One of the most impressive parts of the April 13 episode of “Saturday Night Live” was Kenan Thompson’s ability not to break during the hilarious “Beavis and Butt-Head.” During the episode, a NewsNation anchor (Heidi Gardner) attempts to interview a professor (Thompson) about
Variety‘s annual Power of Law breakfast, presented by City National Bank, featured speakers discussing the radical changes that have rocked the entertainment industry in recent years and how insiders are adapting to the uncertainty surrounding Hollywood. The event honored Cliff
“FBI” showrunner Rick Eid is stepping down, Variety has learned. Eid has been at the helm of the CBS procedural since it began in 2018. He will still be an executive producer on the series. Eid is also currently the showrunner of “Law & Order” at NBC and will remain in that
After stirring up the internet last weekend with a leak of his Kendrick Lamar diss, Drake has officially released the studio version of “Push Ups” to streaming services almost a week later. The rapper, who tossed his hat in the ring after Lamar set off a chain reaction with his
Brent Miller, the producer who helped Norman Lear achieve even more success in the legendary icon’s final years, is launching his own shingle. Miller will continue his first-look deal with Sony Pictures TV, originally under Lear’s Act III Prods., via the new company A House On
Arsenal, Boston Breakers and England soccer star Alex Scott was the subject of a fulsome tribute by Jane D. Hartley, U.S. Ambassador to the U.K., at an event to launch an Endeavor women in sports initiative. Endeavor Impact’s NXT UK: Women in Sports is a six-week virtual
Get your tissues ready: “The Iron Claw” will be available to stream on Max on May 10. The A24 biographical sports drama debuted in theaters on Dec. 22 and received critical acclaim. Starring Zac Efron, Sean Durkin’s latest feature is based on the Von Erich wrestling dynasty,
Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers” is sweaty, sexy and full of angst. The film, which hits theaters April 26, centers on a love triangle between three tennis players with deeply competitive spirits both in the game and off the court. In it, former doubles partners Patrick Zweig
Keanu Reeves is in talks to star in two-time Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund’s highly anticipated next feature “The Entertainment System Is Down,” Variety has learned. While the exact plot of the movie remains under wraps, Östlund has teased it several times as a social satire
Jeff Boone has joined Fremantle’s North American team as its new VP of scripted development. In this role, Boone will be responsible for developing new series for its pipeline and play an active role within Fremantle’s global scripted network. Boone will report to Fremantle’s
The Cannes Film Festival has unveiled the official poster for its 77th edition. Cannes likes to evoke cinematic history in its official merch, and this year’s poster is no exception. It features a scene from Rhapsody in August, Japanese classic from the late Akira Kurosawa,
Sporting a warm smile and a pair of sunglasses – “Sorry, I’ve been busy editing and my eyes hurt,” he explained – one of China’s leading indie directors Jia Zhangke, whose upcoming film “Caught by the Tides” will be vying for the Palme d’or in Cannes next month, was guest of
The TCM Classic Film Festival kicked off Thursday with a 30th anniversary screening of Pulp Fiction at the TCL Chinese Theatre. Original castmembers John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman and Harvey Keitel reunited to celebrate the film, along with support from Bruce
Some of the best MMA fighters in the world are in Chicago, Illinois this weekend for PFL 3 (Professional Fighters League). For the third event of the 2024 regular season, the main card pits Russian fighters Andrey “The Spartan” Koreshkov (27-4) vs. Magomed “Prince” Umalatov
Lola better get some new sneakers. Sony Pictures Classics has announced it will re-release Tom Tykwer’s 1999 German action classic Run Lola Run, in a new 4K restored version, in U.S. cinemas this summer, timed to the 25th anniversary of the movie’s original domestic bow. Franka
“She-Hulk” star Tatiana Maslany went viral during the SAG-AFTRA strike last year when she called out Disney CEO Bob Iger for being “completely out of touch” due to his controversial comments about the Hollywood work stoppage. That “She-Hulk” was a Disney-backed Marvel series
Mandisa, the Grammy-winning Christian singer who began her career on “American Idol,” was found dead in her Nashville home on Thursday. She was 47. “We can confirm that yesterday Mandisa was found in her home deceased,” her representative confirmed to local outlet The
In an exclusive interview with Variety after picking up the top industry prize at Swiss documentary festival Visions du Réel, Franco-Iranian director Mehran Tamadon outlined the intention of his upcoming feature documentary “The Last Days of the Hospital.” Set against the
Spring has been filled with scares, like Sydney Sweeney’s “Immaculate,” the “Omen” prequel “First Omen” and the talk-show thriller “Late Night With the Devil” in recent weeks. Now the vampiric “Abigail,” from the directors of the last two “Scream” movies, is sinking its teeth
The NBA playoffs are here, with all eyes on the defeating the reigning NBA Champions Denver Nuggets and hoisting the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy in June. The key matchups for the Eastern Conference are the New York Knicks facing off against the Philadelphia 76ers and the
After building its business on YouTube and generating more than 400 million views on the platform, Watcher Entertainment is migrating all of its original unscripted content — including “Ghost Files,” “Mystery Files” and “Puppet History” — to a new, subscription-based streaming
UPDATED: After building its business on YouTube and generating more than 400 million views on the platform, Watcher Entertainment will now offer full series of its original unscripted content — including “Ghost Files,” “Mystery Files” and “Puppet History” — exclusively on its
There’s a lot of magic in “The Spiderwick Chronicles.” Based on the acclaimed children’s fantasy books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, and adapted for television by Aron Eli Coleite, the TV show is full of mystical creatures like ogres, fetches and dragons. However, this
Arab distributor Mad Solutions has taken distribution rights for Arab world territories on French director Jonathan Millet’s “Ghost Trail,” ahead of the psychological thriller’s upcoming world premiere as the opening film of Cannes Critics’ Week. “Ghost Trail” is being sold by
SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers for “Baby Reindeer,” streaming now on Netflix. In just over a week, Richard Gadd’s miniseries “Baby Reindeer” has captivated Netflix viewers with its shocking story of a struggling comedian being stalked by an older woman named Martha.
Warner Bros. Discovery has been in cost-cutting mode — except when it comes to paying top execs. David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, had a 2023 pay package worth $49.7 million, up 26.5% from the year prior, according to the company’s 2024 proxy statement
BAFTA has confirmed the date for next year’s film awards ceremony, which will be held Sunday, February 16, 2025. The date means the BAFTAs will come exactly two weeks before the 2025 Oscars, set for March 2. Once again, the British awards will take place smack in the middle of
BAFTA CIRCLES CALENDAR The British Academy has confirmed the date of the 2025 BAFTA Film Awards, which will now be held on Sunday February. 16. As per recent scheduling arrangements, the awards — arguably the biggest film awards outside the U.S. — takes place two weeks before
Film Factory has picked up rights to Luis Gabriel Beristáin’s revenge action thriller “The Gentleman,” a Spain-Mexico co-production starring an international cast led by Golden Globe-winner Ron Pearlman. Produced by Spanish company Esto También Pasará (“Ferocious Wolf,” “The
Taylor Swift is promoting “The Tortured Poets Department” on TikTok in a huge way under a special deal with the app — while other artists on her label, Universal Music Group, remain locked out of TikTok in a licensing dispute. After Swift dropped her latest album, “The Tortured
Netflix will produce and release 53 Domingos, the new film from Spanish director Cesc Gay, an adaptation of his own award-winning theater play. The dramedy follows three brothers who meet up to discuss what to do with their octogenarian father who has started behaving oddly. As
Héléna Klotz’s “Spirit of Ecstasy” will open the 2024 Kashish LGBTQ+ film festival in Mumbai, while Vuk Lungulov-Klotz’s “Mutt” will close it. “Spirit of Ecstasy,” which debuted at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, follows a gender-questioning stock-market trader
Disney+, Max and Mubi are among the new participants of Cannes Film Market’s Streamers Forum, a series of conferences discussing the evolution of the streaming landscape. Clément Schwebig, Warner Bros. Discovery’s president of Western Europe and Africa, and Mubi CEO Efe Cakarel
Standout Paris-based sales outfit Luxbox (“1976”) has acquired international sales rights to the debut solo feature effort from Chilean multi-hyphenate Vinko Tomičić Salinas(“Durmiente”),“The Dog Thief” (“El Ladrón de Perros”), which bows in the international narrative
“Sentinel,” by Hollywood legend Phil Tippett, and “Sister Inconnue,” the first solo directorial outing of RKSS’ Anouk Whissell, cold well be two highlights at a 2024 Cannes Frontières Platform that looks set to underscore the robust range of genre as it is embraced by
Gabriel Guevara, the breakout star of the huge hit film saga “My Fault” (“Culpa Mía”) on Amazon Prime Video, is now set to lead Atresplayer’s new series, “Mar afuera.” This project marks a significant collaboration between Atresmedia TV and Beta Fiction Spain, taking on the
Elodie Grace Orkin (“Stranger Things”) and Samuel Small (“The Strays”) are set to star in “Screening Room,” a short drama written and directed by Abdullah Khan (“Find the Light”). “Screening Room” explores the connection between two moviegoers. Set during a film festival in
John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson and Harvey Keitel reunited at the TCM Classic Film festival on Thursday for a 30th anniversary screening of Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” to reflect on the film’s impact on their careers — and upon the medium itself. “It
“Spy x Family Code: White” is a fun, accessible jumping-on point for anyone unfamiliar with the “Spy x Family” anime, or the manga on which it’s based. However, in slowing down to let newcomers catch up, it tends to lack momentum. The plot isn’t strictly tied to the the comic
Berlin-based Picture Tree Intl. has acquired the international sales rights, excluding the Nordic countries, for the Finnish daughter-father comedy “Butterflies” (Perhoset). “Butterflies” is directed by Jenni Toivoniemi, based on a screenplay by Anna Brotkin. Set against the
He’s a master of disaster, of putting the metal on screen, of dreaming a dream and watching it detonate. This time, though, even the fanboys will have to convince themselves that they care.
Two hours after releasing her highly anticipated album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” Taylor Swift announced a big surprise: It’s a double album. “I’d written so much tortured poetry in the past 2 years and wanted to share it all with you, so here’s the second installment of
Amazon’s free-of charge, ad-supported streaming platform that is only available in India, miniTV, is expanding its reach within the country. It is adding 200 shows and films for regional audiences and speakers of Tamil and Telugu. The new line-up of dubbed titles includes
The torture is over for fans who waited weeks and months for Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” to arrive. But the truly faithful still have some work ahead, in trying to decode what or who is the subject of each of the 16 songs (plus four bonus tracks). Even
Taylor Swift usually writes either an essay or poem to be included in her album packaging, but for “The Tortured Poets Department,” she used the buddy system. Stevie Nicks contributed a handwritten poem she wrote for Swift, which is the first thing fans will see when they open
Would you be surprised to know (or be reminded) that Taylor Swift hasn’t really released a breakup album in a decade? For a gal who’s never really shorn that as her songwriting reputation, it’s funny to think that she’s spent the better part of the last 10 years being
A musical that captures the sweep of history in all its complexities without sacrifice of character or credibility is no easy feat. But “Suffs,” which tells the story of the final push to achieve the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote in 1920, does just that with a
Jenna Fischer put her acting skills to the test on the set of 2024’s Mean Girls. The actress revealed this week she filmed the movie with a broken shoulder. “I shot for one day on Mean Girls, and then I didn’t have to shoot for a month,” Fischer told People. “And in that month
End of an era, end of a business model, end of a gravy train, end of the world. There were plenty of mixed emotions this week in response to the closure of Oscar-winning production company Participant, and at the very least the industry has agreed something has come to an end.
“Ghosts” hit another landmark on Thursday night, as this week’s episode of the hit CBS comedy revealed the truth behind Flower’s disappearance — while also, on a much more profound level, explored the truth behind Hetty’s death in 1895. In the episode, “Holes are Bad,” when Sam
