Mark James, a Songwriters Hall of Fame member who wrote or co-wrote “Suspicious Minds,” “Always on My Mind” and “Hooked on a Feeling,” died June 8 at his home in Nashville. The news was reported by his hometown newspaper, the Houston Chronicle. James was inducted into the
Another one bites the dust. Filmmaker Yann Demange (“Lovecraft Country”) is no longer set to direct “Blade,” Marvel Studios’ long-in-the-works reboot of the vampire superhero franchise set to star Mahershala Ali. This is the second director to leave the project; Bassam Tariq
“In the next 45 minutes, we’re about to hear Gus speak more than he has in the last 40 years,” Vito Schnabel, the art world scion who is increasingly turning his head toward Hollywood, told a crowd at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival last week. He was there to moderate a
Blade is once again in search of new talent behind the camera. Filmmaker Yann Demange has exited the long-gestating project, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The departure is described as amicable and happened some time ago. It’s the latest in a number of creative
“American Psycho” co-stars Chloë Sevigny and Josh Lucas recently reunited for a discussion with Vanity Fair in which the two reflected on their leading man, Christian Bale, whose apparent Method acting to play the serial killer Patrick Bateman left Sevigny confused and
The longtime, but estranged rivals will go head-to-head for the first time in 15 years on Labor Day
When Colman Domingo chooses projects, he isn’t looking to be pigeonholed by his sexuality and identity. That’s why the Oscar-nominated actor recently told GQ that he sometimes questions the scripts that come across his desk at his production company Edith, which he co-runs with
Jude Law turned down Superman in the early 2000s because “it just felt off,” which he knows sounds ridiculous considering he would later agree to star in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and to play Dumbledore in the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise. The actor confirmed he was courted
The National Music Publishers Assn. has filed a legal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against Spotify, primarily to oppose its recent plan to bundle music and audiobooks, which will result in a lower mechanical royalty rate for songwriters and artists, estimated to
“All That” and “Kenan & Kel” actor Kel Mitchell revealed on the “Baby, This is Keke Palmer” podcast that Dan Schneider allegedly yelled at him in a closet on set once when he was 18 or 19 years old. Mitchell’s story is the latest misconduct allegation made by a former
Sherri Crichton was on a mission. She was poring over filing cabinets, old computers and scattered notes when she finally found it: a manuscript from her late husband, “Jurassic Park” and “Congo” writer Michael Crichton. Each thread led her to the next: a draft called “Vulcan,”
Grab your ketchup and mustard, because the mother of all hot dog-eating contests is here. Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi, two of the world’s most famous competitive eaters, will participate in the ultimate hot dog-eating contest live on Netflix on Labor Day. The location
Smile filmmaker Parker Finn is venturing into alien territory. Finn has quietly teamed with Robert Pattinson to remake Possession, the cult 1981 psychological supernatural horror movie written and directed by Polish filmmaker Andrzej Żuławski. The project has engaged the town’s
After Schneider was accused of allowing a hostile work environment on the docuseries Quiet on Set , the All That and Kenan & Kel star opens up in a new podcast
FX’s “Shogun” had planned to shoot in Japan; due to the pandemic, the production shifted to Vancouver. Production designer Helen Jarvis had never been to Japan, nor had she read James Clavell’s original novel that the series is based on. Nonetheless, she was determined to bring
A federal judge has put a temporary ban on “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli from streaming or disseminating copies of a one-of-a-kind Wu-Tang Clan album that he purchased for $2 million in 2015. The ban, reported by CNBC, came just a day after PleasrDAO, the company that bought the
Tony Lo Bianco, the Brooklyn actor who oozed criminal charm in the gritty 1970s New York City dramas The French Connection and The Seven-Ups, has died. He was 87. Lo Bianco died Tuesday night of prostate cancer at his horse farm in Poolesville, Maryland, his wife, Alyse, told
For his new “Honeymind” album, singer and actor Ben Platt brought in an especially honeyed voice as a counterpart on one song, Brandy Clark. He had written “Treehouse” in a writing session with Clark well before the album was being put together, and then he and producer Dave
Armando Silvestre, a busy actor in the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema who appeared with Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine in Two Mules for Sister Sara, with Yul Brynner in Kings of the Sun and with Burt Lancaster in The Scalphunters, has died. He was 98. Silvestre died June 2
Rebecca Ferguson doesn’t mind people knowing she’s claustrophobic. “Expose it!” she says. “I’m quite happy people know because if they listen, they’ll be like, ‘Okay, good to know, she’ll take the stairs when she comes.’” The topic arose when Ferguson dropped by the Variety
After an extensive search, Disney has found the next Moana. Newcomer Catherine Laga‘aia will star as the titular character in the remake of the 2016 hit animated film. The 17-year-old actor hails from Sydney, Australia, and joins Dwayne Johnson in the feature, reprising his
Disney’s live-action “Moana” has found its new leading lady: Catherine Laga‘aia will star opposite Dwayne Johnson, who reprises his role as the demigod Maui, in the highly anticipated film. “I’m really excited to embrace this character because Moana is one of my favorites,”
Rapper Quavo has partnered with Vice President Kamala Harris and the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention for the inaugural Rocket Foundation Summit, taking place in Atlanta, GA on June 18. The event is set to honor Quavo’s former Migos group member and nephew Takeoff,
Jason George is returning to “Grey’s Anatomy” as a series regular after seven seasons of starring spinoff series “Station 19,” which aired its series finale in May. George joined “Grey’s Anatomy” in 2010, playing surgical resident Ben Warren as a recurring role beginning with
"Inside Out 2" is a transporting fable about the desire to fit in, to be validated by the Cool Culture that is, increasingly, our collective seal of approval and success. And while the movie is an exhilarating animated ride of the spirit (be prepared for it to help save summer
While he may be best known for features such as “The King of Scotland” and “The Mauritanian,” Kevin Macdonald has directed a number of documentaries about well-known figures, including 2012’s Bob Marley doc “Marley,” 2018’s revelatory “Whitney” about Whitney Houston and last
Quincy Jones, the first Black producer to be nominated for best picture, and legendary casting director Juliet Taylor will receive honorary Oscars at this year’s Governors Awards, announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Wednesday. Screenwriter and director
George R. R. Martin, creator of the “Game of Thrones” franchise, says there may be a new spinoff to look forward to. In a blog post on Tuesday, the author and producer said that playwright Eboni Booth is “working on a new pilot” for “Ten Thousand Ships,” a series that
As part of Variety‘s “Behind the Song,” the Newton Brothers Andy Gursh and Taylor Stewart broke down how they crafted the superhero soundtrack for Marvel’s new animated series “X-Men ’97.” Having both been fans of X-Men from a young age, Grush and Stewart were both “very, very
With the Skydance Media deal talks dead, the three executives leading Paramount Global’s Office of the CEO said they remain focused on a cost-cutting and growth plan for the media conglomerate as a standalone entity. The trio — George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS; Chris
In the summer of 1999, Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams and Joshua Leonard were trapped in a strange sort of limbo. “The Blair Witch Project,” their debut feature, had exploded out of the Sundance Film Festival that January to become one of the most influential horror
As Annecy premiere “Spermageddon” continues to rack up sales, even its makers are surprised they got away with its risqué subject matter. “When we finally got to make it, there were times when I was looking at the screen, thinking: ‘How the hell did we get this movie made?!’”
Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood had to make between 200 and 300 leather bomber jackets for AppleTV+’s World War II series “Masters of the Air.” Despite having more than 80 credits to her name, Atwood had never done a WWII drama and was delighted to finally be
In a groundbreaking moment, Sony Pictures Entertainment has acquired Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in a deal that puts a major Hollywood studio back in the business of owning a movie theater for the first time in more than 75 years with certain exceptions. From 1948 until 2020, the
Sony Pictures Entertainment has acquired Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, the theater chain that inspired a passionate following with its creative cocktails, extensive food menu and strict “no talking, no texting” policies. The media company acquired Alamo Drafthouse from owners
A new series based on John Grisham’s 1995 novel “The Rainmaker” and the 1997 film adaptation has been greenlit at the USA Network. Grisham serves as executive producer on the series alongside Jason Blum, while Blumhouse Television and Lionsgate Television serve as the studios.
The Mediterrane Film Festival announced its complete program ahead of its second edition, taking place in Malta’s capital of Valetta from June 22-30. New titles selected include recent Cannes highlights in Coralie Fargeat’s Demi Moore-led body horror “The Substance” and Roberto
While AI has been one of the most discussed topics in Annecy this year, from pre-festival controversy to crowds literally booing shorts built with generative AI tools during screenings, “puzzled and uncomfortable” seems to be the best way to define both audience and panelists
“Masters of the Air” doesn’t fly as high as it does without Anthony Boyle and Nate Mann. No military unit rests on the shoulders of two people, and the Eighth Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group was no different in World War II. Historically known as the Bloody 100th for the
For teenage tennis prodigy Julie, discipline isn’t merely a virtue but a survival strategy. Repressing adolescent urges and emotional swings has long been part of her routine at the high-level youth tennis academy where she’s currently the star student: Years of concentrating
After a career spent tackling some of the most challenging roles in Hollywood in films such as “Motherless Brooklyn,” “Fight Club’” and “American History X,” Edward Norton has started to work in TV. Norton is doing his work behind the camera, but it could make him and his
Ankama, the French company behind the cult favorite adult animated feature “Mutafukaz” and video game franchises such as “Dofus” and “Wakfu,” has acquired a minority stake in Inthebox, a thriving Annecy-based animation studio. The alliance will allow Ankama to “fast-track its
Lionsgate Television has optioned journalist Adam Ciralsky’s Vanity Fair article “Take No Prisoners” to be developed as a series by showrunner Alexi Hawley. The article details the work of the U.S. Special envoy for hostage affairs and his colleagues, working for the release of
We’re definitely not going to pass judgment on your hours-long gaming grinds, but when they’re over do you find your back and legs make you feel like you’re 100 years old? It’s not you, friend. It’s your chair. You’re probably aware of this already, of course, a good gaming
Alicia Vikander and Jude Law came out to Tribeca Festival on Tuesday night for the premiere of their upcoming film, Firebrand. The new take on Henry VIII’s life and his six wives focuses on his final spouse, Katherine Parr, who is named regent while the king battles abroad.
Ultraman has one job: to defend the world from kaiju. Across countless manga, video games and movies, Ultraman’s core duty has been to fend off ferocious land and sea monsters — which, of course, have always been allegories for other threats facing mankind. In “Ultraman:
After a fourth-month, worldwide search, the Amazon Prime Video drama “House of David” has found its cast of biblical figures. Michael Iskander will lead the series as David. The Egyptian American actor is best known for originating the role of Aaron in “Kimberly Akimbo,” which
UTA named Bob Roback, a veteran entertainment and tech entrepreneur and executive, its new chief operating officer. In joining the firm, Roback will also be a partner and join UTA’s board of directors. Roback takes over the COO role from Andrew Thau, who will continue as
