Practically every studio in town wanted it, but in the end it was Apple that swept in to nab the reinterpretation of “A Christmas Carol” with Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds. To buy the highly coveted package, the tech giant was willing to shell out more than $60 million to the stars and the film’s
Recapturing the personality of a successful film for its follow-up can be a challenging task for a filmmaker, given the story told, characters involved and especially the time passed between installments. But even after 10 years, “Zombieland: Double Tap” director Ruben Fleischer knew exactly what to focus on to ensure that his sequel lived up
The art of making sequels demands a fine balance between revisiting an existing world and giving the audience something new to chew on. For Disney’s “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” costume designer Ellen Mirojnick and special effects makeup designer David White started with the familiar and built things out from there. “This movie is a fantastic
Thrillist, part of Discovery-backed Group Nine Media, has named food writer and journalist Helen Hollyman its new editor-in-chief. Hollyman will be based in Thrillist’s New York headquarters, reporting to chief content officer Meghan Kirsch, a former Vice and A+E Networks exec who joined this summer. Thrillist, which targets a millennial audience with coverage of food,
It’s early on a Monday morning in Hollywood, and Howard Stern is sitting behind a desk sipping hot water in the airy revamped performance space of SiriusXM’s glistening new West Coast digs. The 26,000-square-foot studio on Sycamore Avenue is appropriately located for the self-proclaimed King of All Media — in the heart of the Media
Strand Releasing has acquired all North American rights to Ina Weisse’s “The Audition,” the tense psychological drama which world premiered at Toronto and went on to win the Silver Shell Award (for Nina Hoss) at San Sebastian. Represented in international markets by Les Films du Losange, the film stars Hoss as Anna Bronsky, an obsessive
October 16, 2019 9:30AM PT “Raven’s Home” has been renewed for a fourth season at Disney Channel, Variety has learned exclusively. In addition, Alison Taylor is joining the fourth season as an executive producer alongside series lead Raven-Symoné and showrunner Warren Hutcherson. Production on the new season will begin later this year. “Raven is a huge
Michael Caine, Lena Headey and pop star Rita Ora are to star in “Twist,” a modern-day, gender-bending film interpretation of Charles Dickens’ classic novel “Oliver Twist” for Sky, which will release the film day and date in theaters and on its pay-TV platform. The title role of Oliver is played by Jude Law’s son Raff
Comcast subscribers will have to do without Starz shows like “Power” and “Outlander,” the result of the latest showdown between a major programmer and one of the big cable distributors that gets its content into consumers’ living rooms. The Lionsgate-backed premium cable service told subscribers to Comcast’s Xfinity service Wednesdays that they can expect to
October 16, 2019 8:45AM PT “Why Women Kill” has been renewed for a second season, CBS All Access announced Wednesday. “‘Why Women Kill’ has had a phenomenal first season,” said Julie McNamara, executive vice president of original content, CBS All Access. “Under the creative direction of Marc Cherry and the incredible performances of the cast,
MIA market director Lucia Milazzotto is the main architect of Rome’s new format post-Mipcom, pre-AFM confab launched five years ago to serve as a driver for the Italian industry in the global arena. The MIA acronym stands for (Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo, or International Audiovisual Market). Milazzotto spoke to Variety about how this unique event featuring
After showing some stability from week 2 to week 3, “This Is Us” has slid once again in the ratings. The popular NBC drama dipped from a 1.65 rating among adults 18-49 last week to a 1.5 this time around, and from 7.3 million total viewers to 6.7 million. Its lead-in, “The Voice,” scored a
Brian Kelley, half of the country duo Florida Georgia Line, has signed on as a producer for “May We All,” a jukebox musical that will incorporate country hits by fellow stars of the genre like Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton and Dolly Parton as well as FGL’s own music. “May We All” is slated
October 16, 2019 8:00AM PT The Spice Girls have returned to their longtime agency after a four-month sojourn to UTA. Creative Artists Agency (CAA) today announced the re-signing of the group for representation in all areas worldwide. This spring, four original members — Emma Bunton (Baby), Geri Horner (Ginger), Melanie Brown (Scary) and Melanie Chisholm (Sporty),
October 16, 2019 7:53AM PT Diane Sawyer will present the first television interview with Cameron Douglas, the son of actor Michael Douglas who has had a troubled history, in a new one-hour primetime special slated to air Tuesday, October 22 at 10 p.m. eastern on ABC. The younger Douglas has written a memoir, “Long Way
October 16, 2019 7:44AM PT “Wow! This is a lot of people in a tiny office!” Taylor Swift said as she walked into her NPR “Tiny Desk Concert,” which was released today. One of several intimate sets she’s performed around the release of her latest album, “Lover,” she called the NPR series “one of my
Twitter grants special exemptions to Donald Trump and other “world leaders” from its code of conduct, including from rules that apply to everyone else. But the social network — which is Trump’s go-to megaphone — says nobody is “above our policies entirely.” Critics including presidential contender Sen. Kamala Harris have blasted Twitter for failing to
With the new NBA season scheduled to tip off Oct. 22, basketball fans have no shortage of options for how they take in the action on the court. But there’s an expanding range of viewing experiences beyond linear TV that are evolving in fascinating ways. Jeff Marsilio, senior VP of new media for the league,
BritBox has acquired a raft of hit U.K. shows, such as thriller “Line of Duty” and gameshow “Pointless,” to bolster its lineup of British programs on its North American streaming service. BritBox, a joint venture between BBC Studios and ITV, closed new deals at Mipcom on Wednesday with Kew Media Distribution and Endemol Shine International
October 16, 2019 7:12AM PT In this week’s edition of the Variety Movie Commercial Tracker, powered by the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv, MGM claims the top spot in spending with “The Addams Family.” Ads placed for the animated film had an estimated media value of $6.38 million through Sunday for 1,728
The Pingyao International Film Festival on Wednesday crowned “The Fever” by Maya Da-Rin as best film in its international category and “Wet Season” by Anthony Chen as the top title in its Chinese-language section. The Roberto Rossellini Awards at the festival go to the top international directorial debuts or second features. Taking to the stage
Documentarian Ken Burns is partnering with the Library of Congress and two philanthropic organizations to present a new award to “Flannery,” a documentary about Flannery O’Connor. Filmmaker Elizabeth Coffman and Jesuit priest Mark Bosco will be presented the first Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film on Oct. 17 at the library. The award includes
Future Classic and Paradigm agent Tom Windish today announce the formation of a new record label: Wilder, a singles oriented joint-venture set on creating a release pipeline for emerging young artists and bands. Wilder — named after Windish’s newborn son — launches today with the re-release of ”Applesauce” the first single from 19-year old Indiana-based
Rome’s MIA market for TV series, feature films and documentaries kicks off today with hundreds of international buyers descending upon the Eternal City for four-days (Oct. 16-20) of presentations of fresh top-notch mostly European product and dealmaking done in a more relaxed setting than Mipcom. The new concept mart now at its 5th edition, which
Andrei Kamarowsky, who recently stepped down from Orange Studio, where he spearheaded international, has joined Dubai-based distribution group Gulf Film as its chief operating officer. Founded three decades ago, Gulf Film is involved in both distribution and exhibition in the Middle East, and has close relationships with Studiocanal and Pathé, and output deals with STX
CNN interacts with most of its viewers via TV screen or mobile device. In weeks to come, however, the news outlet hopes to start engaging its audience at state fairs and local festivals. The AT&T-owned news network plans new extensions for the “Citizen by CNN” forum it launched last year that aims to spur viewers
October 16, 2019 6:05AM PT Grammy and Emmy Award winner Harry Connick Jr will be honored with at star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next week. The ceremony will take place on the morning of Oct. 24. “When choosing a star location, we try to incorporate ties to the honoree and this one turned
October 16, 2019 6:00AM PT Propagate Content will distribute Fox Entertainment’s unscripted programming and formats worldwide, excluding the U.S. and Canada, the companies announced at MIPCOM Wednesday. The agreement covers program sales rights for Fox’s hit series “The Masked Singer,” which recently returned for its second season. It also includes program sales and format rights
Atlantic UK president Ben Cook announced today that he is stepping down from his post due to an “offensive” appearance as a member of Run-DMC at a birthday party seven years ago. Parlophone co-president Mark Mitchell will take on the leadership of the label on an interim basis. “It is with great sadness that today
LYON, France — This coming Saturday and Sunday, the Lumière Festival will turn back the clock nearly one hundred years as the festival premieres a new completed reconstruction of Abel Gance’s 1923 masterpiece “La Roue” (“The Wheel”) that restores the classic to its original 7.5 hour length. Consisting of a prologue and four movements, “La