Emma Chambers dies

KNOWN for playing Alice Tinker in “The Vicar of Dibley,” British actress Emma Chambers also had roles in “Notting Hill” and a “Martin Chuzzlewit” adaptation.

Chambers died from natural causes Wednesday evening and would be “greatly missed,” her agent John Grant said. She leaves a husband, fellow actor Ian Dunn.

Competition

PRODUCERS Jason Shuman and Zachary Green have established The Launch, a Million Dollar Screenplay Competition, which is aimed at college and university students with the goal of finding a new generation of screenwriters.

The fellowship will award US$100,000 in education grants to eight finalists, with the grand prize winner having his or her screenplay produced as a feature film with a budget of at least US$1 million. The competition is open to students around the world who are enrolled in an accredited two-year, four-year college/university or graduate program. The program will begin accepting submissions March 1 and run until May 31.

New project

LUPITA NYONG’O, currently lighting up the big screen in the blockbuster “Black Panther,” will star in the adaptation of “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah’s memoir “Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood.”

The project is in its early stages and has no director or writer. Nyong’o is attached to portray Noah’s mother, the central figure in the book that has been described as not just the comedian’s account of growing up under apartheid rule in South Africa but also a love letter to his mother. (SD-Agencies)