Month: December 2022

Affectionately known as Tinny, Eleonora Andreatta has long been a fundamental figure in Italian scripted content production. As head of drama at pubcaster RAI she ushered in a new era by commissioning and carefully shepherding global hits such as RAI/HBO’s Elena Ferrante adaptation “My Brilliant Friend.” At Netflix, which she joined in mid-2020 as VP
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James Cameron recently told Entertainment Weekly that part of the reason he decided to film “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Avatar 3” and some of “Avatar 4” all at once is because he wanted his franchise to avoid what he called “the ‘Stranger Things’ effect,” or when child actors grow up so fast in between
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Hollywood pop-music biopics tend to be about artists who go back a long way (Elvis, Tina Turner, the Doors). “Bohemian Rhapsody” felt rooted in a fresher, less done-to-death-by-biopics era — though when the Freddie Mercury drama came out, its title song was already 43 years old. “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” which tells the exultant and
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It takes a special and often elusive alchemy for a show to resonate with critics and the public alike. Dominic Savage’s BAFTA-nominated “I Am” anthology series has managed that very trick, drawing praise from both quarters for its searing kitchen sink realism told squarely from a female perspective. Variety spoke with the series’ creator, writer
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I will forever love Sleeper for bringing “party pajamas” and “black tie pajamas” into the sleepwear conversation. Right now, you can save some serious cash on a selection of the brand’s sets during Saks Fifth Avenue’s designer sale. Beloved by celebrities, influencers, and editors (!), Sleeper sets took off in popularity during the pandemic, unsurprisingly,
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South African filmmakers are shocked, angry and disappointed after the country failed to submit a film for the international feature Oscar race for the first time in 15 years, with one producer slamming the selection committee for what he says are unfounded concerns about his film’s depiction of marginalized groups, and comparing the opaque selection
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Studiocanal has launched a legal battle against producer-distributor Wild Bunch and sales agent Wild Bunch International over a deal they struck with Netflix for Studio Ghibli streaming rights. Studiocanal alleges Wild Bunch International’s license of the Ghibli catalogue to Netflix in 2019 breached an agreement between Studiocanal and Wild Bunch relating to VOD rights. At
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Italy in 2022 made several landmark strides in the international entertainment arena: an Italian play, Stefano Massini’s “The Lehman Trilogy,” garnered five Tony Awards, a prize the country had never conquered; Roman rock band Måneskin scored a Grammy nomination; and even as domestic box office plunged this year, Italian film exports mushroomed.  Massini’s five-hour play,
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A star maestro. Multiverse dwellers. Fearless journalists who historically propelled the #MeToo movement. 2022 has supplied an embarrassment of riches when it comes to complex roles written for women, brought to life by a diverse array of actresses. In separate conversations with Variety, several of the names leading the awards conversation offered insights into their
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“Welcome to Chippendales” details the rise and fall of the male exotic dancing troupe, as told through the tale of creator Somen “Steve” Banerjee. And yet, little is known about Banerjee’s wife, Irene, and her origin story. So, when Annaleigh Ashford signed on to play the loving partner of the immigrant entrepreneur-turned-millionaire criminal on the
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Kevin Lygo, ITV’s managing director of media and entertainment, said Tuesday that Jeremy Clarkson will continue as the host of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?,” despite his comments about Meghan Markle that a group of British lawmakers said used “violent misogynistic language.” Clarkson wrote in his column in The Sun newspaper Friday that he
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Vertical video from Season 17 of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” racked up over 35 million views on the entertainment trade’s TikTok account. During the series’ run, the account gained over 150,000 additional followers, surpassing the 1 million follower mark.  This season’s pairings featured stars of the year’s biggest films, including Austin Butler with Janelle Monae,
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Disney’s live-action “The Little Mermaid” had “no agenda” when it came to the casting of Ariel, director Rob Marshall told Entertainment Weekly. The “Chicago” and “Into the Woods” director said his team auditioned “every ethnicity” for the role and that singer Halle Bailey was by far the perfect choice. While Bailey’s casting has been widely
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“Twisters,” a sequel to the 1996 disaster epic “Twister,” will wreak havoc on movie theaters in the summer of 2024. Universal, which is backing the film, set “Twisters” to release theatrically on July 19, 2024. On its current release date, “Twisters” will open on the big screen alongside Paramount’s “Transformers: A New Generation” and one
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Black Adam has been buried, but he isn’t (quite) dead. Dwayne Johnson says that after talking with DC Studios co-chief James Gunn, Johnson’s DC anti-hero Black Adam “will not be in their first chapter of storytelling.” But Johnson added a statement posted to social media that DC and his production company, Seven Bucks, “have agreed
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