Chinese director Jia Zhangke has formally launched his new venture: a filmmaking school in his native Shanxi staffed by some of China’s top industry talent, including helmers Ning Hao and Bi Gan. Communist party officials presided over an inauguration ceremony for the Shanxi Film Academy that was attended by major firms seeking synergies between the
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This time last year the COVID19 pandemic was pausing productions and calling into question the ability of television series and talent to effectively campaign for Emmys, not only due to health and safety concerns, but also because of how it might look to be trying to celebrate amid so much death. Now, more than 365
Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Luke Kleintank will star in “The Good Neighbor,” a remake of German thriller “Unter Nachbarn.” The movie will center on new neighbors David and Robert, who find themselves bonded by a hit-and-run accident. According to the official logline: “When the dead girl’s sister shows up to investigate, David, overcome with guilt,
Imax has partnered with Imagine Documentaries, the non-fiction division of the entertainment company founded by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, to produce and distribute its next five films. The upcoming slate deal covers topics including space, exploration, natural sciences and more. In addition to co-financing the titles, Imax will screen the movies in its high-quality
ReelAbilities Film Festival Announces Special Guests and Live Events The New York ReelAbilities Film Festival has announced a selection of exclusive events and speakers to accompany its 13th annual ReelAbilities Film Festival programming. Highlights include the pilot reading of “Disgraced” with Julie Klausner (“Difficult People”), Shannon DeVido (“Best Summer Ever”) and Alex Scordelis (“Difficult People”)
Think of it as the boutique label’s boutique label. Super Ltd., the distributor of the Oscar-nominated “Quo Vadis, Aida?,” is an offshoot of “Parasite” producer Neon, and was launched to handle more experimental work. It’s not that Neon, which has made a name for itself with indie hits like “I, Tonya” and “Border,” is in
Going to hell has been a heaven-sent mission for Tanu Muino. She co-directed the year’s — and maybe the young decade’s — most talked about music video, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” with its controversial star Lil Nas X. That came right on the heels of directing a video for one of 2021’s other
Lest anyone think that the entertainment livestream revolution is a product of the pandemic that will taper off as soon as quarantining does, Moment House CEO and co-founder Arjun Mehta has the language to describe what’s happening in the space. “The way we look at it is that the pandemic is not the enabler,” Mehta
To get a sense of YouTube global head of music Lyor Cohen, the person, imagine the type of brash, gruff New Yorker that might inspire a character called “record man” or “music biz exec” in a movie. After starting his career as a roadie for Run DMC, Cohen went on to head Def Jam Records
When Sierra Teller Ornelas was in pre-production on her new Peacock comedy “Rutherford Falls,” she found inspiration in a quote she read from showrunner Prentice Penny describing his movie “Uncorked” as “This is Black people on a Tuesday.” The film, which follows a young man on his quest to become a master sommelier, did not
Check out the official Mortal Kombat Clip starring Hiroyuki Sanada! Let us know what you think in the comments below. ► Buy Tickets for Mortal Kombat: https://www.fandango.com/mortal-kombat-2021-224005/movie-overview?cmp=MCYT_YouTube_Desc Want to be notified of all the latest movie trailers? Subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to stay up to date. US Release Date: April
The cost of awards campaigning has reached an all-time high, even in a pandemic year. We’re not just talking in terms of dollars and cents. The long slog was extended by months after the Oscars’ airdate was pushed from early February to late April, making the quest to land those big statuettes a brutal endurance
As expected, Casey Wasserman has raised the curtain on Wasserman Music, a new powerhouse player in music built on the back of Paradigm’s former music division. Wasserman on Wednesday completed the complicated transaction that saw Paradigm sever off its music operation for sale as the company faced a spiraling financial crisis last year amid the
George Floyd‘s brother, Philonise, has a message for the Las Vegas Raiders — he’s not offended by the team’s “I Can Breathe” post and is not demanding they take it down. We spoke with Philonise moments ago … and he told us he does not believe the message was intended to be negative and he
There are hundreds of social-media stars, each with millions of fans. Now a new startup, Creator Plus, is launching a studio and a streaming service to give big-name creators a platform for feature films. The company was founded by Benjamin Grubbs, former global head of top creator partnerships at YouTube, and Silicon Valley tech investor
DraftKings appointed supermodel Gisele Bündchen as a special adviser to the sports-wagering company on environmental, social and governance issues. Bündchen, an environmental activist and philanthropist, is married to Tom Brady, the seven-time NFL Super Bowl champion quarterback. In its first collaboration with Bündchen, DraftKings set a goal of planting 1 million trees by Earth Day
The upcoming “Fantasy Island” reboot at Fox has added its first two cast members, Variety has learned. Kiara Barnes and John Gabriel Rodriquez will both star in the series, which was ordered straight-to-series at Fox back in December. The new series is described as a modern semi-anthology series that delves into the “what if” questions, both
Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety“… Chanel may not be throwing its annual pre-Oscar dinner with Charles Finch this week, but that doesn’t mean the legendary French fashion house won’t be celebrating the Academy Awards. I can exclusively reveal that about 150 VIPs will not only receive a Chanel gift box on April 24
Dorinda Medley wants you to sweat for a good cause. The former “Real Housewives of New York” star and professional aerobics instructor is teaching an ’80s-themed aerobics — or Dorobics, as she likes to call it — class on Moxie April 23. All proceeds benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities. To get ready for the workout,
Actor and author Dondré Whitfield has been named a special contributor for Meredith’s “People (The TV Show!)” based in L.A. Whitfield joins the half-hour daily entertainment and lifestyle TV show alongside special contributors Nancy O’Dell (Los Angeles), Gretchen Carlson (New York) and Julie Moran (Atlanta). “People (the TV Show!)” is hosted by Kay Adams, and
The mantra that the pandemic has accelerated existing trends is evident across the entire Hollywood landscape. Variety’s virtual Entertainment Marketing Summit, presented by Deloitte on April 22, will analyze some of these trends. The most obvious is that filmgoers have been driven to at-home viewing. Other changes during this period include higher subscriber churn and
Exactly 30 years to the day since Whoopi Goldberg officially became an Oscar winner, the entertainer is reliving the moment over Zoom. Watching a clip from the 1991 Academy Awards telecast from her home in New Jersey, Goldberg breaks into a big smile as Denzel Washington opens the envelope and declares her the best supporting
Cannabis and country music icon Willie Nelson will be one of the keynote speakers at the virtual marijuana convention Luck Summit: Planting the Seed, taking place on April 26-29 in Nelson’s hometown of Luck, TX. “I think that people are realizing more and more that cannabis is a positive thing,” said Nelson. “I still believe
Antoine Fuqua will direct and produce a new film adaptation of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” Tennessee Williams’ Pulitzer Prize-winning look at greed, family, death and sexual repression. The “Training Day” and “Magnificent Seven” director will join forces with producers Stephen C. Byrd and Alia Jones-Harvey, who backed a 2008 revival of the show
“Loving Highsmith,” a new documentary based on the American crime novelist’s personal writings about her lovers and family, has been acquired by Filmcoopi and Salzgeber & Co for distribution in Switzerland and Germany. Salzgeber & Co will release “Loving Highsmith” in Germany, Filmcoopi in Switzerland. The film, in post-production, was presented Sunday at a Swiss
Jake Paul‘s moved on from Ben Askren — he’s now threatening UFC legend Daniel Cormier! “Daniel Cormier, I’ll beat the f**k out of your fat ass too — just like Stipe did,” Jake said Tuesday on the “Impaulsive” podcast with his brother, Logan Paul. “I swear to god, I’ll beat the f**k out of Daniel
Roku is officially dropping the Quibi name. Roku announced that the content from its January acquisition of Quibi — the short-lived, short-form mobile entertainment startup founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg — will be rebranded as “Roku Originals.” The 75-plus original shows from Quibi will be available to watch for free on the ad-supported Roku Channel starting
Chinese multi-hyphenate Yi Zhou has partnered with Los Angeles-based Buffalo 8 Productions on judicial inferno TV series “Kompromat,” based on the Giorgi Rtskhiladze memoir “Kompromat: My Story From Trump to Mueller and USSR to USA.” The limited series, on which producer-director-writer Yi Zhou (pictured) will serve as executive producer via her Sun Entertainment banner, is
Normally, for an interview like the one Variety did on Tuesday with Oscars musical director Questlove and show producer Jesse Collins, the reporter can ask at least somewhat informed questions. But so little about the show has been revealed in advance that the interview ended up being almost an investigative piece — and a fascinating
Those who grew up in the ’80s or ’90s probably remember Apple Computer as the underdog, manufacturer of the friendly-looking Macintosh in a world dominated by beige and boxy IBM clones. Flash forward a few decades, and the tech company’s stock has risen, so much so that it’s no stretch to imagine a doomsday scenario