In exorcist movies, there is never much new under the black hole sun. The one development in the genre over the last decade has been to see it merge, on occasion, with the haunted-house film — a comfortable enough mashup, though it’s kind of like pairing two pop stars to create a hit single out
Month: March 2021
There is even more genius to go around in the story that “Genius: Aretha Franklin” tells than just Aretha’s own. Her classic records wouldn’t have stood the test of more than four and five decades without the chemistry she and her voice formed with the musicians that gave the music its masterful groove. In portraying
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Perfect Store” or “All Sales Final,” the two-part series finale of “Superstore,” which aired March 25 on NBC. Arguably the most convincing fib that corporations sell their employees is that the workplace is a family in which everyone will look out for each other
In today’s TV news roundup, Amazon Prime Video released the premiere date and trailer for “Frank of Ireland,” and TV One released a clip from the upcoming season of “Unsung.” CASTING HBO Max has announced the cast for the upcoming comedy pilot “The Gordita Chronicles” from Sony Pictures Television. The family comedy is about a
Jacob Blake is going after the police officer who repeatedly shot him in the back as he got in his SUV … he’s suing the officer for the injuries that left him paralyzed. Jacob’s legal team, led by attorney Ben Crump, just filed a federal lawsuit against Kenosha police officer Rusten Sheskey for the August
Jim Nantz will have more time to say “Hello Friends” on CBS. The sportscasting veteran will extend his time with CBS Sports as part of a contract renewal that will keep one of the network’s key sportscasters on board for several more years. A CBS Sports spokesperson confirmed that Nantz, known for calling CBS’ Sunday-football
A good number of music stars took the death of music impresario Michael Gudinski personally, but few more so than Ed Sheeran, who flew to Gudinski’s native Australia after learning of his passing and quarantined there long enough to be able to perform at a nationally televised state memorial tribute Wednesday. More than that, Sheeran
Tisha Campbell, Essence Atkins, Tahj Mowry, Isaiah Mustafa, and Beth Grant have all been cast in ABC’s multi-cam comedy pilot “Black Don’t Crack,” Variety has learned. The group joins previously announced series star Sherri Shepherd. The show follows three former sorority sisters (Shepherd, Atkins, Campbell) who lost touch after college and reunite during a pivotal
Thursday’s congressional hearing on “Social Media’s Role in Promoting Extremism and Misinformation” — which again hauled the CEOs of Facebook, Twitter and Google before U.S. lawmakers — was predictably long (running more than 5 hours) and predictably heavy on political posturing and theatrics as both Democrats and Republicans blasted the execs for their companies’ perceived
The staff of Secretly Group, one of the largest independent music companies in the U.S., announced plans on Tuesday morning to form a union to address a list of concerns they’re hoping to correct with a union contract. The concerns include low wages and insufficient health care benefits, as well as “an absence of initiatives that
In a competitive situation, Tracy Oliver has signed an overall film and television deal at Apple. Under the multi-year deal, Oliver and her her Tracy Yvonne Productions shingle will work to develop projects across film and TV with an emphasis on diverse and meaningful stories. Oliver is best known for co-writing the film “Girls Trip,”
TV news is latching on to an old standby to help it gain attention in a new — and often less flashy — news cycle. Coverage of the court trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with causing the death of George Floyd, will surface Monday across many mainstream TV outlets. Some
One of Jessica Walter’s most memorable roles, of course, was the boozy matriarch Lucille Bluth on “Arrested Development.” Credit goes to “Arrested” creator Mitch Hurwitz for dreaming up the character, but Hurwitz marvels at the serendipity of getting the perfect actor in Walter to personify the role. Variety asked Hurwitz to reminisce about working with
After news broke on Thursday that the legendary Jessica Walter had died, celebrities took to social media to share condolences and fond memories of the award-winning actress. Walter, who was 80, was best known for her portrayal of Lucille Bluth in “Arrested Development.” Her career spanned more than six decades and included other iconic roles,
Molly Neuman is the President of Songtrust. She has previously held leadership roles at Kickstarter, A2IM, Rhapsody, and eMusic. She is on the Advisory Boards of Music Business Association, Women in Music, and has previously served on the boards of SoundExchange and A2IM. Her career in music began as the drummer in the ’90s indie
Krista Vernoff has renewed her multi-year overall deal at ABC Signature. Vernoff will continue to serve as president of Trip the Light Productions, with Alexandre Schmitt serving as president of production and development. In addition, Kasha Foster has been named Trip the Light’s director of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In this role she will work
The news of beloved and revered French filmmaker Bertrand Tavernier’s death has struck a chord in France and around the world with a flurry of cinephiles, filmmakers, critics, industry figures and talents remembering him on social media on Thursday. Aside from his prolific career as filmmaker, Tavernier (“Round Midnight,” “Coup de Torchon,” “A Sunday in
Billie Piper has joined the cast of Lena Dunham’s feature adaptation of “Catherine, Called Birdy” for Working Title and Amazon. Piper stars in the medieval coming-of-age comedy opposite “Fleabag’s” Andrew Scott and “Game of Thrones” breakout Bella Ramsey. The film, written and directed by Dunham, is in the early stages of production. “Catherine, Called Birdy”
The Mondo.NYC music and tech conference has announced its 2021 dates and schedule — which is currently a four-day virtual interactive meeting and livestream, although organizers are “hopeful” that conditions will allow at least some elements to take place in person. The conference is produced by the longtime organizers of the CMJ Music Marathon. “Navigating
Fox’s Tubi streaming service has nabbed streaming rights to the 1990s children’s hit “Barney & Friends” starting April 9. In a deal with 9 Story Distribution, Tubi will have rights to the show’s first six seasons. It will become the exclusive home to Seasons 7-9 of “Barney,” which features future stars including Selena Gomez and
Keri Putnam, a fixture in Hollywood thanks to her longtime shepherding of America’s preeminent film festival, is resigning her post as CEO of the Sundance Institute. Putnam has served in the role for over a decade, guiding the organization’s numerous programs and initiatives to fund and uplift indie filmmaking and marginalized voices, as well as
Jessica Walter, an Emmy-winning actress known for her work as the stalker in Clint Eastwood’s “Play Misty for Me,” and for the TV series “Arrested Development” and “Archer,” died Wednesday in New York. She was 80. Walter received an Emmy nomination in 2005 for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy for playing the manipulative alcoholic
Paradigm has promoted five staffers to agent status and tapped Gersh alum Michael Romero-LoSasso as the talent agency tries to reposition itself after a year of hard losses, layoffs and the sale of its music division. Paradigm has upped Olivia Falletti, Sam Fischer, Lindsay Hatcher, Dahlton Hubbard and Phoebe Schmidt to agents. Romero-LoSasso joins the
President Joe Biden held his first televised news conference Thursday with a limited amount of journalists, starting off with the good news on America’s progress with COVID-19 vaccinations. “By my one-hundredth day in office, we will have administered 200 million shots in people’s arms. It’s ambitious, and no other country has done it,” Biden said
Nominees for the 93rd Academy Awards are a reminder that Oscar is like a Rorschach test: It means different things to different people. And in the 21st century, there is a growing gap between awards and the public. For decades, Oscar’s best picture winner was often the year’s top box office hit, including “Gone With
Ahead of Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey testifying before the House Energy & Commerce Committee this afternoon, the RIAA, the National Music Publishers Association, the American Association of Independent Music, Songwriters of North America and the Music Artists Coalition have jointly penned a letter to committee leadership detailing how Twitter has “failed to meet the basic
Alex Castro, a three-time Emmy nominee and a former producer of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” has joined Variety as VP of video. Castro will lead Variety‘s fast-growing video operation as the venerable entertainment news brand expands the scope of its video production for Variety.com and other digital and TV platforms. He will report to Variety
Paul Feig and Lionsgate are teaming with Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford’s Merman to adapt the hit BBC Two series “Motherland” for the U.S. market. “Grace and Frankie” writer Julieanne Smolinski is adapting the show, which is in early development. Horgan, who co-created and co-wrote the BBC show, is not part of the writing team
It doesn’t take long for “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers” to both acknowledge and gently reject its roots. Opening on a middle school hockey tryout with all the flashy pomp and circumstances of a primetime NHL game, the new Disney Plus series from Steve Brill, Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith makes it clear that the
Jason Segel has been cast as Paul Westhead in the HBO series about the Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s. The untitled series was ordered at HBO in December 2019. It is described as chronicling the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, one of sports’ most revered and dominant dynasties, in
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