After 49 films, eight Oscar nominations, with two wins for “Glory” (1989) and “Training Day” (2001), Denzel Washington seems to still not be good enough for the Brits, getting snubbed in leading actor by the BAFTA Awards for his work in “The Tragedy of Macbeth.” Despite over 270 accolades across his 45-year career in film,
World sales company Global Screen has released the first-look image of “Recipes for Love and Murder,” which has been chosen for Berlinale Series Market Selects lineup at the European Film Market. Acorn has the rights to the series for the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. The 10-part South African and U.K.
Parkland Entertainment have acquired U.K. and Eire rights to Charles Dance starrer “The Book of Vision.” Parkland plan to release the film theatrically later in 2022. Directed by Carlo S. Hintermann, the psychological thriller sees Eva (played by “Outlander’s” Lotte Verbeek) star as a young doctor who leaves her career behind to take up a
New adaptations of popular adventure reality show “Survivor” are set to roll out across central and southeastern Europe, Banijay Rights, the global distribution arm of Banijay, has revealed. United Media-owned Nova TV in Croatia and Nova S in Serbia will broadcast a first season of the format in late 2022. In addition, TV Markíza in
Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment have joined forces to create Sony Entertainment Talent Ventures India (SETVI), an entertainment company that will offer actors, musicians, sportspersons, gamers and content creators in India opportunities for co-ventures, metaverse solutions, brand partnerships and management. This is the first official cross-corporation joint venture for Sony Group in India.
Barcelona-based Nanouk Films and Funicular Films and Spanish pubcaster TVE are partnering to produce “This is Not Sweden,” a dark comedy half hour which marks the first Spanish show to be presented at the Göteborg’s Festival’s TV Drama Vision. Set in the idyllic Vallvidrera, a suburb in the foothills of the Collserola mountains surrounding Barcelona,
Icelandic smash hit drama series “Blackport” won on Wednesday the 2022 Nordisk Film & TV Prize, Scandinavia’s top plaudit for drama series writing. The award was announced on site at the end of an intense first day of conference panels at the Göteborg Festival’s TV Drama Vision, with two of the series’ three writers, Gísli
The year 2022 has started out strong for Netflix in Arabic-speaking countries, where its edgy originals are making a punchy debut. The streamer’s first Arab original film, “Perfect Strangers,” sparked an uproar in socially conservative Egypt due to its portrayal of a gay male character and taboo storylines. Meanwhile, “Finding Ola” toplines Cairo-based Tunisian star Hend
British telecom major BT Group revealed that on Thursday that it has “entered exclusive discussions with Discovery, Inc. on a deal to create a new sport and entertainment offering for customers in the U.K.” The new business would be a 50/50 joint venture, bringing together BT Sport with Eurosport U.K. “The new combined business would
The Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival, or CPH:DOX as it is known, has announced it will open with “Into the Ice” by Lars Henrik Ostenfeld. A striking film about Greenland’s melting ice sheet, it follows the director on his travels alongside three pioneering glaciologists into the bowels of one of the most hostile places on
International streaming service Start has announced it is developing a limited series adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s classic novel “Crime and Punishment.” Created and directed by Vladimir Mirzoyev (“Russian Death,” “Her Name Was Mumu”), the eight-episode drama series will follow the book’s protagonist Rodion Raskolnikov, as well as his sister Dunya. Like the book, the series
“The Battle at Lake Changjin II” passed the $200 million landmark at the China box office at midday local time on Thursday, the film’s third day of release. Data from Alibaba’s Beacon data tracking service showed the film lying comfortably on top of the mainland Chinese box office chart with RMB166 million (26.1 million) earned
Multihyphenate M. Night Shyamalan is eager to get started on his role as the Berlin Film Festival’s competition jury president. “Part of going to film festivals and seeing these movies is I’m with the very best storytellers that are telling the most different and original stories in their own way,” Shyamalan said. “I’m sure 18
The office romance that led to CNN president Jeff Zucker’s abrupt resignation on Wednesday made for shocking headlines. But for media insiders and employees of the news network, the only surprise was that it had finally gone public, sources told Variety. Zucker’s fondness for CNN chief marketing officer Allison Gollust had been common knowledge for
Leading Indian music label and film studio T-Series is diversifying into producing series designed for streaming platforms and has signed up an A-list directorial talent roster. The company’s stated aim is to create content “which shall appeal to all sectors of the audience, with gripping shows across genres,” including action thrillers, biopics, murder mysteries, jailbreak
Fox is staying radio silent on a report that former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani — more recently remembered for his part in encouraging a coup against the elected United States president on Jan. 6, 2021 — was revealed as a contestant during a recent taping of its reality competition series “The Masked Singer.”
Spike Lee is set to direct a multi-part documentary on athlete and activist Colin Kaepernick for ESPN Films, Variety has confirmed. Production has started on the documentary, which was first announced in July 2020 as part of Kaepernick’s first-look deal with Walt Disney through his production company, Ra Vision Media. “Kaepernick, who has never given a full,
Sheryl Crow, Nick Cave, King Crimson, Dio, XXXTentacion, Tanya Tucker, Chumbawamba, Courtney Barnett, Cesária Évora and Mojo Nixon — together again for the first time: These are some of the highly diverse subjects of a slate of music documentaries (or, in the case of Tierra Whack, a fictional film) set to unspool at the South
CBS is finally confirming its celebrity-driven, “Survivor”-style reality series “Beyond the Edge,” which premieres March 16 at 9 p.m. ET. News of the show first leaked in December, including a list of most of the nine stars who had signed on to participate and compete in Panama. The nine celebrities in “Beyond the Edge” are
The family of late rapper Drakeo the Ruler has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Live Nation, citing a lack of “proper safety measures” at the Once Upon a Time in LA festival on Dec. 18. The 28-year-old rapper was fatally stabbed backstage at the festival, before he was scheduled to perform. The court documents
Ahead of the Oscar nominations announcement, the Academy CEO is touting the largest turnout of voters of its nearly 10,000-person membership in its 94-year history. Following the close of Oscar nomination voting, which ended Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. PT, Dawn Hudson, Academy CEO, sent an email to the membership to praise its “highest ever participation
The death of Cheslie Kryst has spurred an outpouring of emotions around the world, as well as sparked a conversation about mental health awareness. Now, Kryst’s mother is publicly sharing that her daughter privately battled depression — an inner struggle that she did not disclose with even her family and friends. “I have never known
With Oscar nominations just around the corner — they’ll be announced on Feb. 8 — pundits wonder if Academy members will embrace a superhero movie by giving a best picture nod to “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Variety’s film awards editor Clayton Davis wrote in a Dec. 23 column headlined “Can ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Swing
Discovery CEO David Zaslav just added another big item to his long to-do list in preparation for the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger: Find a strong replacement for CNN chief Jeff Zucker. Zucker shocked the industry by stepping down from WarnerMedia, where he was CNN president and chairman of news and sports for WarnerMedia, after an investigation into
Your eyes aren’t deceiving you. In Episode 2 of Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy,” that indeed is Tommy Lee, played by Sebastian Stan, having a deep, honest conversation with his talking penis — voiced by Jason Mantzoukas. It’s unlike anything that has ever been seen on television. Granted, it’s something that couldn’t have ever been seen
Roland Emmerich, the blockbuster filmmaker behind “Independence Day,” “The Day After Tomorrow” and the upcoming “Moonfall,” credited “Star Wars” and superhero movies pumped out by Marvel and DC as “ruining” the film industry. Emmerich’s “Moonfall,” backed by Lionsgate and made on a reported budget in the $140 million range, is the increasingly-rare example of an
It’s been more than two decades since Björk’s once-maligned, now-revered Marjan Pejoski “swan dress” became the talk of the 73rd Academy Awards red carpet, and since then her way-left-of-center proclivities have become more and more commonplace. Kanye West wearing a mask while performing the seismic Yeezus Tour? Lady Gaga’s meat outfit? Katy Perry’s singing, phallic
Spotify’s Daniel Ek addressed questions from investors and reporters in a Q&A session following the release of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings, which showed an increase of 8 million paying subscribers but middling financial results — but reflected a period before the firestorm of controversy around Neil Young and other musicians’ requests to remove their music
The small and powerful Sundance drama “A Love Song” has found worldwide distribution in Sony’s Stage 6 Films and Bleecker Street, Variety has learned exclusively. The acclaimed two-hander about love, loss and loneliness is led by Dale Dickey (“Winter’s Bone,” “Hell or High Water”) and honorary Academy Award winner Wes Studi (“Hostiles,” “The Last of
Starz dropped the first teaser for its Sean Penn and Julia Roberts-led Watergate limited series “Gaslit” on Wednesday, revealing the actors’ on-screen transformations into Attorney General John Mitchell, President Richard Nixon’s most trusted advisor and best friend, and his whistleblower wife Martha Mitchell. Also announced was the show’s premiere date, which Starz has set for