Sony’s “Men in Black: International” is heading for a disappointing $24 million opening weekend in the top spot at a mild North American box office, early estimates showed Friday. The fourth iteration of the sci-fi comedy franchise is performing well under modest expectations, which had been in the $30 million range at 4,224 locations. “Men
As part of her role as this year’s honoree for the City of Hope “Spirit of Life” initiative, Sylvia Rhone was feted Friday morning at a lovely (although windy) breakfast gathering on the roof of Sony Music’s headquarters in New York. The initiative raises money for the City of Hope cancer treatment and research center
Cristiano Ronaldo Finally Served with Lawsuit … In Rape Case 6/14/2019 12:57 PM PDT EXCLUSIVE A pretty significant development in the Cristiano Ronaldo alleged rape lawsuit — TMZ Sports has learned the soccer star has been served with the court papers and the battle is now underway. Remember, the accuser Kathryn Mayorga recently withdrew her
Dan Stevens said his powerful, telepathic mutant Legion would do some serious damage if he ever crossed over from the eponymous FX series into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Legion would wreak havoc. He’d probably take on Thanos, let’s see that,” he told Variety on the red carpet at the premiere of the trippy, mind-bending superhero series
David Kaminow, the marketing chief at the Annapurna-MGM joint venture recently rebranded as United Artists Releasing, has stepped down from his post. The executive sent a memo notifying colleagues of his decision on Friday, staff including distribution chief Erik Lomis and communications head Adriene Bowles, individuals familiar with his exit told Variety. Kaminow was beloved
In the new comedy “Late Night,” Emma Thompson plays Katherine Newbury, a veteran talk-show host who has fallen so out of touch she doesn’t even know her own writing staff. Prompted to add a woman to the room, she hires Molly Patel (played by Mindy Kaling, who also wrote the biting script). Molly finds herself
As fanciful as Martin Scorsese’s new film about Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue of 1975 is, it doesn’t aim to turn truth into myth nearly as much as the infamous movie Dylan himself made during that period, “Renaldo and Clara” — in which the cast list had Ronee Blakley playing “Mrs. Dylan.” Whatever impish reasons
Viacom CEO Bob Bakish knows that a lot of his peers are in the original content space in streaming, but he believes the company’s ad-supported free service Pluto TV is better off relying on Viacom’s library of content. “We can debate a lot of things about the future, but in the near term, the opportunity
Justin Timberlake stops in mid-sentence. “Aw man, y’all didn’t tell me Bette Midler was gonna be right here in the front! Now I’m nervous — first y’all make me follow Patti LaBelle, now this?” Yep. Justin Timberlake — arguably the most talented song and dance man working today, but honored tonight for his songwriting —
June 14, 2019 11:15AM PT Bradley Cooper is in early talks to star in Guillermo del Toro and Fox Searchlight’s adaptation of “Nightmare Alley.” Sources say Cooper recently received an offer and while it’s currently unclear if a deal will close, sources indicate both sides have engaged in talks. Cooper would take the place of
June 14, 2019 10:56AM PT The American Cinematheque has selected AMC chief executive officer and president Adam Aron as the recipient of the 2019 Sid Grauman Award on behalf of AMC Theatres. The organization previously announced that its 2019 American Cinematheque Award recipient is Charlize Theron. The presentation of both the Sid Grauman and American
Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba are coming back for more action. The pair’s cop show “L.A.’s Finest” has been renewed for a second season by Spectrum Originals, despite the 13-episode first season being largely panned by critics and enduring a major on-set accident. “L.A.’s Finest,” the first show to launch on the cable provider’s on-demand
June 14, 2019 10:27AM PT The Cannes Film Festival has set the dates of its 73rd edition next year, which will take place May 12-23, 2020, Variety has confirmed. The festival will open on Tuesday evening for the third consecutive time, unlike the Wednesday kickoff that had been the tradition for many years. The Marche
June 14, 2019 10:23AM PT Gaten Matarazzo, known for his performance as the nerdy and adorable Dustin Henderson on “Stranger Things,” is branching out at Netflix. The streamer has put out an order for “Prank Encounters,” a hidden-camera prank show which Matarazzo will host. Each episode of the series will take two strangers who each think they’re
At the 2014 Cartoon Movie co-production forum in Lyon, France, I sat in on a pitch session for the strangest animated feature imaginable. (Remember, this is a medium that has given us square-pantsed sponges and rats who dream of becoming French chefs.) This particular film, an artsy — and, fittingly, hand-drawn — indie entitled “J’ai
June 14, 2019 10:03AM PT Oscar-nominated actor Richard E. Grant will portray a former drag queen and mentor in “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie,” the movie adaptation of the British stage musical. “Catastrophe” co-creator and star Sharon Horgan and “Happy Valley” star Sarah Lancashire have also joined the film. Max Harwood will play the titular role
Much has changed for the LGBT community since the 1993 release of the original TV adaptation of “Tales of the City,” something that producer Alan Poul took into account in revamping the LGBT classic in 2019. Poul spoke with Variety‘s “TV Take” podcast about what’s new in the latest iteration of the show. “We had to
There has been much said — and many headlines written — about peak TV providing almost 500 scripted series last year and showing no signs of slowing down. One area not often taken into consideration in that equation is short form, which is seeing its own emergence of creative, high-brow content. Some of the top
The son of the legendary Isaac Hayes is upset that there are no original Hayes tracks in the new “Shaft” movie, calling its soundtrack album “a cultural disaster.” New Line Cinema, which made the movie — starring Samuel L. Jackson, Richard Roundtree and Jessie T. Usher as three generations of the Shaft family — insists
In the summer of 1966, songwriter Johnny Mercer had his final Top 40 American hit with Frank Sinatra’s version of his song “Summer Wind.” That same summer, young songwriter Carole Bayer had her first chart hit with the English rock band the Mindbenders’ version of “A Groovy Kind of Love,” a song she co-wrote with
Directing any film or television show is a challenging feat, but there are extra complications for those who step in for an episode or two of a longer-running series: They have to lead a group of people who know the ins and outs of the storytelling, and the set itself, better than they do. The
Ron Howard is fast becoming a noted music documentarian: His 2016 film, “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week — the Touring Years,” released by Abramorama in theaters and Hulu on television, was a Grammy winner. His follow-up is “Pavarotti,” a doc about the man who became one of the most successful and beloved opera singers in
June 14, 2019 9:44AM PT Matt Bennett, the executive vice president of communications at the Motion Picture Association of America, has left the organization. Known as a megaphone and lobbyist for Hollywood’s major players in Washington, Bennett vacated the top spot weeks ago and has taken a job as spokesperson for American University. “We thank
June 14, 2019 9:41AM PT Roku users are getting another way to watch live television with the help of their favorite streaming devices: Silicondust, maker of the HDHomerun TV tuners, has released a beta version of its HDHomerun app for Roku TVs and streaming devices. “We need to start out by saying this is very
With politics dominating television from the actual news to talk and sketch shows, some writers and producers of scripted fare prefer to deliver escapist storytelling as an antidote. For others, reflecting the state of the world is imperative in order to keep their characters rooted in reality. The balance then becomes about finding a way
Film is often referred to as a director’s medium, while in television the writer, or at least the showrunner, is the one with the most control. Some select few, though, give themselves the opportunity to be hybrids, not only crafting the story on the page but also stepping behind the camera to shape notable episodes
The WGA writers boost and representing Los Angeles on screen were two of the topics most passionately discussed at the comedy panel for Variety‘s “A Night in the Writers’ Room” event. While the drama panel earlier in the evening delved into the struggle that newer writers face as a result of the WGA-ATA impasse, the gathering
June 14, 2019 9:02AM PT Last night’s sixth and final game of the 2019 NBA finals ended in a historic victory for the Toronto Raptors. The Canadian team became the first from outside the United States to claim the title, beating the defending champion Golden State Warriors 114-110 in a tense game. In terms of
June 14, 2019 9:00AM PT Lena Dunham will direct and executive produce “Industry” for HBO, an eight-part series following a group of twenty-somethings breaking into the world of international finance. Variety reported in late 2017 that Jane Tranter’s Bad Wolf production company (“His Dark Materials”) was developing the show for HBO. The premium cabler has
Just as in those 1970s-era Reese’s peanut-butter cups commercials — “You got peanut butter on my chocolate!” “You got chocolate in my peanut butter!” — comedy and drama are commingling more than ever in the age of peak TV. But such blurring of lines can cause complications when it comes to pitching and marketing series,