Pan-African Financial Institution Afreximbank Poised To Launch $1B African Film Fund

Often, when a film fan is watching a stop-motion film from a studio like Aardman, the idea of the actual substance used in the modeling isn’t much of a concern. Is the story good? Is the animation top-notch? Of course it is.

Music superstar Shakira has managed to avoid jail time by settling her £12.7m tax evasion case, just as the trial was about to kick off. The 46 year old hitmaker had been accused by Spanish authorities of not paying a whopping £12.68 million in income tax between 2012 and 2014.

Arthur Poremba has returned to his normal job just days after Married At First Sight UK wrapped filming. The former MAFS groom has returned to tennis coaching after he failed to find love with on-screen bride Laura Vaughan, with Laura calling time on their marriage at the final commitment ceremony.

A popular former teacher at an East Kilbride school celebrated a milestone birthday in style.

Netflix subscribers are heartbroken after the streaming service cancelled a popular fantasy series after just two seasons. The platform axed five shows in total last week including Shadow and Bone, based on Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse novels - the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows duology.

EXCLUSIVE: Social change doc maker CreativeChaos has acquired rights to activist and author Klementyna Suchanow‘s non-fiction non-fiction book This is War: Women, Fundamentalists and the New Middle Ages.

French studio Federation’s new theatrical sales arm Ginger & Fed and Paris-based genre specialist WTFilms have unveiled a slew of AFM deals for apocalyptic thriller Survive.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Ridley Scott is shrugging off the negative reviews coming out of France for his new historical epic “Napoleon,” which stars Joaquin Phoenix as the infamous French emperor and Vanessa Kirby as his wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais. Reviews are all over the place for the biographical drama.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Rome-based distribution and production exec Thomas J. Ciampa — who last year exited WarnerMedia where he was Italy, Spain and Portugal country manager — is joining Rainbow Group, the prominent Italian indie best known for creating the hit “Winx Club” TV franchise.

The Covid-19 Inquiry has heard that Prime Minister Boris Johnson was "bamboozled" by the graphs and data presented to him by scientists during the pandemic. Diary entries by former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance were shown to the inquiry on Monday as Sir Patrick described dealing with the former prime minister.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Oscar winner Jeremy Irons has joined the cast of Palme d’Or-winning director Bille August‘s prestige limited series “The Count of Monte Cristo,” which also stars Sam Claflin. A sprawling adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel, the English-language series is produced by Mediawan’s banner Palomar, the leading Italian company behind “Inspector Montalbano” and “The Name of the Rose,” in collaboration with another Mediawan label, France’s DEMD Productions.

NME, developers on Old School RuneScape have broken down the online multiplayer game’s busiest month since launch – from the birth of dubiously-named community activity Sq’irkin, to the return of its much-hyped Leagues game mode.Last week (November 15), an Old School RuneScape (OSRS) update added the Trailblazer Reloaded League – a temporary game mode that’s separate from the rest of OSRS.In the current League, players start from scratch and can only play within one region in Gielinor. Other areas must be unlocked by completing tasks, while powerful perks and exp bonuses make the game mode something of a power fantasy in comparison to standard OSRS.Just like prior League modes, Trailblazer Reloaded has been hugely popular.

Director: Marc Forster.Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale, Ludi Boeken, Fana Mokoena, Pierfrancesco Favino, Ruth Negga, Peter Capaldi, Moritz Bleibtreu, Abigail Hargrove, Sterling Jerins, David Morse.Running Time: 116 minutes.Certificate: 15.Synopsis: United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) is at the forefront of a race against time to stop a zombie pandemic that is toppling armies, governments and threatening to destroy humanity itself.Attempting to breathe new life into the zombie realm with his adaptation of Max Brooks’ 2006 book, Marc Forster has directed a relatively fun ride that will struggle to appease fans of the supernatural due to a steadfast commitment to family values and blatant lack of gore.Strongest when itching towards 28 DAYS LATER territory in its far quieter final third, WORLD WAR Z spends most of its time floating somewhere between disaster movie and family drama. Hopping from continent to continent may not leave us dizzy, but events never reach tangible levels of worldwide panic when personal elements cause such an infuriating distraction.

‘Are you ready to go back to Titanic?’If anyone has fueled James Cameron’s erratic film dreams (and filled his pockets with lots of money), it’s most likely me. Although I was only 4 years-old when TITANIC hit the big screen (I hope that makes some of you feel rather old), I’ve since seen it around a billion times. On analogue television, on digital channels, at Christmas, during summer holidays, on video, on DVD, even at the cinema in 3D (yes, I was one of those people).

A new trailer has dropped for the Apple TV+-debuting feature animation, Luck. The film, which comes to the streamer later this summer, comes to the screen from Skydance Animation and director Peggy Holmes.The film tells the story of Sam Greenfield, the unluckiest person in the world, who when she stumbles into the never-before-seen Land of Luck, sets out on a quest to bring some good luck home for her best friend.

Sundance Film Festival will take place in Park City, Utah from January 19th -29th and the full line-up has just been revealed.As usual, there’s a ton of new movies on offer. Stand-outs include To the Bone, a new film with with Lily Collins and Keanu Reeves, Cate Shortland’s Berlin Syndrome with Teresa Palmer, Burning Sands with Moonlight’s Trevante Rhodes, David Lowery’s A Ghost Story with Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara, and Anton Yelchin’s final film Thoroughbred.

In 2012 Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike arrived. The story of male strippers was based in part on lead actor Channing Tatum’s history as a dancer. Magic Mike was a resounding success at the box-office and earned itself a sequel, Magic Mike XXL, and a spin-off live dance show in London’s West End. Having sat out of directing duties for the sequel, Soderbergh is back for the third and final film in the series, Magic Mike’s Last Dance.After getting out of dancing at the end of Magic Mike XXL, Mike (Channing Tatum) is lured back to the stage once more.

Warner Bros. Pictures has just released a new trailer for the upcoming DC Films movie Birds Of Prey.

NFL odds.While the sport has provided fans with plenty of action-packed highlight plays and nail-biting finales on the field, football has also translated into a tremendous asset for the film industry as there have been several releases that have been praised by fans for various different reasons.From underdog stories to college drafting scenarios, these are some of the top football films that have ever hit the big screen for all audiences to enjoy:While this football title features hardly any action when it comes to on-the-field play, it does center around the realistic feeling of what it takes to work as an executive in an NFL franchise’s front office, with this 2014 release allowing the audience to feel emotionally connected and in awe of Cleveland Browns GM Sonny Weaver Jr.‘Draft Day’ is an enjoyable title as it focuses on the sheer thrill and anticipation that goes into the annual event as well as the pent-up adrenaline that is often felt during the selection process between executives, fans and ownership as it is often very difficult to decide as to which player is the preferred best selection for that teams’ needs.Featuring a star-studded cast and a feel-good factor conclusion, ‘Draft Day’ has become almost an annual watch for any NFL fan whose team may often be picking during the early stages of the draft, as they hope their club can pull off a similar miracle as to the final negotiation scene between Sonny and the Seahawks GM where he would earn all his top picks back after previously trading them away.While many kids or aspiring athletes may always have a special dream of playing in the NFL as a superstar talent, this particular journey can be amongst the most challenging and brutal pathways in almost any

News has reached us that two big studio movies are on their way to this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Deadline reports that Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis with Tom Hanks and Austin Butler, and Tom Cruise-led Top Gun: Maverick are heading to the Croisette this May.This year’s festival in the south of France will be 100% in-person and runs from 17th-28th May.Elvis explores the life and music of Elvis Presley (Butler), seen through the prism of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Hanks).

Reality for the UK and Ireland. I caught the film in Berlin last month and absolutely loved it.The film comes to the screen from first-time director Tina Satter, and stars Sydney Sweeney (White Lotus, Euphoria).