STEVE MCQUEEN SLAMS BAFTAs: 12 Years a Slave filmmaker Steve McQueen says the BAFTA Awards are in danger of becoming “irrelevant, redundant and of no interest or importance” because of their lack of diversity. Last week, BAFTA was criticized for having no women in the Best Director field for the seventh year in a row, and an all-white set of acting nods. In a letter to its members, BAFTA called the problem “frustrating and deeply disappointing.”
CBS ORDERS SILENCE OF THE LAMBS SPINOFF: CBS is giving the green light to a Silence of the Lambs spinoff that will follow Clarice Starling after the events of the film. The series will be set in 1993, one year after Silence, and will delve into the untold personal story of Starling, who was played by Jodie Foster in the film.
GENTLEMAN JACK STAR TO ADAPT MEMOIR OF FEMALE BOXING CHAMP: Gentleman Jack star Suranne Jones is set to adapt the memoir of five-time female world boxing champ Jane Couch for TV. Couch rose to prominence in the 1990s when it was still illegal for women to box; the film will chart her rise from an obscure fishing village to worldwide acclaim.
FOX SOUL ANNOUNCED: Fox Television Stations is set to roll out Fox Soul, a live, ad-supported streamer targeting African-American viewers. The free channel will include original programming and existing, locally produced Fox shows. James DuBose, head of programming for Fox Soul, said, “We are proud to debut this African-American focused channel, created by and for the members of the black community. We intend to inform, inspire, and empower our viewers by meeting their needs for authentic conversations on topics relevant to our lives.”