With the spotlight on diversity and inclusion shining ever brighter, Hollywood’s emerging leaders of color take their responsibility for improving representation on screen and off seriously. “What I’ve been really focused on is trying to address diversity, equity and inclusion,” Aaron Edmonds, director of development and production for Lionsgate, tells Variety. “That’s through the content
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Gale Sayers, the Hall of Fame NFL runningback whose friendship with Chicago Bears teammate Brian Piccolo was memorialized in the 1971 TV movie “Brian’s Song,” has died at the age of 77. According to the Associated Press, which confirmed his death through the Pro Football Hall of Fame, relatives of Sayers confirmed that he suffered
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Producers of the 2020 CMT Music Awards belatedly unveiled the list of nominees for the long-postponed telecast, and among the leading contenders, there was a six-way tie for first. Three nominations apiece went to Dan + Shay, Ashley McBryde, Luke Combs, Kelsea Ballerini, Thomas Rhett and Sam Hunt. Artists with two nominations each are Carrie
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When Fox announced last month that its new singing competition “I Can See Your Voice” would launch this fall behind Season 4 of smash hit “The Masked Singer,” it surprised almost everyone. While most programs were still investigating how and when to get back into production during the pandemic, “Voice,” which debuts Sept. 23, had
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Dr. Brené Brown is launching a new podcast exclusively on Spotify, and her existing show will move over to the platform in early 2020 under a multiyear pact. It’s the latest push by Spotify to ramp up its steadily growing podcast biz. Brown, a renowned researcher, bestselling author and speaker whose work explores emotional facets
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Tahirah Sharif and Julian Feder have joined the cast of the upcoming thriller “Escape the Field.” The actors join previously announced stars Jordan Claire Robbins (Netflix’s “Umbrella Academy”), Shane West (“Gotham,” “Nikita”), Theo Rossi (“Luke Cage,” “Sons of Anarchy”) and Elena Juacto. The film is directed by Emerson Moore, who is billed as a co-writer
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Dallas-based rapper and producer FXXXXY died last week after complications while undergoing a routine medical procedure, a rep for his label, Interscope Geffen A&M, confirms to Variety. The artist, whose real name was Maudell Watkins, was 25. Services are being planned in his hometown of Dallas. More information will be forthcoming. “The family of Maudell
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Broadway may be shuttered due to the pandemic, but Variety is keeping its annual tradition of celebrating the world of stage with a digital event, “Legit! The Road Back to Broadway,” presented by City National Bank at 9 a.m. PDT Sept. 24 in the Variety Streaming Room. Panels will feature Variety’s Broadway to watch, playwrights
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SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the first season of “Ratched,” streaming now on Netflix. Netflix’s new drama “Ratched” may be an origin story of the cruel nurse from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” but it begins with a different violent offender: her foster brother Edmund Tolleson (Finn Wittrock).
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Elton John has announced the rescheduled North American dates for his “Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour.” Following his recently announced dates in Europe, beginning September 1, 2021 in Berlin (tour dates here), the tour will kick off again in North America on January 19, 2022, in New Orleans, making stops in major markets, including Houston, Chicago, Toronto, New York, Miami and more. The latest dates on
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There’s a new sign the Chinese government is leaning toward spiking the deal to transfer control of TikTok from ByteDance to U.S. owners, including Oracle and Walmart. An editorial Wednesday in China Daily, the state-run newspaper of the Beijing regime, called the agreement to form TikTok Global — which was forced by an executive order by
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“Black Bear,” “Kokoloko,” “Night of the Kings,” “Rosa’s Wedding” and “Undine” have been selected as the competition titles for the Marimba Award at the upcoming Miami Film Festival Gems event. The seventh annual edition of Gems will be held virtually from Oct. 8-11. The juried prize, which carries a $25,000 award, is given for a film that
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Independent U.K. production company Plimsoll Productions has fully acquired Andrea Jackson’s distribution outfit Magnify Media, after taking a minority stake in the company in 2016. With access to Plimsoll’s resources and infrastructure, the acquisition will allow Magnify to continue to expand. Magnify’s current Mipcom slate includes two new Plimsoll formats: “Good with Wood” (Channel 4)
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Netflix has just released the first trailer for Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” The almost-two-hour-long drama follows the peaceful demonstration at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which denounced American involvement in the Vietnam War, after it was met with force by members of the Chicago Police Department and National Guard.
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“It’s really a film about friendship,” says Matt Dillon, about “The Great Fellove” [El Gran Fellove], his documentary chronicling the musical career of Cuban scat singer and showman Francisco ‘el Gran’ Fellove  and the recording of his last album, “Fellove & Joey.” “The whole thing started because of my friendship with bandleader Joey Altruda and
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