“The Messy Truth VR Experience,” a new virtual reality (VR) short-doc created by Van Jones and starring “Black Pather” actor Winston Duke, was awarded with the Advanced Imaging Society’s Social Justice Lumiere Award Wednesday night. In an exclusive interview with Variety, Jones opened up about the power of VR to overcome divisiveness with empathy. “Media
admin
Sundance is mostly known for movie premiers and film deals, but among the sea of actors, industry folk and free booze (not necessarily in that order), Robert Redford’s legendary festival also dances into the wee hours of the night thanks to the wealth of music options available. Here are 10 performances that caught our eye
French studio Gaumont said Thursday that its upcoming Celine Dion film will not be a biopic but a fictional “homage” that draws heavily from the details of the singer’s life and uses many of her hit songs. The film – tentatively titled “The Power of Love,” the same name as one of Dion’s songs –
“Black Monday” co-creators Jordan Cahan and David Caspe have a storied history of broadcast comedies (“Happy Endings” for Caspe, “Breaking In” for Cahan, and “Marry Me” for both of them). When they set out on the new endeavor of 1980s-set stock market crash comedy for premium cabler Showtime they knew they’d have a bit more
January 31, 2019 10:45AM PT Bill Nighy has joined the cast of “Minamata,” Andrew Levitas’ movie about W. Eugene Smith and the first image of Johnny Depp as the celebrated war photographer has been released. Minami Hinase (“Vision), Hiroyuki Sanada (“Westworld”), Tadanobu Asano (“Midway”), Ryo Kase (“Letters from Iwo Jima”) and Jun Kunimura (“ Midway”)
January 31, 2019 10:35AM PT A death in a theatrical family excavates a long-MIA parent in this diverting but awkward mix of farce and feeliness. A case of quirkiness overload, “Before You Know It” is about two sisters — one sane, the other comically nutty — dealing with a radical shakeup in the family. That
Kevin Brockman, Disney-ABC Television Group’s executive vice president of global communications, will leave the company following the close of Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox. The 22-year Disney communications veteran, who has been in his present position since 2008, will stay in his role through the transition, according to the company. He currently oversees all
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump told reporters that the attack this week on “Empire” star Jussie Smollett was “horrible” and “doesn’t get worse.” “I can tell you that it’s horrible. It doesn’t get worse,” Trump said in response to a question on Thursday from April Ryan, Washington bureau chief for American Urban Radio Networks. The
January 31, 2019 10:24AM PT Johnny Flynn (“Beast”) will play a young David Bowie in “Stardust,” a film about the rock star’s first visit to the U.S. in 1971. Flynn is coming off a run in London’s West End, playing opposite Kit Harrington (“Game of Thrones”) in Sam Shepherd’s “True West.” In “Stardust” Jena Malone
UltraViolet is shutting down this summer — and Vudu, Walmart’s video-streaming service, is notifying customers who have used the movie-locker system to not cancel or unlink their UltraViolet accounts prior to the July 31 shutdown date, because doing so would wipe out their entire libraries. As first reported by Variety, the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem — the
As part of its global expansion strategy, Netflix has thrown its doors wide open to storytellers of different cultures. One result of the initiative: “Kingdom,” a story told by South Korean filmmakers that’s rooted in the nation’s medieval Joseon period. Directed by Kim Seong-hun (“Tunnel”) and penned by Kim Eun-hee (“Signal”), the eight-episode series, which
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” made its move from Fox to NBC this month, marking the sixth season Stephanie Beatriz is portraying the gruff but lovable Det. Rosa Diaz. It is her longest-running role, and it may just be the one most close to her, as she personally inspired Rosa’s coming out storyline on the show last season.
January 31, 2019 9:57AM PT In the wake of direct-to-fan platform PledgeMusic falling behind in paying artists over the past few months, the British Musicians’ Union announced that it had met with executives from the company on Wednesday, and advised artists to use other platforms “until such time as this situation has been resolved.” Last
A hit from the get-go, nabbing best script and best music at its premiere during last year’s Canneseries world premiere, Norway’s petrol-fueled drama “State of Happiness” launched on broadcaster NRK in October to an impressive 629,000 linear viewers, equating to a 37.4% share, with another 70,000 watching it online. “State of Happiness” is the story
Variety has been given exclusive access to first-look footage from Fatih Akin’s horror film “The Golden Glove,” which has its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. Akin has previously won the Golden Globe, Berlin’s Golden Bear, Venice’s Special Jury Prize, and Cannes’ screenplay award. Set in Hamburg’s St. Pauli district in the 1970s, the
PLAYBACK is a Variety / iHeartRadio podcast bringing you conversations with the talents behind many of today’s hottest films. New episodes air every Thursday. Amy Adams landed her sixth nomination last week for her performance as Lynne Cheney in Adam McKay’s “Vice.” It’s quite the achievement just 14 years into her screen career, a career
Check out the official The Secret Life of Pets 2 trailer starring Jenny Slate! Let us know what you think in the comments below. ► Buy Tickets to The Secret Life of Pets 2: https://www.fandango.com/the-secret-life-of-pets-2-215649/movie-overview?cmp=MCYT_YouTube_Desc Want to be notified of all the latest movie trailers? Subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to
AGC International has nabbed international distribution rights to “Ask Dr. Ruth,” one of the hottest documentaries at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Indeed, the legendary sexologist Dr. Ruth Westheimer was one of the biggest celebrities at the mountainside retreat — no small feat for a gathering that attracted the likes of Shia Labeouf, Mindy Kaling,
After the power, presence and flash of Prince, Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen, U2 and Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl halftime performances — not to mention the controversy of this weekend’s Maroon 5-Travis Scott spot — it’s hard to believe that the big game’s intermission show used to consist of college marching bands along with performers like the
Stan Lee may not have had the power of immortality, but his legacy and impact on pop culture will surely live on forever. Longtime friend and filmmaker Kevin Smith hosted “Excelsior! A Celebration of the Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible & Uncanny Life of Stan Lee” at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on Wednesday night. Lee,
As January 31st wound down in India, there was still no sign of the blowout party that Spotify had planned to celebrate its long-anticipated launch in the country, which multiple sources told Variety was scheduled to take place today. That launch was postponed within the past few days, according to a source close to the situation,
Kyle Richards Slams Li$a Vanderpump For Skipping Andy’s Baby Shower 1/31/2019 8:31 AM PST Kyle Richards is spilling the beans — there IS in fact drama behind Lisa Vanderpump skipping Andy Cohen‘s baby shower … and it might be all about the Benjamins. Kyle was leaving Il Pastaio in Bev Hills Wednesday and didn’t mince words when asked why
Movie buffs left out in the cold by FilmStruck’s demise will soon get a new streaming service stocked with over 1,000 classic and contemporary art-house films this spring: The Criterion Collection announced that the Criterion Channel will launch April 8 in the U.S. and Canada. The Criterion Channel will be regularly priced at $10.99 per
Many TV viewers realize they can’t get away from inevitable commercial breaks. Now Hulu thinks it has found a way to overhaul the concept for video-streamers, who no doubt thought they’d escaped such stuff. Starting in the second quarter, Hulu will begin testing new kinds of commercials that surface on its screen whenever users decide
When OCS entered the scene in France in November 2008, the media landscape looked wholly different. Netflix sent DVDs by mail; “The Sopranos” had come to an end, robbing HBO of a flagship title; and French viewers would sometimes have to wait weeks — or months — to catch up on the buzziest international series.
Per its agreement with the Conseil Supérieur d’Audiovisuel, France’s audiovisual regulatory body, OCS must invest a certain amount of money into French film production every year in order to maintain an earlier broadcast window within the country’s rigid media timeline. That poses little problem for Serge Laroye, OCS’ chairman. “French cinema is important for OCS,
When the French telecommunications giant Orange launched its Orange Cinema Series pay TV service a decade ago, it was perceived as an underdog by the French film and TV industry, since the local pay TV market was dominated by Canal Plus. Some feared OCS would suffer the same fate as TPS, a pay TV operator
January 31, 2019 4:15AM PT Longtime “The Simpsons” producer David Mirkin is working up sci-fi drama-comedy series “Jeff of the Universe” for YouTube Premium. Mirkin is teaming up with producer and distributor Dynamic Television on the live-action project. Mirkin will write, direct, and executive produce the series. Daniel March and Holly Hines will exec produce
January 31, 2019 3:28AM PT A new Norwegian drama will tell the story of the people who responded to the horrific 2011 terrorist attacks in Norway that left 77 dead, most of them teenagers. “22 July” is being produced by Norwegian pubcaster NRK’s drama arm and will be distributed by DRG, which landed the international
Bavaria Studios — often described as the heart of the Bavaria Film group — may be one of Europe’s largest and most state-ofthe-art film and television production facilities, but it also boasts an illustrious past that long ago cemented its place in cinematic history. Film pioneer Peter Ostermayr founded the studios, originally known as Münchener