Get ready to see a tide of T-shirts, toys and other merch based on “Like Nastya,” the hugely popular Russian-American 6-year-old YouTube vlogger. The family of Anastasia Radzinskaya, star of YouTube’s Like Nastya channel with nearly 54 million subscribers, inked an exclusive global deal with IMG to develop a line of licensed consumer products. The
Lucinda Williams has joined Steve Earle, Brandy Clark, Cam, Skip Marley and DJ Twin Shadow for today’s version of “Sessions,” a virtual festival that will take place on four consecutive Wednesdays, starting today (May 6). The festival, a tag-team effort from Truideation with MusiCares and Twitch, goes live at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m PT on Twitch. Subsequent shows will
An Amazon employee who worked at its fulfillment center on Staten Island, N.Y., died after contracting the coronavirus, the company said Tuesday. He is at least the fifth Amazon worker to have died from COVID-19, according to media reports. In a statement, an Amazon spokesperson said, “We are deeply saddened by the loss of an
Chinese romantic crime drama “Better Days” directed by Hong Kong’s Derek Tsang, scooped eight awards at this year’s Hong Kong Film Awards, including best film, best director, best screenplay and best actress. Critically acclaimed elderly gay drama “Suk Suk” took the best actor and best supporting actress awards, organizers announced on Wednesday afternoon. Winners, however,
As much of Europe begins to ease restrictions imposed on business and travel to curb the spread of coronavirus, Hollywood studios are looking ahead to summer and early fall when production is expected to resume in Hungary and the Czech Republic, Central Europe’s biggest production hubs. Executives at Mid Atlantic Films and Stillking Films, who
U.K. exhibitors are presenting evidence to the government that would allow them to safely reopen doors by the end of June. Phil Clapp, chief executive of the U.K. Cinema Association, tells Variety: “We’ve made representations to government on the safeguards which U.K. cinemas would look to have in place for audiences and staff alike upon re-opening,
Australian pay-TV leader Foxtel has renewed and expanded its long-standing content and channels deal with WarnerMedia. The deal includes a new agreement to co-produce original local content in Australia. The agreement covers programming from WarnerMedia’s Warner Bros., HBO, HBO Max and WarnerMedia networks, and allows Foxtel to play the content on its broadcast and on-demand platforms.
U.K. commercial broadcaster ITV has furloughed 800 staff, comprising around 15% of its local workforce. The majority of the furloughs are staff at production arm ITV Studios, which has taken a major commercial hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, losing around 80% of its business. The business has said it is “taking part in other schemes
Cinema operators in Australia are targeting mid-July as the date they will be open their theaters to the public. That would likely make Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” the country’s first tentpole release in the post coronavirus era. The optimism follows a board meeting of the National Association of Cinema Operators on Tuesday which weighed up Australia’s
Hollywood’s most acclaimed writers, including Damon Lindelof, Sarah Kucserka, Christina Hodson, Cord Jefferson, Susannah Grant, Janet Mock, Julio Torres, Robin Thede, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson and Rob McElhenney spoke with Variety on how they overcome their own writer’s block. “I think the thing that is important is that you can always do something, so sure you can
In ordinary times, Paul Mescal’s life would be dramatically different after starring in one of the buzziest TV shows of the year. But for the most part, not much as changed for the actor since Hulu’s premiere last week of “Normal People,” a sprawling love story about two Irish teenagers. The 24-year-old Mescal is self-isolating
Exclusive Ariana Grande will have a court-ordered force field around her for the next 5 years — which will hopefully deter an obsessed fan who was arrested on her property 2 months ago. A judge just signed off on a permanent restraining order for AG’s mother, Joan — which also extends to Ariana — which
Chris Pratt and Antoine Fuqua’s series adaptation of Jack Carr’s “The Terminal List” has found a home at Amazon with a series order, Variety has learned. Development of the series was first reported in February. Pratt will star in and executive produce under his Indivisible Pictures banner, while Fuqua will direct and executive produce via
In today’s film news roundup, casting executives Deborah Aquila and Tricia Wood land at Paramount, sci-fi thriller “Volition” finds a home and Everlast Pictures launches in Los Angeles. CASTING EXECUTIVES Veteran casting executives Deborah Aquila and Tricia Wood have been hired as executive VPs of casting for Paramount Pictures and Paramount Television Studios. The duo will act as
Check out the official Think Like a Dog starring Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox! Let us know what you think in the comments below. ► Watch on FandangoNOW 6/9: https://www.fandangonow.com/details/movie/think-like-a-dog-2020/MMV37FE6D99F4816173EB82F6220E0B8598C?cmp=MCYT_YouTube_Desc Want to be notified of all the latest movie trailers? Subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to stay up to date. Home
In today’s TV news roundup, WWE announced the premiere date for “Undertaker: The Last Ride,” and Fox News has partnered with Spotify to bring its podcast catalogue to the streaming platform. DATES WWE Network has announced that its new docuseries, “Undertaker: The Last Ride,” will premiere May 10 at approximately 10 p.m. ET. The series gives
Movie theaters may be closed due the coronavirus pandemic, but The Walt Disney Company says it still believes that cinemas are a critical component in the rollout of its big blockbusters. However, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek did acknowledge that the disruptions caused by the public health crisis may require the company to send
One small step for Tom Cruise, one giant leap for moviemaking? Cruise is partnering with NASA to shoot a movie, at least in part, aboard the National Space Station, NASA has confirmed, the first narrative feature to be shot in space. “NASA is excited to work with @TomCruise on a film aboard the @Space_Station,” NASA
Amid the binge-watching that quarantined movie lovers are undoubtedly doing, it may feel like every worthwhile film on streaming has been exhausted. So, why not consider revisiting (or perhaps watching for the first time) some exceptional moments from films that might not top anyone’s year-end lists? A single wide angle. A splash of color. An
Netflix is in talks with French director Louis Leterrier for the fantasy actioner “Bright 2,” with Will Smith and Joel Edgerton reprising their roles. Leterrier’s credits include the two “Transporter” titles, “Now You See Me,” “Clash of the Titans” and “Unleashed.” He executive produced and directed the Netflix series “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.”
The American Film Institute’s AFI Movie Club, daily selections of favorite films new and old to watch during quarantine, is now available directly on the Apple TV app — thereby making it easier to stream the titles from the app or pay Apple to rent or buy the titles. Launched in March, AFI Movie Club’s
The team behind the “The Haunting of Bly Manor” at Netflix is now set to adapt the Christopher Pike novel “The Midnight Club” for the streamer, Variety has learned exclusively from sources. The book was originally published in 1994. It takes place at Rotterdam Home, a hospice for terminally ill teenagers. A group of patients begin
Disney Plus has reached 54.5 million subscribers worldwide, the company said Tuesday as it unveiled quarterly earnings that reflect the huge hit to the bottom line caused by the shutdown of Disney’s theme parks and other businesses. The subscriber update for Disney plus marks a gain of 4.5 million since April 8, when Disney disclosed
Noah Oppenheim was primed to gain oversight of all the operations of NBC News and MSNBC. Instead he has a new boss with those very responsibilities – and more. Oppenheim was named president of NBC News in February of 2017 and had been cited publicly by former NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke as his choice to
Variety’s new weekly series, “Hollywood How-To,” will tackle all things writing, with broader conversations about everything from crafting characters to navigating the writer’s room. Creator of the HBO series “Watchmen,” Damon Lindelof explains how he defied the “write what you know” myth for his new series. In this in-depth conversation with Variety the writer reveals
Hit songwriter Linda Perry has faced a lot of challenges in her long career in music, but last week she surmounted one of the biggest hurdles: getting through an hour of her own new daily web talk show without dropping any F-bombs. It was a mandate brought up as a condition of having one of
Profits at the high-flying Walt Disney Company fell sharply during its most recent quarter, brought low by the gravitational force of the coronavirus pandemic. Earnings topped out at 60 cents a share, a 63% tumble from the prior-year period. It was a drop that was expected as few companies have been harder hit by the
Jean Smart is following up her icy turn in “Watchmen” with yet another series at WarnerMedia. The actress has been cast to star in a single-camera comedy from Mike Schur and “Broad City” alums Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky, which has received a 10-episode order at HBO Max. Although it has no official
“Westworld” has gone offline for the time being, as its bumper season 3 finale delivered a small ratings boost from the penultimate episode, but was ultimately still down roughly 18% from the season 2 curtain call. Sunday’s episode, which featured multiple (potential) major character deaths, drew 1.8 million total viewers across all of HBO’s platforms,
At a time when many TV companies have appeared wary of talking to advertisers, ViacomCBS believes it will have plenty to discuss. The newly merged company, which encompasses the CBS broadcast network as well as cable outlets like Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and MTV, plans to hold two different streaming-video presentations for advertisers – one for