‘Bike Thief,’ ‘Hello Again,’ ‘Karnawal’ Lead Beta Cinema Slate at AFM (EXCLUSIVE)

Robert Pattinson reckons he spent so many hours filming The Batman in the dark that his skin turned green.

Kanye West reportedly held a private listening party for his forthcoming new album ‘DONDA 2’ in LA earlier this week.The rapper and producer’s sequel album to 2021’s ‘DONDA’ is set to be released on February 22. Future is said to be executively producing the record, while Marilyn Manson is also working on the album.West, who is now legally known as Ye, reportedly held a party in LA on Monday night (February 7) where ‘DONDA 2’ was played (via TMZ).The likes of Drake, Travis Scott and Yung Lean were also said to have been in attendance on the night, with West sharing an image overnight taken by Samuel Alemayhu which showed him with the three aforementioned artists and Baby Keem.A post shared by ye (@kanyewest)Yung Lean also shared the image on his Instagram overnight, captioning it: “New Beatles.”A post shared by @yunglean2001West’s Instagram post followed on from a video he shared last night (February 8) where he gave a passionate speech about “Black Future Month”.“There’s no more Black History Month,” he said in the clip.

Lady Gaga has congratulated the 2022 Oscar nominees after House Of Gucci received only one nomination.The singer and actor, who played Patrizia Reggiani in House Of Gucci, was left out of the Best Actress race at the Oscars despite earning nominations at other major award shows, like the BAFTAs, Golden Globes, SAG Awards and Critics Choice Awards.In a post on Instagram, Gaga praised House Of Gucci’s makeup artist Frederic Aspiras – who earned the film’s only Oscar nomination in the Best Hair & Makeup category.“I could not be happier for a man I call my brother, who I’ve worked with for the last 15 years, @fredericaspiras, for his nomination in Makeup & Hairstyling for House Of Gucci,” Gaga wrote.A post shared by Lady Gaga (@ladygaga)“Frederic was magical, precise, and dedicated months leading up to shoot and during filming. He prepared dozens of wigs for months and months, and did at least a year of preparation.

Lost Ark hasn’t fully launched just yet, huge demand from fans trying to pre-load the game is putting a strain on Steam servers.Amazon Game Studios‘ western release of Lost Ark doesn’t come out in full until this Friday (February 11), but demand for the game is already causing issues for eager fans.Yesterday (February 8), the official Lost Ark Twitter account acknowledged that players were having trouble downloading and pre-loading the MMO.“Steam is aware of it and is actively looking into the issue,” clarified the account, before later saying that “we are now seeing improvements in players being able to download and decrypt the game, and have confirmed this with the team at Valve.”A Founder’s Pack version of Lost Ark means that some fans have been able to get into the MMO ahead of its full launch, which has already led to some early demand.Thank you for the reports regarding game downloads timing on Steam. Steam is aware of it and is actively looking into the issue and we will update players as soon as we have additional information.— Lost Ark (@playlostark) February 8, 2022At time of writing, Lost Ark is the fifth most-played game on Steam.

A sign of Vitamin B12 deficiency may be noticeable on your tongue, according to experts.

Coastguard crews have been deployed as part of a desperate search for missing Scot Jakub Ziomko.

Rutherglen Glencairn manager Willie Harvey was left disappointed after his side’s second-half collapse at Kilwinning Rangers.

Callum Beattie reckons Ed Sheeran was faking playing electric guitar live at The Brits - because he claims it wasn't even plugged in.

The problem of “urban menace” seagulls is too big for Dumfries and Galloway Council to solve, a councillor has insisted.

Alan Irving is Mr Annan Athletic.

The BRIT Awards happened. That’s a thing that there’s no denying. But how did it happen? And why? Those are questions that may or may not be answered here.It was, of course, a night of big changes for the UK record industry’s big annual prize giving.

Will Young catapulted to fame when he won ITV's singing competition, Pop Idol in 2002.Going up against Gareth Gates in the nail-biting final of the popular evening show, Will stole the nation's hearts with his undeniable talent, outspoken nature and amazing vocals.Becoming the first winner of the worldwide Idol franchise at the age of 22, the heartthrob was the centre of media attention shortly after when he came out as gay preempting a tabloid newspaper from "outing him".Despite the controversy at the time, Will continued to have a successful career in music with a number of top 40 hits including Light My Fire and Leave Right Now.However, the star did later face tragedy down the line, with label feuds and the untimely death of his twin brother.Daily Star has taken a detailed look inside Will Young's life.Shortly after being crowned the winner of Pop Idol in the early noughties, in March 2002, Will told the nation that he was gay.However, the star also admitted that he never hid his sexuality and was comfortable with who he was.In September 2020, Will spoke openly on news night about homophobia and the terrible comments he's received regarding his sexuality.He explained: "There's intentional homophobia and there's unintentional homophobia."People get too muddled up with it and worry they'll say the wrong thing. Listen, I say the wrong thing the whole time and I'm so happy to be educated."Gay shame...

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentSebastien Raybaud’s production and financing company Anton, which co-financed shows like “His Dark Materials” and “McMafia,” and sales and production company WestEnd Films are to co-fund a development slate of television series.The first project will be a thriller series from television writers/producers Ron Leshem (“Euphoria,” “No Man’s Land,” “Beaufort,” “Allegiance”) and Amit Cohen (“False Flag,” “No Man’s Land,” “The Gordin Cell”), currently in development.WestEnd most recently partnered with Leshem and Cohen on Israel’s biggest budget television drama series to date, “Valley of Tears,” which was part of Series Mania’s 2020 official competition, and has recently been sold worldwide to

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentThomas Vinterberg’s “Another Round,” starring Mads Mikkelsen, leads the race for the 33rd European Film Awards, alongside Jan Komasa’s Oscar nominated “Corpus Christi” and Pietro Marcello’s “Martin Eden.” Each film has four nominations.“Another Round” took nominations for best film, director, actor for Mikkelsen, and screenwriter for Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentPicture Tree International has sold family drama “God You Are Such a P—k,” starring Til Schweiger and Heike Makatsch, to several additional territories. The Berlin-based sales agent revealed the latest deals as the American Film Market entered its second day of trading.Among the latest buyers are Koba Films in France, Notorious Pictures in Italy, and Eagle International in Taiwan.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentHanWay Films will screen the first footage from psychological horror film “A Banquet” on Monday to buyers attending the virtual AFM, where HanWay is representing worldwide rights. Variety spoke to Leonora Darby, one of the film’s lead producers at Tea Shop Productions, the company behind breakout hit “47 Meters Down.”Female-driven “A Banquet” is the directorial debut of Ruth Paxton, and stars Sienna Guillory (“Resident Evil”), rising stars Jessica Alexander and Ruby Stokes, and Lindsay Duncan (“Birdman”).

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentBritish distributor Vertigo Releasing has acquired David Bowie origin film “Stardust,” starring Johnny Flynn (“Emma,” “Beast”), who recently won the best actor award at London’s Raindance Film Festival for his performance as Bowie. Vertigo will release the film before the end of the year, on the back of the U.S.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentEugen Jebeleanu’s debut feature “Poppy Field” has been sold to Missing Films for distribution in German-speaking territories ahead of its world premiere at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.The film follows the struggles of a young Romanian policeman Cristi over 24 hours as he tries to find the balance between two parts of his identity: that of a policeman working in a macho environment and that of a closeted gay person.During a visit by his boyfriend, Hadi, with whom he is involved in a long-distance relationship, Cristi is called to a cinema where an ultra-nationalist, homophobic group has sabotaged the screening of a queer film.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentMedia Luna New Films has acquired worldwide rights to Rodrigo Fiallega’s gritty Mexican drama “Ricochet,” whose star Martijn Kuiper won best actor Sunday at the Morelia Film Festival. Media Luna will present the film to buyers at the American Film Market, which starts Monday.In “Ricochet,” quiet loner Martijn leads a hermit’s life on the outskirts of the city after his son was murdered at the local festival.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentPicture Tree International has picked up world sales rights on Sönke Wortmann’s latest feature “Contra.” PTI will launch the film onto the market with a first promo at AFM, which starts Monday.“Contra” had its world premiere at the 16th Zurich Film Festival, and is set for a Christmas release in German-speaking territories by Constantin Film, one of the world’s top independent distributors.

Leo Barraclough Senior International Correspondent“Buladó,” the second feature of director Eché Janga, who also penned the screenplay alongside Esther Duysker, has been selected to represent the Netherlands in the International Feature Film category of the Academy Awards. Picture Tree International will launch its international sales push at the virtual AFM.“Buladó” opened the Netherlands Film Festival in September and was awarded best film, the Golden Calf, at the National Film Awards.