Month: September 2018

Redbox hired Chris Yates, who’s worked at companies including CinemaNow, Dell and Omnia Media, as general manager of Redbox On Demand — the DVD-rental kiosk operator’s bid to extend its business into digital. In the newly created role, Yates oversees Redbox’s digital video business and is responsible for P&L and strategy. Yates reports to Jason
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Director Sebastien Pilote’s ongoing study of Quebec lives running out of options continues apace with “The Fireflies Are Gone.” This third feature (his first in five years) is, like its predecessors “The Salesman” and “The Auction,” a neatly observed character portrait in a well-detailed small-town setting. But in contrast to the middle-aged protagonists of his
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“It’s more honest that way,” says Nile Rodgers of his about-to-drop album “It’s About Time,” under the banner Nile Rodgers & Chic. It’s his first record in 16 years and, while driving through London in a cab on his 66th birthday, the recently-anointed Rock and Roll Hall of Fame producer, songwriter and collaborator to David Bowie
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Netflix is expanding its international footprint with the launch of a fully staffed Paris bureau, its third European outpost after Amsterdam and London. The Paris office will kick off with about 20 employees, some of whom are already working for Netflix in Amsterdam, and others who will be new hires. The French bureau won’t be
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September 27, 2018 11:40AM PT Disney darling turned international pop star Demi Lovato, currently receiving treatment in an upscale Arizona rehab facility, has slashed the asking price of the Los Angeles residence where she overdosed in late July (2018) from $9.45 million to $8.995 million. The 26-year-old 13-time Teen Choice Award winner and 2017 Grammy
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September 27, 2018 11:36AM PT A teen suspects his seemingly squeaky-clean dad of being a serial murderer in this creepily understated thriller. There’s nary a drop of blood, but a squirm factor of 10 to much of “The Clovehitch Killer.” This first theatrical feature for director Duncan Skiles, working from a strong screenplay by his
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Participant Media is hiring veteran media executives Jim Hu and Melinda Arons as senior vice presidents to bolster its executive team, Variety has learned exclusively. The company, which made the announcements Thursday, is also promoting Shelly Hance to senior VP to lead its human resources department. Participant Media scored recent festival wins for Alfonso Cuarón’s
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K-drama fans will be able to dig into new series of “micro-stories” on the Yarn app — embroidering on the narrative arcs of characters from popular Korean TV shows — under a partnership between DramaFever and Mammoth Media. Mobile-entertainment startup Mammoth Media is launching serialized short-form fiction content on Yarn, inspired by shows on DramaFever,
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September 27, 2018 10:31AM PT Clint Eastwood’s “The Mule” will come out in time for Christmas. The Warner Bros. thriller will open on Dec. 14 in wide release. Eastwood stars in the film and directs. “The Mule” will face off against Universal’s pricey sci-fi fantasy “Mortal Engines,” STX’s Jennifer Lopez rom-com “Second Act,” and Sony’s
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September 27, 2018 10:00AM PT Hulu has greenlit the animated comedy series “Crossing Swords” for a 10-episode first season. Variety exclusively reported in June that Hulu had ordered a pilot for the series, which hails from several members of the team behind the Adult Swim series “Robot Chicken.” “Crossing Swords” will star Nicholas Hoult as Patrick, a goodhearted
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Die-hard Philadelphia sports fans who reside outside the City of Brotherly Love’s market confines can now stream NBC Sports Philadelphia’s programming for the Eagles, Phillies and Sixers — but the new subscription plan doesn’t include any live games. NBC Sports Regional Networks is launching “Philly Pass,” a direct-to-consumer product targeted at displaced Philadelphia sports fans,
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Since 1992, virtually all New York Film Festival opening night films have been North American or, since 2012, world premieres. But this year’s choice, “The Favourite,” crossed an unofficial line in the sand by getting a North American premiere at Telluride before opening the 56th NYFF on Sept. 28. The only exception — 2009’s French
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Gil Schwartz, CBS’ long-serving head of corporate communications, is set to retire as of Nov. 1 after more than 20 years with the company. Schwartz’s departure marks another transition for the company that is in the midst of a massive corporate shakeup following the forced resignation of CEO Leslie Moonves on Sept. 9. Schwartz has
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Say what you will about rarefied Japanese enviro-auteur Naomi Kawase, but there are relatively few filmmakers whose work can be identified from its image system alone, and she is firmly in that club. It takes mere seconds for “Vision” (her tenth feature, and her first to be shot partially in English) to announce itself as
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The International Emmys are living up to their name, with a globe-spanning set of nominees announced Thursday for this year’s awards. Endemol Shine, HBO, Fox and Sony all scored noms, while Amazon and Netflix landed just one apiece, a modest showing given their recent run at awards shows and their increasing number of international originals.
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In their breakout TV roles, Damon Wayans Jr. (“Happy Endings”) and Amber Stevens West (“The Carmichael Show”) proved themselves to be perfect sitcom utility players. Both were tasked at times with lending grounding reality to ensemble series that only just managed to keep their balance without spiraling into mania, and both displayed their own amiable
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WndrCo, the investment and holding company led by Jeffrey Katzenberg, invested $30 million in The Infatuation, a digital-media and events company focused on restaurant guides and food. The Infatuation was founded in 2009 in by Chris Stang and Andrew Steinthal, two former music-industry execs. The New York City-based company in March 2018 acquired restaurant-review brand
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