John F. Bowman, the co-creator of Fox comedy “Martin” and a writer for such series as “Saturday Night Live” and “In Living Color,” died Dec. 28 at his home in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 64. John Bowman was respected for his versatility as a writer on shows ranging from edgy sketch comedies to “Murphy
Month: December 2021
It’s brutal out there, and that’s why, more than ever, we needed the consoling and prodding pleasures of popular music to help everything make sense in here. [Stage direction: taps chest, knowingly.] This list of the 50 best songs of 2021 — out of about 500 that were under consideration — is a modest attempt
Rob Stringer, the UK-born and -raised chairman of Sony Music Group, has been honored by the Queen of England with a CBE ranking (for Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for his service to the music industry and philanthropic endeavors. The Queen hands out the honor annually on New Year’s Day. It is
On Dec. 28, Betty White’s Twitter account celebrated the actor’s latest cover story in People magazine. “My 100th birthday… I cannot believe it is coming up, and People Magazine is celebrating with me!” White tweeted. “The new issue … is available on newsstands nationwide tomorrow.” Three days later, news broke that White, a Hollywood icon
Betty White, who died Dec. 31 at age 99, was perhaps the greatest comic tactician in the history of television. That’s distinct from comic acting, although White was, of course, a very fine actor. What set White apart was her unerring ability to find not just the joke, but the thing behind the joke: It
The Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration will again be a less raucous affair — with limited in-person attendance because of a spike in COVID cases — but you can watch all the festivities and music performances live for free, streaming online. The six-hour free livestream, presented without ads, will feature live performances by artists
Will Arnett will replace Armie Hammer in Taika Waititi’s “Next Goal Wins.” Hammer’s exit comes after the actor was accused by multiple women of sexual assault. He denies the claims and says any sexual relationships were consensual, but the Los Angeles Police Department has launched an investigation. In the wake of the scandal, Hammer was fired
Betty White, who died on Friday at 99, was simultaneously a graceful and daring comedian, able to jump into any situation and be the funniest person in the room. Variety has gathered some of White’s best viral bits and moments — watch them below. Sue Ann reads the news on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”
Hollywood dignitaries, from Ryan Reynolds to Seth Meyers, took to social media on Friday to pay tribute to the late Betty White. White, the 99-year-old “Golden Girls” star, TV trailblazer and cultural icon whose legendary career spanned eight decades, died Thursday night at her home in Brentwood. White died just shy of what would have
Soundtrack labels continued to thrive in 2021, discovering old film scores worth preserving and expanding classics to meet the seemingly insatiable thirst for music written for screens large and small. Limited-edition runs continue to be the primary marketing plan for most – with pressings of anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 copies – and fan favorites
On Wednesday, Amy Schneider won her 21st consecutive game of “Jeopardy!,” making her the first woman in the show’s history to do so. She then broke her own record, winning her 22nd game the next night. The record for most consecutive wins by a woman was previously held by Julia Collins, who had her 20th
Betty White, the Emmy-winning TV star who had a remarkable later-career resurgence in films, TV commercials and the hit series “The Golden Girls” and “Hot in Cleveland,” has died. She was 99. The Los Angeles Police Department responded to a death investigation on the 500 block of N. Carmelina Ave. in Los Angeles at 9:30
Voting is still open for the 28th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations through 5 p.m. PT Jan. 9. And that’s a good thing because there are so many worthy contenders to whittle down, voters need all the time they can get to make these tough decisions. With that in mind, Variety is breaking down
In November, Universal revealed that Nicolas Cage will tackle the iconic role of Dracula in the upcoming monster movie “Renfield,” starring Nicholas Hoult as the famous vampire’s lackey. It’s a bit of casting that feels like destiny, as Cage has some experience with vampiric roles, thanks to his turn in 1989’s “Vampire’s Kiss,” but “Renfield”
Sony’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” continued its box office domination heading into the holiday weekend, shattering records as it looked well-positioned to be the film to watch over New Year’s Eve. The superhero sequel caught $20.6 million in its web on Thursday. That pushed its domestic haul to $557.1 million and allowed the film to
Yes, I hated “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” It’s a movie that I’m a total annoying curmudgeonly naysayer about. So even though my antipathy isn’t the topic of this column, why hide it? Go ahead, throw tomatoes at me. But understand that I’m actually on your side. I hated the film for two reasons. The way
New Year’s is often the odd one out when it comes to holiday season programming. While many households keep the TV on in the background of Thanksgiving dinner, and Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa give us lots of time at home to watch classic and contemporary faves with our families, New Year’s is usually spent out
The Rose Parade is back to ring in the new year, after the 2021 event was cancelled due to the pandemic. With LeVar Burton serving as grand marshal, the 2022 parade will take place on Jan. 1 on Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, Calif. The celebration begins at 8 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. ET and
Entertainment industry heavyweights from France are sharing thoughts on their successes, the challenges they faced in a year overshadowed by COVID, as well as predicting what’s in store for the movie business in 2022. Some of the country’s milestones in 2021 include the implementation of the E.U.’s Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMS) to get global
Denis O’Dell, a producer on two Beatles’ movies as well as “How I Won the War,” “Robin and Marion” and “Heaven’s Gate,” died Dec. 30 from natural causes in Almería, Spain at his home in San José, Cabo de Gata. He was 98. Father of “Exodus: Gods and Kings” producer Denise O’Dell and grandfather of
From Issa Rae of “Insecure” to Discovery Inc.’s indefatigable CEO David Zaslav, Variety chronicled — as we have since 1905 — the stories of the biggest powerbrokers, dealmakers and creative trailblazers in Hollywood. Stephen Colbert, Anthony Mackie, Chloé Zhao, Phoebe Bridgers, Michaela Coel, Lil Nas X, Jean Smart and Jack Harlow are just some of
Marking a new phase of expansion, Barcelona-based Scenic Rights, the biggest literary rights broker for Spanish-language film and TV series, is set to enter Central and Eastern Europe opening offices in Prague in January 2022. Further new international offices will be announced shortly, Scenic Rights has announced. Scenic Rights CEE marks a collaboration with the
Check out the top new trailers released this week that you’ve gotta see! Let us know what you think in the comments below. ► Sign up for a Fandango FanAlert or Buy Movie Tickets: https://www.fandango.com?cmp=MCYT_YouTube_Desc Want to be notified of all the latest movie trailers? Subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to
After laying dormant for over a year due to the pandemic, Marvel Studios came roaring back in 2021 with nine titles premiering in theaters and on Disney Plus. Among them were the first billion-dollar grossing movie of the pandemic, “Spider-Man: No Way Home”; Marvel Studios’ first ever animated series, “What If…?”; and Marvel Studios’ first
Country star Morgan Wallen is ending 2021 in a place few would have expected to find him a few months ago: in the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop chart. “Broadway Girls,” his collaboration with rapper Lil Durk, came out just before Christmas and ascended this week to the top of the chart that perhaps
The universe has a new a queen — and her name is Grag Queen. The Brazilian performer was crowned the winner Wednesday of the debut season of “Queen of the Universe,” Paramount Plus’ international drag queen singing competition series from the creators of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” The finale, in which the audience chose the winner
There’s a moment in “Don’t Look Up” when Leonardo DiCaprio’s Dr. Mindy character channels Peter Finch’s Howard Beale from “Network” (1976). In an explosion of rage on a fictional morning TV show, he vents his frustrations about the world’s ignorance about a catastrophic comet heading towards Earth and the lack of empathy humanity has shown
China’s government-backed Golden Rooster Awards honored Oscar-winning drama “The Father” with the event’s first-ever prize for best international film in the coastal city of Xiamen on Thursday. Beijing hopes that its star-studded awards ceremony can rival and surpass the Taipei-based Golden Horse Awards, once known as the “Oscars of Asia” for Chinese-language content. This year,
SPOILER WARNING: This story discusses the ending of “No Time to Die,” currently available for digital rental and purchase. Please do not read if you have not seen the film. If audiences knew anything walking into “No Time to Die,” it was that Daniel Craig’s fifth movie as James Bond — and the 25th (official)
There’s much talk of the proverbial British stiff upper lip in “Munich: The Edge of War,” as that dignified reserve mutates into damaging caution in matters of politics, days away from the start of the Second World War. In the film’s opening scene, a German Oxford student criticizes his host country as being “distant from
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