Paddington has been popping up everywhere among the tributes to the Queen, from toys in the carpets of flowers, to films appearing in TV schedules. It all stems from a sketch during the Platinum Jubilee, when the monarch and the bear made an unlikely but heartwarming pair.

It has been “extraordinary” to see how people have turned to the lovable brown bear for comfort as they have mourned the Queen, according to Karen Jankel, daughter of Paddington creator Michael Bond.

“If somebody told me a year ago that the Queen was sadly going to die, and when she did, that Paddington would be a very large part of it, I would be utterly amazed.”

Paddington teddies and marmalade sandwiches have been placed among the tributes – so many, in fact, that the Royal Parks have asked mourners not to leave any more.

Artistic illustrations of Paddington have become tributes too. Paddington was not previously closely associated with the Queen, but that changed three months ago, after Buckingham Palace came up with an idea to film her acting opposite the Peruvian bear to launch her televised Jubilee concert.

“One of the last times most of us saw the Queen close up was when she did that marvellous sketch during the Jubilee celebrations,” Ms Jankel told correspondents.

“That was the final image of the Queen for many people – that’s what they remember, and so they associate her with Paddington.”

That sketch showed the Queen offering her customary good-humoured hospitality to the clumsy bear, and pulling a marmalade sandwich out of her handbag.

It was a reassuring appearance from the smiling monarch despite the fact she could not attend the main live event itself because of her health.

It was written by some of the people who worked on the Paddington films. “We knew Paddington and the Queen stood for, and still do stand for, certain similar values – the idea that, be kind and polite and the world will be right,” co-writer James Lamont recently told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“It just felt very natural that those two could share a space together. They would both welcome each other, because they’re both cut from the same cloth.

“We also thought there was some inherent comedy in the idea of Paddington, who we know is a bit of a klutz and a bit of a bull in a china shop at times – putting him in Buckingham Palace in front of the Queen, when Frank Cottrell-Boyce, who worked on both the Queen’s appearance with James Bond for the London Olympic Games opening ceremony in 2012 and the Paddington sketch, said the monarch put in “a brilliantly-timed comic performance”.

“What an astute idea it was to have her act with Paddington, because Paddington embodies so many of the values that she stood for,” he said.

“Paddington is all about kindness, toleration, being kind to strangers, politeness – these things that are about character. And those are values that she’s embodied throughout her life.

“And they’re not values that are uncontested at the moment, so it was not purely a cute thing to do. It was significant, I think, and that’s why it’s resonated so much.”

The sketch culminated with the pair tapping their teacups in time to the famous rhythm of pop band Queen’s We Will Rock You, as the group opened the concert in front of Buckingham Palace where etiquette and behaviour are obviously paramount.”

The Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, will on Sept. 21 launch the “Q4- Lagos Initiative” meant to improve awareness of local tourism potential in the state.

Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf, the Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, in a statement on Sunday, said that the initiative would be launched in collaboration with stakeholders in the tourism, hospitality and creative subsectors.

The commissioner said the ministry recognised the need to leverage on the need for domestic tourism and encourage Nigerians to take their vacation within the country.

She noted that the ‘Q4-Lagos Initiative’ was inspired by the famous slogan “Eko For Show”.

According to the commissioner, this should be seen as a call out to the global industry that Lagos is ready to entrench its prime position as the destination of choice for tourism.

“The objectives of the initiative include selling Lagos to the world through a designed permanent merchandising, marketing social platform to optimise revenue generation opportunities for the economy.

“To also collate comprehensive data of events during the holiday period and determine the number of inbound tourists for the industry while maintaining standards to meet global quality demands,” she said.

According to Akinbile-Yusuf, the concept is expected to deliver high value for fun lovers.

She said the ministry would partner with relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to encourage more Lagosians to partake in the various events put together by private organisers.

“For us to deliver on this mandate, all event organisers are expected to get a clearance from the Ministry of Tourism without paying anything to enable the government to plan and monitor these events,” she said.

On Tuesday, the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria (CEAN) revealed that the top five highest-grossing films in Nigerian cinemas in August were Hollywood films.

Ope Ajayi, CEAN’s national president, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen.

He said the five Hollywood movies generated N378m from tickets sold across cinemas in the country in August.

Ajayi said the figure represented a 28 per cent increase compared to N294m realised in August 2021.

He, however, said there was a 19 per cent decline in tickets sold in August, as generated N471m in July.

“The 37 films shown in August realised over NGN378 million at the box office. 13 Hollywood films accounted for 72.4 per cent while 16 Nollywood films made a little over 22 per cent.

He said the figures bring its lifetime revenue at Nigeria’s box office to over N350 million, as of 31st August,” he said.

‘The Man Died’, a memoir of Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka’s prison experience initially published in 1972, is set to be adapted for the big screen.

The book chronicles the account of his arrest and 22-month imprisonment during the Nigerian Civil War.

It was revealed on the same weekend that ‘Elesin Oba’, a screen adaptation of Soyinka’s ‘Death and the King’s Horseman’, was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Renowned playwright Awam Amkpa, in an interview BookArtVille on Monday, said that he had received Soyinka’s nod to produce the film.

Amkpa is a Drama, Social and Cultural Analysis professor and Dean of Arts and Humanities at the New York University (NYU) in Abu Dhabi.

The 63-year-old said he works on the project with the Nigerian filmmaker Femi Odugbemi and the culture communicator Jahman Anikulapo.

The adaptation

On the new project, Amkpa said it is at the preliminary, pre-production/ script workshop stage.

He added that although there is no clear funding source, he is consulting his extensive contacts list, but the New York University, where he lectures, allowed some $400,000 seed money for the project.

“The film will be a fictionalised account of a nonfiction material”, he said.

He explained that he has been in meetings with Soyinka and other people across the country on the project.

“We are consulting several biographies of the era. A good back story leads to an original film,” Amkpa added.

‘The Man Died’

During the Nigerian Civil War, which took place from 1967–1970, Soyinka was accused of assisting the Biafran secessionists.

In that period, he was arrested and incarcerated for 24 months, most of it spent in solitary confinement in a 4ft by 8ft cell.

Disney Original is making a documentary on Anthony Madu, a Nigerian ballet dancer.

Madu became famous in 2020 after a video of him dancing barefoot in the rain went viral.

The upcoming documentary ‘Madu’ captures the events after uploading a 44-second video of Anthony dancing in the rain.

Nigerian director Joel Kachi Benson, who won the Venice Award in 2019 for his virtual reality documentary ‘Daughters of Chibok’ is directing the feature project alongside Oscar nominee Matt Ogens.

Disney Original Documentary was announced at the D23 Expo, unveiling its future projects.

Making the announcement, Marjon Javadi, Vice President of Disney Original Documentary, said that Anthony comes from a community with limited opportunities.

The documentary, he said, is a lifetime chance for Madu to pursue his dream.

In a joint statement, Joel Kachi Benson and co-director Matt Ogens said, “Our shared journey is about curiosity and creating an understanding of different cultures through our connection with each other.”

They described their experience on the project as a journey of discovery, growth, belonging and acceptance.

“Making his voice heard is our ultimate drive, and we believe Anthony’s extraordinary story will make the most captivating, emotional, and riveting film either of us has told,” they added.

Madu, who was 11 then, mesmerised many viewers worldwide with his pirouettes and leaps.

The video eventually fetched him a scholarship at the 100-year-old Elmhurst Ballet School in the U.K.

Footage of the feature documentary was shown to audiences at the D23 Expo held in California, USA, from 9 September through 11th.