The Oscar-nominated director of Precious said today that there are not enough roles for African American actors in films.

Marks & Spencer boss Marc Bolland slashed his sales targets for the high street retailer today as he unveiled its first fall in profits in three years.

The iconic film festival has a habit of unearthing exciting talent, as Nick Clark found out

Blake Harrison gained notoriety as Neil in 'The Inbetweeners'. But his new West End role will stop him being typecast as a dimwit, he tells Matt Trueman

Starring: Audrey Tautou, François Damiens, Bruno Todeschini

Ricky Gervais has insisted that Derek, the titular lead of last night's comedy "pilot" is not in his view disabled. Then again, Ricky Gervais thought there was nothing wrong in using the word "mong" to accompany comic gurning on Twitter, so you might not want to rely too heavily on his judgement of fine distinctions in this area. You might reasonably be a little wary about Channel 4's bona fides, too, given the promotional marketing (if not the actuality) of its current series The Undateables. Hardly surprising really that Derek has already stirred up a minor fuss over its propriety. Is this a comic exploitation of a group already subject to far too much callow mockery, or is it, as Gervais would have us believe, an empathetic account of an oddball outsider?

The British film and television production industry is dominated by the middle-classes who “hoard” opportunities and benefit from family ties, new research has found.

Your weekly guide to what's really going on inside the world of books

In these austere times, it won't only be residents of Port Talbot who recognise the description of "a town with low self-esteem" where it "felt like there was little going on". But not every industrial town has a son like Michael Sheen to do something about it.

A West End star lost part of the £1.7m settlement he was awarded following the break-up of his civil partnership, after the Court of Appeal ruled that his "home-making" role did not entitle him to a larger slice of the couple's assets.

Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is the sort of play that benefits from a pertinent revival. Rarely has his take on the hollow heart of the American Dream seemed more relevant as American self-belief continues to falter amid economic fragility and continued job insecurity.

'Homeland' star is just one OE invited to dine with the President

"Trying to teach Marilyn how to act is like trying to teach Urdu to a badger," rages Laurence Olivier in Simon Curtis's frivolous drama about the brief relationship between third assistant director Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) and Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams) on the set of Olivier's stinker The Prince and the Showgirl.

Simon Callow – actor, director and writer – doesn’t have many regrets, but he says he would love to have joined a circus. He would be “a clown of course.”