WASHINGTON — AT&T’s merger with Time Warner faced a new round of judicial scrutiny on Thursday as a three-judge panel weighed whether there were clear errors in a district court decision that cleared the way for the transaction. The panel — Judith Rogers, a Clinton appointee; Robert L. Wilkins, an Obama appointee; and David Sentelle,
Since Bill Duke the Sundance Special Jury-prize winning film “The Killing Floor” (1984), the multi-hyphenate talent has rarely been out of sight on screens big and small. In the ’90s, Duke directed acclaimed crime films focused on black themes and characters, including the Cannes Fest competitor “A Rage in Harlem”; “Hoodlum,” with an enviable cast
Google is going to phase out its messaging app Allo at the end of March and move any existing users to Messages, its new default Android SMS and chat app, the company announced this week. The move comes as Google is finding itself struggling to keep up with competitors like Facebook, Snapchat, Line and others.
Below-the-line department heads who have the opportunity to work together on more than one film often develop a kind of communications shorthand. For production designer Franco-Giacomo Carbone and costume designer Lizz Wolf, “Creed II” marks their fourth collaboration — a relationship that began with 2008’s “Rambo.” This worked to the great advantage of the eighth
Once upon a time, the quintessential foreign-language film submission was a sweeping epic or something to do with WWII. No longer. More challenging and topical pictures have been entered and ultimately rewarded. Think of last year’s Chilean winner, “A Fantastic Woman,” centered on a transgender character.Among this year’s submissions from 87 countries are at least
Reality series aficionados may recognize drag performer D.J. “Shangela: Pierce from his tenure as a two-time contestant on the Emmy Award-winning hit “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” as well as “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars,” but thanks to a small but plum role as a drag bar emcee-cum-bar owner in “A Star Is Born,” he’s drawn in
December 6, 2018 10:01AM PT Timothee Chalament is on board to play one of the leads in Wes Anderson’s next live action feature, “The French Dispatch.” Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Benicio del Toro and Jeffrey Wright are also on board. Murray, McDormand and Swinton have appeared in several Anderson films. Anderson is writing and
Each year, the same debate rages: Can a movie about superheroes be a legitimate contender for a best picture Academy Award nomination? The answer, so far, has been a taunting laugh followed by a hard no. After all, as UCLA associate professor of sociology Gabriel Rossman — who worked with University of Arizona assistant professor
A breakout star in “Roma,” first-time actress Yalitza Aparicio went from small-town schoolteacher-in-training to snagging a lead role in director Alfonso Cuarón’s autobiographical movie about his formative years in Mexico. Aparicio plays Cleo, based on the director’s childhood nanny. “It’s kind of incredible that I’ve had this experience,” she says, “because not everybody starts this
Fandango is latching on to 2018 Golden Globes hype to try to lure new customers to its FandangoNow streaming service — offering 50% off rentals or purchases of several nominated movies and TV shows for a limited time. The nominations for the 76th annual Golden Globe Awards were announced Thursday (see full list here). FandangoNow’s
December 6, 2018 9:14AM PT Scooter Braun’s SB Projects has hired Tony Bracy as vice president of marketing and promotions, the company announced today. Bracy arrives from Capitol Records, where he was West Coast regional promotion director and worked hit songs by Katy Perry, Niall Horan, Tori Kelly, Halsey, Migos and Bastille, among others. In his new role, Bracy
There’s no denying the race for documentary Oscar has changed dramatically in the past decade and even more so in the past five years. The reason for the shift? Money. What is debatable is if the shift is for the better. There are many reasons for the recent exponential rise in docu campaign budgets. One
Cardi B Offset’s Fatal Mistake … Chatting Up a Cardi Wannabe Rapper 12/6/2018 1:00 AM PST EXCLUSIVE Cardi B knew Offset had a tendency to talk to side chicks, but the fact he apparently made a play for another female rapper, who’s also Latina, hit way too close to home … TMZ has learned. Offset
The Golden Globe nominations always offer a few curveballs, and Thursday morning’s announcement was no exception. The movie with the most nominations was “Vice” (with six), beating out “A Star Is Born,” “Green Book,” and “The Favourite” (with five apiece). Meanwhile, on the television side, voters favored quite a few freshman series from across the
Republic Records has promoted Kevin Lipson to executive VP of commerce, streaming, and digital strategy, label EVP/General Manager Jim Roppo announced on Thursday. Previously, Lipson was the company’s SVP of Commerce, a role he held since 2014. He is a 22-year veteran of Universal Music Group, having held senior level management positions at the company’s labels Island, Def Jam, UMe and UMG’s commercial
Star power and staying power were rewarded by Golden Globe voters this time around in the television nominations. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association put the spotlight on a number of new programs enhanced by mega stars: Julia Roberts’ “Homecoming,” Jim Carrey’s “Kidding,” Michael Douglas’ “The Kominsky Method” and Hugh Grant’s “A Very English Scandal.” FX’s
In the Golden Globes’ film music nominations, Dolly is in and “Mary” is out — at least in this year’s much-watched Best Song category. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association gave all five slots to stars from the pop, country or hip-hop worlds, with Dolly Parton, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, Annie Lennox and Troye Sivan making
December 6, 2018 7:17AM PT DAZN, the streaming-sports outlet led by former ESPN chief John Skipper (above, pictured), is adding documentary programming to its slate of live-sports properties. DAZN will debut “The Journey: Canelo/Rocky,” an original episodic program that takes fans behind the scenes as the December 15th super middleweight championship fight between Canelo Alvarez
December 6, 2018 7:13AM PT MTV host and veteran radio DJ Matt Pinfield was hospitalized in Los Angeles Wednesday after being hit by a car and suffering major injuries. TMZ was first to report the news, which Pinfield shared on social media. He was crossing the street when he was struck by the car, according to the
One of the main reasons movies resonate with us is that they make us think: about our own lives, our history or our appreciation for past pieces of art. So many of this year’s awards contenders do one or all of the above, be it a flashy musical that yanks at memories from our childhood
Hollywood has long excelled at telling stories that are cut from reality, featuring topical ingredients that tie escapism to the world we inhabit. Whether it’s true stories from the past or present that help to inform our current social landscape, or wholly creative pieces of fiction that oftentimes touch upon progressive collective change, filmmakers continue
Although it is expensive and time-consuming to enter the Oscar race, the value of a foreign-language film nomination proves tangible to the director and, by extension, to the country’s entire cinematic output. Here are some case studies of procedure and strategy from countries that have been included in previous shortlists, and have a strong chance
Former Los Angeles Lakers star Pau Gasol reflects on special-needs sports and “Champions,” Spain’s Oscar entry, a blockbuster hit on home turf and sold almost worldwide. “Champions” turns on an off-the-rails Spanish coach sentenced to train a basketball team of special-needs players. Are such teams common in Spain? Fortunately, there are more and more initiatives.
Iflix, a streaming service for emerging markets, and Next 10 Ventures have launched a Creators Hub to fund the development of new online video creation in Southeast Asia. Announced at the ongoing Asian TV Market & Forum, as part of a 12-month program, Iflix will invest up to $5 million with selected content creators in
No matter how much you loved “Crazy Rich Asians” — that glittering Singapore-set spin on the princess movie, which charmed audiences to the tune of nearly a quarter of a billion dollars earlier this year — don’t be surprised when the Academy fails to give it a single above-the-line Oscar nomination. When that happens, it
December 6, 2018 6:30AM PT The Hollywood Foreign Press Association embraced politics on Thursday morning, giving Adam McKay’s Dick Cheney drama “Vice,” starring Christian Bale, a leading six nominations. Yorgos Lanthimos’ historical comedy-drama “The Favourite,” Peter Farrelly’s historical film “Green Book,” and Bradley Cooper’s musical romantic drama “A Star Is Born” were close behind with
However you slice the foreign-language film Oscar, it remains bound by rules and regulations that ensure it can never be fully representative of world cinema: in 2018, as global film production grows ever more complex and multinational, the one-film-per-country submission system looks a little quaint, excluding numerous outstanding titles that fall both within and beyond
Comcast’s Xfinity Digital Store has joined digital movie-collection service Movies Anywhere, with the cable giant becoming its seventh digital retail partner — and first pay-television partner. For its October 2017 launch, Movies Anywhere partnered with four initial retailers: Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Apple’s iTunes and Walmart’s Vudu. FandangoNow, Fandango’s FandangoNow on-demand video service came aboard this
Amazon Music today announced the rollout of new voice features that enables listeners to personalize their streaming music experience. Essentially, listeners can have a conversation with the service’s Alexa to find playlists and music for specific moods or occasions, “liking” or rejecting songs, identifying songs by lyrics and more, all through voice. The goal is for
Two veterans of immersive storytelling have banded together for a new Los Angeles-based augmented reality (AR) startup: Former Felix & Paul chief content officer Ryan Horrigan and former Milk VR and VRSE.works producer Armando Kirwin unveiled their new startup Artie Thursday, laying out a vision to bring intelligent avatars everywhere. “VR and AR are the