Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way inks first-look film deal with Sony

Los Angeles: Hollywood superstar Leonardo DiCaprio's banner Appian Way has signed a multi-picture, multi-year first look deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment.

As per the deal, the production house will produce scripted feature films for the studio, reported Deadline. DiCaprio's last film, Quentin Tarantino-directed "Once Upon A Time in Hollywood" was distributed by Sony. The companies are already in development on two projects, though no details were given. "I first met the supernova talented Leonardo DiCaprio over 24 years ago on 'Romeo and Juliet'. We then shipped out together on the 'Titanic' and my admiration for him as a fully-rounded filmmaking genius has only increased over the many years since.


"His producing and acting instincts superbly supported by Jennifer (Davisson) are both driven by service to the best material in the world. At Sony, we feel like we just landed a rare GOAT deal as Michael Jordan and Tom Brady are to basketball and football, so is Leo to film," said Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group Chairman Tom Rothman.

DiCaprio said he is excited to partner with Sony for his upcoming projects. "For over three decades in the business, Tom has never adhered to the traditional Hollywood norms. "Never once taking the safe route, he truly values filmmakers and their vision and is extremely supportive of the theatre-going experience. I could not be more excited to enter into a new phase of partnerships with Sony," he added.


Earlier this month, Appian Way signed a first-look deal with Apple that encompasses television projects and documentary features. On the acting front, DiCaprio will next star in frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese's upcoming feature "Killers of the Flower Moon", alongside Robert De Niro.

London-born journalist made history, becoming the first hijab-wearing TV reporter in Scotland

Scotland: In the UK, On July 16, just days before the London-born journalist Tasnim Nazeer turned 34, she made history, becoming the first hijab-wearing TV reporter in Scotland, after moving to Glasgow with her husband five years ago.

As a broadcast journalist for STV news, she broke barriers and has since used her success as a platform for promoting better diversity and inclusion in the media. Nazeer, from a family with Sri Lankan heritage, was only 15 when she reported on those worst-hit by the tsunami in 2004 for NewsLanka, a UK-based paper covering the South Asian country. 

After building her portfolio writing for several community papers, including Muslim News, she went on to work freelance radio shifts for BBC Radio 2. She later moved on to working as a television guest panellist on BBC Scotland and has written for news organisations including The Guardian, Forbes and The Independent, focusing on humanitarian issues and social justice.

Really pleased to have done my first TV report as a freelance journo for @STVNews at Six highlighting the need for more bereavement support in Scotland. I don’t think a woman in hijab has ever anchored a news report in Scotland before. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/7hxqfniTEk

— Tasnim Nazeer (@TasnimNazeer1) July 30, 2020

Despite all her journalistic experience, it was still difficult for her to land a broadcast role. Several in the industry said she didn’t “have the right look” for television. “People who networked with me in the media industry who would say, 'Look, you've got all the skills and all the potential, but unfortunately you just don't quite have the right look with the hijab on in Scotland’,” she told The National.

“You don't really see black or Asian or other people of colour on Scottish TV, let alone people with the scarf. Then I was told that it really kind of hit home as to how am I going to get past this glass ceiling that's been imposed on me. If I've got the skills, then what's the problem?” Although she could have progressed if she compromised her beliefs and identity, she refused to conform.

“My hijab is something I would never compromise. I’ve always had these morals and values and I wear the hijab out of my obedience to God and commitment to my faith. I felt like it wasn’t right for somebody to ask me to remove that because it would hinder my ability to do the job.”

Congratulations to @TasnimNazeer1 thought to be the first hijabi reporter on Scottish TV @Daily_Record via Hassan Rabbani pic.twitter.com/Vf5mxIlKK3

— EverydayMuslim (@Everyday_Muslim) August 4, 2020

She finally landed her first broadcast journalist role at STV in May this year. Despite initial concerns that she would not be able to move up the ladder, Nazeer said the channel was very supportive and did not once judge her on her identity. Those facing challenges breaking into any industry because of their faith, race or culture, are often too afraid to speak out in case they are reprimanded or it scuppers their job prospects. “Those people don't even know who to turn to for support,” Nazeer said.

“So when they had seen that I'd spoken out and seen challenges, I was inundated with messages with people saying 'this has happened to us', ‘we are still in a glass ceiling’, all those kinds of things.” Although she was worried about negative reaction to her TV broadcasting debut, Nazeer has mostly received support. Since then, MPs, journalists and celebrities such as Lorraine presenter Ria Hebden have all come to the table to call for more media diversity.

But the fight to break the glass ceiling continues. Nazeer hopes to continue to do live broadcasting and is campaigning for more diversity in the British media. “I’m really hoping to work with individuals within the media to highlight ways in which we can achieve better representation in actionable measures. It's all very well to have funding and investment in diversity and inclusion but if there're no actionable steps, we won’t see it reflected on screen.” Courtsey: thenational

Priyanka Chopra finishes her memoir, said every word reflection into her life

Mumbai: Actor Priyanka Chopra on Tuesday revealed that she has completed the final manuscript of her memoir, "Unfinished", and the book is set to come out soon.

"Unfinished" is a collection of personal essays, stories and observations of the 38-year-old actor, to be published by Penguin Random House India. Priyanka took to Twitter and said the book comes from an extremely personal, introspective space.'Unfinished' is finished! Just about sent in the final manuscript! Wheee! Cannot wait to share it with you all. Every word in my memoir comes from a place of introspection and reflection into my life. #ComingSoon," she wrote.

Priyanka forayed into the entertainment industry at the age of 17 when she became Miss India and went on to win Miss World the following year. Besides acting in several Bollywood movies such as Aitraaz , Barfi! , 7 Khoon Maaf and Bajirao Mastani , Priyanka earned acclaim for her work as Alex Parrish on ABC's show "Quantico", becoming the first South Asian to headline an American network drama series.

She made her Hollywood debut as antagonist Victoria Leeds in Seth Gordon's action comedy Baywatch and followed it up with A Kid Like Jake co-starring Jim Parsons and Claire Danes. Priyanka also had a supporting part in Todd Strauss-Schulson's comedy "Isn't It Romantic", which starred Rebel Wilson. Last year she returned to Hindi cinema with Shonali Bose's The Sky is Pink .

The actor's future projects include Netflix's adaptation of Aravind Adiga's satirical novel The White Tiger , Robert Rodriguez's superhero film We Can Be Heroes , thriller series Citadel and much-anticipated Matrix 4. Priyanka also has a production banner Purple Pebble Pictures, under which she produces global TV and film content.

Bigg Boss 14: First promo release of TV reality show, Salman Khan share pictures and video

Mumbai: The first promo of the TV reality show Bigg Boss 14 released on Saturday and it has been trending big time on social media. It appears that the promo has been shot at the show's host Salman Khan's Panvel farmhouse. 

In the promo, shared by Colors TV's official Instagram handle, Salman Khan can be seen farming. He says in the video: "Lockdown laya sabki life mein speed breaker isliye uga raha hun chawal, aur chala raha hun tractor. Par ab season paltega kyuki aa raha hai Bigg Boss 2020 sirf Colors par. (Lockdown brought a bump to everyone's life, which is why I am growing rice but now the time has come for the season to change because Bigg Boss 2020 is here.)"


Sharing the show's promo on Saturday, Colors TV's official Instagram handle captioned the post: "Ab paltega scene, kyunki Bigg Boss dega 2020 ko jawaab! Bigg Boss 14 coming soon only on Colors." Salman Khan frequently posted pictures and videos of himself farming, on his social media accounts, some of which even received major flak from the Internet.

View this post on Instagram

Respect to all the farmers . .

A post shared by Salman Khan (@beingsalmankhan) on Jul 14, 2020 at 3:42am PDT

Last month, a Mumbai Mirror report stated that Bigg Boss 14 will premiere in September with television actors like Nia Sharma, Vivian Dsena and Sugandha Mishra as probable contestants. Some celebrities who were named in the probable lists of contestants, denied their collaboration with the show, among which were filmmaker Onir, and model and Sushamita Sen's brother Rajeev Sen.

Bigg Boss 14 will be Salman Khan's eleventh season as the show's host. Other than Salman Khan, stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Shilpa Shetty and Arshad Warsi have hosted the show. Last year, the makers of the popular reality show shifted the sets of Bigg Boss from Lonavla to Goregaon Film City. TV actor Siddharth Shukla was the winner of the last season.

'Friends' star Courtney Cox is returning as news reporter in the upcoming 'Scream' franchise

Washington, US : 'Friends' star Courteney Cox is returning for the next iteration of the famed 'Scream' film franchise. According to Fox News, the 56-year-old actor confirmed that she will reprise her role as news reporter Gale Weathers in an Instagram post on Friday.

With the Instagram post, the 'Bedtime Stories' actor posted of the iconic black-and-white mask that has seen many Halloween nights over the course of its four films that began in 1996 and have grossed more than USD 600 million in the global box office. "I can't wait to see this face again," noted Cox as she also slated to return for the fifth instalment is Cox's ex-husband David Arquette as Dewey Riley.

Arquette previously said in a statement, according to The Hollywood Reporter, "I am thrilled to be playing Dewey again and to reunite with my Scream family, old and new. Scream has been such a big part of my life and for both the fans and myself, I look forward to honouring Wes Craven's legacy."
Fox News reported that Cox has marked her appearance in all of the previous 'Scream' films, released in 1996, 1997, 2000 and 2011 respectively. Radio Silence, the filmmaking arm behind the reboot told the Deadline, "We can't imagine 'Scream' without the iconic Gale Weathers and are so incredibly thrilled and humbled to have the opportunity to work with Courteney. We're absolute mega fans of her work and we're so excited to join her in the next chapter of the 'Scream' saga!" Filming on the all-new 'Scream' is set to kick off later this year in Wilmington, North Carolina. 

"Global support for justice in fight against racism brings hope" said George Floyd family

The aunt of murdered African American George Floyd has opened up about the tragic death of her nephew and the wave of support that came from around the world calling for change following his death in an exclusive interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), with Saturday marking two months since Floyd's death.

Angela Harrelson, the aunt of the 46-year-old Floyd who was killed in Minneapolis on May 25 after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, spoke of how the family has been coming to terms with the tragedy which went on to spark huge worldwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism.

On Monday, tens of thousands of workers across the United States, including staff members at airports, fast food restaurants, nursing homes and on farms, staged a nationwide strike to protest racial injustice against African Americans, in an event dubbed 'Strike for Black Lives'.

It was a continuation of the anti-racism demonstrations that have swept the nation after the death of Floyd, and was planned amid a surge in violent incidents across the nation that have tragically resulted in the deaths of a number of young children.

Speaking with CGTN, Harrelson recounted how she watched the horrifying footage of Floyd being forcefully detained by the white police officer in video pictures which have shocked the world.

"Everything just dropped, I just fell. And then I kept asking myself, did I just watch a modern day lynching?," she said. Harrelson had helped the father-of-five establish himself in Minneapolis but says she feels robbed and in some ways guilty that she could have done more to help her nephew.

"Now he's like when you go places, he's everywhere but he's not here. He's on somebody's wall. You go to the store, his face is there. And when that happened to him, that tragedy, for a few days I carried a lot of guilt. Because I feel like I wasn't there for him. And I had to really deal with that," said Harrelson. The heated protests that immediately erupted in Minneapolis in the wake of Floyd's death not only spread to other U.S. cities, but also around the world before long.

The level of support which followed from many countries was a source of great strength for the Floyd family, Harrelson said.

"When this first happened and I started hearing about [protests in] Germany and London and I was like, my god, they are really standing beside us. I was just so overwhelmed with so much love," she said.

Harrelson represented the family at a recent court hearing for the four police officers charged with killing Floyd. She called for justice for all the people who have suffered from racism- a hope that is shared by many across the world. "Of course we want justice. His death has opened up a conversation that never took place before. Racism is no longer in the denial process. And that's a beautiful thing. And it's something that is getting the respect that it should. And that's why I have so much hope," she said.