“Just for Variety” is back. Variety’s signature column, which first appeared in Daily Variety 75 years ago and ran until 2005, is returning as a weekly print and digital franchise starting on Dec. 2. Written by senior culture editor Marc Malkin, the column will focus on industry dish from both behind and in front of
Month: December 2020
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the Dec. 1 episode of “The Bachelorette.” A familiar face arrived to help Bachelorette Tayshia Adams on her search for love: former Bachelorette and franchise success story, JoJo Fletcher. JoJo, who stepped in for host Chris Harrison as he took a break from filming
An artistic marriage between singer Phoebe Bridgers and actor Phoebe Waller-Bridge sounds like something straight out of a modern pop-culture version of “The Name Game,” but there’s a lot more to their relationship than celebrity assonance. The two Phoebes teamed up for a new music video, “Savior Complex,” based on one of the songs from
Exclusive Steven Spielberg just got court-ordered protection from a woman he believes is threatening to murder him. The famed movie mogul filed legal docs seeking a restraining order against a woman named Sarah Char, who he claims has been harassing him for months and sending death threats. In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Steven says
Chinese companies unveiled a slate of high production value drama series ranging from historical war epics to contemporary shows set against the backdrop of modern cityscapes to lure foreign buyers at Singapore’s Asia TV Forum (ATF) on Tuesday. Presented as part of the China Pavilion, the 30-minute showcase streamed at the virtual ATF and highlighted
Propped shakily over the lapping waters of Lake Maracaibo in the Caribbean-facing northeast corner of Venezuela, the tiny settlement of Congo Mirador is as tranquil as it is far-flung, but only the most obtuse of passing backpackers would describe it as idyllic. Impoverished and increasingly depopulated as it bears the economic brunt of the country’s
Legendary Japanese producer Ichiyama Shozo encouraged young filmmakers not to give up despite the challenging climate brought upon by digital revolution and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He recounted his 30-year career at a talk at the Singapore International Film Festival, part of the Singapore Media Festival. Despite having worked with many renowned filmmakers, from Kitano
In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix released a trailer for “Song Exploder Volume 2,” and Starz debuted a first look at its upcoming original series, “Run the World.” DATES HBO Sports and Major League Baseball are teaming up to produce “Under the Grapefruit Tree: The CC Sabathia Story,” set to debut Dec. 22 on HBO.
Artist and filmmaker Sia will perform at the “MTV Movie & TV Awards: Greatest of All Time,” set to premiere on Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. The nine-time Grammy nominee’s newest single, “Courage To Change,” comes from her upcoming album and film “Music” movies, starring Maddie Ziegler as a nonverbal autistic teen. The project marks
The SAG-AFTRA Health Plan and its trustees have been sued in federal court by Ed Asner and nine other senior participants over the upcoming cuts in benefits and eligibility for the plan. Asner, a six-time Emmy winner, is the lead plaintiff in the class action complaint, which was filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles. The
There will be no “virtual” Oscars. “The Oscars in-person telecast will happen,” a rep from the Academy and ABC tells Variety exclusively. This year, the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences moved their annual telecast back two months to April 25, 2021, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sources inside the Oscars say that
Over the weekend, Drake and Lil Wayne broke the internet with their first collaboration since 2017, “B.B. King Freestyle.” The song is off Wayne’s new “No Ceilings 3” mixtape, which is hosted by DJ Khaled, and has already garnered over 1.5 million views on YouTube. Vassal Benford — the chairman of B.B. King’s estate, who
While it may seem a bit odd that the artistic director of the El Gouna Film Festival is world premiering his new film, “Curfew,” at the Cairo International Film Festival, the director in question Amir Ramses says it makes perfect sense. “There was no way I would consider El Gouna for my film because it’s
Various celebrities and entertainment entities took to social media Tuesday to voice their support for Elliot Page, an actor known for his work on “The Umbrella Academy,” after he came out as transgender. From co-stars to the actor’s talent agency, voices from across the entertainment spectrum chimed in to react to the news. Justin H.
By announcing that he was transgender, Oscar nominee Elliot Page has increased the visibility of a community that has been calling for just that, as well as more accurate representation in movies, TV shows and other forms of entertainment. The actor, known both for beloved indies like “Juno” and superhero franchises like “X-Men,” also said
The Paley Center for Media has appointed Jamitha Fields as VP of diversity, inclusion and engagement. In the newly created position, Fields will be responsible for creating and sustaining connections that help drive support for and participation in the center’s diversity and inclusion programs. Working with the human resources department, she will also aid in
Disney Television entertainment chief Dana Walden is reshuffling her executive team as she consolidates the company’s programming operations. The moves will see Disney streamline its three distinct studios into two and integrate programming teams at ABC and Hulu. Karey Burke will move from her role as head of ABC Entertainment into a new position as
Elliot Page will continue to play the role of Vanya Hargreeves in “The Umbrella Academy,” the Netflix series about a family of superheroes that’s become one of the streaming service’s biggest hits. Vanya is a cisgender woman whose superpower involves unleashing force through the use of sound. There are no plans to change the character’s
Armie Hammer has signed on to star in “The Offer” at Paramount Plus, which will tell the behind-the-scenes story of the making of “The Godfather.” Hammer will star as Al Ruddy, who produced “The Godfather” back in 1972. The series will focus on Ruddy’s experience on the set of the iconic mob drama, with Ruddy
The changing of the guard at “The Talk” continues. Amanda Kloots and Elaine Welteroth are set to join the CBS daytime talk show as new co-hosts for season 11. News that they will join Sharon Osbourne, Sheryl Underwood and Carrie Ann Inaba in 2021 was announced live on air. The duo are replacing Marie Osmond
In the biggest tech deal of the year so far, Salesforce announced that it plans to buy Slack Technologies — provider of the popular workplace-messaging system — in a cash and stock deal worth $27.7 billion. According to Salesforce, the combination of Slack with its flagship customer-relationship management system will “create the operating system for
Trump-appointed FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who said Monday he will depart the commission on Jan. 20, leaves behind a controversial legacy: He’s regarded as either an exemplary change agent or an ideologue who forfeited consumer interests for commercial ones. To cable, telecommunications and consumer-electronics companies, Pai has been a model of transparency and a champion
In Hollywood these days, the only certainty is that nothing is certain. Already, the coronavirus pandemic has been responsible for some shocking developments in the film world: “Tenet” keeping its release date, “Wonder Woman 1984” debuting on HBO Max and “Mulan” eschewing U.S. theaters for Disney Plus, to name just a few. As the new
In the COVID era, we have been forced to rethink everything. So I’m proposing another reinvention: New ways of using awards to protest Hollywood’s lack of diversity. Of course the protests must continue, carrying on the important work that # did to revolutionize Hollywood starting in 2015. It’s time to add another step. Protesters should
Charlize Theron is pushing further into the TV space. The actor and her Denver & Delilah production banner have inked a two-year first-look deal with HBO and HBO Max, Variety has confirmed. Under the deal, Theron and her company will develop TV projects for both the premium cabler and the streamer, looking to add to its TV
Dick Alen, a music agent renowned for a six-decade-plus career that included representing icons like Aretha Franklin, Chuck Berry and Little Richard, died of natural causes Nov. 27. He was 89. Before Alen retired in 2010, he had spent the last 39 years of his career at what was formerly the William Morris Agency and
Two years ago Egyptian film producer and screenwriter Mohamed Hefzy was appointed president of the Cairo Film Festival with a mandate to revamp and relaunch the prominent Arab fest, which had been losing luster due to political turbulence. Having largely accomplished that with last year’s watershed edition, Hefzy had to face new challenges this year,
Four summers ago, Keesha Sharp found out that her mother had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer — the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in America. Sadly, her mom died in August. However, Sharp, who starred as Monica on this hit sitcom “Girlfriends,” and has more recently been seen on “Empire” and “The Good Fight,”
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If you’re the type to follow hypebeast meme accounts, then the collaboration you’ve been waiting is here. Matthew M. Williams, who was named the creative director of Givenchy earlier this year, presented his first collection for the Parisian house in September 2020. And while spring-summer runways typically drop in stores around February, the “Teaser” capsule