Gerard Butler will star in the action thriller “Remote Control.” Butler will portray a former war correspondent turned corporate security consultant, whose life is overturned when he receives a mysterious phone call from an unknown source. He soon uncovers the threads of a global conspiracy, finding himself drawn into a fight for his life, pursued by
Turner Latin America’s new English-language film label Particular Crowd has kicked off its partnership with Canadian shingles Breakthrough Entertainment and Black Fawn Films with horror-comedy “Vicious Fun,” now in post. “An outrageous mash-up of dread and humor, ‘Vicious Fun’ lives up to its title,” said Craig McGillivray, Breakthrough Entertainment’s VP of distribution. “We are thrilled
Hollywood may still be shaking off its awards-season hangover, but before it puts the tuxedos and gowns back in storage, Variety wants to take a look at some of the films that seem destined to dominate the next Oscars race. It’s true that on paper many movies that now appear earmarked for awards greatness may
February 18, 2020 8:22AM PT Piece of Magic Entertainment, the distributor behind recent docs “Apollo 11” and “Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love,” has picked up international theatrical distribution rights for the underdog sports tale “King Otto.” The doc follows the improbable path of the 2004 Greek National Soccer team, which went from never winning
Documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy is teaming with Imagine Entertainment for a new series about the tragedy and subsequent scandal over the defunct Boeing 737-Max airplane, sources tell Variety. Kennedy and her husband and producing partner, Emmy-nominated writer Mark Bailey, are teaming up with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s unscripted division at Imagine, run by Justin
Jury deliberations in the rape trial of Harvey Weinstein began Tuesday. After a six-week trial, a 12-member panel of New Yorkers will now decide if the former movie mogul goes free or spends the rest of his life behind bars. The case is considered to be a landmark moment for the #MeToo movement in Hollywood,
February 18, 2020 8:38AM PT “The Bachelor” posted season high ratings once again, as “America’s Got Talent: Champions” concluded its second season to solid numbers. ABC’s reality dating show topped the night with a 1.8 rating among adults 18-49 and 6.6 million total viewers, up fractionally from last week’s 6.6 million. “The Good Doctor” followed
February 18, 2020 8:48AM PT BBC Scotland director Donalda MacKinnon has announced plans to step down this autumn. The first ever woman to hold that post, MacKinnon has led the public broadcaster’s Scottish division since 2016. “I’ve decided that this is the right time for me to stand down and allow a new leader to
The Hollywood Bowl’s 2020 summer schedule, announced Tuesday morning, includes a higher quotient than ever of pop acts doing orchestral-backed shows. Opening night performer Brandi Carlile, officially kicking off the season, June 13, will be backed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, as will Fantasia and Babyface (July 10), Janelle Monae (July 17-18), Maxwell (July 19),
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 — today unveiled a series of new programs intended to serve artists better, including a new payment model that will see artists paid more for playing bigger
Hold the phone, HQties — there might be a second act for HQ Trivia. The once-buzzy live game-show app, whose audience had declined after peaking two years ago, shut down last week after the company ran out of money and a deal to sell it fell through. Now Rus Yusupov, CEO of parent company Intermedia
Deliberations in Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial are slated to begin on Tuesday, but there were plenty of fireworks even before Justice James Burke could give jurors instructions. Before the jury was called in, prosecutors accused the former movie mogul’s lawyers of jury tampering, vociferously objecting to a Newsweek op-ed. The article, penned by Weinstein’s lead
The NFL has worked in recent years to take some commercials out of America’s favorite game. The XFL is experimenting with new ways to push them in. Anyone who watched the new league’s St. Louis BattleHawks triumph over the Dallas Renegades in its first week of official play might have noticed ads for Bud Light
The New York Post often runs stories filled with grit, color and melodrama – just the kind of stuff that seems right for TV. Now some of those stories will find their way to a TV network. Investigation Discovery, the Discovery-owned true-crime TV network, will partner with News Corp.’s New York Post on two new
Primus will pay homage to Rush this summer with “A Tribute to Kings,” a North American tour that will feature the Bay Area trio playing Rush’s classic 1977 album “A Farewell to Kings,” in its entirety, in addition to their own music. Rush’s influence on Primus is deep: The band’s 1989 debut release, the live “Suck on This” album, opens
The Dolan Twins, sibling digital influencers who have a combined following of more than 50 million across internet platforms, are set to launch their first podcast: “Deeper With The Dolan Twins.” The new weekly podcast from 20-year-old Ethan and Grayson Dolan is being produced under an exclusive pact with Cadence13, a division of Entercom Communications’
After years of being talked about, Kerry Washington is ready to steer the conversation herself. The 43-year-old actor and producer spent the better part of last decade playing the brilliant Olivia Pope on “Scandal,” Shonda Rhimes’ buzzy political drama that brought Washington into millions of homes. But as the series wound down, she kept a
When Liz Tigelaar signed on as showrunner for Hulu’s “Little Fires Everywhere,” she knew it was going to be her toughest, most rewarding experience to date. “It was transformative,” Tigelaar says of the work she did on the series. “To be honest, it’s the first show that I felt as deeply connected to.” That isn’t
Endeavor Content has taken a minority stake in “The Night Manager” producer The Ink Factory. Under the deal, the “Killing Eve” and “Night Manager” distributor is to set up a bespoke development fund for Ink Factory. The pact will specifically target the U.S. market with high-end TV series developed out of Ink Factory’s U.S. outpost
The next feature-length film from BMG will be the first-ever career-spanning documentary on legendary heavy metal singer Ronnie James Dio. Widely acknowledged as one of the greatest and most influential hard rock vocalists of all time, Dio fronted Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Elf, Heaven & Hell and his own eponymous band over the course of a
Katie Collins – PA ImagesGetty Images This London Fashion Week, a hail storm hit so hard, they actually gave it a name: Dennis, like the menace or the basketball player who hangs in North Korea. There were deep puddles outside Buckingham Palace, and deep crowds in front of tiny doors to fashion shows. We wore
As Facebook leans into sports, non-scripted and select scripted properties, it’s increasingly looking to an army of creators rather than A-list celebrities to tap into all three target areas as they grow businesses on the Watch platform. Facebook’s newly appointed head of entertainment media partnerships for Northern Europe Anna Higgs tells Variety, “The Watch strategy
Sony Pictures Television has invested in U.K. sports-focused production outfit Whisper Group. Effective immediately, the business will replace Channel 4’s Indie Growth Fund as a minority stakeholder in Whisper, which has become a leading voice in sports entertainment. Founded by BAFTA-winning CEO Sunil Patel, broadcaster Jake Humphrey and F1 commentator David Coulthard, Whispers covers NFL,
A shout-out on social media from Justin Bieber has brought some additional shine to Splice Sounds, the popular platform for rights-cleared sounds and beats. The track “Running Over,” from Bieber’s album “Changes” and featuring Lil Dicky, was produced by The Audibles and is based on a loop created by British artist Laxcity and uploaded to Splice.
They’re trying to laugh again at the White House Correspondents Association annual dinner. Long-running “Saturday Night Live” cast member Kenan Thompson will host the event, while comedian Hasan Minhaj will be the featured entertainer for the evening, which has often served as a spotlight on relations between the media and the White House. Last year,
Democratic presidential contender Mike Bloomberg will take the stage alongside his rivals at a primary debate for the first time on Wednesday night after a poll released today allowed him to qualify for the event. Bloomberg commanded 19% support in the poll conducted by NPR, PBS NewsHour and Marist, second only to Sen. Bernie Sanders
Bollywood Hollywood Production will give rugby film “Jungle Cry” a theatrical release in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, France, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa next month. The film screens for buyers at the European Film Market in Berlin this month. Directed by Sagar Ballary (“Bheja Fry”), the story features Abhay Deol (“Hero,” “Line
It has been a year and a half since director Li Cheng’s “José” won the Venice Film Festival’s Queer Lion. It would be a shame to let the lag time diminish expectations. After a LGBTQ fest run, the Spanish-language drama — about a young gay man in Guatemala — has opened theatrically and continues to
Block 2 Distribution, the sales arm of Wong Kar-wai’s Jet Tone Films will handle international rights to “Ennio: The Maestro.” The film is an upcoming documentary about legendary film musician Ennio Morricone, written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. Morricone, who is 91, has more than 500 movie credits to this name including scores for Sergio
A decade has passed since 2010’s Deepwater Horizon tragedy, history’s most catastrophic oil drilling accident that occurred when a BP-operated pipe exploded, leaking millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. There was no successful intervention for months, and time hasn’t healed all wounds. On the contrary, it opened new, irreversible ones as