- EntertainmentVariety
‘Noura’s Dream’ Director Hinde Boujemaa Owes It All To The Arab Spring
SAN SEBASTIAN -- Hinde Boujemaa might have started her filmmaking career later than others, but she hasn’t lost any time in the subsequent years. The Tunisian director’s 2012 documentary “It Was Better Tomorrow” premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and she now returns with her feature-length fiction
- EntertainmentVariety
Ángeles Cruz’s ‘Nudo Mixteco’ Impresses at San Sebastian Works in Progress
SAN SEBASTIAN -- Ángeles Cruz, one of Mexico’s highest-profile indigenous cineasts, screened for the first time a nearly-finished version of her feature debut “Nudo Mixteco” at the San Sebastian Films in Progress sidebar. Having won two Mexican Academy Ariel Awards for her first two shorts, “Nudo Mixteco
- EntertainmentVariety
Issa Rae Acquires Stake in Streamlytics, a Streaming-Media Data Startup
Actress and creator Issa Rae is getting into the streaming data and analytics business. Rae has taken a minority stake in Streamlytics, an L.A.-based startup led by tech entrepreneur Angela Benton, which is aiming to democratize access to streaming media data -- with a specific focus on providing data
- EntertainmentVariety
Outsider Pictures Nabs U.S. Rights to ‘Our Mothers,’ Belgium’s Oscar Submission (EXCLUSIVE)
SAN SEBASTIAN -- Paul Hudson's Outsider Pictures has picked-up U.S. distribution rights to César Díaz's “Nuestras madres” (“Our Mothers”), Belgium's submission for the international feature film Academy Award. Sold by Pyramide International, “Our Mothers” world premiered at Cannes'
- EntertainmentVariety
Basque Industry Backs Female Filmmakers with Noka Mentoring Program
SAN SEBASTIAN -- The Noka Mentoring program, a local initiative to support up-and-coming Basque female filmmakers, kicked off on Monday morning at this year’s 67th San Sebastian Film Festival. The program was co-developed by the Basque Government’s Department of Culture and Language Policy and Zineuskadi
- EntertainmentVariety
Basque Production: New, Upcoming Titles
‘+90dB’ A Basque rock band travels the globe playing to diehard fans from Japan, the U.S., Germany and France. Marina Lameiro’s second film, produced by Arena Comunicación and Txalap.art. ‘918 NIGHTS’ Arantza Santesteban writes and directs her first feature documentary in which she explores the experience
- EntertainmentVariety
Basque Cinema Broadens Industrial Base
SAN SEBASTIAN -- Basque cinema is attacking the future with higher industrial and creative expectations than ever, playing off two motors: Co-production with other parts of Spain, international equity partnerships. Two game-changers in the Basque film landscape, “Handia,” winner of 10 Spanish Academy
- EntertainmentVariety
Mysterious AVID Issue Knocks Out Mac Pro Workstations Across Hollywood
Film and TV editors across Los Angeles were sweating Monday evening as their workstations were refusing to reboot, resulting in speculations about a possible computer virus attack. Social media reports suggested that the issue was widespread among users of Mac Pro computers running older versions of
- EntertainmentVariety
‘The Taste Of Pho’ Bows Trailer Ahead Of San Sebastian World Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)
Poland's New Europe Film Sales is handling worldwide sales rights to Mariko Bobrik's feature debut “The Taste of Pho.” The food drama’s trailer is launching exclusively in Variety ahead of its world premiere at the San Sebastian Film Festival’s Culinary Cinema sidebar. Described as a story about
- EntertainmentThe Wrap
Fox News Apologizes After Guest Calls Teen Climate Activist ‘Mentally Ill Swedish Child’ Live on Air
Fox News apologized Monday night after an on-air guest referred to Greta Thunberg, a teenage climate activist from Sweden, as a “mentally ill Swedish child” and repeated a conspiracy theory about her during a live appearance on “The Story.”Michael Knowles, who hosts a podcast for The Daily Wire, was
- EntertainmentVariety
Filmax Snags International Rights To ‘Bye Bye Mr. Etxebeste!’ (EXCLUSIVE)
SAN SEBASTIAN -- Filmax is handling international rights to Asier Altuna and Telmo Esnal’s “Bye Bye Mr. Etxebeste!,” produced by the Basque Country’s Irusoin, one of the main companies behind Jon Garaño, Aitor Arregi and José Mari Goenaga’s “The Endless Trench,” a main competition contender at the
- EntertainmentVariety
L.A. Theater Review: Ethan Coen’s ‘A Play Is a Poem’
With all due respect to Ethan Coen, a poem is a poem, a play is a play, and “A Play Is a Poem” isn’t much of either, although that doesn’t make this 105-minute evening at Los Angeles’ Mark Taper Forum a failure so much as a case of false advertising. This isn’t the first time […]
- EntertainmentThe Wrap
Watch a Preview of Megan Thee Stallion and Jimmy Fallon’s Sequel to ‘Hot Girl Summer’ (Video)
Jimmy Fallon kicked off a full week of live episodes of “The Tonight Show” on Monday via a duet with rapper Megan Thee Stallion for a sequel to her hit track “Hot Girl Summer.”“Hot Girl Summer” was released on Aug. 9, perhaps slightly too late to be considered the song of summer 2019 even if “Old Town
- EntertainmentVariety
‘Supergirl’s’ Melissa Benoist and Chris Wood Join Greg Berlanti to Raise Money for Immigrants at Concert for America
Fresh off their wedding earlier this month, Melissa Benoist and Chris Wood teamed up with Jane Lynch, Kate Flannery, Wayne Brady and more Saturday night to help raise money for low-income immigrants. The star-studded group, which also included Yuri Sardarov, Gina Torres, Grant Gustin, and Caroline Rhea
- EntertainmentVariety
J. Michael Mendel, ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Rick and Morty’ Producer, Dies at 54
Animation producer J. Michael Mendel, best known for his work on "The Simpsons" and "Rick and Morty," has died. The four-time Emmy award-winner was 54. A spokesperson for Adult Swim, the network where "Rick and Morty" airs, confirmed the death in a statement, saying, "
- EntertainmentThe Wrap
‘Sunday’ Theater Review: ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘King Kong’ Playwright’s New Drama Is Just Awful
Jack Thorne recently gave a mea culpa interview to the New York Times in which he discussed how and why he went off the rails with his bloated book for the recently departed Broadway musical “King Kong.” The other major topics of the interview were his current Broadway hit, “Harry Potter and the Cursed
- EntertainmentThe Wrap
‘9-1-1’ Chief on Premiere’s Tsunami Cliffhanger and How They Sunk the Santa Monica Pier
(Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Season 3 premiere of “9-1-1,” titled “Kids Today.”)The “9-1-1” season premiere ended with a cliffhanger that set to wipe out all previous emergencies the Station 118 team were drowned in: A tsunami coming right for the Santa Monica Pier.OK, now that we’ve
- EntertainmentVariety
Film News Roundup: Chinese-Language Version of ‘Abominable’ Offered in U.S. Theaters
In today's film news roundup, "Abominable" gets a Chinese-language version, "The Mandela Effect" gets a home, Buffalo 8 expands its post-production services and "Miracle on Grass" is becoming a movie. SPECIAL RELEASE Universal Pictures has partnered with audio tech company
- EntertainmentVariety
Emmys: Basic Cable Networks Hold Their Own, With Nat Geo Leading the Way
The 2019 Emmys were a harsh, recurring reminder for broadcast networks that their awards lunch is being eaten by premium cablers and streaming services featuring buzzy prestige shows. But basic cablers, despite collectively logging a year-over-year decline in statuettes, managed to grab onto some key
- EntertainmentVariety
Fourward Taps Shannan Hatch as President of Music Publishing Company Fourward Music
Will Ward's management company Fourward has announced the formation of new music publishing company, Fourward Music, LLC. and has tapped industry leader Shannan Hatch to serve as president. The new company will have offices in Los Angeles and Nashville. "I am excited to expand and grow the Fourward
- EntertainmentThe Wrap
4 Reasons Why ‘Downton Abbey’ Out-Muscled ‘Rambo’ and Brad Pitt at Box Office
Focus Features set a new studio opening record this weekend with “Downton Abbey,” which earned $31 million from just over 3,000 screens, making was supposed to be a neck-and-neck race for the No. 1 spot between “Downton,” “Ad Astra” and “Rambo: Last Blood” an easy victory for Lord Grantham and his family.Only
- EntertainmentVariety
CNN Allegedly a Target of Arrested Solider’s Terror Plans
CNN was allegedly discussed as a potential target by a U.S. Army solider who was arrested this weekend after making known his plans for terror attacks, according to court documents released Monday and subsequent press reports. According to documents filed in Kansas federal court, Jarrett William Smith
- EntertainmentThe Wrap
‘There’s Something in the Water’ Director Ellen Page Says She Never Intended to Make a Film About ‘Environmental Racism’ (Video)
“There’s Something in the Water” filmmaker Ellen Page said she never intended to make a feature film about environmental racism in Nova Scotia, Canada — she originally just wanted to use her platform to raise awareness about the issue.“I’m originally from the province of Nova Scoatia, Halifax, born and
- EntertainmentThe Wrap
‘Runboyrun’ and ‘In Old Age’ Theater Review: Nigerian American Immigrants Can’t Shake the Past
Mfoniso Udofia imagines a different take on the African diaspora: The characters in what she intends to be a nine-play Ufot Cycle are educated Nigerians who arrived in the United States long after slavery, in the 1970s, but still grapple with the legacy of violence in their homeland.Udofia’s new plays
- EntertainmentVariety
Despite Dearth of Awards, Broadcasters Benefit From Televising Emmys
The Emmys are not showing much love to the Big 4 broadcast networks these days — but don't expect the awards show to move to a streaming service any time soon. Once again, this year's awards were dominated by cable, premium cable, and streaming platforms. HBO took home the most Emmys with 34
