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ABC, in a new filing in its First Amendment lawsuit against the FCC, claims that the agency’s early-license renewal demand for its local TV stations was done in such a way as to circumvent “judicial review.” On Aug. 18, ABC sued the FCC and chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump loyalist, alleging the commission was waging […]
Caroline Kepnes, author of the novel series “You,” which inspired the global Netflix hit, has assembled a team of buzzy actors for her series directorial debut. Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Audrey Grace Marshall, Dean Norris and Jordan Ladd will star in “The Attentionist,” a digital-first project that combines elements of a ’90s family dramedy and a […]
Danny Boyle’s latest film “Ink” traces the rise of Rupert Murdoch on London’s Fleet Street and the takeover of The Sun newspaper. The film premieres at the London Film Festival and will open in select theaters Dec. 11 before landing on Netflix on Jan. 8 in the U.S. and Latin America. “Ink” is based on […]
AI has come for docudramas, for summer blockbusters, even for adaptations of books about farts. What’s left other than holiday films? Enter “Merry the Christmas Witch.” The film focuses on Merry, the first witch born on Christmas Day, who must defeat a coven of evil witches that has kidnapped Santa Claus in a bid to […]
Universal Talent Development, in partnership with Universal Film Music and the participation of DreamWorks Animation and Universal Studio Group Music, has launched its fourth composers initiative, a program designed to seek and amplify rising talent in the entertainment industry. Established in 2018, the Universal Composers Initiative was designed to find artists from both traditional and […]
Earlier this year, Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” had another sudden resurgence — one of many since its release in 1998 — after social media users and celebrities spanning Drew Barrymore to Kevin Bacon used the song to showcase photos of what they looked like in the 1990s. By late September, the melancholy ballad had become […]
Cynthia Erivo spoke candidly about the importance of working with an intimacy coordinator on her new movie “Prima Facie” at a London Film Festival screen talk on Monday, saying that often “not enough credit is given” to them. In her first film role post “Wicked,” Erivo leads “Prima Facie” as Tessa Ensler, a successful defense […]
Taylor Swift has scored a second week atop the Billboard Hot 100 with “Patient Zero,” the lead single off of “The Life of Showgirl: The Encore.” “Patient Zero” is one of four new Swift songs included on “Encore,” which, just yesterday, earned her a 100th week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for all […]
What happens when the right to love who you want becomes an act of resistance? Peruvian filmmaker Sami Hawka is developing a feature, “While Everything Falls” (Afuera Todo Arde), which explores the fight for personal freedom under a fictionalized dictatorship in contemporary Peru. The story takes place in a conservative rural community where two members […]
Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery to form Skydance Corp., which pushes the combined company to second place in Nielsen’s U.S. TV audience share and brings together two major Hollywood studios, has reignited debate about consolidation in media. But the bigger story is what the merger highlights about the pressures reshaping the media industry […]
Selma Blair was arrested on Sunday after an alleged violent incident on a Delta flight from Los Angeles to New York, Variety has confirmed. The “Legally Blonde” actress allegedly punched one flight attendant and bit another after attempting to open the plane door while in the air, per TMZ. Law enforcement was parked at the […]
The long nightmare might be over for South African producers, whose industry has been crippled for more than two years by the paralysis of a rebate program that for all intents and purposes had ceased to function. Speaking this week at the Durban FilmMart, Nelly Molokoane, director of film and television production at the Dept. […]
Early in “Always Lalisa,” a fly-on-the-wall documentary chronicling a year in the life of Blackpink’s Lisa as she embarks on a solo career, the K-pop star runs through a list of things prohibited by their label YG. They are not allowed to drink, not allowed to date, not allowed to have a driver’s license, not […]
Theo Von is returning to Netflix with another stand-up comedy special. The comic and podcaster’s new hour, “I’m Doing Fine,” will debut on the streamer on Oct. 20. It’s Von’s third special — and his first in five years. The hour will find the freewheeling Von dishing on his rural upbringing and acid-filled adventures, per […]
Propagate Content, the production and talent powerhouse founded by Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens, and The Natural Studios have launched “Adventure Garage With Bear Grylls,” an eight-episode adventure series featuring survivalist Bear Grylls and “Top Gear’s” Rutledge Wood. In the new series, Grylls and Wood transform ordinary vehicles into extreme adventure machines, then push […]
The BBC confirmed that it blurred out a transgender rights slogan on a T-shirt worn by Bethany Antonia, the “House of the Dragon” star currently competing on the competition series “Strictly Come Dancing.” In a video posted by the BBC on social media last week, Antonia was seen rehearsing for the British version of “Dancing […]
Banijay Entertainment, the production and distribution behemoth that now encompasses All3Media, is considering an expansion into the highly competitive U.S. scripted space, having gained major financial firepower through the recent merger. Speaking alongside chair Jeff Zucker in a conversation with Variety’s co-editor-in-chief at Mipcom Cannes, Banijay CEO Marco Bassetti said he saw an opportunity for […]
The release strategy for Sam Mendes’ much-hyped and all-star The Beatles biopics — all four of which are hitting cinemas simultaneously in April 2028 with Sony Pictures Entertainment — has caused several in the industry to scratch their heads in wonder. But Pippa Harris, who is producing “The Beatles — A Four-Film Cinematic Event” for her and Mendes’ […]
Amanda Seyfried is putting the kibosh on sex scenes at this point in her career. During a conversation with Alec Baldwin at the Hamptons International Film Festival (via People), the Oscar nominee revealed she had “passed on a show where I would have to have sex all the time because of the sex. Doesn’t matter […]
Natalie Morales, award-winning journalist and TV personality, is joining the lineup of SHE Media’s Flow Space Women’s Health Summit this week. The Flow Space Women’s Health Summit will be held Thursday, Oct. 15, at Penske Media Corp.’s Los Angeles headquarters. (Disclosure: PMC is the owner of Variety.) Morales, who has spoken publicly about her family’s […]
