Searchlight Pictures Co-Chairmen Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula to Step Down

Council chiefs in South Ayrshire insist they won't levy extra parking charges on workplaces.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentUndeterred by the pandemic, the wheels of Switzerland’s film production machine kept on spinning in 2021, churning out the meticulously made multicultural co-productions the country is known for that scored slots at top festivals.Works by young directors such as Elie Grappe, whose coming-of-age drama “Olga” launched at Cannes; Niccolò Castelli’s terrorism-themed “Atlas,” which bowed at Locarno; and also the VR project “Caves” by Carlos Isabel Garcìa, which premiered at Venice; provided a preamble to the exceptionally strong Swiss presence at this year’s Berlinale.Berlin sees a record-breaking two competition slots filled by new works from established Swiss directors, Ursula Meier’s “The Line” and Michael Koch’s “A Piece of Sky,” plus several more Swiss titles in other sections. “In the worst year ever we shot three productions back-to-back during the pandemic; somehow we got used to it,” says Oscar-nominated Max Karli (“My Life as a Zucchini”), who is among the producers of “The Line” via his Geneva-based Bandita Productions, in tandem with Pauline Gygax.In Switzerland, the film and TV industry held firm last year as one of the few sectors where camera crews and actors continued to work, unlike advertising, which shuttered completely for many months.“It was quite hard because we were shooting without insurance pertaining to anything linked to the pandemic,” Karli says, though some government subsidies were made available for physical productions struck by COVID infections.But, as Karli and other Swiss producers point out, Switzerland is a confederation.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentLola Arabia, the United Arab Emirates label of Oscar-winning Spanish producer Andrés Vicente Gómez (“Belle Epoque”), has struck a 12-movie co-production deal with Dubai-based Charisma Group.The alliance will take in a range of titles, from $2 million-budgeted contemporary comedies to banner productions budgeted at $40 million, revolving around contemporary and historic stories of West Asia.The partners aim to produce an average of four films a year, said Charisma Group co-president Ayham Al Ziyoud.Development has begun on the whole slate. “Although in principle we plan projects with modest budgets, these will be increased in the following year once we find the rights partners outside the Gulf States,” Gómez said.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAt 81, Italian horror maestro Dario Argento is busier than ever.The director of a string of cult chiller classics starting in the 1970s, including “The Bird With the Crystal Plumage,” “Suspiria” and “Deep Red,” was at Cannes last July with his acting debut in Gaspar Noe’s “Vortex,” about a pair of old lovers. Argento was also celebrated last year with a new book by Italian critic Steve Della Casa and a retro at New York’s Lincoln Center.

Liverpool star Luis Diaz was so good on his Premier League debut against Leicester that he had the BT Sport pundits “drooling” over him, according to Michael Owen.There is a lot of excitement around Diaz, who joined Liverpool in the January transfer window from Porto for an initial fee of £37.5million, which could increase by a further £12.5m.Liverpool fans got a chance to see him for the first time in the 3-1 win over Cardiff City in the FA Cup on the weekend, but the Colombian international made his full debut at Anfield on Thursday night. He didn’t disappoint, putting in an exciting performance on the left side of Jurgen Klopp ’s front three as the hosts ran out 2-0 winners over Leicester.

Coldplay have reacted to BLACKPINK member Rosé‘s recent cover of their 2008 song ‘Viva La Vida’.The K-pop idol shared a new stripped-down, live studio cover of Coldplay’s seminal 2008 track earlier today (February 11) in celebration of her birthday, accompanied by The Black Label producer LØREN on guitar.The British band have since taken notice of her cover, sharing a link to the video on their Instagram Story, while wishing the Korean-Australian singer a happy birthday. “Love this.

BLACKPINK’s Rosé has unveiled three new live studio covers in commemoration of her 25th birthday.The Korean-Australian vocalist surprised fans with three new “live studio” acoustic covers of songs by Coldplay, Neck Deep and Oasis on her personal YouTube channel today (February 11), in celebration of her 25th birthday.The first, which dropped in the early hours of February 11, was a cover of Coldplay’s 2008 hit ‘Viva La Vida’. “I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing / Roman Cavalry choirs are singing / Be my mirror, my sword and shield / My missionaries in a foreign field,” the K-pop idol sings, while reading the lyrics off her phone.It was followed by a truncated version of Neckdeep’s 2015 single ‘December’, as well as a tender and slowed-down rendition of Oasis’ 1995 classic ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’.

The Apprentice has shared a series of inside secrets on what happens behind the scenes on the show on social media. Former contestant Lottie Lion who appeared on series 15 of the show in 2019, dished the dirt about the show's juiciest facts and secrets on TikTok.Speaker to her fans on the video making app, Lottie claimed that two versions of the final are filmed in advance.Lottie, who was just 19 when she appeared on the show, shared that the second version is filmed to allow Lord Alan Sugar to change his mind if any bad press emerges about his intended candidate before the show's release.The 21-year-old also revealed that ahead of each challenge, the teams are issued with a report that outlines various options they can pick - including colour schemes.The revelation about the report may surprise viewers after this year's series saw the Boy's Team in the first few episodes repeatedly use a colour scheme of green and brown in two separate tasks.Lottie also revealed that the same process is in place for product names, as the production teams then cross-reference them with copyrighted businesses to make sure they are freely available to be used on-screen.Lottie's number one tip to determine who won the series is to go back through each candidate's social media feeds and see who has the longest gap between posting about the current series.The idea behind this is that as soon as a candidate is fired they can return to their regular day to day lives instead of being involved in the full 12 week process.The Daily Star has approached the BBC for comment.

drug cartel have issued a grave warning to prison staff as they threatened to 'heat up' multiple jails and 'kill more people'.Members of the organised criminal gang, who operate in the state of Nuevo León in Mexico, appeared in a threat video clad in balaclavas and holding automatic weapons as they read out the names of officials who run correctional facilities in the city of Monterrey.In the footage, a gang member is heard saying they will begin inciting violence at prisons and in the streets, and will intercept prison transfers unless Aldo Fasci and Samuel Garcia comply with their demands.Towards the start of the message they allege that prison officers have been "charging fees" and extorting money from inmates, before telling them that "you're not going to contain a city with various inmates inside a cell".They also accuse guards of leaving prisoners without "blankets, portions of food or proper quarters", and claim they have forced them to tend to their personal matters with the use of a bucket.The threat then continues: "You must stop already with these abuses. "The only thing they're provoking are conflicts.

Ashley Graham has shared the first photograph of her newborn twins and revealed their sweet names with a breastfeeding snap. The model, 34, who took to Instagram to announce the exciting news that she has given birth to twin boys in January following a home birth, posted the photo to her 16.4million followers and revealed that the couple had named their sons Malachi and Roman. Ashley was photographed by her husband and film director Justin Ervin, 41, and was seen holding one baby on her shoulder while breastfeeding her second little one.

Trigger Warning: This story has details of homophobic language and violence, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.Street had earlier pleaded guilty to the charge of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm over the incident dating back to February 25, 2021.Street, a security guard was partying at a night club with his friends at Airlie Beach on his day off. Airlie Beach is a coastal town in the Whitsunday Region of Queensland in Australia.Street had worn a glow stick through his ear. A man yelled out homophobic slurs at Street from across the room, calling him a “poofter” and “fa#%ot”.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentFollowing its recent launch in the U.S., Viaplay has acquired domestic rights to Erik Poppe’s “The Emigrants” from REinvent International Sales.Produced by SF Studios, “The Emigrants” is a big-budget epic drama based on Vilhelm Moberg’s story about Swedes who left misery behind for a new life on the other side of the Atlantic in the mid-19th century. The film’s cast includes Lisa Carlehed (“In Your Arms”) and Gustaf Skarsgård (“438 days”), who star opposite Sofia Helin, Lena Strömdahl and Swedish pop sensation Tove Lo.REinvent International Sales has also closed deals for former Yugoslavia (MCF Megacom), Czech Republic and Slovakia (Film Europe) and Hungary (Vertigo).Helene Aurø, REinvent sales and marketing director, pointed out that “The Emigrants” will be one of the first films shown by Viaplay’s newly launched US platform.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefBlackOps Studios Asia from the Philippines, Story Arch Pictures from the U.S. and Agog Film from Hong Kong have joined forces to develop, produce and finance a slate of genre movies that target the streaming marketplace.The 16-title slate comprises nine films and seven series in the action, horror and sci-fi genres, with 11 flowing from BlackOps, two from Story Arch and three from Agog.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorGlobal Screen has closed a raft of presales for 3D-animated feature film “My Fairy Troublemaker,” and will present new scenes to buyers at Berlin’s European Film Market.The film has been sold to U.K. and Ireland (Signature Entertainment), Australia and New Zealand (Rialto), Spain and Portugal (Big Picture Films), Italy (Koch), Scandinavia (Selmer Media), Poland (Kino Swiat), CIS (Silver Box), Ukraine (UFD), Baltics (Garsu Pasaulio), former Yugoslavia (Karantanija), Bulgaria (Pro Films), Middle East (Gulf Film), South Korea (Big Film), Malaysia (Suraya) and Vietnam (Lightening McQueen).In the film, Violetta, a cheeky fairy, smuggles herself into the human world.

Elle Driver has acquired world sales rights outside Spain and France to “La Maternal,” the second film from Pilar Palomero.Palomero’s 2019 film “Schoolgirls” (“Las niñas”) made her only the fifth first-feature director to win a Spanish Academy best picture Goya.BTeam Pictures is handling distribution in Spain.“Schoolgirls” also won Goyas for director, original screenplay and cinematography (Daniela Maciela), establishing Palomero as a leading light of Catalonia’s newest — and often female — generation of cineastes, making movies that are grounded in authentic local realities, but alert to broader social trends.Produced by Spain’s Inicia Films (“Schoolgirls,” Carla Simon’s “Summer 1993”) and BTeam Prods., “La Maternal” sees Palomero once more explore the borders between child and adulthood. Billed as a “sensitive and heartbreaking journey into teenage parenthood,” the film follows a pregnant Carla, fleeing social ostracism, eventually arriving at La Maternal shelter.There, she’ll learn to live with her teen classmates and prepare to be a mother.

Ciara and Russell Wilson nail the power couple pose while arriving at the 2022 NFL Honors at YouTube Theater at the SoFi Entertainment District on Thursday night (February 10) in Inglewood, Calif.

Becky G and Karol G have released a new song together!

Nicki Minaj has a new song out!

In a stunning development on the eve of the Academy Awards, Disney announced Tuesday that longtime Searchlight Pictures chairmen Nancy Utley and Steve Gilula will be retiring from the specialty division, home of numerous Oscars. At Sunday's Oscar telecast, for example, Searchlight's Nomadland is considered a frontrunner for best picture, among other top awards.

If you’ve loved Searchlight Pictures films over the years such as “Napoleon Dynamite,” “Black Swan,” “Birdman,” “Brooklyn,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” “Juno,” “28 Days Later,” “(500) Days of Summer” and “Sideways,” there are two people responsible for bringing them to the screen. Now, after 21 years, those voices are taking leave.

A seismic shift here in the independent film sphere moments in the walk-up to Oscars: Longtime Searchlight Pictures Chairmen Nancy Utley and Steve Gilula have announced their retirement after a two decades-plus run with the classic label which Disney purchased from Fox.