A Brooklyn judge on Tuesday denied R. Kelly’s request for release due to the coronavirus pandemic, finding that he is not among the inmates most endangered by the disease. Kelly is being held at the Chicago Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he is awaiting trial on racketeering, sexual misconduct and other charges in three jurisdictions. On
Two CBS dramas drew larger than usual audiences on Monday night, as “The Voice” took a ratings hit while still coming out on top. “All Rise,” which yesterday announced it will air a virtual, filmed from home episode later this month, scored a 0.7 rating among adults 18-49 and drew 6.1 million viewers, a season
The Great Pandemic Content Giveaway of 2020 continues: AT&T sweetened its pay-TV premium-content promotions to include HBO for no extra cost for 12 months to new subscribers of AT&T TV and DirecTV. AT&T, of course, is the parent company of WarnerMedia, which owns HBO. The offer of one free year of HBO runs through June
CNN has acquired Canopy, a 15-person startup that developed a personalized, privacy-focused content-recommendation engine. The WarnerMedia-owned news outlet said it will use Canopy’s technology to accelerate development of a new project to connect users “to trusted sources, storytellers and creators.” Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Founded in 2017, Canopy (canopy.cr) had raised $4.5 million
Chinese media investor Starlight Culture Entertainment has set up an animation joint venture with David Steward II’s Lion Forge, one of the companies behind Oscar-winning short film “Hair Love.” Among the venture’s first projects is a short focusing on the coronavirus pandemic, and its impact on humans and other animals. Production will begin immediately. The
Stephanie Grisham is leaving her post as White House Press Secretary, a gig she took over from from Sarah Huckabee Sanders in July 2019. Grisham will return to the East Wing to serve as first lady Melania Trump’s chief of staff and spokesperson. Grisham begins her new role immediately and is taking over from Lindsay
Italian state broadcaster Rai, the country’s long-time major film and TV industry driver, is seeking to placate concerns being voiced by the country’s producers as it navigates the coronavirus crisis amid mounting criticism and shrinking resources. As the pandemic paralyzes the economy in Italy — which at present is suffering the world’s highest coronavirus death
Since he can’t pop into the Stone Pony to play a surprise set, Bruce Springsteen will perform livestream a performance from home that will broadcast on SiriusXM’s E Street Radio on Wednesday (April 8) at 10 a.m. ET, according to Rolling Stone. “Bruce will be playing songs and sharing thoughts about the times we live
A pair of multiplatinum-selling artists have found new label homes: Toni Braxton has signed a new deal with Island Records, the company announced Monday, and Jason Mraz has inked with BMG. Seven-time Grammy-winner Braxton announced her return with a new single called “Do It.” “I wrote this song about a year ago when a friend was
As the entire country reels in the wake of the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic, the music industry is just one business that has been devastatingly affected. While many organizations and musicians have found ways to raise money to help and embrace online performances, there hasn’t been much talk about how we all cope with this new reality,
Quibi’s first-day app downloads hit around 300,000, coming after months of steady hype surrounding Jeffrey Katzenberg’s ambitious mobile-only streaming service. That’s according to preliminary estimates from mobile-analytics firm Sensor Tower. Currently, as of Tuesday morning, Quibi ranks as the No. 3 top free app overall on Apple’s App Store in the U.S. (following Zoom and
Maria Alonte has been named senior vice president, creative integration, music for Entertainment One (eOne). In the newly created position, Alonte will oversee eOne’s creative servicing hub for film, television and varied content. She’ll report to Chris Taylor, eOne’s global president, music and live. The Los Angeles-based Alonte arrives from Universal Music Group where she
Vizio moved up the launch of 30 new free linear streaming channels on its internet-connected SmartCast TVs, as viewing on surges during the coronavirus crisis. As of April 7, Vizio SmartCast users can find 30 new channels, spanning news, entertainment, lifestyle, DIY, sports, comedy and music. The company had planned to start rolling them out
Most churchgoers won’t be able to enter a place of worship on this Easter Sunday, but an exception is being made for Andrea Bocelli, who will perform a concert that night at the historic Duomo Cathedral in Milan, Italy, to be offered as a global live-stream on YouTube. Bocelli will be accompanied only by cathedral
The plight of self-employed freelancers in the entertainment industry who fall through the gaps of U.K. government coronavirus financial schemes is being highlighted in a 90-second video campaign backed by union Bectu and industry recruitment platform The Talent Manager. Produced in just a few days during the coronavirus lockdown, the video – titled “Forgotten Freelancers”
NL Film & TV and Avrotros’ Dutch contribution to this year’s digital Series Mania establishes in its first 30 seconds that it is far more than a typical war thriller. Narrated with elegant editing that is both stylized and controlled, the series’ directors, Iván López Núñez and Hanro Smitsman, focus their attention on the peripheries
Like so many schools around the world, the U.K.’s renowned National Film and Television School (NFTS) has closed its doors and moved to online learning amid a nationwide coronavirus lockdown. To help deliver its curriculum, the NFTS has drafted in top talent including David Fincher, Sam Mendes, Ricky Gervais, Jesse Armstrong and Edgar Wright to
Australia’s “The Drama Queens of Kabul,” the U.K.’s “Pop Paper City” and Spain’s “Before You Hit the Floor” were among winners at the MipTV Online Plus projects competitions, announced Tuesday. Also, scooping prizes were “Behind Lucy,” again from Spain, South Africa’s “Mother City” and “Bathroom Confessions,” from Lebanon, in a winners’ lineup which is strong
The Edinburgh TV Festival, set to take place in late August, has been reimagined as a digital event in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. Organizers confirmed Tuesday morning that the festival, which is a key stop in the U.K. TV industry’s calendar, will not be held as a physical event from August 26-28, but
The BBC is to air a special fund-raising entertainment show, “The Big Night In,” on April 23, which will put a spotlight on the work of those battling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and provide some showbiz relief to lift the spirits of the Brits under lockdown. Funds raised through the three-hour show
Cineworld, the world’s second largest movie theater business, has decided to suspend payments of dividends to its stockholders. The freeze on payments applies to the 2019 fourth quarter dividend of 4.25c per share and upcoming 2020 quarterly dividends. In addition, the executive directors have “voluntarily agreed to defer payment of their full salaries and any
The Melbourne International Film Festival, which was to have been held in August, has been canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Organizers said that the accompanying 37 Degrees South Market and the Accelerator Lab would also not go ahead this year. Australia is currently in a state of lockdown in order to ensure social
The Singapore International Film Festival has shaken up its leadership ahead of a 31st edition that is currently on course to take place from November. Experienced arts manager, Emily Hoe has been hired as the festival’s executive director. She takes over from Yuni Hadi, who held the role since 2014. Kuo Ming-Jung, who was last
A trio of THR editors have been tapped as interim leaders in the wake of editorial director Matthew Belloni’s abrupt departure from the publication on Monday, multiple individuals familiar with the company told Variety. The interim editors are Jeanie Pyun, Belloni’s deputy editorial director; Tom Seeley, senior vice president of digital media; and Lacey Rose,
Judges appear to be getting more and more skeptical of music copyright lawsuits. In the latest ruling, a federal judge has thrown out a suit claiming that the 2003 Josh Groban song “You Raise Me Up” was based on an Icelandic song from 1977 called “Soknudur.” The plaintiff, Icelandic singer-songwriter Johann Helgason, hired Judith Finell,
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched “Bagman,” the eighth episode of of “Better Call Saul” Season 5. Jimmy McGill’s descent into Saul Goodman has been on full display in Season 5 of AMC’s “Better Call Saul,” and on Monday’s episode, it took an even more dangerous turn. Much to the
In today’s film news roundup, “Surviving Supercon” releases its trailer prior to its opening night slot of the Florida Film Festival, a coronavirus movie has completed production, Javier Bardem’s “The Roads Not Taken” gets a virtual release and 1606 Studio adds to its staff. FILM FESTIVAL Abyssmal Entertainment has released its first trailer exclusively to
In a move that could shake up the Emmy comedy actress race, the Television Academy has ruled that Showtime’s “On Becoming a God in Central Florida” is a drama, not a comedy. That means star Kirsten Dunst, who had been considered one of the top front runners to earn a nomination in the outstanding comedy
Eddie Kramer, an engineer famous to rock fans for his work with Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, KISS and the Beatles, will be the subject of a feature documentary, “From the Other Side of the Glass,” with Joe Berlinger (“Metallica: Some Kind of Monster”) and Spencer Proffer (“Chasing Trane”) among those on board as producers, and
Exclusive Amazon’s hit series, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” is ripped straight from the pages of a 6-year-old book with an eerily similar and struggling character … at least according to the author. Jodi Parmley just sued Amazon Studios for allegedly jacking several different creative elements from her 2014 book, “F.I.F.I. Financial Infidelity F**k It: The