U.K. broadcaster ITV has commissioned a documentary exploring how Queen Elizabeth II’s experiences during World War II shaped her monarchy. Produced by the BBC Studios Documentary Unit, the one-hour documentary, entitled “Our Queen At War,” tells the story of how the war transformed a teenage princess into the country’s longest-reigning monarch. The Queen recently remarked
Some of New Jersey’s finest will appear in a one-night broadcast to raise funds to fight the medical, social and economic impact of the coronavirus on local communities, among them Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Halsey, Chelsea Handler, Tony Bennett, Danny DeVito, Whoopi Goldberg, Charlie Puth, Kelly Ripa, Jon Stewart, SZA and Saquon Barkley. All
Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” earned the top prize in the Media Play News’ 10th annual Home Media Awards, honoring the best home video releases of 2019. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, won the Home Media Awards for title of the year and theatrical home
India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has extended the country’s lockdown until May. The nationwide coronavirus lockdown, which first went into effect on March 24 for 21 days, will now last until May 3. The extension comes as India records 339 deaths and grapples with close to 10,000 cases of COVID-19; however, it is believed the
HBO Asia has unveiled details of its light-hearted Chinese-language drama series “Workers.” The show is the latest in a growing roster of local productions in Asia, by pay-TV groups and digital platforms. Based on a novel of the same title, the show follows a group of construction workers who daydream about being wealthy. They resort to
HBO Europe has asked five Spanish directors to reflect on coronavirus-induced confinement in a specially commissioned, fast-turnaround short film anthology series entitled “At Home.” The five individual episodes will be filmed in the homes of the directors, who will collaborate with those they are isolating with. They have been provided with some basic equipment to
Organizers behind Germany’s Munich Film Festival, set to take place June 25 to July 4, decided to call off the annual event completely rather than postpone or go digital — a choice that came down to concerns around rights, piracy and accessibility. The idea to postpone was discounted because of an already congested fall film
Global streaming giant Netflix has expanded its line-up of South Korean TV content with an agreement to produce zombie horror series ” All of Us Are Dead.” The move comes shortly after its planned release of Korean thriller film “Time to Hunt” was held up by a court injunction. Adapted from a well-known web cartoon
Film and TV production company See-Saw Films, whose slate includes Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” and Apple TV Plus’s series “Slow Horses,” has announced the appointment of producer Joanna Laurie to the company’s U.K. office. Based in London and effective immediately, Laurie will act as producer or executive producer on select film and
Just days after he shared an appreciation of his recently departed friend Hal Willner, Elvis Costello has taken to social media to write an even longer tribute to another contemporary who has fallen victim to Covid-19, John Prine. It’s one of the most richly detailed and thoughtful paeans yet to the much mourned singer-songwriter, who
South Korean video streaming platform Wavve is to supply Korean content to NBC Universal, under a deal announced Sunday. Content Wavve is a consortium established last year involving the country’s three terrestrial broadcasters, KBS, MBC and SBS, and local telecoms firm SK Telecom. The supply deal has an initial life span of three years and
Country singer Miranda Lambert and Joe Exotic from Netflix’s “Tiger King” seem to have crossed paths a few years ago. Lambert posted a photo of herself with Joseph “Joe Exotic” Maldonado-Passage as “a little Monday memory” on Twitter. Maldonado-Passage, the subject of the hit Netflix docu-series, was convicted to 22 years in prison over animal
Anastasia Brown, a veteran music supervisor who has long been a key figure in connecting Nashville with Hollywood, has been appointed chief content strategist of Visionary Media Group. She’ll direct content across platforms for the company’s music, TV, film and scoring projects. The move comes at a time when Nashville is making good on its
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the series premiere of “The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart.” Amid the era of social distancing, ABC is bringing a familiar franchise back to viewers’ living rooms. “The Bachelor Presents: Listen to Your Heart” made its series premiere on Monday night as the
When Andrea Bocelli’s Easter performance at Duomo di Milan was first conceived, it was being thought of primarily as a local event — or localized to Italy, at least. The live-stream’s instigator, the mayor of Milan, came up with the idea with the intention of uplifting his home country, the one hardest hit in some
Quibi is not moving ahead with a planned series dramatizing the rise of Snapchat and its founder, Evan Spiegel, Variety has learned exclusively. The project was announced at the SXSW film festival last year by Quibi founder and board chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg. It was to be based on the feature script “Frat Boy Genius” by Elissa
Citing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the Directors Guild of America-Producer Pension and Health Plans have approved three months of premium-free coverage to Health Plan participants. The plans said Monday that the move is aimed to address the coronavirus outbreak impacting DGA participants losing eligibility on July 1, 2020. As a result, the Board
The Disney classic “Splash” arrived on its streaming service Disney Plus back in February and waves are being made over how the Ron Howard-directed film has been updated for modern audiences. The 1984 film stars Tom Hanks as a young man who falls in love with a mermaid named Madison, played by Daryl Hannah, after
In today’s TV news roundup, “Riverdale” revealed a first look at its “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” musical episode, and Marcy Ross has been named president of television at SK Global. DATES Netflix has announced that Emmy-winning comedian Hannah Gadsby‘s newest special, “Hannah Gadsby: Douglas” will premiere May 26. Named after her dog, “Douglas” will be
Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Walt Disney Co. has entered into a new 364-day credit agreement with Citibank for up to $5 billion, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. The proceeds may be used for “general corporate purposes,” said the company in the filing. It follows — and
The coronavirus pandemic has ravaged the concert industry in a way the sector has never felt before. While much of live music’s major players are prepared for the not infrequent cancellation due to weather or an artist’s illness, the mass cancellation of nearly all performances and festivals during the Spring of 2020 has left promoters,
Stay-at-home edicts during the coronavirus pandemic drove up Roku’s streaming hours and active user accounts for the first three months of 2020 — but the economic uncertainty caused by the crisis led the streaming platform company to withdraw its previous guidance for the full year. Roku, citing “broader business and economic uncertainties arising from the
In today’s film news roundup, Lionsgate offers four of its biggest films free on YouTube, Bruce Lee gets a Criterion Collection release and the stagecraft union IATSE devises a method for bringing utilities to hospitals. FREE STREAMING Lionsgate has announced that it will stream “The Hunger Games,” “La La Land,” “John Wick” and “Dirty Dancing”
Veteran animation artist Ann Sullivan, a 91-year-old resident at the Motion Picture Television Fund’s skilled nursing facility in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, died Monday of complications from COVID-19. Sullivan’s death was the third at the facility since the pandemic broke out. John Breier, 64, a longtime member of IATSE Local 174, and
Edward BerthelotGetty Images Fashion brands (at least the good ones) are informed by the zeitgeist. They cull the best from the worlds of cuisine, books, art, music, interiors, and beyond, and infuse that into their collections. They are magpies, creating distinctive nests—their boutiques and displays at retail outlets—that aim to captivate consumers. But in the
Peter Micelli, who has spent the last two years as Entertainment One’s chief strategy officer of television, film and digital, is stepping down from his role at the British-Canadian content company, according to an internal memo that went out to staff Monday, Variety has learned. At eOne, Micelli oversaw the company’s TV and digital content
Loring Mandel, a playwright and screenwriter who won two primetime Emmys for his work, died on March 24. He was 91. Mandel died of cancer at his home in Lenox, Mass., his son Alan Mandel told Variety. The Chicago native, who was born May 5, 1928, went on to earn a total of five Emmy
Danny Goldman, a film and TV actor, and the voice of Brainy Smurf in the Hanna-Barbera animated series “The Smurfs,” died Sunday in Los Angeles. He was 80. Goldman’s agent Doug Ely confirmed the news on Facebook. In his post, Ely remembered the actor as “one of a kind” and recounted details of their long
Drake’s Tik-Tok catnip song “Toosie Slide” roared to No. 1 on the Rolling Stone Top 100 songs chart, debuted at the top for the week of April 3 through April 9. The song racked up 42.9 million song streams and moved 379,500 song units, giving him two songs in the Top Five of the RS
Editorial staff at trade magazines The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard will be affected by previously reported layoffs and financial cuts coming down at parent company Valence Media, Variety has learned. Leadership at the organization, run by Media Rights Capital founders Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk, has been asked to prep lists of layoff candidates at