A series of live events in the U.K. have been canceled only a few days after the government lifted the ban on outdoor performances. News broke late Wednesday that Live Nation has canceled its Live From The Drive-In tour, citing “localized lockdowns” as spikes in COVID-19 infection continue to occur. These meant the promoter was
South Korean zombie action film “Peninsula” made a blistering start in cinemas across Asia. It is the highest-profile, first-run summer tentpole to have released since the coronavirus forced many cinemas in the region to close. Directed by Yeon Sang-ho, “Peninsula” is a survival story that takes place four years after the zombie apocalypse events recounted
Like its signature “Godzilla” franchise, Toho normally towers above the rest. The company is a producer, distributor and exhibitor that operates Japan’s largest theater chain. As a distributor, it consistently accounts for the lion’s share of local hits, and in some years it gets to release the films of anime maestro Hayao Miyazaki. But even
Following Banijay’s takeover of Endemol Shine Group, Nicolas Coppermann, president of Endemol Shine France, will be stepping down at the end of July, with François de Brugada taking the helm of Banijay France. As CEO of Banijay France, de Brugada will spearhead the combined unscripted and scripted footprint and lead the company’s talent base. Post
Action-thriller Western “A Soldier’s Revenge,” which stars Neal Bledsoe (Amazon’s “The Man in High Castle”), and Val Kilmer (“Top Gun: Maverick,” “Batman Forever”), has been picked up by several distributors including Well Go Entertainment in the U.S. The film, which also stars Rob Mayes (ABC’s “Mistresses”), AnnaLynne McCord (CW’s “90210”), and Jake Busey (“Starship Troopers”),
Studiocanal, the leading European production, distribution and international sales powerhouse, is teaming with France’s CPB Films (“Savages”) and Leyland Films (“Murder in Provence”) to develop a high-end English-language drama series about the trailblazing African American entertainer and civil rights activist Josephine Baker, whom the partners describe as the world’s first Black global star performer. Studiocanal,
Even as some film industry events are now firming up their schedules, others are being forced to cancel, due to continuing travel restrictions and new outbreaks of the coronavirus. The result is a fast-changing calendar of conferences, conventions and festivals going into the northern hemisphere fall. On Wednesday, the CineAsia distribution and exhibition sector convention
The Shanghai International Film Festival will take place July 25 to Aug. 2, after Chinese authorities announced Thursday that cinemas will reopen at long last, beginning next Monday in low-risk regions. The Shanghai International TV Festival has also set its dates. It is scheduled to run from August 3 to 7. Cinemas in China have
China will begin reopening cinemas in “low-risk regions” from July 20, the China Film Administration (CFA) announced Thursday, ending nearly six months of closures that left thousands of theaters bankrupt. “Cinemas in low-risk regions can resume business in an orderly manner on July 20, with the effective implementation of prevention and control measures. Mid- and
Global streaming giant Netflix has come on board “A Suitable Boy,” the BBC Studios and Lookout Point adaptation of Vikram Seth’s bestselling novel. The series begins airing later this month in the U.K. on BBC One. Netflix will be the exclusive home of “A Suitable Boy” for all global territories, except Canada, the U.S. and
“The Bold Type” star Aisha Dee took to Instagram on Wednesday to call out the lack of diversity behind the scenes of the Freeform series. In her post, she reflects on growing up in a primarily white, conservative area in Australia and how playing her character Kat Edison “pushed [her] to be better” personally and
Nick Cannon will continue to host Fox’s top-rated reality competition series “The Masked Singer,” the network confirmed on Wednesday. The news that Cannon would stay on “Masked Singer” comes after the host issued an apology online for anti-Semitic comments he made on a podcast. “When we were made aware of Nick Cannon’s interview with Richard
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the finale of “The Challenge: Total Madness.” As the contestants on “The Challenge: Total Madness” prepared for their final competition, Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio toasted the group by telling them that out of all of the seasons of the MTV reality competition of which he
If there is one film Christian Slater wants to revisit from his early career, it’s 1990’s “Pump Up the Volume.” The drama — which celebrates its 30th anniversary in August — centered on teenager Mark Hunter (Slater), a high school student by day and a pirate radio DJ who goes by “Hard Harry” by night.
In today’s TV news roundup, SiriusXM revealed Gayle King will host a weekly call-in show, and Rob Schneider announced his first-ever Netflix comedy special, “Asian Momma, Mexican Kids.” DATES FOX News Channel will debut “Harris Faulkner Presents: The Fight for America,“ a program about the current American conversations surrounding race, on July 19. The one-hour
Mike Gribble, co-founder of Spike & Mike’s Festival of Animation, was just 42 years old when he passed away from pancreatic cancer in 1994 — an awful case of a larger-than-life film-world figure dying before his work was done. That probably would have been the perfect time for Kat Alioshin’s short, oh-so-adulatory “Animation Outlaws,” which
Netflix has acquired the international distribution rights for the latest “SpongeBob” film, insiders familiar with the deal told Variety. The streaming giant picked up the foreign rights for ” SpongeBob: Sponge on the Run,” the twice-delayed Paramount Animation title from Viacom. The film is one of many theatrical releases thwarted by the coronavirus pandemic this
When it came to editing Hulu’s “Palm Springs,” the key to cutting for editor Matthew Friedman (“The Farewell”) was not to make scenes repetitive. The film stars Andy Samberg plays Nyles, a wedding guest stuck in a time loop. Soon, he’s joined by Sarah, played by Cristin Millioti, and together they relive the same day
Lori Hall and Jessica Lane Alexander had talked about joining forces to open their own marketing firm for years. In 2020, the entertainment veterans made that dream a reality — and their timing couldn’t have been more opportune. Hall and Alexander are the co-founders of Pop’N Creative, an Atlanta-based multicultural marketing firm. In the latest
Pierre “P” Thomas, cofounder of the Atlanta powerhouse label Quality Control, has responded to Migos’ accusation that it was “cheated out of millions of dollars” by the label and its longtime attorney Damien Granderson. “It is unfortunate that the same people that we have worked hard, provided opportunities for, and championed for are now alleging
Kate James, Amber Heard’s former personal assistant, alleged that Heard had appropriated her story of being a “sexual violence survivor,” giving evidence at London’s Royal Courts of Justice on the seventh day of Johnny Depp’s libel trial against the publisher of The Sun newspaper. Depp is suing News Group Newspapers and journalist Dan Wootton for
NBCUniversal just launched Peacock — and a surprising number of the big movies on the streaming service are set to roll off soon, with some leaving as early as tomorrow. That includes the original 2009 “Fast & Furious” starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker from Universal Pictures, which is expiring at 3 a.m. ET on
Dave Kajganich, the writer and producer who created the first season of AMC’s “The Terror” and penned Luca Guadagnino “Suspiria,” has signed an overall deal with Fox 21 Television Studios. As part of the deal, Kajganich will work with Fox 21 to create, develop and produce series for network, cable and streaming platforms. His current projects
Heather Morris took to Instagram Wednesday afternoon to post a touching tribute to Naya Rivera, her fellow “Glee” cast member who was found dead on July 13 after a boating accident. Morris and Rivera acted opposite each other on “Glee” as best friends-turned-girlfriends Brittany and Santana, whose relationship played a landmark role in LBGTQ+ representation
Sara Bareilles had long favored “Little Voice” as a title — she named her debut album that, back in 2007. And it ultimately came up as one again when she and her collaborator on Broadway’s “Waitress,” Jessie Nelson, began working on a new TV series about a young singer-songwriter who is just beginning to find
Play video content Exclusive TMZ.com Two of the more prominent protesters arrested for protesting Breonna Taylor‘s death this week find it ironic they now have felony charges to potentially fight … while the cops who did the actual killing are still roaming free. ‘Love & Hip Hop’ star Yandy Smith and activist Tamika Mallory came
Sadistic Nazis, PTSD-afflicted Allied soldiers, angry spirits and creepy dolls make for an already-formidable pile of scare factors in “Ghosts of War,” which then topples the stack by loading too many additional elements in the final stretch. This second feature from “The Butterfly Effect” co-director Eric Bress likewise has a trickily structured take on reality.
Multiple high-profile accounts on Twitter were evidently hijacked by a coordinated group of cryptocurrency scammers Wednesday, including those of Kanye West, Apple, Barack Obama, Mike Bloomberg, Joe Biden, Uber, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Bill Gates. The hackers’ tweets have since been deleted from the affected accounts. A Twitter spokesperson directed an inquiry to updates
Amazon is developing a half-hour comedy series with Crab Club Inc. and SB Projects. The series is titled “The Undesirables.” It is set in a near-future Los Angeles that explores the unexpected relationships that form when a group of outcasts are forced to bond under unusual circumstances. Ken Cheng of Crab Club and Arvin Chen
As a spike in COVID-19 cases puts a halt to reopening plans in the city of Los Angeles, public broadcaster KCET is launching the series “Southland Sessions” to bring arts and cultural events to viewers quarantined at home. The series, which premieres Wednesday night, will feature conversations with local artists and cultural leaders as they