The Golden Globes aim to surprise, so predicting winners should always be taken with a grain of salt. That’s especially true with a voting body as small as the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., which boasts fewer than 100 members. Nonetheless, there are certain quirks to be found among HFPA voters that might give a hint
Month: January 2020
The 20-year-old son of “Orange Is the New Black” creator Jenji Kohan died in a skiing accident in Park City, Utah, on New Year’s Eve, according to local authorities. Charlie Noxon, a junior at Columbia University, was on an intermediate trail near Canyons Village at the Park City Mountain Resort at the time of the
At the start of the decade, Disney’s film business was enfeebled. The studio ran perpetually last or nearly last for domestic market share, and its international grosses were only modestly better. Cut to the end of 2019, and Disney has hit a stunning, historic milestone, earning 33% of all domestic box office grosses for the
While the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences once again ponders an Oscars telecast without a host, the Golden Globes is returning to one who completely changed the awards-hosting game. The Globes had gone without a host for most of its history when it chose Ricky Gervais to emcee the 2010 show. He was
For movies that take place in ye grand olde 20th century, or earlier, directors often go for period-specificity for everything that appears on screen. When it comes to the music coming through the speakers, though, that can be another matter, as filmmakers tend to be fine with anachronisms in scoring and sometimes even songs. Here’s
Exclusive Getty A titan in the music biz is threatening a Guns N’ Roses superfan with a huge lawsuit … claiming the guy leaked a ton of the band’s unreleased songs over the internet. Here’s the deal … Guns N’ Roses claims Rick Dunsford leaked 97 previously unreleased songs over the web after obtaining the
Gary Catona isn’t your garden-variety vocal coach. The man who helped Renée Zellweger channel Judy Garland’s singing style calls himself a “voice builder,” adopting tenor Enrico Caruso’s model of strengthening the muscles that surround the vocal cords. The Philadelphia native’s clients have included Whitney Houston, Andrea Bocelli, Brian Wilson, Steven Tyler, Lenny Kravitz, Liza Minnelli
January 2, 2020 11:26AM PT The former head of HBO, Richard Plepler, has made it official with Apple TV Plus, inking a five-year production deal with the entertainment streaming arm of the iPhone maker. The agreement between Apple and Plepler’s newly launched production company, Eden Productions, spans original series, feature films and documentaries. “I’m excited
World War II has been a favorite subject of Hollywood since 1940, before the U.S. even entered the fighting. But the industry has been less interested in World War I, aka The Great War or The War to End All Wars (as it was sadly/optimistically dubbed). In the past 25 years, there have been 16
Netflix has renewed superhero drama “Raising Dion” for a second season, the streaming service announced on Thursday. The Season 2 order includes eight one-hour episodes, and production will begin in 2020. Netflix revealed the news with an announcement video featuring Senegalese painter Bou Bou painting a portrait of Season 1’s lead characters, Nicole and Dion.
January 2, 2020 9:53AM PT Following a decent ratings debut on Sunday night, Fox’s ‘Flirty Dancing’ stumbled in the ratings on a New Year’s Day that was mostly filled with reruns. The Jenna Dewan-hosted series, which combines dancing and dating, pulled in a 0.4 and 1.8 million viewers on its regular Wednesday time slot, down
Things just got real for country star Dierks Bentley’s fake band, Hot Country Knights. No longer quite so faux, the satirical ’90s country act has signed a legit contract with Universal Music Group Nashville, which also happens to be Bentley’s longtime label home. The news was first announced Thursday morning on the Hot Country Knights
January 2, 2020 9:28AM PT “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” was the clear choice for moviegoers hoping to celebrate the dawn of 2020. The Skywalker saga finale topped the New Year’s Day box office, grossing $16.9 million and pushing its domestic haul past the $400 million mark. “The Rise of Skywalker” is trailing the
Laura Jarrett’s first day on the job started early this morning, well before you could even think about returning to the one you’ve held for months. She joined co-anchor Christine Romans Thursday for the first time on “Early Start,” CNN’s entry in what has fast become a serious business matter: catching TV-news early birds. Despite
“Fortnite” remained the biggest game of the year for 2019 in terms of revenue, raking in an impressive $1.8 billion — a decline of 25% off a record-setting $2.4 billion take a year earlier, according to research firm SuperData. Overall, digital games revenue reached $109.4 billion in 2019, up 3% year-over-year, Nielsen-owned SuperData reported. “Gaming
The Golden Globes red carpet will roll out again on Facebook, which reupped its deal as the exclusive live-streaming partner for the 2020 awards’ official pre-show this Sunday. Facebook, for the third year running, teamed with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and Dick Clark Prods. for “HFPA Presents Globes Red Carpet Live.” The pre-show is
When Rihanna makes a declaration, the world tends to listen. While she may not be ready to present the ninth album yet (answers needed!), she is announcing her next Savage X Fenty venture: the first-ever designer collaboration and Valentine’s Day capsule collection. It was confirmed that Adam Selman, who delivered one of the definitive looks
Strand Releasing has acquired North American rights to José Luis Montesinos’s Spanish-language thriller “Ropes” which world premiered at the Sitges Film Festival. Represented in international markets by Reel Suspects, “Ropes” follows Elena, a young quadriplegic who is mourning the recent death of her sister and has moved to a country house with her father. While
Coming off a year of momentous change, home entertainment executives expect more disruption in 2020 but predict studios’ rental and sell-through businesses can coexist alongside the streaming boom. Streaming has clearly become the dominant force, with two more high-profile subscription streaming services scheduled to launch in 2020. Comcast/NBCUniversal in April will bow Peacock, with more
Belgian actor Mehdi Dehbi is best known for appearing in “Mary Queen of Scots” and “A Most Wanted Man” on the big screen, as well as stage work in plays including “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Just Assassins.” But his very first role, at age 3, was playing Jesus when his parochial school staged scenes
Tove Lo’s “Glad He’s Gone,” the lead single and a standout cut from her 2019 album “Sunshine Kitty,” has all the hallmarks we’ve come to expect from the Swedish pop star: a warts-and-all examination of romantic relationships, a sing-along chorus with hilariously TMI lyrics and a knockout bridge that drives home the song’s ode to
Margot Robbie founded LuckyChap Entertainment in 2014 with her now-husband, Tom Ackerley, and friends Josey McNamara and Sophia Kerr. Its mandate: Tell women’s stories on screen and support women creators behind the scenes. “I, Tonya,” with Robbie as Tonya Harding, was LuckyChap’s first release, ensuring the company came to the marketplace with an assertive howl
Pepsi hopes to follow its decades-long history of placing a motto on everyone’s lips. The beverage giant today is unveiling five different commercials all aimed at burnishing its latest slogan, “That’s What I Like.” In two of the spots, crafted with Omnicom Group’s Goodby Silverstein & Partners and Alma, an ad agency that specializes in
Margot Robbie has excelled at playing real people on screen. In 2019, she played Sharon Tate in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” and the year before, she took on Queen Elizabeth I in “Mary Queen of Scots.” In a career-making performance — for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe, a
Hollywood’s glass ceiling may not be shattered, but it’s showing some cracks. The number of top-grossing films directed by women reached record levels in 2019, according to a new study by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. Much of the past decade in the entertainment industry has been dominated by a debate about the lack of
Distinguished film writer and director, Mabel Cheung Yuen-ting has joined the Hong Kong International Film Festival Society as its vice chairperson. She takes over from Johnnie To, who had held the post for the five years since 2014. “This is a wonderful opportunity for me to become further engaged in the promotion of film culture
MADRID — Disney. An extraordinary Mouse House septet, all ranking in Spain’s Top 10, drove its 2019 box office to its biggest cinema theater ticket sales in the decade, according to Comscore figures released Thursday. The last time movies in Spain scored more spectators was 2009, said David Rodríguez, general manager, Spain & Portugal, Comscore
Political problems that turned violent in the last few months weighed on the theatrical box office in Hong Kong, especially in the second half of the year. But the territory’s full year outcome was a 2% dip, rather than a precipitous plunge. Gross revenues for 2019 totaled HK$1.923 billion ($245 million), compared with HK$1.957 billion
One of the strangest and most vexing things about reviewing movies for a trade paper like Variety — which involves covering films at festivals and markets, as opposed to those consumer newspaper critics who follow the theatrical release schedule — is the fact that so many of the films we cover don’t have U.S. distribution
Kehlani took to Twitter on Wednesday to mourn the reported death of 21-year-old rapper Lexii Alijai, with whom she collaborated on 2015’s “Jealous.” “jus got the worst f–-in news ever. my heart is BROKE. F–K,” she tweeted. She went on to say she’s “angry,” “confused” and “heartbroken,” calling Lexi Alijai — whose real name is