“Emperor of Ocean Park,” the best-selling novel by Stephen L. Carter, is being adapted into a TV series at MGM+. MGM+ (formerly Epix) has ordered 10 episodes of the show. The order brings the book’s long road to the screen to near completion. It was originally optioned back in 2001 ahead of the book publishing.
Peri Gilpin is the latest original “Frasier” cast member to join the series’ revival at Paramount+. Gilpin will guest star in an episode of the series, reprising the role of Roz, whom she played throughout the original show’s 11-season run on NBC. As previously announced, Kelsey Grammer will reprise the role of Frasier Crane, with
FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver is exiting ABC News as The Walt Disney Company ramps up layoffs, Variety has confirmed. ABC News will hold onto the FiveThirtyEight brand with plans to streamline the statistics-driven news and analysis site. The network plans to create a more efficient structure for FiveThirtyEight leading into the 2024 presidential election and
During the pandemic, studios experimented with shrinking the amount of time that their films screened exclusively in cinemas, while spending oceans of money to launch streaming services. But the debt they racked up has sent their share prices plummeting and, now, studios are making more movies for theaters and cutting back on their streaming budgets.
J.K. Rowling is well aware many “Harry Potter” fans intend to boycott Max’s upcoming television series adaptation due to her involvement as an executive producer on the show. The Warner Bros. Discovery streamer officially announced the series on April 12, confirming each book in Rowling’s series will be adapted into a full season of television.
Endeavor has struck a deal to sell Florida-based sports education institution IMG Academy to private equity firm BPEA EQT for $1.25 billion. The all-cash transaction, done in partnership with Nord Anglia Education, is expected to close in Q3. Located in Bradenton, Florida, IMG Academy was founded in 1978 as the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. The
Think of a British TV series about the royal family that launched in 2016 and features some of Britain’s best writing and acting talent. No, not “The Crown” but “The Windsors,” the royal comedy show from Channel 4 that is poised to steal “The Crown’s” well, crown. A soap opera-style sitcom, it shows Charles, William,
A “Blossom” reboot is well past the ideas stage. Mayim Bialik, who starred in the titular role of the 1990s sitcom, tells me series creator Don Reo has written a pilot for its return. “The show was supposed to be ‘Catcher in the Rye’ about a girl, which was unusual. And we’d like to do
Utopia has landed the North American rights to “Drift,” an emotional drama starring Cynthia Erivo and Alia Shawkat. The sale comes a few months after its debut at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. “Drift” is the English-language feature debut of Anthony Chen (“Ilo Ilo”). Based on Alexander Maksik’s 2013 novel “A Marker to Measure Drift,”
Tom Holland-fronted short film “Last Call” is set to premiere at Tribeca Film Festival, Variety can exclusively confirm. The short is directed by his younger brother Harry Holland and also features Lindsay Duncan (“Birdman”). “Last Call” tells the story of Kate, a desperate mother who is trying to reconnect with her son. “Navigating an obvious
Blue Fox Entertainment has acquired U.S. rights to Cédric Klapisch’s (“The Spanish Apartment”) hit dance film “Rise” (“En corps”) from Studiocanal. One of 2022’s highest grossing French films, “Rise” sold nearly 1.3 million tickets in local theaters and was sold around the world. The movie tells the story of a young ballet dancer whose life
International sales company Andana Films has boarded “Al Djanat – The Original Paradise” by Franco-Burkinabe director Chloé Aïcha Boro. The film had its international premiere at Visions du Réel, in Nyon, Switzerland, after a world premiere at Fespaco in February. Selected in the international competition in Nyon, the documentary was pre-sold to Canal+ International for
Jordan Fisher savors those 7 p.m. showtimes. It’s not that there’s a huge difference on the nights that Broadway’s revival of “Sweeney Todd” starts at 8 p.m. But the extra hour of freedom after curtain call at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre means he gets more time to spend with his family. “I’ll get to bed an
It’s time for another season of monster hunting. Netflix has released the first official teaser trailer for Season 3 of “The Witcher,” revealing a glimpse at the final episodes starring Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia before Liam Hemsworth takes over the role in Season 4. The five-episode Volume 1 will be released globally on
Some yardsticks are hard to break. The nation’s TV companies have for months worked to edge out Nielsen from the business of measuring TV audiences. They had good reason: Nielsen failed to count viewership properly during the coronavirus pandemic, leading to a lack of confidence in its abilities and a removal of its national accreditation
It’s raining the Bard. In the wake of “Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight and “Happy Valley” star Sarah Lancashire’s recently announced series on William Shakespeare, another production with the Bard as topic has revealed some of its cast. Conspiracy drama series “The Rosy Cross: The Rebels who wrote Shakespeare,” being brought to the screen by
WellGo USA has acquired all North American distribution rights to the Australian sci-fi thriller “Monolith,” starring Lily Sullivan (Evil Dead Rise, I Met a Girl, Picnic at Hanging Rock). The film debuted at the Adelaide Film Festival in 2022 and recently had its international premiere as part of SXSW’s Midnighters section. Rights were licensed from
Check out the official trailer for The Equalizer 3 starring Denzel Washington! ► Sign up for a Fandango FanAlert for The Equalizer 3: https://www.fandango.com/the-equalizer-3-2023-227748/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 ► Shop Rotten Tomatoes: http://bit.ly/3KvCU1M US Release Date: September 1, 2023 Starring: Dakota
“Drive My Car” star Hidetoshi Nishijima has signed with CAA for representation. Nishijima starred in the acclaimed 2021 Japanese feature “Drive My Car,” which was nominated for four Academy Awards, and walked away with the Oscar for best international feature film. He earned several awards for his performance in the Cannes-premiering critical darling, including best
Singer, actor, producer and activist Harry Belafonte, who spawned a calypso craze in the U.S. with his music and blazed new trails for African American performers, died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at his Manhattan home. He was 96. An award-winning Broadway performer and a versatile recording and concert star of the ’50s, the lithe,
BBC BASKS IN NORWEGIAN AFTERGLOW The BBC has acquired Norwegian comedy drama ‘Afterglow’ for BBC Four and BBC iPlayer. The 7×45 minute series tells the story of Ester Sand, the one person you think will live forever, who finds out she has cervical cancer on her 40th birthday. But after the initial shock, it’s Ester who comforts the
The winners of the 27th Webby Awards have been announced, with Variety taking home two trophies from the annual awards program that recognizes the best of the internet. The magazine’s Variety Power of Women 2022 from Los Angeles won the Webby People’s Voice Award for events and livestreams in the General Video category, and Variety won the Webby
Amazon’s Prime Video has announced a 2023 Spanish production slate which takes in movies and series from directors, writers and above all producers who have set Spain’s box office and global streamer rankings on fire over the last decade. Talent attached to the three new movies and three series unveiled Tuesday in Madrid at a
Spotify packed on more users than it expected in Q1 but revenue fell short of its guidance, which the company blamed on headwinds in its advertising business. For the first quarter of 2023, the company said total monthly active users (free and paid) grew by 22% year-over-year to 515 million “driven by strength in both
Incumbent U.S. President Joe Biden said early Tuesday that he will seek a second term in office. The move potentially set him up for another clash with former President Donald Trump who is the Republican Party’s front-runner for nomination. As in 2019, Biden used a video clip to announce his new run. In the three-minute
Keshet Media Group, one of Israel’s largest private media companies with scripted hits such as “Prisoners of War” and “When Heroes Fly,” is threatening to sue Israeli pay-TV powerhouse HOT for allegedly infringing its copyright by broadcasting Keshet content on its streaming service. Keshet and HOT previously had two deals in place that allowed for
Pennsylvania state police have issued an arrest warrant for Bam Margera following a “physical confrontation” on Sunday. In a statement, police say they were called to a Chester County residence at 11 a.m. on April 23 in response to a reported disturbance. The former “Jackass” star was allegedly involved in an altercation with someone at
The Cannes Market has hitched up with the Ties That Bind and Focus Asia organizations to launch Spotlight Asia, a new industry support structure. Debuting during this year’s Cannes film festival, the program aims to foster greater film collaboration between Asia and Europe. Spotlight Asia will take the form of a series of round table
The 57th edition of Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival, which runs June 30-July 8, has planned a retrospective program focused on Iranian cinema with a selection of films made in the past four years. The festival will also celebrate the work of Japanese filmmaker Yasuzo Masumura. Commenting on the Iranian cinema program, the festival said in
The European Film Academy is changing the date of its annual award ceremony, the European Film Awards, so that it will be positioned within the awards season at the start of the year. After the 37th edition in December 2024, the 38th edition will take place mid-January 2026 and will celebrate the best European films