November 6, 2018 6:30AM PT Andrew Lincoln’s much-hyped exit from “The Walking Dead” boosted the show’s ratings–but not by much. In the Nielsen Live+Same Day numbers, this Sunday’s episode of the AMC series drew a 2.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 5.4 million viewers. That is up approximately 6% in both measures from last week.
If Democrats take one or both houses of Congress, many entertainment industry figures will be joyous over the new check on President Trump and the prospects for taking back the White House in 2020. For the business side of entertainment, Democratic control may be a mixed blessing. What can be expected are gridlock, investigations and
Netflix is unveiling six new animated projects as the streaming giant continues to bolster its family entertainment slate. The offerings span film and television, and spring from the minds of some of the most acclaimed names in media. The movies include “My Father’s Dragon,” a 2D animated family feature film from Oscar-nominated director Nora Twomey
Jorge R. Gutiérrez knew he couldn’t turn down the invitation. In January, the “Book of Life” director was one of a select group of animators asked to attend a special presentation at Netflix’s Hollywood offices. Even though the event coincided with Gutiérrez’s 43rd birthday, the filmmaker felt he had to make the time. “My wife kept asking
Chris Meledandri is Hollywood’s most reluctant mogul. With Jeffrey Katzenberg selling DreamWorks and John Lasseter forced out at Disney over harassment allegations, the founder of Illumination Entertainment is the last person standing among the trio of industry animation titans. Whereas Lasseter for decades cut a larger-than-life figure at Pixar’s sprawling campus in Emeryville, Calif., dominating
MEXICO CITY — Los Cabos Film Festival’s Mexico Primero section is intended to encourage and promote both up-and-coming and against-the-grain Mexican filmmakers. Five films make up this year’s edition of Mexico Primero, spanning from intimate indie dramas to thrillers to fantasy and horror. Each film offers something unique to the slate, while sharing an almost
MEXICO CITY — Capricci Films, the French producer on Argentine director Pablo Agüero’s upcoming comedy-horror project “Sangria,” will be joined by the newly formed, all-female Mexican production company Calouma Films. “Sangria” turns on Xavier, a carefree Canadian on vacation in Mexico who visits the worship space of a pagan saint. There, he meets beautiful Flor,
Ski Mask the Slump God Vic Mensa Should Stay in Hiding … After XXXTentacion Diss 11/6/2018 6:38 AM PST EXCLUSIVE Vic Mensa would be wise to remain out of the public eye until he does a full mea culpa for dissing XXXTentacion at the BET Awards … so says one of the late rapper’s best buds.
The sale of Endemol Shine is off, Variety has learned. Senior staff members at the production and distribution giant were told this week that the company’s co-owners, 21st Century Fox and Apollo Global Management, have decided to suspend the process, a source with knowledge of the matter said Tuesday. With the sale shelved, Fox’s 50%
With the 2018 midterm elections tomorrow, late night hosts are joining the rest of the news world to focus on what could result in a Democratic takeover of the House — some more lightheartedly than others. On “The Late Show,” Stephen Colbert was on edge, turning to a pull of bourbon to calm his nerves.
November 5, 2018 9:27PM PT Oprah Winfrey responded to reports that racist robocalls were being sent in her name just days after she campaigned for Georgia candidate Stacey Abrams, seeking to become the country’s first African-American female governor. “I heard people were making racist robocalls in my name against Stacey Abrams, who I am one
Sean Hannity took the stage at President Trump’s final midterm election rally in Missouri, and called the media covering the event “fake news.” “Promises made, promises kept,” Hannity told the crowd in Cape Girardeau, repeating one of the slogans Trump has used in the rallies he’s staged across the country in advance of Tuesday’s vote. On
Rihanna to Trump Please DO Stop the Music at Rallies … If it’s Mine, Anyway!!! 11/5/2018 8:08 PM PST Breaking News Rihanna ain’t waiting for Election Day … she’s made it clear where she stands on President Trump by sending him a legal warning about using her music at his political rallies. RiRi’s lawyers fired
Joni Mitchell is getting the all-star-salute treatment in L.A. this week with two sold-out nights billed as “JONI 75: A Birthday Celebration Live at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.” There are no lightweights in the lineup; everyone in the cast has earned a place at the table, from contemporaries like James Taylor and Graham Nash to
Auli’i Cravalho has given her official approval for all “Moana” Halloween costumes regardless of skin color. “I think Moana is a character for anyone who wants to be the hero or heroine of their own story. If you resonate with the character, you dress up as that character. For me, that’s what that is,” the
November 5, 2018 6:14PM PT Focus Features has acquired worldwide rights to “Street Gang,” Marilyn Agrelo’s documentary exploring the “Sesame Street” phenomenon. HBO has acquired U.S. rights, Variety has learned. Introduced to buyers at the AFM by the Exchange, “Street Gang” is partly based on Michael Davis’ best-selling book of the same name published in
WASHINGTON — Entertainment figures canvassed precincts, tweeted out last-minute endorsements, rallied millennials and, most of all, urged people to vote in a midterm election characterized by former President Barack Obama as perhaps “the most important of our lifetimes.” In a sharp contrast to 2016, few Democratic Hollywood figures were publicly predicting outcomes, even as pollsters see
With midterms less than 24 hours away, celebrities are ramping up their online, and real life, campaigning. Big names such as Oprah Winfrey, Kristen Bell, Tiffany Haddish, and even Barbra Streisand have lent their voices across the nation to support the candidates of their choosing. Here’s a list of who from Hollywood is using their
In today’s film news roundup, Ben Foster is playing a boxer, Corbin Bernsen will portray a real estate developer and vampire fantasy “Empire V” is selling at AFM. CASTINGS Ben Foster has signed on to star in boxing drama “Harry Haft” with Barry Levinson directing. Bron Studios and New Mandate Films are producing in association
British pop music phenom Harry Styles has, for the second time, lopped half of a million dollars off the asking price of his Los Angeles residence, bringing the price tag for the city view property down to $7.495 million. The One Direction superstar, who made his well received silver screen debut in the 2017 war
Grammy Award-winning artists/producer duo Drew Taggart and Alex Pall of the Chainsmokers have formed Kick the Habit Productions to develop and produce film, television, and digital projects. Dan Marcus, a former digital media agent at UTA, has been named chief operating officer and president and will oversee development and production for the company. Adam Alpert,
November 5, 2018 4:29PM PT “The Big Bang Theory” saw enough total viewers lift in Live+7 in week 4 of the current season to come out ahead of “Sunday Night Football.” For the week of Oct. 15, the CBS sitcom added 4.6 million viewers in delayed viewing for a total haul of 16.8 million. That
Jason Blum has made bank from things that go bump in the night. Thanks to the success of skin-crawling franchises such as “Paranormal Activity,” “The Purge,” and most recently “Halloween,” the horror maestro has slashed through a major milestone. Blumhouse, the mega-producer’s indie film label, has officially hit $4 billion in box office revenues. Its
Before arriving at its current title, Danish director Bille August’s English-Mandarin WWII film “In Harm’s Way” was released in Britain as “The Hidden Soldier,” and premiered at 2017’s Shanghai Intl. Film Festival as “The Chinese Widow.” Why the film would reject two prosaic yet descriptive English-language titles for an equally prosaic yet randomly applied one
China Capital Zhongcai Fund Management Co. Ltd. will inject $300 million into the film fund of Starlight Culture Entertainment Group, Variety has learned exclusively. Starlight is a China-backed firm with offices in Beverly Hills, Calif. It operates under the leadership of CEO Peter Luo, and came to notice in 2016 through a deal with “Aquaman”
We’re happy to report that John Krasinki is well on his way to making the sequel to “A Quiet Place.” “I’m writing it now,” Krasinski told Variety Sunday at 10th annual Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards, adding, “I’ve mapped out an idea and hopefully it’s good enough to shoot … Paramount’s been unbelievably supportive and I’m
November 5, 2018 3:45PM PT Matt Reeves is bringing a long-gestating project to NBC. Reeves is attached to executive produce the drama “Ordinary Joe” at the broadcaster, which has received a put pilot commitment. The project is based on a pilot that Reeves first wrote more than a decade ago. The series begins with the titular
November 5, 2018 3:35PM PT Before stepping into Lisbeth Salander’s shoes for “The Girl in the Spider’s Web,” Claire Foy didn’t watch any of the previous films, which starred Rooney Mara and Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth. “I didn’t watch them ahead,” the Golden Globe winner told Variety on Sunday at the NYC screening of the
In today’s TV News Roundup, Anika Noni Rose is set to star in TNT’s upcoming drama “Beast Mode,” and FXX announced the premiere date for the last season of “You’re the Worst.” DATES ION Television is kicking off its tenth holiday movie season Nov. 25 with the premiere of “Christmas Cupid’s Arrow,” followed by more film
Long before the political career of Donald Trump began, politicians were using music in their campaign rallies against the artists’ wishes: In 2015, Rolling Stone compiled a list of 35 of them, many dating from the John McCain/Sarah Palin campaign of 2008. Yet the artists’ protestations rarely seem to have any effect, particularly against the current