News

Gold Derby’s top news stories for Dec. 31, 2024. Happy New Year!

Update:

Squid Game Season 2 breaks records for Netflix

According to Netflix, Season 2 of the Korean horror series Squid Game set a new viewership record with 68 million views in its first four days, between Dec. 26 and Dec. 30. The previous record was Tim Burton‘s Wednesday, which amassed 50.1 million views during its first four days in November 2022. The third and final season of Squid Game, from acclaimed filmmaker Hwang Dong-hyuk, will be released in 2025.

Squid Game 2 was the most-watched TV show this week in 92 out of the 93 countries that Netflix lists in its rankings. The United States is the only country that had something else at No. 1 and No. 2: a pair Christmas Day football games. On Netflix’s list of most-watched non-English shows, Season 1 of Squid Game remains in the first position, while Season 2 is expected to jump past Money...

Scottish actor and director Kevin McKidd has been slated to star in an upcoming feature adaptation of The Primrose Railway Children, based upon the childrens book penned by beloved author Jacqueline Wilson. According to Deadline, McKidd will be playing Rob Robinson. Wilsons book is a modern re-imagining of E Nesbit's classic The Railway Children. The text is being adapted by Cbbc, an offshoot of the BBC that focuses on childrens entertainment. Alongside McKidd, the cast of The Primrose Railway Children also includes Nina Toussaint-White, known for the role of DS Louise Rayburn in Richard Maddens Bodyguard, who is playing Robinsons wife Sarah. Their three children will be played by Ava McCarthy, Ida Brooke, and Tylan Bailey.

The actor Kevin McKidd, known for the TV shows “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Six Four,” will star in a new movie for Cbbc called “The Primrose Railway Children.” Cbbc is the BBC channel for kids. The 90-minute film was written by Tom Bidwell, who’s done other movies like “The Velveteen Rabbit” and “The Irregulars.” It’s based on a book by Jacqueline Wilson that puts a modern spin on the classic story “The Railway Children” by E.N. Nesbit.

They’ll be filming in places around Scotland like Glasgow, the Scottish Highlands, and real heritage railways. The movie follows Phoebe, her big sister Becks, big brother Perry, and their mom. They have to leave their home in Glasgow and move far away to the Scottish countryside. The BBC said it’s about growing up somewhere new when you don’t want to change homes, and trying to fit into a community that seems strange.

Kevin McKidd (Grey’s Anatomy, Six Four) will be starring in the 90-minute Cbbc special The Primrose Railway Children on BBC kids channel Cbbc Adapted by Tom Bidwell (The Velveteen Rabbit, The Irregulars) the feature-length family drama is based on Jacqueline Wilson’s novel of the same name, which is a modern reimagining of E. Nesbit’s classic The Railway Children.

The project will be filmed in and around Glasgow, the Scottish Highlands and around heritage railways, BBC Studios Kids and Family Productions said Thursday.

The story follows Phoebe, her older sister Becks, older brother Perry and their mother who are living a comfortable life in Glasgow when suddenly they are uprooted and moved to the remote highlands of Scotland. “A story about growing up, being displaced, and finding your way in a community that seems alien, The Primrose Railway Children is set to become essential family viewing,” BBC Studios said.

BBC Adapting Jacqueline Wilson’s Ode To ‘The Railway Children’

The BBC is adapting Jacqueline Wilson’s Primrose Railway Children for TV, the author’s ode to E. Nesbit’s timeless classic. The Cbbc feature length follows Phoebe, her older sister Becks, younger brother Perry and their mum who are living a comfortable life in Glasgow when suddenly they are uprooted from their lives and moved to the remote highlands of Scotland. The book is itself based on The Railway Children, which was also remade as a movie recently starring Jenny Agutter, Tom Courtenay and Sheridan Smith. Cbbc has been going big on its adaptations lately and has also made versions of Oliver Twist and The Famous Five. The kids network has also ordered a sitcom starring Peep Show alums Robert Webb and Isy Suttie titled High Hoop about a reckless high school basketball player, along with more of channel favorite Malory Towers.

Sony is rolling out Bad Boys: Ride Or Die at 643 locations to make it the widest release in the UK and Ireland this weekend.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reprise their roles as two renegade cops standing in the way of a Miami drugs cartel, with Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah directing.

It is the fourth installment in the Bad Boys franchise following the most recent, Bad Boys For Life, opening to £3.8m in January 2020, surpassing the £866,215 opening of 1995’s Bad Boys and the £3.2m of 2003’s Bad Boys II.

The Watched, known outside of UK-Ireland as The Watchers,...

The BBC is celebrating the art of the literary adaptation by screening a variety of classics on BBC Four. More details here.

The BBC is quite rightly celebrated for its rich history of book to screen adaptations, such as the iconic 1995 version of Jane Austen’a Pride And Prejudice to Cbbc’s hugely successful adaptation of Dame Jacqueline Wilson’s Tracy Beaker series.

It has now put together a season of 14 adaptations from the BBC archive, some of which have rarely been seen since their original broadcast.

The dramas are:

The Great Gatsby

Toby Stephens, Mira Sorvino and Paul Rudd lead the cast in this 2000 BBC adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel on the American dream in the jazz age.

Small Island

Naomie Harris, Ruth Wilson, David Oyelowo, Benedict Cumberbatch and Ashley Walters star in this 2009 TV version of Andrea Levy’s novel focusing on the lives and...

Sometimes, telly’s only job is to make us feel better about ourselves. We tune into things to tune out of others, and root for someone that has it worse off. Watching Euphoria’s Rue space out or Cassie dress up as an extra from Oklahoma! is now TV’s messy binge-watch of choice. For early 2000s Brits, the obsession started with Cbbc’s The Story of Tracy Beaker.

At its core, the premise was simple. Swap out a high school filled with curious and complicated characters for a foster care home called the Dumping Ground, sit back, and let the rest take care of itself. Ten-year-old Tracy (Dani Harmer) is sent back into temporary care after a failed adoption placement and is often told she has behavioural problems. Alongside a fresh crop of clueless social workers, Tracy lives with a motley crew of mischievous pranksters, including her arch nemesis Justine Littlewood.

Draped in his finest Phantom of the Opera eleganza, RuPaul crowned the first-ever virtual Drag Race winner on Friday.

After welcoming all 12 non-disqualified queens to the “stage,” the 90-minute event began with a montage of messages from the show’s celebrity pals, all grateful to Drag Race for giving them an escape during these trying times. “Being in quarantine was nuts, and it really helped to watch a lot of nuts,” Adam Lambert said. Other familiar faces included Whoopi Goldberg to Rachel Bloom, the latter of whom had this to say: “Ru, thank you for this excuse to get dolled...

"There's always consequences." Lionsgate has released the official Us trailer for a UK comedy titled Four Kids and It, a fun-for-the-whole-family creature feature adapted from the book by Jacqueline Wilson. This already opened in the UK in April, and debuts in the Us in June. A group of kids on holiday in Cornwall meet a magical creature on the beach with the power to grant wishes. Can they learn to control the magic before something dreadful happens? Starring Paula Patton, Matthew Goode, Ashley Aufderheide, Billy Jenkins, Ellie-Mae Siame, Caroline Sheen, with Russell Brand and (yes believe it) Michael Caine as "It". Crazy. This looks like a Disney Channel remake of E.T. in the UK, which might still be fun to watch. Everything about this looks so kooky and delightfully strange. Plus, who doesn't want magic powers? Here's the official Us trailer (+ poster) for Andy De Emmony's Four Kids and It,...

Fugitive, the content development, financing and executive producing company run by Anthony Kimble and Merrily Ross, has partnered with Alex Holder’s Rogo Productions, with the former taking international distribution rights to feature doc Keep Quiet, about a far-right Hungarian radical who discovers he is Jewish, series Conflict Of Interest, about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Empty Planet, a fast-turnaround Covid-19 series being shot entirely using drones during the pandemic. Fugitive will also become a development and distribution partner on Abby, a multi-part drama series about Abby Stein, a young transgender person from New York who used to be an ultra-Orthodox Rabbi.

HBO Go has launched in Japan, teaming with cable operator Taiwan Broadband Communications (Tbc). Existing subs to Tbc will have instant access to the service, with additional fees. The platform will feature U.S. shows including Westworld, as well as WarnerMedia’s Taiwanese original productions such as The Teenage Psychic and its sequel,...

As the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on film release schedules around the globe, displacing many titles from their natural theatrical environment, a few have instead found their spiritual home on the small screen. “Four Kids and It,” a lightweight British kids’ fantasy, falls firmly in the latter column. Always intended as a multiplatform release in the U.K. through the Sky Cinema network, it has instead taken the VOD-only route on the eve of what would have been the Easter school vacation — making it a welcome diversion for families going stir-crazy under national lockdown. But it also flatters the limitations of Andy De Emmony’s blandly chipper film, which feels, both tonally and aesthetically, more suited to afternoon children’s TV schedules than any venue larger than a living room.

That’s a somewhat disappointing outcome for a family film with a sparky literary pedigree. “Four Kids and It” is...

The children’s author talks about her latest, perhaps bravest, novel in which she tackles gay love for the first time – and shines a light on her own private life

“I can’t think of a book where there’s a woman born into a working-class background, who in her 70s is living a very comfortable, upper-middle-class sort of life; a woman who married at 19, had a baby at 21, was a policeman’s wife for years, but whose marriage broke up in late middle age and who became very well known for a time. She then met a woman and became very happy with her. There isn’t one!”

Former children’s laureate Jacqueline Wilson is rattling through the outline of her own autobiography – which she has no plans to write, although she did publish a “simplified” memoir for children, Jacky Daydream, in 2007. While her story – her rise from “perfectly...

After their parents fall in love, two pairs of siblings learn to get along – with the help of a magical beach creature

There’s some gentle and good-natured fun in this family fantasy adventure, based on Jacqueline Wilson’s 2012 novel, which was itself an updating of E Nesbit’s classic Five Children and It, bringing that Edwardian tale into a new reality of divorce, step-families and step-siblings.

Matthew Goode and Paula Patton play David and Alice, two people who have split from their partners and are now dating. They have brought their respective pairs of kids on holiday to the seaside, with the tricky task of breaking it to them that they are now together and should accept this new reality.

If we’re being completely honest, on-set interviews can often be quite generic affairs. While immensely enjoying the intimacy of speaking to filmmakers and actors in bespoke, unique environments, catching anyone on their lunch break can feel a little hurried and intrusive. But with Russell Brand it felt somewhat different, as when we travelled to Dublin to visit the set of family adventure flick Four Kids and It, we had a profound conversation about fatherhood, politics and chocolate.

Four Kids and It is directed by Andy De Emmony (Father Ted) and is based on Jacqueline Wilson’s novel which in turn is based on the famous E. Nesbit tale. Brand plays the primary antagonist, an eccentric pantomime-villain of sorts called Tristan, and it’s a role tailor-made for the comic performer, who explains that this is a role, and project, he is excited to be sharing with his own offspring.

Ludo Studio’s Bluey has won the International Emmy Kids Award for best preschool program, Ludo’s third Emmy.

“We’re so proud of (creator) Joe Brumm and the whole gang of beautiful artists at Ludo,” said Ludo Studio’s Daley Pearson.

“They’ve created a beautiful show celebrating one of the most important things: imagination and game play. Bluey’s created a special connection to people around the world and it’s a real privilege to be creating the show under one roof in Brisbane with our friends.

“It’s also been a secret dream of ours to create a bit of an industry in Brisbane that competes with the world. We’ve spent the last few years laying the first bricks down with Screen Australia, Screen Queensland, the ABC and BBC Studios and we’re excited to see what’s next together.”

The Queensland-based studio previously won International...

Ahead of its 70th edition, the Berlin Film Festival has revealed a program of talks consisting of high-profile international directors who have been invited by the fest’s new artistic director Carlo Chatrian to take part in an in conversation event with a fellow director guest of their choosing. The ‘On Transmission’ series will see: Ang Lee talk to Hirokazu Kore-eda; Claire Denis talk to Olivier Assayas; Ildikó Enyedi talk to Zsófia Szilágyi; Jia Zhang-ke talk to Huo Meng; Margarethe von Trotta talk to Ina Weisse; Paolo Taviani talk to Carlo Sironi; and Roy Andersson talk to Niki Lindroth von Bahr. The festival has also unveiled its poster for the 2020 fest, created by Berlin design agency State.

UK broadcaster Sky has continued its push into movie ‘originals’ by taking rights to Four Kids And It, the feature based on Jacqueline Wilson’s hugely popular children’s book. The film, which...

Sky has boarded “Four Kids and It,” Andy De Emmony’s family adventure film starring Sir Michael Caine, Matthew Goode, Paula Patton and Russell Brand. The film, which is based on the 1902 bestselling book by Jacqueline Wilson, will be available on pay-channel Sky Cinema and in theaters day-and-date at Easter.

Set on the Cornish coast, “Four Kids and It” follows four children who embark on a journey to discover if a magical creature can really make all their wishes come true. It starts out with a family holiday to a Cornish cottage which takes an unexpected turn when the kids come across a magical and very grumpy creature (Caine) on a beach.

“’Four Kids and It’ is another example of our huge ambition for Sky original films. We are passionate about great storytelling and I know, with this fantastic cast, that our customers are definitely in for a treat this Easter,...

RuPaul is hoping to take “Drag Race” to every corner of the world.

With multiple international versions of the reality competition series on the air, RuPaul was asked at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Saturday how many more versions he would like to see.

“How many countries are there?” he said. “There are drag queens all over the place.” He went on to suggest that “Drag Race: Rwanda” would not be out of the question, while a U.K version is launching in October.

“Drag is dangerous,” he continues. “Drag is not politically correct. Drag will never be mainstream…We are all God in drag. That is a radical thought for most people.”

RuPaul took home the award for best host of a reality or competition series, his fourth straight win in the category. His fellow nominees this year were Ellen DeGeneres for “Ellen’s Game of Games,” Amy Poehler...

RuPaul’s Drag Race’s RuPaul Charles on Saturday picked up his fourth consecutive Emmy for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program to tie Survivor‘s Jeff Probst for most wins in the category. In accepting the award, RuPaul dedicated his win to Drag Race co-executive producer Jacqueline Wilson “who we just lost recently.”

“Oh my goodness, wow, that was very sweet of you… really, really lovely,” RuPaul said onstage at the Creative Arts Emmys in Los Angeles. The award-winning host went on to laud the show for helping foster acceptance “for all the kids who dance to the beat of a different drummer.”

The TV talent, who serves as a judge on Drag Race as well as a producer, broke the news of Wilson’s passing this past Wednesday on Twitter.

“Our beloved colleague Jacqueline Wilson has passed away,” he wrote. “I could never express in words...

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” co-executive producer Jacqueline Wilson has died, inspiring an outpouring from the show’s cast and crew on social media. Her cause of death was not immediately known.

Series host and executive producer RuPaul Charles broke the news on Twitter Tuesday writing, “I could never express in words her invaluable contribution to the success of ‘Drag Race,’ and to all the lives of those who were fortunate enough to have worked alongside her. Love always, my friend.”

Wilson joined the then-Logo series as a supervising producer in Season 2, and was promoted to co-executive producer. She was among the producers nominated for Outstanding Reality Competition Program at the 2019 Emmys.

Also Read: 'RuPaul's Drag Race' Is Bigger and More Popular Than Ever - What Comes Next?

“This summer we had the pleasure of producing season 12 with Jacqueline,” production company World of Wonder wrote in a Facebook post.

Cornwall in the U.K. was the location of several family summer vacations I went on when I was younger, so the setting of the Jacqueline Wilson novel Four Children and It is very familiar. In the movie adaptation, Four Kids and It,the incredible Wicklow coastline in the Republic of Ireland is standing in as the Cornish location. Earlier this year, a few other reporters and I took the one-hour journey from Dublin to the stunning County Wicklow location where the cast — including Matthew Goode and Paula Patton — were shooting interiors for the family adventure film. Four Kids …...

Andy De Emmony (West Is West) directs the adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson’s novel.

Russell Brand family film Four Kids And It is attracting buyer interest at this year’s Afm for 13 Films.

Screen can reveal the first look image from the film, above.

Andy De Emmony (West Is West) directs the adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson’s novel, while Julie Baines and Anne Brogan produce. The shoot wrapped in Dublin recently.

Brand’s co-stars incluce Paula Patton, Michael Caine and Matthew Goode.

Simon Lewis has adapted Wilson’s novel for screen, with additional writing by Mark Oswin.

The story follows...

The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony took place on Monday night at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles, hosted by Michael Che and Colin Jost. Game of Thrones was named best drama, while The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel took home top comedy honors.

Henry Winkler finally won an Emmy, 54 years after his first television appearance playing an intern on NBC soap opera Another World.

Check out a complete list of winners below.

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series

Henry Winkler as Gene Cousineau HBO Barry

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series

Alex Borstein as Susie Prime Video The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series

Amy Sherman-palladino, Written by Prime Video The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Pilot

Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series

Amy Sherman-palladino, Directed by Prime Video The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Pilot

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series

Rachel Brosnahan as Miriam 'Midge' Maisel Prime Video The Marvelous Mrs.

The 70th annual Primetime Emmy Awards were handed out tonight in Los Angeles, and the Television Academy certainly spread the wealth. The big winner was Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which took a leading five trophies including Outstanding Comedy Series, and HBO’s Game of Thrones, which won Outstanding Drama Series and Supporting Actor for Peter Dinklage.

Here is the complete list of winners:

Outstanding Drama Series

Game Of Thrones • HBO

HBO Entertainment in association with Bighead, Littlehead; 360 Television/Startling Television

Outstanding Comedy Series

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel • Prime Video

Amazon Studios

Outstanding Limited Series

The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story • FX Networks

Fox 21 Television Studios and FX Productions

Outstanding Variety Talk Series

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver • HBO

HBO Entertainment in association with Sixteen String Jack Productions and Avalon Television

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series

Saturday Night Live • NBC

SNL Studios in association with...

Russell Brand and Paula Patton have signed on for “Four Kids and It,” and will star alongside the previously cast Matthew Goode (“The Crown”) in the family adventure movie. Michael Caine is already on board to voice the It of the title.

The movie is an adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson’s children’s book, which in turn was inspired by E. Nesbit’s 1902 novel “Five Children and It.” It follows four kids who are horrified to learn that their beach vacation is in fact a bonding trip with their potential future step-siblings. The kids then accidentally stumble upon a Psammead, a magical, grumpy and sandy creature, in this case called It, who can grant them one wish a day.

Brand will play the oddball villain Tristan, who is bent on capturing It. Bill Nighy was previously cast in the role, but has been replaced by comedian and actor Brand, whose...

Principal photography on the film began on July 16 in Ireland.

Russell Brand (Get Him To The Greek) and Paula Patton (Precious) have joined the cast of Four Kids And It, the adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson’s novel directed by Andy De Emmony (West Is West).

Brand and Patton join a cast that already includes Michael Caine (Youth) and Matthew Goode (The Crown). Principal photography on the film began on July 16 on location in Ireland.

Simon Lewis has adapted Wilson’s novel for screen, with additional writing by Mark Oswin.

The story follows four children who are horrified to learn that...

Russell Brand and Paula Patton have joined Oscar-winner Michael Caine and The Crown star Matthew Goode in family adventure film Four Kids And It.

Shoot is under way in Ireland on the feature which is directed by Andy De Emmony (West Is West) and follows four children who are horrified to learn that their beach holiday is in fact a bonding trip with their potential future step siblings engineered by new couple Alice (Patton) and David (Goode). During an argument, the kids accidently find a Psammead, a magical, sandy, grumpy creature called It (voiced by Caine) who can grant them one wish a day.

Brand plays the local oddball villain Tristan bent on capturing the Psammead for his own gain. The children at the center of the family adventure are played by Ashley Aufderheide (Infinitely Polar Bear) and Teddie Malleson-Allen (Swallows And Amazons) alongside Billy Jenkins (The Crown) and newcomer...

Russell Brand and Paula Patton have joined Michael Caine and Matthew Goode in the family action adventure film Four Kids And It, first announced in Cannes in 2016.

Principal photography on the feature — adapted from the best-selling 2012 novel by British author Jacqueline Wilson (which itself is based on the 1902 book Five Children and It by E. Nesbit) — began earlier this week on location in Ireland, with Andy De Emmony (Father Ted) directing.

The children at the center of the film are played by up-and-comer Ashley Aufderheide (Infinitely Polar Bear, Going in Style) and Teddie Malleson-Allen (Swallows and Amazons) ...

Russell Brand and Paula Patton have joined Michael Caine and Matthew Goode in the family action adventure film Four Kids And It, first announced in Cannes in 2016.

Principal photography on the feature — adapted from the best-selling 2012 novel by British author Jacqueline Wilson (which itself is based on the 1902 book Five Children and It by E. Nesbit) — began earlier this week on location in Ireland, with Andy De Emmony (Father Ted) directing.

The children at the center of the film are played by up-and-comer Ashley Aufderheide (Infinitely Polar Bear, Going in Style) and Teddie Malleson-Allen (Swallows and Amazons) ...

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall received a special early birthday message on Tuesday — on a London bus!

The royal turns 70 on July 17 and celebrated her upcoming milestone birthday with schoolchildren who helped select 70 of the U.K.’s favorite children’s books.

Also at Camilla and Prince Charles’ Clarence House residence for the culmination of the Duchess’s Bookshelves Project, that had combined six literacy-focused charities and initiatives of which Camilla is linked, were some of the kids’ favorite authors, including comedian David Walliams and Jacqueline Wilson.

The children also made a special entrance, arriving at Clarence House in the bus with Walliams.

A sneak preview of one of the most hotly anticipated films of 2017, The Lego® Batman Movie, has been announced for the launch of the Audi Dublin International Film Festival’s Fantastic Flix strand for 4-16 year olds. The launch screening is set to take place on Saturday 4th Feb 2017 at 11.00 at Movies@Dundrum, with the added excitement of a family-friendly pre-screening festival party at the cinema. Fantastic Flix brings the best cinema for children and young people from around the world to film fans in Dublin from 4th -25th February. Coming to cinemas in Ireland on 10th February from Warner Bros. Pictures, The Lego Batman Movie joins a special selection of films from visiting children’s author Dame Jacqueline Wilson, along with the Golden Globe-nominated animated film My Life as a Courgette, and Michaël Dudok de Wit’s The Red Turtle (co-produced with Studio Ghibli) as a key highlight of Adiff’s.

Exclusive: Team behind Triangle and Detour working on thriller; Dan Films slate includes $2-20m projects.

UK director Christopher Smith (Get Santa) is to write and direct thriller The Undertaker for regular collaborator Julie Baines of Dan Films.

Smith is currently writing The Undertaker, which is about a former Ira man living quietly in a remote part of Nova Scotia, Canada. While he is ashamed of his violent past but he is forced to take on one last job - killing a paedophile priest who works at the Vatican.

Backing for the project is set to come from London-based Catalyst Global Media, which will produce alongside Dan Films.

The $15m film is being put together as a co-production and is set to shoot in Canada, Northern Ireland and Italy.

Smith and Baines’ latest feature Detour (sold by Bankside and picked up by Magnet for the Us in Cannes), starring Tye Sheridan and Bel Powley, has been screening...

Two-time Academy Award winner Michael Caine (The Cider House Rules, The Dark Knight, Youth), BAFTA Award Winner and Golden Globe Winner Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Pirates Of The Caribbean) and Matthew Goode (The Imitation Game, The Good Wife, Downton Abbey) will star in the family action adventure film Four Kids And It directed by BAFTA Award nominee Andy De Emmony (Father Ted, West Is West), it was announced today.

Produced by Dan Films’ Julie Baines and Anne Brogan of Kindle Entertainment, the screenplay is written by Simon Lewis and adapted from the novel “Four Children and It” by best-selling author Jacqueline Wilson. Additional writing is provided by Mark Oswin.

The film is slated to begin principal photography in August on location in the UK.

13 Films is handling worldwide rights to the project outside of the UK and is actively selling the film to buyers at the Cannes Market.

Michael Caine, Bill Nighy and Matthew Goode will star in the family action adventure Four Kids And It, which 13 Films has introduced to world buyers excluding the UK here.

Principal photography is earmarked for an August start in the UK. Andy De Emmony will direct the story of four children on a beach holiday who stumble upon a magical creature called the Psammead, which is being pursued by a villain.

Simon Lewis adapted the screenplay from the novel by Jacqueline Wilson, while Dan Films’ Julie Baines and Anne Brogan of Kindle Entertainment produce.

Milk VFX is providing the creature FX and previously worked on effects for Ex Machina.

Michael Caine, Bill Nighy and Matthew Goode are all set to star in Andy De Emmony's family action adventure film "Four Kids And It".

The story follows four children who are horrified to learn that their beach holiday is in fact a bonding trip with their potential future step-siblings. During an argument, they come upon a magical, sandy, grumpy creature called the Psammead (Caine) who can grant one wish a day - a wish that's canceled as soon as the sun sets.

The kids must work together and choose their wishes wisely as an evil villain (Nighy) tries his best to steal the Psammead for himself. Simon Lewis adapted the script from Jacqueline Wilson's novel "Four Children And It". Shooting begins in August.

Source: Deadline...

Michael Caine, Bill Nighy and Matthew Goode are set to star in family action adventure pic Four Kids And It. Andy De Emmony is directing the project that's based on Jacqueline Wilson's novel Four Children And It (itself based on the 1902 E. Nesbit book Five Children And It). Simon Lewis adapted for the screen. World sales outside the UK are being handled by 13 Films. The story follows four children who are horrified to learn that their beach holiday is in fact a bonding…...

The highly anticipated brand new ten-part Cbbc period drama series Hetty Feather, adapted from the best-selling book by Jacqueline Wilson will start on Monday 11th May on Cbbc.

Set in London in 1887, the series centres around the story of our indomitable heroine Hetty Feather as she is returned to the awe-inspiring institution of the Foundling Hospital, the place where she was deposited as an infant and which she is to now call home.

Joining Hetty, played by Isabel Clifton, in her adventures are Dasharn Anderson as her foundling brother Gideon, and Gus Barry as boy's gang leader Mathias, with Polly Allen as bully Sheila.

13-year-old Isabel Clifton (represented by Sandra Singer Associates) stars as Hetty in her first professional screen role. Isabel trains at Singer Stage School in Essex . Isabel said “Sandra told me the news I had been made an offer to play ‘Hetty’ while I was helping at...

Here's a first look at newcomer Isabel Clifton in the title role of Hetty Feather in the new Cbbc series Hetty Feather, an adaptation of the popular novel of the same name by Dame Jacqueline Wilson.

The 10-part period drama tells the story of Hetty, a flame-haired Victorian girl abandoned as a baby by her mother at the Foundling Hospital.

A timeless and compelling tale, which brings the realities of the Victorian age – good, bad, funny and tragic – to life through the eyes of the boys and girls who inhabit the Foundling Hospital. They endure the terrifying dictatorship of Matron Bottomley (played by Eva Pope). Punishments are the norm, kindness is a rarity. The Foundlings have to stick together.

This is 13 year old Isabel's first TV role, she is represented by Sandra Singer Associates.

Hetty Feather was filmed on location at Cobham Hall, a boarding school in Kent and is...

The Dumping Ground is set to return to Cbbc in 2015 for a fourth series. The 20 episodes of the new series will start filming in the North-East of England in Summer/Autumn 2015. The award-winning drama is set in and inspired by Jacqueline Wilson’s children’s home, and this new series will continue to follow the lives of the diverse group of young people who live there, combining the anarchic activities of this alternative family with tough and emotional storylines.

Series three of The Dumping Ground will be shown on Cbbc in January 2015. Launching alongside the series is a new Dumping Ground app called The Dumping Ground - You’re The Boss, produced by Nikki Stearman.

Also returning to Cbbc in 2015 is popular comedy drama 4 O'Clock Club. The fourth series (13 episodes) will be shown in January, and a fifth series will start filming in the Summer. Series five of the award...

Nine year old identical twins, Nelly and Gwen Currant, from Hertfordshire have been chosen to play the roles of twin characters Toni and Billie in the new series of the popular children’s drama The Dumping Ground, which starts filming this week.

Nelly and Gwen applied via an open casting process which ran earlier this year. The twins applied via the Cbbc website and sent in an audition film before coming to BBC MediaCity for a live audition. They impressed the casting team with their natural acting style, energy and the clear bond that they had with each other.

Lis Steele, Executive Producer on The Dumping Ground, says: "Casting nine year old identical twins was set to be an incredible challenge but we were bowled over by the range and quality of auditions. Despite being newcomers to acting, Nelly and Gwen showed naturalness, a sense of fun and a terrific understanding of the show's storytelling.

12-year-old newcomer Isabel Clifton (represented by Sandra Singer Associates) will star as Hetty in the new Cbbc series Hetty Feather adapted from the novel of the same name by Dame Jacqueline Wilson (creator of Tracy Beaker).

Isabel trains exclusively at Singer Stage School in Essex and Hetty is her first professional screen acting job. She will be carrying on the success of the school supplying lead children for shows such as Wolfblood, Mi High, House of Anubis, Rocket's Island, Eastenders and Hank Zipzer.

Isabel starts filming late June. Isabel said “Sandra told me the news I had been made an offer to play ‘Hetty’ while I was helping at the stage school’s annual audition day. My best birthday present ever”.

The ten-episode series tells the story of flame-haired Victorian foundling Hetty and her adventures. A timeless and compelling tale, which brings the realities of the Victorian age – good, bad,...

Cbbc is looking for identical-looking twins – or children who can pass for identical-looking twins – to be cast in the next series of The Dumping Ground!

The Dumping Ground, the BAFTA-winning children’s drama series inspired by, and set in, Jacqueline Wilson’s fictional children’s home, will be returning to the channel for an action-packed third series next year, and producers are hoping to find identical-looking children to play twins in the programme.

Young people from across the UK who are interested in a career in acting and can pass for identical-looking twins are being invited to submit audition videos for a chance to star in the show, which is made by the Cbbc Productions in-house drama team in Salford.

Lis Steele, executive producer of The Dumping Ground says:

“We’re not looking for professional videos or previous acting experience, just bags of enthusiasm and a spark of natural talent.

Cbbc returns to The Dumping Ground care home for children but this time without its long-standing star Dani Harmer as Tracy Beaker. The new drama will be continue to be based in Elm Tree House, the care home from Dame Jacqueline Wilson's famous books.

Life continues at The Dumping Ground in a new spin-off series for many of the regular cast from Tracy Beaker Returns, who are back in Newcastle filming the new series from today.

Amongst those returning are Jessie Williams as Lily, Kia Pegg (from the Nottingham Television Workshop) as Jody,  Jessica Revell (represented by Robert Kelly Associates) as Elektra, Joe Maw (represented by Pha) as Johnny, Amy Leigh Hickman (represented by Mark Jermin Management), Mia Sasha Mckenna-Bruce (represented by Robert Kelly Associates) as Tee,  Miles Butler-Houghton (represented by Robert Kelly Associates) as Tyler, Daniel Pearson (represented by Kreative Talent) as Rick, and Noah Marullo (Sra Agency as Gus.

As the last ever episodes of Tracy Beaker Returns play out on Cbbc, and we bid a final farewell to Dani Harmer in her long-running reign over Cbbc as Tracy Beaker, there is some good news for fans of the series.

Cbbc has commissioned a brand new drama series set in Jacqueline Wilson’s fictional children’s home The Dumping Ground, familiar to millions of viewers from Cbbc dramas The Story of Tracy Beaker and Tracy Beaker Returns.

The new series will continue to delve into the everyday lives and experiences of young people in care, with new dilemmas, dramas and friendships being explored across 13 half-hour episodes, and Nick Sharratt’s popular animated illustrations, which featured in the award-winning series The Story of Tracy Beaker and Tracy Beaker Returns, will continue to counterpoint the live action. Leading writers including Elly Brewer, who worked on three series of Tracy Beaker Returns,...

The courage of British children who have faced cancer is to be recognized with a unique award backed by celebrities including rapper Tinie Tempah, pop sensation Leona Lewis, Harry Potter star Rupert Grint, children’s author Jacqueline Wilson and top sporting personalities Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis and footballer Jack Wilshere.

Cancer Research UK this week launched its annual Little Star Awards, in partnership with brands-for-less retailer, Tk Maxx.

“I’m incredibly proud to be supporting Cancer Research UK’s Little Star Awards once again this year,” said Leona Lewis. "Every child diagnosed with cancer goes through so much and it is brilliant to be able to recognize their bravery and brighten their lives in this way.

Read more...

While he may be best known for his low-budget, science fiction pictures, nothing truly says Roger Corman or his New World Pictures brand quite like the prison, or in the case of both Jackson County Jail and Caged Heat, women-in-prison, film.

Paired together in a brand new addition to Shout! Factory’s long running DVD line known as Roger Corman’s Cult Classics, the two cult features have finally seen the light of day in a relatively respectable single DVD set, that while the films themselves may not be perfect, they are unlike anything you’ll ever get a chance to check out.

The real star of the set here is the cult classic, Caged Heat. Directed by Jonathan Demme (Something Wild), the film follows Jacqueline Wilson, who is sent to a women’s prison following a conviction on drug charges. Joining a crew of fellow inmates, the team fights against the warden,...

Perennially popular crime writer best known for the Inspector Ghote series

The crime writer Henry Reymond Fitzwalter Keating, who has died aged 84, was more than happy to be known simply as Harry, although publishers always billed him as Hrf Keating. Over half a century, he published roughly 50 novels. More than two dozen of these featured his best-known hero, the unassuming Indian policeman Inspector Ganesh Ghote, who also appeared in short stories, and television and film adaptations of Keating's books. Timid, nervous and deferential, Ghote was neither a detective genius like Sherlock Holmes nor a streetwise tough-guy like Philip Marlowe. He was always underestimated by his enemies but his great strength was a combination of integrity, perseverance and an overwhelmingly benevolent interest in people.

Keating wrote several books before creating Ghote. His first novel, Death and the Visiting Firemen, was published in 1959. It was followed by more witty and slightly surreal novels,...

Sharon Osbourne has donated a signed copy of her book, Revenge, to a charity shop in South London.

Streatham Books and Music raises money for the British Heart Foundation, and will give the autographed book to the 100th person who donates a book to the shop on August 28.

The donation is part of the British Heart Foundation’s Big Donation campaign, which has also seen author Jacqueline Wilson donate a signed copy of Little Darlings to a charity shop in Surbiton.

Read more...

This Monday, 3rd May sees to the release of the 40th anniversary edition of The Railway Children on DVD and Blu Ray. Optimum Releasing were kind enough to send me a review copy where I got to see the movie for the first time in about 20 years. Find out what I thought of the movie and it’s conversion to blu ray below.

When I was trying to work out what word describes The Railway Children, the only one that I could think of was ‘quintessential’ and I’m not sure I’ve ever used that word before in my life! This Monday, 3rd May sees the release of Lionel Jeffries classic (based on the book by E. Nesbit) 1970 movie about 3 children (Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett, Gary Warren) who’s lives are changed when they are forced to move from London to Yorkshire with their mother (Dinah Sheridan) after their...