Month: January 2023

Audible signed an exclusive, multiproject development deal with Plan B Entertainment, the production company led by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, for a slate of audio originals. Under the worldwide deal — which represents Plan B’s entry into audio entertainment — the production company will create a slate of Audible originals. It’s the
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Magnolia Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to “Little Richard: I Am Everything” from CNN Films following its premiere on Thursday at the Sundance Film Festival. The film from director Lisa Cortés examines the seismic impact that Richard Penniman, known professionally as Little Richard, had on the origins of rock and roll, as well as his personal struggles with
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When Kevin Williamson set out to make “Dawson’s Creek,” he had no idea what to expect. He definitely didn’t picture it becoming one of the biggest teen dramas of all time. In fact, in 1996, he had just sold “Scream” and didn’t even think of making a story based on his own childhood. But when
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Digital media firm Vox Media, home of brands including Vox.com, SB Nation, New York Magazine, Vulture, The Verge, Thrillist and NowThis, is laying off 7% of its workforce across departments, resulting in the elimination of about 130 jobs. Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff informed employees of the cuts in a memo Friday, citing “the challenging
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“Commitment to Life,” a new documentary about the early days of the fight against HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles, will have its world premiere next month at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Until then, Variety has the exclusive first look at the doc. In the clip above, Elizabeth Taylor is featured speaking at the first
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Even in the freewheeling 1970s, Thin Lizzy were an utterly unique rock band — and not only because they were fronted by a towering, half-Irish/ half-Brazilian singer-bassist, the late Phil Lynott. A mesmerizing frontman and uncommonly gifted singer and songwriter, his soulful vocals, melodic flair and vivid storytelling were rare for the thundering ‘70s-style arena
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“Volver a Caer,” a contemporary Spanish-language retelling of the Leo Tolstoy classic Anna Karenina, debuts exclusively on ViX+ on Jan. 20. It stars Kate del Castillo (“Queen of the South”) whose Cholawood Prods. co-produced the series under its development pact with Endemol Shine Boomdog.  “This is our first mainstream TV series for an international audience,” Del
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Amazon Music is getting a bit pricier for some customers. In the U.S. the Amazon Music Unlimited individual plan for non-Prime members is rising $1 per month, from $9.99 to $10.99 per month. In addition, the Amazon Music unlimited student plan is going from $4.99 to $5.99 per month. In the U.K., Amazon Music Unlimited
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The estate of Whitney Houston and Primary Wave will continue to honor the singer with a Grammy-week-long event to celebrate Houston’s 60th birthday, career and life with the “Whitney Houston Hotel,” presented by Sony, with additional sponsors M·A·C Cosmetics, Proflowers, and City National Bank.  Taking place at the W Hotel in Hollywood, the week’s events
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“Becoming Elizabeth” star Romola Garai is set to tackle the sensitive subject of postpartum psychosis in a new short film, “Wild Animal.” The project, written and directed by award-winner Beth Park (“Fishwife”), will explore the “disorientating loss of identity in new motherhood” with Garai playing the lead character, called Mallory. The project has already won
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“The Pod Generation” is one of those sci-fi films set in a future that looks just teasingly enough like our own world to heighten the differences. Somewhere near the end of the 21st century, Rachel (Emilia Clarke) and Alvy (Chiwetel Ejiofor) wake up each morning in a sprawling high-rise apartment where the window shades glide
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Vienna-based Autlook Filmsales, one of the leading sales agents for documentaries, has acquired the feature-length documentary “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” ahead of its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival. The film portrays the Estonian smoke sauna tradition, known as “savvusanna kombõ.” As well as telling the history of the smoke saunas as a place to give
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The words “Quentin Tarantino” and “video store” will forever be linked in the popular imagination. But imagine that Quentin didn’t just work at a video store. Imagine that he owned, operated, designed, and organized every shelf of the video store of his dreams. That place might have looked a lot like Kim’s Video. If you
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One of the paradoxes of the great early rock ‘n’ rollers is that they possessed a cathartic sexuality and bombs-away rockabilly-on-pep-pills energy that was unlike anything we’d ever seen, yet their revolution shook the world so profoundly that within a few years it was hard to imagine what the world was like before them. If
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In resiliently fighting for their human rights and dignity, Iranian women were deservedly named TIME magazine’s Heroes of the Year in 2022. Their fierce uprising erupted last fall, after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was arrested by the morality police for not fully complying with the government’s antiquated dress code, and died three days later in police
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Dakota Johnson kicked off the 2023 Sundance Film Festival with gasps and giggles. Johnson appeared at the inaugural “A Taste of Sundance” dinner on Thursday night to present her friend and collaborator Luca Guadagnino with the international icon award. While onstage, she applauded the director’s 2017 Oscar-winning indie “Call Me By Your Name,” which premiered at
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The Indigo Girls make a far more intriguing subject for a music doc than most who’ve gotten the treatment in recent years, and director Alexandria Bombach doesn’t blow that promise with “It’s Only Life and That’s All,” which got an day-one premiere slot at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. The film celebrates Amy Ray’s and
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David Crosby, the legendary musician who died Thursday at the age of 81, grew up in the entertainment industry. His father, Floyd Crosby, was a prominent cinematographer with credits that ranged from “High Noon” and “From Here to Eternity” to “Beach Blanket Bingo” and the TV series “Maverick.” David Crosby had his own moviemaking ambitions
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