Month: November 2021

The performance lineup for the American Music Awards, airing Nov. 21 on ABC (and streaming the next day on Hulu), continues to take shape as the network announced additional performers. Taking the stage Sunday night will be Italian rock band Måneskin, “Fancy Like” singer Walker Hayes, country’s Mickey Guyton and hip-hop artist Tyler, the Creator
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Anthem Sports & Entertainment has acquired Gravitas Ventures’ 3,000-title content library from ProSieben’s Red Arrow Studios for $73 million in cash. The transaction also includes an undisclosed amount of Anthem stock. The Toronto-based media company headed by longtime Canwest TV executive Leonard Asper plans to use the range of documentaries and narrative movies in the
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FESTIVAL The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is replacing its East of the West sidebar, established in the 1990s and converted to a competition section in 2005, with the new Proxima Competition, dedicated to showcasing works from upcoming filmmakers and challenging new works from established auteurs. The aim of the new section is to “celebrate,
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Universal Music Group and Authentic Brands Group — a brand owner, marketing and entertainment company — have announced a strategic initiative to acquire and actively manage artist brands, including names and likenesses. With labels, a merchandise company and a film and television business, UMG is the world’s largest music company. ABG’s portfolio includes celebrity brands such
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Brian Cox, the Scottish actor known for playing formidable media baron Logan Roy on HBO’s “Succession,” is making his directorial debut in film with “Glenrothan.” The project is being co-developed by Lionsgate and London-based “Keeping Faith” producer Nevision. The Emmy, Golden Globe and Olivier Award-winning “Succession” actor will also star in the film, which is
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In a fairly crowded field of contenders, “Drunken Birds” just grabbed the nod as Canada’s best international feature submission to the Oscars. The reasons why are almost immediately apparent on seeing Montreal-born Ivan Grbovic’s sophomore effort, co-written with cinematographer Sara Mishara. Though more modest in length and scale (not to mention star wattage), this original
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India’s annual Film Bazaar market has revealed the five projects chosen for its work-in-progress lab. The selected projects are Jaicheng Zxai Dohutia’s Assamese and Moran-language “Baghjan”; Shailendra Sahu’s Hindi and Chattisgarhi-language “Bailadila; Ektara Collective’s Hindi-language “Ek Jagah Apni; Harshad Nalawade’s Marathi, Kannada and Hindi-language “Follower”; and Jai Shankar’s Kannada-language “Shivamma.” The director and editor of
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Robert Yeoman’s camerawork has been an inseparable element of Wes Anderson’s distinctive style since the dawn of the director’s career in 1996 with “Bottle Rocket” – but his new fantasy farce, “The French Dispatch,” brought the duo to new heights. “It’s how we work,” says Yeoman simply, describing new combinations of quick-change tracks for Anderson’s
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A “Ghostbusters” reunion took over NBC’s late night programming on Monday. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson appeared together on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” ahead of the release of the upcoming sequel “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.” The group is also set to appear on “Late Night With Seth Meyers.” The three actors starred together in the
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Julie Bowen, the actor who starred as Claire Dunphy in “Modern Family,” has signed a first-look deal with Universal Television for her production company Bowen & Sons. She is partnered with Rachael Field, who associate produced “Modern Family,” on the banner. Under the deal, Bowen has a put pilot commitment for a currently untitled single-camera
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Universal Music Group has named Matt Young president of Bravado, its merchandise company. Matt Vlasic stepped down as the CEO of the company in October of last year. Based at Bravado’s New York offices, Young will report to Richelle Parham, UMG’s president of global e-commerce and business development. Young joins Bravado from Warner Music Group, where he spent 13
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Endeavor delivered solid third quarter results powered by the recovery of attendance and demand in the company’s key markets including UFC, its talent representation units and content production. “We continue to capitalize on the elevated demand for premium content and live events coming out of the pandemic,” remarked Ariel Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor. “Given our
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After starring in the first “Lethal Weapon” movie more than 30 years ago, Mel Gibson is in talks to direct the upcoming “Lethal Weapon 5,” Variety has confirmed. The fifth entry of the classic action franchise has been in development for several years, with Richard Wenk (“The Equalizer”) writing the most recent draft of the script.
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Two years after Quentin Tarantino spared Sharon Tate a gruesome Manson family murder, fellow SoCal auteur Paul Thomas Anderson re-creates the Encino of his childhood with every bit as much affection and attention to detail. Named for the regional record chain where Valley kids got their vinyl — but ostensibly Anderson’s own “Once Upon a
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Imagine Entertainment marked a trio of significant releases this weekend, helping to spell out Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s refreshed vision for their content shop after amassing development projects and biding their time through the pandemic. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s feature directorial debut “Tick, Tick … Boom!” saw a limited theatrical release via distributor Netflix, after dazzling
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Industrial Media has entered into an overall deal with House of NonFiction, Alex Stapleton’s new unscripted production company. Stapleton is an Emmy-winning filmmaker who is currently directing two projects for HBO. She recently completed the docu-series “Pride” for FX, which chronicles the American LGBTQ+ civil rights movement. Other recent credits include “Hello Privilege. It’s Me,
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British superstar Adele’s powerhouse voice reached 9.92 million listeners (and viewers) during CBS’ “Adele: One Night Only” special on Sunday night, making it the most-watched entertainment special since the Oscars seven months ago, although below the numbers snagged by “60 Minutes” and NBC’s football broadcast in the evening. The time-zone adjusted Live+Same Day fast national
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Variety Music has gotten some inspired press releases in our day, but the one we got on Monday afternoon about Pee-Wee Herman getting a radio show on KCRW is definitely a hall of famer. The short version is that legendary star of the screen Pee-Wee Herman will launch a radio show on KCRW, the popular
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