Pacific Theatres, which includes ArcLight Cinemas, announced Friday that it will liquidate its assets under Chapter 7 of the bankruptcy code, ending the company’s 75-year run in the exhibition business. But the bankruptcy filing also held a strong hint that one piece of the Forman family’s theater empire will live on. The Decurion Corporation —
A group of more than 300 MSNBC employees are mounting a unionization drive with the Writers Guild of America East to represent writers, talent bookers, fact-checkers and others in editorial at NBCUniversal’s all-news cable network. On Thursday, a group dubbed @MSNBCUnion posted a letter on social media signed by more than 200 employees that called
The fourth and final installment in the “Hotel Transylvania” franchise, “Hotel Transylvania: Transformania,” will now debut during a far spookier month. Previously dated for July 23, the Sony Pictures Animation film will now release on Oct. 1, kicking off the Halloween season. The movie will see Drac (Brian Hull) and the rest of the monsters
Over the course of just three features, filmmaker Lisa Immordino Vreeland has already made a stamp on that documentary subgenre culture hounds find most irresistible — the 20th-century personality portrait — taking names we know well (Diana Vreeland, Peggy Guggenheim and Cecil Beaton) and sharing the private realms of their creative worlds. With “Truman &
Michael Brown Sr., father of Michael Brown, who was killed in Ferguson, Mo. by a police officer at age 18, has appeared in his fair share of documentaries and recorded countless interviews since his son’s death in 2014. But there was something about “Ferguson Rises,” filmmaker Mobolaji Olambiwonnu’s take on the Brown family’s story, that
On Friday afternoon at France’s Annecy Animation Festival, Nickelodeon gave the most detailed preview yet for the network’s second “Spongebob” spinoff, “The Patrick Star Show,” and looked back at 20 years of the global hit franchise. Announced earlier this week, “The Patrick Star Show” will debut Friday, July 9 at 7 PM ET/PT, followed by
Since its debut in 2013, Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon’s animated dark comedy “Rick and Morty” has consistently taken science-fiction misadventures to new heights (and juvenile lows). The pop-culture references, the attention to detail, the world-building, the music cues, the nihilism — “Rick and Morty” has a neverending story (or “Never Ricking Morty”) supply on
Amid Chrissy Teigen’s apology and exit from Netflix’s “Never Have I Ever” and her Safely brand due to resurfaced tweets, she and husband John Legend have taken to Twitter, claiming that a publicized direct message exchange between Teigen and fashion designer Michael Costello is “completely fake.” On June 14, fashion designer and “Project Runway” alum
UPDATED: Users of HBO Max reported widespread issues in trying to access the WarnerMedia streaming service Friday, with the technical problems lasting about an hour. According to uptime-monitoring site DownDetector, user reports of problems with HBO Max spiked around 2:15 p.m. ET. Among the most-reported problems, about 39% were related to log-in, with server connections
The sculpture garden at the Museum of Modern Art, closed to the public under the evening midtown sky in New York City, was witness to the first glimmers of a chic summer return for the art world on Thursday. For the first time since the pandemic, MoMA held its first in-person event, a private evening
Pixar’s “Luca,” now streaming on Disney Plus, is the story of two teenage boys having a carefree summer at the Italian seaside — but they just happen to be sea monsters. Speaking with Variety, production designer Daniela Strijleva teased that the animated feature, in true Pixar style, is filled with Easter eggs galore. Sharp-eyed audiences should look
A2IM’s Libera Awards are the Grammys of independent music, the one time in the entire year that a huge percentage of that community gets (relatively) dressed up and gathers for a night of celebrating the indie sector’s wins and its continued vital importance to the global music world and economy. For obvious reasons, for the
Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of Madrid Region announced Friday that she aims to transform Madrid into will the most important animation and VFX “hub” in Southern Europe, via an ambitious plan for incentives and other support programs. The result, Díaz Ayuso added, will be the creation of employment in this buoyant sector.” Madrid’s president made
Michael Costello‘s doubling down on claims Chrissy Teigen‘s bullied and traumatized him, and says her attempts to discredit him confirm “she remains the same bully.” The “Project Runway” star’s responding to news that broke Thursday night — Chrissy’s team alleges the 2014 Instagram direct messages Costello shared earlier this week to show how she bullied
It took composer Dan Romer a while to find the right Italian touch for the music of “Luca,” Disney-Pixar’s animated fantasy (opening June 18) about young sea monsters masquerading as humans on the Italian Riviera. “Not quite Italian enough” was director Enrico Casarosa’s response to his first try. “Too Italian!” was the response to his
Taylor Swift’s 2012 album “Red” is next in line in her series of album re-records. After much fan speculation, Swift announced on social media Friday that the re-recorded version of her fourth studio album, “Red (Taylor’s Version),” will be released on Nov. 19. The re-recording will feature 30 songs, including one unspecified ten-minute track that
Grammy-winner Sara Bareilles is honest about the “so many” experiences in the music industry where someone may be really having a moment and then they disappear from the zeitgeist. That, she believes, “speaks to the fickle nature of our consumer culture — that we get bored of people really quickly.” But she also knows that
John Paragon, best known for his role as Jambi the Genie on the television series “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” has died. He was 66. Paragon died in his residence in Palm Springs, Calif. on April 3, according to a press release from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. A representative for the Sheriff’s Department confirmed to Variety that Paragon’s
Sam Rechner will play a high school classmate of a young, aspiring filmmaker in Steven Spielberg’s new, semi-autobiographical film. The young, up-and-coming Australian actor joins an impressive ensemble cast that includes Oscar-nominee Michelle Williams, Seth Rogen and Paul Dano. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” breakout Julia Butters and Gabriel LaBelle are also signed for
It’s no secret that Kevin Hart is one of Hollywood’s busiest and prolific entertainers, but his latest film “Fatherhood,” showcases Kevin Hart the family man. In the movie, the comedy star makes a more serious turn for the heart-wrenching family drama based on a true story. Think Will Smith in “The Pursuit of Happyness” meets
To understand the success of Triggerfish, the fast-rising, Cape Town-based animation house, which won the prestigious MIFA Animation Industry Award this week in Annecy, one need look no further than the circumstances of its birth 25 years ago. South Africa was finally emerging from the shadows of apartheid, a cruel and exploitive system of institutionalized
Netflix has given a straight-to-series order to a comedy set in the front office of the Los Angeles Lakers from writer Elaine Ko and executive producer Mindy Kaling, Variety has learned. The untitled, half-hour series is inspired by the personal and professional dynamic between the family owners and front office team that together run one of
Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) and Gillian Anderson (“The Crown”) sat down for a virtual chat for Variety‘s Actors on Actors. For more, click here. When Gillian Anderson and Elisabeth Moss met virtually to talk about their respective roles as Margaret Thatcher on Netflix’s “The Crown” and June Osborne on Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” they
TV writer Annie Weisman was captivated by Don Draper and Walter White, the two very complicated family men at the heart of “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad,” when those ground-breaking characters were introduced nearly 15 years ago. Yet she yearned for more female-centric storytelling from both shows. “I love ‘Mad Men,’ and I love ‘Breaking
In honor of Juneteenth, Netflix and Ghetto Film School have launched the winning films from the inaugural class of their new content creation program focused on emerging Black filmmakers. The three films — “Silence of Friends” by Nia Stanford, “Divinity Streak” by Jess Waters and “Day Into Knight” by Sarah Jean Williams — are now
The question of work — who gets it and who doesn’t — has driven the Hollywood zeitgeist for years, from #MeToo to recent reckonings over race and equity. At the Tribeca Festival in New York City on Wednesday, Emmy winner Lena Waithe, her production company Hillman Grad and an unexpected financial partner, the global HR conglomerate
MK2 Films has acquired worldwide sales rights to “Don Juan,” Serge Bozon’s comedy weaving singing, dancing and romance with Tahar Rahim (“The Mauritanian”) and Virginie Efira (“Benedetta”). Rahim stars as Laurent, a stage actor who gets jilted on his wedding day and embarks on a quest to seduce every woman he meets in order to
Motion Picture Exchange has acquired worldwide sales rights on the coming-of-age horror film “Student Body,” and will be launching it out of the Cannes Virtual Market next week. Written and directed by Lee Ann Kurr in her feature debut, the film features Montse Hernandez (“Lowriders,” “Jane the Virgin”), Cheyenne Haynes (“Camping”), Harley Quinn Smith (“Cruel
Charlize Theron is raising money for Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) with a few of her “Fast” friends. The Oscar winner is hosting an outdoor screening of “F9: The Fast Saga” on June 26 at the Universal Studios backlot. Theron joined the blockbuster franchise in the previous film, “The Fate of the Furious.” A
Amazon Studios Voices: Pride will take place on June 24 to celebrate queer voices and representation in media. In partnership with GLAAD and Pride Media, the virtual event will consist of three roundtable conversations and three lightning talks from LGBTQIA+ players across the industry and will close with performances from drag queens Kandy Muse, LaLa