- EntertainmentVariety
‘Can This Really Be Your Last Post?’: Kobe Bryant’s Death Mourned From Italy to China
NBA legend Kobe Bryant’s untimely death has had reverberations around the world, where fans from Italy to the Philippines have united in expressing their grief and honoring the late basketball player, who was one of the most global-facing athletes the league has ever produced. The coronavirus sweeping
- EntertainmentVariety
‘Welcome to Chechnya’: Film Review
You can do anything with a face on screen these days, whether it's shaving decades off with a digital scalpel or deepfaking it into unrecognizable oblivion. Usually this wizardry has the air of a stunt, a transformation pulled off merely because it's possible. Never, however, have such effects
- EntertainmentVariety
Ethan Hawke Directing Film of Tennessee Williams’ ‘Camino Real’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Ethan Hawke will direct and adapt "Camino Real," Tennessee Williams' wildly experimental play, into a feature film. Uri Singer, who worked with Hawke on the upcoming Sundance Film Festival entry "Tesla," will produce and finance the picture through his company, Passage Pictures
- EntertainmentVariety
See the Oscar Class Photo of 2020
The nominees for this year’s Academy Awards gathered Monday for the annual Oscar Nominees Luncheon and class photo. Bong Joon Ho, Greta Gerwig, Robert De Niro and Brad Pitt were among those who received the loudest applause and cheers when their names were called for the photo. The annual event kicked
- EntertainmentVariety
Kobe Bryant’s ‘Dear Basketball’ Is Now Available to Watch for Free
Kobe Bryant's studio has released his Oscar-winning short, "Dear Basketball" for free following his death on Sunday. Granity Studio, Bryant's multimedia production company, made the short film available on the dearbasketball.com website and on Vimeo. The Academy Award-winning film,
- EntertainmentThe Wrap
New ‘Transformers’ Movies in Works as Studio Looks to Revamp Franchise
Two new “Transformers” projects are being developed simultaneously as Paramount Pictures is looking to revamp the franchise, according to an individual with knowledge of the project.Joby Harold (“Army of the Dead”) and James Vanderbilt (“Zodiac”) will write each respective movie. Plot details are being
- EntertainmentVariety
‘Don’t F**k With Cats’: Deanna Thompson and Director Mark Lewis Reflect on Their Creepy Netflix Series
What happens when you mix cats, a couple of Facebook watchdogs and a deranged killer who publishes homicidal videos to the Internet? One of the most talked-about (and disturbing) true-crime shows in recent memory. (SPOILER WARNING: Plot Details Ahead) "Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet
- EntertainmentVariety
TV News Roundup: ‘One Day at a Time’ Books Ray Romano
In today's TV news roundup, Ray Romano got a guest star gig on "One Day at a Time" and Freeform released the trailer for "The Thing About Harry." FIRST LOOKS Freeform released a trailer for "The Thing About Harry," which premieres Feb. 15. The upcoming rom-com tells
- EntertainmentVariety
Academy Museum Fundraising Reaches 95% of $388 Million Goal
Fundraising for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures has reached more than $368 million in pledges and cash, making up 95% of its $388 million campaign goal. The announcement was by Academy President David Rubin at the nominees luncheon on Monday, less than two weeks before the 92nd Academy Awards on
- EntertainmentThe Wrap
Former Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff Launches dot.LA to Cover LA Tech and Startup Scene
Former Zillow and Hotwire CEO Spencer Rascoff on Monday launched dot.LA, a new news and events company chronicling Los Angeles’ tech and startup scene.The site, led by L.A. Times veteran Joe Bel Bruno as editor-in-chief, has a reporting staff of seven with experience at the Wall Street Journal, the Associated
- EntertainmentThe Wrap
Sinclair Settles Lawsuit Over Scuttled Tribune Takeover, Will Pay Nexstar $60 Million
Sinclair Broadcast Group has settled its lawsuit from Tribune Media, stemming from the two companies’ failed $3.9 billion merger in 2018.Under the terms of the settlement, Sinclair will pay Nexstar, which ended up buying Tribune in 2019, $60 million, and will transfer control of the WDKY station that
- EntertainmentVariety
‘Luxor’: Film Review
Ten years after Zeina Durra launched her well-regarded debut “The Imperialists Are Still Alive!” at Sundance, the London-born director returns with a mature meditation on the effects of trauma shrewdly incarnated by the always welcome Andrea Riseborough. “Luxor,” set in the eponymous Egyptian city of
- EntertainmentVariety
Lin-Manuel Miranda on Bringing ‘In the Heights’ to the Big Screen: ‘We’re Allowed to Take Up Space’
Lin-Manuel Miranda is having a busy Sundance. The prolific playwright is in Park City, Utah this week as the interview subject of three documentaries -- "Siempre, Luis," "We Are Freestyle Love Supreme" and "Mucho Mucho Amour" -- all premiering at this year's film festival
- EntertainmentVariety
‘Transformers’ Franchise Gets a Revamp With Two Separate Films in the Works
Paramount Pictures is looking to revamp its "Transformers" franchise in a big way, as sources tell Variety two simultaneous scripts are now in active development: one by James Vanderbilt and one by Joby Harold. Paramount's most recent take on the franchise was 2018's "Bumblebee
- EntertainmentVariety
‘Feels Good Man’: Film Review
When is a cartoon frog not just a cartoon frog? When he’s Pepe, the brainchild of artist Matt Furie, who in 2005 created the laid-back anthropomorphic amphibian for a comic about post-collegiate slacker life, only to subsequently watch as the character was adopted as a symbol of white nationalist hate
- EntertainmentVariety
Grammy Winner Elvis Costello Says ‘It Was More Punk’ to Give Best New Artist to A Taste of Honey in 1979
Elvis Costello picked up his second contemporary Grammy on Sunday for his 2018 album "Look Now," making his first trip to the podium since he and Burt Bacharach won for their joint project "Painted from Memory" 21 years ago. But, of course, it's his first miss, all the way back
- EntertainmentVariety
Lakers-Clippers Game Postponed In Wake of Kobe Bryant’s Death
Tuesday night's game between the Lakers and Clippers has been postponed indefinitely following the death of Kobe Bryant on Sunday. In a statement, the NBA league office said, "The decision was made out of respect for the Lakers organization, which is deeply grieving the tragic loss of Lakers
- EntertainmentVariety
CBS Head of Business Operations Deborah Barak to Depart at End of 2020
Deborah Barak, the president of business operations of CBS Entertainment, CBS Television Studios and CBS News since 2015 and a veteran of the company for well over three decades, will be exiting at the end of 2020. Barak's exit is not related in any way to the recently closed ViacomCBS merger, a
- EntertainmentThe Wrap
NBA Postpones First LA Lakers Game After Death of Kobe Bryant
The NBA has decided to postpone Tuesday night’s Los Angeles Lakers game against the Los Angeles Clippers, the league announced on Monday afternoon.In a statement, it said, “The National Basketball Association game between the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020 at
- EntertainmentThe Wrap
The Future of ‘Star Trek’ and Why the ‘Doors Are Just Opening’ for a Film-TV Crossover
Now that “Star Trek” has beamed Jean-Luc Picard back up into its universe, the sci-fi franchise’s captain is already plotting its next course. And that may include mind-melding the film and TV universes after more than a decade apart. When Viacom and CBS agreed to re-merge, after spending the past 14
- EntertainmentThe Wrap
Kobe Bryant Recalled at Oscar Nominees Luncheon as ‘Most Excited Person in the Room’ When He Was Nominated
Oscar winner Kobe Bryant was remembered at the annual Oscar Nominees luncheon on Monday, one day after the tragic helicopter crash that claimed the life of the NBA star, his teenage daughter and seven other passengers.“We all heard some terrible news yesterday and we should take this moment to acknowledge
- EntertainmentThe Wrap
Innovative Artists Signs Agreement With Writers Guild of America
Mid-sized talent agency Innovative Artists has reached a deal with the Writers Guild of America, making them the third full-service agency in the past 10 days to make a deal that would allow them to once again represent writers.“We are proud to support our literary agents and the talented writers they
- EntertainmentVariety
‘Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness’: Film Review
Imagine a high-ratings, high-stakes game show that trivializes a convict’s life-or-death fate for public consumption. As wild as it sounds, a version of this reality TV entertainment apparently really exists in modern-day Iran, where writer-director Massoud Bakhshi’s “Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness”
- EntertainmentThe Wrap
The Most and Least Watched Post-Super Bowl TV Shows: ‘The Wonder Years,’ ‘House,’ ‘This Is Us’
Season in and season out, the Super Bowl is the most-watched broadcast across all of television for the calendar year. That means it’s also the best lead-in of the year — but its not like 2020’s benefactor, “The Masked Singer” on Fox, needs the help.Last year, it was “The World’s Best’s” turn to pop
- EntertainmentVariety
How ‘Arrow’s’ Series Finale Will Give ‘Everyone a Satisfying Ending’
As the CW’s “Arrow” prepares to sign off after eight seasons, the writers had a difficult balance to strike in the final episode: acknowledging the changes that have come to Earth Prime in the aftermath of the timeline-changing “Crisis on Infinite Earths” arc, wrapping up the characters from the mothership
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