Last year, Susanne Daniels, YouTube’s global head of original content, was telling friends in the biz that her goal was to win an Emmy. Today, that’s decidedly not the central tenet of YouTube’s content strategy. The Google-owned video giant has retreated from battling in the subscription VOD arena with the likes of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read on if you have not watched the first seven episodes of Disney Plus’ “Star Wars” spinoff series “The Mandalorian.” After two or three episodes that felt like “The Mandalorian” was in cruise control, Chapter 7, ominously titled “The Reckoning,” kicked proceedings into hyperspace. Mando returns to Nevarro, the scene of his
December 18, 2019 9:21AM PT To celebrate her 18th birthday today, Billie Eilish posted an adorable video that combines footage of her as a child with clips of her and brother Finneas (presumably filmed by her mom, Maggie) performing in arenas on their recently wrapped tour. The clip opens with Eilish at around 4 years
When executive producer and host Geoff Keighley launched The Game Awards in 2014, he admits it was a “bold idea” to hold a major awards show primarily on streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube. But today, he can feel some validation. The annual gaming show, which was held last week at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater,
Read more from Variety’s Directors on Directors, in which filmmakers praise their favorite movies of the year, here. “Parasite” starts as a novel of manners that relentlessly metamorphoses into a black comedy, ghost story, psychological thriller, horror movie, and ends in an unexpected but inevitable tragedy. It was a unanimous Palme d’Or winner at the Cannes Film
Read more from Variety’s Directors on Directors, in which filmmakers praise their favorite movies of the year, here. Light and sky. Rain and wind. Sea and smoke. These are the fearsome natural elements that Robert Eggers’ “The Lighthouse” explores, creating a modern cinema that manages to look both backward and forward. Backward, to an almost square format
It’s hard to imagine that R. Kelly would be in jail today without “Surviving R. Kelly,” the Lifetime docuseries that aired just under a year ago and threw decades of sexual-assault and misconduct allegations against the singer into dramatic relief. Just six weeks after the series aired, the singer was arrested on a new set
Read more from Variety’s Directors on Directors, in which filmmakers praise their favorite movies of the year, here. The story that Todd Phillips tells in “Joker” and the issues that this cinematic masterpiece raises are so profound, so necessary, that if you look away from the genius of this work of art, you will miss the gift
The relaunch of National Lampoon as a comedy production house begins in earnest this week with the Dec. 19 debut of “National Lampoon Radio Hour,” a sketch comedy podcast written and performed by Cole Escola, Jo Firestone and clutch of rising-star comedians. On the latest episode of Variety‘s Strictly Business podcast, National Lampoon president Evan
The grand finale of “The Voice” season 17 saw the winner revealed, and also a downtick in the TV ratings from part 1 on Monday night. Last night’s finale scored a 1.3 rating among adults 18-49 and drew 8.6 million total viewers, level with part 1 in terms of rating, but down in total viewership.
December 18, 2019 7:30AM PT UFC fans will ring in the new year by being forced to pay a few bucks more to watch the MMA promoter’s premier pay-per-view events on ESPN Plus. Disney’s ESPN Plus will hike the price of UFC’s tentpole PPV events to $64.99 each, starting with UFC 246 on Jan. 18,
Disney Plus had snagged an estimated 24 million U.S. subscribers as of the end of November — and the strong debut for the Mouse House’s new streaming package boosted cancellations among Netflix customers, according to a new Wall Street analysis. The estimates come from the research team at Cowen & Co., based on a census-weighted
Sean “Diddy” Combs (a.k.a. Puff Daddy) will be the 2020 Grammy Salute To Industry Icons honoree in recognition of his 25-year career and “continuous influence on the music industry and beyond,” the Recording Academy announced today. The three-time Grammy winner will be celebrated at Clive Davis’ annual Pre-Grammy Gala on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020, the night before the
Filmmaker James Cameron had the idea for 2009’s “Avatar” brewing even before “Titanic” hit theaters in 1997. Born in Ontario, Canada’s tiny town of Kapuskasing, Cameron was inspired by the vast wilderness around him. Later, he took up scuba diving as a way of exploring the ocean. Those experiences in nature sparked his imagination and
Discovery’s Food Network has tapped Mary McCartney, British cookbook author, photographer and vegetarian advocate, in a bid to bring more subscribers into its recently launched subscription app. McCartney, who’s the daughter of famed Beatle Paul McCartney, worked with Food Network on a series of new on-demand cooking classes for the Food Network Kitchen app and
December 18, 2019 6:00AM PT “The Vampire Diaries” and “Tell Me a Story” star Paul Wesley has teamed with award-winning helmer Dekel Berenson to create projects under their new banner, Three Color Films. The pair are already working on their first short, “Abel,” shot in Yosemite, which turns on a father and son bonding over
December 18, 2019 4:33AM PT Legal proceedings have begun against a former employee of Taiwan-based production and distribution company A Really Happy Film (Taipei) who is alleged to have embezzled $3.3 million (NT$100 million) of the company’s funds over a four-year period. A Really Happy Film is controlled by Hong Kong filmmaker Jeffrey Chan, who
Poland’s Tako Media is to produce a local version of Russian comedy series “The Ivanovs vs. the Ivanovs” following a format deal with All Media. The series turns on the premise that two babies were accidentally swapped at birth and then brought up by two very different families – one rich, the other poor. When
Chinese films account for eight of the top ten films so far this year, as cinema box office in mainland China this week reached an all-time high. The 2018 total of RMB60.7 billion — $8.67 billion at current conversion rates – was overtaken on Friday, Dec. 13, according to data from online ticketing agency Maoyan.
December 18, 2019 12:01AM PT In its first season, “You” was more interesting as state-of-the-industry case-study than as television. A semi-satirical stalker drama whose ability to compel coexisted with certain deep flaws, “You” failed to catch on as a Lifetime series and seemed destined for a short life — up until it was, in its
In “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” there’s a lightsaber duel that’s pretty fantastic — not because of any unprecedented whirling-action whoa! factor (we have, after all, been through one or two of these my-sword-of-electric-fire-is-mightier-than-your-sword-of-electric-fire duels in our “Star Wars” lifetimes), but because of the emotions it channels. Visually, it’s a splendid fight. Rey (Daisy
Lionsgate has struck a deal with Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecoms firm, to further carry streaming service Lionsgate Play. Content will be available on the Airtel Xstream app and Airtel’s web platforms, which already have over 10,000 movies and shows, and 400 TV channels. Lionsgate Play sees a selection of Lionsgate and Starz content curated
Buena Vista Original Productions is re-teaming with Argentina’s Pampa Films (“Chinese Takeaway”) on “Mariposas,” a new BVOP original series set in 1950s Dominican Republic, under Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship, arguably the most bloody and extreme of any in recent Latin American history. The true events-inspired 13-episode fiction series, which has just initiated production, reunites Buena Vista
Netflix keeps getting news that helps it bolster the case that spending $175 million on “The Irishman,” its 209 minute-long Martin Scorsese-helmed mob epic, wasn’t an erroneous decision. Last Tuesday, Netflix announced that 26.4 million accounts globally streamed “The Irishman” (Nov. 1 theatrical release; Nov. 27 Netflix release), over the first 7 days on the
Spoiler Warning: Do not read ahead if you have not watched the second part of “The Voice’s” Season 17 finale on NBC. “The Voice” Season 17 crowned its winner on Tuesday night’s part two of the season finale. Jake Hoot took home the series’ top prize, beating out fellow top four contestants Katie Kadan, Ricky
CBS announced Tuesday evening that it will implement new policies and procedures following the ejection of “Survivor” contestant Dan Spilo amid misconduct allegations. The Hollywood talent manager was removed from Season 39 of the unscripted competition series after several female contestants had expressed discomfort over his physical conduct — contestant Kellee Kim, notably, had directly
Executive producer Don Hardy first teamed up with Guide Dogs for the Blind for a 2018 documentary that followed a litter of puppies from their birth through two years of training to become guide dogs. Entitled “Pick of the Litter,” the documentary showcased what it takes for these dogs (and the humans who raise them)
“His Dark Materials” star Morfydd Clark has landed a lead role in Amazon’s upcoming “Lord of the Rings” series. She joins a cast that includes Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle and Maxim Baldry. Sources say Clark will play young Galadriel, the character famously portrayed by Cate Blanchett in Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” and “The
In today’s TV news roundup, Quibi has greenlit a new series from Cam Newton and Netflix released the trailer for “John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch.” DATES Season 2 of “Narcos: Mexico” will premiere on Netflix on Feb. 13. Diego Luna returns as Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo (“Félix”), the leader of the Guadalajara cartel,
PR firm 42West has named PR veteran Susie Arons as president of strategic communications. Based in New York, Arons will oversee the bi-coastal operations of the strategic communications division and report to 42 West co-CEOs Leslee Dart and Amanda Lundberg. She will work closely with 42West entertainment marketing presidents Susan Ciccone and Tom Piechura. Prior