Jacqueline West searched far and wide to bring the expansive world of Denis Villeneueve’s “Dune: Part Two” to life. The seasoned artisan recruited the help of locals in Budapest and jewelry makers in the Middle East to tell a visual story through costume, particularly with the female characters in the film. She also looked to
Robert Downey Jr. revealed last summer that his audition for Nancy Meyers’ “The Holiday” went poorly after Kate Winslet roasted his accent work. Now Winslet herself is admitting to hating Downey Jr.’s interpretation of the character ultimately played by Jude Law. Winslet recently appeared on “The Tonight Show” while promoting her new HBO series “The
Berlin-winning Argentine helmer Ariel Rotter (“Incident Light,” “The Others”) debuts his latest feature “A Blue Bird” (“Un Pájaro Azul”) to Spanish audiences in Málaga this week, the film screening in a particularly robust out-of-competition 19 title lineup that include Benito Zembrano’s “Jumping the Fence” and Morena Films-backed “Puntos Suspensivos,” from David Marqués. Produced by Argentina’s
“Deadpool” star Karan Soni (Dopinder) told Variety this week that a ton of surprise cameos were filmed for the upcoming third installment, “Deadpool and Wolverine,” adding: “Let’s just say a lot of people traveled to London [for filming].” One actor who apparently did not make it to London was Vinnie Jones, who debuted as Juggernaut
Chris Harrison, former host of “The Bachelor,” will return to television as the co-host of a morning show and the host and creator of a new reality dating series. He will also team up with Dr. Phil McGraw to contribute to “Dr. Phil Primetime.” This is part of an overall deal Harrison signed with McGraw’s
Being an actor and talking about your work is challenging. Let me slip into my America Ferrara voice for this part… You have to be confident, but not arrogant. You have to believe in yourself and your talent but appear humble and even shocked by the praise. You have to speak eloquently about your craft
Jim Beard, a keyboardist, producer and arranger who was playing for Steely Dan since 2008, has died due to complications from a sudden illness. He was 63. A rep for the musician confirmed Beard’s death to Variety in a statement issued on Wednesday. Beard died in a New York hospital surrounded by loved ones. Steely
The standoff between Universal Music Group and TikTok took another turn on Wednesday when the trade group National Music Publishers Association sent a letter to its members saying that it does not expect to renew its license with the China-based platform when it expires at the end of next month. “Recently, the press has highlighted
Ming-Na Wen has joined the cast of Sony’s new “Karate Kid” film. Previously announced cast members include “American Born Chinese” star Ben Wang in the titular role, plus Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio, who will reprise their characters from previous entries in the franchise. Joshua Jackson will also star. Much like the film’s plot, details
Women dancing, women singing, women burning their hijab: these acts of defiance shape Iranian filmmaker Farahnaz Sharifi’s feature-length debut, “My Stolen Planet.” After premiering in Berlinale’s Panorama section and winning a second place Audience Award, the film now competes for the Golden Alexander at Thessaloniki International Doc Fest. Prior to her feature, Sharifi made eight
Attorneys gave their closing arguments in the “Rust” trial in Santa Fe, N.M., on Wednesday, with the prosecution urging jurors to find Hannah Gutierrez Reed guilty of involuntary manslaughter and to hold her accountable for an “astonishing” lack of gun safety on the film set. Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey argued that as the film’s armorer,
CBS and the NAACP are developing a new daytime soap opera under their content partnership. The series, currently titled “The Gates,” would air on the CBS Television Network with the CBS Studios NAACP production venture producing in partnership with P&G Studios, a division of Procter & Gamble. The official description of “The Gates” states that
Grasshopper Films has acquired U.S. distribution rights to “The 50,” a documentary from Brenton Gieser centered on some of the nation’s first incarcerated substance abuse counselors. The film will be released on VOD on April 9, tied to a series of special screenings in Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Francisco. Additional markets will follow as
Loyola Marymount University has introduced a new master’s program to its fall 2024 lineup: the Master in Entertainment Leadership and Management (MELM). The program is a collaboration between LMU School of Film and Television (SFTV) and LMU College of Business Administration (CBA), is strategically curated to provide individuals with a deep understanding of how productions
Variety‘s senior awards editor Clayton Davis will make his return to the Oscars pre-show “Countdown to Oscars: On the Red Carpet Live,” airing on ABC from 1:00-4:00 p.m. EDT/10:00-1:00 p.m. PDT. Davis has been tracking awards season for Variety since 2020; his predictions for this year’s Oscars can be found here. Hosted by “World News
Reviews for Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt’s action comedy “The Fall Guy” are still under embargo, but Gosling has already gotten all the praise he needs thanks to Steven Spielberg. The two ran into each other earlier this year at the Golden Globes, and Spielberg apparently made it a priority to let Gosling known that
Sony Pictures Entertainment is upping its head of television Ravi Ahuja to president and chief operating officer of the entire studio. While not explicitly stated by SPE chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra in his internal memo regarding Ahuja’s appointment to the No. 2 role, it is a clear indication of Vinciquerra’s succession plan for when
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. “The Masked Singer” officially returns for its 11th season this Wednesday. This season of “The Masked Singer,” which is back on Wednesday, March 6, at 8 p.m. ET, will feature themed episodes including “The
Tim Allen is one step closer to returning to ABC for a third time. The Alphabet net has given a pilot order to his latest sitcom, “Shifting Gears,” from 20th Television. Allen is on board to star and executive produce the multi-cam sitcom pilot — which is still a working title — which will also
Sideral, the Madrid-based integrated production-distribution-sales label, has acquired Spanish distribution rights to Enrique Buleo’s black comedy film “Bodegón con fantasmas” (“Still Life with Ghosts”), one of the six films playing at Málaga’s WIP España sidebar. Buleo’s first feature, “Still Life with Ghosts” has been produced by Alejandra Mora at Valencia’s Quatre Films (“Tehran Blues,” “An
At the West Hollywood Edition on March 6, where Greta Gerwig was honored as one of Time’s Women of the Year, the record-breaking director spoke to her artistic process and the possibility of a “Barbie” sequel. “My North Star is ‘What do I deeply love? What do I really care about? Like, ‘What’s the story
A myriad of sentiments converge when estranged siblings meet to unpack the weight of their father’s recent death in Spain’s Álex Montoya’s third feature “La Casa,” adapted from the Eisner-winning graphic novel by Paco Roca and sold by Latido Films. The film, which bowed last night, figures in the official competition selection at this year’s
Bazinga again! “The Big Bang Theory” stars Jim Parsons and Mayim Bialik will guest star on the series finale of CBS’ “Young Sheldon,” reuniting as Sheldon Cooper and Amy Farrah Fowler. Details of the episode, which airs Thursday, May 16, and how Parsons and Bialik will be incorporated into it, remains a secret. Parsons, of
David Simon is developing a new series at HBO, Variety has learned exclusively. Simon is attached to write and executive produce the drama project, currently titled “The System.” Lily Thorne and Larissa MacFarquhar will also write and co-executive produce, with Kiese Laymon also attached to write. The project is based on a series of New
“Reacher” Season 3 has added four new actors to its cast. Brian Tee, Johnny Berchtold, Roberto Montesinos and Daniel David Stewart will all join the cast of the Amazon Prime Video series. Tee will play Quinn, described as a “physically imposing and intimidating” lieutenant colonel whom Reacher investigated years ago. Berchtold has been cast as
As tradition, The Walt Disney Co. is embracing synergy across its divisions to stoke awareness and tune-in for Sunday night’s 96th Oscars — a more pressing issue this year as not only does this year’s event take place the first day of Daylight Saving Time, but it’s set to begin at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT —
The battle between Apple and Epic Games continues to rage on. Epic Games on Wednesday said Apple terminated its developer account for Sweden, which the games company said it had planned to use to launch the Epic Games Store and “Fortnite” on iOS devices in Europe. That came less than three weeks after Apple had
The debut of the FX limited series “Shōgun” has proven to be a hit with audiences. The premiere episodes of the 10-episode series has pulled in 9 million views globally across Hulu, Disney+ and Star+ in its first six days of availability, with a view defined as total stream time divided by runtime. That is
“The Serpent Queen” Season 2 has added 10 new cast members, including Oscar nominee Minnie Driver. Driver, known for her roles in films like “Good Will Hunting” and shows like “Speechless,” will recur in the series alongside fellow new series regulars Angus Imrie (“Emma,” “Fleabag”), Emma McDonald (“Moonhaven,” “Low Rider”), Stanley Morgan (“I Used to
Tom Hanks, who has helped producer documentary series about U.S. unrest in the 1960s and travels to the moon, will return to some of the most fertile ground in his unscripted career. The actor and producer will host and narrate a new 20-part documentary series on A+E Networks‘ History Channel about World War II, which