Kay Madati, Twitter’s global VP, head of content partnerships, is departing the social network after two years in the job. Madati announced in a series of tweets Sunday that his last day at Twitter will be Dec. 13. “I have made the difficult and personal decision to move on from this extraordinary and wonderful company,”
“Before you watch ‘Nina Wu,’ do not have the mindset that you are about to watch a film about the #MeToo movement,” said “Nina Wu” director Midi Z. “Because if you do, you will be disappointed.” At a talk session held during the Singapore International Film Festival on Sunday (Nov. 24), the Taiwan-based Burmese director
One of music’s final big nights of the year, the American Music Awards, are beginning. And the stars have brought out their best red carpet statement fashion as the holiday season begins. Here, what everyone, from Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez to Lil Nas X and Lizzo, wore on the red carpet, updated as they
TMZ/Getty Composite R. Kelly‘s live-in girlfriend/alleged sex slave has reportedly gone on to make even more bombshell claims against him — which run the gamut of alleged abuse. According to the Chicago Sun-Times — which says it has read Joycelyn Savage‘s latest Patreon posts since Saturday — R. Kelly allegedly once impregnated Joycelyn and then
November 24, 2019 1:21PM PT Superman hasn’t hung up his cape yet. Or so says Henry Cavill, who portrayed the superhero beginning with “Man of Steel” in 2013 and most recently, in the failed 2017 movie “Justice League.” The “Witcher” actor is insisting his time as the DC character isn’t over. “The cape is in
November 24, 2019 10:23AM PT In a box office debut fit for royals, Disney’s “Frozen 2” ignited the international box office with $223 million and $350 million globally. “Frozen 2” opened at No. 1 in 37 foreign markets, passing “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” ($152 million) to secure the biggest international launch ever for
Six songs into the Jonas Brothers’ Brooklyn stop on their “Happiness Begins” comeback tour, Kevin Jonas took a moment to reflect. “Two years ago,” he recalled, “My brothers and I sat in a room and said, ‘If we reunite, do you think anyone will care?’” That was back in 2017, four years after one of
Disney’s “Frozen 2” iced out the box office competition in North America, where family audiences powered the animated adventure to a dazzling $127 million domestic debut. The sequel, playing in 4,440 theaters, ignited above expectations ahead of Thanksgiving, which should parlay into an especially lucrative holiday frame. “Frozen 2” set a November record for an
Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Sunday that he would enter the Democratic Primary “to defeat Donald Trump” and “rebuild America.” He re-posted his announcement tweet in Spanish soon after. Previously a Republican, Bloomberg once considered running as an independent. Bloomberg, 77, served three terms as mayor, from 2002 through 2013. His successor, Bill
India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is conducting discussions with streaming video platforms available in the country. It has requested them to exercise self restraint in terms of content. “The old frameworks which were there for print and film or TV should not be applied. There needs to be a different treatment,” said Atul Kumar
Post-rush hour, the drive from the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills to the Los Angeles Rams’ practice facility in Thousand Oaks, Calif. is a manageable 50 minutes. On Friday, Nov. 15, most of the core broadcast team for NBC’s “” — analyst Cris Collinsworth, sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, executive producer Fred Gaudelli, director Drew Esocoff
November 24, 2019 7:00AM PT British-based exhibition chain Vue has pulled gang film “Blue Story” from its theaters after a brawl among dozens of moviegoers – some of them apparently wielding machetes – erupted at a cinema in central England. The fight broke out late Saturday afternoon during a screening of the film at a
K-pop star, Goo Hara was found dead on Sunday at her home in Seoul, South Korea. She was 28. Goo, real name Goo Ha-ra, and also known under the single name Hara, was a former member of the five-part girl group Kara from 2008 to 2015. After that she launched a solo music career, and
Making its international premiere in the Frontlight section, Danish doc “Fat Front” came to IDFA with a fair amount of buzz from its Scandinavian homeland, where it debuted in October. Directed by Louise Unmack Kjeldsen and Louise Detlefsen, the film follows four Nordic women—Helene, Marte, Pauline and Wilde—who are tired of kow-towing to society’s ideal
A concrete example of IDFA artistic director Orwa Nyrabia’s definition of a Frontlight title, Juliana Fanjul’s angry political sketch film “Radio Silence” started with a much-needed moment of light relief. Entering the auditorium with a backpack, the film’s subject—pioneering Mexican journalist Carmen Aristegui—matter-of-factly walked to the front and sat herself down, without fanfare, in one
A wry, mild-mannered woman in her mid-nineties, Margaret Kamango has seen enough in life to be oddly unfazed when a letter arrives on her doorstep that effectively amounts to a death threat. When a cursory investigation suggests it has come from a family member — one of those living right within her rural homestead —
“God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya,” a satirical drama by Macedonian director Teona Strugar Mitevska, has won the inaugural Arab Critics’ Award for European Films. The film, which positions itself as “a feminist cry against a patriarchal Macedonia in the grips of bullying machismo and hidebound religion,” according to its review in Variety, was selected
Will Ferrell joined the infamous “Saturday Night Live” Five-Timers Club with his Nov. 23 hosting stint. But he was far from the only big name to return to Studio 8H for the episode. Ryan Reynolds, who hosted “SNL” in 2009, was in the audience during Ferrell’s monologue and promptly distracted the former cast member, causing
Who can beat Donald Trump in the 2020 election? “Saturday Night Live” took a crack at this tough political question in a democratic debate sketch in the Nov. 23 episode that saw the return of former cast members Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch and Fred Armisen (as Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar and Michael Bloomberg, respectively), and
After another week of impeachment hearings that included a reenactment of a phone call between President Donald Trump and Ambassador Gordon Sondland, “Saturday Night Live” returned with its own take on the relationship between the two political figures. Alec Baldwin returned as Trump, while episode host Will Ferrell stepped into Sondland’s bald cap for the
As wrenching and resonant a cinematic experience as can be found in any country this year, Taiwanese stunner “A Sun” tells the story of two sons, one a top student poised to attend the med school of his choice, the other a raging delinquent whose latest scuffle lands him in a juvenile detention center. The
While mainland China’s Golden Rooster Awards crowed all over social media about the star power of its attendees, the more modest Golden Horses in Taiwan this year had to make do with a red carpet full of relative unknowns and sponsors that had fled the coop. The two events collided in the wake of a
Taiwanese films “A Sun” and “Detention” were the big winners of Taipei’s Golden Horse Awards on Saturday. Wang Xiaoshuai’s “So Long, My Son” was the standout title at mainland China’s rival Golden Rooster Awards, held the same evening. The two events were scheduled to collide in the wake of a pro-Taiwanese independence acceptance speech at
The Singapore government’s support for the film industry has helped a lot of people to make their first feature. Moving on to a sophomore performance is a trickier proposition. Some of Singapore’s most recent first feature debutants, K. Rajagopal (“A Yellow Bird”), Wong Chen-Hsi (“Innocents”) and Jacen Tan (“Zombiepura”), assembled Saturday for a seminar at
Sam Mendes’ “1917,” a gripping survival story that unfolds in the crucible of World War I, inserted itself into the awards race on Saturday with a series of well-received screenings in Los Angeles and New York. The movie, which is made with great craft and care, now faces the unenviable task of trying to elbow
“It is always my goal to create a layer of truth for actors with my make-ups and suits,” said Academy Award winning make-up effects Artist Barney Burman. He was speaking on Saturday at an onstage event within the Singapore International Film Festival. The presentation at the Project theater was moderated by Singaporean filmmaker Kirsten Tan
Pam Polifroni, a longtime casting director for “Gunsmoke” who gave early acting roles to Jodie Foster, Jon Voight, Loretta Swit and others, has died. She was 90. Polifroni died in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday, Nov. 21 as a result of dementia, her daughter-in-law confirmed to Variety. With more than 50 credits to her name by
With five mid-level agencies agreeing to Writers Guild rules on representing members, WGA West president David Goodman has allowed that there is room for small compromises with other agencies. “The Guild will not allow agencies who’ve stepped forward and made a deal with us to be put at a disadvantage,” Goodman said. “We are in
Even given all the things we now know about Harvey Weinstein, few would dispute his place in movie history as the figure who put the American independent film movement on the mainstream map and kept it there. He remains a force of legend (even if he’s now an infamous accused criminal). And that’s why it’s
One of the innovations of Orwa Nyrabia, artistic director at IDFA, a leading documentary festival, has been to present a wide range of live productions to enhance the film experience, blurring the boundaries between documentary, music, and performing arts. Curated by Jasper Hokken, the section called IDFA On Stage… is incredibly diverse, ranging from more