Frederick “Toots” Hibbert, 77-year-old frontman of the legendary reggae act Toots & the Maytals, is in stable but serious condition in a private medical facility in Jamaica, a rep tells Variety. He was tested for Covid-19 earlier in the week and although the results have not been announced, his family issued a statement late Wednesday
SAG-AFTRA members have ratified successor television animation contracts with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Members approved the three-year agreements by a vote of 87.68% to 12.32%, the performers union announced Wednesday night. “This is a strong, future-focused agreement with significant gains for our members,” said SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris. “It applies scale
Here’s a startling statistic for you. In Mississippi, at the height of the Reconstruction era (which lasted until 1877), African-American voter registration stood at 67 percent. A century later, after America had defeated the Nazis and was being held up as a beacon of freedom, African-American voter registration in Mississippi stood at just three percent.
Former New York Mets pitcher Tom Seaver, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992, died on Monday. He was 75. The Baseball Hall of Fame and ESPN reported that his death was due to Lewy body dementia and COVID-19 complications. “We are heartbroken to share that our beloved husband and
Marie Osmond is leaving as co-host of CBS daytime talk series “The Talk” after one season to pursue other projects, Variety has confirmed. “One of the highlights of my year at The Talk was working with my dear friend John Redmann and I’m excited to continue our working relationship on several projects we are developing,”
Netflix filed an appeal on Tuesday in the Fox employee-poaching lawsuit, arguing that Hollywood’s traditional employment arrangements impede mobility and must be disrupted. A Santa Monica Superior Court judge ordered Netflix last December to stop poaching Fox employees, finding that the streaming service had flagrantly induced employees to break their fixed-term contracts. In an appeal
Postponed from May and then canceled as a ceremony due to the pandemic, the U.K.’s Ivor Novello Awards were revealed Wednesday in an announcement made by Matt Wilkinson on Apple Music 1 Radio. The awards, selected by juries of the winners’ peers, celebrate British songwriting and scoring for film and television. Among the top winners
Dwayne Johnson has revealed that he’s tested positive for coronavirus, in addition to his wife Lauren Hashian and their two young daughters. “I wanted to give you guys a little helpful update on things that have been going on on my end for the past two-and-a-half to three weeks now. So the update is this:
Chris D’Elia has been accused of exposing himself to multiple women in a detailed report by CNN. Three women came forward and alleged that D’Elia, who denied separate claims of sexual misconduct in June, behaved inappropriately toward them in three incidents dating back to 2011. “D’Elia denies these allegations and emphatically states that he has
Hospitalization proves more than usually fatal in “12 Hour Shift,” a bloody black comedy from actress turned writer-director Brea Grant. This clever mix of the farcical and macabre finds shady nurse Angela Bettis’ sideline in illicit organ harvesting going seriously awry during an extra-long work stint at a 1999 Arkansas care facility. Although closer to
Sharon Horgan will play Nicolas Cage’s ex-wife in Lionsgate’s action comedy “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.” Cage stars as a fictionalized version of himself who’s feeling creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, leading him to accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a super fan, played by Pedro Pascal. When things
Exclusive Charli XCX isn’t taking any chances with an allegedly obsessed fan … she just got court-ordered protection from the guy she says broke into her home and then got naked … all over the place. The “Boom Clap” singer claims the man tried to visit her at her L.A. area home twice last week
Style Points is a new weekly column about how fashion intersects with the wider world. All designers have an obsession; Pierre Cardin’s is the circle. From the moon to a spacesuit’s globular helmet, the shape fascinates him. You can see it in his work, namely the circular dresses he’s designed, and even in his home:
W. Russell Barry, former president of 20th Century Fox Television and chairman of Turner Program Services, died on Aug. 26 at his home in Palm Beach, Fla., after a battle with terminal pulmonary fibrosis, Variety has learned. He was 84. The business executive’s first Los Angeles job came in 1972, when he served as the
In today’s TV news roundup, Apple TV Plus has released a trailer for “Tehran,” and Bravo has announced that “The Real Housewives of Orange County” will return Oct. 7. CASTING Lifetime announced that Naomi Judd, Crystal Fox, Gil Bellows and Deborah Cox have joined the cast of “Ruby,” the first installment in a movie series
Gabby Barrett is having a lot of twin successes right now. Her second single, “The Good Ones,” is rising up the country charts, even as her previous one, “I Hope,” which was a No. 1 smash at country, is now finding a second life as a pop crossover hit via a Charlie Puth remix. She
Disney Plus customers who shell out $30 for “Mulan” starting Friday, Sept. 4, will get the first look at the live-action remake — but in three months, all subscribers to the streaming service will get access to “Mulan” for no extra charge. Starting Sept. 4, “Mulan” will be available to Disney Plus subscribers who pay
Long before Ally Maki appeared in movies and TV shows like Toy Story 4, Cloak & Dagger, and Wrecked, the Japanese American actress was hitting the club. And no, not the high heels, music-blaring, vodka cran kind of club, but actual extracurriculars. “When I was younger, I was totally the club girl, and not the
In a no-holds-barred interview, his first since being released from prison, rapper 6ix9ine spoke with the New York Times and refused to apologize for any of the actions that have made him a villain to at least as many people as consider him a hero, whether it be “snitching,” his convictions on sex crimes involving
Spotify launched Joe Rogan’s popular podcast this week. But the batch of 1,691 episodes of “The Joe Rogan Experience” currently available on the streaming platform is conspicuously missing a several controversial segments. The Rogan episodes on Spotify omit his interviews with conspiracy monger Alex Jones and other far-right figures including Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes,
Jamie Foxx and Teyonah Parris have joined John Boyega in the sci-fi mystery “They Cloned Tyrone” for Netflix and Macro. “Creed 2” writer Juel Taylor is attached to direct from a screenplay he wrote with Tony Rettenmaier. The film is described as a pulpy caper, in which an unlikely trio — portrayed by Boyega, Foxx
STEPHANE DE SAKUTINGetty Images There is no denying that Cardi B is a cultural institution—her most recent song, “WAP” with Megan Thee Stallion, managed to make waves last month amid a news-heavy summer (to put it lightly). Now, she’s taking her rightful place overlooking the city of Paris in Balenciaga’s fall campaign, which just happens
A reboot of the Freeform series “Pretty Little Liars” is in the early stages of development at Warner Bros. Television, Variety has confirmed. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who previously developed “Riverdale” for television, is developing the potential reboot under his overall deal with WBTV. Alloy Entertainment’s Leslie Morgenstein and Gina Girolamo will serve as executive producers on the
Hollywood may never look the same after the coronavirus pandemic, but a relic of the old world has been returned to one major Hollywood agency: full paychecks. Of the agencies that cut staff salaries at the start of COVID-19, UTA will be the first to make employees whole, it was announced Wednesday by agency CEO
California’s Humboldt-Del-Norte County is open for business. Film commissioner Cassandra Hesseltine sent out an email to over 400 location managers heralding the news in an effort to promote economic regrowth and aid the film industry restart in the state. The redwood-forested, northernmost area in the state has served as a filming location for films including
The 77th Venice Film Festival opened in earnest Wednesday evening with a moving ceremony that served as a passionate rallying cry in defense of the collective moviegoing experience in the face of a perceived threat posed by streaming giants. The opening film was Italian director Daniele Luchetti’s marriage drama “The Ties,” which was generally well
The annual Time100 list of the world’s most influential people is getting the TV treatment with an hourlong ABC special on Sept. 22, the same day that that the full list will be released on Time.com. “We are elated to be partnering with Time to bring the coveted Time100 list to primetime for the first
Barcelona-based Filmax has acquired the world sales rights to “The Art of Return” – a Spanish production by first-time director Pedro Collantes nurtured through Venice’s renowned Biennale College film workshop initiative. The boutique distributor will also handle the Spanish distribution for this coming-of-age drama, which focuses on a young actress (“Holy Camp’s” Macarena García) returning
In a first for the “Star Trek” franchise, characters who are gender non-binary and transgender will appear on the third season of “Star Trek: Discovery,” CBS All Access announced on Wednesday. Ian Alexander (“The OA”) will play Gray, a trans man who has spent his life as a Trill planning to be a host for
It’s hard to think of something less risky for a performer than making a big show of being daring. On Netflix’s new show “The Duchess,” series creator and star Katherine Ryan makes a very big deal out of transgressing, playing a character whose showy amorality feels borrowed from other, better shows. Ryan’s character, also named