The creatives behind this year’s awards contenders convened for a series of conversations about their craft during Variety FYC Fest on Dec. 6 in Los Angeles. Variety‘s senior awards editor Clayton Davis, Senior Artisans Editor Jazz Tangcay and Senior Entertainment & Media Writer Matt Donnelly moderated several panels throughout the event. From the environmental documentaries “Common
The two Hollywood strikes will have no impact on next year’s Emmy eligibility windows for either the Primetime Emmys or the Daytime Emmys, the heads of the two television academies confirmed this week. Meeting with reporters in a joint setting — a collaboration that used to be a rarity, back when they were warring organizations,
Today’s the day: The Game Awards, honoring the best of the game industry of 2023, will take place Thursday, and the show is free to watch online across more than two dozen platforms. The 10th annual Game Awards show will stream live from L.A.’s Peacock Theater on Thursday, Dec. 7, starting at 4:30 p.m. PT/7:30
James Cameron revealed last month that he’s currently knee deep in the “very hectic” post-production of “Avatar 3.” Neither the director nor Disney is ready to unveil the title for “Avatar 3,” but it sounds like it won’t be “The Seed Bearer” as Cameron once considered. The titles for Cameron’s “Avatar” sequels have become social
Action star Jason Statham considers David Ayer’s “The Beekeeper,” which opens next year, as one of his buzziest movies yet. “I can’t wait for people to see that. It’s really sophisticated and cool, full of heart and excitement,” he said Thursday at the Red Sea Film Festival. “It’s a great film. The result is obviously
After earworm-filled musical dramas “Once,” “Begin Again” and “Sing Street,” “Flora and Son” marks a notable first for writer-director John Carney: it’s the first time he wrote a song for a film that’s designed to underwhelm. “I always thought, what would it be like if you started a song and you just didn’t get the
Lamorne Morris and Iris Apatow are set to join the cast of Netflix’s “Unstable” for Season 2. Morris (“Fargo,” “Woke”) will play recurring guest star Peter. The charismatic founder of a biotech start-up, Peter’s rising star manages to stoke the already intense rivalry between Ellis (Rob Lowe) and Jackson (John Owen Lowe). Apatow (“The Bubble,”
Sony Music Publishing Chairman/ CEO Jon Platt has been named the 2024 Grammy “Salute to Industry Icons” honoree, the Recording Academy and Clive Davis announced on Thursday. Platt will be honored at the Pre-Grammy Gala — aka the “Clive Party” — on Feb. 3, 2024, the night before the Grammys. “One of the most influential figures in the industry, Jon
Justine Triet‘s “Anatomy of a Fall” missed out on being chosen as France’s Oscar entry, but the movie has been a critical and commercial hit — including in the U.S., where it’s become the highest-grossing specialized foreign-language release post-pandemic, according to distributor Neon. Released in the States on Oct. 13, “Anatomy of a Fall” has
Shortly after Halle Bailey and Rachel Zegler were crowned real-life Disney princesses, they met for the first time at a ball — the 2021 Met Gala, to be exact. It was the beginning not only of a beautiful friendship, but of a new era for Disney. Bailey became the first Black Ariel in Rob Marshall’s
Prime Video has released the trailer for its adaptation of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine. The series will launch all eight episodes on Feb. 2. Drawing from the 2005 film of the same name, the series sees the two actors take on the roles originated by Brad Pitt and Angelina
Hozefa Lokhandwala will step down as co-CEO of Vice Media Group to start “a new endeavor,” he said in a memo to staff Thursday. Bruce Dixon, formerly co-CEO alongside Lokhandwala, will now be the sole CEO. Lokhandwala’s exit comes after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and in July 2023 closed a $350
Don’t talk to me about Emily in Paris,” Isabel Marant will warn you. No, she hasn’t seen the Netflix hit. “And I won’t. But this is a phantasm that doesn’t exist in Paris,” she says, blowing out cigarette smoke. “The French girl is much cooler than that.” Marant would know. She’s built a one-woman empire
Moonbug Entertainment, the studio behind “Cocomelon,” has set its first project in collaboration with game and toy company Toikido: animated preschool series “PeaKeeBoo.” “PeaKeeBoo” focuses on sounds and visuals from nature and draws inspiration from the children’s game peek-a-boo. Season 1 will debut on the Moonbug Kids YouTube channel in 2024. Similarly to “Piñata Smashlings,”
Starting next year, major marketers such as Geico or General Mills could find themselves running commercials alongside popular Amazon programs like “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” or “Jack Ryan” that were previously untouched by advertising. Amazon’s ad-sales unit has struck a three-year deal with Interpublic Group‘s Mediabrands, which manages and helps to invest more than $47
London-based international documentary sales and production outfit Dogwoof has boarded world sales for Shiori Ito’s feature documentary, “Black Box Diaries,” which will receive its world premiere in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. The film follows director and journalist Ito’s courageous investigation of her own sexual assault in an improbable
“The Summer With Carmen,” Zacharias Mavroeidis’ queer comedy, has been acquired in major territories since world premiering at the Venice Film Festival. The movie, which is represented by Be For Films and had its North American premiere at AFI, recently won three prizes at the Thessaloniki Film Festival. It will be released next year by Cinobo
ITV has published findings from its external inquiry into former “This Morning” anchor Phillip Schofield‘s affair with a PA on the show. Schofield did not participate in the inquiry because of a “risk to his health,” the report stated, adding that the former anchor’s “mental health has since deteriorated.” U.K public service broadcaster ITV hired
Amazon‘s Prime Video and Premier Boxing Champions announced a multiyear rights agreement to bring top pay-per-view boxing events to U.S. viewers. Launched in 2015, PBC features over 150 active fighters across various weight divisions, including top contenders and current world champions. In 2023, its matchups have included David Benavídez vs. Caleb Plant, Gervonta “Tank” Davis
Benjamin Zephaniah, a British poet, writer and actor who played the role of Jeremiah Jesus in “Peaky Blinders,” has died. He was 65. According to a statement posted to Zephaniah’s official Instagram account, he died on Thursday after being diagnosed with a brain tumor eight weeks ago. “Benjamin’s wife was by his side throughout and
Gerard Depardieu, who has already been indicted on rape charges in connection to a 2018 case, is facing more sexual assault allegations in a new complaint, Variety has confirmed. Hélène Darras, a French actor, has filed a police complaint alleging that Depardieu sexually assaulted her during the filming of “Disco” in 2007. The news, which
Former French President François Hollande is part of the voice cast for “Silex & the City – The Movie,” a big-screen spinoff of the popular short-format animated series set in the Stone Age. “Silex & the City” is adapted from the comic book series by the same name created by French cartoonist Jul, which has
The second Asia TV Forum and Market IP Accelerator (AIPA) closed with four winners bagging prizes valued at more than S$80,000 ($59,700) from the three sponsors of the event. The 108 Media Development Award of S$15,000 towards project development went to Thailand’s “My Chef in Crime,” a crime-comedy series by producer Bo Rattanavich and director
Ena Sendijarević’s “Sweet Dreams,” Netherlands’ submission in the Academy Awards international feature category, has secured North American distribution via Dekanalog. The film had its world premiere at Locarno, where it won the Pardo for best performance for Renée Soutendijk (“Suspiria”) and the second prize of the junior jury. The film debuted in North America in
Action comedy film “Baby Hero” was launched at Singapore’s Asia TV Forum and Market on Thursday. The film is a co-production between Singapore’s Hong Pictures and Bangkok-based Hollywood (Thailand). Principal photography will commence in the first quarter of 2024 with a view to releasing the film in 2025. “Baby Hero” was launched in the presence
Iraqi director Ahmed Yassin Al-Daradji — who in 2022 won the Red Sea Film Festival‘s top prize with “Hanging Gardens” — will next direct black comedy ”Madness and Honey Days,” in which an audacious theatre director offends Saddam Hussein on stage and winds up in a psychiatric hospital to avoid a punishment of tongue-cutting followed by the
There’s a good reason Taylor Swift called out Kim Kardashian in TIME over a now 7-year-old phone call with Kanye West — it’s an incident for which Kim still has not apologized … TMZ has learned. Sources with direct knowledge tell us Kim has never said sorry to Taylor over the notorious “Famous” phone call
Indie distributor Bitters End is to give a theatrical release in Japan to Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” The film is controversial in Japan where the two atomic bombs were detonated in 1945, killing hundreds of thousands of Japanese citizens. The film was released in most territories in July by Universal and went on to gross $950
One of the most challenging aspects of navigating the teen years is the constant changes young people must confront. In Netflix’s new YA series “My Life With the Walter Boys,” based on Ali Novak’s 2014 novel of the same name, the entire world of 15-year-old Jackie Howard (Nikki Rodriguez) comes undone instantly. Unfortunately, generic storylines,
“A lot of Goop,” one of the attendees remarked on leaving Gwyneth Paltrow’s In Conversation talk taking place at the Red Sea Film Festival. “A bit lopsided,” another agreed. Many of the gathered gripped Marvel posters and wore Marvel T-shirts, but everyone was happy to welcome an actor whose career has spanned films as diverse