Pour one out for the poor unfortunate souls who aren’t at CinemaCon. Attendees of the annual exhibition trade show were treated to the first-ever glimpse of Melissa McCarthy as Ursula in Disney’s upcoming “The Little Mermaid” remake, including a show-stopping rendition of the character’s signature number, “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” McCarthy didn’t perform live, but she
Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino have scored a two-season order for a series set in the world of ballet at Amazon, Variety has learned. Titled “Étoile,” the series will take place in both New York and Paris. Each season will consist of eight episodes. The official logline states that the show “follows the dancers and
“Neighbors” co-stars Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne are reuniting on the small screen for the new Apple TV+ comedy series “Platonic.” In the new series, Rogen and Byrne play Will and Sylvia, two former BFFs approaching midlife who attempt to rekindle their friendship after a falling out. According to the show’s official logline, Will and
Tubi founder and CEO Farhad Massoudi is stepping down as Fox Corporation is forming the Tubi Media Group led by Paul Cheesbrough. Massoudi will remain with Tubi through a transition period until the end of June. A new CEO of Tubi Streaming will be announced at a later date. “Our strategic acquisition of Tubi in
Jack Harlow’s new album “Jackman,” the follow-up to 2022’s “Come Home the Kids Miss You,” will be arriving on April 28 via Generation Now and Atlantic Records. On Wednesday morning, the album’s release date and name were revealed alongside the album art which sees a shirtless Harlow standing stoic in a residential alleyway. At the time
The guest list for Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday all-star concerts at the Hollywood Bowl has been significantly expanded. Sixteen additional names were announced Wednesday for the already packed two-night lineup, representing a roughly 50% expansion of a bill that was advertised with 30 stars when it first went on sale — and immediately sold out
A key player on “Yellowjackets” has opted to sit out Emmy season. Nonbinary actor Liv Hewson, who plays the scarred teenage goalkeeper Van Palmer on Showtime’s hit drama, won’t be submitting themselves for this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards despite being eligible in the main acting races. Hewson, 27, tells Variety exclusively they made the decision
Legendary Entertainment has won the movie rights to Grady Hendrix’s runaway bestseller “How to Sell a Haunted House.” The studio behind “Dune” took the novel over several bids. The book received critical acclaim and an instant following thanks to its dynamic storytelling — pulling off genuine fright with its evil puppet antagonist, and a deeply
Bleecker Street has acquired the North American rights to “Jules” from director Marc Turtletaub (“Puzzle”) and starring Ben Kingsley, Harriet Sansom Harris, Zoe Winters, Jade Quon and Jane Curtin. Written by Gavin Steckler (“Review”), “Jules” made its world premiere at this year’s Sonoma International Film Festival where it was the opening night film and won
In a tech-savvy world saturated with filmmaking apps, does film school continue to hold value for aspiring writers, directors and producers? The answer is yes. From sprawling suburban campuses to big city locales, each of these programs offers cutting-edge courses and a roster of prestigious instructors that will lead budding filmmakers on a track toward
Chris Pine has been cast in “Wish,” Walt Disney’s upcoming animated musical. He joins an ensemble that includes Oscar winner Ariana DeBose and Alan Tudyk. News that the “Star Trek” star will add his dulcet tones to the family film came at CinemaCon. Pine most recently appeared in “Don’t Worry Darling” and “Dungeons & Dragons:
YouTube, as part of promoting subscriptions to the newly secured NFL Sunday Ticket games package, is flying more than a dozen top creators to Kansas City, Mo., for the 2023 NFL Draft – including popular trick-shot specialists Dude Perfect. Dude Perfect, the five-member comedy and sports group with more than 59 million YouTube subscribers, and
In today’s podcast news roundup: Buzzy Cohen gives “Jeopardy!” fans an insider’s look at the popular game show; “Real Housewives” alum Ramona Singer launches a podcast with her daughter, Avery; CNN Audio debuts “The Prince Mixtape,” exploring the Purple One’s life and legacy; the New York Times’ The Athletic preps a deep dive on LeBron
Films Boutique, the Berlin-based company behind “Pacifiction” and “The Burdened,” has come on board three international movies slated for the Cannes Film Festival. These include a pair of films set for Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, “Terrestrial Verses” and “The Buriti Flower,” as well as “Tiger Stripes” which will bow at Critics’ Week. “Terrestrial Verses,” directed
Steven Spielberg has seen “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” the fifth installment in the long-running adventure franchise and, notably, the first entry not to be directed by Spielberg himself. “The Wolverine” and “Ford v Ferrari” director James Mangold took over filmmaking duties on “Dial of Destiny.” Anyone worried a Spielberg-less “Indiana Jones” movie
Joel Kinnaman is set to lead the alien abduction thriller “They Found Us,” from director Neill Blomkamp, for AGC Studios. AGC fully financed the project, and will launch sales via AGC International in Cannes next month. UTA Independent Film Group is co-repping U.S. rights. “They Found Us” is based on an original screenplay by Jeremy
Michael Huppe is president-CEO of SoundExchange, a non-profit rights- management organization that provides products and services to collect royalties for more than 650,000 artists, labels and publishers. At the National Association of Broadcasters’ (NAB) annual convention in Las Vegas this past week, the organization celebrated 100 years of representing big broadcasters’ interests in Washington, D.C. But for the music community, the moment served as
London-based Sideways Film has taken world sales on British director Carey Born’s “Cyborg: A Documentary” about a man who was born color blind and has an antenna embedded in his head to help contend with this condition. Filmed in the U.K., Spain, Denmark, Australia and across the U.S. in New York, Los Angeles, San Jose and
Wattpad Webtoon Studios, the entertainment arm of the user-generated fiction and comics entertainment outfit, and Italy’s Leone Film Group have announced two new adaptations based on hit young-adult Wattpad novels. Taiwan-based author Ann Rae’s romantic mystery “The Locker Exchange,” which is set in a U.S. high school and has over 26 million reads globally on the
Check out the official The Little Mermaid TV spot starring Halle Bailey! ► Buy Tickets to The Little Mermaid: https://www.fandango.com/the-little-mermaid-2023-228960/movie-overview?cmp=Trailers_YouTube_Desc Subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to be notified of all the hottest trailers: http://bit.ly/2CNniBy US Release Date: May 26, 2023 Starring: Halle Bailey, Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina Directed By: Rob
Here’s a fashion riddle: Name a brand that’s just as desirable to a Gen Z fashion lover as it is to a septuagenarian retiree. Pleats Please Issey Miyake, celebrating its 30th anniversary this month, has become exactly that—a line of amorphous, finely pleated, colorful garments that offer intergenerational appeal to creative types, young and old
Dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s travel ban has suddenly been lifted after 14 years, allowing the acclaimed auteur and his wife Tahereh Saeedi to reportedly leave Iran for an undisclosed location. Saeedi on Tuesday night posted a picture on Instagram showing her arriving with her husband at an undisclosed airport. It is captioned: “After 14
A galaxy of senior Indian content creators shared their insights on burning topics dominating the local landscape. They were speaking at at Indiantelevision.com’s annual industry event, The Content Hub, in Mumbai on Tuesday. At the Content Creation: No More Formulas panel, Shobha Sant, head of content alliances at Jio Studios, broke down the process behind the selection
Berlin sales agency M-Appeal has come on board to handle world sales for “Let Me Go” (“Laissez-Moi”), the debut feature by Swiss director Maxime Rappaz, which will world premiere as the opening film of the Cannes ACID sidebar. Set in a Swiss mountain village, “Let Me Go” follows Claudine, a dedicated mother whose life revolves
Viaplay’s first U.K. drama commission, “Rebus,” has gone into production in Scotland. The show has also added some new cast members including “Line of Duty’s” Lucie Shorthouse, Brian Ferguson (“The Ipcress File”) and Stuart Bowman (“The Serpent”). They will join Richard Rankin (“Outlander”) as John Rebus, the much-loved character John Rebus from Ian Rankin’s bestselling
American director Daniel McCabe and his team have opened up to Variety about the making of “Grasshopper Republic” at Swiss international documentary film fest Visions du Réel, where the pic is nominated in the main competition. Based on a book of photographs by Michele Sibiloni, a photographer and long-time friend of McCabe, who co-shot the
Red Zed Films and October Films’ documentary “My Name Is Happy” will have a limited U.K. theatrical run from May 21. Directed by Ayse Toprak (“Mr Gay Syria) and Emmy and BAFTA nominated Nick Read (“Bolshoi Babylon”), the film follows Mutlu Kaya, a Kurdish woman and promising singer from southeastern Turkey whose dreams were about
Jen Shah‘s husband will NOT be making any appearances in the upcoming season of “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” — while she’s doing time — even though producers tried to get him on camera. Multiple sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … producers approached Jen’s husband, Sharrieff Shah, last month in hopes of
A copyright trial in a Manhattan federal courtroom pitting Ed Sheeran against the heirs of a co-writer of Marvin Gaye’s classic “Let’s Get It On” saw the pop star taking the stand Tuesday, offering strong retorts to attorneys’ arguments that he had stolen elements of the 1970s hit for his own “Thinking Out Loud.” One
In college one night, I got very stoned and read T.S. Eliot’s “The Wasteland.” I was gripped by it, and felt I understood it — a feat I’ve never come close to accomplishing since. Yet I don’t think I was under some delusion about having glimpsed the poem’s essence. Eliot was a mystic doomsayer whose