Emrach, I think you have misplaced the N - should be O for UNION and 23d is EYEFUL not eiffel - hence 29a could be PUSHOVER - maybe a rugby connection. How about 9d CARLING and then 8a could be ECOSPHERES - but why?
New to this forum. Could 32Ac be Red Bells, which was an old (80s) film about an American communist reporter, and also referenced the recent celebrations. Film Making could be the theme, as previously mentioned!