Month: December 2018

The only thing surprising about Ryan Murphy getting a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame Dec. 4 is that he doesn’t already have one. “It’s about time!” exclaims Sarah Paulson, a frequent Murphy collaborator who’s worked with him on multiple projects since 2004, including every incarnation of “American Horror Story.” “I’m surprised people haven’t been
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Hulu is doubling down on anime: The streamer, in its biggest deal for anime programming to date, inked an exclusive first-look pact with Funimation to distribute new titles licensed and produced by Funimation starting in 2019. The new agreement comes after Funimation, owned by Sony Pictures Television, ended its cross-licensing deal with rival Crunchyroll earlier this
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Honestly, it’s never too late to buy the perfect gift. Even after the big day, no one will turn up their nose at a nicely wrapped, superbly picked present. With the holidays creeping closer every moment, we’re helping you tick off some gift-buying boxes on your to-do list (or just inspiring some personal retail envy).
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December 4, 2018 8:05AM PT BMG today announced that is has struck a deal with the estate of legendary German-born composer Kurt Weill for the administration of the popular songs he wrote in collaboration with dramatist Bertolt Brecht. Included are all of the songs from the acclaimed works “The Threepenny Opera” (1928), “Happy End” (1929) and “Rise and Fall of
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December 4, 2018 7:10AM PT Rapper/entrepreneur Pitbull today announced his partnership with music-finance firm Sound Royalties and its founder Alex Heiche. The company’s stated goal is to help artists advance their careers while retaining ownership of their creative works by advancing performance royalties paid through labels, Sound Exchange, as well as songwriter royalties paid through
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Most CEOs might not pepper their conversation with adjectives like “dope” and “fire,” but most CEOs aren’t like Jonny Shipes, who is at the helm of the rising independent hip-hop label Cinematic Music Group. Shipes tells Variety that what “turned this sh– around” was discovering Sean Kingston, who after signing with CMG in its founding year
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Reddit, the self-proclaimed front page of the internet, is now serving up more than 1.4 billion native video views per month. Reddit released the new data point Tuesday as part of a a 2018 year in review report, which also highlighted continued growth in the site’s popular crowd-sourced “ask me anything” interview format. The social
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Fox Digital Studio, Heavy Metal Media and 4th Row Films are in development on a documentary feature film about the sci-fi fantasy magazine Heavy Metal with director Douglas Tirola attached. Tirola has directed six feature documentaries including A&E IndieFilms’ “Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead” about the story of the National Lampoon, and “Brewmaster,” which had its
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Mahershala Ali and John David Washington sat down for a chat for Variety’s Actors on Actors. For more, click here.  Mahershala Ali (“Green Book”) and John David Washington (“BlacKkKlansman”) have catapulted into the awards season conversation with two searing films about race in America. Both movies are based on true stories. Ali, who won the supporting actor
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Lady Gaga and Lin-Manuel Miranda sat down for a chat for Variety’s Actors on Actors. For more, click here.  Few artists have been decorated as frequently as Lin-Manuel Miranda. The impresario has won a Pulitzer and shared a Kennedy Center Honors designation for the stage bombshell “Hamilton”; he’s also won an Emmy, three Tonys and three Grammys.
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Yang Weidong, president of Alibaba’s video-streaming platform, Youku, has been fired and is under police investigation for corruption, the company confirmed Tuesday. Alibaba Pictures chairman and CEO Fan Luyuan will take over running China’s equivalent of YouTube, while also continuing in his current capacity. Yang, who also served as head of Alibaba Digital Media and Entertainment
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Bestselling South African author Deon Meyer’s “Trackers” is being adapted for TV after African pay-TV heavyweight Multichoice teamed with German pubcaster ZDF to bring the thriller to the small screen. “Trackers” interweaves three story strands into a thriller spanning the length and breadth of South Africa and involving organized crime, smuggled diamonds, state security, black
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December 4, 2018 3:27AM PT Some hot production companies are getting “Dirty” for Amazon. Sharon Horgan’s Merman and “Peaky Blinders” producer Caryn Mandabach Productions are developing gritty drama “Dirty” for Amazon Studios alongside Kapital Entertainment. In-demand writer Danny Brocklehurst (“Safe”) will pen and exec produce the series, which promises to be a “funny, filthy, brutally
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