Movie theaters have endured world wars, depressions and recessions, and the advent of everything from television to streaming. But COVID-19 and the public health crisis it has generated around the globe represent an existential threat to the cinema business like no other. In a matter of days with the accelerating spread of the contagion, most
Month: March 2020
It takes almost no time at all when talking with Michael Chabon to realize that the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” is a die-hard “Star Trek” fan. Given that he’s the showrunner of the latest “Trek” iteration, “Star Trek: Picard,” the 56-year-old has found it particularly satisfying to engage
March 25, 2020 11:37AM PT The Tony Awards are the latest industry event to be postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The American Theatre Wing, which backs the show, announced on Wednesday that the 74th edition of the annual celebration of the best of theater will be pushed back indefinitely. The ceremony was originally scheduled
Last weekend, much of the world became obsessed with Netflix’s new series “Tiger King,” about the sinister but colorful world of big cat breeding. Real-life characters like Joe Exotic and Doc Antle fall into the “you can’t make this stuff” up category of personalities that would be unbelievable if they didn’t actually exist. With people
Endeavor has laid off roughly 250 staffers across its portfolio of businesses, sources told Variety, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to paralyze Hollywood. Pay cuts are being evaluated for all remaining employees, Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel said in a memo on Wednesday. The majority of staff cuts have hit IMG Academy, a sports education facility,
Mark O’Meara has endured blizzards, hurricanes and economic recessions. Even in three feet of snow, he’s managed to keep the lights on at University Mall and Cinema Arts, the two movie theaters he owns in Fairfax, Va. But for the first time in 29 years, he had to close his doors as the coronavirus pandemic
The leaders of broadcasters BBC, Channel 4 and ITV have united to apply pressure on the U.K. government for expansive economic measures for the self-employed — a highly anticipated directive due Thursday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed during his daily press briefing Wednesday that Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer would reveal these measures on
Play video content Jussie Smollett wants to move on from his alleged “attack” — despite a pending trial — and he’s singing about it while on coronavirus lockdown. Jussie just broke his social media silence Wednesday by singing and playing the piano. It’s the ex-“Empire” star’s first time posting anything in over 9 months, so
March 25, 2020 10:01AM PT UPDATED: Netflix’s streaming service was unavailable Wednesday to some users for about an hour, the company confirmed. “Some of our members in the U.S. and Europe were unable to use Netflix via our website for around an hour this morning,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement to Variety, sent
The buyer of Moviefone — who snapped up the site for the fire-sale price of $1 million in a bankruptcy auction — has now come forward: It’s Cleveland O’Neal III, creator and producer of syndicated daytime entertainment show “Made in Hollywood.” O’Neal’s holding company Born in Cleveland LLC was the winning bidder last week in
With hand sanitizer and surgical masks becoming increasingly scarce due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus, some of fashion’s most recognizable names are stepping up to do their part to help combat the shortage. Last night, Gap Inc.—which includes the Gap, Old Navy, Athleta, Banana Republic, Intermix, Hill City, and Janie and Jack—announced on
Elton John is set to host a live concert special on Fox that aims to raise money for groups fighting to stop the spread of coronavirus in the United States. The iHeart Living Room Concert for America hails from Fox and iHeartMedia. In addition to John hosting, the event will feature performances by Alicia Keys,
Mononymous music artist Halsey, nee Ashley Frangipane, has sold her former home in L.A.’s historic Beachwood Canyon. The slightly better than $2.37 million sale price is a tetch under its final ask of not quite $2.4 million and a wee bit above the just over $2.2 million she paid for the boldly contemporary hillside residence
March 25, 2020 9:56AM PT Music producer and international DJ Mark Ronson, son of music manager Laurence Ronson and jewelry designing socialite Ann Dexter-Jones, has taken in almost $4.8 million on the sale of a 1930s Spanish Revival villa in an affluent area of Los Feliz in Los Angeles. The multiple-Grammy-winning musician, who splits his
March 25, 2020 9:00AM PT Angry Birds are preparing to launch themselves in the direction of Netflix. The streamer has issued a 40-episode series order for animated series “Angry Birds: Summer Madness,” based on the irate avian video game characters. Each episode of the series, which is slated to launch sometime in 2021, will last 11
Add James Corden to the list of late-night hosts experimenting with new formats as TV networks grapple with the spread of coronavirus. CBS said it will air a new primetime special from its “Late Late Show” host on Monday, March 30 at 10 p.m. eastern. “Homefest: James Corden’s Late Late Show Special,” will feature the
With the world taking a seemingly dystopian turn due to the Cover-19 pandemic, “My First Family,” a high-concept series project set in an alternate world created by Maya Zaydman (“Our Boys”) and Ori Sivan (“In Treatment”), will likely strike a chord with audiences. “My First Family,” which is being pitched as part of Series Mania’s
March 25, 2020 8:22AM PT U.K. broadcaster the BBC has temporarily put on hold a restructuring plan that would have axed 450 jobs in its news division and saved the corporation £80 million ($94 million) by 2022. The restructuring plan was announced in January. On Wednesday, BBC director general Tony Hall informed staff that this
The dramatic season 4 finale of “This Is Us” delivered plenty of surprises as well as strong ratings numbers for NBC. Tuesday night’s episode scored a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49, its highest mark since Oct. 2019, and 7.9 million total viewers, matching the premiere for a season high. That represents a 21% ratings bump
With Italy, France and Spain in full lockdown in the face of the unrelenting coronavirus outbreak, their respective film industries are preparing to take exceptional measures that could limit the anticipated economic damage by opening themselves up to an uncharted gamble in streaming. To date, dozens of film releases have been postponed to between July and October
Jennifer Hudson is the titan among the intimate live-stream concerts happening Wednesday, with a performance she’ll be broadcasting from her home as part of Global Citizen’s “Together at Home” series. It takes place at 4 p.m. ET/1 PT on her Instagram Live channel. Hudson even gave out her phone number — her “community” phone number,
Layoffs at talent agency Paradigm have hit employees of every rank, multiple sources told Variety — including top agents in music and motion picture and TV literature — as fallout from coronavirus continues to mount. More than 100 agency staffers were pink-slipped last Friday, individuals familiar with the company said, among them music reps Dave
TV commercials have long been the surest bet on Madison Avenue. Suddenly, they’re looking more like a risky gambit. One ad recently making the rounds in these uncertain days of coronavirus was a spot from Mint Mobile, a wireless carrier that aims for young customers and is partially owned by actor Ryan Reynolds. The commercial,
March 25, 2020 7:00AM PT Neon has acquired the worldwide rights to Amy Seimetz’s apocalyptic thriller, “She Dies Tomorrow,” which had been set to premiere at the SXSW Film Festival before the event was canceled The film stars Seimetz’s frequent collaborator Kate Lyn Sheil as a woman ravaged by the notion that she is going
Major U.K. studios are recalibrating coronavirus strategies as they parse recent government advice around the country’s lockdown, and whether or not they should go dark. U.K. studios including Elstree, Pinewood, Shepperton and Warner Bros. Leavesden are still believed to be operational — albeit with minimal staff on the ground — despite Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s
The 28th edition of the Raindance Film Festival will take place in London from Oct. 28 through Nov. 7. this year. Known as a showcase for independent cinema, the festival normally attracts some 16,000 visitors annually. The 2019 edition took place in September, but organizers have likely moved the event back as a precautionary measure
Oscar-winning Italian director Gabriele Salvatores (“Mediterraneo”) is making “Voyage in Italy” a doc using material from social media and other sources chronicling life in lockdown in the country that at present has suffered the most deaths due to coronavirus. The veteran helmer, who in 2014 made user-generated doc “Italy in a Day” based on the Ridley Scott
Multi-territory Asian streamer Viu has struck a new content supply with Singapore’s MediaCorp, and extended its existing three-year-old arrangement with Thailand’s GMM Grammy. Viu enjoyed initial success with carriage of Korean content to a hungry Asian region. It is now diversifying its focus to include more Chinese-language and Thai shows. The GMM Grammy agreement allows
Peacock, NBCUniversal’s new video streaming service, now has one fewer of its crown jewels to drive it into homes across the U.S. this summer when it’s rolling out nationwide. That became clear yesterday when International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach and Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe announced that the Tokyo Olympic Games (originally
Mediapro, one of Spain’s most prolific production entities, will temporarily lay off 1,200 employees and implement the country’s ERTE program, which was put in place to cover salaries for citizens unable to work during the country’s now two-week-old lockdown. The announcement came in an internal memo to employees and was later confirmed to Variety by
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