British Producer Blackwater Pictures Sets Five Feature Fund For Commercial Independent Films

Spring is a great time to start some healthier habits and take care of YOU.

Beauty fans across Manchester have been marking the days off their calendars for this moment - Sephora has arrived at The Trafford Centre. The megastore is the third to open in the UK following the success of its two London branches.

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winner Kenneth Branagh looks to have found his next director outing as well as landing an top tier star to lead the film as sources tell Deadline Emmy and BAFTA winner Jodie Comer is set to star in Branagh’s new film The Last Disturbance of Madeline Hynde, which he wrote and will direct. The film is being described as a contemporary psychological thriller but logline is being kept under wraps. The independently financed film will begin production in August in the UK.

Looking to revamp your morning beauty routine without splashing the cash? Then you'll adore this month's OK! Beauty Box.The Rise and Shine Edit has been expertly put together to help you tackle mornings in a new way – and whether you're an early bird or not, this month's box is one wake-up call (and bargain) you won't want to miss. It contains five beauty goodies (three of which are full size), including an exfoliator, body serum, overnight moisturiser treatment, make-up primer and lip pencil.

Jamie Lang Uruguay’s José Ignacio International Film Festival (JIIFF) has launched the Pfeffer del Sur Fund, a $50,000 fund dedicated to supporting Ibero-American film projects. The Pfeffer Del Sur Fund, established by JIIFF’s primary benefactors, María and John Pfeffer, will be launched in January 2025 as part of the festival’s 15th anniversary edition. It will be awarded to one of the projects selected from the JIIFF Lab, part of the Working JIIFF industry program.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor The renaissance of “Doctor Who,” which started its latest season this week, is a 20-year journey that is entwined with the establishment of a thriving TV production scene in South Wales, where it shoots, and the meteoritic rise of the production company Bad Wolf. This dates back to 2003 when writer Russell T. Davies was asked by the BBC’s then head of drama, Jane Tranter, to revive the show and to base the production in South Wales, an area hitherto known for coal mining and heavy industry.

Mark your calendar for June 20, 2025 as that’s when the next installment in Danny Boyle’s 28 franchise hits theaters, 28 Years Later.

Former WME Independent agent Nelson Mok is launching a new investment and sales company named Mokster Films, which will focus on projects from Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Selena Kuznikov Light up the Bat-Signal! Prime Video‘s animated series “Batman: Caped Crusader” will premiere Aug. 1. The streamer will release all 10 episodes of the first season.

EXCLUSIVE: Sam Morrison‘s acclaimed solo play Sugar Daddy will be staged in Beverly Hills, California, prior to a planned, previously unannounced Broadway run in 2025.

EXCLUSIVE: Rising Brit actor Harry Lawtey (Industry), who will have a key role in upcoming sequel Joker: Folie A Deux, has been set to star as a young Richard Burton in UK feature Mr. Burton, which will also star BAFTA winner Toby Jones (Mr Bates vs. The Post Office) and Oscar nominee Lesley Manville (The Crown).

The South by Southwest festival is expanding to London in June, 2025.

EXCLUSIVE: Republic Pictures has acquired North American rights to Dreamquil, the psychological thriller starring Elizabeth Banks and John C. Reilly.

MadRiver Pictures has closed a multi-year equity financing and distribution deal with several major international distribution partners which gives it the ability to fully finance films at a budget of $25M-$75M for the global theatrical marketplace.

Beyoncé‘s first name will be included in the new edition of the French encyclopaedic dictionary Le Petit Larousse.As Sky News reports, more than 150 new words have been added to the 120th version of the book this year.The ‘Cowboy Carter’ star will appear as an entry alongside celebrities such as Cate Blanchett, French actor Omar Sy, Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan, and French rugby captain Antoine Dupont.Many additions “reflect concerns, developments or strong movements” in 2024, Carine Girac-Marinier, director of the dictionaries and encyclopaedias department, told French news magazine Le Point.As Marie Claire notes, “Beyoncé” will be accompanied by the definition “American singer of R&B and pop”.Many fans have responded to the nod on social media, with one writing: “That’s when you know you’ve succeeded.” Another person said: “Beyoncé’s influence knows no bounds!” A third user commented: “Star power.”“Creole French queen,” wrote someone else, referring to Beyoncé’s Louisiana Creole ancestry (via Nola).In 2004, the term “bootylicious” – featured in Destiny’s Child 2001 hit single of the same name – was added to the Oxford English Dictionary with the definition “(of a woman) sexually attractive”.Other new additions to the Le Petit Larousse include the English phrases “fast fashion” and “skate park”, as well as “platisme” (the French term for the Flat Earth theory).In February, Beyoncé made history by becoming the first Black woman to reach Number One on the US country chart with ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’.

Stars from the world of daytime drama television past and present will come together for a first-of-its-kind livestream event, Daytime Stands Up: A Benefit for Stand Up to Cancer … We All Have a Story.

EXCLUSIVE: Drag Race Producer World of Wonder is about to set the House on Fire. It has snagged the titular reality series for its streaming service WOW Presents Plus.

EXCLUSIVE: Shelved producer Counterfeit Pictures has hired Canadian networks veteran Christian Kelley.

Queen of Tears, starring Kim Soo-hyun and Kim Ji-won, has set a new viewership record for tvN.Queen of Tears, which aired its finale yesterday (April 28), has achieved record viewership numbers for South Korean cable network tvN, with its finale episode clinching a 24.9 per cent viewership rating, per Korea JoongAng Daily.The final episode of Queen of Tears surpasses a previous record held by the popular K-drama Crash Landing On You, which peaked at 21.7 per cent viewership rating with its finale on tvN back in 2020.The figure also places Queen of Tears as the third highest viewed cable K-drama of all-time in South Korean, only beaten by the 2020 series The World of the Married (with 28.4 per cent) and Reborn Rich (with 26.9 per cent). Both those shows aired on the cable network JTBC.Queen of Tears also notably marked the acting comeback of Kim Soo-hyun, whose last project was 2021’s One Ordinary Day.

“Most British producers will find themselves very welcome in America.”