The Palm Springs Film Festival will present Cynthia Erivo with the breakthrough performance award at its annual film awards gala on Jan. 2 for her leading role in “Harriet.” “Harriet” tells the remarkable tale of Harriet Tubman’s transformation into one of America’s greatest heroes. Erivo’s performance in the slave drama as Tubman has already garnered
With less than eight weeks to go before the Academy Awards, it’s a scramble to the finish line for the artisans who create the looks, sounds and visual effects of this year’s awards contenders. This year, these craftspeople used visual-effects technology in surprising ways. VFX artists turned back time for Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci
French actor Claudine Auger, who broke through internationally with her part opposite Sean Connery in the James Bond film “Thunderball,” has died. She was 78. Auger’s talent agency Art Time announced the news and said she had died in Paris. Auger started her acting career with a small part in the 1958 film “Christine,” in
Collecting much Baby Yoda merch money this holiday season, Disney is — even if fans won’t get their mitts on the adorable creature until spring of 2020. Demand for Baby Yoda toys and collectible figures is strong: Currently, Mattel’s Baby Yoda plush (available for pre-order at $24.99) is the No. 1 best-selling product on Amazon
December 20, 2019 2:53AM PT Following NENT Group and NBCUniversal’s long-term content partnership signed earlier this year, the two companies have inked a first-window deal for kids and family programming. Under the agreement, NENT Group will distribute NBCUniversal’s kids series and family content and DreamWorks Animation film catalogue on Viaplay streaming service and Viasat pay-TV
BERLIN — Described as continental Europe’s most expensive show ever, epic crime drama “Babylon Berlin” will bow on Sky’s streaming service on Jan. 24, now set in 1929, with a new murder mystery, based on “The Silent Death”, the second novel in Volker Kutscher’s trilogy, though the same intent: To trace with large artistic ambition
UPDATED: “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” is expected to the biggest film of the weekend globally and in North America, where an opening weekend of $170 million-$200 million is likely. But in China, it’s on course to be the weakest-performing installment of the new batch of “Star Wars” films. On Friday, in its first
Exclusive TMZ.com Tekashi 6ix9ine could catch an even bigger break — getting out of prison much sooner than the end of 2020, if a few small stars align for him. Tekashi could be back on the streets by early August based on the good behavior guidelines established by the Bureau of Prisons … according to
December 20, 2019 12:01AM PT Into the absence left by “Game of Thrones” strides “The Witcher,” perhaps the most credible of several recent attempts to capture its predecessor’s robust claim on audience affections. Like “Thrones,” “The Witcher” is based on an existing series of novels (by Andrzej Sapkowski, whose work has also been adapted into
December 19, 2019 9:04PM PT The inaugural Variety International Achievement in Music Award was presented to Andrea Bocelli onstage at Madison Square Garden Wednesday evening by Variety‘s EVP of content and executive editor, Steven Gaydos. Boceilli’s wife Veronica Berti and their young daughter, Virginia, joined Bocelli and Gaydos for the award ceremony onstage at the
At this point, six rounds into a seemingly endless and interminable election cycle, the Democratic debate routine appeared to be set. An assortment of candidates would take the stage to battle each other, the president, and the same spate of questions over and over again. For a primary that’s about as wide open as they
MSNBC is reworking its Saturday and Sunday schedules, giving Ali Velshi a morning program and adding Alicia Menendez to the roster. The NBCUniversal-owned cable-news outlet will pluck Velshi from its weekday schedule, and give him a morning program that stretches from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The move opens up the weekday
Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Mayor Pete Buttigieg got into a heated battle over high-dollar fundraising in Thursday night’s debate, with Warren slamming the mayor for holding a fundraiser in a Napa Valley wine cave. Buttigieg countered by accusing Warren of hypocrisy, describing himself as the least wealthy person on the stage and blasting Warren for
ViacomCBS is close to a deal to buy a minority stake in Miramax, according to two individuals with knowledge of the talks. The pact could be finalized as early as Friday. The investment is said to be in the neighborhood of $100 million. As part of the arrangement, ViacomCBS will have the right to distribute
December 19, 2019 4:49PM PT Read more from Variety’s Directors on Directors, in which filmmakers praise their favorite movies of the year, here. It’s a pleasure to write this particular piece about Rian Johnson as over the last 10 years or so, he’s become one of my best friends in Hollywood; the perfect person to talk to at
December 19, 2019 4:45PM PT Wednesday night’s vote in the House of Representatives to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress drew a considerable number of viewers across the cable news networks and NBC. In total, a little over 16 million total viewers tuned in around 9 p.m. to see the
In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix released the launch date and teaser for “Leslie Jones: Time Machine” and HBO announced the premiere date for “The Plot Against America.” DATES “High Maintenance” will return to HBO for Season 4 on Feb. 7. Created by Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair, the show’s fourth season follows The Guy
The planned series based on Anne Rice’s “The Vampire Chronicles” is no longer in the works at Hulu, Variety has confirmed. According to sources, Rice and her team is once again shopping her intellectual property as a major TV package; according to one insider, the asking price is around $40 million. “The Vampire Chronicles” series
Making the rounds for a new overall talent deal, “Modern Family” star Sofia Vergara met with producer Fremantle this week to discuss opportunities including a judge slot on “America’s Got Talent,” Variety has learned. Vergara’s current pact with ABC, home to “Modern Family” for 11 seasons, expires in 2020. Insiders said Vergara sat for a
When My Chemical Romance teased four cryptic logos and then subsequently announced a one-night-only reunion show on Oct. 31, Killjoys rightfully lost their minds. The band hadn’t performed together since 2012 and officially announced its breakup on March 22, 2013. Unanswered questions were aplenty: did it mean new music? Would a full-length tour be announced
Though Sam Mendes’ epic war drama “1917” was largely inspired by the real-life experiences of his paternal grandfather, a World War I veteran, the director was driven by a greater motivation when telling the film’s story. Mendes explained that he feared WWI, once deemed “the war to end all wars,” and the lessons learned from
Netflix has ordered “The Midnight Gospel,” an animated series from “Adventure Time” creator Pendleton Ward and comedian and host Duncan Trussell. The series will debut on the streaming service in 2020. Co-creators Ward and Trussell will executive produce the eight-episode series, which is “set in a fantastical universe” and draws on interview clips from Duncan
We’ve got impeachment on the brain and the remaining Democratic presidential candidates probably do too. The top seven qualifying candidates will take the stage in Los Angeles on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET and there are plenty of ways to follow along. The debate — co-hosted by Politico — will be broadcast by PBS. In
The Paley Center will soon be vacating its Beverly Hills digs, four years sooner than planned. The bicoastal org, which also maintains a headquarters building in New York, confirmed to Variety that it will move out of its Beverly Hills location in mid-2020. The Paley Center has occupied the location since 1995, when it opened
While growing up in Queens, N.Y., Awkwafina says she never knew what she wanted to be when she grew up. “I really think a big source of my anxiety, which is one of the first things I ever remember feeling, is that I didn’t know,” she says on the latest episode of “The Big Ticket,”
Ten years ago, Netflix was an innocuous DVD-by-mail company, the Marvel tsunami was just testing the water with “Iron Man” and “Thor,” and the “Star Wars” empire still belonged to George Lucas, not Disney. The only celebrity to become President of the United States was “Bedtime for Bonzo” star Ronald Reagan, Amazon was a place
Unfortunately for Wakandians, the U.S. government will no longer partner with the fictional kingdom. Until yesterday, Wakanda, the main setting of Marvel’s “Black Panther,” was listed as a free trade agreement partner of the U.S. on the agricultural tariff tracker maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service. Francis Tseng, a research fellow
A jury awarded an $8.6 million verdict on Thursday in the death of “Walking Dead” stuntman John Bernecker, who fell to his death on the set of the show in Senoia, Ga., in July 2017. The jurors found that AMC Networks’ entity, TWD 8, and its production company, Stalwart Films, were negligent in Bernecker’s death.
Cox Communications was hit with a $1 billion verdict on Thursday in a lawsuit alleging that it allowed its internet subscribers to illegally download music. The jury delivered the verdict after a three-week trial in federal court in Alexandria, Va., finding that Cox was liable for infringement of 10,017 recordings and compositions, each infringement costing
Universal Pictures is in talks with the Lego Group to develop new feature film properties based on the popular block toys, numerous sources close to the pending deal told Variety. Producer Dan Lin, who has made several films based on the childhood staple at Warner Bros., is expected to remain on future projects despite his