Spotify has suspended premium service in Russia after the country launched its war on Ukraine — a move that the audio streaming powerhouse expects to result in a loss of about 1.5 million paying customers in the first quarter of 2022. Spotify CFO Paul Vogel, speaking at Morgan Stanley’s 2022 Technology, Media and Telecom Conference
The Oscars show producer Will Packer has announced key production team members for the 94th Academy Awards, which are set to air live on ABC March 27. In addition, for the first time, a new culinary partner, Ghetto Gastro, will collaborate with longtime chef Wolfgang Puck on the Governors Ball menu. Puck and his Wolfgang
Attached to its hit freshman sitcom “Abbott Elementary,” ABC has partnered with Scholastic to become the first entertainment brand to provide underfunded schools with free book fairs. The book fairs take place at seven Title 1 schools between March 14 and 18. Each student will receive two free books and each teacher will receive 10.
“Drake and Josh” star Josh Peck has joined the sprawling cast of Christopher Nolan’s World War II epic “Oppenheimer.” He will play Kenneth Bainbridge, a real scientist who was involved in the Manhattan Project, the code name for America’s effort to develop nuclear weapons during the second world war. Cillian Murphy is starring as J.
On paper, the prominent use of sensitive American singer-songwriter music from the 1970s and ‘80s in a modern Norwegian romantic comedy might seem rather incongruous, if not downright anachronistic. But five decades on from some of their biggest successes, Art Garfunkel, Todd Rundgren, Harry Nilsson and Christopher Cross are back on the big screen helping
CBS has renewed four of its most popular unscripted series for the 2022-2023 broadcast season. “Survivor,” “The Amazing Race,” “Tough As Nails” and “Secret Celebrity Renovation” will all return with new seasons next year, the network announced Wednesday. The announcement was made hours before the premiere of the 42nd season of “Survivor,” which airs 8
Tubi has announced the casting and director for “Crushed,” a coming-of-age comedy set to premiere this April on Fox Entertainment’s ad-supported streaming service. “Crushed” follows Kate (Bebe Wood), a romantic high schooler who has a huge crush on classmate Jason (Nicholas Alexander Chavez). But, as she unsuccessfully tries to get together with Jason during their
K-pop fans are anxiously awaiting BTS’ return to South Korea this week for three concerts at the Jamsil Olympic Stadium in Seoul. However, the BTS Army will have to curb its enthusiasm, as clapping, shouting and standing up are strictly prohibited per government COVID protocols. BTS’ management company Big Hit Music said in a statement,
“Turning Red” cast members spoke up in support of the new Pixar film and its universality following a controversial review for the animated movie that was published by CinemaBlend. The review was pulled offline after being called “sexist,” “racist” and more by members of the press. CinemaBlend managing director Sean O’Connell wrote the review, saying
The “Gotham Knights” pilot at The CW has added three new cast members, Variety has learned. Olivia Rose Keegan, Navia Robinson, and Oscar Morgan have all joined the pilot. Variety exclusively reported earlier this week that Fallon Smythe and Tyler DiChiara are also set to star. Based on characters created for DC by Bob Kane with Bill
While businesses across the globe have been pulling out of Russia, many have wondered why the music industry largely has not been following suit. While sanctions have severely hampered Russia’s global business and the music industry is a very small part of that business, the optics on continuing to work in the country are not
iHeart Radio has set performers for the upcoming 2022 iHeart Radio Music Awards, with Megan Thee Stallion, Jason Aldean, John Legend, Charlie Puth and Måneskin all newly announced to perform on the March 22 telecast. The five join two other artists who were previously announced for roles in the event and are now confirmed for performances
TikTok, which has had a measurable effect on music discovery, is now letting individual artists upload — and make money from — their songs directly in the app. TikTok touted SoundOn as an “all-in-one platform” for music marketing and distribution. The platform lets artists upload their music directly to TikTok and earn royalties when TikTok
“Star Wars” fans have been waiting nearly 17 years for Ewan McGregor to return to the franchise as Obi-Wan Kenobi, and that moment is just around the corner thanks to the eponymous Disney Plus series. The show doesn’t premiere until May 25, but Disney has debuted the first trailer for the series and it’s full
Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.” Dylan O’Brien, who shot to fame playing Stiles Stilinski on MTV’s “Teen Wolf,” is opening up about not joining Paramount Plus’ upcoming film revival of the hit television series. “It was a difficult decision. A lot went into it,” O’Brien told me earlier today while promoting his new
The “Cinderella” story for “Drive My Car” has been one of the award season’s most enlightening. The Japanese submission captured a nom for best international feature, best picture, director and adapted screenplay. It became the eighth film in Oscars history to be nominated for both picture and international categories. The others are “Z” (1969), “The
The year 2002 was a perfect year for bops, including Outcast’s “Hey Ya.” Then there was Beyonce’s No. 1 hit “Bootylicious,” which served as the perfect needle drop for the new animated film “Turning Red,” directed by Domee Shi, set in early 2000s Toronto. Pixar’s latest coming-of-age tale, which streams on Disney Plus starting Friday,
America’s dad Tom Hanks transforms into Pinocchio’s dad in the live-action Disney Plus remake of the animated classic. “Pinocchio,” a spin on the 1940 animated Disney film of the same name, is itself adapted from Carlo Collodi’s children’s novel “The Adventures of Pinocchio.” The movie stars Hanks as Geppetto, a childless woodworker desperate for a
CEO Bob Chapek said Wednesday that The Walt Disney Company is pledging $5 million to the Human Rights Campaign and other organizations protecting LGBTQ rights following backlash to the company’s initial quiet response to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, as well as a report that Disney has given money to all of the bill’s sponsors.
“Star Trek” is returning home to the U.S.S. Enterprise. In the first trailer for “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” the fifth “Trek” series set at Paramount Plus, Capt. Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) is seen living in a remote winter cabin (presumably) on Earth. As fans of Mount’s tenure on Season 2 of “Star Trek: Discovery”
While Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy” chronicled the events behind Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s infamous stolen sex tape, Anderson announced last week that she is preparing to tell her side of the story in a new Netflix documentary. Lily James, who plays Anderson in “Pam & Tommy,” says she looks forward to watching it. At
Warner Bros. has shuffled the release dates for several movies, including “Black Adam,” “The Flash,” “Aquaman 2,” “Wonka” and “Shazam 2.” “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” and “The Flash” are both being pushed from 2022 to 2023 due to COVID-induced production delays with visual effects. The Jason Momoa-starring sequel is being pushed back from Dec.
The “Quantum Leap” sequel series pilot at NBC has rounded out its main cast with three new additions. Caitlin Bassett, Nanrisa Lee, and Mason Alexander have all joined the cast of the project. They join previously announced cast members Raymond Lee and Ernie Hudson. In the followup to the original “Quantum Leap,” the new version
“Power Book IV: Force” has been renewed for Season 2 at Starz. The third spinoff of the original “Power” to debut on Starz, the series saw Joseph Sikora return as Tommy Egan, who leaves New York and finds himself caught up in the Chicago drug game. The series also stars Isaac Keys, Lili Simmons, Gabrielle
“The Batman” spinoff series about The Penguin at HBO Max has officially been ordered to series. As Variety exclusively reported in December 2021, Colin Farrell will return for the limited series after starring as the famous Batman villain in the recently released film. Based on the characters created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger for DC,
The bargaining standoff between Major League Baseball and its players that led to last week’s cancellation of Opening Day is a particularly bitter pill to swallow for the local and national outlets that bring games to their most ardent fans — networks that already have experienced two seasons of COVID-driven disruptions. On March 1, MLB
Marielle Heller has set a new first-look deal with Paramount Television Studios for her company, Defiant by Nature. Along with producing partners Havilah Brewster and Leah Holzer, Heller will develop premium television shows for the studio across its platforms. Heller came to prominence as a writer-director for 2015’s “Diary of a Teenage Girl,” for which
Nearly 17 years after his fiery showdown with Anakin Skywalker in “Revenge of the Sith,” Obi-Wan is back. Disney Plus has released the first trailer for “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” the new “Star Wars” series premiering May 25. Set in between the events of the prequel trilogy and the original “Star Wars” trilogy, “Obi-Wan Kenobi” stars Ewan
“We won we won we won we won,” Kanye West wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post Tuesday. The victory he was celebrating? The declaration that his “Donda 2” album will not be eligible for the Billboard 200 album chart, since it is not available apart from the purchase of one of his $200-plus Stem Player
The Tonys will finally become the last of the major awards shows to air live across the continental United States. This year’s ceremony, which marks the 75th annual Tony Awards, will take place on Sunday, June 12, at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. Like last year, the four-hour ceremony will once again kick off