May 29, 2019 10:18PM PT Leading Japanese auteur director, Naomi Kawase has begun production on her latest film, “Asa ga Kuru” (translation: Comes Morning). It is based on a 2015 novel by Mizuki Tsujimura about a woman who adopts a child, but is contacted by its birth mother out of the blue. Principal photography began
May 29, 2019 8:55PM PT In advance of Friday’s release of “Rocketman,” the “fantasy musical” celebrating the life and music of Elton John, the man himself will be on an hourlong iHeartRadio special Thursday (May 30) at 5 p.m. ET/PT. According to the announcement, Elton will “personally introduce his favorite hits of all time and
May 29, 2019 8:49PM PT [embedded content] The opening ceremony for the much anticipated new attraction, “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge,” is taking place at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., with appearances from George Lucas, Disney CEO Bob Iger, and more. Lucasfilm head Kathy Kennedy and “Star Wars” actor Mark Hamill will also speak at the dedication.
May 29, 2019 7:52PM PT Huayi Tencent Entertainment has invested a total of $4.2 million in “The Victory,” South Korea’s first space sci fi film mainly backed by Korean company Merry Christmas. T investment gives Huayi Tencent Entertainment an ownership position in the film and distribution rights in mainland China. China and South Korea have
May 29, 2019 7:33PM PT Jennifer Lopez has signed with L.A. Reid’s Hitco, Variety has confirmed with sources close to the singer. Lopez was signed to Epic Records when Reid ran the label — he exited in May 2017 following an accusation of sexual harassment by a former employee — though it never materialized in
Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger says his film and TV studios are likely to vacate Georgia as a production hub if the state’s controversial heartbeat abortion bill becomes law. Speaking with Reuters at Disney’s theme park in Anaheim, Calif., Iger said it would be “very difficult” for the content giant to remain in the
In today’s film news roundup, “In 27 Days” and “The Keys to the Kingdom” are in the works as films, Pamela Adlon has been cast in Pete Davidson’s movie, an “On the Waterfront” actor received SAG-AFTRA membership and Dances With Films sets its lineup. PROJECTS LAUNCHED Dan Angel is developing Alison Gervais’ teen paranormal story
May 29, 2019 5:25PM PT Kahli Small, a veteran film executive who worked on “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Milk,” died on Sunday. She was 53. Small joined Focus Features as a production exec in 2004 and contributed to the production of several films, including “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Milk” and “Eastern Promises.” She also
The National Board of Review will release its list of the year’s top films, directors and performers on Dec. 3. To celebrate the best of 2019, the board will host its gala on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, at Cipriani’s 42nd Street in New York City, where it has taken place for more than a decade.
Warner Bros. and Legendary’s “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” should rule box office charts when it debuts in 3,600 North American venues this weekend. The monster movie, a sequel to 2014’s “Godzilla” and the 35th feature about the titular beast, is expected to earn $50 million to $55 million during its first three days in
In today’s roundup, Netflix releases the official trailer for its original comedy series “Mr. Iglesias,” and Nickelodeon unveils the cast for its “All That” reboot. CASTING Nickelodeon has announced the cast for its “All That” revival. Ryan Alessi, Reece Caddell, Kate Godfrey, Gabrielle Green, Nathan Janak, Lex Lumpkin and Chinguun Sergelen will star in the
May 29, 2019 3:44PM PT David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, the creators of HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” have parted ways with their longtime management company Management 360, Variety has confirmed. The pair’s now former manager, Guymon Casady, helped the pair connect with George R.R. Martin to turn his “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series
May 29, 2019 3:06PM PT Jake Johnson has been cast in the upcoming ABC drama series based on the graphic novel series “Stumptown,” taking over the role played in the pilot by Mark Webber. Johnson will star opposite series lead Cobie Smulders. It follows Dex Parios (Smulders), described as a strong, assertive, and sharp-witted army
Tim Cook, Lachlan Murdoch, Shari Redstone, Brian Roberts, Mark Zuckerberg and Bob Iger are among the media and technology moguls who will be touching down in Sun Valley, Idaho, in July for Allen & Co.’s annual media conference. The invite-only confab is a chance for the one-percent of the one-percent to break out their windbreakers
May 29, 2019 2:46PM PT The Writers Guild of America and Hollywood talent agencies have agreed to resume talks on June 7 over how agents represent WGA members. The WGA agreed last week to resume negotiations with Hollywood’s talent agents, six weeks after talks between the two sides fell apart. WGA West president David A.
After recently signing with Atlas Music Publishing, Brandi Carlile and her collaborators Phil and Tim Hanseroth have made the movie to a new publishing rights organization, too, with BMI announcing today that the PRO has signed the trio to a long-term deal. “We are thrilled to have the incomparable Brandi Carlile and Phil and Tim
May 29, 2019 2:29PM PT House Speaker Nancy Pelosi strongly criticized Facebook over its decision to keep a manipulated video of her on its service, telling public radio station KQED that the social media giant was “lying to the public.” Facebook didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. A video that was doctored
Despite film festival raves and endorsements from celebrities like Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Swift and Mindy Kaling, Annapurna’s “Booksmart” wasn’t able to earn high marks during its opening weekend. Olivia Wilde’s coming-of-age comedy sputtered with $6.9 million, a disappointing start for a movie that debuted in over 2,500 theaters across North America. The raunchy R-rated movie
NBC is returning to the beauty pageant arena. The network has announced that it will air the 2020 “Miss America” competition, snagging it from ABC. NBC was the home of “Miss America” for two decades, and it also previously aired rival competition “Miss USA.” However, the Peacock decided to dump the latter competition series in
Three songs into the launch of his “Chip Tooth Smile” tour, Rob Thomas took a moment to issue a disclaimer: that “f— ups” were possible on this first show of a six-week trek. It had been a minute since he last performed as a solo artist, and though the Jersey shore was a stone’s throw
You can’t change tires on the freeway. That’s producer Jeff Valdez’s description of the systemic issues that have kept Latinx talent in the entertainment industry at minuscule levels, despite the growth of the U.S.-born Hispanic population and its influence on popular culture. Valdez, a comedian turned producer (“Comedy Compadres,” “The Brothers Garcia”) turned entrepreneur, has
The band Sleater-Kinney has signed to the independent label Mom + Pop Music, which will release their new St. Vincent-produced album later this year. Today, the band released a new song, “Hurry on Home,” accompanied by a lyric video directed by Miranda July. The band also announced an extensive fall North American tour; with tickets
When asked to join a second season of “Big Little Lies,” Meryl Streep didn’t hesitate. “[My agents] asked me, ‘don’t you want to read it?’ And I said no,” the actor laughed, sitting alongside her co-stars Wednesday at the Wing Soho in New York City. “The first season was the greatest thing on television.” In
Fewer people are watching traditional primetime TV. Madison Avenue is rushing to spend money on the ones that still do. NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox and the CW have all started to sell advance advertising commitments as part of TV’s annual upfront market, according to six people familiar with the tone of negotiations. And while the
May 29, 2019 12:21PM PT Add MTV to the list of outlets severing ties with actor Jason Mitchell. “The Chi” star will no longer be among the nominees for “Best Performance in a Show” at this year’s MTV Movie & TV Awards. “In light of recent developments, we have removed Jason Mitchell as a nominee,”
May 29, 2019 12:10PM PT [embedded content] Ansel Elgort and Nicole Kidman help bring Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Goldfinch” to life in the first trailer for the film, released on Wednesday. Elgort stars as Theo Decker, whose life is changed forever when his mother dies in a terrorist bombing at an art museum.
Hulu sells an ad-free version of its streaming service, just like Netflix. But the majority of Hulu subscribers are on the $5.99-per-month ad-supported plan, which is half the price of the $11.99 no-commercials version. Hulu has previously disclosed subscriber numbers — announcing 28 million customer accounts earlier this month — but hasn’t broken those out
The 2019 Sundance Film Festival generated $182.5 million in economic impact for the state of Utah, declining 4.7% from last year, according to a study released on Wednesday. The 11-day festival attracted more than 122,000 attendees from 48 states and 35 foreign countries, a drop of about 2,900 from 2018. The studies on both years
From sitcoms to family dramas, TV has always explored fatherhood. But many recent depictions, across genres, are challenging traditional ideas of the nuclear family and redefining what it means to be a dad. From Pray Tell (Billy Porter) on “Pose” to Brad Wolgast (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) on “The Passage,” biology is not the most important factor
Grammy-nominated R&B singer Gallant was a few months shy of turning 2 when Soul Asylum’s “Runaway Train” became a music-video milk carton for the MTV generation, helping locate 21 of the 36 missing children featured in the Tony Kaye-helmed clip. [embedded content] But as Gallant became exposed to the song and its video growing up