U.K. TV channels and radio stations are changing their programmes to mark “Blackout Tuesday”, following George Floyd’s death in police custody. Channel 4-owned 4 Music said it will pause its output once an hour throughout the day, and cease activity on its other platforms. “This a day to pause business as usual, take the time
Month: June 2020
Lynn Chen’s “I Will Make You Mine” proves yet again that black-and-white films are often anything but. Overseeing a debut that’s nuanced and gently wry (and shot to sumptuous effect), she brings fine shading to the story of three very different women and the thwarted musician who still exerts some gravitational pull in their lives,
WGN America has set the anchor team for the nightly three-hour newscast that is coming to the primetime lineup of Nexstar Media Group’s cable network as of Sept. 1. WGN America is set for a radical primetime makeover from a focus on scripted entertainment series to three hours of a nationally focused news. “News Nation”
Canada’s production community is working towards a bespoke insurance solution as the country looks to jumpstart production after it ground to a halt in March amid the coronavirus outbreak. Variety can reveal that producers’ trade body, the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), is developing a proposal for a “market-based solution” that asks the federal government
TikTok said a “technical glitch” last week made it temporarily appear as if videos using #BlackLivesMatter and #GeorgeFloyd hashtags had zero views — and the short-form video company vowed to do better in representing and supporting black creators. Many TikTok users assumed the issue was an intentional act of censorship by the company, which is
Big Hit Entertainment has apologized for BTS star Suga’s sampling of a speech by infamous cult leader Jim Jones. The song “What Do You Think?,” from Suga’s solo album “D-2,” contained a vocal sample from a 1977 speech given by the cult leader. Jones was responsible for the mass murder-suicide of hundreds of his followers
Even tantalizing glimpses of 20th-century Anglo-Irish modernist Eileen Gray’s most iconic designs, including scenes shot in the seminal E-1027, a seaside villa she built for her former lover Jean Badovici on France’s Côte d’Azur, fail to compensate for the rest of the treacle comprising “The Price of Desire.” Essentially a recounting of how envious Swiss
“Mission: Impossible 7” is set to restart filming in September after shutting down filming earlier this year due to COVID-19 — and the film’s outdoor scenes are set to shoot first. Actor Simon Pegg, who plays Benji Dunn in the franchise, tells Variety that a September restart is “the plan” for the film. “That will begin
Secuoya Group president Raul Berdonés and Madrid region politicians laid a symbolic stone Tuesday morning for Phase II and III of construction on Madrid Content City. Built around Tres Cantos’ Secuoya Studios north of Madrid, which already house Netflix’s first European Production Hub, Madrid Content City weighs in as one of the most ambitious studio,
Contrary to her movie’s title, the protagonist in “Feral” hardly fits any indigent stereotype: She’s young, attractive, kempt, modishly dressed, in fact by all appearances rather closer to the cliché of the college-educated, gentrifying if still “quirky” Brooklyn hipster. No one would guess that Annapurna Sriram’s Yasmine is homeless, a deceiving appearance that’s one of
New Zealand drama film “Poppy” resumed production on Friday, becoming the first local film in the country to start up after a hiatus caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The film was in its final week of shooting when New Zealand’s ‘Level 4’ lockdown took effect on March 23. With the country now returned to a
TV producer Krishnendu Majumdar has been confirmed as chair of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, becoming the first person of color to hold the role in BAFTA’s 73-year history, and the youngest chair in 35 years. The decision, which was made at BAFTA’s digital Annual General Meeting last night, was expected as
Sony Music CEO Rob Stringer (pictured with Pharrell Williams in January) has detailed his company’s plans to observe “Blackout Tuesday,” an industry-wide initiative to stand in solidarity with the black community — and in response to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hand of a police officer, in which all music business
Score one for team Big Cat Rescue. A federal judge granted Carole Baskin control of the zoo formerly owned by Joseph Maldonado-Passage, also known as Joe Exotic from Netflix’s “Tiger King.” “The Courthouse News” reports that Baskin and Big Cat Rescue will soon have full control over Exotic’s former zoo properties in Oklahoma. The imprisoned
“Glee” actor Samantha Ware accused her former co-star Lea Michele of making the show a “living hell” due to “traumatic microaggressions.” On Monday night, Ware responded to a tweet from Michele, who had posted a message against the death of George Floyd with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. “George Floyd did not deserve this. This was not
“9-1-1” actor Ryan Guzman is facing backlash from his co-stars and social media users after defending his wife’s use of the N-word and saying that he frequently calls his friends by racial slurs. The whole situation began when Guzman’s followers found old tweets posted by his wife Chrysti Ane in which she admitted to using
In today’s film news roundup, “40 Years of Rocky” gets a release date, Pierce Brosnan’s “The King’s Daughter” finds a home and the 2020 Lower East Side Film Festival unveils its programming. RELEASE DATE Virgil Films has set a June 9 digital release date for the documentary “40 Years of Rocky,” which chronicles the behind-the-scenes
I’m an unabashed fan of “The Trip” and its three sequels. They’re the British talk-verité road comedies in which Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, playing heightened versions of their quicksilver acid-tongued middle-aged selves, drive around some lovely European country (England, Italy, Spain, Greece), stopping for lavish lunches at Michelin-star restaurants as they slice and dice
During a Monday news conference, California Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed sympathy and showed support for the protesters around the country outraged over the death of George Floyd. “The black community is not responsible for what’s happening in this country right now. We are. Our institutions are responsible. We are accountable to this moment,” he said.
Radio host Rush Limbaugh denied the existence of white privilege during a conversation about the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter Movement with the hosts of “The Breakfast Club” in a pre-recorded interview that aired on Monday. Limbaugh joined Charlamagne tha God, Angela Yee and DJ Envy on “The Breakfast Club,” a
Bad Robot Productions and the Katie McGrath & JJ Abrams Family Foundation announced charitable donations to a number of organizations “committed to anti-racist agendas.” In a statement posted on the Bad Robot Instagram page on Monday, they announced a pledge of $10 million over five years to various organizations. For starters, they will donate $200,000
Lennie Niehaus, who went from Stan Kenton sideman to Clint Eastwood’s movie composer during a nearly 60-year career in music, died Thursday at his daughter’s home in Redlands, Calif. He was 90. Niehaus’s two dozen films for Eastwood include original scores for the best picture-winning Western “Unforgiven,” the Charlie Parker biopic “Bird” and the popular
In today’s TV News Roundup, NBC News Now and NBC BLK announced a virtual conversation in the wake of the social unrest across the country, and ATX Television Festival announced a supporting sponsorship with Showtime for its virtual festival. EXECUTIVE NEWS Nickelodeon and Awesomeness Films have named Syrinthia Studer as executive vice president. Studer’s responsibilities
President Trump vowed on Monday to order the military to crack down on protesters, and walked outside the White House grounds to survey a nearby damaged church. The president said he was ordering thousands of troops to Washington, D.C., also said he would deploy the military to states if governors cannot regain control themselves. “We
One could argue that most hip-hop is actually protest music, but there’s no mistaking the anti-police-violence message of a new song and video called “Pig Feet” by jazz musician Terrace Martin, who is accompanied by rappers Denzel Curry, G Perico and Daylyt and saxophonist Kamasi Washington, who worked with Martin on Kendrick Lamar’s groundbreaking “To
Exclusive Kodak Black was allegedly photographed by a U.S. Marshal — without his permission — the day he was arrested at Rolling Loud … and now, his lawyer’s ramping up for a lawsuit. The Miami Dade Police Department took a report showing that Kodak’s attorney, Bradford Cohen, recently filed a complaint with them alleging one
Grindr said it will remove the racial and ethnic filter from its popular gay dating and social-networking app, citing user feedback and a commitment to the Black Lives Matter movement. “We will not be silent, and we will not be inactive,” the company said in posts on social media Monday. “We will continue to fight
When Spotify announced over the weekend that it will support Blackout Tuesday (June 2), some people assumed that that the entire service will go dark: It won’t. The streaming giant posted on its blog that it “Stands with the Black Community in the Fight Against Racism and Injustice,” and is giving a number of staffers
Widespread protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd could become “super-spreader” events for the coronavirus, an L.A. County health official said Monday. Barbara Ferrer, the director of the L.A. County Department of Public Health, urged protesters to wear masks and use social distancing whenever possible. “There’s a lot of risk of these
As protests, chaos and police clashes engulfed the country over the last few days in response to the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, Atlanta rapper Killer Mike offered some of the most stirring and heartfelt words to be found, urging demonstrators to resist violence and destruction, while also giving voice to the righteous rage