For two seasons on “The Handmaid’s Tale,” June (Elisabeth Moss) had to repress her feelings and anger for fear of retribution. In Season 3 of the Hulu drama, she was finally able to forge her own path as a leader, to “give people a piece of her mind,” as Moss puts it. Many of the
Month: June 2020
AMC has picked up hit BBC One drama “The Salisbury Poisonings,” based on the true story of the 2018 Novichok poisonings in the U.K. The Fremantle-distributed drama stars Anne-Marie Duff (“His Dark Materials”), Rafe Spall (“Trying”), MyAnna Buring (“The Witcher”) and Jonny Harris (“Jawbone”). It tells the story of the British city of Salisbury, which
A few years ago, I began brainstorming names for a list of TV’s MVPs — the stars who had managed to leap from hit show to hit show, without a clunker in the bunch. There weren’t many of them — honestly, the one name that came to mind was Ted Danson, who managed to even
Medium announced that Colin Kaepernick is joining its board of directors, the first non-white member of the board. Medium also will partner with the ex-NFL star and civil rights activist to develop anti-racist content for the blogging site. The other members of Medium’s board — which remains all-male — are Medium founder/CEO Ev Williams; Biz
In the wake of the financial havoc wreaked on the live-entertainment industry by the coronavirus pandemic, Live Nation plans to make significant changes to its policies regarding concert tours and festivals when touring is expected to resume in 2021, according to a memo circulated to talent agencies. The changes shift much of the financial risk
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday against the Trump administration’s attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which allowed non-citizens brought to this country illegally as children to apply for protection from deportation. In a 5-4 ruling written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Supreme Court said the government’s justification for ending the
The Disco Biscuits will perform a special show in their hometown of Philadelphia on June 23. Teaming with the Philadelphia Phillies, Citizens Bank Park and Live Nation, the jam band’s show, which will be audience-less and livestreamed for free, will support the PLUS1 For Black Lives Fund which is centered on empowering black communities, transforming
Award-winning filmmaker Liam Saint-Pierre has embarked on a project to encourage Britons to share what they have and haven’t missed during the lockdown via a free anonymous phone line known as The Missing Line. Selected caller confessions will form the basis of “Missed Calls,” a short documentary film sketching 24 hours of life in lockdown
Producer Oge Egbuono’s directorial debut “(In)Visible Portraits” arrives having perhaps committed the first-feature error of wanting to say everything. Even so, the documentary’s emotional generosity and mindful elegance impress. A rumination on Black women in America, the film’s release was moved up from fall 2020 to June 19. The timing couldn’t be more resonant. The
TV and film production in Japan shut down in early April in reaction to the coronavirus crisis. Since then the Japanese industry has been struggling to adapt to the new normal. One of the first to pick up his camera — or rather his smartphone — was Shinichiro Ueda, the director of the smash zombie
All-new podcasts starring Batman, Wonder Woman — or Bugs Bunny — could be streaming to your headphones soon. In the latest move to punch up its podcast biz, Spotify inked a multiyear pact with Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment to produce and distribute an original slate of narrative scripted podcasts, which will be exclusively licensed
MPC Episodic, which offers its VFX expertise to series creators, has expanded its senior team with the hire of seven key creatives. The outfit has also opened a Berlin office. Since its launch in January, MPC Episodic has been working on a number of series for clients including Disney Plus, BBC Studios, Apple TV Plus
ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) has appointed Jaime Ondarza as executive VP and general manager of a newly-created regional structure, which includes France, Iberia, Italy, the Middle East, Greece and Turkey. Ondarza will report to Raffaele Annecchino, the president of ViacomCBS Networks Europe, Middle East, Africa & Asia. In this new role, Ondarza is in charge
MIFA’s Short Film Pitch category went live yesterday with strong contenders including a post apocalyptic number from Argentina, “El After del Mundo” (“The World’s After”). The 2D project from 28-year-old animation director Florentina Gonzalez goes for a Millennial after party vibe, focusing on two ghosts floating around in a post human ether. There is Fluor,
On Wednesday, Les Femmes s’Animent (LFA), the French arm of Women in Animation (WIA), hosted and streamed “Confinement Votre” (Your Confinement), a global video conference, as part of this year’s WIA Summit at the virtual edition of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. LFA reached out to women working in the animation industry across Europe
Rennes-based production outfit Vivement Lundi!, whose short film “Memorable” claimed two top prizes at last year’s Annecy Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award, returns this year to pitch a project of a wholly different flavor. Presented in the Mifa Pitch forum, the short-format series “Douce” (French for “Meek”) offers a bawdy and irreverent
Hong Kong FilMart, the largest film rights market in Asia, and the Hong Kong Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) have given up on plans to be held in physical form this year. Instead, both will hold virtual, online editions in August. FilMart will migrate to a virtual platform, FILMART Online, running Aug. 26-29, 2020. HAF
Dame Vera Lynn, the iconic British singer best known for her rousing wartime song “We’ll Meet Again,” has died. She was 103. Lynn’s family confirmed the singer died on Thursday morning, surrounded by relatives, according to the BBC. “The family are deeply saddened to announce the passing of one of Britain’s best-loved entertainers,” reads a
Movistar Plus’ first U.S. co-production, “Tell Me Who I Am,” produced with Telemundo, has been sold by Germany’s Beta Film to HBO Latin America, a deal announced today during the sales company’s pioneering live virtual pitching event – Beta Summer Insights. In addition to the Latin American deal, Telemundo’s boarding production at last year’s Natpe
Pitched at Annecy, “Primeras” (Firsts) is a 2D TV project which underscores how the industry is driving ever more into issues of gender and inclusion. Part of the La Liga Focus, and produced by Chile’s Typpo Creative Lab and Pájaro Studio, the 13-episode anthology series turns on Latin American women pioneers in fields of knowledge,
Each year, Variety staff pick 10 short films screening at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, either from competition or from the event’s multiple prestigious sidebars, which attendees should take care not to miss. This year, with the entirety of the short film competition on the festival’s digital platform, animation fans from almost anywhere in the world
French animation house My Fantasy, a 2P2L Group subsidiary dedicated to new media animation, has unveiled its first feature project at Annecy’s MIFA pitch forum. Finalizing pre-production, the noirish thriller “Eugène” tells the real-life story of Eugene Falleni – a transman accused of murder in 1920s Sydney. Etched in inky greyscale, the true-crime potboiler offers
AMC Networks’ Sundance Now has acquired Schiaffino Musarra’s Swedish crime comedy series “We Got This” from Banijay Rights for the U.S., Canada and the U.K. The show follows George English (Musarra),
a recently jobless American man living in Sweden who sets off to solve the 30-year-old murder of the former prime minister Olof Palme, in
Writer-director Brad J. Silverman’s “Selfie Dad” is a pleasantly predictable faith-based dramedy that has been scheduled and marketed for family viewing over Father’s Day weekend on VOD platforms. As it turns out, however, the timing of its release might actually serve to expand the film’s appeal slightly beyond the usual target audience for similar fare.
In a good haunted-house thriller, architecture is destiny. Early on in “You Should Have Left,” when Theo (Kevin Bacon), a wealthy retired banker with a tabloid scandal in his past, shows up with his movie-actress wife, Susanna (Amanda Seyfried), and their six-year-old daughter, Ella (Avery Essex), at the vacation home they’ve rented for a getaway
Spotify continues to bulk up its podcast roster, signing a deal with Kim Kardashian West for an exclusive series looking at a case involving criminal-justice reform. A Spotify spokesman confirmed the company’s deal with Kardashian West and TV producer Lori Rothschild Ansaldi for the podcast, to be made available exclusively on the Spotify platform. Kardashian
As it continues to focus on premium scripted content, Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group) has boarded MGM’s romantic comedy “Valley Girl,” a reboot of the 1983 classic starring Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman. “Valley Girl” marks NENT Group’s first foray into the U.S. feature landscape and will be labeled a Viaplay Original film. As such,
Megan Amram, a producer and co-writer on NBC’s “The Good Place,” has apologized for posting offensive tweets several years ago that have resurfaced. “I would like to address some tweets from over the past decade that have been circulating recently. I fear this will not convey everything that I want it to, but I am
After much conversation about the need during this era of “Peak TV” for the Emmy race to expand the number of nominees in key categories, the Television Academy is doing just that. The org announced late Wednesday that it would expand the number of nominations in comedy and drama to eight, regardless of the number
Myriad Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to the Alicia Witt romantic comedy “Modern Persuasion,” which will premiere at the Cannes Virtual Market. The film, an adaptation of Jane Austen’s 1817 novel “Persuasion,” is directed by Alex Appel and Jonathan Lisecki from a script by Lisecki and Barbara Radecki. The film also stars Liza Lapira, Daniela
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