After so many years — and episode re-watches — could there BE anything left to learn about “Friends”? As the highly-anticipated, almost two-hour reunion special for HBO Max shows (and with apologies to Matthew Perry for continuing to borrow his lines), “Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes.” One thing that we didn’t need to learn
Amazon Prime Video is stepping up scripted production in Italy with green lights for two new original series: dark Mafia comedy “The Bad Guy,” and young adult coming-of-age drama “Prisma,” which is about twin brothers who go against gender norms in different ways. The new Italian Amazon Original skeins were announced at a Prime Video
“The Killing Kind,” the latest novel from best-selling author Jane Casey, has been optioned by Sony Pictures Television-backed Eleventh Hour Films. The thriller, which is published Thursday by HarperCollins, will be adapted into a limited series by screenwriters Zara Hayes (“Showtrial”) and Jonathan Stewart (“Meet You in Hell”). Hayes will also direct while Casey has
Fukada Kyoko, 38, a Japanese actor with a long list of major film and TV credits, has been diagnosed with adjustment disorder, her agency, Hori Production, announced Thursday. She is withdrawing from all work commitments while she recovers. It is rare for a Japanese talent of her stature to publicly announce that they are suffering
A promise made between leading Asian film producer Bill Kong and the late Canto-pop super star Anita Mui will soon be fulfilled. Kong’s Edko Films has finally completed production of “Anita,” its long-awaited biopic of the legendary singer-actress who died 18 years ago. Recalling a meeting with Mui in 2003, Kong (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,”
Two-time Oscar nominated Italian cinematographer Dante Spinotti will receive this year’s Pardo Alla Carriera Achievement Award at August’s 74th Locarno Film Festival. Locarno will also host screenings of two of Spinotti’s standout films resulting from his long-time partnership with director Michael Mann: Oscar-nominated “The Insider” and classic heist thriller “Heat.” Spinotti will receive the prize
Hopeful Cannes attendees from the U.K. could face some hard decisions as France imposes a seven-day quarantine for visitors from the country, but festival organizers have been already been exploring different solutions in case these restrictions persist beyond June, Variety has learned. The quarantine rules will come into effect from Monday, but they will likely
John Davis, one of the real voices behind infamous music group Milli Vanilli, has died of coronavirus. He was 66. “My dad passed away this evening through the coronavirus,” Davis’ daughter Jasmin posted to Facebook on May 24. “He made a lot of people happy with his laughter and smile, his happy spirit, love and
The International Icon Interview with Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Grammy winner Whoopi Goldberg will be one of the highlights of the 2021 Edinburgh TV Festival. Goldberg, a recent Variety cover star, is expected to talk candidly about her life on and off screen and her experiences as a multi-award winning artist, producer, author, entrepreneur and humanitarian,
A new state-of the-art movie theatre called Cinema Troisi is set to open in a Fascist-era building in central Rome on September 30, an event rife with symbolic significance. The projector is latest generation 4K; the sound Dolby 7.1 surround; the bar/bistro will serve gourmet food; and the venue’s plush 300 seats are the same
TrustNordisk has unveiled the trailer for “The North Sea,” the Norwegian disaster movie directed by John Andreas Andersen, and produced by the banner behind the Scandinavian blockbusters “The Quake” and “The Wave.” “The North Sea” was co-written by Harald Rosenløw Eeg, who also penned “The Quake” and “The Wave,” and Lars Gudmestad, whose credits include
Paul Rudnick‘s “Playing The Palace” has been years in the making. The novel follows a New York City event planner named Carter Ogden who unexpectedly sparks a love affair with Edgar, the openly gay Crown Prince of England. After working on the first draft for almost a year, Rudnick revealed that he spent many months
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 5, Episode 13 finale of “The Masked Singer,” which aired May 26 on Fox. Nick Lachey is hogging “The Masked Singer” spotlight. Disguised as the Piglet, the 98 Degrees star is taking home the bacon as Season 5’s big winner. Also revealed on
Amazon’s announcement of its $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM emphasized the value of the MGM movie library to the Amazon Prime streaming service. But the transaction raises big questions about what will become of existing MGM’s television group, headed by Mark Burnett. Burnett is already a big winner in the deal as he is poised
“The Bold Type,” which airs its fifth and final season premiere Wednesday night, might not have ever happened if it weren’t for Katy Perry. Former Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief Joanna Coles recalls the genesis of the series, inspired by her life at the top of the masthead, as stemming from a cover shoot with the pop singer
The program for the fifth Women in Animation World Virtual Summit has been announced in conjunction with the hybrid version of this year’s Annecy International Animation Festival. Produced by the South African animation studio Triggerfish, the event will be available exclusively to WIA members from June 14-19. The public will be able to view the
Kim Kardashian has been trying to become a lawyer now for more than a year, but she’s no closer to getting her license to practice law … because she missed a passing grade on the baby bar exam. Kim made it official on a preview of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” where she fessed up
SAG-AFTRA made it official on Wednesday, appointing longtime general counsel Duncan Crabtree-Ireland as the group’s new national executive director. Crabtree-Ireland takes over for David White, who announced on May 14 that he was stepping down after 12 years on the job. Crabtree-Ireland has served as the organization’s general counsel for 15 years, and for the
Travis Barker’s tattoos may be outnumbered by his growing circle of collaborators. It’s a multi-genre craft he’s perfected in the last two decades, whether it be dawn-of-the-21st-century drum sessions for P. Diddy, N.E.R.D. and Rihanna, playing along to Nirvana covers with Post Malone, or recent writing-producing gigs for rapper Trippie Redd’s “Neon Shark vs Pegasus”
Who will Greg Gutfeld yell at now? Juan Williams, the resident liberal member of the popular Fox News panel show “The Five” is leaving the program for which he has worked since 2015. He expressed a desire on air Wednesday to stay near his family in Washington D.C. Williams commuted to New York before the
Sony has found its greatest hunter. Aaron Taylor-Johnson will headline “Kraven the Hunter,” further expanding Sony Pictures’ efforts to capitalize on its trove of Marvel comics characters with connections to Spider-Man. J.C. Chandor (“Triple Frontier”) is set to direct, from a script by Art Marcum & Matt Holloway and Richard Wenk. Avi Arad and Matt
Amazon’s 8.45 billion purchase of MGM is inciting concerns from the federal government. “This is a major acquisition that has the potential to impact millions of consumers,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said in a statement. “The Department of Justice must conduct a thorough investigation to ensure that this deal won’t risk harming competition.” Amazon and
After dropping out of the “American Idol” finale at the last minute, Arthur Gunn has spoken out about his decision to leave the show. Gunn was set to perform with Sheryl Crow on Sunday’s finale, but after the “Idol” contestant allegedly refused to come out of his trailer five minutes before the show, producers were
Michael De Luca may be the big winner from Wednesday’s blockbuster news that Amazon will purchase Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for $8.45 billion. Though insiders caution that no decisions have been made, there is speculation around Hollywood that De Luca will play a major role in helping the e-commerce giant monetize its new library of 4,000 MGM film
Kevin Clark, who played kid drummer Freddy Jones in “School of Rock,” died on Wednesday, the Chicago Sun-Times and several other local outlets reported. He was 32. Clark was riding his bicycle early Wednesday morning through the Avondale neighborhood of Chicago when a driver of a Hyundai Sonata struck him around 1:20 a.m., according to
Warner Chappell Music has entered into a co-publishing agreement with rising hip-hop artist 42 Dugg, who is signed to both Yo Gotti’s CMG label and Lil Baby’s 4PF imprint as part of a joint venture. The announcement comes on the heels of the release of the Detroit native’s new project, “Free Dem Boyz,” and last
Parker Posey will star alongside Colin Firth, Toni Collette, Juliette Binoche and Rosemarie DeWitt in the HBO Max limited series “The Staircase.” The eight-parter is based on the docuseries of the same name and various books and reports on the Michael Peterson (Firth) case. Peterson was accused of murdering his wife, Kathleen (Collette), in 2001. He
Netflix’s new “High on the Hog” isn’t just a food show or a history show or a travel show. It’s a joyful combination of all of those genres, shot through with a deep reverence for the people and places that were formative to creating African American food — which in turn became simply American food.
UPDATED: The Small Business Administration stated Wednesday that notices of approved relief money from the $16 billion Save Our Stages act — which was passed into law nearly five months ago, although no money has been distributed to date — began to be sent to independent venues on Wednesday morning. While SBA chief Isabel Guzman
JoJo Siwa, Saweetie, Benito Skinner, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Elsa Majimbo, Yung BBQ and more are among the featured speakers at Instagram and Facebook’s first-ever Creator Week, which is set to take place virtually June 8-10. Instagram/Facebook Creator Week, announced last week, is available by invitation only. Special select programming will be available to the