SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 5 Episode 10 of “The Masked Singer,” which aired May 5 on Fox. Tyrese Gibson may be one of the most competitive contestants to ever appear on “The Masked Singer.” How committed was he to the show’s guessing game? He frequently threw out
LL Cool J’s media and e-commerce venture Rock the Bells is poised for a growth spurt now that the company has raised $8 million from private investors. James Cuthbert, the former BET and Coca-Cola marketing executive who joined Rock the Bells as president in October, tells Variety‘s “Strictly Business” podcast that the company plans to
After headlining last summer’s time-bending thriller “Tenet,” John David Washington is getting back in the sci-fi game, signing on to star in director Gareth Edwards’ upcoming film for New Regency. Titled “True Love,” the new movie is a sci-fi story, set in the near future. Additional plot details, however, are currently undisclosed. News of the
Harvey Weinstein wants his money back. The imprisoned producer — who is awaiting extradition to Los Angeles — filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against Jose Baez, one of several lawyers who briefly represented him in his New York rape case. He is seeking the return of $1 million in legal fees, arguing that Baez failed
Frank McRae, the actor who appeared in films such as “Licence to Kill” and “Last Action Hero,” has died. He was 80. McRae died in Santa Monica, Calif. on April 29 as a result of a heart attack, his daughter-in-law confirmed to Variety. The NFL player-turned-actor was born in Memphis, Tenn. A star athlete in high
Twitter, at its virtual NewFronts presentation Wednesday for marketers, unveiled an expanded lineup of new and renewed premium video content deals, spanning entertainment, gaming, lifestyle, and news and sports. The social media company, which has nearly 200 million daily active users, announced partnerships with NBC, Tastemade, WNBA, MLB, NHL, Vice Media Group’s Refinery29, Riot Gams
Friendships, like any other relationship, are complicated. They take work and effort. They’re awkward to talk about. They can mean the world at any given moment — and come crashing down without warning. A recent episode of “The Joe Budden Podcast” showed just how complex a friendship can get when business is involved. Last week’s
Hipgnosis Songs has acquired yet another catalog, this one from Andrew Watt, who recently was named 2021 Grammy Producer of the Year for his work with Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa, Post Malone and Ozzy Osbourne. Watt has co-written such massive hits as “Señorita” by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, “Havana” by Camila Cabello, “Let Me Love You” by
Pop star Bebe Rexha has previously revealed that she considers her sexuality “fluid,” and in a new interview with Gay Times published Wednesday, she expanded on her views. “What I believe about sexuality is this: it’s a scale,” Rexha said. “Have I gone out with girls before? Yes. Have I dated girls? Yes, I have.
After making a business in delivering news with a conservative point of view, Fox Corporation is looking to do the same with sports. The company has purchased Outkick, the conservative-leaning sports-news site founded by entrepreneur and online personality Clay Travis. The acquisition was unveiled by Lachlan Murdoch, the company’s CEO, during a call with investors
Over the course of her legendary career, Alice Lee “Boaty” Boatwright has cast iconic movies, served as a studio exec and repped starry talent including Joan Didion, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Reflecting on it today, she says her career really took off after a pivotal encounter at Sardi’s restaurant more than 60 years ago.
ICM Partners has been quite public about trying to reform its own workplace culture. But according to a story published in the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday, working at the high-powered agency can still be a traumatic experience for many lower-level employees. The article documented a workplace where agents and other supervisors felt free to take
Travis Scott announced that his Astroworld Festival fully sold out today in under an hour, with over 100,000 people expected to attend the event. The event, taking place November 5-6 in Scott’s hometown of Houston, sold through all its passes before a lineup has been announced, making Astroworld the only major music festival to sell
Fox Corporation said profit in its third fiscal quarter rose owing to increases in value of some of its outside investments, even as overall revenue fell due to comparisons with 2020, which contained a Super Bowl and a red-hot news cycle focused on the Trump administration and the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Revenue fell
It took more than 13,000 plays of the Bruce Springsteen song “If I Should Fall Behind” — a live version recorded with the E Street Band at Madison Square Garden — to help Laura Dave finish her latest novel, “The Last Thing He Told Me,” which hit shelves on May 4. The author of bestsellers
Last year, shortly after the pandemic hit the U.S., WarnerMedia’s TCM — with about three weeks notice — shifted its annual in-person TCM Classic Film Festival to a hybrid online/network experience. When the TCM team determined they were not going to be able to hold the fest in-person again in 2021, they made an even
After two years at the company, Walt Disney Television president of entertainment Craig Hunegs is departing the media giant at the end of May. The decision to leave was Hunegs’, according to a source familiar with the matter, and follows Disney’s major reorganization last fall that realigned its businesses, splitting off its content creation team
In my interview with Kate McKinnon for our Power of Women in Comedy issue, she hinted that this could be her last season as a regular cast member on “Saturday Night Live.” McKinnon stopped short of confirming that she was planning to leave the show after a nine-year run. But when asked how much longer
The film scoring community continues to find new ways to support emerging composers — especially women and people of color — to the tune of more than $100,000 annually, according to announcements this week by Reel Change: The Fund for Diversity in Film Scoring and the Society of Composers & Lyricists. Reel Change, a project
When NBC announced last month that Elon Musk would host “Saturday Night Live” this week, people’s reactions were split, including the cast. During an appearance on “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” Pete Davidson said he doesn’t understand why people are “freaking out.” “They’re like, ‘Oh I can’t believe that Elon Musk is hosting!’” Davidson said.
“Red Sonja” has found its star. Hannah John-Kamen, best known as the villain Ghost in “Ant-Man and the Wasp,” will wield the sword of the comic book fantasy hero in Millennium Films’ long-gestating feature adaptation. Joey Soloway (“Transparent”) is directing the film, from a script by Soloway and Tasha Huo (a writer on Netflix’s upcoming
Trey Songz walloped a bartender with his fist at a concert, then went right back to watching the show … so the bartender claims in a new lawsuit. The singer’s being sued for battery by a man who says he was tending bar around midnight at the Hollywood Palladium on May 9, 2019 … and
Aida Osman, KaMillion, and Jonica Booth have been cast in Issa Rae’s half-hour comedy “Rap Sh*t” (working title) on HBO Max. The WarnerMedia streaming platform also revealed today that Sadé Clacken Joseph (“Ponyboi,” “Finding Phoebe,” “Knight”) will be directing the pilot episode. Per the logline, the eight-parter follows two estranged high school friends from Miami, Shawna
“Succession” Season 3 has added Adrien Brody to its cast. Brody is the latest addition to the cast of the third season of the hit HBO series, with Alexander Skarsgård having been announced as a new addition on Monday. The main cast of the show currently includes Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook,
Joel Zimmerman, more popularly known as the outspoken and pioneering artist deadmau5, has launched beathau5, an electronic dance music label specializing in providing music exclusively for license to film, television, advertising and digital media. beathau5 is a collaboration between Zimmerman’s mau5trap label and Extreme Music in a deal brokered by UTA. As the production library
The streaming service, UrbanflixTV, has tapped actor-director Kim Fields to executive produce and direct the new series “Vicious,” which hails from an all-female, Black producing team, Variety has learned exclusively. A half-hour dramatic comedy, “Vicious” will follow a fashion designer, Chantel, whose success is overshadowed by her deep denial about the cycle of abuse she
If you’re a fan of high-stakes and high-drama telenovelas like “El Señor de los Cielos,” “La Reina del Sur,” “El Recluso,” “Dime Quien Soy” and “Mariposa de Barrio,” we’ve got good news: NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises has launched a groundbreaking effort with over 35 original premium scripted content projects in the mix. Telemundo Streaming Studios represents
Mindy Kaling is one of six creative leaders in comedy honored for Variety‘s 2021 Power of Women. For more, click here. Mindy Kaling is planting the seeds to grow her own comedy dynasty. At the moment, her Kaling International is but a small company of women, as she describes it, with former Hulu development executive
Why, former “Jane the Virgin” star Justin Baldoni writes in his new book “Man Enough: Undefining Masculinity,” can’t men embrace — and be supported for — being emotional, empathetic and sensitive? Using his experiences to explore the question, Baldoni wants men to know that vulnerability doesn’t equal weakness or make them less than. Variety caught
Henry Golding has been cast alongside Dakota Johnson in Netflix’s adaptation of the Jane Austen novel “Persuasion.” The movie will serve as a modern-day retelling of the romantic drama, centering on the conforming Anne Elliot (Johnson), who lives with her snobby family on the brink of bankruptcy. When Anne, unmarried at 27-years-old, reconnects with Frederick