China’s giant Tencent Video has begun playing David Fincher’s classic “Fight Club” with its original dystopian ending now intact. The move to restore the final scenes comes barely two weeks after it emerged that the ending of the film as it played on Chinese streaming had been changed so that law and order prevail. There
Leading entertainment format producer Claire O’Donohoe has joined Banijay U.K. as director of programs. O’Donohoe will work closely with her long-time creative collaborator Natalka Znak, the newly appointed CEO of group companies Remarkable, Initial, and ZnakTV, a company Znak set up in 2021 after departing Sky-backed outfit Znak & Co. O’Donohoe has some two decades
Patriotic blockbuster “The Battle at Lake Changjin II” earned just short of $400 million over the Chinese New Year holidays at a mainland China box office that weighed in at some $950 million. Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway showed “Lake Changjin II” earning $152 million over the Friday to Sunday weekend, comfortably ahead of comedy
Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt (the Munna Bhai franchise, “Vaastav,” “Khal Nayak”) is launching production company Three Dimension Motion Pictures with a view to bringing back the golden age of heroism to the industry. Dutt cites the recent pan-Indian box office success of South Indian film “Pushpa” and the films of “Baahubali” filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli as
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek, under fire from critics inside and outside the company over its partnership with Joe Rogan, said in a memo to employees that was “deeply sorry” for how the controversy over the podcast host has affected them. But after the company’s removal of 70 past episodes “The Joe Rogan Experience” amid Rogan’s
After a flurry that lasted only for the duration of the recent Lunar New Year holidays, theatrical box office in South Korea slumped again over the latest weekend. Nationwide, Korean cinemas earned just $3.22 million between Friday and Sunday. That was the lowest scoring weekend so far in 2022 and followed a disappointing holiday period.
Sensing a potential trend in the possible nominations of three major Oscars categories — best director, actor and actress — we could see a first-time occurrence for the Academy Awards on Tuesday. However, if you read the tea leaves put forth by the nominations for the DGA and SAG, there’s a strong possibility that all
Dejon Ellis, Jr., won a close vote on Sunday to take over as interim leader of IATSE Local 80, in an election marked by lingering hard feelings over last year’s contract negotiations. Local 80 represents about 3,800 grips, as well as craft service workers and set medics. In November, the local voted resoundingly against the
Alexander Hamilton, who died Jan. 30 at age 77, was a conductor and arranger who was able to add “movie star” to his credits in the last years of his life. His work on Aretha Franklin’s 1972 “Amazing Grace” album — certified as the bestselling album of her career — was heard by millions over
Australian streaming service Stan has renewed its exclusive content partnership with Hollywood studio MGM. The deal covers series and film titles. First-run MGM series featured covered by the agreement include: “Billy the Kid,” an epic romantic-adventure series from MGM’s U.S. cable network Epix; “The Box,” a supernatural psychological thriller starring Anna Friel; and the French-Riviera-set
Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” won four major awards at the 42nd annual London Critics’ Circle Film Awards on Sunday. “The Power of the Dog” won film of the year, Campion director of the year, and stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Kodi Smit-McPhee, actor and supporting actor of the year, respectively. This is Campion’s
Netflix has been in the original programming business for a whole decade now, as Feb. 6, 2022 marks the 10th anniversary of the premiere of “Lilyhammer” on the streaming service. On Sunday, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos released an essay commemorating the anniversary and reflecting on the company’s roots in content for international audiences. “Looking back,
Julian Fowles, a film and television producer who worked at KCET and Esparza/Katz Productions, died in a hospital in Miami, Flor. on Saturday while recovering from a stroke. He was 76 years old. Fowles’ death was confirmed to Variety by his colleague William Immerman. Before operating in entertainment, Fowles graduated from Harvard Law School and worked as
A decade after she had to convince her label that her choice of a first single wasn’t far too depressing and slow — and despite a baffling, ongoing lack of support from radio (country or otherwise) since — Kacey Musgraves has become a superstar capable of selling out arenas by simply being her sweet, weird
Kanye West is making shocking claims about Kim Kardashian — now suggesting she’s under the impression he wants to take her life … this as it appears she’s blocked his number. Ye was at it again Sunday … posting a fresh round of all-caps IG captions, taking aim at his estranged wife. Only this time
After living through nearly two years of a pandemic that won’t end, Americans, as it turns out, were in desperate need of a laugh. That may explain why Paramount’s go-for-broke action comedy “Jackass Forever” triumphed at the domestic box office while Roland Emmerich’s disaster epic “Moonfall” turned into an epic disaster. “Jackass Forever,” the fourth
Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in the World,” about a young woman figuring out life and love, might have brought Renate Reinsve the best actress award at Cannes, but the two actually started their collaboration in 2011 on “Oslo, August 31st” – Reinsve’s very first film. “I was an extra with one line,” she said
Versatile Finnish helmer A.J. Annila (“Sauna,” “Shadow Lines,” “Peacemaker”) is on board to direct the thriller series with a working title of “ID” which marks HBO Max’s first commission of a Finnish premium TV show. Set in the art fraud world, the six-part series is co-created by seasoned writer Aleksi Bardy (“Tom of Finland,” “Moscow
2021 was another annus horribilis for cinemagoing in the Nordics, due to on-going and strict Covid restrictions that halved admissions compared to pre-pandemic levels. Released late September/early October when cinemas for once ran at full capacity, “No Time to Die” literally saved the film year, and even ranked No. 1 among all James Bond movies ever
Indian singer and Bollywood icon Lata Mangeshkar died Feb. 6 in Mumbai, India. She was 92 and was suffering from multiple post-COVID complications. She was admitted to Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital in January with pneumonia. Indian media have reported that she also had heart problems. The Indian government has declared a two-day period of national
Shaun White has announced his official retirement from competitive snowboarding, with Beijing 2022 marking not only his last time on the Olympic stage, but also in any official competition. “It will be my last competition, which is pretty special,” White told a news conference in Zhangjiakou, China on Saturday, according to the official Olympic website.
Kay Hanley, best known as the frontperson for Letters to Cleo and co-founder of the activist group Songwriters of North America (SONA), felt gratified when Spotify was put in the spotlight by some musicians who hadn’t weighed in before in the wake of the Joe Rogan controversy. She writes a guest column for Variety amplifying
NBC Sports says 16 million viewers tuned in to watch the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Friday, an all-time low for Olympic ceremonies on linear television. That’s around 43% down compared to the 28.3 million viewers that watched the PyeongChang Winter Olympics opening ceremony in February 2018. Friday’s torch-lighting in Beijing aired live
Eddie Vedder says he hated Motley Crue in the ’80s, and now one of the big-hair band’s very own is firing off his thoughts on the matter … calling Pearl Jam a snore-fest. Bassist Nikki Sixx tweeted out some zingers Saturday, writing … “Made me laugh today reading how much the singer in Pearl Jam
The Spanish Film Academy announced on Friday that its first-ever International Goya Award will be received by Cate Blanchett. Currently presided by Mariano Barroso, the Spanish Film Academy created the award to “honor artists that have contributed to cinema as a medium that brings together different cultures and people.” In Friday’s announcement, Blanchett was recognized
In “Excess Will Save Us” – named this week joint winner of Rotterdam Film Festival’s Special Jury Award – Morgane Dziurla-Petit returns to Villereau, a village in the north of France where nothing ever happens. Or, according to some of the locals, everything does – from freak accidents to terrorist scares and the curious case
Danish debut feature helmer-writer Tea Lindeburg’s period drama “As In Heaven,” that portrays a fateful summer day and night in 19th century farming society, came away the biggest winner at the 44th Göteborg Film Festival, scoring on Saturday the best Nordic film kudo, this year worth approx. $44,000. Meanwhile, Seidi Haarla of Finland’s Oscar-shortlisted drama, “Compartment
On the basis of his solo show at New York’s Beacon Theater on Friday night, Eddie Vedder hasn’t lost his sense of spontaneity. Since last May, the Pearl Jam frontman unexpectedly recorded an album with a new group of musicians and is now on the road with them for his first performances in indoor venues
Kanye West now has someone in his corner over his very public spat with Kim Kardashian over parenting — and that’d be one Candace Owens … whose support he appreciates. Ye took to IG Saturday to thank the conservative political pundit for voicing support over whether Kanye and Kim’s daughter, North, should be on TikTok
For the Ayoreo Totobiegosode people, the word “eami” means forest and world. Such twinned meaning speaks to the way this indigenous community understands the environment around them. The forest is their world. Or was. For now, the Paraguayan Chaco where the Ayoreo Totobiegosode live is the territory with the highest deforestation rate in the world.