Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber’s lockdown-inspired single, “Stuck With U,” has now raised over $3.5 million for the First Responders Children’s Foundation, going directly to thousands of first responders’ families around the U.S. The single, which released on May 8, 2020, was recorded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and donated 100% of its profits
Eleven national LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS organizations on Wednesday released an open letter to rapper DaBaby in the wake of his recent homophobic statements and awkward attempts at apologies, requesting a private meeting to discuss the facts about HIV and how it is a preventable and treatable condition, and discuss a long-term opportunity for him to
“The Great British Baking Show” will be back on Netflix to warn against the dangers of soggy bottoms later this year. While no specific premiere date has been set, Collection 9 of the popular baking competition series will debut on the streamer this fall. Collection 8 debuted back in September, with Netflix releasing episodes three
For the past two years, comedy series celebrating their final seasons have cleaned up at the Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019 it was Amazon Prime Video’s “Fleabag,” which, after being overlooked for its inaugural season, nabbed 11 noms (six wins, including lead comedy actress for creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge, as well as the coveted
The programming for adults vs. programming for kids debate has long been the push-pull in animation. But what about programming about kids that teaches adults important lessons? Several of this year’s animated program Emmy nominees do just that. Comedy Central’s “South Park: The Pandemic Special,” written by series co-creator Trey Parker, uses its child characters
Finance and politics aren’t the only things on the schedule at Fox Business Network. The Fox Corp.-owned outlet, which in recent years has generated its biggest ratings for a show led by Lou Dobbs that burnished a distinctly right-leaning brand of politics, will in September stock the bulk of its primetime grid with documentary-style programming
Online grocery-delivery company Instacart has hired another high-level Facebook exec: Carolyn Everson, formerly the social network’s head of ad sales who left Facebook in June after a decade, is joining Instacart as president next month. Everson, who starts at Instacart on Sept. 7, is the first official hire by newly installed CEO Fidji Simo —
The release of a first single from the forthcoming “Cinderella” soundtrack, a cover of Queen’s “Somebody to Love” by leading man Nick Galitzine, foretells the fact that Amazon Studios’ movie musical will sport a mixture of original material and classic pop songs interpreted by the Camila Cabello-led cast. Epic Records and Amazon Studios announced that the
The gold rush surrounding non-fungible token (NFT) digital collectibles continues: MakersPlace, a marketplace for buying and selling digital artwork and other creations, has raised $30 million in funding from investors including rapper Eminem and Sony Music Entertainment. San Francisco-based MakersPlace, which launched in 2018, announced that it raised $30 million. The funding was led by Bessemer
“For Sama” director Waad Al-Kateab is in Tokyo filming a documentary about the IOC Refugee Olympic Team for XTR. Al-Kateab, a Syrian filmmaker who received an Oscar nomination for “For Sama,” is working with Oscar-winning producer Joanna Natasegara on the project. They have had access to the IOC Refugee Olympic Team before and during the
After Warner Bros. released Zack Snyder’s director’s cut of “Justice League,” fans are rallying for the company to release David Ayer’s cut of his 2016 supervillain team-up movie “Suicide Squad” after he confirmed its existence in an emotional letter last week. The stars of “Suicide Squad” weighed in on the Ayer cut at the premiere
Deepak Chopra, one of the best-known figures in the holistic-health movement, has signed a multi-project podcast development deal with Audible. Kicking off the collaboration is “Deepak Chopra’s Mind Body Zone: Living Outside the Box,” set to be released exclusively on Audible on Sept. 16. The 12-episode podcast features Chopra in conversation with a number of
The world premiere of Netflix’s new school western “The Harder They Fall” will open the 65th British Film Institute (BFI) London Film Festival. The film is directed by Londoner Jeymes Samuel, touted by Ted Sarandos as one of the streamer’s discoveries. The film stars Jonathan Majors, Zazie Beetz, Delroy Lindo, LaKeith Stanfield, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi
Myanmar director Maung Sun says he fears for the future of his writing and producing partner Ma Aeint who now faces charges brought by the military junta. Ma Aeint was arrested in early June in Yangon and was held for a month in judicial detention. She has since been transferred to the notorious Insein Prison,
Siân Heder’s “CODA,” an Apple original film, has won the 2021 Sundance Film Festival: London Award presented by BIFA. The award was voted for by 40 leading professionals from the British film industry assembled by the British Independent Film Awards. The film follows Ruby, a CODA or Child of Deaf Adults, who is torn between
The latest edition of the Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors section, which highlights new projects and fresh voices from Asia, feels like a culmination in more ways than one. After an entirely remote affair last time around, Open Doors is adopting a hybrid in-person and online approach this time around, welcoming more than half of
Selena Gomez is calling out television shows that have referenced her 2017 kidney transplant, most recently Paramount Plus’ “The Good Fight.” On Tuesday, the singer and actor tweeted: “I am not sure how writing jokes about organ transplants for television shows has become a thing but sadly it has apparently. I hope in the next
Longtime KROQ DJ Kat Corbett is the latest voice to exit the iconic L.A. alternative radio station — and although she’s not ready to reveal her next stop just yet, she hints to Variety that several possibilities are on the horizon. “I am talking to some folks that I can’t say just yet,” said Corbett,
CNN cut back on coverage of one of the biggest news stories of the day during its primetime schedule due to a very unorthodox situation: The anchor not telling the story is the brother of the public official at the center of it. The WarnerMedia-backed outlet kept anchor Chris Cuomo on the air Tuesday night
As Marvel continues dipping its toes in TV — snagging 28 Emmy nominations in the process — its latest venture, the Disney Plus miniseries “Loki,” is being hailed as one of the studio’s most unique anti-hero stories to date. While Tom Hiddleston steals the show as the titular character, perhaps most captivating is the Time Variance
Alvin Ing, a pioneering Asian American Broadway actor who appeared in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Flower Drum Song” and Stephen Sondheim’s “Pacific Overtures,” died at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Calif. on July 31. He was 89. Ing’s representatives said that the fully-vaccinated actor was diagnosed with pneumonia in mid-July and then contracted COVID-19
Pete Parada, the drummer for the Offspring, has found out the hard way that some businesses — and even bands — are drawing a hard line on requiring vaccinations to come back to work. He posted on his social media Tuesday that he’s been ousted from the group because he won’t agree to get the
“Paper Empire,” a new series from creator Robert Gillings, has added actors Danny Glover and Richard Grieco. The project, acquired by Hannibal Pictures during this year’s European Film Market, has a previously announced cast Including Wesley Snipes, Denise Richards, Robert Davi, Steve Guttenberg, Michael Nouri, Robert Knepper, and Anne Archer. Gillings serves as writer-director on
Big World Pictures has picked up Romanian auteur Radu Jude’s “Uppercase Print,” which premiered last year in the Berlinale’s Forum section. The sale was handled by Brussels-based Best Friend Forever. The director’s “Bad Luck Banging” won the 2021 Golden Bear at the Berlinale. An adaptation of a 2013 play, “Tipografic majuscul” by Romanian playwright Gianina
It seems like every year there’s a new plea for equality and better treatment in Hollywood. Why? The answer is simple: Things aren’t equal, and they haven’t been for a very, very long time. From who gets hired as director on a blockbuster (sometimes with no feature work on their resume) to the person being
UPDATED: Live Nation Entertainment, the world’s largest live-entertainment company, posted strong second-quarter earnings as the concert business cautiously moves ahead amid deep concerns over the spread of the Covid-19 variant and lower-than-sensible vaccination rates in the U.S. Operating income for the quarter was up over $450 million and its adjusted operating income was back in
The showrunner on Peacock’s drama reboot of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” has stepped down, Variety has confirmed. Chris Collins will no longer serve as showrunner and executive producer on the series, which is titled “Bel-Air.” He was also set to co-write with Morgan Cooper. Instead, T.J. Brady and Rasheed Newson have stepped in to serve
Amazon hired advertising creative veteran Remy Merriex, most recently at Facebook, as the newest member of the Prime Video marketing team. Ukonwa Ojo, chief marketing officer of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, announced that Merriex will join Prime Video’s marketing team as global executive creative director. In the new role, he will oversee development of
Hulu has given a series order to the drama “Tell Me Lies,” based on the book of the same name by Carola Lovering. Grace Van Patten will star in the series with Emma Roberts executive producing. The series follows a tumultuous but intoxicating relationship as it unfolds over the course of 8 years. When Lucy
Emmy winner Kerry Washington is gearing up for a new adventure, set to star in and produce “Rockaway” for Netflix. The feature film adaptation of Diane Cardwell’s memoir, “Rockaway: Surfing Headlong Into a New Life,” will be written by NAACP Image Award winner Nichelle Tramble Spellman (creator of Apple TV Plus’ “Truth Be Told”). In