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Queue chaos at Aldi over wooden toy event as outraged shoppers moan at eBay resellers

It’s all been kicking off in Aldi this week as the annual wooden toy event landed in the middle aisle (October 8), and shoppers were desperate to bag a bargain before stocks disappeared from the shelves.

Chaos ensued as shoppers frantically tried to get ahead of their Christmas shopping by snapping up early deals on children’s toys, but were hit with a two toy limit.

WalesOnline reported bargain hunters were even pictured queueing up outside of stores ahead of opening hours, ready to snap up traditional-style playsets that only appear once a year.

Customers across the UK took to X to say that they’ve ‘never seen anything like it.’ And outrage ensued on the platform as users realised people were buying the toys to resell on sites such as eBay and Vinted at a hefty profit.

Toys reportedly sold out quickly in most stores across the country, where prices were as little as £2.99 for Montessori-themed wooden books, playsets and accessories.

Aldi confirmed it was implementing a two per product per customer purchase limit on certain lines, ‘to ensure as many families as possible have a chance to join in the fun’.

It seems as though parents are clearly leaning back toward traditional, low-stimulation play with demand for wooden toy sets surging in an attempt to cut down screen times.

Recent BBC coverage highlighted government guidance surrounding screen time for children, suggesting that ‘fast-paced, social media-style videos and AI toys or tools should be avoided for young children.’

Child‑development specialists are in agreement, too. Studies continue to stress that hands‑on parent–child play is ’emotionally and biologically necessary’ for language development and cognitive growth.

That shift in attitude lines up almost perfectly with Aldi’s wooden toy range.

Aldi wooden toy stall was available in store

Amongst the NEW additions to the range is the Cinema Counter and Kebab Takeaway Food Cart (£29.99). Perfect for little ones to take make-believe orders so kids can run their own mini takeaway this Christmas. There’s plenty more in the range too, including a 2-in-1 Market Stall (£29.99), Stackable Dishwasher (£19.99) and Medical and Vet Tables (£19.99 each).

If you missed out on Aldi’s annual wooden toy event, all hope isn’t lost. Amazon still has plenty of similar picks to help you get ahead of the Christmas countdown.

Here are some of our favourite wooden toys to shop on Amazon in time for the festive season.

Missed out on the Aldi wooden toy event? Here’s where to get alternatives online

Shop now: Joyreal Wooden Car Ramp Toy – Montessori Toys for 1 2 3 Years Old, £21.99 on Amazon

Joyreal Wooden Car Ramp Toy – Montessori Toys for 1 2 3 Years Old (Amazon)

Shop now: Melissa & Doug Wooden Ice Cream Toy Shop, was £39.99, now £34.99

Melissa & Doug Wooden Ice Cream Toy Shop (Amazon)

Shop now: Jaques of London Wooden Noahs Ark Shape Sorter, was £34.99, now £29.99

Jaques of London Wooden Noahs Ark Shape Sorter

Shop now: Vanplay Montessori Wooden Hammering Pounding Toy, was £23.99, now £20.39

Vanplay Montessori Wooden Hammering Pounding Toy

Shop now: Le Toy Van Wooden Barista Café Shop, £49.95 on Amazon

Le Toy Van Wooden Barista Café Shop (Amazon)

October 9, 2026
Sexually transmitted diarrhoea is on the rise and it’s ‘close to untreatable’
STIs are always something that you should be looking to avoid, but the latest bout spreading sounds like one of the worst of all.

Anyone who had a hot girl summer in the UK might have regretted their decision earlier this year after gonorrhoea cases reached a historic high, while other sexually transmitted diseases can also be completely incurable.

Although we’re living in an increasingly sex positive world and generation, we don’t want to be positive when it comes to taking an STI test, especially with the often severe symptoms they can cause.

But the new ‘sexually transmitted diarrhoea superbug’ that’s spreading rapidly is certainly one that folks will want to steer clear of, considering other STIs can sometimes be symptomless or don’t ever really present themselves.

Dysentery, an intestinal infection that causes inflammation and frequent diarrhoea containing blood or mucus, is on the rise and seemingly being spread through sex.

While we sometimes describe sex as ‘doing the nasty’, this would certainly be the case as it essentially involves going a little too close to the rear entrance when that person might have shigella bacteria, and the cases are evolving into something that is ‘close to untreatable.’

Hopefully they’ve both washed their hands… (Getty Stock Image)

What is shigella?

It is a type of bacteria found in poo that causes a severe upset stomach, HIV Prevention England explains. If severe, the infection can be treated with a course of antibiotics.

It’s passed on through getting infected faeces in the mouth, either when having sex or through contaminated food.

While not all people may get them, the most common symptoms of shigella include:
- Diarrhoea, which may contain blood and/or mucus
- Stomach cramps
- Pain around and in your anus (back passage)
- A feeling like you need to poo even when you’ve just had one
- Fever
- Feeling sick or vomiting
Shigella is passed on through getting infected faeces in the mouth, resulting in diarrhoea and stomach pain (Getty Stock Image)

People being ‘unaware of the serious and increasing risk’ of shigella

A study in July showed that the spread of the disease through sex grew 15 percent faster year-over-year between 2015 and 2020 compared to spread through travel, food, or nursery outbreaks.

Cambridge geneticist Kate Baker, a lead author on the July study, said: “Many men who have sex with men are unaware of the serious and increasing risk posed by sexually transmitted Shigella.”

“This disease has gone from being relatively treatable with off-the-shelf drugs to being close to untreatable over the course of the last decade or so.”

As few as 10 organisms of shigella are enough to make you sick. But it’s important to know that the bacteria can spread easily if the person you’re with isn’t washing their hands as well as they should be, as the poo particles can easily end up close to your mouth.

To make matters worse, Baker told Science Alert that ‘this isn’t just one form of sexually transmitted diarrhoea’ and that there’s actually ‘multiple overlapping variants emerging that are all quickly becoming resistant to the drugs we use to treat them’.

She continued: “It’s highly likely that if you contracted your Shigella through sex, you require different treatment to someone who contracted it through travel.”

It’s incredibly important to be washing your hands after using the loo, especially before having sex (Getty Stock Image)

What happens if shigella is left untreated?

In most cases, shigella will get better without treatment in three to seven days – but some people can have a severe illness that needs treatment, so it’s best to see a GP if your symptoms are severe or don’t start to improve after a couple of days.

While shigella does not cause HIV, it can result in dysentery, severe dehydration, and in more extreme cases, seizures, per the Mayo Clinic.

If you think you have shigella, contact your GP or local sexual health clinic immediately, and it’s important to stay hydrated.

So for now, maybe add ‘looking for someone who has not had diarrhoea recently’ to your prompts on Hinge, and make sure to wash all your bits and sex toys thoroughly before you get down and dirty, in a safe, hopefully non STI-spreading way.

The California Department of Public Health also adds: “Don’t have sex with someone who has had diarrhoea in the last two weeks.” Sound advice.
October 9, 2026
Who is the man being executed by firing squad on livestream in first public execution for 90 years

In a disturbingly dystopian update, the US government have confirmed that an execution at the Pentagon will be live streamed on the internet.

Following the botched execution of Christa Pike, which has dominated news across the world in recent weeks, the US clearly want to send a different message when it comes to Nidal Malik Hasan, who is scheduled to die in December.

Despite Pike’s execution going horribly wrong, with the 50-year-old now conscious and talking in hospital, Jamaal Howard was also put to death by lethal injection earlier this week using the same controversial drug, and he wouldn’t survive it.

The death penalty is already a hugely debated topic and isn’t something we’ve seen in the UK since 1964, but in the US they happen on a fairly regular basis, albeit behind closed doors with only family of the convict and any of their victims permitted to attend.

A public execution feels medieval but now the planned firing squad execution of Hasan later this year at the Pentagon will be plastered on the internet for all to see after US defence secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that it would be ‘public’, which will be the first since Rainey Bethea was killed in Kentucky 90 years ago.

Pete Hegseth made it clear that he wants Hasan’s death to be public (Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images)

“We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it,” Mr Hegseth told conservative TV outlet Real America’s Voice News.

But who is Hasan? And what did he do to warrant such a violent method of death that the US government felt needed to be live-streamed online?

The 56-year-old worked in the US Army as a major and a physician, but in 2009 his intentions as an Islamic terrorist became clear, as he infiltrated Fort Hood and shot 13 unarmed soldiers dead, injuring 33 others.

“People need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things,” said Hegseth.

Hasan represented himself in a 2013 trial and admitted responsibility for the killings, later claiming that he had ‘switched sides’ in a ‘war against Islam’ that he believed had been wagered by the US.

Despite problems that plagued Hasan’s service in the army, which included him making ‘outlandish’ statements about the US military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, Hasan continued to progress upwards through the army.

He even reportedly said that ‘the Muslims should stand up and fight against the aggressor’, when referring to American soldiers as the aggressors.

A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed that Trump has approved the idea (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

On November 5 2009, he committed the worst shooting against armed forces on an American military base, and he has remained incarcerated at US army barracks ever since.

While Hesgeth and Donald Trump, who has approved the Defence Secretary’s recommendation, feel that Hasan should be publicly executed, thankfully there would be significant legal obstacles for this to overcome.

John Mills, a lawyer who works with inmates sentenced to death, called the decision to livestream it ‘unprecedented in the modern era’.

He told the BBC: “Seeking to make it livestreamed, a firing squad execution, is little more than attention-seeking by the Trump administration and is unlikely to occur, much less deliver any semblance of justice.”

LADbible has contacted the White House for comment.

October 9, 2026
Woman injured in accident on holiday facing £28,000 bill after making simple travel insurance error

A mum of two has vowed never to travel abroad again after a quad bike accident left her with a broken back and a £28,000 bill.

Last month, Diane Steadman and her partner, Mick Raftery, travelled to the Greek island of Skiathos for a two-week vacation, quad biking across various idyllic beaches.

However, tragedy would strike on the last day of their holiday when the couple were allegedly struck by a car while heading back to the rental store to return their vehicle.

The impact of the car crashing into the back of the bike sent both Mick and Diane flying, and while Mick was fortunate enough to walk away from the accident with cuts and bruises, Diane suffered fractures to two of her vertebrae.

Diane and Mick had enjoyed a two-week trip to Greece when tragedy struck on their last day (Kennedy News and Media)

“I felt a jump in my back and I don’t remember anything else,” Diane recalled. “All I remember is waking up on the road.

“I was in and out of consciousness, I didn’t have the energy to speak to anybody when I woke up,” she continued.

“I tried to be strong but I’m so frightened, I feel like I’m going to die.”

The 61-year-old was rushed by ambulance to an emergency medical centre before being transferred to the Greek mainland for further treatment. After purchasing travel insurance before the trip, Diane had believed she would be covered for the accident.

However, when the carer went to file a claim, it emerged that her provider didn’t cover accidents from quadbikes, meaning she would now be forced to pay out of pocket for any healthcare she received in Greece.

The couple were hit from behind while driving back to the quadbike rental store, leaving Diane with a broken spine (Kennedy News and Media)

Not covered by their travel insurance, the couple have been forced to pay £28,000 for a medical ambulance home (Kennedy News and Media)

Unable to afford the £40,000 operating fees, Diane was left with no choice but to borrow £28,000 in order to cover her flight home in an air ambulance.

The couple are now fundraising to help cover the cost of the medical transport, which brought them back to the UK on 30 September.

Now back home in Warwickshire and waiting for an operation, Diane has been left ‘terrified’ by the experience and has vowed never to travel abroad again.

Diane is now awating surgery (Kennedy News and Media)

“It’s just been one thing after another, I will not be going abroad again, no way,” she said.

“Mick has been brave and tried to put a smile on my face. I’m scared of the operation, everyone is telling me it’s going to be okay.”

Meanwhile, Mick has urged people to make sure they read the fine print on travel insurance policies before jetting out so they don’t find themselves in a similar situation.

“Check your insurance before you rent a quad bike,” he added. “We were mistaken in thinking insurance covered quad bikes too.”

You can donate to Diane’s fundraiser here.

October 9, 2026
Three sisters cleaned their homes, emptied bank accounts and settled debts before Brighton beach suicide

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.

The three sisters from west London, whose bodies were recovered from the sea off Brighton, cleared some of their bank accounts in the days leading up to their deaths.

The bodies of Jane Adetoro, 36, Christina Walters, 32, and Rebecca Walters, 31, were pulled from the water on 13 May.

Senior coroner Penelope Schofield ruled their deaths as a suicide, but admitted that it ‘sadly may never be known’ why they took their lives.

“Many of the ladies’ accounts had been cleared of funds and in some cases debts had been settled,” Schofield said.

“Jane and her sister Rebecca shared the lease on their two bedroom flat.

“It showed very few belongings and looked like it had been cleaned.”

On 11 May, the sisters, who had lived ‘very secluded lives’, travelled to Birmingham and were dropped off close to their mother’s former home, near to where she had drowned more than 16 years earlier.

Emergency services attended the scene at around 5.45am on 13 May (Getty Stock Images)

After spending 90 minutes in Birmingham, they then took a taxi back to London in the early hours of 12 May and headed to Brighton that evening, arriving at around 10.21pm.

They are thought to have last been seen alive on CCTV at 2.42am on 13 May. A cyclist reported seeing a body on the beach and emergency services attended the scene at around 5.45am.

Paying tribute to his daughters, Joseph Jacobson, who attended the Brighton inquest by videolink, said in a written statement: “There are no words that can adequately express the pain of losing a child.

“To lose all three of my precious daughters, Jane, Christina and Rebecca, is a heartbreak beyond anything I could ever have imagined.”

He said he ‘cannot understand why their lives ended so suddenly’, but added: “You were my daughters, you will always be my daughters and I will love you for the rest of my life.

“May your beautiful souls rest in perfect peace.”

Jacobson later asked the coroner: “Have police got any proof that it was a suicide attempt, because based on the laptop, she could have been researching that, but that doesn’t give police the final answer that it was a suicide attempt?”

Schofield replied: “All the police can do is provide the court with the evidence that they’ve found.”

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cullimore said he had ‘remained open minded throughout and always considered whether there was third party involvement’ but he was now satisfied there had not been.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123 or contact Harmless by visiting their website https://harmless.org.uk.

October 9, 2026
Will AI Break Crypto Encryption? Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin Weighs In on ‘Bunker Mode’ Shift
In brief

Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder, thinks it is “plausible” that AI-driven advancements in math might break encryption, specifically lattice-based cryptography, within the next two years.

Lattice-based cryptography is one of several options to quantum-proof a blockchain, but Buterin is warning that it might expose the network to a closer AI risk.

It comes a day after Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake also said that AI-accelerated math may break encryption before quantum computing can.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin says it is “plausible” for artificial intelligence to break encryption within the next two years. As a result, he believes the industry needs to protect itself from AI-vulnerable cryptography, as well as quantum-vulnerable cryptography.

It comes just a day after Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake called on the industry to plan for “bunker mode” by moving funds to addresses whose public keys haven’t been exposed. Drake said that it’s now reasonable to believe AI advances in math could result in encryption breaking before quantum computers become powerful enough to break encryption, commonly referred to as Q-Day.

Myriad: Where does Ethereum go next? Click to make your prediction.

“There is a good chance that the concrete security of lattices will take serious hits from the next two years of AI math,” Buterin said on X. “If AI will bring us 50 years of math in two years, then that 50 years of math may very plausibly include a […] level of improvement to our ability to break lattices.”

Lattice-based cryptography is an option that some crypto projects, such as Cardano, have considered in an attempt to quantum-proof themselves. That means that users could be moving funds to addresses vulnerable to AI-attacks in the short term, out of fear of avoiding a long-term quantum threat.

I don’t recommend anyone scramble to move their funds to new wallets today. But we should take the risks to cryptography from AI-accelerated math seriously, and minimize our exposure to not just quantum-vulnerable cryptography, but also potentially AI-vulnerable cryptography.…

— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) October 7, 2026

“Potential breaks in cryptography by quantum computers were generally thought to be contained to Elliptic curve cryptography and RSA,” Isabel Foxen Duke, head of Mara Foundation and co-author of BIP-360, told Decrypt. “Breaks in cryptography by classical methods (e.g. those potentially created by AI) could affect types of cryptography that are broadly considered quantum secure (e.g. lattice-based cryptography). If we include concerns about classical breaks in the mix, we have to be even more conservative.”

As a result, Buterin believes that any lattices should significantly increase in size to improve safety. Now, the Ethereum founder thinks that hash-based cryptography is a better route for quantum-proofing, but added that, theoretically, AI-driven math could break hashes too.

“I wouldn’t treat Vitalik’s two-year scenario as a deadline. The post doesn’t demonstrate that these systems have been broken,” Ananda Banerjee, founder of analytics firm Charlie Quant Lab, told Decrypt. “I would prepare carefully rather than rush to move funds.”

Buterin isn’t proposing any drastic measures to prepare for a “plausible” doomsday scenario. He suggests keeping your funds in addresses that haven’t made transactions, as the public key will not have been exposed, which significantly decreases the chances of an attack.

The AI fears come just a month after Buterin said that AI wouldn’t doom crypto security, arguing that security defenses will keep pace. His latest comments may suggest that the industry might’ve been running in slightly the wrong direction.

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October 9, 2026
A Rare David Bowie Self-Portrait — Featuring His Handprints — Is Going on Auction at Sotheby’s

A rare David Bowie self-portrait is going on auction at Sotheby’s, featuring the musician and artist’s own handprints.

The 1996 work is part of eight self-portraits Bowie created during a prolific period of painting, all of which were snapped up immediately. Done on paper, the painting emphasizes Bowie’s signature anisocoria and includes two of his actual handprints pressed directly onto the bottom of the composition — making it arguably the closest to a physical trace of the artist a collector could have.

This particular portrait was gifted by Bowie to his St. Ives gallerist and is now coming to the market for the first time as part of Sotheby’s Modern British and Irish Art Day Auction on Oct. 15. Its price is estimated between £35,000-55,000 ($46,000-72,500). The work is now on public view.

“There’s something incredibly direct and personal about this self-portrait,” Jen Hardie, Sotheby’s director and senior specialist of modern British and Irish art, tells Variety. “Bowie looks straight out at you, and his own handprints appear on the work itself. It’s bold, colorful and unmistakably Bowie, capturing the same restless creativity that ran through everything he did. It also feels particularly special to see a work like this return to Sotheby’s, a decade after our landmark ‘Bowie/Collector’ sale celebrated the extraordinary breadth of his own collection.”

Indeed, “Bowie/Collector” in 2016 sold more than 350 works from Bowie’s private collection, bringing in £32.9 million ($43.4 million) and setting 59 artist records. Bowie was an admirer or German Expressionism, dating back to his years in Berlin in the ’70s, and also of School of London artists Leon Kossoff and Frank Auerbach — the influences of which can all be seen in his own work.

See Bowie’s full self-portrait below.

Courtesy Sotheby’s

October 9, 2026
People are convinced there’s something unsettling about the ‘October Theory’

October is rolling round again, bringing with it promises of lots of soft, warm colours, hot drinks, and cosy nights in.

But for many October may bring not warmth and coziness, not to mention Halloween, but a sense of dread at the approach of this particular month, and it’s all because of the ‘October Theory’.

The October Theory is that October acts a bit like a ‘second new year’.

It’s supposedly a time of year where you can pursue more new ideas or new projects, as well as being a time where important things can happen in your life, or so the theory goes anyway.

The theory has spread widely on social media, including on TikTok, where people share how they’ve come to believe that it is indeed true.

While the theory itself is just that, it could make sense for October to feel like a time of change.

This is the first full month of Autumn, where we have definitively left summer behind and the days are starting to get colder and shorter, and the leaves start to fall from the trees.

With that, it’s maybe not surprising that people might feel some sense of change or movement at this time of year.

A beautiful autumn, or the start of a horror movie? (Getty Stock)

Add to that the fact that new school and university years are underway in October and there could even an element of how our years were structured in childhood and early adulthood creating a sense that October is a time of new beginnings.

People took to the comments to share their own thoughts about the ‘October Theory’.

One wrote: “birthdays, breakups and parental deaths lmfao hard to argue w ya”.

Another replied: “October completed destroyed me one year and now it triggers something in me every year now”.

Therapists also have some theories about why October has captured some people’s attention in such a way.

Amanda Carnesecchi is an Associate Therapist at Gateway to Solutions, and told Vice: “We may feel more motivated during this time because we have been primed from a young age that fall is back-to-school season, which is associated with goals, learning, and growth.

It is the spooky season as well (Getty Stock)

“New beginnings, behavior shifts, and fresh mindsets are all elements we have been exposed to during this time of year.”

Meanwhile licensed therapist Bisi Gbadamosi said: “Fall is often a natural reset because it can be a final push right before the holiday season kicks in.

“It can remind us that the end of the year is quickly approaching and encourage us to work towards any final goals or projects we had for the year.”

Not only that, but Carnesecchi added that when we get to actual new year on 1 January there’s a lot more pressure for us to start thinking about the future and to try and set goals for ourselves.

“Come January 1st, there is immense pressure to start fresh or set new year goals,” said Carnesecchi. “These are great intentions, but having so much change at once can be overwhelming and can lead to goals not being met.”

October 9, 2026
Bitcoin ETFs Suffer Worst Loss Since June as Uptober Turns Red
In brief

Bitcoin ETFs lost $484.9 million on Oct. 7, their biggest one-day outflow since June 25, with BlackRock’s IBIT accounting for $207.7 million.

The 30-year Treasury yield hit about 5.7%, its highest since 2002, while Brent crude settled near $100 and most Fed officials expect another rate hike by year end.

The funds are down $163.3 million for October through the 7th, after Bitcoin’s six-year October winning streak ended with a 3.69% drop in 2025.
Bitcoin ETFs lost $484.9 million in a single day on Wednesday, the worst outflow since June 25, according to Decrypt‘s ETF tracker. BlackRock’s IBIT took the biggest hit at $207.7 million, with Fidelity’s FBTC next at $105.1 million.

That one session erased roughly 81% of everything that flowed in over the previous nine, so about two weeks of patient buying went out the door in a day. The funds still sit on $57.8 billion in cumulative net inflows, so while it’s a very bad day for ETFs, it’s not exactly a bank run.

Myriad: How low will Bitcoin go? Click to make your prediction.

The culprit has little to do with crypto itself and is likely much more related to the macro backdrop. The 30-year Treasury yield climbed to about 5.7% on Wednesday, its highest since 2002, while Brent crude settled around $100 a barrel and stocks slid from record highs. Ship attacks around the Strait of Hormuz keep piling up—at least one a day since Oct. 2—and each one is a reason for oil to stay expensive.

What does that mean for Bitcoin investors? Well, expensive oil feeds inflation, inflation keeps the Federal Reserve hawkish, and a hawkish Fed keeps bond yields high. That gets awkward for an asset that pays no interest: why hold Bitcoin through an ETF when a 10-year Treasury yields more than 5% and doesn’t lose 6% in a few days? That’s the math institutions and big-money investors do regularly, and those calculations move the market.

Bitcoin ETF flows. Image: Decrypt

The Fed raised rates in September for the first time since 2023, and the minutes from their most-recent meeting released Wednesday show most officials expect another hike before year end. Traders, though, remain skeptical of another hike, an October move looks unlikely based on CME Fedwatch odds and prediction markets. CME currently prices the odds of a Fed hike in October at 19.4% while Myriad gives a hike a 17% chance.

Outside of Wall Street, Bitcoin slid as low as $81,749.83 on Thursday, about 6% below the $86,978 peak it hit earlier this week, and longs in the derivatives market took the brunt of it: roughly $429 million in positions were liquidated over 24 hours, 87.5% of them long bets, according to CoinGlass.

BitcoinBTC · USD

$82,706−4.16%

Oct 2Oct 4Oct 5Oct 7Oct 9

$86.8k$84.8k$82.8k$80.7k

24h HighHigh$82,684

24h LowLow$80,427

VolVol$1.6B

Market projectionsOdds by Myriad

→

Bitcoin had risen in October six years running until last year, when it fell 3.69%. This year the funds opened October with $321.6 million of inflows over four sessions and are now $163.3 million in the red, with Halloween still 23 days away and plenty of time for things to get spookier.

The Fed meets next on Oct. 27-28 and again on Dec. 8-9, and the September minutes set no date for the next increase.

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October 9, 2026
UTA and Gold House Set Partnership to Build Asia-Hollywood Bridge (EXCLUSIVE)

UTA and Gold House are joining forces at the Busan International Film Festival and in Seoul this month, marking the Asian Pacific advocacy organization’s first official foray into Korea as the two look to connect Asian creatives and investors with Hollywood.

The partnership kicks off with the UTA x Gold House x Variety Industry Night at the Park Hyatt on Friday (Oct. 9). The two companies will then stage a panel, “Hollywood & the Asian Diaspora,” at the Asian Contents & Film Market on Oct. 10, before moving to Seoul on Oct. 13 for a speakeasy party for cross-cultural creatives, funders and founders.

David Park, a senior partner and agent at UTA, notes that the agency has worked in Asia, particularly Korea and Japan, for several years. “Adding Gold House has allowed us to level up, quite frankly,” he says.

Until now, Gold House’s formal footprint in Asia had been limited to Singapore and Taiwan. Christine Yi, executive VP and president, Gold House Studios., is of Korean heritage, as is Daniel Suh, who runs the organization’s venture capital fund. The pair made an exploratory trip to Korea around this time last year to meet people in the local industry and ask what role Gold House could play.

“What we had heard the most about was, do the Gold House thing here. You don’t really have to reinvent the wheel,” Yi says. “Especially as it relates to bringing major Hollywood executives, Dave included, to the table in order to really help facilitate more cross-border partnership, that’s something that they would really want from us.”

“I don’t know if 2026 is the right moment, honestly. The right moment would have been sometime in the past, so I would say that we’re actually overdue,” Yi adds, pointing to Gold House’s investments in Korean startups and the number of its investors based in the country.

Neither side has a formal, ongoing program in place yet. Gold House launched Gold House Studios, its in-house production arm, this year, and Yi plans to use the Korea trip to meet creatives the company wants to work with. “The partnership to us is really all about network and ecosystem building,” she says.

On what they look for in Asian talent and IP, both point to authenticity. “Specificity is what leads to success,” Yi says. “Audiences can tell when something has been watered down for a global palate, and that’s not what they’re asking for.”

Projects needn’t be in English, she adds, but they must connect with English-speaking audiences, where Gold House’s audience base sits. The company’s track record also leans heavily on first features, a stage where filmmakers “need someone to really take a bet on them.”

Yi is also eyeing Korean talent-led projects. She won’t name names, but says a singer from a group that would come up “within your first couple” if one listed the top K-pop acts in the world has approached Gold House about making a film.

“She can call anybody at all. But I think the way that her team wanted to approach us is like, ‘You guys might not be exactly the people, for whatever reason. However, we trust that you know who the right people are if it is not you, and to help us really navigate the U.S.,’” Yi says. “That’s a super-intimidating ask, especially when you’re coming in in a new medium that audiences might not necessarily associate with you.”

Gold House hopes to guide the strategy and possibly work on the production, and Yi sees overseas talent looking for “a safe place to land” as a pipeline worth exploring while in Korea.

Park’s touchstones for authenticity include “Parasite,” whose upstairs-downstairs class story landed in France, and “KPop Demon Hunters,” from his client Maggie Kang. “The only regret she has is that she didn’t add more Korean into the lyrics of some of the songs, or more actual specific locations that she wanted to bring into it,” he says, describing it as a balance Kang had to strike with Sony Pictures and Netflix.

He would also like to see Korea tackle horror comedy. “Comedy is so culturally subjective, it’s harder to travel. But when embedded so intricately and so deeply with horror, for example, that could work, and it could be a huge hit,” Park says.

One of the biggest gaps in the Asia-Hollywood pipeline, in Park’s view, is a shortage of crossover producers with a base in Asia and relationships with L.A. buyers. Outside Netflix and Disney, which run local teams, most buyers rely on U.S. headquarters to judge premium local-language content. “I probably can, if I had to, list those people on one hand,” he says.

For Yi, one gap is capital. She is keen to see whether Asia-based private investors would back U.S. independent films, an asset class she says many individuals in U.S. indie film treat “like philanthropy.” She is also scouting Korean unscripted producing partners.

Looking further ahead, Yi wants to build a cross-border talent development program, whether an exchange, a shadowing scheme or an accelerator.

Park is on board, noting that Bong Joon Ho and “Squid Game” creator Hwang Dong-hyuk can now stay in Seoul and still win Oscars and Emmys. He points to his client Na Hong-Jin, whose “Hope” he calls the biggest movie out of Korea. “Identifying him before he did ‘The Wailing’ would be incredible,” Park says.

Gold House has an executive producer role on Stephanie Ahn’s “Bedford Park,” which is screening at the festival.

October 9, 2026