Ricky Martin is opening up about his decision to come out as gay. The music superstar recalls being on his Livin’ La Vida Loca tour in 1999 when he decided he had to take some time off. “My music was being heard all over the world, regardless of the language,” Martin said during an appearance
Welcome back to Tune In: our weekly newsletter offering a guide to the best of the week’s TV. Each week, Variety’s TV team combs through the week’s schedule, selecting our picks of what to watch and when/how to watch them. As many across the country continue to practice self-isolation due to coronavirus, why not while away
Hong Kong Disneyland will shutter again starting on July 15 due to a spike in cases of coronavirus, after about a month back in operation. It was the second of Disney’s 14 parks worldwide to resume business since the advent of COVID-19 on June 18, following Shanghai Disneyland’s May 11 re-opening. “As required by the
The American Film Market’s 41st edition will be online rather than in person, the Independent Film & Television Alliance has announced, following in the footsteps of last month’s Cannes Virtual Market. IFTA also announced Monday that AFM 2020 Online will run over five days from Nov. 9 to Nov. 13, shifting one week later than originally
Veteran rapper and activist Talib Kweli announced today that he will be launching his new album, “Cultural Currency,” via the independent subscription service, Patreon. While artists like Kimbra and Ani DiFranco have released songs through the service, Kweli is the first major artist to use it for a full album. While details on the album itself were
After a screening of the “Homeland” series finale, the show’s cast and developers joined a special edition of the Variety Streaming Room presented by the United Service Organizations, including a Q&A session with service members. Star and executive producer Claire Danes, producer and co-star Mandy Patinkin, executive producer and director Lesli Linka Glatter and developers
A new animated “Star Wars” series is imperial marching its way towards the small screen. Disney Plus has issued a series order for “Star Wars: The Bad Batch,” a spinoff of the popular “Clone Wars” series, Variety has confirmed. This new show, which is slated to launch on Disney Plus sometime in 2021, hails from Lucasfilm
Ventura County Sheriff’s Department have uncovered a body at Lake Piru in California, the site where actress Naya Rivera went missing last week. The “Glee” star is presumed to be have drowned after a swimming accident on July 8. The Ventura Sheriff’s office have not identified the body yet, but will hold a press conference on
The Jewish Film Institute has selected six projects for its inaugural Completion Grants Program, including “The Wild One,” a documentary by French filmmaker Tessa Louise-Salomé about Holocaust survivor, Hollywood filmmaker and Method Acting pioneer Jack Garfein, who worked with George Peppard, Steve McQueen and James Dean. The funding program supports both emerging and established filmmakers
Cinemas in Hong Kong are closing their doors again from Wednesday night as the city suffers a third wave of the deadly coronavirus. The move was part of a wave of new measures announced on Monday evening by Chief Executive Carrie Lam in response to a new surge in COVID-19 cases. New social distancing measures
If movie theaters are banking on Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” to ride to their rescue, they may have to wait a lot longer for help. That’s the takeaway from a new note by Eric Handler, a leading exhibition industry analyst with MKM Partners, who predicts that there’s a “low likelihood” that “Tenet” will open on Aug.
Khalid and Post Malone tied for Songwriter of the Year and Halsey’s
“Without Me,” co-written with Delacey, won Song of the Year
at the 2020 BMI Music Awards. Sony/ATV Music won awarded Publisher of The Year for the eighth time. BMI also celebrated the songwriters and publishers of the 50 most-performed Pop songs of the
“Hanna” will be back for another action-packed season. The drama, based on the 2011 film of the same name, has been renewed for a third season at Amazon. News of the renewal comes exactly 10 days after the second season launched. The series follows the journey of an extraordinary young woman, played by Esmé Creed-Miles, as
After decades spent fighting TV’s never-ending battle for morning-news dominance, NBC’s “Today” is launching a salvo on another front: Hollywood’s streaming wars. NBC is set to debut “Today All Day,” a round-the-clock “feed” of material from its venerable A.M. program. The offering will be available starting Wednesday on Peacock, the new streaming-video outlet from parent
Idris Elba and his Green Door Pictures production company have signed a first-look deal at Apple, Variety has learned. Under the deal, Elba and Green Door will produce both series and features for Apple’s streaming platform, Apple TV Plus. Elba is an actor, producer, director, and musician. He is known for his starring roles in
The upcoming Paramount Network comedy series “Emily in Paris” is headed to Netflix. Variety has learned that the series will debut exclusively on Netflix this fall rather than the basic cabler. The series is created by and executive produced by Darren Star with Lily Collins starring as the titular Emily in addition to producing. “Emily
“Celebrity Family Feud” lost a little ground on the previous episode, but still managed to lead ABC to a comfortable win on a quiet Sunday night. The Steve Harvey-hosted game show topped the night with a 0.7 rating among adults 18-49, which represents a season low and a 13% drop from the previous edition. Around
With many summer camps and other activities suspended because of COVID-19, Ghetto Film School is launching a new program to encourage teens and young adults to whip out their cameras and express themselves through short film. GFS Film Credits, sponsored by AT&T and WarnerMedia is a “short film challenge” aimed at creators between 14 and
Sony Music Group, which includes of Sony Music Entertainment and Sony/ATV Music Publishing, announced it has named non-profit leader Towalame Austin executive vice president, philanthropy and social impact. She will be based in Los Angeles and report jointly to Sony/ATV Chairman and CEO Jon Platt and Sony Music Entertainment Chief Operating Officer Kevin Kelleher. According
As global SVOD operators and local pay TV rivals power ever more the future of film and TV in Europe, French state-backed Orange, one of Europe’s biggest telecoms groups, made available in Spain on July 10 its first full Spanish original series, the adrenaline sluiced horror thriller “Caminantes.” Orange’s first series in Spain marks the
After a number of attempts to delay this year’s Jerusalem Film Festival, organizers have now scrapped plans for a summer edition following a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in Israel, which has resulted in new restrictions from the Ministry of Health on gatherings of large groups, expected to last several months. Instead, a winter edition
Renowned filmmakers Wong Kar-wai, Peter Chan Ho-sun and Derek Yee are among the top directors who have pledged to pass on their skills and experience to the young generation. They are part of a $12.9 million (HK$100 million) government-funded initiative to boost Hong Kong’s film industry, following damage from the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing political
E.W. Scripps Co. clinched a deal with SiriusXM to sell podcast network and producer Stitcher, which includes Scripps’ other podcast-related businesses, for up to $325 million. Scripps bought Stitcher for $4.5 million in 2016 and combined it with Midroll Media, which it bought for $55 million the year prior. According to E.W. Scripps, the $325
Gay stories, excessive romance, unscientific fantasy, and narratives that glorify the pre-Communist republican era are reportedly among 20 genres of fiction to be banned or subject to further censorship in China, according to what appears to be new measures emanating from Chinese authorities. Photos of what appears to be a new directive issued by the
Latin America’s Movistar, a label of telecom giant Telefonica, has closed a worldwide sales deal with Madrid-based Onza Distribution on the first four Movistar original series. The deal excludes Latin America where Movistar has aired the series on Movistar Play, the burgeoning OTT services of pay TV unit Movistar TV, from September 2019. Onza Distribution
U.K. broadcaster BBC’s corporate charity Children in Need has partnered with urban, contemporary and Black music radio station BBC Radio 1Xtra to match rapper Stormzy’s recent £10 million ($12.6 million) pledge to benefit young Black lives in the country. BBC Children in Need will match Stormzy’s pledge over 10 years and develop a dedicated new
Beta Film has pre-sold ITV’s anticipated series “Professor T,” starring Ben Miller and Frances De La Tour, across Scandinavia. Currently at script stage, “Professor T” was picked up by TV2 for Norway, free-to-air television network TV4 for Sweden, as well as public broadcasters YLE for Finland and DR for Denmark. The series, which is set
The showbiz world is in shock at the death of “Jerry Maguire,” “Mischief” and “Twins” actor Kelly Preston, who died on Sunday at 57 after a two-year battle with breast cancer. As well as paying tribute to Preston, many in Hollywood shared their condolences with her husband John Travolta, and children Ella and Ben. Actor
The Bureau Sales has launched sales on documentary “The Monopoly of Violence,” David Dufresne’s timely examination of police violence. The film was selected recently by Cannes’ parallel section Directors’ Fortnight. Filmcoopi has picked up rights to the film in Switzerland, and O Brother has acquired rights for Benelux. Jour De Fête will release the film
Kelly Preston, who appeared in films including “Mischief,” “Twins” and “Jerry Maguire,” has died after a two-year battle with breast cancer. She was 57. John Travolta, her husband of 29 years, confirmed her death on his Instagram account. “It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my beautiful wife Kelly has