The Directors Guild of America has extended its contract with national executive director Russell Hollander through 2026, the guild announced on Monday. Hollander has helmed the organization since 2017, and he led negotiations on the renewal of its contract last year. He has also been involved in work with other entertainment unions to develop COVID-19
Month: February 2021
NBC comedy “Superstore” is getting a Spanish-language adaptation, Variety can reveal. NBCUniversal Formats has partnered with Mexican production outfit Dopamine (“Hernán,” “Amarres”) to co-produce the first international version of the hit workplace comedy. The deal marks NBCUniversal Formats’ first co-production partnership in Mexico and the first time one of its scripted titles will be adapted in
“American Idol” on ABC led primetime Sunday night, according to Nielsen Live+Same Day fast affiliate ratings, scoring a 1.0 in the key, 18-49 demographic, and drawing more than 6.51 million viewers at 8 p.m. Other than the long-running singing competition’s telecast triumph, the alphabet network ran new episodes of ”America’s Funniest Home Videos” at 7 p.m. (0.8,
Filmmakers behind Pixar’s SparkShorts “Burrow,” “Out,” “Float,” “Loop” and “Wind” will discuss their work in a free online PreVIEW talk presented by the VIEW Conference, beginning at 10 a.m. PT on Friday, Feb. 26. “Burrow” and “Out” are on the Academy’s shortlist for Oscar nominations. The SparkShorts program was begun by Pixar in 2019 as
If there were any doubt that Hollywood is still enamored with former presidential candidate and current U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, look no further than the heavyweight filmmakers and top distributor who will mount the story of his historic presidential campaign. “Mayor Pete,” directed by Jesse Moss, the co-director of last year’s “Boys State”
Spotify unveiled plans to launch in 85 new markets over the next few days, areas that represent more than 1 billion potential new listeners, according the company. The company made the announcement Monday at its Stream On event for creators and partners. The 85 new markets — which include Pakistan and Bangladesh — span Asia,
Barack Obama sat down with Bruce Springsteen for a series of wide-ranging conversations that will hit Spotify as an exclusive original podcast — the newest entry in the company’s expanding slate of audio programming. “Renegades: Born in the USA” is an eight-episode podcast featuring the former president and The Boss, who have been friends for
Jenny Slate and Charlie Day have been tapped to star in a new romantic comedy from Amazon Studios. In the movie, titled “I Want You Back,” Slate and Day will play 30somethings, dumped by their respective partners and terrified that their shot at a fairytale life — complete with marriage, kids and houses in the
Leading arthouse sales and production house The Match Factory and Italian film director Pietro Marcello have teamed up for the third time following the company’s acquisition of his documentary “Per Lucio,” which world premieres in the Berlinale Special Gala section of the Berlin Film Festival. They previously worked together on fantasy drama “Lost and Beautiful,”
A live-action series adaptation of the “Twisted Metal” PlayStation game franchise is officially moving forward, Variety has learned. Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions are developing a series based on the “Twisted Metal” vehicular combat games, the first of which was released in 1995. It was originally reported in 2019 that Sony was interested in
BET Plus has ordered the original series “Birth of Cool” in its first-ever partnership with “Gentefied” producers Macro Television Studios and Emmy-Award winning screenwriter and actor Lena Waithe’s production house Hillman Grad Productions. The 10-episode half-hour dramedy marks Waithe’s third original production with the brand— her other two series with BET are “Twenties” and “Boomerang.”
Plenty of Hollywood studio executives are sports fanatics — pre-pandemic, the floor seats at any given Lakers game often looked like the executive check-in at the Academy Awards. But Tom Rothman, chairman of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, has taken his love of the game to a much more philosophical level during a recent and
Laverne Cox and Kerry Washington know all too well what it’s like to be “the first,” as well as the mix of pride, pressure and responsibility that comes with it. That’s why they’re working to ensure that they’re providing opportunities for underrepresented artists both on-screen and behind the scenes. “All day Inauguration Day I was
As part of a long presentation called “Stream On,” Spotify announced that it will be introducing a hi-fi option later this year, among other benefits for fans and creators. CEO and cofounder Daniel Ek also said the company paid out $5 billion in royalties in 2020. Ek also mentioned the company be launching in new
Play video content CBS The lawyer who killed the son of New Jersey federal judge Esther Salas had his sights set on Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor next … according to Judge Salas. Roy Den Hollander is believed to have posed as a FedEx delivery worker in July when he ambushed the home of Salas’
Starz is officially picking up “Gaslit,” an anthology series from creator and showrunner Robbie Pickering (“Mr. Robot,” “Search Party”) based on the award-winning Slate podcast “Slow Burn.” The series focuses on the untold stories and forgotten characters of Watergate, from Nixon’s opportunistic subordinates to the deranged zealots aiding and abetting their crimes to the tragic
Many kids love to watch TV, but have little desire to learn the intricacies of the business behind it. Nickelodeon aims to change that dynamic. The ViacomCBS kids-media giant will host a showcase on March 18 at 4 p.m., all part of the advertising-sales session known as TV’s “upfront” market. The presentation aims to lure
A recent Twitter spat between presenter Piers Morgan and industry campaigner Adeel Amini has resulted in an open letter to ITV requesting that the broadcaster denounce bullying in all forms and reveal the findings of internal discussions around Morgan’s conduct. The letter, organized by an anonymous group of freelancers, began gaining traction over the weekend,
Daft Punk, one of the most influential and popular groups to emerge in the past 30 years, have announced their retirement via a video titled “Epilogue” posted Monday morning. The duo’s longtime publicist, Kathryn Frazier, officially confirmed the split to Variety and declined to provide further details. The eight-minute clip features the duo — Thomas
Netflix has a new way to get content in front of subscribers: It launched a feature that will automatically download TV shows or movies you might be interested in to your smartphone in based on your preferences and viewing history, so you can watch them in offline mode. The new Downloads For You feature is
A new Netflix documentary will pull back the curtain on the notorious college admissions bribery scandal that ensnared Hollywood celebrities, financiers and other members of the monied elite. “Operation Varsity Blues,” directed by Chris Smith, will debut on the streaming service on March 17, 2021. The film promises to provide a deep dive into the
Olmo Figueredo’s Seville-based La Claqueta, producer of Spain’s Oscar submission “The Endless Trench,” has boarded “The Turtles,” the second feature from Belén Funes, one of the leading lights of Barcelona’s fast-growing – and often women-led – newest wave of filmmakers. Funes’ second feature, following on San Sebastian’s 2019 New Director winner “A Thief’s Daughter,” “The
A portrait of a well-meaning man caught in events he cannot control and understands all too late, Hungarian Denes Nagy’s Berlin Competition entry “Natural Light” has a first trailer, shared exclusively with Variety by sales company Luxbox. Set in icy marshland in Russia during WWII, “Natural Light” accompanies corporal István Semetka, drafted into a Hungarian
In today’s Global Bulletin, Blue Ant Media and Content Catalyst Fund team to promote women creatives working in unscripted; Abacus Media Rights secures rights to “Four Hours at the Capitol”; La Biennale di Venezia opens the call for applicants to this year’s Venice Gap-Finance Market; Goldfinch picks two video game IPs to develop as film
The Museum of Modern Art has unveiled the festival lineup for Doc Fortnight 2021, the 20th edition of its annual showcase of nonfiction films from around the globe. Over 18 documentary features and four short films will be screened as part of the festival. In a concession to the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s films will
Discovery’s fourth-quarter earnings report beat forecasts early Monday, as the company also revealed numbers for its subscription streaming service. The company reported earnings of 76 cents per share and revenue of $2.889 billion, vs. Street projections for per-share earnings of 72 cents on revenue of $2.83 billion. During Q4, Discovery officially entered the streaming wars
Hong Kong’s film industry moved ahead on several fronts over the weekend after coronavirus-mandated lockdowns were reduced. But the return to business is likely to be uneven. Cinemas reopened on Thursday, after being ordered shut since Dec. 2, 2020. A local producer-distributor Golden Scene pulled back the curtains on its expansion into exhibition. And Emperor
Picture Tree Intl. has picked up the global sales rights on comedy drama “Risks and Side Effects,” which follows a woman’s kidney transplant journey that threatens to break-up her friendships and marriage. The sales agency will launch sales at the European Film Market (March 1-5). Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer. [embedded
As case rates plummet and vaccinations continue rapidly, England will begin easing lockdown from March 8, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to reveal Monday evening. While schools are likely to open from March 8 in phase one of the easing, and some organized adult outdoor sports activities could resume from March 29 in
Some problems can’t be solved with a prescription. Attempting to do for the opioid epidemic what “Traffic” did for the war on drugs, Nicholas Jarecki’s “Crisis” sets up three separate storylines — a grieving mama with a grudge (Evangeline Lilly), an undercover DEA operative with an imminent bust (Armie Hammer) and a compromised research professor
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