Former Vice President Joe Biden’s speech accepting the Democratic party’s nomination for president was met with wide praise from across the entertainment industry. “Nothing ‘sleepy’ about that speech,” said writer-producer Damon Lindelof (“Watchmen”) to Variety. Lindelof was a vocal supporter for Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the primary election, but he said that Biden’s speech left him convinced
For an event that necessarily unfolded from scattered locations across the country, the theme of the 2020 Democratic National Convention was unified from the start. Over four nights, a (virtual) parade of politicians, celebrities and citizens solemnly told the audience at home that this election is about saving “the soul of this nation” from Donald
K-pop superstars BTS have dropped their new single, “Dynamite” — the group’s first ever song to be release completely in English. The song arrives just six months after the release of the group’s fourth studio album, “Map of the Soul: 7,” which was released on February 21. According to the announcement, in the song “BTS sings
Pharrell Williams and Jay-Z have released their first new song together in more than a decade, “Entrepreneur.” The song’s video is a powerful statement in itself, showing a series of Black entrepreneurs and how they solved a social or business problem that confronted them. Rapper Tyler, the Creator and filmmaker Issa Rae are just two
K-pop sensation BTS said Thursday that releasing their first English language song “Dynamite” wasn’t initially “part of the plan,” but that the hardships of the coronavirus pandemic moved them to put out a new track “as soon as possible” that could energize and excite fans. The group confirmed that their next album is still set
Following an emotional introduction from his children, former Vice President Joe Biden took the stage at the fourth and last night of the Democratic National Convention on Thursday to accept the Democratic nomination for president, striking a hopeful tone even as he zeroed in on President Trump ahead of November’s election. Without ever mentioning Trump
Even in an era that has produced very few big rock bands, The Killers are an anomaly. They’re one of the most commercially successful acts of the 21st century, but their music — a crafty mix of pop, heartland rock and new wave — doesn’t fit into any scene or genre, and their biggest hit
An outbreak of COVID-19 has been reported at Television City, the studio where “The Bold and the Beautiful” and other shows are produced. Three staffers have come down with the virus at the studio formerly known as CBS Television City, at 7800 Beverly Blvd. in Los Angeles. The outbreak was publicly reported on Wednesday by
Although it soon got eclipsed in some people’s memories by subsequent events, the Dixie Chicks experienced a peak moment of near-universal love when they sang the National Anthem at Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003, a rendition that still shows up on lists of the greatest “Star Spangled Banners” in television history. The trio now known
In a fiery Instagram Live session on Thursday night, Megan Thee Stallion claimed that rapper Tory Lanez is indeed the person who shot her in a July 12 incident in Los Angeles. In the early hours of that day, Lanez was arrested for possessing a concealed weapon; Megan and two other people were in the
Adam DiVello is one of the founder fathers of docusoaps, a genre of television that melds together the melodrama of soap operas with the messiness of reality TV. His first solo venture, “The Hills,” quickly became canon. His latest series, “Selling Sunset,” is the first of its kind on Netflix and follows a group of
Julia Louis-Dreyfus displayed her trademark razor sharp humor as she opened the fourth night of the Democratic National Convention on Thursday. In praising Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris, Louis-Dreyfus said she cannot wait to see her debate “our current Vice President, Mika Peince.” She continued to play up not being able to pronounce Mike Pence
Caren Pistorius can only describe her experience on “Unhinged” as wonderful but “surreal.” The actor was working at a fabric store in Sydney when she got the call to audition for the road rage thriller starring Russell Crowe. Within hours, she found herself in New Orleans for a screen test. She ended up staying in
The MPAA has long placed teen movies in a tricky bind: When they reflect the lives of their young target audience a little too relatably, they’re slapped with a rating that excludes the very demographic they’re about. It’s an irony that corners too many films in the genre into a safely sanitized PG-13 space, clean
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the composers for HBO’s hit series “Watchmen,” discussed how they built and moved across two time periods through music in Variety‘s Artisans presented by HBO. The Emmy-nominated composers’ initial approach wasn’t creating music for a specific character or scene. They tried to understand and feel the impression they were getting from
A spokesperson for Bravo said that four episodes of “Southern Charm” were taken down from the channel’s video-on-demand services because of racially charged moments within them. Three of them have been put back up on BravoTV.com and to the Bravo app, and will soon return to VOD. (Re-loading something onto cable and satellite on-demand services
Comedian Randy Rainbow is in hot water after tweets have resurfaced online in which Rainbow uses racist and transphobic language. Rainbow, who identifies as gay, is most well-known for his parody songs and political spoofs targeting Donald Trump. Though much of his content comes from his YouTube channel, he appeared on an episode of “RuPaul’s
Defining a successful movie release has been a fraught task lately due to the coronavirus pandemic, as premium theatrical films shift to digital debuts and massive blockbusters get kicked down the calendar. Thanks to a few transparent scoreboards like the iTunes store, however, the industry can see plainly when a hit is a hit. Last
Fox Corp. and Walt Disney have both reinstated executive salaries for most of those impacted by temporary pay cuts amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to those familiar with the situation. At Fox, the parent company of Fox Entertainment, Fox News, Fox Business and Fox Sports, compensation reductions of 15% for execs at the vice president
The mystery behind Brian May’s teaser post on Instagram early Thursday morning has been revealed: Queen and Adam Lambert are releasing their first live album, “Queen + Adam Live Around the World,” out Oct. 2. The “Queen + Adam Live Around the World” will be released on CD, CD+DVD, CD+Blu-ray and Vinyl formats. The set
Taylor Swift has pulled off another surprise drop — not quite as momentous a twist as releasing “Folklore” with less than 24 hours’ notice, but one that generated a lot of good will in the independent retail world. The star signed an unknown quantity of CDs of the new album and her record company quietly
The wives are not old in Milcho Manchevski’s “Willow,” but their tales have a folkloric resonance — even the two of the three that are set in the present day. Using a tripartite structure the director has been fond of in the past, notably in his Oscar-nominated, Venice-winning 1994 debut “Before the Rain,” Manchevski secures
In today’s TV news roundup, Disney Plus has released the premiere date for “The Right Stuff,” and HBO Max has greenlit three new stand-up specials. DATES Syfy will debut two original animated series, “Magical Girl Friendship Squad” and “Wild Life,” for its new late-night adult programming block called “TZGZ” on Sept. 26 at 12 a.m.
ViacomCBS has opened the door to working again with Nick Cannon, more than a month after the company severed ties with him over anti-Semitic comments the multi-hyphenate made on his podcast. Speaking at a town hall with employees Monday, Chris McCarthy, president of entertainment and youth brands at ViacomCBS, praised work that Canon claims to
“Cut Throat City” marks RZA’s third directed feature film, and he says it’s the project he feels the most confident in as a filmmaker. “I actually do think I found my voice,” the founding member of rap supergroup Wu-Tang Clan tells Variety. RZA, whose real name is Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, previously helmed 2012’s martial arts-western
Just in case it wasn’t obvious before, the recent demonstrations over the death of George Floyd have done much to lay bare just how spotty and incomplete much of America’s understanding of its own racial history has often been. While any schoolkid can rattle off facts about the March on Washington and the 13th Amendment,
Don’t call “Chemical Hearts” a YA romance? True, on paper, the story of a precocious teenager named Henry who becomes emotionally entangled with Grace, a psychologically wounded young woman, sounds very much in the vein of “The Fault in Our Stars” or “Looking for Alaska.” But Richard Tanne, the film’s writer and director, said that
Supermodel-turned-businesswoman Tyra Banks has signed a first-look deal with Disney Television Studios’ ABC Signature to focus her efforts on producing scripted programming with ABC Signature and unscripted content with ABC Entertainment. “Ever since I was a little girl growing up in Inglewood, California, I’ve been enamored by the magic of Disney. Joining the family at
“The Masked Singer” is officially back in business. Production has begun in Los Angeles on season 4 of the Fox show, which sources say is taking all the usual COVID-19 production precautions, including social distancing and regular temperature checks. The unscripted sensation is scheduled to take its regular Wednesday night slot in Fox’s fall schedule,
Chi Chi DeVayne, known for her appearances in “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” has died after a battle with pneumonia. She was 34. DeVayne — the drag persona for Zavion Davenport — was hospitalized last week with pneumonia. She was also admitted in July for suspected kidney failure. DeVayne lived with