With theatrical admissions free-falling due to the lack of U.S. blockbusters, cash-strapped European exhibitors are up in arms about paying rent for the months they were dark due to COVID-19. Apart from Denmark and Sweden, where governments have stepped up to pay full or partial rent, other European countries have deferred — but not waived
Month: July 2020
UPDATED: Most of Google’s workforce probably will not return to the office before the summer of 2021, with the internet giant extending the option to work from home given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The company confirmed to Variety that Google workers will be able to choose to work from home through July 2021. In an
The Paley Center for Media’s annual PaleyFest television festival is joining the ever-growing list of events pivoting to virtual production amid the coronavirus pandemic. Among the series taking part in this first-ever PaleyFest are YouTube’s “Justin Bieber: Seasons” (moderated by Variety‘s own Shirley Halperin), NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” Amazon Prime Video’s “The Marvelous
Reel Suspects has acquired world rights to Marat Sargsyan’s feature debut “The Flood Won’t Come” which will have its world premiere at Venice in the Critics’ Week section. Produced by Ieva Norvilienė at Tremora, “The Flood Won’t Come” revolves around a famous colonel who has acted as a war consultant in different countries for many
The nation’s local news veterans are launching a bid to take on a few successful upstarts making a market in national sports. An alliance of local-media companies, the Local Media Consortium, will launch “The Matchup,“ a new online sports news effort that aims to give fans of specific teams more news about them from a
Spotify pacted with Mark and Jay Duplass for the brothers’ first crack at podcasts. Under the development deal, the indie filmmakers, producers and actors will create exclusive original programming for Spotify — both scripted and unscripted podcast series — under their Duplass Brothers Productions banner. Details of specific projects they have cooking for Spotify are
Netflix announced “The Witcher: Blood Origin,” a limited series set in “The Witcher” universe, which will tell the backstory of the elven civilization before its fall — and reveal the lost history of the very first Witcher. “Blood Origin,” to be shot in the U.K., will be a six-part, live-action limited series, and a prequel
U.K. non-profit ERA5050 has partnered with Comedy 50:50 to launch TellHerVision, a writers’ room mentorship program exclusively for women working in comedy. The program is supported by ScreenSkills with funding coming from National Lottery funds awarded by the British Film Institute’s Future Film Skills program. Hat Trick Productions and TimesUp U.K. will participate as strategic
Dr. Dre posted a photo of himself and former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeling together with the simple caption, “Defiant,” on Sunday evening. While the inspiration and location of the photo — somewhere in the great outdoors — were unclear, it is obvious that Dre is reaffirming solidarity with Kaepernick, who was essentially
Chloé Zhao’s road drama “Nomadland” starring Frances McDormand, will screen at Venice, Toronto and New York as part of the fall festivals’ solidarity pact in the wake of the pandemic. It will also play as part of a special Telluride-hosted drive-in event. Zhao’s third film will world premiere with simultaneous screenings on Sept. 11 at
The Locarno Film Festival’s unique StepIn industry think tank, which is going online this year due to the pandemic, will delve into the future of the theatrical experience, production, film festivals and markets. A high-caliber roster of industry executives has been recruited for the sessions, which aim to provide food for thought and a sharp
Netflix/ITV’s hit thriller “Marcella” is set for a French adaptation produced by Elephant and commissioned by TF1. The deal was made by Cineflix Rights which has exclusive worldwide rights to the new series. Hans Rosenfeldt’s “Marcella” was produced by Buccaneer Media and stars Anna Friel who won an International Emmy Award for her role in
ITV Studios executive Bea Hegedus is joining Vice Media Group as senior VP and global head of distribution. The newly created role comes as Vice looks to maximize its IP internationally, and build new U.S. and international partnerships. Formed in 2017, global production outfit Vice Studios has 130 projects in production and development across all
HBO Asia has set “Dream Raider” as its first original sci-fi commission. The show is an 8-episode Mandarin language series, produced in Taiwan. Set in the near future, “Dream Raider” features a misfit team of scientists and cops that are trying to get to the bottom of a criminal conspiracy that exploits human consciousness. The series opens
BBC and ITV-backed streamer BritBox is finalizing plans that will see the service roll out to 25 countries worldwide, with the footprint expanding across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, South America and Africa. This will build upon the service’s success in the U.S. and Canada, where it has surpassed one million subscribers. The platform launched
Exclusive Jussie Smollett‘s alleged “attackers” picked up some of their possessions seized by cops over a year ago — including a large gun — but the judge said they still gotta wait for a couple more infamous items. Abel and Ola Osundairo were granted permission by the court to get back many of their belongings
An Indian court has asked Chinese tech giant Alibaba, and its co-founder Jack Ma, to present evidence about the operation of its news operations. The request stems from a personnel case in which a former employee claims he was unfairly dismissed for refusing to censor content carried by Alibaba apps. The case, reported first by
RuPaul’s award-winning show “Drag Race” is set for a Dutch makeover by World of Wonder, broadcaster RTL and Vincent TV. “Drag Race Holland” is being produced by Netherlands-based production company Vincent TV Production and executive Produced by World of Wonder, the format’s owners. Set to bow later this year, the series will feature ten Dutch
Joerg Winger, producer and co-creator of the hit three-season “Deutschland” Cold War spy series, has launched a new outfit aimed at developing, producing and distributing high-end drama formats, including English-language and international productions. Berlin-based Big Window Productions, set up between original “Deutschland” producer UFA Fiction and parent group Fremantle, will focus “on a small portfolio
The Daytime Emmys completed its third and final pandemic-delayed ceremony on Sunday night, with Amazon Prime Video, HBO and Netflix all landing six wins in the various children’s, lifestyle and animation awards handed out, while Disney Channel and sister network Disney Junior combined for a total of nine wins. Among the top winners were Disney
Five of India’s leading filmmakers are joining hands for an as-yet untitled anthology film about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The project will be produced by filmmaker Anubhav Sinha’s Benares Mediaworks. Other filmmakers contributing to the anthology include Ketan Mehta, Sudhir Mishra, Hansal Mehta and Subhash Kapoor. “The past few months during the lockdown we have
Zombie action thriller, “Peninsula” dominated the South Korean box office for the second weekend. I beat competition that comprised a mix of reruns and smaller local titles. “Peninsula,” a sequel to the 2016 hit “Train to Busan,” earned $4.49 million between Friday and Sunday. Earned from 2,100 screens, that was a respectable drop of 52%
Just a few days after “The Kissing Booth 2” debuted on Netflix, the streaming service announced a third movie in the teen romance franchise is in the works. And there’s more good news for Elle (Joey King) and Noah (Jacob Elordi) fans: “The Kissing Booth 3” was secretly shot at the same time as the sequel,
Kelsey Grammer‘s daughter, Spencer, got cut up by a man who started swinging a knife in NYC — all because the restaurant she was at was about to close and wouldn’t let him in. Law enforcement sources confirmed the scary incident went down late Friday night at a place called The Black Ant in the
K-pop superstars BTS will drop a new digital single in English on Aug. 21, the group said, calling the swap to their non-native tongue “a new challenge.” The song will hit ahead of a full new album set to release later in 2020. “We are preparing an album for the second half of this year,
Robert Downey Jr.’s family film “Dolittle” and Sony’s thriller “Bloodshot” led China’s first opening weekend at the box office since the coronavirus outbreak, a sign that new titles sell better than re-runs of beloved classics. Five out of the top 10 films this weekend were Hollywood titles. China began reopening theaters in regions deemed at
Some years, it’s easy to predict Emmy nominations and winners. And then there’s 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic put a halt on in-person campaigning, and delayed some major contenders from making it into this year’s eligibility window. It also kept Television Academy members at home, where they presumably had a chance to watch more TV than
Amazon Studios has set a September theatrical release for the Stacey Abrams voting rights documentary “All In: The Fight for Democracy.” The film will be released on Amazon Prime Video on Sept. 18. It’s directed by Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmakers Liz Garbus and Lisa Cortés. Abrams is a producer along with Garbus, Cortés and Dan
John Saxon, the stoic yet charismatic character actor who starred in many iconic horror, western and genre films, died in Murfreesboro, Tenn., after a battle with pneumonia, according to multiple reports. He was 84. The daughter of his “Enter the Dragon” co-star Bruce Lee paid tribute on the late martial arts actor’s Twitter page. Saxon’s
Olivia de Havilland, one of the last remaining actresses of Hollywood’s Golden Age, two-time Academy Award winner and star of “Gone With the Wind,” has died. She was 104. Her former lawyer Suzelle M. Smith confirmed the news to Variety, saying “Last night, the world lost an international treasure, and I lost a dear friend
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- …
- 54
- Next Page »