In the wake of an 11-day war in Gaza, Israel’s major TV broadcast channels, newspapers, news websites and radios have rallied to urge Facebook to take immediate action against hateful posts inciting physical harm of journalists. Addressed to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on May 26, the letter was penned by Israeli lawyer Noga Rubinstein on
The popular mobile game “Temple Run” could soon be coming to TV, with unscripted juggernaut A. Smith & Co. Productions teaming with video game company Imangi Studios to develop a competition series based on the game. The series will give contestants the chance to run the “Temple Run” course in real life. Additional details, including
The cast of “The Sandman” series at Netflix continues to grow, with 12 new additions to the cast being announced. Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Mason Alexander Park, Donna Preston, Jenna Coleman, Niamh Walsh, Joely Richardson, David Thewlis, Kyo Ra, Stephen Fry, Razane Jammal, Sandra James Young, and Patton Oswalt will all join the show. They join previously
In today’s Global Bulletin, Steve Coogan takes Alan Partridge on the road; Another Screen offers a free, month-long selection of films from Palestinian women filmmakers; Spain gets a “Temptation Island” spinoff show; the Gulf Cooperation Council launches a campaign to bring audiences back to the cinema post-COVID; VIS makes its first reality format deal in
As U.S. music festivals spring back to life this summer, Jay-Z’s curated two-day festival will return to Philadelphia for its tenth edition this coming Labor Day weekend, Saturday Sept. 4 and Sunday Sept. 5. Early bird tickets can be purchased here with packages and artists’ line-ups for Made in America’s hip-hop and EDM-heavy multiple stages to
ABC News is launching its first LGBTQ+ issue-focused podcast, which will be hosted by award-winning journalist and columnist LZ Granderson, Variety has learned. “Life Out Loud with LZ Granderson” will debut on Jun. 1, in conjunction with the start of Pride month. Granderson, who is an ABC News contributor and ESPN Radio host, will lead
Seventeen years after “The Last One,” Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc are returning to Warner Bros.’ Stage 24 for “Friends: The Reunion.” The reunion special will stream on Thursday, exclusively on HBO Max. On May 26, HBO Max will host “Friends Reunite for Friends” screening events in
Does seeing the number of “likes” on a post stress you out? Now all users on Instagram (and soon Facebook) will have the option to hide public like counts on their posts — and choose whether or not they see likes on other people’s posts. The move comes after Instagram has been testing hiding like
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the fifth season finale of “This Is Us.” Mandy Moore has a proposal for the final season of This Is Us: a destination wedding. When the NBC drama returns in 2022 for its sixth season, the series will spend a great deal of time filling
Hockey great Wayne Gretzky was made an analyst for Turner Sports’ new NHL coverage, part of a quick ramp-up in talent as the WarnerMedia unit prepares to handle a new seven-year deal with the league it hopes will expand its professional-sports presence and draw new viewers to cable outlets like TNT and TBS. Gretzky is
What’s black and white and red all over? A Dalmatian thief with a diaper rash. Or a scarlet-frocked Disney de-Villainess making her debut in the London tabloids. Starring Oscar winner Emma Stone as the monochrome-coiffed fashionista with a soft spot for puppy fur, “Cruella” takes its cues from the “Wicked” playbook — or more recently,
The American Film Institute has announced the slate for its hybrid 2021 edition from June 22-27. Titles include the centerpiece screening of Morgan Neville’s “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain,” while Garrett Bradley’s “Naomi Osaka” will open the festival and “Cusp” is the closing night selection. Held in Silver Spring, MD and on docs.afi.com, the
Amazon has released the first official trailer for sci-fi blockbuster “The Tomorrow War,” debuting on July 2 and starring Chris Pratt as Dan Forester, a high school teacher (and military vet) who is recruited by a group of time travelers to fight a war 30 years in the future. “I was trying to save my
Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile and the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) will receive 2021 Clio Music Impact Awards as part of Clio Music’s virtual awards celebration, taking place June 10 at Clios.com. The awards are being presented for the sixth year by Citi. “Each cycle, we select individuals and organizations in the music community whose significant
The Recording Academy has announced the latest round of updates to Grammy Awards rules and guidelines, the second such amendment this year. It’s complicated, so focus up. Significant among this latest round are an expansion of the eligibility for credited producers, songwriters and engineers in the Album of the Year category — all are now
An investigative three-part docuseries centered on British socialist Ghislaine Maxwell, known for her association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is coming to NBCUniversal-owned streaming service Peacock on June 24. The original documentary, produced by Blue Ant Studios, is described as investigating the “powerful, connected, and mysterious Ghislaine Maxwell, who was once the heiress to
Discovery’s CEO feels a combination of WarnerMedia and his company will create a new media company that is “uniquely competitive with Netflix and Disney,” and articulated the need to have a global footprint in the future in order to compete in the entertainment industry’s streaming wars. Discovery last week stuck a pact with AT&T to
James Bond has a new home: Amazon and MGM announced a definitive merger agreement under which Amazon will acquire MGM for $8.45 billion. MGM, founded in 1924, complements Amazon Studios, which has primarily focused on producing TV programming, the companies said. Amazon will help “preserve MGM’s heritage and catalog of films,” and provide customers with
“RRR” (Roudram Ranam Rudhiram), the upcoming magnum opus from “Baahubali” filmmaker S.S. Rajamouli, has announced several streaming and satellite partners. Once the film completes its theatrical run, currently due to begin Oct. 13, it will stream in the Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada languages on ZEE5. On Netflix, the film will stream in Hindi, English,
Two decades before diversity in film and TV went from a minor industry concern to a mandate, Reel Works became a pioneering force in teaching underserved youth about filmmaking and bringing them into the business. On May 26, co-founders Stephanie Walter and John C. Williams will celebrate the nonprofit’s many achievements at the Reel Works
Discovery-backed channel GB News will launch June 13 in the U.K. with a special program “Welcome to GB News.” The channel will be available on Freeview channel 236, Sky HD, Virgin Media HD, YouView channel 236 and Freesat channel 216, besides mobile and online. GB News is backed by Discovery and several other mostly non-British
BTS’ collaboration with McDonald’s arrives as participating restaurants in the United States today and includes the BTS meal, a variety of merch and four weeks of digital content featuring the band. The BTS Meal, announced on April 19 using french fries to emulate the group’s iconic logo, includes a 10-piece Chicken McNuggets, medium fries and
Veteran British thespian Glenda Jackson has been recognized as the latest recipient of the Richard Harris Award by the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA). The award is conferred for outstanding contribution by an actor to the British film industry. The award was presented to her by her co-star in the upcoming film “Mothering Sunday,” Josh
Cartoon Digital, a forum for European digital animation, kicks off today Wednesday with a focus on Italy and executives in attendance from Netflix, Disney, WarnerMedia, Rai Ragazzi, Ubisoft, Entertainment One, Mattel, Gaumont, among other companies. The conference will run entirely online through this Friday, hosted and backed by the government of Sardinia, Italy, in the
Popular messaging service WhatsApp is suing the Indian government over privacy issues as draconian new rules governing social media come into effect from Wednesday. The lawsuit “asks the Delhi High Court to declare that one of the new rules is a violation of privacy rights in India’s constitution since it requires social media companies to
Fremantle has acquired production rights to format “The Masked Dancer” in 29 territories across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The dance guessing show is a spin-off format of “The Masked Singer” originally created by MBC in South Korea. It sees celebrity contestants wear head-to-toe costumes and face masks that conceal their identities, while performing
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the fifth season finale of “This Is Us.” The Season 5 finale of This Is Us, like so many other major episodes, ended with a surprise twist. It shouldn’t have been too surprising for longtime viewers of the NBC drama, though, that the episode that
Sometimes, you remember just where you were when you connected with a piece of music so powerful it erupted in your head. In the summer of 2000, I rushed in late to a packed all-media screening of “Gone in 60 Seconds.” I’d had a vexing day at the office, and was hoping the film would
Filmmakers have a new reason to rejoice. The U.S. unit of Munich-based camera and imaging giant Arri has expanded its Franz Wieser Grant program, which provides aspiring creatives with access to Arri products and resources. The program will now extend beyond features, shorts and documentaries to encompass photography, live events, worship, and broadcast projects. The
Remember when BTS was a hard sell at American top 40 radio stations, despite already having an immense and very energized U.S. fan base? Neither do we. This week, with “Butter,” the K-pop crew became the first international group ever to have a new song added at every reporting Top 40 station in a song’s