Month: May 2020

Julio Torres’s special brand of comedy helped raise $60,000 to support undocumented youth and their families during the coronavirus pandemic. Torres, the co-creator of HBO’s series “Los Espookys” and a former writer on “Saturday Night Live,” hosted the virtual comedy show “My Sun in Aquarius” on Friday night for the New York State Youth Leadership
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Variety Streaming Room’s weekly series “Rebooting the Entertainment Industry,” sponsored by PwC and Ad Council, will air its third episode on May 26 at 10 a.m. PT. The upcoming installment will focus on how the entertainment industry can tackle the production and distribution challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual panel will include
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Actor-singer-songwriter Nick Jonas and Laurence Fishburne are set to star in “The Blacksmith” which, financed and produced by AGC Studios, signals a potential early top title with the makings of a new action thriller movie franchise at June’s Cannes virtual markets.  Jonas (the “Jumanji” franchise, “Midway”) and Fishburne (the “Matrix” and “John Wick” franchises, “Mission:
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Sharon Hoffman, a veteran of CBS News and “Entertainment Tonight,” will take over as executive producer at “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” a rare behind-the-scenes changing of the guard at the ABC late-night show, where Jill Leiderman has held that role since 2006. Leiderman has been instrumental in the evolution of Kimmel’s program, where she helped the
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IFC Films has acquired U.S. rights to “My Salinger Year” a drama starring Sigourney Weaver and Margaret Qualley. Falardeau adapted “My Salinger Year” from Joanna Rakoff’s memoir of the same name. The film is set in New York City in the 1990s after Qualley’s character leaves graduate school to pursue her dream of becoming a writer and
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The finale of “The Bachelor” spinoff “Listen to Your Heart” pulled at a few more viewers’ heartstrings than before, jumping to a season high audience. “Listen to Your Heart” drew just under 3 million total viewers, which a roughly 700,000 viewer bump from the penultimate episode. Its 0.6 rating among adults 18-49 was down fractionally
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YouTube today announced the launch of its first Foundry Class of 2020, the platform’s global artist development program that, according to the announcement, “helps independent artists use music and storytelling to engage fans all over the world and build careers with a vision that is really uniquely their own.” Past Foundry artists include Dua Lipa, Rosalia, Kenny
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Endeavor Content has unveiled a slew of international deals for Hulu and BBC Three’s hit drama “Normal People.” Lionsgate-owned international streamer Starzplay has bought exclusive rights to the adaptation of Sally Rooney’s novel for Germany, Austria, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Latin America and Japan. Endeavor Content has also sold the Element Pictures
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BeaglePug, headed by producer David Barron, whose credits include six “Harry Potter” movies, “Mowgli” and “Cinderella,” has teamed with Enriched Media Group, co-founded by producer Mick Southworth, to produce TV drama “A Treachery of Spies,” an adaptation of Manda Scott espionage thriller “A Treachery of Spies.” The London-based production outfits have secured all TV, film
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Two years after leaving top U.K. indie Big Talk, “Baby Driver” producer Nira Park and director Edgar Wright have teamed with two of their long-term collaborators, writer-director Joe Cornish and producer Rachael Prior, to launch new production company Complete Fiction. Based in both London and Los Angeles, the new company will operate across film and
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British author and screenwriter Neil Gaiman has apologized after being reprimanded by Scottish police for traveling from New Zealand to the Scottish island of Skye — a journey that has rattled residents of the 10,000-strong community who have been trying to self-isolate. Police Scotland confirmed to Variety that the “American Gods” author had been approached
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Former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters has taken to social media to rail against long-ago partner David Gilmour for considering him “irrelevant” and “banning” him from the group’s website and social media, complaining that his solo projects are not allowed to come up for mention while those of Gilmour’s wife are promoted. In a video
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SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the finale of “The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart.” The contestants of “The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart” traveled to their final destination during Monday night’s finale. Chris Watson and Bri Strauss, Trevor Holmes and Jamie Gabrielle, and Matt Ranaudo and Rudi arrived in
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Manufactured YouTube plays versus conjured single sales? Those are the dramatic slurs at play in a chart battle between Ariana Grande and rapper 6ix9ine, as the latter returns to recording after a 17-month stint in prison. “Stuck With You,” Grande’s duet with Justin Bieber, which benefits First Responders Children’s Foundation, debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s
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