Month: February 2024

On the heels of a charismatic Super Bowl halftime performance, Usher is now bringing his music to the small screen. The eight-time Grammy winner has partnered with UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, to develop a drama series. Executive producers are Selwyn Seyfu Hinds, Katie Zucker (Mad Massive Entertainment) and Kenny Meiselas (KMei Productions).
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After several teasers, Brent Faiyaz has dropped the video for his song “WY@” — featuring “Black Panther”/ “Star Wars”/ “12 Years a Slave” star Lupita Nyong’o. Directed by Markpeaced, the clip features the two filming scenes from a (presumably fictional) action film, involved in a high-speed chase across the desert and apparently arguing. It also
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Mark Zuckerberg‘s Meta has burned through billions developing virtual-reality products — without any payback foreseeable on the near-term horizon. So he has a vested interest in touting Meta’s Quest 3 mixed-reality headset as superior to its major new rival: Apple’s Vision Pro, described as a “spatial computing” platform. Zuckerberg turned tech-gadget reviewer in a video
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Filmmakers Alex Gibney, Johan Grimonprez and Laura Huertas Millan, along with industry figures Jessica Harrop from Sandbox and Marie Nelson from Hot Docs will be among the speakers at CPH:CONFERENCE, the discussion program at documentary festival CPH:DOX. The program, which is curated in partnership with the training initiative Documentary Campus, has the theme “rebuilding narratives.”
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From Rainn Wilson‘s desire to start a spiritual revolution in Hollywood and beyond to Hilary Swank‘s latest film “Ordinary Angels,” and a first look at the Amazon Prime Video series “The Baxters” the Variety Spirituality in Entertainment Breakfast, presented by FAMI, explored representations of faith and spirituality throughout media. Tuesday’s event, held at the Los
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When Bonnie Timmermann is helping Ridley Scott or Michael Mann find the perfect person for a role in films like “Black Hawk Down” and “Heat,” she will buy auditioning actors pizza or Chinese food and grill them about their lives and ambitions. Sooner or later, they’ll get around to reading the scenes, but Timmermann has
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Sarah Snook said during an interview on Times Radio that her “Succession” co-star Brian Cox had a habit of outbursts on set fueled by his diabetes. Cox has type two diabetes. Snook, who recently won an Emmy for playing Shiv Roy on the final season of “Succession,” said Cox’s voice could get “terrifying sometimes” during
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On “Do It,” nestled halfway through Kanye West and Ty Dolla Sign’s collaborative album “Vultures 1,” America’s second-biggest controversy magnet raps, “You don’t like it? That’s your loss.” Contending and conversing with West’s music in 2024 is an obstacle course. The rapper, undeniably one of music’s most influential creative forces, has spent the past few
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At least one Amazon Prime member is furious over the ecommerce company’s move to start playing ads in Prime Video programming — unless customers pay an extra monthly fee. A lawsuit seeking class-action status accused Amazon of false advertising and deceptive practices because Prime Video now serves commercials by default. “For years, people purchased and
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“One Day” star Leo Woodall and “Black Adam’s” Quintessa Swindell are set to lead a new thriller series for Apple TV+ titled “Prime Target.” Created by Steve Thompson (“Sherlock”) and produced by New Regency with Ridley Scott’s Scott Free, the eight-episode drama follows a mathematical genius as he’s plunged into a troubling conspiracy just as
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Eminem, whose 2000 song “Stan” coined the term for fanatical and sometimes delusional superfans, is co-producing a documentary on the phenomenon via his Shady Films, in association with DIGA Studios and Hill District Media, with initial distribution from Paramount/MTV. The film, directed by Steven Leckart (“Challenger: The Final Flight,” writer of “What’s My Name: Muhammad
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The cast of “Hard Truths,” the 23rd film from legendary British director Mike Leigh, has been unveiled, along with a first look image. The feature, which like most Leigh projects has remained under a veil of secrecy, has reunited the filmmaker with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who received an Oscar nomination for his 1996 drama “Secrets &
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Scooter Braun, Emmy Rossum and Helen Mirren are among 400 celebrities and industry executives who’ve signed an open letter supporting Israel’s inclusion in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Although there has been no suggestion the European Broadcasting Union, which organizes the annual singing competition, has any intention of barring Israel from the event, the open
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Genevieve Naylor//Getty ImagesSchiaparelli evening gowns, 1949. Diane von Furstenberg has never forgotten what a well-known male designer once told her: “Women make clothes. Men make costume.” It was a dictum that has stuck with her for years, and one that she personally believes has some merit. After all, she says in her delicious Belgian drawl,
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COMMISSION The BBC has commissioned feature documentary “ABBA: Against The Odds” to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the iconic Swedish group winning the Eurovision Song Contest, which takes place this year in Sweden. The documentary will be produced by multi-award winning documentary makers Rogan Productions (“Freddie Mercury: The Final Act”) and directed by James Rogan.
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“Doctor Who” producer Bad Wolf has tapped Emma Obank for the newly created role of creative and commercial affairs executive. In the role, Obank, who joins from U.K. agency Casarotto Ramsay & Associates, will work closely with Bad Wolf CEO Jane Tranter and director of content Dan McCulloch. She will be responsible for nurturing new
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Subversive American author Bret Easton Ellis is set to make his directorial debut with “Relapse,” an elevated horror film he wrote starring “Stranger Things” breakout Joseph Quinn. Paris-based SND has boarded the project as producer, alongside Adrian Guerra’s Nostromo (“Penny Dreadful”) and Simon Wallon’s Kiss & Kill (“Bonnie”). SND will handle worldwide sales on “Relapse,”
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It’s been almost 12 years since the release of “Les Misérables,” Tom Hooper’s adaptation of the hit musical and a triumphant follow-up to the director’s 2010 Oscars-dominating smash hit “The King’s Speech.” It was a film that earned more than $442 million globally and saw Anne Hathaway famously declare “it came true” after winning the
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Cinema box office in Hong Kong failed to live up to expectations over the Lunar New Year holidays, even as local films led the chart. Movie theatre takings between Feb. 9-13 in Hong Kong weighed in at just HK$48.6 million ($6.23 million), according to data provided by Hong Kong Box Office Limited, a joint venture
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The late Pema Tseden‘s “Snow Leopard” (China) won the top prize, the Golden Cyclo, at the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema on Tuesday. The film, which previously won awards at the Tokyo and Hainan festivals, also won Vesoul’s National Institute of Oriental Languages ​​and Civilizations (INALCO) jury prize and actor Tseten Tashi scored a
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The New Zealand International Film Festival has appointed veteran programmer Paolo Bertolin as its new artistic director. The festival, which travels around the country, will return in July and August, but stop in just four places. The announcement follows the release of the festival’s ten-year strategy document, “Te Ahua o te Whanau Marama,” in November
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