If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Taylor Swift “made the whole place shimmer” at the Grammys on Sunday night, sparkling in a heavy set of Lorraine Schwartz jewels that reportedly cost close to $3 million. The jewels made for a
Hardly a year after it inked its first African content deal — a multi-year licensing agreement with Nigerian production outfit Inkblot Studios — Amazon Prime Video is primed to expand its footprint on the continent, looking to unlock a largely untapped African consumer market and lock down deals with the continent’s top talents. “We now
Iranian pop singer and songwriter Shervin Hajipour on Sunday won the first Grammy Award for Best Song for Social Change for his song “Baraye” which has become the unofficial anthem of the wave of protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini. “Baraye” was posted by Hajipour on Instagram in September after Amini died while
The fifth Joburg Film Festival wrapped Sunday night with the caper comedy “The Umbrella Men,” from homegrown director John Barker, a local premiere that cast and crew celebrated by promenading through Nelson Mandela Square with brightly colored parasols. Earlier in the week, the first edition of the JBX Content Market — a two-day industry confab
When South African director John Barker was seven years old, the Johannesburg native experienced Cape Town’s Minstrel Carnival for the first time. The annual celebration, which is rooted in the traditions of slaves dating back to the early years of colonial rule, is a colorful, raucous pageant unique to the Mother City — an event
Oscar winning filmmakers Asif Kapadia (“Amy”) and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (“Free Solo”), Oscar nominees Maite Alberdi (“The Mole Agent”) and Jessica Kingdon (“Ascension”), and Emmy nominee Jialing Zhang (“One Child Nation”) are among the lineup of speakers at CPH:CONFERENCE, which runs during CPH:DOX, Copenhagen’s documentary film festival. The discussion program, which runs under the banner
Los Angeles and London-based management and production company 42 has acquired OB Management, an integrated director management and production firm for commercials and music videos. OB founder Otis Bell will stay on to helm the company alongside COO Frida Nilsson. The company will be rebranded as “OB/42” and continue to operate as a distinct entity
Making “The Elephant Whisperers,” the Indian film nominated in the Oscars’ documentary short film category, was a five-year long journey for director Kartiki Gonsalves. The film follows a couple, Bomman and Bellie, who devote their lives to caring for an orphaned baby elephant named Raghu. The film marks the directorial debut of Gonsalves, a prolific
“Silver Haze,” directed by Sacha Polak, has debuted its trailer (below) ahead of its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in the Panorama section. Polak’s last film, “Dirty God,” was in Sundance’s World Dramatic Competition, and was the opening film of Intl. Film Festival Rotterdam in 2019. “Silver Haze,” starring Vicky Knight and Esme
Yash Raj Films’ “Pathaan” marks the reunion of two of Bollywood’s biggest stars, Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, who come together as super spies Tiger and Pathaan, respectively. “Pathaan,” which is part of producer Aditya Chopra’s spy universe, also stars Deepika Padukone and John Abraham and is directed by Siddharth Anand. Other films in the universe
Cinemas in mainland China remained busy over the latest weekend even a week after the end of the Lunar New Year holiday season and with few significant new release titles. Aggregate nationwide box office hit $162 million according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. And “The Wandering Earth 2” reclaimed the top spot that it
How many classic hip-hop stars can dance on the head of a pin? We got something close to an answer to that question via a medley on the Grammy Awards telecast that featured close to three dozen rap legends quickly doing their thing, over the course of 15 minutes that never flagged for a second.
Though his North American tour just wrapped last week and he’s jetting off to Australia at the end of the month, Harry Styles told Variety backstage at the Grammys that he is “always writing.” “We’ve always tried to not really stop writing,” Styles said coyly of he and his “Harry’s House” co-writers Kid Harpoon and
On Sunday night, the Grammys celebrated the 50th anniversary of hip-hop with a jam-packed and star-studded 15-minute segment that put a huge smile on the faces of Jay-Z, Doja Cat, Adele and Pharrell Williams, among others. After a short introduction from LL Cool J, performances kicked off with legacy acts such as Ice-T, Rakim with
Jay-Z, DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, John Legend and Fridayy delivered hip-hop lovers the ultimate treat with their Grammy performance of “God Did,” which closed out the 2023 ceremony. DJ Khaled started the performance from inside the Crypto.com arena before the camera cut outside, where Khaled joined Legend, Ross, Lil Wayne and more in
The militant group Boko Haram has been a dangerous and ubiquitous presence in Nigeria and its neighboring countries for many years. In “Le Spectre de Boko Haram,” Cameroonian filmmaker Cyrielle Raingou focuses on their presence in a small village in northern Cameroon, on the border with Nigeria. Her observational and gritty documentary registers the impact
SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from Episode 4 of “The Last of Us,” now streaming on HBO Max. When “The Last of Us” co-creator Craig Mazin pitched a role in the series to Melanie Lynskey, he started with a bang: “He called me and said, ‘I would love for you to play a war criminal,’” Lynskey
Episode 5 of “The Last of Us” will begin streaming on HBO Max on Friday, Feb. 10 at 9 p.m. ET, two days before the the series’ regularly scheduled Sunday night airing on HBO — which, on Feb. 12, coincides with the Super Bowl. A large fraction of viewership for HBO shows comes from streaming
Sam Smith just outdid their recent “Saturday Night Live” performance with “Unholy” collaborator Kim Petras in a horror movie-inspired performance of the smash hit. Smith started the song in red leather, surround a fleet of dancers that evoked Samara from “The Ring,” before cutting to Petras dancing in a cage, flanked by some dominatrices wearing
This year’s Grammys In Memoriam tribute honored a diverse range of artists who died late last year, including Loretta Lynn, Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie and Migos rapper Takeoff. Barefoot and draped in red, Kacey Musgraves opened the segment by delivering an emotive performance of “Coal Miner’s Daughter.” Musgraves’ voice was backed by a single Epiphone guitar once owned
Kim Petras and Sam Smith’s chart-topping collaboration “Unholy” won the Grammy for best pop duo/group performance. Smith sat back while Petras accepted the award, giving her the spotlight as the first transgender woman to win in the category. Petras announced, “Sam graciously wanted me to accept this award because I’m the first transgender woman to
Lizzo turned the Crypto.com Arena into church at the 2023 Grammys with a gospel-tinged performance of “Special.” She opened the performance with a snippet of her hit song “About Damn Time” before fusing a gospel choir with electric guitars for an uplifting rendition of “Special.” “In case nobody told you today / You’re special (special),”
Harry Styles delivered a low-key performance at the 2023 Grammy Awards, where he is nominated in six categories and already won for pop vocal album. Styles opened his performance on a red, revolving stage amongst a group of casually costumed dancers. Dressed in a strikingly different silver sequined and fringe ensemble (similar to the looks
Bad Bunny brought his record-breaking “World’s Hottest Tour” to the 2023 Grammys stage, performing a mashup of “El Apagon” and “Despues De La Playa” to open the 65th annual awards show on Sunday night. The Puerto Rican reggaeton titan kicked off his set off-stage and was backed by a live band who shook the venue
Trevor Noah opened the 2023 Grammy Awards with a pointed dig at Donald Trump. Reacting to Bad Bunny’s sizzling opening performance, Noah raved, “Absolutely incredible! You know, every time I listen to him, I get hips I never knew I had. It even makes Trump want to learn Spanish.” “My job is to be your eyes and ears,” Noah continued,
Beyoncé has broken the record for the most Grammy wins of all time, with 32, having won four awards — so far — in the 2023 proceedings. The award that put her over the top was a win for best dance/electronic album for “Renaissance.” Beyoncé was on hand at the arena to accept this one,
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The 2023 Grammy Awards will air Sunday at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on CBS and Paramount Plus. The ceremony returns in full force for the first time in over three years,
Stephanie Economou won the first Grammy ever awarded for video game music — one of four visual media categories awarded Sunday afternoon in downtown Los Angeles. The music of Disney’s “Encanto” swept the three it was up for: best song for visual media, best score soundtrack and best compilation soundtrack. Economou won for “Assassin’s Creed
Kevin Costner honored music executive Clive Davis at Davis’ annual pre-Grammys gala at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday evening, thanking Davis for providing guidance to Whitney Houston since their collaboration on 1992’s “The Bodyguard” and shepherding the film’s hit song “I Will Always Love You.” Costner’s speech for Davis touched on the music exec’s long,
Spoiler alert: Plot points from “Infinity Pool” are discussed below. One of the most indelible images from Sundance 2023 came at the end of Brandon Cronenberg’s luxury-vacation-gone-wrong film “Infinity Pool.” The protagonist, James (Alexander Skarsgård), is bruised and battered, physically and emotionally, after killing a feral clone of himself with his bare hands. The mysterious