Twitter’s sales grew 3% in the first quarter of 2020 — hampered by the coronavirus outbreak — while the company netted a whopping 14 million daily active users, up 24% year over year and its biggest-ever annual gain. But the company may be facing ongoing ad-spending declines in the second quarter. Overall, the social network
Netflix is in production on its second original out of Africa, dance drama “JIVA!” out of South Africa. Produced by Cape Town-based Blue Ice Africa, “JIVA!” follows talented street dancer Ntombi who slowly realizes dancing may be a ticket out of her dead-end job, family drama and turbulent love life. Busisiwe Ntintili, of The Ntintili
London-based distribution business DRG, owned by Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT Group), has rebranded as NENT Studios U.K. as part of a wider reorganization of the business to focus on premium drama. and rVariety understands a rebranding of the distributor has been in the cards for some time as it becomes more integrated under NENT Group.
Exclusive Wild house parties like the recent ones in Chicago won’t be allowed to continue uncontrolled under quarantine — cops are taking notice and taking steps to shut ’em down. Those Chi-town ragers — one with 1,000 guests, and another with a stripper getting swarmed — were so packed, social distancing was impossible. Then again,
Exclusive The prison Joe Exotic is currently being held at is the second leading hotbed for coronavirus in the entire federal prison system — but not to worry … Uncle Sam’s got a plan. The ‘Tiger King’ star has been locked up at FMC Forth Worth in Texas, and as of Tuesday … there was
Thom Yorke emerged from self-quarantine Wednesday to perform an eerie new song on NBC’s “The Tonight Show.” Titled “Plasticine Figures,” the woozy piano ballad found Yorke, sporting gray whiskers and hunkered down in a dimly lit room, offering lyrics like “happy to serve, happy to linger, while you make up your face,” which, on the
China’s Tencent Music has completed an investment in Radio Music Warehouse, a music-for-business company that distributes content to shops offices and other workplaces. The deal was announced this week with few financial terms disclosed. One of the few details shows that Tencent has been granted the right to increase its stake to a position of
Rishi Kapoor, one of India’s most beloved film actors who was best known for his romantic roles, has died. He was 67. Kapoor was hospitalized in Mumbai on Wednesday. “He is suffering from cancer and he has some breathing problems, so he has been admitted to the hospital,” his brother Randhir told Indian media on
Quibi shared the email addresses of users who signed up for the service with third-party advertising and tracking companies — without explicitly informing them it was doing so, a new study claims. Less than a month after its April 6 launch, Quibi was discovered to making available email addresses of users who clicked on confirmation
In November 2016, the creative team behind “The Simpsons” began work on a special hour-long episode. It was a hip-hop parody of “The Great Gatsby” — laden with references to the Fox soap “Empire” — that would succeed or fail based on the music. The problem, in the view of executive producer James Brooks, was
Cis Corman, distinguished casting director and president of Barbra Streisand’s production companies, died in New York on Monday. She was 93. Born in Brookline, Mass., Corman began her career as a casting director in 1974, selecting roles for films such as Martin Scorsese’s “Raging Bull,” Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in America,” Michael Cimino’s
It isn’t easy staying competitive in a streaming sector crowded with ventures big and small, but Britbox CEO Soumya Sriraman is secure in her corner of the market. Britbox super-serves the super fans of British TV shows including “Vera” and “Hold the Sunset,” and the service’s demographic skews toward women over 45. That’s a core
A relatively modest, low-key tale about global refugee issues that are usually portrayed in a higher dramatic key, “The Flood” makes a somewhat underwhelming first impression. But it gradually overcomes that to arrive at a potent (if still quiet) cumulative impact, bolstered by strong performances from leads Ivanno Jeremiah and Lena Headey. A nonstarter on
Harrison Ford is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration after an incident that occurred on a runway at Los Angeles’ Hawthorne Municipal Airport on April 24. The FAA said in a statement to Variety that the 77-year-old actor was piloting an airplane that crossed the runway as another plane tried to land, putting the aircrafts
China’s National Film Administration predicted Wednesday that box office will drop by nearly half this year, due to cinema closures necessitated by the coronavirus epidemic. At a meeting to discuss how the film industry has responded to the epidemic on Wednesday, the director of China’s National Film Administration and executive deputy minister of the higher
An untitled animated prequel to the “Transformers” franchise is in the works at Paramount Pictures and Hasbro’s eOne with “Toy Story 4” director Josh Cooley. Screenwriting partners Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari have written the script for the untitled project, while Paramount Animation and eOne will develop and produce the film. The film is in
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 3, episode 14 of “The Masked Singer,” which aired April 29 on Fox. Hunter Hayes is no longer “Wanted” on “The Masked Singer.” The country singer was the latest star to be unmasked on the hit Fox reality competition series, having been disguised
In today’s film news roundup, “Maze Runner” director Wes Ball gets a sci-fi gig, Montreal’s Fantasia festival goes virtual, Saudi fantasy drama “Scales” finds a home, and “Point Defiance” and “Waterlily Jaguar” are set for release. PROJECT LAUNCH “Maze Runner” director Wes Ball will direct an adaptation of the sci-fi adventure “The First Fifteen Lives
Mario Lopez is looking for the next big Latin boy band. The “Access Hollywood” host is on board to executive produce “,” an hour-long competition show in development at Universal Television Alternative Studio. Named after the iconic band, the show will search for and build the next iteration of Menudo. No network is currently attached
Amid a day of company-wide restructuring at ViacomCBS, Smithsonian Network president Tom Hayden will leaving his post at the end of May, Variety has learned. The reorganization — which includes layoffs of more than 100 employees primarily at MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Pop and Smithsonian — is part of the ongoing post-merger integration of Viacom
Skydance Media has named veteran entertainment executive Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon to the newly created post of general counsel. The company has also promoted Jun Oh to president of global business and legal affairs. The moves come following Skydance’s acquisition of Ilion Studios in Madrid earlier this month and reflect the company’s continued commitment to expansion.
“The Half of It,” a coming-of-age drama written and directed by Alice Wu, and actors Steve Zahn and Assol Abdullina were among the winners of the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival’s slate of juried awards. “The Half of It,” which will be released on Netflix on May 1, follows a shy, straight-A student named Ellie Chu
In today’s TV news roundup: Quibi released the trailer for its “Reno 911!” revival, and ABC announced “The Disney Family Singalong: Volume II” will take place on May 10. DATES ABC has announced “The Disney Family Singalong: Volume II” will air on May 10 at 7 p.m. Ryan Seacrest is returning as host for the
Exhibitors and studios might be well served to remember a saying from Mahatma Gandhi — “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” Instead of heeding the words of the Indian nationalist, the two camps are locked in a deadly struggle, one fueled by ego, distrust, and recrimination, that will
Sarah Babineau, who in recent years enjoyed a heady rise at Comedy Central, is slated to depart the ViacomCBS network by the end of the year, the latest executive to leave entertainment operations at the parent company as it continues to work its way through the merger of the former Viacom and CBS late last
Embattled AMC Entertainment Holdings has opted to delay filing its financial reports due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in the exhibitor closing all its theaters. In an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said on Wednesday that it will delay filing its first-quarter results and its proxy until June.
Hotties, Bey Hive rejoice: Beyoncé has teamed up with Megan Thee Stallion for a surprise remix of her hit song “Savage” for the benefit of the two stars’ hometown of Houston, TX. Since its release on April 7, Stallion’s “Savage” has already climbed to No. 6 on Rolling Stone’s Top 100 Songs chart and inspired
Ticketmaster North America has furloughed a quarter of its workforce, sources confirm to Variety, in one of the most tangible signs yet of the severity of the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on the concert industry. The hundreds of affected employees were alerted Tuesday in a conference call that was followed by a letter from Ticketmaster president
Brooklinen makes the best cotton sheets and some of the best linen sheets we’ve ever tested; They’re sturdy, cute, and most importantly, so comfy. Right now, Brooklinen is having a rare, site-wide sale to celebrate its fifth anniversary. The rules are pretty simple: Take 20% off any and every item on the site now through
Edgar Bronfman Jr., former chairman/CEO of Warner Music Group, has been appointed executive chairman of FuboTV, the over-the-top TV and virtual entertainment tech company. The new FuboTV is the result of the merger of FuboTV and Facebank Group, which closed April 2. FuboTV launched its internet pay-TV service in 2017, and had about 290,000 subscribers