Warner Bros. has made it official: It will be returning to Middle Earth. On Warner Bros. Discovery’s first-quarter earnings conference call on Thursday, CEO David Zaslav said that the company is “now in the early stages of script development” for new Lord of the Rings movies,
Warner Bros. will release the first of its new batch of “The Lord of the Rings” films in 2026. More to come…
Pan-Arab distributor Mad Solutions is expanding operations by setting up Mad World, a Dubai-based company dedicated to selling Arab movies internationally that will officially launch in Cannes. Touted as Arab cinema’s first global sales outfit, Mad World segues from Mad
Italian-born Texas-based director Roberto Minervini is known for a distinguished career making documentaries including his so-called Texas trilogy comprising “The Passage,” “Low Tide” and “Stop the Pounding Heart.” His most recent doc “What You Gonna Do When the World’s On
Protagonist Pictures has unveiled the new drama-thriller Press Your Luck, starring Paul Walter Hauser (Black Bird, Richard Jewell, I, Tonya). The company on Thursday also unveiled a first glimpse at the project, based on the “incredible” true story of Michael Larson, an
Paul Walter Hauser has added another project to a packed upcoming slate. The Emmy and Golden Globe winner, who in the last few weeks alone has been tapped to play Chris Farley in Josh Gad’s biopic and has joined the cast of both “Fantastic Four” and the “Naked Gun” reboot, is
Endeavor delivered a loss for the first three months of the year as the parent company of UFC, WWE, WME and IMG burned through nearly $400 million in cash during the first quarter. The company released its Q1 2024 earnings report Thursday, which is likely to be one of its last
Warner Bros. Discovery reported its first-quarter 2024 earnings Thursday, revealing it had reached 99.6 million paid streaming subscribers in a tough quarter for studios and networks. That’s a growth of nearly 2 million subscribers from the 97.7 million subs across HBO and
Two-time Oscar-winning Australian actress Cate Blanchett is set to add another prestigious honor to her illustrious career. The San Sebastián Film Festival has just announced that Blanchett will be the recipient of the Donostia career achievement award at this year’s 72nd
Amsterdam- and Beijing-based Fortissimo Films is to pre-sell Chinese crime drama “Family at large,” kicking off at the Cannes Market. The film had previously been announced with sales handled jointly by Fortissimo and Rediance. Now, Fortissimo alone is representing rights
The Venice Film Festival will honor Australian director and screenwriter Peter Weir – whose body of work comprises “Dead Poets Society,” “The Truman Show,” and “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” – with its 2024 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. “With a total
Skyline Media, a leading Vietnamese studio, is getting ready for Cannes with a string of sales on its local and Southeast Asian film sales slate. Since appearing at FilMart in Hong Kong in March, Skyine has licensed Cambodian horror title “The Night Curse of Reatrei” to
Kaleidoscope Film Distribution has unveiled its Cannes slate, including George Michael documentary “Portrait of an Artist.” The company is also repping global sales rights for Lucy Lawless’ directorial debut “Never Look Away,” a documentary about photojournalist Margaret Moth,
Actor George MacKay has reunited with his “For Those in Peril” director Paul Wright for “Mission.” Backed by BBC Film, Screen Scotland and Ffilm Cymru Wales with funding from the U.K. National Lottery, “Mission” is a co-production between Early Day Films (BAFTA winner “Bait”)
Documentary festival Millennium Docs Against Gravity, running in Poland from Friday to May 19 and online from May 21 to July 3, is in its 21st edition, but its industry section is a relatively recent addition. However, it is growing in size and impact. The section started small
Netflix and “Elite” creator Carlos Montero have reteamed on the new medical drama “Breathless,” and Variety has been given exclusive access to new first images from the show. “Breathless” is produced by Montero’s El Desorden Crea and executive produced by Montero and Diego
Korean sales firm Finecut has inked multiple deals for horror thriller “Noise” and for “A Traveler’s Needs,” the recent Berlin prize-winner directed by Hong Sangsoo. “Noise” is a “multi-sensory and realistic horror” film that intertwines societal motifs of “floor noise” with
The 50-strong cohort for the fourth iteration of the TV Collective’s groundbreaking Breakthrough Leaders program has been unveiled. The initiative is in partnership with Fremantle, BBC Studios, Amazon, SKY, and ITV Studios. The program has identified and will empower 50
After “Ticket to Paradise” and “Destination Wedding” showed us the different ways in which calamity ensues when planning weddings abroad, Netflix releases “Mother of the Bride,” which combines the essential elements of both those recent romantic comedies into one passable
Ukrainian production powerhouse Film.UA is developing a bone-chilling slate of horror films all set within the same cinematic universe, the company revealed exclusively to Variety on the eve of this year’s Cannes Marché du Film. Steeped in local folklore and delving into the
U.K. broadcaster ITV has reported mixed financial fortunes for the first quarter of 2024. The advertising revenue growth of 3%, with the second quarter expected to be up around 12%, is offset by the downturn in revenues from ITV Studios. Total revenue was down 7% to £887
Jerry Seinfeld has apologized to Howard Stern for comments he made about the radio personality in a recent podcast interview, including that Stern lacked “comedy chops.” “I really feel bad for what I said about my friend Howard Stern in a conversation with David Spade and Dana
After producing the upcoming documentary “The Blue Angels,” J.J. Abrams and Glen Powell are in early talks to team up for a new movie, with Abrams eyeing Powell to star in his next directorial effort. Deals have yet to close, but in the aftermath of “Top Gun: Maverick” and
Glen Powell continues to be one of Hollywood’s most in-demand leading men of the moment. The actor is in early talks to star in the next film from director J.J. Abrams, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. No deal is yet in place, and plot details are currently under wraps,
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 11, Episode 10 of “The Masked Singer,” “Quarter Finals: Final Four,” which aired May 8 on Fox. “This Is Us” star Chrissy Metz knew “The Masked Singer” would be a challenge. But that’s why Metz, who was revealed as
Nishtha Jain’s “Farming the Revolution” — winner of the best international feature documentary prize at Hot Docs — captures the vast emotional scope of revolutionary movements. Chronicling the lengthy stand-off between Indian farmers and the Modi government, during which tens
Alec Baldwin’s lawyers have filed two more motions to throw out his manslaughter indictment in the “Rust” case in New Mexico. Meanwhile, Rory Kennedy, who is making a documentary about Baldwin and the “Rust” shooting, is fighting a subpoena that would force her to turn over
The directors of “Inside Out 2,” “Ultraman: Rising” and “Transformers One” are confirmed to speak at the weeklong VIEW Conference 2024, taking place in Turin, Italy, from Oct. 14-19. The English-language conference, which draws top talent from the film, television, animation,
A judge ruled that commission fees paid to Clarkson’s ex-husband for her talk show are back on the table while questions about Clarkson’s finances and “marital estate” must wait
Grace Caroline Currey has joined the cast of “The Breed,” and is set to lead the film. Directed by brothers Sean and Bryan Furst, the film is an “unconventional reimagining of the Wes Craven cult classic.” The brothers will produce together through their company, Curmudgeon
Kristen Stewart recently graced the cover of Porter magazine and called out “phony” Hollywood for how it often self-congratulates itself for doing away with the patriarchy when in reality, Hollywood has just prioritized a select group of women to operate in the studio world.
Filmmaker Michael Lindsay-Hogg is having a bit of a “hail the conquering hero” moment that very few people would have expected him to be having this far into the 21st century, least of all himself. Although he has had many successes in film and in the theater over the last 60
Hulu has given a piot order to “Downforce” (working title), a comedy pilot written and executive produced by “Silicon Valley” writers Alec Berg and Adam Countee. The official logline for “Downforce” reads, “When the heiress to a dynastic racing team is thrust back into the
Hayao Miyazaki’s 2001 animated film “Spirited Away” won everything from the Oscar for Best Animated Feature to Berlin’s Golden Bear. That there’s an audience for a stage version was evidenced by its 2022 Tokyo run selling out in four minutes. Now in London and performed in
The “Friday the 13th” prequel series in the works at Peacock from A24 is in search of a new showrunner. Bryan Fuller — who was announced as the show’s writer, executive producer, and showrunner when it was first ordered to series in 2022 — took to Twitter to announce that he
Chris Pine was taken by surprise when news hit that Steve Yockey, creator of the Max series “The Flight Attendant,” had signed on to write the script for “Star Trek 4.” Why? “I thought there was already a script,” the actor recently told Business Insider during an interview on
A day after an unidentified assailant shot a security guard at Drake’s Toronto home, an intruder has been arrested for trying to gain access to the property, located in Bridle Path. Toronto police have confirmed that they returned to the rapper’s house around 2 p.m. on
Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery — ordinarily rivals for consumers’ time and money — are teaming up for a triple-play bundle of Disney+, Hulu and Max. The companies announced a new streaming bundle comprising Disney+, Hulu and Max will be available this summer in the U.S.
Jessica Gunning, who plays the haunting stalker Martha in Netflix’s “Baby Reindeer,” says creator and star Richard Gadd was on her radar even before she auditioned for the show — ever since she saw his one-man show “Monkey See Monkey Do” at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. “I
Jude Law and Alicia Vikander star as real-life King Henry VIII and his sixth wife, Katherine Parr, in Karim Aïnouz’s Firebrand trailer. The film, based on true 16th-century events, follows Parr’s pursuit of survival in her marriage to the king, after the first five of his wives
What really happened during the 48 hours leading up to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy — at least according to mob bosses — is heading to the big screen in the upcoming film “November 1963: The Killing of a President.” The mob’s version of events were passed down
The official trailer for Apple TV+’s Fancy Dance sees Lily Gladstone’s Jax on a mission to find her missing sister, as the risk of losing custody of her niece, Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson), looms. Following her sister’s disappearance, Jax and Roki have been scraping by on the
The Millennium Docs Against Gravity Festival, taking place in Warsaw from Friday until May 16, has grown exponentially in the last few years. In fact it is now, as the people behind it proclaim, “the largest cultural event in Poland.” Artistic director Karol Piekarczyk
With 'Watchmen' actress Malin Åkerman and comedian Petra Mede set to host, here's how to live stream this year's 'Eurovision' online, no matter which country you're tuning in from
Movie theaters can’t sell tickets if they don’t have a lot of new blockbusters to advertise on their marquees. And the actors and writers strikes that ground Hollywood to a standstill in 2023 left studios with fewer movies to release as 2024 got started. As the biggest
Meshell Ndegeocello, Fishbone and others lead the 2024 season of the long-running BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival lineup. Now in its 46 th year, the festival returns to the Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park beginning on June 8 and wrapping on August 24. It is the
17,000 fans. The reunion of an American football dynasty and the coach no one expected to show. Televised live around the world while the reputation of a man considered “the greatest of all time” sits in the hands of savage comedians and one-time foes. What could go wrong? But
