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EXCLUSIVE: Kyle Chandler and Glenn Close are set to join Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx in the Netflix action-comedy Back In Action. The project drew headlines when it was announced in June on Foxx’s social media accounts as it marks Diaz’s return to acting after retiring from acting in 2018.

A cross-party group of councillors in Renfrewshire have come together to show their support for demonstrators in Iran.

It appears Britney Spears has made an enemy of the the Iranian government.

, showed her support for women and girls in Iran with a black T-shirt featuring the slogan “Women, Life, Freedom” written in Farsi. Meghan wore the top for a Women@Spotify event at the company’s LA headquarters, where she was joined by Archewell president Mandana Dayani and executive vice president of global communications Ashley Hansen, who are both Iranian.“At an event today, Meghan spoke about the revolution being led by women and young girls in Iran, the courage and bravery they show every day, and their leadership and advocacy of basic human rights,” Dayani wrote as she shared a series of images from the event on .

Iranian protesters have demanded "justice" for a woman who was assaulted by anti-riot police, with one officer forcibly grabbing her bottom and then pushing her on the ground.  The video, captured on a security camera at the Argentina Square in Tehran on Wednesday, shows police surrounding the woman. When they start to cart her away, one officer grabs the woman’s bottom before she drops to her knees.  Another woman can be heard saying that the officers were pulling the victim’s hair as she knelt on the ground.  Tehran’s Police Public Relations office has said the incident will be investigated, the BBC reported, but the police provided no statement as to what might have happened.

Mani Haghighi is the latest film director who has been impacted by Iran’s ongoing restraint on filmmakers.

Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi will no longer attend the London Film Festival premiere of his latest film Subtraction after authorities stopped him from boarding a flight to London. 

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi had his passport confiscated at the airport as he was about to board a flight to attend the BFI London Film Festival. Haghighi was expected to present there the U.K. premiere of his latest film, “Subtraction.”  A BFI London Film Festival spokesperson confirmed the news to Variety and issued the following statement: “The Iranian filmmaker Mani Haghighi was due to travel to London today to support the UK premiere of his film Subtraction which is screening tomorrow at the BFI London Film Festival, but has been prevented from boarding his flight to the UK.  He was turned away by authorities in Iran and has his passport confiscated.  He has returned to his home in Tehran. We understand that no reason has been given to Mani Haghighi for the confiscation. The BFI London Film Festival supports Haghighi and all filmmakers in their freedom to make their films and present them around the world.

Women and girls of Iran are leading the most significant challenge to the existence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in this century, according to veteran experts of Iran.  Their opposition to the theocratic state and its radical Islamic law requiring head coverings for women has drawn sharp criticism with respect to Tehran’s role on the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women.

U.S. citizen Siamak Namazi is back in an Iranian prison today after being temporarily released by authorities in Tehran earlier this month.  Waving Iran flag above skyline of Tehran at sunset.  (istock) "His furlough, which started on October 1, was renewable and had already been renewed once on October 8," a statement released by Namazi's pro bono counsel Jared Genser explained.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor One of the new honors the Grammy Awards will introduce at their next ceremony is song for social change — a special-merit award that “recognizes creators of message-driven music that responds to the social issues of our time and has the potential for positive global impact.” While the honor is “curated by a blue-ribbon committee,” there’s little question that the number of submissions will have an impact — and according to the Recording Academy, 95,000 of the 115,000 submissions received have been for Iranian musician Shervin Hajipour’s song, “Baraye,” a protest song about 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody after being arrested and beaten by Iran’s so-called morality police for not wearing a proper head covering, in line with the country’s Islamic law.

Dua Lipa has expressed support for the women of Iran following protests in the nation. The Levitating singer took to Instagram on Saturday to bring attention to the demonstrations, which have been staged to highlight the death of Mahsa Amini. Last month, the 22-year-old passed away in a hospital in Tehran under suspicious circumstances.

Sevdaliza, a Dutch-Iranian experimental pop songwriter who was born in Tehran, has shared “Woman Life Freedom,” a new song that was written “in support of women in Iran,” according to a press statement. Iran is currently gripped by protests which began over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, a woman who was reportedly killed by the country’s Morality Police in September over a violation of the country’s mandatory hijab law.

Dua Lipa has shared her support for women in Iran following a number of recent protests in the country.The musician posted on Instagram yesterday (October 8) to share a post about the recent deaths of young women in Iran as protests continue following the death of Masha Amini, 22.Amini died in Tehran earlier last month (September 16) after being arrested for not wearing her hijab in accordance with government standards. Police claimed she suffered heart failure at the station, although witnesses have claimed Amini was severely beaten by the authorities.Lipa shared a number of photos of women who have also since died on Instagram.

a United Nations report, Amini was arrested on Sept. 13 and taken to a morality «re-education center» in Tehran where, per Iranian authorities, she died of a heart attack three days later.

Marion Cotillard, Juliette Binoche, Isabelle Huppert and a handful of female actresses and singers from France are lending their support to the people of Iran amid the mass protests following the death of Mahsa Amini.Amini, 22, was killed by Iran's morality police on Sept. 16 for improperly wearing her hijab — a violation of the country's strict dress codes for women in public.According to a United Nations report, Amini was arrested on Sept. 13 and taken to a morality «re-education center» in Tehran where, per Iranian authorities, she died of a heart attack three days later.

Michaela Zee editor Joan Hotchkis, veteran stage and screen actor known for ABC’s “The Odd Couple” and “Legacy,” died Sept. 27 of congestive heart failure in Los Angeles, according to her daughter Paula Chambers. She was 95. Hotchkis starred opposite William Windom in the NBC sitcom “My World and Welcome to It,” and played the on-again/off-again girlfriend of Jack Klugman’s Oscar Madison in “The Odd Couple.” As a playwright, she wrote 1974’s “Legacy,” a one-woman play about an upper-class housewife who deteriorates mentally. The following year, she wrote and starred in the film adaptation of “Legacy,” which won the best newcomer award at the Tehran International Film Festival.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Award-winning filmmakers Alice Diop (“Saint Omer”), Audrey Diwan (“Happening”), Julia Ducournau (“Titane”), Michel Hazanavicius (“The Artist”), Jacques Audiard (“Dheepan”), and actors Juliette Binoche, Marion Cotillard, Isabelle Huppert, Lea Seydoux are among nearly 1,000 prominent French film figures who have signed an open letter to support Iranian women and civil rights activists in their revolt over the death of 22 year-old Mahsa Amini, as well as denounce the “murderous violence” of the Iranian regime. Amini, a Kurdish woman, died in custody on Sept. 16, three days after being arrested in Tehran because she allegedly breached the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women. Her death has sparked protests across Iran, including in Tehran, Isfahan and Yazd, and in cities around the world, including in Paris, Istanbul and Los Angeles. Amnesty International said Iranian authorities have been “intentionally using lethal force against the protesters,” causing more than more 52 deaths (as of Sept. 30). The organization has urged international action “beyond statements of condemnation” to prevent more people from being killed.

Iranian authorities appear to be following through with threats to “deal” with celebrities publicly voicing support for the wave of anti-government protests that have swept Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of morality police earlier this month.

An Iranian government official has warned that action will be taken against celebrities who publicly show support for anti-government protests, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody.

It has been over a week since the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was arrested in Tehran by the Islamic Republic of Iran's morality police for not wearing her hijab properly. Amini, who died in a hospital after falling into a coma, was allegedly beaten for not wearing a proper headscarf.

Iranian director Jafar Panahi remains behind bars in Tehran but his cinema continues to travel.

Yungblud spoke out about the death of Mahsa Amini during his set at Firefly Music Festival in Delaware this weekend (September 24).Amini, 22, died in Tehran earlier this month (September 16) after being arrested for not wearing her hijab in accordance with government standards. Police claimed she suffered heart failure at the station, although witnesses have claimed Amini was severely beaten by the authorities.

Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi is imploring everyone worldwide to unite “in solidarity” with protesters following the death of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Iran’s morality police.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent As protests continue to erupt in Iran and around the world sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini – the young Iranian woman who died last week while being held in custody by morality police for allegedly wearing a loose headscarf – the country’s film community is intensely engaged and keenly aware that their voices are now even more at risk of being quashed. Two-time Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi (“A Separation”), who is currently presiding over the Zurich Film Festival jury, has issued a statement and a video appeal urging artists around the world to proclaim their solidarity with the Iranian people who are protesting against the death of Amini.

Iranian filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi has penned an open letter to the Academy of Motion Pictures, requesting the Academy defend the civil rights of his country’s people. 

she had suffered “a heart attack.” Eyewitnesses, though, watching the police beat her—which many believe resulted in her falling into a deadly coma.Her family has also confirmed that Mahsa had never suffered from a heart condition previously, with her father, Amjad Amini, alleging that he had been denied the right to see footage of the arrest (“I asked them to show me the body cameras of the security officers, they told me the cameras were out of battery,” he ) as well as being prohibited from seeing Mahsa’s body, which had been wrapped in a sheet when presented to him—although he claimed to have noticed suspicious bruising on her feet.A previous statement from the director general of forensic medicine in Tehran province, however, that there were “no signs of injuries to the head and face, no bruises around the eyes, or fractures at the base of Mahsa Amini’s skull.” Numerous human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have called for further scrutiny, with President Ebrahim Raisi the UN General Assembly that “if her death was due to negligence, it will definitely be investigated.” On the same day, Raisi–who condemned Iranian protestors for their “acts of chaos”–canceled a with Christiane Amanpour after she declined his last-minute request that she wear a headscarf.This content can also be viewed on the site it from.Many in Iran are understandably dubious about claims that Mahsa’s death occurred naturally. Demonstrations began in Kurdistan province on September 17 following Mahsa’s funeral, and rapidly spread across the country with several clips of Iranian citizens publicly going viral.

Alissa Simon Film Critic Overline: Hed: By Alissa Simon “Subtraction,” from idiosyncratic Iranian helmer-writer Mani Haghighi (“Men at Work,” “Modest Reception,” “A Dragon Arrives!”) is a tense Hitchcockian thriller set in Tehran, where a heavy, non-stop rainfall signals a lingering malaise. There, a young couple come across their doppelgängers. The film premiered at the Toronto festival. The idea for the plot grew out of the helmer’s long-ago trip to Southwest Iran to look at places where the Iran-Iraq war took place.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Tel Aviv-based Donna and Shula Productions and “Tehran” director Daniel Syrkin have set a joint venture to develop TV series for the global market, with an emphasis on the U.S. and Europe. Donna and Shula Productions leaders Dana Eden and Shula Spiegel have shepherded two seasons of the espionage drama series “Tehran” with Syrkin. The series debuted in June 2020 on Israel’s Kan 11 broadcast network. Apple TV+ quickly picked up the show, making it the first non-English series to premiere on the platform. “Tehran” bowed on Apple TV+ in 2021 and the streaming giant partnered with Kan 11 on the production of a second season that premiered in May.

The final two mourners to see the Queen lying in state have said they think they will be friends “forever” after meeting in the queue. Chrissy Heerey, a member of the Royal Air Force, and Sima Mansouri, 55, were the two last people into Westminster Hall on Monday morning.The public viewing ended shortly before 6.30am and the pair became the last of the hundreds of thousands of people who have waited for hours to pay their respects.