Global streaming giant Netflix has acquired rights to “The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity,” a period fantasy action film by the ferociously talented and divisive director Guo Jingming. The film is set for a major theatrical release in mainland China on Dec. 25. Netflix, which acquired rights excluding China, will release it in the rest
Joie Manda, executive vice president at Interscope Geffen A&M, is leaving the label at the end of the year to pursue new endeavors. His exit comes on the heels of a market share-leading year for the Universal Music Group company, which was named label of the year by Variety at its annual Hitmakers event, which
Directors behind some of HBO’s biggest TV prestige projects — Susanne Bier (“The Undoing”), Tim Van Patten (“Perry Mason”), Derek Cianfrance (“I Know This Much is True”) and Misha Green (“Lovecraft Country”) — discussed how they approach their work and its impact on their respective show’s storytelling during Variety‘s FYC Fest. As the TV medium has become more
In 1970, Gil Scott-Heron recorded his famous poem-song “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” But that anthemic line, as forceful as it was, has been proved wrong time and again. Two years earlier, starting on Sept. 12, 1968, the revolution was televised, in a captivating and astounding way. “Mr. Soul!” is a documentary that’s been
“A Teacher” — a show that examines a sexual relationship between a teacher and her student — was created by Hannah Fidell, and stars Kate Mara and Nick Robinson. During day one of Variety‘s inaugural FYC Fest, Kate Aurthur hosted Fidell, Mara and Robinson for a Meet The Makers of FX on Hulu‘s “A Teacher” panel. The creative team talked about the challenging journey to bring this project to audiences: As a survivor of sexual assault herself, Fidell wanted to tell the
In today’s TV news roundup, HBO Max unveiled the teaser trailer for the fourth season of its original dark comedy “Search Party” and production company Sister acquired the exclusive rights to adapt Lydia Millet’s critically-acclaimed novel “A Children’s Bible” to a limited series. FIRST LOOKS HBO Max Original “Search Party,” which will debut its fourth
Tom Cruise expressed his frustration with crew members on the set of “Mission: Impossible 7” after he saw them breaking COVID-19 guidelines, two sources close to the production confirm to Variety. As first reported by The Sun, after Cruise saw two crew members standing too close to one another in front of a computer screen,
The DC Cinematic Universe seems to have found another success with “Wonder Woman 1984.” Reviews began to flood in on Tuesday, with the majority of the critics favoring the film for its escapist qualities and director Patty Jenkins’ take on the 1980s. The movie, releasing in theaters and on HBO Max on Dec. 25, finds
Robert Werden, a longtime Academy Awards publicist, died on Oct. 31 at his home in Los Angeles of natural causes. He was 94. His daughter Franchesca Werden made the announcement Tuesday. Werden handled the publicity for the Oscars between 1975 and 1993 as press liaison for the Academy Awards when he worked at Ruder Finn
Last Friday, Death Cab for Cutie released “The Georgia EP” — exclusively on Bandcamp for one day only, with all proceeds going to Fair Fight Action, Stacey Abrams’ voter’s rights organization that promotes fair elections around the country through voter education, election reform, and combating voter suppression. The EP netted proceeds of more than $100,000 within that
Just in time for the holidays (and COVID vaccinations!), Nick and Vanessa Lachey have sold their showbiz pedigreed Encino, Calif., estate for not quite $6.7 million and at the same time made an off-market deal valued at just over $5 million for a smaller manse in one of the more sought after foothill neighborhoods in
Courtesy of Saint Laurent Fashion in 2020 has taken a turn. We traded in heels for slippers and dressed up to go nowhere. Designers reimagined the spring-summer 2021 season into digital presentations, masked events, staged runways, or opted out of showing altogether. Those that did were creative, but the successful collections were the ones empathetic
“Servant” has been renewed for Season 3 at Apple ahead of the Season 2 premiere. Season 2 of the series will drop on Apple TV Plus on Jan. 15, with new episodes dropping weekly. The 10-episode second season takes a supernatural turn with a darker future for all lying ahead as Leanne (Nell Tiger Free)
Sebastian Stan and Lily James are in talks to star in a Hulu limited series about Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson. The project will delve into the tumultuous relationship between the rock star and the model/actress, including the infamous incident in which their honeymoon sex tape was stolen and leaked to the public. Rob Siegel
Fox’s alternative programming department has unveiled a diversity initiative designed to nurture producers from underrepresented communities. The program, titled “Fastrack,” will select two to three new creatives to join as associate producers of the network’s unscripted programs. “Fox has long been committed to providing viewers with programming that reflects the world in which we live,”
Upcoming NBC series “Mr. Mayor,” starring Ted Danson and Holly Hunter, is pausing production this week after half a dozen COVID-19 cases occurred on set, Variety has learned. Six positive cases were recorded with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health at 100 Universal City Plz, Bldg. 5225, in Universal City, Calif. Four of
The annual Ally Coalition Talent Show is one of the best benefits of the year, which has seen stellar performances in the past from Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Kacey Musgraves, Lorde, the (Dixie) Chicks, the National, Carly Rae Jepsen and Antonoff himself. While this year’s event will be virtual, the lineup is just as
The already dramatic life of abolitionist John Brown is further dramatized in “The Good Lord Bird,” a Showtime miniseries based on the book by James McBride. In the show, the story of Brown — a white abolitionist who led the raid on Harper’s Ferry, Virginia — is modified to include a fictional character as his
Cinetic Media has signed “Collective” writer-director Alexander Nanau for management, representing the filmmaker across scripted and documentary film and television. After debuting at the Venice International Film Festival in 2019, Nanau’s documentary film “Collective” (from Magnolia Pictures and Participant) has earned widespread acclaim and has been designated as Romania’s official submission for best international feature
Check out newly announced release dates, which movies are coming to home video this week, and recommendations from your host Khail Anonymous and Fandango Correspondent Nikki Novak, in this new episode of ‘Weekly Ticket’! ► Buy Movie Tickets: https://www.fandango.com?cmp=MCYT_YouTube_Desc ► Buy or Rent Movies on FandangoNOW: https://www.fandangonow.com?cmp=MCYT_YouTube_Desc Tune-in to Weekly Ticket every Tuesday to help
Check out the Wonder Woman 1984 Opening Scene starring Gal Gadot! Let us know what you think in the comments below. ► Sign up for a Fandango FanAlert for Wonder Woman 1984: https://www.fandango.com/wonder-woman-1984-212474/movie-overview?cmp=MCYT_YouTube_Desc Want to be notified of all the latest movie trailers? Subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to stay up
In July, Senators Amy Klobuchar (a Democrat) and John Cornyn (a Republican) authored the Save Our Stages act, which requests $10 billion in pandemic relief for independent venues. A hearing on the impact of the pandemic on the live-entertainment business, as well as that act, a similar version of which passed the House as part of the
Producer-writer Scott Marshall Smith, who received his first screenplay credit on “Men of Honor,” died following a stroke, his family said Tuesday. He was 62. Smith was a native of Monterey, Calif., and was raised in the Midwest. A graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Smith began his career in entertainment
Naomi Ackie is in final negotiations to portray Whitney Houston in Sony’s upcoming musical biopic “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” Stella Meghie (“The Photograph”) is directing the film from a screenplay by “Bohemian Rhapsody” writer Anthony McCarten. “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” is slated to release at Thanksgiving of 2022. “We spent the better part
Musician and actor Ludacris will visit “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” this week as part of the talk-and-satire show’s focus on Georgia. Ludacris, who spent time growing up in Atlanta and attended Georgia State University, will appear in a segment to talk about his new charity, Kid Nation, which aims to educate with videos of
Twitter announced that it will phase out Periscope, the live-streaming video app it bought more than five years ago, by March 2021. Twitter bought the startup behind Periscope in January 2015 in a deal reportedly worth up to $100 million, betting that personal video live-streaming would be a complement to its main social service. According
The Sundance Institute announced a smaller, more focused lineup for the upcoming 2021 Sundance Film Festival — down to 72 feature films from last year’s 128. That program, which will be made available to a much wider audience via a tight, seven-day virtual edition, makes room for 29 countries and 38 first features, including debuts
Brussels-based company Best Friend Forever has acquired “Mother Schmuckers,” which will world premiere at Sundance. The film marks the feature debut of Lenny and Harpo Guit, and is the first Belgian movie set to play in Sundance’s midnight section. Set in contemporary Brussels, the film tells the story of two brothers in their twenties, supremely
Just confirmed for the 2021 Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Competition, Brazilian Iuli Gerbase’s sci-fi thriller “The Pink Cloud” begins, like the trailer shared in exclusivity with Variety, with a young woman walking her dog, staring at dainty pink clouds encroaching the horizon. She drops dead 10 seconds later. Sirens awake Giovana and Yago, who only
The 2021 Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier program will showcase 14 VR and new media projects from across the globe — and, fittingly, they’ll be housed in a custom-built immersive, interactive experience. “In a certain sense, New Frontier was built for this moment,” said Shari Frilot, senior programmer at Sundance and chief curator of New