Spotify reported its best-ever net adds for Premium subscribers and topped guidance for total monthly active users for the fourth quarter of 2019, as the audio-streamer said it plans to double down on podcasting in 2020. Total monthly active users worldwide were 271 million as of the end of the year, up 31% and beating
House Productions, the indie production company founded by former Film4 boss Tessa Ross and ex-Working Title exec Juliette Howell, has acquired the international film and TV rights to Jack Fairweather’s critically acclaimed biography “The Volunteer.” The team behind the Emmy-nominated HBO and Channel 4 drama “Brexit: The Uncivil War,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch, secured a multi-territory
Katy Perry was named ambassador of the British Asian Trust at the charity’s annual Royal Dinner on Feb. 4, an honor conferred on the pop star by Prince Charles, heir apparent to the British throne. While spotlighting the Trust’s anti-trafficking efforts in India, the Prince of Wales announced that Perry will serve as ambassador of
The Disney Plus streaming service is to be launched in India from the next month, piggybacking on the Hotstar platform that Disney acquired from Fox. Operations in India will include two tiers of service and be launched on March 29. That is earlier than Disney had previously indicated, but coincides with the start of the
Red Arrow Studios-backed Endor Productions has hired former Fox Networks Group (FNG) exec Sara Johnson as creative director. Led by managing director Hilary Bevan Jones, the TV-focused Endor’s recent series include “Vienna Blood” for Germany’s ZDF and Austria’s ORF, which was acquired by the BBC and PBS; two seasons of Matthew Parkhill’s “Deep State” for
Mendeecees is back on the outside after more than 5 years in prison, and he can check off #1 on his ‘To do” list … seeing his kids again. The “Love & Hip Hop: New York” star was released from prison a week ago, on January 29, and shortly afterward he reunited with the 2
February 4, 2020 8:20PM PT In this week’s edition of the Variety Movie Commercial Tracker, powered by the TV advertising attention analytics company iSpot.tv, the ranking is (no surprise) entirely made up of movie ads that ran during Super Bowl LIV, with MGM claiming the top spot in spending with the new James Bond film
In an evening filled with surprises and theatrics, President Donald Trump awarded conservative radio show host Rush Limbaugh — who recently revealed his advanced lung cancer diagnosis — with a Presidential Medal of Freedom in the middle of in his third annual State of the Union address Tuesday night. “Rush Limbaugh, thank you for your
February 4, 2020 6:00PM PT “Sylvie’s Love,” a sweeping period romance starring Tessa Thompson, has sold to Amazon Studios out of this year’s Sundance film festival, sources close to the deal told Variety. The sale, brokered by Endeavor Content on behalf of the filmmakers, closed in the high seven-figure range, insiders added. “Sylvie’s Love’ marks
In today’s film news roundup, Woody Harrelson will star in a satire, Kaitlyn Dever will be honored, and the docs “Saul & Ruby’s Holocaust Survivor Band” and “Before the Plate” find distribution. CASTINGS Woody Harrelson, Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean have signed to star in Ruben Östlund’s upcoming satire “Triangle Of Sadness.” The movie, set
CBS has picked up three more multi-camera pilots and one single-camera comedy pilot for the 2020-2021 season. The first hails from writers and executive producers Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, the co-creators of “Will & Grace.” Their CBS pilot is titled “Please Hold for Frankie Wolfe.” Wolfe is described as an unfiltered, irreverent, powerful businesswoman
Six-time Emmy winner Gene Reynolds, known for his writing, directing and producing for the lauded socially conscious 1970s TV shows “MASH” and “Lou Grant,” died Monday in Burbank, Calif. He was 96. Starting in 1993, Reynolds served four years as president of the Directors Guild of America, which confirmed his death. Asked to produce a
In response to ousted Recording Academy CEO Deborah Dugan’s request last week to be released from the arbitration agreement she signed when she took the job, the Academy has agreed to have the dispute heard publicly — however, that agreement is not as liberating as it at first sounds. Dugan said “The Academy intentionally brought
Jarin Blaschke — “The Lighthouse” The startling black-and-white cinematography of “The Lighthouse” struck a chord with the Academy, resulting in Blaschke’s first nom after 20 years of work in the independent film scene. Having previously collaborated with director Robert Eggers on their acclaimed horror film “The Witch,” the duo went to new lengths in psychological
February 4, 2020 4:00PM PT President Donald Trump will deliver his third State of the Union Tuesday night, amidst the Iowa caucus vote-reporting debacle and just one day before the Senate votes on the two impeachment charges against him. The final speech of Trump’s first term is set to begin at 6 p.m. PT/ 9
February 4, 2020 3:30PM PT Stephen Falk has signed on as creator and showrunner of the planned limited series about the rise and fall of WeWork. The series was originally announced in December, with “Succession” star Nicholas Braun attached to play WeWork co-founder Adam Neumann. No network or streaming service is currently attached to the
February 4, 2020 3:43PM PT HBO Max has announced that actress Jameela Jamil will serve as MC and judge on “Legendary,” the streaming service’s upcoming unscripted competition series. “Legendary” turns modern day ball culture into a competition, featuring divas battling on teams called “Houses” in challenges involving fashion, dance and voguing. Each house is comprised
In today’s TV news roundup, Danielle Deadwyler joined the cast of HBO Max’s “Station Eleven” adaptation and Netflix unveiled a teaser for “Altered Carbon” Season 2. CASTING Danielle Deadwyler has joined the cast of the HBO Max adaptation of “Station Eleven” in a recurring role, Variety has learned exclusively. She will play Miranda Carroll, the author
“Giving Voice” has won the Festival Favorite Award, selected by audience votes from the 128 features screened at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Sundance Institute made the announcement Tuesday, noting that “Boys State” and “On The Record” were the runner-ups for the award. Others in contention were “Binti,” “Crip Camp,” “The Fight,” “The Reason I
There was no better way to kick off the romantic month of February than with the premiere of “To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You,” where cast and crew debated about Lara Jean’s complicated love triangle and whether fans would be Team Peter or Team John after watching the film. The sequel finds
Sixty years. That’s how long a Louisiana judge sentenced Rob Richardson to serve for armed bank robbery. Garrett Bradley covers more than a third of that term in “Time,” and the cumulative impact — boiled down into an open-minded and deeply empathetic 81 minutes — will almost certainly rewire how Americans think about the prison-industrial
February 4, 2020 3:07PM PT “Thor” star Tom Hiddleston is set to front a 10-part political thriller for Netflix, Variety has confirmed. Produced by “Sex Education” firm Eleven, “White Stork” will find Hiddleston, whose most recent credits have largely related to the Marvel universe, playing politician James Cooper whose parliamentary ambitions and personal life are thwarted
Rihanna will receive the President’s Award — which recognizes special achievement and distinguished public service — at the 51st National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Image Awards on Feb. 22 in Pasadena, California. “Rihanna has not only enjoyed a groundbreaking career as an artist and musician, but has also distinguished herself as a
MADRID — Spanish writer-director José Luis Cuerda, a masterful modern practitioner of Spain’s central comedic tradition, died Feb. 4 in Madrid from a stroke. He was 72. He will also be remembered for discovering Alejandro Amenábar, especially producing his first feature, “Thesis.” Born in Albacete, central Spain, but moving to Madrid, Cuerda made his feature
February 4, 2020 2:50PM PT “The Mandalorian” could be taking a page from “The Avengers.” The hit Disney Plus series may introduce new heroes and villains who will star in their own spinoff shows, Walt Disney Company chairman Bob Iger told investors on Tuesday shortly after the company presented quarterly earnings. Iger said the company
February 4, 2020 2:22PM PT Jennifer Lin has been promoted to managing partner at the political consulting firm Gonring Spahn, which is changing its moniker to Gonring/Lin/Spahn. Lin has been with the firm since its launch in 2006 by DreamWorks SKG alums Andy Spahn and Jennifer Gonring. Lin previously worked with the pair in corporate
Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders held a lead in the Iowa caucus results, with about 62% of precincts reported late on Tuesday afternoon. Buttigieg led with 26.9% of the delegates, just ahead of Sanders with 25.1% of delegates. Sen. Elizabeth Warren trailed in third, with 18.3%, followed by former vice president Joe Biden
Following a spate of sexual misconduct allegations that prompted PBS to cancel “Tavis Smiley” in late 2017 and led to an ongoing legal dispute between the broadcaster and former talk show host, Smiley has taken to Facebook to defend himself ahead of the trial, which begins Monday. Citing a famous line from Arthur Miller’s “The
John Travolta is returning to TV for the first time since his turn as Robert Shapiro in “American Crime Story.” The actor has been cast to star opposite Kevin Hart in “Die Hart,” a comedy-action series coming to Quibi, the short-form content provider launching April 6. In “Die Hart,” Hart plays a fictionalized version of
February 4, 2020 2:41PM PT The spread of coronavirus in China could deal a blow to the operations of Disney’s theme parks in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Speaking during a call with investors Tuesday, Walt Disney executives said they expected the virus to result to affect $135 million in second-quarter operating income if its Shanghai