City This Showbiz Latest News and Updates

On a grey and rainy November afternoon in Rochdale town centre, a group of college students push each other down the high street in an abandoned shopping trolley. Nobody tries to stop them, or even looks twice.

One of the men accused of murdering Ashley Dale in Liverpool said he got involved in conversations about buying sub-machine guns because he was "young and stupid" and "trying to act hard".

Very little has been heard from Indonesian filmmaker Mouly Surya since her buzzy 2017 Cannes title Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts. 

Jay-Z couldn’t be prouder of his and Beyonce‘s daughter, Blue Ivy.

Naman Ramachandran Korean powerhouse CJ ENM is set to continue its already extensive investment in Indonesia. The company will announce a slate of Indonesian films imminently. It is also planning to produce films and series that can be remade in other international territories, said Justin Kim, head of international productions at CJ ENM, which has production and distribution businesses in Indonesia.

BBC has released a series of first look images of This Town, the new drama series from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.Set in 1981, the six-part series centres on a band’s formation against a backdrop of violence, and is described as a love letter to Birmingham and Coventry, featuring fierce new music.The cast is led by a number of rising stars, including Levi Brown (Loss and Return), Jordan Bolger (The Woman King), Ben Rose (Line of Duty) and Eve Austin (You) as its four young leads.This Town also stars Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), Nicholas Pinnock (Marcella), and David Dawson (My Policeman).In the first look images, the one above shows leads Ben Rose as Bardon Quinn, Jordan Bolger as Gregory Williams and Levi Brown as Dante Williams walking down a street.Another image shows Brown as Dante Williams in a record store, and in a third photo he’s pictured sharing a moment with Austin’s Jeannie Keefe in a dressing room.Dockery’s Estella and Pinnock’s Deuce Williams are also pictured getting ready to perform. Meanwhile, another images shows Rose, Parks, Brown and Austin together in a warehouse.This Town will be co-produced with Mercury Studios, which is part of the Universal Music Group, who is set to bring in high-profile musicians to “help lay the backdrop for Knight’s incredible story” (per the BBC).Mercury-nominated musician, novelist and poet Kae Tempest and producer Dan Carey wrote the songs performed by the band on screen.Of the series, Knight said: “It’s about an era I lived through and know well and it involves characters who I feel I grew up with.

Here’s your first look at This Town, the latest TV drama from Peaky Blinders and SAS Rogue Heroes creator Steven Knight, starring Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey, Anatomy of a Scandal), Nicholas Pinnock (Life, Marcella), and David Dawson (My Policeman, The Last Kingdom). 

EXCLUSIVE: EST N8, the international finance, production and sales company launched by EST Studios and Bangkok-based N8 Studios at Cannes this year, has hired Sophie Changhui Shi as acquisition and production executive, based in Los Angeles. 

Naman Ramachandran Kudos Knight, the creative partnership between scripted producer Kudos and “Peaky Blinders” and “SAS Rogue Heroes” creator Steven Knight, has appointed “Sex Education” producer Rem Conway as development producer to spearhead their plans to grow a scripted production hub in the U.K.’s West Midlands region. This new role is designed to support the Kudos Knight management team in developing a drama slate to be produced in Birmingham. Identifying and nurturing emerging local voices and proven writers from the area, Conway will work closely with the Kudos creative team with a particular focus on championing under-represented and previously unheard voices.

Jason Aldean kicked off his summer concert tour over the weekend, though he had to cut the second show short due to heatstroke.

A Manchester neighbourhood will be transformed as more than 100 new homes are built. Construction has started on the properties in Ancoats - on a disused brownfield site.

Superman: Legacy.The actor will star opposite Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) in the upcoming film, which will launch DC’s new movie universe.James Gunn, who was appointed co-CEO of DC Studios last year, will write and direct Superman: Legacy.

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a brand new Superman!

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor In May 2021, after 19 years in Los Angeles, comedians and married couple Tom Segura and Christina Pazsitzky (aka Christina P), moved to Austin with their two young sons. Segura says he felt like L.A., in mid-pandemic, was falling apart. “I was like, ‘This city is turning into a shit show!'” he tells Variety. About one month after they moved, Pazsitzky suffered an injurious fall in their new home. And, as you might expect, Segura ended up turning the (non-life-threatening) accident into a bit, which is featured in “Tom Segura: Sledgehammer,” his upcoming stand-up special premiering July 4 globally on Netflix. In “Sledgehammer,” Segura recounts his uneasy 911 call that night requesting help. “I realized that, while what I’m about to say it true, it sounds… suspicious! But I gotta say it. So I’m like, ‘My wife fell down the stairs.'” Pazsitzky, who had misjudged a step when she got up in the middle of the night to check on one of the kids in their new home, broke her ankle and part of her tibia as a result of the fall. (She’s since made a full recovery.) Segura remembers being unsettled by her telling the paramedics to not assume he had hurt her. “It was a whole ordeal,” he recalls.

Meet the new Superman. David Corenswet has been cast as Clark Kent in Superman: Legacy.

“Superman: Legacy” has found its stars.

Superman: Legacy.Directed by James Gunn, the film will launch DC’s new film universe, spearheaded by Gunn and his co-CEO of DC Studios, Peter Safran.According to The Hollywood Reporter, Corenswet and Brosnahan were selected from six actors who had screen tests earlier this month (June 17). The other actors in contention were Nicholas Hoult and Tom Brittney for Superman, while Emma Mackey and Phoebe Dynevor were also in the running for Lois.Gunn later confirmed the casting on Twitter, writing: “Accurate! (They are not only both incredible actors, but also wonderful people).”Corenswet most recently starred as the projectionist in the 2022 slasher film Pearl, with his previous credits including Ryan Murphy projects The Politician and Hollywood.

Deadline revealed today that David Corenswet has been cast as D.C. films’ new Superman in James Gunn’s Superman: Legacy. But beyond the requisite piercing blue eyes, exactly who is the 29-year-old Corenswet?

EXCLUSIVE: Nina Hoss (Tár) and Nicholas Pinnock (For Life) have closed deals to join the new film Hedda from MGM’s Orion Pictures. While details as to their roles haven’t been disclosed, they join an ensemble that also includes Tessa Thompson, Callum Turner and Eve Hewson, as previously announced.

Naman Ramachandran The U.K.’s Stigma Films has snapped up TV rights for Jeffrey Boakye’s “I Heard What You Said,” an Amazon Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2022. Told via a series of encounters based on the challenging and outrageous things people have said to him or about him, Boakye, a Black, male English teacher who has had to teach problematic texts, recounts how it feels to be on the margins of the British education system. The deal was brokered by the Sarah Such Literary Agency. Stigma’s film credits include “Daddy’s Head,” “T.I.M.,” “The Score,” upcoming Romola Garai project “Monstrous Beauty” and Netflix original “Choose or Die,” starring Asa Butterfield. The acquisition of “I Heard What You Said” follows on from Stigma branching out from feature films to television in the last year. Their first project is Steven Knight/Kudos series, “This Town” for BBC and the company is in active development with Ringside Studios on Iain Banks novel “The Business.”

This town has zombie fever.

“near-catastrophic” two-hour car chase in New York City on Tuesday night. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a statement on Wednesday morning saying that they were hounded by “a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi” after they left the Women of Vision awards in Manhattan, resulting in a “relentless pursuit” with “multiple near collisions.”Whoopi Goldberg hit out at the Sussex’s spokesperson during a segment on Thursday’s edition of “The View,” saying the word “chase” implied that the alleged caper took place at high-speed.

Halsey has requested a permanent protective order against a man she claims has made her life a misery.

The Wire creator David Simon has become one of the many writers/producers whose overall agreements have been suspended because of the strike.

Manchester is a lot of things, but one cardinal sin it can never be accused of is throwing a boring party. Whether it’s celebrating the Lionesses’ Euros win in style in a sun-soaked city centre last year, or ringing in a birthday or New Year with a funky Friday in Mint Lounge - thousands flock to our city safe in the knowledge they’ll have a good time.

Rihanna‘s performance at this year’s Super Bowl game is officially the most-watched halftime show of all time.The news was confirmed by Rihanna’s label Roc Nation on Twitter tonight (May 2) with 121.017million views. Per an image attached to Roc Nation’s tweet, an initial report from Nielsen was incorrect and has since been corrected, now making Rihanna’s halftime show the “most-watched on record”..@Rihanna's Super Bowl LVII 2023 performance is the most watched halftime show of all time, with 121.017M views! https://t.co/iRY2u9XlOa #SBLVII pic.twitter.com/Ixgev7X7vp— Roc Nation (@RocNation) May 2, 2023Shortly after Rihanna’s performance in early February, it was announced that her performance was the second most-watched halftime show in history, with Katy Perry’s 2015 performance clinching the top spot.Perry’s halftime show was reported to have 121million views in February.

Rihanna has confirmed that she will be voicing Smurfette in an upcoming animated Smurfs movie for Paramount.Paramount and Rihanna confirmed the news on Thursday (April 27) at CinemaCon, where the singer made a surprise appearance. Rihanna also revealed that besides voicing Smurfette, she will also be writing and recording original music for the film.Rihanna will also serve as a producer on the film, which is set to arrive in cinemas on Valentine’s Day in 2025.

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes it would be increasingly difficult to argue that Manchester City are not the greatest English football team if they win the Champions League this season.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are riding high and nursing hangovers after celebrating a made-for-Hollywood win by the Wrexham Football Club, of which they serve as co-owners. On Saturday, Wrexham secured its promotion back to the English Football League after a 15-year absence. Reynolds and McElhenney, who took control of the Welsch team in 2021, each shared a video of the emotionally-charged moment on their Instagram pages. «I don't remember this moment at all.

A massive win. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney are happy soccer team owners after Wrexham AFC was promoted to the English Football League for the first time in 15 years.