President Donald Trump on Friday nominated Danielle Thumann, who currently serves as senior counsel to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, to serve as a commissioner on the agency. If she’s confirmed, it would give Republicans a 3-1 advantage at the FCC (with one remaining seat still
Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie are joining the Season 2 cast of “Heated Rivalry,” the hit romantic drama from Canada’s Crave Media that airs on HBO Max in the U.S. Smith will play Harris Drover and Gillespie will play Troy Barrett. While official character descriptions
Netflix is expanding its interest in Major League Baseball — but this time on the scripted drama side. The streamer is developing an untitled drama series about the storied New York Yankees baseball team. MLB Studios, Jason Bateman’s Aggregate Films and writer/director/producer
Katseye member Sophia Laforteza has announced that she’s taking a temporary step back from the group’s upcoming promotional activities, emphasizing that she needs to prioritize her “mental health and wellness.” In a post on Weverse, the group revealed that she has the “utmost
“The Last House,” a science-fiction horror from French director Louis Leterrier, is a movie born from Covid. A suburban family of four, helmed by Jason (Wagner Moura) and Ann (Greta Lee), is suddenly trapped in their home. With no understanding of the situation outside, and no
Selena Gomez, Christina Aguilera, Law Roach, Ciara, Simu Liu and Jeff Goldblum are among those who have been named as founding honorary host committee members of the Olympics-inspired Legacy House in Los Angeles. Legacy House is a multi-year platform that will convene
A coalition group campaigning against the proposed merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery has said the U.K.’s approval of the merger after obtaining “major concessions” lends “powerful credibility” to the pending legal case in the U.S. Earlier this week the
“PAW Patrol… are they still a thing?” asks Mayor Humdinger, the villain of “PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie” — a rare moment of irony in a film otherwise unfashionably devoid of it. That lack of second degree should by rights be charming, in a film landscape where fourth walls are
A new gumshoe is on the case. “Bridgette Wrona and the Whisper Creek Murders,” a YA mystery film from Little Spark Films, has wrapped filming in Arlington, Texas. Mary Beth McAndrews directed the feature from a script by Preston Fassel, based on a concept by Cameron Hazelwood.
Gregg Alexander wasn’t planning to make a splashy return with New Radicals, his pop-rock collective that burned bright and fast in the late 1990s before abruptly disbanding. So it’s fitting that “One Night Only (Break Loose Break Free!),” the group’s first new song in 28 years,
Ahead of the film's Locarno premiere, the director opens up about his kidney transplant, working with Larissa Corriveau for the sixth time and dedicating the film to his late mother.
Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” topped the U.K. and Ireland box office in July with a gross of £56.2 million ($75.6 million), as the market posted a total of £178.2 million ($239.7 million) for the month, 35% ahead of the equivalent five-week period in July 2025, according to
“The Gallerist,” a Miami-set satire of the art world starring Natalie Portman and Jenna Ortega, has been acquired by Roadside Attractions and Vertical. The movie will open in theaters on Dec. 4, nearly a year after it premiered at Sundance Film Festival. Cathy Yan directed “The
“Give It a Shot,” a documentary following the decades-long push to bring a reversible male contraceptive to market, will open theatrically across North America this September. Coast to Coast Films, in association with Sandbox Films and ITVS, will release the film. A trailer has
SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers for, including the ending of, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” now playing in theaters. For more than a year, Sadie Sink had to keep her role in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” a secret. Sink, who was offered the part after her breakout
The Elevator Boys, the German content creators turned boy band, have released the trailer for their feature film debut, “Back to the 90s,” ahead of the movie’s premiere on Aug. 21. The German-language Prime Video movie follows five best friends — Matteo (Julien Brown), Jonas
Don Lemon asked a federal judge to dismiss criminal civil-rights charges against him related to his presence as a protest earlier this year at an anti-ICE protest in Minnesota. In a filing Friday, the former CNN anchor’s lawyers asserted the indictment of Lemon stemmed from
Ask Uprize what makes their sound unmistakably theirs, and the seven-member group doesn’t point to a hook or a genre. They point to each other. “We won’t set limits for ourselves,” says member Leon. And across the conversation, that refusal to be boxed in becomes the closest
He’s helped write movies that are widely adored and have collectively earned more than $1 billion at the box office. He’s co-created a sitcom that has become one of the BBC’s most successful exports, with a U.S. adaptation now onto its sixth season. And yet, Simon Farnaby is
Now that the sequel series has ended its three-season run, “Wizards of Waverly Place” star Jake T. Austin has finally opened up about not being included in “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.” Austin, who played youngest sibling Max Russo on all four seasons of the hit Disney
Based on Nevada Barr’s extensive book series, USA Network’s new original drama “Anna Pigeon” follows a law enforcement ranger who trades her career as a Broadway stage manager for the lush grounds of Montana’s fictional Glacier National Park. Hyper-focused on her job and
Early 20th-century media tycoon Lord Beaverbrook was known for throwing legendary parties at his country house in Surrey, which hosted everyone from Hollywood royalty like Elizabeth Taylor to historical figures such as Winston Churchill. So it’s fitting that Tom Holland and
Giant catfish, gambling debts, hair loss and domestic violence through the eyes of a child are also among the themes of projects presented in the Swiss festival's Alliance 4 Development showcase.
William Orbit, the Grammy-winning musician and producer best known for his work with Madonna, All Saints and Blur, died on July 23. He was 69. Orbit’s family confirmed his death in a statement posted to his Instagram account on Friday. “It is with profound sadness that the
Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer voiced support for the stalled Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger, which is headed to an antitrust trial to begin in March 2027. While Lionsgate competes with Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. in some areas, including theatrically released
The legendary Hungarian filmmaker, who ran the Film Factory at Sarajevo Film Festival from 2013 to 2017, died earlier this year aged 70.
Guadagnino's 'Artificial' will not be screening at Venice but his new documentary 'Joie de vivre,' on legendary Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci, will have its premiere there.
Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive drew $1.39 billion in sales from April 1-June 30, the quarter during which it opened presales for “Grand Theft Auto 6,” even as the company’s losses widened. During a call with analysts later Friday, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said
Gabriel Mascaro, director of the 2025 Berlinale Grand Jury Prize winner “The Blue Trail,” and top Brazilian producer Paula Cosenza (“Memory House”) have teamed to create Trema, launched as a Northeast Brazil production powerhouse. Trema is headquartered in Recife, Mascaro’s
Starz saw total revenue slide again in the second quarter of 2026 — but the media company reported its first year-over-year growth in streaming revenue in 18 months. Company execs believe the business is turning around, and they’ve raised their outlook for adjusted OIBDA
Luca Guadagnino will receive the Cartier Glory to the Filmmaker Award at this year’s Venice Film Festival. The Italian director, who is premiering his seven-hour Bernardo Bertolucci documentary “Joie de Vivre” at this year’s festival, is being honored as “a personality who has
The German filmmaker joins a prestigious list of Donostia Award recipients, including Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett, Pedro Almodóvar, David Cronenberg, Juliette Binoche and Javier Bardem.
Prolific filmmaker Werner Herzog will receive the San Sebastián Film Festival’s prestigious Donostia Award during its 74th edition in September. The German director will be honored at the Spanish festival’s opening gala and will screen his latest film “Bucking Fastard,”
Bella Thorne is about to go full “Spring Breakers.” The former Disney star has revealed that in addition to starring in an upcoming sequel to Harmony Korine’s 2012 cult classic, she’s also directing and writing the film. Variety exclusively announced the sequel and its cast in
Blue Finch Films has taken on international sales rights, outside North America, for the heist thriller comedy “Drag” from directors Greg Yagolnitzer and Raviv Ullman. The U.K. sales and distribution company plans to launch the title at the market during the Toronto Film
Claes Bang plays Heinrich Himmler’s personal physical therapist in Locarno premiere “I Is Another.” Directed by Felix Randau, it focuses on the true story of Felix Kersten. Kersten, who passed away in 1960, claimed to have saved numerous lives during the war due to his
In a session with execs from mk2, Design Otherwise and Lucky Red, 'Ida' by Pawel Pawlikowski and Barry Jenkins' 'Moonlight' were name-checked as powerful films that data or algorithms may not have picked.
Arthouse movies are increasingly made for younger audiences who are replacing ageing stay-at-home baby boomers at Europe’s upscale cinema theaters. That impact is now working its way through new arthouse projects, seen at Locarno’s 2026 Match Me!, its vibrant co-production meet
“Chapa 100,” the 2025 Atlas Workshops Development Award winner, now a potential highlight at Locarno’s Africa-focused strand Open Doors, has been boarded by Italy-based sales agent Luminalia. Written and directed by Mozambique’s Ique Langa, “Chapa 100” has also added as an
Beatrice Gibson's full-length feature debut, premiering in Locarno's Filmmakers of the Present Competition, blends autofiction and poetry into what she calls "a love letter to friendships."
Thomas Heise’s final film, “Übergang,” arrives at the Locarno Film Festival as both a portrait of one of Germany’s most influential documentary filmmakers and the completion of a project left unfinished by his death. Premiering in the festival’s out of competition section, the
Indian auteur Vishal Bhardwaj is developing a film based on the Tarun Tejpal rape case, the director confirmed with Variety, hours after the Bombay High Court overturned a Goa sessions court acquittal and convicted the former Tehelka editor of rape, sentencing him to 10 years’
To kick off the third episode of the Netflix animated comedy “Alley Cats,” protagonist Gus — an overweight orange tabby voiced by writer, creator and frequent director Ricky Gervais (think Garfield with a distinctly working class British accent) — describes his plan for the
Ahead of the Locarno premiere of his debut feature 'September Afternoon,' the young creative who loves "dead time" discusses his unique film language and resisting uniformity.
A decade or so ago, the premise of apocalyptic thriller “The Last House” might have sounded a little more out there than it does now: A middle-class Seattle family wakes up one morning to find themselves sealed inside their house with no means of escape, a mysterious enforced
Sirimiri Films, founded by Estibaliz Urresola, director of Berlinale winner “20,000 Species of Bees,” is teaming with Lazona Zinema, the Basque division of Lazona (“Spanish Affair,” “Gigantes,” “No Rest for the Wicked”) to produce “La Koreana,” one of Spain’s banner new talent
Alliance 4 Development, Locarno’s co-development platform for film projects from Austria, France, Germany and Switzerland, has presented this year’s projects. The line-up includes Bruce LaBruce’s first French-led feature, “Third Take.” It’s a “female melodrama” starring Monica
Prime Video India has unveiled the trailer for the second season of “The Traitors,” the unscripted celebrity competition series hosted by Karan Johar, set to debut exclusively on the platform on Aug. 13. New episodes will drop every Thursday. Filmed against the backdrop of
“My Father’s Kora” (“La Kora de Mon Père”), a Benin-Switzerland-Germany production, will have its world premiere Aug. 9 at the Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors section, which has focused on 42 countries of the African continent since 2025. The film follows Souleymane Everston
The film, starring Claes Bang and Valerie Pachner, debuts at Locarno, and director Felix Randau heard concerns that he may give a platform to a villain, but says: "If you ignore evil, it will grow in the dark."