Latest news with #MidnightExpress
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Charlotte Kirk to star in crime drama series 'Write To Kill'
Charlotte Kirk has joined the cast of ' Write To Kill ,' a new crime drama series created by author and producer David P. Perlmutter , reported Deadline. As per the publication, the show revolves around the story of a struggling writer who is stuck with writer's block and drowning in debt. Things take a dark turn when he is offered a large sum of money to commit a serious crime. According to Deadline, the official synopsis reads, "Caught up in the machinations of the underworld and at the mercy of a London gangland boss, Mad Dog, will this budding writer accept the money, commit the crime, and leave his innocence behind him?" The cast also includes Billy Hayes (Midnight Express), Elena Sanchez (Hunger Games), Sean Cronin (Mission Impossible), Rich Graff (Making Of The Mob), Amber Doig-Thorne (Winnie The Pooh - Blood and Honey), Brooke Lewis Bellas (Sinatra Club), Vanessa Eichholz (Hellboy), David Kallaway (Blacklist), and Jack Hudson (Accomplice). The pilot episode is written by David P. Perlmutter and Michael Gorman of Kat Harvey Films. The production is expected to take place in London and New York. Charlotte Kirk is known for her roles in Vice (2016), No Panic with a Hint of Hysteria, The Depths, and Ocean's 8.
Extra.ie
07-05-2025
- Business
- Extra.ie
Trump's movie tariffs will ‘haemorrhage Ireland's film industry'
Thousands of jobs in the Irish film sector could be in danger if US President Donald Trump goes ahead with a controversial 'movie tariff ', industry insiders have warned. Mr Trump announced on Sunday night that the US Department of Commerce would impose a 100% tariff 'on any and all movies coming into our country that are produced in foreign lands'. Hollywood figures have reacted with confusion to the bombshell, as most of the details of the plan's logistics haven't yet been revealed. Pic: Getty Images Here in Ireland, concern is growing over potential impacts on a native industry which has received great international recognition in recent years. Screenwriter Mark Michael McNally, who co-wrote the 2023 Liam Neeson action film In The Land Of Saints And Sinners, told he believed Mr Trump's tariffs would 'haemorrhage the Irish film industry'. Mr McNally said the tariffs were a major worry, but that it wasn't clear how they could be implemented, and he was hopeful the measure would be abandoned. 'It's sort of a backwards way of thinking because it's very unclear how this would be done,' he said. 'Taxing a piece of media is very different than imported fruit or some other physical good. We've seen how his previous tariff threats in the past few months overwhelmingly harm people on the lower ground. 'The common worker on a film – the grip, the costume designers, local actors in Ireland – all these different departments rely on international production for a greater sense of stability because the local industry isn't enough to make a living as a crew member, for most people. It will haemorrhage the industry.' Pic: Andrew Downes/Xposure Midlands-North-West MEP Maria Walsh – a member of the EU's delegation to the United States – raised the issue of film tariffs in the European Parliament in Strasbourg yesterday. 'Trump's latest threat could pull the plug on Ireland's global status as a production powerhouse,' she said. 'A tariff on films would prove a logistical nightmare and is possibly unworkable. The nationality of production of any one movie is far from clear, given the intertwined web of global investors, labour and revenue.' Despite the questionable feasibility of the tariff, the Fine Gael MEP warned it could 'make it financially impossible for many companies to continue producing here'. British-Irish film producer and Oscar-winner David Puttnam – who produced Midnight Express and War Of The Buttons – told RTÉ's Today With Claire Byrne show that Mr Trump has caused 'far more chaos than he'll solve'. Pic: Getty Images 'He'll bring a few jobs back to the United States, but I promise you, every American involved in making and distributing movies today is very, very worried,' he said. 'They're not sitting there thinking, 'Oh great, this is a bonanza for America'.' Screen Ireland estimates the film, TV and animation sectors together employ around 12,000 people in Ireland and contribute almost € 700 million to the economy. As well as lush landscapes, Ireland also has generous tax credits enticing international film productions to shoot here. Mr McNally added: 'When economic factors are unknown, there's less investment, so this is an immediate worry. 'Trump tends to make big statements or gestures and then quietly roll them back. Hopefully that's the case here.' As well as the many Irish workers who could be out of work if the tariffs go ahead and there is a fall in the number of films being shot here as a result, the quality of films around the world will also suffer, Mr McNally said. 'People have complained that the quality of film has gone down in recent decades or that 'they don't make them like they used to',' he said. 'I think that's rubbish, but it's important to note that a lot of the smaller-budget Hollywood films like Anora and The Brutalist that sweep up in award season will be harder to make if these tariffs go ahead.'
Otago Daily Times
22-04-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Witness to claim Beckenridge received help faking deaths
A coronial hearing will hear from a witness claiming John Beckenridge and his stepson Mike were helped to escape after they disappeared in Southland a decade ago. The inquiry into the disappearance of Mike Zhao-Beckenridge in the Catlins a decade ago resumes today. A coroner's hearing was adjourned in 2023 after two weeks of evidence into the case of the missing 11-year-old and his stepfather, John Beckenridge, whose car was found after it plunged 90m off a cliff near Curio Bay. No bodies were ever found and, while the police believe it to be a murder-suicide, Mike's mother, Fiona Lu, believes her son is still alive and the presumed deaths staged. One News reported the hearing would resume today with fresh evidence from five new witnesses. This morning, counsel assisting the coroner Rebekah Jordan said Oliver Watson would give evidence on Wednesday about a phone call he had with his cousin Paul Watson, who owned the land where the car went off the cliff. The phone call was shortly after media reports that a car had gone over the cliff. Jordan said Oliver Watson would give evidence that during that phone call, Paul Watson said "we helped them out, and they are alive". The hearing would also hear from Paul Watson, who denied that he helped Mike and John Beckenridge escape, she said. The new information to be presented at the Coroner's Court also includes a further report from an expert who examined discharged items at the remote cliff top. After Ms Lu and Mr Beckenridge separated, Mr Beckenridge, a Queenstown helicopter pilot, broke a court order and drove to Invercargill to pick up his stepson from school on March 13, 2015. The boy was upset by a court order to live with his mother, and 20 emails to his stepfather were read out during the first stage of the hearing. He said he hated his mother and "she f..... up my life so bad". Mr Beckenridge's final text to the boy's mother was also read out. "You have destroyed my life and Mike's. Me and Mike are leaving now on the Midnight Express 3 mins to departure. Bye my love and thanks for everything JB and MB [sic]." Ms Lu said her ex-husband, who used four aliases, was capable of faking his death and disappearing. A New Zealand woman on holiday in Gili Air Island in Indonesia contacted police to report seeing the boy and his stepfather together three months after the car was found submerged. She told the coroner she was "100% sure" she had seen them. Family private investigator Mark Templeman told Coroner Marcus Elliott that Ms Lu believed her son, who would now be 21, would contact her when he was no longer under the influence of his stepfather. — APL, additional reporting RNZ
Otago Daily Times
21-04-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Hearing into disappearance of 11yo boy and his stepfather resumes
John Beckenridge's car is recovered from Curio Bay in 2015. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY The inquiry into the disappearance of Mike Zhao-Beckenridge in the Catlins a decade ago resumes today. Mike Zhao-Beckenridge. PHOTO: SUPPLIED A coroner's hearing was adjourned in 2023 after two weeks of evidence into the case of the missing 11-year-old and his stepfather, John Beckenridge, whose car was found after it plunged 90m off a cliff near Curio Bay. No bodies were ever found and, while the police believe it to be a murder-suicide, Mike's mother, Fiona Lu, believes her son is still alive and the presumed deaths staged. One News reported the hearing would resume today with fresh evidence from five new witnesses. The new information to be presented at the Coroner's Court includes a further report from an expert who examined discharged items at the remote cliff top. After Ms Lu and Mr Beckenridge separated, Mr Beckenridge, a Queenstown helicopter pilot, broke a court order and drove to Invercargill to pick up his stepson from school on March 13, 2015. The boy was upset by a court order to live with his mother, and 20 emails to his stepfather were read out during the first stage of the hearing. John Beckenridge. PHOTO: SUPPLIED He said he hated his mother and "she f..... up my life so bad". Mr Beckenridge's final text to the boy's mother was also read out. "You have destroyed my life and Mike's. Me and Mike are leaving now on the Midnight Express 3 mins to departure. Bye my love and thanks for everything JB and MB [sic]." Ms Lu said her ex-husband, who used four aliases, was capable of faking his death and disappearing. A New Zealand woman on holiday in Gili Air Island in Indonesia contacted police to report seeing the boy and his stepfather together three months after the car was found submerged. She told the coroner she was "100% sure" she had seen them. Family private investigator Mark Templeman told Coroner Marcus Elliott that Ms Lu believed her son, who would now be 21, would contact her when he was no longer under the influence of his stepfather. — APL
Otago Daily Times
21-04-2025
- Otago Daily Times
New witnesses for Zhao-Beckenridge inquiry
John Beckenridge's car is recovered from Curio Bay in 2015. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY The inquiry into the disappearance of Mike Zhao-Beckenridge in the Catlins a decade ago resumes today. Mike Zhao-Beckenridge. PHOTO: SUPPLIED A coroner's hearing was adjourned in 2023 after two weeks of evidence into the case of the missing 11-year-old and his stepfather, John Beckenridge, whose car was found after it plunged 90m off a cliff near Curio Bay. No bodies were ever found and, while the police believe it to be a murder-suicide, Mike's mother, Fiona Lu, believes her son is still alive and the presumed deaths staged. One News reported the hearing would resume today with fresh evidence from five new witnesses. The new information to be presented at the Coroner's Court includes a further report from an expert who examined discharged items at the remote cliff top. After Ms Lu and Mr Beckenridge separated, Mr Beckenridge, a Queenstown helicopter pilot, broke a court order and drove to Invercargill to pick up his stepson from school on March 13, 2015. The boy was upset by a court order to live with his mother, and 20 emails to his stepfather were read out during the first stage of the hearing. John Beckenridge. PHOTO: SUPPLIED He said he hated his mother and "she f..... up my life so bad". Mr Beckenridge's final text to the boy's mother was also read out. "You have destroyed my life and Mike's. Me and Mike are leaving now on the Midnight Express 3 mins to departure. Bye my love and thanks for everything JB and MB [sic]." Ms Lu said her ex-husband, who used four aliases, was capable of faking his death and disappearing. A New Zealand woman on holiday in Gili Air Island in Indonesia contacted police to report seeing the boy and his stepfather together three months after the car was found submerged. She told the coroner she was "100% sure" she had seen them. Family private investigator Mark Templeman told Coroner Marcus Elliott that Ms Lu believed her son, who would now be 21, would contact her when he was no longer under the influence of his stepfather. — APL
