The opening film of the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival, Zeze Takahisa’s “Sukiyaki” tells the story of how the title tune became a worldwide hit in 1963 as well as a beloved standard that has been recorded in foreign-language versions that have also topped charts. The
Twitch streamer Hasan Piker sued conservative commentator Scott Jennings on Tuesday, alleging that Jennings had defamed him by misconstruing a quote to make it sound like Piker endorsed lynchings. On his own podcast on Aug. 11, Jennings played a mashup of clips of Piker,
Indonesia and Kyrgyzstan have made their first film together. “The Land of Jinn,” a supernatural horror feature directed by Kevin Rahardjo (“Smothered”), was unveiled at the Tokyo Gap-Financing Market as the first co-production between the two countries. The story centers on a
Variety has amassed 62 nominations for the Los Angeles Press Club’s 19th annual National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards, including nods for Print Journalist of the Year for Chris Willman and Online Journalist of the Year for Ethan Shanfeld. In the criticism category,
“Reacher” sure has some reach. The Prime Video series ended September as the month’s No. 1 original streaming series, according to Nielsen. “Reacher” comes from Paramount TV Studios, which had a good month: The company’s “Reacher” spinoff “Neagley” was ranked third, tied with
Politico isn’t leaving live video coverage of the midterm elections to the usual suspects. The political-news outlet will stream “Politico Elections Live” on Tuesday, November 3, beginning at 9 p.m., with five of its top journalists analyzing real-time results. The program will
A Himalayan drama that sets a grandmother’s stories against the rise of artificial intelligence is aiming for a Cannes premiere next year. Director Bikash Subedi’s Nepali feature “Shirjara: Song of Grandmother” has wrapped principal photography and is at the Tokyo Gap-Financing
Guitar Wolf, a real-life punk outfit with a long record of touring internationally, headlines “Wild Zero Overdrive,” director Takeuchi Tetsuro’s follow-up to his 1999 film “Wild Zero.” The project is among those at this year’s Tokyo Gap-Financing Market. Takeuchi said he is
Returning to lead the festival ahead of its 40th anniversary, the industry veteran sees an opportunity to capitalize on the surging international interest in all things Japan.
A celebrity preacher who performs daredevil stunts for his congregation while hiding his fixation on a young follower sits at the center of “Trinity,” the new feature from director Boo Junfeng, which is among the projects at this year’s Tokyo Gap-Financing Market. Structured in
SPOILER ALERT: This post contains conversation about all three episodes of “The One About Matthew Perry,” now streaming on Netflix. At the end of Netflix’s new docuseries “The One About Matthew Perry,” director Mary Robertson can be heard saying something off camera. “He feels
The Tokyo International Film Festival’s TIFFCOM market exhibition space sold out early this year, according to managing director Ikeda Kaori. More Japanese producers are using the Tokyo market to find partners while projects are still in development. Last year’s edition drew
Climate journalist Bill McKibben and executive producer and former “60 Minutes” producer David Gelber have teamed up to create “Altadena: One Fire After Another,” a documentary chronicling the aftermath of the 2025 Eaton Fire in Los Angeles. The film follows Altadena residents
Japan’s entertainment business has to adopt the model that made Hollywood studios global players if the country wants to reach its content export targets, according to Shiina Yasushi, CEO of TIFFCOM, the Tokyo International Film Festival’s content market now heading into its
It’s not surprising to see ratings at “60 Minutes” slump when CBS doesn’t air a strong football game before the start of the show. But the program’s performance on Sunday, which lacked exactly that kind of NFL lead-in, is alarming nonetheless. The fifth episode of this season’s
Barry Keoghan is making headlines for appearing in a new social media video shared by U.K. celebrity facial expert and Dermaspa founder Nilam Holmes, who posted a behind-the-scenes look at the Oscar nominee’s Xerf treatment. Per Dermaspa’s website, Xerf forgoes injections and
The actress and Justin Timberlake's eldest child, Silas, appears in 'Matchbox: The Movie,' marking his first acting credit.
The former That '70s Show star is serving a 30-year sentence in California
This Halloween, “Sesame Street’s” beloved furry red monster is trading crayons for couture. In a somewhat unexpected cultural crossover, Elmo for Halloween 2026 is dressing as fashion magazine editor-in-chief-from-hell Miranda Priestly, archly portrayed in the “The Devil Wears
Cannes Palme d’Or-winning Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi – who was facing a one-year prison sentence – has now been sentenced by a Tehran Revolutionary Court to five years and one month in jail in a separate ruling, according to the Emtedad News Agency, an online Iranian
“Omi,” which will premiere at the Austin Film Festival on Oct. 30, features Bunny Levine in her final film appearance. Levine died on Aug. 20 at her home in Tarzana, California at the age of 97. “Omi,” a Jewish exorcism comedy, also marks the directorial feature debut for Emily
“Heated Rivalry” star Connor Storrie is in talks to play the villain opposite Ryan Gosling in Marvel’s “Ghost Rider” movie. Shawn Levy is directing the film, from a script by “Star Wars: Starfighter” screenwriter Jonathan Tropper. “Ghost Rider” is slated to release on July 28,
Talk about a heated rivalry.
Kevin Bleyer, a writer who worked on “The Daily Show” and won four Primetime Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award and a Writers Guild Award, died Sunday in a car accident in Millrift, Pennsylvania. He was 54. His family said the accident occurred on a rural road where he had a country
According to Peacock, “Crystal Lake” is its fourth-most-watched scripted original series of all time. The “Friday the 13th” prequel series was watched for 1.3 billion minutes in its first 11 days of streaming. Divided by the series’ 398-minute runtime, that comes out to a total
The Television Academy Foundation is launching a 10-week production assistant training program for Los Angeles-area high school students in a partnership with consumer electronics retailer Best Buy. Through funding from Best Buy, the after-school program will be free for
An appeals court has denied Danny Masterson’s appeal of his 2023 conviction on rape charges, upholding the verdict and his 30-year prison sentence. In an 89-page ruling, a three-judge panel rejected each of Masterson’s arguments in turn, including the claim that the trial judge
Marriott Bonvoy has recruited some of the NFL’s biggest names to plan travel guides in their home cities. Among the participating athletes are Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp (Seattle), Eagles offensive lineman Jordan Mailata (Philadelphia), NFL legend Jerry Rice
Season 3 of “Nobody Wants This” reached 6.2 million views in its first four days of streaming on Netflix. Compared to previous seasons of the Adam Brody and Kristen Bell-led comedy series, that’s a decrease: Season 1 debuted with 10.3 million views in 2024 and Season 2 debuted
HBO is developing a limited series take on “The Birds” with Sarah Snook in the lead role, Variety has confirmed. The show is inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film and Daphne du Maurier’s novella of the same name. The package was first reported to be on the market over the
Cube wrote the script and will star in 'Last Friday,' the first installment of New Line's buddy comedy series since 2002.
President Donald Trump doesn’t like the term “artificial intelligence” — which was coined more than 70 years ago and is widely used by computer scientists and the tech industry — and says he wants to ban the usage of “AI” in favor of “super intelligence.” In a post Tuesday on
The market for vertical media content is expanding at a fast clip and it’s attracting more and more high-profile properties, including the enduring gross-out reality show “Fear Factor.” Fox and “Fear Factor” owner Endemol Shine North America are teaming to adapt the show for
Oscar-winning documentarian Errol Morris says he's sitting on a chat with Holmes shot during the height of Holmes' Theranos success.
Kevin Delaney, a journalist-turned-digital-entreprenur, has been named head of digital content and subscription at NBC News, a new role that will serve as a bridge between both editorial and business. Delaney will be tasked with overseeing digital publishing and NBC News AI
O.J. Simpson documentary “OJ’s Accomplice” will premiere on Peacock Nov. 1, exploring the possibility that the former football star didn’t act alone the night he was accused of the 1994 murders. Previously set to debut in December, the streaming platform moved up the release
South Boost is expanding its role as a development platform for Andalusian TV producers, bringing six projects to Cádiz in search of production partners, broadcasters and platforms. Now in its third edition, the initiative received 36 submissions, up from 22 in 2025 and 15 in
The Cannes-winning ‘It Was Just an Accident’ director, having returned to Iran after the Oscars, also had a Tehran Revolutionary Court confiscate his assets and impose a travel and social media ban.
HBO Max is launching its new series “Infamy” (“Infamia”) at the South International Series Festival in Cádiz. Based on the book by Ledicia Costas, the six-episode psychological thriller is a first TV window acquisition for the streamer in Spain and is produced by Evafilms.
SPOILER ALERT: This article contains major spoilers for “You Can See Everything,” now playing in theaters. Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s “You Can See Everything” will not be in the running for the Directors Guild of America Awards top prize this season. A representative
Spain’s Movistar Plus continues to double down on its strategies to further amplify Spanish series and storytelling internationally with the world premiere of the highly anticipated eco-thriller “Patagonia.” Bowing at the upcoming South International Series Festival in Cádiz,
Opening on Oct. 30 with “American Hostage,” honoring “Toy Boy” showrunner Ronan Bennett and “Money Heist” star Alvaro Morte, the fourth edition of South International Series Festival weighs in with a mouthwatering fiction competition, dominated by series from Europe, and an
Carrie Ann Inaba is speaking out about the recent drama surrounding “Dancing With the Stars,” including her controversial comments about lifts. “I have not spoken about what happened because of professional courtesy for those who are still competing, and we actually have
Jennifer Lawrence has officially entered the celebrity beauty game with the launch of her haircare brand Mes, but the Oscar winner’s career pivot is not a reaction to Hollywood instability. Speaking to The Cut, Lawrence said that if she worried about the money Hollywood could
“I still feel like part of this community. No matter what, I love you,” the actress said on the latest episode of her podcast, MeSsy
Scott Herbst has been promoted to president of Lionsgate Television Group, overseeing all creative operations for the studio. Herbst has been with the company since 2018, most recently serving as executive VP of TV and head of development. Under the new structure, Lionsgate TV
Oscar-winning prosthetic makeup artist Kazu Hiro has been in the industry for over 30 years. He’s transformed Bradley Cooper, Gary Oldman, Charlize Theron and, most recently, Dwayne Johnson in “The Smashing Machine.” This year, he was tasked with transforming Tom Cruise in
The Lego Group has appointed its first head of celebrity talent and brand first partnerships. Kelsey Gray Sherman has joined the company in the Hollywood whisperer role, which is part of the Entertainment, Partnerships & Content division. The new position “reflects the
The upcoming Apple TV series “Guilty Creatures” has added three recurring guest stars, Variety has learned exclusively. Brian d’Arcy James (“The Copenhagen Test,” “Rabbit Rabbit”), Reed Birney (“Blue Film,” “Silo”), and Gus Birney (“Shining Vale,” “Black Rabbit”) are all set to
Nakama, the start-up behind anime licensing platform AniBiz.com, has raised an initial $6 million in funding from three of Japan’s top anime licensors: TBS Group, Toei Animation and TV Tokyo Holdings. AniBiz was launched in July by Crunchyroll founder Kun Gao along with former
