This new feature film about the lives of a family scrapping to preserve their fortune, and those of the servants attending them, is explicitly designed as a balm for the aching hearts of those who loved watching the TV version. (Stateside, that program aired as part of PBS’s “Masterpiece” franchise from 2011 to 2016.) And,
September 9, 2019 3:54PM PT The 1997 action movie “Face/Off,” which starred John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, is getting a reboot. Paramount has hired “22 Jump Street” screenwriter Oren Uziel to pen the script with Neal Moritz producing. David Permut, who was a producer on the original film, will executive produce. No actors or director
September 9, 2019 3:34PM PT A new entry in the world of “Dark Shadows” is in the works at The CW, Variety has confirmed. Based on the original series created by Dan Curtis, the one-hour drama “Dark Shadows: Reincarnation” is described as a modern-day continuation of the strange, terrifying, and sexy saga of the Collins
September 9, 2019 3:26PM PT Renée Zellweger’s transformation into Judy Garland for biopic “Judy” has pulled in several other big names eager to celebrate the ruby-slippered icon. Musicians Sam Smith and Rufus Wainwright will be joining Zellweger on the “Judy” soundtrack for separate duets. Wainwright, another self-proclaimed Garland super-fan, will pair with Zellweger on “Have Yourself
Mark Cuban has sold a majority stake in his HDNet cable channels to Leonard Asper’s Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Entertainer and ubiquitous TV host Steve Harvey has signed on with Toronto-based Anthem as an investor in the deal that includes the music-focused AXS TV channel and HDNet Movies. Anschutz Entertainment Group and Cuban remain equity
September 9, 2019 2:25PM PT Magnolia Pictures has acquired North American rights to the romance-drama “Two of Us,” the feature directorial debut of France-based Italian filmmaker Filippo Meneghetti. Magnolia is planning a theatrical release early next year. The films follows two older women, played by Barbara Sukowa and Martine Chevallier, who live across the hall
Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, John Oliver and Hasan Minhaj will again Stand Up for Heroes. Comedian Ronny Chieng will join the multi-talented group on stage for a night of music and comedy in honor of military veterans and their families at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 4. The 13th annual event
Forest Whitaker is the sort of star seemingly built to make the leap to television: He’s a decorated leading man whose subtlety of approach and whose commitment to delicate, unusual acting choices would seem to potentially play even better on the small screen. After stints on various network shows, Whitaker finally gets his showcase in
BMI announced record revenues this morning, with $1.283 billion, up 7% over the previous year. The performing-rights organization also distributed and administered $1.196 billion to its songwriters, composers and publishers, its highest distributions ever, and a 7% or $78 million increase over last year. The surveyed fiscal year ended on June 30. According to the announcement, these results mark the
Hailee Steinfeld could soon be part of the Marvel family. Variety has learned exclusively from sources that Steinfeld has been offered a lead role in the upcoming “Hawkeye” series at Disney Plus. The limited series will see Jeremy Renner reprise the role of the titular bow-wielding hero that he has played through multiple films in the
In what it describes as a strategic move to strengthen and restructure the top levels of its executive leadership team, Def Jam Recordings has promoted Rodney Shealey to Executive Vice President of the label, and has promoted Theda Sandiford to Senior Vice President of Commerce, it was announced today by chairman & CEO Paul Rosenberg. In his newly expanded role, Shealey (pictured
TMZ.com President Trump got into some name-calling online with John Legend and Chrissy Teigen — and the latter cranked things up to 10 by calling DT a “p***y ass bitch” in response. The vulgar insult was fired off Sunday after 45 tweet complained about no one in the Democratic Party giving him props for doing
September 9, 2019 11:51AM PT “Power” star Omari Hardwick is in final negotiations to lead the upcoming horror-thriller “Spell,” sources tell Variety. Hardwick’s attachment to the Paramount Players project comes just as his hit crime drama is set to finish up with its sixth and final season. “Spell” follows a man (Hardwick) who crashes his
E! President Adam Stotsky is stepping down as head of the cable network after spending five years at the company, and 18 years at NBCUniversal, E!’s parent company. Frances Berwick will assume Stotsky’s duties for now, according to sources familiar with the situation. Berwick is currently President, Lifestyle Networks, NBCU Cable Entertainment, overseeing Bravo Media,
September 9, 2019 11:13AM PT State Attorneys General representing 50 U.S. States and territories officially announced that they have opened an antitrust investigation into Google Monday. The investigation will initially focus on Google’s search and advertising business, but may widen in scope as it unfolds. “It doesn’t take a search engine to understand that unchecked
September 9, 2019 11:00AM PT Western Australia gets a stunning showcase in Gregor Jordan’s romance, but the story never finds the right key. Tim Winton’s 2001 novel “Dirt Music” told the story of three haunted loners drawn into a bizarre love triangle in a remote fishing village on the coast of Western Australia. But the
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 third and final season of “The Deuce” premieres on HBO, and “Undone”
September 9, 2019 10:30AM PT The Federal Communications Commission continues to crack down on misuse of the Emergency Alert System tone on television. The government agency has proposed a $272,000 fine against CBS Broadcasting for allegedly airing a simulated emergency alert tone during a nationally televised episode of “Young Sheldon” on April 12, 2018. The
BMI announced record revenues this morning, with $1.283 billion, up 7% over the previous year. The performing-rights organization also distributed and administered $1.196 billion to its songwriters, composers and publishers, its highest distributions ever, and a 7% or $78 million increase over last year. The surveyed fiscal year ended on June 30. According to the announcement, these results mark the
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Stuyvesant High School student Mohammad Haque sat in a classroom at the magnet school’s Chambers Street location in Manhattan, approximately six blocks away, and on the other side of the West Side Highway, from the World Trade Center. He had a perfect view of the towers when American
September 9, 2019 10:08AM PT Spotify users will soon be able to recommend tracks and podcasts directly to their friends and followers on Snapchat, thanks to a new sharing option announced Monday. The new feature allows users to either add albums, tracks or podcasts to a story, or share them directly with their friends. Users
A new group of music awards is joining the various other ceremonies honoring achievements in visual media: the inaugural SCL Awards, presented by composers and songwriters to their fellow music-makers, will be held on Jan. 7, 2020. The Society of Composers and Lyricists (SCL) has, since the 1980s, been the primary organization of composers and
September 9, 2019 10:00AM PT Paramount Network is promoting Lauren Ruggiero to senior vice president of scripted original series, where she will lead the scripted development team and oversee all scripted programming, from development to production. Ruggiero will also be responsible for working on a development strategy that will further the Paramount brand through the
Comedy series “The Righteous Gemstones” has been renewed for a second season at HBO. The news comes midway through the show’s nine-episode first season. The series tells the story of a world-famous televangelist family with a long tradition of deviance, greed, and charitable work. Danny McBride created the series and stars alongside John Goodman, Edi
Make way for another new streaming service. BET Plus, a joint venture between Viacom’s BET Networks and Tyler Perry Studios, will launch domestically on Thursday, Sept. 19. The ad-free subscription video-on-demand service, priced at $9.99 a month, will kick off with more than 1,000 hours of shows, movies and stand-up specials, including content from Tyler
This year, USA will air the final season of “Mr. Robot,” the show that launched creator Sam Esmail and that seemed, for a moment, to foretell a very different future for a network that had for years prior been best-known for its sunny, light dramas set in unconventional workplaces. Little in the show’s wake, though,
Following their sold-out headlining spot at New York’s Madison Square Garden Friday night, Vampire Weekend announced more dates in support of their latest album “Father of the Bride,” stretching into next year. The news was first reported by Spin; a rep for the band confirmed the dates to Variety. Variety said of “Father of the
Nate Parker, whose new film “American Skin” received a number of negative reviews at the Venice Film Festival, said Monday that he doesn’t care what critics say and that his goal is to make art that connects with audiences. “I made this film for people to see it,” Parker told Variety in an exclusive interview
USA Network has revealed the two leads and the plot for season 2 of “Dirty John.” Amanda Peet and Christian Slater will star in the anthology series’ sophomore outing titled “Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story.” The second installment will be based on another true tale of love gone wrong, centering on a story that
A disillusioned security guard haunted by dreams of ancestral spirits wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a purple masquerade, a traditional spirit-creature that stalks the streets of Lagos, in Abba Makama’s surrealist romp “The Lost Okoroshi.” The follow-up to Makama’s kinetic, colorful feature debut, “Green White Green,” which marked him as one