SPOILER ALERT: Do not keep reading if you have not seen “Pose” Season 2, Episode 4, entitled “Never Knew Love Like This Before.” The second season of “Pose” sees the story jump forward in time to 1990, putting the AIDS epidemic even more at the center of the ballroom culture drama. However, in Episode 4
Actor Rip Torn, who earned Oscar and Tony nominations as well as an Emmy Award and two Obies, has died Tuesday in Lakeville Conn., his representative confirmed. He was 88. Torn was equally at home in the comedy of the “Men in Black” film series or TV’s “The Larry Sanders Show” (for which he won
In today’s film news roundup, a movie about the deadly Camp Fire is in the works, “The Infiltrators” will open the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and former Rogers and Cowan topper Tom Tardio will run the Napa Valley Film Festival. PROJECT LAUNCH Focus Features is producing the survival story movie “Paradise,” based on
July 9, 2019 6:38PM PT Beyonce has announced a new album “The Lion King: The Gift,” for which the 23-time Grammy winner has curated a variety of Lion King-inspired songs written by African artists. The album, which comes from Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records, will include a song written and performed by Beyonce titled “Spirit,” which will also
Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds will all score massive paydays for “Red Notice,” a buzzy action caper that was recently picked up by Netflix. When the movie landed at Netflix, key talent decided that it was imperative that the three stars reach parity in compensation for the scope of their roles. Reynolds will
July 9, 2019 4:23PM PT Jon Taslim has signed on to star as Sub-Zero in “Mortal Kombat” for New Line Cinema. Taslim broke out in the 2011 Indonesian actioner “The Raid.” He appeared in “Fast and Furious 6” and “The Night Comes for Us,” and currently stars in the Cinemax series “Warrior.” New Line noted
In today’s TV news roundup, Hulu drops the trailer for Season 2 of “Light as a Feather” and Netflix reveals an animated series based on the video game “Cuphead” is in the works. FIRST LOOKS CREDIT: Courtesy of HBO HBO and Rai Fiction have released the first image from Season 2 of “My Brilliant Friend
Ariana Grande got extremely vulnerable in her latest interview with Vogue, opening up about her past relationships and the turmoil she’s publicly faced, from the Manchester bombing to the death of her ex-boyfriend, Mac Miller. The singer went on to discuss the process of healing while remaining in the public eye and the process behind
We’ve all heard of albums that feel padded out, but there’ll be a new wrinkle on that with the formation of Build-A-Bear Records, a new label being formed as a partnership between the Warner Music Group, Warner Chappell Music and, of course, Build-A-Bear Workshop, the brand that made self-stuffed animals a staple of malls everywhere.
July 9, 2019 3:15PM PT Veteran actor Michael Cudlitz, best known for his role as Sergeant Abraham Ford on “The Walking Dead,” is running for the SAG-AFTRA board. Cudlitz unveiled his candidacy Tuesday as part of the ruling Unite for Strength faction, which has also announced a re-election campaign for Gabrielle Carteris as president and
Jay Z, who infamously started out dealing crack and drugs in Brooklyn’s notorious Marcy Projects before becoming a successful rapper and entrepreneur, has entered into a long-term partnership with Caliva, one of the largest, vertically integrated cannabis companies in California. According to a release, the mogul, whose real name is Shawn Corey Carter, spent “a
Exclusive TMZ Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is suffering the consequences of a federal court barring President Trump from blocking Twitter users who disagree with him — ’cause she just got sued. A guy named Dov Hikind slapped AOC with the lawsuit because he says the freshman Congresswoman blocked him after they Twitter feuded over Israel and
The permit required to stage the troubled Woodstock 50 festival at its most recent proposed site, Vernon Downs in the town of Vernon near Utica in Upstate New York, has been denied, Oneida County Administrator Anthony Picente Jr. tells Variety. The promoters have five days to appeal the decision, Picente says, but “what they have
Netflix can’t be happy about the looming departures of “Friends” (for WarnerMedia’s newly announced HBO Max in 2020) and “The Office” (for NBCUniversal’s service in 2021) — two of the platform’s most-streamed shows. But for years, Netflix has anticipated that media conglomerates would pull back their top titles, and the company has been more focused
July 9, 2019 1:32PM PT Chirs Messina has signed on to co-star with Rosamund Pike and Peter Dinklage in the thriller “I Care a Lot,” sources tell Variety. J Blakeson will direct the movie from his own script. Diane Wiest is also on board to join the cast. Pike will play Marla Grayson, a highly
George R.R. Martin has some answers for the lingering questions facing viewers about what to expect from the upcoming “Game of Thrones” prequel series. Martin, author of the “Game of Thrones” source novels, provided a few insights into Jane Goldman’s prequel pilot in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. In the original series, seven kingdoms vie
Whether it’s a boho maxi, a sculptural mini, or a floral frock, we know you love a summer dress. Unfortunately, your bank accounts may not. But Shopbop is here to soothe both your addiction and your wallet with their annual clearance sale, knocking down already-discounted designer goods with an additional 25 percent off. Shop 18
Kristine Belson made her first trip to the Annecy Animated Film Festival as president of Sony Pictures Animation three years ago, not long after taking control of the studio. In a speech there, she sketched out a new philosophical direction for the division: In an animation landscape dominated by longtime juggernauts and franchises, Belson wanted
Aziz Ansari wastes no time in his new comedy special (“Right Now”) before addressing the elephant in the room. After easing into a story about dealing with a fan confusing him for Hasan Minhaj and jokingly trying to pawn off the “whole sexual misconduct” thing onto Netflix’s other prominent Indian-American guy, Ansari takes a real
July 9, 2019 12:08PM PT Dusan Brown has landed a lead role in Netflix’s “Black Bottom,” which also stars Viola Davis, Glynn Turman and Chadwick Boseman. George C. Wolfe will direct while Todd Black, Dany Wolf and Denzel Washington will produce. Constanza Romero is executive producing. Academy Award winner Ann Roth is the costume designer
WarnerMedia is diving full-bore into the streaming wars with HBO Max — a subscription service slated to bow next spring, stocked with HBO programming, original series, Warner Bros. movies and library content including the full 10-season run of “Friends.” There’s no pricing info yet for HBO Max, nor is it fully clear how much content
July 9, 2019 10:53AM PT After much controversy surrounding her upcoming show in Saudi Arabia, Nicki Minaj has decided to back out of the Jeddah World Fest. “After careful reflection I have decided to no longer move forward with my scheduled concert at Jeddah World Fest,” Minaj said in a statement. “While I want nothing
Aziz Ansari delivered a sobering reflection on the 2018 sexual misconduct allegation against him in Netflix’s “Aziz Ansari Right Now,” the comedian’s first stand-up special since the accusation was published. The Spike Jonze-directed special became available for streaming on Netflix Tuesday. Ansari began the show by telling the audience, “There’s times I felt scared, there’s
Variety has hired veteran entertainment journalist Kate Aurthur as editor-at-large. Aurthur, who has worked as a top reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, will be writing high-impact cover and feature stories about the industry for Variety‘s weekly magazine, as well as breaking news on Variety.com and
Get ready to make “Friends” with HBO Max: That’s the name of WarnerMedia’s new direct-to-consumer streaming service, set to launch in the spring of 2020 with some 10,000 hours of content, including all episodes of ’90s hit “Friends.” However, WarnerMedia still hasn’t announced pricing for the service, which will compete with Netflix, Hulu, and Disney
July 9, 2019 10:00AM PT WarerMedia’s streaming service is developing a drama series titled “Crime Farm” with Nicole Kidman attached to executive produce, Variety has learned. The series is described as a psychosexual love story that follows Selma and Richard Eikelenboom, forensic homicide experts whose marriage thrives on their all-consuming investigations into the depravity of
“Green Book” director Peter Farrelly is the latest Oscar-level talent to join the content push at Quibi. Farrelly is developing “The Now,” a series which centers around a guy who is about to commit suicide when he finds out from his mother that his brother just committed suicide and his dad committed suicide in the
July 9, 2019 9:55AM PT Henry Samuel, better known around the globe as four-time Grammy-winning singer-musician Seal, has plunked down a bit more than $3.5 million for a secluded mountaintop retreat near Topanga, Calif., in the scrubby, fire-scarred mountains above Malibu. Behind gates and out of sight down a long driveway on roughly three landscaped
Camryn Manheim is running for SAG-AFTRA secretary-treasurer — the third-highest elected post in the union — as part of the slate for the re-election of union president Gabrielle Carteris. Manheim’s endorsers include Marcia Gay Harden, Deborah Messing, Chad Lowe, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Maria Bello, LisaGay Hamilton, Dylan McDermott and Cheryl Hines. Election
Is Billie Eilish 2019’s answer to Kate Bush? The parallels are hard to ignore, starting with the fact that both collaborated with their respective brothers; that each made her cultural impact in visuals as much as the music itself; and, most importantly, that the two game-changing female artists broke the pop mold. Eilish is an