U.K. independent factual production company Icon Films has appointed Belinda Cherrington as creative director. Based in Washington D.C., Cherrington will report into Icon CEO and co-founder Laura Marshall and joins the leadership team of Lucy Middelboe, commercial director, and Andie Clare, director of production, with immediate effect. She is in charge of expanding the Icon
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Suzanne Mackie, one of the U.K.’s foremost drama executives, has been selected as the 2021 recipient of Variety’s International Achievement in Television Award, to be presented at the MipTV virtual global content market in Cannes in April. The award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated leadership and innovation in the international television marketplace. In 2020, Mackie
Nickole Jones, the Emmy-nominated key hairstylist on “Big Little Lies” and hair department head for “Young Sheldon,” has died of cancer. She was 45. Fellow makeup artist Anya Brewster, who is the ESPN hair and makeup department head, confirmed Jones’ death to Variety. In a GoFundMe page dedicated to Jones’ memory, Brewster wrote: “After a long
Seth Rogen took to Twitter on Monday night to clarify “a story that has emerged” from his recent interview with British GQ. In the interview, Rogen is asked about a rumor that Emma Watson “stormed off the set” of his 2013 film, “This Is the End,” after refusing to shoot a scene involving Danny McBride
Taiwan’s four top cinema exhibition chains have joined forces to launch new feature movie production company Bole Film. The company aims to bring between three and five new films per year to market. Bole is backed by VieShow Cinemas, Showtime Cinemas, Ambassador Theatres, and Shin Kong Cinemas, with the support of Taiwanese Creative Content Agency (TAICCA)’s National
South Korean pop group BTS has posted a letter expressing its support for the Stop Asian Hate movement that has arisen as a result of increased frequency in instances of hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. “We send our deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones,” reads the statement, which
America has the Oscars; France has the César Awards. In a normal year, being nominated for 13 of the latter would be a sign of an exceptional achievement in French cinema — a phenomenon on par with “Amélie” or “A Prophet” commanding recognition in nearly every category en route to worldwide acclaim. But 2020 was
Mike Posner announced that he will climb Mount Everest in April and May, raising money for the Detroit Justice Center through corporate sponsors and a GoFundMe page. Climbing the world’s tallest mountain is not the first time the “I Took A Pill In Ibiza” singer has challenged himself. In 2019, the Grammy-nominated artist embarked on
Capitol Music Group has responded to an allegation made in HBO’s new “Tina” documentary that an executive in the early 1980s disparaged Tina Turner by using the N-word, calling the remarks “reprehensible and appalling.” Said a Capitol Label Group spokesperson, “The incident that John Carter describes in the HBO documentary, ‘Tina,’ would have occurred 40
The CW’s “All American” pilot spinoff starring Geffri Maya, “All American: Homecoming,” has added half a dozen new cast members: Peyton Alex Smith, Kelly Jenrette, Cory Hardrict, Sylvester Powell, Netta Walker and Camille Hyde. “All American: Homecoming,” executive produced and written by “All American” showrunner Nkechi Okoro Carroll, takes place against the backdrop of the
“American Gods” has been canceled at Starz. The series adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel of the same name will not return for a fourth season. However, sources tell Variety that the network is open to a potential event series or movie to wrap up any loose ends. “American Gods will not return for a fourth
“Superstore” has really, truly closed its doors. “Bo & Cheyenne,” the spinoff from writers and exec producers Bridget Kyle and Vicky Luu that would have focused on Johnny Pemberton and Nichole Sakura’s characters from the mothership series, is not moving forward, a source close to the project has confirmed to Variety. Cleveland.com first broke the
Mon. March 29 Lionsgate has dated Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson’s “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” for June 16. Salma Hayek co-stars in the sequel to the 2017 “The Hitman’s Bodyguard,” which grossed $176 million worldwide. The comedy action film sees the return of bodyguard Michael Bryce, played by Reynolds and hitman Darius Kincaid, played
Kendall Jenner is getting protection from a man cops say wants to kill her. Kendall beelined it to court Monday and got a judge to grant her a temporary restraining order … to protect her from a 24-year-old man named Malik Bowker, whom she claims traveled across the country to gun her down. According to
Comedian Pete Holmes will star as an aspiring Midwestern professional bowler in an untitled CBS comedy from CBS Television Studios and writer Mark Gross. One of three new pilots CBS has ordered this year, the untitled multi-camera pilot revolves around Tom Smallwood, a Michigan man who is laid off from a General Motors automotive plant
Christina Ochoa has been cast in a major role of the ABC drama pilot “Promised Land,” Variety has learned. The show is described as an epic, generation-spanning drama about two Latinx families vying for wealth and power in California’s Sonoma Valley. Ochoa will star as Veronica Sandoval, the eldest daughter of the Sandoval family, a wealthy
Thundercats are on the move, again. “Godzilla vs. Kong” director Adam Wingard is attached to helm a computer-animated adaptation of the beloved 1980s Rankin Bass animated series “Thundercats” for Warner Bros., from a script Wingard will write with frequent collaborator Simon Barrett (“You’re Next,” “The Guest”). Dan Lin of Rideback and Roy Lee of Vertigo,
Amid the rise in vaccinations and decline in COVID-19 case rates in California, Sony Pictures Entertainment is looking to have employees begin returning to the lot in Culver City, Calif. beginning on June 1. The studio has a “tentative eye towards being fully up to speed on the lot by Labor Day,” according to an
In today’s TV news roundup, Discovery Plus released a trailer for “The Swim,” and Apple TV Plus announced original Earth Day programming, including “The Year Earth Changed” and new seasons of “Tiny World” and “Earth At Night In Color.” DATES Apple TV Plus announced new original Earth Day programming set to premiere on April 16,
Lil Nas X is dancing with the devil (both literally and figuratively) after the release of his fiery “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” music video and limited edition “Satan Shoes.” The hip-hop superstar who broke records with his country-infused hit “Old Town Road” is stirring controversy after promoting his new sneakers, a collaboration with
For the second time in just over six months, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer stood at a nightclub in his home borough of Brooklyn and stumped for independent music venues. Where last August he was promoting the “Save Our Stages” bill outside Baby’s All Right in Williamsburg, on Monday he was at Elsewhere in Bushwick,
Armie Hammer has been dropped from another film, in the wake of sexual assault allegations and continuous online chatter that has been spiraling across social media since the beginning of the year. Hammer is no longer attached to the thriller “Billion Dollar Spy,” Variety has learned exclusively. Hammer was set to star opposite Mads Mikkelsen
Village Roadshow Entertainment Group has appointed Tristen Tuckfield as the company’s executive VP of feature film. Tuckfield will work with Jillian Apfelbaum, executive VP of feature film, to co-run Village Roadshow Pictures film content across all platforms. Tuckfield and Apfelbaum both report to CEO Steve Mosko. “I know that Tristen will pair perfectly with Jillian
The title of Karol G’s third album, “KG0516,” references neither a birthdate or a catalog number, but the combination of digits and letter does hold significance for the 30-year-old artist. “My parents signed a contract on my behalf on May 16th, 2006 and that was the first time that my name as Karol G was
T-Mobile is throwing in the towel on its ambitious “uncarrier” move to shake up cable TV: The wireless provider is shutting down TVision about six month after launching it. The company announced Monday that YouTube TV is becoming T-Mobile’s preferred live TV solution, with the three TVision packages it introduced last fall “winding down” on
For Justin Bieber, it’s “Lonely” at the top, or at least the album that contains that recent hit song bowing at No. 1. “Justice” debuted on top of the Rolling Stone album chart — the first time in 11 weeks that the No. 1 position hasn’t belonged to wayward country star Morgan Wallen and his
Nate Mann will join the Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Gary Goetzman executive-produced “Band of Brothers”/”The Pacific” franchise continuation for Apple TV Plus. He joins an ensemble cast that includes previously announced cast members Anthony Boyle (“The Plot Against America,” “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”) as well as Austin Butler (“The Carrie Diaries”), and
Independent distributor All3Media International has secured sales rights to Roast Beef Productions’ feature-length Channel 4 documentary “Who Is Ghislaine Maxwell?” All3Media will manage global distribution rights, excluding U.K., to the 90-minute film, which will debut on U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 later this year. British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell is incarcerated in a New York jail while
The BBC will deliver £880 million ($1.21 billion) of annual savings this year, more than its target of £800 million ($1.1 billion), and has achieved this ahead of schedule, it was revealed it its yearly plan. The plan also projects that ongoing savings will rise above £950 million ($1.31 billion) for the next financial year.
Guests at this year’s Oscars telecast might not want to get too comfortable when they take their seats at Union Station. That’s because the show’s producers are weighing a plan that would rotate nominees and presenters in and out of the area where the awards are being handed out as a COVID precaution. Cleaning crews