With media and entertainment sectors continuing to be whipped by winds of digital disruption, many industry execs believe they need to change the ways they’ve done business — or see their companies perish. About 50% of M&E executives said their company cannot rely on traditional business models to survive the shifting landscapes, according to a
Month: January 2020
January 7, 2020 10:14PM PT In this week’s edition of the Variety Movie Commercial Tracker, powered by the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv, Universal Pictures claims the top spot in spending with “1917.” Ads placed for the drama had an estimated media value of $10.41 million through Sunday for 692 national ad
January 7, 2020 10:00PM PT Kristen Stewart battles an alien of the deep in a waterlogged thriller that can’t come up with one original variation on the movies it’s ripping off. Before technology took over the movies, a cruddy sci-fi action thriller often looked just as bad as it played. No longer. “Underwater,” a deep-sea
Former Sony Pictures Television executives Andy Kaplan and George Chien have cut a deal with Sony to acquire three entertainment networks that serve Southeast Asia and South Korea. Kaplan and Chien have launched KC Global Media to operate the Sony channels, which include the AXN-branded channels in the region, the anime-focused Animax and South Korea’s
Sergio Mendes is set to perform after the world premiere of “Sergio Mendes: In the Key of Joy” at the Santa Barbara Film Festival on Jan. 18. The Grammy award-winning Brazilian musician will perform three songs and participate in a Q&A at the Lobero Theater with director John Scheinfeld. “Sergio Mendes: In the Key of
January 7, 2020 6:28PM PT Gamechanger has hired veteran producer Effie T. Brown (“Dear White People”) as its new chief executive officer. Launched in 2013, Gamechanger became the first film financing fund built for and managed by women. Brown will oversee the fund’s expansion to include projects by people of color, LGBTQ+ and people with
Over the weekend, Dexter Fletcher’s “Rocketman” received a surge on the Oscar buzz meter. Elton John, whose life the film is based on, won a Golden Globe for “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” beating out Beyonce (for “The Lion King”) and Taylor Swift (for “Cats”). Taron Egerton, who portrays John, also won, besting favorites Eddie
Worldwide k-pop phenomenon BTS has announced the release of the follow-up to “Map of the Soul: Persona,” “Map of the Soul: 7.” The extended play will hit streaming services on Feb. 21, 10 months after “Persona.” The release was announced via BTS’ global fan community, BTS Weverse. BTS’ last three albums — “Love Yourself: Tear,”
Fox Entertainment is in very early stages of development of a newly acquired piece of intellectual property — The Texanist, a column at Texas Monthly magazine. The column will be adapted as a comedy in conjunction with the publication, Fox Entertainment president Michael Thorn told Variety at the Television Critics Assn. winter press tour, calling
New Fox, not quite so new anymore, has now spent a full quarter sailing along as its own ship following the Disney-Fox merger that brought 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets under Disney’s umbrella and left a leaner entity in its wake. As part of its efforts to be nimbler and more appealing to talent, the
Just 24 hours after Ellen DeGeneres first aired her “The Masked Singer” spoof segment, “The Masked Dancer,” on her eponymous daytime talk show, Fox’s head of alternative entertainment and specials Rob Wade started making phone calls. “The day after it aired [on ‘Ellen’] was the day I phoned up that production company — January of
Over the past century, sonic branding in advertising has taken on many forms, from the early days of radio jingles to the more recent use of mnemonic devices often heard at the end of commercials from companies like Intel, State Farm and AT&T to the occasional hit single backed by a big brand (Justin Timberlake’s
Sam Mendes’ “1917,” a war epic that unspools to look like one continuous shot, was a surprise winner at the Golden Globes Sunday night, taking home trophies for best motion picture drama and best director for Mendes. That could prove to be a welcome injection of publicity as Universal expands the film to more than 3,000
Fox kicked off the 2020 Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena on Tuesday, announcing some new projects while showcasing some of their midseason fare. The network made several announcements to kick off the day, including a holiday special from the “Robot Chicken” team and signing a new deal with Mara Brock Akil. Read
On Tuesday, veteran Hollywood producer Amy Pascal became only the fifth woman in the history of the Producers Guild Awards to earn a solo nomination for the guild’s top prize — the Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures. Even more fitting is that Pascal, the former Sony Pictures head who
Politicians and celebrities including Jennifer Lopez, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ava DuVernay took to social media on Tuesday to encourage support for Puerto Rico following a 6.4-magnitude earthquake. “Waking up to hear the news of the earthquakes in Puerto Rico is breaking my heart,” “Hustlers” star Lopez tweeted. “Please join me in praying for the safety
In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix debuted the trailer for Season 2 of “Sex Education” and Showtime announced the premiere date for Season 3 of “Our Cartoon President.” DATES AMC announced it will be the home of the television premiere of “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie” on Feb. 16. Leading up to that special
The BAFTAs, the British equivalent of the Academy Awards, have come under fire for nominating only white actors in its lead and supporting categories. But, in a move that highlights the disconnect between awards shows that try to promote inclusivity but don’t always make significant progress, the BAFTAs — or the EE British Academy Films
Silvio Horta, creator of ABC’s popular series “Ugly Betty,” was found dead in a Miami motel room on Tuesday in an apparent suicide. He was 45. Sources tell Variety that Horta died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. A representative for Horta declined to comment. The American version of “Ugly Betty,” which starred America Ferrera, ran
Following the recent accusations against the filmmakers Christophe Ruggia and Roman Polanski, France is having a third belated #metoo moment with the scandal surrounding Gabriel Matzneff, a French writer who’s been critically revered even though he’s bragged about having sex with teenagers for four decades. Matzneff, now 83, is the author of “Under 16 Years
Manny Coto’s new Fox drama “Next” centers on a super intelligent A.I. and the few people who know it not only exists but has gone rogue and is out to harm people. In that way, the first season is one of a man hunt — but for an entity that can’t be physically seen and
Ivanka Trump talked about the current and future state of the U.S. workforce at CES — an appearance that was met with a fair amount of enthusiasm among the tech-industry attendees. In a keynote session Tuesday at CES in Las Vegas, the daughter of and adviser to President Donald Trump said the administration has worked
Brothers Mark and Jay Duplass have inked a four-year first-look deal at HBO, Variety has learned exclusively. The deal further extends the relationship between the brothers’ company, Duplass Brothers Productions (DBP), and the premium cabler, as they were previously under an overall deal at HBO. They currently produce the HBO anthology series “Room 104,” which debuted
January 7, 2020 2:17PM PT Soledad O’Brien will host a new true crime podcast about the 1964 murder of Mary Pinchot Meyer in Georgetown, D.C. It was a shocking and still unsolved killing, one that resulted in a trial and wave of press coverage that exposed racial tensions and whipped up political scandal. This original
January 7, 2020 2:16PM PT The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) announced today it would award “Queen & Slim” writer Lena Waithe and Academy Award-winning actor Louis Gossett, Jr. for their outstanding achievements in entertainment at the 2020 ABFF Honors on Feb. 23 in Los Angeles. “We’re honored to celebrate these two extraordinary talents,” ABFF
Harvey Weinstein’s New York trial just got underway, but it’s already proving hard to find potential jurors who don’t think they movie mogul’s guilty. Thanks to wall-to-wall media coverage, most people have heard about the dozens of women who have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct or assault. That’s making it difficult to find a bench
January 7, 2020 1:31PM PT The SAG-AFTRA headquarters in both Los Angeles and New York have been evacuated due to a phone threat, Variety has confirmed. “I can confirm that we received a threat and have closed our offices for the day,” said SAG-AFTRA chief communications and marketing officer Pamela Greenwalt in a statement. “We notified law
Hold on to your popcorn: An Imax location near you could soon be beaming live competitive video-game action onto its big screens. Imax has inked a partnership with Vindex (vindex.gg), an esports infrastructure startup formed by Major League Gaming co-founders Mike Sepso and Sundance DiGiovanni, under which Vindex will create esports events and experiences exclusively
As the wildfires continue to devastate in Australia, Elton John and Chris Hemsworth have each donated $1 million to support relief efforts on the continent. Since the bushfires began ravaging the area months ago, there have been more than 20 human casualties, thousands of wildlife in the region have died and millions of acres have
“Filthy Rich” creator and showrunner Tate Taylor grew up in the Presbyterian church, but his new Fox drama is not designed to convince the audience that one family’s religious beliefs are better than any others. “The show is not pro-Christianity, it’s not about religion, it’s about people who are all very different who would otherwise
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 47
- 48
- 49
- 50
- 51
- …
- 58
- Next Page »