Hipgnosis Songs announced Thursday that it has acquired a music catalog from producer Emile Haynie. According to the announcement, Hipgnosis has purchased 100% of Haynie’s worldwide copyrights to 122 songs including Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness,” Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out Of Heaven” and “Runaway” by Kanye West featuring Pusha T, among others. Haynie has built
There’s a scene late in “Chhapaak,” writer-director Meghna Gulzar’s stirringly crafted and intelligently uplifting fact-based drama, where Malti (Deepika Padukone), the survivor of a horrific assault, tentatively expresses her warm feelings to Amol (Vikrant Massey), the crusading activist who has taken up the cause of women who have suffered similar attacks. But, true to form
After a four-day delay, the Directors Guild of America has finished announcing this year’s TV nominees, includng Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Television Dramatic Series; Comedy Series; and Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials for 2019. With all of the categories in, Amazon Prime Video’s “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” now ties FX’s “Fosse/Verdon” for most nominations, with three apiece. “Maisel”
January 10, 2020 5:03PM PT CNN has agreed to pay $76 million to settle a back pay case involving union workers that marks the largest “monetary remedy” in the 85-year history of National Labor Relations Board. The dispute began in 2003 when CNN fired a group of unionized subcontractors working as video technicians and in
January 10, 2020 5:00PM PT NBC has given out its first official pilot order of the season to a series adaptation of the comedy film “Night School.” Kevin Hart — who starred in, co-wrote and produced the film — will executive produce the pilot along with Will Packer, who was also a producer on the
January 10, 2020 4:55PM PT “Venom” director Ruben Fleischer will likely direct “Uncharted,” the long-gestating, oft-delayed adaptation of the popular video game of the same name. There’s no deal in place and Fleischer is said to be atop a list of other candidates being considered by Sony Pictures, but insiders say the job is his
Christian music star TobyMac has channeled his anguish over his adult son’s sudden death in October into a new song and music video, “21 Years,” that is full of gospel overtones but doesn’t sugar-coat the anguish and questioning the singer continues to feel over the tragedy. “The last couple of months have been the hardest
Whether you were a lover of the Rush drummer’s restlessly inventive and polyrhythmic percussive tricks or a fanatic for his science fiction-inspired lyrics, news of Neil Peart’s death at 67 from brain cancer shocked and saddened all. Peart was legendarily a musician’s musician, and his passing immediately turned rockers of all stripes tearful at the
Oprah Winfrey is backing away from an untitled documentary from acclaimed filmmakers Amy Ziering and Kirby Dick, two weeks before the film was set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. Winfrey joined the project as an executive producer and set the doc to release as part of her overall deal with Apple TV Plus.
January 10, 2020 4:07PM PT “All Things Considered” host Ari Shapiro has signed with CAA, Variety has learned. Before serving as one of the hosts of NPR’s award-winning afternoon news magazine program, Shapiro was NPR’s White House and international correspondent based in London. He was the first NPR reporter promoted to correspondent before the age
At the conclusion of Selena Gomez’s new album, “Rare,” Spotify autoplayed a song from her previous full-length, 2015’s “Revival,” that sounded almost sophomoric by comparison. It’s hard to think of a more dramatic example of how far Gomez has come musically in nearly five years: “Rare” is one of the best pop albums to be
Paul Rosenfeld, former Gramercy Pictures’ veteran head of distribution, died Tuesday at his home in Portland, Ore. He was 71. Rosenfeld was one of the most well-known film buyers in the exhibition industry. He began his career working as a young film booker at Walter Reade theater in New York. 20th Century Fox film executive
In today’s TV news roundup, Comedy Central has renewed “This Week at the Comedy Cellar” and HBO released the premiere date for Season 18 of “Real Time with Bill Maher.” DATES Season 18 of “Real Time with Bill Maher” will premiere Jan. 17, HBO announced. The upcoming season starts off with a bang as it
After nearly 40 years of reporting the news, on Friday, “Entertainment Tonight” is making it. The four-time Emmy Award-winning show has claimed the Guinness World Record for the longest-running entertainment news TV show. The award is based on the amount of time a series has been on the air. To date, “ET” has officially broadcast
In 2001, at 22, Josh Hartnett was supposed to become the next Leonardo DiCaprio or Matt Damon. His back-to-back roles in Michael Bay’s “Pearl Harbor” and Ridley Scott’s “Black Hawk Down” catapulted him onto the A-list. He graced magazine covers, the paparazzi stalked his personal life and directors pursued him for blockbusters and comic-book vehicles.
After a historic year for women directors, the Academy Awards have followed the regressive path established this awards season by the Golden Globes, SAG Awards and the BAFTAs by not nominating any women for best director. Despite having been shut out in the run-up to the Oscars, “Little Women” director Greta Gerwig was still considered a frontrunner
Bright red wigs, red sequin gowns, and red stacked platform heels filled up the red carpet at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, Calif. Thursday night as the “AJ and the Queen” premiere kicked off and drag queens and more attendees glitzed up the scene and gathered to celebrate RuPaul’s new Netflix series. Red was the
Seth MacFarlane is on the move with a big new overall deal at NBCUniversal Content Studios, the new unit of NBCUniversal under Bonnie Hammer. The deal came in through Universal Content Productions president Dawn Olmstead. According to sources, the deal is for five years and valued at nearly $200 million. NBCUniversal declined to comment on
Exclusive TMZ Ex-“Love and Hip Hop” star Mally Mall is facing a new lawsuit for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman, who claims she went to his home to talk business and ended up in an orgy-like nightmare. 26-year-old fitness and clothing model Quashay Davis says she flew from Dallas to L.A. in January 2019 to
Neil Peart, the legendary drummer of Rush, has died, according to an announcement from the band. He was 67. The cause of death, according to a spokesperson, was brain cancer. Peart passed on Tuesday, January 7th, in Santa Monica. Widely considered one of the most innovative drummers in rock history, Peart was famous for his state-of-the-art
Mark Pedowitz has been named chairman and CEO of the CW Network. The veteran television exec’s new deal will keep him ensconsed at the ViacomCBS-WarnerMedia joint venture, where he has served as president for nearly a decade. Pedowitz last renewed his deal with the CW two years ago this month. The extension and elevation solidify
Fresh off his Golden Globe win and ahead of Oscar nominations being announced, Joaquin Phoenix was arrested, along with other climate change protestors, on Friday, Variety has confirmed. Jane Fonda’s last Fire Drill Friday protest in Washington, D.C., saw the actor march with hundreds, including stars Martin Sheen, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Susan Sarandon, and give
PBS boss Paula Kerger admitted that the upcoming presidential election will likely be one of the most hostile in history. However, she said PBS intends to remain focused on the facts and the biggest issues facing Americans in its coverage. Speaking during her executive session at the network’s Television Critics Association press tour day, Kerger
Golden Age of Streaming who? Despite an influx of entertainment options on Netflix, Hulu and now Disney Plus, global box office receipts will surpass $42.5 billion in 2019, according to Comscore, cementing a new industry high. Though U.S. ticket sales slumped 4.4% to $11.4 billion, international audiences fueled the record turnout. Overseas revenues also set
Melanie Laurent, the successful French actor (“Inglourious Basterds”) and filmmaker (“Gaveston”), is set to write and direct “The Mad Women’s Ball,” a period thriller based on the award-wining novel by Victoria Mas. Alain Goldman’s Legende Films, the well-established French production outfit behind Marion Cotillard starrer “La Môme,” “The Round Up” and “An Officer and a
As the grisly, counterfactual but oddly rosy ending of “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” continues to be a point of debate among critics and audiences, along comes “The Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson” to remind even the most insistent detractors of Tarantino’s what-if rewrite of the Manson murders how much worse things could be.
January 10, 2020 11:00AM PT “The Outsider” is a new HBO drama with top-shelf talent in front of and behind the camera. It’s a crime story that uses a single horrifying case to extrapolate outwards a story about a society haunted by soul-sickness and, perhaps, a boundless and supernatural evil. And it pairs unlikely collaborators
Justin Chambers is leaving “Grey’s Anatomy” after 15 years on the ABC series. Chambers played Alex Karev in the series, who started off as a surgical intern at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital before eventually rising to the position of resident, and later becoming a pediatric surgical fellow. Sources confirmed to Variety that the Nov.
January 10, 2020 10:30AM PT Coming off the back of another year of historic wide receiver play, New Orleans Saints star Michael Thomas has signed with UTA for off-the-field representation. The talent agency will work with Thomas to pursue opportunities across film, TV, licensing and endorsements, as well as speaking, digital media and publishing, among
Selena Gomez explained the difference between her new album, “Rare,” and 2015’s “Revival” in an intimate conversation with radio personality JoJo Wright and fans at the iHeartRadio Theater LA on Thursday, ahead of “Rare’s” release. “I feel like it is, not better, but it’s a piece of work that I think is better,” Gomez said.