U.K. producers have a new potential source of finance after the British Film Institute, Calculus Capital, and Stargrove Pictures launched a new £20 million fund ($25.3 million). The partners are looking to raise that amount to sink into six-to-ten film and TV production companies under the reworked EIS rules in the U.K. The funds are
Month: June 2019
As the real world around the entertainment industry is becoming increasingly dark, the number of shows that deal with faith and spirituality is bordering on the miraculous.For many writers and producers, this is an opportunity to offer an antidote to the stress of daily life and try to infuse their audience with a sense of
“Ladies, ladies, ladies,” Young M.A said with the voice of a seasoned lothario. Contrary to the mellifluous tone and the responding screams from the crowd that sounded like the calls of fangirls to a boy band, the Brooklyn rapper was talking down a minor scuffle in the crowd early in her show at The New
“The Spanish Princess” is coming back for more. Starz has announced its is expanding the limited series with an order for eight additional episodes to close out the story of Catherine of Aragon. The series, based on a pair of historical novels by Philippa Gregory, is currently five episodes into its run. “The Spanish Princess”
June 3, 2019 10:36AM PT [embedded content] At long last, Apple has dropped a full trailer for one of its upcoming originals. The first show to get the treatment is “For All Mankind,” the alt-history drama series from Ronald D. Moore that imagines a world in which the space race between the U.S. and the
The writer’s office for true crime series “Dirty John” closed down after the first season, but ended up in the same space on the Universal lot for the second season. Showrunner Alexandra Cunningham set up her space for maximum comfort — including testing various couches before she found the one with the right “squishability” —
June 3, 2019 10:22AM PT Apple introduced a new version of tvOS for at its worldwide developer conference (WWDC) in San Jose, Calif. Monday. The new version of tVOS comes with a redesigned user interface as well as multi-user support, allowing Apple TV owners to access personal content recommendations for each and every household member.
Apple said it will also be contributing to the development costs and working closely with creators to bring the games to life. The service will feature games from Annapurna Interactive, Bossa Studios, Cartoon Network, Finji, Giant Squid, Klei Entertainment, Konami, LEGO, Mistwalker Corporation, SEGA, Snowman, ustwo games and dozens more. Apple has already announced a
Need a Secret Life of Pets recap? Check out this quick, fact-filled catchup that will get you up to speed before you go see ‘The Secret Life of Pets 2’ in theaters June 7! ► Buy Tickets to The Secret Life of Pets 2: https://www.fandango.com/the-secret-life-of-pets-2-215649/movie-overview?cmp=MCYT_YouTube_Desc Watch More: ► The Secret Life of Pets 2 Playlist:
As the titular Mrs. Maisel’s mother in Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino’s Amazon comedy, Marin Hinkle’s Rose Weissman at first glance appeared to be a prim and proper homemaker. In the second season, however, she got to explore a freer, more independent side: Sick of being taken for granted, she jetted off to Paris. Hinkle’s
When Sera Gamble and Greg Berlanti sat down to co-write the pilot of “You,” based on Caroline Kepnes’ novel of the same name, the first decision they made, Gamble says, was to start the story in the same place as the book — inside protagonist Joe Goldberg’s head as he first catches sight of his
June 3, 2019 10:00AM PT “Moonlight” writer-director Barry Jenkins will direct a biopic about iconic choreographer Alvin Ailey. Fox Searchlight first announced the project in March 2018, saying it had the support of the Ailey Organization. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys is producing with Susan Lewis through her AK Worldwide production company, along with Judy Kinberg, Rachel
Welcome back to Tune In: our weekly newsletter offering a guide to the best of the week’s TV. Each week, Variety’s TV team combs through the week’s schedule, selecting our picks of what to watch and when/how to watch them. In a week stuffed with heavy-hitters, “Big Little Lies” season 2 premieres on HBO, “Black
Patrick J. Adams will return for the final season of “Suits,” Variety has learned. Adams will reprise his role as Mike Ross at mid-season to get involved in a case that will put him toe to toe with his former mentor Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) and Samantha Wheeler (Katherine Heigl). Adams previously starred on the hit
June 3, 2019 9:53AM PT In a surprise move, Ole Obermann, Warner Music’s chief digital officer, is leaving the company, a rep confirmed to Variety. The news was first reported by Music Business Worldwide. A source tells Variety that the parting was basically mutual and Obermann elected not to renew his contract, and that Warner
The fact that “Game of Thrones” is not only a ratings juggernaut and a pop culture phenomenon but also dominates at the Emmys is nothing short of remarkable. Television Academy voters have rarely recognized genre series, be they sci-fi, fantasy, horror or superheroes, for its top prize. But that’s changing — with some caveats. In
Twitter, as part of ongoing efforts to improve the “health” of discussions on the platform, announced that it has acquired U.K.-based artificial-intelligence startup Fabula AI. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. The initial focus for Fabula as part of Twitter “will be to improve the health of the conversation, with expanding applications to stop spam
At the beginning of “Orange Is the New Black,” Uzo Aduba related to her character Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren’s desire for love. “Now, that’s something that I have for myself first, rather than looking for it outside of myself,” says the two-time Emmy winner. “And with our last season, we really get to watch her
For the first season of CBS All Access drama “Star Trek: Discovery,” costume designer Gersha Phillips had to set the visual tone for an era of Starfleet history that takes place roughly a decade before the franchise’s original series. For Season 2, Phillips faced a different challenge: She had to find a way to reimagine
Hollywood studios broke their silence last week, threatening to leave Georgia if a controversial new law banning abortions after six weeks goes into effect next year. At risk for the state is some $2.7 billion in direct spending, as well as 92,100 jobs and nearly $4.6 billion in total wages. Opponents of the so-called “heartbeat”
David Lynch, Wes Studi and Lina Wertmüller will receive honorary Oscars, and Geena Davis will be honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Monday. The four Oscar statuettes will be presented at the Academy’s 11th annual Governors Awards on Oct. 27, and the selections are
Emerald Fennell and Steven Canals are new to the Emmy race. Although Fennell’s show (“Killing Eve”) was eligible last year, she hadn’t joined the team, let alone taken the reins, in that first season. And Canals’ “Pose” premiered just after the eligibility window closed. Both series received critical acclaim and other awards attention first —
June 3, 2019 8:30AM PT Facebook’s new Oculus Quest virtual reality (VR) headset will get a second browser any day now: Mozilla, the non-profit behind the popular Firefox browser, has been working on a Quest version of its Firefox Reality VR browser, a spokesperson told Variety over the weekend. “Mozilla was part of the Oculus
The idea of using traditional thriller tropes in a TV show can be a tricky one. Unlike action movies, in which the story is typically used to string together elaborately choreographed fight scenes long enough for the hero to limp off into the sunset, with a series, the action has to be balanced out with
Italy’s Biografilm Festival, an event billed as a cinematic celebration of human lives, will pay tribute to Werner Herzog, whose Japanese-language film “Family Romance, LLC” will launch locally following its Cannes premiere, as will “Meeting Gorbachev,” his sit-down conversation with the former Soviet leader. The prolific Herzog, 76, whose long career comprises feature films such
As the amount of scripted television continues to grow, a number of drama series are embracing larger casts to expand their storytelling potential. “I prefer ensembles, because that’s the only way you can tell a real story,” says “The Chi” executive producer Lena Waithe. “To me, the really good shows are about relationships [rather than]
YouTube is taking additional steps to restrict the possibility that children will be targeted by predators on the video platform — including banning young kids from live-streaming with adult supervision. The Google-owned video platform, in a blog post Monday, also said it is limiting recommendations of videos that depict “minors in risky situations.” The updated
Though they are both musical biopics backed by major Hollywood studios and (at least partially) directed by Dexter Fletcher, “Rocketman” and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” from a box office perspective, are faulty comparisons. That’s an important distinction to note as Paramount’s “Rocketman,” centering on the life and times of Sir Elton John, begins its theatrical run in
There’s something very non-New York about music festivals. From the combo-platter concept (which is sort of like having a mall in the middle of a city brimming with retailers) to the largely suburban fans to the location (which usually ends up being Randall’s Island, an uninhabited way-station in the middle of the East River), music
June 3, 2019 6:38AM PT Jay-Z is the first hip-hop artist to become a billionaire, according to the new cover story in Forbes. The article opens by recalling a 2010 meeting between the rapper and billionaire Warren Buffet, from which the octogenarian came away impressed. “Jay is teaching in a lot bigger classroom than I’ll