The current impasse between the Writers Guild of America and the industry’s largest talent agencies will resonate in the WGA’s September elections. Many of the key players in the agency dispute have become candidates in the contest. David A. Goodman, who has become the public voice of the guild during the bitter standoff, is running
No pulsating, psychedelic, pop-punk phantasmagoria ought to be as moving and smart as “We Are Little Zombies.” But Makoto Nagahisa’s explosively ingenious and energetic debut (imagine it as the spiritual offspring of Richard Lester and a Harajuku Girl) holds the high score for visual and narrative invention, as well as boasting a [insert gigantic-beating-heart GIF]
Vying for the heart of Howard Stern co-host Robin Quivers isn’t for the weak. So “American Idol” alum Jackie Tohn, who stars in the Netflix wrestling comedy “Glow,” threw herself into the ring, recruiting Stern song parody veteran Eli Bradon for a pair of parodies that had Stern and his SiriusXM listeners in stitches. Tohn’s
Tales of spooky occurrences on the sets of horror movies like “The Exorcist” and “Poltergeist” have circulated for years, and it looks like “The Conjuring” franchise is following in their footsteps in that regard. The cast of “Annabelle Comes Home” shared their unnerving stories from set at the film’s premiere on Thursday night at the Regency
Out of all the awards shows Variety Music attends every year — and we hit a few — in many ways A2IM’s Libera Awards, which celebrate the tight-knit independent label sector, is the most fun. It’s got awards and performances and a host and people get dressed up and all that, but at the end
Seth Meyers has made no secret of his love for Rihanna. As the “Late Night” host told Jimmy Fallon in February, he’s “fully in love” with the pop star slash business mogul (he clarified that his wife is fine with it because “she’s also in love with Rihanna — it’s what we have in common”).
Disney-Pixar’s “Toy Story 4″ is heading toward $135 million in its opening weekend in North America, early estimates showed Friday. If the forecast holds, “Toy Story 4” would rack up the third-biggest debut of 2019 after “Avengers: Endgame” at $357 million and “Captain Marvel” at $353 million. “Toy Story 4” opened impressively with $12 million
June 21, 2019 12:49PM PT Cardi B was indicted Friday in New York on felony charges from a Queens strip club fight last year. The rapper, whose real name is Belcalis Almanzar, faces two felony counts of attempted assault, according to the Associated Press. She had originally only been charged with misdemeanors and rejected a
In a cover story for New York magazine, an excerpt from her book “What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal,” writer and columnist E. Jean Carroll says that former CBS head Les Moonves and president Donald Trump assaulted her, in separate incidents, in the 1990s. In her recounting of her “Most Hideous Men
Jussie Smollett Could Now Be Prosecuted for Allegedly Faking Attack 6/21/2019 9:29 AM PDT Breaking News Jussie Smollett could actually be prosecuted for allegedly faking the now infamous attack on the streets of Chicago. A Chicago judge has ordered a special prosecutor to be appointed to review the way prosecutors handled the case and ultimately dismissed
When is a hit song more than just a bragging rights with royalties? For Ricky Reed, it was when creating the retro-funk banger “Juice” with Lizzo reminded him why he got into the music biz in the first place. “My proudest moment was at the end of the day we wrote the song — we
David A. Goodman is running unopposed for a second two-year term as president of the Writers Guild of America West. Goodman, who has become the public voice of the guild during its bitter standoff with Hollywood agents, also ran unopposed in 2017 when he succeeded Howard Rodman in the post. The WGA West announced Friday
June 21, 2019 11:54AM PT When calculating the new, higher rates determined by the U.S Copyright Royalty Board — which Spotify, Amazon, Google and SiriusXM/Pandora have appealed — Spotify has determined that it overpaid publishers in 2018 and would like a refund. “According to the new CRB regulations, we overpaid most publishers in 2018,” a
The creator of “Transparent” is now taking on “Red Sonja.” Jill Soloway will write and direct the movie for Millennium Films, replacing Bryan Singer, whose status on the film was called into question in the wake of accusations of sexual assault and misconduct against him. Most recently, in February, Avi Lerner’s Millennium confirmed that shooting
PAMPLONA, Spain — Nacho Viale and Diego Palacio’s StoryLab – producers of the Netflix-acquired TV series “Estocolmo” and co-producers of Intl. Emmy nominated “La Casa del Mar” -have pitched their eight-part crime and historical thriller, “Lost Toys,” at the Europe-Latin America co-production forum, Conecta Fiction. Since its foundation by Viale in 2014, Storylab has
June 21, 2019 11:10AM PT Universal Pictures has optioned the rights to “The Giver of Stars,” a new novel from “Me Before You” author Jojo Moyes, with Ol Parker attached to direct the film adaptation. Parker will also adapt the novel, which Penguin Random House will publish in October. “The Giver of Stars” is the
Bertrand Rindoff PetroffGetty Images There’s only one person powerful enough to unite fashion’s top designers, key players and models under one roof: Karl Lagerfeld. Four months after the renowned designer and photographer passed away at the age of 85, his luxury houses, Chanel, Fendi, and Karl Lagerfeld, and theater and opera director Robert Carsen, hosted
June 21, 2019 10:37AM PT Niantic’s new location-based augmented reality game “Harry Potter: Wizards Unite” is off to a solid start — but it doesn’t seem to have quite the same momentum as “Pokemon Go” did when it launched 3 years ago. That’s according to initial estimates from app analytics specialist Sensor Tower. “Harry Potter:
June 21, 2019 10:25AM PT “Actual rock stars have, like, all sorts of different guitars. I’ve just got two of the same,” “Yesterday” star Himesh Patel joked during the film’s soundtrack release party at the former Tower Records building in Los Angeles on Thursday night. Patel might not have a rock star setup yet, but
Carrie Bradshaw never met a sexual inclination she wouldn’t hear out — until she encountered bisexuality. “I’m not even sure bisexuality exists,” she complains in a season 3 episode of “Sex and the City,” the HBO comedy named for her supposedly open-minded sex advice column. “I think it’s just a layover on the way to
With “Euphoria,” a drama about teens at an American high school, HBO has placed a bet on attracting a young audience that favors Instagram over TV. And the premium cable network’s greatest asset may be a digital-native star who never aspired to be an actress until the role found her. As Jules, 20-year-old actress Hunter Schafer plays
Executive producers of top Emmy contender comedy, drama and limited series weigh in on what shows (other than their own, of course) they hope will see awards recognition this year. Janine Sherman Barrois (“Claws”)“I love ‘Insecure’ because it’s so bold and honest. Its relatability is universal and it might be one of the funniest shows
Luc Besson’s “Anna” wrapped photography in December 2017. Less than three months later, Fox released “Red Sparrow,” an extra-icy Cold War thriller about a Russian ballerina (played by Jennifer Lawrence) recruited by Soviet foreign intelligence to become an assassin and spy, trained to use her sex appeal as a weapon while leveraging her intelligence to
Fresh from the success of “Bodyguard,” Keeley Hawes has told Variety that her next move is into producing. The star has set up her own shingle, Buddy Club Productions, and will start work on its first project as soon as she has wrapped on Netflix film “Rebecca,” in which she will play Beatrice Lacy, sister
June 21, 2019 9:30AM PT Office workers rejoice: Netflix is looking at ways to make it even easier to sneak in a little of your favorite shows while you are waiting for that email response that is holding everything up. The company is currently testing a pop-out player as part of its web interface. The
Composer Randy Newman is at the podium on 20th Century-Fox’s Newman Scoring Stage, named for his famous uncles Alfred, Lionel and Emil, all of whom conducted there for decades beginning in the 1930s. “Put an accent on bar 15, 16 and 17,” he tells his 102 musicians, “as overly dramatic as possible. And look like
At the premiere of her new horror film, Child’s Play, Aubrey Plaza tucked her hair behind her ear with a creepy little knife barrette. I must thank the actress for introducing us to this ~killer~ hair accessory, which is extremely my shit. Chef’s Knife Hair Clip vincausa.com $32.00 It’s a dark departure from the snap
June 21, 2019 8:38AM PT Stephen Curry may have lost this year’s NBA Finals, but the Golden State Warriors star did find a consolation victory in last night’s ratings. “Holey Moley,” the mini golf competition series featuring and executive produced by Curry, premiered to a solid 1.0 rating in the key 18-49 demographic, coming out
Many independent film-makers go to great lengths to get their movies made. Ecuador’s Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador had to invent his own technology in order to produce and direct “A Son of Man.” The film unspools at the Shanghai International Film Festival, including three screenings over this weekend. A passion project for Paris-based, professional explorer Fernandez-Salvador,
Chinese film studios must function as actual studios, not just tourist destinations, in order to remain viable in the long term, said Chen Jianyu, board chairman of the entity that oversees the Xiangshan Global Studios, one of China’s largest. Speaking at the Shanghai International Film Festival, on Friday, Chen cited statistics showing that China is