Writers React To Directors Guild-AMPTP Contract Deal: “WGA Takes A Stand, DGA Reaps The Rewards”

Ben Croll Sex, drugs and rock’n’roll were but three of the shared subjects animating the Annecy Animation Showcase, presented as part of the Marché du Film at last month’s Cannes Film Festival. Marking its fifth edition, this year’s work-in-progress spotlight imparted a decidedly adult flavor, with a preponderance of showcased titles tackling outré material for mature crowds. “On the market side, adult-skewing projects are no longer a trend,” says Annecy chief Mickaël Marin. “The form is now well-established. Of course, global platforms have opened new doors and widened the field of possibilities, so we encourage financiers and broadcasters if not to take risks, then to at least explore new avenues beyond traditional family animation.”

King Charles III's official birthday celebration was a family affair! On Saturday, the monarch celebrated his official birthday with the Trooping the Colour ceremony. For the occasion, which has been celebrated for 260 years, Charles rode horseback.

With Father's Day on the horizon – it's tomorrow, June 18, in case you'd forgotten – there are sure to be plenty of people scrambling for last minute gift ideas to celebrate the special day. If you're short on time, or just want to give something more personal and homemade this year, Molly-Mae Hague shared an idea for a perfect and adorable gift.

As the royal family once again gathered on Saturday to mark the first Trooping the Colour parade since King Charles assumed the throne, millions of viewers around the world tuned in to see the pomp and pageantry of the annual occasion to mark the King’s official birthday. Yet while all eyes were undoubtedly on the King himself, many fans at home may not have noticed a sweet moment shared between Princess Charlotte and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, shortly after they had finished travelling in a carriage back to Buckingham Palace.

All eyes were on Prince Louis during the 2023 Trooping the Colour!

As the Royal Family gathered for Trooping the Colour the Princess of Wales turned her head swiftly as Queen Camilla appeared to give King Charles a “stern pep talk”, according to a body language expert. It was the first birthday parade for the monarch and it wall full of displays of pomp and pageantry from the most prestigious regiments in the British Army.

Stockport residents have been left 'heartbroken' after a beloved family bakery announced its closure.

Take That‘s Howard Donald has been dropped from a Pride event after Twitter users noticed he had liked a series of anti-LGBTQ+ tweets.The tweets that Donald had liked reportedly featured content from Andrew Tate, posts criticising a trans-inclusive period campaign, videos of anti-trans pundit Posie Parker (whose real name is Kellie-Jay Keen), and a tweet from Turning Point UK founder Charlie Kirk that called for Disney to be “defunded” for announcing a Pride event.Following widespread backlash, Donald then deleted his Twitter account.The Take That vocalist had been lined up to headline the Groovebox Nottingham Pride Festival, which is set to take place in Blinks Yard on July 29.Now, Groovebox has confirmed in a statement posted to Facebook that he will no longer be appearing.“In light of recent events, Howard Donald will no longer be playing at our Nottingham Pride Festival on Saturday 29th July at Binks Yard,” they wrote.“We would like to offer our thanks to the public for alerting us to the situation this morning and also appreciate your patience whilst we spoke to the relevant parties.“We are working on confirming a replacement headliner alongside Horse Meat Disco, Tayce, Danny Beard & ESSEL for Nottingham Pride and will make an announcement in due course.”Deeply disappointing to see Take That’s Howard Donald liking transphobic and homophobic tweets – while playing Pride festivals. The LGBT community made that band.

Bastille have finally released the fan-favourite song ‘No Angels’ – a mash-up cover of The xx and TLC – check it out below.The cover was originally featured on the band’s mixtape series, ‘Other People’s Heartache p.t 2’, over 10 years ago.Now, the band have finally unveiled the much-loved mash-up with help Ella Eyre, interpolating The xx’s ‘Angels’ and TLC’s ‘No Scrubs’ as a sombre and strings-led track.Alongside the release of ‘No Angels’, Bastille have also announced ‘Bad Blood X’ – the celebratory double album to commemorate the 10th anniversary of their debut album, ‘Bad Blood’.In addition to the album’s original tracklist, the release features bonus tracks including three never-before-heard demos, two additional covers and a plethora of live renditions of ‘Bad Blood’ tracks. The covers are of Cutting Crew’s ‘(I Just) Died In Your Arms’ and Fleetwood Mac‘s ‘Dreams’ (assisted by Gabrielle Aplin).CD1CD2Reflecting on the band’s debut record, Bastille frontman Dan Smith said: “When I started working on the songs that became ‘Bad Blood’ 10 years ago at a laptop in my bedroom, I never imagined that they’d be heard by so many people and then take us all over the world.He added: “10 years on, we wanted to put something special together to celebrate the album, whilst not messing with it too much.

The White Lotus perceived her character Portia as a villain.Richardson played Tanya’s (Jennifer Coolidge) young assistant in season 2 of Mike White’s hit HBO series, which aired late last year to critical acclaim.The role ended up being Richardson’s most high-profile to date, and, speaking on the Just For Variety podcast, she admitted that the spotlight took some getting used to, especially when Portia was criticised by some for seeming entitled or spoiled.“I just hadn’t been in that situation before, so I did get sad,” Richardson says. “There was probably the first couple of episodes where I was seeing some things and reactions to things with Portia and me that I was taking personally or I wasn’t fully sure how to take it or how to process it.”[via Variety]She grew to realise that it was a good thing people were talking about the show in such detail.

Pride Month is more than halfway over, but we’re still celebrating all sorts of LGBTQ+ art! That means that we’ve been playing music from some of our favorite queer hitmakers on repeat.

Popular Twitch streamer xQc is leaving the platform for a lucrative new deal with a rival, marking the biggest exodus yet from the Amazon-owned site.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor The creators of “Accidentally Wes Anderson” had no idea what was coming when they launched their Instagram page. Wally and Amanda Koval started the account in 2017 to celebrate visually-appealing buildings and landscapes around the world that looked as if they could have inspired Wes Anderson films. From tiny libraries in New Zealand to, of course, lighthouses in Canada, the Instagram page, with 1.8 million followers, and its accompanying website curate colorful, symmetrical and historic tableaux that might have sprung directly from a scene in “The Grand Budapest Hotel” or “The French Dispatch” — except they’re submitted by photographers from around the world.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor With TV series like “Citadel,” “Hunters” and “Solos” under her belt, Tori Sampson is one of TV’s busiest young writers — and right now, that means she’s busy striking in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America. But as it turns out, she had plenty of work in the theater to keep her busy during the initial few weeks of the WGA’s walkout. Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below:

It's official; Kourtney Kardashian is expecting a baby with husband Travis Barker.The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star officially broke the news last night, June 16, during a Blink 182 gig as she held up a sign saying ‘Travis I’m Pregnant’ while her husband was on stage playing drums for the band. Although it’s not clear if Travis already knew, he appeared shocked by the news and immediately rushed off stage to give Kourtney a kiss as she showed off her baby bump in an all black outfit.

Prince Louis was "tidied up" by his mum, the Princess of Wales, during Trooping the Colour today. Kate Middleton paid particular attention to the young prince, five, as they prepared to ride in a horse drawn carriage back to Buckingham Palace as part of the ceremony. Prince Louis rode in the carriage with his older sister Princess Charlotte, eight, and brother Prince George, nine, his mum and Queen Camilla.

Take That member Howard Donald has said he is “deeply sorry” after making a “huge error” by “liking social media posts that are derogatory towards the LGBTQIA+ community”. Howard, 55, who performs in the pop group alongside Gary Barlow and Mark Owen, has been dropped from playing at Groovebox’s Nottingham Pride Festival event in July.

The Trooping the Colour may be a ceremony in honour of King Charles III, but it was Prince Louis who had all eyes on him during Saturday’s event!

King Charles III is celebrating his official birthday for the very first time.

, as per usual.The rode in a horse-drawn carriage from Buckingham Palace to Horse Guards Parade to celebrate the monarch's annual birthday parade alongside his elder brother, nine-year-old , and sister, eight-year-old . The young princes were dressed in suits with matching red ties, which coordinated well with Charlotte's nautical white collared dress with a red bow and accents. The Wales children were sat across from and their mother, , who wore a by designer Andrew GN with a hat.

The Flash (★★★☆☆), look no further than IMDb, which has listed every single (uncredited) appearance on the movie’s full cast list. Some cameos are clever, while others are slightly creepy –- yet another example of CGI eerily resurrecting the dead.

Hunter Ingram The Emmy race has never been more crowded for those working behind the camera on TV’s most acclaimed series. While these directors below have never won Emmys, their work on this year’s juggernaut dramas, side-splitting comedies and affecting limited series could change that come September. Hikari The titular “Beef” between Amy (Ali Wong) and Danny (Steven Yeun) in Netflix’s hit limited series wouldn’t be as raw if not for Hikari’s direction in the pilot episode. Relatively unknown to many audiences, Hikari’s shorts and feature have played film festivals like Berlin and Tribeca and she’s helmed episodes of Max’s “Tokyo Vice.” But “Beef” serves as an undeniable pronouncement of what’s to come.

“The Flash,” which is opening below expectations with an estimated $70 million 4-day opening weekend after grossing $24.5 million from 4,234 theaters on Friday.Industry estimates have the 3-day opening for “Flash” at $61 million, which would be identical to what Paramount’s “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” opened to last weekend. But both figures are below the $67 million 3-day/$71.5 million 4-day opening earned last fall by fellow DC film “Black Adam,” which ended up grossing only $393 million worldwide against a $200 million-plus production budget before marketing.

Take That’s Howard Donald has been dropped from an upcoming Pride festival after liking tweets he admitted were 'derogatory towards the LGBTQIA+ community'. After outraged fans shared screenshots of tweets he had 'favourited', organisers decided to remove him from the line-up, the Mirror reports.

Bruno Fernandes has revealed he never takes up Erik ten Hag’s offer of a rest at Manchester United, explaining how he knows the day will come when he won’t be given the choice.

A couple from Manchester say they are now living 'like millionaires' after selling their three-bed home and buying a village in France instead. Liz and David Murphy sold their semi-detached property for £400,000 and bought a historic rural hamlet in south west France for the same price.

Prince Louis is no stranger to stealing the limelight at royal events and the cheeky five-year-old has once again lived up to his reputation at Trooping the Colour. As well as pulling faces like he did at last year’s event, this time he also gave crowds a respectful salute.

New Look fans say they have found the 'perfect' swimsuit for Summer holidays that suits every body type. The £30 New Look swimsuit has been praised by fashion lovers for its flattering design, which accentuates the waist and helps to distract from the most bloated of stomachs.

Trooping the Colour — once again stealing the show.Accompanied by siblings Prince George and Princess Charlotte, the royal trio waved to spectators from their carriage while en route to the Horse Guards Parade with their mother, Kate Middleton, 41, and Queen Camilla, 75.Audiences were captivated by the animated faces of Louis, 5, who, at one point, held his nose and grimaced.Meanwhile, King Charles, 74, and Prince William, 40, traveled on horses, marking the first time a monarch has ridden horseback since the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1986.After the parade, the royal family gathered on the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch a flypast, and Louis saluted onlookers.While the newly coronated king won’t turn 75 until November, the summertime celebration is a royal tradition.This isn’t the first time Louis has become the star of the show with his playful behavior. At the queen’s Platinum Jubilee last year, Louis’ stunts were a welcome distraction for audiences at home.And at Charles’ coronation last month, Louis stole the limelight while letting out a few yawns during the ceremony.Charles was not only competing with Louis’ adorable antics Saturday, but also daughter-in-law Meghan Markle’s “Suits.”The USA Network series became available to watch Saturday on Netflix, which is also home to Markle and Prince Harry’s bombshell docuseries.Markle, 41, plays lawyer Rachel Zane in “Suits,” her final acting project before becoming a royal in 2018.

Four years ago, Taron Egerton revealed on “Watch What Happens Live” that his celebrity crush was Rachel Weisz. But he probably never thought anyone would tell her. When we surprise them both with the clip during this conversation, Egerton turns bright red with embarrassment. Beyond that connection, both actors have stretched to new heights on streaming shows this TV season. Weisz portrays identical twin gynecologists Elliot and Beverly in the Amazon Prime Video drama “Dead Ringers,” based on the 1988 David Cronenberg film starring Jeremy Irons. And Egerton gets jacked as prisoner James Keene, a former college football star arrested on drug charges, in Apple TV+’s “Black Bird.”

J. Kim Murphy Nine years after it was first announced, “The Flash” has finally dashed into theaters, speeding toward a debut ahead of the box office competition. But the DC Studios film isn’t exactly matching the lightning pace of its superhero. The Warner Bros. release got started with $24.5 million on opening day, which includes $9.7 million in Thursday previews. That’s enough to set the Ezra Miller film on a surefire pathway to a No. 1 debut on domestic charts, but it’ll be tough for the film to match its projections heading into the weekend — some bullish ones predicting a four-day bow as high as $85 million through the Juneteenth holiday.

Malina Saval Associate Editor, Features When series creator Tony McNamara was crafting the character of Aunt Elizabeth in Hulu’s Emmy-winning biographical comedy “The Great,” he penned it with his actor wife and fellow Aussie, Belinda Bromilow, front of mind.  “I knew the character and I knew what I needed from an actor to do it,” says McNamara, a seasoned playwright and Oscar-nominated screenwriter for Yorgos Lanthimos’ piquant 2018 drama “The Favourite.”  “I knew [Elizabeth] needed to have a strong dramatic voice but also be  a bit idiosyncratic and have really good comic bones,” McNamara continues. “The actor needed to be able to do comedy and be able to shift gears into a darker place. And I’d worked with Belinda before and knew that she could do that.” 

The Academy Awards are facing much criticism after implementing new diversity and inclusion guidelines for 2024.  The guidelines must be adhered to by any film in the running for a "Best Picture" Oscar. Several voting members sounded the alarm after the Academy Awards released its Aperture 2025 initiative -- a sweeping set of regulations designed to make Hollywood more equitable and diverse.

There are a lot of lessons to be learned this weekend, but chief among them, is what’s it like for a major motion picture studio to open a movie with largely a number of its cast, primarily its main star, not available to do press. That’s the big looming question which has been on everyone’s minds in the wake of Ezra Miller’s tabloid laden 2020-2022 in regards to Warner Bros. DC’s $200M The Flash, which isn’t looking good with a 3-day around $60M, off from the $70M-$75M the studio was expecting. The studio is still expecting the Juneteenth holiday to deliver and get the film to $70M over 4-days (if that’s the case, that’s the first time the Federal holiday, which has not proven itself to be a big moviegoing day yet, has yielded a daily gross for a movie north of $10M; last year Universal’s Jurassic World: Dominion made only $8.6M on the Juneteenth Monday holiday). The pic did $24.5M yesterday (which includes Thursday previews). Other studios see these figures lower. Given the $9.7M previews last night, at a glance, it looked like Flash had the potential to over-deliver and beat its weekend estimates, and that’s looking less likely now. Should the movie have gone straight to Warners streaming service Max? Absolutely not. They need to make as much money as they can, and that’s through windows.

ceremony since ascension to the throne—and first since assuming her new title as Princess of Wales.Fitting, then, that she eschewed in favor of something a little more daring: a custom look by Singapore-born, Paris-based designer Andrew GN, paired with a hat. The shamrock-green hue is, of course, a nod to Kate’s role as colonel of the Irish guards—as is the Cartier brooch affixed to her lapel, which the Princess of Wales also wore on earlier this year.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did not make the trip across the pond to celebrate King Charles III’s first Trooping the Colour parade.