The media and entertainment industry’s rapid shift to streaming video will certainly lead to winners and losers. And Thomas Dey, president and CEO of ACF Investment Bank, predicts that networks and services that are stuck between those with massive scale and those with niche audiences will get “washed away.” On the latest episode of Variety‘s
Everything I know about the “Monster Hunter” video game series is contained in Paul W.S. Anderson’s big-screen adaptation of the franchise, “Monster Hunter.” There will be critics who can tell you who these characters are, or what’s up with the “new world” where monsters live, or why those of us in the “old world” should
Emmy winner Lena Waite’s production company has launched a 10-month mentorship lab to help shepherd a new generation of storytellers and executives. Hillman Grad Productions is now accepting applicants to its inaugural lab, one that provides opportunities for marginalized storytellers to connect, grow and accelerate their careers in television and film Tuition-free, the program grants
J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions has partnered with newly formed outfit NoneMore Productions to produce an adaptation of Charlie Mackesy’s illustrated book “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.” The 30-minute short will feature hand-drawn animation capturing the look and spirit of the book, and will see a team of artists work alongside
Google and Apple reached an agreement that will bring the Apple TV app — including the Apple TV Plus subscription service — to the newest Chromecast device. Google didn’t provide specific timing on when Apple TV will go live on Chromecast, saying only that the app will be available “early next year.” The company said
Orange Studio is set to co-produce and represent in international markets a trio of ambitious French movies, “L’astronaute,” “Madame de Sevigné” and “Chien blanc.” All three films will start shooting during the first quarter of 2021 and will be co-distributed by Orange Studio in theaters. “Chien blanc,” to be directed by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, will be
To celebrate Variety’s 115th anniversary, we went to the archives to see how some of Hollywood’s biggest stars first landed in the pages of our magazine. Read more from the archives here. Variety first mentioned Charles Chaplin, as he was billed, in his American stage debut, before he had made any films. In 1910, the British-born
The charts are usually filled with holiday fare each mid-December, but this year is over the top even by that standard. While Shawn Mendes’ “Wonder” debuted at No. 1 on the Rolling Stone Top 200 Albums chart with 41.7 million streams and Taylor Swift’s “Folklore” wasn’t far behind, most of the top 10 was jingle all the way. Michael
They’re singing “Deck the Halls” and it does seem very much like Christmas, all in all, when Darlene Love is belting one out. There’s a new instance of that, in the Chris Columbus-directed Netflix film “The Christmas Chronicles 2,” as Love joins Kurt Russell, who’s returning as Santa Claus, in a large-scale musical number built
Jeremih opened up about his harrowing battle with COVID-19 during an appearance on “Sway’s Universe” on Tuesday. While he appeared on the show to promote his new holiday album with Chance the Rapper (which includes two new tracks along with songs from their earlier holiday releases), Sway broached the topic about ten minutes into the
Seth MacFarlane is reviving the age old rivalry between jocks and nerds. The comedic actor is developing a reboot of the seminal ’80s comedy “Revenge of the Nerds” at 20th Century Studios. Keith and Kenny Lucas, identical twin brothers best known for their scene-stealing roles in “22 Jump Street,” are set to write and star
Spyscape, a New York City museum experience dedicated to the art of espionage, announced plans today for a film and TV festival named Spyflix. The event will take place starting April 18 with international availability through virtual screenings. Submissions will be accepted now through Feb. 28, with the overarching theme being “secrets.” Anything revolving around
Focus Features has acquired worldwide rights to Kenneth Branagh’s upcoming film “Belfast.” The drama — written and directed by Branagh — stars Caitriona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciaran Hinds and newcomer Jude Hill. “Belfast” tells the story of one boy’s childhood during the tumult of the late 1960s. Dornan and Balfe play a glamorous
Clayne Crawford and filmmaker Robert Machoian will re-team on “The Integrity of Joseph Chambers,” a drama about a family man who must learn to hunt in order to provide for his family. The film is Crawford and Machoian’s second collaboration, following “The Killing of Two Lovers,” a marital drama that premiered to smashing reviews at
Announced on Tuesday as one of 10 films playing the 2021 Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Competition, “El Perro Que No Calla” (“The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet”), from distinguished Argentine auteur Ana Katz, has been acquired by Paris-based Luxbox. A doyen of French sales agents of Latin American films, handling high-profile, multi-prized art titles such
Emma Corrin, who plays Princess Diana on the fourth season of “The Crown,” doesn’t believe the hit Netflix series should be labeled as a work of fiction, as was requested this month by Diana’s brother, Charles, and the U.K. government’s culture secretary, Oliver Dowden. “It is very clearly a dramatized version of events,” Corrin tells
To make sense of all that has transpired in 2020 and what it portends for the media and entertainment sectors going forward, Variety spoke with a cross section of industry leaders about the broad theme of change. For more, click here. When you look to next year, what are the biggest challenges and opportunities for
To make sense of all that has transpired in 2020 and what it portends for the media and entertainment sectors going forward, Variety spoke with a cross section of industry leaders about the broad theme of change. For more, click here. The loss to the theater community is already incalculable. It’s shown people who go
Taylor Swift, an artist now known for turning quarantine into the most productive era of her career, joined Zane Lowe on Apple Music Tuesday to discuss her latest album, “Evermore.” While Swift kept the existence of both albums she released this year under wraps until the day before they arrived, she spoke about the creative
To say that 2020 has been a ground-shifting year, would be to minimize all of the profound sorrow, loss and upheaval that these past 12 months have sowed. One of the most confounding aspects of this cataclysmic year has been how ubiquitous the pain has been spread, whether it was from the public health crisis
Starz’s international streamer Starzplay is expanding its burgeoning international presence with its launch in the Nordic region on streaming service Viaplay on Thursday. Viaplay subscribers will initially have access to a selection of series, including “Normal People” and “The Great” (pictured), with the full Starzplay service to be offered at a later date. Countries included
The BBC has commissioned a four-part adaptation of Kate Atkinson’s (pictured, right) bestselling novel “Life After Life” from House Productions. The story centers on Ursula Todd who dies one night in 1910 before she can draw her first breath. On that same night in 1910, Ursula is born and survives. She finds herself time and
To celebrate Variety’s 115th anniversary, we went to the archives to see how some of Hollywood’s biggest stars first landed in the pages of our magazine. Read more from the archives here. On Aug. 31, 1960, Variety reported on an all-day Gospel Music Festival at Madison Square Garden. The 10-hour show, which Variety dubbed a “religioso
Spotify is now shipping NPR’s podcasts worldwide. The streaming-audio company inked a deal with NPR to distribute 26 podcasts — including “NPR News Hour,” “Planet Money,” “Car Talk” and “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” — outside the U.S. A few NPR shows that are available on Spotify U.S. aren’t part of the international-distribution pact, including
Hot on the heels of its Sundance selection, London-based sales agent and distributor Dogwoof has acquired Hogir Hirori’s documentary “Sabaya” and will shop global rights. The film will receive its world premiere in the World Cinema Documentary section of the 2021 festival. Dogwoof previously repped Hirori’s IDFA-winning documentary “The Deminer” (2017), which follows a former
Stockholm-based production company Dramacorp is joining forces with best-selling author Jonas Jonasson for “Whiskey on the Rocks,” a high-profile Cold War-set mini-series. The series will reunite Jonasson with Patrick Nebout, Dramacorp CEO, and creative director Henrik Jansson-Schweizer following the Oscar-nominated “The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared,” which became Sweden’s biggest
Since the U.K. government gave the production sector the greenlight to restart in the summer, shoots have continued uninterrupted — for the most part — despite the tightening of restrictions on other areas of the economy. Some high-profile productions, such as “Jurassic World: Dominion,” “The Batman” and “The Witcher,” have been forced to take short
Sam Jayne, the frontman of the indie band Love as Laughter, has died. Jayne was last heard from on Dec. 7 and was reported missing shortly thereafter. He was 46. The NYPD confirmed to Variety that Jayne was found in his car and the cause of death is yet to be determined. Jayne’s Love as Laughter bandmate,
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the Dec. 15 episode of “The Bachelorette.” Tayshia Adams’ final four headed to hometowns! Well, sort of. Traditionally, the last four contestants standing — in this case, Ben Smith, Zac Clark, Brendan Morais and Ivan Hall — would spend a day touring their hometown before
U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) is asking for the help of streamers when it comes to slowing the spread of COVID-19 this holiday season. In a letter addressed to the leaders of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, Hulu and HBO Max, King urged the platforms to make their content available to