Hollywood has not been successful at turning video games into movies — a disappointing streak that “Five Nights at Freddy’s” fails to correct. Despite being shepherded by savvy low-budget horror producer Jason Blum, this is a rather empty and unexciting effort at attracting horror fans during Halloween season. Director Emma Tammi’s film squanders the game’s
A TIFFCOM seminar on Thursday demonstrated both a sense of incredulity that Japanese animation “Suzume” could have enjoyed such wide international success and conveyed the depth of passionate behind-the-scenes strategizing that made it happen. Since its release in Japan at the end of 2022 and international expansion in spring of 2023, following a Berlin festival
Cable news went into marathon-coverage mode Wednesday night as the nation was shocked by reports of mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine. The shootings occurred at Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley, the Lewiston Police Department shared on Facebook. At an official press conference, Mike Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department
Slamdance has announced the winners of its annual screenplay competition, with Mike Ackerman’s feature-length script “This End Up” winning the grand prize. Slamdance announced the awards — recognizing writers across the categories of feature film, horror/thriller, TV pilot, short film and a special mentorship award — during a ceremony held at Los Angeles’s Westwood Landmark
SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for “Dressed to Kill,” the Season 3 midseason finale for Syfy/USA Network’s “Chucky.” For the first time in his 35-year history, Chucky is learning that even dolls have a shelf life. In the Season 3, Part 1 finale of Syfy/USA Network’s “Chucky,” the legendary killer doll managed to evade
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 10, Episode 6 of “The Masked Singer,” “Harry Potter Night,” which aired Oct. 25 on Fox. The timing couldn’t have been better: With Halloween approaching, it was a spooky “Harry Potter”-themed episode of “The Masked Singer” this week, so it was only appropriate
The ex-girlfriend who’s accusing Jonathan Majors of assaulting her is now herself in trouble with the law for allegedly striking him, and she’s now surrendered to police in NYC. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ … Grace Jabbari was arrested Wednesday evening at Manhattan’s 10th Precinct for allegedly attacking the “Creed III” actor after Majors filed
Matthew Lillard, Harvey Guillén and more have joined Mike Flanagan‘s upcoming Stephen King film adaptation, “The Life of Chuck.” “I’m pleased to announce the rest of our ensemble who join Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan and Jacob Tremblay to the production which kicked off in Alabama under an interim agreement earlier this
Boys’ Love, or ‘BL’ as it is also known, was once a minor and lightly regarded type of Japanese manga catering mainly to female fans, delivering stories of handsome young guys falling in love with each other. Now its popularity has spread beyond Japan to much of East Asia and beyond, while metamorphozing into a
Rock bands Deep Purple and Goo Goo Dolls will headline the inaugural edition of Bandland, a new Indian music festival. Acts at the event also include American indie rockers The War on Drugs and Amyl and The Sniffers from Australia. Indian acts performing at Bandland include Parikrama, Thermal and a Quarter, both of who join
Jayant Rohatgi’s feature directorial debut “Sumo Didi” has its world premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival‘s Asian Future strand. The film is based on the life of Hetal Dave, India’s first professional female sumo wrestler. Rohatgi, a veteran of TV commercials, was on the lookout for a story with a strong human connection to
It’s been 30 months since Season 1 of “Invincible” — the animated adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s popular comic book series — wrapped up on Prime Video, but don’t expect the show to spend time catching audiences up on the story when it finally returns Nov. 3. “I mean, we live in a modern era where everything is
Horror fans hoping the PG-13-rated “Five Nights at Freddy’s” might go the “M3GAN” route and release an R-rated cut on streaming at a later date are not in luck. Director Emma Tammi has stated in several interviews ahead of the film’s release that her film was always designed to be PG-13 and an R-rated cut
James Gandolfini‘s performance as Tony Soprano on HBO’s “The Sopranos” is often cited as some of the best acting in TV history, but co-star Jamie-Lynn Sigler recently revealed that Gandolfini often questioned himself on the set of the Emmy-winning drama series. Sigler played Tony’s daughter, Meadow, on the show, which ran for six seasons and
Endeavor Group, the parent of the WME talent agency and a significant shareholder in the new TKO combat-sports business, said it would launch a “strategic review” of its assets in a bid to find new ways to boost shareholder value – and one of them may be going private. The private-equity giant Silver Lake said
When “” interviewed Harrison Ford at his “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” premiere in June, the show was proceeding as usual: The actor, the reporter, the branded microphone, the cameras. Then suddenly everything changed — “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan bounded into the frame and reunited with his co-star
Henry Winkler has long been open about discussing his life with dyslexia, but he explores the topic and its relationship to his career-defining run on “Happy Days” in frank detail in his upcoming memoir “Being Henry: The Fonz… and Beyond” (via People magazine). The actor appeared as Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli on all 11 seasons of
Tech giant Meta’s advertising business is roaring back, as the parent of Facebook and Instagram exceeded Wall Street’s third-quarter 2023 earnings forecasts. Meta reported Q3 revenue of $34.15 billion, up 23%, and net income more than doubling to $11.58 billion (or $4.39 per share). The results come after the company suffered year-over-year revenue declines in
The planned Wednesday bargaining session between SAG-AFTRA and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers was pushed back a day after the union told management it needed more time to respond to the latest offer put on the table. The sides had been expected to meet today at SAG-AFTRA headquarters in Los Angeles. The
Great American Family‘s biggest time of the year is here. The network, run by former Hallmark CEO Bill Abbott, is leaning in to the holiday season big time, after seeing a year of massive growth. According to the year-over-year data, GAF is up 150% in total viewers in 2023 compared to 2022, and the success
Good energy, hopeful wishes and plant-based treats nourished the intimate crowd of invited guests at Support+Feed’s first-ever annual fundraiser and dinner in Los Angeles on Oct. 24. The plant-based food initiative founded by Billie Eilish and Finneas‘ mother, Maggie Baird, brought together influential activists, philanthropists and artists for a night of awareness on environmental issues,
This year’s AFI Fest is back in full glory, featuring a rich lineup of critical favorites plus a slate of five films curated by guest artistic director Greta Gerwig, whose latest film, “Barbie” has grossed $1.4 billion. Returning to Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre and screening films from October 25-29, the event will feature Gerwig’s curated
“The Bear” creator Christopher Storer has lined up a new television project at FX. Variety has confirmed that Storer and FX won the rights to the upcoming book “All the Other Mothers Hate Me” by journalist Sarah Harman in a strong bidding war said to have included more than a dozen other parties. The book
Wanda Sykes will embark on her “Please & Thank You” comedy tour in 2024, the veteran stand-up comedian’s first major tour in six years, Variety can report exclusively. The first 29 dates of the tour will begin on March 1 in Concord, N.H., and carry through June 15 in Kansas City, Mo., with more dates
Get ready to re-enter the TARDIS. Disney Branded Television and BBC have revealed the trailer and premiere dates for the 60th anniversary “Doctor Who” specials, debuting on Disney+ and the BBC later this year. The first special, “The Star Beast,” premieres Nov. 25; “Wild Blue Yonder” comes out Dec. 2; “The Giggle” will premiere Dec.
Music icon Dolly Parton is featured in a new four-part series, “What Would Dolly Do? Radio,” premiering Oct. 25 on Apple Music and available on Apple Podcasts. As she prepares for her latest evolution with the release of her first rock album, “Rockstar,” due out Nov. 17, the 77-year-old Parton talks about her life and
Universal and Blumhouse’s haunted horror film “Five Nights at Freddy’s” looks to make a killing in its box office debut. The video game adaptation is expected to collect at least $50 million over the weekend, but analysts suggest the final number may be higher. “Five Nights at Freddy’s” will open simultaneously on Peacock, which makes
Michelle Williams has, in an act of profound sympathy and of ecstatic transformation, given another astounding performance in a career full of them. And it’s in the unlikeliest of venues. One might expect the audiobook for Britney Spears’ memoir “The Woman in Me” to have been narrated by its author — herself no stranger to
Warner Bros. Discovery will overhaul the executive structure of its global consumer products and franchises division, the unit that oversees the management of its intellectual property as well as DC Comics. Pam Lifford, president of the group, is stepping down to focus on a family member’s healthcare needs, the company said Wednesday, and Bruce Campbell,
News flash for Hollywood executives: Young people aged 10-24 are looking for less sex scenes in television and in movies, according to a new study out of UCLA. From the school’s Center for Scholars and Storytellers comes the “Teens and Screens” report, which reports that 51.5% of adolescents would like to see more content depicting