October 2, 2019 10:03PM PT “Joker” director Todd Phillips insists that the realistic depiction of gruesome violence in the film is anything but irresponsible. “Isn’t it a good thing to put real-world implications on violence?” he said on Wednesday after the New York Film Festival screening of the controversial Warner Bros. movie starring Joaquin Phoenix
In “Born to Be,” Tania Cypriano’s moving and fascinatingly forward-looking documentary about the Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery in New York City, we meet a handful of eager, at times desperate folks who are engaged in the existential medical conundrum of doing everything they can to become the people they are. One
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched “Slashdance,” the third episode of “American Horror Story: 1984.” When last we left our intrepid “American Horror Story: 1984” camp counselors, they had split into two groups and each seemed to be facing one of the killers at their respective doors. However, nothing is
In today’s film news roundup, Louisa Krause nabs a role as Billy Crystal’s wife, Jackie Long and Denise Boutte are starring in a romcom, “The Wrong Todd” gets a release and “The Mass Shooting Monologues” begins production. CASTINGS Louisa Krause is set to join the cast of Billy Crystal’s comedy “Here Today,” opposite Tiffany Haddish
If this weekend you’re only seeing one depressing character study about an unemployable, fatherless, antisocial manchild who lives with his sickly mother, is often unattractively shirtless, and eventually decides society must pay violently for his general misery … then you are almost certainly going to “Joker.” As it happens, however, there is an alternative also
HBO Max is filling out more executive posts, this time in its family friendly divisions. Billy Wee has been named senior vice president of original animation, and Nikki Reed has been tapped as vice president of kids and family scripted originals at the upcoming streaming platform, which debuts in the spring of 2020. Both report
Comedian Michelle Buteau is joining Jennifer Lopez in her new comedy “Marry Me.” Owen Wilson, Sarah Silverman and “Game of Thrones” actor John Bradley are also on board to star in the Universal film. Kat Coiro is directing the movie from a script by John Rogers and Tami Sagher, with a rewrite by Harper Dill.
Although the deal actually went down two full years ago, way back in summer 2017, it’s only now that Grammy-winning singer/songwriter/record producer Frank Ocean’s clandestine purchase of a $6.35 million house in Malibu has first come to light. Situated off a discreet private road, on a bluff high above Pacific Coast Highway and Carbon Beach,
October 2, 2019 4:50PM PT “How to Train Your Dragon” director Dean DeBlois has come on board to direct and produce “Treasure Island” for Universal Pictures and Mandeville. The project is based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 novel about a British boy named Jim Hawkins, who discovers a treasure map with the location of pirate
In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix reveals the ensemble cast for its forthcoming “Shadow and Bone” series and announces the departure of Allie Goss, vice president of original series. CASTING – Netflix has announced the cast for “Shadow and Bone,” a series adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s “Shadow and Bone” and “Six of Crow novels.” The
Kim Shattuck, singer-songwriter for the Muffs and a prominent figure in the alt-rock scene of the late ’80s and ’90s, has died at age 56. Shattuck had been stricken with ALS. Melanie Vammen, a bandmate in the Muffs and a more recent formed group, the Coolies, confirmed the news on social media, saying “My heart
October 2, 2019 4:06PM PT A downtown Manhattan apartment owned by indie-rock musician Albert Hammond Jr., has come available for rent at $6,750 per month. The Strokes guitarist, son of “It Never Rains in California” singer-songwriter Albert Hammond, purchased the third-floor condo in mid-2012 for $1.25 million and online resources indicate he’s made it available
In a case of whiplash worthy of a speeding train, the “Snowpiercer” series is now moving back to TNT, the cabler announced Wednesday. It was announced earlier this year that the show was moving to TBS after it had been in development at TNT for years. The show will now debut on TNT in spring
Spring Aspers has been promoted to President of Music for Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, where she has worked for the last decade. She’ll be tasked with overseeing creative, licensing and publishing, production, and promotion of all Sony Pictures-related music endeavors. Aspers is credited with assembling all-star collaborations for the Oscar-winning animated film, “Spider-Man: Into
Twentieth Century Fox committed several safety errors that contributed to the fatal motorcycle crash on the set of “Deadpool 2,” according to a British Columbia workplace safety investigation. Joi Harris, a stunt rider, was killed on Aug. 14, 2017, when she lost control of her motorcycle and crashed into the side of a building in
For one night only, Metallica fans will soon be able to witness the combined forces of the world’s most famous heavy metal quartet and the San Francisco Symphony on the big screen. The concert film “S&M2,” scheduled to hit theaters on October 9, will take viewers inside San Francisco’s Chase Center (now home to the
Newly minted Madefire Studios has acquired content rights to Dave Gibbons’ science-fiction series “Treatment” and will be going out to filmmakers and writers shortly, Variety has learned exclusively. Gibbons is renowned within the world of graphic novels for creating “Watchmen” with Alan Moore and “Kingsman” with Marc Millar. “Watchmen” is the best-selling graphic novel of
October 2, 2019 3:00PM PT Sony Pictures Television and Sharon Hall’s Mom de Guerre Productions have optioned the photo book “The Endings” for series development, Variety has learned exclusively from sources. The book features A-list actresses like Tessa Thompson, Kiera Knightly, and Julianne Moore in photographic vignettes that are described as capturing female characters in the
Marvel’s “Shang-Chi” star Simu Liu has signed with CAA for representation in all areas. The news comes ahead of his starring role in “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to center on an Asian superhero. Liu, who was born in China and moved to Canada
TBS is adding another one-hour series to its slate. The cabler has handed out a straight-to-series order to the dramedy “Obliterated,” which hails from the creators of the YouTube Premium series “Cobra Kai” — Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg and Josh Heald. The series is focused on an elite special forces team who is tracking a
October 2, 2019 2:30PM PT The producing team behind the upcoming Fox drama “Deputy” have set up their second development project at Fox this season, Variety has learned. Both David Ayer and Chris Long of Cedar Park are set to executive produce the one-hour drama “Troubleshooter” currently in the works at the broadcaster. The series
October 2, 2019 2:30PM PT Melanie Frankel has been upped to the head comedy role at ABC Studios. Frankel takes over for Amy Hartwick, who stepped down in July following a significant reorganization at the Disney-owned studio that saw Patrick Moran exit the company. Frankel was previously the vice president of current series for ABC
Coleman-Rayner Lori Loughlin has a very serious legal battle ahead in her college bribery case — but she hasn’t shunned the life of the rich and famous just yet. The embattled “Full House” star arrived Tuesday at the Bel-Air Country Club … grinning ear to ear as she got out of her vehicle and went
Right now, a nation full of people that just finished watching Ken Burns’ 16-hour “Country Music” series, not having actively listened to the genre in some years, or ever, is turning to radio to see what’s new that might be on a happy continuum with the historic country they just saw and heard. And in
After three years of construction, Iovine and Young Hall opened its doors on the University of Southern California campus today following a dedication ceremony attended by its namesakes Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young, aka Dr. Dre. Founded in 2013, the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation
R. Kelly was denied bail during a status hearing in New York Wednesday afternoon in connection to the federal charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, despite a motion from his attorneys that says he is suffering from medical issues while in jail, according to News 5 in Chicago and the New York Daily News. Magistrate
October 2, 2019 12:38PM PT Apple appears to be close to introducing the next version of its AirPods wireless headphones: The latest beta version of iOS already includes an illustration featuring the long-rumored third-generation AirPods, 9to5Mac was first to report Wednesday. The white-on-gray icon shows an AirPod version that is bigger than its predecessors, and
Another shoe has dropped for Placido Domingo, who, as expected by many, has resigned as general director of Los Angeles Opera — and as the lead in any upcoming shows. “Recent accusations that have been made against me in the press have created an atmosphere in which my ability to serve this company that I
October 2, 2019 12:00PM PT Amazon is developing a one-hour crime drama that boasts Michael B. Jordan and Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg among its executive producers. Variety has learned exclusively that the streamer is currently working on the drama “Middle West.” In the series, two Chicago FBI agents get called to Gary, Indiana as
October 2, 2019 12:00PM PT Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain have landed a put pilot order at ABC for the one-hour drama “Plastics,” Variety has learned. The project follows three women who band together to start their own practice in the competitive and male-dominated world of plastic surgery. Having put it all on the line to