US’ LGBT Population Is 20 Million, Double Previous Estimates

Pep Guardiola called on his Manchester City players to be ready when called upon as the fixtures start to come every three days this month, following the 4-0 win at Norwich.

Southampton showed qualities that Manchester United lack during Saturday's draw, according to ex-Red Danny Higginbotham.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentChiara Bellosi, whose first work, “Ordinary Justice,” launched from Berlin’s Generation 14plus section in 2020, is back with “Swing Ride” (“Calcinculo”) about an overweight 15-year-old named Benedetta pining for attention in an Italian province where she falls in love with the skinny non-binary Amanda.A key difference between the two films is that while “Ordinary Justice,” which examined the lives of two families on opposite sides of a murder case, originated from a deeply researched screenplay that Bellosi wrote, “Swing Ride” — premiering in Panorama on Feb. 13 — stems from a prizewinning script proposed to her by Carlo Cresto Dina, her producer, who also discovered Alice Rohrwacher (“Happy as Lazzaro”) and is known for nurturing the cream of Italy’s new cinematic crop.   “It’s a very different process; it was the first time that I had to start from a world that didn’t germinate from me,” said Bellosi about working from the script penned by Maria Teresa Venditti and Luca De Bei that won Italy’s prestigious Solinas prize in 2018.It was like moving into a new house that she had to make her own, she said.“I worked with the writers; I wanted to make a few tweaks and we did that together,” she added, noting that initially “it was a leap into the void.” But directing from their screenplay actually ended up giving her “more freedom” than her previous pic because “the container is already there; but you can go pretty wild with the rest.”This freedom also made it more fun.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentMK2 Films, the banner behind Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World,” has boarded “Love Life,” the anticipated next film of laureled Japanese director Koji Fukada. Fukada’s credits include the 2016 movie “Harmonium” which won the jury prize at Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, as well as “A Girl Missing” which played at Toronto. His latest film, “The Real Thing” was part of Cannes 2020’s Official Selection.

K.J. Yossman Fresh from appearing in Netflix hit Adam McKay’s “Don’t Look Up,” Mark Rylance’s latest big screen outing is “The Outfit,” in which he stars as Leonard, a 1950s tailor. It is a role that could not be more dissimilar to the fictional megalomaniac billionaire Peter Isherwell, whom Rylance plays in McKay’s disaster movie.Written and directed by Graham Moore, the Oscar-winning scribe behind “The Imitation Game,” “The Outfit” sees Rylance star as a Savile Row tailor who has fled across the Atlantic to escape his tragic past.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentTrustNordisk has closed a flurry of sales on a pair of 3D-animated family features, “Little Allan — The Human Antenna” and “The Super,” underscoring the market appeal of independent youth-skewing movies.“Little Allan – The Human Antenna” marks Danish film Amalie Naesby Fick’s follow up to her commercially successful debut “The Incredible Story of The Giant Pear,” which premiered in the the Generation Kplus section at Berlin in 2018. This year, the helmer has her daring drama series “Sex” selected for the Berlinale Series.The film takes place during summer vacation, when introverted, 11-year old Allan starts acting as a human antenna for his old neighbor, who thinks a huge invasion fleet from the outer space is on its way.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorAhead of Sunday’s world premiere of documentary “1341 Frames of Love and War,” which plays in Berlinale Special, Variety spoke to Israeli writer/director Ran Tal about the film and its subject, Israeli war photographer Micha Bar-Am.In some ways “Frames” continues Tal’s interest in Israeli history evident in his previous work, “What If? Ehud Barak on War and Peace,” which centered on the former prime minister of Israel. Bar-Am was born in Berlin in 1930, but grew up in what became Israel, and across a five decade-long career as a photographer he documented many of the major episodes – in particular the wars – in the life of the young country, founded in 1948.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentRAI Com is launching sales at the online EFM on Giuseppe Piccioni’s Fascist-era drama ‘L’Ombra del giorno,” starring Italian A-lister Riccardo Scamarcio (“Three Floors”) and Benedetta Porcaroli (“Baby,” “The Catholic School”).Pic, which Scamarcio produced, is a love story with a thriller twist set in 1938, two years before Italy entered World War II. It unfolds entirely in the central Italian town of Ascoli Piceno, a hidden gem with gorgeous medieval monuments, churches and piazzas.The film’s title translates as “The Shadow of the Day,” a reference to the darkness of Fascism.Luciano (Scamarcio), a wounded World War I veteran and a sympathizer of Fascism like most Italians at the time, runs a classy restaurant overlooking the town’s ancient square.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentAdding to its notable lineup in Latin American movies, Paris-based sales agent MPM Premium has taken international sales rights to “Fogaréu,” from writer-director Flávia Neves, part of Brazil’s new wave of female filmmakers, which is one of the most exciting developments the country’s cinema currently has going for it.MPM Premium is introducing the film at this week’s Berlin Festival, where it world premieres in Panorama on Feb. 15.First glimpsed at 2020’s Ventana Sur project market, “Fogaréu” shares a sense of attitude and a feminist agenda and a visual verve with fellow Brazilian Ventana Sur titles “The Pink Cloud,” Iuli Gerbase’s a sci-fi character-driven thriller, and “The Joy of Things,” Thais Fujinaga’s portrait of motherhood, also playing at the same market.

Darius Rucker's favorite Super Bowl Sunday tradition involves spending time with his son. The country music star opened up about having the opportunity to attend Super Bowls with his son Jack in a new interview with Fox News Digital. "I've been going a lot in the past few years and taking my son, so that's kind of our thing," Rucker explained.

It’s been nearly 30 years since Kristy Swanson slayed a vampire – but these days, she’s happily finding her footing on a ranch. The actress stars in Pure Flix’s streaming series "Sons of Thunder: Redemption." It tells the tale of a former biker gang member (Rocky Myers) who decides to seek forgiveness from his ex-fiancee at her California horse ranch that is about to close down.The ranch owner (Swanson) decides to host a fundraising rodeo, but trouble isn’t far behind.The show also stars Lorenzo Lamas of "Falcon Crest" and "Renegade" fame. Kristy Swanson attends the 2017 Monster Mania Con on March 10, 2017, in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

Jason Momoa is enjoying a day out with a friend.

Super Bow LVI pitting the Los Angeles Rams against the Cincinnati Bengals kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the Rams’ home field. The game will air live on NBC as well as for the first time on the Peacock streaming service and Spanish-language network Telemundo.

Zachary Quinto and Lukas Gage are hitting the red carpet!

Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost are about to be on everyone’s television screens thanks to their Super Bowl commercial.

It was yet another disappointing day for Manchester United as they once again took the lead in a match but didn't come away the winners.

Doja Cat is bringing the heat to a Super Bowl party!

Naman Ramachandran Acclaimed Bangladeshi director Rubaiyat Hossain, known for her powerful women-centric films, has a new project participating in the Berlinale Co-Production Market and is launching a female filmmaker grant.Her Berlinale co-production market project, “The Difficult Bride,” follows Novera, a bride-to-be in present-day Dhaka who is in love with the groom and the idea of a fairytale wedding, but secretly struggles with her body, which does not seem to comply with the wedding rituals. She makes continuous trips to the beauty salon and uses home remedies to “cure” her body.

Christopher Vourlias Germany’s Sola Media has closed a wave of international sales for the animated feature “Finnick,” produced by Riki Group, which will be released by Sony Pictures Russia in Russia and CIS on March 24.The CGI-animated comedy follows the adventures of 13-year-old Christine, who befriends the young prankster Finnick – one of the furry and usually invisible beings known as Finns. The odd couple has to team up as detectives to solve the mysterious events happening in their city.The Stuttgart-based sales agency has inked deals with Eagle Pictures (Italy), Independent Films (Benelux), Koch Films (German/Austria/Switzerland), Vertigo Releasing (U.K.), Tanweer (Greece), Selmer Media (Scandinavia), Myndform (Iceland), Rialto (Australia and New Zealand), and Black Sheep Films (South Africa), and holds exclusive distribution rights in multiple additional territories.

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou used to watch Scottish Cup Finals from the other side of the world.

The U.S. Agency for International Development has appointed Jay Gilliam to lead its efforts to promote LGBTQ rights around the world.

John Marnell has documented the diverse faith-based experiences of LGBT migrants in South Africa

Activists in Senegal are sounding the alarm over plans to bring in harsh new laws targeting the LGBTIQ community and its allies.

A jury in Missouri awarded transgender student, RJ Appleberry, $4 million in damages on December 13, after a school district refused to let him use male washrooms and locker rooms. The Jackson County Jury also awarded him $175,000 in compensatory damages. Madeline Johnson, one of the first openly transgender attorneys in Missouri, and a lawyer for the Appleberry, said her client was “ecstatic” over  the unanimous ruling. “He was very excited, very happy,” Johnson said.

Audiences hoping for a mainstream LGBTQ feature film in theaters this season will have to hold their breaths until 2022, when Billy Eichner’s romantic comedy, “BROS” hits, starring a who’s who of out performers. As is often the case, LGBTQ films were plentiful this year, but mostly as independent productions.

In an analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation released its “We Are Here: Understanding the Size of the LGBTQ+ Community,” report last week.

one angry mom, Monica Cole, with too much time and bigotry on her hands — is urging its followers to “take action” against Sephora for “promoting same-sex relationships.”In an email to her supporters, Cole slammed Sephora and the commercial, saying the company has “really crossed the line by featuring two gay men in its newest commercial.”“The Sephora Holiday Gifting 2021 ad shows various friends and family members smiling while giving each other Christmas gifts, but the homosexual couple is the only romantic couple included in the advertisement,” Cole wrote.“After one man is shown opening a gift from their dogs (which is obviously from his partner), the commercial concludes with the two men kissing on the lips.”Cole couldn’t understand why

Georgia’s prison system has agreed to pay $2.2 million to the parents of a transgender inmate who died by suicide in her cell in 2017 — after officials ignored her threats and waited several minutes before getting medical help, according to documents filed in a civil lawsuit.The settlement, first reported by CNN, was reached on Dec. 6 — the fourth anniversary of Jenna Mitchell’s death.It is one of the state’s prison system’s biggest wrongful death settlements ever and follows the Justice Department’s investigation into allegations of unconstitutional abuse in Georgia prisons.“The financial settlement is barely nudging any kind of justice,” Mitchell’s mother, Sheba Maree, told CNN.

“I think for me, and I think this is a big part of why I’m still at Minus18, I really admire and look up to the next generation of LGBTQIA+ leaders and people,” they said.These role models include non-binary trans writer Nevo Zisin, speaker and educator and queer First Nations activist and artist Aretha Brown, and co-creator of Hue: Colour the Conversation Elsa Tuet-Rosenberg.Currently, the Religious Discrimination Bill is a focus of Adrian and Minus18.We are “engaged with advocacy groups, such as Equality Australia, as this [Bill] could create a greater divide in the equality of LGBTQIA+ Australians.”“Back then, Prime Minister Morrison backtracked on expelling gay students, but these were empty promises, with a bill in the works that could

Sydney’s first gay and lesbian radio program Gaywaves has been inducted into NFSA Sounds of Australia for 2021.The ground-breaking LGBTQIA+ radio show was one of 10 sound recordings, which also included the National Apology to the Stolen Generations and the most successful Australian song of the 2010s added to the collection.Gaywaves first aired November 1979, at a time when homosexuality was still illegal in Australia, and aired their final show in 2005.Prue Borthwick. Image: SuppliedPrue Borthwick first joined the collective when she moved from Melbourne to Sydney in 1980.

EXCLUSIVE: Emmy-Award-winning director and cinematographer Andrij Parekh (Succession, Watchman) is set to direct Red Rainbow, a dramedy series produced by Alexander Rodnyansky via his AR Content banner.

In the kick-ass role of NYPD detective Christine Cagney in the hit TV series, “Cagney and Lacey,” Sharon Gless became a lesbian icon.Now, in her new memoir, “Apparently There Were Complaints,” (Simon & Schuster) out Dec. 7, the 78-year-old Californian admits to hitting on Rosie O’Donnell after suddenly feeling “confused” about her own sexuality.In 2005, O’Donnell made a guest appearance on Gless’ Showtime drama “Queer As Folk” in which they exchanged an on-screen kiss.