Blackpink is coming in your area — virtually, anyway. YouTube Music has announced a livestream concert featuring the K-pop group, set for launch on Dec. 27 at midnight ET. The event, available exclusively on Blackpink’s YouTube channel, will include first-time performances of songs from “The Album,” released in October. Members of Blackpink, Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa
Four cases of COVID-19 have been recorded at Netflix’s Epic building, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. A source with knowledge of the situation tells Variety that the cases at Netflix’s Epic location occurred three weeks ago. Those impacted were part of a crew hired by the streamer to complete construction
The Dish satellite service is in the midst of another feud with a programmer. Nexstar Media, the nation’s largest owner of TV stations, and Dish have failed to come to terms on a new carriage contract, leaving subscribers without access to the WGN America cable network and programming from stations in 115 different markets. The
In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix announced the premiere date and released a trailer for “Lupin,” and Fox shared an extended teaser for “The Masked Dancer.” CASTING Netflix announced Page Kennedy, Diamond Lyons, Khali Daniya-Renee Spraggins, Jermelle Simon, Gabrielle Dennis and Journey Christine have been cast in “The Upshaws.” The newly announced actors join Mike
Sequencing has become somewhat of a lost art in the age of shuffle, but not in Harry Styles’ eyes — or ears. To hear Variety‘s Hitmaker of the Year tell it, an album’s cohesion relies on getting the track list right. How many variations did the singer consider before deciding the final order of “Fine
Warner Chappell Music has promoted June Gao to the new role of China general manager, the company said Wednesday. She will continue to be based in Beijing, reporting to Monica Lee, president of Warner Chappell Music Asia Pacific. Gao will oversee all of the firm’s China business and build up a larger team there. Warner
The Red Nation Film Festival has announced the winners of the 2020 Red Nation Film Festival Awards, and Loretta Todd’s “Monkey Beach” swept with Best Picture, Lead Actress, Lead Actor and Best Director. The festival, which pivoted to virtual this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, also handed out prizes to “Gather” in the Best
For just $20 a month, Philo offers consumers more than 60 cable channels. It’s a simple value proposition that has helped this venture stand out in a crowded marketplace of so-called virtual MVPDs. And as Philo CEO Andrew McCollum explains, he’s not about to make the mistake that has the prices of many of his
Spotify’s stock jumped 12.6% Wednesday — closing at an all-time high price of $320.89 per share — as investors rallied around new features the audio-streaming platform introduced and data signaling its podcast push is gathering steam. The surge pushed Spotify’s market capitalization to $60.8 billion, with the stock more than doubling in value since the
Jason Statham is in negotiations to star in Focus Features’ crime drama “Small Dark Look,” with filmmaker Martin Zandvliet on board to direct. The project, formerly known as “Body Cross,” centers on the Russian mob in London, with further plot details kept under wraps. Steven Knight, who received an Academy Award nomination for “Dirty Pretty
“Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” stars Kyle Richards, Kathy Hilton and Dorit Kemsley have tested positive for COVID-19. A source close to Bravo told Variety that production for the upcoming season has been suspended because of positive test results, but could not confirm identities because of privacy concerns. According to TMZ, cast members “did not contract
The “DuckTales” reboot will not continue past its current third season on Disney XD. “The talented creative team, led by Matt Youngberg and Francisco Angones, have delivered exceptional storytelling with uniquely reimagined characters for three seasons of 75 episodes and more than 15 shorts,” a Disney XD spokesperson said in a statement. “While physical production
“When there aren’t any more trees, your comic books are going to go the way of all vinyl,” David Lee Roth says. Then he laughs. “That’s good! Mark that one!” And then he follows up. “Hey, no more vinyl trees ’round here!” With Diamond Dave, there’s always a laugh. And there’s usually a follow-up. It’s
Last December, when Ellie Goulding accepted the Variety’s Decade award at our annual Hitmakers event, she noted — more out of curiosity than bitterness — that for all the commercial and critical success in her decade-plus-long career, particularly in her native U.K., she has had little recognition from the industry’s biggest awards. “I haven’t really
Quibi, we hardly knew ye. After much ballyhoo, a tremendous advertising campaign and an expensive programming buy, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman’s $2 billion bet on a mobile streaming service lasted… eight months. Eight months. Quibi never got to experience life outside of the COVID-19 pandemic. It just missed being a part of the world
Hulu has expanded its Watch Party feature — letting you watch TV shows and movies in groups of up to eight people — to all of its subscribers. The Disney-controlled streamer first launched Watch Party in May, initially available only to subs on the $11.99/month no-ads plan. Now, Hulu has opened it up to customers
Amazon is in negotiations to buy Wondery, the four-year-old independent podcast producer and network, in a deal worth over $300 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. Hernan Lopez, formerly CEO of 21st Century Fox’s Fox International Channels, founded Wondery in 2016 with the mission of producing high-quality scripted and unscripted podcast entertainment. Lopez declined to
In celebration of pop star Britney Spears’ birthday, her label RCA Records has unveiled the previously unreleased track “Swimming In the Stars,” available to stream now (below) and for pre-order as an exclusive vinyl pressing from Urban Outfitters. The new limited edition deluxe vinyl of Spears’ 2016 album “Glory” will also include other previously unreleased
Arianna Bocco has been named president of IFC Films. Her promotion comes after more than a decade at the indie studio, where Bocco oversaw acquisitions and productions for IFC Films as well as for its genre label IFC Midnight. Bocco is stepping into the role after Lisa Schwartz announced in November that she was stepping
The next edition of Sundance Film Festival will take place in Park City, Utah — and New York, and Ohio, and Tennessee, and Kansas, and California, and Florida. The 2021 festival, which runs from Jan. 28 through Feb. 3, is rolling out in numerous cities across the country as the annual gathering goes virtual because
Artisans behind Netflix’s animated hit “Over the Moon” will talk about their work on longtime animator Glen Keane’s feature directing debut in a free online conversation presented by VIEW Conference on Friday, Dec. 4, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. PT. “Over the Moon” follows the adventures of Fei Fei, a young girl mourning the
A.V. Rockwell’s feature directorial debut, “A Thousand and One,” has been greenlit by Focus Features, Sight Unseen, Makeready and Hillman Grad Productions Rockwell also penned the script for the pic, which begins production next year. It will be produced by Hillman Grad’s Lena Waithe and Rishi Rajani, Makeready’s Brad Weston, and Sight Unseen’s Eddie Vaisman
Hugh Keays-Byrne, who played two iconic villains in the “Mad Max” franchise, has died, his representative confirmed to Variety on Wednesday. He was 73. Keays-Byrne played the antagonist Toecutter in the 1979 original “Mad Max” film by director George Miller, and he was brought back for the 2015 movie “Mad Max: Fury Road” to play
Producers have agreed to notify the entertainment industry’s unions when a member of casts and crews test positive for COVID-19 in a revision of the industry’s two-month-old safety protocols. The agreement, which took effect on Nov. 30, is contained in a Nov. 19 side letter issued by Carol Lombardini, president of the Alliance of Motion
The executive producers of ABC drama “Big Sky” have issued a response to criticism from multiple Indigenous groups that the series does not have any tribal representation despite being set in being set in an area with a disproportionately high rate of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women & Girls (MMIWG), and depicting abductions that occur
New York City wasn’t built for a shutdown. With buildings seemingly stacked on top of each other, the teeming crowds of people weaving between them, and countless nooks and crannies hiding tantalizing secrets for those who stumble upon them, “the city that never sleeps” was given that nickname for millions of reasons. As much as any city can have a pulse,
“Happiest Season” standout Aubrey Plaza will star opposite Jason Statham in Guy Ritchie’s untitled thriller, formerly titled “Five Eyes.” Statham will portray an agent recruited by the global intelligence alliance Five Eyes to track down and stop the sale of a deadly new weapon that threatens to disrupt the world order. Reluctantly paired with a
Looking for something to do while you are stuck inside? Check out Variety’s Must Attend calendar of (mostly virtual) events. Dec. 2 92Y Talks presents “Marvel’s 616,” with Alison Brie, Andrew Rossi, Sarah Amos and Jason Sterman. 92y.org Amjad Abu Alala’s “You Will Die at 20” kicks off the New York African Film Festival. Runs
In “Alex Wheatle,” the fourth of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe films, we meet a young man who seems, quite literally, to have come from nothing. Alex (Sheyi Cole), born to Jamaican parents in 1963, was abandoned by his mother, and his father gave him over to the British social-services bureaucracy — which means that he
Margot Robbie is in early talks to replace Emma Stone in Damien Chazelle’s period drama “Babylon” for Paramount, Variety has confirmed. Stone exited the film, which would have reunited her with Chazelle after working together on “La La Land,” due to scheduling issues. She and Brad Pitt were attached to “Babylon” a year ago when