Lee Won-tae’s thriller “The Devil’s Deal” reveals how revenge can twist anyone into something else when political hopeful Jeon Hae-woong (Cho Jin-woong) breaks bad after a stolen election. Betrayal and murder punctuate the film, set in the economic skin game of early ’90s Busan. Debuting at Fantasia, “The Devil’s Deal” is produced by Seo Kang-ho
Set for its world premiere on Aug. 11 at the Fantasia Int’l Film Festival in Montreal, Uruguay’s “Ghosting Gloria” (“Muerto con Gloria”) presents a genre mash-up of comedy, romance and some spicy paranormal encounters with a poltergeist. Guido Rud’s FilmSharks snapped up worldwide sales and remake rights to the pic in June last year. He’s already sold
Global Citizen has unveiled lineups for three of the international settings for its 24-hour “Global Citizen Live” broadcast for Sept. 25. Billie Eilish, Jennifer Lopez and Lizzo are among the headliners in New York City’s Central Park; Ed Sheeran, Doja Cat and H.E.R. will be among the toppers in front of Paris’ Eiffel Tower; and
Thai filmmaker Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s (pictured center) dark comedy film “A Useful Ghost” has scooped the top prize at the Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors awards ceremony. This year’s Open Doors co-production forum featured nine projects from Southeast Asia and Mongolia looking for international partners, and also represented the close of the forum’s three-year cycle focusing
FESTIVAL The 78th Venice International Film Festival (Sept. 1-11) will include an out of competition screening of “Ennio” by Giuseppe Tornatore, director of the Oscar winning “Cinema Paradiso.” “Ennio” is a comprehensive portrait of two time Oscar winning composer Ennio Morricone, among the most influential and prolific musicians of the twentieth century, who has scored
The 55th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Aug. 20-28) will honor Michael Caine and Johnny Depp. Two time Oscar winner Caine is this year’s festival special guest and will be presented with a Crystal Globe for outstanding artistic contribution to world cinema at the festival’s opening ceremony. At the festival, Caine will personally present the
Vax.India.Now, a virtual fundraiser to support India in its fight against COVID-19, has raised more than $5 million. Liam Neeson, Annie Lennox, A.R. Rahman, Pia Toscano, Zubin Mehta, Gloria Estefan, Sting, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, Yo-Yo Ma, David Foster, Norwegian DJ Alan Walker, Asif Mandvi, Nishat Khan, Ranjani Gayatri Sisters and Matteo Bocelli participated in
Indian film director Sanjay Leela Bhansali has seen it all – from being physically attacked on the sets of “Padmaavat” to walking the red carpet at a triumphant Cannes screening of “Devdas” – in his 25 years of filmmaking. A graduate of the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India, in Pune, Bhansali equally consumed
Primetime Emmy winning actor Christina Applegate has revealed a multiple sclerosis condition via a Twitter post late on Monday evening. “Hi friends. A few months ago I was diagnosed with MS. It’s been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition. It’s been a
Indian filmmaker, singer and actor Farhan Akhtar is returning to direction after a decade with feature film “Jee Le Zaraa,” starring Bollywood A-listers Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Katrina Kaif and Alia Bhatt. The film is due to start shooting in Sept. 2022. “It’s a road film, a slice-of-life film, with three women on the road,” Akhtar
Walter Yetnikoff, a colorful record label executive who led CBS Records as president/CEO from 1975 to 1990 — when its roster was stacked with superstars like Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones — died Sunday night at age 87. He would have turned 88 on August 11.
In just one week, “Bachelor in Paradise” is back — and promises to be “bigger, bolder and sexier” than ever before. Following “The Bachelorette” finale on Monday night, viewers got a deeper look at the show’s new season, including its rotating roster of hosts. Lil Jon’s voiceover starts off the extended sneak peek, ending with
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the Aug. 9 season finale of “The Bachelorette.” Katie Thurston’s reign as “The Bachelorette” has come to an end. During Monday’s three-hour finale, Katie walked away engaged to Blake Moynes. But the path to engagement was less than smooth. Viewers last saw the Season
Lee Jae-yong, the de facto boss of the Samsung electronics to entertainment group, is to be released from jail on Friday, South Korea’s Ministry of Justice said. The move is deeply controversial. Lee was imprisoned for bribery in a complex case involving the highest echelons of a previous government and attempts to minimize tax payments
Super rich kids, look out! Frank Ocean’s luxury company, Homer, opened its store Monday in New York City. The first collection comprises fine jewelry pieces along with printed silk scarves and is located at the New York Jewelers Exchange Monday through Saturday. The pieces are handcrafted using 18K gold, recycled sterling silver, hand-painted enamel and
Tunji Balogun, RCA’s executive vice president of A&R, is headed to Def Jam Records as CEO, multiple sources tell Variety. At RCA, which Balogun joined in 2015 following seven-and-a-half years at Interscope, the A&R exec was involved in signing Khalid, Brockhampton, Normani (via Syco) and Bryson Tiller. In 2018, Balogun co-founded the label Keep Cool,
Allan “Blaze” Blazek, a respected rock ‘n’ roll engineer and producer of albums by the Eagles, the Who, Joe Walsh, the J. Geils Band, Elvin Bishop, Johnny Winter, REO Speedwagon, Rick Derringer and more, died in Michigan City, Ind. on August 3. He was 71. Blazek engineered numerous records, including the Eagles’ classic, “Hotel California.”
“Fries! The Movie,” a documentary created by Anthony Bourdain’s Emmy-award-winning production company Zero Point Zero and Chrissy Teigen’s Huntley Productions banner, will debut on Peacock in the U.S. tomorrow, Aug. 10. The movie, which premiered earlier in the year at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival, is described as a lively exploration of what makes fries
Endeavor Content senior vice president Kristen Figeroid has exited the agency as others in the unit’s sales and distribution unit prepare to head back to WME, sources close to the situation told Variety. Figeroid joined Endeavor Content in 2018 as senior VP of sales and distribution. Her departure last week was amicable, one insider noted,
A judge ruled on Monday that former prosecutor Linda Fairstein has a plausible claim that she was defamed by “When They See Us,” the Netflix series from Ava DuVernay about the Central Park Five case. Fairstein sued Netflix, DuVernay and writer Attica Locke in March 2020, alleging that the four-part series portrayed her as a
Mark Tarlov, who produced the John Waters-directed films “Pecker,” “Serial Mom” and “Cecil B. Demented,” died on July 31 at his home in Manhattan due to cancer, his family announced. He was 69. Starting his career in entertainment in 1979, Tarlov worked in business affairs at Warner Bros. before executive producing his first feature, “Christine,”
Producer Lynda Obst (“Interstellar,” “Hope Floats”) and Miky Lee (executive producer of “Parasite”) have joined forces to tap into the Korean music wave. They will produce “K-Pop: Lost in America,” a feature-length road movie to be released in 2023. The CJ ENM production has tapped JK Youn, director of two of the biggest Korean movies
Barstool Sports, the popular and controversial sports media and betting company, is in advanced talks with Major League Baseball on a deal to livestream games starting next season, Variety confirmed. The talks were first reported by the New York Post. Sources familiar with the discussions emphasized that multiple parties have expressed interest in nabbing the
AMC Theatres has reached a formal agreement with Warner Bros. to show the studio’s 2022 slate on the big screen for an exclusive 45-day window. The news is not surprising, because Warner Bros. has had a similar plan in place with Cineworld, the owner of Regal Cinemas, since April. However, the announcement is comforting to
Carl “Chucky” Thompson, the producer, composer and member of the Bad Boy label’s stable of “Hitmen” responsible for smashes by artists like the Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige, has died at age 53. No official cause of death has come from the family or reps, though AllHip-Hop reported that Thompson died from complications of
Before Michelle Visage became known as a producer and judge on “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” she was a singer — with quite a few hits under her belt. As one-third of the late 1980s/early 1990s group Seduction, she hit the top 40 four times, and also performed on hits for other artists such as TKA and
Catherine Zeta-Jones will play Morticia in the upcoming Wednesday Addams series at Netflix. Zeta-Jones will appear in a guest starring role as the iconic Addams family matriarch in the series, titled “Wednesday.” She joins previously announced cast members Jenna Ortega and Luis Guzmán. Ortega will star as Wednesday while Guzmán will play Gomez Addams, Morticia’s
AT&T has officially divested Crunchyroll, closing the sale of the anime business to Sony’s Funimation group — bringing together two erstwhile competitors under the Sony umbrella. The telco, looking for every opportunity to pay down its debt, sold Crunchyroll for $1.175 billion in cash paid at closing by Funimation Global Group, a joint venture between
New blockbuster films like “Fast 9” and “A Quiet Place Part II” bolstered revenues at AMC Entertainment, even as the reemergence of a new and highly contagious variant of coronavirus threatened to undue the theater industry’s recent gains. A better-than-expected earnings report sent shares of the company surging in after-hours trading, though that enthusiastic response
“Good Trouble” star Sherry Cola is joining the cast of Adele Lim’s upcoming R-rated comedy about a group of four friends traveling through Asia in search of one of their birth mothers. Cola will appear opposite Ashley Park (“Emily in Paris”) as one of the film’s leads. The movie, which is being produced by Lionsgate