Dolphin Entertainment has acquired the rights to “Special Delivery,” an original screenplay written by Brian Hurwitz, and has attached Vaughn Stein to direct. The pic tells the story of Jess, whose world comes crashing down around her when she aggressively rebuffs a member of a powerful crime family. Her only chance at survival is to drive from
“The High Note,” a romance drama starring Tracee Ellis Ross and Dakota Johnson, will skip its planned run in theaters and instead debut May 29 on video-on-demand. Focus Features, the specialty branch of Universal Pictures, is releasing the film, which was initially scheduled to open on May 8. “The High Note” will be available to
NBCUniversal unveiled a sweeping new re-organization that gives new duties to Mark Lazarus and puts Cesar Conde in charge of all the company’s news operations, including CNBC. Andy Lack, the chairman of NBC News and MSNBC, will step down as a result. The moves are among the first structural changes mandated by Jeff Shell, who
J Balvin, Nicky Jam, Sebastian Yatra, El Fantasma, Christian Nodal, and Calibre 50 are among the first artists to perform in “Uforia Hangout Sessions,” a new program presented by Verizon available on Univision’s audio network. Uforia will kick off a weekly digital live stream series of “unfiltered, unforgettably intimate and unplugged at-home experiences” with Latin
In a competitive situation, Sony Pictures has landed an untitled sci-fi thriller with “A Quiet Place” scribes Scott Beck and Bryan Woods set to write, direct and produce their original script. The duo will produce under their newly formed Beck/Woods banner along with Sam Raimi and Zainab Azizi, who will produce for Raimi Productions along
“All Rise” is about to pull off a feat that virtually no other scripted series has attempted: producing a full episode remotely among ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The freshman CBS legal drama managed to film an entire episode by having its cast use video conferencing platforms including Zoom, FaceTime and WebEx. “We started asking ourselves, ‘What
The season finales of “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” and “Good Girls” scored decent ratings boosts on Sunday night. Jane Levy’s musical dramedy scored a 0.4 rating among adults 18-49 and drew just under 2 million viewers. Although that’s an uptick from the penultimate episode, it still represents only the season show’s season average in both metrics.
J.J. Abrams has tapped a trio of showrunners to head “Demimonde,” his mysterious sci-fi drama at HBO, Variety has confirmed. “The Handmaid’s Tale” executive producer Kira Snyder, and “Life” duo Rand Ravich and Far Shariat have been chosen to co-showrun the project. Plot details for “Demimonde,” which was the subject of a bidding war between HBO and Apple,
Pamela Adlon’s three daughters surprised her during a recent appearance on Variety’s After-Show presented by National Geographic — knocking on their mom’s office door during the live interview on Instagram. “Congratulations!” they shouted while popping a bottle of champagne to celebrate the Season 4 finale of Adlon’s FX series “Better Things.” A teary-eyed Adlon admitted
Music session players and singers will received $62 million in royalties through SAG-AFTRA and the American Federation of Musicians, the unions jointly announced Monday. According to the two organizations, it was the largest distribution in the history of the unions’ Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund. Executives noted that the funds are being distributed at a
Though they first listed their Hollywood Hills home only last week, high-powered music executive Aaron Bay-Schuck and his fiancée Hannah Montgomery have already significantly upgraded their L.A. real estate circumstances with the $11 million purchase of a glamorous home tucked high into the mountains above Beverly Hills, in a neighborhood known as Beverly Hills Post
United Talent Agency will furlough staffers in light of ongoing complications from the coronavirus pandemic, numerous sources told Variety. Agency leadership addressed staff in an all-hands meeting on Monday. The exact number is unknown, but the significant furloughs are believed to largely affect assistant-level employees, said one source. A return date was not made immediately
From Thomas Imbach’s “Nemesis” and Michele Pennetta’s “Il Mio Corpo” to a 13-title National Competition – featuring Nick Brandestini’s section winner “Sapelo,” celebrated French screenwriter Antoine Jaccoud’s directorial debut “Back to Visegrad” and Tribeca world premiere “Wake Up on Mars – ” this year’s Visions du Réel festival proved, as ever, a notable launchpad for
The Virtues of Virtual Festivals Put together in just a few weeks, the online edition of Visions du Reel is perhaps the first festival which really moves the dial on the virtues of virtual festivals, suggesting that, at least when it comes to festivals or markets whose titles are most commonly seen in a broadcast
A single performer’s double act is among the showier maneuvers that can be attempted on film. There’s the technical aspect: Getting one actor, twice, into the same frame — or cutting to fool the mind into thinking that’s so — is inevitably showy. (When David Fincher cast one Armie Hammer to play two Winklevoss twins
JPMorgan Chase will sponsor a new programming segment on Fox Business Network devoted to examining how cities will re-open for business amid the coronavirus pandemic. The three-part series, “Investing in our Cities,” will debut Tuesday, May 5 at 7:30 a.m. eastern on “Mornings with Maria,” which is anchored by Maria Bartiromo. The host will interview
Considering his moody and at-times dark public persona, it may come as a surprise to find out that The Weeknd is a devoted fan of TBS’ long-running animated series “American Dad.” So much, in fact, that he not only makes a guest appearance in the new episode that premieres Monday night, he even co-wrote the
Danielle Carrig is departing as Vice Media Group’s chief communications officer after a year and half after being tapped by media company Condé Nast for a similar role. Carrig, who is also a former Netflix and A+E Networks exec, will report to Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch. She will start at Condé Nast on May
PewDiePie will be live-streaming exclusively on YouTube under a new pact. To date, Felix Kjellberg — the prankster and videogame vlogger better known to fans as PewDiePie — has amassed more than 104 million subscribers and generated over 25 billion views to date, by far the most of any individually operated channel on YouTube. “YouTube
Leave it to Biebers for some quarantine programming: Justin Bieber and wife Hailey Bieber have snagged their own reality show on Facebook Watch, promising an “intimate look” into their lives. In “The Biebers on Watch,” exclusively on Facebook Watch, the celeb couple will bring fans into their home — and marriage — through a series
Thanks to an April 20 “Verzuz” battle with Teddy Riley live on Instagram, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds is seeing renewed interest in his career as one of the most successful songwriters of the last four decades. And gaining the attention of some half-a-million music lovers has inspired Edmonds not only to make new music but also
Taika Waititi will direct a new “Star Wars” movie for theatrical release, which he will co-write with “1917” scribe Krysty Wilson-Cairns. The news confirms reports that first broke in January that Waititi was developing a new “Star Wars” movie. The filmmaker was coy about those reports when Variety asked about them in February after he
Actor-musician-vegan Maggie Baird, mother of Billie Eilish and Finneas, is expanding her Support + Feed initiative from its Los Angeles base to two other cities, she tells Variety. The goal of the initiative is to feed first responders, senior centers and economically vulnerable people during the coronavirus crisis while helping plant-based restaurants stay afloat. “People
After nearly two months in quarantine, you are probably running out of movies to watch and TV shows to binge. Well, Hollywood stars are here to help. From directors and actors to newscasters and comics, Variety has surveyed tastemakers from the big and small screen to assemble a list of acclaimed films and venerable sitcoms
Troika co-founders Conor McCaughan and Michael Duff have left the esteemed British agency they built up over 15 years into one of the U.K.’s top talent firms. Variety has confirmed McCaughan and Duff have departed the business, which they co-founded in 2005 with Melanie Rockcliffe and grew into one of the country’s leading management firms
Netflix has appointed Bruce Daitch as VP of animation, Variety has learned. Daitch is an industry veteran, having previously served as both chief operating officer and chief financial officer of DreamWorks Animation, the maker of “Shrek” and “Kung Fu Panda.” In his new role, Daitch will oversee production strategy and operations for Netflix’s global animation
With the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the global economy, any look back at 2019 financial performance feels like an exercise in nostalgia, but the data released by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry on Monday shows that the streaming boom’s impact on recorded-music revenues was already starting to level off. For
Country singer Cady Groves, best known for her 2009 EP “A Month of Sundays,” died in Nashville over the weekend, according to a statement from her label. “Her death appears to be from natural causes, pending a final coroner’s report,” the announcement states. “Foul play and self-harm have both been ruled out by the coroner.”
On the official White House website, one can find detailed bios of America’s 42 first ladies. Most open with some variation on the phrase “So-and-So was the wife of President Such-and-Such” — e.g., “Mary Ann Todd Lincoln was the wife of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.” But not Michelle Obama’s. Her
“Up From the Streets,” a history and celebration of the music of New Orleans hosted by Grammy-winning artist Terence Blanchard, will have a “virtual cinema release” starting May 15 with proceeds from ticket sales benefiting struggling Louisiana musicians. The film, subtitled “New Orleans: The City of Music,” debuted in October at the New Orleans Film