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Rabu, 01 Juli 2020

Guy Sebastian breaks his silence after his former manager Titus Day is charged with fraud - Daily Mail

'I'm absolutely devastated': Guy Sebastian breaks his silence over allegations his former manager defrauded him of $1.15MILLION

Guy Sebastian's ex-manager Titus Day has been arrested over $1.15million fraud
The 47-year-old was arrested at a home in Bondi at about 6.30pm on Wednesday
Police said they received a report on Wednesday June 3 over the alleged fraud
He was hit with fraud charges Thursday morning and spent the night behind bars
Sebastian said he feels 'vindicated' by the charges after an ongoing dispute
He said he saw 'some disparities in payments' during their 12-year partnership

By Alana Mazzoni and Zoe Zaczek For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 23:46 BST, 1 July 2020 | Updated: 00:10 BST, 2 July 2020

Guy Sebastian has broken his silence after his former manager was charged with allegedly defrauding him of $1.15million.

Titus Day has been charged with 61 counts of fraud for allegedly withholding money from the The Voice star over a seven-year period.

Sebastian released a statement on Thursday, saying he feels 'vindicated' but 'devastated' by the charges.

'As has been reported I have had an ongoing dispute with Titus for a number of years, and today I am absolutely devastated to learn the nature and detail of these charges,' the statement read.

Guy Sebastian released a statement on Thursday, saying he feels 'vindicated' but 'devastated' by the charges. Pictured with former manager Titus Day

Sebastian said that after a decade of partnership, he parted ways with Titus' management agency Six Degrees Management in November 2017.

'All my income was controlled via Titus into a Trust account and after noticing some disparities in payments, I requested important financial information that I was rightly entitled to, and upon doing so our relationship began deteriorating,' he said.

'Over these last years, my integrity and reputation have been questioned, and my untruths have been publicly stated.

'For me this has been deeply personal and this period has been the toughest of my life.

'These charges are a sad vindication of my position.'

Sebastian said he hopes his case can serve as an example to all performers about the importance of 'transparency' and trust between a manager and and an artist.

Day spent the night behind bars after being arrested at his Bondi home, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, at about 6.30pm on Wednesday.

Guys Sebastian's statement in full

'I am aware of the charges laid by police against my former manager Titus Day.

As has been reported I have had an ongoing dispute with Titus for a number of years, and today I am absolutely devastated to learn the nature and detail of these charges.

After over a decade of partnership, I parted ways with Titus' management company in November 2017.

All my income was controlled via Titus into a Trust account and after noticing some disparities in payments, I requested important financial information that I was rightly entitled to, and upon doing so our relationship began deteriorating.

For me this has been deeply personal and this period has been the toughest of my life. These charges are a sad vindication of my position.

No one in my industry deserves this to happen and I hope my case can serve as an example to all artists about the importance of transparency and trust between a manager and an artist.

I will not be making any further comment as the matter is now with the police.'

The 47-year-old was taken to Waverley Police Station, where he was hit with 61 fraud charges in the early hours of Thursday.

He was refused bail and is expected in court on Thursday morning.

Police said they received a report on June 3 of an alleged fraud committed against the 38-year-old singer.

'An investigation was launched by local detectives, who noted inconsistencies in financial documentation and bank account records,' police said in a statement.

He has now been charged with 61 counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception.

Sebastian said all his income was controlled via Titus Day (left) into a Trust account before the The Voice star started noticing some disparities in payments

Police will allege in court that Mr Day knowingly withheld $1.15 million in earnings from a client between December 2013 and April 2020.

The pair ended their working relationship in November 2017, after almost 12 years together.

Mr Day runs Six Degrees Management with his wife.

Day's arrest comes amid a court battle between the pair, with both claiming to be owed hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Sebastian claims his former manager owes him $200,000 for an alleged breach of contract and unpaid fees, while Day says he is owed $800,000, News Corp reports.

Day has previously told The Sydney Morning Herald that his business was left 'crippled' by Sebastian.

Mr Day (pictured, right) is arrested by NSW Police in Sydney's eastern suburbs on Wednesday. He was charged with 61 counts of fraud for allegedly withholding $1.5 million from Sebastian

'Guy terminated the management contract after 11-and-a-half years without notice and then refused to pay me commissions on any work that I did, even for events that had been completed. That crippled my business,' he said.

'All income that is earned comes to the manager first and then is paid on after commissions are deducted. That's how management deals work. Any money I am holding from royalties or otherwise is a fraction of what he refused to pay me as commissions for work I did as his manager.'

Day’s management agency went into liquidation in July last year, after previously representing Sophie Monk and Australian Idol runner up Shannon Noll.

The Daily Telegraph reported last month that Sebastian had implemented 24-hour security at his home in Maroubra, which he lives in with his wife Jules and their two sons.

Guy Sebastian said that after a decade of partnership, he parted ways with Titus' management firm Six Degrees Management in November 2017. Pictured with wife Jules

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2020-07-01 23:04:40Z
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Ellen DeGeneres talk show cancellation rumour: Production rep responds - NEWS.com.au

There are rumours the program could be cancelled due to declining ratings and the storm of negative press that has haunted the host for the past few months.

But according to producers, the show isn’t going anywhere.

A rep for Ellen’s production company commented on the rumours to The New York Post and said, “Telepictures can confirm it’s untrue.”

ELLEN’S POPULARITY DIVE

Ellen’s decline in popularity can be traced back to an awkward interview with Fifty Shades Of Grey star Dakota Johnson in December last year.

Things got off to a frosty start when DeGeneres mentioned Johnson’s recent 30th birthday.

“Happy belated birthday,” DeGeneres said. “How was the party? I wasn’t invited.”

As the audience laughed, Johnson replied sternly, “Actually, no, that’s not the truth, Ellen. You were invited.”

Johnson told DeGeneres she made sure to invite her to her party this year because she gave her “a bunch of sh*t” last year when she didn’t receive an invite to her party.

“I did invite you and you didn’t come,” Johnson repeated.

DeGeneres was sceptical at first: “This time you invited me? Are you sure? I don’t think so.”

“Ask everybody,” Johnson said. “Ask Jonathan, your producer.”

DeGeneres looked off camera at her producer who confirmed that Johnson had invited her to the birthday party.

“Why didn’t I go?” she asked out loud. “It was probably in Malibu; that’s too far for me to go to.”

After the interview with Johnson, it quickly emerged why DeGeneres missed the party.

The 62-year-old was actually in Texas where she controversially sat next to former US president George W. Bush at an NFL game.

The NFL game was a PR nightmare for DeGeneres, who was slammed for sitting next to Mr Bush, with many attacking the talk show host – a prominent gay, liberal and outspoken LGBT activist – for cosying up with the former Republican president, who once endorsed a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage.

Mr Bush also entered the US into a war with Iraq under the later-disproved belief that they possessed weapons of mass destruction.

Actor John Cusack went as far as to accuse DeGeneres of “normalising mass murderers” through association with Mr Bush.

DeGeneres later addressed the pair’s unlikely friendship and the criticism surrounding it on her talk show.

“People were upset. They thought, ‘Why is a gay Hollywood liberal sitting next to a conservative Republican president?’” she said.

“I’m friends with George Bush. In fact, I’m friends with a lot of people who don’t share the same beliefs that I have. We’re all different, and I think that we’ve forgotten that that’s OK that we’re all different.

“Just because I don’t agree with someone on everything doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be friends with them. When I say be kind to one another, I don’t only mean the people that think the same way that you do. I mean be kind to everyone.”

Actor Mark Ruffalo wasn’t buying it. “Until George W. Bush is brought to justice for the crimes of the Iraq War, (including American-lead (sic) torture, Iraqi deaths & displacement, and the deep scars – emotional & otherwise – inflicted on our military that served his folly), we can’t even begin to talk about kindness,” he tweeted after the furore.

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HOSTING FROM HOME DURING QUARANTINE

Ellen again came under fire in April after making a “distasteful” quarantine joke while hosting her talk show from the comfort of her living room.

DeGeneres, who has a net worth of $US490 million ($A708 million), made a joke in her opening monologue saying quarantining with her wife Portia de Rossi was similar to incarceration, which upset many of her viewers.

“This is like being in jail is what it is,” DeGeneres joked. “Mostly because I’ve been wearing the same clothes for 10 days and everyone in here is gay!”

Several fans took to Twitter to lambaste the comedian for her privilege, calling her out for likening the conditions of isolation in her mansion to those of prisoners, even in joking.

“My 19-year-old daughter is considered an ‘essential employee’. She’s a fast food worker. She’s exposed EVERY DAY. No one GAF about Ellen’s privilege pampers a$$ stuck in her mansion. Show me @ellen working the lines @ the grocery store. NO mask, NO gloves. Then I might care,” one angry user wrote.

“Petition to stick her in an actual jail after quarantine is lifted. Just for a month or so, so maybe she can learn something,” someone else joked.

“Hey, Ellen, go volunteer at a grocery store or food bank. Get on the front lines if being sequestered in your mansion is just too difficult. Unbelievable,” a third user noted.

TWITTER THREAD

In March, Ellen was the subject of a viral Twitter thread that centred on the topic that she was the “meanest person alive”.

The thread encouraged people to share any personal stories they had to validate the theory.

Comedian Kevin T. Porter tweeted: “Right now we all need a little kindness. You know, like Ellen DeGeneres always talks about!

“She’s also notoriously one of the meanest people alive. Respond to this with the most insane stories you’ve heard about Ellen being mean & I’ll match every one w/ $2 to @LAFoodBank.”

There were more than 1000 replies to Porter’s tweet, with people detailing their not-so-nice experiences with the comedian.

TV writer Benjamin Siemon replied to Porter’s tweet with: “She has a ‘sensitive nose’ so everyone must chew gum from a bowl outside her office before talking to her and if she thinks you smell that day you have to go home and shower.”

He also tweeted: “A new staff member was told, ‘Every day she picks someone different to really hate. It’s not your fault, just suck it up for the day and she’ll be mean to someone else the next day.’ They didn’t believe it but it ended up being entirely true.”

Chris Farah tweeted: “I worked @RealFoodDaily, served her … at brunch. She wrote a letter to the owner & complained about my chipped nail polish (not that it was on her plate but just that it was on my hand). I had worked til closing the night before & this was next morn, almost got me fired.”

Author Allison Freer wrote: “Was working on a show @ WB that was next to her stage. Was our showrunner’s 50th Bday. Caterer grilling steaks outside for special fancy lunch. Ellen sent someone over to demand they stop, as she doesn’t eat meat. She’s the worst.”

She also tweeted: “I have another food one: She polices her crew’s lunch orders, nobody allowed to eat fish etc. They would come hide on our stage to eat what they wanted away from her.”

Stand-up comedian Josh Levesque replied with: “Another friend of mine was a PA on her show and when Russell Brand came into the employee break area to chat with the crew and hang out, Ellen came in and got mad at him – saying he didn’t have to interact with these people, that’s why guests have their own area backstage.”

Singer Detox tweeted: “An old friend worked on her lot & smiled & said ‘good afternoon’ to her one day & she became unhinged. ‘Who do you think you are? You don’t look at me’, yada yada. She said Portia was with her & seemed embarrassed & tried to calm her down. Has forever changed my opinion of her.”

After being inundated with responses, Porter tweeted: “Well this got out of hand! It’s now hard to tell which stories are real or not, so I’ve rounded up to 300 and donated $600!”

DeGeneres never addressed the claims, but it’s certainly been a bumpy few months for one of daytime TV’s most beloved figures.

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2020-07-01 21:53:57Z
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Queensland performing artists get back on stage as coronavirus restrictions ease - ABC News

When the Brisbane Powerhouse reopens later this month, it will have been 131 days since it opened a show.

COVID-19 has kept arts and live performance venues shuttered since March.

The Powerhouse will be the first major arts venue in Queensland to welcome back patrons for a range of performances.

As signs of life return to the pandemic-stricken industry, here are the larger productions that are opening:

Brisbane Powerhouse: July 24

While the venue itself reopens on July 10, three iconic local theatre companies will run limited shows from July 24: Queensland Ballet, Club Briefs and Circa.

Brisbane Powerhouse artistic director Kris Stewart said they would open for 100-person capacity cabaret-style shows with audiences sitting with their group at well-spaced tables.

"We want to open the venue safely, but also make sure that artists and audiences get a chance to see each other to perform for each other again," he said.

"These kind of companies like Circa, Queensland Ballet, Club Briefs, traditionally they're touring the world, but now they're back in Brisbane.

A man smiling outside a large theatre venue — Kris Stewart says it's important for people to reconnect socially.(ABC News: Tim Swanston)

"We think it's a great opportunity to get those international companies into a classic Brisbane venue.

"We need to remain physically distanced but we've got to socially connect again ... we need to do shows to people and get in front of audiences."

Circa's artistic director Yaron Lifschitz said it was incredibly welcome news.

"To perform in our home town as a treat at the best of times," he said.

"To be in the same physical space as an audience and to be able to communicate with them, for them to sense the passion and the effort and the humanity of our artists and for us to convey that with some warmth and generosity and humour is really beautiful."

Call out to residents to nominate their own cul-de-sacs for show

It was an anxious wait for festival organisers closely watching the impact of the coronavirus-pandemic, but its usual September timeslot has been confirmed.

Brisbane Festival artistic director Louise Bezzina said this year would be about bringing "art to the people" rather than a focus on centrally located performances.

A smiling woman inside a large performance space — Louise Bezzina says they're thrilled to be opening on schedule.(ABC News: Tim Swanston)

That included a recent call-out for Brisbane residents to nominate their own cul-de-sacs for shows.

"There's cabaret, there's classical music, contemporary music, pretty much you name it ... we've got it.

"[This year] is very, very much focused on Brisbane artists and Queensland artists.

"We will employ 700 Brisbane artists this year, which is the most number of Brisbane artists that the Brisbane festival has ever employed."

Other players working to put on shows

La Boite and Queensland Theatre Company are working toward shows closer to the end of the year.

La Boite Theatre Company executive director Zohar Spatz said they had put forward tens of thousands of dollars for artists to create new performances.

"What we're hoping for is over the course of the next three or four months, artists are going to start building the seeds of new shows," she said.

Circus acrobats in rehearsal — Circa acrobats are keen to perform in their home town.(ABC News: Tim Swanston)

"We'll open up the venue at the end of the year for a sort of celebration of those new ideas and what it looks to be in a world post-COVID.

"In between all of that we're sort of trying to explore what we might be able to present this year … but really, our focus is on 2021.

"Touring is going to be super tough next year, so there's a really great opportunity for us to celebrate Queensland."

Arts Queensland is also supporting the reopening of Gold Coast's HOTA, Empire Theatre in Toowoomba, the Ipswich Civic Centre, Cairns Performing Arts Centre and Cairns' Tanks Arts Centre.

Queensland Performing Arts Centre's chief executive John Kotzas said work was being done to reopen their theatres in August.

"A bit similar to the way sport has done it, is we want to do smaller numbers to see how we do with those, implement social distancing and give our audiences great comfort in terms of being safe," Mr Kotzas said.

"Hopefully by September we'll be starting to return back to close to the numbers we had prior to COVID.

"We will go very hard with strong local content … there'll be some really strong music programs.

"Mainly around music and cabaret until such time we can draw an audience together and we can do some drama and music theatre."

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2020-07-01 20:16:52Z
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Meghan Markle felt ‘unprotected’ by ‘institution’ of Royal Family: Court papers - NEWS.com.au

Meghan Markle has sensationally claimed in bombshell court papers that she felt “unprotected” by the “institution” of the Royal Family.

As reported by The Sun, Meghan is suing Associated Newspapers Limited (who own The Daily Mail) and in documents said she was unable to defend herself, leaving pals “rightly concerned for her welfare when pregnant”.

The 38-year-old claims she felt “tremendous emotional distress” by media coverage, while her pals felt “silenced” by Kensington Palace and unable to defend her.

It emerged in the latest part of her High Court battle over the handwritten note she sent to her dad Thomas in August 2018.

The explosive court papers also reveal:

• Meghan claims her 2018 Royal Wedding that cost $57 million at Windsor brought in $1.8 billion in tourism cash

• Wrote an infamous letter to her dad Thomas to stop him being ‘manipulated’, instead of to reconcile

• Asked why she couldn’t take paid work when Princess Beatrice and Eugenie do

• Meghan spent her own money on flights for her father to and from to London and his hotel for her wedding

Today, the new legal documents show Meghan denies saying in the personal letter that she felt ‘victimised’ by her dad.

In the documents, Meghan also said that she felt “unprotected” by the “institution” of the Royal Family and was unable to defend herself against false claims that where made about her.

The 38-year-old said that some of those claims included the royal rift with William and Kate before she and Harry stepped down as senior royals in March, known widely as ‘Megxit’.

Meghan is suing ANL for publishing the personal letter to her dad, although the media group claims Mr Markle made it public after five of her pals gave an interview about it to People magazine.

The Duchess today named the pals, although they are only referred to as A, B, C, D and E in the papers, and they could now be called to testify at a trial.

People magazine previously described them as “Meghan’s inner circle – a longtime friend, a former co-star, a friend from LA, a one-time colleague and a close confidante’”.

Meghan has denied authorising her friends to speak out to defend her in the magazine article.

She said she learned an article about her was due to appear shortly before it was published, but did not know it would be in People magazine or its contents.

The possible trial would focus on whether Meghan had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of the letter to her dad.

Meghan denied saying she felt “victimised” by Thomas Markle

Meghan’s leaked letter told how 74-year-old Thomas Markle broke her heart “into a million pieces” by badmouthing the Royal Family and her marriage to Prince Harry.

Last year, he told the Mail on Sunday the gut-wrenching five-page letter was a “dagger to the heart” which left him “devastated”.

Today, Meghan denied saying she felt “victimised” by him, and dismissed claims she told him she had “only one father”.

Her court papers claim she wrote to the pensioner, who lives in the US, to raise concerns he was being used by the media.

She felt he “raised concern Mr Markle had consistently allowed himself to be manipulated by the tabloid media despite her trying to persuade him not to speak to them for his own good”.

The Duchess believes she is entitled to a “reasonable expectation of privacy” and thought its contents would never be published.

How the Sussex’s wedding brought in £1bn for the country

In the documents, Meghan claims her Royal Wedding made Britain $1.8 billion in tourism cash.

She believes the money raised from the wedding at Windsor Castle in May 2018 “far outweighed” the contribution stumped up by the taxpayer towards security.

Meghan’s legal team have also said the royal wedding was “not, in fact, publicly funded, but rather personally financed by HRH The Prince of Wales”.

The royal wedding that finished with a huge firework display, cost an estimated $57 million.

In a submission made by her team, it added: “Any public costs incurred for the wedding were solely for security and crowd control to protect members of the public, as deemed necessary by Thames Valley Police and the Metropolitan Police.”

Meghan argued that she should be able to do paid work like Princess Eugenie and Beatrice

Meghan also named Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie in the court docs, singling out the sisters and Prince Michael of Kent.

She named the trio while clarifying that members of the royal are, in fact, allowed to undertake paid work.

The Duchess hit back after it was stated in legal papers that she is “a member of the royal family and does not undertake paid work”.

In response, Meghan said it was wrong as “several member[s] of the Royal Family do ‘undertake paid work’ including, for example, Princess Beatrice of York, Princess Eugenie of York and Prince Michael of Kent”.

The Princesses, the children of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, are not ‘working royals’ and are under no obligation to attend royal events.

Beatrice works in finance and consulting and Eugenie is a director at a London art gallery.

Meghan is estimated to have made around $7.2 million from her acting career before marrying Prince Harry.

Since quitting royal life she has resumed her career and recently narrated the Disney film Elephant.

In the legal documents, Meghan added that she “was also the founder of the commercially successful lifestyle website The Tig”.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission

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2020-07-01 20:07:00Z
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Charles Dickens gets the Veep treatment with The Personal History of David Copperfield - ABC News

"I want to show that the work of Charles Dickens isn't just quality entertainment for a long-dead audience," says Armando Iannucci at the outset of the low-key BBC documentary Armando's Tale of Charles Dickens, from 2012.

He continues: "I believe that the true Dickensian world is our world. Dickens speaks to us now."

This is an assertion not fully borne out by the Scottish satirist's adaptation of the book Dickens fondly referred to as his "favourite child".

The Personal History of David Copperfield is a sprightly and theatrical adaptation that serves up an ensemble of kooky characters better equipped to entertain than to offer any insights into 21st-century life.

Tilda Swinton stands with serious expression looking into house windows and wears Victoria era black bonnet and dark green dress — Tilda Swinton plays Betsey Trotwood, David's eccentric aunt.(Supplied: Roadshow Films)

Iannucci is well-practiced at skewering the politics and social mores of the moment — as evidenced by painfully sharp-witted and potty-mouthed shows like The Thick of It and Veep.

More recently, however, he has let his eye wander along history's timeline, expanding the scope of his comedy to encompass both the past (a territory first explored in 2017, with The Death of Stalin) and the future (which will be the setting of his forthcoming sci-fi series Avenue 5).

A man in Victorian era suit and ascot stands at podium in from of set and seated crowd in Regency era playhouse. — The reading given by Patel's David was filmed inside the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds, England's last surviving Regency playhouse.(Supplied: Roadshow Films)

For now, Iannucci seems to have given up on tackling the present. (And really, given the state of things, who can blame him?)

Indeed, there are even signs that his characteristic cynicism may be softening: with its predominantly playful air and cheery colour palette, David Copperfield is more family-friendly than anything the writer-director has ever produced.

This may well be a boon for young'uns, but I'd wager it's something of a loss for those of us who are already full-grown, and partial to a few good stings in the tale.

The film's 'colour-blind' cast — because this is not the BBC's 19th-century England — is captained by Dev Patel (Lion; Slumdog Millionaire), who remains blandly endearing as the plucky and sweet-natured protagonist, according to whose account of his own maturation the story unfolds, from fatherless child (a role divided between Ranveer Jaiswal and Jairaj Varsani) to happily married man, via so many fateful pitfalls and windfalls.

In Victorian era England a young boy with fearful expression runs down street chased by group of suited and top hatted men. — Dickens's experiences of child labour in Victorian England and the impact of the Industrial Revolution are depicted in his novel.(Supplied: Roadshow Films)

Patel is backed by a number of actors with rather more protuberant funny bones: notably, Tilda Swinton as the severe but kindly Betsey Trotwood, David's great-aunt; Hugh Laurie as her shock-haired, moderately loopy housemate Mr Dick; and long-time Iannucci collaborator Peter Capaldi (a star of both The Thick of It and In the Loop) as the accordion-wielding Mr Micawber, with whom our hero resides as a working youth in London — a man whose oratorical eloquence is exceeded only by his debt.

In Victorian era interior a blonde women holds hands open and expresses anger, behind sits a young man and stands an older man. — Iannucci and co-writer Simon Blackwell wanted to bring out the humour of the book, without the Victorian seriousness seen in previous adaptations.(Supplied: Roadshow Films)

The film opens as the book does: "Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show," says David. But Iannucci positions him on a stage, addressing a plush theatre full of people from a lectern, and has him then turn and stroll right into the backdrop — one of the film's many such whimsical, self-reflexive transitions — off to bear witness to his own birth.

Iannucci's take on Dickens' lightly autobiographical bildungsroman is rendered with a wholehearted, and palpably well-informed, affection.

That the action has been rather streamlined, with however many subplots axed and a number of character arcs truncated, is certainly to have been expected, given the novel's formidable girth.

Rounding out the expansive cast are Ben Whishaw, who, bravely bowl-cutted, takes on the role of oily sycophant Uriah Heep; Benjamin Wong as Mr Wickfield, Betsey's lawyer, never not wondering if it's too early for a drink; and Rosalind Eleazar as his clever and considerate daughter Agnes Wickfield — on whom David's intense but peripatetic romantic attentions eventually come to rest.

On sunny day in wheat field a woman stands in Victorian blouse and long skirt holds hand of man in shirt, waistcoat and pants. — Stage and TV actor Rosalind Eleazar (left) made her feature film debut as David's confidante and love interest, Agnes Wickfield.(Supplied: Roadshow Films)

In an Oedipal double bill, the promising Morfydd Clark (star of the recent A24 horror film Saint Maud) plays both David's dear mother and, later in the piece, the girlish Dora Spenlow, with whom the lad first becomes besotted — Clark here demonstrating a knack for off-kilter comedy with her well-tuned space-cadet routine.

Iannucci proves inventive in stitching together a cinematic version of this classic story, offering fresh sequences that blend quite nicely with those pre-existing, and repurposing choice bits of Dickens' dialogue with ease.

It's notable, however, that the director avoids dramatising the sticky ends owed to several characters.

Two men in top hats and Victorian era suits look surprised and stand in in front of building with union jack flags at gates. — Iannucci says that the cast of The Personal History of David Copperfield reflects the ethnic diversity of Britain today.(Supplied: Roadshow Films)

Though no less sharp-tongued, and no less keen-eyed in its satire of the vicissitudes of class, and of fortune, Iannucci's is a somewhat gentler Copperfield than the original.

But, in the words of David's dashing school friend Steerforth (in response to an offer to tell a story about a family residing in an upturned boat): "I don't care for whimsy, sorry."

The Personal History of David Copperfield is in cinemas from July 2.

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2020-07-01 15:53:13Z
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Guy Sebastian's manager Titus Day arrested after allegedly defrauding him more than $1 million - ABC News

Police have arrested Guy Sebastian's former manager Titus Day after he allegedly defrauded the singer-songwriter of more than $1 million.

Mr Day was detained at his Bondi home on Wednesday night and taken to Waverley Police Station, where the 47-year-old is expected to be charged with fraud-related offences.

NSW Police launched an investigation after the singer's own inquiries led him to approach detectives last month.

Mr Day is accused of failing to tell the inaugural Australian Idol winner about money owed to him for work completed between December 2013 and April 2020.

The men are currently suing each other in the Federal Court, where both claim they are owed hundreds of thousands of dollars by the other.

Lawyers for Mr Sebastian argued royalties from the sale of his work disappeared and sought $200,000 from his former manager.

Mr Day, who runs Six Degrees Management with his wife, claimed he is owed $800,000 in unpaid fees.

The arrest of Mr Day follows years of discord between the men, following the dissolution of their working relationship in November 2017, after almost 12 years together.

At the time Mr Day said he was "very sad to be losing Guy as a client, but he is a wonderful talent and a good person, so I wish him well in everything he does".

But last month Mr Day told Nine Newspapers that Mr Sebastian had abruptly ended their professional relationship and claimed he had been left out of pocket.

"Guy terminated the management contract after 11-and-a-half years without notice and then refused to pay me commissions on any work that I did, even for events that had been completed. That crippled my business," Mr Day said.

"All income that is earned comes to the manager first and then is paid on after commissions are deducted. That's how management deals work. Any money I am holding from royalties or otherwise is a fraction of what he refused to pay me as commissions for work I did as his manager."

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2020-07-01 15:53:57Z
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