Month: December 2020

Amazon is in negotiations to buy Wondery, the four-year-old independent podcast producer and network, in a deal worth over $300 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. Hernan Lopez, formerly CEO of 21st Century Fox’s Fox International Channels, founded Wondery in 2016 with the mission of producing high-quality scripted and unscripted podcast entertainment. Lopez declined to
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In celebration of pop star Britney Spears’ birthday, her label RCA Records has unveiled the previously  unreleased track “Swimming In the Stars,” available to stream now (below) and for pre-order as an exclusive vinyl pressing from Urban Outfitters. The new limited edition deluxe vinyl of Spears’ 2016 album “Glory” will also include other previously unreleased
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Arianna Bocco has been named president of IFC Films. Her promotion comes after more than a decade at the indie studio, where Bocco oversaw acquisitions and productions for IFC Films as well as for its genre label IFC Midnight. Bocco is stepping into the role after Lisa Schwartz announced in November that she was stepping
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Artisans behind Netflix’s animated hit “Over the Moon” will talk about their work on longtime animator Glen Keane’s feature directing debut in a free online conversation presented by VIEW Conference on Friday, Dec. 4, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. PT. “Over the Moon” follows the adventures of Fei Fei, a young girl mourning the
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A.V. Rockwell’s feature directorial debut, “A Thousand and One,” has been greenlit by Focus Features, Sight Unseen, Makeready and Hillman Grad Productions Rockwell also penned the script for the pic, which begins production next year. It will be produced by Hillman Grad’s Lena Waithe and Rishi Rajani, Makeready’s Brad Weston, and Sight Unseen’s Eddie Vaisman
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The executive producers of ABC drama “Big Sky” have issued a response to criticism from multiple Indigenous groups that the series does not have any tribal representation despite being set in being set in an area with a disproportionately high rate of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women & Girls (MMIWG), and depicting abductions that occur
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New York City wasn’t built for a shutdown. With buildings seemingly stacked on top of each other, the teeming crowds of people weaving between them, and countless nooks and crannies hiding tantalizing secrets for those who stumble upon them, “the city that never sleeps” was given that nickname for millions of reasons. As much as any city can have a pulse,
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“Happiest Season” standout Aubrey Plaza will star opposite Jason Statham in Guy Ritchie’s untitled thriller, formerly titled “Five Eyes.” Statham will portray an agent recruited by the global intelligence alliance Five Eyes to track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapon that threatens to disrupt the world order. Reluctantly paired with a
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Looking for something to do while you are stuck inside? Check out Variety’s Must Attend calendar of (mostly virtual) events. Dec. 2 92Y Talks presents “Marvel’s 616,” with Alison Brie, Andrew Rossi, Sarah Amos and Jason Sterman. 92y.org Amjad Abu Alala’s “You Will Die at 20” kicks off the New York African Film Festival. Runs
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Zoë Friend is leaving Netflix after more than five years to join entertainment research firm MarketCast as corporate senior VP of custom research and insights. In the new role, Friend will lead MarketCast’s custom research practice across all of its business segments for media, sports and brand clients. Most recently, Friend was Netflix’s VP of
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QCode, a scripted podcast media startup, hired former Apple Podcasts marketing executive Steve Wilson as chief strategy officer. At QCode, Wilson will oversee partnerships, marketing, distribution and collaborate on content strategy. He joins the company after nearly 15 years at Apple, where most recently he headed marketing for Apple Podcasts and partnered with podcasters and
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All products and services featured by Variety are independently selected by Variety editors. However, Variety may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. If you’ve found yourself glued to Netflix’s hit series “The Crown” as of the late (and you’re definitely
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As Disney, Netflix and WarnerMedia try to boost new streaming-video hubs with glitzy movies and TV celebrities, rival Discovery plans a different hook: real life. The company best known for cable networks like Discovery Channel, TLC, Food Network and HGTV centered on unscripted programming, unveiled a new “Discovery Plus” streaming hub Wednesday, offering the service
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