Streaming giant Netflix has closed a worldwide rights deal for Aaron Sorkin’s star-studded “The Trial of the Chicago 7” from Cross Creek Pictures for release later this year.

Variety first reported on June 20 that Netflix was in negotiations for the property. The drama recaps the trial that followed what were intended to be peaceful protests that turned violent at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The organizers of the protest — including Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden and Bobby Seale — were charged with conspiracy to incite a riot.

Hoffman is portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen with Eddie Redmayne as Hayden, Jeremy Strong as Rubin and Yahya Abdul-Mateen as Seale. Michael Keaton portrays Ramsey Clark, John Carroll Lynch portrays defendant David Dellinger, Alex Sharp plays defendant Rennie Davis and Frank Langella plays presiding judge Julius Hoffman. Mark Rylance portrays attorney William Kuntsler.

Netflix is expected to release “The Trial of the Chicago 7” as a potential awards contender. With its political themes at the center of the story, it would not be a surprise if the movie is released prior to Election Day on Nov. 3. [Source]

Netflix is negotiating a deal to acquire global rights to Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” from Cross Creek Pictures, Variety has learned.

The film follows the Chicago Seven, a group of seven activists who were charged by the federal government with conspiracy, inciting to riot and other charges stemming from anti-Vietnam War protests that broke out during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Intended as peaceful protests, they instead devolved into a violent clash with police and the National Guard. The organizers of the protest included Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden and Bobby Seale, and their trial was one of the most notorious in history. It’s a hot-button story, one that is sure to resonate in a presidential election year and at a time when protests over racial injustice are breaking out across the country. Cross Creek financed and produced the film.

“The Trial of the Chicago 7” has a starry cast that includes Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Jeremy Strong, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Frank Langella, William Hurt, Michael Keaton and Mark Rylance. Sorkin, best known for penning the scripts to “The Social Network” and “A Few Good Men” and creating “The West Wing,” directed and wrote the film. He previously helmed “Molly’s Game,” the story of the woman behind an underground poker empire. Jessica Chastain starred and Sorkin picked up an Oscar nomination for its screenplay. He previously won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay for “The Social Network.”

Eddie Redmayne has thrown his support behind a campaign to raise awareness about motor neurone disease.

The Oscar-winning actor praised a new video made for the Motor Neurone Disease Association which shows what it is like to be diagnosed with the condition.

The video was released on Sunday to coincide with Global Motor Neurone Disease Day.

Redmayne said: “The film, through the form of dance, gives you a sense of the brutality of motor neurone disease.

“It’s compelling with a clear message, ‘Don’t ignore the problem because there isn’t yet a solution’.

“I want as many people as possible to watch and share it, even though it’s a little uncomfortable, so that understanding of motor neurone disease will be greater in the future.

Eddie Redmayne, star of the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise, is speaking out against J.K. Rowling’s anti-trans tweets, as the controversy surrounding the author and her beliefs continues to swirl.

“Respect for transgender people remains a cultural imperative, and over the years I have been trying to constantly educate myself,” Redmayne said in a statement provided to Variety. “This is an ongoing process.”

“As someone who has worked with both J.K. Rowling and members of the trans community, I wanted to make it absolutely clear where I stand,” he continued. “I disagree with Jo’s comments. Trans women are women, trans men are men and non-binary identities are valid. I would never want to speak on behalf of the community but I do know that my dear transgender friends and colleagues are tired of this constant questioning of their identities, which all too often results in violence and abuse. They simply want to live their lives peacefully, and it’s time to let them do so.”

Rowling, the creator of “Harry Potter” and its “Fantastic Beasts” spinoff series, posted a series of tweets on Saturday arguing that discussion of gender identity invalidates biological sex.

“If sex isn’t real, there’s no same-sex attraction. If sex isn’t real, the lived reality of women globally is erased. I know and love trans people, but erasing the concept of sex removes the ability of many to meaningfully discuss their lives. It isn’t hate to speak the truth,” Rowling wrote. “The idea that women like me, who’ve been empathetic to trans people for decades, feeling kinship because they’re vulnerable in the same way as women — ie, to male violence — ‘hate’ trans people because they think sex is real and has lived consequences — is a nonsense.”

Queer activists and organizations such as GLAAD, as well as fans of the series, denounced Rowling’s comments, noting that they denied the lived consequences of trans people’s experiences.

In addition to his work as Newt Scamander in “Fantastic Beasts,” Redmayne earned an Oscar nomination for his work in “The Danish Girl.” He played Lili Elbe, a Danish transgender woman who was among the early recipients of sex reassignment surgery.

The actor will feature in the smartphone brand’s latest campaign for Find X2

Global smart device brand, OPPO partnered with renowned actor Eddie Redmayne, rock climber Alex Honnold and technology reviewer Marques Brownlee to inspire people to continue pushing their boundaries and strive for better. Conveying the spirit to explore more possibilities, OPPO’s latest Finder campaign salutes these explorers who have pushed themselves to achieve new heights in their respective fields.

Earlier this year, OPPO also announced the British actor, Eddie Redmayne, as its global brand ambassador. Eddie’s deep devotion to the performing art and courage to explore more echoes with OPPO’s relentless pursuit of the perfect synergy of innovation. In his video talking about the Find X2, Eddie says, “Every time we play someone else, we find out something new about ourselves. Every time we use the Find X2, we find more.” [Source]

Eddie Redmayne announces today’s AFI Movie Club selection: REDS.

The film appears on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Passions list of the greatest love stories of all time and was also included on AFI’s 10 TOP 10 list of the greatest epic films of all time in 2008. REDS features the star power of three AFI LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD recipients – Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson – and production designer Richard Sylbert received an honorary master’s degree from AFI!

REDS was Beatty’s debut as a solo director. His success with HEAVEN CAN WAIT (1978) – which he co-directed with Buck Henry – encouraged Paramount to finance REDS. In this exclusive AFI Archive video, Diane Keaton talks about REDS at the awards ceremony for AFI Life Achievement honoree Warren Beatty.

AFI Movie Club is a newly launched free program to raise the nation’s spirits by bringing artists and audiences together – even while we are apart. AFI shines a spotlight on an iconic movie each day, with special guests announcing select AFI Movies of the Day in short videos posted on AFI.com and social media platforms. Audiences can “gather” at AFI.com/MovieClub to find out how to watch the featured movie of the day with the use of their preexisting streaming service credentials. The daily film selections are supported by fun facts, family discussion points and exclusive material from the AFI Archive to enrich the viewing experience. [Source]

Taika Waititi leads an all-star cast in episode 3 of ‘James and the Giant Peach with Taika and Friends’, with Cate Blanchett playing Centipede, Eddie Redmayne voicing Miss Ladybird, Kumail Nanjiani as Miss Spider, Ruth Wilson playing the Earthworm and Sarah Paulson as Old-Green-Grasshopper.

I have added some movie stills of Eddie Redmayne to the gallery. More are coming because I still need to organize a lot of photos from my hard disk and look for the rest.

Anyway, if you have some photos that we haven’t here and you want to share, please, feel free to contact me.

Hello there, I hope everyone is keeping safe.

Just a small update here to know how everybody is. I really hope you and your families are fine and safe.

Situation here in my country is a few better, but my personal situation is still the same. I must admit that I am afraid of this virus, maybe because I am a risk person, so, I feel safe at home.

I am still working on the site, trying to upload all the stuff that I have inside my hard disks (a lot). Hope everyone is enjoying the updates and hope to make some great moments to the people who are bored at home. So, if you want to make some suggestions, ask for stuff to be added first…or just to talk, please, feel free to contact me.

Also, I really want to keep my site and I am trying my best; but with this situation, it is so difficult so, if you want to help to maintain this site online, please, feel free to go here to donate. Every little bit helps! I need to pay host monthly so, every single dollar would be a great help to me right now.

Thanks to everyone who visit the site. I would like to send you a big hug to you all.

Anne

J.K. Rowling’s immensely popular book that started it all — “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” — will be read by a lineup of celebrities chapter-by-chapter, in a series of free videos and audio recordings to be doled out over the next several months.

Rowling’s Wizarding World announced seven readers for the special event on Twitter today: Daniel Radcliffe, Stephen Fry, David Beckham, Dakota Fanning, Claudia Kim, Noma Dumezweni and Eddie Redmayne, with more to come. Each will read different sections of the beloved fantasy (known as “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” outside the U.S.), with its themes of family, friendship, courage and overcoming adversity, for families and fans around the world.

All 17 chapters of the book will be released between now and mid-summer. Videos will be posted weekly on harrypotterathome.com, with an audio-only version available for free on Spotify.

Kicking off the series of video readings will be Harry Potter himself: Daniel Radcliffe, who will read the book’s first chapter, “The Boy Who Lived,” streaming today on Wizarding World (at this link) on Spotify (at this link).

The special series is part of Harry Potter at Home, an initiative developed by Wizarding World Digital and Rowling’s agency, the Blair Partnership, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with the help of partners including Warner Bros., Bloomsbury, Scholastic and Pottermore Publishing.

The initiative includes an open licence to teachers allowing them to post recordings of themselves reading Harry Potter stories on educational platforms and networks and a dedicated hub of information and activities at harrypotterathome.com. In addition, Amazon’s Audible currently is making the audiobook of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” (narrated by Jim Dale) available to stream for free via Audible Stories. [Source]