In a major move in the publishing world, Sony Music Publishing has announced the appointment of Walter Jones as executive vice president and head of A&R, effective February 22. In the role, he will oversee the company’s U.S. A&R efforts and work closely with the U.S. creative team to further support both emerging and established
The NFT train keeps steaming along: Universal Music Group is the first major music company to ink a partnership with Curio, a nonfungible token platform focused on entertainment brands. Under the deal, Curio will serve as a dedicated global outlet for future officially licensed NFT projects from UMG’s record labels, operating companies and recording artists
Perhaps you know the feeling, the strange tingle of vertigo you get when you’re having an entirely normal conversation with an acquaintance, and you suddenly realize that for seemingly no reason — and often about the most inconsequential things — they are lying to you. Jöns Jönsson’s “Axiom,” a standout in this year’s Berlinale Encounters
Fremantle and Italy’s Cinecittà have entered a five-year pact involving the continuous rental of six sound stages at the iconic studios, which are currently undergoing a major revamp. The deal “confirms Fremantle’s strategic decision to make some of its top international productions in Italy: a decision that finds the perfect and natural partner in Cinecittà,”
The Berlin Film Festival has revealed the final COVID figures from the week-long event, whose industry element wrapped on Wednesday. Over seven days (Feb. 10-16), the festival found 128 positive cases from 10,938 tests. That means that of all those who were tested — a group that spans industry delegates, film teams and non-boosted audience
Georgia Flood and Thierry Frémont have joined Disney Plus original U.K. series “Nautilus.” The series, inspired by Julie Verne’s novel “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea,” stars Shazad Latif (“Star Trek: Discovery”) in the lead role. Shooting is underway in Australia’s Queensland-based Village Roadshow Studios. The series switches the viewpoint on Verne’s classic story, giving viewers
Play video content TMZ.com Some might say Hazel-E‘s crossed a line in her viral feud — but she has no regrets about clapping back at Winnie Harlow the way she has, and insists there’s more to come. Hazel-E went on the “It’s Tricky with Raquel Harper” podcast to break down her war of words with
“The Novelist’s Film,” which Wednesday earned Korean director Hong Sang-soo the Grand Jury Prize in Berlin, has scored multiple rights deals. With Seoul-based Finecut handling the rights sales, the film was licensed to Ama Films for Greece and Cyprus, Mimosa Films for Japan, L’Atalante Cinema for Spain, Arizona Films Distribution for France and to The
Anyone who’s ever scoffed at a company referring to its employees as family will immediately hear alarm bells ringing when Zhanna (Lyudmila Vasilyeva), the matriarch who runs Produkty 24, tells her workers they aren’t just employees, they’re her children. It won’t take long for “Convenience Store” to justify that skepticism and then some: A highlight
CBS has given a pilot order to “Rust Belt News,” a comedy written and executive produced by Matt Warburton. The single-camera series is set in a small Ohio town where the local newspaper goes out of business, leaving the ambitious, angsty reporters of the high school newspaper as the only people left to report on
Warner Bros. has asserted that it still rules Middle-earth when it comes to film rights to “The Lord of the Rings.” The studio has publicly stated its control over film adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy trilogy amid rumblings in the industry that a clutch of “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” rights are
“The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett” creator Jon Favreau delivered the ultimate “Star Wars” gift to fans in January 2020 by posting a photo of Baby Yoda (or Grogu as he’s officially named) with franchise creator George Lucas on set. Lucas was pictured embracing the Baby Yoda puppet with delight, but it turns
“Fuller House,” which until now could only be seen via streaming on Netflix, is coming to linear TV. GAC Family has become the cable TV home for “Fuller House.” All 75 episodes of “Fuller House” will begin airing on GAC Family Feb. 28, following an agreement with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. The series will
“Yellowstone” actor Forrie J. Smith will not attend the upcoming Screen Actors Guild Awards due to rules requiring all attendees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The “Yellowstone” cast is nominated in the top category of ensemble in a television drama alongside “Succession,” “Squid Game,” “The Morning Show” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.” The nomination marked “Yellowstone’s”
As a kid growing up in downtown New York City, Scarlett Johansson would regularly see Kate Moss and Gisele Bündchen on David Yurman billboards overlooking Soho. So it was “a very nice, really big deal” when she was handpicked—along with actor Henry Golding—as the latest David Yurman muse to get her very own XL ad,
Welcome to this week’s “Just for Variety.” Matthew McConaughey hasn’t exactly shut the door on appearing in the third installment of Channing Tatum’s stripper franchise “Magic Mike.” But the actor, who appeared in the 2012 original (but said no to 2015’s “Magic Mike XXL”), is still waiting for his phone to ring about “Magic Mike’s
In the entertainment industry, the name WetaFX is synonymous with high-end visual effects. CEO Prem Akkaraju wants to make the firm, founded by filmmakers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, a marquee name for original content as well. As he explains on the latest episode of Variety podcast “Strictly Business,” Akkaraju has helped reorganize the company’s
As we all know, getting ready is almost as good as actually going out. Yellowjackets’ breakout star Ella Purnell agrees. “I love putting on some music, guzzling coffee, catching up with the hair and make-up team (today it was with the insanely talented Min Min Ma and Renato Campora), and just seeing what we come
Candace Bushnell, the author whose 1996 book anthology “Sex and the City” was adapted into the iconic HBO series of the same name, was left “really startled” by sequel series “And Just Like That.” Bushnell dropped her “And Just Like That” reaction during a recent interview with The New Yorker. “And Just Like That” polarized
Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy” has set the internet alight as viewers tune in each week to see Lily James and Sebastian Stan take on the wild antics of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. Not only are audiences talking about the amazing transformations, but they’re also buzzing about the costumes, or in some scenes, the lack
Stubb’s, the intimate outdoor music venue in Austin that has been one of the principal locations for South by Southwest for the last quarter-century, has been purchased by Austin-based C3 Presents and its parent company Live Nation, the companies announced Tuesday. Although the acquisition was completed at the end of 2021, it was not revealed
These days, Tom Holland is never too far from the top of box office charts. The “Spider-Man: No Way Home” actor is returning to theaters this weekend as a different kind of vigilante in Sony’s “Uncharted,” an action adventure based on the popular video game. The film is expected to make $27 million between Friday
The full lineup of exclusive titles for April’s Record Store Day has been announced, with the expected title from official RSD 2022 ambassador Taylor Swift. Her first-time release of a “The Lakes” single leads the way for hundreds of releases that range from a deluxe “Blue Velvet” soundtrack reissue and two John Williams 90th-birthday releases
Any comic book movie fan hoping Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” would be the first Caped Crusader film with an R rating was surely disappointed when Warner Bros. confirmed Jan. 12 the film is rated PG-13 for “strong violent and disturbing content, drug content, strong language and some suggestive material.” Rumors circulated for months about an
“You are not here for a cure,” the founder of a 26-day sexual therapy retreat tells the small group of women enrolled in her program at the outset of “That Kind of Summer.” Laying out the ground rules for the sensitive self-awareness exercise that follows — a loosely structured hiatus from unhealthy temptations, designed for
Karrueche Tran has signed with sister companies M88 and UNCMMN for representation, Variety has learned exclusively. The companies will work in tandem to grow Tran’s work across film, TV, fashion, and in the digital space. Tran currently stars in Peacock’s drama series “Bel-Air,” a reinvention of the beloved sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” She is
Frank Pesce, a character actor who appeared in both “Beverly Hills Cop” movies, “Top Gun,” “Midnight Run” and “Miami Vice,” died on Feb. 6 due to dementia complications. He was 75. Born in 1946 in New York City, Pesce’s circle of friends included Sylvester Stallone, Tony Danza and Robert Forster, among others. Known for his
The new documentary series “Lincoln’s Dilemma” begins and ends outside of Abraham Lincoln’s era — opening with footage of the siege on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and concluding only weeks later, with the journalist Jelani Cobb’s observation that the military “occupied” Washington to keep Joe Biden safe at his inauguration. But the point
Spotify, aiming to juice sales of its podcasting ad biz, has acquired two companies in the space: Podsights, a podcast advertising measurement service, and Chartable, a podcast analytics platform for publishers. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed. The addition of Podsights and Chartable will help make the audio-streaming giant a more attractive partner
David Duchovny (“Californication”) and Ron Livingston (“A Million Little Things”) round out the cast of Signature Films’ inheritance battle comedy “The Estate.” The actors join a star-studded cast that includes leads Toni Collette and Anna Faris, alongside Kathleen Turner, Rosemary DeWitt and Keyla Monterroso. Production is currently underway in New Orleans. Directed by Dean Craig,