Gearing up for its final-phase filming on locations in northern Spain and North America, Movistar Plus-AMC’s high-end original “La Fortuna,” starring Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci (“The Lovely Bones,” “Hunger Games”) and Clarke Peters (“The Wire”), has shared a behind-the-scenes featurette with Variety. The on-set first-look comes as Germany’s Beta Film has acquired international rights to “La
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Sky has unveiled the first look at Kenneth Branagh playing U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the forthcoming drama “This Sceptred Isle.” The British “Tenet” star, whose casting was first announced in January, is virtually unrecognizable as the 56-year-old Johnson. Produced by Fremantle, Richard Brown’s Passenger and Winterbottom’s Revolution Films, the Michael Winterbottom-directed show is
Australia’s parliament on Thursday passed the last elements of the controversial new law that will require major tech firms to pay local publishers for news. Amendments earlier this week brought to an end a standoff between the Australian government and Facebook, which last week took the dramatic move of disabling Australian users’ ability to share
Exclusive There are a lot of questions surrounding why cops didn’t take a sample of Tiger Woods‘ blood after his rollover crash … but the fact of the matter is, there was simply no reason for them to do so because there was no evidence Tiger was impaired at the time of the crash. Law
The first images have been released for “Blazing Samurai,” an animated comedy based on Mel Brooks’ classic film “Blazing Saddles,” and featuring the voices of Michael Cera, Samuel L. Jackson and Ricky Gervais. It is produced and creatively led by Rob Minkoff, the director of Disney’s “The Lion King.” The project is in production at
Chinese video entertainment platform Bilibili saw its losses deepen in 2020, but they reflected further investment in growth, as Middle Kingdom consumers become increasingly digitally focused. Average monthly active users (MAUs) reached 202 million representing an increase of 55%, compared with 2019. Those paying for use reached 17.9 million, a 103% increase. Bilibili’s total net
After a delay due to coronavirus, Saudi Arabia’s nascent Red Sea International Film Festival is now on track to hold its first edition in November with a partly renewed team in place. The ambitious event, which is Saudi’s first full-fledged film festival and market with international ambitions, is set to run Nov. 11-20 in the
“Sister, Sister,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,’ “Living Single,” “Good Times”: Black comedians have been on television screens for decades, making audiences laugh while simultaneously promoting educational explorations into Black life and culture. But, striking a balance between being insightful and hilarious is a responsibility that weighs on Black creatives. “That’s one thing about being
Ahead of its Hulu release on Feb. 26, the virtual premiere of “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” espoused the film’s mission to authenticate Holiday’s real-life story. “As part of Black History Month, it is important to correct Black history,” ABC News anchor Linsey Davis said during the film’s introduction. “This is a story we
Taylor Swift’s lawyers have said “It’s on,” effectively, to a Utah theme attraction, Evermore Park, that sued Swift earlier in February, alleging that her “Evermore” album infringed on its trademarks. Possibly not entirely coincidentally, Swift’s company TAS Rights Management has now sued Evermore Park in return, contending that the attraction has long had its costumed
More than 35,300 suspected links to pirated versions of Chinese New Year’s films and major holiday TV programs are available online, despite government directives to crack down on piracy, new data from China shows. Rampant piracy did not stop the seven new year’s blockbusters released on Feb. 12 from sending China’s February box office soaring
The Jordan Peele reboot of “The Twilight Zone” will not be returning following its two-season run. “Jordan Peele, Simon Kinberg and the entire production team truly reimagined ‘The Twilight Zone’ for the modern age,” said Julie McNamara, Paramount Plus programming chief. “They upheld the classic series’ legacy of socially conscious storytelling and pushed today’s viewers
ViacomCBS is going big in the streaming wars with a broadcast TV-inspired big tent strategy that will be anchored by legacy cable channel and programming brands. On paper, the blueprint unveiled today during the company’s investor presentation for the March 4 Paramount Plus debut doesn’t sound like a path for success in today’s hyperactive media
Back in the heyday of Hong Kong movies, the city’s film stars and those groomed by the Hong Kong industry were among the biggest stars in Asia. Now, facing the twin pressures of coronavirus’ impact on productions and performances and, for some, a cold shoulder from mainland Chinese audiences, many Hong Kong stars are becoming
“The Trial of the Chicago 7” star Eddie Redmayne said the film was an “urgent story to tell.” Redmayne, star Sacha Baron Cohen, writer and director Aaron Sorkin, producer Marc Platt and editor Alan Baumgarten joined Senior Artisans Editor Jazz Tangay in the Variety Streaming Room to discuss the film’s timeliness and creation process. The
Top Thai director Banjong Pisanthanakun and Korean director-turned-producer Na Hong-jin (“The Chaser”) have teamed to create new Thai horror film “The Medium.” Now in post-production, “The Medium” is a horrifying story of a shaman’s inheritance in the Isan region of Thailand. But the goddess that appears to have taken possession of a family member turns
The Walt Disney Co. streaming service Disney Plus on Wednesday expressed support for civil rights organizations advocating for Asian Americans amid a wave of violence against people in the AAPI community. In a statement posted on Twitter, Disney shouted out the organizations Asian Americans Advancing Justice and Stop AAPI Hate. “The celebration of the Lunar
Millennium Media is no longer involved in the selling or production of Brett Ratner’s Milli Vanilli film, Variety has confirmed. However, the project has other bidders and investors who are fully financing production, according to RatPac. Millennium and Ratner’s RatPac Entertainment released a joint statement on Wednesday regarding the decision. “On the heels of the announcement
After months of buildup, ViacomCBS next week is set to flip the switch for Paramount Plus — its bulked-up streaming platform engineered to throw bigger elbows in an increasingly crowded market. For now, the pricing won’t change. But this summer, the media conglomerate will lower the entry-level price for Paramount Plus, the new name of
Dalibor Barić’s audacious “Accidental Luxuriance of the Translucent Watery Rebus” is a welcome reminder that “animated” carries more than one meaning. While it’s true that the Croatian filmmaker’s experimental lulu employs such methods as rotoscoping and collage, it’s also vibrant and alive in a way that few films falling under the wide umbrella of animation
Prepare yourselves for the return of Tommy Pickles, Chuckie Finster, Angelica Pickles, Susie Carmichael and Phil and Lil DeVille. An all-new “Rugrats” CG-animated series is slated to premiere on streaming service Paramount Plus (née CBS All Access) in 2021, announced Nickelodeon at ViacomCBS’ investor day. Set to reprise their roles are stars E.G. Daily (Tommy),
You wouldn’t be able to guess it while watching the visually complex and highly detailed “WandaVision,” but the Marvel Studios series on Disney Plus was cinematographer Jess Hall’s first time working on a television series. The cinematographer credits his experience with shooting Cannes Gold Lion and Silver D&AD award-winning commercials and his long-form work on
“Avatar: The Last Airbender” fans had their dreams of more content based on the beloved animated series and its sister spinoff squashed last year when the series’ creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko stepped away from a planned live-action adaptation project at Netflix last August. But today, Nickelodeon announced that the world of “Avatar” and
“Ray Donovan” is getting a feature length film continuation at Showtime. Following the show’s surprising cancellation after seven seasons last year, star Liev Schreiber will return in the title role, with series stars Jon Voight and Kerris Dorsey also returning. Schreiber is co-writing the script with series showrunner David Hollander, with Hollander also directing. Hollander
In today’s TV news roundup, The CW announced premiere dates for new and returning series, including “Kung Fu” and “The Republic of Sarah,” and the 2021 Writers Guild Awards will be hosted by Kal Penn. RENEWALS CNN has picked up a second season of “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy,” an original series featuring the actor’s
A sequel to “Paranormal Activity” and a prequel to “Pet Sematary” will debut on Paramount Plus. In addition, “The In Between,” a supernatural thriller from “Chumscruber” and “The Face of Love” director Arie Posin, will also premiere on the new streaming service. The films were developed by Paramount Players, the studio’s genre label. Paramount is
“Mission: Impossible 7,” “A Quiet Place Part II” and more upcoming Paramount Pictures releases will be available to view at home sooner than expected. Those films will debut exclusively in theaters as planned. However, the studio has newly shortened the amount of time they will play only on the big screen. After 45 days, new
The producers of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” have been booked and busy producing a new unscripted international drag queen singing competition (that’ll reportedly blow your wig off) for ViacomCBS’ all-new SVOD rebrand Paramount Plus. “Queen of the Universe,” produced by World of Wonder, the company behind “Drag Race,” promises to be a singing competition like no
Paramount Plus will boast a slew of revivals and spinoffs of established MTV Entertainment Group comedies as part of its original programming lineup. The new service will feature iterations of of “Inside Amy Schumer,” “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah,” “Workaholics,” “Reno: 911!” and “Beavis & Butt-head.” “Inside Amy Schumer” will return with five specials
In the wake of Bruce Springsteen’s relatively light sentence after being arrested for driving under the influence last November, Jeep has reinstated its high-profile Super Bowl ad starring the singer. After news of the arrest emerged earlier this month — just days after the ad first aired — Jeep removed the ad from YouTube and