Warner Records ruled the 2021 BRIT Awards with three wins – two for Dua Lipa (Mastercard Album and Female Solo Artist) and one for singer-songwriter, Griff (Rising Star). And the executive who signed both artists got his own reward shortly afterwards, when head of A&R Joe Kentish was appointed label president, following predecessor Phil Christie’s
Victoria Pedretti, who stars as Love Quinn on Netflix’s “You,” has been tapped to play “The Lovely Bones” author Alice Sebold in the film adaptation of her 1999 memoir, “Lucky.” “Lucky” focuses on the 18-year-old Alice, then a burgeoning writer in her freshman year at Syracuse University. After being viciously beaten and raped by a
Your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite has returned. HBO Max has finally debuted the first footage from its “Gossip Girl” revival. Gone are the tights and headbands of yesteryear, the class of 2021 has a whole new vibe. Developed by showrunner Joshua Safran (who previously worked as an executive
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Bloody Celestial Karaoke Jam,” the 10th episode of the fifth season of “Lucifer,” streaming now on Netflix. After seasons of one-off songs, the second half of the fifth season of “Lucifer” finally delivered a full-on musical episode. In the episode, the titular Lucifer (Tom
Variety's Awards Circuit is home to the official predictions for the upcoming Emmys ceremonies from film awards editor Clayton Davis. Following history, buzz, news, reviews and sources, the Emmy predictions are updated regularly with the current year's list of contenders in all categories. Variety's Awards Circuit Prediction schedule consists of four phases, running all year
Donna Brazile, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee and a veteran political operator, has joined ABC News as a contributor, a move that is likely to limit her appearances on Fox News Channel, where she has been appearing regularly since March of 2019. Brazile made a recent appeared on ABC News’ “This Week,”
WWE announced that SummerSlam will take place on Aug. 21. The venue, described as a “summer destination location,” will be revealed on June 5 during NBC’s 2021 Belmont Stakes’ pre-race show. Tickets to the wrestling event will go on sale June 18. Additionally, WWE added 21 live events to its summer tour. The new set
It’s hard not to listen to DMX’s posthumous album “Exodus” — which the rapper completed just weeks before his death on April 9 — without feeling wistfulness, but there are many classic moments on the set. One in particular is a rare team-up between DMX’s fellow New York rappers Jay-Z and Nas, bringing three of
“Call Me By Your Name” director Luca Guadagnino has begun principal photography on his first film set in America, “Bones and All,” starring Timothée Chalamet, Taylor Russell and Mark Rylance. The project, which is filming on location in the Ohio Tri-State area, marks the first collaboration between Guadagnino and Chalamet since the Oscar-nominated “Call Me By
In today’s Global Bulletin, BGM shakes up its executive teams in Canada; COVID postpones Taiwan’s Golden Melody Awards; and India’s music industry teams for an online concert to raise funds for COVID relief. HIRING Canada’s BGM Inc, a Sphere Media group company, has hired production executive Andrea Griffiths to the newly created role of director
It is no small understatement to say that David Bowie was at a creative crossroads in 1970 — one that was baffling, possibly even to himself. He began the year essentially as a folksinger coming off of his elaborate first hit, “Space Oddity,” releasing a fey love song to his wife-to-be, Angela (“The Prettiest Star”)
For the small percentage of the population who didn’t get to know Regé-Jean Page on “Bridgerton” (or “Roots,” “For the People” or “Sylvie’s Love”), they were likely introduced to the actor via “Saturday Night Live.” The actor hosted the Feb. 20 episode, showing off his comedic chops with the Olivia Rodrigo-inspired ‘Drivers License’ sketch and
The Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival will be heading to the Croisette for the first time to take part in the annual Goes to Cannes event, the Cannes Film Market’s pix-in-post industry showcase. Variety can reveal the five films that are slated to take part. “We’re very excited to bring our wolf pack to Cannes
Altitude has acquired U.K. distribution rights to “Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds,” a 3D animated feature inspired by Alexandre Dumas’ 19th-century classic D’Artagnan novels. The family adventure film is being represented in international markets by Charades, the sales banner behind the Oscar-nominated “Mirai” and “I Lost My Body.” Budgeted in the range of $10 million,
Amnesty International celebrates its 60th anniversary today by releasing a new visual titled “Freedom Flight 60.” Narrated by Nazanin Boniadi (“Homeland”) and musician Angelique Kidjo, the film was shot entirely by drones and features landmarks and personalities from throughout Amnesty’s history and around the globe. “Freedom Flight” is soundtracked by a remastered version of “Biko”
“Ragdoll,” the new AMC–Alibi thriller starring Lucy Hale (“Pretty Little Liars”), has started production in London, Variety has learned. Hale plays DC Lake Edmunds, a new recruit at the London Metropolitan Police, who is tasked with investigating a murderer known as the “Ragdoll Killer”. She is joined by Henry Lloyd-Hughes (“The Irregulars”) as DS Nathan
Chinese games and tech firm NetEase has unveiled plans to spin off its music streaming business NetEase Cloud Music into a company that would have its own listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It had 180 million monthly users at the end of 2020, making it the number two online music player in China.
Sony Pictures Entertainment intends to play the film and TV industry’s new era as an independent studio, committed to theatrical releasing, and with an expanded slate that gives it more options in streaming, says its chairman and CEO, Tony Vinciquerra. Speaking Thursday at parent company Sony Group’s investor relations day, Vinciquerra said that as parts
Hong Kong film censors issued a warning to the city’s hospital workers union on Thursday evening over the screening two films related to the 1989 June 4 Tiananmen Square crackdown. “I Have Graduated” is a 1992 documentary about the last batch of university students who experienced the 1989 Beijing protests, and was produced by a
Japanese distributor and sales agent Gaga Corporation has added “ARASHI Anniversary Tour 5 x 20 Film – Record of Memories,” a concert film by the now disbanded Japanese mega-group Arashi, to its international sales line-up. Directed by veteran hitmaker Tsutsumi Yuikihiko, who also made the group’s 2002 debut film “Pikanchi,” “Record of Memories” will have
November 1901. Mexico City. A police raid on a high-society private party leads to the arrest of 42 men. Nineteen are found wearing lavish ball gowns that matched the opulence of the (very much illicit) affair. Among those arrested are key figures from Mexico’s ruling class, including one whose name and presence at the party
Do not adjust your dial. Yes, there was a sense of deja vu in seeing the Weeknd pick up some trophies on prime-time television Thursday night, just as there was in watching him look into the camera and vow: “Like I said before, the after-hours are done and the dawn is coming.” He had uttered
It took a village to salute Elton John at Thursday’s iHeartRadio Music Awards, as H.E.R., Brandi Carlile and Demi Lovato came on stage sequentially to sing to Sir with love, with testimonials before and after the medley from Lil Nas X and Coldplay’s Chris Martin. [embedded content] Lovato, singing “I’m Still Standing,” was the only
Posthumous albums, especially ones that were all-or-mostly completed before the artist’s death, are nearly always bittersweet, providing a look not only at what was lost but also what might have been. But DMX’s “Exodus,” which was nearly complete before his death on April 9, is even more bittersweet than most, marking not just a return
For the inaugural season of Disney’s “Launchpad” shorts incubator, the studio centered on the theme, “Discover,” encouraging audiences broaden their worldview through their short films. But another word that could describe this first group of films and the filmmakers who crafted them over the last 19 months is “Perseverance.” When Aqsa Altaf, Stefanie Abel Horowitz, Ann Marie
Showstopper Lil Nas X turned eyes on the iHeart Radio Red Awards red carpet in an iridescent suit and platform white boots — another bold fashion statement for the singer who is fresh off a buzzy “Saturday Night Live” performance that culminated in the splitting of his pants. He took a moment to address the
The other family-imperiled-by-rampaging-beasts movie this weekend, “Endangered Species” is different from “A Quiet Place Part II” in many ways, particularly in that its characters cannot stop yakking — with corresponding diminished viewer concern for their survival under extreme duress. MJ Bassett’s South African-produced thriller has a vacationing American clan doing all the wrong things in
J. Cole, Kid Cudi and Future are set to headline the Rolling Loud California 2021 festival, taking place on December 10th-12th, 2021 at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino. Also on the bill are Wiz Khalifa, Playboi Carti, Moneybagg Yo, Lil Durk, Polo G, Rod Wave, Lil Tjay, Jack Harlow and Ski Mask the
As the world trains its attention on members of the AAPI community who are are making a difference, Variety is putting a spotlight on 10 executives from the music business who are helping lead the way into an era of greater representation and awareness — on top of just navigating the industry through its own
Rina Sawayama has been influencing pop since the day she appeared on the scene with “Sleeping in Waking” in 2013. But it wasn’t until her 2020 album SAWAYAMA, which topped all the notable “Best of” lists last year, that we began to truly appreciate her. She explored the depths of herself, breaking Rina down into