When fear and paranoia get their hooks into a society, they can invade people’s minds in revealing metaphorical ways. Donald Trump, in his rise to the presidency, stoked fear and hostility toward immigrants, and also churned up racism against African-Americans. As monumental — and hideous — as both those hatreds are, you can argue that
Month: June 2019
As A-list stars and auteurs made their way to TV this decade, “limited series” orders became a way to sign them up without having to lock in full-season commitments. The format has become such a dominant part of modern TV culture that it’s hard to believe that less than a decade ago there were too
Directly after graduating from Juilliard in 1982, Lorraine Toussaint began rehearsals for her first paid acting gig, as Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare & Company’s production of “Macbeth.” After eight years of classical theater training, the Trinidad-born, New York-raised performer found herself among seasoned professionals like Kristin Linklater and Tim Saukiavicus, who mentored her as she
Colleen Ballinger, best known for her awkward and weird YouTube-famous character Miranda Sings, will make her Broadway debut in “Waitress” this summer. Ballinger will appear in the musical starting Aug. 20, in a limited four-week engagement through Sept. 15. “Waitress,” based on the 2007 movie written by Adrienne Shelly, is scored by singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles.
In the new psychological thriller “Ma,” a middle-aged woman played by Oscar winner Octavia Spencer befriends a group of teenagers and invites them to use the basement of her house as a place to party. Of course they accept, and much of the film happens there, though the subterranean space we see in the film
Qatar-based beIN Media Group is seeking to sell up to 50% of Miramax in a deal that would value the studio founded in 1979 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein at $650 million, according to a Wall Street Journal report. A representative for beIN, contacted by Variety, said the company had no comment on the report,
Released in tandem with an Amazon Studios documentary, “Chasing Happiness,” and its emotional, rags-to-riches tale of fraternity gone asunder (then, obviously back to brotherly bliss, again), there are many things to be learned from “Happiness Begins,” the first new Jonas Brothers album in 10 years. The band’s fifth studio album, and its first unified effort
Courtesy Summer is finally here, and we plan to set up our ‘out of office’ auto-reply any chance we get. Sorry co-workers, Santorini is calling! But instead of schlepping around a worn-out duffel bag, upgrade your travel style with a chic carryall that says “I’m an adult”—even if your weekend is filled with questionable decisions.
Music-rights organization SESAC plans to co-fund a new foundation designed to support minority film and TV composers, officials announced at last night’s annual Film & Television Composer Awards in Santa Monica. The Key Change Foundation, created by “Frozen” and “Ant-Man” composer Christophe Beck (pictured above, center), “will provide grants to support scores by emerging film
Alan Arkin turned 85 earlier this year, yet he has always seemed timeless. With a career spanning more than 60 years, it’s difficult to fathom when there was ever a time when Arkin wasn’t part of the culture. He was an early member of the Second City theater troupe before making his Oscar-nominated film debut
With his groundbreaking band Jane’s Addiction and the 1991 launch of the annual Lollapalooza Festival, front man and impresario Perry Farrell helped create, curate and define alternative music in the ’90s. Nearly 30 years later, Farrell remains on the cutting edge, both sonically and conceptually as his new solo album “Kind Heaven” attests. Now 60,
Drake is to his hometown NBA finalists the Toronto Raptors what Spike Lee represents to the Knicks, Jack Nicholson to the Lakers and Billy Crystal to the Clippers: a super-fan who stalks the sidelines, trolling rivals (the Golden State Warriors for the foreseeable future) and occasionally giving his team’s first-year coach Nick Nurse a light
When WNYW-TV reporter Dan Bowens found himself wiping away an inch of dust from Beta tapes of newscast recordings excavated from the Fox O&O’s archives, he knew he had something. Bowens is the host of WNYW’s podcast “The Tape Room,” which focuses on deep dives into unsolved crimes from the New York, New Jersey and
Disney’s Dana Walden will sit for her most extensive interview since becoming one of the industry’s most powerful television executives when she and director-producer Ben Stiller offer keynote sessions next week at Variety‘s TV Summit. Variety‘s annual daylong event examining the state of the TV business is set for June 12 at 1 Hotel in
Bona Film Group has a unique relationship with the capital markets. In 2010, it became the first Chinese film company to list its shares on a North American stock exchange. But only a few years later, it delisted, and is now attempting to do a new IPO in China. But back in December 2011 in
Penn Badgley and Gina Rodriguez sat down for a chat for Variety‘s Actors on Actors. For more, click here. Penn Badgley, a heartthrob on the 2000s soap “Gossip Girl,” graduated last year to even darker fare as a stalker with a literary bent on watercooler smash “You,” whose first season aired on Lifetime and which
Popular industry blog Yuemuchina recently named the “new big four” companies that it believes have edged out the old guard studios and now dominate the Middle Kingdom movie scene. Along with obvious choices of tech giant Tencent and Beijing Culture, a producer on a hot streak, the list also included Bona Film Group. Given that
Robin Wright and Chris Pine sat down for a chat for Variety‘s Actors on Actors. For more, click here. Robin Wright and Chris Pine both appeared in the 2017 action blockbuster “Wonder Woman,” and both have continued living out its vision of bold female power in their careers. Wright brought the final season of Netflix’s
The pre-title credits proclaiming Bona Film Group’s Yu Dong and Jeffrey Chan as executive producers of Quentin Tarantino’s “One Upon a Time … in Hollywood” leave no doubt that the Chinese company is a significant piece of the ongoing — and sometimes uneasy — relationship between the U.S. and Chinese film industries. More than that,
Prince had many women in his life — friends, lovers, collaborators, band members, recording engineers, managers, publicists, sometimes combinations. And they were often the ones who were closest to him. In advance of the “Originals” compilation album — available today as a Tidal exclusive, which features Prince’s original versions of his compositions that were made famous
CLUJ, Romania –An architect vacationing on a nudist beach with his family in the summer of 1983 is picked up for questioning by two officers from Romania’s dreaded secret police. They promise to return him the following day, but when he’s locked in a jail cell with a menacing small-time crook turned police collaborator, he
Spotify is bringing back Sound Up, its five-day accelerator program to educate and support women of color in developing new podcasts, to New York City this summer. It will follow the same format as its inaugural Sound Up program in the U.S. last year. Spotify will select 10 women for an all-expenses-paid week-long podcast workshop
Jacques Audiard, whose latest film “The Sisters Brothers” with John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix and Jake Gyllenhaal earned him a best director prize at Venice, will make his TV debut with the Canal Plus hit original spy series “The Bureau.” The Palme d’Or winning director of “Dheepan” will direct some episodes of the fifth and
June 7, 2019 2:59AM PT Production is underway on German period drama “Empire Oktoberfest,” set in Munich in 1900 and starring Mišel Maticevic (“Babylon Berlin”), Martina Gedeck (“The Lives of Others”), Klaus Steinbacher (“Das Boot”), and Mercedes Mueller (“Passenger 23”). Beta Film, which successfully brought “Babylon Berlin” to market, will launch it internationally at Mipcom
June 7, 2019 2:18AM PT Viacom’s U.K. and Northern and Eastern Europe boss James Currell has left the company. Viacom International Media Networks said Currell had departed with immediate effect and it has started the process of finding a replacement. VIMN CEO, David Lynn, will oversee the U.K. business until that appointment is made. Viacom’s
A DJ known for making hits, is taking a few hits himself this week. Zedd, known for recent EDM-pop crossover hits like “The Middle” featuring Maren Morris, was called out by former collaborator Matthew Koma on Instagram and Twitter. In a June 5 post, Koma described working with Zedd (pictured, at left), whose real name
CLUJ, Romania–A year after introducing a cash rebate of up to 45% to keep pace with neighboring countries in an increasingly competitive region, Romania is seeing signs that the incentive scheme is paying off. “This year seems to be quite busy—much busier, I would say, than last year,” says Bogdan Moncea, of Castel Film Studios
June 6, 2019 10:42PM PT A smart social satire focusing on a comic in the late days of the Soviet Union cracking under the weight of official constraints and self-loathing. Screenwriter Michael Idov makes an impressive directing debut with the super-smart, confidently lensed “The Humorist.” Set in the waning days of the Soviet Union when
HBO’s adaptation of Israeli teen drama “Euphoria” explores the lives of high school kids who are grappling with social pressures, burgeoning sexualities and addiction. And in order to accurately but comfortably bring such tough topics to life, the show worked with an intimacy coordinator and was careful about how they shot certain scenes. “There’s a
June 6, 2019 7:40PM PT Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy has been elected chair of the AFI Board of Trustees, the org announced Thursday. She succeeds Howard Stringer, who served in the role since 1999. “It is a distinct honor to be elected as Chair of the AFI Board of Trustees,” said Kennedy. “AFI’s commitment to
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