The glitz of the annual Hong Kong Film Awards will be put to one side this year as a response to the coronavirus outbreak. The awards’ organizing committee said that it remains important to recognize filmmakers efforts. But the awards show will shift from its scheduled mid-April slot and change its format to avoid creating
February 12, 2020 12:02AM PT Picture Tree Intl. has secured global sales rights of Berlin comedy “Nightlife,” directed by Simon Verhoeven, following his last film “Welcome to Germany,” which was Germany’s comic relief to the refugee crisis. The film sold to more than 60 territories and screened at more than 50 festivals worldwide, while being
MADRID — Swooping on one of the buzzed-up high-profile Spanish-language titles at Ventana Sur, Film Factory Entertainment has acquired world sales rights to “El Olvido Que Seremos” (“Forgotten We’ll Be”), starring Javier Cámara (“Talk to Her”) and directed by Academy Award winning writer-director Fernando Trueba (“Belle Epoque”). Produced by Dago García Producciones for Caracol TV,
Sen. Bernie Sanders will win the New Hampshire primary, according to projections from several news organizations, positioning him to claim frontrunner status for the Democratic nomination. With more than 90% of the ballots counted, Sanders held a 1.6-point lead over Mayor Pete Buttigieg. The two candidates topped the Democratic field for the second time in
February 11, 2020 6:05PM PT Andrew Yang announced Tuesday that he is dropping out of the Democratic presidential race, after a disappointing result in the New Hampshire primary. “Tonight is not the outcome we fought so hard to achieve,” Yang told supporters. “You know I am the math guy, and it is clear tonight from
Effie T. Brown joined film financing fund Gamechanger as CEO earlier this year because she wanted to make a difference in the industry. After “Parasite’s” historic win at the 92nd Academy Awards, she finally feels hopeful. “It was that feeling of — and it’s a bit of a stretch — ‘Wait, Obama is being elected.’
In today’s film news roundup, “Postscript,” “Apeirogon” and “Porgy and Bess” are all being developed as feature films, AMC’s Adam Aron will be honored at CinemaCon and SXSW drama “South Mountain” has found distribution. PAGE TO SCREEN “P.S. I Love You” is finally getting a sequel. Alcon Entertainment has acquired film rights to “Postscript,” the
Following her Oscar-nominated turn in “Bombshell,” Margot Robbie looks to have found her next project, signing on to co-star opposite Christian Bale in a new David O. Russell film at New Regency. Russell would direct from his own script. Plot details are being kept under wraps. Matthew Budman, an executive producer on “Joy” and “American
Recipients of the 29th Polar Music Prize were announced today and include 11-time Oscar nominated songwriter Diane Warren and Russian-born opera singer Anna Netrebko. The 2020 gala ceremony is scheduled for June 9 at Stockholm’s Grand Hôtel. Each Laureate receives prize money of one million Swedish Kroner (just over $100,000). The Polar Music Prize was
Exclusive Details TMZ.com 2:59 PM PT — Foxx’s campaign is calling out the timing of the special prosecutor’s announcement saying, “What’s questionable here is the James Comey-like timing of that charging decision, just 35 days before an election, which can only be interpreted as the further politicization of the judicial system, something voters in the
Gugu Mbatha-Raw has been cast in the upcoming “Loki” series at Disney Plus, Variety has confirmed with sources. Mbatha-Raw is the latest addition to the cast, joining series lead Tom Hiddleston, Sophia Di Martino, and the recently announced Owen Wilson. As with most things Marvel, the exact details of her character are being kept under wraps.
In today’s TV news roundup, IFC has renewed “Year of the Rabbit” and Netflix released a trailer for “Altered Carbon” Season 2. CASTING Nathalie Emmanuel has been cast in Quibi‘s upcoming series “Die Hart” with Kevin Hart and John Travolta. In it, Emmanuel plays a “tough-minded student” of Hart’s character. Hart plays a fictionalized character
Macaulay Culkin opened up about his relationship with Michael Jackson and other personal topics in a rare interview with Esquire. The former child actor starred in Jackson’s music video for “Black and White,” and became close friends with him. Jackson later faced allegations of sexually abusing boys, but Culkin maintained that he had never seen
Breaking News TMZ.com Trevor Bauer just EVISCERATED MLB commissioner Rob Manfred over a new rumored playoff format in baseball … with the star pitcher calling the guy “a joke.” If you missed it … a report Monday claimed Manfred and other MLB officials were considering changing baseball’s postseason. The report claimed the MLB wants to
Ross Butler isn’t done playing a high schooler, at least not yet. Despite turning 30 later this year, Butler tells Variety that he’s going to work the letterman jackets he’s known to wear on-screen — on one season of “Riverdale” and, now, in Netflix’s “To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You” — for
Stephanie Allain has inked a first-look deal with Warner Horizon Scripted Television, fresh off her recent gig producing the Oscars. The multi-year agreement marks Allain’s first TV studio deal. Under the pact, Allain will develop new scripted programming for cable and broadcast networks, as well as streaming services, via the various divisions of the Warner
Stevie Mackey is one of Los Angeles’ most well-respected vocal coaches so it’s no wonder his south L.A. house serves as a singer’s stage. Under the banner Taco Tuesdays, Mackey, who has worked on “The Voice,” hosts this exclusive, invite-only monthly gathering which boasts no list, no RSVP, no Hollywood bullshit. Taco Tuesday has become
Jussie Smollett has been hit with a six-count indictment accusing him of faking a hate crime last year. The indictment comes 11 months after the state’s attorney’s office dropped charges against the “Empire” actor in a controversial deal. Smollett is due in court on Feb. 24. Dan K. Webb, a retired U.S. attorney, was appointed
Ilan Eshkeri has been tapped to score the BBC Earth docuseries “Perfect Planet.” Eshkeri, who has previously composed scores for “Still Alice” and “Young Victoria,” joins the ranks of Hans Zimmer and Steven Price who previously worked on “Planet Earth II” and “Our Planet,” respectively. David Attenborough will once again serve as the program’s host,
It’s every rebellious rocker’s dream optic: getting to sing a song complaining about police literally in the face of police taking the stage. That was the scenario as New Hampshire officers took to the Strokes’ stage when fans swarmed the band as they wrapped up an appearance at a Bernie Sanders rally by performing “New
February 11, 2020 1:41PM PT Rian Johnson’s murder mystery “Knives Out” notched another box office benchmark, surpassing $300 million globally. Since debuting last November, the Oscar-nominated whodunit has made $159 million in the U.S. and $140.9 million overseas for a global haul of $299.9 million. It’s expected to hit the $300 million mark on Tuesday.
Salto, the streaming service jointly created by French public broadcaster France Télévisions and commercial networks TF1 and M6, will trial the new platform with a June 3 test launch. The roll-out has been delayed for nearly a year for several reasons, including anti-trust and rights issues. While Netflix is highly popular in France with almost
For most of the music industry, awards season ended when the Grammys came to a close the night of Jan. 26. That wasn’t the case, though, for Interscope Records, which moved on to the Oscars with just as vested an interest in domination. Just two weeks after Billie Eilish swept all four top Grammy categories,
Always a bridesmaid, never a bride, the cliche goes, a fate that top filmmakers are still hoping to avoid for a reboot of the iconic movie monster: the Bride of Frankenstein. In the past year alone, figures like Oscar-nominated producer Amy Pascal and freshmen horror sensation John Krasinski have been quietly exploring ways to reimagine
Netflix began its year with “The Circle,” an unscripted competition-reality series that was more interesting in theory — as an examination of the ways in which persona plays out online — than in practice. It’s following that up with “Love Is Blind,” a dating show that reverses the equation. From an utterly banal premise about
Particularly when considering the series from which it was spun off, “Better Call Saul” seems like a drama unusually in love with deliberateness. The events of “Breaking Bad,” on which the character of Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) first appeared, happened gradually but then all at once, as its protagonist’s slide into villainy accelerated beyond what
With Universal Music Group recently valued at $33 billion — as part of its agreement to sell 10% of itself to a consortium led by Chinese tech giant Tencent — it’s really no surprise that its competitors would test the waters. What is surprising is that Warner Music Group did it so soon, announcing its initial
Alyssa Milano has become one of Hollywood’s leading activists in the Trump era, taking on issues like abortion, gun safety and sexual harassment. In 2020, she is turning her attention to a new fight: ballot security. Along with other entertainment industry figures, Milano is launching a campaign against electronic voting machines and electronic “ballot marking
Amazon has snapped up North American rights to an Emily Blunt-fronted western from the BBC, Variety has learned. The streaming giant is understood to have boarded “The English,” which has attached the “Quiet Place” actor as its lead. The multi-part series is produced by “Doctor Foster” firm Drama Republic, whose credits include BBC Two and
“Birds of Paradise,” a new drama from the director of the buzzy indie “Buster’s Mal Heart,” has been set at Amazon Studios with producer Anonymous Content. Currently shooting in Budapest, the feature is directed by Sarah Adina Smith, who hails from Amazon’s streaming series “Hanna.” Smith also adapted the screenplay, from the A.K. Small novel