In a moment of crisis, the leaders of talent agency APA were not about to let opportunity pass them by. The dramatic changes that have swept across the content business and Hollywood’s creative community have made for a topsy-turvy ride for the town’s major tenpercenteries: The packaging battle between talent agencies and the Writers Guild
From a groundbreaking Marvel series and the return of beloved Minions to family-friendly podcasts and global gaming platforms, Variety spotlights content creators, producers, directors and executives that have made impressive moves over the past year in the G-rated space.
Variety will celebrate achievements in executive leadership, creative storytelling and franchise building of entertainment that connects with fans of all ages on Dec. 8 for the Variety Family Entertainment Awards sponsored by Kidoodle.tv. Pete DocterChief Operating Officer, Pixar Animation StudiosLeadership Award Docter is one of Pixar’s most important team members, having applied his talents to
Viewers have turned to the cable network HLN over the years for a quick-hit version of its sister, CNN; for coverage of court cases; for Robin Meade’s long-running morning news shows; and for a bevy of true-crime programs, including Nancy Grace’s primetime talk show and repeats of “Forensic Files.” What it will be recognized for
Tim Federle and his Chorus Boy Productions have extended their multi-year overall deal with Disney Branded Television. Federle is the creator of the Disney+ series “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” which is currently in production on its fourth season. Federle is also an executive producer and showrunner on the series. “Tim is a
The Hulu series adaptation of Rebecca Godfrey’s book “Under the Bridge” has added three series regulars to its cast, Variety has learned exclusively. Chloe Guidry, Izzy G, and Ezra Faroque Khan will all star in the series alongside previously announced lead Riley Keough, who will play Godfrey. Per the official logline, the series is “about
Cartoon Network and Adult Swim president Michael Ouweleen knows you have questions about the fate of the two networks in the new, belt-tightened Warner Bros. Discovery era. And it has changed. But “we’re not dead,” he insists. “It was weird to wake up a couple of weeks ago and read our obituary as we were
Warner Bros. Discovery is on track to launch the merged HBO Max Discovery+ streaming service in Latin America before the end of 2023, marking out the region as the first territory outside the U.S. to bow the combined streamer. WBD is also fully “committed” to combining global U.S. content with “extremely compelling IP created locally”
Amazon Freevee executives have vowed that their new season of “Neighbours” will maintain the same quality and production values of its long-running linear predecessor. “We’re going to do everything we have to do — in front of and behind the camera — to make sure that we’re delivering a consistent series,” Lauren Anderson, head of
In a first for the L.A. rock group, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Californication” video has topped 1 billion views on YouTube. The music video for Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 2000 hit “Californication” — featuring shirtless bandmates Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith and John Frusciante and their avatars traversing a fictional open world video-game —
A new, landmark report has been published detailing representation of disabled people in the U.K. TV industry on and off the screen. The report, from Creative Diversity Network (CDN), shows it will take almost two decades for disabled people to be properly represented in the industry. While 17% of the U.K. workforce is disabled, and
The motley band of adventurers in Critical Role’s “The Legend of Vox Machina” on Prime Video will be joined by a few famous voices in Season 2. Henry Winkler, Lance Reddick and Cheech Marin will guest star in the second season of the Dungeons & Dragons-inspired adult animated series. Additional guest cast for Season 2
Many fans of Cody Ko and Noel Miller — aka the Tiny Meat Gang — know the two former Vine stars for their freewheeling YouTube video collabs. But the heart of their entrepreneurial endeavors lies in podcasting, and Ko and Miller’s fledgling Tiny Meat Gang Studios is aiming to plant a flag as a next-generation
Matt Charman, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of “Bridge of Spies,” is adapting the science-fiction graphic novel “A Radical Shift of Gravity” into a feature film. Todd Lieberman’s production company Hidden Pictures and IDW Entertainment are backing the movie, which follows one family’s struggle to stay grounded amid a massive planetary transformation. Created by Nick Tapalansky and
In what has been the widest open Oscars’ international feature category race in years, countries that previously had not been dominant in the category have emerged as strong contenders. For instance, Cambodia sent in Davy Chou’s “Return to Seoul,” which debuted at Cannes. The country has been nominated only once in this category, for 2013’s
Some of the biggest surprises in media M&A this year came not from ambitious CEOs or activist investors but from the clinical precision of regulators focused on warding off too much market concentration. Industry insiders, meanwhile, say judges and antitrust watchdogs are focused on the wrong mature businesses while online-based media continues to operate like
World-renowned athletes Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe have launched A Touch More, a new production company that centers the stories of revolutionaries who “move culture forward.” Bird, a five-time Olympic gold medalist and basketball legend, and Rapinoe, a two-time FIFA World Cup-winning soccer superstar, created the company to “bring a touch more understanding, connection, entertainment,
Barry Pepper takes the lead in feature film “Bring Him to Me,” which is now shooting in Queensland, Australia, under director Luke Sparke (“Occupation Rainfall”). The picture is a mob thriller written by Tom Evans and which also stars Sam Neill and Rachel Griffiths. Under orders from a ruthless crime boss, a getaway driver must
In the trailer for upcoming film “Pale Blue Eye,” Christian Bale is investigating a murder in 1830s upstate New York. Netflix has released the first look at the American Gothic mystery film, in which Bale plays veteran detective Augustus Landor. Based on Louis Bayard’s 2006 novel of the same name, the film follows Landor as
The International Cinematographers Guild has announced six additional award nominations for the 60th Annual ICG Publicists Awards. The ceremony recognizes individual publicists, unit still photographers and entertainment journalists that facilitate film and television publicity campaigns. Variety’s Senior Artisans Editor Jazz Tangcay and Senior Entertainment Reporter Angelique Jackson each scored a nomination for the 2023 Press
Margot Robbie’s next appearance as Harley Quinn in the DC Universe is undetermined at this point, but the Oscar nominee already knows what she wants for whenever her anti-hero does return: A Harley Quinn-Poison Ivy romance. Robbie told ComicBook.com during her “Babylon” press tour that she’s been trying to get the queer romance off the
BEYOND RIGHTS DEALS Beyond Rights has announced a raft of new deals in Benelux comprising 600 hours of long-running property, reality and engineering content. SBS in Belgium has acquired a 200-hour package featuring “Pooch Perfect Australia,” two seasons each of “Highway Thru Hell,” “Heavy Rescue: 401” and “Ice Vikings,” four seasons of “The Cruise,” three
Singapore’s Weiyu Films has joined forces with Studio76 from Taiwan to expand the RisingStories screenwriting competition. Studio76 launched the first RisingStories International Story Pitching Competition in 2021 and attracted more than 550 Chinese-language entries from the region. As it grows, the event is being opened to English-language scripts as well. The 2023 round is targeted
Pioneering outdoor cinema audio solution Cinewav has landed a U.S. patent, it was revealed at the Asia TV Forum and Market in Singapore on Wednesday. Cinewav replaces expensive, heavy, manpower intensive audio systems or FM transmitters or broadcasting at outdoor cinemas, with a phone-based app. Users can simply watch on a big screen and listen
“Elvis,” which earlier this week dominated the craft prizes of Australia’s AACTA Awards, on Wednesday added four more. These included best film and best director for Baz Luhrmann. The film also claimed best lead actor (for Austin Butler) and best supporting actress (Olivia DeJonge). “Elvis” had already picked up seven previous awards at Monday night’s
Prominent Arab talent management agency and film distribution company MAD Solutions is launching MAD Crew Celebrity, a new unit dedicated to boosting the careers of Arab directors and producers, as well as writers, cinematographers, costume designers, composers and editors. MAD Crew Celebrity comes after the company in 2020 formed its MAD Rising Celebrity division, dedicated
TikTok may be one of the foremost social media platforms in the world, but the service still remains relatively opaque for much of the international TV industry. At Singapore’s Asia TV Forum, TikTok’s global head of sports and gaming Harish Sarma tried to connect the dots between the platform’s audience and how producers and distributors
In its second week on release the new Netflix series from Japan, “First Love,” has ascended to the number five spot on the streamer’s rankings for non-English content, as well as being its number one show in Japan for the week. Based on two songs by Japanese megastar Utada Hikaru and directed by Kanchiku Yuri,
Prominent Arab film distributor MAD Solutions has forged a production partnership with Dubai-based broadcaster OSN, the Red Sea Fund, and the U.K.’s Global Screen Fund, plus U.K. companies Corniche Media and Caspian Films, on Saudi multihyphenate Ahd Kamel’s long gestating feature film debut “My Driver and I.” The production partnership for the feature was announced
Production wraps this week on “The New Boy,” a drama film by Australian Indigenous filmmaker Warwick Thornton on which Cate Blanchett takes both a starring role and a producer credit. Set in 1940s Australia, “The New Boy” is the story of a nine-year-old Aboriginal orphan boy (portrayed by newcomer Aswan Reid) who arrives in the
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