SeriesFest is expanding its commitment to female-forward initiatives, renewing its partnership with Shondaland, introducing an Executive Elevation Mentorship Program and presenting a live-streamed roundtable discussion about the current state of parity in the industry, Variety has learned exclusively. Additionally, Christina YR Jun has won the Women Writing Competition, which comes from SeriesFest in partnership with
Before the coronavirus outbreak put Italy on lockdown in early March, writer-director Niccolò Ammaniti was in Palermo, shooting “Anna,” a series for Comcast-owned pay-TV operator Sky centered on a 13-year-old Sicilian girl who must contend with a viral contagion that kills off all adults on the island of Sicily. “We were shooting scenes in which
Vox Media, which owns titles including New York Magazine, Vulture, The Verge and SB Nation, is furloughing 9% of its employees without pay for a three-month period. It’s also taking other steps to cut costs during the COVID-19 downturn, including tiered salary reductions for remaining working staff and halting 401(k) matching contributions. Effective May 1-July
Netflix has unlocked a selection of educational documentary films and series — available now for free on YouTube — saying it’s a way to help teachers and students during the COVID-19 quarantine. The 10 titles include Ava DuVernay’s “13th,” covering the mass-incarceration of people of color in the U.S.; nature docuseries “Our Planet,” narrated by
Cannes’ Marché du Film will be hosting virtual booths for sales agents, video meetings, virtual pavilions for institutions and online screenings during its upcoming digital market edition, which will run June 22-26. The Marché du Film Online, which will run alongside the agencies-led virtual market, will also turn its popular conferences, including Cannes Docs, Cannes
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired worldwide rights, excluding domestic television, to the upcoming Julia Child documentary from “RBG” filmmakers Julie Cohen and Betsy West. The film, currently in production under the working title “Julia,” is being produced by West, Cohen and Imagine Documentaries’ Justin Wilkes and Sara Bernstein. “Julia” will use never-before-seen archival footage, personal photos,
Sandra Oh was getting ready to leave her Los Angeles home for Canada when the world appeared to come to an abrupt stop during the coronavirus pandemic. She was set to shoot Iris K. Shim’s horror movie “Umma” in “the wilds of north Vancouver,” Oh says during an appearance on this week’s episode of the
ABC provided a spoonful of sugar to make the self-isolation medicine go down on Thursday night with the “Disney Family Singalong,” which scored massive numbers for the network. The singalong scored a 2.6 rating among adults 18-49, more than doubling its nearest competitors on the night, and drew 10.3 million total viewers. That rating is the
Providing atmosphere, lending emotion and propelling the action, an orchestral score adds much to a TV series, so when the coronavirus threat shut down Hollywood five weeks ago, composers faced a quandary: How to retain that special sound if musicians can no longer record together in the same studio? The answer, as heard in Tuesday
In this week’s International TV Newswire Movistar Plus booms on Phase II COVID-19 consumption; and there are deals a plenty. ZDF Enterprises sold “Queens of Mystery” while Beta’s “Love, Inevitably” was a ratings hit in its first week before sales in France, Switzerland and Brazil were announced. Recently premiered clairvoyant Canadian series “The Outbreak” has
John Oates, one half of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Hall & Oates, is part of one of the most robust catalogs in modern pop music, spanning six No. 1 singles and 16 top 10s. He also happened to sport music’s most iconic ‘80s mustache. So it was only a matter of time
With live sports dormant, ESPN wants to get as much bang for its buck out of “The Last Dance.” Alongside the linear airings of “Last Dance,” which premieres this Sunday (April 19) at 9 p.m. ET, the ESPN Plus streaming service will present “Detail: 1998 Chicago Bulls,” with five episodes over the next five Sundays.
Most rock ‘n’ roll bands are not sheltering-in-place together at this point, which may account for how few groups have been booked for “One World: Together at Home.” But a big one has been landed at the last minute: The Rolling Stones were announced Friday morning to join the all-star television and streaming special that
Time is a funny thing: Obscurities or castoffs from past decades become lost treasures or telling time capsules through the rose-colored lens of nostalgia. Records that an artist couldn’t give away at the time of their release change hands for thousands of dollars decades later, to the slack-jawed disbelief of their long-since-retired creators. And while
Amid the many ways artists are finding to cope with the coronavirus-imposed shutdown of the live-entertainment industry, it’s safe to say that Erykah Badu has found one of the more innovative solutions with her elaborate “Quarantine Concert Series,” which is streamed live from her home in Dallas. Launched late last month, what makes Badu’s series
Facebook is adding a new way for its 2.5 billion users to express empathy and compassion. In response to the global coronavirus pandemic, Facebook will introduce two new “care” animated reaction emojis starting next week: There’s a yellow face hugging a heart for the core Facebook service, while in Messenger app it will appear as
Disney set the streaming-only premiere date for live-action sci-fi fantasy “Artemis Fowl” on its Disney Plus service worldwide — hoping it gives more juice to the subscription VOD product while theaters are shuttered. “Artemis Fowl,” directed by Kenneth Branagh, will be available exclusively on Disney Plus beginning Friday, June 12. It had originally been set
Netflix and The Netherlands Film Fund have joined forces to set up a new relief fund to help the Dutch film and TV industry’s workers who have been the most impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Netflix will make 1 million euro available in the Netherlands to launch the fund which will be administered by producers
Christophe, a celebrated French crooner best known for his ballads “Aline” and “Les Mots Bleus,” has died. He was 74. Christophe’s death overnight Thursday was confirmed by his wife, Veronique Bevilacqua, to AFP. He died of emphysema, a respiratory illness, after being hospitalized March 26 in a Parisian hospital and transferred to the city of
Nobody is going to watch a movie called “Butt Boy” in pursuit of sophisticated wit. That said, this feature spinoff from a prior sketch by the collaborative comedy-video team known as Tiny Cinema does manage to be just about the drollest execution possible of the most juvenile concept imaginable. While some may be disappointed that
For the title of his last song, “Murder Most Foul,” Bob Dylan borrowed from Shakespeare. For his unexpectedly rapid-fire follow-up, he’s cribbing from Walt Whitman. “I Contain Multitudes” takes its name (and the final line of each stanza) from a famous parenthetical thought in Whitman’s “Song of Myself.” And true to the declaration of personal
It feels like Fiona Apple really got a big head start on us with this whole quarantining thing. Fans do not need to be reminded that it’s been eight years since her previous album, “The Idler Wheel…” (though they probably will require a refresher on its full 23-word title, which once might have been committed
Emmy winner Reed Morano is in negotiations to direct Jennifer Lopez in the drug lord drama “The Godmother” for STXfilms. Morano directed the first three episodes of Hulu’s hit show “The Handmaid’s Tale” and won the Emmy and Directors Guild awards for drama series direction. STXfilms is also in talks with Oscar winner William Monahan
The Directors Guild of America has selected “Contagion” director Steven Soderbergh to head a committee to explore resuming production when the coronavirus pandemic abates. DGA President Thomas Schlamme and National Executive Director Russell Hollander made the announcement late Thursday afternoon. “A major concern we’re hearing most right now is about when we’ll be returning to
In today’s film news roundup, Participant has expanded its social impact campaign on behalf of domestic workers, Concordia Media bulks up and documentary “Funny Pains” gets distribution. PARTICIPANT CAMPAIGN Building on its social impact campaign for “Roma,” Participant Media has launched the Care For The People Who Care For You campaign in partnership with the
Crew members from Ellen DeGeneres’ long-running daytime talk show are distressed and outraged over their treatment from top producers amid the coronavirus pandemic, numerous insiders affiliated with the series told Variety. The core stage crew for “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” consisting of more than 30 employees, received no written communication about the status of their
Facing the prospect of staying shut for several more months due to the coronavirus pandemic, embattled exhibitor AMC Entertainment has unveiled plans to raise $500 million in new debt to improve its balance sheet. The funds from the senior notes offering, which will have to be repaid in 2025, should be enough to keep the
In today’s TV News Roundup, HBO announced the premiere date for its reboot of “Perry Mason,” and Fox Entertainment announced a weekly talk show to accompany its Animation Domination Sunday block. DATES HBO has announced that its upcoming reboot of “Perry Mason” will premiere on June 21 at 9 p.m. The series follows criminal defense
It appears that quarantine has finally convinced Johnny Depp to join Instagram – and to release a cover of John Lennon’s 1970 song “Isolation.” His debut post appeared on Thursday morning, showing the actor sitting on a wooden bench, surrounded by candles. “Hello everyone… filming something for you now… gimme a minute,” the cryptic caption
The Writers Guild of America has rolled out what it’s touting as an enhanced online staffing and development platform to connect writers directly with showrunners, producers, and executives — aimed partly at members who don’t have agents. The guild’s announcement about the year-old WGA Platform was notable in that it did not mention agents. It’s