Joel Kinnaman admits he hasn’t seen Uzo Aduba’s award-winning work on “Orange Is the New Black.” Even so, it didn’t take long for the actor to become well acquainted with Aduba after he signed on to play her on-again-off-again boyfriend in the new season of HBO’s “In Treatment.” “The first day we had a big
Movies
For the first time in Oscar history, four women are running for governor of the music branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Variety has learned. Lesley Barber, Sharon Farber, Heather McIntosh and Taura Stinson are vying for the seat that will shortly be vacated by composer Michael Giacchino, who has been
Over the course of his long career, Cheech Marin has toked up with Tommy Chong in umpteenth Cheech & Chong movies, hung out on the driving range with Kevin Costner in “Tin Cup” and rode shotgun with Don Johnson on “Nash Bridges.” But he’s never taken on a role quite like the one he’ll be
Actor and producer Michael B. Jordan has already proven to be a social change agent through the work of his Outlier Society production banner, as well as his partnership with Color of Change to launch the #ChangeHollywood initiative. And with the official unveiling of his Black-owned and led marketing agency Obsidianworks, Jordan is working to
Cleopatra Entertainment Acquires North American Rights To ‘Vurdalak Blood’ (EXCLUSIVE) Cleopatra Entertainment has acquired the North American and English-speaking territory rights to the horror film “Vurdalak Blood,” which will be released on VOD platforms in October. Based on Aleksey Tolstoy’s 1839 short story “The Family Of The Vourdalak,” the film takes place in the uncertain
Lionsgate has emerged the winner of a filmed rights auction for the Steven Rowley novel “The Guncle.” Published only a week ago via Penguin Random House, the bestselling author’s new book follows a former gay television star who takes in his young niece and nephew after a tragic accident. Entering his reclusive world in Palm
Jane Rosenthal, co-founder and CEO of Tribeca Enterprises, is a longtime independent film and TV producer, but she is not one who is wringing her hands over the spate of media M&A that has rocked the industry in recent months. “Change is good,” Rosenthal tells Variety podcast “Strictly Business.” In a wide-ranging conversation, Rosenthal details
Studio Chizu has unveiled the full international trailer for “Belle,” Mamoru Hosoda’s highly anticipated animated feature. The anticipated movie will be released in Japan on July 16 by Toho. Paris-based sales company Charades is representing the film in international markets. Nippon Television handles sales for Asia. “Belle” marks Hosoda’s ninth project and follows the 2018
Many a horror film has to get its audience past the critical “now why would you do that” moment, where the plot’s continuation hinges on the protagonist making a brazenly terrible decision — entering that obviously doomed location, taking in that plainly psychotic stranger, failing to kill their tormentor when the opportunity presents itself —
Jodie Turner-Smith is in talks to join the cast of Netflix’s “White Noise,” director Noah Baumbach’s adaptation of the Don DeLillo novel. Should the deal close, Turner-Smith will act alongside Greta Gerwig and Adam Driver, who boarded the movie earlier this year. Netflix declined to comment. The satirical “White Noise” follows Jack (who will be played
Eighteen months after revealing publicly that he transitioned about two decades before, Nickelodeon star Michael D. Cohen launched the Trans Youth Acting Challenge in December to help trans and nonbinary youth break into the business. He received 200 applications for 15 spots in a virtual master class he teaches. And now, for the first time,
A small fire broke out at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park near the “Despicable Me” attraction on Tuesday night. According to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, a Conex cargo box ignited around 11:40 p.m. on Tuesday. Five fire engines responded to the incident around midnight and were able to quickly get the flames
El Deseo, the Madrid-based production label of Oscar-winning Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar and his Bafta-winning producer brother Agustín, has wrapped shooting on its latest feature production, “Madres paralelas,” starring Penélope Cruz. To celebrate the occasion, El Deseo has released a pair of first-look images as well as a behind the scenes clip of the COVID-era
Ingrid Andress Singer-songwriter Platinum-selling singer-songwriter Andress has “yet to meet [her] fans” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the country music artist has already amassed a global-wide following. The Colorado native, who is signed to WarnerMusic Nashville/Atlantic Records, was the sole country music artist nominated in the new artist category, her debut album “Lady Like”
Tucked away on a quiet street in Echo Park behind a row of tall bushes is a 3,000-square-foot Craftsman with a black wood door that houses the Tom of Finland Foundation. Started in 1984 to promote the art of Tom of Finland (born Touko Valio Laaksonen), the Finnish artist known for his hypersexualized imagery of
WME Legends has signed a deal with JLMP to co-represent the estate of Dr. Charles “Charlie” L. Sifford, the first Black PGA Tour golfer and PGA Hall of Famer. The announcement comes on what would’ve been Sifford’s 99th birthday. JLMP brokered the deal on behalf of the estate for WME to co-represent the late athlete’s assets including name, likeness, life and
Leading German production banner Augenschein Filmproduktion, is launching an in-house worldwide sales and financing division that will be spearheaded by former Telepool executive Jonathan Saubach (pictured). The new division will be called Augenschein Sales and will focus on financing the company’s production slate through access to equity, market pre-sales and film funds in order to
Jonathan Majors may be entering the ring for Michael B. Jordan’s boxing drama “Creed III.” The “Lovecraft Country” star is in early talks to co-star in the film, though details of his role are unknown. “Creed III” will hit theaters on November 23, 2022, and bring back co-stars Tessa Thompson and Phylicia Rashad. Jordan will
On June 5, to mark the 40th anniversary of the first CDC report related to HIV/AIDS, public officials, activists and celebrities will converge on San Vicente Boulevard next to West Hollywood Park for the groundbreaking for Stories: The AIDS Monument, a 7,000-square-foot art installation honoring those who have died of AIDS or are living with
The Cannes Film Festival will require attendees to be tested for COVID-19 every 48 hours if they haven’t been fully vaccinated, according to new protocols released by organizers on Wednesday. Delegates will be required to show one of three options in order to access the festival. The first is a certificate “demonstrating full vaccination of
Sundance Film Festival: London has revealed that “Zola” and “CODA” will be among the 2021 lineup, when the festival returns to Picturehouse Central next month. “CODA” — an acronym meaning “Child of Deaf Adults” — features Marlee Matlin (“The West Wing”) and 19-year-old Emilia Jones (“Locke & Key”) navigating their relationship, while “Zola” is based
Sheffield DocFest is spotlighting and celebrating Black British screen culture this month with a Retrospective titled “Films belong to those who need them – fragments from the history of Black British Cinema.” The Retrospective brings together a wide and diverse range of films that have been largely overlooked and undervalued in film history and criticism.
Fresh off their debut feature documentary “Davos,” Daniel Hoesl and Julia Niemann have lined up a number of new projects, among them an upcoming series for HBO Max and ZDF. Produced by Berlin-based Komplizen Film (“Tony Erdmann“), “Fck My Heritage” (working title) is set in an elite boarding school and follows a group of students
Jodie Foster will receive the Honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. She will also be the guest of honor at the opening ceremony, at which she will receive the tribute. The honorary prize was previously given to Jeanne Moreau, Bernardo Bertolucci, Jane Fonda, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Manoel de Oliveira, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Agnès Varda and
The U.K.’s Film and TV Charity has relaunched its Looking Glass Survey, two years after the 2019 survey revealed a mental health emergency in the industry. In the ensuing period, the industry has dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic and the continued effects of systemic discrimination, bullying and harassment. The charity is calling on everyone who
Netflix’s party-minded “Carnaval” has a lot on its plate, tackling everything from influencers, the toxic nature of their business and the complexities of making and maintaining female friendships in that industry. Set against the revelry and pageantry of Brazil’s Carnival celebration, director Leandro Neri’s lighthearted romantic comedy delivers hijinks and a few sweet sentiments about
The creepy fascination for shamanism that continues to exist in modern-day Thailand and Korea will be on full display this summer in “The Medium.” The film is now confirmed for a July commercial release and may be in line for a midnight screening berth in a major festival. Korean distributor Showbox is gearing up for
China has shuttered a portion of cinemas in top movie-going province Guangdong after what reports said may be the country’s first community outbreak of the Indian COVID-19 variant. Reports did not state exactly how many cinemas have been affected. The theater closures come days after U.S. cinema chains, including AMC, Regal and Cinemark announced they
The California Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that encourages film and TV productions to diversify the entertainment workforce. The bill creates an incentive for productions to hire the graduates of a new training program. The program, called the Career Pathways Training Program, is expected to launch in the coming year, with the aim of
After a punishing 14 months for the movie theater business, some sense of normalcy was restored last weekend with the release of director John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place Part II.” The Paramount Pictures film opened ahead of Memorial Day with $48 million at the U.S. box office, the best showing since the onset of COVID-19.