West coast rapper Roddy Ricch barely made a blip on the charts when his debut mixtape came out last year, but he didn’t have to worry about being overlooked with his proper solo bow, “Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial.” It debuted at No. 1 on the Rolling Stone albums chart with 101,500 album units,
‘Tis the season for controversy. “The First Temptation of Christ” — a Netflix Christmas comedy special that portrays a gay Jesus and Mary smoking weed — has sparked backlash. A petition has circulated demanding the special to be pulled on the grounds that it is offensive to Christians. “The First Temptation of Christ” was created
December 16, 2019 11:02AM PT Based on the director’s boyhood memories of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, “1982” excels in visual acumen and narrative balance, which compensate for script weaknesses. Director Oualid Mouaness’ enriching use of images and sensitivity to narrative balance outweigh his unexceptional dialogue in “1982.” Even with such a caveat, his debut
After the (literally) explosive finale of HBO’s “Watchmen,” Variety’s TV critics came together to discuss it, the season, and what made the show such wild and compelling television. (Beware SPOILERS for all nine episodes of “Watchmen.”) Caroline Framke: All I knew going into the finale of “Watchmen” was that I had no idea what was
It’s another end-of-the-decade walk through memory lane: Spotify is taking listeners on a journey through the last 10 years in music with a new original podcast, “The Decade Wrapped.” “The Decade Wrapped” podcast is hosted by Eric Eddings, who is joined by critics, comedians, influencers and writers — with special guests including Lele Pons, Robin
Les Arcs Film Festival celebrated British filmmaker Sarah Gavron (“Suffragette,” “Rocks”) with the Femmes de Cinema Award during a ceremony on Sunday. The award, created by Les Arcs festival in partnership with Sisley, celebrates visionary female filmmakers from Europe and is aimed at boosting the representation of women in the film industry. Gavron last directed
Welcome back to Tune In: our weekly newsletter offering a guide to the best of the week’s TV. Each week, Variety’s TV team combs through the week’s schedule, selecting our picks of what to watch and when/how to watch them. This week, “The Witcher” debuts on Netflix and “Mr. Robot” comes to an end on
Foo Fighters, Alice Cooper, H.E.R., John Legend, John Mayer, Gary Clark Jr., the Jonas Brothers, Emily King and Yola will perform in homage to Aerosmith at the 2020 MusiCares Person of the Year tribute concert on Jan. 24. Greg Phillinganes will be the musical director, with additional guest performers to be announced. Aerosmith is being
ICM Partners has become the latest Hollywood talent agency to partner with a private equity firm, selling a one-third stake in the agency to Crestview Partners for about $150 million. The deal marks a milestone for the current iteration of ICM, which became a partner-owned agency in May 2012 when Chris Silbermann and 28 other
CBS’ annual broadcast of the “Kennedy Center Honors” drew a three-year viewership high in the Sunday night TV ratings. The special was watched by just under 7 million total viewers, up around 500,000 from last year and almost 1 million from 2017. However, ratings-wise the honors show, which this year featured performances from the likes
Brad Pitt will receive the Maltin Modern Master Award at the 35th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Jan. 22. The actor-producer is being saluted for his longstanding contributions to the film industry. The Modern Master Award, established in 1995, is the highest accolade presented by SBIFF. “Brad Pitt wears the mantle of movie
Gabrielle Union alluded to her firing from NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” Monday morning at the launch of her holiday collection with New York and Company. During a panel titled The Power of Inclusivity and the Women Leading The Charge, Union talked about speaking up and doing the right thing in her career. “How many checks
Patrick Stewart’s return as Captain Picard isn’t going to be a one-season affair. CBS All Access has renewed “Star Trek: Picard” for a second season, over a month before its first season debuts. The new show stars Stewart as he reprises his iconic, titular role as Jean-Luc Picard, which he played for seven seasons on “Star
Solve, the interactive true-crime and mystery studio that spun out of Elisabeth Murdoch’s Vertical Networks, is diving into podcasting with plans to develop content in other media formats in 2020. The L.A.-based startup has raised $20 million in funding from Elisabeth Murdoch, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Upfront Ventures and Shari Redstone’s Advancit Capital. The funding came
Malgorzata Szumowska, best director winner at the Berlin Film Festival for “Body,” has started shooting “Wonder Zenia,” starring “Stranger Things” actor Alec Utgoff, on location in and around Warsaw. Utgoff, who played Alexei in the third season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” and also appeared in “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,” stars in the title role in
Rose McGowan called out Harvey Weinstein after the disgraced mogul gave a bizarre interview before his impending sex crimes trial, in which he claims he’s a “forgotten man.” “I didn’t forget you, Harvey. My body didn’t forget you. I wish it could,” McGowan, one of Weinstein’s most vocal accusers, wrote on Twitter Monday morning. “I
Exclusive Getty Composite Lira Galore is a liar, and a forgetful one at that, according to Quality Control CEO “Pee” Thomas … who’s firing back at his baby mama’s claims he’s abusive and an unfit father. First off, “Pee” flat-out denies Lira’s allegations he was physically abusive to her a handful of times … including
San Francisco-based virtual reality startup Bigscreen has teamed up with Paramount Pictures to bring the theater experience to VR headsets: Bigscreen will begin showing classic Paramount movies like “Interstellar” and “Star Trek” in a virtual movie theater, where users can watch the films together with friends. Much like a traditional theater, Bigscreen won’t overwhelm users
“Game of Thrones” star Natalie Dormer has launched Dog Rose Productions, which will work up projects that Fremantle has first-look rights to co-develop and distribute. The two parties are already collaborating on “Vivling,” a look at the life of “Gone With the Wind” star Vivien Leigh. Their next project together is “Spitfire Sisters,” an eight-part
December 16, 2019 6:55AM PT Independent label and distribution powerhouse EMPIRE, home to Young Dolph, Iggy Azalea and Too $hort, among others, has promoted Eamon Mulligan to VP of product and e-commerce; Moody Jones to VP of digital and creative; Kush Arora to director of operations; and Harrison Golding to director of marketing and creative.
Play video content TMZ.com Nipsey Hussle‘s former bodyguard went after The Game‘s manager during the rapper’s set Sunday night … apparently over some disrespectful comments made about Hussle. Sources close to the situation tell TMZ … Nip’s bodyguard and close friend, J Roc, attacked Wack 100 backstage at the Rolling Loud Festival while The Game
December 16, 2019 6:44AM PT Chance the Rapper announced on Sunday that he has cancelled his arena tour in support of his most recent album, “Big Day.” He had postponed it just five days before it was scheduled to start in September; the tour had been rescheduled to launch in San Diego on Jan. 15. “Hey
Dish Network customers with the satellite operator’s Hopper 3 DVR now have full access to the Amazon Prime Video app directly on their TV. Amazon Prime joins Dish’s lineup of integrated streaming options available on the Hopper 3, including Netflix, YouTube and YouTube Kids, and SiriusXM’s Pandora. Prime Video is available to all Hopper 3
December 16, 2019 6:20AM PT [embedded content] Tom Cruise is feeling the need for speed (again) in the official trailer for Paramount Pictures’ “Top Gun: Maverick,” a sequel to his 1986 classic. The action-packed footage sees Cruise returning, after 30 years of service, as a flight school instructor. “I have to admit I wasn’t expecting
For those who know Texas resident Andy Forbes and his fiancé Wendee, it comes as little surprise that their first act as newlyweds will be watching a “Star Wars” movie. She’ll be donning Princess Leia’s signature buns; he’ll be wearing a Stormtrooper costume. The duo, both in their early 30s, is one of two couples
Late last month, James Blake scored his first solo Grammy nomination in six years — so how better to celebrate than a solo piano tour, with comedians as the opening act? It’s actually a fittingly unpredictable move for an unpredictable musician. An accomplished singer, songwriter and pianist, he made his name early this decade with
ABC News and Apple News are teaming up to provide news coverage of the 2020 election. Starting with the February 7 Democratic primary debate in New Hampshire, Apple News, will start to feature news videos and live-streaming coverage from ABC News during key moments in the 2020 race for the White House, along with polling
December 16, 2019 6:00AM PT Netflix has renewed the comedy series “Special” for a second season. Based on Ryan O’Connell’s book ‘I’m Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves,’ the series centers on a gay man (O’Connell) with mild cerebral palsy who decides to rewrite his identity as an accident victim and finally go after
The California Film Commission has chosen four new shows to receive tax credits through the Film & TV Tax Credit Program 2.0. Those shows are “The Dropout” (Searchlight TV), “Grease” (Paramount), “Nine Perfect Strangers” (Endeavor Content) starring and executive produced by Nicole Kidman, and “Untitled Showtime Lakers Project” (HBO) from executive producer Adam McKay. In
December 16, 2019 6:00AM PT Will Smith makes a likable animated superspy — at least, until he morphs into a cranky pigeon in this energetically empty kiddie espionage caper. There are two ways to encapsulate the aesthetic of Blue Sky Studios, the digital animation company that was launched in 1987 and has been a major player