Noticias

In late November 2019, a few months before Covid-19 hit Europe, the producers of a biopic about the Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein threw a party at BAFTA’s central London headquarters. The event was ostensibly for investors and “people who had shown an interest [in investing],” producer Perry Trevers told Variety last summer. While tribute act The Upbeat Beatles played, guests – described by one attendee as “a very eclectic mix” that included manicurists, fashion bloggers and writers – danced, posed for photos and nibbled on canapés.

“The drink was flowing everywhere and everybody got very, very silly,” sculptor Steve Bicknell, who attended that night and subsequently sunk $12,400 into the movie, told Variety.

The evening, described variously by guests as a “gala” and a “party,” was primarily a sales pitch, with the film’s producers — among them Trevers, CEO of U.K. production company Studio Pow — on hand to hawk the project. They even hired a cameraman,...

As the old Kop chant goes, "We'll be coming, we'll be coming, we'll be coming down the road, when you hear the noise of the Bill Shankly boys we'll be coming down the road!" And soon we won't just be hearing the noise of the Bill Shankly boys, folks — we'll be seeing them, and the legendary Liverpool Fc manager, on our screens. As announced on the Lfc website earlier today, the Premier League leaders are teaming up with A24 and screenwriter Jack Thorne to tell the story of Shankly's reign, which took Liverpool from the pits of the English Second Division to three league titles, two Fa Cups, and a UEFA Cup while shaping the club into the team over 400 million fans support today.

Set to be produced in association with Box To Box, the studio behind Netflix phenomenon Drive To Survive, the A24 x Lfc collaboration is set to...

In a recent conversation with HeyUGuys, rising star Blake Richardson shared insights about his role as Paul McCartney in Midas Man, the new Amazon Prime Video biographical film that delves into the life of legendary music manager Brian Epstein.

The film, directed by Joe Stephenson and penned by Brigit Grant and Jonathan Wakeham, explores Epstein’s influence on the music world in the 1960s, especially his role in shaping the Beatles’ careers. Playing one of the most iconic figures in British popular music history, Richardson discussed the pressures and excitement of embodying McCartney, describing how he prepared to capture not only McCartney’s mannerisms but also who person he was then.

Richardson opened up about his admiration for Epstein’s contributions to music and his approach to playing McCartney alongside an impressive cast. The film stars Jacob Fortune-Lloyd in the lead role of Brian Epstein, with other notable actors like Emily Watson,...

How does one honor the legacy of a man who helped shape music history? Such was the ambitious task undertaken by the makers of Midas Man in recounting the story of Brian Epstein. Known as the “fifth Beatle” for his crucial role in the band’s success, Epstein spotted musical talent like few others. Behind bright eyes and a disarming smile lay a quietly complex soul, and navigating the turbulent currents of the 1960s music industry demanded drive, flair, and nerves of steel.

Epstein first glimpsed possibilities beyond small-town Liverpool after discovering a ragtag foursome called the Beatles. Charmed as much as impressed, he resolved to share their gift with the world against all odds.

Jacob Fortune-Lloyd brings our hero to life with warmth and subtlety, inviting us into Epstein’s hopes, doubts, and inner fortitude. We cheer his triumphs alongside sorrow over challenges that, even decades later, remain deeply unfair.

As the ‘fifth Beatle’ Brian Epstein, Fortune-Lloyd’s performance holds an otherwise sanitised narrative together in well-meaning biopic

British actor Jacob Fortune-Lloyd stars as the Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein in this uneven but well-meaning biopic. The screenplay by Brigit Grant and Jonathan Wakeham weaves the story in and around the two or three main facets of Epstein that are always invoked in every potted bio: he was instrumental in the Beatles’ huge international success (Paul McCartney would later describe him as “the fifth Beatle”), he was Jewish, and he was gay. It certainly unfurls itself on a broader canvas than the 1991 drama The Hours and Times, although that tight, intimate low-budget work, which featured David Angus as Epstein and a young Ian Hart as John Lennon on a weekend trip to Barcelona together, still stands up as one of the most nuanced and insightful works of Beatles-themed speculative fiction. But this one has fancier costumes,...

Litmus Music has acquired Randy Newman’s music publishing and his stake in his recorded music catalog, the company announced Thursday. The deal includes both songs and film scores from throughout his entire career, which dates back to the 1960s.

Among the more famous songs in Newman’s catalog that are part of the acquisition are “I Love L.A.,” “Short People,” “You Can Leave Your Hat On,” “Feels Like Home,” “Mama Told Me Not to Come” and “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” His film scores include the four “Toy Story” films, “The Natural,” “Awakenings,” “Monsters Inc.,” “Cars,” “Ragtime,” “A Bug’s Life” and “Marriage Story.”

The company said it was entering a “creative partnership” with the musician. No price tag was publicly set on the deal.

Litmus launched in the summer of 2022 and made its first major acquisition the following December, buying Keith Urban’s rights to his master recordings.

Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho is a kaleidoscopic plunge into the past, drenched in neon hues and haunted by the specters of dreams deferred. The film stars Thomasin McKenzie as Eloise, a young, aspiring fashion designer who leaves the bucolic comfort of Cornwall for the bustling, vibrant chaos of London, only to find herself swept away into the swinging sixties each night. This transportive experience begins as a glamorous escapade but swiftly spirals into a chilling descent, revealing the sinister underbelly of an era often romanticised for its glitz and glamour.

From the outset, Wright establishes his film with a visual bravado that is both mesmerising and unsettling. Eloise’s journey is punctuated by the infectious beats of 60s music, her connection to her late mother palpable in every note. This musical motif is not just a nostalgic flourish but a conduit for Eloise’s temporal voyages, with...

The second episode of the newly relaunched Doctor Who is a haunting, contemplative story about what might happen if the world was robbed of its love of music. Like all good Who sci-fi premises, “The Devil’s Chord” takes something that is a given about human nature, and suggests our experience of life might be totally different without that thing. Just like “Blink” made us worry about trying to control our inherent reflex to bat our eyes, “The Devil’s Chord” makes us worried about how depressing and dystopian things would become without being able to hear a tune.

The episode also features a bootleg version of The Beatles, which should be a slam-dunk for Doctor Who, but isn’t. Instead, in creating a timey-wimey story about the death of music in a bizarro timeline, Who makes some blunders about why The Beatles became The Beatles.

Spoilers ahead.

While some...

Doctor Who season 14 episode 2 features The Beatles and Cilla Black in a time-traveling adventure at Abbey Road Studios. The actor playing John Lennon in "The Devil's Chord" has the most credits to his name of the four Beatles actors. Cilla Black, played by Josie Sedgwick-Davies, has a cameo role in the episode, including a duet with Ruby Sunday.

Doctor Who season 14, episode 2, "The Devil's Chord" features two legendary acts from Liverpool, so all the actors involved had some big shoes to fill. Large portions of the episode are set in 1963, at the recording facility that would eventually become known as Abbey Road Studios. As such, it made sense to have some familiar figures appear in the second episode of Doctor Who season 14.

The Beatles and Cilla Black can now be added to the list of historical figures encountered by the Doctor in the modern era, even if he only really spoke directly with Paul McCartney.

Doctor Who has teamed up with Disney+ to usher in a new era of the long-running sci-fi series. During the 60th anniversary specials last year, showrunner Russell T. Davies created an opening that has allowed him to introduce a plethora of new bad guys into the Doctor Who zeitgeist, preceeded by the legendary Toymaker. The latest, introduced as a descendant of the trickster god of play in "The Devil's Chord," is Jinkx Monsoon's Maestro. Stomping around the 1960s and stealing the music of The Beatles, Cilla Black, and more, Maestro leaves their mark as one of the best new villains introduced to the series in years.

Noel Gallagher is famously not one to mince words when it comes to expressing his contempt for various celebrities. In a recent podcast appearance, he felt the need to provide more context for previous remarks he had made about Adele, having called the singer “f***ing awful” and her songs “offensive” back in July.

In a recent appearance on the Matt Morgan podcast, Gallagher explained that his beef with Adele originated from an invitation she had sent him to meet her, and that he apparently took issue with the fact...

Former Oasis founder Noel Gallagher slammed Adele’s singing, comparing her to 60s singer Cilla Black while describing her music as “offensive” and “f—ing awful.”

Gallagher has been known to sound off on other singers, including Harry Styles, Sam Smith and Damon Albarn.

When Gallagher was asked if he was a fan of Adele and her songs, he replied, “F— off, f—ing hell. Name one? They’re f—ing s—. It’s f—ing awful. It’s f—ing Cilla Black. I find it and that whole thing offensive.”

Noel admitted that he believes the only way Adele will improve is if she performs one of the songs he’s written.

“If I fall out of love with touring, I could see myself just sitting at home writing songs and sending them to my publishers. I might in the future,” Gallagher said on the Matt Morgan podcast. “I’ll be saying,...

Noel Gallagher is sounding off once again.

The former Oasis singer recently appeared on Matt Morgan’s podcast, and he didn’t hold back his feelings when talking about Adele’s songs.

Read More: Oasis’ Noel Gallagher Jokingly Says He Caused Taylor Swift’s Breakup With Matt Healy

“F**k off, f**king hell. Name one,” he said, asking the host to name any of the Grammy-winning artist’s songs.

“They’re f**king s**t. It’s f**king awful. It’s f**king Cilla Black,” Gallagher continued, comparing her to the late British pop singer best known for ’60s hits like “You’re My World”.

“I find it and that whole thing offensive,” Gallagher said of Adele’s music.

Read More: Noel Gallagher And Sara MacDonald Split After 12 Years Of Marriage

Despite his lack of tolerance for her songs, though, the musician did suggest that he should be...

A young woman with a short crop carefully touches up her blonde dye job in the arresting opening moments of Blue Jean, painting the goop on her hair with practiced efficiency to the shimmering notes of Chris Roe’s score. Stepping from the bathroom into the living room of her drab flat, she settles on the couch to watch Blind Date, described by raucous host Cilla Black as “The show that tries to find a boy and a girl that go together like birds of a feather.” That might sound exclusionist or even like a microaggression to some more politically inclined queer viewers. To Jean, it’s just pleasurable fluff.

The scene subtly foreshadows an internal conflict played out with sensitive insightfulness and dramatic tension in writer-director Georgia Oakley’s highly assured debut feature and in a transfixing performance awash in mostly suppressed feeling from Rosy McEwen in her first leading role.

Suzy Eddie Izzard (“Stay Close”) and Ed Speelers (“Outlander”) are the new additions to the cast of “Midas Man,” the delayed film on The Beatles manager Brian Epstein that has now wrapped filming.

The film began production with Jonas Akerlund (“Lords of Chaos”) as director, who departed the project for unknown reasons. Sara Sugarman (“Vinyl”) was attached to the project for a year before Joe Stephenson (“Doctor Jekyll”) stepped in. Stephenson has just wrapped the shoot, canning what will be 95% of the completed film, Variety understands.

Written by Brigit Grant, the film follows Epstein, manager of The Beatles from 1962 until his untimely death at the age of 32 in 1967. Epstein’s impact extended beyond the Fab Four, encompassing British Invasion acts such as Gerry and the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas.

Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (“The Queens Gambit”) plays Epstein. The ensemble cast includes Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan and Jay Leno as Ed Sullivan.

Suzy Eddie Izzard and Ed Speleers (Downton Abbey) are among the actors who have joined the supporting cast of Midas Man, the feature biopic of Beatles Manager Brian Epstein.

In the pic, Izzard portrays British music promoter Allan Williams, famously known as “The Man Who Gave Away The Beatles,” while Ed Speleers is Tex Ellington, Epstein’s love interest. Other additions include Darci Shaw (The Colour Room), who plays singer Cilla Black, and Milo Parker (Mr. Holmes) is Epstein’s longtime assistant, Alastair Taylor.

Previous cast attached to the project included actors Lukas Gage, Bill Milner, and Rosie Day. We understand the changes were due to scheduling issues because of delays to production following multiple creative changes to the pic. Last week, we reported that UK director Joe Stephenson (Doctor Jekyll) quietly took the reins earlier this year from previous filmmaker Sara Sugarman (Vinyl), who left after what sources described...

Exclusive: It’s been a long and winding road but Beatles manager movie Midas Man has finally reached post-production having recently taken on a third director to get it over the line.

UK director Joe Stephenson (Doctor Jekyll) quietly took the reins earlier this year from previous filmmaker Sara Sugarman (Vinyl) who left after what sources described to us as creative differences and scheduling issues.

Sugarman herself took over in late 2021 from filmmaker Jonas Åkerlund (Polar) who also left during shoot after not seeing eye to eye with producers.

The Queen’s Gambit actor Jacob Fortune-Lloyd stars in the biopic as The Beatles manager Brian Epstein. Also starring are Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan, Lukas Gage, Bill Milner, Rosie Day as Cilla Black and Jay Leno as Ed Sullivan.

Portraying the Fab Four are newcomers Jonah Lees as John Lennon, musician Blake Richardson as Paul McCartney, Leo Harvey Elledge as George Harrison,...

For Mary McCartney, directing the enthralling documentary If These Walls Could Sing on the history of London’s Abbey Road studio wasn’t just as a tip of the hat to her father Paul McCartney’s celebrated career, but also to her own life virturally growing up there, watching musical history being made. And although Dad participates as one of the interviewees, this is not just a story of The Beatles, but rather an eye- and ear-popping tale of a place where musical magic, on just about every level, was made, and continues to be made. The title tells it all as Mary McCartney’s splendid documentary, which premiered at Telluride last September and is now available on Disney+, covers the waterfront of Abbey Road’s 90 years.

With subjects to help tell the tale like Elton John, Jimmy Page, Fela, Cilla Black, John Williams and many others (including of course...

Award

British presenter, broadcaster, filmmaker, author and historian, professor David Olusoga, will be presented with a BAFTA Special Award at the upcoming BAFTA Television Awards on May 14. The award is one of BAFTA’s highest honors recognizing an outstanding contribution to film, games or television.

Olusoga’s credits include presenting history series “A House Through Time” (BBC Two), writing and presenting series “Black & British: A Forgotten History” (BBC Two) and the BAFTA-winning “Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners.” In recent years he led major interviews with the former President of the United States, Barack Obama and lectures including the Edinburgh TV Festival MacTaggart Lecture in 2020.

Olusoga said: “It is humbling to have my work in television, as both a producer and a presenter, recognized in this way.”

Jane Millichip, CEO at BAFTA added: “We are honoured to present David Olusoga the BAFTA Special Award at our forthcoming BAFTA Television Awards with P&o Cruises.

Paul O’Grady has been remembered as a “force for good” by his famous friends including Carol Vorderman, Julian Clary and Michael Cashman.

Celebrities paid tribute to the drag queen turned TV and radio star during For The Love of Paul O’Grady on ITV on Sunday (9 April) evening, following his death last month at the age of 67.

O’Grady, who started out as a social worker while performing on the London nightclub circuit as the acerbic, platinum wig-wearing Lily Savage, died “unexpectedly but peacefully” on 28 March, his partner Andre Portasio said in a statement.

Remembering O’Grady for his activism, Vorderman, 62, said: “He was not only brilliant as an entertainer, he was a force for good.”

Former Labour Party leader Ed Miliband added: “He wasn’t just a fighter for the underdog, somebody who was willing to use his platform to speak up for people who didn’t have a platform,...

The Avengers star Linda Thorson has recalled her last conversation with Paul O’Grady just hours before his death.

The TV presenter and comedian died “unexpectedly but peacefully” on Tuesday (28 March) night aged 67, with the news prompting an outpouring of tributes from his fans and famous friends.

Appearing on Good Morning Britain on Thursday (30 March), actor Thorson spoke about her friendship with O’Grady. The pair met due to the presenter’s love of the Sixties TV show The Avengers, in which Thorson starred.

“Paul rang me on Tuesday at 3 o’clock,” she told hosts Adil Ray and Susanna Reid. “We spoke for an hour – one of the best conversations I’ve ever had.”

Thorson said that O’Grady had spoken excitedly about his current performance as Miss Hannigan in the touring production of Annie the Musical.

“He was absolutely over the moon,” Thorson said. “He loved the cast… He was so upbeat,...

U.K. broadcaster ITV has revealed the schedule changes brought about by the death of popular British presenter and comedian Paul O’Grady.

At 5pm U.K. time on March 29 “Paul O’Grady’s For the Love of Dogs: A Royal Special” will be repeated on ITV1, replacing the repeat of “The Chase.”

At 8pm U.K. time on April 9, ITV will broadcast “For the Love of Paul O’Grady” on ITV1, in tribute to the departed comedian.

At 8:30pm on April 13, the new season of “Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs” will air on ITV1, as planned.

Meanwhile, ITV’s managing director of media and entertainment, Kevin Lygo, said: “We are fortunate to have had a long association with Paul, at ITV. He was a huge, inimitable talent, delighting our viewers through his comedy and entertainment with a warmth, humor and joy that audiences of all generations related to and connected with.

Burt Bacharach was one of the most distinguished and successful composers of the last century.

Working most fruitfully with the lyricist Hal David, his addictively intelligent songs embodied unconventional time signatures, shifting chords and a fusion of pop and rock, jazz, and Latin elements. With Bacharach’s adventurous song structures married to David’s words, often bittersweet lyrics as though from a cinematic school of realism, the duo were like the personification of New York’s Brill Building hit factory.

Although not all these songs were with David, Bacharach, who has died aged 94, enjoyed more than 50 UK Top 40 hits, and more than 70 in his native US. A remarkable 38 of these tunes were with the classically trained former gospel singer Dionne Warwick with whom the pair began working in 1962. Several of Bacharach’s compositions were bigger hits in the UK than in America.

The pair first hit the charts in 1957 with...

Composer Burt Bacharach has died, aged 94.

The legendary musician was known for his orchestral pop style featured in hits including “I Say a Little Prayer”.

His publicist said the musician died on Wednesday (8 February) at his home in Los Angeles.

Bacharach died of natural causes.

The pianist was a six-time Grammy Award winner, and won three Oscars for his music in films Arthur and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

His other famous soundtracks include Michael Caine film Alfie and What’s New Pussycat.

Bacharach was a prolific composer who, alongside lyricist Hal David, wrote music artists ranging from Dionne Warwick and Dusty Springfield to Cilla Black and Tom Jones.

Their music was also perfromed by The Beatles, Elvis Presley and The Carpenters.

Some of Bacharach’s most recognisable songs include “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head“ (1969), “(They Long to Be) Close to You” (1970) and “That’s What Friends Are For...

Have a yen for the music, style and glamour of ’60s Swinging London? Edgar Wright’s hybrid time capsule / music extravaganza / horror thriller is an audiovisual delight from one end to the other. Young women from different decades seek to conquer London by different means — they meet as soul twins in a ghost world, where bloodsoaked murders haunt their dreams. Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy are the psychic twins; stars Rita Tushingham, Terence Stamp and the late Diana Rigg bring the authenticity. Soho can boast the most creatively ‘alive’ visuals of 2021.

Last Night in Soho

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital

Universal Home Entertainment

2021 / B&w / 2:39 widescreen / 116 min. / Street Date January 18, 2022 / Available from Amazon

Starring: Thomasin McKenzie, Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Diana Rigg, Terence Stamp, Rita Tushingham, Michael Ajao, Synnove Karlsen.

Cinematography: Chung-hoon Chung

Production Designer: Marcus Rowland

Art Directors: Tim Blake, Victoria Allwood, Katie Money, Emily Norris

Costume Design: Odile Dicks-Mireaux...

One of the highlights of the recently released third season of “Emily in Paris” was when the titular Emily (Lily Collins) took to the stage to serenade her boyfriend Alfie (Lucien Laviscount).

In the scene, Lily sings an a cappella rendition of “Alfie,” originally recorded by Cher as the theme song for the 1966 Michael Caine movie of the same name and was also a hit for singers Cilla Black and Dionne Warwick.

Read More: Lily Collins Is Honoured By ‘Emily In Paris’ And ‘Sex And The City’ Comparisons

As Emily sings, Alfie joins her onstage while pal Mindy (Ashley Park) joins in on keyboard and backing vocals.

As Collins explained in an interview with E! News, she enlisted the help of Park — who not only plays a professional singer on the show, but has also sung on Broadway in musicals including “Mean Girls” and “The King and I” — to offer...

This review originally ran September 3, 2022, in conjunction with the film’s premiere at the Telluride Film Festival.

If you’re a fan of a particular era of British rock ’n’ roll, this was the right year to be at the Telluride Film Festival. The festival’s opening day brought onetime photographer Anton Corbijn’s “Squaring the Circle,” which looked at the rock design company Hipgnosis through memories from Paul McCartney, Jimmy Page, Roger Waters, Noah Gallagher and many others. And it was followed the next afternoon by onetime photographer Mary McCartney’s “If These Walls Could Sing,” which looks at London’s Abbey Road recording studio through memories from, oh, Paul McCartney, Jimmy Page, Roger Waters, Noah Gallagher and many others.

While “Squaring the Circle” comes from a photographer and video director who has made several other feature films in the past, including “Control” and “A Most Wanted Man,” “If...

All the way back on Drag Race US season two (which was just over twelve years ago) Ru Paul introduced the first-ever snatch game that saw the queens showcase their best celebrity impressions in a bid to make the queen supreme laugh. Since then this challenge has become a key part of any season of Drag Race and has become a decisive challenge that instantly marks the front runners of every season. It not only takes a talented queen but also a clever choice of character in order for a queen to excel in the snatch game and I for one am not sure that I would struggle under the intense stage lights in this improvised, impersonation challenge! Last week’s episode of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK saw the return of this iconic challenge with two both Cheddar and Dakota doing surprisingly well (as Queen Elizabeth 1st and...

As a musical theatre fan, last week’s episode of Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK was a dream come true! What started with one of the most accurate yet hilarious Ru-sical performances (that had the queens all singing live) transitioned into a runway that celebrated some of the most iconic shows to ever hit the west end. The clear stand out last week was Danny Beard, who seemed incredibly natural singing live and their Audrey two-inspired, towering outfit was one of the campest and fun outfits we have seen on the runway in a very long time! This marks the second week in a row that Danny has been declared the winner of the entire episode and when it was announced that this week would be the return of the iconic snatch game we had a sneaky suspension she would yet again end up in the top as two weeks...

Despite recently losing its director just three weeks into shooting, “Midas Man,” the music biopic about The Beatles’ wunderkind manager Brian Epstein, has now cast its fab four.

John Lennon will be played by Jonah Lees (“The Letter for the King”), Paul McCartney by Blake Richardson (“Eleven Days”), George Harrison by Leo Harvey Elledge (“Creation Stories”) and Ringo Starr by newcomer Campbell Wallace. (See first look images above and below).

Joining them will be Adam Lawrence (“Peaky Blinders”) as Pete Best and former late night host Jay Leno as Ed Sullivan, who hosted the Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964.

Already cast is Jacob Fortune-Lloyd in the lead role as Epstein, the music mogul who was credited with turning the Beatles into superstars.

Emily Watson (“Gosford Park”) will play Epstein’s mother Malka, Eddie Marsan (“Ridley Road”) his father Harry and Omari Douglas (“It’s a Sin”) as Epstein’s friend Lonnie Trimble.

The actors portraying the Fab Four have been revealed for Beatles manager movie Midas Man.

Jonah Lees (The Letter For The King) will play John Lennon, musician Blake Richardson (of band New Hope Club) will be Paul McCartney, Leo Harvey Elledge (Creation Stories) is George Harrison, and Campbell Wallace will play Ringo Starr. Here are some first-look images of the newcomer actors as the iconic quartet at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London.

Adam Lawrence (Peaky Blinders) has joined cast as Pete Best and, as we revealed earlier this week, Jay Leno (The Tonight Show) has joined as Ed Sullivan.

Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (The Queen’s Gambit) plays the lead role of Beatles manager Brian Epstein, Emily Watson is Epstein’s mother Malka “Queenie” Epstein, Eddie Marsan portrays Brian’s father and successful businessman Harry, Omari Douglas is Lonnie Trimble, Epstein’s ever-trusted confidant, and Rosie Day plays Merseybeat star Cilla Black.

Director Sara Sugarman is set to replace Jonas Åkerlund on “Midas Man,” the biopic of The Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein, Variety understands.

“Midas Man” tells the story of Brian Epstein, the man who is considered responsible for launching The Beatles into the stratosphere. He also managed other hit musical acts from the 1960s including Gerry and the Pacemakers and Cilla Black before tragically succumbing to an overdose at the age of 32.

During his lifetime Epstein was also forced to hide the fact that he was gay due to societal attitudes towards at the time.

“The Queen’s Gambit” star Jacob Fortune Lloyd (above right) has been cast as wunderkind Epstein in the film, with “Outlander’s” Rosie Day set to play Cilla Black.

Sugarman has previously directed “Vinyl,” “House of Versace” and “Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen” with Lindsay Lohan. She recently wrapped on feature film “Save the Cinema” with...

Production for “Midas Man” is set to continue next week despite director Jonas Akerlund (pictured above left) potentially departing the film, Variety can confirm.

The film, a biopic of legendary music manager Brian Epstein, started shooting two weeks ago, with first look images revealed of Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (“The Queen’s Gambit”) and “Outlander” star Rosie Day as 1960s pop singer Cilla Black.

Akerlund, a Grammy-winning auteur, has directed numerous music videos for artists including former Beatle Paul McCartney and Madonna as well as the black metal feature “Lords of Chaos.” He is said to be “taking a break” from the film but sources indicate it is unlikely he will continue with the project.

While production in Liverpool has been shut down for this week, a source close to the production confirmed to Variety that, contrary to reports, shooting is set to re-start as soon as next week, with a new director...

Focus Features presents Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho, a twisty psycho-thriller with a great soundtrack, as Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch goes wider, testing the appeal of a director whose films have been called the arthouse equivalent of Marvel.

Last Night, a time-bending genre tale, unspools on just over 3,000 screens — not exactly specialty but it’s from a writer-director who “can dip his toe into anything, a true specialty film, a more commercial film like Baby Driver, and now a psychological thriller that harkens back to Hitchcock, Brian De Palma and David Lynch,” said Focus distribution president Lisa Bunnell. It’s “more than a typical commercial slasher movie. It takes the thriller genre to a new level.”

The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival and screened at TIFF, where it resonated strongly with preview and festival audiences. Deadline’s review “called it a dark and delicious trip.

“RuPaul’s Drag Race UK” continued this week with another installment of the hit spin-off from across the pond. In last week’s fifth episode, RuPaul Charles asked the queens to name the queen that is most deserving of going home, where Scarlett Harlett learned that most of her friends think her head is no longer in the game. Minutes later, Scarlett took on Charity Kase in the lip sync for the second straight week, this time sending her home.

On Thursday’s sixth episode, we see the fallout of the singling out of Scarlett play out in two classic challenges: Reading Is Fundamental and Snatch Game. Read below for our recap of episode 6 to find out in “Snatch Game”:

Following Charity’s elimination, River Medway got right to the point as the girls sat down to decompress. River asked straight away whether or not anyone thought Charity won the lip sync.

Exclusive: Son Of Rambow and X-Men: First Class actor Bill Milner has joined Brian Epstein biopic Midas Man as Brian’s brother Clive Epstein who assumed control of his brother’s music store business.

Filming is underway in Liverpool on the movie about the visionary music manager Brian Epstein, who famously discovered the Beatles.

Starring are The Queen’s Gambit actor Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as the movie’s titular character, Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan, Lukas Gage, Charley Palmer Rothwell, and Rosie Day as Cilla Black, the singer who was also managed by Epstein.

Jonas Åkerlund is directing from a screenplay based on a screen story by Brigit Grant and written by Jonathan Wakeham.

Producers are Kevin Proctor and Perry Trevers at StudioPOW, with Trevor Beattie and Jeremy Chatterton at Trevor Beattie Films. Mister Smith Entertainment is handling sales and has closed a raft of international deals.

Milner is in post-production on movie thriller Burial.

“Midas Man,” the biopic about legendary music manager Brian Epstein, has begun shooting in Liverpool, U.K., giving fans the first look at Jacob Fortune-Lloyd’s transformation into the title role (above left).

The actor, who has starred in “Medici” and “The Queen’s Gambit,” will portray the always dapper Epstein in the StudioPOW and Trevor Beattie Films production alongside Emily Watson (“Everest”) as Epstein’s mother, Eddie Marsan (“Ridley Road”) as his father Harry, Lukas Gage (“Euphoria”) as his lover Tex Ellington and Charley Palmer Rothwell (“Jack Ryan”) who will play The Beatles’ record producer George Martin

The film has also cast “Outlander” star Rosie Day as another one of Epstein’s acts, singer Cilla Black. Jonas Åkerlund (“Lords of Chaos”) directs.

The film will shoot across Liverpool, London and the U.S. this fall.

Epstein, who died of an overdose at the age of 32, was responsible for discovering and...

Rosie Day (Outlander) has boarded the cast of Midas Man, the biopic of visionary music manager Brian Epstein, who famously discovered the Beatles. Day will play Cilla Black, the singer who was also managed by Epstein.

Producers StudioPow and Trevor Beattie Films have today unveiled a first look at The Queen’s Gambit actor Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as the movie’s titular character.

Also starring are Emily Watson, Eddie Marsan, Lukas Gage and Charley Palmer Rothwell. The project will shoot on location in Liverpool, London and the U.S. this fall for release in 2022.

Producers are Kevin Proctor and Perry Trevers at StudioPOW, with Trevor Beattie and Jeremy Chatterton at Trevor Beattie Films. Jonas Åkerlund is directing from a screenplay based on a screen story by Brigit Grant and written by Jonathan Wakeham.

As a writer, Rosie Day’s debut feature film Pixie Dust was also produced by StudioPow.

Cast is rounding out on Midas Man, a feature film telling the story of visionary music manager Brian Epstein.

Joining the previously announced Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as Epstein are Emily Watson, who will play his mother, Eddie Marsan as his father, and It’s a Sin breakout Omari Douglas as Lonnie Trimble, Epstein’s ever-trusted confidant and friend.

Jonas Akerlund (Lords Of Chaos) is directing the pic, which comes from producers Kevin Proctor and Perry Trevers at StudioPOW and Trevor Beattie and Jeremy Chatterton at Trevor Beattie Films.

Jonathan Wakeham wrote the screenplay based on a story by Brigit Grant. The plot tracks how Epstein shot to fame at the age of 25 by discovering a series of artists including The Beatles, Cilla Black and Gerry and The Pacemakers, before his life ended tragically at just 32.

Peter Dunne, Nicola Pearcey and Mark Borkowski are executive producers. Twickenham Studios Chairman and co-owner Sunny Vohra...

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in the ’60s, to escape from reality, as Queen might have written had they seen this film. It seems fitting to plunder a song to review Edgar Wright’s new film, Last Night in Soho, for the director drenches us with a cascade of tunes as we are plunged into London’s Soho circa 1965.

But before Wright turns back the clock, the film opens in contemporary Cornwall as Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie), all wide eyed and porcelain skinned like an adorable doll, dances around her house in a cocktail dress made of newspapers. This sweet little thing lives with her gran (Rita Tushingham), her mum having committed suicide when Eloise was a child. She’s about to head to London to study at the London College of Fashion, but gran is concerned about her mental wellbeing, what with her having visions...

Have you ever noticed how the icily dramatic opening strings in “You’re My World,” Cilla Black’s earnest, bawling-on-the-bathroom-floor ballad from 1965, could just as easily be a shivery horror theme by Bernard Herrmann? Edgar Wright has, and uses the likeness to briefly spine-tingling effect early in “Last Night in Soho”: As ’60s-fixated Gen-z fashion student Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) finds herself somehow transported in time to the Swinging London world of naive party girl and aspiring chanteuse Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy), those strings signal not just the dreamy collision of timelines, but a darkening of tone and genre, as Eloise’s rosy nostalgia for an era she never inhabited is soon invaded by blood-dripping violence and threat.

It’s a great needle-drop, from a filmmaker who has made them a trademark of his work, and it’s the one moment in which Wright’s murky, middling blend of horror and...

Leave it to Edgar Wright to play with genre expectations and deliver yet another delightfully off-kilter thriller that also thrills with its undeniably trippy atmosphere and blast to the past of swinging 60’s London. The director of films like Baby Driver, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, The World’s End, and of course the cult classic Shaun Of The Dead has taken the seemingly glamorous and intriguing era of the 60s in Mod London circa ’65 and turned it into an increasingly menacing and dark period, but still fueled by a killer song selection that takes us from Cilla Black to Petula Clark. It is a mix that has you in its first half longing to go back to that period in time like protagonist Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie) , but then maybe rethink that decision. Just like many of Wright’s twisty movies he doesn’t easily let the audience off the hook.

Mixing glorious pastiche and gory ghost story, director Edgar Wright’s “Last Night in Soho” will stand as one of the best London movies of the new decade.

That’s probably because, while it enjoys the present-day (or at least pre-pandemic) bustle of Soho, it positively revels in the area’s charismatically seedy past and its still-palpable legacy.

Much like his mentor, Quentin Tarantino, who gets a thanks in the closing credits but to whom the excellent soundtrack choices also owe a huge debt, Wright creates a faithful yet playful homage to a lost and legendary Swinging ’60s London that is hard to find these days but whose spirit remains vibrantly alive in movies, documentaries, photos, stories, a few buildings and, of course, hundreds of songs.

Since the current Covid-19 pandemic practically emptied Soho of its restaurants, nightlife and office workers (many British film production companies included), one might regard...

Streaming

“Schumacher,” a documentary on champion German Formula 1 racing driver Michael Schumacher, will stream on Netflix from Sept. 15. The film follows his journey from his humble beginnings to the top of Formula 1 where he dominated with seven world championship titles and a total of 91 victories.

In addition to his father and his brother Ralf, Schumacher’s wife Corinna and his two children Gina and Mick, by now a Formula 1 driver himself, speak openly for the first time, as do his closest peers and competitors. Among them are Jean Todt, Bernie Ecclestone, Sebastian Vettel, Mika Häkkinen, Damon Hill, Flavio Briatore, David Coulthard, Willi Weber, Luca di Montezemolo, Piero Ferrari, his manager Sabine Kehm.

Benjamin Seikel and Vanessa Nöcker from B|14 Film GmbH produced “Schumacher”. Hanns-Bruno Kammertöns, Vanessa Nöcker and Michael Wech directed the film.

London based Rocket Science is representing sales and distribution of the film worldwide and facilitated the partnership with Netflix.

UK actor to lead a biopic of The Beatles’ late manager.

Jonas Åkerlund’s upcoming biopic of music manager Brian Epstein has cast The Queen’s Gambit breakout Jacob Fortune-Lloyd in the lead role.

Midas Man will begin shooting this autumn, Screen has confirmed. It will film in the UK at Twickenham Studios and on location in London and Liverpool as well as the US.

Nicola Pearcey, former president of Lionsgate UK and Europe, has also joined the project as executive producer through Picnik Entertainment.

Swedish director Åkerlund will also have creative input on the film’s soundtrack. His previous...

ABC is bringing back The Dating Game.

The network has partnered with Sony Pictures to bring back the classic dating format and is putting a celebrity spin on the show.

New Girl star Zooey Deschanel and musician Michael Bolton, known for soft rock hits such as “Georgia on My Mind” and “How Am I Supposed To Live Without You,” will host the eight-part series.

The Celebrity Dating Game will offer a wry wink at modern dating with a roster of celebrity singles in their pursuit to find love. Offering a spin on the classic dating show, the celebrity guests will remain a mystery as one lucky suitor is chosen from a hidden panel of three bachelors and/or bachelorettes based on their answers to the celebrity’s questions. Suitors will have the opportunity to guess the secret identity based on clues, questions and special parody performances by host Bolton, who...

Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK deserves a massive round of applause for one of the most conducive episodes I have ever seen. If we ignore the mini-challenge in this episode; the runway, main challenge and judging panned were used perfectly in tandem to give a very well structure and thematic episode. The episode revolves around the idea of musicals, with the main challenge being to perform like in ‘Rats the Rusical’ which was an obvious parody of Cats (but more on that later) and the guest judge this week was Sheridan Smith who many will know as Smithy’s sister in Gavin and Stacey but it’s also a musical theatre icon who has played iconic roles such as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, Elle in Legally Blonde or as Cilla Black in the TV musical movie Cilla. The runway was titled “Surprise, Surprise” which was also a reference...

Harriet Slater, best known for her role as Sandra Onslow on TV's Pennyworth, gives us the scoop on her new film, Emily and the Magical Journey - a Never-Ending Story-esque fantasy film that's now available on DVD and Digital from Uncork'd Entertainment.

Harriet, how's your year been?

Harriet Slater: It's been up and down in many ways, as I imagine it has been for most people! I've spent the majority of it at my home in North London, making my way through a long list of films and series and baking obscene amounts of banana bread. I'm not sure why, but that became a massive trend over here during lockdown.

Has your work been affected at all from the pandemic?

Harriet Slater: It's been a really rough year for a lot of industries and the arts are definitely no exception. We were about a month into shooting https://tvweb.com...

Set to collect Special Award for his contribution to industry and focus on diversity.

Idris Elba has scooped this year’s Bafta Special Award for his contribution to TV, with a focus on his work in the diversity space.

The Luther star, who just signed a first-look deal with Apple and also runs his own indie, will be awarded and make a speech at next Friday’s Bafta TV Awards, which will take place remotely.

Bafta cited Elba’s starring roles in the likes of BBC1’s Luther and his breakout in The Wire but said his contribution “goes beyond...

Acclaimed British actor, writer and producer Idris Elba will receive a BAFTA Special Award for his creative contribution to television and his commitment to championing diversity and new talent in the industry.

The Special Award is one of the British Academy’s highest honors, with previous recipients for television including Nicola Shindler, Clare Balding, John Motson, Henry Normal, Nick Fraser, Lenny Henry, Delia Smith and Cilla Black.

Elba’s breakout came in HBO’s “The Wire” and he shot to international fame with his starring role in hit BBC drama “Luther,” for which he won a Golden Globe and scored several Primetime Emmy and BAFTA nominations. Last year, Elba starred in and executive produced the fifth season of “Luther.” Sky’s “In The Long Run,” created by and starring Elba, inspired by his own experiences, is back soon for a third season.

He founded production company Green Door Pictures in 2013 with a focus on inclusion,...