Locksmith Animation has tapped Simon Otto to direct their adaptation of children’s book series, “That Christmas,” written by acclaimed screenwriter and director Richard Curtis (“Four Weddings and a Funeral”). Otto is a Visual Effects Society (VES) Award-winning Head of Character Animation, story artist, character designer and director. He is best known for the “How to
A recent documentary about caregiving for frail family members was called “It’s Not a Burden,” but that cheerful attitude isn’t shared by the principal figures in “My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To.” They’re adult siblings tethered to a reclusive existence because one of them has a wee abnormality, which demands flesh blood
The 2021 Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival officially opens this Monday evening to a sense of palpable excitement. On-site attendance will not reach the 5,000 delegate cap. “But our goal this year was not to break records, simply to welcome people,” says Mickael Marin, CEO of Annecy organizer Citia. “Our duty is to celebrate animation
For their first outings as television creators, Ethan Hawke and Little Marvin held nothing back. Hawke acquired the rights to James McBride’s novel “The Good Lord Bird” for the Showtime adaptation. He also wrote scripts, executive produced and starred as abolitionist John Brown, approaching history with a witty bent. Meanwhile, Little Marvin blended classic horror
Ahead of streaming a pre-recorded Studio Focus presentation as part of this year’s hybrid Annecy Animation Film Festival, Netflix has shared with Variety that “Big Mouth” stars Nick Kroll and Maya Rudolph will be joined by a star-studded lineup of new and returning voice talent in “Human Resources,” the upcoming series spinoff series of the
Once seen as nothing more than a niche genre, superhero content has come to be a dominant force on screen. Television, especially, has seen a massive influx of such large-scale stories of late. But with audiences having seemingly infinite options of what to watch, long gone are the days of the simple hero origin stories
Veteran CNN correspondent told viewers Monday that she recently had surgery for ovarian cancer and will undergo chemotherapy for a period of weeks. Amanapour, who has not been hosting her program for CNN’s international outlets for the past four weeks, returned to the air Monday and opened her program with remarks about her condition. “I’ve
Chrissy Teigen has posted a lengthy apology online after previous tweets of hers resurfaced in which she participated in online bullying and targeted Courtney Stodden, a model and reality TV personality. “Not a day, not a single moment has passed where I haven’t felt the crushing weight of regret for the things I’ve said in
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has revealed that it will debut six more of its classic films restored on 4K Ultra HD disc for the first time ever. The “Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 2” will include “The Social Network,” “Taxi Driver,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “Anatomy of a Murder,” “Oliver!” and “Stripes.” In addition
Philippa Campbell, one of the producers on “They Are Us,” a new drama about the aftermath of the Christchurch attacks on New Zealand’s Muslim community, has quit the project after a media backlash. “I have listened to the concerns raised over recent days and I have heard the strength of people’s views. I now agree
While U.S. blockbusters deserted screens in 2020, French animated features had 10-year record-breaking performance at the local box office last year, according to a study conducted by the CNC (National Film Board) and unveiled on the opening day of Annecy Film Festival. As French theaters were shut down for most of the year due to
All products and services featured by Variety are independently selected by Variety editors. However, Variety may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. The summer solstice hasn’t technically happened yet, but we’d argue that Lorde’s sunny outfit in her “Solar Power”
After the initial May 26 initial announcement that Jay-Z’s curated two-day festival, Made in America, would return to Philadelphia for its tenth edition on Labor Day weekend, Sept. 4-5, Justin Bieber and Lil Baby were named as the event’s headliners in a Monday morning announcement. Along with Bieber and Baby, neither of which are assigned
Chicago will give away 1,200 Lollapalooza tickets as an incentive for people to get vaccinated. Anyone with an appointment at one of four of the city’s vaccination sites on June 26, dubbed “Lolla Day,” will receive a single-day pass to the Grant Park music festival this summer. The city said there will also be an
As California braces for a significant reopening for vaccinated citizens, a new live music experience is popping up at Los Angeles’ South Coast Botanic Garden. The DiscOasis, an interactive playground of roller-disco and performance art, is launching with Grammy-winning host and emcee DJ Nile Rodgers. The event will run from July 16 through Labor Day
Just in time for its 20th anniversary season, Cinespia makes its return to the Hollywood Forever Cemetery for a summer of cinema under the stars, with a lineup of screenings including, “The Silence of the Lambs,” “The Addams Family,” “Pulp Fiction” and “The Wizard of Oz.” “Dazed and Confused” and “Dirty Dancing” will kickoff the
Mexico’s Fotosintesis Media, producer of the Quirino Awards best feature winner “A Costume for Nicolas,” is readying Alejandra Pérez’s first movie “My Friend the Sun,” an animated family tale deeply rooted in lesser-known Mexican myths and legends. A social cause-driven entertainment label jointly launched by Jaime Romandia and Carlos Reygadas’ Mantarraya Group and writer-director Mike
French filmmaker Arthur Harari’s “Onoda – 10 000 Nights In The Jungle” will open the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes’ Official Selection. The film tells the story of soldier Hiroo Onoda who was sent to an island in the Philippines in 1944 to fight against the American forces. As Japan surrenders, Onoda ignores it,
Paul Giamatti has been cast in director Alexander Payne’s upcoming movie “The Holdovers.” The project reunites Giamatti and Payne, who teamed on the Oscar-winning 2004 comedic drama “Sideways,” which follows two men in their 40s who take a week-long road trip to Santa Barbara wine country. “The Holdovers” is also being billed as a comedic
As Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) played out a family fantasy across multiple decades of sitcom television in Disney Plus’ “WandaVision,” veteran costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo had to dress her for the part. But while she played with color and texture to represent fashion trends of gone by, she also had to create present-day, real-world
Composer Nicholas Britell recalls receiving an audio message from director and writer Barry Jenkins with no words or description to accompany it, just a drilling sound. “He didn’t even need to say to me what it was, I immediately thought, ‘I’m going to start experimenting with this,’” Britell says. And that was the beginning of
Amid the struggle by major media companies to attract consumers to their premium streaming video services, there’s a fight on another over-the-top front — for the screens in business locations like bars and restaurants. Austin, Texas-based startup Atmosphere has been quietly ramping up its B2B streaming business over the past two years, aggregating content from
Demi Lovato is celebrating Pride Month by designing a face mask with Richfresh’s Henry to celebrate and support the non-binary community. The mask is included in a limited-edition four-pack of masks, available starting Monday, which also feature butterfly and UFO designs. Lovato revealed in May that they identify as non-binary. “Not only has my life
“Fargo” showrunner Noah Hawley lives and works in Austin, Texas, so even before the COVID-19 pandemic pushed people to work from home, he was already doing that. “On some level, my life was set up for this better than other people,” he says. “I had a writers’ room in L.A., so the first and third
Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe were named temporary replacement co-hosts for Chris Harrison on the current season of “The Bachelorette,” as the longtime host stepped aside amid controversy in March. Harrison’s full departure from the franchise became official shortly after the new season premiered. Now, the door is wide open for a new face of
Kathryn Hahn (“WandaVision”) and Jason Sudeikis (“Ted Lasso”) sat down for a virtual chat for Variety‘s Actors on Actors. For more, click here. Jason Sudeikis is an Emmy front-runner for his work on Apple TV Plus’ “Ted Lasso,” playing a relentlessly cheery soccer coach whose sunniness conceals darkness. Kathryn Hahn put on a similarly happy
“Girls5Eva” has been renewed for Season 2 at Peacock. News of the renewal comes a little over a month after the series dropped its eight-episode first season on Peacock, which debuted on May 6. “We are so excited to continue ‘Girls5eva’ alongside this incredibly talented group of cast and producers,” said Lisa Katz, president of
The penultimate episode of “The Stand” finally paid off what Stephen King fans knew was coming ever since the project was greenlit: the destruction of Randall Flagg aka the Dark Man’s (Alexander Skarsgård) debaucherous Las Vegas community. As Randall screams about the traitors in their midst and has Larry (Jovan Adepo) and Ray (Irene Bedard)
In 1958, CBS’ “Playhouse 90” won the first-ever Primetime Emmy award for dramatic anthology series, beating out nominees including “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Hallmark Hall of Fame” and “Studio One.” The anthology Emmy category only lasted a year, but a variation of “outstanding dramatic program,” which mostly recognized individual episodes of anthologies such as “Hallmark Hall
BuzzFeed wants to spark a summer wave of viral quizzes, listicles and more — created by its own fans — by offering, for the first time, to pay them for their content submissions. And the more viral contributors’ articles are, the more they’ll get paid. The BuzzFeed Community team is launching the Summer Writers’ Challenge,