264 films were submitted for the BAFTA Awards, with five available slots for best film. Expected to be strong contenders among the robust membership is the final outing for Daniel Craig as James Bond with “No Time to Die” and Kenneth Branagh’s drama “Belfast.” For outstanding British film, the group expanded to 10 nominees last
Month: January 2022
In the run up to the 2022 Winter Beijing Olympic Games beginning on Feb. 4, NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock will debut three original documentaries about Olympic athletes. Lindsey Vonn, Tara Lipinski and Picabo Street are among the Olympic gold medalists involved in new docus titled “Meddling,” “Picabo” and “American Rock Stars.” “We’re excited to give
Critics of the Hollywood film and TV industry like to joke that the business loves nothing more than to give itself awards. Yet industry pundits will have the last laugh when the Critics Choice Assn. holds its popular 27th annual awards gala. Originally scheduled for Jan. 9, the show has been postponed due to COVID-19
Beanie Feldstein, who was tasked with bringing Monica Lewinsky to life on “Impeachment: American Crime Story” was only 5 years old when then-President Bill Clinton was impeached. In some ways, her age kept her from formulating any opinions about the players in the impeachment because she was too young to read the headlines of the
Credit where due: There’s something admirable about “The Cleaning Lady’s” attempt to use the tools of genre to illuminate the plight of undocumented immigrants. Fox’s new drama series, based on Argentina’s “La Chica Que Limpia,” centers on Thony (Élodie Yung), a Cambodian doctor who, having emigrated to the U.S., finds herself ensnared in the world
Red jumpsuits, Salvador Dalí masks and the Italian anti-fascist revolutionary anthem “Bella Ciao” are no longer merely elements that comprise the iconoclastic Spanish caper drama “Money Heist.” They’ve managed to bleed out into real life as numerous protesters — from the hit series’ home country to Lebanon, Indonesia and beyond — have infused these motifs
Based upon the kudos count to date, Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” clearly ranks as one of the top awards-contending films of 2021. For those fascinated by that raucous, rowdy, storm-the-barricades Hollywood moment known as the “New Hollywood,” which started roughly in the mid-’60s and was exhausted or vanquished — depending upon who’s
“The Bachelor” returns with a brand new season tonight with both a new star and host. Leading man Clayton Echard will be guided by the show’s new host, ESPN sports commentator Jesse Palmer, the former football player who also happens to be the former star of “The Bachelor” Season 5, which aired in 2004. The
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not watched “Flight of the Bumblebee,” the eighth episode of “Yellowjackets.” Melanie Lynskey has been one of the most sought-after and versatile television and film actors for years, from a scene-stealing supporting role on sitcom “Two and a Half Men” to a leading lady on “Togetherness.” She’s also
Despite the uncertainty that all of this season’s awards ceremonies are contending with around the impact of the COVID Omicron variant, the 28th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards are forging ahead with a Feb. 27 ceremony with safety at the top of the list. “Right now, we’re just continually monitoring the situation and we’ll follow
After months of teases, the Weeknd has finally announced that his new album, “Dawn FM,” will be dropping on Friday (Jan. 7). He unveiled the news in a characteristically cryptic video that, in line with his series of videos from his previous album, “After Hours,” finds him well dressed, in some kind of peril, and
A 17-track album of demos recorded by Lou Reed titled “I’m So Free: The 1971 RCA Demos” was briefly released by RCA/ Sony Music on iTunes in Europe over the holiday in an apparent “copyright dump” to extend the company’s’ ownership of the recordings. The album, which was not available in the U.S., was posted
Many SAG Award winners and nominees speak about how the award is special because it comes from their peers, who understand the nuances of the job better than anyone. The skills that actors attain throughout their careers have the ability to change their lives in ways both expected and unexpected. Every year, some of the
UPDATED: After months of negotiations, David Bowie’s estate has sold the singer’s formidable publishing catalog to Warner Chappell Music for a price upwards of $250 million, sources confirm to Variety. The catalog spans six decades and includes such songs as “Heroes,” “Changes,” “Space Oddity,” “Fame,” “Let’s Dance,” “Rebel Rebel,” “Golden Years,” “Ziggy Stardust,” “All the
Citizen News, an independent Hong Kong news publication, announced on Sunday evening that it will disband by Tuesday. It is the third publication in city that was not aligned with the pro-Beijing camp to close in the space of seven months. “We announced with a heavy heart that CitizenNews will cease operation starting from January
Since the omicron variant of COVID-19 surfaced in the United States, social media pundits, have flippantly (or accidentally) referred to it as the Omarion variant. Well, the R&B artist has heard all the jokes and he’s running with it. “Hi, this is Omarion. I am an artist — not a variant,” he begins the first
Songs that make you go hmmm took no holiday during the second year of the pandemic. Libs-owning country? Check. Gay-baiting hip-hop? Sure, we had that. Anti-vax rock? It’s practically become its own subgenre — why not? Defiantly rabble-rousing songs from Kid Rock, DaBaby, Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Aaron Lewis and Brantley Gilbert weren’t exactly the
Stephen J. Lawrence, a musical talent whose credits included 1972’s “Free to Be… You and Me” and a prolific run on “Sesame Street,” died on Thursday at Clara Maas Medical Center in Belleville, New Jersey. He was 82 years old. His death was confirmed to Variety by his wife Cantor Cathy Lawrence. Born on Sept. 5, 1939,
Max Julien, an actor best known for his lead performance in the 1973 blaxploitation classic “The Mack,” died on Saturday. He was 88 years old. An official cause of death was not immediately available. News of Julien’s death was confirmed by his friend, comic book writer and filmmaker David F. Walker. Walker posted a tribute
Twitter permanently suspended the personal account of far-right politician Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) for repeated violations of the social network’s policy prohibiting COVID misinformation. Greene’s @mtgreenee account on Twitter has been permanently suspended; she still has access her official congressional account, @RepMTG. Before Twitter banned the @mtgreenee account, it had 465,000 followers. The account’s
Another weekend, another chance for Sony’s superhero adventure “Spider-Man: No Way Home” to flex its box office dominance. The comic book sequel, starring Tom Holland as Marvel’s favorite neighborhood web-slinger, towered over domestic box office charts for the third weekend in a row. “No Way Home” captured $52.7 million over the New Year’s holiday frame,
Hollywood made history in 2020, fielding a record number of films from female directors. But after achieving that milestone, the film business found itself regressing in 2021 with women comprising 17% of directors on the top 250 grossing movies, down from 18% the previous year. The picture grows darker when the focus narrows to the
Bobby Bones said on Friday that he will not be returning as a mentor on “American Idol” for the hit competition show’s 20th season. The radio personality and “Dancing With the Stars” winner, who became a full-time mentor on “American Idol” during Season 17, revealed via a now-expired Instagram story that he won’t be returning
Richard “Rusty” Citron, a leading movie and television marketing executive and personal manager, died on Dec. 16 at the age of 68. The cause was Lewy body dementia. Citron’s career in show business spanned more than four decades and saw him rub shoulders with prominent artists and creators from across the spectrum of the entertainment
Steven Knight’s period drama “Peaky Blinders” is set to return for a final season, and The BBC has released the first trailer of the gang getting back together. Cillian Murphy is front and center as seasoned criminal Tommy Shelby, with a extended appearance in the spot from Anya Taylor-Joy, reviving her role as Gina Gray.
The WJM-TV newsroom is in mourning. Betty White’s death on Dec. 31 marked the fifth major figure from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” to pass in 2021. Actors Cloris Leachman, Gavin MacLeod, Ed Asner and director Jay Sandrich also died during the year that just ended. The coincidental timing of the losses of these legends
“My preoccupation with animals is an open secret,” wrote Betty White in her 2011 book “Betty & Friends: My Life at the Zoo.” The legendary star, who died this week at age 99, was known for more than just her TV and film work. She was a self proclaimed “zoo nut” who spent her life
It’s impossible to imagine the “Harry Potter” films without Emma Watson’s indelible performance of Hermione, but the latter half of the series almost had to do a dramatic rework as she considered dropping out. Watson and her castmates spoke about her anxieties about the part during the HBO Max special “Harry Potter: Return to Hogwarts,”
Andy Cohen amped up his notoriously boozy New Year’s Eve special with a rant against outgoing New York City mayor Bill de Blasio. Cohen cohosted his annual Dec. 31 CNN special “Live From Times Square: New Year’s Eve with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen,” and while referencing the changing of the guard as Eric Adams
Moviegoers rang in 2022 and slammed the door shut on 2021 by watching “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” the kind of escapist fare that seems to be resonating strongly in the middle of a public health catastrophe that stubbornly refuses to go away. The superhero sequel easily topped New Year’s Eve box office charts, earning $15.4