1091 Pictures has acquired “Pharma Bro,” a look at the rise and fall of Martin Shkreli, the pharmaceutical tycoon whose price hiking of drugs made him a textbook example of avarice run amok. The film by Brent Hodge links Shkreli’s story to the 21st century prominence of bro culture. It contains interviews with Wu-Tang Clan’s
I want to give a huge shout-out to our Herculean six-person team of editors and writers — Brent Lang, Cynthia Littleton, Gene Maddaus, Michael Schneider, Matt Donnelly and Joe Otterson — who collectively pulled off this week’s incredibly comprehensive cover story. The piece, titled “Battle Royal,” chronicles and analyzes what Scarlett Johansson’s legal battle with
Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve is gearing up for his latest project, “Dune,” which hits both theaters and HBO Max on Oct.22, and the director is disappointed that the pandemic has affected the film’s rollout. In a new interview with Total Film, the Academy Award nominee said the pandemic is the “enemy of the cinema,” and spoke
A Virginia judge allowed Johnny Depp to proceed with his $50 million defamation lawsuit against Amber Heard, after her plea to dismiss the suit after Depp lost his U.K. libel case was denied. Depp is suing Heard, his ex-wife, after she wrote a 2018 op-ed in the Washington Post about being a survivor of domestic
The Directors Guild of America has announced the key dates and timeline for the 2022 Directors Guild of America Awards, with the 74th Annual DGA Awards set for March 12. The date falls two weeks ahead of the Oscars ceremony on March 27. Theatrical Feature Film and First-Time Feature Film nominees will be announced on
Despite surging COVID-19 cases and sluggish box office ticket sales, AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron made it clear last week that he is wildly optimistic about the state of moviegoing and the future of the company that he leads, one that many investors were willing to leave for dead just a few months ago. He’s
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige addressed Chinese fans’ most pressing concerns about the upcoming “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” in a recent interview. Feige held an exclusive 14-minute-long interview in English with the well-regarded veteran Chinese film critic Raymond Zhou on the day of the film’s U.S. red carpet premiere (it’s not
Although executive producer Brian Peterson said he and executive producer Kelly Souders probably had “about 100 ideas” for a second season of “The Hot Zone,” diving into the anthrax scare that followed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks quickly rose to the top for them. “The first season was very much
“Pepper Ann” is coming to Disney Plus on Sept. 8. The first three seasons of the fan-favorite ’90s animated series will be available to stream next month, with the release of Seasons 4 and 5 still unclear. Created by Sue Rose, “Pepper Ann” follows the adventures of its titular redhead character and her friends and
It’s been a long road for the company of “Hamilton” in Los Angeles — just eight hours before opening night back in March 2020, the show was shut down as fears swelled over a looming pandemic. Little did the cast know at the time, it would take 523 days for their production to finally reach
The final moment of “Hamilton” could have featured the loquacious lead delivering one final verse from beyond the grave. Instead, the show closes on his wife, Eliza (Phillipa Soo), letting out a deep, penetrating gasp. It follows a musical number that lists Eliza’s mind-blowing accomplishments after her husband’s death, showing that she was strong enough
“The Night House” production designer Kathrin Eder jumped at the opportunity to work on David Bruckner’s new supernatural thriller, since the project represented an opportunity for her to flex her creative muscles. The blueprints of the house would also feature heavily as part of the storyline. In the film, Rebecca Hall Hall plays Beth, a
French movie theaters, which reopened their doors mid-May after a six-month shutdown, have seen admissions fall by 41% over the last week (Aug. 11-18), according to the national exhibitors guild (FNCF). Most exhibitors and distributors are blaming the steep decline in moviegoing on a COVID health pass that came into effect on Aug. 9 and
All products and services featured by Variety are independently selected by Variety editors. However, Variety may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Rihanna officially became a billionaire this month, making her the wealthiest musician in the world, as reported by
Kanye West will hold a third public listening session for his still-unreleased “Donda” album at the 60,000-plus-capacity Soldier Field stadium in his hometown of Chicago on Thursday, August 26 at 10 p.m. ET/ 9 p.m. CT/ 7 p.m. PT. Tickets go on sale Friday. If this third installment follows the structure of the first two,
ViacomCBS has decided to shut down the standalone version of Paramount Plus in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland — less than a year after launching the streamer in the Nordics — and will merge it with the new SkyShowtime service coming in 2022. On Wednesday, Comcast and ViacomCBS announced their formation of a joint venture
Opening night premiere honors at Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival this year go to Special Screenings film “Zatopek,” David Ondricek’s stirring drama chronicling the remarkable life of four-time Olympic gold-winning runner Emil Zatopek. The choice is fitting after a marathon year of challenges for local filmmakers, who, like the supremely focused and resourceful Czech athlete,
One of the most unusual quirks of this year’s Emmy nominations was the fact that Quibi managed to land eight of them — quite a feat, given that the streamer doesn’t actually exist anymore. (Quibi wound up with a much higher tally than plenty of networks that, well, are still in business.) Quibi shut down
Meghan McCain, fresh off her exit as the controversial conservative co-host of “The View,” is coming to listeners’ earbuds this fall with an audio memoir exclusively on Audible. McCain’s “Bad Republican” will debut Thursday, Oct. 21, exclusively on Audible, the Amazon-owned premium audio service. According to Audible’s description of the program, McCain “tells her story
Announced by health officials and the Biden administration on Wednesday, Americans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be able to get a booster shot beginning in September. Starting September 20, booster shots will be offered to individuals who were vaccinated in the early stages of the nationwide rollout, such as healthcare workers, nursing home
Martin Lau, president and executive director of China’s tech and entertainment industry leader Tencent, on Wednesday explained the positive outcome from the maelstrom of new regulation that the Chinese government is currently imposing on the internet. In less than a year, regulators from multiple departments and ministries have besieged the country’s leading private sector companies.
Downtown Music Holdings has announced that its founder and current CEO Justin Kalifowitz will take on a new position as executive chairman, with current COO Andrew Bergman assuming day-to-day responsibilities as the company’s CEO. The move will become effective on September 1. According to the announcement, Kalifowitz, who has served as CEO since establishing the
Spotify will be the exclusive home for WWE podcasts — including a new original audio content developed by WWE and Spotify’s The Ringer division. The Ringer, the digital media and podcast company founded by ex-ESPN exec Bill Simmons that Spotify bought in 2020, plans to launch an exclusive audio network as part of a multi-year
Comcast and ViacomCBS have teamed up to launch a new streaming service in more than 20 European markets. The new platform, which is called SkyShowtime, will reach 90 million homes and convene entertainment, movies and original series from NBCUniversal, Sky and ViacomCBS brands, including titles from Showtime, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Plus originals, Sky Studios,
NBC’s “” wouldn’t seem to have much to do with Disney Plus’ “The Mandalorian,” but this year, the two very different programs have common ground. NBC Sports shot a new opening for its football broadcast — the nation’s most-watched regular TV series — that puts singer Carrie Underwood at a virtual football tailgate while performing
More than 25 years after allegations of sexual abuse against R. Kelly first began to surface, the singer’s New York criminal trial is set to begin its opening statements today (Aug. 18). It is one of several sets of charges against him; a Chicago trial is slated to begin after the New York hearings conclude.
Data firm Genius Sports has hired longtime sports media executive Steve Bornstein to lead its North American business, the second former NFL executive to join the company in the past few weeks. Variety‘s sister site Sportico first broke the news. As Genius Sports’ first president of North America, Bornstein will be responsible for the group’s commercial operations in the U.S.
SERIES Banijay Nordic company Jarowskij has unveiled “A Class Apart,” a new eight-part drama series commissioned by Viaplay, which Banijay Rights will distribute internationally. Based on an original idea from Henrik Schyffert and Gustaf Skördeman, the series unspools within a secret society at on of Sweden’s top boarding schools. After a hazing ritual goes wrong
Fortissimo Films has acquired sales rights outside Asia to “Inu-Oh,” a Japanese animation film that will play at both the Venice and Toronto festivals. The film is directed by Yuasa Masaaki with acclaimed Japanese animation studio Science Saru. It will have its world premiere in the Orizzonti competition section at the Venice Film Festival on
Gabin Rivoire’s documentary “Laurent Garnier: Off the Record,” which explores the origins and rise of techno music through the eyes of one of its pioneers, has sold to multiple territories. The film screens on Saturday at both the Edinburgh and Karlovy Vary film festivals. The documentary has been acquired in France by Condor Distribution, in