On Wednesday evening in New York City, Colin Firth and the cast of HBO’s “The Staircase” celebrated its premiere at the Museum of Modern Art. Created by Antonio Campos with showrunner Maggie Cohn, “The Staircase” marks HBO’s turn at the true crime story of Kathleen Peterson, who was found dead at the bottom of her
“Moon Knight” has taken off with critics and superhero fans around the globe, raking in enormous numbers for Disney+ and Marvel Studios. As a result, the two studios are gearing up for a hardy Emmys campaign with the show in the limited series categories, especially following the success of “WandaVision,” which co-led the tally for
Cameo, a startup that sells customized video shout-outs from celebrities that was valued last year at about $1 billion, has made major layoffs after a slowdown in business. The company laid off 87 staffers, representing roughly 25% of its headcount. CEO Steven Galanis confirmed the cuts, citing the need to “right-size” the business after its
After nearly six years since he debuted in his origin story back in 2016, Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange is getting his own sequel, and he’s diving into the alternate realities of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” brings back the ex-Sorcerer Supreme (he’s since lost the magical title on a
South Korean entertainment giant HYBE has reported a generated revenue of approximately $226 million — an increase of 59.8% — for the first quarter of the year. In 2021, the music company announced a billion-dollar annual revenue for the first time, thanks largely in part to Scooter Braun‘s megamerger agreement (between Ithaca Holdings and HYBE).
It goes without saying that Variety’s Power of Women New York event is taking place at an exceptionally difficult and divisive time — and while we are gathering to celebrate the formidable achievements of women in entertainment and the charities they generously support, it also goes without saying that there is still a very long
Cinema is such a costly medium that directors have little chance to experiment between features. It’s not like music or painting — relatively low-cost art forms whose practitioners can try new techniques in the secret obscurity of their studios until their bold ideas are ready to be shared. Making movies takes a crew, and equipment,
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has signed on to star opposite Jennifer Garner in the Apple limited series “The Last Thing He Told Me,” Variety has learned. The series is based on the Laura Dave novel of the same name. It was previously announced that Angourie Rice will also star in the series. The show follows Hannah (Garner),
The true-crime tale has lately dominated scripted TV, with miniseries-length dissections of infamous incidents coming thick on the ground. Many of these shows have played as flat reenactments that don’t earn the running time they demand, serials that seem to be more interested in checking items off a list to get us to an opinion
Netflix has issued a statement after Dave Chappelle was attacked on stage while performing a comedy set during the streaming giant’s Netflix Is a Joke festival in Los Angeles. The performance was taking place at the Hollywood Bowl. A spokesperson for the streamer said, “We care deeply about the safety of creators and we strongly
Apple is developing a series version of “The Prince of Tides.” The series would be a remake of the 1991 film of the same name, which was itself an adaptation of the 1986 novel by Pat Conroy. Like the film, the series would follow Tom Wingo, who travels to New York after his sister attempts
FESTIVALS The Cannes Film Market has added to its previously announced Ukraine in Focus program, which will provide Ukrainian filmmakers and producers with networking, pitching and co-financing opportunities over two days during the Cannes Film Festival, on May 21 and 22. A panel discussion titled “Ukrainian Cinema: From Surviving to Thriving Again: How the Global
Warner Bros. executive vice president and top legal boss John Rogovin has resigned his post. The well-liked and respected Rogovin was general counsel for the former WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group, which encompassed units like Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Television. That division was overseen by Ann Sarnoff, who departed the company in early
Amber Heard took the stand on Wednesday afternoon, telling jurors in often emotional terms about the times that Johnny Depp hit her, screamed at her, punched walls and shoved her to the ground. Heard was called to testify on the 14th day of the defamation trial underway in Fairfax, Va. Depp has sued her for
Play video content Amber Heard has started testifying in Johnny Depp‘s defamation case — the first opportunity she’s had to tell her side of the story during the trial … and it will be interesting to see if she can turn things around. Johnny’s ex-wife is on the stand, with her attorneys asking her questions
TikTok is launching a new way for the top creators on its billion-user app make money — and for advertisers to reach the cream of the short-form video crop. The company announced TikTok Pulse, an advertising program to let marketers buy inventory in the top 4% of all videos on the platform in a dozen
Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.” Searchlight Pictures’ “Fire Island” doesn’t come out until June, but Matt Rogers, who plays Luke in the queer rom-com, has high hopes that it launches a big gay franchise. Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang star as friends who head to the iconic LGBTQ vacation locale ready to
Netherlands-based sales agent DFW International has added romantic comedy “Costa!!” by Jon Karthaus, a follow-up to the 2001 Dutch cult classic “Costa!” by Johan Nijenhuis, to its Cannes Film Market slate. Nijenhuis’ latest film “Yasmine’s Wedding” has also been added to the slate. In “Costa!!” Anna (Abbey Hoes) and her best friend Bibi (Stephanie van
The major entertainment studios spoke out against Georgia’s “heartbeat” abortion bill in 2019, saying they would “rethink” their production plans in the state if the law ever went into effect. That moment appears to be approaching fast. On Monday night, Politico reported that a Supreme Court majority has signed on to a decision that would
Fear and loathing are on the rise in Hollywood as top execs and rank-and-file employees grapple with growing uncertainty about their place in a rapidly changing entertainment industry. One pervasive concern: that the streaming-fueled content bubble has finally burst, with more consolidation on the way. Wall Street darling Netflix lost $54 billion in market value
Critics Choice Award nominee and breakout comedic talent Brandon Scott Jones has been cast in Universal’s upcoming Dracula comedy “Renfield.” While production wrapped nearly a month ago, Jones’ casting had previously gone unreported. He joins Nicholas Hoult and Nicolas Cage in the tale of the iconic vampire’s loyal footman who begins to wonder what life
Mandolin, one of the most celebrated livestream platforms to have come to the forefront in the last two years, is looking to keep the concert streaming boom going with the launch of its Venue and Promoter Network. The newly announced initiative is aimed at providing artists’ camps access to a list of dozens of U.S.
Category is…children’s books! “RuPaul’s Drag Race” star Nina West is set to release her first book for kids, “The You Kind of Kind.” “It is a dream come true to be able to release my very first children’s book and share a message that is so needed right now,” West tells me. “’The Kind You
Ray J is speaking his truth about his ex, Kim Kardashian — and that would be … the infamous sex tape “leak” that put her on the map wasn’t an accident at all, but a planned event and the Kardashians were in on it. The singer spilled the alleged beans to DailyMail.com — telling the
Netflix misled investors about declining subscriber growth over the course of six months — leading to a massive drop in its stock price, according to a shareholder lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal district court in San Francisco, alleges Netflix violated U.S. securities laws by making “materially false and/or misleading statements” and also because
“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” the latest timeline-bending installment in Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, looks to start the summer movie season with a sizzle. The comic book movie — the second standalone superhero adventure to spotlight Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stephen Strange — is projected to collect a mighty $160 million to $180
The CW announced a new movie, “The Waltons’ Thanksgiving,” which will debut in the fourth quarter of 2022. A follow-up to 2021’s “The Waltons’ Homecoming,” the special will feature Bellamy Young, Logan Shroyer and Richard Thomas reprising their roles with Teddy Sears newly joining the cast. Set on Walton Mountain in 1934, “The Waltons’ Thanksgiving”
It’s fitting that “Judge Mathis” star Greg Mathis will be getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 4 because his life reads like a Hollywood story. Born in Detroit and raised by a single mother in a housing project and in other areas, Mathis’ young adult life included time with the
The latest in the Downton saga, Universal’s “Downton Abbey: A New Era” topped the U.K. and Ireland box office with £3.07 million ($3.8 million), according to numbers released by Comscore. Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” continued its golden run with £1.3 million in second place, in its fifth weekend, and now has a total of
K-pop superstars BTS could be given exemption from compulsory military service in South Korea. “It’s time to create a system for incorporating popular culture-art figures as art personnel,” said Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Hwang Hee at a press briefing on Wednesday, according to reports by the Yonhap news agency. Hwang said he aims to