Andrew Yang bowed out of the U.S. presidential race, but the businessman-turned-politico wants to keep his policy agenda on the national media stage. Less than two months after ending his 2020 presidential campaign, he’s set plans to launch a new podcast, “Yang Speaks,” in partnership with podcast studio and network Cadence13, Variety has learned. The
The slightly delayed India launch of streaming platform Disney Plus Hotstar is now set for Friday. The service will be available in two price tiers. Disney Plus VIP subscribers get access to the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Bollywood films, Hotstar originals, unlimited live sports and Star TV serials for INR 399 ($5.30) a year. For
When a suicide note is discovered in an empty car pulled from the sea, veteran detective Tom Brannick draws a link to an infamous case about a series of mysterious disappearances whose trail went cold years before. As he wages an obsessive campaign to solve it, he becomes embroiled in an investigation that leads him
MADRID – Orange TV Spain today became the first operator internationally to launch AMC Network International’s on-demand service, AMC Selekt, bringing more than 5,000 programs to subscribers. Promoted as the most varied on-demand service now available in the Spanish market, the service offers all the on-demand films, series, documentaries, lifestyle, kids and musical content from
Spotify is giving more housebound parents — and their cooped-up kids — a new tool to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. The streaming giant on Tuesday launched Spotify Kids, a walled-off app with over 8,000 curated songs for children ages 3 and up, in the U.S., Canada and France. Of course, it’s not some kind
Adam Schlesinger, a musician and Emmy-winning songwriter highly regarded for his work as a member of Fountains of Wayne and songwriter for TV’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” has been hospitalized with coronavirus and is on a ventilator but is not in a coma, contrary to initial reports, his attorney of 25 years Josh Grier confirmed to Variety.
The San Sebastian and Zurich film festivals have teamed to launch new film markets that will cater to the gaps created by the cancellation of SXSW and the postponement of Tribeca due to the coronavirus pandemic. The programming of both fall festivals will feature titles originally scheduled for spring fests SXSW and Tribeca. The markets
London-based sales agent WestEnd Films has closed a North American deal with Jeff Sackman and Berry Meyerowitz’s company Aqute Media for “I Am Woman,” the biopic about Australian singer Helen Reddy. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival as the opening film of the Special Presentations section. The film also recently
The Sheffield Doc/Fest pitching forums, MeetMarket and Alternate Realities Talent Market are to take place virtually in June, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The rest of the June festival is being replaced by a series of programs that will take place on weekends through the fall. The planned programming will include film screenings, talks, panels,
Specialist streaming service Mubi has teamed up with fashion label Prada’s Fondazione Prada foundation on “Perfect Failures,” a curated selection of movies deemed to have been “widely misunderstood” upon their release. The joint project will launch on both the Mubi platform and the Fondazione Prada’s website on April 5 with U.S. director Richard Kelly’s 2006 flop
Vivendi has closed the sale of 10% of its subsidiary Universal Music Group to a consortium led by the Chinese powerhouse Tencent. The deal, which was signed three months ago, values UMG for €30 billion. As part of the agreement, the consortium – which includes Tencent Music Entertainment, as well as other financial co-investors —
“Operation Buffalo” is a high-end series set in Australia in 1956, at the height of the Cold War. The action mainly takes place on a top-secret military base at Maralinga, in the Australian Outback, where the British are conducting atomic bomb tests, with the connivance of the Australian government. The six-part show – a blend
In today’s film news roundup, Anne Hathaway will portray an American journalist in Paris, blockbuster director Michael Bay signs with Sony Pictures, and “Extra Ordinary” and “The Etruscan Smile” are added to arthouse streaming services. CASTING Anne Hathaway is starring in the movie “French Children Don’t Throw Food,” based on Pamela Druckerman’s autobiographical book, “Bringing
Sony Pictures has pushed back many of its major tentpoles — including “Morbius,” “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” “Uncharted” and “Peter Rabbit 2” — to next year, the studio announced on Monday. Jason Reitman’s “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” has moved from July 10, 2020, to March 5, 2021; Jared Leto’s “Morbius” has been pushed back from July 31, 2020, to
Over the years, unmolested and original midcentury modern homes have become increasingly scarce, even in the midcentury mecca that is Los Angeles. So when a 1958 gem in prime Los Feliz became available last year, for the very first time ever, potential buyers flocked to the residential time capsule. The unassuming house quickly sold for
iHeartMedia has joined the growing list of companies implementing sizable pay cuts for senior executives amid the upheaval caused by the coronavirus crisis. Bob Pittman, chairman and chief executive of broadcast giant iHeartRadio, which counts more than 800 stations as well as a formidable digital radio presence, will forego his salary for the remainder of the
ABC has made the decision to shelve its planned “The Bachelor Summer Games” spinoff, Variety has confirmed, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the entertainment industry. The prospective series, which had yet to be officially announced, was slated to air during the Olympics this summer, however, news of the show being scrapped for the
ABC has made the decision to shelve its planned “The Bachelor Summer Games” spinoff, Variety has confirmed, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the entertainment industry. The prospective series, which had yet to be officially announced, was slated to air during the Olympics this summer, however, news of the show being scrapped for the
Sofar Sounds — which has made a name and a business for itself by staging “secret gigs and intimate concerts” featuring emerging artists for an invited, engaged audience — is among the many businesses in the live-entertainment space that have been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. While it was thriving both as a platform —
Netflix, but everywhere, and evil: That’s the chilling idea at the center of the third season of “Westworld.” As star Evan Rachel Wood explained during a live interview on the “Variety After-Show” — streamed via Variety‘s Instagram account after the third episode of “Westworld” aired on HBO — her sentient robot character Dolores now knows what
Twitter, stepping up its enforcement of misleading and harmful coronavirus-related claims, required Fox News host Laura Ingraham to delete a tweet from 10 days ago that misrepresented details of an unproven treatment for coronavirus. In the now-deleted tweet from March 20, Ingraham, host of the cable network’s “The Ingraham Angle,” wrote, “Lenox Hill [Hospital] in
March 30, 2020 2:01PM PT Lionsgate has laid off nearly 20 employees, primarily in its feature film marketing and distribution department, sources tell Variety. The cuts had been in the works for months as part of a restructuring and were not influenced by the coronavirus outbreak, Lionsgate said. No other layoffs are currently planned, and
March 30, 2020 2:34PM PT Cinemark is temporarily reducing wages for all U.S. employees while its theaters remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. With these measures, workers salaries will be cut by around 50%. All employees are working reduced hours and will still maintain full benefits. Cinemark’s CEO Mark Zoradi and the board of
Both “V-Wars” and “October Faction” have been canceled at Netflix after airing just one season apiece, Variety has confirmed. The two shows are both produced by IDW Entertainment, which is also behind the Netflix series adaptation of “Locke & Key.” News of the twin cancellations comes just after Netflix announced a season 2 pick up for
ABC has made the decision to shelve its planned “The Bachelor Summer Games” spinoff, Variety has confirmed, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the entertainment industry. The prospective series, which had yet to be officially announced, was slated to air during the Olympics this summer, however, news of the show being scrapped for the
“Making The Cut” contestant Ji Won Choi, a recent Parsons grad, is on a mission to merge her Korean and American heritages through fashion. She’s one of the younger designers on Amazon Prime’s new reality series, though Choi has already started to reaped the benefits by having one of her designs from the show sold on
Over the years, unmolested and original midcentury modern homes have become increasingly scarce, even in the midcentury mecca that is Los Angeles. So when a 1958 gem in prime Los Feliz became available last year, for the very first time ever, potential buyers flocked to the residential time capsule. The unassuming house quickly sold for
As recently as last Tuesday, just three artists had signed on to “Fox Presents the iHeart Living Room Concert for America.” But after a week of scrambling and all-night editing sessions, the producers and executives behind the special managed to put together a one-hour event on Sunday night that attracted at least 8.7 million viewers
Visions du Réel, a film festival in Nyon, Switzerland, has changed the format of its next edition to accommodate the restrictions imposed by the Swiss government in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Originally planned to run from April 24 to May 2, the festival will now be a digital-only event held over a longer period,
With exactly one week left until its launch, Quibi has put four new shows in development, Variety has learned exclusively. Among the additions to to the platform’s swelling slate are an animated comedy from “Curb Your Enthusiasm” writer Steve Leff, and a thriller from “A Discovery of Witches” showrunner Kate Brooke. The Leff-created comedy is called “God’s