Despite the opinions of some highly placed Grammy voters, The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” positively dominated radio in 2020, as evidenced by the year-end charts from the largest network in the U.S., iHeartRadio. The charts present total audience spins and streams across the network’s broadcast stations and digital outlets — and “Blinding Lights” was far in
Roku recruited Apple exec Brian Pinkerton, a tech veteran who served as chief architect of Siri for the past three years, as senior VP of advanced development. Pinkerton, who joined Roku last month, will “lead technical innovation and strategic software development,” according to the company. He has more than 30 years of experience in leadership
The Vue and Odeon cinema chains are gradually reopening their doors in England and Ireland. Select Odeon venues will begin reopening from Dec. 4. “We’ll be reopening some of our cinemas on December 4th, in line with government guidelines. For up-to-date information, please select your local cinema and check showtimes,” the Odeon group said in
President Trump, upset that Twitter and Facebook have been fact-checking his conspiracy theories alleging widespread fraud in the 2020 election, is attempting to strong-arm Congress into rolling back legal protections for social media companies by threatening to veto a $740 billion defense spending bill. Trump, with less than two months remaining in office before he’s
Bananeira Filmes’ Vania Catani, a producer on Lucrecia Martel’s “Zama” and Lisandro Alonso’s “Eureka,” is set to produce Anne Guimaraes’ “Super Powers,” as Catani primes films from leading lights in Brazil’s youngest generation of emerging female filmmakers. Two titles from such directors – Flavia Neves, with Primer Corte’s “Fogaréu” and Monica Demes with “Requiem for
Spain’s Oscar entry, “The Endless Trench,” a multi-award-winning feature from the Basque trio of Aitor Arregi, Jon Garaño and Jose Mari Goenaga, has also become a flagship production for the Andalusian film sector. The film was set and shot in Andalusia, with Andalusian actors and co-produced by Seville-based La Claqueta. Released last year in Spain
Italian sales company Intramovies has scored some fresh sales on Israeli writer-director Ruthy Pribar’s mother-daughter drama “Asia,” winner of the Nora Ephron award at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and Israel’s candidate for the International Oscar. The pic starring Shira Haas, who previously gained notice in Netflix mini-series “Unorthodox,” has been sold to Italy (Lucky
An icon of Latin American genre movie production, Crudo Films, the Buenos Aires-based production house headed by Jimena Monteoliva and Florencia Franco, will diverge from the fantastic with the upcoming production “La Virgen Cabeza,” a big screen adaptation of the hit debut novel from local author Gabriela Cabezón Cámara. Director of Fantaspoa and Morbido competition
“Wonder Woman 1984” will play in cinemas in the U.K. for just one month from Dec. 16 before potentially getting a premium video-on-demand (PVOD) release on Sky, Variety can reveal. It’s understood that the deal between Warner Bros. and Comcast-backed pay-TV operator Sky isn’t yet complete and exact terms are still being hammered out, but
Having premiered in San Sebastian’s Culinary Zinema and passed through Canada’s Devour Film Festival, Festimania Films’ latest documentary -after Pedro Peiras’ ‘LA QueenCiañera’ – introduces the viewer to Catalan cuisine through an almost baroque structure that pivots around its two main characters, Raül Balam and his mother, Carmen Ruscalleda, the latter being one of the
South Korean lawmakers on Tuesday completed passage of an amendment to existing legislation and will allow some K-pop stars exemption from military service until they are 30. The significance was not lost on fans of BTS, currently one of the biggest music acts in the world, but whose band members would have soon been forced
Play video content Exclusive TMZ.com Diddy battling Dr. Dre is the next epic “Verzuz” the people wanna see … the masterminds behind the battle show-turned-phenomenon know it too — and they’re not ruling it out. “Verzuz” creators, and producing icons, Timbaland and Swizz Beatz joined us on “TMZ Live” to talk about how to follow
Director Frant Gwo has announced that the sequel to his sci-fi hit “The Wandering Earth,” China’s third highest grossing film of all time, will release over the 2023 Lunar New Year holiday, consistently the country’s biggest movie-going week of each year. “The Wandering Earth” became a surprise hit after its 2019 Lunar New Year debut,
Apple recognized Disney Plus as the best Apple TV app of 2020 — an award capping a year of monster growth for the Mouse House’s streaming service. Disney Plus also was the No. 3 most-downloaded free iPhone app of the year globally, behind Zoom and TikTok, and the No. 2 free iPad app after Zoom,
Mark Hamill, Whoopi Goldberg and Morgan Freeman and a dozen other high-profile SAG-AFTRA members are blasting upcoming benefit cuts to the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan in a pointed video. Amy Schumer, Clancy Brown, Shirley Jones, Carol Kane, Martin Sheen, Vincent D’Onofrio, Lea Thompson, Matthew Modine, Lesley Ann Warren, Jodi Long and Elliott Gould also appeared in
“Just for Variety” is back. Variety’s signature column, which first appeared in Daily Variety 75 years ago and ran until 2005, is returning as a weekly print and digital franchise starting on Dec. 2. Written by senior culture editor Marc Malkin, the column will focus on industry dish from both behind and in front of
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the Dec. 1 episode of “The Bachelorette.” A familiar face arrived to help Bachelorette Tayshia Adams on her search for love: former Bachelorette and franchise success story, JoJo Fletcher. JoJo, who stepped in for host Chris Harrison as he took a break from filming
An artistic marriage between singer Phoebe Bridgers and actor Phoebe Waller-Bridge sounds like something straight out of a modern pop-culture version of “The Name Game,” but there’s a lot more to their relationship than celebrity assonance. The two Phoebes teamed up for a new music video, “Savior Complex,” based on one of the songs from
Exclusive Steven Spielberg just got court-ordered protection from a woman he believes is threatening to murder him. The famed movie mogul filed legal docs seeking a restraining order against a woman named Sarah Char, who he claims has been harassing him for months and sending death threats. In the docs, obtained by TMZ, Steven says
Chinese companies unveiled a slate of high production value drama series ranging from historical war epics to contemporary shows set against the backdrop of modern cityscapes to lure foreign buyers at Singapore’s Asia TV Forum (ATF) on Tuesday. Presented as part of the China Pavilion, the 30-minute showcase streamed at the virtual ATF and highlighted
Propped shakily over the lapping waters of Lake Maracaibo in the Caribbean-facing northeast corner of Venezuela, the tiny settlement of Congo Mirador is as tranquil as it is far-flung, but only the most obtuse of passing backpackers would describe it as idyllic. Impoverished and increasingly depopulated as it bears the economic brunt of the country’s
Legendary Japanese producer Ichiyama Shozo encouraged young filmmakers not to give up despite the challenging climate brought upon by digital revolution and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. He recounted his 30-year career at a talk at the Singapore International Film Festival, part of the Singapore Media Festival. Despite having worked with many renowned filmmakers, from Kitano
In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix released a trailer for “Song Exploder Volume 2,” and Starz debuted a first look at its upcoming original series, “Run the World.” DATES HBO Sports and Major League Baseball are teaming up to produce “Under the Grapefruit Tree: The CC Sabathia Story,” set to debut Dec. 22 on HBO.
Artist and filmmaker Sia will perform at the “MTV Movie & TV Awards: Greatest of All Time,” set to premiere on Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. The nine-time Grammy nominee’s newest single, “Courage To Change,” comes from her upcoming album and film “Music” movies, starring Maddie Ziegler as a nonverbal autistic teen. The project marks
The SAG-AFTRA Health Plan and its trustees have been sued in federal court by Ed Asner and nine other senior participants over the upcoming cuts in benefits and eligibility for the plan. Asner, a six-time Emmy winner, is the lead plaintiff in the class action complaint, which was filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles. The
There will be no “virtual” Oscars. “The Oscars in-person telecast will happen,” a rep from the Academy and ABC tells Variety exclusively. This year, the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences moved their annual telecast back two months to April 25, 2021, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sources inside the Oscars say that
Over the weekend, Drake and Lil Wayne broke the internet with their first collaboration since 2017, “B.B. King Freestyle.” The song is off Wayne’s new “No Ceilings 3” mixtape, which is hosted by DJ Khaled, and has already garnered over 1.5 million views on YouTube. Vassal Benford — the chairman of B.B. King’s estate, who
While it may seem a bit odd that the artistic director of the El Gouna Film Festival is world premiering his new film, “Curfew,” at the Cairo International Film Festival, the director in question Amir Ramses says it makes perfect sense. “There was no way I would consider El Gouna for my film because it’s
Various celebrities and entertainment entities took to social media Tuesday to voice their support for Elliot Page, an actor known for his work on “The Umbrella Academy,” after he came out as transgender. From co-stars to the actor’s talent agency, voices from across the entertainment spectrum chimed in to react to the news. Justin H.
By announcing that he was transgender, Oscar nominee Elliot Page has increased the visibility of a community that has been calling for just that, as well as more accurate representation in movies, TV shows and other forms of entertainment. The actor, known both for beloved indies like “Juno” and superhero franchises like “X-Men,” also said