March 12, 2019 9:00AM PT “Orphan Black” fans could soon have reason to celebrate. Variety has learned from sources that a new series set in the “Orphan Black” universe is currently in the early development stages at AMC. Temple Street Productions, which produced the original series, is onboard to produce the new series as well.
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March 12, 2019 8:48AM PT In another blow to MoviePass, the subscription service’s parent company has been forced to revise its financial disclosures and to acknowledge that its losses were more significant than it initially reported. Helios & Matheson, the service’s owner, said it had net losses of $146.7 million over the quarter ending in
When newly appointed WarnerMedia Entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt took a swipe at his biggest competitor in the streaming space last week, telling NBC News that Netflix lacked a brand and was akin to Encyclopedia Brittanica, he might have done well to recall what happened to one of his corporate predecessors back in 2010. That was when
“Fuller House” actress Lori Loughlin and “Desperate Housewives” veteran Felicity Huffman are among a group of 46 people who have been charged in a widespread college admissions bribery scandal. Prosecutors filed charges against 33 parents, some of whom are accused of paying between $200,000 and $6.5 million to get their children into elite universities. Also among
Long-serving PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger is headed to the Banff World Media Festival to give a keynote address on the role of a modern pubcaster. The PBS chief will speak as part of Banff’s Summit Series of headliners at the fortieth edition of the festival. She joins the previously announced Jeffrey Katzenberg in
As streaming has altered the shape of the music industry, many companies have puzzled over what a modern record label should look like — and Atlantic Records in the U.K. today announced that it has altered its label structure to “respond to the evolved ways audiences receive and interact with entertainment” with some promotions and
Five years ago, then-Turner CEO John Martin unveiled a global initiative he called “Turner 2020,” a vision for the company as it entered the next decade. Of course, he couldn’t have anticipated what actually transpired before that date ever arrived: The wholesale acquisition of Turner parent Time Warner, which led to Martin’s departure — and
Joe Ianniello, CBS president and acting CEO, has a new name for the process known for decades in the pay-TV arena as “churn.” Ianniello, speaking Tuesday morning at the Deutsche Bank Media and Telecom conference in Palm Beach, Fla., said the company’s internal shorthand for the loss of a CBS All Access subscriber is to consider
“Leaving Neverland” has broken streaming records for the U.K.’s Channel 4, CEO Alex Mahon said Tuesday. During her keynote address at INTV in Jerusalem, Mahon said that Dan Reed’s controversial Michael Jackson documentary has also been the most downloaded Channel 4 show ever and took a 45% share of young audiences on linear TV. Mahon
Skip Paul served as a senior executive at MCA under Sid Sheinberg and Lew Wasserman from 1985 to 1995. Paul is currently a senior adviser at Centerview Partners. He pays tribute to Sheinberg, his mentor and dear friend, who died March 7 at age 84. I first met Sid Sheinberg when I was sitting across
China’s film production sector might be facing a financial and governmental squeeze at the moment, but not multi-talented Chinese star Xu Zheng. Xu is guaranteed a payday of some $17.5 million (RMB117 million) on his current project, “Lost in Russia,” which amounts to more than half the film’s gross production budget. “Lost in Russia,” which
A throng of Hollywood elite in a tent on the freezing beach gave a standing ovation when “If Beale Street Could Talk” won the best feature prize at the Independent Spirit Awards in February. Barry Jenkins also took directing honors for the film, an adaptation of James Baldwin’s classic novel that was produced by Annapurna and
After receiving a call at work that her son has suffered a severe playground accident, a cash-strapped single mother in Sante Fe, Argentina, criss-crosses an unsympathetic city in search of the hospital where he’s been taken, all the while trying to keep her own surging asthma attack under control. A trim, taut second feature from
The last time Sting appeared in a major car commercial, for Jaguar, he scored his biggest U.S. hit in six years with “Desert Rose,” which reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 in 2000 and marked a milestone in world music crossovers, featuring guest vocals sung in Algerian Arabic from singer Cheb Mami.
March 12, 2019 6:27AM PT [embedded content] You ain’t never had a friend like Will Smith’s Genie. That is, unless you have a friend who can turn you into a prince. In the first full-length trailer for Disney’s “Aladdin,” Mena Massoud’s street urchin uses one of his three wishes from the Genie’s magical lamp to
Check out the official Aladdin Trailer starring Will Smith! Let us know what you think in the comments below. ► Buy Tickets to Aladdin: https://www.fandango.com/aladdin-2019-214978/movie-overview?cmp=MCYT_YouTube_Desc US Release Date: May 24, 2019 Starring: Billy Magnussen, Will Smith, Naomi Scott Directed By: Guy Ritchie Synopsis: A live-action retelling of the 1992 Disney film of the same name.
This season, Broadway’s wearing its politics on its sleeve. Take a look at the new play starring Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow. In many ways, the characters they portray could be anyone — just two people in a hotel room late at night, navigating a turbulent, high-stakes time in their marriage. But they’re not just
Hulu wants to get more Spotify users hooked on its streaming TV package: All Spotify Premium users in the U.S. will get access to Hulu’s streaming VOD plan with ads for no extra cost — if they take advantage of the promo in the next three months. The catch is that Spotify customers must move
A new report from Berklee College of Music reveals that 78% of women working in the music industry experience gender bias while while more than half of respondents felt that their gender had affected their employment. The report offers a breakdown of the the socioeconomic landscape, exploring demographics, employment and the challenges that comes with
Can the TV biz finally get its act together to target ads to viewers the way internet companies have done for years? A new consortium, led by TV manufacturer Vizio, is promising to assemble the right technology platform and media partners to make addressable ads on television a reality — as soon as early 2020.
March 12, 2019 2:16AM PT Netflix is doubling down on interactive series after the global success of “Black Mirror” spinoff “Bandersnatch,” the streaming giant’s VP, product, Todd Yellin, revealed in Mumbai on Tuesday. Yellin was delivering a keynote presentation at the 20th edition of media and entertainment conference, FICCI-Frames. “It’s a huge hit here in
“Good Boys” is an easy elevator pitch: “Superbad” for ages 8-12 that maintains the sweet confusion of tweens but liberally uses curse words. Executive producer Seth Rogen must have had minimal pushback at distributor Universal Pictures, as the film has the stuff that classic coming-of-age comedies are made of (even an obligatory “Stand By Me”
Those who find joy in 11-year-olds dropping the F-bomb, and otherwise talking smack they really don’t understand, will be in hysterics for the full hour and a half of “Good Boys.” Anyone looking for a little more in the way of comic inspiration is likely to be disappointed by this mediocre comedy from director Gene
“Saturday Night Live” and “Shrill” star Aidy Bryant knows what it’s like to be in the public eye and “be called a fat, disgusting pig constantly,” she said at SXSW Monday. But that is all the more reason she felt it was important to make her upcoming Hulu comedy series and make “this person the
Netflix has added a trio of deals that expand its roster of anime series. It unveiled partnerships with Anima, Sublimation, and David Production, which are in addition to its earlier pacts with Production I.G. and Bones in 2018. These production houses and Netflix will jointly create original anime series including “Altered Carbon: Resleeved” from Anima,
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead, if you have not watched Part 1 of “The Bachelor” finale, which aired on Mar. 11. The first part of “The Bachelor” finale was more emotional than most finales “The Bachelor” franchise has ever seen. After miraculously jumping over a fence last week, heartbroken over Cassie, the episode picked up
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the two-hour first season finale of “The Passage” that aired Mar. 11. The season finale of “The Passage,” adapted by Liz Heldens from Justin Cronin’s trilogy of novels, paid off a promise set up at the very start of the source material: It jumped
Tucker Carlson took to Fox News Channel’s 8 p.m. slot knowing he had the full support of the cable-news network’s regular viewers. He did not enjoy the same backing from big blue-chip advertisers. Fox News’ broadcast of “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Monday night featured just four ad breaks and very few big national commercials, relying instead
March 11, 2019 6:38PM PT Ethan Hawke plays a newly released ex-con in a slight drama as uncertain of where it wants to go as its hapless protagonist. “First Reformed” last year provided Ethan Hawke with an actor’s dream role in terms of character depth and meaningful conflicts — even if the Academy was practically
United Talent Agency chief executive officer Jeremy Zimmer has pleaded with clients to ignore the Writers Guild of America’s plan for writers to fire their agents next month. Zimmer sent the lengthy email Monday, the day before the WGA and the Association of Talent Agents resume negotiations on revamping the rules of engagement for agents