In today’s TV news roundup, Showtime sets the premiere date for season 4 of its docu-series “The Circus,” and Pop TV orders a new coming-of-age comedy “Best Intentions.” CASTING Hulu has added four new series regulars to its upcoming original series “Reprisal.” Craig Tate is joining the cast as former Special Forces operative Earl, Wavvy Jonez
It’s hard to imagine loyalists of “The Hills” — the MTV network’s brilliant reality soap opera, which aired in its first run from 2006 to 2010 — finding much to keep them tuned into the ambitiously subtitled “The Hills: New Beginnings,” which began its run last month. The new series is focused on a group
Now that WarnerMedia has dropped details on its standalone subscription video-on-demand streamer HBO Max, which launches in the spring of 2020, the arsenal on each front of the forthcoming streaming service battle is coming into view. HBO Max’s promised library points to a solid offense that notably includes exclusive licensing of all 10 seasons of
Exclusive TMZ Ja Rule remains on the hook for allegedly defrauding thousands of Fyre Fest ticket buyers after shooting his shot with the judge … and coming up short. Ja had filed a motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit filed by Fyre ticketholders and attendees in which they claim he lied through his teeth
July 10, 2019 3:15PM PT Storm Reid, who starred in “A Wrinkle in Time,” is being eyed for the cast of Warner Bros.’ “The Suicide Squad” as the daughter of Idris Elba’s character. Warner Bros. had no comment. James Gunn is directing the sequel to “Suicide Squad,” the 2016 feature based on the DC Comics
Freddie Jones, the British actor who over a nearly 70-year career played such memorable roles as the sadistic freakshow owner in David Lynch’s “The Elephant Man,” died July 9 in the U.K., according to numerous British media reports. He was 91. The father of actor Toby Jones, he had more recently been appearing on British
July 10, 2019 3:00PM PT David Fincher has signed on to direct his first feature film since 2014, a biopic revolving around “Citizen Kane” screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, with Gary Oldman tapped to play the titular role. The film, titled “Mank,” is based on a script by Fincher’s late father, Jack, who had penned the script
Universal Pictures hosted an exclusive preview event at Essence Festival Saturday to screen the first twelve minutes of “Queen & Slim,” the hotly anticipated film written by Lena Waithe and directed by Melina Matsoukas, known for her visionary work with Beyoncé (“Lemonade,” “Formation”) and “Insecure.” Held at the historic Gallier Hall in New Orleans, the
July 10, 2019 2:57PM PT Amy Hartwick has stepped down as ABC Studios’ head of comedy, Variety has confirmed. The news of Hartwick’s departure comes on the same day as the studio revealed a significant re-shuffle at the top, which saw studio head Patrick Moran, who hired Hartwick, and business operations executive vice president Howard Davine leave
July 10, 2019 2:43PM PT Angelica Ross is adding another Ryan Murphy series to her resume. Ross, who has played Candy Abundance Ferocity on the first two seasons of the critically-acclaimed “Pose,” is joining the upcoming season of “American Story.” Murphy made the announcement via Instagram on Wednesday, less than a day after the most
Check out the new clip for The Lion King starring Donald Glover! Let us know what you think in the comments below. ► Buy Tickets to The Lion King: https://www.fandango.com/the-lion-king-2019-215915/movie-overview?cmp=CSYT_YouTube_Desc Want to be notified of all the latest clips and behind the scenes footage? Subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to stay
Noel Gallagher is not a fan of much contemporary pop music, as you may have garnered from his recent slagging of the British breakout star of the moment, Lewis Capaldi, as “wank.” But if he’s not about to take his cues from any current hitmakers or producers, that doesn’t mean he wants to recycle the
One of the biggest breakthrough performances of the year comes in an unexpected package; the Sundance Film Festival favorite “The Farewell” introduces audiences to 75-year-old Chinese actress Zhao Shuzhen in her dazzling American film debut. “I’m so lucky,” Shuzhen says via translator in an interview with Variety. It’s a word she uses frequently, and precisely
July 10, 2019 12:34PM PT Columbia Records partnered with She Is the Music and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute to present “She’s Next: A Music Industry Workshop for Young Women” yesterday. The program’s goal is to educate young women about today’s music industry and the careers that exist within it — including that of Columbia
Tucker Carlson said Representative Ilhan Omar “hates this country” during his Fox News program Tuesday night. The Minnesota Democrat responded by saying that the Fox News host is “a racist fool.” And so begins another contretemps in a news cycle dominated by President Donald Trump. During his 8 p.m. hour Wednesday on Fox News Channel,
Variety‘s fifth annual 10 Animators to Watch celebrated what’s new, what’s different and what’s to come in animation. Variety and Nickelodeon partnered for the event, held at NeueHouse in Hollywood on Tuesday night and hosted by Variety’s executive vice president of content Steve Gaydos. The 10 Animators to Watch — Henry Bonsy, Jérémy Clapin, Trevor
A weekend getaway goes sour even before the corpses start accruing in “Trespassers,” a good-looking indie thriller that’s diverting, but could have used another script draft or two. Depicting two quarrelsome if hard-bodied couples who find themselves in deep peril at a rented desert home, Orson Oblowitz’s film has a leisurely enough buildup that room
July 10, 2019 11:58AM PT In recent months, YouTube creators say they’ve been swamped with a flood of manual claims from copyright owners — sometimes for just a second or two of a song. Now the video platform has responded, revising its policies to require more specific info from copyright holders about any alleged infringement
Donna Speciale, a Madison Avenue veteran who has led advertising sales at WarnerMedia’s cable-TV operations since 2012, is expected to leave the company, according to four people familiar with the matter, marking the latest high-profile executive departure from the former Time Warner since AT&T acquired it in June of last year. WarnerMedia declined to comment
July 10, 2019 11:32AM PT Chance The Rapper revealed he’s a Lion King expert on the red carpet at the film’s world premiere, describing his early role in the live-action film as a “nostalgia consultant.” “Donald Glover called me. I was not in that movie. Donald and Jon Favreau, the director, are really close, obviously
July 10, 2019 11:22AM PT Donald Glover, who stars as Simba alongside Beyoncé‘s Nala in the live action remake of “The Lion King” knows that working with Queen Bey is an unparalleled experience. The pair collaborated on the movie’s classic tune “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” “Yeah, that was a big deal,” Glover, also
The late Rip Torn, who died July 9 at 88, had a career that included decade-spanning stage work, an Oscar-nominated performance in the film “Cross Creek,” and later turns in movies as wide-ranging as “Men in Black” and “Marie Antoinette.” But to legions of viewers, he’s best remembered as Artie, perhaps the one moral major
Whatever bad blood Taylor Swift may have with former associates, her credit is certainly good. Swift tops Forbes’ Celebrity 100, the magazine’s annual list of top-paid entertainers, with estimated 2019 earnings of $185 million. It’s the second time she’s come in at No. 1 — after she previously led the pack for 2016 — making
Sony’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home” will swing to the top of domestic box office charts again this weekend and easily retain its crown over two newcomers, Paramount’s gator thriller “Crawl” and Disney’s comedy “Stuber.” If Tom Holland’s superhero adventure holds like other Marvel standalones such as “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” “Captain Marvel” or “Ant-Man and the Wasp,”
SUN VALLEY, Idaho — The phrase “New Coke” has become synonymous with corporate branding debacles. But enough time has passed since Coca-Cola fumbled the 1985 launch of a new recipe for its world-renowned fizzy soda that references to the New Coke launch in “Stranger Things 3” are not too painful for the company’s more than
The recently announced third “Walking Dead” series has cast three major roles, Variety has learned exclusively. Alexa Mansour, Nicolas Cantu, and Hal Cumpston will all star in the new series, which is said to follow two female protagonists and focus on the first generation to come-of-age in the zombie apocalypse. A second lead female role has
Since first making headlines in 2003 for surviving a shark attack when she was 13 years old, Bethany Hamilton has become one of the most recognizable surfers in the world. In 2011, Hamilton’s story received the Hollywood treatment with the movie “Soul Surfer,” based on her autobiography. But the new documentary “Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable” is
On a brisk morning in February, the members of the voice cast of Nickelodeon’s flagship animated series “SpongeBob SquarePants” gathered to work on a new episode, like they’ve done most weeks over the past 20 years. But instead of being in a recording booth, this time they’ve assembled at a diner in Castaic, Calif., shooting
Spike Jonze, director of “Being John Malkovich” and “Her,” will serve as Imax Entertainment’s first “artist in residence,” Variety has learned. The company said Jonze, an Oscar-winner who has been involved with everything from music videos for Sonic Youth to the Jackass movies, will collaborate with Imax’s leadership to find new partnerships and creative opportunities.
Shonda Rhimes’ first upcoming Netflix show is rounding out its cast. Phoebe Dynevor and Regé-Jean Page are among those joining the previously announced Julie Andrews in “Bridgerton,” which is based on Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton family novels. The series is set in the world of Regency London high society. From the glittering ballrooms of Mayfair to the