Month: April 2024

Earlier this month, Arkansas’ Pulaski County turned down and returned a $60,000 check sent by Lucky 8, the production company behind the Netflix docuseries “Unlocked: A Jail Experiment.” Pulaski County is where “Unlocked” was filmed, and Lucky 8 apparently intended the check as reimbursement for any costs the county incurred during production. But in a
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Visinema Studios, the family division of leading Indonesian entertainment company Visinema Group, is set to make its debut in live theater with “Keluarga Cemara: The Musical.” “Keluarga Cemara” (aka “Cemara Family”) has previously existed as a classic Indonesian novel about a family facing up to financial hardship, but emerging resilient and optimistic. It has since
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The three Paramount Global executives installed to run the company after Bob Bakish was removed as CEO sought to reassure employees that they have a long-term strategy. On Monday, Paramount Global said Bakish was stepping down as CEO and leaving the board. In his place, the company established an “Office of the CEO” committee led
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Martin Freeman recently spoke to The Times of London about the backlash that erupted over his movie “Miller’s Girl” earlier this year. The erotic thriller opened in theaters in January and caused a stir on social media due to intimate scenes between Freeman and his co-star Jenna Ortega. The movie casts the “Wednesday” favorite as
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Ethan Hawke was nominated at the 2002 Oscars for best supporting actor for his performance in Antoine Fuqua’s crime thriller “Training Day.” He lost the prize to Jim Broadbent (“Iris”), but he immediately got some much-needed perspective from his “Training Day” co-star Denzel Washington, who happened to win the Oscar that same night for best
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“Nuremberg,” a historical thriller set in post-war Germany, will launch its sales through WME Independent at the Cannes Film Festival next month. The film stars Russell Crowe, Rami Malek and Michael Shannon. Richard E. Grant, Leo Woodall, John Slattery, Mark O’Brien, Colin Hanks, Lydia Peckham, Wrenn Schmidt, Lotte Verbeek and Andreas Pietschmann round out the
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Sony Pictures Entertainment has promoted Tahra Grant to chief communications officer in the wake of longtime leader Bob Lawson being elevated to head of corp comms for the entire Sony group. Most recently, Grant has overseen corporate communications for the Motion Picture Group, a position she’s held for the last eight years. During that time,
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While the United States continues to debate how and when hip-hop lyrics can be used in court, dissident Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi was sentenced to death on April 24 for lyrics that criticized the Islamic Republic’s ruling regime. The sentence, handed down by the ruling Republic Court of the Islamic Republic, overturns a decree from
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James Gunn is debunking a conspiracy theory that alleges he already knew about Henry Cavill‘s Superman re-casting while he was promoting “The Suicide Squad.” That timeline does not make sense, Gunn suggested in a post on Threads, as he was not in charge of DC Studios in 2021 when “The Suicide Squad” released. It wasn’t
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Jason Kelce is headed to the broadcasting booth. The recently retired football star is joining ESPN‘s pre-game show “Monday Night Countdown,” Variety confirms. ESPN emerged as the favorite among multiple networks vying for Kelce’s on-air commentary, a group of suitors that included NBC and CBS’s Sunday night programming. Kelce joins a “Monday Night Countdown” broadcasting
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AMC Networks’ plans to submit the zombie spinoff “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live” as a limited series for the Emmys have been killed. The cable network had announced plans to submit the six-episode spinoff, created by Scott M. Gimple, Danai Gurira, and Andrew Lincoln, for outstanding limited or anthology series at the Primetime
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Jeff Bridges is going back to the grid. The 74-year-old actor told the Film Comment podcast (via The Playlist) that he is going to appear in “Tron: Ares,” the third film in the long-running sci-fi franchise that Bridges inaugurated with “Tron” in 1982 and reprised with “Tron: Legacy” in 2010. The new film stars Jared
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Anthony Hemingway has boarded the Netflix series adaptation of the Judy Blume novel “Forever” to direct multiple episodes, Variety has learned exclusively. The series stars Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr. and hails from creator Mara Brock Akil. The official logline states the series is “an epic love story of two Black teens exploring romance
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NBCUniversal is looking to wring more money out of Peacock subscribers, with the streamer set to raise prices this summer — one year after its last fee hike — going into effect for new customers ahead of the 2024 Olympics. Beginning in mid-July, the price for Peacock Premium (with ads) will increase by $2 to
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The Sundance Institute, a mentorship program dedicated to providing a space for artists and storytellers to create media, has selected 16 fellows for this year’s Directors, Screenwriters, and Native Labs. Spanning over four decades, the Sundance Institute’s labs have provided new filmmakers a hands-on experience to create their own work with the help and guidance
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If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. In this digital-dominated era, the allure of physical media like DVDs and Blu-rays remains robust, transcending mere nostalgia. These formats offer a tangible, personal connection to the artistry of film and television—a curated collection
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Martin Freeman-starring series “The Responder” has revealed first-look photos of its anticipated second season.  Produced by Fremantle’s Dancing Ledge Productions, it’s set to debut on BBC iPlayer and BBC One on May 5 and will be available on BritBox this summer. Fremantle is handling global distribution. It has also released a trailer.  Written by Tony
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It’s well known that in her decades-long career, Shonda Rhimes — the writer behind such television sensations as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal” and “Bridgerton” — has smashed pervasive racist-casting tropes, and in doing so, changed the literal face of TV, whether that meant having “Scandal” revolve around Kerry Washington’s antihero Olivia Pope or elevating Regé-Jean Page to
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Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” which welcomed back Jon Stewart as one of its hosts this year, will continue its election year tradition of taking the show on the road to the national political conventions this summer, Variety can confirm. The extent of Stewart’s involvement at the two conventions has not yet been determined, but
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Morgan Wallen and Post Malone have been teasing a joint single, and the two singers premiered the new song, “I Had Some Help,” in a duet performance during Wallen’s headlining set at the Stagecoach festival in California Sunday night. The new song, “I Had Some Help,” is a drinking-buddies anthem and includes the key lyrics
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