U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is in “good spirits” despite being admitted Sunday night to hospital, where he remains being treated for coronavirus. The Prime Minister was taken to St. Thomas’ Hospital in London on Sunday evening with persistent symptoms — including a temperature and cough — for routine tests. He has been
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s “Fleabag” play, on which the Emmy-winning show is based, will be available to stream on Amazon Prime with proceeds helping people affected by coronavirus. Viewers in the U.S. will be able to watch the production on Amazon Prime starting on Friday, and it will be available for two weeks. People in the U.K.
U.S. equities markets are starting the week with a rally driven by hopeful signs that the spread of the coronavirus outbreak may be slowing in response to aggressive social distancing measures. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up more than 1,000 points in early trading Monday. That follows a 360-point loss on Friday that capped
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to change the shape of the music industry as we know it, executives are stepping forward to share their insight and experience in the Zoom webinars that are rapidly becoming a part of many of our lives. Through a virtual music panel hosted by 8 Til Faint and curated by Mauricio Ruiz (Jessie Reyez
Two-time Grammy Award winner H.E.R. today announces “Girls With Guitars,” her weekly Instagram live performance and conversation series, starting today at 8pm ET. During each live session, H.E.R. along with her vast array of guitars will perform songs from her catalog as well as covers and take fan requests. H.E.R. will also invite celebrity female guitarists to perform and engage
A few hours into Quibi’s much-hyped debut, people have expressed irritation over something that’s supposed to be one of the streamer’s key differentiating features: You can only watch its lineup of original movies and shows on a mobile device. Why, amid the stay-at-home COVID-19 crisis, is Quibi limiting itself only to the smallest screens in
Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe says he is ready to declare a state of emergency from as early as Tuesday, as part of a growing response to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The declaration would affect Tokyo, second city Osaka and five other densely populated prefectures. The Abe government had attempted to resist emergency legislation, but
Skydance Media has acquired the animation unit of Madrid-based Ilion Studios. The new entity will be rechristened Skydance Animation Madrid. The companies had been working together for some time. The acquisition gives animation chief John Lasseter control over all aspects of production. Skydance and Ilion, both of which are privately held, did not disclose a
IFC Films has nabbed U.S. rights to “Tesla,” the story of inventor Nikola Tesla and his efforts to build a revolutionary electrical system. The purchase extends IFC’s long relationship with Ethan Hawke, who stars as Tesla and who has previously partnered with the studio on such films as “Boyhood” and “Blaze.” The film also reunites
ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI) has acquired Israeli content producer and pay-TV channel provider Ananey Communications Group. VCNI is acquiring the shares in Ananey it does not already own, following its acquisition of a minority stake in the company in December 2016. Ananey’s founder and chairman, Udi Miron, will stay on in a new role as
The Recording Academy and MusiCares today are holding a webinar on how the $2 trillion CARES Act stimulus bill affects music makers. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act contains a number of key protections and provisions that can help music creators. The webinar takes place today — Monday, April 6 — at
Actress and singer Rita Wilson has teamed up with veteran hip-hop act Naughty By Nature for a remix of the group’s 1992 classic “Hip Hop Hooray,” via Tommy Boy Music, and available exclusively on YouTube today. The single will be released widely on all digital/streaming platforms this Friday, April 10, with profits from the recording will be donated to the MusiCares Foundation
Veteran tunesmith James Taylor is joining “The Voice” in the role of Mega Mentor for the NBC talent competition series. Taylor will begin his role on the April 13 edition of the series that will feature the four contenders that survive the Battle Rounds as the prepare for the Knockout Rounds. In a twist to
After months of Quibi building up its roster with countless stars and absurdist premises, the streaming service of “quick bites” has finally arrived. The platform features abbreviated episodes only available on phones in order to cater to people with precious little time in between commitments — and yes, the timing of this launch during a
Former NENT Studios U.K. boss Jakob Mejlhede Andersen has been appointed CCO of Shahid, the streaming service operated by the Middle East Broadcasting Centre (MBC) which was just revamped. Andersen will be responsible for the overall content strategy for both Shahid and its premium offering, Shahid VIP, and will be banking on original content, exclusive premieres, and popular third-party programming in Arabic and other languages. The appointment of Andersen
The Venice Film Festival is forging ahead with preparations for the September 2-12 event despite coronavirus concerns, and ruling out the possibility that the fest could go digital — at least not in its entirety. “The Venice Film Festival cannot be replaced by an online event,” a Venice spokesman told Variety on Monday. He added
U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 is understood to be preparing to announce a range of cost-cutting measures this week as it wrestles with a major slump in advertising revenues due to the coronavirus crisis. Channel 4 is examining a range of options, which include a 20% voluntary reduction in the salaries of its executive board —
Thai film maker Thanakorn Pongsuwan, best known for 2009 film “Fireball,” died on Friday. He was 46. His death was not caused by the coronavirus outbreak, though his last rites will be affected. Rather he died following an unsuccessful battle with cancer of the blood (lymphoma.) The news was announced by his sister Manussanun Pongsuwan,
Exclusive Tekashi 6ix9ine is vowing to be on his best social media behavior now that he’s outta prison … his lawyers say the rapper won’t start beefs or troll other artists, because the feds are watching!!! Tekashi’s attorney, Lance Lazzaro, tells TMZ … 6ix9ine has no restrictions regarding his use of social media, despite being
Computer science experts Paul Debevec and Donald Greenberg are the first two keynote speakers locked in for October’s 2020 VIEW Conference in Turin, Italy. Debevec is a senior scientist at Google VR and an an adjunct research professor of computer science at USC, working within the USC Institute for Creative Technologies. He is a member
Iflix, the multi-territory streaming firm based in Malaysia, has confirmed a significant wave of job cuts. The company is under pressure during the coronavirus crisis and ahead of debt repayment deadlines. The company is laying off more than 50 people across its various locations, but did not disclose an exact figure. “The industry is not
Chinese video streaming giant iQIYI is making hit animated film “Nezha” available to viewers in South East Asia. The move is part of a corporate response to the coronavirus lockdowns across much of the region. These have caused cinemas to close and consumption of online entertainment to spike upwards. It is also a move that
Duran Duran bassist John Taylor took to Facebook on Sunday (April 5) to reveal that he had tested positive for coronavirus, and is currently on the mend. Taylor was diagnosed with COVID-19 “three weeks ago,” and has been self-quarantining as per medical protocol. “Perhaps I am a particularly robust 59 year old — I like
As the first major Hollywood movie — and, in fact, the only one — since the outbreak of the coronavirus to bow out of its scheduled theatrical release and reposition itself on a home-viewing platform, “Trolls World Tour” has the chance to be a bigger event than it might have otherwise. Or maybe a smaller
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the fourth episode of “Westworld” Season 3. Looks like William has finally reached the center of his maze. This episode of “Westworld” saw the return of the Man in Black (Ed Harris) — however, he was far from the confident gunslinger of the first two
Craig Melvin will take MSNBC viewers to live, on-location looks at various pandemic “hot spots” as part of a new special series at the NBCUniversal-owned cable-news network that will air over the next two weeks. “Craig Melvin Reports: Coronavirus Pandemic” will air 11 a.m. Monday through Friday in the slot the anchor normally hosts for
In February, Duffy took to social media to reveal that she recused herself from her career and the limelight as the result of trauma from being kidnapped and raped. The U.K. singer had been inactive for the better part of a decade — in the late 2000s, she seemed poised for the kind of massive
Lee Fierro, an actor best known for playing Mrs. Kintner in “Jaws,” has died of complications from coronavirus, according to The Martha’s Vineyard Times. She was 91. A resident of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., Fierro had been living at an assisted care facility in Ohio when she died. Fierro’s character was the mother to Alex Kintner
Shirley Douglas, a Canadian actor and activist, died on Sunday of complications from pneumonia. She was 86. Her son, actor Kiefer Sutherland, announced the sad news of her death on Twitter and specified that it was unrelated to coronavirus. “Early this morning my mother, Shirley Douglas, passed away due to complications surrounding pneumonia (not related
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been struggling with coronavirus, has been admitted to hospital, according to Downing Street. Johnson has been battling the virus for 10 days, and has remained in quarantine with a persisting high temperature. According to the BBC, he was admitted to hospital as a “precautionary step” advised by his