Competition authorities in the United Kingdom have begun an investigation into Sony Music Entertainment’s purchase of the AWAL and Kobalt Neighboring Rights businesses, even after the deal has been completed. Sony announced on Wednesday that it had completed the purchase that was first announced in February this year. The U.K.’s Competition & Markets Authority, does
BBC has unveiled the first image from new police drama “The Responder,” starring Martin Freeman. Written by ex-police officer Tony Schumacher and made by Dancing Ledge Productions (“The Salisbury Poisonings”), Freeman stars as Chris, a crisis-stricken, morally compromised urgent response officer who is forced to take on a new rookie partner (Adelayo Adedayo). Together, they
Sony’s “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” is set to scamper across China starting June 11, a week before it scurries to screens in the U.S. on June 18. The film was initially schedule to release in February 2020, but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It debuted in Australia and New Zealand on
SF Studios is joining forces with prolific Norwegian filmmaker Henrik M. Dahlsbakken (“Project Z,” “An Affair”) and the banner FilmBros on “Possession,” a horror film set during the Spanish flu in 1918. The film, which portrays the terrifying events following a pastor’s actions in a small Sami village, is being handled by REinvent International Sales
Martin Bashir obtained his bombshell interview of Princess Diana on the 1995 BBC “Panorama” program by “deceitful” means, according to U.K. newspaper the Telegraph. The findings of an independent investigation are expected to be published on Thursday. It was conducted by Lord Dyson and the report is understood to be critical of the role of
Bytedance co-founder Zhang Yiming said Thursday that he will step down as chief executive and transition to a new position. He will be succeeded by fellow co-founder Liang Rubo, ByteDance’s current head of human resources. The news was announced in an internal memo to employees. It marks the most significant corporate change to the TikTok
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 5, Episode 12 of “The Masked Singer,” which aired May 19 on Fox. In the end, perhaps it was Omarion’s previous career as a professional rollerblader that gave him away. Omarion was the latest celebrity to be revealed on “The Masked Singer,” during
HBO Max’s upcoming “Green Lantern” series is eyeing actor Jeremy Irvine for the role of Alan Scott. Irvine would join Finn Wittrock in the series, who has been cast in the lead role of Guy Gardner. HBO Max declined to comment. Scott was Earth’s first Green Lantern, who, true to the comics, is a gay
On the day before her 75th birthday, Cher is gifting fans with the news that an official biopic of her life is in the works. The untitled film is set at Universal Pictures, with “Mamma Mia!” producers Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman on board to produce and Eric Roth penning the script, Variety has confirmed. Cher
Continuing the week of networks’ upfront presentations, ViacomCBS released sneak peeks of four new shows to their advertisers and public consumers Wednesday. Although it’s too soon to really assess the shows themselves, that isn’t stopping this critic from weighing in on their potential, based upon these first looks. Here are those thoughts, in rough descending
After nearly 15 long and bleak months for the movie theater industry, a consortium of the major and independent studios gathered inside an AMC theater in Century City on Wednesday to celebrate — and cheerlead — the return of theatrical exhibition. Part of the industry-wide campaign called “The Big Screen Is Back,” the event showcased over
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. Festival lovers are getting ready to switch out their sweatpants for rave gear as big-name festivals slowly announce
“Bad Boys for Life” directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah have been tapped to helm DC’s upcoming “Batgirl” movie at Warner Bros. Christina Hodson penned the script for the new superhero film, centered on Barbara Gordon, the daughter of Gotham City police commissioner James Gordon. Hodson, who wrote the screenplays for “Bumblebee” and “Birds
ViacomCBS has spoken. The conglom leaned into what it deemed its “beautiful ecosystem” of “premium content” in a upfronts presentation that opened with “Survivor” host Jeff Probst leading ViacomCBS stars on a faux “Celebrity Survivor Casting Special.” Leaning in on the idea of synergy inside the ViacomCBS, this year’s presentation made no real distinction between
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. There is nothing more fulfilling than an ultra-specific Lego set. And “Friends” fanatics, your time is now. You’ve
In the most scintillating sequence of the backstage concert documentary “Pink: All I Know So Far,” the title punk empress, with her platinum cockatoo swirl, caps off her 2019 tour of Europe with a show at London’s ginormous Wembley Stadium, in which she performs the rousing “f— you” anthem “So What” while being hoisted into
Arnold Schwarzenegger is making his grand entrance into television with an untitled global espionage adventure project ordered to series by Netflix. The streamer announced today that the spy series, hailing from Skydance Television and Nick Santora (“Scorpion”) will star the Austrian-American and “The Good Cop’s” Monica Barbaro. Per the logline, the show centers on a
Jon Bernthal, Josh Charles, and Jamie Hector are set for three of the lead roles in the HBO limited series “We Own This City” from the team behind “The Wire.” In addition to the castings, Reinaldo Marcus Green has joined the series as director and executive producer. Variety reported that the series was set up at
The American Cinematheque announced that the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica will reopen on June 10. The theater will celebrate its reopening with a special advance screening of Jon M. Chu’s movie adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical “In The Heights” on June 10, followed by a showing of Edgar Wright’s documentary “The Sparks Brothers” on
Hip-hop has grown from a party in a South Bronx basement to a global soundtrack over its 47-year run. And as it approaches the 50-year mark, some of the genre’s originators have made it their mission to ensure that the milestone is celebrated in a way befitting of its influence. Among those taking the reins
Play video content TMZSports.com Bryce Hall hasn’t even thrown down in his first official boxing match yet … but he’s already planning #2 — explaining Wednesday he wants a scrap with KSI badly!!! The TikTok superstar — who’s all set for a celeb fight with YouTuber Austin McBroom next month — said on “TMZ Live”
Warner Bros. once stood as the citadel of Hollywood, a mighty fortress of moviemaking. Today, the studio is bracing for its third massive executive shake-up in as many years. The special aura that always seemed to hover around the sprawling Burbank lot looks more like a dense fog these days. The mood at the studio
Better late than never? Spotify — more than a year after the COVID pandemic sent most of the world into lockdown mode — is launching a virtual concert series with a lineup of five groups and artists. Access to the live-streaming performances will cost $15 each. The Spotify concert series kicks off next week with
In today’s Global Bulletin, CNN International ups its global content on CNN Marketplace; “Love in Bloom” begins shooting in Australia; British gold medalist Greg Rutherford and Peppa Pig team on a video series to get kids active ahead of the Tokyo Olympics; Film UA Group’s “The Sniffer” heads to Sky Krimi in Germany; and the
A series adaptation of the “Vampire Academy” novels by Richelle Mead has been ordered to series at Peacock, with Julie Plec and Marguerite MacIntyre attached to write, Variety has learned. The book series is a personal favorite of Plec’s, who is best known for co-developing the CW series adaptation of “The Vampire Diaries.” “Julie Plec created
For six seasons, since making her debut on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” in 2015, Erika Girardi (stage name: Erika Jayne) has skated along the surface of the Bravo show. She has promoted her singing career, and shown off her seemingly fabulous life in Pasadena, Calif., with her famous lawyer husband, Tom Girardi, who
As iHeartRadio’s reach holds firm among a slew of streaming options, reaching nine out of 10 Americans every month across its radio, podcasts, digital and social platforms, according to the company, president of entertainment enterprises John Sykes is leading the charge when it comes to live events, television productions and new business development across a
Mouse Rat, the fictional “Parks and Recreation” band led by Chris Pratt’s character Andy Dwyer, will release a real-life record, titled “The Awesome Album.” The band’s social media accounts made the announcement Wednesday, and the album will release August 27. The album, announced on the 10th anniversary of show’s memorial for the miniature horse Li’l
After 10 consecutive days of violence, the renewed Israeli-Palestinian conflict is already considered the worst clash since 2014. For a film community known to be fiercely opposed to the politics led by Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers and producers fear the escalation of violence will cause irreparable damage. There have
“Roswell, New Mexico” star Jeanine Mason has landed a key role in Blair Underwood’s upcoming psychological thriller “Viral.” Mason co-stars opposite Emmy winners Underwood and Sarah Silverman in the independent film, playing a woman named Jules, whose disappearance kicks off the plot. Written by Joe McClean, the story centers on a man named Andrew (Underwood)