Month: February 2021

Back in the heyday of Hong Kong movies, the city’s film stars and those groomed by the Hong Kong industry were among the biggest stars in Asia. Now, facing the twin pressures of coronavirus’ impact on productions and performances and, for some, a cold shoulder from mainland Chinese audiences, many Hong Kong stars are becoming
0 Comments
“The Trial of the Chicago 7” star Eddie Redmayne said the film was an “urgent story to tell.” Redmayne, star Sacha Baron Cohen, writer and director Aaron Sorkin, producer Marc Platt and editor Alan Baumgarten joined Senior Artisans Editor Jazz Tangay in the Variety Streaming Room to discuss the film’s timeliness and creation process. The
0 Comments
Top Thai director Banjong Pisanthanakun and Korean director-turned-producer Na Hong-jin (“The Chaser”) have teamed to create new Thai horror film “The Medium.” Now in post-production, “The Medium” is a horrifying story of a shaman’s inheritance in the Isan region of Thailand. But the goddess that appears to have taken possession of a family member turns
0 Comments
The Walt Disney Co. streaming service Disney Plus on Wednesday expressed support for civil rights organizations advocating for Asian Americans amid a wave of violence against people in the AAPI community. In a statement posted on Twitter, Disney shouted out the organizations Asian Americans Advancing Justice and Stop AAPI Hate. “The celebration of the Lunar
0 Comments
Millennium Media is no longer involved in the selling or production of Brett Ratner’s Milli Vanilli film, Variety has confirmed. However, the project has other bidders and investors who are fully financing production, according to RatPac. Millennium and Ratner’s RatPac Entertainment released a joint statement on Wednesday regarding the decision. “On the heels of the announcement
0 Comments
Dalibor Barić’s audacious “Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus” is a welcome reminder that “animated” carries more than one meaning. While it’s true that the Croatian filmmaker’s experimental lulu employs such methods as rotoscoping and collage, it’s also vibrant and alive in a way that few films falling under the wide umbrella of animation
0 Comments
Prepare yourselves for the return of Tommy Pickles, Chuckie Finster, Angelica Pickles, Susie Carmichael and Phil and Lil DeVille. An all-new “Rugrats” CG-animated series is slated to premiere on streaming service Paramount Plus (née CBS All Access) in 2021, announced Nickelodeon at ViacomCBS’ investor day. Set to reprise their roles are stars E.G. Daily (Tommy),
0 Comments
You wouldn’t be able to guess it while watching the visually complex and highly detailed “WandaVision,” but the Marvel Studios series on Disney Plus was cinematographer Jess Hall’s first time working on a television series. The cinematographer credits his experience with shooting Cannes Gold Lion and Silver D&AD award-winning commercials and his long-form work on
0 Comments
“Avatar: The Last Airbender” fans had their dreams of more content based on the beloved animated series and its sister spinoff squashed last year when the series’ creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko stepped away from a planned live-action adaptation project at Netflix last August. But today, Nickelodeon announced that the world of “Avatar” and
0 Comments
“Ray Donovan” is getting a feature length film continuation at Showtime. Following the show’s surprising cancellation after seven seasons last year, star Liev Schreiber will return in the title role, with series stars Jon Voight and Kerris Dorsey also returning. Schreiber is co-writing the script with series showrunner David Hollander, with Hollander also directing. Hollander
0 Comments
A sequel to “Paranormal Activity” and a prequel to “Pet Sematary” will debut on Paramount Plus. In addition, “The In Between,” a supernatural thriller from “Chumscruber” and “The Face of Love” director Arie Posin, will also premiere on the new streaming service. The films were developed by Paramount Players, the studio’s genre label. Paramount is
0 Comments
The producers of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” have been booked and busy producing a new unscripted international drag queen singing competition (that’ll reportedly blow your wig off) for ViacomCBS’ all-new SVOD rebrand Paramount Plus. “Queen of the Universe,” produced by World of Wonder, the company behind “Drag Race,” promises to be a singing competition like no
0 Comments
Paramount Plus will boast a slew of revivals and spinoffs of established MTV Entertainment Group comedies as part of its original programming lineup. The new service will feature iterations of of “Inside Amy Schumer,” “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah,” “Workaholics,” “Reno: 911!” and “Beavis & Butt-head.” “Inside Amy Schumer” will return with five specials
0 Comments
The Paramount Plus digital service will soon have a vintage MTV Networks look to some of its offerings, as the MTV series “Unplugged” and “Yo! MTV Raps” and VH1’s venerable “Behind the Music” are all set to be revived as streaming offerings, it was announced Wednesday afternoon. A new music-based unscripted show is on tap
0 Comments
Relix, the magazine dedicated to improvisational music, live performances and Americana-adjacent genres, is launching a limited edition vinyl series called “The Relix Sessions.” Recorded at the publication’s New York studio, the archival sessions have been re-mixed and re-mastered for turntable listening. The series kicks off on Feb. 26 with a Feb. 2020 performance by Circles
0 Comments
Facebook’s top policy exec said the temporary ban of sharing news links in Australia was a difficult but “legally necessary” step for the social giant to protect itself. And, doing some damage control, the company has pledged to invest at least $1 billion over the next three years in payments to news media companies. The
0 Comments
Wednesday, Feb. 24 In its pursuit of carbon neutrality, BMG has committed to offsetting all of its global site and employee-related greenhouse gas emissions, the company announced. In defining a long-term strategy to avoid, reduce, and offset CO2 emissions, BMG revealed it had offset over 3,000 tons of CO2 produced in 2019 by investing in Verified
0 Comments
Warner Bros. Television veteran Jeff Tobler has been named chief marketing officer for ARRAY, the creative collective founded by filmmaker Ava DuVernay. In his new role, Tobler will lead all aspects of brand, marketing and communications across the four companies assembled under the ARRAY banner: ARRAY Filmworks, ARRAY Alliance, ARRAY Crew and ARRAY Releasing. Tobler
0 Comments