Banijay has taken a majority stake in Israel’s MoviePlus Productions, producers of HBO and Keshet International’s “Our Boys” and the Oscar-nominated film “Footnote,” further expanding the company’s operations in Israel. The 51% stake will help to bolster Banijay’s drama capabilities in the region. MoviePlus Productions specializes in drama, documentaries and feature-length films. Established by David
Israel-based world sales company Antipode Sales has boarded Bangladeshi filmmaker Humaira Bilkis’ documentary “Things I Could Never Tell My Mother.” The film premiered at Switzerland’s Visions du Réel and it has also been to France’s Etats Generaux du Film Documentaire, Lussas Doc, among others. It plays at IDFA’s Best of Fests strand and also at
SPOILER WARNING: This post contains spoilers for the reunion episode of “Love Is Blind” Season 3, out now on Netflix. Zanab Jaffrey isn’t looking back. During her wedding to Cole Barnett in Episode 11 of “Love Is Blind’s” third season, she rejected her fiancé at the altar. While Jaffrey affirmed that she loved Barnett, she didn’t
The 35th edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam launches on Nov. 9. In all, 277 titles will be screened at the in-person festival. Variety spoke to IDFA’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia about this year’s edition and the future of documentary filmmaking. IDFA is opening with the world premiere of Iranian-Dutch filmmaker Niki Padidar’s
Opening this year’s International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), “All You See” explores what it feels like to no longer be seen, but stared at. Told through four parallel stories of immigrants in the Netherlands, the film investigates what it feels like to be a foreigner in the country. It is a deeply personal project
Heading into its 30th year, the IDFA Forum continues to be a key market for nonfiction professionals to not only gain interest for a project and raise funds, but also a space to network and get feedback. Taking place over five days in the middle of the 35th edition of the International Documentary Film Festival
California Governor Gavin Newsom is poised to stay in office for a second four-year term following his win at the 2022 state gubernatorial election on Nov. 8. The Associated Press quickly called the race after polls closed in the state. The outcome is unsurprising given Newsom’s sweeping success at California’s top-two primary on June 7,
Control of the House and Senate are up for grabs in Tuesday’s midterm elections, which has been marked by concerns over high inflation, crime and threats to abortion rights. J.D. Vance, a Republican, was declared the winner of a close Senate race in Ohio, beating Rep. Tim Ryan. Democrat Maggie Hassan was re-elected in New
Karen Bass and Rick Caruso are in a close battle to become the next mayor of Los Angeles, as voters proved highly divided over who is best equipped to tackle the city’s homelessness crisis. In early returns, the vote was split almost evenly, with Caruso taking 50.3% to 49.7% for Bass. The ballot counting will
In a recent visit to Kyiv, Sean Penn met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to further express his support for Ukraine amid Russia’s military invasion of the country. During their encounter, Penn gifted one of his two Oscar statuettes to Zelenskyy as a gift. The exchange was featured in a video shared by Anton Gerashchenko, advisor
A model whose police report caused sex crimes prosecutors to investigate Harvey Weinstein in 2015 — two years before his colossal downfall in 2017 — testified in Weinstein’s rape trial on Tuesday at the criminal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. Ambra Battilana Gutierrez — who is an uncharged witness in Weinstein’s current trial — was at
Rihanna has scored her 32nd top 10 single — and her first in five years — with “Lift Me Up,” the first track to emerge from Marvel’s blockbuster sequel “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” The song debuts at No. 2 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100. Taylor Swift did not relinquish the top spot, as “Anti-Hero”
Several Discovery+ titles, including series such as “Property Brothers” and “Chopped,” will become available to stream on HBO Max in the next week. Seasons 5 and 6 of “Property Brothers: Forever Home” will start streaming on the service on Wednesday, November 9. The two episodes of Season 7 that have already aired will also become
Travis Fimmel has joined the prequel series “Dune: The Sisterhood” at HBO Max. The show is set 10,000 years before the events of “Dune” and is based on the novel “Sisterhood of Dune” by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Per the official logline, the show “follows the Harkonnen Sisters (Emily Watson, Shirley Henderson) as
Documentary filmmaker Ryan White calls his latest project, “Good Night Oppy,”(in theaters now and streaming on Amazon Prime Video on November 23) his “COVID baby” because this was the one project he could work on during the pandemic when all his other projects got shut down. The heartwarming documentary follows and chronicles the true story
The cast and crew of “The Crown” were joined by Netflix boss Ted Sarandos in London for the show’s Season 5 premiere. Before the screening started, Sarandos took to the stage at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in central London on Tuesday evening to introduce the new season. During his speech, Sarandos called the series
A judge has just granted Cain Velasquez bail in his attempted murder case … paving the way for the UFC legend to be out from behind bars for the first time in over 8 months. Velasquez’s bail was set at $1 million … and, assuming he posts it, the judge also ordered the former fighter
Frontmen should be fun. Obnoxious, pretentious, eccentric… yes, all good words when it comes to the face of your favorite rock band. So when singer Matty Healy introduces the 1975 as “the greatest band on the planet,” or gnaws on a slab of raw meat or mimics masturbation more than once in one concert, at
Award winning composers helped turn this year’s Netflix Playlist event into an aural and visual spectacle. The music from some of the streaming platform’s awards contenders and series were brought to life for live audiences alongside immersive, wall-to-wall projections. Alexandre Desplat, Nathan Johnson and Danny Elfman were among those in attendance for an orchestral performance
Keanu Reeves is expected to make an appearance as John Wick in “Ballerina,” a female-centric spinoff in the popular action franchise. Lionsgate, the studio behind the series, declined to comment on Reeves’ casting, but the company confirmed that Ian McShane has closed a deal to reprise his role as Winston, the manager of the Continental
“Avatar: The Way of Water” is set to run approximately three hours and 10 minutes, nearly 30 minutes longer than the already-long original “Avatar” in 2009. James Cameron told Total Film magazine that his “Avatar” sequel runs so much longer because there is an increased focus on “relationship and emotion” compared to the first movie.
Jeff Cook, a Country Music Hall of Fame member as one of the co-founders of the country group Alabama, died Monday at age 73 at his home in Destin, Florida. He had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2012 and revealed his condition to the public in 2017. Cook was immediately recognizable to fans as
Netflix has canceled two of its freshman drama series: “Partner Track” and “The Imperfects.” “Partner Track” premiered in late August of this year, while “The Imperfects” came in early September. Both made appearances on the Netflix Top 10 and stayed there for three weeks, with the former peaking in the No. 4 position and the
Social media star Benito Skinner is developing a comedy series currently titled “Overcompensating” at Amazon. Skinner created the series and will serve as an executive producer. Singer-songwriter Charli XCX is attached to provide music and executive produce, with Jonah Hill’s Strong Baby Productions also executive producing. A24 will serve as the studio. Per the official
Walt Disney Co, said continued heavy investment in its streaming business held its profit-making ability in check during its fiscal fourth quarter, part of the media giant’s ongoing effort to reshape its operations for a world increasingly dominated by broadband-delivered media. The Burbank, CA owner of the ABC television network, the Pixar movie studio and
“Manifest” made a triumphant return on Netflix. Season 4 of the drama opened on Netflix’s Top 10 at the No. 1 spot after its Nov. 4 release. During the Oct. 31-Nov. 6 viewing window, the series scored 57.1 million hours viewed in its first three days of availability. The show’s premiere season also returned to
Disney is actively looking to develop an Indiana Jones TV show for Disney+, Variety has learned exclusively from sources. The Mouse House and Lucasfilm have specifically been bringing up the possibility of a streaming show set in the world of the globe trotting archaeologist in general meetings with writers of late, sources say. They are
“It’s not TV. It’s HBO.” That’s the slogan of the premium cable network that single handedly changed the television landscape forever, and ushered in the Peak TV era. With Home Box Office turning 50 this week, Variety is celebrating its Golden Year by ranking the 50 best performances in its history. Disclaimer: We’re including performances
For the last 16 years, the New York Comedy Festival has hosted Stand Up for Heroes, which brings together elite comedy talent to raise money for the Bob Woodruff Foundation, a non-profit that has raised and distributed more than $120 million to support veterans. This year featured Hasan Minhaj, Iliza Shlesinger, Jeff Ross and Jon
Daphne Zuniga, an actor best known for her roles on “Melrose Place” and “One Tree Hill,” testified in the Harvey Weinstein trial Tuesday. She was called by the prosecution as a witness related to Jane Doe #4, who was revealed to be First Partner of California, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the actor, filmmaker and wife to