In the past four weeks, 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment including 5.2 million last week, according to the Labor Department. That’s essentially wiped out all the net new jobs created in the past decade, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to inflict major damage to the U.S. economy. Now Google has added a new
Agencies CAA Media Finance, Endeavor Content, ICM Partners and UTA have confirmed their virtual market in Cannes will run from June 22 to 28. As previously reported, the market will coincide with the official Marché du Film. Details of the market first emerged last month, as agents and distributors clamored to keep business going in
How do you show people how to remake a bathroom or upgrade a kitchen when you can’t leave your own home? HGTV is testing a workaround. The Discovery-owned home-improvement network employs an arsenal of home-arts experts, but at a time when a pandemic is keeping people in their homes, none of them can get out
Things got pretty hot in the season finale of “Chicago Fire,” and the ratings for the NBC drama were equally on fire. Last night’s finale scored a 1.2 rating among adults 18-49 and 9.3 million total viewers, which equals the series’ largest ever Live+Same Day audience, matching an episode from way back in 2013. The
Britney Spears mentioning Justin Timberlake at all is one thing, but specifically acknowledging their 2002 breakup in a shout out video to her ex has everyone’s heads spinning … and JT LOLin’. Britney’s very bored, said so herself, but boredom wasn’t enough to get her to join TikTok “or whatever the cool thing you’re supposed
Kelly Clarkson dropped her new single “I Dare You” – along with duets of the song performed with five different singers in their native languages. The bundle sees Clarkson joined by Zaz (“Appelle Ton Amour” – French Version), Faouzia (“كنتحداك” – Arabic Version), Blas Cantó (“Te Reto A Amar” – Spanish Version), Glasperlenspiel (“Trau Dich”
Twitter has pulled funding for BuzzFeed’s “AM to DM” weekday morning news and pop-culture show on the social platform, leading the digital media company to suspend production and lay off employees working on the program. In a memo to staff Wednesday, obtained by Variety, BuzzFeed head of studio Cindy Vanegas-Gesuale wrote that Twitter — citing
You might recognize Wagner Moura starring as the late United Nations diplomat Sérgio Vieira de Mello in Netflix’s new film “Sergio.” Or maybe not. Moura looked a lot different when he earned a Golden Globe nomination in 2016 for his work as Pablo Escobar in the first two seasons of the streamer’s “Narcos.” He packed
On the last day of February, county officials in suburban Seattle went public with the news that the Life Care Center had become the center of an outbreak of the coronavirus disease. That disclosure began setting off alarms at America’s elder care facilities, due to residents being at heightened risk because of their age and close
“Riverdale” is nothing if not a wicked little town so quite fittingly, in Season 4, the cast tackled “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” for its musical episode. And once again, Kevin Keller, played by Casey Cott, took center stage, this time in full Hedwig drag, a process Cott called “incredible.” “It was very humbling to
U.K. commercial broadcaster ITV’s summer juggernaut “Love Island” is eyeing a late summer transmission this year, as the country’s coronavirus outbreak brings plans for May production to a halt. Variety can reveal an August to September broadcast is on the cards for the program, as prospects for “Love Island’s” traditional June-July outing seem virtually impossible
300 Entertainment today announced that it is teaming up with Young Thug and Young Stoner Life Records to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the rapper’s mixtape “Barter 6” with a contest to inspire creatives globally during these challenging times. The contest is part of a larger initiative started by 300 called “300 Creates,” a weekly contest series with the opportunity to win prizes,
Because who doesn’t need more Bob Ross right now? In another posthumous brand extension for TV’s most famous landscape-painting instructor, the Bob Ross Channel — stocked with about 380 episodes of his iconic show “The Joy of Painting” — launches Thursday, April 16, on Samsung connected TVs before becoming more broadly available next month. The
Popular short-form video app TikTok is giving parents and guardians in the U.S. new ways to curtail how teenage kids use the app, including what they can view and who can direct-message them. And at the end of April, TikTok will completely turn off the ability for users 16 and younger to send or receive
AMC Networks said it would offer free production and creative services to advertisers who signed up to use a new suite of branded-content offerings, a new sign of how the coronavirus pandemic has strained the flow of advertising to traditional media outlets. AMC Networks had intended to launch a new “Content Room” as a means
“Saturday Night Live” star Michael Che has committed to paying one month’s rent for 160 residents of a New York City public housing building as a tribute to his grandmother, who died last week of coronavirus-related complications. Che disclosed his decision on Instagram in a post that called on New York City Mayor Bill de
Asacha Media Group, a multinational partnership of content creators and producers, launched Thursday, with backing from funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management. With headquarters in Paris, Asacha brings together several experienced executives with strong track-records in their respective markets, who will be investing in the group alongside core leadership, while retaining a significant minority stake
Korean producer Little Big Pictures and foreign sales agent Contents Panda have agreed terms over the licensing of action thriller “Time to Hunt.” The agreement paves the way for the movie to have its premiere on global streaming platform Netflix. The two companies issued separate statements on Thursday afternoon. Little Big Pictures’ statement was a
Comcast-owned pay-TV broadcaster Sky is to launch its new factual channels, Sky Documentaries and Sky Nature, on May 27. The two new channels will launch alongside Sky History, a co-branded venture between Sky and A+E Networks that was previously known as History. Sky announced its intention to launch the new channels back in January. They
Former Kew Media Distribution sales boss Jonathan Ford has launched new distribution company Abacus Media Rights (AMR) in partnership with Amcomri Media Group. Amcomri, whose other entertainment investments include 101 Films, 101 International and Hollywood Classics, has provided Abacus Media Rights with a funding line to support rights acquisitions. Ford left KMD, the profitable British
SoundExchange today announced the promotion of Colin Rushing to Chief Legal Officer. With this promotion, Rushing will now lead SoundExchange’s business development strategy in addition to overseeing the company’s legal, regulatory, and enforcement initiatives. Rushing will serve in this role in Nashville, Tennessee. “Colin is one of the music industry’s leading minds whose knowledge and
MADRID — Morena Films, one of Spain’s biggest independent movie-TV producers, is set to develop and produce a slice of high school noir: A drama series inspired by the country’s YA “La Chica Invisible” trilogy, in which a hyper-intelligent pupil, Julia, 16, battles adolescence and the challenges of solving the murder of a fellow student.
Hong Kong sports drama film “Knockout” will head straight to streaming in China through streaming platform iQIYI. Prompted to change strategy by the coronavirus outbreak, which has shuttered cinemas across China since late January, “Knockout” joins a growing list of films that are skipping theatrical outings and will premiere online instead. IQIYI said that the
Alexander Abaturov’s “Paradise,” Lola Arias’ “Reas” and Yosep Anggi Noen’s “Voice of Baceprot” figure among 15 documentary features set to be pitched over April 27-28 at the 51st Pitching du Réel. A co-production forum for creative documentaries, the Pitching is an industry centerpiece at Visions du Réel, one of Europe’s most prestigious documentary festivals. These
Comcast-owned pay-TV broadcaster Sky is to donate £500,000 ($624,000) to the emergency relief fund recently established to support the U.K.’s creative community in the wake of Covid-19. The donation to the new Covid-19 Film and TV Emergency Relief Fund, set up by the Film and TV Charity in partnership with the BFI, adds to initial
The Left-leaning Democratic Party of President Moon Jae-in swept to a thumping victory in Wednesday’s parliamentary elections in South Korea. The government’s largely successful handling of the coronavirus outbreak was a decisive factor in reversing the fortunes of Moon and his political allies. With most votes counted by midday Thursday, the Democratic Party had won
More than 5,000 Chinese film and TV companies have cancelled or revoked their business registrations so far this year, nearly twice the tally for the entirety of 2019, a state-run media outlet said Wednesday. That is a signal of the devastating impact of the coronavirus outbreak on China’s film industry. Shut since January with high
In “Stardust,” a movie that dramatizes David Bowie’s road trip across America in 1971, David (Johnny Flynn), several years into his career but still, in terms of image, a bit of a leftover hippie rocker, finds himself performing at a convention of vacuum-cleaner salesmen. It seems his manager back in England had failed to secure
NBC’s new streaming service Peacock released several teasers for their upcoming shows, including the revivals of “Saved by the Bell,” “Punky Brewster” and more. “Saved by the Bell” was the first teaser Peacock dropped, and it showed new looks at some of the original Bayside cast members all grown up. Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley
If you’re having trouble falling asleep, Tom Hardy will help you doze off with a bedtime story. The actor will be reading nighttime tales on “Bedtime Stories,” the long-running series on the BBC Children’s channel CBeebies. The episodes will run from April 27 through May 1. Hardy made a previous appearance on the show back