Grupo Frontera — that is frontman Adelaido “Payo” Solís III, Juan Javier Cantú, Julian Peña Jr., Alberto “Beto” Acosta, Carlos Guerrero and Brian Ortega — have had a big year. After releasing their debut record “El Comienzo” earlier this August, Frontera scored their first Latin Grammy nominations — namely in the coveted song of the
Just a week after telling fans that she’s funding her own music career on Instagram Live, Megan Thee Stallion has officially settled her prolonged legal battle with her former label 1501 Certified Entertainment. The two entities “mutually reached a confidential settlement to resolve their legal differences,” and will “amicably part ways.” Specifics on the deal
Ava DuVernay‘s latest drama “Origin” has added an original song to its Oscar prospects. New Zealand Māori artist Stan Walker performed the new song, “I Am,” at a private film screening at the Edition Hotel in West Hollywood on Wednesday. He also co-wrote the track with Michael Fatkin, Vince Harder and Te Kanapu Anasta. The
The best way to scare the studios this Halloween? Avoid dressing up as characters from struck series and movies. As striking actors enter spooky season, SAG-AFTRA released guidelines for members looking to “celebrate Halloween this year while also staying in solidarity” with the strike. That means union members can hang up their “Oppenheimer” porkpie hats
“The Boys” spinoff series Gen V” has been renewed for Season 2 at Amazon Prime Video. The news comes ahead of the Season 1 finale, which is due out Nov. 3. The series began airing its eight-episode first season in September. “Expanding the universe of ‘The Boys’ with a series as bold as ‘Gen V’
Thursday night programming will look a bit different tonight as ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox are all delaying their primetime schedules by 20 minutes to accommodate President Biden’s televised address to the nation explaining the U.S.’s response to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Russian war against Ukraine. Thursday night telecasts of “The Golden Bachelor”
Disney has named Tinisha Agramonte its new chief diversity officer and senior vice president, effective immediately. Agramonte replaces Disney‘s former head of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) ops Latondra Newton, who stepped down from the role in June. She will report directly to Sonia Coleman, Disney’s senior executive vice president and chief human resources officer.
For the past dozen years, British singer-songwriter James Blake has been one of music’s most influential and compelling outliers: a classically trained pianist with an equal love disruptive beats and electronic noise; a heart-rending singer whose high, reedy voice can ace a Joni Mitchell song and light up hip-hop hits by Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar,
As widely expected, U2 is not going to pack up its stage and go home when the band’s initial 25 dates at Sphere in Las Vegas wrap up Dec. 16. The band has announced an extension that will add 11 shows in January and February of 2024, bringing the total number of concerts at the
Virgin Music Group, the independent-music division of Universal Music Group, has announced the core members of its global leadership team. As part of a global reorganization, Virgin Music Group has integrated Ingrooves’ global platform and marketing technology with Virgin Music. The company has already begun to integrate operations among the teams in 32 countries around
A group of A-list actors led by George Clooney presented a proposal to SAG-AFTRA leadership during a Tuesday afternoon Zoom call in an effort to find a way to resolve the three-month-long actors strike with the studios. But the proposal is likely dead on arrival. Sources with knowledge of the situation say the group of
The road to the Oscars is looking bleaker than before. With the WGA securing its deal with the studios earlier this month, the industry was caught off guard when the AMPTP announced it was suspending negotiations with SAG-AFTRA, which has been on strike since July. There’s no end in sight, but one thing is apparent:
Back in 2019, “Iron Man 3” production executive Chris Fenton filed an explosive lawsuit against former employer DMG Entertainment, a once-highflying company that bridged Hollywood movies and Chinese distribution. After a legal back and forth that included a DMG countersuit that was later tossed, Fenton’s case is finally headed to trial next week and is
Pierre-Antoine Capton, the co-founder and CEO of Mediawan, was named Knight of the Legion of Honor by French President Emmanuel Macron during a ceremony held at the Elysée Palace in Paris. Capton was honored alongside other French figures who have made outstanding contributions to the country’s cultural landscape, including the filmmaker Costa Gavras, actor and novelist
“Sweet Magnolias” has been renewed for a fourth season, Netflix announced on Thursday. Based on the popular series of novels by author Sherryl Woods, the series “follows lifelong best friends Maddie (JoAnna Garcia Swisher), Dana Sue (Brooke Elliott), and Helen (Heather Headley) as they juggle relationships, family, and careers in the charming small town of
Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon,” an epic look at the French emperor and military leader’s rise to power, is one of the final potential awards hopefuls awaiting its first reactions from critics and pundits. As awards season approaches, Variety has learned exclusively which Oscar categories the film will be submitted for. Most notably, Vanessa Kirby will vie
They say the book is always better than the movie, but the real money is on the screen. So for decades, Hollywood has mined the written word — from Shakespeare to Hemingway to Fitzgerald all the way to the eight films based on “Harry Potter.” The industry needs reliable IP more desperately than ever, and
When Nora Helmer slammed the door on her husband, leaving her marriage with a bang in A Doll’s House, it was the sound heard round the world. And it continues to be: Look at Jessica Chastain’s Tony-nominated turn in the Broadway revival this year. The distance between an 1879 Henrik Ibsen play and a fashion
Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer for Una Gunjak’s debut feature “Excursion,” which is Bosnia and Herzegovina’s entry for the Oscars’ international feature film category. Salaud Morisset is handling international sales. HBO Europe has just picked up the SVOD and pay TV rights to the movie in 15 countries in Central and
How does one create a film festival during an actors strike? Middleburg Film Festival executive director Susan Koch explains she’s approached programming the Virginia fest in the same manner as she has always done. “We looked for the strongest films and a wide range of films that represent diverse voices and ones we feel will
Super-indie Argonon has appointed Joe Weinstock to the newly created role of chief executive, Argonon USA, reporting into global CEO James Burstall. Argonon, a global production group headquartered in the U.K. and U.S., owns Scottish indie production company Bandicoot, which makes the U.K. version of “The Masked Singer” as well as “The Masked Dancer.” Weinstock co-founded
The Sundance Institute has added four new additions to the Board of Trustees. Tessa Thompson, Pete Nicks, Nina Fialkow, and Kimberly Steward will help steer the organization and act in an advisory capacity. The new trustees will work closely with board chair Ebs Burnough and CEO Joana Vicente. “As Sundance Institute continues to respond to
Although the SAG-AFTRA strike rages on, there is one project Emmy-nominated actress Camila Morrone can talk about: her newly minted partnership with fine jewelry brand Brilliant Earth. The announcement comes just as Brilliant Earth launches its latest collection, Sol. In its 18 years, Brilliant Earth has never had a brand ambassador before—nor has Morrone ever
Bret Baier’s recent Fox News interview with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman took up less than 36 minutes on the cable outlet’s “Special Report.” Behind the scenes, preparations took months. Baier spent time in the U.S. with Princess Reema, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, and made a special trip overseas to meet
When Variety Intelligence Platform (VIP+) teamed up with UTA IQ, the research, analytics and insights division of the UTA talent agency to conduct a consumer survey in August to understand the market forces driving the explosion in the live-music industry, they learned a lot more was at play than just the success of Taylor Swift
Kino Lorber has hired Rebecca Winter to be its vice president of partnerships and platform management. In her new role, Winter will oversee strategic distribution partnerships and new business development across all Kino Lorber brands and streaming services, including MHz Choice and Topic. She will develop and expand partnerships and manage existing relationships. In addition,
“Kingsman” and “X-Men: First Class” director Matthew Vaughn appeared on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast and was surprisingly open when asked about his relationship to a handful of major Hollywood franchises, from James Bond to “Star Wars” and the DC Universe. As a whole, he said the major Hollywood studios have been suffering by prioritizing
Inter Medya is launching sales on the brutal revenge saga “Sayara,” directed by Turkish horror genre specialist Can Evrenol, whose film “Baskin” premiered in TIFF’s Midnight Madness section. The Istanbul-based sales company has dropped a teaser for “Sayara,” which is being packaged as both a four-episode miniseries and a dark 90-minute horror thriller. Variety has
Arvin Chen (“Love in Taipei,” “Mama Boy”, episodes of “Pachinko”) is to direct “Coolie,” a limited series featuring enslaved Chinese workers in 19th century Cuba. The eight-part series is the first to emerge from Cathay Film Company, a recent production venture launched by Singapore-based industry veteran Meileen Choo. In the mid-1800s, when the African slave
Late on a July evening in the Faroe Islands — a small enclave of around 50,000 people located in the North Atlantic between England, Iceland and Norway — the G! Fest, one of Europe’s more unusual music festivals, is well underway. The three-day event’s lineup consists primarily of Faroese and Scandinavian acts, but there are a few