Month: January 2019

MADRID — Ran Tellem (“Homeland,” “The Paradise”), Daniel Burman (“Lost Embrace,” “Edha”) and Javier Olivares (“The Department of Time,” “Isabel”) will tutor or lecture at this year’s first Master’s Degree in Creative Writing and Screenplays, launched by Spain’s Mediapro Group and Madrid’s Complutense University. Steered by one of Europe’s biggest international fiction creation forces with
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“Green Book” screenwriter Nick Vallelonga has deleted his Twitter account after a tweet espousing a debunked conservative narrative that American Muslims could be seen cheering after 9/11 was recirculated Wednesday. “@realDonaldTrump 100% correct,” the Nov. 2015 tweet read. “Muslims in Jersey City cheering when towers went down. I saw it, as you did, possibly on
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Hollywood was jolted Wednesday by former Pixar honcho John Lasseter’s hire for the top job at Skydance Animation, blindsiding the studio’s filmmaking partners, employees and the industry at large. One current Skydance staffer expressed “disappointment” to Variety over CEO David Ellison’s decision to bring on Lasseter, who was put on leave from his post atop Pixar
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Alessandro Nivola, star of the upcoming “Sopranos” prequel “The Many Saints of Newark,” revealed that Tony Soprano, the protagonist in the iconic HBO series, will be a central character in the film. Nivola spoke to Variety at the 20th anniversary of “The Sopranos” in New York on Wednesday, where the cast and creator David Chase held a
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In today’s film news roundup, Stellan Skarsgard has joined “Dune,” Jamie Lee Curtis and Melissa McCarthy are selected for awards, and Fathom Events has hired Andrew Goldman. CASTING Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgard will portray the villain Baron Harkonnen in Legendary’s sci-fier “Dune,” based on the Frank Herbert novel. Denis Villeneuve is directing from a script
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January 9, 2019 4:38PM PT Prepare to rock while watching “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The Golden Globe winner is getting sing-along screenings at more than 750 North American locations beginning on Friday. The sing-along version will display song lyrics on screen, allowing viewers to perform the movie’s score. The tracks include Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” “We Are the
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John Lasseter’s contract with Skydance Media contains provisions that make the former Pixar Animation chief financially responsible for any legal claims involving sexual harassment, according to multiple insiders. The pact to bring Lasseter in as head of the company’s animation division is said to include “ironclad” provisions that require the executive to not only pay
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January 9, 2019 3:52PM PT Facebook’s head of content strategy and planning Matthew Henick told the audience of Variety’s CES Summit in Las Vegas Wednesday that the company licensed Joss Whedon’s “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel” and “Firefly” for Facebook Watch as a way to literally get people to talk – preferably while they watch
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In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix dropped the first trailer for its upcoming comedy series “Russian Doll” starring Natasha Lyonne, and Disney has ordered a second season of its animated series “Star Wars Resistance.” DATES Fox is set to premiere its new competition series “Mental Samurai” on Feb. 26 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. Hosted and produced by
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January 9, 2019 2:18PM PT WASHINGTON — Tom Steyer, the billionaire philanthropist and environmental activist, said he will not run for president in 2020 and instead will focus on removing President Donald Trump from office. “The impeachment question has reached an inflection point,” Steyer said on Twitter. “That’s why I just announced that I will
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Steve Harvey, TV personality and multi-hyphenate entertainer/entrepreneur, admitted that he was surprised when NBC announced that a new show hosted by Kelly Clarkson would take over his timeslot on its owned-and-operated stations. Harvey, a headline speaker at Variety Entertainment Summit at CES, was asked by interviewer Variety co-editor-in-chief Andrew Wallenstein whether he going to stay
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As “Green Book” picks up accolades on the way to Oscars nominations, controversy continues to swirl around its veracity as a depiction of real-life concert pianist Dr. Don Shirley after his family asserted they were not consulted for the film, calling it a “symphony of lies.” Co-writer Nick Vallelonga, who based the story on his father’s
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WASHINGTON — The 18-day shutdown of the federal government showed little sign of ending after President Donald Trump walked out of a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Schumer said Trump left the meeting abruptly after he asked Pelosi whether she would support his demand for a border wall,
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January 9, 2019 1:00PM PT “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan has come on board to rewrite Paramount’s adaptation of the Tom Clancy novel “Without Remorse,” with Michael B. Jordan starring as operations officer John Clark. The pic marks a reunion for Sheridan and his “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” helmer Stefano Sollima, who will be directing.
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