Russell Brand has shut down his addiction and mental health charity, UK media revealed yesterday. The Sun newspaper reports that the national Charity Commission was told back in September 2024 that the comedian turned online guru’s Stay Free Foundation “no longer operates,” and was removed from the official register of charities last month. Brand founded the charity following his own recovery from heroin addiction in 2003. He was a frequent advocate for health services to provide more support for addicts, and in 2013 made a documentary about the subject for the BBC. The move follows a 2023 investigation jointly between Channel 4’s Dispatches programme and The Sunday Times newspaper, in which four women accused him of sexual assault between 2006 and 2013. Brand denies all allegations against him, saying he
Category Archives: ENTERTAINMENT
Feb
On Friday nights, IndieWire After Dark takes a beat to honor fringe cinema in the streaming age. In February 2025, we’re celebrating Valentine’s Day with three weeks of Romantic Midnight Trysts. First, read the BAIT: a weird and wonderful pick from any time in film. Then, try the BITE: a behind-the-scenes breakdown of the project’s ending, impact, and any other spoilers you’d want. The Bait: The Pizza Guy Doesn’t Get to Just Decide What Pizza Is Worth In a time when not every midnight movie passes the political sniff test, “Make Me a Pizza” earns five-star reviews from all the right customers. Filmmaker Talia Levin’s cult-hit short film has been described as a “Marxist pizza porno” by its mostly LA-based creative team — who in turn call themselves “an artistic collective of hot queer dorks.”
Feb
HBO When Sam Levinson’s “Euphoria” debuted on HBO, the coming-of-age series quickly became a phenomenon. It provided Zendaya the platform to become the youngest two-time Emmy winner in history as well as the youngest person to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as high schooler Rue Bennett, undoubtedly the role that changed the trajectory of her entire career. Despite its edgy nature, “Euphoria” became a runaway mainstream success, one of the most discussed TV shows on social media, and the launchpad for a new class of Hollywood performers including Hunter Schaefer, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Eloridi, Storm Reid, and the late Angus Cloud. Based on the Israeli series of the same name, “Euphoria” follows troubled teenage drug addict Rue after her stint in
Feb
Netflix’s Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria swears she is open to doing more backend deals with filmmakers, talent, and producers, but she says almost none of them really want one, despite some public lobbying. On his “The Town” podcast, Puck founder Matt Belloni grilled Bajaria on a large variety of topics: the scandal plaguing the “Emilia Pérez” Oscar push, Greta Gerwig’s special “Narnia” deal, and the usual chatter about sports programming and data transparency. One standout segment for us was a relatively brief conversation about backend deals, in which talent — an actor, a director, or a producer — reaps the financial rewards of a hit film or show through a percentage of the profits. The Netflix model of almost always skipping any meaningful theatrical release for films definitely complicates
Feb
Roommates, get into this V-Day update! Drake is back and blessing fans from the booth, as promised to his fans. He collaborated with fellow Canadian rapper PARTYNEXTDOOR for a new joint album called ‘$ome $sexy $songs 4 U.’ The artists aligned their new 21-track drop with Valentine’s Day. It also comes less than a week since Drake’s rap nemesis, Kendrick Lamar, performed the diss track ‘Not Like Us’ for millions of Super Bowl viewers. Drizzy hasn’t weighed in on what’s now the most-watched halftime show, but he seemed to be throwing a lil’ shade on ‘$ome $sexy $songs 4 U.’ RELATED: Aht! Aht! Serena Williams Sets Record Straight About Performing With Kendrick Lamar At The Super Bowl Drake Thanks 21 Savage For Stickin’ By Him After Kendrick’s performance, Boosie and Marlon
Feb
Sean Combs, long known by rap aliases like Diddy and Puffy, is facing an avalanche of lawsuits and legal trouble. His latest ongoing issues include a new suit filed by a Jane Doe in New York court on Friday. In the suit, filed by attorney Tony Buzbee, a 23-year-old Jane Doe was a model and radio station employee in 1999. She attended a VIP party hosted by Combs in New York City and they had a few drinks throughout the evening. She inevitably told him she had to leave as she needed to catch the train, to which Combs invited her to stay at his home and pressured her to have one more drink. Doe, who was married, was told that no inappropriate conduct would occur, and that she could
Feb
Moviefone speaks with Antonio Banderas about ‘Paddington in Peru’. “It came off the paper beautifully, like a very special character,” Banderas said. Antonio Banderas stars in ‘Paddington in Peru’. Arriving in theaters on February 14th, ‘Paddington in Peru’ is the latest adventure for the charismatic, chaotic bear. Directed by Dougal Wilson, the film stars Ben Whishaw (‘Black Doves’) as the voice of Paddington, as well as Hugh Bonneville (‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’), Emily Mortimer (‘Mary Poppins Returns’), Julie Walters (‘Billy Elliot’), Jim Broadbent (‘The Iron Lady’), Imelda Staunton (‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’), Hayley Atwell (‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’), Olivia Colman (‘Empire of Light’), and Antonio Bandeas (‘Desperado’). Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Antonio Banderas about his work on ‘Paddington
Feb
Kailey Schwerman/Showtime When season 1 of “Yellowjackets” debuted back in 2021, few predicted what a phenomenon the series would become, including the show’s creators, Ashley Lyle, and Bart Nickerson. For the uninitiated, “Yellowjackets” tracks characters across two timelines: the first, in 1996 after the nationals-bound Wiskayok Yellowjackets women’s soccer team’s plane crash lands them in the Canadian wilderness and thrusts them into barbaric survival including cannibalism, and in our current day 25 years later where the now-adult survivors are still plagued by whatever it was that happened to them (or what they did) all those years ago. While the characters all have their own individual plotlines across both timelines, the show is at its best when it’s operating as an ensemble cast. Fortunately, after the heartbreaking end to season 2
Feb
Austria can celebrate a huge success as a filming location thanks in large part to attractive funding programs that have lured major international productions to the country, among them Guy Ritchie’s “Fountain of Youth” and Jaume Collet-Serra’s “Cliffhanger” reboot, while also boasting a strong lineup of local works at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. Introduced in 2023, the incentives, known as FISA Plus and ÖFI Plus, can cover as much as 60% of costs for international film productions. In addition to magnificent natural landscapes, medieval towns and striking cities, a new state-of-the-art studio complex in Vienna now offers a comprehensive range of services to support productions in the Austrian capital. “Since the launch of the FISA Plus funding program two years ago, Austria has emerged as a strong player in
Feb
EXCLUSIVE: Bangkok-based horror studio and distribution company Night Edge Pictures will be making its European Film Market (EFM) debut with horror film Death Dial, alongside a slate of other horror and thriller films. Night Edge Pictures has unveiled additional cast for Death Dial, with Sanya Kunakorn (How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies, Good Doctor Thailand ) set to join the project. Top Thai actress Penpak Sirikul is already attached to Death Dial. Sirikul featured in Home For Rent as well as Start Up, Thailand’s adaptation of the popular Korean drama of the same name. Death Dial is currently in pre-production and scheduled for release in early-2026. Watch on Deadline Additionally, Night Edge Pictures will bring Death Dial to overseas distributors at the American Film Market later this year, after
Feb
Blockbuster mainland Chinese film Ne Zha 2 is set to hit cinema screens in Hong Kong after the animated tale about a youthful dragon-defying deity broke box office records over the Lunar New Year holiday. The film, adapted from Chinese mythology, will be released in theatres under the Cinema City, MCL, Cine-Art House and Emperor Cinemas chains in Hong Kong and Macau, according to Beijing Enlight Media and local firm Mandarin Motion Pictures. The companies said on Thursday that the release date for the critically acclaimed film, a sequel to Ne Zha: The Birth of the Demon Child from 2019, would be announced later. “Mandarin Motion Pictures has collaborated with Enlight Media for many years and we are honoured to work together again to bring such an excellent Chinese animation
Feb
Dogwoof/Yabayay Media/Antipode Films Basel Adra with his camera in his West Bank home, an Israeli army bulldozer behind him A Palestinian and an Israeli sit in a West Bank village at night. They wonder aloud whether Basel will ever be able to freely visit Yuval’s home in Israel, whether Basel’s village will get building permits, and whether they will one day have stability. For years, the friends have been filming the destruction of houses, a well and a school by the Israeli army after a court order declared Basel’s community illegal. They tell each other they hope they will change that reality. Now, that scene has reached some of the world’s biggest stages. The film it is in, No Other Land, has been nominated for an Oscar and a Bafta
Feb
Nollywood actress, Pat Ugwu, has died at the age of 35. Her colleague, Emeka Okoye, made this known on social media on Wednesday. Okoye also shared a funeral poster outlining the arrangements for Ugwu’s final farewell. “Rest in peace Sis. Pat Ugwu. @patpat_ugwu. So we no get to work again? Death why? God, please. Rest […] The post Nollywood actress Pat Ugwu is dead appeared first on The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News.
Jan
Nigerian actress and filmmaker, Eniola Ajao opened up about her latest projects, including the highly anticipated film ‘Owanbe Thieves’, set to hit cinemas nationwide on April 18th. She disclosed that her previous film, “Ajakaju: The Beast of Two Worlds,” was a massive success, grossing over N250 million at the box office. Speaking to Friday Treat, she said, “The film’s success was a surprise even to me. Honestly, I didn’t see it coming because this is my first time at the cinemas. “I didn’t know if ‘Ajakaju’ was going to do that much. I was scared at a point, and I was trying to create a buzz around the film.” According to her, the success of “Ajakaju” has inspired her to give back to her fans and community. The filmmaker on
Jan
FireAid: Stars take to stage for LA benefit concert Christal Hayes BBC News Reporting from Los Angeles, California Getty Images Olivia Rodrigo is among the artists taking part in the show A star-studded line-up is taking over two venues in Los Angeles for a benefit concert to help the area recover from two of the largest fires in its history. More than 20 artists from various genres are on the line-up for the FireAid benefit show, which is happening simultaneously at two large venues in the city. Among those set to preform are Sting, P!nk, Lil Baby, Rod Stewart, Lady Gaga and Earth Wind & Fire. The lineup also includes multiple acts who were born in the LA area, including Billie Eilish, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and No Doubt.