The Cairo Film Festival kicks off its 42nd edition Wednesday as a mostly physical event with the Middle East premiere of Florian Zeller’s adaptation of his hit stage play “The Father,” for which co-writer Christopher Hampton and actor Rufus Sewell are expected in attendance. “I think it’s one of the best films of the year,”
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court seemed deeply skeptical on Tuesday about whether five women should have been allowed to testify against Bill Cosby during his sexual assault trial. Cosby is serving a three-to-10 year sentence for sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004. In his appeal, his attorneys have argued that the judge should not have allowed
“The Undoing” came to a shocking end on Sunday in a finale which not only had social media buzzing, but also delivered a large audience for HBO. According to the network, the finale drew a total of 3 million viewers across all platforms, which represents a 43% increase from the penultimate episode and more than
Larry Mattera has been appointed general manager of Capitol Records, the flagship label of Capitol Music Group (CMG), and executive VP of CMG. The announcement was made by CMG Chairman & CEO Jeff Vaughn, to whom Mattera will report. In his newly-created GM position, Mattera will helm the day-to-day operations of the label, and in
Atlantic Records VP of marketing Ryan Brady was killed Thursday morning in a car accident in Los Angeles. He was 34. The news was first reported by Billboard; an Atlantic rep confirmed the information to Variety. “We had the privilege of working alongside Ryan as he grew up in this business at Atlantic Records. He
NBCUniversal’s Telemundo Enterprises is restructuring its top management along content production and distribution lines, mirroring the overhaul implemented over the past few months at the rest of the company’s television units and at other media giants. Former Telemundo Networks programming chief Ronald Day has been elevated to president of entertainment and content strategy for NBCUniversal
Advertisers in next year’s Super Bowl are hoping they will get to party like it’s pre-pandemic 2020. Earlier this year, Fox Corporation took in about $600 million in advertising revenue for its broadcast of Super Bowl LIV and pre- and post-game coverage, Lachlan Murdoch, the company’s executive chairman, said earlier this year. The game itself,
Among the shiny, bouncy, madly infectious musical numbers that are a big part of what make Ryan Murphy’s “The Prom” such an old-fashioned newfangled blast, one of the show-stopping highlights is “Love Thy Neighbor,” which Trent (Andrew Rannells), a struggling Broadway drama queen who has landed on the distant planet known as small-town Indiana, sings
As part of Spotify’s annual Wrapped campaign , which launched late last night, the streaming giant has launched a partnership with the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA). As NIVA’s 3,000 members await the passage of the Save Our Stages Act in Congress to preserve independent music venues across the country, Spotify is continuing to shine a
Facebook Watch is set to launch the first-ever interactive AI reality series, titled “Rival Peak,” on Dec. 2. Hailing from dj2 Entertainment, Pipeworks Studios, and Genvid Technologies, the series places twelve AI contestants in the Pacific Northwest where they must survive elimination and solve the mystery that brought them together. Viewers can observe, help, or
SALES Distribution outfit Abacus Media Rights has announced sales on several documentary features and non-fiction series at the ongoing Asian Television Forum, which is part of the Singapore Media Festival. “Rhys Darby: Big in Japan,” “Griff’s Great Kiwi Road Trip,” “Griff’s Great Australian Rail Trip” and “The Helper” have been acquired by National Geographic, while
As previously announced, the Quibi app as of Tuesday (Dec. 1) is no longer operable — marking the quick and quiet end of Jeffrey Katzenberg’s ill-fated $1.75 billion quest to carve out a new corner of the subscription streaming-video market. The Quibi app will remain on users’ devices until they delete it. However, the app
New Works Provincetown has commissioned its second and third projects. The developmental theater lab will help support a new play by Kevin Powell (“The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boy’s Journey into Manhood”), developed with and directed by Oliver Butler (“What the Constitution Means to Me”). It has also commissioned a new musical, “Maiden Voyage,”
Amazon Prime Video is rapidly becoming a major force in Latin America with its mix of local content, ambitious productions and compelling stories. Taking part in a Ventana Sur online conference, Pablo Iacoviello, Amazon Prime Video’s director of content for Latin America, and Javiera Balmaceda, Amazon Studios’ head of originals for Argentina, Chile and Colombia,
As a young, Black woman growing up in Soweto, the sprawling township built by South Africa’s apartheid government on the outskirts of Johannesburg, Lala Tuku had dreams of making movies. But after making inroads into the local industry in the mid-2000s, she found her path to the director’s chair blocked. “There were no people that
Spice Girl Mel B is set to host the second season of model search competition “The Fashion Hero.” Produced by BBC Studios-backed Rapid Blue (“X-Factor,” “Dancing With The Stars”), the show will be shot at South Africa’s Sun City Resort in the spring. Created to challenge the fashion industry’s preconceived standards of beauty, the first
Showtime is unlocking a selection of original programming — for free, with ads — in a new channel on Pluto TV. It’s a logical bit of corporate synergy between the two ViacomCBS-owned divisions, with Showtime ultimately looking to coax free viewers into customers forking over $10.99/month. The new Pluto TV channel, Showtime Selects, launches on
Oscar-, BAFTA-, Golden Globe- and Grammy-winning composer A.R.Rahman (“Slumdog Millionaire”) has provided further details of his recently announced role as the ambassador of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Breakthrough India initiative. “As ambassador, my role is to help BAFTA to recognize breakthrough talent across the breadth of the Indian film industry
“The Diam Diam Era Too,” the sequel to current release “The Diam Diam Era” by Singapore superstar Jack Neo, and period thriller “Precious is the Night” are among the upcoming releases from regional mini-conglomerate MM2 Entertainment. The company revealed a host of titles for 2020-21 release at the ongoing Asian Television Forum, which is part
This World AIDS Day, Africa’s influential record label, Mavin Records, and (RED) are joining forces to fight two pandemics: AIDS and COVID-19, and are starting with a remix competition. The remix of the hit single “Jaiye” by Mavin artist Ladipoe, featuring Aluna and Sigag Lauren, will be available to stream and download worldwide, with proceeds
Vadim Perelman’s “Persian Lessons” will represent Belarus in the best international feature film race at the 2021 Oscars, Variety has learned. The WWII drama, which world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival this year, stars Nahuel Perez Biscayart (“Beats Per Minute”) as a Belgian Jew who narrowly avoids execution by a Nazi firing squad when
WarnerMedia has confirmed a seven-episode second season of its HBO Asia original horror anthology series, “Folklore.” Each instalment will be directed by a local director from a different Asian territory. With production again headed by Singapore-based film maker Eric Khoo, the new season will begin filming early in 2021. The competed series will be carried
Filming has begun in North Wales locations on Film4 and British Film Institute-backed feature film “Brian & Charles,” cowritten by and starring David Earl (“After Life”). The project began life as an acclaimed 2017 short of the same name directed by Jim Archer (“The Young Offenders”). Archer makes his feature directorial debut with “Brian &
From princesses addicted to smart magic to wolf dogs wary of fake legends, putting a new spin on old tales was the prevailing theme at Ventana Sur’s New Spanish Animation showcase on Monday. A collaboration between Spanish animation festival Weird Market, Ventana Sur’s Animation! and Spanish film agency ICAA, the best-of-Spain online showcase included two
Canada-based global distribution group Blue Ant International has notched up sales of crime-themed content to several Asian platforms, coming into the Asian Television Forum (ATF) in Singapore. The ATF runs as part of the Singapore Media Festival. Pan-Asian linear network, A+E Networks Asia has picked up season five of Arrow Media and Saloon Media’s “See
Dave Chappelle’s performance delivered the week after the police murder of George Floyd was the No. 1 trending video on YouTube this year, according to the video platform. YouTube on Tuesday revealed the top 10 trending video rankings for the U.S., as well as the top creators and songs of 2020. Normally, YouTube releases those
Argentina’s Sebastian Schindel is venturing into unfamiliar territory with romcom-spy adventure hybrid “Mienteme” (“Lie to Me”), which he plans to shoot next year. “Although most of my filmography falls into the “psychological thriller” genre, with a strong social context, what excites me most about making films is the possibility of exploring and experimenting in new
Justin Kurzel has assembled a high-profile cast to shoot “Nitram,” a feature film about a mass murder. He has also reteamed with writer Shawn Grant, who previously delivered the screenplay for Kurzel’s incendiary feature debut, 2011’s “The Snowtown Murders.” The picture is now shooting and will play in theaters and screen as an original show
Achieving a rare double this year – selection for both the Mar del Plata Festival and Ventana Sur’s pix-in-post competitions – Malena Solarz’s “Album for the Youth” marks the first solo feature of a director who tackles one of the most common of debut themes – a coming of age tale – but begs to
Javier Krause, co-founder of Argentina’s Rispo Films and long one of the country’s key sales agents, has crossed the Atlantic and started Kafilms, a new Swiss production company where he is taking the reins to create new content for international audiences, including two new Italian co-productions which Krause has announced in exclusivity with Variety. Joined