Ukrainian producer Julia Sinkevych, named main jury president at French TV festival Series Mania, is still hoping to come to Lille this week despite the ongoing war. “Last night, there was bombing not far from Lviv, so you never know. [Producer] Dariusz Jabłoński and the Polish Film Academy are helping out Ukrainian filmmakers and they will
The BBC and Commander Patrick Jephson, who was private secretary to Princess Diana, have reached a settlement over the harm caused to him around the infamous 1995 BBC “Panorama” interview. Princess Diana was interviewed by journalist Martin Bashir on the program. An independent investigation into the program, conducted by Lord Dyson, found that the public
Jessica Biel is stepping into the shoes of one of true crime’s most notorious killers in the first trailer for Hulu’s “Candy.” Biel stars in the series as Candy Montgomery, a seemingly normal housewife in small town Wylie, Tex., who was convicted in 1980 for the brutal axe murder of her neighbor Betty Gore, played
Donald Fagen has responded to Aimee Mann on the matter of her being dropped from the opening slot on Steely Dan’s summer tour, saying that it was a decision he made because he “thought it might not be the best matchup in terms of musical style.” He also apologized for making the decision after Mann
A weekend trio of big wins for Netflix at the DGA, BAFTA and Critics Choice awards has given Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” the gas required to make it over the finish line. That’s if it can keep its closest competitors — “Belfast” from Kenneth Branagh and “CODA” from Siân Heder — at
“Steven had said that he wasn’t going to make the film if he couldn’t cast it correctly.” Thus, explains casting director Cindy Tolan, assembling the perfect ensemble was of existential importance to Spielberg’s revisited “West Side Story.” The goal was to capture all the charisma of the beloved 1961 original, while avoiding its much-criticized, inauthentic
Last year, the 60,000 film and TV union workers of IATSE turned the pressure on studios, de- manding better hours and work- ing conditions, saying that the surge in production over the past decade has led to long shifts and dangerous situations. Last year, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed by a prop gun loaded with
“Spider-Man : No Way Home” entangles Peter Parker (Tom Holland) in a “multiverse of madness” that culminates in a climactic battle at night atop the Statue of Liberty where web slingers from past franchises, played by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, face familiar villainous foes. The friendly neighborhood crime fighters required updated costume designs and
In “The War of the Worlds,” Tom Cruise flees an alien invasion in a Plymouth minivan. The camera swoops around and around, capturing the drama inside the van as it swerves through traffic, and rising from a point below the bumper to look down on the chaos from high above. That shot was made possible
Play video content Ellentube Kim Kardashian‘s estranged husband has used social media as a vessel to launch attacks on her and Pete Davidson — and although Kim says it’s tough, she tries to “take the high road” — keeping their kids in mind. Kim is set to sit with Ellen DeGeneres Thursday, where she tackles
Adult Swim has ordered two new seasons of “FLCL” as well as the new anime series “Housing Complex C” in honor of the 25th anniversary of Toonami, Variety has learned exclusively. The two new “FLCL” seasons are titled “FLCL: Grunge” and “FLCL: Shoegaze,” both of which are currently in production. “Grunge” is directed by Hitoshi
Vice Media Group has taken full control of “Gangs of London” producer Pulse Films. Pulse co-founders Thomas Benski and Marisa Clifford, who founded the edgy production outfit back in 2005, have departed the company following the takeover, although Variety understands it was their decision to step down ahead of the acquisition. It’s believed the duo
Muse has not lost its own muse, as the British band is set to return with “Will of the People,” the trio’s first album in nearly four years, due for release August 26. The way is paved for the 10-song collection by a new single and music video, “Compliance,” out today. A second track, “Won’t
After staying quiet in the three days since Dolly Parton’s declaration that she’d like to bow out of contention for the hall, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation has come forth with a statement, in effect indicating that Parton will remain on the ballot. With voting already well underway, the Foundation’s position is
Most major entertainment companies looking for the pole position in the global streaming road race have a go-big-or-go-home strategy — they’re building massive vehicles with broad, four-quadrant appeal. Sony has taken a different tack. Its primary direct-to-consumer streaming video business is Crunchyroll, geared to the Japanese art forms of anime and manga. Instead of pouring
“The Flash” star Greg Finley is set to join Emile Hirsch (“Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”) in indie crime thriller “Gemini Lounge,” Variety can confirm exclusively. The film, the first from “Rush Hour” producer Arthur Sarkissian’s new media and entertainment company Global Ascension Studios, is directed by Danny A. Abeckaser (“Mob Town”). “Gemini Lounge”
Brad Pitt, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Lulu Wang are among 900 new members inducted into the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) since 2020. The global intake also includes Akua Gyamfi, Anna Dick, Bobby Krlic, Caroline O’Neill, Fiona Shaw, Isobel Waller-Bridge, Jennifer Hampson, Kate Herron, Mark Bridges, Micheal Ward, Roger Clark, Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù, Vanessa
Dua Lipa got hit with dual lawsuits this month surrounding her mega-hit song “Levitating.” The first of the copyright infringement suits comes from Florida reggae band Artikal Sound System, which accused Lipa of copying its 2017 song “Live Your Life.” The second hails from songwriters L. Russell Brown and Sandy Linzer, who allege that Lipa
Denis Villeneuve, the director, co-writer and a producer of WB/Legendary’s “Dune,” talked with Variety about the four creative stages of filming — scriptwriting, preproduction, production and post — as they related to his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel. The film has been Oscar-nominated in each of those four stages, with 10 well-earned bids. “I’m
Netflix is kicking the tires on a new way to extract money from people who have been leeching off someone else’s account. In a test rolling out soon in three countries — Chile, Costa Rica and Peru — Netflix will prompt members who share their accounts with those outside their households with an option to
On Thursday morning, Dolly Parton ventured into the belly of Fox News’ hotbed of propaganda and misinformation, “Fox & Friends,” in an attempt to set the record straight about her decision to decline her likely nomination into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “Well, I didn’t feel exactly right about that,” she said, while
Exclusively through Fandango, get tickets to see The Lost City one week early, on March 19th, in select theaters! Buy tickets now: https://www.fandango.com/fandango-premiere-the-lost-city-2022-226832/movie-overview?cmp=MCYT_YouTube_Desc_TheLostCityFP Check out this exclusive Behind the Scenes Featurette for The Lost City starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum! Let us know what you think in the comments below. Want to be notified
A cast of 18 Grammy-winning or -nominated performers has been announced for MusiCares’ person of the year salute to Joni Mitchell taking place on April 1 in Las Vegas, with Brandi Carlile and Jon Batiste leading the way as the night’s artistic directors as well as being among the featured musicians. Also appearing on the
Amazon has closed its $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM, the companies said Thursday. The pact was first announced in May and has been winding its way through the regulatory process. Per Amazon, “The storied, nearly century-old studio — with more than 4,000 film titles, 17,000 TV episodes, 180 Academy Awards, and 100 Emmy Awards —
When Frank Herbert wrote his science-fiction epic “Dune” in the 1960s, he instinctively made the crucial character of Liet Kynes a white man. But Denis Villeneuve sought a modern, diverse cast and he saw Kynes — who must convey integrity and authority while delicately juggling competing diplomatic interests — differently than Herbert. So in his
ITV is setting aside £80 million ($105 million) of its commissioning budget over the next three years for a Diversity Commissioning Fund. Of the £80 million fund, at least £20 million will be reserved for shows made by Black, Asian and minority ethnic-led and disabled-led production companies. ITV has also created a new £500,000 development
Subscription streamer Starz Play Arabia is getting a major cash injection from a consortium of Abu Dhabi-based companies that are acquiring a roughly 57% stake in the SVOD service. A group comprising E-Vision, which is a Hollywood and Bollywood content aggregator, and United Arab Emirates sovereign fund ADQ, has purchased a controlling stake in Starz
Bertelsmann’s Luxembourg-based media giant RTL Group, which owns Fremantle, has declared a group profit of €1.5 billion ($1.65 billion) for 2021, up from €625 million in COVID-affected 2020. The RTL Group has interests in 67 television channels, 10 streaming platforms and 38 radio stations. The group’s content business, Fremantle, is one of the world’s largest
Universal International Studios has struck a deal with one of the hottest players in Spanish-language programming, Buendía Estudios. Under the deal, the company, whose recent credits include the hit dramas “Cardo” and “Veneno,” will co-develop and co-produce Spanish-language series with Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group. Formed in 2020, Buendía Estudios is
As well as causing a humanitarian and geopolitical crisis, the seismic fall-out of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 has reverberated across the film industry locally and globally. The effects, insiders tell Variety, will be felt for decades. In terms of distribution, they may even be permanent. Russia’s designation as a pariah state has