The Giannis Antetokounmpo movie at Disney is taking shape, with Variety learning exclusively that the film has found three of its leads. Newcomer Uche Agada will star as the NBA great in the film, which is titled “Greek Freak” in honor of the nickname Antetokounmpo earned for his otherworldly basketball skills. In addition, Yetide Badaki
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Imagine a magical weapon straight out of science fiction: a machine of gratifying, cartoonish proportions that unleashes a magic potion eradicating the scourge of the past and bringing families safely together. Except it’s not a Marvel prop, it’s an electrostatic disinfectant sprayer — a goofy but crucial piece of protective equipment that will become a
Roku is adding a new annex to its original content strategy: The streaming platform has acquired This Old House Ventures, the company behind the 42-year-old home-improvement television brand. With the pact, current seasons of “This Old House” (Season 42) and “Ask This Old House” (Season 19) will be available for free on the Roku Channel
I’ve often been told that I’m not Asian enough. Not white enough. And I question whether I am enough at all. I am conflicted by my racial identities and the trauma that comes with that. In light of the recent horrors, I am compelled to share my story. My parents met in Korea when my
Exclusive Willow Smith says she’s being stalked by a man who trekked from Oklahoma to L.A. to try to get into her home … according to new legal docs she filed to get a restraining order against him. In the docs, Will and Jada Pinkett‘s daughter claims 38-year-old Walter James Whaley climbed a fence to
Just when you’d finished the dark and murky four-hour marathon that is HBO’s “Allen v. Farrow” docuseries, along comes Zack Snyder with a dark and murky four-hour director’s cut of “Justice League,” the super-friends reunion that underwhelmed critics and fans alike in its 2017 theatrical cut, now expanded/restored to Snyder’s full vision. Personally, I found
Before his “Friends Keep Secrets 2” album comes out next week — a collection that includes his platinum-plated “Lonely” collab with Justin Bieber (which also appears on Bieber’s own new album, out this weekend) — there are two key things to know about songwriter/producer Benny Blanco. The first is that he loves working almost exclusively
Even in the world of stan-dom, Lana Del Rey fans can be alarmingly intense. People who are ordinarily calm and composed will suddenly get slightly wild-eyed when her name is mentioned, their voices growing breathy as if channeling her, saying, “Oh, I love her!” and gushing in an almost hypnotized way that seems to carry
UPDATED, 2:40 p.m. ET: Thousands of Instagram users reported issues accessing the video and photo-sharing app Friday, with the bulk of the issues involving problems accessing the news feed. The problems extended beyond Instagram to other Facebook services, including WhatsApp. According to Facebook, the problems were resolved after a brief disruption. “Earlier today, a technical
Got the juice? Then Lizzo wants to see you. The Grammy-winning musician has released details about her first project at Amazon Studios, where she set a first-look television deal last August to create TV projects exclusively for the streaming service. The yet-to-be-titled unscripted series will follow Lizzo “as she continues to search for dynamic, full-figured women
Meghan Trainor is now all about the laughs. The singer has sealed a major overall deal with NBCUniversal Television and Streaming Entertainment that includes a comedy series in development. Trainor will star in and help develop the sitcom for NBC, but there is no concept or writers attached just yet. The comedy is the first
Television and live events veteran Glenn Weiss will return to direct the 93rd Academy Awards. “Our plan is that this year’s Oscars will look like a movie, not a television show, and Glenn has embraced this approach and come up with ideas of his own on how to achieve this. We’re thrilled to have him
In today’s Global Bulletin, the BBC launches its “Songs to Live By” podcast with Warner Music Group; Netflix orders “Santo” from Spain’s Nostromo Pictures; Mubi makes two executive hires; and “Jersey Boys” heads to London’s West End. PODCAST The BBC has launched “Songs to Live By,” a new podcast series hosted by Vick Hope celebrating
Sharon Stone was pressured to have sex with her male co-stars in order to have better chemistry with them on-screen, she says — and these demands came from white male studio executives, she writes in her upcoming book. Stone, who has had a prolific Hollywood career for four decades, also says she was tricked into
Tiana Major9’s 2019 collaboration with Earthgang, “Collide,” entered 2021 with two major milestones under its belt: it was the love theme for the 2019 Daniel Kaluuya drama “Queen & Slim,” and one of five 2020 Grammy nominees for Best R&B Song (which Robert Glasper ended up taking home last weekend). Not too shabby for the
“The L Word: Generation Q” at Showtime has added Vanessa Williams in a recurring role for Season 2, Variety has learned exclusively. The new iteration of the series follows the intermingled lives of Bette Porter (Jennifer Beals), Shane McCutcheon (Katherine Moennig) and Alice Pieszecki (Leisha Hailey) from the original “The L Word” drama series that aired
Michael Chiklis will play Red Auerbach in HBO’s upcoming scripted series about the Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s. The untitled series was ordered at HBO in December 2019. It is described as chronicling the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, one of sports’ most revered and dominant dynasties, in what
FX has ordered a half-hour pilot from Christopher Storer, Variety has learned. “The Bear,” as the show is called, is about a young chef who returns to Chicago to run the family restaurant. Storer will write, direct, and executive produce the pilot. Hiro Murai and Nate Matteson will executive produce under their Super Frog banner. Joanna
It could be said that Suzan-Lori Parks was destined to tell the story of Aretha Franklin. Not just because the “Genius: Aretha” showrunner is a celebrated playwright who won the MacArthur “Genius” prize, but because the legendary “Queen of Soul” once reached out to Parks asking her to write a stage musical about her life.
Some pundits worry that the Oscar ceremony won’t feel like the real thing, because the late date (April 25) is disorienting and because the show will be divided between two venues, L.A.’s Union Station and the traditional Dolby Theatre. In truth, a fluid date and multiple locations go back to Oscar’s earliest days. The first
As productions gear up again with more cameras starting to roll, it’s likely that sets won’t look the same as before the pandemic. COVID protocols have emphasized working with smaller crews and experimenting with virtual and remote filming. Location manager J.J. Levine (“The D Cut”) has also seen changes in the way sites are procured.
Daniel Radcliffe is the latest to join the cast of Paramount’s “The Lost City of D,” taking on a villainous role in the romantic adventure. Radcliffe joins Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum in the film, which follows a reclusive romance novelist (Bullock), who was was sure nothing could be worse than getting stuck on a
It’s tricky deciding what kind of cheese “Deadly Illusions,” a diverting thriller starring Kristin Davis and Dermot Mulroney streaming on Netflix, is exactly. Soft and overripe, from the look of it. Which poses the question, when is its cheesiness intentional and when is it clumsy? From the movie’s nudging title sequence — with steady fretful
Roku has recruited another former employee from Quibi, the now-defunct mobile streaming subscription startup that closed its doors in 2020 just six months after launching. Lisa Flores, previously marketing lead at Quibi, is now overseeing social media for The Roku Channel, the company’s streaming service that aggregates free, ad-supported and subscription content. She came on
The SXSW Film Festival has announced the full list of 2021 Grand Jury prize winners. The award ceremony honors the superlative creativity and talent demonstrated by filmmakers and designers in the SXSW Film Festival program. The festival virtually screened 75 features, 84 shorts and music videos, 11 episodic selections, 20 virtual cinema projects, 14 title
The 44th Japan Academy Film Prize ceremony was held on Friday at the Grand Prince Hotel New Takawana in Tokyo, despite a state of emergency still in force on the nation’s capital. One big winner was Uchida Eiji’s gay-themed drama “Midnight Swan” with took the best picture prize, while star Kusanagi Tsuyoshi was awarded best
When Warner Bros. greenlit Zack Snyder’s return to the troubled “Justice League,” vastly expanding and reediting the film into a new edition that debuts March 18 on HBO Max, one of Snyder’s first calls was to composer Tom Holkenborg. The Dutch-born, L.A.-based composer (known in the pop world as Junkie XL) had written some 40
On Saturday (March 20), Duran Duran cofounder and keyboardist Nick Rhodes will release the first music from a collaborative project with British artist and singer/violinist Wendy Bevan. While in lockdown over the past year, Rhodes (in London) and Bevan (in Los Angeles) collaborated on a monumental series of 52 cinematic instrumentals inspired by the Universe. The recordings
A series of prominent TV-series endings will give AMC Networks an opportunity to seek new beginnings with advertisers. The New York owner of the AMC, IFC and Sundance cable networks will be selling ad inventory in the final cycles of “The Walking Dead,” “Better Call Saul” and “Killing Eve,” all part of the media industry’s
SPOILER WARNING: Do not read if you haven’t yet watched Season 1, Episode 1 of Disney Plus’ “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” After nine weeks of “WandaVision” — the boldest departure ever for the Marvel Cinematic Universe — the opening of Marvel Studios’ second television adventure, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” felt like stepping