NBCUniversal And Investment Partner Pay $293M For 30% Stake In Grand Ole Opry And Related Country Music Properties

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAlain Goldman, the well-respected French producer of “La Vie en rose” who’s just joined forces with Banijay, has teamed up with Amazon Prime Video on “Alphonse,” a humor-laced series by Nicolas Bedos (“La Belle Epoque”)The high-concept Prime original series is based on an original idea by Jean Dujardin, the Oscar-winning actor of “The Artist,” and Bedos. It marks the TV debut of Bedos, the Cesar-winning filmmaker of “Monsieur & Madame Adelman” and “La Belle Epoque,” which played out of competition at Cannes in 2019 and sold worldwideDujardin will star alongside Pierre Arditi (“La Belle Epoque”), Charlotte Gainsbourg (“Antichrist,” “Samba”) and Nicole Garcia (“Lupin”).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefFilmRise, the New York-based film and television studio and streaming network, has acquired the North American rights to a large swath of Japanese anime titles, headlined by more than episodes of the “Yu- Gi-Oh!” franchise.The deal with Konami Cross Media NY, part of Japan’s Konami Group, grants AVOD streaming rights for the FilmRise Streaming Network, including apps and free ad-supported TV (FAST) channels.The Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise is based on the manga series that inspired a trading card game played with monsters, spells, and traps, several video games, and a television series.“This iconic Japanese property will be featured alongside other beloved anime content, on our FilmRise Anime channel a growing new destination for North American anime fans,” said Max Einhorn, FilmRise’s SVP of acquisitions and co-production. The video streaming package includes 808 episodes of the “Yu-Gi-Oh!” TV series in English, and 541 dubbed in Spanish.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film CriticThe ad campaign for “Father Stu” — before-and-after photos with Mark Wahlberg first looking sleazy in a mug shot, then as a clean-cut clergyman glancing up at the heavens — makes you think it’s going to be a movie about the world’s toughest priest. It is, but not in the way you expect.

Helen Flanagan has admitted to falling behind with her children's homework during the Easter break. The mum-of-three took to her Instagram stories to reveal that she hasn't done much school work with her daughter Matilda as she revealed they've been 'too busy having fun'.

book. Reports of Maddow scaling back her schedule have been made ever since she signed a new multi-year deal with MSNBC and NBCUniversal, allowing her a broader range of projects.The new contract keeps her at the company through 2024.”I do still have all these other irons in the fire, all these other things I’m working on that I want to bring to fruition, none of them are fast, all of them take a long time, and I’m still working on all of them,” Maddow said on her program Monday.She clarified that for bigger news events, such as the lead-up to the election, she plans to be in the anchor spot more than once a week. “This might change….We will see how things go, but that is the plan as of now,” Maddow said. Rotating hosts will fill in the 9 p.m. slot the rest of the week, and there are no immediate plans for a permanent replacement host, according to a network spokesperson.

Connie, the retro lodging’s restored 1958 Lockheed Constellation airplane-turned-cocktail lounge, the 44-by-56-foot Runway Rink will be open weekends from this Friday, April 15, through Nov. 1 from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 8 p.m.

Paige Turley has revealed she is not taken seriously as a music artist since appearing on Love Island and going out with Lewis Capaldi.

British Steel pension savers are to be compensated if they were poorly advised to switch their pension pots away from the company's more lucrative defined benefits plans.

Actress Melanie Clark Pullen has tragically died at the age of 46 following a battle with breast cancer.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBrooklynites will be excited to learn that BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! will return to the Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park at full capacity, with live, free and in-person performances in June, kicking off on the 8 th with a performance by saxophonist-composer-producer Kamasi Washington and closing on August 6 with Nigerian singer-songwriter Yemi Alade.The innovative Los Angeles-based musician is one of the major jazz musicians to emerge in the past decade, having collaborated with a galaxy of jazz artists as well as Kendrick Lamar (on his groundbreaking “To Pimp a Butterfly” album), Florence + the Machine and others. He also has performed at multiple nights of BRIC JazzFest in years past.

Meghan Markle will attend the Invictus Games for her first official trip with Prince Harry since leaving the Royal Family.

A war crimes prosecutor vowed to hunt down the ‘unimaginably barbaric’ Russian soldiers who massacred hundreds of civilians near Kyiv yesterday.

Sugababes, The Damned, Imelda May and John Cooper Clarke have been announced for this year’s Field Of Avalon line-up at Glastonbury festival.Organisers for the Worthy Farm event shared a poster for the stage this morning (April 12), which also includes Lamb, The Hoosiers and McFly. You can view the full line-up below.They join headliners Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney and Kendrick Lamar for the bash, which will run between June 22-26.It will be Glastonbury’s first edition since 2019, with both the 2020 (due to be headlined by McCartney, Lamar and Taylor Swift) and 2021 festivals both cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.For the first of our Glastonbury 2022 area / venue announcements, here's the amazing @FieldofAvalon's line-up poster for this year's Festival! pic.twitter.com/QFdCofVVHA— Glastonbury Festival (@glastonbury) April 12, 2022Other names already confirmed for the Glastonbury 2022 line-up include Lorde, Foals, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Sam Fender, Megan Thee Stallion, Charli XCX, Arlo Parks, Haim, Blossoms, Beabadoobee, Olivia Rodrigo, Girl In Red, Megan Thee Stallion, Fontaines D.C., Elbow, Pet Shop Boys, Phoebe Bridgers, IDLES, St.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore, told GQ about his process and criticised actors who don’t drop character.“Preparation, you can take into insanity,” Mikkelsen said. “What if it’s a shit film – what do you think you achieved? Am I impressed that you didn’t drop character? You should have dropped it from the beginning! How do you prepare for a serial killer? You gonna spend two years checking it out?”Discussing renowned method actor Daniel Day-Lewis and imagining what it would be like to work together, Mikkelsen said: “I would have the time of my life, just breaking down the character constantly.“‘I’m having a cigarette? This is from 2020, it’s not from 1870 – can you live with it?’ It’s just pretentious.”The actor went on to say the media plays a role in the way method acting is praised, explaining: “The media goes, ‘Oh my god, he took it so seriously, therefore he must be fantastic; let’s give him an award.’ Then that’s the talk, and everybody knows about it, and it becomes a thing.” Meanwhile, Mikkelsen’s Fantastic Beasts co-star Ezra Miller was recently arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and harassment.According to a public statement obtained by The Guardian, Hawaii police allege Miller had become “agitated” and began “yelling obscenities” at other people in a bar singing karaoke last month.The actor reportedly then “grabbed the microphone from a 23-year-old woman singing karaoke and later lunged at a 32-year-old man playing darts.

Rihanna is glowing on the cover of Vogue‘s May 2022 issue, on newsstands nationwide on April 26.

made their triumphant TV return on Monday at this year's CMT Music Awards. Legendary mother-daughter duo Naomi and Wynonna Judd performed together for their first televised number in over 20 years. The duo were introduced by country songstress Kacey Musgraves in downtown Nashville, where they performed their hit 1990 song «Love Can Build a Bridge» on an outdoor stage, adorned with «The Judds» written across it.The pair didn't let some wind and inclement weather stop them from delivering a memorable set, as they were flanked by choir singers adorned in flowing white robes that rustled in the strong winds.The performance was held in front of the iconic Country Music Hall of Fame — an allusion to their upcoming 2022 induction.My heart

EXCLUSIVE: Recently launched finance, production and sales company EST Studios has entered into a co-production partnership with Malaysia and LA-based ACE Pictures Entertainment for a slate of films aimed primarily at the Asian market.

Rihanna is on a mission to redefine pregnancy.

Katie Price showed off her new eyebrow transformation as she told fans she had her eyebrows "laminated".The star, 43, is often a fan of experimenting with beauty treatments and took to social media to share her latest makeover with her 2.7 million Instagram followers. She also showed her fans her newest lash extensions and showed off her glowing skin after having the "peach fuzz" removed from her face.

EastEnders actress Natalie Cassidy has posted a rare picture with her fiancé Marc Humphreys and her two children during a sweet family holiday to Cornwall. The 38 year old star, who plays Sonia Fowler on the BBC One soap, normally opts to keep her personal and family life out of the public eye as much as possible. She very occasionally shares images of her children on Instagram and instead maintains a low profile in the media.

Melanie Clark Pullen, who played Pauline Fowler's niece in EastEnders, has died at the age of 46 following a battle with cancer. According to The Sun, the actor was diagnosed with cancer in January 2019 and passed a way on 29 March this year following several rounds of radiotherapy. The star is survived by her husband Simon and their three children together.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s mum has shared a sweet family photo of the singer with her five children as she celebrated her 43rd birthday. The Murder On The Dancefloor songstress gave birth to her first child in 2004 after falling pregnant just weeks after she started dating her now-husband Richard Jones. Since then, Sophie has had another four kids with the The Feeling guitarist.The pair welcomed their fifth child in 2019.They pair are parents to sons Sonny, 18, Kit, 13, Ray, nine, Jesse, seven, and three year old Mickey.To mark Sophie’s birthday yesterday, Monday 11 April, her mum Janet Ellis shared a sweet photo of her with her grandkids.

Gemma Collins was seen leaving a London restaurant with fiancé Rami Hawash after revealing Leonardo DiCaprio apologised to her during a performance of her one woman show GC's Big Night Out at The Troxy on Monday 11 April.  The TV star, 41, is currently performing at venues up and down the country and has chosen a suitably spectacular array of costumes. She wowed crowds at the venue in a very glitzy black dress complete with sequins, beading and feathers. She accessorised with large dark sunglasses and matched her dark pink manicure and lipstick.

Alison Hammond shared a rare moment on This Morning today (April 12) as her 17 year old son Aiden managed to join her during a segment out on the road. The ITV presenter has rarely been seen with her only child during work time, but as she took her role outside of the studio on Tuesday to return to roving reporting instead, she was required to fly over to Paris for Disneyland's 30th anniversary celebrations. As a result, the 47 year old took the opportunity to take her teenage son, whom she recently gushed over in a special birthday post on Instagram, out with her and they got ready for a fabulous sunny day with all the hugely-popular theme park has to offer.

Myleene Klass posed for an adorable photo with her two daughters as they enjoyed a family day out together.The presenter, 44, is mum to daughters Ava, 14, and Hero, 11, with ex-husband Graham Quinn and has son Apollo, two, with boyfriend Simon Motson. Posing for photos with her two eldest children, Myleene looked in good spirits while attending a Classic FM concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Passengers flying from Manchester Airport have been hit by more delays this morning as travellers reported 90-minute wait times for security and queues reaching the terminal's car park.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorRyman Hospitality Properties, the Nashville-based parent company of the Grand Ole Opry, has struck a deal to sell a 30% stake in its entertainment operations to investment firm Atairos and NBCUniversal.The transaction values Ryman Hospitality’s Opry Entertainment Group unit at about $1.4 billion in total. Atairos and NBCUniversal will invest approximately $293 million in Opry Entertainment Group (OEG), which consists of the weekly “Grand Ole Opry” stage show and media rights, Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium, the legendary Nashville radio station WSM-AM and a 50% stake in TV channel Circle, the streaming home of “Grand Ole Opry.” The pact calls for Atairos to invest another $30 million in OEG down the road if certain performance targets are met.