star Rudolph Walker.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentOnly six months after its 2021 edition, Series Mania will be back with a sprawling selection, including the world premieres of Michael Hirst’s “Billy The Kid” (pictured), the Israeli series “Fire Dance” and rap music-themed French show “Le monde de demain.”Underscoring the large presence of streamers within the roster, Series Mania will kick off with Netflix’s “Standing Up,” a new comedy series from “Call My Agent” creator and showrunner Fanny Herrero; while Disney Plus’ “Oussekine,” about a tragic case of police brutality in France, will close the festival.The lineup boasts 58 series spanning 21 countries. These were chosen from 331 series.

Jessica Kiang Perhaps you know the feeling, the strange tingle of vertigo you get when you’re having an entirely normal conversation with an acquaintance, and you suddenly realize that for seemingly no reason — and often about the most inconsequential things — they are lying to you. Jöns Jönsson’s “Axiom,” a standout in this year’s Berlinale Encounters section, is physically set in a comfortably well-educated, middle-class Austrian environment. But its psychological terrain is discomfort.

Series Mania has unveiled the nine shows from six countries competing for the prestigious International Competition along with revealing the lineup and guests of honor for this year’s edition, the first to take place in person for three years.

Kanye West as he appears to continue to create drama over his estranged relationship with his wife Kim Kardashian.The presenter and actress has urged people to stop encouraging behaviour displayed by Ye, for which he’s been accused of harassment by some fans. Earlier this week Ye conceded that his recent social media posts, which included him branding Kardashian’s new boyfriend Pete Davidson a “dickhead“, “came off as harassing Kim“.Jamil made reference to Ye having mental health issues (he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2017) and implored her followers to not stoke the fire for the sake of all parties – particularly due to the impact it may have on West and Kardashian’s children.“We are watching a mentally ill man coaxed over the edge by our engagement/media attention,” wrote Jamil on Instagram.

Lil Peep‘s mother’s claims of wrongful death and negligence against her late son’s record label First Access Entertainment (FAE) and tour manager Belinda Mercer.Teresa A. Beaudet has rejected FAE’s request to dismiss the claims on the grounds that Liza Kathryn Womack, who is also the executor of her son’s estate, failed to show any “causal connection” between FAE’s alleged negligence and Peep’s overdose from fentanyl and Xanax on a tour bus in 2017.Rolling Stone reports that Beaudet ruled at a court hearing in Los Angeles yesterday (February 17) that Womack’s case still stands, which is also due to providing other viable reasons for lodging such claims.These include that no one on the bus was trained to recognise the signs and symptoms of an overdose, the bus was not equipped with a defibrillator, Narcan or any other “life-saving apparatuses” for overdoses, and that no one on the bus gave Peep a life-saving aid.The judge added that while she agreed with FAE that sections of a highly damaging statement from Peep’s fellow musician Cold Hart were indeed inadmissible hearsay in the civil case, the court’s decision to pare down Hart’s statement submitted in 2021 wasn’t enough to scrap the wrongful death lawsuit first filed by Womack in 2019.In Cold Hart’s disputed statement, he testified that he was travelling with Peep for the rapper’s ‘Come Over When You’re Sober’ tour from November 8, 2017 until the rapper’s death on November 15, 2017.

Cradle Of Filth are “looking at some options” for their forthcoming Ed Sheeran collaboration, according to the band’s frontman Dani Filth.The unlikely team-up was first mooted last summer after Sheeran said that he “was really into death metal as a kid”, adding: “I listened to Cradle of Filth and Slipknot and all that stuff.”Filth subsequently revealed that he and Sheeran had been in touch about a potential collaboration, and that the Suffolk singer was “a massive fan” of the band.Speaking to Heavy Consequence in a new interview, Filth has now given a fresh update on the progress of his band’s collaboration with Sheeran.“Ed’s expressed a desire to be part of a song, and we’re currently looking at some options, and that’s about as far as it’s got,” Filth said. “He did invite me up to his house – he doesn’t live very far from me, probably 18 to 20 miles from where I live.“The thing that interests me, if we would undertake [the collaboration], the juxtaposition between what we do and what he does.

Foals have spoken about how they now feel comfortable being “in a lane of one”, adding that they no longer feel competitive with other bands.The Oxford band were speaking to NME for this week’s Big Read cover story to launch their upcoming new album, ‘Life Is Yours’. While this upcoming record will be Foals’ seventh album, frontman Yannis Philippakis “balked” at the suggestion that the band were now “indie statesmen”.“I mean, I don’t agree with the ‘indie’ bit, I guess, weirdly – or the statesmen bit,” Yannis told NME.

In The Heights shined a necessary light on Afro-LatinX representation in television in film. As critics drew attention to the omission of darker-skinned leads of African and Latin descent in the HBO Max project, audiences pointed out the plethora of choices director Jon M.

In a Twitter post last night, Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator, and writer of the Broadway musical “In The Heights,” on which the Jon M. Chu-directed film of the same name is based, posted an apology in response to discussions of the film’s colorism from audiences and critics.

Lights up on Washington Heights! Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s first Tony-winning Broadway musical, In the Heights, is set to jumpstart the careers of its fresh-faced cast members after heading to the big screen (and HBO Max).

Rita Moreno is weighing in on the controversy of colorism in In The Heights.

In a Twitter post last night, Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator, and writer of the Broadway musical “In The Heights,” on which the Jon M. Chu-directed film of the same name is based, posted an apology in response to discussions of the film’s colorism from audiences and critics.

In The Heights.Addressing a recent interview with The Root journalist Felice León, in which León asked director Jon M. Chu about how dark-skinned Latino actors only appeared in background scenes, Miranda acknowledged the film “fell short”.“I started writing In the Heights because I didn’t feel seen,” Miranda began in a statement on Twitter.

Just hours after Jon M. Chu opened up about Afro-Latinx representation on the screen in his new movie, In The Heights, creator Lin-Manuel Miranda is also addressing the issue of colorism.

The movie version of Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s 2008 Broadway musical In The Heights is drawing lots of attention this summer — but now it may be for all the wrong reasons.

In The Heights, and that includes some superstar celebs who simply can’t stop singing the film’s praises.One of the biggest names to talk about their love of the film is  Ariana Grande, who couldn’t have been more excited about getting to see a screening of the movie early. The “thank u, next” singer raved about the musical for a full minute in a video that director Jon M. Chu shared on Twitter on Thursday, June 10.“So I am the biggest In the Heights stan that you will ever find on Earth, and a few weeks ago, I had the privilege of seeing an early showing of the In the Heights movie,” she said in the clip.

Hey, Hollywooders! What’s Good in the ‘Wood?I just got back from seeing In the Heights, one of the many new movie releases out now in movie theaters.I took a look at theaters near me to compare movie showtimes and settled on going to the 1:15 p.m. movie showtime at the Showcase Cinemas theater near me.

Third-party streaming viewership stat org Samba TV reports this morning that 693k U.S. households watched In the Heights on HBO Max in their live+3-day window. The news comes in the wake of the Warner Bros. feature musical losing the No. 1 spot at the weekend B.O. to the third session of Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II, $11.5M to $12M.

, it’s hard not to think about the impact the movie musical based on Lin-Manuel Miranda’s 2008 Broadway production will have during this year’s awards season.  Debuting in theaters (and on HBO Max the same day), the film directed by Jon M.

The streets are crowded these days!