Venice Film Festival: ‘Parasite’ Director Bong Joon Ho Set As Jury President

Martin Offiah has opened up about his thoughts on the royals as the debate about the family’s role in 21st century Britain churns on.The rugby star spoke candidly on the red carpet for Nordoff Robbins Legends of Rugby Dinner.Martin, 56, was awarded his MBE in 1997 by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace, whom he described as “fantastic".When asked for his thoughts on the royals, Martin gave a considered response on the subject.“You know, I think your history is your history regardless of whether you think it’s good or bad,” he said.“Similar to our own history, you have to understand it, and the royal family is part of British history.He went on to discuss the potential economic benefits of having a royal family.“It does bring a lot of money, for want of a better term, into the economy and the purse,” Martin explained.“Yeah, I wouldn’t say I’m a royalist as such, but I’m in favour of the royal family.“I think they’re a good thing for this country.That’s something that should be kept.”Ahead of being honoured along with legendary England captain Jason Robinson last Wednesday night, Martin reflected on his proudest sporting achievement.“My proudest moment is probably going to be scoring for Wigan,” he said.“Jason and I are here being honoured tonight.The Wigan club are here tonight and it's their 150th anniversary.“And obviously me scoring in that game with Jason in 1994 at Wembley is what I’m going to be remembered for when I’m no longer here.”Martin was inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame in 2013 after an incredibly successful career in the sport.The athlete played for English league clubs Wigan, London Broncos, Widnes and Salford City Reds, while in Australia he also played for Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and St.

Strictly Come Dancing partner, Johannes Radebe, were expecting to receive abuse when they took part in the BBC dance show as the first all-male couple.Speaking recently on That Gaby Roslin Podcast, John said: “I guess, we knew it was going to happen. We fully anticipated a bit of hate.“Johannes, being a black man as well, he anticipated a bit of racial hate, which he got.

Ben Croll “I asked myself, why was it so difficult to name a Quebecois film from the past 25 years that treated sexuality as its central theme?” Côté told Variety. “Why could France foster directors who filmed the human body in direct and unselfconscious ways, and Quebec could not? Were Quebecois more prudish than others?”And so the Montreal-based filmmaker started on his 14th feature, which follows three so-called “hypersexual” women, plagued with troubled histories and fragile mental states, as they participate in a month-long therapy retreat. But as he developed the script with a local sexologist, the filmmaker saw potential traps in two very different directions.“The film could never be meant to judge,” Côté explained.

Brett Bull Each January, the Motion Picture Producers Assn. of Japan holds a press conference to reveal the previous year’s box office data and its list of top-grossing films.One year ago — at what was then thought to be the height of the coronavirus pandemic — the event was a somber gathering: Receipts for 2020 were down a whopping 38% over the year before.On Jan.

Prince Frederic von Anhalt, Zsa Zsa Gabor’s ninth and final husband, was desperate for an heir – so he adopted an adult son and chronicled it on TV. The widower is one of many subjects featured on A&E’s "Adults Adopting Adults," which chronicles his quest to find someone in Beverly Hills who could inherit his estate and care for him. "I tried very hard to find somebody," the 78-year-old told Fox News Digital.

Naman Ramachandran Producer Shrihari Sathe of New York-based production company Dialectic is enjoying the best time of his life, with no less than three of his projects, each completely different in style, genre and tone, being selected at A-list festivals.The latest career high for Sathe began with Bangladeshi filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s continent-hopping, multilingual identity tale “No Land’s Man” being selected at Busan in October 2021, followed by Francisca Alegria’s Spanish-language magical realist drama “The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future” premiering at this year’s Sundance. Now, “Stay Awake,” an expansion of Jamie Sisley’s 2015 short film of the same name that premiered at the Berlinale and won the Jury Prize at Slamdance, makes its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival’s Generation 14plus strand on Feb. 12.

Hannibal Mejbri admitted he found it 'difficult' to understand his Manchester United team-mates' Mancunian accents in 2019.

It's a quick turnaround for Manchester City as they prepare to continue their Premier League title defence against Norwich City on Saturday afternoon.

Chelsea and Newcastle United star Gavin Peacock still felt there was something missing.Perhaps it was the thrill of playing in front of a 100,000 strong Wembley crowd in the 1994 FA Cup final. Maybe it was the irreplaceable day-to-day dressing room culture all footballers fall in love with?Whatever it was, it was missing, and Peacock found himself “in need of a saviour”.A flight to Calgary, and many years off studying later, Peacock overhauled his life, left the BBC sofas for good, and embarked on a spiritually fulfilling quest as a pastor.

Playboy star Melissa Howe has revealed that the infamous mansion Grotto saw that much sex, the water became infected.The Berkshire born model, 31, lived at Hugh Hefner's famous Los Angeles mansion between 2013 and 2017, alongside her twin, Carla.During her time at the famous residence, Howe saw a string of A-list celebs walk through the doors and attended Hefner's mega parties at the California home, which had been surrounded by zoo animals.But there is one stand out memory for Melissa that she explains repulsed her after discovering the gruesome news following a string of raunchy, yet 'normal' events.Speaking exclusively to Daily Star, she told me: "I knew things were going on because we had a grotto in the garden, there would be craziness going on in the grotto with random people hooking up."The water was infected because they shut the grotto off."She went on to add in further detail: "When we heard that we were like 'what the f**k?' because we would be going in there all the time."We'd be chilling in groups because it was like a sauna, boiling up but when we heard that we were like 'okay, we're not going in there', people were having sex in the grotto." Following the news that a poodle became addicted to cocaine at the mansion, Melissa added: "His animals would always be going around the mansion, so I'm not surprised.

Stacey Dooley joined Dan Walker and Sally Nugent on Monday's episode of BBC Breakfast.The Strictly Come Dancing winner opened up about her demanding schedule, from documentaries, a new book and the launch of her new BBC Three cooking show, Hungry For It.The 34-year-old was questioned about her culinary skills at home but admitted she is no "sous chef".Her admission comes after the BBC Breakfast presenters quizzed her about boyfriend Kevin Clifton, 39.The documentary filmmaker cheekily quipped about the pair's romance as neither of them is skilled in the kitchen.Stacey remarked: "It's so jokes because I'm useless in the kitchen. I'm rubbish."Dan interjected: "Kevin's rubbish at cooking as well right?""Kev's useless," she agreed, before adding: "It's a miracle we're still standing."Stacey added: "We just have toast."The presenter also opened up about her time working behind the scenes of her new series.Dan commented: "I'm disappointed you did a cooking show and didn't come out with a signature dish."Stacey replied: "No.

James Martin is back on our screens this morning with the latest episode of his cooking show Saturday Morning. However, many fans are likely to want to know a little more about the television chef and his life off-screen as well.James has been in a relationship with his girlfriend Louise Davies for over 10 years.The pair tend to keep their personal life to themselves and are rarely seen in public together.However, James has opened up in the past about their relationship, as well as why they won’t have children.Speaking in an unearthed interview from 2018, Jame explained he doesn't want kids.He said: “I go round to my mate’s house, who has four kids, and realise that I don’t want them after about two minutes."Kids are great, but it’s just no, not for me.“You sacrifice so much in this work and the job and everything else.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are 'loving life' in California and have amassed celebrity pals like Katy Perry, an expert has claimed.Royal commentator Richard Mineads gave a positive latest assessment of the royal couple's experience in their Montecito mansion since baby Lilibet’s birth.Speaking the London Evening Standard, he revealed that Archie and Lilibet have been going on playdates with celebrity's children whilst the Sussexes mingle with the likes of Katy, Orlando Bloom, Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentIn the early days of what we used to call “coronavirus” in March 2020, before we all became budding epidemiologists, people flocked to Steven Soderbergh’s eerily prophetic 2011 drama “Contagion” on streaming services. Within a month or so, the movie was propelled from the 270th slot to the second most watched film in the Warner Bros.

Carole Horst Rose Byrne’s array of credits includes a wide range of projects, from comedies such as “Neighbours” and “Bridesmaids” to historical dramas including “Mrs. America” and superhero pics “X-Men: First Class,” horror films and gems “Juliet, Naked.” Now, her production company Dollhouse Pictures has “Seriously Red,” being sold by Arclight Films at the EFM. The film, written and starring Krew Boylan (another Dollhouse principal), follows Red, a vivacious and at times misguided redhead who trades in her real estate career to become a full-time Dolly Parton impersonator.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItalian director and producer Roberto De Paolis, whose 2017 debut “Pure Hearts” launched from Cannes, is stepping up activity of his Young Films shingle and has completed his follow-up feature, “Princess,” about a young African woman who’s a victim of the sex trade.Described by De Paolis as “the unfiltered story of a young Nigerian who prostitutes herself in Ostia, outside Rome, in a seaside pine forest,” “Princess” (first look image above) features Glory Kevin, a real victim of the sex trade, in the title role plus other non-professional actors with similar backgrounds. Rounding out the cast are Lino Musella (“The Young Pope”), Salvatore Striano (“Caesar Must Die”) and Maurizio Lombardi (“The New Pope”).

Friends of TOWIE star James Argent called an ambulance to rush over to his Essex home after getting worried when they couldn't get ahold of the star, The Sun has reported. The 34 year old turned his life around in the last year after dropping 13 stone following a gastric sleeve surgery in 2021. However, according to the publication, pals of he star were left concerned when they weren't able to reach him.

Christopher Vourlias Russian VOD platform KION has unveiled a slate of original content it will be presenting to buyers at the European Film Market.Launched less than one year ago by telecom giant MTS, the company has so far surpassed expectations, according to Igor Mishin, VP for media business development at MTS and CEO of MTS Media. “We have exceeded all business key performance indicators, in terms of the subscriber base and streaming views,” he said.The company is launching two new feature films and two original series at EFM.“Ophiuchus” is an erotic thriller about a bold and sexually liberated pathologist whose lovers begin to die under mysterious circumstances.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe Venice Film Festival is tweaking its sections as it gears up for its upcoming 78th edition in September.After announcing that “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho will preside over the main jury, the Lido on Monday opened up for film submissions and said in a statement that the fest’s Sconfini section — which had been scrapped last year to free up more space for the socially-distanced screenings — is being replaced by a new section called Horizons Extra.Horizons Extra will be an extension of Venice’s competitive Horizons (Orrizonti) section that focuses on new trends in world cinema, but will be “less constrained by standards of length and format,” the Venice statement said.

2020 was definitely not a great year for many people around the world, with the COVID-19 pandemic wreaking havoc. However, before the world seemingly shut down for most of the year, director Bong Joon Ho was riding high thanks to the record-breaking success of his film, “Parasite,” which had just come off of some incredible, surprising wins at the Oscars.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent“Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho will preside over the main jury of the 78th Venice Film Festival in September, marking the first time a South Korean director has been picked as the Lido’s top juror.Bong, who does not have a previous rapport with Venice, made history in 2020 when “Parasite” became the first foreign-language film to win best picture in the nearly 100-year history of the Academy Awards — and three other Oscars on top of that –– after winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2019.“Venice International Film Festival carries with it a long and varied history, and I’m honored to be woven into its beautiful cinematic tradition,” the director said in a statement.