SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Put on A Happy Face,” the Season 16 finale of “Grey’s Anatomy.” “Grey’s Anatomy” wrapped up its 16th season with a bang — albeit, a bit earlier than originally planned. With only 21 of the ordered 25 hours completed before production had to shut
Mixed martial arts league UFC, a subsidiary of Endeavor, has decided to postpone UFC 249, originally scheduled for April 18, after sports cabler ESPN asked the organization not to go forward with its pay-per-view event. “While the organization was fully prepared to proceed with UFC 249, ESPN has requested the postponement of the event and
Taika Waititi revealed a few details about his upcoming Marvel movie “Thor: Love and Thunder” on Instagram with a couple of his stars from “Thor: Ragnorak.” Tessa Thompson and Mark Ruffalo joined the director on Thursday night as he hosted a viewing party for “Ragnorak” on Instagram Live. Waititi’s zany “Ragnorak” took Thor to new
Isn’t the next big thing simply the next banal thing hiding in plain sight, waiting to make bad on its best promises? After a daring debut album and a mostly dazzling but slightly shopworn follow-up, that act will inevitably wear out its welcome and stomp all over its burgeoning legend, fast. Some chase the dragon
Apple TV Plus is making a number of its original television series, kids shows and one documentary available for free as millions of families are cooped up indoors due to coronavirus-induced prevention measures. The streaming platform joins HBO, AMC and others in offering free content during the pandemic. The following programs are currently available to
There are worse things one could do than indulge in a cozy little romance these days, when we are all cooped up at home craving some meaningful human contact. If only writer-director Vicky Wight’s on-demand drama “The Lost Husband” could have filled that void by audaciously embracing some of the more syrupy, maybe even steamy
Mark Duplass is keeping regular office hours while self-quarantining in his Los Angeles home. “I’ve written a rewrite of a feature film that I have in development. That wasn’t too hefty. That was good. That broke the seal for me that was like, ‘Oh, you’re going to be able to write in this emotionally fragile,
Disney Plus revealed a whopper of a subscriber update Wednesday — 50 million paying customers — flexing its ability to become a contender in the streaming services arena after a mere five months on the market. That puts the Walt Disney Co. well ahead of schedule to hit its target of 60 million to 90
Do you think Thumper is more adorable than Bambi? OK, boomer. There’s a generational split over which of the two stars of Disney’s 1942 animated classic is the cutest-ever TV and movie cartoon character, according to a new survey conducted by opinion-research firm YouGov. The poll found that Gen Z and millennial respondents favored Bambi
For the animated musical “Trolls World Tour,” DreamWorks producer Gina Shay racked up her share of frequent flyer miles over four years — traveling to New York City for reggaeton superstar J Balvin, South Korea for K-Pop girl group Red Velvet and Stockholm for star and music curator Justin Timberlake. “It felt like I was going
After previously canceling all shows at Walt Disney Hall through May 10, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association has followed through with the inevitable and declared the remainder of the 2019-20 season a wash, too, meaning that concerts scheduled at the storied hall through June 6 are officially off. Payroll reductions for full-time staffers and layoffs
The producers behind “The Bachelorette” are weighing their options to try and get the upcoming Clare Crawley season on the air — but only if productions begin to return to normal. After the show was hit by the industry-wide coronavirus shutdown in mid-March, sources close to “The Bachelorette” have confirmed to Variety that the production is looking
In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix announced Patton Oswalt’s newest comedy special, and Quibi set premiere dates for “The Stranger” and “Fight Like A Girl.” DATES Netflix will launch Patton Oswalt‘s newest comedy special, “I Love Everything,“ May 19, Variety has learned exclusively. In the new special, the Emmy and Grammy-winning comedian will explore the
In a competitive deal, Sight Unseen has acquired the film rights to Bess Kalb’s wildly imaginative memoir, “Nobody Will Tell You This But Me,” which was published by Knopf on March 17. Elizabeth Chomko will direct from a script adapted by Kalb. Sight Unseen’s Eddie Vaisman, Julia Lebedev, and Oren Moverman will produce. Chomko will
Rihanna and Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square, are teaming up to help victims of domestic violence in Los Angeles affected by the stay-at-home order during the coronavirus pandemic. Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF) and Dorsey on Thursday announced a joint grant to the Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles to address the current crisis
Joe Biden will participate in a “virtual” fundraiser on April 23 with Hollywood stars including Billy Porter and Melissa Etheridge. The event aims to raise money in the LGBTQ community in Los Angeles, and is co-hosted by John Gile and Jeff Valenson. In addition to Porter and Etheridge, the event will also feature appearances by
With cinemas closed for the foreseeable future and scores of highly anticipated theatrical releases postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, “Master of None” co-creator Alan Yang’s feature directorial debut “Tigertail” is one of the few movies available to viewers craving fresh films to cope with life in lockdown. The highly personal project, which hits Netflix
In today’s film news roundup, film commissioners have teamed up to launch a production resource service with information related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Dave Franco’s “The Rental” finds a home, Saban Films will release “Most Wanted” in the summer and the Sun Valley Film Festival unveils its winners. INITIATIVE The Association of Film Commissioners International
Every night around 7 P.M. Nashville time, Karen Elson beams onto Instagram. “A song a day keeps the blues away,” types the redhead, before launching into acoustic covers of jazz, rock n’ roll, and folk. The 41-year-old leans against custom wallpaper by the artist Costanza Theodoli-Braschi and wears all kinds of things—a T-shirt from the
Exclusive YNW Melly doesn’t deserve to be released from jail even though he has COVID-19 … at least that’s the way his alleged victims’ families see it. As we’ve reported … the rapper is begging to be released from the Florida jail, where he’s awaiting trial in his double murder case, because he says he’s
It all started because DeRay Mckesson was cold. In 2014, when the school administrator–turned–activist set out to drive from his home in Minneapolis to Ferguson, Missouri, to protest the police shooting of Michael Brown, he threw on a blue vest he’d bought five years earlier on a trip to New York City. Soon, images of
With glowing reviews and a third consecutive #1 album under her belt, child actor-turned-international pop music and social media superstar Selena Gomez — she has 172 million followers on Instagram alone — has seen fit to considerably upsize her residential circumstances. This time, the frequently house-hopping “Rare” crooner has completed the $4.9 million purchase of
The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Group, a centralized publishing label that comprises both trade publications, will rebrand as MRC Media, insiders familiar with the company told Variety. In addition to the new group name, parent owner Valence Media will also change its name to MRC — taking the moniker of the content studio the company owns, short
The coronavirus crisis may be prompting more festivals to migrate online, but not all filmmakers are on board. Director Alex Winter pulled his documentary “Zappa,” about rock iconoclast and classical composer Frank Zappa from both SXSW and CPH:DOX, rather than let the festivals stream his latest work. “We had to stand down because we’re in
Universal Studios is extending the closures of its theme parks in Orlando and greater Los Angeles through “at least” May 31 of this year, given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The company also intends to furlough part-time hourly workers starting May 3, and cut staff pay to 80% of their normal wages. Universal Studios issued the
The head of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will appear on a CNN town-hall broadcast Thursday evening, ending a short stand-off between the White House and the cable-news outlet over its recent coverage of the Trump administration’s daily coronavirus briefings. CNN said Thursday afternoon that CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield had been
Netflix announced Thursday that a “Tiger King” after-show hosted by Joel McHale will premiere on Sunday. The show’s Jeff Lowe, who took over the Oklahoma exotic animal zoo from Joe Exotic, had recently hinted that a new episode would be coming this week. The teaser for the eighth installment features McHale wearing a cowboy hat
The current public health crisis facing the world has changed the way people live, work and consume media — and will undoubtedly have a long-lasting impact on industries across the world. Kicking off the inaugural Variety Streaming Room session with a virtual conversation with executives from NBCUniversal, Spotify, WarnerMedia and PwC, Variety president and chief
In the latest development in the controversy spawned by The Weeknd’s comment to Variety that Usher’s 2012 hit “Climax” is “a Weeknd song,” co-producer Diplo has acknowledged the influence, and Weeknd has called Usher a “king” and said he appreciates the acknowledgement. “The production on ‘Climax’ lends itself to ‘House of Balloons’ era @theweeknd,” Diplo
Amazon has found a new way to monetize its Prime Video catalog: It’s now letting top Twitch live-streamers host “watch parties” to provide running commentary alongside a selection of movies and TV shows. Starting Thursday, Twitch is opening up Watch Parties to the biggest streaming channels on the platform in the U.S. (which it refers