As the industry shutters for the Christmas and New Year holidays, CBS Entertainment Group chief George Cheeks marked his nine-month anniversary at the company with a year-end note to staffers that points to “brighter days ahead” for the company and the Eye. “I joined you at CBS nine months ago today. In my message that
The Hollywood Foreign Press has come under fire again for the rule that disallows “Minari,” the story of a Korean immigrant family struggling to build a better life in Arkansas, from competing in the Golden Globes race for best drama or musical/comedy. As the entertainment industry faces pressure to become more diverse and inclusive, both
John Fletcher, best known as Ecstasy from the pioneering rap group Whodini, has died, the group’s Grand Master Dee has confirmed. The cause of death was unclear at the time of this article’s publication; he was 56. Roots drummer Questlove was the first to break the news on Wednesday (Dec. 23) via a social-media post paying
Jessica Lessin was ahead of the curve on the boom in subscription media. While working as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal nearly a decade ago, she saw an opening in the journalism market for more thoughtful longform reporting. The decision to follow her instincts meant that she has been in the business of
Leslie West, the singer and guitarist for the hard rock band Mountain, whose fame was cemented by a performance at Woodstock, died Tuesday, according to his brother, Larry West Weinstein. He was 75. In a Facebook post on Sunday, West’s brother had alerted fans to the musician’s declining health, writing, “I am asking for all
It seems like every year prognosticators are declaring the Oscar race to be the most unpredictable yet, but this time, we swear it’s true! With theaters all but shut down and studios unable to screen films live where they can sense the reaction, the playing field feels wide open. And there are still four months
The zombie apocalypse that took hold of TV in 2010 was very, very good for Steven Yeun. To say that “The Walking Dead” was Yeun’s breakout role would be an understatement so powerful it could reanimate a corpse. Yeun had a handful of onscreen credits to his name before he was cast in the AMC
Gal Gadot really is Wonder Woman. She not only suffered neck and shoulder injuries while shooting “Wonder Woman 1984,” but she says the first film also landed her in the operating room. During the entire six-week press tour for the original “Wonder Woman,” Gadot says she had a hernia in her back, something doctors attributed
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s category guidelines ignited an outcry Tuesday when it was announced that “Minari” would be classified as a foreign language film for Golden Globes voters. Directors, writers and actors including Lulu Wang, Phil Lord, Celeste Ng and Daniel Dae Kim condemned the organization’s longstanding policy, saying it was time to change
Reshet’s “The X Factor Israel” will return to screens across Israel next year with a brand new but familiar face on the judging panel: Simon Cowell. The veteran producer and reality TV judge will be joining the fourth season of the show, which last aired in Israel in January 2018. Cowell created the original version
David M. BenettGetty Images British supermodel Stella Tennant died suddenly on Tuesday, five days after her 50th birthday on December 17, her family confirmed. “It is with great sadness we announce the sudden death of Stella Tennant on 22nd December 2020,” the family wrote in a statement, according to The Guardian. “Stella was a wonderful
Last year, “Parasite” made Oscar history by becoming the first non-English-language film to win best picture, which should have signaled a new, more internationally open-minded attitude at the Academy. Ninety-two years in, an org founded with the strategic purpose of benefiting the American film industry had demonstrated that it had, as “Parasite” director Bong Joon
Understandably, nerves are rattled, tempers are flaring and emotions are running high as the number of COVID-19 cases erupting on the shoots of movie and TV productions continues to climb. Though production has been declared an “essential” job in California and strict safety protocols are being adopted on sets around the globe to help mitigate
SAG-AFTRA leaders have been grappling for months with the outcry from members over big changes and cuts to the union’s health care plan starting next year. But as 2020 draws to a close, Michael Estrada, CEO of the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan, has a simple message for the union’s 160,000-plus members: Those who are eligible should
Amid the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests, actor, singer and activist Amber Riley learned to fully embrace the power of her voice. In the last year, Riley has released a self-titled EP, launched #unMUTEny as a movement to “end Black silence in the entertainment industry,” remixed “O Christmas Tree” into the carol “Oh
While the Academy has not yet released the full official list, these are the films Variety has learned have been submitted by various countries in the international film race. The shortlist will be announced Feb. 9 and the nominations on March 15. The Academy Awards ceremony takes place on April 25. Albania Open Door Director:
“May you live in interesting times.” This past year calls to mind that old saying, allegedly an ancient curse directed at one’s enemies. But 2020, with all its tumult and terror, isn’t one to forget for media and entertainment companies. It marked a pivotal year when the sector’s biggest companies made tough decisions to reorient
For singer, actress, producer Rita Wilson, “Everybody Cries,” her Oscar contender for Best Original Song, felt like a tribute to the mothers and female relatives of soldiers who were on the front line. The soaring ballad, which was co-written by Wilson, director Rod Lurie, and Larry Groupé, comes with a tragic story behind it. As
Hans Rosenfeldt, the creator and lead writer of Nordic Noir milestone “Broen” (“The Bridge”) and ITV and Netflix’s International Emmy winner “Marcella,” is set to see his first solo novel, “When Crying Wolf,” developed for the small screen by TV4 and CMore Entertainment. Rosenfeldt’s first solo novel — after six crime novels penned with Michael
In today’s Global Bulletin, Hugh Grant recalls doubt over Renee Zellweger’s casting in the now iconic role of Bridget Jones in a BBC2 documentary; RSVP and Guilty By Association team on a new Indian spy thriller; the Meihodo International Youth Visual Media Festival will honor Juliette Binoche and Hayao Miyazaki while Natpe recognizes Disney exec
Veteran rockers the Deftones have completed their “Adopt-a-Dot” fundraising campaign and made a donation of $52,500 to the University of California at Davis Children’s Hospital and $52,500 to “Crew Nation,” the global relief fund for live music crews who have been impacted by COVID-19. In a statement the group said, “With pride, today we’re making
HBO Max is streaming “Wonder Woman,” the iconic ’70s TV series starring Lynda Carter in the title superhero role — all 60 episodes of the live-action show — starting Wednesday, Dec. 23. The nostalgia trip is designed to get fans geared up for the Christmas Day premiere of “Wonder Woman 1984,” starring Gal Gadot, being
The entertainment business is by definition unpredictable. That’s what makes it such a magnet for the best and the brightest, the bold and the brazen, the born innovators and entrepreneurs. Efforts to forecast the future are often folly, because the path is determined by financial agendas and the interests and discretionary income of American and, increasingly, global consumers.
Studios didn’t exactly jump at the chance to make a movie about the late Black Panther chairman Fred Hampton. “It knocked me on my ass,” admits Shaka King, the co-writer and director of “Judas and the Black Messiah,” the blistering new look at Hampton’s short life and enduring impact. “I was under the impression that
Film Movement has acquired North American rights to Amjad Abu Alala’s feature debut “You Will Die at Twenty,” which marks Sudan’s first official Oscar submission. As part of the deal, Film Movement will give “You Will Die at Twenty” a theatrical rollout via virtual cinema in 2021, followed by a release on home entertainment and
“Wonder Woman 1984” is finally here after a long and winding road of delays. “The fact that we’re going to share it with everybody during the holidays is the best feeling,” Gal Gadot tells me as she awaits the film’s Christmas Day debut on HBO Max. “I’m so happy.” And she’d be happy to do
Many actors dread comparisons to James Dean, the movie icon who helped define a new type of on-screen masculinity. But Steven Yeun, the 36-year-old who rose to global recognition on the TV megahit “The Walking Dead,” is comfortable with the juxtaposition to Hollywood’s most famous rebel. When Yeun was talking to director Lee Isaac Chung
Lee Isaac Chung’s “Minari” may be an ensemble drama at heart, but it does feature one inarguable breakout performance by its young star: Alan S. Kim. The 7-year-old firecracker won over crowds in Park City in January at the film’s Sundance premiere (and subsequent press tour, cosplaying as Woody from “Toy Story”) with his portrayal
The Canadian film and television industry has been rocked following allegations that prominent filmmaker and “Inconvenient Indian” director Michelle Latimer is not Indigenous, as she has claimed to be for the past 20 years. The hurt and anger from the Indigenous filmmaking community that followed on social media has been palpable, drawing further attention to
Film industry relations between China and Europe have been kept alive throughout the coronavirus outbreak by Bridging The Dragon, an informal trade organization now in its sixth year. After its regular event held during the Berlin film festival in February, further seminars, presentations and mixers should have taken place in Cannes in May and in