Month: December 2019

Sky Studios has signed a funding and first-look distribution deal with Merman TV, the company founded by “Catastrophe” writer Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford. The two-year agreement covers overhead and development funding for Merman, which has won three BAFTA television awards. Sky Studios is pay-TV broadcaster Sky’s new dedicated production arm, which is being ramped
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Robert Pattinson, Alicia Vikander, Sam Rockwell, Melissa McCarthy, Joanne Froggatt, Himesh Patel and Nicholas Hoult are among the record-setting 559 new members joining BAFTA in 2019, Variety can reveal. The new class includes a number of recent BAFTA Award nominees, such as composer Nicholas Britell (“If Beale Street Could Talk”), director and producer “Arthur Cary”
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Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority is teaming with Asian streamer Hooq and Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) to fund and develop local content for distribution in Southeast Asia and India. Both partnerships are under the aegis of the Capabilities Partnership Programme that is part of the IMDA’s ‘Made With Singapore’ initiative. The Hooq collaboration will
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Roddy Ricch went from zero Grammy nominations to three literally overnight. The Compton-born, Atlanta-raised  rapper was recognized for his blend of melody and hip-hop, riding a lane of trap rap that’s taken over the streets and beyond. After his first mixtape, “Feed Tha Streets,” Roddy unleashed the London on da Track-produced “Die Young” in July
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In today’s film news roundup, Patrick Stewart receives an honor, Nick Pillegi is working on a “Sex and the Shield” script, “Driveways” finds a home and the DGA honors student filmmakers. STEWART HONORED Patrick Stewart will receive this year’s distinguished artisan award at the 7th Annual Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards. The event
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Striking a lightsaber into the hearts of “Star Wars” fans, it appears that a romance between Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega) will not materialize in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” But that does not necessarily mean there won’t be any LGBTQ representation in the final film in the Skywalker saga, either.
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As entertainment and media figures continue to react to the ouster of “America’s Got Talent” judge Gabrielle Union, former cast member Sharon Osbourne weighed in on Tuesday with her own experience on the show. The reality star and rock matriarch addressed the panel of her syndicated daytime series “The Talk” where, in her notoriously candid
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Ronan Farrow, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his investigative reporting into sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein, defended Gabrielle Union following her departure from NBCUniversal’s “America’s Got Talent,” during his time as guest co-host on “The View.” “It’s no secret that I’ve done a bunch of reporting on a number of media companies,” Farrow
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Third Man Records today announced the launch of Maggot Brain — a new, full-color quarterly magazine edited by noted Detroit music scribe Mike McGonigal. The December/January/February issue is available now, and yearly four-issue subscriptions are available. The magazine is clearly a nod to Third Man founder Jack White’s Detroit roots — “Maggot Brain,” of course, is the name of
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ITV Studios Global Entertainment has struck deals covering over 1,000 hours of scripted and non-scripted programming with Asian broadcasters and streamers. The deals were announced on the first day of the Asia Television Forum in Singapore. KBS in Korea acquired India’s “Wild Karnataka,” narrated by the acclaimed broadcaster-naturalist David Attenborough. Discovery Asia acquired rights to
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British producer Jeremy Thomas, whose credits include “The Last Emperor,” “Crash” and “Sexy Beast,” is attending the Marrakech Film Festival where he was interviewed onstage by U.K. film critic Jason Solomons, who introduced him as “the Last Emperor of independent cinema.” Interviewed by Variety, Thomas talked about Matteo Garrone’s “Pinocchio,” starring Roberto Benigni, which will
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December 3, 2019 2:47PM PT “Avengers: Endgame,” “Cats,” “The Irishman,” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” are among the 20 films that will vie at the Oscars for best visual effects. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee determined the preliminary list of films eligible for further awards
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Dolphin Entertainment today announced a major expansion of its entertainment-marketing capabilities through its acquisition of long-running music and entertainment industry PR firm Shore Fire Media. There, it joins 42West, The Door and Viewpoint Creative in the company’s entertainment publicity and marketing group. Founded by Marilyn Laverty, Shore Fire is a wide-ranging firm that represents artists
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Genius Media Group filed a lawsuit against Google and LyricFind, a Toronto-based lyrics provider, alleging the companies ripped off song lyrics from Genius. The lawsuit seeks at least $50 million in damages from Google and LyricFind. “Defendants Google LLC and LyricFind have been caught red-handed misappropriating content from Genius’s website, which they have exploited —
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December 3, 2019 2:30PM PT Maggie Carey has signed a multi-year overall deal with ABC Studios. Under the terms of the new deal, Carey will write, produce, and direct drama and comedy projects for the studio across all platforms, including broadcast, cable, and streaming. “Maggie is an incredible talent who has directed some of the
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Paris-based Moroccan filmmaker Laila Marrakchi is developing a pair of daring female-driven projects, “Casa Girls,” a series about four twentysomething single women living in Casablanca, and a drama based on a real-life sex scandal set against an agricultural backdrop in Spain. Marrakchi, who has so far directed “Rock the Casbah” and “Marock,” both of which
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