Wattpad Webtoon Studios Expands With New Animation Division, Multiple Hires

Guy Lodge Film Critic If you found yourself wide awake in the wee small hours with personal demons rattling in your brain, and you picked up the phone to share them with a patient, neutral stranger, Tessa Thompson’s measured, calming voice is more or less exactly what you’d hope to hear on the other end of the line. As Beth, a night-shift volunteer for a crisis helpline, the actor’s naturally gentle, benevolent presence is the chief asset of Steve Buscemi’s minor-key chamber drama “The Listener” — not that she has a host of elements to compete with in what amounts, on screen at least, to a one-woman show.  Thompson’s unforced credibility isn’t shared, however, by a flat, superficial script that treats an assortment of mental health ailments as quirky conversation fuel. Each anguished call that Beth takes, over the course of one long, dark night of assorted souls, is written less like a recognizable human exchange than as an actor’s heightened audition piece, and played out as such by a voice-only ensemble stacked with distractingly recognizable names. Though the global pandemic is only incidentally mentioned, “The Listener” plays in all aspects like a project conceived in the most self-searching and self-indulgent depths of the isolation era. It’s hard to imagine audiences wanting to enter that headspace now.

Marta Balaga Greece’s Homemade Films has boarded Mahdi Fleifel’s upcoming feature “Men in the Sun,” currently in the final stages of development. The story, set in Athens, will deal with masculinity, exile and loss, showing young refugees in their 20s hustling to survive in the urban pressure cooker. The company is also ready to start shooting Sofia Exarchou’s “Animal,” co-producing with Nabis Filmgroup, Ars Ltd., Digital Cube and Felony Productions. Furthermore, its founder Maria Drandaki recently presented new projects at Venice Gap-Financing Market. “Arcadia,” directed by Yorgos Zois, will see Homemade Films joining forces with Foss Production and Red Carpet. “Titanic Ocean” by Konstantina Kotzamani will be shot in Japan and Singapore in 2023.

Moving on is a key theme for many today - while emotional wounds are starting to heal for Libra, an exciting adventure lies ahead for Capricorn. There are 12 zodiac signs - Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces - and the horoscopes for each can give you the lowdown on what your future holds, be it in work, your love life, your friends and family or more. These daily forecasts have been compiled by astrologer Russell Grant, who has been reading star signs for over 50 years.

Former Pop Idol star Darius Campbell Danesh died from “inhalation of chloroethane”, the Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed.The singer and actor was found dead in his US apartment, in Rochester, Minnesota, last month at the age of 41. Autopsy documents obtained by the PA news agency listed “toxic effects of chloroethane” as well as “suffocation” as having contributed to his death.The death was ruled an accident by the medical examiner. Darius was laid to rest in Scotland on Thursday 25 August in a private service for family and friends.

A budding Wishaw writer is asking for the public’s help to provide more information on one of history’s greatest composers visiting the town.

Al Roker has been missing from the Today show for quite some time as he enjoys an extended vacation in Europe with his wife Deborah Roberts.However, the beloved weatherman might soon be changing his plans following the sad death of Queen Elizabeth II and could very well return early to Today to report on the monarch's passing from the UK.WATCH: World leaders pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth IIAl's most recent social media update saw him on his way to Paris on Thursday, but a few hours after news of Queen Elizabeth's death was announced, his wife Deborah was on the Eurostar traveling to London to join the GMA team outside Buckingham Palace.It stands to reason that Al could have paused his vacation and made the trip from Paris with his wife. His Today co-star Savannah Guthrie landed in the UK on Friday morning, so Al may join her in reporting live from the Palace.READ: Al Roker's long absence on Today explained as star returns to social mediaREAD: When will the Queen's cause of death be revealed?However, Al has not shared his whereabouts and did not feature in any of Deborah's posts on Friday when she updated fans on her journey to London, so he could have stayed in France awaiting his wife's return.A post shared by Al Roker (@alroker)Al's last update saw him on his way to Paris with his wifeAnother possibility is that Al is making his way back to New York to help helm the Today show from the studios after some of his co-hosts, including Savannah and Jenna Bush Hager, made their way to the UK.Their presence comes after Queen Elizabeth II passed away peacefully at Balmoral Castle on September 8 aged 96.

Manchester United could dip into the free agent market to sign cover for Diogo Dalot - according to reports.

A violent man with more than 60 previous convictions for 133 offences to his name stabbed his housemate in the neck and kicked his head ‘like a football’.

With September swooping in, I've started to notice Manchester is just about getting ready for autumn. It's my favourite season for fashion, because you can have so much fun layering looks with all those gorgeous, rich, neutral tones.

Ethan Erhahon believes having the full backing of his boss has helped him raise his game to another level.

Paisley Pirates league opener against North Ayrshire Wild will go ahead this weekend as planned.

that at the ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ press conference!” he shouted.Well, no, you didn’t. “Bros” is a pretty singular entry on the film-festival circuit this year – not because it’s about a gay relationship, but because it takes the sensibility of producer Judd Apatow and co-writer and director Stoller – whose previous movies include “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “Meet Me at the Greek” and “Neighbors” – and applies them to a story that isn’t interested in trying to fit gay characters into the usual straight rom-com template.In fact, it makes fun of the whole idea of doing that in a scene early in the movie, in which Eichner’s character, Bobby, is asked to write a gay rom-com for a studio exec who’s only really interested in an edge-less movie that will show that “love is love is love.”Bobby, spewing pop-culture references and snarky putdowns with almost exactly as much zest as the guy who plays him does, begs to differ, and so does “Bros.” With a cast in which all the LGBTQ characters are played by LGBTQ actors, the film manages to make the point that, as Branum also said in the Q&A, “queer lives are different than straight lives.”The film, Eichner said, started when Stoller (“a straight man, for better or worse”) decided that his next film should be a romantic comedy about a gay couple.

Gal Gadot and Rachel Zegler have some fun on stage during the 2022 D23 Expo on Friday (September 9) in Anaheim, Calif.

The major studio romcom is back with a flourish, but it took Billy Eichner and Nicholas Stoller to prove the format still works, even if this time it is two gay men who are the ones who  find love against all odds.

Jude Law towers over his Peter Pan & Wendy co-stars during their appearance at 2022 D23 Expo in Anaheim, Calif., on Friday (September 9).

Amy Adams and Maya Rudolph weren’t going to hide just how big Disney fans they were at the D23 Expo!

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The dojos have mojo: “Cobra Kai” Season 5, the latest installment in the popular “Karate Kid” sequel TV series on Netflix, currently has a perfect 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. All 10 episodes of the fifth season, which stars Ralph Macchio and William Zabka (reprising their roles from the original “Karate Kid” movies), were binge-released Sept. 9 on Netflix. As of Friday, “Cobra Kai” Season 5 registered a 100% Tomatometer score, based on Rotten Tomatoes’ aggregation of 37 reviews. Season 1 of “Cobra Kai” also has a 100% critics score on the site, while seasons 2 and 3 have a 90% critics score and S4 clocks in at 95%. By comparison, many other recent TV premieres have Tomatometer scores in the 80s. Those include Disney+’s “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” (88%); Netflix’s “The Sandman” (87%); FX/Hulu’s “The Patient” (86%); HBO’s “House of the Dragon” (85%); and Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” (84%).

synopsis on IMDB. The talented actress opted for a colorful ensemble as she attended the premiere of her latest historical drama.  Viola slipped into a hot pink, floor-length gown with orange, floral fabric lined at the top of the dress for an extra pop of color and differing texture.

Emily Ratajkowski is said to have filed for divorce from her estranged husband Sebastian Bear-McClard. It comes two months after the model, 31, reportedly split from the 41-year-old amid allegations he repeatedly cheated on her. Page Six reported on Friday (09.

'80s celebrities would go to. Now, these two stars have amusingly speculated about whether or not their parents hooked up during this time. When two people are frequent members of one of the hottest spots in L.

She sat in on a Cabinet meeting – the first monarch to do so for over a century. She also enjoyed a good tease of some of her more earnest prime ministers. At a G7 meeting of world leaders in 1991, Edward Heath, the pompous former prime minister, was filmed showing off about how brave he had been in going to Baghdad under Saddam Hussein.

Robbie Williams says he could easily have competed in an Olympic Games for “self-hatred” and still battles his natural desire to be morbidly obese. The former drink and drug user, 48, added his substance abuse took him to “faraway places” and insisted his ego was not what some people think as he ended up convinced he couldn’t sing and hating his body. He told The Sun on Friday night (09.

EXCLUSIVE: Wattpad Webtoon Studios has made a number of hires including a global head of television and launched an animation division.