George M. Lehr, associate producer on such classic TV series as “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” and “Police Woman,” and later a professor at USC’s School of Cinema & Television, died March 14, in Erie, Pa., after a short illness. He was 87. Lehr worked on television shows at MGM, 20th Century-Fox and Columbia for more
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China’s HGC Entertainment Group is bringing five completed Chinese animated titles and one still in development to FilMart this year for international sales. Its slate is one shy of what it was at Berlin, after the backers of adventure film “Loli Pop in Fantasy,” previously represented by the firm, decided to part ways with the
After a successful career in Hollywood making action films including “Die Hard 2” and “Cliffhanger,” director Renny Harlin has called Beijing his home for the past few years. His third Chinese-language movie, “Bodies at Rest,” is set as the opener of the Hong Kong Intl. Film Festival on Monday. Harlin says he has learned plenty.
This year’s FilMart marks the international sales debut of Beijing-based distributor Times Vision, which brings to Hong Kong a slate led by crime thriller “Savage” and animated feature “Nezha.” The company will be presenting nine live action films, including one documentary, and seven animated titles. Times Vision is led by CEO Nathan Hao, who co-founded
Hangzhou-based Chinese production company Midnight Blur Films is poised to make a splash as it attends Filmart for the first time this year, with three titles selected for HAF and three others screening in the market, two of which will compete in the HKIFF. Under the name Parallax Films, it also is involved in international
CEO of HBO Asia since 2003, Jonathan Spink has seen the growth of pay-TV in Asia, the moves towards content localization and original production, and has faced up to the challenge of internet-based streaming services. He joins Variety on Monday in a keynote presentation at Hong Kong’s FilMart, and is expected to unveil an expanded
Disney’s “Captain Marvel” continues to dominate the international box office, generating $119 million from 54 foreign markets. The superhero tentpole opened in its final territory, Japan, this weekend, where it brought in $5.6 million. In North America, “Captain Marvel” generated $69 million in its second outing for a global weekend haul of $189 million. Overseas,
Mob Boss Frank Cali 1st Person of Interest Nabbed … Questioned in Killing 3/16/2019 10:58 AM PDT Police have apprehended a person of interest in the murder of Gambino crime boss, Frank Cali … TMZ has confirmed. Law enforcement sources tell us cops picked up a white 25-year-old man in New Jersey Saturday morning, who is
Character actor Richard Erdman, known to contemporary audiences as perpetual student Leonard on “,” who also had significant roles for more than seven decades in movies and TV shows such as “The Twilight Zone” and “Stalag 17,” has died. He was 93. His friend, film historian Alan K. Rode, reported his death on Twitter. On
It was a case of art imitating life at Saturday night’s Hollywood premiere of “The Perfectionists” — Freeform’s “Pretty Little Liars” spinoff about a scandal involving college students striving for excellence by any means necessary. The TV show’s debut was coincidently preceded by a real-life college scandal involving Hollywood celebrities who allegedly didn’t let a
On Tuesday, Jay Leno said on the “Today” show that he doesn’t miss being a late night host because “everyone has to know your politics.” At his Paleyfest deep dive into being a late night host on Saturday, which was moderated by Pete Holmes, Stephen Colbert said he agrees with Leno that today’s late night
Newcomers were no match for Disney’s “Captain Marvel” at the domestic box office The superhero blockbuster soared past the competition, bringing in $69 million in its second weekend of release. Starring Brie Larson, Marvel’s first comic-book tentpole to spotlight a female superhero has now surpassed $265 million in ticket sales domestically. Its second weekend decline
Zhang Yimou’s highly stylized period epic “Shadow” was the numerical winner at Sunday’s Asian Film Awards in Hong Kong. It bagged four technical awards. But the major prizes went to Japanese and Korean filmmakers. Kore-eda Hirokazu’s “Shoplifters,” a Japanese drama about a family surviving on shoplifting, was named best picture. The film had been the
In Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary,” the big-city Creed family moves to rural Maine, inadvertently buying a plot of land that includes an ancient Indian burial ground. If you inter a beloved feline correctly in the creepy pet cemetery behind their house, it’s liable to come back … different. Same goes for cadavers of the non-cat
March 16, 2019 4:12PM PT News on the “Breaking Bad” movie seems to be coming in fits and starts. At the Sun Valley Film Festival Friday, series star Aaron Paul didn’t confirm whether he was involved in the upcoming movie sequel, which will first air on Netflix and then AMC, as Variety reported in February,
“Judge Jeanine” isn’t holding court Saturday night. Fox News Channel replaced tonight’s broadcast of Jeanine Pirro’s weekly program with a repeat episode of its documentary series “Scandalous,” just days after the 21st Century Fox-owned cable-news network said it condemned remarks the outspoken host made about Minnesota Democrat Ihan Omar. The change in Fox News’s schedule
Mama June Hits The Casino with Boyfriend … Days After Crack Arrest 3/16/2019 2:07 PM PDT EXCLUSIVE Mama June was feeling lucky after her arrest for crack cocaine earlier this week … so she rode that wave by rolling into a casino and hitting the slots. The reality TV star was spotted at a slot
March 16, 2019 10:25AM PT Esports has made it into the world of “The Simpsons.” Sunday’s episode of America’s longest-running sitcom series, titled “E My Sports,” will see Bart Simpson begin to excel at video game competitions with Homer as his passionate coach. When Lisa attempts to bring her father back to earth, however, chaos
Audiences at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival in Austin, Texas, are famously enthusiastic, cheering for movies with the same kind of bring-down-the-house applause they show bands at the event’s overlapping music fest — so it can be helpful to know which movies they really loved when the 10-day showcase winds to an end
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched Season 2 of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” In the final moments of Season 2 of the Amazon smash hit “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Midge (Rachel Brosnahan) comes to her husband Joel (Michael Zegen), who left her in the very beginning of Season 1, for comfort.
Photographed by Miles Aldridge; Styled by Samuel François. The season’s sweetest styles are twice as delectable when paired with candy-coated lashes and hair. Bustier top, Rodarte. Earrings, Giorgio Armani, $2,695. Photographed by Miles Aldridge; Styled by Samuel François. Top, Kenzo, $445. Earring, ring, both, Bulgari. Beauty tip: To keep heightened hair up all night long,
The second frame of Disney-Marvel’s latest MCU installment, “Captain Marvel,” is set to top the box office with an estimated $70 million. The superhero film already pushed past the $200 million mark domestically after taking in $19 million on Friday for a total of about $215 million. It’s also generated $378 million overseas after jolting
Things go bump in the night — and, as an occasional change of pace, in the middle of the afternoon — with a frequency that will neither surprise nor disappoint genre fans throughout “The Curse of La Llorona,” an efficiently formulaic shocker inspired by the centuries-old Mexican legend of the titular bogeywoman. It’s set in
March 16, 2019 4:22AM PT “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson said Saturday that he and his fellow New Zealanders “stand united in our love and support for our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters” in the wake of the devastating terrorist attacks on two mosques in Christchurch that left at least 49 people dead.
March 16, 2019 12:30AM PT It’s the first Master of Global Entertainment Award to be given out by the music school at its Valencia, Spain campus. Berklee College of Music’s Valencia, Spain outpost honored Yvette Noel-Schure, the veteran public relations strategist, with the inaugural Master of Global Entertainment Award on March 14. Currently serving as
March 15, 2019 11:58PM PT A tea-cosy “Ghostbusters,” Irish writer-directors Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman’s first feature is a winningly off-kilter comedy. A first feature for the writing-directing duo of Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman, whose prior work has encompassed shorts, music videos, and commercials, “Extra Ordinary” is a kind of tea-cosy “Ghostbusters” that’s consistently
March 15, 2019 11:50PM PT Bratty Millennial and ornery boomer square off in a cartoonishly satirical horror-comedy that’s not nearly as clever as it thinks it is. Intergenerational conflict is only likely to get worse as Millennials grasp a problem-filled future for which they already blame baby boomers, while boomers hone their dislike of what
The rock ‘n’ roll excesses of the ’60s and ’70s are etched into legend. We’re now living through a moment when it seems as if we might one day, you know, be pulling Led Zeppelin tracks from streaming sites because of the scandalous nature of the group’s offstage bacchanals. Yet I somehow doubt it. The
March 15, 2019 8:44PM PT Warner Brothers’ “Shazam!” will hit Chinese theaters on April 5, the same day it premieres in North America. The studio’s last superhero flick to wow mainland audiences was the James Wan-directed “Aquaman,” which made a super-sized $298 million in the country, making it the studio’s top-grossing title in the Middle
The worlds of entertainment, business, sports and academia were rocked by the recent revelation that wealthy parents such as Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin allegedly paid college admissions consultant Rick Singer large sums to get their children into elite colleges. New developments in the scandal, dubbed Operation Varsity Blues by the FBI, continue to pop