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‘Doctor Who’ starring Ncuti Gatwa reveals premiere date for May

Welcome back to the Whoniverse. The new season of “Doctor Who,” starring “Sex Education” breakout Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor, will premiere on May 10.

 

The new installment will be the first-ever to launch on Disney+ and to simultaneously release worldwide. The premiere will start on May 10 at 7 p.m. ET in the U.S. and internationally (excluding the U.K.) with Christmas special “The Church on Ruby Road” airing before two brand-new episodes. In the U.K., the season will premiere at midnight GMT on May 11 on BBC iPlayer.

As pictured in new art from the series above, Millie Gibson stars alongside Gatwa as his companion, Ruby Sunday. According to its official description, “This season of ‘Doctor Who’ follows the Doctor and Ruby Sunday through infinite adventures across time and space in the TARDIS. From the Regency era in England to war-torn futures, the duo champion the forces of good while encountering incredible friends and dangerous foes.” A new trailer for the season will debut on March 22.

 

Russell T Davies makes his return to “Doctor Who” this season as showrunner, executive producer and writer. “At last, it’s my great delight to unleash a whole new season of the Doctor and Ruby’s adventures together,” he said in a statement. “Monsters! Chases! Villains! Mysteries! And a terrifying secret that’s been spanning time and space for decades. Don’t miss a second!”

 

Additional cast includes Aneurin Barnard, Anita Dobson, Yasmin Finney, Michelle Greenidge, Jonathan Groff, Bonnie Langford, Genesis Lynea, Jemma Redgrave, Lenny Rush, Indira Varma and Angela Wynter.

 

“Doctor Who” is produced by Bad Wolf with BBC Studios for Disney Branded Television and BBC. Executive producers include Phil Collinson, Joel Collins, Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter. The new season features episodes directed by Ben Chessell, Jamie Donoughue, Julie Anne Robinson and Dylan Holmes Williams.

 

 

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— Variety

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CIA operatives dodge danger, confront terrorist attacks and face inside-corruption in action-packed spy series

GREENWICH, Conn. — In the real world, “espionage is not a tuxedo and a martini,” quipped prolific author Jeffrey S. Stephens, who has written extensively about missions involving CIA operatives and national security.

 

“They work in the shadows. They’re in danger,” he added. “There’s so much that goes on that we don’t know about — so many near misses that we can never hear about for obvious security reasons.”

 

In his two-book Nick Reagan Thriller Series, Stephens blurs the lines between fact and fiction with detailed descriptions of real places, looming threats from very real terrorist cells and a realistic portrayal of the networks of people required to pull off large acts of terrorism.

 

In The Handler, the first book in the series, Nick Reagan and his partner, Carol Gellos, are drawn into an international hunt to locate the anonymous terrorist determined to unleash a series of unholy attacks on America.

 

Readers first meet Reagan as he traces a trail of clues to China in search of the Ghost Chip — a new technology that turns cell phones into detonators and renders them untraceable. In the hands of terrorists, the Ghost Chip would be catastrophic.

 

An Authors.com reviewer called The Handler “a heart-pounding ride with great narratives … It’s got it all — spies, assassins, guns and terrorist cells … If you liked Vince Flynn novels, you would love Stephens’ super-cool CIA operative Nick Reagan.”

 

The second book in the series takes all that to another level. While the good actors are easily identified in The Handler, it is a bit more difficult to tell the heroes from the villains in Enemies Among Us. A thriller where some of the “bad guys” are U.S. government figures, including some in our own Central Intelligence Agency, the story is as current as today’s headlines. An award-winning author, Stephens says the saga intends to throw light on some real-life transgressions happening all around the globe, including in our own country.

 

“The highest praise I can offer,” said Chris Beakey, author of the Amazon bestseller Fatal Option, “is that I devoured the entire novel in two sittings and continue to be fascinated by its large, suspenseful spell.”

 

Throughout the Nick Reagan Thriller Series, the author toggles between perspectives, giving readers a chilling look inside the minds of Islamic terrorists hellbent on carrying out heinous acts, while simultaneously, CIA operatives risk their lives to thwart the awful carnage.

 

“Many may have thought the continuing threat from terrorists was over,” Stephens said, “but as we have recently seen, it remains incredibly current and violent … while few would believe that corruption within our own intelligence services and the highest levels of corporate power are something we are dealing with in real time.”

 

About the Author

A native of New York City, Jeffrey S. Stephens is a successful attorney in private practice, admitted in both New York and Connecticut. Stephens has lived for more than 30 years in Greenwich, which is where he and his wife, Nancy, raised their two sons, Graham and Trevor. Stephens is the author of the Jordan Sandor thrillers, Targets Of Deception, Targets Of Opportunity, Targets Of Revenge and Rogue Mission, as well as the Anthony Walker murder mystery Crimes And Passion and the Pencraft First Place Award-winning novel, Fool’s Errand.

 

For more information, please visit www.jeffreystephens.com, or follow the author on Facebook (Author Jeffrey Stephens), Instagram (jss50) and Twitter (@j_stephensbooks).

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Asian Film Awards nominee ‘Rapture’ finds distribution in France with Capricci

Dominic Sangma’s “Rapture” (“Rimdogittanga”), which was a nominee at the recently concluded Asian Film Awards, has been snapped up for French distribution by Capricci, as revealed at Hong Kong rights market FilMart.

 

The film revolves around a 10-year-old boy who suffers from night blindness and for whom every night is terrifying when his village is gripped by the fear of child kidnappers. The film debuted at Locarno in 2023 and won prizes at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and the Mumbai Film Festival. “Rapture” also won the special jury award at the Hainan Island International Film Festival in China and will screen at the upcoming Beijing International Film Festival.

 

The film is a rare India-China co-production. One of the lead producers is China’s Xu Jianshang, who met Sangma at a students’ film festival in 2014 and produced his “Ma’ama,” which won an award at the Shanghai Film Festival. “Rapture” was developed when Xu was attending the Busan Asian Film School in 2019. Xu introduced the project to Sun Li of China’s Joicy Studio, who boarded the project. The film’s India producer, Anu Rangachar, brought in several other producers including Harsh Agarwal of Uncombed Buddha, Aditya Grover and Stephen Zacharias. Eva Gunme R. Marak, a patron for many artists in the region, also boarded the project.

 

“Rapture” was invited to India’s Film Bazaar, won a grant for script development from the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund, participated in Boost NL and was selected for La Fabrique Cinema at Cannes. Xu took part in Talents Tokyo and Sangma at Berlinale Talents. Funding also came in from Vision Sud Est and the Doha Film Institute.

 

Capricci is a French independent arthouse production, distribution and sales company. The shingle has repped fiolms from directors such as Abel Ferrara, Albert Serra, Hong Sangsoo, Philippe Garrel, Bi Gan, Jean-Charles Hue and Wang Bing.

​

The Garo-language “Rapture” originated from a childhood memory of Sangma, who hails from Meghalaya in northeastern India, and the film is set there.

 

“Capricci is delighted to be working on the French release of ‘Rapture.’ With this film, we discovered a region of India with which we were unfamiliar, but also a filmmaker of extremely promising talent,” a Capricci spokesperson told Variety. “We were struck by the film’s formal beauty, as well as by Dominic Sangma’s extremely lucid view of his childhood memories and his community. We’re proud to bring his art to French cinephiles.”

 

Sangma told Variety: “Capricci are very special distributors for arthouse films, they distributed some of my favorite films of recent time, they’re perfect for ‘Rapture.’ It gives me immense pleasure that ‘Rapture’ will be theatrically released in France. ‘Rapture’ is a small film from Meghalaya and to be released theatrically in France means a proud moment for my entire Garo community and it is making history for my state, no other film from Meghalaya has released before in France. I am super excited and such moments are to cherish.”

 

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 — Variety (EXCLUSIVE)

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Transcend Capital Advisors announces NIL partnership with top-ranked junior golfer Miles Russell

15-Year-Old Phenom was Youngest-Ever Winner of AJGA Player of the Year Award in 2023

 

MADISON, N.J. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Transcend Capital Advisors has signed a multi-year Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) partnership with 15-year-old amateur golfer Miles Russell, currently the #1-ranked golfer in the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Boys rankings.

 

Russell, who resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, was the youngest-ever winner of the AJGA’s Rolex Junior Player of the Year Award in 2023, surpassing the record previously held by Tiger Woods for 32 years.

 

Following an exemplary run on the Florida Junior Tour circuit, amassing 14 wins and 34 top-five finishes in 42 starts, Russell burst onto the national scene last year, quickly winning two AJGA Junior All-Star events, the TaylorMade TP5 Junior All-Star and Moon Golf Junior All-Star, by a combined 15 strokes. He was a member of Team USA at the 2023 Junior Ryder Cup in Rome, Italy, teaming up with fellow Team Transcend member Yana Wilson in foursome and fourball matches.

 

Russell built off this early success and emerged as one of the game’s most exciting young talents. At the beginning of August, he claimed victory at the 2023 Junior PGA Championship, shooting 18-under par over four rounds, seven shots clear of his nearest competitor. A few weeks later, he followed up with a win at the Junior PLAYERS Championship to become the youngest-ever champion in event history.

 

“Transcend is committed to supporting the stars of tomorrow and helping them capitalize on their unique talents and ultimately achieving their dreams of playing professional golf. Miles is an exceptional young man and his humility, character, and commitment to excellence make him a perfect fit for Team Transcend. We are thrilled to have him on our team and are excited to watch all that he will accomplish in the future,” said Brian Gorczynski, Managing Partner of Transcend.

 

Russell closed out his sensational year with a second-place finish at the South Beach International Amateur, including a course record-tying 10-under par round of 60 in his second round, finishing two shots behind fellow Team Transcend member, Ben James. The only amateur to advance to the final Monday qualifier for last week’s Puerto Rico Open, Russell fired a 5-under par 67 and advanced to a playoff for the last qualifying spot but fell just short in his effort to become one of the youngest players to qualify for a PGA TOUR event.

 

“I am so excited to be a part of Team Transcend,” said Russell. “Joining this team of exceptional amateur players is humbling and makes me want to work hard and get better every day. Thanks to Transcend’s support, I am able to pursue my golf dreams to the fullest and I couldn’t be more grateful for their belief in me.”

 

Transcend also has NIL partnerships with 20-year-old amateur golfer James, a sophomore at the University of Virginia who is currently ranked #5 in the Men’s World Amateur Golf rankings, 17-year-old Yana Wilson, currently the #1-ranked junior girl in the Rolex AJGA Rankings; and 16-year-old Blades Brown, #5 in the Rolex AJGA Boys Ranking and the 2023 Tennessee Men’s and Junior Player of the Year. The firm previously had a multi-year NIL partnership with accomplished amateur Caleb Surratt who turned professional earlier this year.

 

About Transcend Capital Advisors

Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Madison, New Jersey, Transcend is an independent registered investment advisor (RIA) offering wealth management services, public and private investments, strategic advisory services, and access to banking, lending, and family office solutions. Transcend is an employee-owned firm and manages approximately $3.0 billion of assets, serving families, business owners, executives, retirees, and entrepreneurs across the United States. Leveraging the unique network of its experienced management team, Transcend provides clients with access to investment opportunities not typically available to individual investors. Transcend was recently ranked #42 in the United States in Forbes’ second annual “America’s Top RIA Firms” list and was also recently named in the 2023 SmartAsset “100 Fastest Growing RIAs” list. For more information on Transcend, please visit transcendcapital.com.

 

The Forbes “America’s Top RIA Firms” list was compiled by SHOOK Research, which uses quantitative and qualitative data, including interviews, to rank firms. Firms elect to participate but do not pay to be included in the ranking. To learn more about the methodology, click here.

 

SmartAsset compiled its ranking of U.S.-based investment advisors registered with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) by examining filing data and ranking firms based on one-year and three-year growth of client accounts and assets under management. No compensation was paid for inclusion in this ranking. To learn more about the methodology, click here.

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Karen Moraghan

Hunter Public Relations

kmoraghan@hunter-pr.com
908/963-6013

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Donatella Versace and Dwyane Wade host L.A. LGBT Center event, designer gets stuck in elevator: ‘One of her security ripped open the doors’

Talk about a fashion emergency. Donatella Versace got stuck in an elevator at the Los Angeles LGBT Center on Friday night on her way to co-host an event for the organization with Dwyane Wade.

 

Staffers at the center immediately called the fire department, but sources say the fashion designer’s security took care of things.

 

“One of her security ripped open the doors,” an onlooker said.

 

Fortunately, the mishap didn’t stop the event from continuing.

 

Not only was it announced that Versace donated $50,000 to the center, but she was also named its first global ambassador.

 

“I feel so honored to be here tonight,” Versace said, after being introduced by Wade, adding, “It’s so emotional for me — but also because I was stuck in the elevator. I thought I was never going to make it to this roof, but I did. But it’s an honor to be here. But please, donate and vote.”

 

Wade also announced that his family – wife Gabrielle Union and daughter Zaya Wade joined him at the party – was donating $50,000. A few minutes later, Tinder CEO Faye Iosotaluno revealed that the dating app also was giving $50,000 to the center.

 

 

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— Variety

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‘3 Body Problem’ on Netflix cements ‘Game of Thrones’ creators as masters of adapting the unadaptable: TV Review

Before a rushed ending soured the “Game of Thrones” fanbase on show runners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the duo had rightfully earned acclaim for wrangling a seemingly unadaptable series of books into a damn good adaptation.

 

Author and screenwriter George R.R. Martin had written “A Song of Ice and Fire” as a partial response to the strictures of TV, crafting a story with the sprawling ensemble, major battles, sex, violence and abrupt demises he couldn’t work into scripts for the likes of NBC and CBS.

 

The book series kicked off in 1996, just a few years before the rise of premium cable culture drivers would make television more friendly to artistic ambition and less subject to the FCC. Aided by a stellar cast and strong support from HBO, Benioff and Weiss nonetheless did exceptional work translating Martin’s vision into a nuanced drama with a deep bench of antiheroes and competing points of view. Before “Game of Thrones” was a juggernaut and, eventually, a disappointment, it was a smart, considered, and palpably affectionate take on its source material.

 

For their next big swing, the producers have teamed up with “True Blood” alumnus Alexander Woo to take on an even steeper challenge. The Chinese science fiction trilogy “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” spans hundreds of years, mostly unconnected characters and several multi-page exegeses on the ABCs of particle physics. To turn writer Cixin Liu’s creation into a Netflix series, the team would have to do more than marshal resources or re-earn the trust of those burnt by how “Game of Thrones” limped across the finish line. This adaptation demands re-conceiving large chunks of plot from the ground-up while retaining Liu’s themes, not to mention visualizing concepts with less precedent onscreen than the fantasy tropes Martin deployed and subverted. The result shows some of the strain of this Herculean task, but also proves the early seasons of “Thrones” were neither a fluke nor a testament to Martin alone. Benioff and Weiss remain master adaptors, and together with Woo, they’ve opened an accessible entry point into a deeply esoteric story while rendering the action in a suitably epic scope.

 

“The Three Body Problem” and “3 Body Problem” — the title of Liu’s first volume altered enough to differentiate book from show, though not enough to avoid confusion — start in the same time and place. As the Cultural Revolution tears through China, young scientist Ye Wenjie (Zine Tseng) watches a mob beat her father to death in an anti-intellectual frenzy. The scene sets up one of the saga’s most powerful ideas: that a brilliant mind could grow so disillusioned with humankind they might turn their allegiance elsewhere, convinced our species is beyond hope of guiding its own destiny.

 

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— Variety

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‘Fixer Upper’ turns 10: Chip and Joanna Gaines celebrate with new season of ‘The Lakehouse’ on HGTV, Magnolia Network

“Fixer Upper” stars Chip and Joanna Gaines will mark the 10-year anniversary of the HGTV show that rocketed them to home-reno fame with the debut of a new season, “Fixer Upper: The Lakehouse,” in June.

 

Per its official description, this new edition of “Fixer Upper” follows Chip and Joanna as they take on a unique mid-century modern lake house flip near Lake Waco, a new neighborhood for the home renovation duo based in Waco, Texas. From demo to design, viewers will follow the full transformation of the property throughout the season as Chip and Joanna go above and beyond with surprising interior designs and unique outdoor installations never before seen on “Fixer Upper.”

 

Produced by the Gaineses’ production company Blind Nil, “Fixer Upper: The Lakehouse” will air its six episodes on both Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Network (part owned by Warner Bros. Discovery) and HGTV, the original home of “Fixer Upper” franchise, across three weeks of double premieres beginning June 2. The show will be available to stream same day on Max and Discovery+.

 

The original “Fixer Upper” debuted on HGTV in 2014 and ran for five seasons, becoming the top unscripted show on cable, before airing its final episode in 2018. During its initial run, “Fixer Upper” was the top unscripted show on cable. The show was rebooted as “Fixer Upper: Welcome Home” for the launch of the Gaineses’ Magnolia Network in 2021 and later two new seasons: “Fixer Upper: The Castle” in 2022 and “Fixer Upper: The Hotel” in 2023.

 

“When ‘Fixer Upper’ premiered 10 years ago, we couldn’t have imagined the journey we had ahead of us,” the Gaineses said. “Though a lot has changed and evolved in the decade between then and now, our love for home is still at the heart of everything we do. We feel honored that we get to continue pouring into the stories of these homes across Waco, and we’re excited to share our latest project with you this summer with ‘Fixer Upper: The Lakehouse.’”

 

Magnolia Network president Allison Page added: “We’re so excited to see how Chip and Jo will tackle this lakehouse in Waco and flex their renovation and design muscles in ways our viewers have never seen before. Since the premiere of ‘Fixer Upper’ in 2014, they have amassed a huge global fanbase and grown a beloved lifestyle brand from the ground up, and we’re thrilled to celebrate this milestone alongside them this year.”

 

 

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— Variety

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Saint Laurent Productions boards ‘Emilia Perez’ starring Zoe Saldana

After making its debut at last year’s Cannes Film Festival with Jean-Luc Godard’s last work and Pedro Almodóvar’s “Strange Way of Life,” Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent Productions has boarded Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez” as a co-producer.

 

The musical thriller joins Saint Laurent Productions’ roster of prestige projects, including Oscar-winning director Paolo Sorrentino’s “Parthenope,” David Cronenberg’s “The Shrouds.”

 

“Emilia Perez” is a musical thriller boasting an international cast led by Karla Sofia Gascón, Zoe Saldana (“Avatar”), Selena Gomez (“Only Murders in the Building”), Edgar Ramirez (“Carlos”) and Adriana Paz. The movie is co-produced with French production company Why Not Productions and Page 114, together with Pathé and France 2 Cinema. Pathé has acquired French distribution rights and will release the movie in French theaters. The movie has been described by Audiard as an “opera libretto in four acts.”

 

The Palme d’Or winning director assembled a stellar creative team, including composer Clement Ducol, singer, songwriter/composer Camille, and choreographer Damien Jalet. Vaccarello created the costumes for the movies. “Emilia Perez” will be released before the end of 2024.

 

Saint Laurent Productions is the first film production company launched by a fashion house. When unveiling the company last year, Vaccarello said it will give him “the opportunity to expand the vision I have for Saint Laurent through a medium that has more permanence than clothes.”

 

“You can still see a film in 10 or 30 years if it’s good. In some ways, making a film can be more impactful than a seasonal collection. For me it’s a natural extension to another field of creativity that perhaps is more general and popular,” said the Belgian native, who became the artistic director of Saint Laurent in 2016.

 

 

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— Variety

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‘Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World’ review: Come for pierogis and goulash, stay for freedom

A documentary about the fabled Ukrainian restaurant becomes a portrait of wartime valor. I wish the film had drawn a deeper connection between the taste of freedom and the taste of Veselka.

 

— It’s not every day I get to review a documentary about a subject I feel personally close to, so let me put my bias right out there.

 

“Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World” is a movie about one of my favorite New York restaurants — and, in fact, countless New Yorkers feel the same way. When you walk into Veselka, the legendary Ukrainian restaurant/diner on the corner of 2nd Ave. and E. 9th St., a vibe of warmth envelops you.

 

I’ve spent endless hours hanging out there, nursing a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, writing on my laptop, chowing down on the magically tasty dishes that the purveyors call Ukrainian soul food: the pierogis that melt in your mouth, the potato pancakes that are crisp salty heaven, the succulent meatballs and rolled cabbage, the high-octane borscht, not to mention all the sublime American fare, including a burger I’d put up against any burger in New York.​

 

As Veselka devotees will tell you, the welcoming aura of the place ­— the lack of pretense, the gorgeous murals and knickknacks, the extraordinary friendliness of the staff, many of whom are Ukrainian — feeds right into the savoriness of the cuisine. Veselka is a place of love where the food is made from love; you can’t separate the two.

 

For years, the restaurant stayed open 24 hours a day, mostly to cater to the world of East Village night crawlers (it had to cut back on hours starting in the pandemic). One of the most memorable images I have of Veselka is when I sat down at around midnight to have a late dinner and write a piece at one of the back tables. I got immersed in what I was doing and didn’t leave, or even look up, until around 4 a.m. When I walked out, every table in the place was full; it felt not like a scraggly after-hours crowd but like a 7 p.m. Friday-night dinner crowd. At Veselka (the name is Ukrainian for “rainbow),” the deliciousness, the casual joy, and the love all go around the clock.

 

“Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World” pays enthusiastic tribute to Veselka’s place in the city, and to its 70-year history as a family restaurant. On some level, it’s a tale of ego, money, and real estate, and the details of how the restaurant runs are fascinating. Yet this was a documentary shot, for the most part, after the start of the war in Ukraine, and the way Veselka has confronted the war — raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in charity by donating all its borscht sales, acting as a sponsor for Ukrainian citizens to come to the United States — is more than just part of the story the movie is telling. It becomes the central story.

 

Some of this is noble and stirring. The neighborhood in which Veselka is located was once known as Little Ukraine, and though there are fewer Ukrainians living there than there were decades ago, the area retains its identity. Veselka, during the two years the war has gone on, has become a kind of beacon for the pride and fighting spirit of Ukraine.

 

Yet as moving as parts of the documentary are, I’ll be honest and say that I couldn’t escape the feeling that Michael Fiore, who wrote, produced, directed, and edited it, should have cut back on some of this stuff and done a more complete job of telling the inside story of the restaurant itself. Veselka is a place that would anchor a great segment of “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.”

 

There’s a 12-minute video on YouTube that goes into the restaurant’s kitchen and shows you, with a Guy Fieri-like eagerness, how the sausage gets made. I found it a little odd that I learned five times as much about the food at Veselka from that video than I did from a 106-minute documentary about the place. I’m not saying that a pierogi recipe is more important, in the grand human scheme of things, than Ukraine’s — and in many ways, by extension, the Western world’s — fight for freedom in this terrible and heroic war. But “Veselka” is a documentary about a restaurant. The movie should have given us a more detailed sense of why, exactly, people come there.

 

 

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— Variety

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India’s Yash Raj Films launches Casting app for acting aspirants worldwide

Bollywood aspirants the world over wanting to feature alongside top Indian stars can now cut out the middleman. Leading Indian studio Yash Raj Films (YRF), the outfit behind Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone starrer “Pathaan,” and “Tiger 3,” led by Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, has launched its YRF Casting app.

 

— YRF Casting/Everett Collection

Acting aspirants from across the world can get information about casting calls and submit their auditions via the app.

 

The YRF Casting app, which is live now, will enable actors to register their profile details within the app. Registered users will get information about all the upcoming auditions related to theatrical films and streaming projects that the studio will greenlight.

 

The app is designed as an online destination for actors to submit their auditions for these projects directly to YRF. The studio will not charge a fee for applications.

 

The company believes that the app will tackle the issues caused by fake YRF casting accounts that mislead people about auditions and are a threat to its market reputation.

 

YRF casting director Shanoo Sharma, who is in charge of selecting and training people to be launched as leads in YRF projects, as well as finalizing actors for other primary or secondary roles, will personally monitor all auditions coming via the app. Sharma has cast some of YRF’s biggest hits such as “Ek Tha Tiger,” “Gunday,” “Sultan,” “Tiger 3,” “Pathaan,” “War,” “Hichki,” “Dum Laga Ke Haisha,” “Mardaani,” “Jab Tak Hai Jaan” and “Ishaqzaade.”

 

Sharma said: “The YRF Casting app is a progressive step towards making aspiring actors reach out directly to YRF for projects that the company is making. We are certain that there are countless brilliant actors throughout the world waiting to be discovered. This could be their chance of a lifetime. For the first time, an aspiring actor can reach out to a production house directly. This is a safe space. They don’t have to rely on anyone else for their shot at achieving their dreams.”

 

“This step shatters all barriers and as a casting director for YRF, I’m most excited to get in touch with many incredible talents living not only in India, but also worldwide. I hope people who dream to be an actor follow this path and make the most of this incredible opportunity that empowers them to follow their heart,” Sharma added.

 

 

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— Variety (EXCLUSIVE)