‘Shirley’ Director Says Elisabeth Moss Was Always the ‘Top Choice’ to Play Author Shirley Jackson (Video)

K.J. Yossman Britain’s monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has postponed further engagements following her COVID-19 diagnosis, according to reports.On Thursday, Feb.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDiscovery, Inc. hit 22 million paid streaming subscribers worldwide by the end of 2021, with the vast majority being Discovery Plus customers, the company revealed Thursday.The company reported last November that it grew to 20 million paid direct-to-consumer subscribers by the end of Q3.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe shares of Alibaba crashed by nearly 7% on Thursday to an all-time low in Hong Kong ahead of publication of the company’s October-December third quarter results. The company is one of a small handful of entrepreneurial tech giants that have remade everyday life for a billion Chinese consumers and facilitated tens of millions of small businesses. But it remains in the crosshairs of the Chinese government’s regulatory quest to remake things again in a more controlled and top-down socialist manner.

Naman Ramachandran The European Film Academy has pledged support to its members in Ukraine and is looking for practical ways to help them. “We need to immediately move beyond ‘thoughts and prayers’ and start to concentrate on what practical help can be given to our membership and community,” European Film Academy chair and board member of the International Coalition for Film makers at Risk, Mike Downey, told Variety.

Jamie Lang Bollywood actress and fitness buff Shilpa Shetty is lined up to host a new wellness-themed chat show, produced by Mirchi, an Entertainment Network India Limited company, and presented by Pintola Peanut Butter with Sofit. Focusing on physical and mental wellness, “Shape of You” will invite a wide range of India’s most popular celebrities to share their best tips for caring for their physical and mental wellbeing.

K.J. Yossman Thieves have stolen over $200,000 worth of props from the set of Netflix series “The Crown” while the production was shooting nearby.Over 350 items were taken during the heist, including a replica Fabergé egg, a grandfather clock clockface, a dressing table, crystal glassware and silver and gold candelabras.South Yorkshire police are investigating the theft, which took place in a lorry park in Mexborough in Yorkshire while a unit were shooting nearby.Although the incident will not affect production, Netflix have issued a plea to help recover the items.“We can confirm the antiques have been stolen and we hope that they are found and returned safely,” a spokesperson for Netflix told Variety.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorDiscovery said profit tumbled in the fourth quarter as the owner of Food Network, Discovery Channel and Eurosport contended with expenses related to the Discovery Plus streaming hub and a group of one-time items related to expenses. Even so, the company saw revenue increase as its streaming efforts helped boost advertising and distribution revenue.Discovery said fourth quarter net income fell to $38 million, or 8 cents a share, compared with $271 million, or 42 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.The company released details of its performance as it prepares to acquire WarnerMedia, a move that will elevate its standing in the media sector.

Jamie Lang Netflix has shared details on its next Brazilian original series, “O Cangaceiro do Futuro,” a comedy caper starring Edmilson Filho (“O Shaolin do Sertão,” “Cine Holliúdy”) and Chandelly Braz (“Now Generation,” “Sparkling Girls “) which will hit the platform later this year.Glaz, which previously collaborated with Netflix on “Get the Goat,” produces the series, which was created by Halder Gomes (“O Shaolin do Sertão,” “Cine Holliúdy”), a writer-director-producer who has worked many times with “O Cangaceiro do Futuro” lead Filho, achieving popular success in both theatrical features and TV.Filming has already wrapped on the series, which shot in the rural town of Quixadá, in Ceará, Northeast Brazil, before wrapping in São Paulo. The show’s shoot and incorporation of talent such as Gomes, from Caerá capital Fortaleza, are examples of Netflix’s “goal to expand to all regions of Brazil,” as Elisabetta Zenatti, VP, Brazilian Content, announced last November.  The series turns on Virguley (Filho), a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none who is struggling to make ends meet in the big city, every day farther away from his dream of becoming rich and returning to his home in the Northeast.While between jobs, Virguley gets by thanks to a striking resemblance to Lampião, likely the twentieth century’s most successful bandit leader and the face of the Cangaço era.

Netflix has confirmed that the second batch of episodes in Ozark‘s fourth season will be released on April 29 – you can watch a trailer below.The concluding seven episodes of the show’s final season will arrive almost three months after the first part released in January, picking up as Ruth (Julia Garner) seeks vengeance following the murder of her cousin Wyatt.The ominous trailer, which primarily centres on Ruth, teases: “The end arrives sooner than you think.”Speaking to TVLine, showrunner Chris Mundy said the second part of season four will pick up directly after the prior episode’s events. “We pick up right away,” Mundy said.

Dave has rescheduled a number of his upcoming UK tour dates after damage caused to London’s The O2 by last week’s Storm Eunice forced cancellations.The London musician was due to perform at the arena venue on Monday and Tuesday this week (February 21-22) as part of his ‘We’re All Alone In This Together’ UK and Ireland tour.However, the damage caused to the roof of The O2 by Storm Eunice on Friday (February 18) forced the closure of the 20,000-capacity venue and postponement of all planned shows there up until today (February 24). The O2 will now reopen tomorrow (February 25).As a result, Dave has had to reschedule four dates on his ongoing UK and Ireland tour.

BBC comedy series The Witchfinder has been released – you can check it out below.Set in 1645, the series stars Tim Key (Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa) as a failing witchfinder who transports a suspected witch, played by Daisy May Cooper (This Country), across England to a trial which could turn around his fortunes.The six-part series also features a huge ensemble cast, including Jessica Hynes (Spaced), Daniel Rigby (Landscapers), Tuwaine Barrett (Blue Story), Reece Shearsmith (Inside No.9), Julian Barrett (The Mighty Boosh), Ricky Tomlinson (The Royle Family) and Rosie Cavaliero (Peep Show).Others on the cast include Cariad Lloyd (Murder In Successville), Ellie White (Stath Lets Flats), Vincent Franklin (The Thick Of It), Joplin Sibtain (White Gold), Allan Mustafa (People Just Do Nothing), Seb Cardinal (Cardinal Burns) and Dan Skinner (Shooting Stars).A synopsis reads: “It’s the 12 months of our Lord 1645 and concern of witchcraft is rife. Puritanical Christianity, deep-seated superstition and a willingness to scapegoat outsiders have created a tinderbox of suspicion by which few are secure.

André 3000, Mitski, David Byrne, Moses Sumney and more acts feature on the soundtrack for the new A24 film Everything Everywhere All At Once.Son Lux have scored the sci-fi action film by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. The film is released in the US on March 25 (UK date TBA), while the soundtrack lands on April 8.Mitski and Byrne duet on a song called ‘This Is A Life’, while André 3000 plays flute across the record. Other contributions come from Randy Newman, Moses Sumney, Nina Moffitt, Chris Pattishall, Rob Moose, yMusic, Surrija, and actor Stephanie Hsu.Son Lux shared a statement about their work on the project: “Even though we knew from the moment Daniels asked us to score this film that it would push us in new and unexpected directions, we couldn’t have predicted how much we’d learn from the project.“What emerged was our most ambitious undertaking to date, over two years in the making, resulting in two hours of new music.

Orbital and Happy Mondays are among the leading names on the line-up for Kaleidoscope Festival 2022.The one-day event, which takes place in the grounds of Alexandra Palace in north London, is set to return on July 23 following its sold-out festival in 2021.As well as Orbital and Happy Mondays, the likes of Charlotte Church’s ‘Late Night Pop Dungeon’, The Magic Numbers, House Gospel Choir, Crazy P, Craig Charles‘ ‘Funk & Soul Show’, DJ Yoda, The Cuban Brothers, Zero 7 (DJ set) and PBR Streetgang will all perform at Kaleidoscope Festival 2022.More acts are set to be announced by the event in the coming weeks and months, but you can see the line-up so far below.Tickets for Kaleidoscope Festival 2022 are on sale now from here.In a statement, Simon Fell, Kaleidoscope Director, said: “Kaleidoscope truly is a labour of love for us here at Ally Pally and we can’t wait to welcome everyone up to the Palace for this year’s festival.“The festival site is arguably one of the most beautiful anywhere, offering a chance to roam around our beautiful park and iconic Palace, with stunning views across the whole of London spreading out like a blanket behind the main stage. With an epic line-up, there can’t be many better places to dance away a hot, balmy, Saturday in July.“As an independent festival, run by a charity, the last few years have been a huge challenge.

Looking ahead. Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson are focused on their relationship amid the couple’s drama with Kanye West.

"Trolls World Tour" The sequel to the 2017 animated hit announced it would be available for digital download on April 10 -- the same day it was supposed to land in theaters. Now it's a VOD exclusive."Birds of Prey"  The Margot Robbie spinoff of 2017's "Suicide Squad" debuted on demand on March 24.

One of the reasons why Keanu Reeves is one of the biggest stars in the world right now is his stellar reputation. Many celebrities and entertainers who have worked with him in the past have had nothing but nice things to say about The Matrix alum.

Sir Elton John has offered financial assistance to his former fiancee. Elton, 73, broke off his engagement to Linda Hannon, 76, over 50 years ago but when she recently asked him for help because she couldn't afford to take five weeks off work to recuperate from essential knee replacement surgery, Elton quickly agreed.

Sir Elton John has offered financial assistance to his former fiancee. Elton, 73, broke off his engagement to Linda Hannon, 76, over 50 years ago but when she recently asked him for help because she couldn't afford to take five weeks off work to recuperate from essential knee replacement surgery, Elton quickly agreed.

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticMovies are slowly starting to trickle back into theaters, emphasis on the word “slowly.” For the time being, audiences’ options are still better at home, as this week’s crop of new films includes outrageous new genre fare — such as “Becky,” from the directors of “Cooties,” which plays a bit like a hard-R version of “Home Alone” — and festival standouts such as Hong Sang-soo’s “Yourself and Yours.”“The Invisible Man” star Elisabeth Moss elaborates on her ever-widening scope of tortured women in the wildly unconventional Shirley Jackson biopic, a movie which portrays the author of “The Lottery” as the kind of character one might discover in her mind-bending horror tales.Here’s a complete rundown of the week’s

Salto, the new French streaming platform launched by national broadcasters TF1, M6 Group and France Télévisions, has made one of its first international acquisitions, picking up Happily Married, a dark comedy series from Montreal-based Productions Casablanca. The French-language series premiered as part of the Berlinale Series program in February.

PEARL Mackie and Matt Lucas will still make epic return to our screens this weekend on Doctor Who. The BBC delighted viewers when they started to replay old episodes of the much-loved show during lockdown and this Saturday was supposed to conclude with the two actors in World Enough and Time and The Doctor Falls.

Dino-Ray Ramos Associate Editor/ReporterWe’ve seen Elisabeth Moss take on corporate male toxicity in Mad Men, a ghost of a man in The Invisible Man, Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale and punk rock in Her Smell. This weekend we’ll see her try her as a horror author who tries not unravel as she goes through her creative process in the Josephine Decker-directed Shirley.The film, which is adapted from Susan Scarf Merrell’s 2014 novel of the same name, bowed at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and is based on the real-life horror author Shirley Jackson and her husband Stanley Hyman.“We were not making a film that we ever thought, ‘Oh, we’re making a film about the real Shirley Jackson’,” Decker told Deadline at Sundance.

Donald Trump, 73, appears to have gotten his “wall” — although it’s not exactly the one he’s been preaching about over the last four years. Days into protests after the death of George Floyd — who was killed after a police officer knelt onto his neck as he said “I can’t breathe” — a new fence was put in around the White House on Thursday, June 4. The irony wasn’t lost on the Twitterverse, who couldn’t help but chuckle at the Trump’s on-going “wall” rhetoric pertaining to the U.S.-Mexico border (according to him, our neighbors down south are going to “pay” for said wall).

Pushed over a metaphorical cliff, the two nonconformists in Josephine Decker’s “Shirley” — her follow-up to the mind-bending “Madeline’s Madeline” — bond over the maddening submissiveness expected of them, which they both come to furiously abhor. Their strange alliance makes for a psychologically layered portrait of unapologetic womanhood that’s dangerously sensual and sumptuously rebellious.

A film about horror author Shirley Jackson turns into “Tales of East Coast Liberal Arts College Professors” in “Shirley,” Elisabeth Moss’ high-on-itself new schlep.

Focusing on anything besides what’s going on in America’s streets is difficult at the moment. In another reality the entertainment industry is debating what can only be described as questionable standards for resuming production in an era of COVID-19, fans are celebrating Lady Gaga’s “Chromatica” and getting excited about the potential resumption of the major sports leagues.

A new live-streamed event is taking place this weekend, and it's being billed as a 'variety show for the lockdown generation'.