K.J.Yossman Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

K.J. Yossman Actor, writer and director Diane Morgan was in her teens when she first tried her hand at improv, an experience which first gave the “very shy, very quiet” 15-year-old a chance to step out of her shell and play a different character. “I think my whole world opened up, basically,” says Morgan of that moment, ahead of receiving Variety and the Edinburgh TV Festival’s 2022 Outstanding Achievement Award. “I’d always been completely invisible and then, suddenly, I was the funny one.” So it was unsurprising when Morgan decided she would try to pursue it professionally, even if it wasn’t the most obvious choice for a girl from Bolton. “I always thought I’d make a career out of it, even though everyone was telling me I wouldn’t make a career out of it and that it was insane,” she recalls. “Because I was from Bolton, and, you know, [most] people wanted to be hairdressers.”

K.J. Yossman The BBC’s chief content officer Charlotte Moore responded to former “Newsnight” host Emily Maitlis’s criticism of the broadcaster. Moore strongly refuted Maitlis’s suggestion that the broadcaster had apologized with “speed” after press officers for the U.K. government complained about a “Newsnight” introduction. “Why had the BBC immediately and publicly sought to confirm the Government spokesman’s opinion?” Maitlis asked during her MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Wednesday evening. “Without any kind of due process? It makes no sense for an organisation that is admirably, famously rigorous about procedure – unless it was perhaps sending a message of reassurance directly to the Government itself?”

K.J. Yossman BBC News media editor Amol Rajan has been appointed the new host of U.K. gameshow “University Challenge.”The current host, Jeremy Paxman, revealed he would be stepping down after 28 years.

K.J. Yossman BBC journalists are considering whether to strike over the merger of two of the network’s news channel teams, which will see up to 70 jobs axed.Earlier this year BBC director general Tim Davie revealed that the U.K.-focused BBC News and global BBC World News channels would be replaced by one new channel called BBC News as part of a move to deliver hundreds of million dollars’ worth of cutbacks at the corporation. The decision, which Davie described as one of a number of “difficult choices” management were having to make, came after the U.K.

K.J. Yossman Sir David Attenborough is set to host a new nature series for the BBC tentatively titled “Wild Isles.”The five-part series will introduce viewers to fauna and flora across Britain and Ireland, focusing on four main areas: woodlands, grasslands, freshwater and marine.   Produced by Silverback Films and co-produced by The Open University, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the World Wildlife Fund, the series has been filmed over a period of three years in 4k with cutting edge technology including motion controlled time-lapse photography, low-light cameras and macro photography.Among the highlights viewers will see are Britain’s ancient oak trees, sea eagles, killer whales, wild horses and even a broomstick-riding bee.

K.J. Yossman Actor, writer and director Diane Morgan is set to receive the Variety Outstanding Achievement Award, distributed in association with the Edinburgh TV Festival.The honor, which is awarded as part of the Festival’s prestigious TV awards, is being awarded to the BAFTA-nominated star in recognition of her extensive body of work, which ranges from Ricky Gervais’ “After Life” to “Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe” and includes fan-favorite “Motherland.” Morgan’s award will be paired with a wide-ranging conversation with Variety, taking place on Thursday, Aug. 25 at the festival.

K.J. Yossman British detective drama “Dalgliesh” is set to return after getting a second season order from AMC Networks’ Acorn TV and Channel 5.The second season, which will consist of six episodes, will be based on three more P.D.

K.J. Yossman President of Heyday Television Tom Winchester has departed the company to set up his own production outfit, Pure Fiction Television.See-Saw Films (“Power of the Dog”) and talent agency Hamilton Hodell have minority stakes in the new company.

K.J. Yossman “No Time to Die” producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson were honored by Prince William in an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace today (Friday, June 24).The duo, who run James Bond production company EON, were both awarded Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBEs) in Queen Elizabeth II’s New Year’s Honors list for services to film, drama, philanthropy and skills.After the ceremony, Broccoli told a reporter from The Independent the award was a “huge honor” and that she was still on the hunt for the next 007 following Daniel Craig’s retirement from the role last year.

K.J. Yossman Director James Marsh is set to direct a new hybrid animated documentary feature for Submarine and Sandpaper Films.“Oasis, Saving the Baghdad Zoo” (working title), is a feature-length animated documentary partly based on “Babylon’s Ark,” the book about a year-long rescue mission of animals abandoned across Baghdad by Saddam Hussein and his son Uday.Billed as a 21st century Noah’s Ark, the film will show how a team of American soldiers, Iraqi zookeepers, and international volunteers tended to lions, camels, bears, exotic birds, monkeys, pigs and even an ocelot in the middle of a brutal war, risking their own lives in the process.

K.J. Yossman Sundance Film Festival director Tabitha Jackson appeared in person at the London outpost of the festival on Thursday, just two days after confirming she’s stepping down from her role.When asked by Variety what she plans to do next, Jackson, who has worked at Sundance since 2013 and took on the festival director role in 2020, replied: “A hammock, a cocktail and to think about how to support arts going forward.”During her appearance at Sundance London, where she was interviewed by “Best Girl Grip” podcast host Nicole Davis, the British executive didn’t touch on why she had chosen to resign from the role, to which she was appointed only two years ago.However, in reply to Davis’s question about what is the “biggest learning curve of your career so far,” she hinted at what may have driven the decision when she replied: “This two-year learning curve, being director of the festival during this pandemic and this time and all the messiness and complexity that comes with that.” She noted that the London edition of the festival was the first in-person Sundance she had attended in her role as director, the previous editions having moved online due to the pandemic.Jackson also revealed that when she had first been offered the role as director she had almost turned it down.

K.J. Yossman The owners of iconic British comedy show “Only Fools and Horses” have won a copyright battle against an “Only Fools”-themed dining show.“Only Fools The (cushty) Dining Experience” is billed as an “interactive dining show” in which diners are subsumed into the world of the long-running TV series, which aired on BBC 1 between 1981 and 1991, with actors dressed as the characters delivering a part-scripted, part-improvized performance.In a judgment handed down today, Deputy High Court Judge John Kimbell found in favor of Shazam Productions, a production company owned by the heirs of John Sullivan, creator of “Only Fool and Horses.” Sullivan died in 2011 but his wife Sharon and children James, Dan and Amy, continue to run Shazam Productions as a vehicle for exploiting the “Only Fools and Horses” IP.

K.J. Yossman British Prime Minister is facing a vote of no-confidence on Monday evening, according to U.K.

K.J. Yossman Swedish director Jonas Akerlund’s has a knack for merging music and visuals, having spent the first few decades of his career making videos for artists including Madonna, Beyonce, Ozzy Osbourne and Rammstein.In 2002 he made his directorial feature debut with “Spun,” a dark comedy featuring Jason Schwartzman and Mena Suvari, and has since continued to dabble in both music and feature films, occasionally combing the two with projects such as 2018’s “Lords of Chaos,” a horror film about Norway’s early 1990s black metal scene.

K.J. Yossman BBC Director-General Tim Davie has revealed plans for a “digital first” BBC as the broadcaster celebrates its hundredth year as well as revealing at hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of cutbacks.Davie said he plans to cut £200 million ($250 million) from the budget due to the government’s decision to freeze the license fee, which funds the BBC.

K.J. Yossman Mister Smith Entertainment has tapped Emma Mason as head of marketing and publicity, the company revealed on Friday.Mason has been overseeing marketing and publicity for Mister Smith Entertainment’s Cannes slate, including features “The Convert” from Lee Tamahori starring Guy Pearce, an action movie about a preacher in 1830s New Zealand, and “Inappropriate Behavior” from Tony Goldwyn starring Bobby Cannavale, about a man’s relationship with his neurodiverse child (and which features Robert De Niro in a major supporting role).She has also been working on Cannes offerings such as Martha Stephens’ “Big Rig,” which will see “High School Musical” star Vanessa Hudgens play a trucker, and Lucy Hale rom-com “Which Brings Me To You,” about a woman who sets out to have a one night stand at a wedding which doesn’t go according to plan.

K.J. Yossman Eurovision fans have been left crushed after ticket re-selling site Viagogo failed to deliver tickets to the finals, which takes place tonight in Turin, Italy.Among those left out of pocket was Hila from Israel (she asked that Variety withhold her last name for privacy reasons).

K.J. Yossman Sir William Sargent, CEO and founding member of Oscar-winning VFX studio Framestore, whose work includes blocbusters such as “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and “No Time to Die,” has revealed he is stepping down.Chief operating officer Mel Sullivan will replace him, with a mandate to focus on the company’s strategic direction.Sargant, who has been at Framestore for 26 years, will remain with the wider business, focusing on the Framestore Company 3 Group.CFO Claire Price will oversee the finances of Framestore and Company 3 from July while Fiona Walkinshaw is upped to CEO of film and episodic and Charles Howell serves as president of global advertising and content.

K.J. Yossman A stunt performer injured during the production of “Game of Thrones” is suing the series makers.Casey Michaels was working on the eighth and final season of the hit HBO show in February 2018 when she suffered a “serious fracture dislocation to her left ankle,” according to court documents seen by Variety.

K.J. Yossman The richest man in the world is the subject of a new documentary series commissioned by the BBC.“The Elon Musk Show” (working title) will speak to the South African billionaire’s friends, family members and business associates as well as including archive footage from Musk’s ascent through Silicon Valley to paint an intimate portrait of the tech tycoon.

K.J. Yossman Prince Harry has said a series of articles published in British tabloid the Mail on Sunday have caused “serious damage to his reputation and substantial hurt, embarrassment and distress which is continuing,” according to new court documents seen by Variety.Harry, who is also known as the Duke of Sussex, launched the lawsuit earlier this year after the Mail on Sunday reported on another lawsuit in which he is embroiled, involving the British government.

K.J. Yossman Director Dee Koppang O’Leary cut her teeth on documentaries such as “Justin Bieber: All Around the World” for NBC and Sky One’s “Minnie Driver’s Excellent Adventure” before moving into drama via a brief shadowing stint on “Sherlock,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.

K.J. Yossman Prince Harry isn’t the only British royal getting into podcasting. His older brother Prince William has recorded an episode of Cate Blanchett‘s environmental podcast “Climate of Change.” “Nightmare Alley” star Blanchett hosts the series alongside environmental advocate Danny Kennedy.Prince William appears in the second episode of the six-part series, which is out Thursday, to talk about his awards program the Earthshot Prize, which encourages innovate ideas to tackle climate change and sustainability.

K.J. Yossman A production designer has reportedly been fired from Netflix’s “Bridgerton” spin-off “Queen Charlotte” over allegations of bullying.British tabloid The Sun has reported production designer Dave Arrowsmith, who has worked on projects including “The Kissing Booth” and “Screw,” was “fired by Netflix chiefs amid claims of abusive behaviour and bullying on set.”A source close to “Queen Charlotte” confirms to Variety that Arrowsmith “has left the project” but wouldn’t be drawn on the reasons for his departure.“There have been several issues on set, and a few crew members expressed concerns about a number of different incidents,” The Sun quoted an anonymous source as saying.“Queen Charlotte” will tell the origin story of “Bridgerton’s” reigning monarch as well as a young Violet Bridgerton and Lady Danbury.

K.J. Yossman Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson will be among the winners at the Production Guild of Great Britain (PGGB) awards on Friday night alongside actor Charlotte Riley and senior vice president of studio operations Warner Bros.

K.J. Yossman Locksmith Animation’s “Ron’s Gone Wrong” has won the award for best long form at the British Animation Awards 2022.Locksmith, which was founded by by Aardman Animations veterans Sarah Smith and Julie Lockhart alongside Elisabeth Murdoch, picked up the award at a ceremony in London on Thursday evening.The awards took place at London’s BFI Southbank and were presented by comedian Miles Jupp.Other winners on the night included Magic Light Pictures, for their adaptations of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s “Zog and the Flying Doctors” and Scheffler’s “Pip and Posy,” while production co-ordinator Hodan Abdi picked up the Lamb award, which “bridges the gap between current categories which recognise student achievements and general best-in-class awards, and is open to any young professionals working in the animation and VFX industry.” And 86-year-old Menna Trussler beat out Taika Waititi, Ricky Gervais and Ben Wishaw to take home the award for best voice performance, for her portrayal of Beryl in “Affairs of the Art.”“We have been amazed at the quality of the entrants for this year’s British Animation Awards and would like to offer our heartfelt congratulations to all the winners and nominees,” said BAA director Helen Brunsdon and producer Kieran Argo.

K.J. Yossman British rapper Dizzee Rascal has been found guilty of assaulting his former partner.According to U.K. press reports, the musician, whose real name is Dylan Kwabena Mills, was found guilty of assault by beating at Wimbledon Magistrates Court on Monday.

K.J. Yossman Renowned singer Shirley Bassey is set to open this year’s BAFTA film awards with a James Bond tribute.

K.J. Yossman British journalist Stuart Ramsay has been shot and wounded while reporting on the conflict in Ukraine.Ramsay, Sky News’ chief correspondent, was driving along a freeway towards Ukraine’s capital city Kyiv alongside camera operator Richie Mockler, producers Dominique Van Heerden and Martin Vowles, and local producer Andrii Lytvynenko on Monday Feb. 28 when their car was ambushed by Russians, who showered it in a hail of bullets.Despite the Sky News team shouting that they were journalists, the shooting did not stop.

K.J. Yossman Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was the voice of Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian versions of “Paddington” and “Paddington 2.”Zelensky, who is currently leading the Ukrainian army against a Russian invasion of his country, was a comedian and actor before becoming president.