Entertainment Live: Emmy nominations, Tomlinson tweets

Sotheby'sCopyright: Sotheby's

Two watercolours attributed to Charlotte Bronte have been acquired by The Bronte Society at an auction at Sotheby's.

The paintings, one a study of a white carnation and another depicting a convolvulus, a crocus and an aster, were previously unknown and have never been on public display.

According to the Bronte Parsonage Museum in Keighley, West Yorkshire, the unsigned works are "stylistically similar" to other paintings by Bronte in the society's collection.

The paintings will go on display in the museum next year.

BBCCopyright: BBC

More news on Jake Gyllenhaal now - because some of us just can't get enough.

Following on from his appearance on BBC Breakfast this morning, the actor can be heard on Radio 4's Front Row later telling presenter Kirsty Lang how he'd love to emulate his actress sister Maggie and star in a British TV drama.

While promoting his new boxing film Southpaw, the actor said it would be an "honour" to work for the BBC "but only with a British accent".

Maggie Gyllenhaal, you may recall, sported a pitch-perfect English accent in political drama The Honourable Woman, for which she won a Golden Globe.

"I think we both feel support from British culture in what we do and how we do it, and we often talk about that," said her brother.

Listen to part of the interview, which can be heard in full on Thursday's Front Row.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Singer Neil Young has followed in Taylor Swift's footsteps and pulled his music from some streaming services.

The Canadian star, who announced the news on his Facebook page, said he took the decision over technical issues.

"Streaming has ended for me," he wrote. "It's not because of the money... it's about sound quality.

"I don't need my music to be devalued by the worst quality in the history of broadcasting or any other form of distribution.

"When the quality is back, I'll give it another look."

Andrew Hayes-WatkinsCopyright: Andrew Hayes-Watkins

Seventy-six concerts. Eighty-four hours of piano tuning. One hundred and twenty-six music stands.

However you wave a baton at them, the statistics for this year's BBC Proms are genuinely jaw-dropping.

Our man Jason Caffrey has been looking into the logistical challenge of presenting an eight-week festival of classical music at the Royal Albert Hall.

Find out more in his feature.

A Hello Kitty! rice cooker, a selection of mobile phones and a group of kimonos from the 1920s and '30s are among recent acquisitions that will be shown in the V&A's refurbished Toshiba Gallery of Japanese Art.

Originally opened in December 1986, the gallery was the first major gallery of Japanese art in the UK.

It will re-open at the beginning of November after extensive refurbishment with some 30 new acquisitions.

Among the collection's curiosities are a 1979 Sony Walkman, a pair of gravity-defying shoes and an Issey Miyake outfit that employs the concept of origami to create a piece of clothing out of a single piece of fabric.

Chicago TribuneCopyright: Chicago Tribune

Spike Lee's Chi-raq will become the first home-produced feature film released in cinemas by Amazon's fledgling film division.

The film will have a limited release in December - to allow it to qualify for next year's Oscar race - ahead of its official release in 2016.

Unlike rival Netflix - who release films simultaneously in cinemas and online - the film will be shown in theatres before being made available to custumers via the Amazon streaming service.

Chi-raq, an update of of the classical Greek play Lysistrata, stars Teyonah Parris as a woman who protests black-on-black gun violence by withholding sex. It also stars Wesley Snipes, Samuel L Jackson, John Cusack and Jennifer Hudson.

"Chi-raq makes no apologies and dares to shock," said Amazon's Ted Hope, hailing Lee as a "distinct and visionary" film-maker.

Read more on this story.

David Gilmour has announced the release of his fourth solo album - his first in almost 10 years.

The first single will debut on the Chris Evans show on BBC Radio 2 on Friday morning, after which it will be available to download and stream worldwide.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Disney is planning a live-action prequel to Aladdin, the 1992 animated hit in which the late Robin Williams (pictured) appeared as the Genie of the Lamp.

The studio is developing Genies, a comedy adventure that will reveal how the genie ended up in the lamp in the first place.

The film is part of a growing roster of animated Disney hits that are being given the live-action treatment.

Jon Favreau's The Jungle Book is released in cinemas next year, with Beauty and the Beast, starring Emma Watson, planned for spring 2017.

Other projects in the planning stage include a Tim Burton-directed Dumbo and new versions of Winnie the Pooh and Pinocchio.

One Direction's Louis Tomlinson has broken his Twitter silence... but no word on rumours of impending fatherhood.

Instead, the 1D star celebrated the group's recent gig in Seattle on Wednesday night.

Better enjoy those nights out while you can, Louis...

APCopyright: AP

Asked to create a list of the 10 best heist films ever made for movie search engine IMDB, Ant-Man star Paul Rudd came to the disheartening conclusion that he simply hadn't seen enough heist films to do the job justice.

Undeterred, he compiled a list of the Top 10 heist films he's never seen - a rather good selection, as it happens, that includes such gems as Sexy Beast, To Catch a Thief and The Italian Job.

We've checked, though, and apparently he was only supposed to blow the bloody doors off. Find out more.

AFPCopyright: AFP

One of the more striking displays at this year's Milan Expo is the gigantic beehive structure created for the UK pavilion by Nottinghamshire-based artist Wolfgang Buttress.

Watch our video to see what it looks like, inside and out.

Asked about popular shows like The Voice, James Purnell, the BBC's strategy and digital director, says the corporation produces "a combination of universality... with public service content and values threaded all the way through". He also says there is no evidence that if the BBC pulls back, the rest of the market will "somehow magically come forward".

Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen says this is the "most important charter review that the BBC has ever had".

It is only every 10 years that MPs get to debate the future of the BBC, he says, describing the current licence fee model as "completely unsustainable".

The BBC has also issued a response to the findings of an independent report, released today, into whether non-payment of the licence fee should be decriminalised

Quote Message: ’The BBC welcomes the conclusions of the Perry Review that licence fee evasion should not be decriminalised and that the current system is broadly fair, proportionate and provides good value for both licence fee payers and taxpayers.

’The BBC welcomes the conclusions of the Perry Review that licence fee evasion should not be decriminalised and that the current system is broadly fair, proportionate and provides good value for both licence fee payers and taxpayers.

Quote Message: We will implement the Review’s recommendations on how to improve our current enforcement policies and also discuss the other recommended changes with the Government.

We will implement the Review’s recommendations on how to improve our current enforcement policies and also discuss the other recommended changes with the Government.

  The TV Licence Fee and Enforcement Review report  can be read here.

Responding to John Whittingdale, shadow culture secretary Chris Bryant said he accepted the need for change at the BBC but was mystified by the government's attitude towards the corporation.

Quote Message: The BBC is our cultural NHS. It's a beacon of accuracy and impartiality around the world. It's not just part of the national furniture, it's our greatest cultural institution. It's a miracle of constitutional engineering; independent of government, yet funded by the public. It's the corner-stone of our creative industries, earning respect and money for Britain and British values.

The BBC is our cultural NHS. It's a beacon of accuracy and impartiality around the world. It's not just part of the national furniture, it's our greatest cultural institution. It's a miracle of constitutional engineering; independent of government, yet funded by the public. It's the corner-stone of our creative industries, earning respect and money for Britain and British values.

Quote Message: Would it not be profoundly unpatriotic to seek to diminish the BBC and thereby diminish Britain? Has any member [of Parliament] ever met a foreigner who said: 'You know what, I love Britain - I just hate the BBC?' Of course they haven't."

Would it not be profoundly unpatriotic to seek to diminish the BBC and thereby diminish Britain? Has any member [of Parliament] ever met a foreigner who said: 'You know what, I love Britain - I just hate the BBC?' Of course they haven't."

This is a consultation that is very much about the BBC's place in the broadcasting and media market. To what extent has the role of the BBC, which has expanded enormously over the last 20 years or so, should stay as it is?

How much should the BBC perhaps shrink back to its core purpose, as Mr Whittingdale would describe it, a public service broadcaster, making distinctive programmes?

In television, should the BBC be making programmes like Strictly and Sherlock, which arguably commercial companies could make? In radio, should the BBC be running stations like Radio 1 or 2, which again arguably the commercial sector could do?

And in online, the BBC's very substantial footprint on the internet, is that warping the market against a proper commercial market for other players in news and other internet services?

Quote Message: The Green Paper recognises the enormous contribution that the BBC makes to the UK, and all the Trust’s analysis and audience feedback over the past eight years has underlined the value that it brings to people across the country.

The Green Paper recognises the enormous contribution that the BBC makes to the UK, and all the Trust’s analysis and audience feedback over the past eight years has underlined the value that it brings to people across the country.

Quote Message: Of course there are also big questions to ask about the future of the BBC, but the debate must not be a narrow one and the clearest voice in it must that of the public. We will carry out our own research and consultation to make sure of that, and we welcome the Government’s statement that they will work with us and will take full account of our findings."

Of course there are also big questions to ask about the future of the BBC, but the debate must not be a narrow one and the clearest voice in it must that of the public. We will carry out our own research and consultation to make sure of that, and we welcome the Government’s statement that they will work with us and will take full account of our findings."

Mr Whittingdale has told MPs the focus of the BBC's operations might have to change in future.   

Quote Message: One key task is to assess whether the idea of universality still holds water. With so much more choice in what to consume and how to consume it, we must at least question whether the BBC should try to be all things to all people, to serve everyone across every platform or whether it should have a more precisely targeted mission."

One key task is to assess whether the idea of universality still holds water. With so much more choice in what to consume and how to consume it, we must at least question whether the BBC should try to be all things to all people, to serve everyone across every platform or whether it should have a more precisely targeted mission."

Addressing the question of how the BBC should be funded, Mr Whittingdale said there was "no easy solution".

Alternatives to the licence fee - including a reformed licence fee, a household levy and a subscription model - will be investigated as part of the review.

The culture secretary said the licence fee has proved to be a "resilient" income stream, but is "not without its challenges".

He added a subscription model could work in the longer term, "but cannot work in the short term because the technology is not yet in every home to control access."

John Whittingdale has also spoken about the role of the BBC Trust, saying the corporation "needs effective governance and regulation".

He said there had been "occasions when the BBC has fallen well short of the standards expected of it".

He said there were three options available, including a reformed Trust and transferring governance to an external body, such as Ofcom.

Whittingdale said "any public body should be fully accountable to the public".

But he stressed: "The BBC is part of the fabric of this country... we want it to thrive in years to come."

Quote Message: The BBC is a creative and economic powerhouse for Britain. The starting point for any debate should be - how can a strong BBC benefit Britain even more at home and abroad? The BBC has embraced change in the past and will continue to do so in the future, and we will set out our own proposals in September.

The BBC is a creative and economic powerhouse for Britain. The starting point for any debate should be - how can a strong BBC benefit Britain even more at home and abroad? The BBC has embraced change in the past and will continue to do so in the future, and we will set out our own proposals in September.

Quote Message: We believe that this Green Paper would appear to herald a much diminished, less popular, BBC. That would be bad for Britain and would not be the BBC that the public has known and loved for over 90 years. It is important that we hear what the public want. It should be for the public to decide whether programmes like Strictly or Bake Off, or stations like Radio One or Two, should continue.

We believe that this Green Paper would appear to herald a much diminished, less popular, BBC. That would be bad for Britain and would not be the BBC that the public has known and loved for over 90 years. It is important that we hear what the public want. It should be for the public to decide whether programmes like Strictly or Bake Off, or stations like Radio One or Two, should continue.

Quote Message: As the Director General said on Tuesday, the BBC is not owned by its staff or by politicians, it is owned by the public. They are our shareholders. They pay the licence fee. Their voice should be heard the loudest.”

As the Director General said on Tuesday, the BBC is not owned by its staff or by politicians, it is owned by the public. They are our shareholders. They pay the licence fee. Their voice should be heard the loudest.”

The full text of the government's Green Paper on BBC charter review is now available online.

Questions posed in the consultation document include:

• Is the expansion of the BBC's services justified in the context of increased choice for audiences?
• Is the BBC crowding out commercial competition?
• How well is the BBC serving its national and international audiences?
• Is the BBC's content sufficiently high quality and distinctive from that of other broadcasters?

Culture secretary John Whittingdale has announced that an independent report into whether non-payment of the licence fee should be decriminalised has concluded that decriminalisation is "not appropriate at this time".

BBCCopyright: BBC

Good news for fans of the Bafta-winning sitcom Detectorists - a second series is currently in production.

The show will once again see Mackenzie Crook's hapless Andy and Toby Jones' lovelorn Lance scour the English countryside for buried treasure while dealing with their less than perfect private lives.

"To be back in Suffolk filming in the glorious English countryside for a second summer is more than I could have hoped for," said Crook, who also writes and directs the quirky BBC Four comedy.

"I'm thrilled that people warmed to the first series of Detectorists and I can't wait to show them the next instalment."

The six-part series will be broadcast later this year and will be topped off by a Christmas special.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Cody Walker, who helped Universal Pictures get Fast & Furious 7 back on the road after the tragic death of his brother Paul, has landed his first significant film role as an actor.

Walker, who stood in for his elder brother to complete filming on Furious 7, will star opposite Nicolas Cage in USS Indianapolis.

The film tells the true story of Captain Charles McVay, whose boat was torpedoed while on a secret mission in 1945. Of the 1,196 on the boat, only 317 survived.

McVay was court-martialled but was exonerated more than half a century later.

It has also been rumoured that Walker, pictured above with Paul in 2003, will appear in Fast & Furious 8 as a relative of his brother's character.

Songwriter Burt Bacharach made a surprise appearance at the first night of new tribute musical What's It All About? Bacharach Reimagined as it opened at London's Menier Chocolate Factory on Wednesday. 

The musical, described by WhatsOnStage critic Michael Coveney as "supremely theatrical [and] musically enthralling", previously had a successful Broadway run.

Legendary composer Bacharach took to the piano for a rendition of arguably his most famous song, Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head.

He was joined by guests including Claire Sweeney, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Sheridan Smith - who recently confirmed she will be playing the title role in Funny Girl at the London venue.

See what Sweeney, novelist Anthony Horowitz and others had to say about Bacharach's tuneful cameo.

Getty Images/OrionCopyright: Getty Images/Orion

Francesca Simon's final Horrid Henry book, Horrid Henry's Cannibal Curse, is published today.

The author, who has been working on the series for 21 years, has written 24 books, each containing four separate stories.

She called the best-selling books, about a pair of warring siblings, "the world's most accidental series".

"It was just a one-off story, but then my editor said 'it's too short, it doesn't work - but I like it. Could you expand it?'

"My heart sank," Simon admitted on BBC Radio 4's Front Row.

The author said she had wanted to bring the series to the close "while I was ahead".

"I wanted it to end with people saying, 'this is the best book yet... why aren't you writing more?'

"It felt like the right time."

BBCCopyright: BBC

"I'll say this straight away - yours is a film I did not fall asleep in."

High praise indeed from BBC Breakfast's Charlie Stayt, whose interview with Hollywood star Jake Gyllenhaal was broadcast earlier.

The Donnie Darko star looks almost recognisable in his latest feature, a boxing drama called Southpaw that saw him pile on 45 pounds of muscle.

The film's out next week in the UK, but you can watch Gyllenhaal now as he boxes clever with - and shakes hands with - the BBC's interviewing heavyweight.

Watch the interview.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Monty Python star Michael Palin is one of 29 leading entertainment figures who sent a letter to the government calling for a "strong BBC" this week.

Speaking on the Victoria Derbyshire programme earlier, the author and broadcaster said he had put his name to the document after receiving a phone call from Danny Cohen, the BBC's director of television.

Explaining his motives, he said: "The BBC is enormously admired and respected around the world. It's a great ambassador for Britain. Why reduce that?

"I really don't see the reason why that should be chipped away at. I think it works very well."

Citing programmes like The Office, which went from cult show to global phenomenon, Palin said the BBC offered "opportunities to experiment" that commercial broadcasters might avoid.

"It has provided me with opportunities which I just don't think I would have got anywhere else," the 72-year-old added.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Who will be up for honours when this year's Emmy nominations are announced later? That remains to be seen, though industry insiders are expecting much more racial diversity than the Oscars displayed earlier this year.

That event drew censure for its all-white line-up of acting nominees, something that's unlikely to be an issue at its television-celebrating counterpart.

The best actress in a drama category, for example, is likely to feature Empire's Taraji P Henson (pictured), How to Get Away with Murder star Viola Davis and Kerry Washington, set to get her third Emmy nomination in a row for Scandal.

No non-white actress has ever won the award, something Henson remarked upon in May at a promotional event for her hit show.

"I gotta win! I gotta win for history!'' said the actress, whose performance as the feisty and combative Cookie Lyon has been one of the stand-outs turns of the last 12 months.

We'll be bringing you news of this year's nominations later.

Warner BrosCopyright: Warner Bros

Warner Bros has released the first trailer of Batman spin-off Suicide Squad, offering a early glimpse of DC Comics' band of anti-heroes.

The studio took the decision to release the official trailer after footage was leaked from last week's Comic-Con fan convention in San Diego.

"We regret this decision as it was our intention to keep the footage as a unique experience for the Comic-Con crowd," said Warner Brothers' Sue Kroll.

"But we cannot continue to allow the film to be represented by the poor quality of the pirated footage stolen from our presentation."

The film follows a gang of imprisoned villains, including Jared Leto's The Joker and Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn, who are thrown together to create "a task force of the most dangerous people on the planet".

Suicide Squad is scheduled for release next summer.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Robbie Williams made a surprise appearance at an auction of his pop memorabilia on Wednesday.

The singer took to the auctioneer's podium at a charity sale of 150 of his personal items at Bonhams in London.

He was distracted during the process when he spotted a fan among the audience.

"Haven't I kissed you during a gig?" he asked her. "Are you Barbara, is your name Barbara?

"Nice to see you again. You normally wear really red lipstick and are at the front of the shows."

Barbara Veras said Williams had recognised her after she saw him live in Barcelona, three months ago.

"I'm actually here on holiday so it was kind of a coincidence, but I'm a huge fan and I just had this feeling that maybe he would show up," she said.

"I had no idea he would remember me. I was freaked out."

The auction raised £145,000, including a £25,000 phone bid for the handwritten lyrics to Williams' 2013 track Go Gentle - the highest bid of the day.

All proceeds from the sale will go to Stoke-on-Trent's Donna Louise Children's Hospice, of which Williams is a patron.

Watch Williams in action at Wednesday's event.

APCopyright: AP

Theatres on Broadway dimmed their marquee lights on Wednesday in memory of Roger Rees, the Tony-winning Welsh-born actor who died last week.

The minute-long tribute is a traditional mark of respect to those who have left their mark on New York's Theatreland. 

Rees played the title character in the original production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby in England and on Broadway.

He went on to make memorable appearances in Cheers and The West Wing and only recently performed on Broadway in musical The Visit.

Mel Brooks, who cast Rees as the 'Sheriff of Rottingham' in his 1993 spoof Robin Hood: Men in Tights, was among those to pay tribute when the actor's death was announced.

Edmund SumnerCopyright: Edmund Sumner

The six shortlisted designs for this year's Riba Stirling Prize all adhere to the modernist mantra that form must follow function. There's no room for baroque flamboyance or arts and crafts individualism.

From the Burntwood School in south London to the Maggie's Cancer Care centre in Lanarkshire - clean lines, geometric forms, and plate glass are the order of the day. No fuss, no nonsense.

The steel braces that form the external diagonal grids on a group of luxury housing blocks situated near Tate Modern are about as flamboyant as any of the designs get. Restrained elegance abounds.

A new university building in Greenwich and a social housing development in east London - clad in stone and brick respectively - both feature sober facades punctuated by recessed windows.

Perhaps the most striking design is the glass and brick extension to the Whitworth gallery in Manchester, which has transformed an institutional-looking building into a modern, bright visitor attraction. It'd get my vote.

Read more about the shortlisted buildings.

The government is firing the starting gun on what they hope will be a national debate about what kind of BBC we want to have in the future.

The culture secretary, John Whittingdale, has said it will cover the scope, the scale, the funding and the governance of the BBC. Not least the notion that the BBC should be a much smaller organisation providing public service broadcasting.

In other words, specific programmes that the commercial sector cannot provide. It could mean an end to shows like EastEnders, The Voice and Strictly Come Dancing.

Meanwhile, we also expect to get the report into whether non-payment of the licence fee should remain a criminal offence. The expectation is that David Perry QC, who oversaw the report, will say criminalisation should stay.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The wife of Hollywood star Johnny Depp has been charged with illegally smuggling dogs into Australia.

Amber Heard came under fire for failing to declare Pistol and Boo, the couple's Yorkshire terriers, to authorities on their arrival in Brisbane in April.

The actress, who can currently be seen in Magic Mike XXL, is charged with two counts of illegally importing the dogs into Australia and one count of producing a false document.

Under importation charges, she could face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of 102,000 Australian dollars (£48,000).

Ms Heard has been issued with a summons to appear in a Queensland court on 7 September.

Reports that Pistol and Boo will be called as character witnesses are unconfirmed at this time.

Read more on this story.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Caitlyn Jenner has called on sports people to help change attitudes towards transgender people.

The Olympic gold medallist and reality star, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, was presented with an award for courage at a ceremony in Los Angeles.

"Trans people deserve something vital, they deserve your respect,'' she said.

"If you want to call me names, make jokes and doubt my intentions, go ahead because the reality is I can take it.

"But for thousands of kids out there coming to terms with the reality of who they are, they shouldn't have to take it."

The annual ESPY awards, which honour sports people, was attended by a string of high-profile US stars including basketball player LeBron James and boxer Evander Holyfield.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

The event was also attended by non-sports celebrities, among them Southpaw stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Rachel McAdams (pictured).

Jenner's tearful 10-minute acceptance speech included jokes about getting ready for the awards ceremony, a process she called "exhausting".

"I've never felt more pressure than I have ever felt in my life than over the last couple of months, picking out this outfit.

"Fashion police, please be kind on me," she added. "I'm new at this."

ESPN, the TV network behind the awards, has denied claims Jenner was given the award in exchange for plugs on her new reality show, I Am Cait.

Read more on this story.

The government will issue a Green Paper later that is expected to question the size and activities of the BBC.

Culture secretary John Whittingdale is also expected to question whether the BBC should be making "highly commercial" entertainment shows like The Voice.

It has also been reported that the Green Paper will look at replacing the BBC Trust with broadcasting regulator Ofcom.

The culture secretary appointed an advisory panel last week to carry out a fundamental review of the corporation as it heads towards the renewal of its royal charter in 2016.

We'll be following developments closely.

As ever we'd love to hear what you think about today's entertainment news. Send us your thoughts and pictures - we're on Instagram and Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or you can get in touch via email too at entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.

Welcome to Thursday's live page on what looks like another busy day.

Stick with us for the latest news on the future of the BBC, the Emmys and Johnny Depp's dogs.

Something for everyone then...