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Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music CriticThe New York component of this fall’s consciousness-raising Global Citizen Festival will bring together artists as stylistically diverse as Mariah Carey, Metallica, Maneskin, Rosalia, Mickey Guyton, Charlie Puth and the Jonas Brothers — with a “bonus Jonas,” as it were, in the form of Priyanka Chopra Jonas, the activist who’ll host for the live audience in Central Park Sept. 24 as well as an ABC broadcast special the following night.The stars will shine as brightly far away from Manhattan, as well, in Accra, Ghana, where the other half of the event will go down — also on Sept.

EXCLUSIVE: ZDF Studios and free streamer WedoTV have teamed to launch a pair of thematic channels.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Nabbing the lead role in Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” required Paul Mescal to act on the biggest film sets he’s ever seen. The director recently told GQ that his actor “nearly died” on his “first day walking in the Colosseum” that the production built to scale in Malta. “He didn’t realize it was going to be so big.” But perhaps even more intimidating for Mescal than acting within the “Gladiator II” sets were the scenes in which he had to go head to head with Denzel Washington, who stars in the sequel as a wealthy powerbroker in Rome who keeps a stable of gladiators for sport among which Mescal’s Lucius falls into.

Diego Ramos Bechara editor A bloody, sweaty Paul Mescal goes to war to save Rome in the new trailer for Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator 2.” The sequel stars Mescal as Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and nephew of Commodus, the original film’s antagonist played by Joaquin Phoenix. Set years after 2000’s “Gladiator” (also directed by Scott), the sequel sees Lucius living as a young adult in the northern African region of Numidia, where his mother sent him as a child.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Ridley Scott is reviving his “Gladiator” franchise after 24 years with the upcoming “Gladiator II,” and it sounds like that may be the end of the road for his epic story. Speaking to France’s Premiere magazine, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker confirmed he’s already developing the idea for a third “Gladiator.” “I’m already toying with the idea of ​​Gladiator 3. No, seriously! I’ve lit the fuse,” Scott said.

EXCLUSIVE: David Oyelowo says he wants to use his star power to make more films in Africa and help boost the continent’s movie-making prowess. But he assures “there’s not going to be a cultural colonialism” insisting that the move has got to “benefit people on the ground.”

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Is Denzel Washington nearing an acting retirement from the big screen? In a new interview with Empire magazine to promote his role in Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator 2,” the two-time Oscar winner admitted the upcoming swords-and-sandals epic was one of the few movies left to make that still interested him. How many more of these roles exist Washington did not reveal. “There are very few films left for me to make that I’m interested in, and I have to be inspired by the filmmaker, and I was tremendously inspired by Ridley,” Washington said about agreeing to star in the “Gladiator” sequel.

Qatari beIN media group and Dubai-based film distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment have renewed an ongoing first run deal for another three years until 2027.

Michaela Zee Ridley Scott has delivered some epic battle scenes in his films, from the Battle of Kerak in 2005’s “Kingdom of Heaven” to the Battle of Austerlitz in 2023’s “Napoleon.” But his upcoming sequel to “Gladiator” features an action sequence that’s larger than anything he’s done in the past, according to the legendary filmmaker. “We begin the film with probably the biggest action sequence I’ve ever done,” Scott told Empire in a recent interview.

Ashley Thorpe has always wanted to know more about his heritage. During the early years of his adulthood he elected to do just that when he gave a sample of his DNA to the world's largest genealogy company to find out where his roots sprouted from.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Paul Mescal revealed to Vanity Fair as part of the first look at “Gladiator II” that he was offered the sequel’s leading role after meeting director Ridley Scott for only a half-hour. The legendary filmmaker had already become a fan of Mescal’s after he watched the actor’s breakthrough performance in “Normal People.” “We spoke for about 20 to 30 minutes,” Mescal said about his first meeting with Scott.

Channel 4’s ‘Hollyoaks’ Makes International Soap History

William Ruto, President of Kenya, visits Atlanta this week before heading to Washington, D.C., for a State Dinner. In addition to meeting with Georgia lawmakers and business leaders, he will sit down with senior teams from Emory University as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival has revealed details of the Red Sea Souk, the fest’s industry market that will offer meeting and networking opportunities revolving around new Arab and African product. The Souk will take place Dec. 2-5 alongside the Nov.

The Red Sea International Film Festival, has unveiled the 26 projects selected as part of its industry-focused Red Sea Souk Market, running from December 2 to 5.

Red Sea Fund & Film AlUla Partner On Production GrantThe Red Sea Fund has partnered with Film AlUla to offer a production grant for filmmakers with projects set within the landscape of AlUla in northwest Saudi Arabia. The Red Sea Fund and Film AlUla will be named as co-producers on all selected films, and Saudi Arabia will be a co-production country. The two bodies said chosen filmmakers will be given “free rein” on their creative project and will be judged purely on the quality of the production, talent, and script. Projects from Saudi Arabia, the Arab regions, and Africa are eligible for the Film AlUla fund. The fund will sponsor at least 10 projects. Mohammed Al Turki, CEO of the Red Sea Film Foundation, said: “Our aim as an organization is to uplift and support filmmakers from the Arab and African region and to promote the industry in Saudi Arabia – which is home to incredible filming locations like AlUla. We are delighted to have Film AlUla as a partner on this third cycle of funding, which will provide fund recipients the opportunity to bring their creative visions to life on the big screen as well as showcase the beauty and diversity of this country, with the backing of two significant partners.”

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival has announced a dozen projects from young filmmakers from Saudi, and the wider Arab and African region, selected for its development program, the Red Sea Lodge, in collaboration with TorinoFilmLab and sponsored by the Film AlUla film commission. The Lodge is a 10-month mentorship program that has now opened up to African works along with Saudi and Arab projects. Winners will take home a portion of the total $200,000 pot in prizes that will be awarded during the fest’s 2023 edition in December.  The selected projects from Saudi Arabia are:

Naman Ramachandran U.K. TV producer Content Kings and production finance broker and distribution agent Silverlining Rights have revealed a raft of international pre-sales for “Diana: The Ultimate Truth” (1×60’), a documentary which investigates the circumstances leading up to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, 25 years ago.