Two organizations dedicated to the inclusion and representation of Asian American communities in media have condemned comedian Jay Leno, and called on network NBC to sever its business ties with the former late night host. Both organizations — Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and the Media Action Network for Asian Americans — refer to a joke
Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp has posted a 50% drop in revenues during the first half of the 2019-20 financial year even as the financially ailing company tries to finalize a rescue deal with its junior lender, Vine Alternative Investments. EuropaCorp’s revenues fell to €40.7 million ($45 million) during the six months ending Sept. 30. The company
Penny Furr was Kathy Scruggs’ roommate when the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter got a major scoop involving the investigation into the Centennial Olympic Park bombing. Scruggs had discovered that Richard Jewell, the security guard who had evacuated the area before the bomb exploded, saving dozens of lives in the process, was a suspect in the attack.
Desiree Perez has been elevated to CEO of Roc Nation after serving at chief operating officer since 2009. Along with Jay-Z, Perez is a co-founder of Roc Nation. In her new position, Perez is tasked with overseeing all 14 Roc Nation verticals, which includes music management, publishing, sports agency among a slew of diversified businesses,
There have been multiple film and TV versions of “Little Women.” But composer Alexandre Desplat and writer-director Greta Gerwig had a non-traditional idea for Sony’s 2019 version: “We wanted the music to be a duet of Mozart and Bowie,” Desplat laughs. There are no rock music touches in the score, but there is a modern
A group of approximately 150 editorial workers who help produce some of NBC News digital content have formed a union, citing a desire to push their employer to work more seriously through such issues as equal pay and the recent handling of sensitive stories. Editorial employees of NBC News Digital won certification of their union
WWE inked a partnership with TikTok as the wrestling entertainment company looks to tap into the popular short-form video app’s young-skewing audience. WWE launched an official account on TikTok, which already has over 100,000 followers. As part of the pact, WWE is making available its entrance themes for more than 30 Superstars and Hall of
The Fox Nation streaming-video service has long been touted as a new option for super-fans of the Fox News Channel. But some of the broadband hub’s new programming choices suggest adherents of “Fox & Friends” and Sean Hannity aren’t looking solely for chatter about politics and interviews with members of the Trump administration. Subscribers to
In today’s film news roundup, a Clarence Thomas documentary and “Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always” are getting theatrical releases, and Lionsgate is developing a Rabbids movie. RELEASE DATES Manifold Productions has slated “Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words” to open in theaters nationwide on Jan. 31, Variety has learned exclusively. The documentary about the
Following the news that character actor Danny Aiello died on Thursday night, friends and peers of the “Moonstruck” actor shared their remembrances via social media. Aiello — whose body of work included Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing,” “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” “Jacob’s Ladder,” “The Godfather Part II” and Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach” music
A four-time Academy Award nominee, Willem Dafoe developed his cinematic charisma — seen in films like “The Florida Project” and “At Eternity’s Gate” — in his early career in theater. After studying drama at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Dafoe moved to New York in 1976 and joined what would eventually become The Wooster Group. His
What stands out about Theodore Shapiro’s score for “Bombshell” is that the music isn’t frantic despite being set in a fast-paced environment — Roger Ailes’ newsroom at Fox News. Instead, the score straddles two worlds: that of Ailes and that of the women who worked for him. “[Director] Jay [Roach] and I talked about finding
When ET Live first launched on Halloween of 2018, the free “Entertainment Tonight”-branded streaming network kicked off with 15 hours of live programming a week, in three daily installments of entertainment news a day at 9 a.m., 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. But after just a few months, the direct-to-consumer platform — modeled off of
When Francine Jamison-Tanchuck signed on as the costume designer for “Just Mercy,” the true story of defense attorney Bryan Stevenson (played by Michael B. Jordan) and his fight to overturn the murder conviction of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), she was drawn to the prospect of depicting real-life characters through her work. “It can sometimes be more
A recent graduate of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, Victoria Pedretti broke out last year with her role as the tragic, youngest Crain sibling in Netflix’s “The Haunting of Hill House.” Her star has continued to rise with a role in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” playing Manson family member Leslie “Lulu” Van
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read on if you have not watched the first six episodes of Disney Plus’ “Star Wars” spinoff series “The Mandalorian.”” Episode 6 of “The Mandalorian” continued the series’ propensity for heavy references to its sister works in the “Star Wars” galaxy. Virtually the entire episode took place inside a high-security prison ship,
December 13, 2019 9:53AM PT The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is weighing whether it should seek an injunction against Facebook to prevent the social media giant from integrating services like Whatsapp, Messenger and Instagram with its core app, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Regulators fear that Facebook’s
Chris Aronson admits he was being bullish when he told his colleagues at 20th Century Fox that “Avatar” would gross $500 million at the domestic box office. This was back in 2009, before Marvel mania and Disney dominance made half-a-million-dollar earners commonplace at the box office. Up until that point, only “Titanic” and “The Dark
Stepping into a chocolate brown ranch-style home, Penn Badgley’s broody Joe Goldberg wanders through a pool party being thrown on a Tuesday afternoon, exasperated. Inside are hipsters lazing on unicorn floats, several men in Borat swimsuits and a reporter who’s chasing down a Jared Padalecki rumor. Toto, we’re not in Manhattan anymore. When Season 2
Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trump’s daughter and an adviser to the president, is scheduled to appear on a panel at CES 2020 in January, according to a published report. Ivanka Trump will appear on a panel set for Jan. 8 at 3 p.m. at the Las Vegas confab with Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of
In a move that inspired and environmentally conscious companies will hopefully emulate, as a holiday gift to its employees, Warner Music Group is partnering with the One Tree Planted organization to plant trees in the fire-ravaged Amazon forest. The company is planting 10 trees in the Amazon for each employee — a total of 48,210
The Alamo Drafthouse cinema chain is expanding its relationship with HBO. Alamo has announced it will screen four new HBO series in its theaters for free, one-night-only events across the country. The first series on the calendar is the adaptation of Stephen King’s novel “The Outsider,” starring Ben Mendelsohn, Cynthia Erivo and Jason Bateman, on
“Young Sheldon” caught the sniffles on Thursday night, but still managed to top the TV ratings charts. Other than “,” “Young Sheldon” was the most watched show with 8.2 million total viewers. However, the CBS series ticked down to a 1.0 rating among adults 18-49, tying for first place with “Ellen’s Greatest Night of Giveaways”
Producer Matt Tolmach wasn’t surprised that Sony Motion Picture Group chairman Tom Rothman wanted a sequel to “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.” After all, the film didn’t just open big two years ago this month; its box office take actually increased 38.4% in its second weekend of release — a rare feat for a studio
Rooster Teeth’s Joe Clary and Sean Hinz are the new co-heads of its animation studio, replacing replace Gray Haddock, who recently left the company after he was moved out of his role as head of Rooster Teeth Animation earlier this year. The WarnerMedia-owned company, whose animated series include “gen:Lock,” “RWBY” and “Red vs. Blue,” promoted
Going from co-president of a major movie studio — otherwise known as the guy who holds the purse strings — to a film producer dependent on that person’s largess could be very discombobulating. But Matt Tolmach has turned his experience as a longtime Columbia Pictures executive into more than a billion dollars of box office
“Jumanji: The Next Level” swung to $4.7 million at 3,778 North American locations on Thursday night. “Black Christmas,” meanwhile, launched with $230,000 in previews from 2,100 theaters. Sony’s comedy sequel is expected to dominate the weekend with a studio forecast of about $35 million at 4,227 venues — nearly equal to the first weekend of
Danny Aiello, a character actor best known for his work in such films as “Do the Right Thing” and “Moonstruck,” died on Thursday night in New Jersey. He was 86. Aiello’s literary agent Jennifer De Chiara confirmed his death to Variety. “It is with profound sorrow to report that Danny Aiello, beloved husband, father, grandfather,
Netflix is getting ready to officially launch its swanky Paris office on Jan. 17. The streaming giant has planned an afternoon of discussions that gather together Netflix executives, including the company’s co-founder, chairman and CEO Reed Hastings, as well as the filmmakers and producers who have worked with Netflix. As previously announced, the French outpost
As controversy builds around “Richard Jewell” and its depiction of female journalists, it’s nothing new for women music writers on the silver screen. Although “Crazy Heart,” which premiered 10 years ago this month, was basically 2009’s equivalent of Bradley Cooper’s remake of “A Star Is Born,” it hasn’t had quite the staying power of some