Month: March 2021

LevelK has closed a flurry of major pre-sales on “Checkered Ninja 2,” the sequel to the 2018 blockbuster animated feature that broke a 35-year record at the Danish B.O. for a local film with 950,000 admissions. Directed by Anders Matthesen (“Terkel In Trouble”) and Thorbjørn Christoffersen (“Ronal the Barbarian”), the film also traveled to more
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“The Fam” (“La Mif”), Swiss filmmaker Fred Baillif’s bruising, raw portrait of the residents and staff of a Geneva, Switzerland, teen girl care home, has won the Berlinale’s Generation 14plus Grand Prix  “Like a rushing, energetic, pulsing heartbeat, this film pushes its characters and viewers in brutal honesty through different stories and incidents. Carried by
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Brian Robbins walked into a meeting where executives were deciding whether kids-media giant Nickelodeon should pick up “SpongeBob SquarePants” for a twelfth cycle, and asked what he thought was a simple question: With so many characters populating the underwater city of Bikini Bottom, how come the network had never created any spin-offs? “It really is
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Palestinian filmmaker Annemarie Jacir’s Gaza-set drama “The Oblivion Theory” has won the top prize at the Berlinale Co-Production Market. Presented by Paris-based Incognito Films and Berlin’s One Two Films, the film is based on José Eduardo Agualusa’s novel “A General Theory of Oblivion,” although the book’s story has been moved from Angola to Palestine during
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Berlin-based Rise Pictures and Simonsays Pictures in Stuttgart are partnering on a new dark supernatural comedy series about a secretive, multinational corporation established by the Grim Reaper in an effort to more efficiently collect the souls of the dearly departed. “Grim Inc.” revolves around the mysterious enterprise founded by Death some 70 years ago. At
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“Attenborough’s Life in Colour” producer Humble Bee Films has hired long-time Icon Films executive Stephen McQuillan as its creative director. McQuillan will oversee the growth of Humble Bee Films’ factual arm, developing science, history and specialist factual programming, while also building on the company’s slate of blue-chip factual productions, which includes BBC One, Netflix and
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In a new teaser for Oprah Winfrey’s upcoming tell-all interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Markle doesn’t hold back about her feelings toward Buckingham Palace. When asked by Oprah how she feels about the Palace hearing her speak her truth, Markle says that “there’s a lot that’s been lost already” in regards to her
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Sam Levinson’s “Malcolm & Marie” was a spur-of-the-moment production, made at the height of quarantine in the summer of 2020, that rested on the collaboration of its 22 crew members and stars. Director Levinson and producer-actors Zendaya and John David Washington joined deputy awards and features editor Jenelle Riley in the Variety Streaming Room presented
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Sinclair Broadcast Group is shrinking its workforce by 5%, letting go of several hundred employees as a result of the “profound impact” of the pandemic, said the company in a statement. The company employs over 9,211 people, meaning that approximately 460 staffers were affected by the downsizing. “The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to
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In today’s TV news roundup, “South Park” premiered a preview clip of its coronavirus-themed special and Paramount Plus’ shared with Variety an exclusive clip from true-crime docuseries “For Heaven’s Sake.” CASTING Matthew Sato has been cast as Kai, a series regular role, in Disney Plus‘ new “Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.,” portraying the brother of lead Dr.
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UTA has announced the acquisition of U.K.-based Echo Location Talent Agency. The firm was founded and led by Obi Asika (pictured above), who will serve as Co-Head of UTA’s UK office alongside Neil Warnock. Asika will report to Co-Heads of Worldwide Music Samantha Kirby Yoh and David Zedeck. Senior agent Belinda Law and a group
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Kings of Leon is poised to make history as the first band to release an album as a non-fungible token, or NFT, a cryptographic way to buy and sell digital art and media. The Grammy-winning rock band’s new album, “When You See Yourself,” will release March 5 via streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music,
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Amid brewing controversy, “The Bachelor” host Chris Harrison is set to have his moment in the hot seat with Michael Strahan on “Good Morning America.” The interview was pre-taped on Wednesday, Variety has learned, and is set to air on Thursday morning. In a cross-synergistic interview (both “The Bachelor” and “GMA” are major ABC properties), Harrison
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