“It’s a nice full circle,” says Michael Douglas, speaking exclusively to Variety ahead of the Monte Carlo Television Festival, reflecting on a career that began in TV, blossomed in film, but has seen him return to the small screen in Netflix’s “The Kominsky Method.” Douglas is this year’s recipient of Monte Carlo’s Crystal Nymph, awarded
In 2019, if you were to tell the average music fan that there’s a label that’s only now allowing their releases to go to streaming services for the first time, that news would likely be greeted with head-scratching and a “duh?” But it’s not a no-brainer in the world of jazz, or at least in
iHeartMedia’s Bob Pittman, Rich Bressler, John Sykes and Tom Poleman were presented with the Music Visionary of the Year award by UJA-Federation of New York at the organization’s annual luncheon in New York today before 700 of the industry’s top executives — and raised some $1.6 million for the UJA in the process. While the event is
In today’s film news roundup, Eugenio Derbez is producing “Bad Dog”; “Oblivion Song” and “Just a Normal Tuesday” are in the works, and “The Warrior Queen of Jhansi” finds a home. PROJECTS LAUNCHING Jeff Bushell has sold his script to Lionsgate for “Bad Dog” with Eugenio Derbez and Ben Odell’s 3Pas Studios producing with Point
Agatha Christie’s 1961 novel “The Pale Horse” is being adapted for the small screen. The BBC has greenlit a two-part adaptation of the book, one of Christie’s later works, with Amazon Prime Video on board to co-produce and to show it in the U.S. The drama follows events after a list of names is found
June 11, 2019 3:36PM PT In today’s roundup, Hulu drops the first look at Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington in “Little Fires Everywhere” and MTV renews “Floribama Shore” for a third season. FIRST LOOKS Hulu has released the first look (pictured above) at Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington in “Little Fires Everywhere,” the adaptation of Celeste Ng’s
June 11, 2019 3:24PM PT The cancellation of the critically acclaimed Netflix series “One Day At a Time” was not an easy decision, according to Cindy Holland, VP of originals for the streamer, but a necessary one. Speaking Tuesday from the stage of Code Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz. opposite “Russian Doll” star Natasha Lyonne, she
June 11, 2019 2:55PM PT Netflix is caught in the “Russian Doll” loop. The streaming giant has renewed the critically-acclaimed series for Season 2, which will consist of eight episodes. The announcement was made at the CODE Conference in Arizona on Tuesday. “Russian Doll” was co-created by Natasha Lyonne, Amy Poehler, and Leslye Headland. Lyonne
Ever since the Olsen twins became the it girls of the aughties, they soon became known for serving looks. Often hard to tell apart (despite actually being fraternal twins), Mary-Kate and Ashley started to use their style preferences as a point of differentiation. Mary-Kate—who is never afraid to take a risk—is known for pushing the
She will report to Keith Cocozza, the company’s executive vice president of corporate marketing and communications. Battin is charged with leading corporate brand strategy and brand management, and will oversee a team responsible for coordinated portfolio marketing, agency management, cross promotion planning, media production and presentation services. Battin was most recently executive vice president and
Co-headlining tours don’t come much more potent — or spark more fun arguments about “Well, who should close that bill?” — than the 18-date summer outing by (in alphabetical order) Jason Isbell and Father John Misty, two of the essential singer-songwriters of the 2010s. Their audiences would definitely not completely overlap in a Venn diagram, so
It started slowly. Its creeping presence grew on my feed over the past few months, but like a monster rearing its ugly head. Then, I finally realized the new shade amongst us: everyone is obsessed with all types of green. Shrek green, Kermit green, Gomora green, Grass green, Avocado green—influencers, brands, and celebrities cannot get
Early indicators suggest that Facebook’s new Oculus Quest VR headset is seeing solid sales, but it doesn’t seem to be a blockbuster. Still, some estimate that Facebook could sell more than 1 million units in 2019. Facebook has yet to release any official sales numbers for the Quest, which was officially released last month. The
MTV has revealed that Jada Pinkett Smith will be honored with the “Trailblazer” Award during the 2019 “MTV Movie & TV Awards.” The prize, which recognizes game-changing creators in entertainment, will be presented by Pinkett Smith’s “Girls Trip” co-star Tiffany Haddish. Previous recipients of the award include Lena Waithe in 2018, Shailene Woodley, Channing Tatum,
Ellen DeGeneres’ latest project: She’s reverting to her childhood. In animated show “Little Ellen,” the talk-show host and comedian will be portrayed as a 7-year-old — who is, of course, “hilarious and unpredictable,” according to her company. The project is in development at Ellen Digital Ventures and Warner Bros. Animation. In the 2D animated series,
June 11, 2019 12:05PM PT Ilana Glazer is getting her own stand-up special, courtesy of Amazon. The “Broad City” co-creator’s first special, titled “The Planet Is Burning,” will shoot on Wednesday at the White Oak Music Hall in Houston, TX and premiere exclusively on the streaming platform. The critically acclaimed “Broad City,” which she originally
June 11, 2019 12:00PM PT CAA has promoted 10 employees to agent. Crystal Caicedo, Matt Felker, Ozi Menakaya, and Olivia Owen have been elevated to agents in the agency’s television division. Based in CAA’s Los Angeles office, Felker will serve in scripted television, with Caicedo and Menakaya in international scripted television and Owen in television
That admonition credited to Coco Chanel about taking one thing off before leaving the house came to mind in the first minutes of “City on a Hill.” Sure, the line is a cliché, but it’s somehow less well-worn than the Boston-cop aesthetic that pervades Showtime’s new drama. This is a show that resists no opportunity,
In response to a New York Times article recounting a 2008 fire described as “the biggest disaster in the history of the music business” in which thousands of Universal Music Group master recordings were destroyed, the company has issued a statement disputing the characterization of the damage it caused to the company’s archives, saying the
Kellen Winslow Jr. Found Guilty of Rape Facing Serious Prison Time 6/10/2019 3:24 PM PDT Breaking News Ex-NFL star Kellen Winslow Jr. has just been found GUILTY of forcible rape — along with lewd conduct and indecent exposure — and he’s now facing serious prison time. A jury deliberated in a San Diego courthouse for
Keanu Reeves clearly didn’t know what he was getting himself into. Plans for the star of “John Wick 3” to make a guest appearance in the middle of Microsoft’s Xbox press conference during the annual E3 show in LA this week was a closely held secret. Xbox head Phil Spencer told Variety that a stand-in delivered
June 11, 2019 11:11AM PT Leila Conners’ follow-up to “The 11th Hour” continues to spread the alarm about climate change but this time offers concrete solutions. Twelve years ago, Leonardo DiCaprio teamed up with Leila Conners to blast an environmental wake-up call to the world with “The 11th Hour,” warning of the dire consequences of
ANNECY — “·Hello, I’m Margie Cohn, and I am president of DreamWorks….” By that time, as she walked onto the stage at Annecy on Tuesday for a DreamWorks Animation presentation of upcoming titles, DWA president Cohn’s self introduction had been drowned by a barrage of applause and yelps of approbation. It’s hard to underestimate the
Election results are in for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with producer Donna Gigliotti and screenwriter Eric Roth among the newly chosen for the lofty positions that advise and manage the Oscar voting body. Prominent members to win reelection include Laura Dern, Steven Spielberg and Fox Searchlight executive Nancy Utley. The election
The proposed merger of telco giants Sprint and T-Mobile is getting some significant push-back: On Tuesday, 10 states including California, New York and the District of Columbia, sued to prevent the merger from going forward. The lawsuit alleges that the merger will reduce competition, leading to higher prices and less access for consumers. T-Mobile didn’t
ANNECY, France — On Tuesday night at the Annecy Intl. Animation Festival, Netflix held one of its most highly-anticipated panels for one of its most dedicated fan-bases: Netflix Original Anime: A Celebration of Anime and a Look Ahead. Appropriately enough, this year’s festival is honoring Japan and its animation tradition, past and present, as the
June 11, 2019 10:13AM PT “Big Little Lies” kicked off its second season with a nice ratings boost and that is not a lie of any size. The Season 2 premiere of the HBO series nabbed 2.5 million viewers combined in both linear airings and on streaming options HBO GO and HBO NOW. That is
Variety is returning to the Riviera for a third year to host its annual Studio at Cannes. This year’s studio is presented by Inscape and iSpot.tv and features thought-leaders in branding, storytelling, and audience engagement. The interviews, which will span three days during the June festival, will uncover trends and strategies in entertainment marketing and
Former Starz executive vice president of original programming Marta Fernandez has been named the president of MACRO Television Studios, Variety has learned. “I couldn’t be happier to have Marta join us to lead our television group,” said Charles D. King, MACRO founder and CEO. “Her spot on creative instincts, refined taste level and wealth of experience
June 11, 2019 9:55AM PT Having upgraded to a slightly bigger, newly built house in L.A.’s Toluca Lake community, reality TV super-producer Dan Cutforth has sold his former home in the secluded Fryman Canyon section of L.A.’s Studio City for $4.1 million. The longtime executive producer of megahits “Top Chef” and “Project Runway” just about