At his high school on the Kenyan coast, Daudi Anguka could only get non-speaking roles, like closing and opening doors, in the school’s stage productions. The southeast Kenyan region where he grew up is similarly overlooked by the country’s growing film biz, but Anguka not only produced his directorial feature debut, “Mvera,” there — he
Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, also known as Ebertfest, is celebrating its 25th anniversary by hosting screenings of Bob Fosse’s most polarizing film and one of Malcolm D. Lee’s most beloved movies. The annual celebration of movies, which is named for the famous critic, will run April 17 to April 20 at the historic Virginia Theatre
Richard Lewis, the stand-up comedian who also starred alongside Larry David in “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” died Tuesday night at his Los Angeles home due to a heart attack, Variety has confirmed. He was 76. Lewis announced last April he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and was retiring from stand-up comedy. He most recently appeared
In its latest earnings report, Universal Music Group touted top-selling acts including Taylor Swift, the Rolling Stones, Drake, Jung Kook and Stray Kids with a revenue increase of 9% for a total of $3.5 billion (3.2 billion euros) in its fourth quarter of 2023. In the same report, the music company addressed in further detail
NBC has given a series order to “The Hunting Game,” a drama series from JJ Bailey and Jake Coburn. Per the official logline, “The Hunting Game” is “a high-concept crime procedural about a small team of investigators who are assembled to track down and capture the most dangerous killers our country has ever seen, all
Ja Rule is currently scrambling trying to figure out why his UK Tour fell apart days before it was supposed to jump off — and now he has to fend off 50 Cent once again!!! On Tuesday, Ja offered ticket holders of his UK Tour a refund with a heavy heart after accepting the bad
A long-gestating reboot of the “Naked Gun” franchise with Liam Neeson is finally moving forward at Paramount, landing a release date of July 18, 2025. The currently untitled project will be directed and executive produced by Akiva Schaffer, who co-wrote the draft script alongside Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, reprising their partnership from the Emmy-winning
Dan Lin has been appointed as Netflix’s new head of film. He’ll replace Scott Stuber, who previously announced he’d be stepping down from the streaming behemoth in March. Lin’s name had been in the mix — along with recently departed Disney executive Sean Bailey, former Universal chief Stacey Snider and others — since the top
“Hacks” Season 3 has added six to its cast in guest star roles, Variety has learned. Helen Hunt (“Mad About You,” “As Good as It Gets”), Christina Hendricks (“Mad Men,” “Good Girls”), Christopher Lloyd (“Back to the Future,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”), Dan Bucatinsky (“Scandal,” “Air”), George Wallace (“Clean Slate,” “The Ladykillers”), and Tony Goldwyn
Yvonne Strahovski has been tapped for the lead role in the upcoming Peacock series “Teacup.” Described as a horror thriller, “Teacup” hails from writer Ian McCulloch with James Wan and Atomic Monster attached to executive produce. Inspired by the Robert McCammon novel “Stinger,” the series is said to follow “a disparate group of people in
SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from Season 7 of Adult Swim’s “Rick and Morty,” now streaming on Max. With its Season 7 finale “Fear No Mort” airing in December, “Rick and Morty” was able to close off what had already been a rollercoaster of a season, one that delivered closure to the arcs of our beloved
All five of this year’s Academy Award-nominated original songs will be performed on the Dolby Theatre stage at the 96th Oscars. Jon Batiste, Becky G, Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, Scott George and the Osage Singers, and as Variety previously reported, Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson will perform the memorable numbers. The original song nominees
Tubi has released a trailer for “Boarders,” a British teen dramedy series the service acquired from BBC. The series will be branded as a Tubi Original in North America and premieres with all six hour-long episodes on March 8. Per the official description, “‘Boarders’ is a high energy, warm and funny coming of age drama
Paramount+, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios, and 101 Studios are teaming for a new series loosely based on the hit Showtime series “Ray Donovan.” Titled “The Donovans,” the series will be fully written by Ronan Bennett with Guy Ritchie attached to direct and executive produce. It will be available to Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers later this year.
Bethenny Frankel has joined the cast of the upcoming Lifetime original movie “Danger in the Dorm,” Variety has learned exclusively. The role will mark Frankel’s first-ever appearance in a Lifetime film. She will star alongside Clara Alexandrova in the movie, which is inspired by the story of the same name by true crime novelist Ann
ABC has made it a priority this season to turn sophomore series “Will Trent” into an established hit — and so far the strategy seems to be working. The drama’s Season 2 premiere already posted one of the Alphabet net’s most-watched scripted drama episodes among live+same day total viewers in years, at 4.77 million. Now,
Jack Harlow has announced the lineup for his two-day Gazebo Festival, scheduled to take place on May 25-26 in his native Louisville, KY. Gazebo Festival is slated to touch down at Louisville’s Waterfront Park, featuring 26 acts across two stages. Harlow will co-headline the event with SZA, with additional performances from James Blake, Omar Apollo,
The lineup for Elton John‘s upcoming Gershwin Prize tribute taping was announced Wednesday, with the pop superstar’s musical BFF Brandi Carlile not surprisingly among the cast, but also some unusual suspects, like the band Metallica. Garth Brooks, who was the recipient of the Library of Congress’ Gershwin Prize for songwriting himself four years ago, is
The sci-fi thriller “Things Will Be Different” has released a first-look clip ahead of its SXSW Film & TV Festival world premiere. The film stars Adam David Thompson and Riley Dandy and premieres March 11 as part of the festival’s Midnight selection. Marking Michael Felker’s feature directorial debut, “Things Will Be Different” follows siblings Joseph
Moët Hennessy USA has inked a deal with Range Media Partners to amplify the brand’s presence in the world of entertainment and pop culture. Range will steer entertainment marketing initiatives for MHUSA, the luxury wine and spirits sector of LVMH. Moët and Chandon, Hennessy, Veuve Clicquot, Dom Pérignon and Belvedere Vodka are some of the
The 13th annual Sun Valley Film Festival, kicking off Feb. 28, will aim to once again to capture the spirit of storytelling by celebrating poignant films at the Idaho ski resort town. This year’s festival kicks off with “Ezra,” directed by Tony Goldwyn and starring Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne and Robert De Niro, and concludes
It’s finally here. Variety joined the producers and contestants — including host Phil Keoghan — on a private charter to Puerto Vallerta to kick off “The Amazing Race” back in October 2022. There, embedded with the producers, we got to see some of the show’s hallmarks up close: The race starting line, on the beach
The Sonoma Intl. Film Festival kicks off with the U.S. premiere of Thomas Napper’s “Widow Clicquot,” starring Haley Bennett. The film, which world premiered to strong reviews at the Toronto Film Festival last fall, tells the story of the formidable Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot, who flouts conventional and turns the family Champagne business into a global
South African filmmaker John Barker (“Bunny Chow,” “Umbrella Men”) is developing a six-episode, “Last Dance”-style documentary series about the South African national soccer team’s stirring triumph at the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations, a landmark moment for a young nation still celebrating its transition to democracy after the end of apartheid. “Bafana the Boys,” which
Best picture nominee “Poor Things” is coming to Hulu ahead of the Academy Awards. The film, a Frankenstein-esque tale directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo and Willem Dafoe, will arrive on Hulu on March 7. It’s nominated for 11 Oscars, including best picture, lead actress and director. “From filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos
AMC Theaters and Fifth Season are teaming up to release Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb’s feature documentary “Butterfly in the Sky,” about the beloved 1980’s PBS children’s series “Reading Rainbow.” The film, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2023, takes audiences behind the scenes of the children’s series and tells the story of
A remake of the ’90s classic “Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead” is coming to theaters in spring. Nicole Richie and June Squibb will lead an ensemble including Jermaine Fowler (“Superior Donuts”), comic Ms. Pat, Olympian Gus Kenworthy, and newcomers Simone Joy Jones, Donielle Tremaine Hansley, Miles Fowler, Iantha Richardson and Tyriq Withers. Like the
“Euphoria” star Hunter Schafer was among 30 protesters taken into police custody for participating in a Pro-Palestine rally outside of President Joe Biden’s “Late Night With Seth Meyers” appearance in New York City on Monday. When contacted about Schafer’s involvement, a NYPD spokesperson told Variety that “a total of 30 individuals were taken into custody”
Play video content Reign With Josh Smith Rebecca Ferguson says she once got berated by an A-list costar who she refuses to work with ever again — and while she didn’t name names … she did exclude two people, which has left the internet rife with guesses. The actress dished this tea on the “Reign
The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) announced record financial results for 2023, with $1.737 billion in revenue and $1.592 billion available for royalty distributions to its songwriter, composer, lyricist and music publisher members. The numbers are the highest revenue and royalty distributions reported by any U.S. PRO, according to the announcement. The