The most obvious point of comparison for “Suzi Q,” a new documentary about the pioneering 1970s rocker Suzi Quatro, is “Bad Reputation,” a two-year-old doc about Joan Jett. That’s not least of all because Jett is a frequent on-camera presence in the new movie, and comes off as such an acolyte of the woman who
Month: July 2020
The FIRST International Film Festival this week announced that it will occur with in-person screenings from July 26 to August 3 in China’s Qinghai province — implying that cinemas will be open in at least parts of the country by the end of the month. This would make it among the first festivals in the
Creative Artists Agency is shuttering multiple domestic locations through the end of the year, as coronavirus cases explode in the United States, Variety has learned. A late-hitting internal memo to staff informed agents and others that CAA headquarters in Los Angeles, as well as offices in Nashville and New York, will remain closed as the
Paramount Pictures has scooped up the first feature film made by director Lee Daniels in nearly a decade, “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.” Sold by Endeavor Content in an eight-figure deal out of Cannes’ big-spending virtual market, the project follows the dramatic true story of the Federal Department of Narcotics targeting the jazz legend
Exclusive Kehlani rented a Ferrari and then smashed up the expensive sports car before returning it … this according to a new lawsuit. The singer is being sued by a luxury rental car company that claims she rented a Ferrari back in April, and said it was for personal use only — but the company
When the coronavirus lockdown began in March, WME partner Richard Weitz found himself stuck like so many parents trying to find a way to celebrate his daughter 17th birthday amid the onset of quarantine conditions. Weitz, a lifelong music buff, called a piano player friend from Chicago to serenade Demi and a group of her
The score that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composed for HBO’s limited series “Watchmen” could be boiled down to this: It was the most Nine Inch Nails of times, it was the least Nine Inch Nails of times. Which is to say, their work on the thoughtful science-fiction drama took them as close to their
FilmLA is reporting that about 14 film permit applications are being submitted per day since resuming remote operations on June 15 — about 20% of the pre-pandemic level. It reported Wednesday that the largest television project to apply to shoot on location is Freeform’s “Love in the Time of Corona.” FilmLA said three soap operas
Exclusive Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have only one person to blame for the National Enquirer story about their romance, and it’s her brother … and the publication’s laying out its paper trail. Lauren’s bro, Michael Sanchez, is suing the National Enquirer for libel … because he denies he was the rat behind the story
Music and sports — arguably the two forms of mainstream entertainment hardest hit by the pandemic lockdown — will get some succor on Sunday when ESPN will air its first-ever concert: the Eagles’ “Live from the Forum MMXVIII.” For those whose roman-numeral-translation skills are lacking, the concert dates from 2018, when the group was on an extensive
“When it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month/ Or even your year, but/ I’ll be there for you.” It’s safe to say that, for many, those 25-year-old lyrics to the “Friends” theme song have never rung more true. “Friends” composer Michael Skloff came to the realization amid quarantine, as the coronavirus pandemic took
Leading Hollywood visualization studio The Third Floor (TTF) has opened its first Beijing office. It seeks to create a hub in China on par with its other main outposts in Los Angeles and London that will cater primarily to local projects. TTF specializes in the pre-production process of pre-visualization, or pre-viz, which uses digital tools
Quibi is making a series about fake news and its impact on the 2016 presidential election. The short-form content platform has issued a series order for “Clickbait” (working title), which tells the true story of a group of Macedonian teenagers who made a fortune creating fake news in the run-up to the 2016 election. “Clickbait”
CBS veteran Chris Ender has been tapped as the top communications exec at CBS Entertainment Group. He will replace Dana McClintock, who left CBS on June 30 following the appointment of George Cheeks as CEO. Cheeks made the announcement via a memo (shared below), and Ender will report directly to him, while remaining based on
In today’s TV News Roundup, HBO announced the premiere date for “Lovecraft Country,” and Tubi announced it will add 30 seasons of Bob Ross’ “The Joy of Painting” to its streaming library. DATES HBO has announced its upcoming drama series “Lovecraft Country” will debut on Aug. 16 at 9 p.m. and be available to watch
It turns out many fields have their own Harvey Weinsteins, and in the case of gymnastics, it was Olympics team doctor Larry Nassar. The powerful new documentary “Athlete A,” now streaming on Netflix, tells the story of Nassar’s hundreds of victims and looks at how the abuse continued for decades despite numerous reports made by
When Darren Criss was filming “Hollywood,” he was also shooting his Quibi series “Royalties” and traveling to Las Vegas for a series of concerts he was headlining with Steve Aoki. “There was, like, a Sprinter van with an editing bay in it that would come to set on ‘Hollywood,’ to where I’d be shooting a
The story of Devi Vishwakumar and her awkward high school experiences will continue. Netflix has renewed Mindy Kaling’s coming-of-age comedy series “Never Have I Ever” for a second season. The news comes just over two months after the show launched to critical acclaim. Season 2 will of course see newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, who beat out
Since late March, Samantha Bee has been filming TBS’ “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” — her topical comedy show — from the woods outside of her house in upstate New York. Her last taping of the show in its Manhattan studio was on March 11, the week that productions shut down because of the coronavirus
Amid surging COVID-19 transmission rates, California Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered the closure of dine-in restaurant service and movie theaters in Los Angeles County and 18 other counties for three weeks. Newsom announced the closures Wednesday, two days ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, at his daily news conference in Sacramento. He also said
When Tina Fey announced that “30 Rock” would remove four episodes featuring blackface (or what she called “race-changing makeup”) from streaming services, she said that it was because she wanted to “do the work and do better in regards to race in America.” Soon thereafter, episodes featuring approximations of blackface from “Community,” “Scrubs,” and “The
For a new streaming service, Apple TV Plus made some pretty sharp music choices from the start, tapping Carter Burwell to score “The Morning Show,” Atli Örvarsson for “Defending Jacob,” Michael Brook for “Little America” and Drum & Lace and Ian Hultquist for “Dickinson.” Two-time Oscar nominee Burwell (“Carol,” “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) had
“Aquaman” himself, Jason Momoa, is in negotiations to star as Frosty the Snowman in a movie for Warner Bros. Momoa will voice Frosty in the live-action/CG hybrid. Framestore UK will do the animation. Momoa will also produce with Geoff Johns, and Stampede’s Greg Silverman and Jon Berg. David Berenbaum, who collaborated with Berg on “Elf,”
Music industry service provider Outdustry has this week launched Outdustry Songs, a new independent music publisher focused on China, with an exclusive sub-publishing deal with U.S. indie Reservoir. Founded in 2006, Outdustry provides specialist A&R, rights and marketing services, aimed at the China and India markets. Its small team of 16 is split up across
Check out the official The Tax Collector Trailer starring Shia LaBeouf! Let us know what you think in the comments below. ► Sign up for a Fandango FANALERT: https://www.fandango.com/the-tax-collector-2020-223164/movie-overview?cmp=MCYT_YouTube_Desc Want to be notified of all the latest movie trailers? Subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to stay up to date. US Release
With coronavirus stay-at-home measures extending into their fourth month, people have been cooking more than ever. Here, six celebrity chefs recommend staples that everyone needs in their pantry. Alton Brown Dried beans. You can feed a family of four for six months on different kinds of beans. Beans are cheap. They’re plentiful. They’re incredibly nutritious.
Rarely in recent memory has a TV show been so propitiously timed as “The Last Dance.” The 10-episode documentary series about the Michael Jordan-era Chicago Bulls premiered in May, weeks after the coronavirus pandemic caused the shutdown of all major live sports events, leaving fans bereft. Into that void slipped “The Last Dance,” turning five
Chris Parnell is leaving Sony Pictures Television Studios, where he most recently served as co-president alongside Jason Clodfelter. Parnell will join Apple TV Plus in a senior programming role on the domestic development team, reporting to Matt Cherniss, Apple’s head of scripted development and current programming. In his new role, Parnell will help drive development
The Television Academy has finally listened to our pleas — well, sort of. The org recently announced plans to expand the number of comedy and drama Emmy nominations from seven to eight, acknowledging that the volume of eligible programs continues to rise. As a matter of fact, according to the TV Academy, Emmy submissions for
Stepping onto the set of Amazon Prime Video’s “Homecoming” to direct all seven episodes of the second season, Kyle Patrick Alvarez had a big task at hand. The first season had been entirely helmed by executive producer Sam Esmail, who created a very specific visual look for the show, including the use of long, tracking