Ashe co-wrote her new single, “Till Forever Falls Apart,” with producer Big Taste the day before Los Angeles and most of the U.S. went into a COVID-induced lockdown in March 2020. The timing was (and, sadly, still is) perfect, given the song’s subject matter. Set against an apocalyptic backdrop, “Till Forever Falls Apart” is a somber
Month: March 2021
Spike Lee calls his 30-year collaboration with composer Terence Blanchard “a match made in heaven.” The two have worked together on 17 films and three television projects including their most recent collaboration, “Da 5 Bloods.” Written and directed by Lee, it stars Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Norm Lewis, Isiah Witlock Jr., Clarke Peters and Chadwick
Oscars are a time capsule. Though pundits may quibble about nominees or winners, one thing is beyond question: The film choices reflect the year in which they were released. For example, in 1946, “The Best Years of Our Lives” hit a nerve as people were trying to rebuild their lives after WWII. The 1969 “Midnight
Oscar ballots will be in the hands of AMPAS voters on March 5, and they’ll have until March 10 to turn them in. All the predicting, theorizing and prognosticating have led to this crucial six-day period when the nearly 10,000 Academy members make their choices among the year’s achievements. As we head into this critical
The Podcast Academy, an industry association looking to establish the premiere awards program for the fast-growing world of podcasts, announced nominees for the first Ambies awards. The group announced a total of 164 Ambies nominees spanning 23 categories (see full list below), selected by voting members of the Podcast Academy. The Ambies winners will be
Donna Speciale’s recent return to the business of selling TV advertising might be the most obvious hint that Madison Avenue is eager to get back to normal after a year of coronavirus chaos. Too bad that won’t be possible. Speciale is a veteran ad executive with hard-won experience on both sides of the bargaining table.
Saycon Sengbloh is the first cast member confirmed for the “Wonder Years” reboot pilot at ABC. The project will show how a black middle-class family in Montgomery, Alabama in the turbulent late 1960s, made sure it was The Wonder Years for them too. Sengbloh will star as family matriarch Lillian Williams. Sharp as a tack, Lillian
Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” intercuts between a courtroom trial and protests surrounding the Democratic National Convention of 1968. Little did Sorkin know how uncannily the events of the film would mirror contemporary America. His main goal was to get the film out before the 2020 election. Alan Baumgarten reunited with him
In “Judas and the Black Messiah,” LaKeith Stanfield plays William O’Neal, the FBI informant recruited to infiltrate the Illinois Black Panther Party. Costume designer Charlese Antoinette Jones breaks down how she wanted to present O’Neal in the film’s opening scenes, and what shows influenced one of his early looks when we first meet his character.
While “Nomadland’s” Joshua James Richards and “Mank’s” Erik Messerschmidt lead the field for the cinematography Oscar race, this is a deep competition, and although there are some women contending, they are once again a minority. As for the forefront of the race, Richards won the Golden Frog from the prestigious Camerimage festival, the National Board
Barcelona-based Filmarket Hub, in coordination with Amazon’s audio storytelling company Audible, has issued an open PitchToPro call for series projects. It’s the first time that Filmarket Hub, an online marketplace which curates film and TV series in development, is partnering with an audio-exclusive company and the first step into the growing spoken-word marketplace. According to
Streaming heavyweights have big global aspirations, and they’re relying on a growing cadre of women to realize them. Female leaders abound at Netflix and Amazon Studios, where international programming initiatives are well underway, and they occupy top roles at Disney, Viacom and HBO Max as the businesses expand globally. In a sign of how important
Our world has changed tremendously since our last Intl. Women’s Impact Report a year ago: The COVID-19 pandemic shut down business around the globe, productions included, and accelerated the shift toward streamed entertainment. The women on this list span continents, based in countries from Kenya to South Korea. During the challenging past year, they have created
“WandaVision’s” first episodes introduced a few new things to the Marvel universe: Both an aggressive willingness to play with style, and the power of metaphor. The show nestled in close to Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) as she dreamed herself and her family into universes that looked a great deal like hit sitcoms of the past. This
Singer Miley Cyrus has signed with Columbia Records after seven years and four albums on RCA. A source close to the situation tells Variety that even though both Columbia and RCA are Sony-owned labels, there’s no animosity and the deal stems from Miley and her co-managers Adam Leber and Tish Cyrus’ long and positive relationship
Could this be Norway’s year at the Oscars? An unprecedented number of Norwegian productions and co-productions are on this year’s shortlists, exciting the domestic media, industry and audiences. “Recognition from the Oscars is a great inspiration for all of us who have an ambition to reach outside our own borders,” says Yngve Saether of Motlys,
Has the social and political upheaval of the past year brought about change in the film music community? Are composers of color now being considered more frequently for films that don’t focus on Black issues? The answer appears to be yes, and the beneficiaries are not only the composers but also viewers, who are hearing
Research may be the cornerstone of any historically accurate project, but it’s only when artisans know the rules that they can break them. The costume designers behind some of this year’s period films allowed their research to guide them in balancing context with storytelling. Oscar-winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne immersed herself in the1800s setting of
The artisan categories are often overlooked, especially when it comes to the overseen and the overdue Academy Awards. This year, there is a fresh crop of talent in each Oscar race, but several craftspeople who have worked on this year’s contenders should have received nominations long ago. Many of these artisans have made the Oscars
After the coronavirus pandemic caused the cancellation of popular dating reality show “Love Island” last summer, the show is confirmed to return to U.K. broadcaster ITV for this summer season. The last season of “Love Island” that aired was a winter version filmed in South Africa. ITV also revealed several scripted series that are in
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey has sold around the world for ViacomCBS Global Distribution. The two-hour special sparked a bidding war in the U.K., as revealed by Variety, with ITV emerging victorious. All eyes will undoubtedly be on Britain’s reception to the special, particularly as Markle suggested in a new
Ann Roth is on her way to making Oscar history as the oldest best costume design nominee after receiving a Costume Designers Guild Award nomination for her work on “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” The CDGA (Costume Designers Guild Awards) have announced their nominations for the 23rd CDGAs. Also recognized were Francine Jamison Tanchuck for “One
Sound people had a tough year. Like everyone else in the industry, they found less film work. Second, with COVID, audiences mostly watched movies on the small screen, not getting the full impact of sound, which could affect Oscar voting. (Adding insult to injury: When journalists write about the disadvantages of home viewing, they often
WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar addressed the media conglom’s controversial move to release Warner Bros.’s full 2021 movie slate on HBO Max day-and-date with theaters — saying that theatrical releases are still a key part of the studio’s strategy, but also acknowledging that the industry’s windowing strategy has likely permanently changed. “I think we’re still in
Square, the payments-processing company led by CEO Jack Dorsey, announced plans to buy a “significant” majority stake in Tidal, the music and entertainment streaming platform run by Jay-Z. Square said it expects to pay a $297 million, in a combination of cash and stock, for the Tidal stake, with existing artist shareholders the remaining stakeholders.
Although COVID-19 has damaged the entertainment industry across the board, it’s clear that streamers are making a swifter, healthier recovery than their linear counterparts. According to Ampere Analysis’ Guy Bisson, the streamers’ scripted commissioning activity in 2020 was quicker to return to 2019 levels. However, perhaps more significantly, the streamers have strongly increased their development
Emily Atef, whose latest film “3 Days in Quiberon” competed at the Berlinale in 2018, is getting ready to shoot “More Than Ever,” a melodrama headlined by Vicky Krieps (“Phantom Thread”) and Gaspard Ulliel (“It’s Only the End of the World”). Jesper Christensen (“Before the Frost”) and Liv Ullmann will also star. The Match Factory
For all that didn’t happen this year—the concerts, the sporting events, the bar crawls, and the birthday parties—one thing remained constant: the fashion. It started with perfectly cinched sweatpants for baking bread and evolved into cheetah-printed chiffon inspired by Tiger King. We tuned into Zoom meetings wearing chic tops and very un-chic bottoms. (But hey,
St. Vincent has announced that her sixth album, “Daddy’s Home,” will be released on May 14. As is usually the case with the tradition-bucking singer-songwriter-guitarist, the new albums comes with a new look, this one a short blonde wig and cocktail dress and a disheveled vibe. “’Daddy’s Home’ collects stories of being down and out
Cher and Anderson: Laurie Lynn Stark; Campbell and Cardi B with Offset: Tomás Herold; Hadid: Pierre Suu/Getty Images Rihanna was in Japan a few years back, and she happened to be in the market for a designer meat cleaver. (Yes, you read that correctly.) Jahleel Weaver, the deputy creative director of Fenty and the star’s
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