News

Trailer

Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins can be heard narrating “The Smeds and the Smoos,” the upcoming BBC adaptation of the book of the same name by beloved children’s writer Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler, in a new trailer released today.

A loose re-telling of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” the charming adaptation, from Magic Light Pictures, “The Smeds and the Smoos” also features the voices of “Bridgerton’s” Adjoa Andoh and comedian Bill Bailey (“Black Books”) as well as Meera Syal (“Roar”), Rob Brydon (“Gavin and Stacey”), Ashna Rabheru (“Sex Education”) and Daniel Ezra (“All American”).

It will air in the U.K. on Christmas Day.

Check out the trailer below:

Commission

A biopic of one of the U.K.’s most famous soccer siblings, Justin and John Fashanu, has been set at U.K. broadcaster ITV. Justin, who became Britain’s first Black soccer star to command £1 million,...

Shahab Hosseini, a Cannes best actor winner in 2016 for his layered, complex performance in Asghar Farhadi’s Oscar-winning “The Salesman,” is attached to star in “The Far Mountains,” from Mitra Tabrizian.

A nuanced coming-of-age tale with an allegorical undertow, “The Far Mountains” marks Tabrizian’s follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut feature “Gholam,” also starring Hosseini and selected by The Guardian/Observer’s Mark Kermode as Film of the Week on its release. “Gholam” was theatrically released in the U.K. and major VOD platforms internationally.

“Gholam” producer Zadoc Nava at London-based Stray Dog Films will be introducing “The Far Mountains” at Locarno’s Match Me! where it looks like one of its highlights. at the networking initiative.

Written by Tabrizian and Cyrus Massoudi, the co-scribes of “Gholam,” “The Far Mountains” turns on Ali, a 12-year-old boy living in a small town in Iran whose mother disappeared when he was very young.

Blue Note Records has released a new track from late Afrobeat legend Tony Allen, “Stumbling Down,” featuring Zambian-Australian rapper Sampa the Great. The track will appear on the upcoming posthumous Allen record, There Is No End, out April 30th.

“Stumbling Down” boasts a dense, bass-heavy groove that’s cut through with a frenetic mix of percussion and a dextrous vocal performance from Sampa the Great. “Uncle Tony was involved in changing the way African Music was heard and felt, and he has constantly inspired me to learn and to expand my music,...

Blue Note Records has announced a new posthumous album from late Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen, There Is No End. The album is set to arrive April 30th, which also marks the one-year anniversary of Allen’s death.

The record announcement comes with the first single, “Cosmosis,” which was co-produced by Allen, Damon Albarn, and Remi Kabaka. The song came out of Allen’s sessions with Albarn and Skepta (who also features on the track) as they finished tracking their collaboration, “How Far?” which appeared on Gorillaz’s 2020 project, Song Machine,...

When Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood stepped into New York’s tiny Mercury Lounge in November 1994 to play an acoustic duo show, their band was known for a single song that they’d already grown weary of playing: “Creep.” They’d been on tour for two solid years in support of their debut LP, Pablo Honey, and by this point they had a handful of new tunes they planned to include on their next record.

“It was the first time that Thom and Jonny had played our songs...

The King's Speech star Colin Firth and his eco-activist wife Livia have honoured renowned primatologist Dame Jane Goodall with a lifetime achievement award.

The chimpanzee expert was hailed for her efforts to promote animal and environmental protection at the Observer Ethical Awards in London on Wednesday.

The ceremony's host Lucy Siegle says, "Jane Goodall has been recognised by our panel for her outstanding contribution to environmental and social justice. To this day she remains a tireless promoter of the planet, continuing to join the dots between essential ecological rights and vulnerable ecosystems. I am so grateful that we are able to formalise our devotion to this woman with an award."

The Firths were joined on the judging panel by British supermodel/actress Lily Cole and poet Ben Okri to pick the winners of the annual prizegiving, which celebrates campaigners fighting for sustainability.

Game of Thrones Season 3 and why book fans are excited

Much like last year, HBO announced that Game of Thrones would be renewed for another season roughly around the launch of the current season, in this case, days after the second episode of the season, “The Night Lands” (see Elisabeth’s take on the episode). For fans of Game of Thrones whose experiences in Westeros are exclusive to the HBO show, words like A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords probably don’t mean a whole hell of a lot. For fans of the book series, “A Song of Ice and Fire”, however, this is incredible even beyond the general excitement of learning you’d have more of what may or may not be a quality show.

Season 2 is essentially A Clash of Kings, the second book in the series, a fine enough novel that probably got robbed...