In the latest update to the long-running saga of the $16 billion “Save Our Stages” relief fund for independent venues and theaters — which was signed into law on Dec. 27 but has only just begun to send out money to the venues — the Small Business Administration, which distributes the funds, has finally begun
One of the first times I left my house during quarantine last year was a rare drive to the office to record a virtual panel. But this one was extra special: a reunion of the cast of “Community,” along with creator Dan Harmon. I knew the show’s fans were eager to see the gang from
Amazon Prime Video’s “Small Axe” is among the final batch of this year’s Peabody Award winners, which have been announced throughout the week. Variety also has a first look at actor Cynthia Erivo presenting the honor to “Small Axe,” and filmmaker Steve McQueen’s acceptance speech; scroll down to watch. A collection of five films from
Check out Sing 2 Official Trailer starring Matthew McConaughey! ► Sign up for a Fandango FanALERT for Sing 2: https://www.fandango.com/sing-2-2021-224944/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 Release Date: December 22, 2021 Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Taron Egerton,
Distributor Well Go USA Entertainment has acquired the North American rights to “Raging Fire,” the latest action thriller featuring martial arts superstar Donnie Yen. The pic is set to hit U.S. theaters later this year before landing on martial arts streaming channel Hi-YAH!. “Raging Fire” is the final title from the late Hong Kong helmer
Frances O’Connor is in week two of the edit for her debut feature as writer-director, “Emily,” which brings to life the world of author Emily Brontë in the years leading up to the creation of her seminal novel “Wuthering Heights.” Variety speaks to O’Connor about the film, which has been pre-sold by Embankment Films to
The “Fast & Furious” franchise has made it very clear — through nine films, a theatrical spinoff series and roughly $6 billion at the worldwide box office — that family is everything. Perhaps the most undeniable member of that family is Sung Kang, the actor whom fans single-handedly resurrected through social media fanfare. Kang played
Lena Waithe is on a mission to return Black music to its glory days. The multitalent, whose résumé includes hot shows like “Master of None,” “The Chi” and “Twenties,” has added head of Hillman Grad Records to her many roles, and she’s looking to vintage Black superstars from the ’90s for inspiration. “I’m young enough
Universal Music U.K. has appointed media and tech exec Simon Johnson to the newly created role of managing director of strategy, growth and e-commerce. The music label said the new post signals Universal Music U.K.’s “ambition to supercharge and open up new commercial opportunities for its artists.” Johnson will take up the new post on
When Rufus Wainwright was asked to write a closing theme song for “Rebel Hearts,” a documentary about a renegade order of socially activist nuns that opens this weekend, he didn’t require the preamble that virtually any other singer-songwriter would have. It was intergenerationally personal for him, as he was already intimately familiar with the subject
When it premiered in cinemas on June 24, 1981, the James Bond thriller “For Your Eyes Only” was notable for two main reasons. First, it was the grittiest and most realistic Bond adventure since “From Russia with Love” almost two decades earlier. And second, it instantly established an iconic new theme song that was embraced
Universal Music Group and Snap announced a multiyear global agreement that will let Snapchat’s users incorporate UMG’s catalog of recorded music and content into creative tools, including Sounds on Snapchat and augmented reality Lenses. Under the terms of the deal, UMG’s entire recorded music catalog is available on a global basis in Snapchat’s Sounds tool,
Tracee Ellis Ross and Michaela Angela Davis will executive produce and narrate a new docuseries about Black women, beauty and identity through the distinctive lens of Black hair. “The Hair Tales” hails from the Onyx Collective, Disney’s recently launched content brand for creators of color and underrepresented voices on Hulu. The docuseries, produced by Joy
Colman Domingo, known for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” “Fear the Walking Dead” and “Zola,” is adapting his award-winning play “Dot” as a dramedy entitled “West Philly, Baby.” The series, a co-production between AMC Studios and the AMC Networks-owned streamer ALLBLK, is one of the first projects from Domingo’s Edith Productions to be developed under its
Brian Williams didn’t shy away from criticizing Matt Gaetz, the controversial U.S. Representative from Florida and ally of President Donald Trump, after Gaetz launched his own criticism of the U.S. military. In the closing minutes of his MSNBC political news show “The 11th Hour” on Wednesday night, Williams aired a clip of Joint Chiefs of
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the Season 5 premiere of “The Good Fight,” streaming now on Paramount Plus. The fourth season of “The Good Fight” was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic, running for only seven episodes last spring instead of its planned 10. Yet, it ended perfectly, with
Lauren Jarvis, formerly Spotify’s head of content partnerships for North America, has joined subscription book club startup Literati as chief business officer. At Spotify, Jarvis managed the audio streamer’s catalog of more than 2 million podcasts. She also oversaw Spotify’s major exclusive deals like “The Joe Rogan Experience” and Dax Shepherd’s “Armchair Expert.” Before joining
BuzzFeed is going public in a deal with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), which will give the digital media company an implied valuation of $1.5 billion once the pact closes, the company announced. BuzzFeed will become a publicly traded company through a merger with 890 Fifth Avenue Partners, a SPAC that holds $288 million
On September 24, an previously unreleased 1968 live album by Johnny Cash that was recorded by Owsley “Bear” Stanley, the Grateful Dead’s legendary concert documentarian (and lysergic sherpa), will be issued by the Owsley Stanley Foundation and Renew Records/BMG. “Bear’s Sonic Journals: Johnny Cash, at the Carousel Ballroom, April 24 1968,” is a 28-song concert
Great British soccer star Jamie Vardy has teamed up with Love Productions USA on a new documentary series, “Rhino Reboot,” that will see him attempt to rebuild underdog soccer team The Rochester Rhinos. Vardy, a Premier League soccer player who has also played for England, co-owns the Rhinos along with Sacramento Kings co-owners David and
Amazon’s two-day 2021 Prime Day event yielded about $6.8 billion in revenue, although nearly half of that came from third-party merchants, according to Morgan Stanley estimates. Amazon, as is its usual custom, is not disclosing dollar sales figures for Prime Day, which ran over a 48-hour period June 21-22. The ecommerce giant said Prime Day
Despite an unprecedentedly difficult year, the Chinese film industry has come roaring back. In August 2020, China became the first country in the world to achieve “full box office recovery,” according to the U.K.-based industry analytics firm Gower Street. Remarkably, Chinese box office data as of mid-June 2021 is tracking 1% ahead of the same
Open AP and AT&T’s Xandr were once seen as staunch rivals. Indeed, WarnerMedia, one of Open AP’s founders, broke away from the company once AT&T started showing ambitions of dabbling in the new technology that fuels modern advertising. Now the two companies are shaking hands and getting ready to play, not fight, in the same
As Europe’s summer film festivals restart after taking a year of COVID-prompted pause — the notable exception being Venice — the Cannes Film Festival shift into July has caused an August overload. But the disruption hasn’t dampened enthusiasm on the circuit. With no shortage of movies to launch and vaccinated local audiences keen to get
It’s a face off between Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba and Regina King in “The Harder They Fall,” and if the western’s trailer is any indication, audiences need to get ready for a dirty, dusty and dangerous ride. On Thursday, Netflix released the first full look at the highly-anticipated western starring Majors, Elba, King, Zazie Beetz
To what lengths will a desperate mother go to recover her kidnapped daughter? That’s the central question posed in Belgian-Romanian director Teodora Ana Mihai’s first fiction feature “La Civil,” which is set to debut at the Cannes Festival in the Un Certain Regard section. “La Civil” was produced by Hans Everaert’s Menuetto with the assistance
The British Film Institute has issued a briefing note for industry professionals travelling to France for the Cannes Film Festival (July 6-17). The note is drawn from guidance on the U.K. and French government sites. The guidance is accurate as of now but it is subject to change at very short notice, given the fluid
The Locarno Film Festival will open this year’s 74th edition on Aug. 4 with the world premiere of Italian director Ferdinando Cito Filomarino’s latest thriller “Beckett,” starring John David Washington, Boyd Holbrook, Vicky Krieps and Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander. After the film’s Locarno premiere, Netflix will launch the film worldwide on Aug. 13. “Beckett’s” presence marks
The Match Factory has released the trailer for feature “Amparo,” which marks the return to the Cannes Festival of Colombia’s Simón Mesa Soto, a Palme d’Or winner in 2014 for his short “Leidi.” Playing Cannes Critics’ Week, Mesa Soto’s jump from short to long feature is produced, alongside with cinematographer Juan Sarmiento G., by Colombia’s
“My Emptiness and I,” “The Barbaric,” and “Saudade Became Home Inside” have all won big at a key industry section at Spain’s Malaga Festival, its Work in Progress, which first shone a light on such titles as “The Platform,” Netflix’s most-watched movie in the U.S. for some days last year. This year round, at the 4th