Hundreds of protesters have shut down a major section of Hollywood during the Oscars red carpet, turning Hollywood’s biggest night into a traffic nightmare. With just a few minutes ahead of the telecast’s scheduled start time, much of the ballroom is uncharacteristically empty and people are running to their seats. There was a growing sense
Jimmy Kimmel is ready to drink up at the Oscars. The host of the 96th Academy Awards is planning to do a shot of Don Julio tequila during the show with his sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez. But they might not be the only ones drinking at that moment. A source tells Variety that tequila shots will
Nearly two months later, Elle King is finally speaking out about the storm she kicked up with her “hammered” tribute to Dolly Parton on the Grand Ole Opry Jan. 19… and it’s not the apology tour some celebs would have embarked upon in the face of a similar controversy. “Oh no was my human showing,”
Neither Annie Lennox nor Wendy and Lisa have been prolific record-makers in recent years. But that could change, since the three women have been writing together, as revealed by the latter duo during a personal appearance this weekend. In a keynote Q&A held at USC Friday night as part of the 2024 Pop Conference, Wendy
For weeks after the Oscar nominations were announced, “Barbie” star Ryan Gosling publicly maintained he wasn’t sure if he’d perform “I’m Just Ken” during the 96th Academy Awards. However, “Barbie” co-star and producer Margot Robbie says he never hesitated to agree to the performance. In fact, she says she didn’t have to pressure him “at
In a strange reversal of a longstanding trend with the Academy, this year’s documentary short ballot is almost entirely domestic (which is to say, films made by or about Americans), while the feature doc category — where subtitles aren’t so common — is entirely international. Judging by the overall quality of the films in the
Daisy Ridley took a moment during the post-premiere Q&A for her indie thriller “Magpie” at SXSW on Saturday night to reflect on the journey of bringing the film to life. “I remember the first day on set when I saw the trailers saying ‘Oh my god, we’re making a film.’ Now, I feel like, ‘Oh
Universal and DreamWork’s animated adventure “Kung Fu Panda 4” topped the domestic box office, earning a solid $58.3 million from 4,035 theaters in its opening weekend. It marks the biggest debut of the franchise since the original, 2008’s “Kung Fu Panda” ($60 million), overtaking the start of the two prior entries, 2016’s “Kung Fu Panda
Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” was Sunday evening named as the best picture at the Asian Film Awards. The 17th edition of the prizes was held at the Xiqu Centre, part of the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong. While “Evil Does Not Exist” and Korean blockbuster “12.12: The Day” had dominated the
A shocking attack on a transgender couple in plain view of hundreds Saturday night has rattled filmmakers and guests at this year’s Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, which has a spotlight on queer cinema as one of the focal points of its 26th edition. During the terrifying episode, which took place around 10:30 p.m. Saturday night, a
Illumination and Nintendo will join forces to produce a new animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros. The companies previously partnered on last year’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which grossed more than $1.3 billion and became the second highest-grossing movie of 2023. It’s unclear which fanciful characters the new film will
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Film’s biggest night is (almost) here. The 96th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 10 at a new time, 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT, from the Dolby Theater. Jimmy Kimmel
Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst donned his turn-of-the-millennium apparel for the SXSW world premiere of “Y2K,” the Kyle Mooney-directed teen disaster comedy in which the rapper plays himself. “Y2K” follows two high schoolers (Jaeden Martell, Julian Dennison) who crash a New Year’s Eve party on the last night of 1999 when they realize that the
When Judd Apatow and the boys make an R-rated pregnancy comedy, they call it “Knocked Up.” But when “Broad City” co-creator Ilana Glazer and stand-up comic Michelle Buteau try their hand at the same subject, the every-bit-as-raunchy result comes with a far classier title: “Babes.” That pun is just one of the movie’s many acts
“Babes,” a new comedy about the highs and lows of pregnancy and early motherhood, received a boisterous welcome at its SXSW premiere on Saturday. The audience frequently broke into sustained waves of laughter watching BFFs Eden (Ilana Glazer, who also co-wrote and produced) and Dawn (Michelle Buteau) contend with how Dawn’s second child and Eden’s
How distraught is Annette, the severely troubled British mother of two played by Daisy Ridley in “Magpie?” She has gotten a short angular haircut, one that might, in another context, be the height of chic (very Isabella Rossellini). Except that the movie uses it as a symbolic expression of her trauma, like Mia Farrow’s iconic
Ariana Grande wasn’t just the musical guest during the March 9 episode of “Saturday Night Live.” While she took the stage to perform “We Can’t Be Friends” and “Imperfect For You” — and was introduced by her mom, Joan Grande, for the second number — she also took on two different sketches. After appearing as
Ramy Youssef will host the next “Saturday Night Live” episode, airing on March 30, with Travis Scott as the musical guest. This announcement was made during the March 9 “SNL” episode, which was hosted by Josh Brolin with Ariana Grande as the musical guest. Youssef’s upcoming HBO comedy special, “Ramy Youssef: More Feelings,” debuts on
“Saturday Night Live” kicked off the March 9 episode mocking President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address — but more so, the Republican response. After Mikey Day’s Biden spoke to Congress and mocked House Speaker Mike Johnson shaking his head — “every time I say predecessor, Mike Johnson shakes his head like he just accidentally
Punit Goenka, MD and CEO of Indian media giant Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, will now work directly with the revenue department of the company’s broadcast business. Ashish Sehgal, chief growth officer, advertisement revenue, will now directly report into Goenka. Rahul Johri, who led the revenue and monetization vertical, has stepped down after a three-year stint
Josh Brolin is in on the joke. During his opening monologue on the March 9 episode of “Saturday Night Live,” the “Dune 2” actor opened up about his “super creepy poem” about Timothée Chalamet. “I don’t think it’s creepy, but you be the judge,” he told the audience before reading part of the poem featured
A narrative trifurcated across decades and generations, Fawzia Mizra’s “The Queen of My Dreams” follows a young Pakistani Canadian coming to terms with her upbringing. It hits all the familiar beats of a first-generation South Asian story and, despite its novel queer bent and tongue-in-cheek casting (actress Amrit Kaur plays protagonist Azra, as well as
Oscar contenders and Berlin prize-winners will be among the European films being represented by visiting companies to FilMart that are making use of the European Film Promotion umbrella stand within the annual Hong Kong market. In total 29 European film sales companies are making the trip, including more than a dozen from France under the
Indian sales outfit Indywood Distribution Network has sold Rupesh Paul’s “Kamasutra — The Revenge” wide ahead of Hong Kong’s film rights market FilMart. Starring Sherlyn Chopra, Milind Gunaji and Gajendra Chauhan, and produced by San2Creations, the film follows two princesses — one who is robbed of her dreams when forced to accept a middle-aged king
When “My Dead Friend Zoe” filmmaker Kyle Hausmann-Stokes set out to adapt his own experiences as an Army vet onto the big screen, he made two very big changes: gender-flipping the main characters and two women of color in the roles. Starring Sonequa Martin-Green and Natalie Morales, “My Dead Friend Zoe” is a dark dramedy
Amber Riley, who starred as Mercedes in “Glee,” revealed on the “And That’s What You Really Missed” podcast that she refused to film a sex scene with Chord Overstreet’s character Sam. “I told [‘Glee’ co-creator] Brad [Falchuk], ‘Absolutely not,’” Riley shared with her former co-stars and podcast hosts Jenna Ushkowitz and Kevin McHale. “He gave me the blue pages or whatever. It was written. I said, ‘No.’” Riley said
We’re less than 24 hours from Hollywood’s biggest night, and if you haven’t filled out your office or household Oscar pool, time is running out. But first — check out this week’s Variety Awards Circuit Podcast for some final analysis. Awards guru Clayton Davis, along with Jenelle Riley, Jazz Tangcay and Michael Schneider recorded a
Visual albums — a bunch of videos strung together to commemorate the release of new work from a musical artist — typically either feel like shameless promotion or a vanity project. “Songs From the Hole” not only earns the label honestly, but actually takes this co-called next-level artistic endeavor to, well, another level: Chronicling the
Writer-director Tracie Laymon has a lot of Bobs in her life. First, there was Bob Laymon, her father. “In 2012, I was looking for my dad,” she says. “He would just feel disrespected for even the most minor infractions, and he’d disappear for a year or two and not talk to me. So I put
SXSW can’t get enough of Jean Smart. The crowd at Austin’s Paramount theater erupted as Smart walked down the aisle to find her seat at the Saturday morning world premiere of “Hacks” Season 3, in which she plays aging comedian Deborah Vance. The Max comedy series has been off the air for two years, during