BFI London Film Festival Retains Role as Launchpad

Premier League.The swarms of cash that have filtered through the top-tier teams have had a knock-on effect on facilities.As well as more being spent on players and wages, a lot of money has gone towards the infrastructure surrounding the club.It has already seen the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal undergo huge changes to the stadiums as they look to keep up with the times.Here are how those footballing stadia looked prior to their big-money renovations.There are plans to expand the stadium further to make it an 80,000 all-seater but the most recent renovation came in 2006 when an increase of 8,000 seats were added.As a result, United broke the record for the most spectators in the Premier League when 76,098 turned up to watch them beat Blackburn Rovers 4-1 in March 2007.As mentioned, plans are afoot to make the Theatre of Dreams even bigger as they look to build on the fact that they are already the biggest club football ground in the United Kingdom.Every stand at Stamford Bridge has gone through multiple renovations throughout its long history having opened in 1877 before being used as Chelsea’s ground in 1905.Perhaps most important to the club is the Matthew Harding Stand, named after their former chairman, whose investment helped transform the club before his death in 1996 after a helicopter accident and renovations were completed to the end, previously known as the North Stand, ahead of the 1996/76 season.Most recently, the Blues brought in safe-standing at the Shed End this year where the most ardent supporters congregate but Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news?Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star football email newsletter!From the latest transfer news to the

Elton John and David Furnish have taken to social media to share a moving statement in support of Ukraine.MORE: Sir Elton John breaks silence after terrifying plane ordealSharing the same picture, which features the country's blue and yellow flag, the stars wrote: "For over 20 years, the Elton John AIDS Foundation has supported some of the most vulnerable people in Ukraine with access to HIV services and care, as part of our commitment to communities across Eastern Europe and Central Asia.WATCH: Elton John films at £5million luxury home"We are heartbroken and appalled to see this conflict unfold and our hearts are with the people of Ukraine who do not deserve to live through this nightmare. During these devastating times, we stand for an end to the violence and suffering in Ukraine so that life-saving services and humanitarian aid can reach those desperately in need.

A Wigan dad has been jailed for downloading almost 40,000 indecent images of children after he was caught out by a paedophile sting operation.

It's just 9.5 miles long but it feels like quite an adventure.

A homeless teenager was beaten up and 'left for dead' after being refused housing by Manchester City Council.

extended hiatus to accommodate NBC’s Winter Olympics coverage, with former “SNL” writer John Mulaney hosting for the fifth time.The comic addressed his recent rehabilitation from cocaine addiction in his monologue.“It’s wonderful to be in a place that’s always emphasized sobriety and mental health,” he cracked, while discussing his recovery.In the lead skit, Mulaney played a monkey who presided over a civil case where a woman was mauled by a monkey, as lawyers Kenan Thompson and Cecily Strong appealed to the primate’s animal instincts to win the judge’s favor.The animal-related humor continued in a fake commercial as Strong and Heidi Gardner portrayed dog owners who got into a heated supermarket argument about the quality of their dog food. Mulaney played an impotent man who successfully pressured Gardner into spending $74 on a grass-fed poultry blend.One sketch lampooned the ever-evolving CDC mask mandates, as a group of politically correct people tiptoed around the effectiveness of mask-wearing at a dinner fraught with tension.“Did I have to dump my oldest friend just because he didn’t get a booster?” Mulaney asked, as his friends played by Thompson, Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Bowen Yang recoiled in horror.A video by the “Please Don’t Destroy” comedy group video imagined a new COVID-19 variant that only had wonderful side effects.

John Mulaney took to the Studio 8H stage over the weekend for his fifth time hosting, and the comic and new dad delivered a hilarious opening monologue about his tumultuous year.«For many, many reasons, I'm grateful to be here tonight. After a very complicated year, it is wonderful to be in a place that has always emphasized sobriety and mental health,» Mulaney joked at the start of his monologue, referring to 's notorious past.After recalling his intervention back in December 2020, he talked about going to rehab, «Which was a very good experience. I'm very grateful that I went.»«I was there for two months from December to February 2020.

Shordie Shordie has shared a new mini project. Me & Mine, Pt.

The line-up for U.K. festival Wireless has been announced today alongside the news that this year's event will take place across three locations with bills unique to each site. Headliners across the festival include Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, Tyler, The Creator, SZA, A$AP Rocky, J.

Audrey Diwan has emerged as one of the most exciting and relevant new voices of contemporary world cinema with her sophomore outing, “Happening.”Working with a tight budget, a fairly unknown lead actress (Anamaria Vartolomei) and a polarizing topic, Diwan was able to deliver a nuanced and relatable portrayal of Anne, a bright young female student determined to rise above her social upbringing who faces an unwanted pregnancy in 1960’s France — at a time when abortion was considered a crime.“Happening,” based on Annie Emaux’s semi-autobiographical novel, is now one of the three movies pre-selected by France’s Oscar committee to vie for an international feature film nomination, along with Julia Ducournau’s Cannes’ Palme d’Or winning “Titane”

Titane filmmaker Julia Ducournau didn’t just make history this year as the first female director to win Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or solo, she was also the first to find out she had won the prize twice during the ceremony.

Clio Barnard took inspiration from two people she met while filming previous films for Ali & Ava, which premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.

France’s Oscar selection committee has shortlisted three titles as the country’s potential submission for the International Feature Oscar race. They include Audrey Diwan’s Venice Golden Lion winner L’Evénement (Happening), Julia Ducournau’s Cannes Palme d’Or laureate Titane and Cédric Jiminez’s Bac Nord (The Stronghold) which ran out of competition on the Riviera in July.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentAudrey Diwan’s Venice-prizewinning timely abortion drama “Happening,” Julia Ducournau’s Cannes’ Palme d’Or-winning horror film “Titane,” and Cedric Jimenez’s cop thriller “Bac Nord” have been shortlisted by France’s Oscar committee. The French Oscar candidate is expected to be selected next Tuesday.

Clayton Davis France has been a supreme force in the Oscars’ international feature race for decades. This year, three acclaimed films from women directors — Céline Sciamma, Audrey Diwan and Julia Ducournau — are believed to be at the top of the list to represent the country for the upcoming 94th ceremony, set to take place on March 27.

Vincent Lindon is the heart of “Titane.” Since French director Julia Ducournau’s provocative new film premiered at Cannes Film Festival, making her the second woman to win the coveted Palme d’Or, similar to her first film “Raw,” it’s developed a near-mythical reputation as one of the wildest films ever. However, this wild movie is also a tender story, one concerning the love and loneliness felt by a mourning father.

Tilda Swinton, George MacKay and Stephen Graham are joining the cast of a new musical!

“When I write, I always write about the image first,” explains French director Julia Ducournau. It’s her indelible, singular use of imagery that made her previous film, “Raw,” about a vegetarian who becomes a cannibal, a movie that led to an audience member fainting during a 2016 screening at the Toronto International Film Festival.

EXCLUSIVE: Julia Ducournau, Agathe Rousselle, and Vincent Lindon were met with a five-minute standing ovation after the premiere of Ducournau’s second feature film Titane at the 57th annual York Film Festival. I could see emotion wash over the trio from where I was sitting, as they became overwhelmed by the moment. 

Neon presents Julia Ducournau’s Titane, the lauded Palme d’Or winner set to test a stressed specialty market even as Messrs. Venom and Bond crash into wide release this weekend and next. The edgy, high octane French tale about a woman with a metal plate in her head and an automotive fetish hits 562 screens in top 10 top North American markets.

Pat Saperstein Deputy EditorFrench director Julia Ducournau, who burst onto the world filmmaking scene in 2016 with her first feature “Raw,” is changing the vocabulary of cinema with her heart-stopping imagery and boundary-blurring approach to genre.That originality helped propel her second film, “Titane,” to a Palme d’Or in Cannes this year, making Ducournau just the second woman to win the prestigious prize after Jane Campion. “Titane” is the story of a young woman who has a metal plate fitted in her skull after a terrible accident as a child.