Michael Gray, the star of the 1970s “Shazam!” television series, died on Friday in Palm Desert from natural causes. He was 75. Gray first got his break in television in 1972 when he was cast in NBC’s “The Little People” alongside Brian Keith and Shelly Fabares. Early in his
CBS kicked off its fall 2026 TV season the week of Oct. 4 with a strong performance for its new and returning series, according to Nielsen live+7 multiplatform data. Per that data, CBS’ premiere week averaged 8.63 million viewers — up 14% from its premiere week in 2025 (the
Singer-songwriter and Variety Hitmakers 2024 honoree Raye has won the 2026 Mercury prize for her epic second studio album, “This Music May Contain Hope,” beating out Olivia Dean, Paul McCartney and others for the prize. The Mercury Prize has no real equivalent in the U.S., and
John Mayer has had his hands full with what felt like a hundred projects over the past few years — with putting out new music not among them. It takes a stretch of the memory to even recall that he announced a parting of ways with Sony Music back in 2022, with no followup
“Wildwood” director Travis Knight is weighing in on Hollywood’s use of AI. “I’m not embracing it at all,” Knight told me Wednesday night at AFI Fest’s opening night U.S. premiere of “Wildwood.” “I see technology as a tool, and we use technology at Laika. A pencil is technology,
The MPA gave “Wildwood” a PG-13 for “strong fantasy violence/bloody images, thematic material, suicide-related material, brief partial nudity and language,” which is a mouthful for any movie and an especially wild one for a stop-motion picture about a girl hunting for her
Chaka Khan will receive the Classic Soul Honor at the 2026 Soul Train Awards, celebrating the singer-songwriter’s influence on R&B. Across her career, which spans more than five decades, Khan helped shape the sound of soul, funk and R&B with her music, including hits like “Tell
“Line of Fire” has been given a full 18-episode season order at NBC. The freshman action thriller series is one of the fall season’s breakout hits, with NBC’s best delayed-viewing lift in more than three years. Initially slated for 13 episodes, NBC gave a back order to five
Emma Laird and Thomas Doherty will star in Prime Video’s adaptation of Butcher & Blackbird
Art the Clown is back for another round of big-screen terror. The “Terrifier” trilogy is headed back to theaters, just in time for spooky season. 2016’s “Terrifier,” 2022’s “Terrifier 2″ and 2024’s “Terrifier 3″ will have showtimes at Regal theaters nationwide on Halloween
Jenna Ortega opened up to Vogue magazine as part of a new cover story about her nonexistent relationship to how the public receives her movies. In other words, the “Wednesday” star does not watch her own movies or read reviews (because “that would send me into a psychosis of
I asked Ellen Burstyn where a Grammy would go, if she ever won one. She stands up to show me. “I wonder if I took my iPad off the stand and walked you into my office, where they all are,” she says, immediately reaching for it over a video Zoom. Her assistant, Caitlin, gets the
Bianna Golodryga, the global-affairs journalist who announced Thursday that she plans to leave CNN, is in talks that could have her working for two different news organizations at the same time. Golodrya, who recently has served as an anchor for CNN’s international service as
Mexico’s Santiago Maza, whose fourth feature-length doc “State of Silence,” (“Estado de Silencio”), a passion project of Diego Luna, snagged the best feature award at Chile’s 2024 Santiago Film Festival (Sanfic), has premiered his latest work, “Black Shine” (“El brillo negro”)
A coalition of Hollywood talent agencies and independent producers said Thursday that it supports the proposed U.S. tax incentive for film and TV production as a “first step,” but that more will need to be done to revive the industry. The American Entertainment Alliance — which
Charli xcx and Martin Scorsese’s collaboration is extending beyond the cover for her new album “Music, Fashion, Film.” Sources tell Variety that the pop star has a cameo in the Oscar-winning director’s upcoming movie “What Happens at Night” alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and
The Directors Guild of America’s Women’s Steering Committee has announced its seventh class of mentors and mentees. The mentorship program pairs mid-career women and nonbinary directors with established mentors to help them navigate the early days of their careers. Lucia
Erik Feig's The Arena is behind the adaptation, and already has movies based on titles such as 'Fatal Fury' and 'Art of Fighting' in development.
Sacha Baron Cohen opened up about his experience signing on to play the demon Mephisto in the Marvel Cinematic Universe during a live “Happy Sad Confused” conversation at New York’s 92nd Street Y. The actor, currently on tour promoting “Ali G: Who Iz I?,” recalled how the
Disney is in early development on a fifth film in its popular “Halloweentown” series. While plot details are not yet known, the new movie is being written by Lily Houghton and Ryan Koehn based on characters by Paul Bernbaum, who wrote the first “Halloweentown” film in 1998.
AGC Intl., the sales arm of Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios, has added “Gods Don’t Give Gifts” to its slate and will introduce the animated sci-fi epic to buyers at the American Film Market. Creator Zack London (aka Gossip Goblin) makes his feature directorial debut with the film.
In partnership with Variety, U.S. Bank and Visa will host An Evening With Jessica Alba on Oc. 29 in Los Angeles. The intimate, invite-only event will celebrate the launch of U.S. Bank’s Business Essentials product suite, including two new credit cards in collaboration with
Emmy-winning actor also appeared in Top Gun , M*A*S*H , and Contact , as well as an arc on Cheers
Hosts and musical guests on upcoming Saturday Night Live episodes include Phoebe Bridgers, John Mulaney, Druski, and Inde Navarrette, among others
Tom Skerritt, who starred in the TV series “Picket Fences” and appeared in movies ranging from “MASH” to “Alien,” “Top Gun,” “A River Runs Through It” and “Ted,” died on Wednesday of natural causes, Variety has confirmed with his publicist. He was 93. The lean, rugged,
Sony Pictures Television has sealed a multiyear, first-look deal with content creator Thea Von Engelbrechten, who’s behind the popular “Moletown Drama” social platforms — which boast 2.5 million TikTok followers and 1 million Instagram followers. As part of the deal, Sony has
Mentored by Robert Altman in 'M*A*S*H,' the Emmy-winning actor later stood out in 'Top Gun,' 'The Turning Point' and 'A River Runs Through It.'
It’s hard to single out any one song as the “secret weapon” of Chappell Roan’s “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess”; as the best pop debut of the 2020s, the entire album was pretty weaponized. But the ballad “Coffee” certainly counts as a sleeper — and Roan was not
Sarandos succeeds Bob Daly, who has held the role for the past 17 years.
Okoro Carroll will write the script for the feature focusing on a pair of teens who spend a memorable summer together and reconnect years later when one of them is an NBA star.
Disney’s ABC might be on the lookout for an incursion Fox Nation. Promos for the new “The Vow,” an original dating series led by Chris Harrison, former host of the ABC mainstay “The Bachelor,” are slated to air in local ad inventory on several ABC stations in roughly a dozen
President Donald Trump must sit for a deposition in his defamation lawsuit filed against the BBC, the judge overseeing the case ruled. “Engaging in discovery is burdensome, but is a burden we undertake, especially if we file a lawsuit,” U.S. Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Aytch
Tom Hanks will star in the play “This World of Tomorrow,” marking his return to Broadway for the first time in 14 years. Hanks was last on Broadway in Nora Ephron’s 2013 play “Lucky Guy,” which earned him a Tony nomination. This time, the celebrated actor will be joined by
Sylvester Stallone is ready to embrace AI. During an interview on “The Overlap” podcast, the Oscar winner said that he received backlash for trying to get a “half human, half AI” movie off the ground but he didn’t care because “AI is here to stay.” Stallone did not mention the
Leah Nelson's dramedy about dementia won top honors, the Grand Jury Prize, with Louis Clichy's French coming-of-age feature taking a Special Jury Prize and the Audience Award.
A man who was charged with stealing and selling unreleased Eminem music that leaked to the web last year has pleaded guilty to criminal infringement of copyright. In March 2025, former Eminem employee Joseph Strange was charged with copyright infringement and interstate
In her latest documentary, ‘Miss Representation: Rise Up,’ the filmmaker and First Partner of California argues that tech platforms and AI tools have been weaponized to silence women’s voices.
“Saturday Night Live” has set its next round of Season 52 hosts. As previously reported, Druski will headline the Nov. 7 episode — the first-ever digital content creator to headline the late-night sketch series. His episode comes ahead of the December release of his scripted
Criterion’s new Stanley Kubrick collection may be the ultimate gift to cinephiles.
Ky Dickens directed and produced the documentary that expands upon the exploration of communication and consciousness from her popular podcast.
A musical based on Amy Winehouse is officially in development, Variety has exclusively learned. The project is in early days although legendary Broadway producer Catherine Schreiber, who has produced shows including “Cabaret,” “Rent” and the stage adaptation of “High School
When Christopher Nolan gathered his team of artisans for his adaptation of Homer’s epic poem “The Odyssey” he first told production designer Ruth De Jong of his plans. But the process was shrouded in secrecy because working with Nolan is an in-person process. De Jong explained,
“Tangles” won the Grand Jury Prize at the 9th annual Animation Is Film Festival. Directed by Leah Nelson, the 2-D animated film follows a family impacted by their mother’s battle with dementia. “We loved the fluid 2D animation which uses a stark monochrome framing to bring to
The crowning of the next James Bond is upon us. Final screen tests for Amazon MGM Studios’ new 007 are set to happen in the next week, sources tell Variety, beginning as early as Friday. Though who exactly will test is up in the air, Callum Turner and Jack Lowden appear to be
The Gotham Film & Media Institute will recognize Focus Features’ “Elsinore” with a Gotham Legacy Tribute at the Gotham Film Awards on Nov. 30, honoring the film’s subject, actor Ian Charleson. The tribute, which takes place at Cipriani Wall Street in New York, will honor the
“Outlander” star Sam Heughan has been cast to star opposite Viola Davis in Paramount+’s upcoming thriller “Ascent,” set in the world of global corporate crisis and damage control. In the series, which Davis also executive produces, Heughan will play “Conal,” described as “one
Kacey Musgraves will release a 16-song album of all-new material titled “Middle of Nowhere Vol. 2: Tex Mex Tapes” on January 15, 2027 via Lost Highway Records — just eight months after the release of Vol. 1. According to the announcement, the album picks up where Vol. 1 left
The 80-year-old actor says the industry needs to embrace AI usage: "Here to stay."
It’s been one year since indie game developer AdHoc Studio launched its now-hit episodic narrative superhero adventure game “Dispatch” — and in that time the game has attracted more than 5 million players. Now, the team behind the title (which has doubled in size since last
