BBC Chairman Richard Sharp helped to arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to £800,000 ($990,000) for Boris Johnson weeks before the then-prime minister recommended him for the role at the broadcaster, according to a new report. Sharp, a former Goldman Sachs banker, was involved in talks about how to help fund the former Prime Minister’s lifestyle in late 2020. At the time, Johnson was facing financial trouble due to a divorce, childcare costs, and bills for the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat, The Sunday Times Reported. The newspaper continued to report that in 2020 Sharp met Sam Blyth, a Canadian businessman and distant cousin of the former prime minister, who is said to have raised the idea of acting as a guarantor on a credit facility for Johnson and asked Sharp for advice on the best way forward. The now BBC chairman agreed to help Blyth and introduced him to Simon Case, the cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, the paper reported. The Sunday … [Read more...] about BBC Chairman Helped Boris Johnson Secure $990,000 Loan Weeks Before Winning Job – Reports
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‘The Midcoast’ Drama Series Adaptation In Works At Hulu From Brett Johnson & Warren Littlefield
EXCLUSIVE: Hulu is developing The Midcoast , a drama series based on Adam White ’s bestselling novel, from Escape at Dannemora co-creator Brett Johnson , Warren Littlefield ’s The Littlefield Company and 20th Television. Written by Johnson, based on White’s novel, The Midcoast is an hourlong drama set on the scenic coast of Maine exploring the rise and fall of Ed Thatch, a lobster fisherman turned blue collar criminal with an unstable devotion to his wife. The Midcoast was published in June 2022 by Hogarth Press. Johnson executive produces along with Littlefield, Ann Johnson, Graham Littlefield and Lisa Harrison for The Littlefield Company. White also serves as executive producer. 20th Television, where The Littlefield Company is under a deal, is the studio. Johnson co-created, executive produced and served as showrunner on Showtime limited series Escape At Dannemora, nominated for 12 Primetime Emmy Awards. He most recently served as co-executive producer … [Read more...] about ‘The Midcoast’ Drama Series Adaptation In Works At Hulu From Brett Johnson & Warren Littlefield
Rodney Barnes Joins HBO’s Jack Johnson Limited Series Starring Mahershala Ali As Writer & Executive Producer
EXCLUSIVE: Winning Time executive producer Rodney Barnes has boarded HBO ’s limited series project, set to star Mahershala Ali as boxing legend Jack Johnson . Barnes, who is under an overall deal with HBO, will serve as writer and executive producer on the Untitled Jack Johnson limited series (fka Unruly ), bringing a brand new take on adapting the PBS documentary Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson , produced and directed by Ken Burns, and its companion book by Geoffrey C. Ward. He is one of several new creative auspices who have joined the project in development, originally announced in 2020 , along with Melina Matsoukas ( Queen & Slim; Insecure) , who has come on board as executive producer and director, and Khaliah Neal ( The Last Black Man in San Francisco; P-Valley) , who has signed on as executive producer. Barnes succeeds Dominique Morisseau, who had been originally tapped to write the limited series from Tom Hanks … [Read more...] about Rodney Barnes Joins HBO’s Jack Johnson Limited Series Starring Mahershala Ali As Writer & Executive Producer
Mahershala Ali To Star As Boxer Jack Johnson In ‘Unruly’ HBO Limited Series In Works From Dominique Morisseau & Playtone
HBO is developing Unruly , a six-part limited series about boxing legend Jack Johnson to be played by two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali . The project hails from Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman’s Playtone and will be written by Dominique Morisseau based the PBS documentary Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson, produced and directed by Ken Burns , and its companion book by Geoffrey C. Ward. Ali has stated multiple times over the past couple of years that playing Johnson on screen is his “dream role.” He previously portrayed the athletein one of his first professional acting jobs in a stage production of “The Great White Hope” in 2000 (photo above). Unruly is described as an unapologetically Black, no-holds-barred telling of Jack Johnson (Ali), the world’s first Black Heavyweight Boxing Champion. This bold exploration depicts the champion’s rise to athletic greatness and the costs he paid for his skin and defiance, which created a … [Read more...] about Mahershala Ali To Star As Boxer Jack Johnson In ‘Unruly’ HBO Limited Series In Works From Dominique Morisseau & Playtone
Power Rangers 30th Anniversary Reunion Won’t See Amy Jo Johnson In The Pink
Instead of go-go Power Rangers for the 30th anniversary special on Netflix, at least one prominent cast member is singing no-go. “For the record I never said no,” Johnson tweeted on Wednesday. “I just didn’t say yes to what was offered. But other fun stuff is in store! Looking forward to watching my friends kick ass!” Netflix is powering up the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers : Once & Alway s, a standalone special set for April 19 that reunites David Yost as Billy Cranston, the original Blue Ranger; Walter E. Jones as Zack Taylor, the original Black Ranger; Steve Cardenas as Rocky DeSantos, the second Red Ranger; Catherine Sunderland as Kat, the second Pink Ranger ; Karan Ashley as Aisha Campbell, the second Yellow Ranger; and Johnny Yong Bosch as Adam Park, the second Black Ranger. The special will also feature voice actors Barbara Goodson, the American voice of Rita Repulsa, and Richard Horvitz, who voiced robot sidekick Alpha. … [Read more...] about Power Rangers 30th Anniversary Reunion Won’t See Amy Jo Johnson In The Pink
Peter Bart: Awards Speeches Could Use An Edit, But So Could Those Marathon Movies
The season of rambling acceptance speeches is at hand, prompting that nasty question: Why can’t award winners learn how to edit their gratitude? Or find an editor to help? The answer is in the process itself, which Cate Blanchett , upon winning over the weekend at the Critics Choice Awards for Tár, called a “patriarchal pyramid.” She should know because the pyramid has granted her more than 120 awards for her 70 movies (including two Oscars ). Whether in speeches or the projects generating them, filmmakers and writers classically distrust their editors. There’s even a new documentary about a classically feisty editing conflict. Titled Turn Every Page , it deals with books, not film — and, predictably, it’s too long. But so are major movies out there, some boasting running times of roughly three hours – Avatar: The Way of Water, Babylon, White Noise and even the musical Elvis , which runs 159 minutes, padded with documentary footage. Historically, … [Read more...] about Peter Bart: Awards Speeches Could Use An Edit, But So Could Those Marathon Movies
‘Poker Face’ Review: No Lie! Natasha Lyonne & Rian Johnson’s Peacock Road Trip Procedural Is All Green Lights & Parking Spaces
Let’s put our cards on the table: Almost three years after Peacock launched, the Comcast-owned streamer finally has a legitimate potential breakout show in Natasha Lyonne and Rian Johnson ’s Poker Face . Debuting with four episodes Friday and then dropping the rest of its 10-episode first season weekly, the one-hour drama could prove the dramatic reset the sports-focused Peacock has needed since day one. Part of that is clearly the combined star power and skills of the Russian Doll star and the Knives Out director, along with a wonderfully villainous Benjamin Bratt and an old-school awards-show phalanx of guest stars. True to the talent on both sides of the camera, Poker Face’ s winning hand has a lot to do with how well-crafted and constructed it is. However, besides a beat-up Plymouth Barracuda, Rockford Files trailer home homages and all, the wider appeal of Poker Face is that it is a confident show for grown-ups that younger viewers who never … [Read more...] about ‘Poker Face’ Review: No Lie! Natasha Lyonne & Rian Johnson’s Peacock Road Trip Procedural Is All Green Lights & Parking Spaces
‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ Director Rian Johnson Suggests New Subtitle For Next Installment
Director Rian Johnson expressed his lament over Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery having the title of the first installment in the sequel . The filmmaker wanted the film saga to stand alone and would’ve liked it if there wasn’t a reference to the previous movie. With a third film confirmed , Johnson is giving the marketing team suggestions as to what could be the subtitle of the next installment and wants it to namedrop the lead character’s name. “The thing is, though, I totally get it. It’s not like this was done against my will or something. I completely understand it,” Johnson told The Filmcast . “Because after the first movie, I think people knew that they liked Knives Out [but] they didn’t necessarily know it well enough to know who Benoit Blanc was. I think that would’ve gotten blank stares. And I wanted everyone who loved Knives Out to know that [ Glass Onion ] is the next one of those. So I absolutely 100% was on board and totally got it that we had to … [Read more...] about ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ Director Rian Johnson Suggests New Subtitle For Next Installment
‘Poker Face’: Natasha Lyonne Breaks Down Debut Episodes & Discusses Collaborating With Rian Johnson For Peacock Series
SPOILER ALERT: This post contains details from the first four episodes of Peacock ’s Poker Face . Natasha Lyonne is a casino waitress with an uncanny ability to tell when people are lying in her latest collaboration with Rian Johnson , Peacock’s Poker Face . She’s not reading their faces or their body language. It’s “just a feeling,” her character Charlie explains in the first episode, which debuted Thursday along with three additional episodes. As the premiere unfolds, Charlie agrees to help her boss take down a high-profile gambler, only to realize that he had previously been responsible for murdering her co-worker to keep her silent about the sins of that very same gambler. Rather than stick around and meet her own demise, Charlie goes on the lamb. Along the way, the finds herself embroiled in a series of small-town murder mysteries in each place she stops. “I’ve learned that this is a character who just really can’t stand bullsh*t. She just really … [Read more...] about ‘Poker Face’: Natasha Lyonne Breaks Down Debut Episodes & Discusses Collaborating With Rian Johnson For Peacock Series
Lisa Marie Presley’s Emotional Moment During Austin Butler’s Golden Globes Speech
Getty Austin Butler 's Golden Globes speech is suddenly carrying even more weight after Lisa Marie Presley 's death ... because tears were shed as he told her he'd love her "forever." As you know, Austin took home the gold Tuesday night for his portrayal of Lisa Marie's father, Elvis Presley ... and now that she's passed, his speech is going viral as social media users are even more touched by his words. The actor went through his list of thank yous, before stopping to offer special gratitude to the Presley family -- specifically Lisa Marie and her mother Priscilla Presley , who were both in the audience. He thanked them dearly for opening themselves up to the project, adding "I love you forever." Shutterstock Premier Lisa Marie got really emotional during Austin's big win, and folks online took the moment to heart ... with one saying the exchange is "extra powerful now," and another calling it "shockingly sad." … [Read more...] about Lisa Marie Presley’s Emotional Moment During Austin Butler’s Golden Globes Speech