Facebook, the world’s biggest social media company, filed motions Wednesday to dismiss antitrust lawsuits brought by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general — claiming that, contrary to the government allegations, its megadeals for Instagram and WhatsApp have benefited consumers and boosted competition. In coordinated suits filed last December, the FTC and more than
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“Loudermilk” will get its second wind at Amazon After temporarily losing its home on AT&T’s now-defunct Audience Network, Sony Pictures Television has announced that Season 1 and Season 2 of the Peter Farrelly and Bobby Mort co-created comedy will premiere on Amazon’s SVOD service Friday, March 12. Additionally, a premiere date for the Ron Livingston-starring
Emmy-winning television producer Lena Waithe (“Twenties,” “Boomerang,” “The Chi”) is taking a big step into the music sphere, partnering with Def Jam Recordings to start up a new label, Hillman Grad Records, with the goal of what Def Jam describes as “leveraging opportunities across music, TV and film… to capitalize on the cultural significance generated when
“Central Park” fans, get ready to belt your hearts out: the hit animated musical comedy has been renewed for a third season by Apple TV Plus ahead of the release of Season 2. Loren Bouchard, one of the cartoon sitcom’s trio of creators, writers and executive producers (Josh Gad, Nora Smith), announced on social media
With Los Angeles County and Orange County’s COVID-19 cases subsiding enough for each region to potentially leave the most-heightened tier of restrictions, and Disneyland hoping to reopen its gates by late April, thousands of Southern California’s theme park workers are poised to return to work after enduring a grueling yearlong shutdown of the region’s amusement
Courtesy of Louis Vuitton Scientific research claims that the act of planning a trip, one you don’t even intend on taking, boosts dopamine levels the same way actually traveling can. With flight restrictions in play and the population still largely unvaccinated, the very thought of venturing outside of your country—hell, out of your borough—can induce
FilmLA received 777 film permit applications, an increase of 43.1% compared to the prior month. A late-month surge in production established last month as the third busiest FilmLA has experienced since last June, although activity remains around 40% below normal for this time of year. Over the last 37 weeks, FilmLA has processed approximately 5,533
Kenneth Branagh has been tapped to direct the upcoming Bee Gees biopic for Paramount Pictures. The movie will center on the life and times of the genre-spanning band, following the humble beginnings of brothers Barry, Maurice and Robin Gibb into their journey to pop superstardom. Following their first No. 1 hit “How Can You Mend
Long-running Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer have parted company with their U.S. label, Interscope, as well as Modest Management, a rep for the label confirmed to Variety. Further details were not immediately available. The group recently postponed their “No Shame 2021” tenth anniversary tour of Australia, which was scheduled to begin on March 19
Check out the official Vanquish Trailer starring Morgan Freeman! Let us know what you think in the comments below. 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 23, 2021 Starring: Ruby Rose, Morgan Freeman, Patrick
The Grammy Awards considered some 800 people for the “In Memoriam” segment of the 2021 show, first-time executive producer Ben Winston tells Variety. While it was not unexpected that a large number of musicians and executives would be under consideration amid a global pandemic that has killed more than 2.5 million people worldwide, as Winston
Joe Trohman, the lead guitarist from Fall Out Boy and The Damned Things, will debut a new podcast called “I Hate Myself” on March 17. Focused on mental health, each episode will feature in-depth interviews with celebrities and creative talents speaking about leading a successful career while living with depression and anxiety. Television comedy writer
“CBS This Morning,” a perennial third-place finisher in the broadcast A.M. news wars, just notched a surprising first-place win. Thanks to momentum provided by Oprah Winfrey, “CBS This Morning” won more viewers on Monday than either of its main rivals, NBC’s “Today” or ABC’s “Good Morning America,” a rare victory for the CBS early-bird show
Epix president Michael Wright has been tapped to succeed Steve Stark at MGM as the studio’s head of scripted television. The news follows the departure of Stark, who is exiting the studio after a decade and transitioning to a producing deal, as Variety reported exclusively Tuesday. In this position, Wright will oversee MGM Scripted Television’s
Horror was the perfect genre for filmmaker Jayro Bustamante and his crew to tell the story of Guatemala’s history of genocide and violence against women in “La Llorona,” shortlisted for an Oscar in the international film category. Cinematographer Nicolás Wong Díaz and costume designer Sofía Lantán helped Bustamante use a Latino folkloric “wailing woman” tale
Check out the official Paper Spiders Exclusive Trailer starring Peyton List! Let us know what you think in the comments below. ► Sign up for a Fandango FanAlert for Paper Spiders: https://www.fandango.com/paper-spiders-224354/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
Joining Variety for its first-ever all-music edition of the “Strictly Business” podcast is Sony Music Group chairman Rob Stringer, who oversees the standalone labels Columbia, RCA, Epic, Arista Records and Sony Music Nashville as well as Sony Music Publishing and The Orchard and leads a staff of more than 5,000 employees around the world. Stringer
After a more than three-month search, Meredith announced that Mary Margaret is the new editor in chief of Entertainment Weekly, the 31-year-old consumer publication devoted to Hollywood and pop culture. Her appointment comes after the sudden exit last November of EW’s previous EIC, J.D. Heyman, amid reports that staffers had complained of a hostile workplace
Amy is coming back to Cloud 9 one last time. America Ferrera is returning to reprise her role for the series finale of NBC’s “Superstore,” which is ending its six-season run with an hour-long farewell on March 25. The star, who departed her leading role in the second episode of Season 6, had been with
Jake from State Farm spent nearly a decade answering phone calls from customers in the wee hours of the morning. And then he got a promotion. These days, Jake — his last name has yet to be made public — is a big star. Over the past year, he’s been spotted hobnobbing with Patrick Mahomes
“The Flight Attendant” star Michelle Gomez is staying in business with HBO Max with a role in “Doom Patrol” Season 3. Gomez will star as Madame Rouge, described as a complicated and electrifying eccentric who arrives at Doom Manor with a very specific mission, if only she could remember it. Gomez starred as the deadly
“Cherry,” “Mank,” “News of the World,” “Nomadland” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7” are among the films nominated by the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) in the feature film category. The ASC nominees for feature film, documentary and television cinematography represent the organization’s picks for the most compelling visual filmmaking over the past 14
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures has unveiled a robust series of programs in the run-up to its planned opening on Sept. 30, highlighting film artists including Spike Lee, Hayao Miyazaki and Satyajit Ray. The museum held a virtual tour for media Wednesday to discuss the programming and museum’s progress, hosted by Academy governor Laura
Disney continues to tighten the bolts among its portfolio of streaming services. Starting Wednesday (March 10), Hulu now offers access to ESPN Plus sports programming directly in the Hulu app. And this summer, Hulu subscribers — who are also ESPN Plus customers — will be able to purchase and watch ESPN Plus pay-per-view events, including
Radu Jude’s “Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn,” which won the Golden Bear for best film at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, has sold to major territories for Heretic Outreach, Variety has learned exclusively. The Romanian writer-director’s latest feature is an irreverent satire about a schoolteacher, Emi (Katia Pascariu), who finds her reputation under threat
Filmmaker Spike Lee has nearly 100 credits to his name. From documentaries to movies to short films (“don’t call them music videos”), Lee has covered it all. And through his films, he tackles issues of race, class, and history. Lee who started as an independent filmmaker burst onto the scene with 1986’s “She’s Gotta Have
Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety”… We’re just a couple days away from Liza Minnelli’s birthday, which is March 12. As I first told you, the Hollywood legend — and Variety cover star — will be feted that night with “Love Letter to Liza: A 75th Birthday Tribute Celebration,” a virtual extravaganza benefiting The
Check out the official Golden Arm Exclusive Trailer starring Mary Holland! Let us know what you think in the comments below. ► Sign up for a Fandango FanAlert for Golden Arm: https://www.fandango.com/golden-arm-224353/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
CAA has signed Jessica Blevins, the wife and manager of Twitch’s biggest streamer, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, for representation. Jessica Blevins streams on Twitch herself, and is also an activist, entrepreneur and digital personality. In addition to managing the Team Ninja brand, Blevins has personally accumulated more than 1.1 million followers on Instagram, 611,000 on Twitter
Disney is taking fire from conservatives complaining about so-called “cancel culture” for a change the company made to Disney Plus — five months ago. In October 2020, Disney Plus added a new content warning that appears as a slate prior to several older movies on the service that contain racist depictions, including “Dumbo,” “Peter Pan,”