Need proof the box office is really, truly rebounding from COVID? Look no further than domestic charts, where not one, not two, but four movies — a mix of new releases in Baz Luhrmann’s musical biopic “Elvis” and Blumhouse’s creepy thriller “The Black Phone,” as well as leftovers with “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Jurassic World
U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 has appointed Charlie Perkins as head of comedy, reporting into chief content officer Ian Katz. Former head of comedy Fiona McDermott left Channel 4 in March to join Apple TV+. Perkins will manage a team comprising newly promoted commissioning editor Laura Riseam and commissioning executive Joe Hullait. She will also oversee
Some people gird for battle by putting on armor. Tony Dokoupil just bought a second pair of dress shoes. “I’ve had the same pair of brown, beat-up, nasty dress shoes — my good shoes. I’ve been wearing them for several years now,” the “CBS Mornings” co-anchor confides in a recent interview. Dokoupil, 41 years old,
Donald Trump’s media and technology venture is part of a new federal grand jury investigation, which is seeking information about the financial dealings of the shell company Trump Media & Technology Group intends to merge with, according to a new regulatory filing. Last year, Trump Media & Technology Group announced plans to combine with Digital
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Antonio Banderas are teaming up to create joint production company Amigos Para Siempre (APS), aimed at producing musicals, stage plays and live entertainment for major markets in the Spanish-speaking world, including the Latino U.S. market. Upcoming productions will include Spanish-language makeovers of Lloyd Webber classics, such as “The Phantom of the
U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 has commissioned a two-part documentary about embattled actor Kevin Spacey. Spacey is currently fighting multiple claims of sexual assault in the U.K. courts. He is due to attend a second hearing next month with a trial likely to be set for the end of the year or early 2023. He is
A Taiwanese filmmaker has made his short film inspired by Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests available online for free after it failed to get approval from the city’s censorship authorities. Wu Zi-en, director of “Islander,” has uploaded the full 25-minute film noir to online platform Vimeo last week, after it became the third film in a
Coming of age drama “Purple Beatz” will get worldwide distribution via Trinity Creative Partnership and 101 Films. Described as a “music-driven, romantic drama, set in the underground drum ‘n’ bass music scene of ‘90s London,” “Purple Beatz” is written and directed by Lola Atkins and features a diverse, female-led cast and crew. The feature stars
Starzplay, Starz’s premium international streaming service, and The Mediapro Studio, one of Europe’s biggest indie film-TV producers, are joining forces again to produce the second season of “Express,” the first Starzplay’s original series made in Spain. Spanish thesps Alejo Sauras (“Estoy vivo”) and “Paradise’s” Laura Laprida are joining the cast of the new season, which
International TV market Mipcom is set to return to the Croisette in October, and major exhibitors have already signed up. Organizers RX France, formerly known as Reed Midem, revealed Monday that a tranche of 200-plus exhibitors are on board for Mipcom. The list includes super-indies such as Banijay, Fremantle and ITV Studios, as well as
The Thai government last week approved in principle a move to dispense with taxes laid on foreign acting talent. The move is intended to further increase the attractiveness of the country for film and TV productions. Thailand currently offers foreign films shooting in the country a cash rebate of 15-20% of the expenses incurred in
Tokyo Broadcasting System Television (TBS) has announced that its signature “Sasuke” (aka “Ninja Warrior”) obstacle course series may inspire a new addition to the upcoming 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The broadcaster, which operates one of Japan’s five major terrestrial TV networks, is partnering with World Obstacle, the Fédération Internationale de Sports d’Obstacles (FISO) and the
OPTION Transatlantic production powerhouse Sister (“Chernobyl”) has optioned the rights to adapt BAFTA and Emmy winning screenwriter and longtime collaborator Abi Morgan’s (“The Split”) “This is Not a Pity Memoir.” Morgan will adapt her book for screen, and also direct and executive produce, with Sister co-founder and chief creative officer, Jane Featherstone (“Landscapers”). The memoir follows
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (WBDS) will co-produce coverage of both the men’s and women’s Tour de France cycling competition for the first time. The Tour de France men’s competition runs from July 1-24 while the women’s competition will take place July 24-31. WBDS will broadcast every stage of the men’s competition and the first edition
Johnny Depp‘s attorney Camille Vasquez is plotting her next move after winning his case against Amber Heard … and she’s in high demand in both the legal world and Hollywood. Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … Camille’s considering a wide range of career options in the wake of the Depp-Heard trial, and her rise
The trailer has debuted for six-part travel and magic show “Fantastic Friends,” which is hosted by James and Oliver Phelps, a.k.a. the mischievous Weasley twins of Harry Potter fame. The show’s cast includes the twin’s Harry Potter co-stars Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) and Luke Youngblood (Lee Jordan), as well as “Game
Amid a host of lawsuits by foreign productions looking to recoup money from Romania’s beleaguered cash rebate system, industry insiders say the situation has reached a crisis point, with one leading U.K. financier and executive producer warning that the government runs the risk of “obliterating foreign direct investment” into Romania if a resolution isn’t reached
The trailer has debuted for “America,” a drama directed by Ofir Raul Graizer (“The Cakemaker”), which will world premiere at Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival in the Crystal Globe Competition. Beta Cinema is handling world sales. The film centers on Eli, an Israeli swimming coach living in the U.S. A phone call notifies him that
Sentimental local drama film “Lighting up the Stars” topped the mainland China box office with a solid $31.8 million opening weekend. It underlined the cinema reopening and industry recovery process that has been underway since the beginning of June. The film tells the tale of an ex-con funeral director who has a chance meeting with
Kanye West made a surprise appearance some three hours into the BET Awards on Sunday night to pay tribute to Sean “Diddy” Combs, the show’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement award. His speech followed an elaborate performance that spanned Combs’ entire career, featuring cameos by Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Nas, Lil’ Kim, Busta Rhymes, the
Alec Baldwin has announced an interview with director Woody Allen, who has faced backlash after his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, alleged that he sexually abused her as a child. That backlash was recently renewed with the 2021 release of HBO docuseries “Allen v. Farrow,” in which she and mother Mia Farrow further detailed the allegations
Jack Harlow was joined by Brandy and Lil Wayne for his BET Awards performance on Sunday night. The rapper started his set singing the Lil Wayne-featuring “Poison” on his own before Wayne briefly popped in to deliver his own verse. Harlow also surprised audiences when his second guest, Brandy, popped up on stage to take
A new Cardi B song is on the way. During commercials for Sunday night’s BET Awards, the rapper shared a video teaser for a new Tay Keith (Drake, BlocBoy JB) produced single. The short clip featured Cardi on top of a skyscraper with the words “Coming Soon” and “July 1” in orange neon letters. She
The BET Awards are back for their 2022 edition, with Taraji P. Henson hosting Culture’s Biggest Night for the second year in a row. The show airs live on BET Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET/PT from Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater. Doja Cat leads the pack of BET nominees with six, dominating the music categories
Did ye get healed? This is a rhetorical question Van Morrison posed many years ago that may pop up in the back of your mind at someone else’s show, on one of those rare nights when there’s enough strife or upset in the world that the crowd can be collectively understood to be experiencing a
Taraji P. Henson took a moment to be serious in her otherwise upbeat introduction to the BET Awards on Sunday night, delivering the first of three consecutive slams at the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last week. She began light, joking to the crowd, “You look successful… expensive… you look like you
A group of prominent entertainment industry women gathered Saturday for a video conference call to discuss next steps in the reignited fight for reproductive rights in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The gathering, which included some men, was organized in part by Katie McGrath, a partner in Bad
“Top Gun Maverick” flew to the top of the box office charts in South Korea over the weekend, with a supersonic $9.6 million opening loop. It replaced “The Witch: Part 2 The Other One,” which had been top dog for only a week. Tom Cruise, a regular visitor to Korea, jetted into Seoul with producer
“Full House” star Jodie Sweetin was shoved by a Los Angeles Police Department officer Saturday while attending a rally protesting the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which has effectively ended federal protections of abortion rights. A video of the incident began to make the rounds online after it occurred. The footage depicts
Lil Nas X has protested often and loudly about being excluded from the nominations for the BET Awards, and his friend and “Industry Baby” collaborator Jack Harlow made his own silent statement on the show’s red carpet Sunday by rocking a Lil Nas T-shirt. At the time of this article’s publication, it was not clear