Attorneys for the members of Nirvana have asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed in August by the man who was the “naked baby” on the cover of the 1991 “Nevermind” album, on the basis that the legal arguments that the image constitutes child pornography are decades too late as well as too silly.
Michael B. Jordan is aware of the fact that audiences will leave “A Journal for Jordan” talking about his booty. There are a number of intimate and heartfelt moments in the Columbia Pictures romantic drama directed by Denzel Washington, which tells the true story of the late 1st Sgt. Charles Monroe King (Jordan) and his
At a time when the global content business is moving faster than ever, many writers feel like they’re still stuck in second gear by the nature of series deal contracts that haven’t kept pace with the times. At present, networks, studios and streamers can hold writers and talent under exclusive deals for anywhere from nine
One of the most anticipated of series from Latin America in 2022, Lucía Puenzo’s “Señorita 89” will premiere in the U.S. on Feb. 27, bowing on Spanish-language streaming service Pantaya which has also dropped official teaser key art and a first-look teaser trailer. Produced by Academy Award winners Pablo and Juan de Dios Larraín and
Olivia Rodrigo, BTS, Bad Bunny, Doja Cat, Pooh Shiesty were among the artists topping the major streaming services’ year-end charts, according to a list distributed Thursday by the Digital Media Association, of which Amazon, Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify and YouTube are members. DIMA noted that streaming continued to rise in 2021, and that major hip-hop
Just like the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the rising omicron variant has forced a wave of new cancellations and postponements of events heading into 2022. The Slamdance Film Festival is going completely virtual in 2022. The start of the festival will be delayed by a week and now run from January 27
“Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” alum Kapil Talwalkar has joined the “Charmed” reboot’s fourth season on The CW. The Indian American actor, who played Tobin in the NBC musical dramedy and its follow-up special “Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas” for Roku, has been cast in a recurring role as Dev. The character is described as a handsome, intense and
Fandoms like to argue over whether Mariah Carey or Darlene Love is the true queen of Christmas. But can you really be queen if you aren’t doing Christmas music full-time? That is the musical question raised by a lesser known contender for the throne, Elizabeth Chan, who has staked her claim as the only singer-songwriter
Joan Didion, the author revered for her coolly dispassionate essays and novels such as “Play It as It Lays,” has died, her publisher confirmed to The New York Times on Wednesday. She was 87. Knopf executive Paul Bogaards said the cause was Parkinson’s Disease. Along with her late husband John Gregory Dunne, Didion co-wrote screenplays
“Spider-Man: No Way Home,” the grand finale in Marvel’s web-slinging superhero trilogy, has crossed another major box office milestone, surpassing $800 million globally. After only 10 days on the big screen, the latest Tom Holland-led Spidey adventure has become the highest-grossing Hollywood movie of the year with $813.9 million worldwide. On Wednesday, it passed MGM’s
Penélope Cruz first met Pedro Almodóvar when she was cast in his 1997 film, “Live Flesh.” Almodóvar had originally wanted her to star in “Kika,” but Cruz was too young for the role. The director promised her he would write a character for another movie, and he did. It would mark the beginning of their
Paul Thomas Anderson has surveyed L.A.’s San Fernando Valley from every angle in films like “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia” and “Punch-Drunk Love.” For his latest, “Licorice Pizza,” which opens wide on Dec. 25, he went back to his early memories of the sprawling suburbs, combining them with events from the life of his childhood-friend producer Gary
It’s time to have a serious conversation about “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and what it can achieve at the Oscars this year. Looking at the Oscars shortlists announced on Tuesday, the third chapter in the Tom Holland universe showed up in two categories — sound and visual effects — despite its late release. Unlike most
The roll-up media venture led by ex-Disney execs Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer has set its next acquisition: Faraway Road Productions, the Israeli entertainment company behind Netflix series “Fauda” and “Hit & Run,” Variety has confirmed. The deal for Tel Aviv, Israel-based Faraway — founded by and headed by Avi Issacharoff and Lior Raz (pictured
The Variety CES Entertainment Summit will no longer take place next month in-person in Las Vegas, given the recent increase in COVID cases. The event is being adapted as an online-only series of keynote conversations and panel discussions with industry leaders set for Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. The Variety Winter Entertainment Summit: Innovations in Technology
This year’s Oscar race is in a bio rhythm, with a huge percentage of films based upon real people and events. Merriam-Webster defines “biopic” as simply a biographical movie. That’s true, but there’s a wide range under that umbrella term, as this year’s contenders remind us. They include films that span several years, including: “A
China will be the world’s largest box office market for the second year running, overturning the decade-long rankings and staying ahead of the North American market as it did in for the first time in 2020. And, even if “Spider-Man: No Way Home” avoids becoming caught in a web of omicron-related shutdowns to become the
The U.K. government has implemented further emergency funding to tide over arts, cultural and historical organizations impacted by the rising wave of COVID-19 infections caused by the new Omicron variant. £1.5 million ($2 million) support has also been announced for creative freelancers alongside a further £1.35 million ($1.8 million) contribution from the theatre sector. The
Coldplay is set to stop making music in 2025, lead singer Chris Martin has confirmed. The vocalist made the announcement during a pre-recorded BBC radio show, which he is co-presenting with British host Jo Whiley. Although the Christmas-themed show is set to be broadcast on Thursday evening, a clip in which Martin confirmed the band’s
Locally-made films, especially animated titles, dominated the Japanese box office in 2021. The territory is usually the world’s third biggest cinema market, behind China and North America. Though official figures compiled by the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (Eiren), will be not be announced until next month, numbers from the Pick Scene movie rankings
Akshay Kumar is India’s busiest actor, working through the pandemic and delivering hits across platforms. Over the years he has proved to be Bollywood’s banker with rarely a misstep at the box office. During the pandemic era, his horror-comedy “Laxmii” debuted directly on streamer Disney Plus Hotstar and racked up big numbers for the service.
Comcast-owned Sky Studios has struck a development deal with Dorothy St Pictures, the production company behind titles including Bruce Lee documentary “Be Water” and Audible Original “Killer Book Club.” Founded by Julia Nottingham, Dorothy St Pictures describes itself as the “female-led home for filmmakers, both new and established” with an aim to approach topics from
Comparisons between “The Silent Sea” — Netflix’s latest Korean-language drama — and this fall’s streaming phenom “Squid Game” extend well beyond their common tongue. On “The Silent Sea,” a group of desperate individuals enter into a perilous situation as a last-ditch attempt for salvation; their quest begins with the painful recognition of the economic inequality
After a spate of bad publicity over winning a Goliath-versus-David lawsuit, Eric Clapton’s management has announced it does not intend to collect the money owed by a German woman who was sued for putting a bootleg CD of a 1980s Clapton concert up for sale on eBay. The woman had been ordered to pay approximately
Richard Conway, a special effects supervisor who collaborated closely with director Terry Gilliam, has died, his family announced. He was 79. Conway began working in television in the 1960s, where he began his career working alongside Gerry Anderson. He worked on shows such as “Thunderbirds,” “Captain Scarlet” and “Joe 90”. While there, Conway met fellow
Choreographer Sherrie Silver calls Universal’s “Sing 2” a dream to work on and highlights the film’s plotline featuring Johnny (voiced by Taron Egerton), a soulful gorilla who doesn’t know how to dance but eventually finds the confidence to. Silver’s line of work often finds her collaborating with models and stars who don’t always know how
For a genre that’s so often been defined (often by its detractors) as cheap and easy, reality television sure has had to work hard to make it through its adolescence. There were those tough toddler years spent eating scorpions and lying in tarantula tanks; a coming of age obsessed with the home lives of wayward
The Critics Choice Association announced Wednesday that it has postponed its in-person awards gala amid rising concerns regarding COVID-19 and the Omicron variant. The winners were set to be revealed by hosts Taye Diggs and Nicole Byer on Sunday, Jan. 9. The ceremony will still broadcast live in person on The CW and TBS at
To what lengths would you go to save your loved ones from the pain of losing you? That’s the question Cameron Turner (played by two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali) must answer in “Swan Song,” the Apple original drama about a terminally ill man who yearns to spare his wife Poppy (Oscar nominee Naomie Harris) and
Tony Leung Chiu-wai will follow up his turn as the controversial patriarch Wenwu in “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” with a lead role in Bona Film Group’s next patriotic juggernaut: the World War II-era spy thriller “Anonymous,” which just wrapped shooting this week. The movie is the third installment of Bona’s “China