When the Buffalo Bills square off against the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday via a game streamed on NBC’s Peacock, they will, for at least a period of time, do so without one of their most supportive fans: Madison Avenue. Peacock plans to stream the game’s fourth quarter without commercials, essentially sacrificing 12 minutes, or
Awfulness in music came in so many forms in 2023. Nothing makes for a good annus horribilis like songs that promote xenophobia, racism or just overall divisiveness in the interest of trolling — so here’s a round of Fudge Rounds for strange bedfellows like Jason Aldean and Kanye West. But it’s understandable if you might
“Aim for excellence — Brown exellence,” actor-producer Wilmer Valderrama told this year’s graduates of the National Hispanic Media Coalition‘s Series Scriptwriters Program as the eight-week intensive came to an end earlier this week. Valderamma, the “NCIS” and “That ’70s Show” star, is a multihyphenate, activist and entrepreneur and a member of NHMC’s Visionary Alliance of
Alexander Payne’s bittersweet Christmas dramedy “The Holdovers” is hitting Peacock on Dec. 29. The movie, from Focus Features, follows three lonely people stuck at a snowy boarding school over the holidays. It debuted in theaters in October and earned rave reviews, including from Variety‘s own chief film critic Peter Debruge, who wrote that Payne’s “portrait
Dan O’Neill was 53 years ahead of his time. In 1971, he launched a countercultural attack on Mickey Mouse. In his underground comic book, “Air Pirates Funnies,” the lovable mouse was seen smuggling drugs and performing oral sex on Minnie. As O’Neill had hoped, Disney sued him for copyright infringement. He believed it was a
In a comeback worthy of “Succession”‘s patriarch Logan Roy, French billionaire Vincent Bolloré has re-emerged from a fictive retirement to engineer a strategic overhaul of his listed media empire, Vivendi. After seemingly passing on the reins of Vivendi to his sons Yannick and Cyrille last year, Bolloré stepped back in with a plan to split
Aylo, parent company of Pornhub and other sex sites, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with U.S. prosecutors to settle a charge it profited from deals with porn producers who were involved in sex trafficking. Under the settlement announced Thursday, Canada-based Aylo agreed to pay a criminal fine and forfeiture totaling $1.845 million to the
The video game industry has been rocked by hackers this month, first with the early leak of Rockstar Games’ trailer for “Grand Theft Auto 6” and this week’s hack of Insomniac, the developer behind “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” and the upcoming “Wolverine” game. Hackers stole private data from Insomniac Games employees and released early gameplay footage
Muvi Studios, the production arm of Saudi Arabia’s leading exhibition chain Muvi Cinemas, is ramping up production of Arabic movies with plans to release 10 titles spawned by its own pipeline in 2024, starting with comedy “Esabet Azeema” that will bow locally on Jan. 4. “Esabet Azeema,” which toplines Egyptian icon Esaad Younis making her
Aquaman is slowly swimming his way back to theaters, but he may get washed up at the box office. The latest DC Universe movie, “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” has made $4.5 million in Thursday previews at the domestic box office. The superhero sequel, which marks the final installment of the DCEU before it gets
Actor, writer and filmmaker Honey Lauren (“Deadwood,” “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”) has set the cast for her feature directorial debut “Mistake.” The indie drama stars Dominic Bogart (“American Primeval,” “The Glass Castle,” “The Birth of a Nation”), Matt Bogart (“Jersey Boys Live!”), Emmy winner and Golden Globe nominee Kay Lenz (“House”), Brett Cullen (“Joker,” “The Dark
Lionsgate unveiled details of the long-awaited separation of its studios business and the Starz TV network and streaming division. The company announced Friday that its studio business, comprising its TV and film production and distribution segments and a content library with 18,000-plus titles, will spin off in a merger with Screaming Eagle Acquisition Corp., a
Ella Glendining is both the director and subject of documentary “Is There Anybody Out There?,” a global search for someone with a body that looks like hers. The film debuted at Sundance this year and went on to achieve global acclaim, winning a slew of awards along the way. Recent accolades include winning the BFI
Mark Francis, a veteran TV and streaming executive in Asia, has joined Indonesia’s Vidio streaming platform as its chief content officer and strategy officer. The appointment comes as the platform repasses 4 million subscribers and reclaims a lead in the Indonesian streaming market. Based in Jakarta and reporting directly to CEO Sutanto Harton, Francis is
Play video content TMZ.com Flavor Flav has nothing but kind words for his Public Enemy partner Chuck D in the run-up to their new single “Everywhere Man” — and while they didn’t talk for a while, he insists there was no real beef. We’ve got Flav on “TMZ Live” Friday, and he told us he’s
Play video content TMZ.com Flavor Flav no tiene más que palabras amables para su compañero de Public Enemy Chuck D, en el período previo a su nuevo single “Every Where Man”, y aunque no hablaron por un tiempo, insiste en que no había mala onda. Tenemos a Flav en “TMZ Live” el viernes, y nos
Play video content TMZ.com Millyz has a score to settle with Machine Gun Kelly, but has no idea when they’ll get it cracking … because he thinks Kelly’s secretly scared of him. The Massachusetts-bred rapper tells TMZ Hip Hop he didn’t get into the biz to create a white rapper beef sideshow … but claims
South Korean director Hong Sang-soo was awarded the El Gouna Gold Star for best narrative film for his meditation on art and relationships, “In Our Day,” as the delayed edition of the El Gouna Film Festival held its closing ceremony on Thursday. The Italian animated film “A Greyhound of a Girl,” directed by Enzo D’Alò,
Really, a company that creates augmented reality content for theatrical release movies has hired veteran media executive Peter Gaida as its chief commercial officer in Asia Pacific. The appointment is part of a wider expansion into Asia by the AR company. Founded by media entrepreneur James Andrew Felts in 2017, Really creates “highly functional, large-scale
There has been little improvement in diversity among film directors over the last five years, as the total number of features as plummeted, according to a new report from the Directors Guild of America. The DGA report found that women directed 16% of the films released since 2018, while non-white directors accounted for 17%. The
Ricky Gervais has stirred up another controversy with a joke in his new Netflix special “Armageddon,” which hasn’t even come out yet. In a teaser clip released by the comedian, Gervais jokes about terminally ill children, calling them “baldy” and the R-slur. Now, more than 12,000 people have signed a Change.org petition demanding Netflix remove
Sony has dated an untitled Apple Original Films production starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum for July 12. Formerly known as “Project Artemis,” it’s set to screen in premium large formats with Columbia Pictures distributing. Meanwhile, the George Clooney-Brad Pitt starrer “Wolfs,” also from Apple Original Films, will open Sept. 20 in IMAX and premium
Mega media merger mania is once again afoot in Hollywood with very, very early talks between Warner Bros. Discovery‘s David Zaslav and Paramount Global’s Bob Bakish about a potential merger of the two companies. Analysts and industry sources have already raised a number of questions about what a WBD-Paramount combo would look like and the
“The Gilded Age” will return for a third season at HBO. “We’re so proud of what Julian Fellowes and ‘The Gilded Age’ family have achieved. From the costumes to the production design and performances, the show has captivated so many week after week. Along with our partners at Universal Television, we are thrilled to continue
The 6th edition of the El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) has wrapped with a feeling of quiet triumph. The glitz and celebrities were largely absent, although Egyptian star Yousra and legendary French actor Christophe Lambert both appeared at In Conversation events. But in a way, this allowed festival organizers to better focus on the core
Norby Walters, a music agent who hosted the annual “Night of 100 Stars” Oscars viewing party for more than 25 years, died Dec. 10 in Burbank. He was 91. Walters, who died in his sleep of natural causes, was described by Variety‘s Steven Gaydos as “one of the most dapper, snappiest characters in a town
The flashing of lights, the brightest smiles, the swish of gowns, the sky-high heels, and the sparkling, gleaming, glamorous gems—this can only be one place, the red carpet. Celebrated across the globe for their unparalleled beauty and spectacular influence, red-carpet events are the pinnacle of chic style and fashionable grace. And one single brand shines
Spoilers ahead! Do not watch until you have seen episode 8 of “Julia.” “Julia” might put a strong focus on the food, but it’s a show that also has a lot more on its mind. The Max comedy series takes on a wide range of 1960s-era social issues, including feminism, homosexuality, civil rights and the
Sydney Sweeney’s starring role in the Rolling Stones‘ music video for “Angry,” the lead single off their most recent album “Hackney Diamonds,” led to some claims that she was sexualized during the nearly four-minute clip. The video features Sweeney wearing black studded chaps and dancing in the back seat of a convertible as it speeds down
Jason Momoa cast doubt on his future as Aquaman in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, and now DC Studios boss Peter Safran has weighed in by telling The Independent: “If it’s the end of the journey, fine. If it goes on, that’s also fine.” Both Momoa and Safran are waiting to see how big