Month: June 2021

The new report on “Inclusion in the Music Business: Gender & Race/Ethnicity Across Executives, Artists & Talent Teams” from the USC-Annenberg Inclusion Initiative makes no bones about how far the music industry has to go in its stated goals of gender and racial equality — even after most major music companies loudly trumpeted their commitments
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The “Beauty and the Beast” prequel has officially been ordered to series at Disney Plus, Variety has learned. The live-action musical series will star Luke Evans and Josh Gad, who will reprise the roles of Gaston and LeFou (Louie) respectively from the 2017 live-action “Beauty and the Beast” film. In addition, newcomer Briana Middleton will join
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Animation luminary Fred Seibert’s FredFilms will team up with Chinese content production firm DeZerlin Entertainment for an incubator projected called “Hot Pot! Cartoons,” which hopes to bring emerging Chinese talent and content out to the global market. In the project, FredFilms’ U.S.-based development and production team and Qingdao-headquartered DeZerlin will supervise up-and-coming Chinese creators to
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UPDATED: Alex Cooper and her sex-positive podcast “Call Her Daddy” are leaving Barstool Sports — coming to Spotify exclusively starting next month under a multiyear deal. All existing and new episodes of “Call Her Daddy” will remain free and, starting July 21, will available only on Spotify. In addition to bringing the podcast to Spotify
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Apple TV Plus released a trailer for Season 2 of “Central Park,” premiering on June 25. In the animated musical comedy series’ second season, the Tillerman family continues living in and caring for Manhattan’s biggest park. Molly (now voiced by Emmy Raver-Lampman) navigates adolescence, Cole (Tituss Burgess) is embarrassed by a humiliating moment at school,
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Some 25 years after Martin Bashir’s bombshell interview with Princess Diana on BBC’s “Panorama” program, the scandal continues to rage on. On Tuesday, a U.K. parliament House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee interviewed at length former BBC director generals Tony Hall and John Birt, current director general Tim Davie and current chair
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“The Lobster” co-stars Rachel Weisz (“The Favourite”) and Colin Farrell (“The Gentlemen”) are reuniting for Todd Solondz’s “Love Child.” Solondz (“Welcome to the Dollhouse”) will direct from his own script. In a darkly comic twist on the classical Oedipal story, “Love Child” will follow a precocious child who schemes to rid himself of his brutish
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In 2016, Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro first announced his plans with DreamWorks to produce the animated series “Trollhunters” in a presentation at the Annecy Animation Festival. Now, five years later, he returns – although virtually – to discuss the franchise’s feature film finale “Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans,” and share a trailer ahead of
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Belgian director Felix van Groeningen (“Beautiful Boy”) and Charlotte Vandermeersch have started shooting in the Alps on “The Eight Mountains,” an Italian drama based on a bestseller about male bonding set against a mountainous backdrop. Vision Distribution will launch international sales of the film at the upcoming Cannes virtual market. The film will be released
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“Julia’s Eyes” helmer Guillem Morales is readying 1980s-set psychological thriller “Brother,” with WestEnd Films set to launch sales at the Cannes virtual market later this month. Morales, one of Spain’s top genre auteurs, is best known for 2010 Spanish horror “Julia’s Eyes” (pictured), which was produced by Guillermo del Toro. The director recently won a
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Paris-based outfit Silex Films is teaming up with Charades (“Mirai,” “I Lost My Body”) for “In Waves,” a California-set tale of unconditional love and surfing, adapted from American illustrator AJ Dungo’s critically acclaimed graphic novel of the same name. “In Waves” will mark the feature debut of Phuong Mai Nguyen, a graduate of the Gobelins
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Didier Brunner – producer of “The Triplets of Belleville,” “The Secret of Kells” and “Ernest and Celestine” – is readying his next production, ’Prends Garde à toi!,’ an adaptation of the ‘Carmen’ story led by one of France’s freest creative spirits: Sébastien Laudenbach. Laudenbach’s feature debut, “The Girl Without Hands,” an adaptation of a Brothers
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Top French animation studio TeamTO is presenting at Annecy a trio of cosy winter story animation projects, collectively known as Winter is Here, after nabbing TV, film and licensing rights to three popular children’s books. TeamTO aims to produce three individual specials for the 2022-2023 winter season suitable for both at-home TV or platform viewing,
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Announcing its second major rights pick-up in a matter of days, Superights, part of France’s Superprod Group, has secured global distribution rights to Tencent Video’s slapstick series “The Adventure of Little Penguin.” Nathalie Pinguet, Superights’ deputy general manager, will introduce the 52-episode animated show to buyers at Annecy’s four-day MIFA market, which kicked off Tuesday
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As streamers continue to carve out their niches for specialized content, Netflix has established a firm foothold in original anime production of both established and original IP. On Tuesday morning, the platform outlined a group of exciting upcoming titles, headlined by the hugely anticipated “The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf” animated spinoff, in a pre-recorded
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“Manifest” has been canceled at NBC after three seasons, Variety has confirmed. The news comes as the supernatural drama has been released on Netflix, where it currently sits at No. 1 in the streamer’s U.S. Top 10. However, sources tell Variety that the show is hoping to find a new home elsewhere. The single-camera series had generally produced
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CJ ENM, the South Korean entertainment giant behind “Parasite,” has struck a strategic alliance with Japanese terrestrial broadcast group Tokyo Broadcasting System. The deal, announced Tuesday, will see the joint production of content for the global market and cooperation in other new business areas. It also represents a further expansion of CJ ENM’s recently-announced plans
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Stephen Colbert has, nearly every weeknight for the past 15 months, led the nation’s most-watched late-night show without many of the trappings viewers have come to expect. He’s had no live audience to respond to his jokes and monologues. His bandleader, Jon Batiste, made musical contributions from a remote location. And his interviews with newsmakers
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SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the June 14 episode of “The Bachelorette.” Katie Thurston’s reign as the sex-positive Bachelorette continued during her first group date of the new season of ABC’s dating competition. She was joined by podcast host Heather McDonald with 10 of her remaining men as they
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All products and services featured by Variety are independently selected by Variety editors. However, Variety may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. If your dad is one to appreciate a well-shaken drink, then a personalized cocktail is one of the
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