Jenne Casarotto, co-founder of the London agency Casarotto Ramsay & Associates which represents some of the leading names working behind the camera, died on Feb. 29. She was 77. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Jenne Casarotto, co-founder of Casarotto Ramsay & Associates,” said the company in a statement. With
It’s finally time to return to Arrakis. Denis Villeneuve‘s “Dune: Part Two” has arrived, making a mighty $12 million in previews at the box office from more than 3,400 theaters. Big-screen Imax showings made up $4.5 million of that huge haul. Warner Bros. and Legendary’s epic sci-fi sequel is projected to make between $70 million
Most eyes are fixated upon the latest and greatest ready-to-wear, bags, and shoes that appear on each runway and at every presentation during fashion month, but mine often veer toward the jewelry. And why shouldn’t they? After all, accessories can often serve as the final touch to complete your outfit—and I’m currently on the watch
The first trailer has been unveiled for Luke Willis’ documentary “Lady Like,” which will have its world premiere as the closing film of BFI Flare London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival. The film follows the story of London-born, San Francisco-based drag queen Lady Camden, AKA Rex Wheeler, as she is catapulted into the spotlight on “RuPaul’s Drag
Lock your doors, because Lionsgate has released the trailer for the upcoming horror film “The Strangers: Chapter 1,” set to release on May 17. The third film in “The Strangers” franchise, which originated with Bryan Bertino’s 2008 film, stars Madelaine Petsch as a woman moving to the Pacific Northwest to start anew with her fiancé.
Outgoing Berlinale artistic director Carlo Chatrian has spoken out about the political discourse surrounding the festival’s closing ceremony this year. As the Berlinale handed out prizes on Saturday night, several winning filmmakers took the opportunity in their acceptance speeches to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. The Instagram of the Berlinale’s Panorama section was also
The thing about wardrobe essentials no one ever talks about is that they mean something different to everyone, and are heavily dependent on personal style. In other words, an item that’s a staple in one person’s closet might not work as hard in another’s—and that’s perfectly okay! But there are those truly timeless pieces that
“Hacks” is back. Max has released the first teaser for the Emmy-winning comedy series’ upcoming third season, along with an announcement that the first two episodes will debut on the streamer on May 2. Following the two-episode premiere, Max will debut two more episodes of “Hacks” weekly before debuting a single-episode season finale on May
Samara Joy has taken a detour from jazz with her new song “Why I’m Here,” featured as part of the upcoming Netflix film “Shirley” about the first Black congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. Produced by and co-written with PJ Morton, “Why I’m Here” sees the 24-year-old singer straying from her jazz roots, playing as a sweeping, anthemic
Jim Reeve, a British entertainment executive and producer with more than 40 years experience in the business, died on Feb. 27. He was 64. Reeve founded and was chair of U.K. media company Great Point. “It is with profound sadness that Great Point must confront the sudden and unexpected loss of our founder, mentor and
Danish sales outfit DR Sales, attached to the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning doc “A New Kind of Wilderness,” has boarded another high-quality Norwegian documentary – “Phantoms of the Sierra Madre” by the multi-awarded Håvard Bustnes (“Raging Grannies,” “Golden Dawn Girls”). The epic and self-reflective film, made in partnership with the Mescalero Apache Tribe, is
BBC Studios has tapped Nicola Pinn for the newly-created role of chief operating officer of factual productions. BBC Studios factual managing director Kate Ward unveiled Pinn’s promotion. Pinn moves up from her previous role as factual’s director of production. She will continue to lead production and business management across BBC Studios’ factual portfolio as well
Lena Dunham‘s Netflix comedy series “Too Much” has filled out its cast with a star-studded lineup, Variety has learned exclusively. Joining previously announced series leads Megan Stalter and Will Sharpe will be: Richard E. Grant (“Saltburn”), Stephen Fry (“The Dropout”), Janicza Bravo (“Sharp Stick”), Michael Zegen (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), Rhea Perlman (“Cheers”), Rita Wilson
Pathé has defended its 2022 film “The Lost King” — starring Steve Coogan and produced by his company Baby Cow Productions — after legal action was launched by the one of the real-life characters it depicts. Richard Taylor, a former deputy registrar at the U.K.’s University of Leicester, is suing Coogan, alongside his BBC Studios-owned Baby Cow,
Bollywood star Yami Gautam reveals her process in making “Article 370” and has addressed the issue of the film being banned in the Middle East. A political action thriller, the film deals with the events leading to the 2019 revocation of Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which granted special status to the Indian state
Following its world premiere in the competition section of the Berlin Film Festival, Beta Cinema has revealed first sales across Europe and to Australia and New Zealand for Andreas Dresen’s “From Hilde, With Love.” The drama about anti-Nazi activists in Berlin, which is led by “Babylon Berlin’s” Liv Lisa Fries and introduces Johannes Hegemann in
Italian director Paolo Taviani, who with his late brother Vittorio formed the revered filmmaking duo that in 1977 won the Cannes Palme d’Or for “Padre Padrone,” has died at 92. Taviani died on Thursday in a Rome clinic after suffering from a short illness, according to Italian media reports. “Paolo Taviani, a great maestro of
SONGBIRD’S SORROW Atlas Distribution Company, a U.S. indie distributor, has set Vietnamese-American co-production film “A Fragile Flower” on course for a theatrical release in the U.S. Produced by the duo Mai Thu Huyen and Jacqueline Thu Thao, the romantic musical drama, with a screenplay by Vietnamese singing sensation Nhat Ha, is set debut from Mar. 29.
BBC Studios has bought British broadcaster ITV‘s 50% stake in streamer BritBox International for £255 million ($322 million), the companies revealed on Friday. The streamer was founded in 2017 as a joint venture between BBC Studios, which is the commercial arm of the British broadcaster, and ITV. “The transaction will provide net proceeds including loan
South Africa’s Known Associates, the fast-growing parent company of Johannesburg-based Known Associates Entertainment (KAE) and Cape Town-based Moonlighting Films, is launching into unscripted programming, Variety can reveal. The company has acquired a 60% stake in Zero Gravity, a production outfit founded in 2017 by former Endemol Shine Africa and Trace Studios CEO Sivan Pillay, and
The corridor talk at next week’s FICCI-Frames conference in Mumbai, often Indian media’s top confab, is for once less likely to focus on ‘what if?’ and more on ‘what next?’ That’s because, with the January collapse of the $10 billion Sony-ZEE merger plans and late February’s confirmation that Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (which incorporates Viacom18
After making its debut at last year’s Cannes Film Festival with Jean-Luc Godard’s last work and Pedro Almodóvar’s “Strange Way of Life,” Anthony Vaccarello‘s Saint Laurent Productions has boarded Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Perez” as a co-producer. The musical thriller joins Saint Laurent Productions’ roster of prestige projects, including Oscar-winning director Paolo Sorrentino’s “Parthenope,” David Cronenberg’s
It’s not every day I get to review a documentary about a subject I feel personally close to, so let me put my bias right out there. “Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World” is a movie about one of my favorite New York restaurants — and, in fact, countless
Bollywood aspirants the world over wanting to feature alongside top Indian stars can now cut out the middleman. Leading Indian studio Yash Raj Films (YRF), the outfit behind Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone starrer “Pathaan,” and “Tiger 3,” led by Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif, has launched its YRF Casting app. Acting aspirants from across
SPOILER ALERT: This story includes major plot developments on the first episode of “Elsbeth,” airing on CBS and streaming on Paramount+. On “Elsbeth,” Carrie Preston reprises her Emmy winning role as the eccentrically shrewd attorney Elsbeth Tascioni, a fan favorite character from the CBS drama “The Good Wife” and its Paramount+ spin-off “The Good Fight.”
The descendants of Walt Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney have weighed in on the bid by two activist investment firms to win seats on the board of the Walt Disney Co. Nelson Peltz, the activist investor who runs hedge fund Trian Partners, is waging a proxy-fight battle to install himself and ex-Disney CFO
Matthew Loeb is heading into what is likely to be the most consequential negotiation of his 16-year tenure to date as international president of IATSE. The union’s contract talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are set to begin March 4. After last year’s protracted strikes by the Writers Guild of America
Gravitas Ventures has acquired worldwide rights to Uinta Productions and Paper Street Pictures’ “Snow Valley,” the directorial debut from the late Brandon Murphy. Murphy, who died in January 2022, was the screenwriter for “Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard.” He also wrote the script for “Snow Valley,” which was in post production at the time of his death.
I know we’re in the dead of winter, but I have to admit, fall is the best time of year to get dressed. Yes, spring and summer have their perks, mainly, being the peak season for wedding guest dresses and ultra-cute (but affordable) swimsuits. And sure, shedding all those heavy layers in favor of something
No one was shocked more than Hayden Christensen when he landed the role of Anakin Skywalker in George Lucas’ “Star Wars: Attack of the Clones” and “Star Wars: The Revenge of the Sith.” Christensen was far from the biggest name that Lucasfilm was trying to lure into its galaxy far, far away. When he had