Earlier this month, Arkansas’ Pulaski County turned down and returned a $60,000 check sent by Lucky 8, the production company behind the Netflix docuseries “Unlocked: A Jail Experiment.” Pulaski County is where “Unlocked” was filmed, and Lucky 8 apparently intended the check as
The Vanderpump Rules star says in a new filing that she never shared the NSFW video that fueled the ‘Scandoval’ saga
When Taylor Swift has just introduced 31 brand new songs to the world, as she did in April with the deluxe double-album that is “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology,” it may be a fool’s errand to immediately assess where where all that fresh grist fits into the overall
Visinema Studios, the family division of leading Indonesian entertainment company Visinema Group, is set to make its debut in live theater with “Keluarga Cemara: The Musical.” “Keluarga Cemara” (aka “Cemara Family”) has previously existed as a classic Indonesian novel about a
The three Paramount Global executives installed to run the company after Bob Bakish was removed as CEO sought to reassure employees that they have a long-term strategy. On Monday, Paramount Global said Bakish was stepping down as CEO and leaving the board. In his place, the
Just a few years ago, nominees for and winners of Golden Globe Awards were determined by fewer than 100 people, all of whom were based in the Los Angeles area. But in the aftermath of the 2023 sale of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the establishment of the Golden
The Mammoth Lakes Film Festival revealed its lineup for this year’s festival, taking place from May 22 – 26 at venues across Mammoth Lakes. The festival will open with the California premiere of director Lucy Lawless’ “Never Look Away,” which follows a CNN combat camerawoman
Ethan Hawke was nominated at the 2002 Oscars for best supporting actor for his performance in Antoine Fuqua’s crime thriller “Training Day.” He lost the prize to Jim Broadbent (“Iris”), but he immediately got some much-needed perspective from his “Training Day” co-star Denzel
Martin Freeman recently spoke to The Times of London about the backlash that erupted over his movie “Miller’s Girl” earlier this year. The erotic thriller opened in theaters in January and caused a stir on social media due to intimate scenes between Freeman and his co-star
Eddie Murphy has made his return: “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” is set to stream July 3 on Netflix. The fourth installment in the franchise follows Murphy as Axel Foley, who returns to Beverly Hills when his daughter Jane’s life is threatened. Murphy is joined by Judge Reinhold,
While the United States continues to debate how and when hip-hop lyrics can be used in court, dissident Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi was sentenced to death on April 24 for lyrics that criticized the Islamic Republic’s ruling regime. The sentence, handed down by the ruling
The recent broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII boosted Paramount Global’s first quarter of 2024, stabilizing advertising revenue at its TV operations, as the company’s streaming operations added more than 3 million subscribers and cut losses there by more than 40%. Overall, Paramount
It’s official: Bob Bakish is out as CEO of Paramount Global, the company announced Monday. The exec’s departure after nearly three decades at Paramount Global and predecessor Viacom comes as the media conglomerate’s board and controlling shareholder Shari Redstone are trying to
Sony Pictures Entertainment has promoted Tahra Grant to chief communications officer in the wake of longtime leader Bob Lawson being elevated to head of corp comms for the entire Sony group. Most recently, Grant has overseen corporate communications for the Motion Picture
A live-action Scooby-Doo series could soon be coming to Netflix, Variety has learned from sources. The one-hour drama project is said to be nearing a deal at the streamer with a script-to-series commitment. Exact plot details are being kept under wraps aside from the fact it
Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye has donated $2 million from his XO Humanitarian Fund in an effort to provide 18 million loaves of bread to help families in Gaza. The donation was made in tandem with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), which will provide 1,500 metric tons
James Gunn is debunking a conspiracy theory that alleges he already knew about Henry Cavill’s Superman re-casting while he was promoting “The Suicide Squad.” That timeline does not make sense, Gunn suggested in a post on Threads, as he was not in charge of DC Studios in 2021
Romantic dramas — and romantic comedies, for that matter — hinge on the conviction that when we find “the one” we will be all the more malleable for it. It’s not so much that we will change who we are but that who we will become alongside our lover will be a better version of […]
“Fallout” is proving to be far from a (nuclear) bomb for Amazon’s Prime Video. According to the streamer, the series pulled in 65 million viewers in its first 16 days of availability, with the first season dropping in its entirety on April 10. That makes it the second
Jason Kelce is headed to the broadcasting booth. The recently retired football star is joining ESPN’s pre-game show “Monday Night Countdown,” Variety confirms. ESPN emerged as the favorite among multiple networks vying for Kelce’s on-air commentary, a group of suitors that
Amelia Grey may have been named model of the year at The Daily Front Row’s eighth annual Fashion Los Angeles Awards on Sunday, but she’s certainly thinking beyond the catwalk. Grey tells me she’ll probably try following in the acting footsteps of her parents, Lisa Rinna Harry
AMC Networks’ plans to submit the zombie spinoff “The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live” as a limited series for the Emmys have been killed. The cable network had announced plans to submit the six-episode spinoff, created by Scott M. Gimple, Danai Gurira, and Andrew Lincoln, for
Zack Norman, the stand-up comic, actor and producer perhaps best known for his turn as a crocodile-loving antiquities smuggler in Romancing the Stone, has died. He was 83. Norman died Sunday night of natural causes at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, his
Comedy constantly shifts and changes, and tenets that might have applied years ago are also on the move. Variety spoke to some comics about everything from social media to cancel culture to figure out the new rules of the comedy scene. Live wherever. New York too expensive?
Taylor Swift has broken yet another record with her new album “The Tortured Poets Department,” as she becomes the first artist to claim the top 14 songs on the Billboard Hot 100. Swift breaks her previous record for most songs to claim the top spots on the chart, which she
One of the challenges for electronic-music artists who aren’t making dance music is how to put on a compelling live show. The answer, of course, is to serve up not just exciting music but visuals as well, and at a packed Paramount Theater in Brooklyn on Friday, as usual,
Variety will return to the Croisette for its annual Welcome to Cannes Party, hosted in partnership with The Gotham Film & Media Institute. The event will take place on May 16 at Lucia Beach. Variety and The Gotham will host executives, talent and filmmakers to kick off the
Jeff Bridges is going back to the grid. The 74-year-old actor told the Film Comment podcast (via The Playlist) that he is going to appear in “Tron: Ares,” the third film in the long-running sci-fi franchise that Bridges inaugurated with “Tron” in 1982 and reprised with “Tron:
Pop-Tarts is getting back at Jerry Seinfeld. It all started when Seinfeld directed and co-wrote a movie, Unfrosted, about the origin of Pop-Tarts. He also stars in the film, which hits Netflix on May 3. Unfrosted tells the (fictional) origin story of Pop-Tarts, which resulted
A security guard was shot several times outside the Los Angeles-area home of Weeknd co-manager and business partner Amir “Cash” Esmailian in an apparent home invasion, according to Fox11. Esmailian has been a key member of the team around the Weeknd, which is led by his
In this digital-dominated era, the allure of physical media like DVDs and Blu-rays remains robust, transcending mere nostalgia. These formats offer a tangible, personal connection to the artistry of film and television—a curated collection that one can physically handle,
The prequel to the 2019 live-action remake of The Lion King heads to theaters Dec. 20
NBCUniversal is looking to wring more money out of Peacock subscribers, with the streamer set to raise prices this summer — one year after its last fee hike — going into effect for new customers ahead of the 2024 Olympics. Beginning in mid-July, the price for Peacock Premium
Karen Gillian and Zoë Chao will star in Let’s Have Kids!, a comedy from MRC. Adam Sztykiel, the screenwriter of DC movie Black Adam who previously tackled the topic of giving birth with Due Date, will make his directorial debut. Sztykiel was previously set to make his
After an impressive box office run at the end of 2023 and winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Film earlier this year, Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” is coming to streaming. The epic animated film — starring Robert Pattinson, Florence Pugh and Willem Dafoe (in
The Sundance Institute, a mentorship program dedicated to providing a space for artists and storytellers to create media, has selected 16 fellows for this year’s Directors, Screenwriters, and Native Labs. Spanning over four decades, the Sundance Institute’s labs have provided
Anthony Hemingway has boarded the Netflix series adaptation of the Judy Blume novel “Forever” to direct multiple episodes, Variety has learned exclusively. The series stars Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr. and hails from creator Mara Brock Akil. The official logline states
Jerry Seinfeld said in an interview with The New Yorker while touting his feature directorial effort “Unfrosted” that “P.C. crap” and the “extreme left” is making television comedy go extinct. Seinfeld is a sitcom icon thanks to his eponymous NBC sitcom that ran between 1989
FRENCH CONCESSION Vietnamese French director and screenwriter Tran Anh Hung has been named as president of the jury for the upcoming Shanghai International Film Festival. The festival, which runs June 14 to 23, said that his works “blend the expressions of Eastern and Western
It’s not often that a new venue dominates U.K. music industry conversation, but that’s certainly been the case with the opening – or not – of Oak View Group’s new Co-op Live Arena in Manchester. With a capacity of 23,500 people, the new $458 million venue will become the
Morgan Wallen and Post Malone have been teasing a joint single, and the two singers premiered the new song, “I Had Some Help,” in a duet performance during Wallen’s headlining set at the Stagecoach festival in California Sunday night. The new song, “I Had Some Help,” is a
Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” which welcomed back Jon Stewart as one of its hosts this year, will continue its election year tradition of taking the show on the road to the national political conventions this summer, Variety can confirm. The extent of Stewart’s involvement
It’s well known that in her decades-long career, Shonda Rhimes — the writer behind such television sensations as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Scandal” and “Bridgerton” — has smashed pervasive racist-casting tropes, and in doing so, changed the literal face of TV, whether that meant
Martin Freeman-starring series “The Responder” has revealed first-look photos of its anticipated second season. Produced by Fremantle’s Dancing Ledge Productions, it’s set to debut on BBC iPlayer and BBC One on May 5 and will be available on BritBox this summer. Fremantle is
Filmmakers Joe and Anthony Russo were responsible for some of Marvel’s biggest box office hits, from “Captain America: Civil War” to “Avengers: Endgame,” but they don’t necessarily believe superhero fatigue is to blame for the studio’s recent struggles. Marvel had a tough 2023
Boomer Esiason and Phil Simms will exit CBS’ long-running “The NFL Today” studio show as part of a revamp that brings former star quarterback Matt Ryan into the program’s line-up. When viewers next tune in to the show as the NFL season kicks off this fall, they will see Ryan,
The three media companies planning to launch a much-scrutinized sports streamer later this year are set to give advertisers a sneak peek at the new outlet. Fox, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery plan to use their new streaming joint-venture — the official name of the video hub
After being detained for questioning this morning, Paris prosecutors announced the actor will be charged for two alleged assaults on a film set