Todd McCarthy: Re-Appreciating Spike Lee’s ‘Do The Right Thing’, And Re-Evaluating Peter Sellers

“We know that you’re a homosexual, we’ve been following you.”Trigger Warning: This story has details of suicidal ideation and might be distressing to some readers. For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.This is what Yvonne Sillett,  a former Australian soldier and cipher operator, was told during a 1988 interrogation into her sexuality in relation to her security clearance. The royal commission is gathering evidence from ADF members who have had suicidal ideation or from surviving family members of those who have died.  Describing her interrogation, Sillett said that “after several hours of this questioning they said they would be taking the matter further and that, based on my sexuality, I could no longer be in Signal Corps as I’d be open to blackmail, and that they were downgrading my security clearance which was needed to do that job. They told me I’d never instruct women again.”According to The Guardian, during her interrogation, she was asked to give up the names of other homosexual military personnel but she refused to do so.With the help of a partner at the time, Sillett was able to “pull through.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentZDF Enterprises, a key production-distribution component of one of Europe’s biggest public broadcaster powerhouses, Germany’s ZDF, is set to operate under the new name of ZDF Studios.Effective from April 1, the title, announced by ZDF Enterprises President and CEO Fred Burcksen on Monday in Mainz, captures much better ZDFE’s current business reach, scale and ambitions.“We are a studio, we cover all elements of our industry, from early development to longtail sales. The new name fits our business model much better and reflects our production and distribution expertise,” Burcksen said.ZDF Enterprises was launched in 1993 to handle worldwide program distribution as new content-avid private TV networks sprang up in Europe and beyond and also to deal with the business affairs of the acquisition of programs from around the world.

Naman Ramachandran Acclaimed Nepalese filmmaker Deepak Rauniyar has cast Indian actor Tannishtha Chatterjee as one of the leads in his upcoming feature “The Sky Is Mine.”Chatterjee’s credits include “Brick Lane” (2007), for which she scored a best actress nomination at the British Independent Film Awards, “Parched” (2015) and “Lion” (2016). She won the Asia Star Award for best Asian filmmaker at Busan for her directorial debut, “Roam Rome Mein” (2019).Rauniyar’s latest work, short film “Four Nights,” is playing at Berlinale Shorts. The filmmaker’s first feature, “Highway,” premiered at the 2012 Berlinale and played Locarno, while his sophomore feature “White Sun” (2016) won awards at the Venice, Palm Springs, Fribourg and Singapore festivals.

Miley Cyrus went all out for her set at this year’s Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest, performing 20 songs including mashups, covers, and a live debut of a ‘Plastic Hearts’ deep cut.The former Disney star opened up the show with her 2013 hit ‘We Can’t Stop’, with a brief interpolation of the Pixies’ 1988 classic ‘Where Is My Mind?’. Later in the set, she blends ‘Wrecking Ball’ with elements of Sinead O’Connor’s Prince-written ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’.A sextet of covers punctuated the setlist, first with ‘Heart Of Glass’ by Blondie, then ‘23’ by Mike WiLL Made-It and ‘Maybe’ by Janis Joplin, with the live debut of her own ‘Plastic Hearts’ track ‘Never Be Me’ sandwiched in-between.

Sam Page, the actor who stars in Kia‘s new commercial with Robo Dog, has welcomed the adorable robot to his family!

Naman Ramachandran Indian filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, renowned for his epic cinematic vision, now trains his sights on women’s empowerment tale “Gangubai Kathiawadi,” playing as a Berlinale Special Gala on Feb. 16.Starring Alia Bhatt (2019 Berlinale selection “Gully Boy”) in the titular role, the film is based on the book, “Mafia Queens of Mumbai,” written by S. Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges.

It was a HUGE night for Van Jefferson!

the Super Bowl LVI Pepsi Halftime Show, and delivered a jaw-dropping spectacle that took a lot of work to make happen.ET's Kevin Frazier spoke with Jesse Collins, executive producer of this year's halftime show, and he reflected on what it was like to make such a memorable event really come to life.«We've been in development of this since last September, just talking every week, every single moment, and we've been in hard rehearsals probably for the last three weeks,» Collins reflected. «I think the hardest part of it was getting it [down] to 13 minutes.»«I mean, you've got monster catalogues and trying to figure out how to make this work... I mean I could think of 10 records that I wish they would've done,» he added.

JD Linville There are few places on Earth more visually striking than the Black Sands of Reynisfjara Beach in Iceland, where tourists flock to take pictures and stand a fool’s chance to be smashed against the rocks by sneaker waves, then drowned at sea. These dangerous and beautiful beaches serve as backdrop for Icelandic showrunner Baldvin Z’s crime thriller series “Black Sands,” which will play at Berlinale Series. Written by Baldvin Z, Ragnar Jónsson, Andri Óttarsson and Aldís Hamilton, the limited series follows disgraced detective Anita (played by Hamilton) as she investigates a series of deaths at the beach while balancing the familial shadows of her past.The series, produced by Baldvin Z’s own Glassriver, brings a warmth to Nordic Noir not often seen, with scenes of Anita reconnecting and rekindling her hometown connections after expulsion from Reykjavik.

Tim Dams Since its launch in 2015, the Berlinale Series section has emerged as a kind of a boutique scripted TV fest set within a major film festival.The Berlinale was famously the first A-list festival to embrace changing viewer habits and to officially incorporate television drama into its lineup — and this head-start is reflected in the growing stature of Berlinale Series.Taking place over a concentrated three-day period (Feb. 14-16), Berlinale Series offers up seven world and international premieres from around 200 entries, giving each of them the red-carpet treatment at the Zoo Palast cinema.Running parallel, the Berlinale Series Market — part of the European Film Market — offers up an online conference program, showcases and screenings.

European Film Market has felt lopsided.Sony’s $60 million deal for Tom Hanks’ “A Man Called Otto,” an adaptation of Fredrik Backman’s bestselling Swedish-language novel “A Man Called Ove” — which was made into an Oscar-nominated  Swedish feature — that grabbed headlines early on (Variety understands it boiled down to a bidding war between the studio and Apple), but hasn’t necessarily spawned the usual flurry of deals from Berlin halfway through the festival.One buyer from a major U.K. distributor says the EFM vibe has felt “muted” for a company of its size, with an absence of broad-appeal product available once “Otto” was snapped up by Sony.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentImage Nation Abu Dhabi and low-budget Australian genre label Spooky Pictures have announced “Late Night With the Devil,” the second title under their multi-picture deal following Chloe Okuno’s  “Watcher,” which made a splash at Sundance.“Late Night With the Devil” will be helmed by writing/directing duo Colin and Cameron Cairns (“100 Bloody Acres,” “Scare Campaign”) and is set to start shooting in Australia later this year.Cinetic is handling the U.S./North American rights to the film. Stuart Ford’s AGC Intl.

Tim Dams One of the highlights of the Berlinale Series Market is the pitch event Co-Pro Series, which looks to match projects with suitable co-producers and financiers.Ten international series projects from Europe, Canada and Latin America have been selected to pitch at this year’s Co-Pro Series, where they will also have the opportunity of meeting one-on-one with potential partners.Taking place over two days (Feb. 15-16), and held online once again due to the pandemic, Co-Pro Series has a track record of showcasing drama projects that have not only gone on to be produced, but that have also achieved success.International hit “Babylon Berlin,” Austrian-German crime series “Freud,” Norwegian-German domestic terrorism drama “Furia,” Icelandic thriller “Blackport” and 1920s-set German drama “Eldorado KaDeWe” have all participated in previous Co-Pro Series pitches.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAudrey Diwan, the BAFTA-nominated filmmaker of the Venice Golden Lion-winning “Happening,” is set to make her television debut with Haut et Court TV in France, Variety has learned.Haut et Court TV is one of France’s leading production companies with credits ranging from the supernatural drama series “The Returned,” to “Panthers” with Tahar Rahim and more recently “Possession.”Diwan is currently writing the series, which will be an original story about a mother and daughter running a plastic surgery clinic. The plot is under wraps but the series will be similar to “Happening” in that it will deal with women’s relationships to their bodies.

Christopher Vourlias Peter Nadermann’s Nadcon Film and South African genre specialists Gambit Films (“Indemnity”) are teaming up to adapt a trilogy of best-selling crime thrillers, Variety can reveal.The “Revenge Trilogy” is based on the Cape Town-set novels from South African author Mike Nicol. The books will be adapted for screen by Gambit’s Daryne Joshua and will be produced by Gambit Films and Nadcon Film in cooperation with ZDF Enterprises, which co-owns Nadcon.The story begins with ex-gun-runners Mace Bishop and Pylon Buso, who made an illicit fortune while part of the struggle against Apartheid but are now at the helm of a private security company, trying to settle into a comfortable life in Cape Town.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“The Battle at Lake Changjin II” passed $500 million in total sales and remained unchallenged atop the mainland Chinese box office over the latest weekend.Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway showed no positional change among the top five films on a weekend that came a week after the Chinese New Year holiday wound down. Bona’s “Lake Changjin II” earned $43.5 million over the Friday to Sunday weekend, ahead of comedy “Too Cool to Kill” with $37.3 million over the same three days. In third place over the weekend was drama “Nice View” with $21.6 million and animation “Boonie Bears: Back to Earth” with $14.0 million.

Christopher Vourlias Belgrade-based Firefly Productions, one of the leading producers of high-end drama in the former Yugoslavia, is launching two new series as part of its slate at this year’s European Film Market.“The V Effect” is an eight-episode drama series inspired by the real-life case of an actor who commits suicide on stage during a live theater production. After the renowned actor’s death, Inspector Sorga will try to find out whether it was an unfortunate accident, a suicide – or possibly murder.“Domestic (Violence)” is a six-part true-crime anthology series set in a small town in Serbia.

Even with Bennifer flaunting their love left and right these days, Alex Rodriguez isn’t afraid to get out there. In fact, he came uncomfortably close to a run-in with his ex Jennifer Lopez at the Super Bowl on Sunday, where both were in attendance. While J. Lo and current beau Ben Affleck were seen dancing sweetly in the stands to the iconic halftime show, Alex shared a smiling selfie from the big game.

There were so many celebs in attendance at the 2022 Super Bowl, including some top stars in the music world!

Note: We will update reactions frequently

reports.“Our family is grieving the unexpected loss of a husband, father, and grandfather who taught us to always seek the magic in life,” the filmmaker's children shared in a joint statement to on Sunday. «We take comfort that his work as a filmmaker brought laughter and happiness to countless others around the world.

Andrew Garfield is enjoying another day on the tennis courts with his girlfriend!

Batgirl production crew have been slated after locals told of heavy-handed bouncers on the set on their doorstep.

Paul Murray saw it coming long before most.

Boris Johnson has been branded “a walking advert for independence” ahead of a visit Scotland on Monday.

The mother of a young woman who suffered horrific injuries while being restrained at school is demanding cameras in all classrooms where kids with additional needs are taught.

A record £11 million in bus lane fines was raked in across Scotland last year even though traffic levels were drastically down during the second year of lockdown.

Ian Evatt believes Bolton Wanderers have a chance of making the League One play-offs but only if they keep racking up the wins and feels this division is different to last season's charge up League Two as they must earn the right to be in mix at the top of the table.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorThe relationship between director Spike Lee and composer Terence Blanchard is rooted in collaboration, counting over 15 films together — most recently, “Da 5 Bloods.”“Terence is a great jazz musician and band player,” says Lee. “He brings that wealth of understanding of what music does with colors, shapes and feeling.”Blanchard, who moonlights as a trumpeter, credits the strength of their 30-year relationship to Lee’s self-assurance as an artist.

Ellise Shafer editorSpike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” will be free to stream online until June 29.The 1989 film is also the American Film Institute‘s pick this week for its Movie Club. It will be accompanied by a live conversation with Lee on AFI’s YouTube channel on Thursday at 8 p.m.

In announcing its latest Movie Club selection, the American Film Institute packed in a bit more news. The organization is partnering with Universal Pictures to offer free rentals of Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing and will feature the filmmaker in conversation on Thursday.

Also Read: Spike Lee Calls George Floyd and 'Do The Right Thing' Character Radio Raheem 'Brothers' in Short Film (Video)Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” star John David Washington introduced the film in a video on the AFI Movie Club website and called it “arguably THE Spike Lee Joint.”“The social relevancy is just as important as it is now,” Washington said of the 1989 film.“AFI Movie Club’s global reach has inspired the need for more thoughtful discussions about films that have shaped our culture,” Bob Gazzale, president and CEO of AFI said in a statement. “‘Do The Right Thing’ is a timeless and timely classic, and Spike Lee has forever proven himself the voice for change that we need now more than ever.