Month: January 2025

In a power move that signals its serious play for India’s streaming wars, Amazon MX Player showcased its ambitious strategy at its inaugural StreamNext event, rolling out plans for over 100 new shows in 2025, including 40 Hindi-language originals. The Mumbai-based event, which drew heavyweight industry figures like Martin Sorrell and Benedict Evans, turned heads
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“The Sims” and “The Sims 2” are being re-released by Electronic Arts in celebration of the popular life-simulation franchise’s 25th anniversary. The games will be offered together in “The Sims 25th Birthday Bundle” and separately as “The Sims: Legacy Collection” and “The Sims 2: Legacy Collection.” Per EA, “Simmers can play with the iconic characters,
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Lights On has secured international sales rights to “Ariel,” the latest feature from acclaimed Galician director Lois Patiño, whose previous work “Samsara” tripped out audiences at the Berlin Film Festival. The film is set to make its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam(IFFR) on Feb.1 1, screening in the harbour section, a platform
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Neo Art International, Rabagast Film, and Drama Svecia have sealed a co-production pact, unveiling their first collaboration, the genre thriller “Sfär,” directed by Markus Johnson Castro. The film follows Castro’s debut feature “Ghabe,” which earned a Swedish Guldbagge Award. The partnership signals Neo Art’s strategic expansion into Scandinavian collaborations, highlighting the continued allure of Spanish
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On the day that “Hard Truths” opens in U.K. cinemas, news of the next feature from Mike Leigh — a filmmaker not exactly known for his prolific output — has been announced. As per usual with the iconoclastic British director, details are scare, but the new project will shoot this year and see Leigh reunite with
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London’s Mercato Metropolitano food market is opening a studio for TV and movie productions – while still functioning as a sustainable food court – after servicing the shoot of upcoming doc series “The Unknown Chefs” produced by Italy’s Andrea Iervolino and British music producer David Tickle.  The “Unknown Chefs” series chronicling the journey of four
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Chuck Todd, the former “Meet the Press” moderator, is leaving NBC News, he told colleagues in a memo issued Friday, a move he’s making in order to pursue ventures outside the NBCUniversal empire. Todd had in recent weeks been meeting with other news outlets and potential employers, according to people familiar with the matter. His
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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. After releasing his long-awaited album “Hurry Up Tomorrow” on Friday morning, The Weeknd has announced a massive stadium tour across North America. The “After Hours Til Dawn” tour will make stops in over 20
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It may come as some relief to music industry hopefuls that even Stacy Carr, who has been Clive Davis’ right hand for his pre-Grammy gala since 1993, had to wait a couple of years before she was invited to the party. Indeed, there are few stronger signals that you’ve “arrived” than that first year you’re
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Indian auteur Suman Mukhopadhyay’s “The Puppet’s Tale” (Putulnacher Itikatha), a period drama centering on a young doctor’s struggle between modern medicine and traditional beliefs in 1930s Bengal, premieres in International Film Festival Rotterdam‘s Big Screen Competition on Feb. 6. The film, adapted from Manik Bandyopadhyay’s celebrated 1936 novel, explores how progress and tradition clash through
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“Emilia Pérez” star Karla Sofía Gascón has deactivated her Twitter/X account after apologizing for offensive posts that resurfaced Thursday. Gascón’s X account @karsiagascon was deactivated as of Friday morning. Gascón came under fire Thursday after X users discovered tweets from 2020 and 2021 that had controversial views on Muslims, George Floyd and diversity at the Oscars.
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Ashley Graham WWD When: January 29 Where: Couture week in Paris What: Jean Paul Gaultier Why: I couldn’t be more excited for the future of Jean Paul Gaultier, and the same goes for Graham and many other A-listers who attended the show. Reese Witherspoon Credit: TheStewartofNY When: January 28 Where: New York City What: A
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After seven years, Kim Jones is stepping down from Dior Homme. As artistic director of the house’s menswear operation, the British designer collaborated with brands like Nike and artists including Raymond Pettibon. He closed out his tenure with a show last week at Paris Men’s Fashion Week and was named a Chevalier de la Légion
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The first bone-chilling teaser-trailer for Netflix‘s “The Monster of Florence” from Italian genre specialist Stefano Sollima has been unveiled. In an exclusive with Variety, the streamer has released the first footage from the hotly-anticipated serial killer series, about a string of sex-related murders that took place outside Florence from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s.  Sollima,
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Two years after launch, Norway’s boutique production outlet Staer Film headed by Elisa Fernanda Pirir, is ramping up its activities by venturing into distribution and bigger budget movies. With a focus on visionary new and established auteurs, regional productions and international collaborations, the new Tromsö-based distribution outfit led by Eleanor Debreu will offer a home
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New Zealand sales outfit Black Mandala has acquired worldwide rights to “Traumnovelle,” the German-produced English-language adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s 1926 novella that previously inspired Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut.” The neo-noir thriller, helmed by director Florian Frerichs (“The Last Supper”), marks one of Black Mandala’s biggest acquisitions to date. The film stars Nikolai Kinski, son
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Payal Kapadia’s “All We Imagine as Light” leads a diverse slate of nominees for the first-ever Network for the Promotion of Asia Pacific Cinema (NETPAC) Aruna Vasudev Award for Best Asia Pacific Film 2024, celebrating the region’s emerging cinematic voices. The winner will be unveiled at the 31st FICA (Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian
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Locksmith Animation, the London-based studio behind “Ron’s Gone Wrong” and Netflix’s recent “That Christmas,” has announced its first independent animated feature. “Wed Wabbit” will launch at the European Film Market, with Timeless Films handling worldwide sales and produced in association with Cantilever Media. Based on the book by BAFTA-winning writer, producer, and director Lissa Evans,
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The Weeknd finally dropped “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” the long-awaited third chapter of his “After Hours” trilogy, on Thursday night. While the credits did not initially appear on streaming services, a rep for the artist confirms that it features Lana Del Rey, Travis Scott, Future, Florence + the Machine, Giorgio Moroder, Playboi Carti, Anitta and others
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Fans in the Intuit Dome wondering what hit them may have belatedly realized they were witnessing the closest thing to a Nirvana reunion we’ll get: The band’s three surviving members — Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Pat Smear — blazing through bruising versions of “Breed” with St. Vincent on vocals, “School” with longtime friend and patron
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