During the closing credits of “The Last Mercenary,” we see a montage of Jean-Claude Van Damme in the various getups he wore during the movie (a fuzzy beard; a mustache and Yankees cap; a blond wig; a Bond tuxedo; drag). The film presents this cavalcade of mostly routine disguises with wide-eyed affection, as if it
Three COVID outbreaks have been reported over the last week at entertainment industry facilities, as the delta variant causes a spike in cases in Los Angeles County. The worst of the three hit the Motion Picture Industry Pension & Health Plan offices in Studio City, where six people tested positive. MPIPHP has since imposed a
Norman Lear celebrated the dawn of his second century on the planet by probably accomplishing more than you did in the past month. Not only did he gather with family and friends, but Lear also published an op-ed in The Washington Post, warning of the erosion of voting rights in America, and TBS sealed a
As far as titles go, you can’t accuse Jeremy Elkin’s “All the Streets Are Silent: The Convergence of Hip-Hop and Skateboarding (1987-1997)” of false advertising. Tracing the two youth cultures as they dance around one another and finally intersect on the streets of New York City throughout the decade, the director gathers an astonishing amount
Women in Film, Los Angeles, ReFrame and Time’s Up have issued a joint statement calling Disney’s characterization of Scarlett Johansson a “gendered character attack.” The statement from the advocacy organizations reads, “While we take no position on the business issues in the litigation between Scarlett Johansson and The Walt Disney Company, we stand firmly against
Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose! Let’s be honest, the lives of the students in Dillon, Texas in “Fright Night Lights” were filled with a lot of loss, a few wins and way too many teen scandals. But that’s what made Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) such an inspiration, modern-day hero and, for many, a
Phil Rosenthal, creator and showrunner of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” has pitched a reunion special for the domestic comedy that starred Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton and Brad Garrett, but so far hasn’t found a home for it — despite the recent success of similar offerings, including the “Friends” gathering on HBO Max. The producer disclosed his
A changing of the guard is underway at the production company formerly led by Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. The London-based outfit, historically known as Insight TWI (The World Investigates), is rebranding as Insight Films, with producers Clive Patterson and Hugh Davies taking ownership as co-directors of the business, which specializes in hard-hitting documentary fare.
According to a source familiar with the matter, a Lionsgate documentary about Bill Cosby is not moving forward. The documentary had been in the works for years, and gained attention since Cosby’s release from prison in late June. But now, the company has killed it. A spokesperson for Lionsgate did not respond to Variety’s request
The first import to break through China’s nearly two-month political moratorium on foreign films apparently won’t be “Black Widow” or “Space Jam: A New Legacy.” Instead, Beijing is opening its doors to an unlikely contender for August: a little-known British Christmas film about a cat. “A Christmas Gift From Bob” — a seasonal, feel-good sequel
The Oscar season may not have officially begun, but three talented leading men — Nicolas Cage (“Pig“), Matt Damon (“Stillwater“) and Winston Duke (“Nine Days“) — are all delivering awards-worthy performances in three very unconventional movies. Likely to face an uphill battle on the awards circuit, the right campaign and support from critics could help
UPDATED: Paget Brewster, who played FBI supervisory special agent Emily Prentiss in “Criminal Minds,” tweeted that a revival of the show previously learned to be in development at Paramount Plus is “dead.” Variety reported about the revival’s early development in February. Brewster expressed regret on Thursday while responding to a fan account curious if there
ABC News is moving closer to finding a new executive producer for its flagship “Good Morning America” broadcast after a weeks-long search, according to two people familiar with the matter, a critical decision for Kim Godwin, who was named president of the Walt Disney-backed unit in April. Godwin, a former senior executive at CBS News,
Tom Hanks will enter the jewel-box world of Wes Anderson. The Oscar-winning “Forest Gump” star will play a cameo role in the director’s next, as-yet untitled effort. He will play an unspecified minor role, joining a cast of heavyweights that includes Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray and Adrian Brody. It marks the first collaboration between Hanks
The Walt Disney Company is requiring that their salaried and non-union U.S. employees get vaccinated before returning to work. “At The Walt Disney Company, the safety and well-being of our employees during the pandemic has been and continues to be a top priority,” the company said in a statement. “Toward that end, and based on
Gerard Butler filed a lawsuit on Friday alleging he is owed at least $10 million in backend compensation for the 2013 action film “Olympus Has Fallen.” Butler sued Nu Image/Millennium Films, claiming that the producer had understated domestic and foreign receipts by tens of millions of dollars and had failed to report $8 million that
Bob Odenkirk took to Twitter to thank his fans for their support after he was hospitalized after having a “small heart attack” while on the set of “Better Call Saul” this week. “Hi. It’s Bob. Thank you. To my family and friends who have surrounded me this week. And for the outpouring of love from
Late last year, in the video for “Chinatown,” Jack Antonoff drove from New York to New Jersey, cruising down the turnpike with Bruce Springsteen riding shotgun. Last month, in an “Into the Shadow” live performance, the Bleachers frontman and pop producing titan crossed state lines again, this time in a bus with his touring bandmates.
Spotify’s release party for Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever” album marks the slow return of events in Los Angeles and it did not disappoint as guests were transported to the cinematic world of the singer’s sophomore album — complete with immersive installations, insight into Eilish’s creative process and of course, a gaggle of celebrities. Olivia
Summer vacation season may have started in the U.K., but the fallout from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport’s Parliamentary Committee report into the economics of music streaming continues to keep much of the British industry hard at work. The report calls for a “complete reset” of the streaming economy and recommends measures,
Mark Knopfler’s score for “The Princess Bride,” to quote the film, was only mostly dead. On Saturday, the L.A. Philharmonic will perform it live to picture at the Hollywood Bowl — and they really do mean live. The original 1987 score was recorded almost entirely using a Synclavier sampling machine, with the exception of some
Tech billionaire Elon Musk took a swing at Apple, siding with “Fortnite” maker Epic Games in its fight against the tech giant’s App Store policies that take a standard 30% cut of payment transactions. “Apple app store fees are a de facto global tax on the Internet. Epic is right,” Musk, the CEO of Tesla
The estate for Jacques Levy, co-writer of much of Bob Dylan’s 1976 “Desire” album, was handed a defeat Friday in a lawsuit against Dylan and Universal Music Group that hoped to establish co-ownership of the songs the late collaborator had a hand in. “We’re pleased with today’s decision,” Dylan’s attorney, Orin Snyder, said in a
A central theme in Tom McCarthy’s film “Stillwater,” reaching theaters this weekend, is that of culture clash: Oklahoman Bill Baker (Matt Damon) in southern France, visiting his imprisoned daughter (Abigail Breslin) and becoming involved with a French theater actress (Camille Cottin). That idea extended to the music, composed by Oscar winner Mychael Danna (“Life of
While few official comments about Ed Sheeran’s long-awaited fourth full-length album, prospectively titled “-” (“Minus”), have surfaced, the singer is pretty clearly in album mode. He recently released a new single, “Bad Habits” — which will soon rack up its fifth week at No. 1 in the U.K. — he’s performing at the British record-store
Michael Che’s eyebrow-raising attempt to score comedic points about Simone Bile’s difficult decision to withdraw from Olympic events aired on NBC might be more surprising if this hadn’t been his longstanding pattern. It points to his tendency to attempt to gin up controversy for a degree of attention even beyond the level a “SNL” star
Check out a Free Guy Official Behind the Scenes Featurette with Taika Waititi! Let us know what you think in the comments below. ► Buy tickets for Free Guy: https://www.fandango.com/free-guy-220599/movie-overview?cmp=MCYT_YouTube_Desc Want to be notified of all the latest movie trailers? Subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to stay up to date. US
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched Season 2 of “Outer Banks,” streaming now on Netflix. Like the many waves through which they choose to surf or sail, there’s no shortage of highs or lows for the Pogues in the second season finale of Netflix’s YA drama series sensation, “Outer Banks.”
Singer Lance Bass, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and “The Masked Singer” executive producer Craig Plestis are among the names behind “Unicorn Hunters,” a crowd-financing competition series now being shopped for domestic distribution. The series centers on finding so-called “unicorn” companies — startups that reach $1 billion valuation, by attracting investors from around the world. The
Of his many accomplishments, Benedict Wong can be credited with making librarians cool. As the character of Wong in “Doctor Strange” and other Marvel movies, he perfectly embodies the smart, sly Master of the Mystic Arts. Soon audiences can catch the actor in “Nine Days,” a sci-fi offering from Edson Oda, set to hit theaters