Along with SZA and H.E.R., London-born Ella Mai has brought old-school soul singing back to mainstream R&B after a long hiatus. Her talent already has earned her a best R&B song Grammy for her 2018 hit “Boo’d Up,” and this year, her self-titled debut is in the running for best R&B album. While she’s on
In today’s film news roundup, “Bombshell” writer Charles Randolph and production designers William J. Creber and Roland Anderson are set for honors and Abrams Agency opens a London office. AWARD WINNERS Charles Randolph has been named the recipient of the Writers Guild of America West’s 2020 Paul Selvin Award in recognition of his script for
We now know a little bit more about whether a “Friends” reunion is ever bound for forthcoming streamer HBO Max, if the Harry Potter franchise will make its way to the service, and what the new Green Lantern series will entail. While many fans are no doubt interested in a “Friends” reunion of some sort,
January 15, 2020 4:36PM PT The dust continues to settle from the merger of Viacom and CBS. Global licensing and distribution chief Armando Nuñez on Wednesday rolled out changes to the executive leadership of ViacomCBS’ global distribution group. The announcement in a memo to staff comes as the newly combined company looks to streamline operations,
January 15, 2020 4:34PM PT WWE Hall of Famer and Dwayne Johnson’s father Rocky “Soul Man” Johnson died on Wednesday. He was 75. His cause of death is not currently known. “Soul Man” made history as the first African American world tag team champion as a member of the Soul Patrol alongside Tony Atlas. After
NBC has announced its second drama pilot pickup of the 2020-2021 season. The broadcaster has given out a pilot order for the drama “La Brea,” which hails from writer and executive producer David Appelbaum. In the series, when a massive sinkhole mysteriously opens in Los Angeles, it tears a family in half, separating mother and
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has “over-delivered right out of the gate” for TNT, according to Kevin Reilly. Reilly — the chief content officer for HBO Max and president of TNT, TBS, and truTV — spoke with Variety at the Television Critics Association winter press tour on Wednesday in the wake of the announcement that the pro
After bouncing its gritty drama “Snowpiercer” from TNT to TBS and back to TNT again, the networks formerly known as Turner experienced a bit of a brand identity crisis last year. But as its execs prepare to launch the streaming service HBO Max, they’re also re-establishing unique brand markers for basic cable flagships TNT, TBS
Makoto Shinkai’s “Weathering With You,” which tells the tale of a young boy who falls for a girl with the power to stop ceaseless rainstorms pounding Tokyo, marks the first time an anime has been chosen as Japan’s foreign-language Oscar entry. The GKIDS release echoes an element of Shinkai’s previous anime, “Your Name,” a body-swapping story that was
The sun never sets on the British entertainment empire. Whether it’s the BBC’s “Blue Planet II” wowing TV viewers in Beijing or Paddington Bear’s new movie making kids squeal in Bulgaria or the latest West End hit thrilling theater buffs on Broadway, Britain’s cultural offerings have conquered consumers the world over. Like the U.K.’s diplomatic prowess
Lana Condor reprises her starring role as Lara Jean Song Covey in “To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You,” one of two sequels to Netflix’s hit teen rom-com “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” which debuted in 2018. But despite her top billing in the series, based on books by Jenny Han,
Sean Hayes knows what it’s like to be a guest, a voter, a nominee and a winner at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. But this year, he’ll experience the show from an entirely different angle: backstage, as a producer. Hayes and his longtime producing partner, Todd Milliner, are behind the latest awards show, partnering with veteran
January 15, 2020 2:55PM PT Clio Massey has been named General Manager, Work of Art Publishing and has added the role of Vice President of A&R at Arista Records, it was announced today. According to the announcement, at Work of Art, Massey will oversee business operations and development of the company’s roster of songwriters. Since
Nasim Pedrad first created her comedy, “Chad,” in which she also stars as the titular teenage Persian boy, in 2016. Then it was set up as a pilot at Fox, but now, as Iran is increasingly in the news due to Donald Trump’s strike on military leader Qassem Soleimani, the show prepares to launch its
January 15, 2020 2:27PM PT Just four months after releasing her “Sunshine Kitty” album, Tove Lo surprised fans today with two brand-new songs — collaborations with Billie Eilish’s brother Finneas, no less — “Bikini Porn” and the succinctly titled “Passion and Pain Taste the Same When I’m Weak.” In an interview with Variety last fall,
Hotly anticipated “Game of Thrones” straight-to-series spinoff “House of the Dragon” is likely to premiere in 2022, HBO programming chief Casey Bloys told Variety at the Television Critics Assn. tour on Wednesday, calling that his “best guess.” He was not able to narrow down a more precise premiere date at this stage of development. No
ABC Studios has signed ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ showrunner Liz Tigelaar to a two-year overall pod deal, with Tigelaar’s new company Best Day Ever adding Netflix exec Stacey Silverman as her producing partner. “I am so excited to call ABC Studios home,” said Tigelaar. “I feel eternally grateful to Dana, Craig, Jonnie and their entire team
There are more changes afoot at ViacomCBS as oversight of cable channel Pop TV will shift from the Showtime group to the Entertainment & Youth group of channels headed by Chris McCarthy. At the same time, Bellator MMA, the ViacomCBS-owned company that produces MMA events and manages a roster of fighters, will be now report
Nicole Kidman has some discouraging news for “Big Little Lies” fans waiting for a third season: There’s still nothing in the works for a return to Monterey in the immediate future. Kidman has re-teamed with “Big Little Lies” writer David E. Kelley for the six-part limited series “The Undoing,” and met with reporters on Wednesday
Exclusive TMZ/Getty Kylie Jenner‘s undies might be hot sellers, but they’re also a ripoff … at least according to a company claiming she and her sister, Kendall, stole its lace design for their lingerie lines. The Jenner sisters just got slapped with a lawsuit filed by Klauber Bros., Inc. — which designs 2-dimensional artwork for
The Harvey Weinstein trial has already seen its share of pyrotechnics. The defense asked last week for a new judge — denied — and for more time to question the prospective jurors, which included, of all people, model Gigi Hadid. But despite the distractions, opening arguments are still on course to begin next week, Variety has
“American Dad!” is sticking around for at least two more years. TBS has renewed the adult animated comedy for two more seasons. The series will hit the rare 300 episode mark in 2020, becoming one of the few scripted television shows to reach that milestone. The series was created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker and
Mark Ruffalo revealed that he gained 30 pounds in order to play one of the two twins in the upcoming HBO series “I Know This Much Is True.” At the show’s Television Critics’ Association press tour panel, Ruffalo said that the character of Thomas has a mental illness which means has has to take “stabilizers
Paradigm is undergoing a high-level restructuring. Variety has learned exclusively that the agency has promoted longtime agents Scott Henderson, Scott Metzger, Andrew Ruf, and recently hired chief marketing officer Lori Feldman to managing partners. Sam Gores remains CEO while Greg Bestick remains president and Marty Diamond continues to head up Paradigm’s music division. According to
Live from Austin, Texas, it’s Pete Davidson. The “Saturday Night Live” comedian will be opening this year’s SXSW Film Festival. The annual gathering in Austin will kick off this year with “King of Staten Island,” the much-anticipated autobiographical comedy based on Davidson’s upbringing in the New York borough. Judd Apatow, who is no stranger to
The 27th edition of the SXSW Film Festival will feature a romantic caper starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani, a documentary about the Beastie Boys directed by Spike Jonze, a “hidden camera” comedy headlined by Tiffany Haddish and an autobiographical studio vehicle from Pete Davidson. Thousands of moviegoers will flock to Austin, Texas, starting on
A new documentary association for Europe is looking to serve as a political lobby group and support network for the next generation of filmmakers and non-fiction communities across the continent. Based out of Berlin, the Documentary Association of Europe (DAE) hopes to complement the work of the L.A.-based International Documentary Association (IDA), which recently filed
After skipping “Independence Day 2” and the latest reboot of “Men in Black,” returning to the “Bad Boys” franchise — which began 25 years ago — was a simple decision for Will Smith. “Of all the movies I’ve done, when people walk up on you on the street and say, ‘Hey man, when are you
To a pin-drop silent audience at the winter TCA panel for her HBO limited series “The Plot Against America,” Zoe Kazan addressed the actions of her grandfather, director Elia Kazan — specifically when he named names to the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1952. The show, based on Philip Roth’s novel of the same name,
Exclusive Details O.J. Simpson‘s reputation as a violent convicted criminal is already SO HORRIBLE, it’s basically impossible to inflict even more damage to it … so says the Vegas hotel locking horns with Juice in a defamation case. As we previously reported, Simpson’s suing the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas over a Nov. 8, 2017 incident