Redbox to Go Public in Deal With SPAC, Company Valued at $693 Million

K.J. Yossman New research shows that there is a significant crew shortage in unscripted TV.The most acute shortages are in production management and senior editorial roles while the hardest to recruit were production coordinators, production managers, editors and series producers.As well as “too few” production coordinators entering the unscripted TV sector, the report also found the industry is “haemorrhaging” experienced production managers.The report was undertaken by government-backed industry body ScreenSkills in order to support the new Unscripted TV Skills Fund, which was launched last year.Among the findings in the report were an acknowledgement of “particularly acute” skills shortages amid crew with mid-level experience, challenges in recruitment and retainment across “all genres, roles and production hubs” and shortages across all career levels, suggesting specifically a problem with retainment.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentFremantle and Italy’s Cinecittà have entered a five-year pact involving the continuous rental of six sound stages at the iconic studios, which are currently undergoing a major revamp.The deal “confirms Fremantle’s strategic decision to make some of its top international productions in Italy: a decision that finds the perfect and natural partner in Cinecittà,” Fremantle said in a statement.A radical revamp of Cinecittà,  which has been underway since May 2021, has been gaining traction with a rise in occupancy of its sound stages and backlot, realistic prospects for profitability, and new state-of-the-art filming facilities.The Cinecittà revamp is being conceived and carried forth by Nicola Maccanico, a former Warner Bros. and Sky Italia senior exec who has a mandate from Italy’s culture minister Dario Franceschini to turn the Rome studios into continental Europe’s top filming facilities thanks to a €300 million ($339) million) investment from the European Union’s post-pandemic recovery fund.

Cristiano Ronaldo netted his first goal of 2022 on Wednesday as Manchester United snapped out of a three-game winless run with an important 2-0 victory over Brighton.

Storm Dudley has been battering the country causing widespread disruption - and soon it will be Storm Eunice's turn to continue the chaos.

Ben Croll Fueled in no small part by international streamers looking to entrench their market share, production days skyrocketed across the European continent in 2021. But if the last year marked a gold rush for both service providers and content hungry viewers, independent producers have been feeling the squeeze.“It’s not a golden age when it comes to IP retention,” said Katharina Hiersemenzel, senior VP public policy of German mini-major Constantin Film.

Bae Suzy has officially dropped her new single ‘Satellite’, alongside its music video.The visual focuses on a woman, played by PROWDMON dance crew leader Monika from Mnet’s hit dance reality series Street Woman Fighter, as she run through the hallways of a decrepit, abandoned building. Bae does not appear in the video.‘Satellite’ was released today (February 17) at 6pm KST, alongside the video treatment.

DaBaby over an alleged unprovoked physical attack on him at a bowling alley in Los Angeles.Brandon Bills, whose real name is Brandon Curiel, is the brother of Danielle Leigh Curiel, whom DaBaby formerly dated and shares a daughter with.Bills claims that DaBaby (real name Jonathan Lyndale Kirk) is legally liable for physically assaulting him “suddenly and without warning” as he walked past the rapper on February 9 at Corbin Bowl.He also claimed that the incident caused him to endure “severe injury and pain” and left him “psychologically damaged”.DaBaby has publicly claimed that he acted in self-defence. He has yet to comment publicly on the lawsuit.The brawl, which was captured in a viral video shared by TMZ, shows Bills and DaBaby grappling and spilling onto bowling lanes before other people appear to attack Bills.Bills’ lawsuit, filed by lawyers Farid Yaghoubtil and Anthony Werbin, also names Corbin Bowl as a defendant.

Lil Wayne has shared details of his first live performance in the UK for 14 years.The rapper is set to return in the summer for an exclusive slot at Strawberries & Creem Festival, which takes place at Childerley Orchard in Cambridge from June 17-19.Strawberries & Creem has also confirmed today (February 17) that Ella Mai, Mabel and Tems will all headline the main stage across the three days of the festival.Tion Wayne, Ghetts, Rema, Ms Banks, David Rodigan, Enny, Sub Focus, High Contrast, Katy B, Wilkinson and Lisa Maffia are also on the line-up.“This year, as we scale up to a full three days, we wanted to ensure our musical offering matched that level of ambition – as well as reflecting our incredibly diverse crowd,” Strawberries & Creem co-founder Preye Crooks said in a statement about this year’s festival, the line-up poster for which you can see below.“We have gone further than ever before to bring exceptional artists together, showing Strawberries & Creem to be a major player on the weekend festival scene. As a team, we also wanted to shine a light on some amazing genres and artists that aren’t always celebrated in full at other festivals.“We hope we have curated a truly representative and exciting line-up, one that offers an unrivalled experience to our festival goers – covering everything from D&B and dance music, to reggae and R&B.”Tickets for Strawberries & Creem 2022 will initially be available in a pre-sale from 10am on Monday (February 21), which requires a sign-up on the festival’s website.

A murderer who was sentenced to life in prison after strangling his fiancée to death with his bare hands has died in prison.

Thousands of West Lothian households are “holding on by their fingertips” as they face a storm of rising prices, warned the Citizens Advice Bureau.

It's another big night in Europe for Scottish football.

A cheeky Scots dog has lost 2.5ft of his intestines after he accidentally swallowed one of his rope toys.

A West Lothian group has been selected as a Royal Horticultural Society Britain in Bloom finalist.

The UK TV skills crisis has been laid bare by research from ScreenSkills showing the vast majority of production companies struggling immensely to find key roles such as Production Manager and Production Co-ordinator on non-scripted shows.

All aboard! We’ve got a one-track mind right now as the National Hunt season builds and builds ahead of the Cheltenham Festival.

A teenager was attacked with a machete while trying to assist a woman who had been assaulted by her partner after a funeral.

Renfrew Ladies and Girls FC celebrated another year of continued development with a glitzy annual awards night.

Storm Eunice is coming Friday in the wake of Storm Dudley where, in Scotland, the storm will bring snow, ice and wind.

The daughter of a disabled Scots pensioner claims he was ‘frogmarched’ from a musical theatre after being kicked out for ‘clapping and singing’.

Railway routes through Lanarkshire remain suspended this morning while Network Rail engineers continue to check the lines for damage following yesterday's Storm Dudley.

Sony’s Tom Holland/Mark Wahlberg-starrer Uncharted has been dated for a March 14 release in China. The studio’s Weibo account shared the news today with a video message from Holland and Wahlberg and a subtitled trailer, as well as a new poster (see it in full below). This comes at the same time as China has also set a date for Warner Bros/DC’s The Batman, which will go out on March 18.

The Berlin International Film Festival confirmed today it has recorded 128 positive Covid cases from 10,938 tests taken at testing stations around fest hub Potsdamer Platz.