The second season of the U.K.’s “Celebrity Traitors” is off to a record-breaking start. More than 8.8 million viewers watched Thursday night’s premiere of the BBC’s devious reality show, according to overnight numbers, with viewership peaking at 9 million. In addition, over 50%
In “A Talent for Murder,” director Anton Corbijn takes a closer look at writer Patricia Highsmith. Known for creating everyone’s favorite psychopath Tom Ripley, Highsmith – played by Helen Mirren – became a controversial figure because of her antisemitic and misanthropic
“Daredevil” star Charlie Cox is returning to the London stage this winter to lead “The King’s Ransom,” a new play by Stuart Slade. World premiering at the Donmar Warehouse, “The King’s Ransom” is set in 1977 Memphis and stars Cox as Vince Black, a small-time crook who is
"And in fact, I thought it was a good example because it’s a very human movie"
Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy’s term as chiefs of Warner Bros. is coming to an end. Multiple sources told Variety that De Luca and Abdy will not be part of David Ellison’s management team after the merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery closes. The
The slow rolling piano echo through the hall like a rhapsody from the deep. The sound is rich, lustrous, bottom-heavy, grand. And that voice! Winter sings in a low baritone (and occasionally a high one) of astonishing power, the notes hanging there in a suspended quaver so bold
Ben Affleck plays a Brentwood businessman running for Los Angeles mayor in the new thriller “Animals.” The Oscar winner, who directed and co-wrote the film, is also a longtime political activist who has supported the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe
Ken Urker, the partner of Gypsy-Rose Blanchard and father of their child, was found dead Thursday in Raceland, Louisiana. He was 34. Captain Brennan Matherne of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Department said in a statement to Variety, “We responded to a residence at 107 Double
"I wouldn't use something that trains on or has learned from any work that is copywritten, or that is an intelligence created by a peer of mine or somebody that I look up to," the actor-director emphasized.
Mohammed Ali Naqvi’s documentary thriller “Hanging by a Wire” has been selected as Pakistan’s submission for the international feature film Oscar at the 99th Academy Awards, marking the first time a documentary has represented the country in the category. The Pakistan Academy
NBCUniversal Entertainment chair Donna Langley managed to snag “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan away from Paramount after a decade at the studio. How did she do it? By putting an emphasis on the film of his lucrative long-term TV and film pact. Langley said her pursuit of
Eddie Murphy is attached to star in “The Chairman,” a drama series in development at Peacock created by Matthew Weiner. If greenlit, the project will mark his first-ever role in a live-action scripted series. Plot details for “The Chairman” are yet to be announced. The series
Halle Berry is being accused of abusing her 12-year-old son by her ex-husband, actor Olivier Martinez, who has filed a petition for a temporary restraining order against the actress. Martinez alleges that on Sept. 26, the “Catwoman” actress “physically abused our son Maceo, by
The “Fast & Furious” TV series, first revealed to be in development earlier this year at the NBCUniversal upfronts, is closer to reality. Peacock announced Thursday that it has greenlit a new scripted television series based on the franchise. Vin Diesel, who revealed that a
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety chief awards editor Clayton Davis.
It is a controversy actually worthy of an exclamation point. When was the last time the internet lost its collective stuff over a single song the way it did this past week with Taylor Swift’s “Cleveland!”? And they say there’s no such thing as a monoculture anymore. It might
Conrad “Cronos” Lant, the frontman for the legendary Northern British heavy metal band Venom, has died, according to a post on the band’s social media sites and the Guardian. No cause of death was cited; he was 63. “For more than four decades, Conrad’s voice, bass and vision
Ynon Kreiz, as David Ellison’s right-hand man at the merged Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery, is getting a big pay bump over his pay package as CEO of Mattel. Kreiz, 61, signed an initial five-year employment contract with Paramount. He starts Oct. 5, one day before Paramount
Warner Bros. TV and Fox Nation are butting heads over the latter’s upcoming series, “The Vow,” hosted by former “Bachelor” host Chris Harrison. In the letter obtained by Variety, sent Sept. 18, WBTV, the studio that produces “The Bachelor,” sent a cease and desist to Fox
“Primetime” is a box office overachiever, but the subject of the A24 film calls it a “complete work of fiction.” Lance Oppenheim’s movie centers on “To Catch a Predator,” the popular “Dateline” segment that ran from 2004 to 2007. In the show, an advocacy group with adult decoys
“Landman” Season 3 is officially in production, with the hit Paramount+ oil industry drama promoting four cast members to series regular status. Colm Feore (Nate), Mustafa Speaks (Boss), Bobbi Salvor Menuez (Paigyn), and Francesca Xuereb (Cheyenne) have all been promoted going
Jurors were told Thursday that TV writer Eric Weinberg posed as an amateur photographer in order to lure seven women to his Los Feliz home where he sexually assaulted them. Weinberg, 66, was a writer and producer on “Scrubs,” “Californication” and other shows. He has been in
The seventh episode of “Lanterns” reached 7 million viewers in the U.S. in its first three days of availability. That total comes from a combination of Nielsen’s measurement of linear viewers on HBO’s cable channel plus streams on HBO Max. The DC Universe series has shown
Kelly Clarkson has shared her admittedly “controversial” opinion on artificial intelligence, saying she thinks it can do “amazing things” but shouldn’t be able to create anything that competes with humans, particularly on music charts. The pop star shared her feelings about the
Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Chase Infiniti (“One Battle After Another,” “The Testaments”) will star in “Portrait of God,” from up-and-coming horror filmmaker Dylan Clark. Lionsgate has acquired the rights and has greenlit the feature for production, with Sam Raimi and Jordan
The move comes as Anonymous moves into becoming a financier of films, rather than just a fee-for-hire production company, with backer Laurene Powell Jobs joining the board.
The 27th annual Newport Beach Film Festival will close with “Behemoth!” on Oct. 22, with writer and director Tony Gilroy set to attend. Pedro Pascal stars as gifted cellist Alex Serian, who returns home to Los Angeles and embarks on a life-changing adventure after spending the
On the final day of the 10th annual SCAD AnimationFest in Atlanta, 10 animators and an Oscar-nominated director took the stage to talk about the future of their craft and why the human hand still matters. The 2026 class of 10 Animators to Watch, profiled in Variety’s New York
On today’s episode of Variety‘s “Strictly Business” podcast, as part of Variety‘s annual Business of Broadway and New York Issue events, veteran producer Sue Frost discusses her work in bringing original musicals to life, notably acclaimed Broadway productions “Memphis” and
Bradley Cooper will star as field commander Duke in Paramount’s “G.I. Joe” movie from Danny McBride. Plot details and further casting remain under wraps, but Paramount promises the film will provide a fresh take on the iconic Hasbro toy line. McBride also penned the screenplay
Longtime Disney TV comms chief Naomi Bulochnikov-Paul has got a new gig one day after leaving the Mouse House: vice president of series communications at Netflix. Bulochnikov-Paul will oversee communications for the streamer’s television portfolio, including scripted and
PMK Entertainment has named veteran communications executive Erik Bright as its executive VP of content and strategic communications. Based out of the agency’s Los Angeles headquarters, Bright will oversee PMK’s content publicity team in charge of film and television campaigns.
Netflix is hunting for gold. The streaming giant has built Hollywood’s most expensive awards machine. The serial billboards on the Sunset Strip, the designer screening rooms and the elite tastemaker dinners have earned Netflix a decade of best picture nominations. What it
The film marks the first time producers Sam Raimi and Jordan Peele will work together.
Kylie Kelce issued a “royal correction” on this week’s installment of her “Not Gonna Lie” podcast. Kelce explained that she didn’t mean to be rude in how she referred to Kate Middleton on a recent episode of the podcast — but now she’s up to speed on how to address members of
Knowing this is half the battle: Danny McBride is directing the live-action and also co-wrote the script.
Margaret Qualley and Sabrina Carpenter are also set to star in the Sony project from director Paul King.
Vincent Paterson will be honored with the Legacy Award at the 2026 World Choreography Awards (WCA), celebrating the most innovative choreographers across the globe. Set for Nov. 8, Paterson will be recognized for his contributions to dance, which include choreographing films
Is Jimmy Kimmel returning to ABC next year? Disney president and chief creative officer Dana Walden says she’s working on it. “It’s a very challenging daypart, late-night,” Walden said during her Thursday morning conversation at Bloomberg’s Screentime. “That’s not to say that
Casey Bloys isn’t ready to reveal details on his future at the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. just yet. But speaking Thursday at the Bloomberg Screentime conference, he didn’t deny expectations that he will continue to run HBO Max and add Paramount+ to the mix once the merger
“The Social Reckoning” soundtrack, featuring music by composer Alexandre Desplat, is set to be released on Oct. 9. Written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, the film stars Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White, Bill Burr and Jeremy Strong. Strong takes on the role of Facebook founder
“Sunset P.I.” has found a handful of new cast members. The upcoming NBC comedy led by Jake Johnson will feature guest stars Spencer Moss (“She’s Fine,” “Doctor Odyssey”), Nelson Franklin (“Veep,” “The Social Reckoning”), Patrick Gallagher (“Big Sky,” “Joe Pickett”), David
Emma Chamberlain’s months-long hiatus from the internet is not because she’s “disappearing and being fucking lazy.” More importantly, it’s not forever. “I don’t want to continue living like this necessarily, where I’m pretty offline,” Chamberlain tells Variety. “I want to
“Neagley” has been renewed for Season 2 at Amazon, Variety has learned. The “Reacher” spinoff series originally debuted on Prime Video on Sept. 16, the same day as the “Reacher” Season 4 finale. Per Amazon, the first season has reached 40 million viewers in its first 13 days of
Sony Pictures Television distribution and networks co-president Mike Wald is retiring after 32 years with the company, the studio was set to announce Thursday morning. The news comes as Sony Pictures’ TV exec VP of North America Distribution Flory Bramnick also recently
An opening text announcing “This film is influenced by real events” provides the first and last moment of inspiration in “The Influencer Project,” whether the joke is deliberate or not. Mike Nybroe’s debut feature is far from the first horror movie to posit practitioners of the
The supernatural revenge thriller has the Hollywood star both haughty and haunted by the three spirits in Paramount’s retelling of Charles Dickens’ classic 'A Christmas Carol' tale.
Samantha Josephs’ upcoming debut horror novel “Carrying,” about a transgender woman living in secret who miraculously discovers she’s pregnant, is getting a feature adaptation from Tommy Dorfman’s Good Girl Productions. Dorfman is set to direct and produce the project while
Pamela Abdy, Adria Arjona, Beth de Araújo, Gemma Chan and Salma Hayek Pinault will be saluted at this year’s WIF Honors ceremony. The gala, which directly funds the organization’s advocacy, research and career programs, will be held on Thursday, Nov. 5, at the Beverly Hilton in
Charles Roven’s Atlas Entertainment has struck a development deal with Culture Genesis, a leading-edge representation firm that packages the content of creator economy stars for sale at scale to mainstream buyers. The deal reflects crosscurrents in media and advertising, where
