Continental Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Giving up meat for a more plant-based diet can lower heart disease risks, according to a new study.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Semafor, the digital new startup launched last fall, announced that it has raised $19 million in a new financing round, bringing its total raised to $34 million. The New York-based company was co-founded by Ben Smith, previously media columnist for the New York Times and editor in chief of BuzzFeed News, and Justin B. Smith, former CEO of Bloomberg Media Group. (The two are not related.) Semafor said the additional investments are an extension on the same terms of the company’s previous financing round. The new total also takes into account the repurchase of the approximately $10 million in funds from Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of cryptocurrency company FTX whom federal prosecutors have charged with fraud, money laundering and campaign finance offenses. The funding from Bankman-Fried will be returned to FTX creditors as directed by officials, according to Semafor.

A Manchester venue has just been named one of the best vegan restaurants in the world for 2023.

Pep Guardiola wants Manchester City to feel the pressure of having to win the Champions League after completing a fifth Premier League crown in six years.

Christopher Vourlias A record number of African films are premiering at this year’s Cannes Film Festival — including two titles in the main competition and four more in Un Certain Regard — promising a robust turnout on the Croisette from a continent that doesn’t often find itself being feted on world cinema’s grandest stage. Perhaps a more noticeable shift, however, has been taking place in and around the Palais des Festivals, where participants at the Cannes Market are opening their arms — and their checkbooks — to an industry just beginning to realize its potential. Witness the delegation of international film financiers, including Creative Wealth Media’s Jason Cloth and Convergent Media Capital’s Michael Cleaver, gathered on a recent, rainy morning to talk shop at a full house at the Pavillon Afriques. Or check the scene at the Palais des Festivals nearby, where three representatives of the Cairo-based African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) assembled at the Africa Pavilion (no relation) to discuss the bank’s billion-dollar fund for the cultural sector.

Marta Balaga Julio Hernández Cordón’s vampire tale “The Day is Long and Dark” (“El Día es Largo y Oscuro”) is unveiling first images and trailer, which world premieres at Cannes’ Fantastic Pavilion. Alina Rojas, Diana Bustamante and Hernández Cordón produce, for La Mitad del Continente (Mexico) and Burning (Colombia).  The film, currently in post-production, dives into a complicated family dynamic as Vera, a 17-year-old girl, needs to learn how to live with her “vampirism gene.”  Prisoners of the sun, she and her father, Cruz, spend their days in hotel rooms until she can’t take it: Feeling guilty and misunderstood, and missing her boyfriend she is afraid of hurting, Vera wants to die. Suddenly, her father – who is also a film director – has two missions in life. He can’t let her attack anyone but he also needs to make sure she doesn’t commit suicide.

When two British-born powerhouses get together — Idris Elba, an actor-director-producer of Sierra Leone, Creole and Ghanaian descent, and Nigerian-rooted Mo Abudu, largely considered the go-between for African content to the rest of the world — they have a powerful chemistry. Remarkably, though, they’ve never made anything together.

The CW announced two new scripted series that are in the works for 2024: Joan, a six-part co-production starring Game of Thrones‘ Sophie Turner, and The Librarians: The Next Chapter, a spinoff of fantasy adventure series from writer and executive producer Dean Devlin.

Christopher Vourlias Two years ago, Hungarian producer Mónika Mécs had a banner year, bowing Bence Fliegauf’s “Forest — I See You Everywhere” in competition at the Berlin Film Festival before walking the red carpet in Cannes, where Oscar nominee Ildikó Enyedi’s “The Story of My Wife” competed for the Palme d’Or. The world — and the global film industry — was still learning to live with the coronavirus pandemic; “Forest” premiered online in the Berlinale’s virtual edition, and Cannes attendees spent dry-mouthed mornings spitting into test tubes. But the economic impact of the pandemic had only begun to make itself felt, as production costs spiked and reached heights that are yet to return to pre-pandemic levels in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year.

Angelina Jolie and her daughter Zahara took a trip to New York City, where the two were photographed holding hands and having a great time. Angelina Jolie and Maddox attend dinner with the President of South KoreaAngelina Jolie shares emotional tribute to her late mom: ‘Sending my love’5 Photos that prove Angelina Jolie looks just like her momAngelina and Zahara were photographed upon their arrival at John F. Kennedy airport.

A once popular delicacy loved by generations of Mancunians is now almost completely forgotten. Greater Manchester has its fair share of local delicacies that are still popular today, from black pudding to Eccles Cakes. But there is another foodstuff, once widely sold in the region, that few people still eat.

Bird Box” was one of Netflix’s greatest hits. The Sandra Bullock-led film follows her and two children in the apocalypse, where the world has been decimated by a mysterious entity that forces people to kill themselves the minute they see it.

EXCLUSIVE: While the title character ended John Wick: Chapter 4 under a headstone, the John Wick franchise is alive and kicking for Lionsgate. This week, Universal brass got a first look at Ballerina, the Len Wiseman-helmed spinoff film that stars Ana de Armas and brings back Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, the late Lance Reddick and Anjelica Huston. The big question is, after the last film grossed over $400 million on a $90 million budget, what right minded studio would retire a franchise that just turned in its highest gross and best reviews?

Manchester United are apparently set to speak with Dean Henderson about his future as Erik ten Hag mulls over his long-term goalkeeper options.

On the heels of his recent Tame Impala collaboration, “No More Lies,” Thundercat has announced a summer/fall 2023 tour of North and South America. The North American portion of the tour is scheduled to kick off on August 5 at the Newport Jazz Festival and pick up steam in late September, crisscrossing the continent before its Halloween finale in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Mo Abudu, the CEO of EbonyLife Media, has stepped into the writing and directing spaces, having completed two short films – Iyawo Mi and Her Perfect Life – the former of which will screen at the Cannes Film Festival’s Short Film Corner this month. Both projects have also been selected for the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival in August. 

Global audiences have been gaga for Baba Yaga with Lionsgate/Thunder Road Films/87 Eleven’s John Wick: Chapter 4 now having passed the $400M mark worldwide.

two major family events this coming week. The Duke of Sussex is expected to attend his King Charles III's coronation in London on May 6 as well as his son Archie's 4th birthday celebration back home in Montecito, California.

The controversy over Netflix‘s Queen Cleopatra limited series is getting more dramatic.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Ed Sheeran has announced details for the “- Tour” (pronounced “Subtract Tour”), a special run of dates set to take place in theaters and auditoriums in 14 cities across North America. The shows, mostly with singer-songwriter Ben Kweller in support, will take place in between dates on his massive stadium tour — titled  “+ – = ÷ x Tour” (pronounced “Mathematics Tour”) — which was announced last fall. Sheeran is using Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan technology for the theater dates. Registration opens on Friday, April 28 at 10 a.m. ET and closes on Sunday, April 30 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The Verified Fan onsale is set to begin on Tuesday, May 2 at 10 a.m. local venue time.

Music retailer HMV has announced plans to reopen its historic flagship store on London’s Oxford Street later this year as part of a larger expansion plan.

Jennie Punter The Changing Face of Europe, which is presented by European Film Promotion (EFP) in collaboration with Hot Docs, returns to Toronto with the sixth edition of its festival-within-a-festival program—nine features and one mid-length film—exploring themes around identity, belonging and struggle. “Over the years, the Changing Face of Europe has become one of the more impactful programs in the lineup, and also an essential component of our festival programming,” Hot Docs artistic director Shane Smith told Variety in advance of the festival. “Europe has a rich history of and strong connection to the art of documentary filmmaking,” he said. “We are delighted to showcase the powerful work coming out of the continent that sheds light on crucial issues facing Europeans today.”

I'm A Celebrity... South Africa viewers have been left fuming and saying 'you're taking the mick' as they spotted a fresh issue with the all-new spin-off series. Ant McPartlin and Dec Donnelly returned to screens earlier this week with their hit ITV reality show - but with a twist.

Netflix has released a brand new teaser trailer for “The Witcher” season 3.

Trinidad Barleycorn International sales company Andana Films has boarded “Al Djanat – The Original Paradise” by Franco-Burkinabe director Chloé Aïcha Boro. The film had its international premiere at Visions du Réel, in Nyon, Switzerland, after a world premiere at Fespaco in February. Selected in the international competition in Nyon, the documentary was pre-sold to Canal+ International for a broadcast on the African continent. For her fourth documentary, produced by Les Films de l’œil Sauvage, Boro has, for the first time, turned the camera on her own family, capturing life in their big courtyard surrounded by several small houses in Dédougou, Burkina Faso, where she grew up before emigrating to France. Filmed up close, over a period of five years, the animated square makes the viewer feel as welcome as at home.

The first teaser trailer for The Witcher season three is finally here, and Netflix also revealed the debut date for parts one and two!

Henry Cavill is returning as Geralt of Rivia one final time. Netflix has dropped the first teaser trailer and first-look images for “The Witcher” Season 3. But that’s not all.

The Witcher is returning to Netflix this summer.

I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here fans were left wondering if they had skipped a few months as the hit ITV reality series returned to screens - but with a twist. A bunch of previously seen campmates have been whisked off to South Africa where viewers will see them compete for 'legend' status.

Helen Flanagan has addressed her split from footballer Scot Sinclair for the first time as she appears in I'm A Celebrity... South Africa. The former Coronation Street actress is among the former campmates battling it out to become an I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here 'legend' in the brand new spin-off series.