The annual Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony, now in its 50th year, is like a cross between the Grammy Awards and an annual family reunion for the tight-knit songwriting and music-publishing community. Every year, superstars receiving honors tell the room that the accolade means more to them than any other award they’ve received, because it’s
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After a year on Facebook Watch, CNN’s “Anderson Cooper Full Circle” daily news program will leave the social platform next month — and instead will run on the cable news network’s own digital properties starting in September. At the same time, CNN has set a new show for Facebook Watch slated to debut this summer:
Cuba Gooding Jr. I Did Not Grope Anyone in That Bar … Will Surrender to NYPD 6/12/2019 7:18 AM PDT EXCLUSIVE Cuba Gooding Jr. will turn himself into NYPD on Thursday and will be arrested for allegedly groping a woman — but on camera he insists he did nothing wrong, and there’s hard evidence to
Row8, a fledgling digital movie service, is looking to take on transactional VOD players like Apple and Amazon with a focus on movies — and a few pricing twists. The L.A.-based startup has inked licensing deals with four major studios — Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. — for rights to
More than 3,500 students in the Los Angeles Unified School District participated in the second year of Warner Bros.’ storytelling educational initiatives WB Story Lab and WB First Cut during the 2018-19 school year. The studio plans to continue both programs for a third year in partnership with nonprofit orgs Young Storytellers and Ghetto Film
In the wake of a blockbuster New York Times article published yesterday revealing that countless thousands of master tapes from artists ranging from Louis Armstrong to Tupac were destroyed in a massive 2008 fire at Universal Studios in Hollywood, several artists have stated that they were unaware of the damage to their masters. While safety
ANNECY — In an expansive mode after the huge critical, commercial and Academy Award validation for “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” Sony Pictures Animation announced at Annecy on Wednesday that China’s Tencent has boarded Jackie Chan’s “Wish Dragon,” plus a reimagining of “The Boondocks,” horror series “Hungry Ghosts,” comedy series “Superbago” and two new Genndy Tartakovsky
Pocket.watch, the studio and digital network behind Nickelodeon hit show “Ryan’s Mystery Playdate,” has tapped media veteran Kerry Tucker as its first chief marketing officer. Tucker was previously CEO of Hello Sunshine, Reese Witherspoon’s media company set up as a joint venture with WarnerMedia’s Otter Media. Prior to that, she was chief operating officer of
It’s been almost 22 years since the original “Men in Black” movie hit, which is roughly the amount of time a young woman named Molly has spent wanting to be part of the super-secret alien-wrangling agency which Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones have so ably represented until now. Molly was just a child when
Marc Du Pontavice, whose Paris-based company, Xilam, won Cannes Critics’ Week top prize with the animated feature “I Lost My Body,” is set to expand the scope of his listed outfit with new projects directed at adults and teens. Among these projects is a series adaptation of “Monkey Bizness,” the popular French comics created by
Marc Du Pontavice, whose Paris-based company Xilam won Cannes Critics’ Week top prize with the animated feature “I lost My Body,” is set to expand the scope of his thriving listed outfit with new projects skewing adults and teens. Among these projects is a series adaptation of “Monkey Bizness,” the popular French comics created by
June 12, 2019 4:01AM PT The BBC’s contentious plan to extend the catchup window on its iPlayer service to a year or more has been given a provisional green light by British media regulator Ofcom. The pubcaster, worried about the rise of global streamers Netflix and Amazon, has set out plans to extend the period
Facebook says its video strategy — to encourage its 2 billion-plus users to watch, share and discuss episodic content — is working. The company claims it’s seeing big momentum for Facebook Watch, with original shows like Jada Pinkett Smith’s “Red Table Talk” and “Sorry for Your Loss” starring Elizabeth Olsen. But it’s not doling out
Amazon has moved further into live sports in Britain with the acquisition of rights to show women’s tennis. The e-commerce giant’s Prime Video unit already has rights to stream the major men’s tournaments and the U.S. and Australian Opens in the U.K. and Ireland. In a four-year deal with the Women’s Tennis Assn. starting in
Popular Swedish actor Peter Stormare (“The Blacklist,” “Swedish Dicks”) is set to direct, produce and star in “American Runestone,” a documentary series shedding light on the role played by Viking explorers in Europe’s discovery of North America. The series’ first two seasons have been commissioned by the Viaplay streaming service run by Scandinavia’s NENT Group.
Popular Swedish actor Peter Stormare (“The Blacklist,” “Swedish Dicks”) is set to direct, produce and star in “American Runestone,” a documentary series shedding light on the little-known role played by Viking explorers in the discovery of North America. The series’s first two seasons have been commissioned by NENT Group’s Viaplay streaming service. The starting point
Italian animation auteur Alessandro Rak, best known for Neapolitan mob fable “Cinderella The Cat” which launched from Venice in 2017 and competed at Annecy in 2018, is in production on “The Walking Liberty,” a tale partly inspired by the optimistic spirit reflected in the eponymous silver half dollar issued by the Unites States Mint from
June 12, 2019 2:49AM PT BAFTA continues to take its scheduling cue from the Oscars, announcing 2021 and 2022 award dates Wednesday that keep the British ceremony a step ahead of its American counterpart. The British Academy said its 2021 awards would be handed out Feb. 14 and the 2022 awards on Feb. 13. In
Milan-based Dami Just For Kids Factory (“Dummysaurs”) is starting pre-production on “Momon Magic,” a TV series pairing a teenage girl who loves to draw and a small blue dog with supernatural powers that will be based on a book series to be published by Italy’s Giunti Editore in 2020. The 26-episode series – with each
ANNECY– Paris-based sales agent Doc & Film International has picked up international rights to Aurélien Froment’s feature debut “Josep,” which was presented during a packed WIP session at the Annecy Festival on Tuesday. The feature is an emotional and beautifully crafted portrait of Josep Bartolí, the Catalan illustrator, soldier, Hollywood stage designer, and painter who
Discovery has added a raft of U.K. lifestyle channels to its lineup, and BBC Studios a cluster of entertainment offerings, after the pair completed their UKTV deal. The UKTV channels group was originally a joint venture between Scripps and BBC Studios, the British pubcaster’s commercial arm. The deal to untangle ownership of the networks in
Bolstered by their country’s recently introduced 30% cash rebate and critical acclaim for animated features “Loving Vincent” and “Another Day of Life,” Polish animators have high hopes for their growing industry as they arrive at the Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival this week. With more than 30 animation studios active across the country, and a
June 11, 2019 11:32PM PT Collegiate types mess with a mind-bending malevolent spirit in Elle Callahan’s clever supernatural thriller. While most horror movies settle for the usual slasher thrills, recent indie breakouts like “It Follows” and “Hereditary” have reminded that there are few things more pleasurably creepy than outré psychological horror in a credibly ordinary
ANNECY, France — Announced at this year’s Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival, the Paris-based Gobelins School of Images and Netflix have partnered on a pair of initiatives intended to foster greater equality in animation opportunities available to students. 2019 Gobelins graduate Claire Matz has been selected as the recipient of the first Netflix Animation Fellowship,
ANNECY — At Annecy to talk audiences through “Zog,” the latest in a line of hugely popular of painstakingly crafted half-hour films for the BBC and ZDF whose lineage stretches back through “Revolting Rhymes” to the “The Gruffalo,” London-based Magic Light Pictures has confirmed a swathe of sales on its upcoming half-hour, “The Snail and
June 11, 2019 11:00PM PT Previous Annecy Cristal-winner Masaaki Yuasa is set to direct an animated musical fantasy film based on the life of a 14th century Japanese playwright and theater performer. His “Inu-Oh” is being introduced at Annecy’s MIFA market this week and is intended to be completed in 2021. The film is adapted
June 11, 2019 9:51PM PT In this week’s edition of the Variety Movie Commercial Tracker, powered by TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv, Universal Pictures claims the top spot in spending for the fourth week in a row with “The Secret Life of Pets 2.” Ads placed for the animated film had an estimated
Political comedy isn’t easy in the Trump era. For “Late Night With Seth Meyers” writers, the process to come up with nightly jokes is already intense — or as Ally Hord describes it, “a masterclass in failure” — but the unpredictability of the Trump administration has exacerbated it tenfold. “Since Trump became president, he breaks
Home to the super-rich, the Monte Carlo quarter of Monaco has a long tradition as a filming location for projects that want to convey the glamorous lifestyles of the wealthy elite. Just 1.24 miles across (about half the size of New York’s Central Park), Monte Carlo has nevertheless squeezed in an array of high-end productions,
Hollywood royalty will be mingling with European royalty at this month’s Monte Carlo Television Festival. The Hollywood contingent travelling to Monte Carlo — known for its glamorous location, red carpets and press junkets — includes Michael Douglas, who will receive the event’s top award, the Crystal Nymph, from Prince Albert II of Monaco. Kennedy family