Democrats aren’t the only ones glad Joe Biden is in the Oval Office. Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of the company that owns Fox News Channel, is as well. Murdoch predicted Thursday that Fox News, the economic engine of his company, Fox Corporation, would lead cable news in the ratings once again after ceding ground in recent
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The Television Academy has signed a deal with diversity consulting firm ReadySet to evaluate the organization’s inclusion and representation practices. The announcement comes as another awards-giving body, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. (which oversees the Golden Globes), has come under fire for its lack of any Black members. In the case of the TV Academy,
The New York press conference announcing Tidal and its 16 artist stakeholders in March 2015 proved to be a prescient sign of the streaming service’s trajectory. Jay Z, Beyonce, Kanye West (pictured above), Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Jason Aldean, Madonna, Jack White, Arcade Fire’s Win Butler & Régine Chassagne, Usher, Nicki Minaj, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Calvin
Dakota and Elle Fanning have formed their own production company, Lewellen Pictures. In addition, the sisters have signed a first look TV deal with Civic Center Media in affiliation with MRC Television. The deal furthers Elle’s relationship with Civic Center and MRC, as she currently stars in and executive produces the Hulu series “The Great,” which
Univision has appointed Beatriz Pedrosa-Guanche as senior VP of corporate communications. The executive brings with her over 20 years of experience in marketing and communications, having served in several leadership roles at Apple, Burson-Marsteller, Brazil Telecom of America and Verso Technologies. “I am incredibly honored to join the Univision team and help lead the Company’s
Distribution and sales company Utopia Media has acquired worldwide rights for feature documentary “Moments Like This Never Last,” about artist Dash Snow. Born Dashiell Alexander Whitney Snow, Dash Snow rejected a life of privilege to make his own way as an artist on the streets of downtown New York City in the late 1990s. Developing
Before Wakanda, there was Zamunda, the fictional African kingdom Eddie Murphy’s Prince Akeem stood to inherit in “Coming to America.” As depicted in the hit 1988 comedy, Zamunda was a country untouched by colonialism, where Black culture was celebrated as never before on-screen. In particular, its multifaceted showcase of African fashion, music and dance are
Hulu is heading to high school. The streamer has greenlit production on “Sex Appeal,” a teen comedy about the not-so-exact science of love. Directed by Talia Osteen in her feature directorial debut, “Sex Appeal” will star Mika Abdalla (Netflix’s “Project Mc2”) and Jake Short (Hulu’s “All Night”). Tate Hanyok, whose credits include “Transparent” and “Superstore,”
Sarah Niles has been cast in “Ted Lasso” Season 2 at Apple. Niles will play Sharon, a sports psychologist who has been brought in to work with AFC Richmond. The second season of the popular series is currently in production, with Apple having ordered a third season already. Niles recently wrapped on the limited series
Spain’s Turanga Films and Sintagma Films are set to co-produce “Sleepless City,” the first fiction feature from award-winning documentary filmmaker Guillermo García López. A coming-of-age social drama, the project is being presented at the Berlinale Talents Project Market this year. “Sleepless City” follows 13-year-old Ramón, a Romani boy living in a shantytown at La Cañada
As an actor, Liam Neeson is in rare company these days. He’s one of the few stars with movies that have actually opened in theaters in the past 12 months. “We have streaming services, and they’re wonderful. But at the end of the day, we’re social beings. We like being with other people,” he says.
Three years after the first movie theater reopened in Saudi Arabia – following removal of a religion-related ban – the kingdom has become the top theatrical market in the Middle East and is turning into a major driver for Arabic film production. “At the moment Saudi is on a different path from the rest of
A daring character-driven crime drama about motherhood, “Snow Angels” is one of the highlights of this year’s Berlinale Series selection. Set in wintertime Stockholm, the gripping story follows three women — a mother, a policewoman and a child nurse — whose fates become intertwined following the disappearance of a 5-week-old infant. The series is headlined
Sacha Baron Cohen is having a good week; the star of both “The Trial of the Chicago 7” and “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” went into the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday night with acting noms for both films and a nod for “Borat” for best picture – musical or comedy. He walked away with two trophies
The newly released Netflix original, “Firefly Lane,” starring Katherine Heigle and Sarah Chalke, was the only program to break the one billion minutes viewing threshold the week of Feb. 1 in all three weekly Top 10 lists, winning at just over 1.3 billion minutes. The show, which chronicles the life of two women throughout thirty
The late Ann Reinking is being honored with a scholarship in her name. The $5,000 grant from Off the Lane will be awarded annually to a young dancer moving to New York City to help them in their artistic endeavors. Reinking herself moved from Seattle to New York City to pursue dancing. Reinking died in
Cameron Crowe, the writer and director of “Jerry Maguire” and “Almost Famous,” has signed with UTA. The Oscar winner was previously at CAA. UTA will work with Crowe’s longtime manager, Irving Azoff, to represent Crowe in all areas, including film, television and other media. Crowe won an Academy Award for writing the script for “Almost
With the 27th annual SAG Awards exactly one month away (April 4), Variety editors Michael Schneider and Danielle Turchiano returned to Awards Circuit, presented by HBO, to take a deep dive into the drama series ensemble category. The category sees a couple of new contenders this year, from Shondaland’s first scripted series for Netflix, “Bridgerton,”
Universal Pictures is pumping the brakes on the latest “Fast and Furious” entry. “F9,” which was slated to debut over Memorial Day weekend, has pushed back its release date once again. But fear not, adrenaline junkies: the high-octane sequel hasn’t spun too far out; it’s still expected to open this summer on June 25. Universal
Evan Winiker has joined Range Media Partners as a managing partner in the music department. He arrives from Full Stop Management, and brings with him clients MAX, Daya, Disco Biscuits, Skyler Stonestreet and Walk Off The Earth. Joining Winiker at Range are managers Zack Phillips and Valentine Banor. Range has been swiftly growing its music
Ashe co-wrote her new single, “Till Forever Falls Apart,” with producer Big Taste the day before Los Angeles and most of the U.S. went into a COVID-induced lockdown in March 2020. The timing was (and, sadly, still is) perfect, given the song’s subject matter. Set against an apocalyptic backdrop, “Till Forever Falls Apart” is a somber
Spike Lee calls his 30-year collaboration with composer Terence Blanchard “a match made in heaven.” The two have worked together on 17 films and three television projects including their most recent collaboration, “Da 5 Bloods.” Written and directed by Lee, it stars Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Norm Lewis, Isiah Witlock Jr., Clarke Peters and Chadwick
Oscars are a time capsule. Though pundits may quibble about nominees or winners, one thing is beyond question: The film choices reflect the year in which they were released. For example, in 1946, “The Best Years of Our Lives” hit a nerve as people were trying to rebuild their lives after WWII. The 1969 “Midnight
Oscar ballots will be in the hands of AMPAS voters on March 5, and they’ll have until March 10 to turn them in. All the predicting, theorizing and prognosticating have led to this crucial six-day period when the nearly 10,000 Academy members make their choices among the year’s achievements. As we head into this critical
The Podcast Academy, an industry association looking to establish the premiere awards program for the fast-growing world of podcasts, announced nominees for the first Ambies awards. The group announced a total of 164 Ambies nominees spanning 23 categories (see full list below), selected by voting members of the Podcast Academy. The Ambies winners will be
Donna Speciale’s recent return to the business of selling TV advertising might be the most obvious hint that Madison Avenue is eager to get back to normal after a year of coronavirus chaos. Too bad that won’t be possible. Speciale is a veteran ad executive with hard-won experience on both sides of the bargaining table.
Saycon Sengbloh is the first cast member confirmed for the “Wonder Years” reboot pilot at ABC. The project will show how a black middle-class family in Montgomery, Alabama in the turbulent late 1960s, made sure it was The Wonder Years for them too. Sengbloh will star as family matriarch Lillian Williams. Sharp as a tack, Lillian
Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” intercuts between a courtroom trial and protests surrounding the Democratic National Convention of 1968. Little did Sorkin know how uncannily the events of the film would mirror contemporary America. His main goal was to get the film out before the 2020 election. Alan Baumgarten reunited with him
In “Judas and the Black Messiah,” LaKeith Stanfield plays William O’Neal, the FBI informant recruited to infiltrate the Illinois Black Panther Party. Costume designer Charlese Antoinette Jones breaks down how she wanted to present O’Neal in the film’s opening scenes, and what shows influenced one of his early looks when we first meet his character.
While “Nomadland’s” Joshua James Richards and “Mank’s” Erik Messerschmidt lead the field for the cinematography Oscar race, this is a deep competition, and although there are some women contending, they are once again a minority. As for the forefront of the race, Richards won the Golden Frog from the prestigious Camerimage festival, the National Board