Variety

‘Savage House’ Review: Putridly Funny Black Comedy Revels in Claire Foy and Richard E. Grant’s Decay

Faces are saved, barely, as the body goes wholly to ruin in “Savage House,” a mordantly amusing tale of pretense, profligacy and the literally maddening pressures of the English class ladder — written...

1 week ago

VFX House DNEG, Spain’s SETT Supercharge Canary Islands’ Anima Kitchent With a Multi-Million Investment

Supercharging Canary Island animation studio Anima Kitchen, VFX giant DNEG has acquired the Canary Islands’ Anima Kitchent. The operation is backed by the support of the state-owned Spanish Society fo...

1 week ago

Madrid ECAM Forum Chiefs on Lineup, With 2026 Palme d’Or Winner Federico Luis, and Next Indie Gems to Track: ‘Everybody Is Looking at Spain’

In only two years, ECAM Forum, the boutique post-Cannes co-production market in Madrid, has sealed its reputation as a must-attend event for international players tracking down Spain’s wealth of talen...

1 week ago

Thierry Fremaux Talks Cannes 2026, Hollywood ‘Restructuring,’ ‘Club Kid’ Thriving, Netflix’s Possible Comeback and the Bolloré Controversy

The 79th Cannes Film Festival has wrapped, amid familiar complaints about the lack of Hollywood blockbusters, fewer American stars and a competition lineup that delivered a string of beloved films but...

1 week ago

Marjane Satrapi, French-Iranian Director of Oscar-Nominated ‘Persepolis,’ Dies at 56

France-based Iranian artist, animator and director Marjane Satrapi, best known for her Oscar-nominated 2007 biographical animated feature “Persepolis,” has died. She was 56. “Marjane Satrapi died of s...

1 week ago

Neon’s Tom Quinn Hails ‘Obsession’ and ‘Backrooms’: ‘I Don’t See This as YouTube or Otherwise, I See This as Cinema’

Tom Quinn landed in the U.K. for a special talk at SXSW London less than two weeks after Neon claimed its seventh consecutive Palme d’Or in Cannes, this time thanks to Cristian Mungiu’s “Fjord.” The e...

1 week ago

Jason Zhang Signs With Universal Music Greater China; UMG Also Invests in Thai Distributor Solution One

Universal Music Greater China has signed Jason Zhang, one of the most commercially successful artists in Chinese-language pop, in a wide-ranging deal spanning recorded music, artist management, live p...

1 week ago

M-Appeal Seals Cannes Deals on ‘Downtown,’ ‘The Garden We Dreamed,’ ‘Truly Naked’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Berlin-based world sales company M-Appeal has closed a string of international deals out of the Cannes Film Market on Michiel van Erp’s “Downtown,” Joaquín del Paso’s “The Garden We Dreamed” and Murie...

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Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan Sundance Winner ‘Josephine’ Lands Indian Subcontinent Rights With Fragrant Nature Film Creations (EXCLUSIVE)

Fragrant Nature Film Creations has acquired exclusive distribution rights to “Josephine” across the Indian subcontinent. The deal covers India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the ...

1 week ago

Tribeca Kicks Off With Earth, Wind & Fire Documentary and Robert De Niro Dissing Trump as ‘Immoral, Cruel and Corrupt’

Robert De Niro took a thinly veiled dig at Donald Trump at the opening night of Tribeca Festival on Wednesday. The Oscar-winner used his time at the podium to talk about Tribeca’s mission as a festiva...

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‘Backrooms’ Director Kane Parsons Says Using AI ‘Defeats the Purpose’ of Filmmaking: ‘I Get No Enjoyment From Using Those Tools’

“Backrooms” director Kane Parsons recently sounded off on AI in filmmaking during a recent interview with The Australian. The 20-year-old filmmaker said that he was “in the same boat as most well-adju...

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What the Reaction to Artists Booking or Backing Out of ‘Freedom 250′ Tells Us About the Fickleness of Fan Bases: Bret Michaels’ Guitarist Speaks Up

Is every musical artist’s fan base just waiting to turn on them, at a moment’s notice? The fickleness of fandom was never more apparent than it was reading the comments this past week from self-procla...

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Doja Cat Slams Elon Musk as a ‘Barrel Chested Ewok’ While Requesting Changes to X: ‘You Look Like You Eat Sand’

Doja Cat took to X on Wednesday to request that the platform’s billionaire owner, Elon Musk, reinstate the “audio post” feature. It’s not likely the Grammy winner will get her way, however, because sh...

1 week ago

‘Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs That’s the Weight of the World)’ Review: The Tribeca Festival Kicks Off with Questlove’s Indelible Portrait of...

Questlove tells the band’s story, and Maurice White’s story, in a way that’s at once thrilling and haunting. He captures their rightful place in the pop cosmos....

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Boots Riley Guesses Martin Scorsese Got ‘A Gang of Money’ for AI Partnership and ‘Doesn’t Give a F—‘

Boots Riley came out swinging after Martin Scorsese announced his involvement with the AI company Black Forest Labs on Tuesday, guessing that the filmmaker joined the firm as an advisor to help provid...

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Tony Dokoupil Honors Scott Pelley After ’60 Minutes’ Firing: ‘A Journalist Who Valued Truth at All Costs’

“CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil paid tribute to Scott Pelley after the former “60 Minutes” correspondent was fired on Tuesday following an explosive clash with the show’s new executive produce...

1 week ago

‘Mapogo: The Lion Throne’ Vertical Documentary Series Set at FlareFlow

COL Group’s FlareFlow and Singapore-based Bomanbridge Media have teamed on one of the first premium vertical-format documentary series, a wildlife title set to go live on the platform across 200-plus ...

1 week ago

TikTok Teams With Sundance Institute for Four-Week Microseries Writing Workshop

TikTok and Sundance Institute want to see more creators writing and producing microdramas and other short-form scripted series. They’re launching a microseries writing program through Sundance Collab,...

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Steve Kroft Says ’60 Minutes’ Is ‘Disastrous’ Under Bari Weiss After Scott Pelley and More Fired: ‘This Is Journalistic Interference’

PBS NewsHour reporter Geoff Bennett teased an excerpt from his interview with Steve Croft, in which the “60 Minutes” legend said the direction of the historic news program under the leadership of CBS ...

1 week ago

Tom Holland Once Said Playing Spider-Man in His 30s Would Be Bad, but Now Reveals ‘I Could’ve Been Trying to Leverage Sony’ for a Better Deal: ‘A Stra...

Tom Holland made headlines in 2021 when he told GQ magazine that “if I’m playing Spider-Man after I’m 30, I’ve done something wrong.” Well, not only is Holland officially 30 right now but he’s also go...

1 week ago

Music Industry Moves: Mexico’s Intocable Partners With Primary Wave; Julia Jacklin Signs With 4AD

Primary Wave Music has announced a partnership with the Grammy-winning Mexican outfit Intocable. Terms of the deal will see the publisher partner with the veteran group on their catalog of music, as w...

1 week ago

ElevenLabs Partners With Hasbro’s AI Studios to License Transformers, Mr. Potato Head, Clue Characters and More for AI Use

Mr. Potato Head, Optimus Prime and Mr. Monopoly are uniting — in the world of AI. AI audio startup ElevenLabs has partnered with Hasbro to bring a collection of the toy and game company’s suite of ch...

1 week ago

‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Finale’s Hallway Scene Took Three Days of Prep and One Day to Shoot

Disney+ series “Daredevil: Born Again” is renowned for its iconic hallway fight sequences, so it’s only fitting that the season concludes with another epic moment. The episode follows Matt Murdock (Ch...

1 week ago

Shia LaBeouf Gets Probation After Pleading Guilty to Battery in New Orleans Bar Fight

Shia LaBeouf pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of simple battery and was sentenced to probation for a Mardi Gras brawl in New Orleans. He will be required to attend an alcohol treatment program...

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Emilia Clarke on Moving Forward After Suffering Two Brain Hemorrhages: ‘Recovery Is as Important as Survival’

“Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke gave a moving speech while being honored at Variety‘s Power of Women London about surviving two brain hemorrhages in her 20s. Clarke went in depth about surviving ...

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Hulu to Develop Scott Turow Novel ‘Suspect’ for TV With Bruce Miller & Marissa Jo Cerar, Matt Shakman to Direct

Hulu is developing a series version of the Scott Turow novel “Suspect,” Variety has learned. The project hails from writer and executive producer Marissa Jo Cerar. Bruce Miller is attached to executiv...

1 week ago

CBS News Gutted ’60 Minutes’ On-Air Team. Can This Show Really Go On?

Correspondents at “60 Minutes” in past years have tried to win an interesting challenge: Could they leave the show for a summer vacation with one story already in the can? Doing so now is no longer a ...

1 week ago

Sharon Stone on Helping Marc Maron Channel His Grief Over Lynn Shelton With ‘In Memoriam’ and Why Joe Eszterhas’ ‘Basic Instinct’ Reboot Is a Bad Idea...

Marc Maron plays a great actor in “In Memoriam,” but the comedian and podcaster worried he didn’t have the chops to pull off a key moment in the new movie. “I had to cry, but I didn’t know if......

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Sara Bareilles Announces First Studio Album in Seven Years, ‘Good Grief,’ to Be Followed by Fall Tour

Sara Bareilles has kept a fairly low profile as a performing and recording artist since prior to the pandemic, but the drought on those fronts will come to an end as she releases the album “Good Grief...

1 week ago

‘Boomah,’ Gritty New Feature From ‘Daughters of Abdulrahman’ Director Zaid Abu Hamdan, Set For Shanghai Film Festival Bow

Jordanian director Zaid Abu Hamdan is set to launch the follow up to his female empowerment drama “Daughters of Abdulrahman,” the gritty crime thriller “Boomah,” set to soon bow from the Shanghai Inte...

1 week ago

Sam Reich on ‘Game Changer’ Emmy Chances, Abby Lee Miller’s Surprise Dropout Fandom and Animated ‘Dimension 20’ Plans

Sam Reich isn’t expecting an Emmy nomination this year. He isn’t expecting to lose, either. For the CEO of Dropout, the indie comedy streamer’s first-ever FYC event at the iconic Laugh Factory was nev...

1 week ago

Disney Moves Some Super Bowl Commercials at $8 Million Amid Advertiser Squabbles (EXCLUSIVE)

Disney has started to move Super Bowl commercial time in earnest, but only after a round of squawking that would have impressed Donald Duck. After pressing advertisers to pony up $10 million for a 30-...

1 week ago

TV Networks Hope Sports Catch Upfront Ad Dollars as Madison Avenue Cuts Budgets (EXCLUSIVE)

Big TV is putting it all out on the field. A number of top TV networks and streamers are making aggressive efforts to get advertisers to pay top dollar for sports even as Madison Avenue trims back the...

1 week ago

Netflix Orders Big Box Store Animated Comedy Series ‘Dealies’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Netflix has greenlit the adult animated comedy series “Dealies,” Variety has learned exclusively. The official logline for the show states, “A savant salesman. A gentle gladiator. A quiet virtuoso. A ...

1 week ago

‘American Horror Story’ Star Emma Roberts Signs With UTA

Actress and producer Emma Roberts, the “American Horror Story” who also recently produced the hit series “Tell Me Lies,” has signed with United Talent Agency for representation. Roberts’ production co...

1 week ago

AI Music Company Suno Raises $400 Million at $5.4 Billion Valuation

Suno, an AI music generation platform, pocketed $400 million in its latest funding round, which the company says values the company at $5.4 billion. The funding round, announced Wednesday, was led by ...

1 week ago

‘Your Friends and Neighbors’ Star Hoon Lee Signs With Anonymous Content (EXCLUSIVE)

Hoon Lee has signed with Anonymous Content for representation, Variety has learned exclusively. He continues to be repped by Peikoff Mahan. Lee currently stars in the popular Apple TV series “Your Fri...

1 week ago

Will Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker Exit ‘60 Minutes’ After Scott Pelley’s Firing? Everyone at CBS Wants to Know

The future of “60 Minutes” could well hinge on two people with deep ties to CBS News’ past. Many staffers and producers at the beleaguered newsmagazine are left wondering whether Lesley Stahl and Bill...

1 week ago

’28 Years Later’ Breakout Alfie Williams Signs With Gersh (EXCLUSIVE)

Alfie Williams, the British teenage actor who enjoyed a major breakout last year thanks to his lead role in “28 Years Later,” has landed U.S. representation. Following what it described as a “highly c...

1 week ago

Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard to Attend Slano Film Days, Joining Paweł Pawlikowski, Ruben Östlund, Michel Franco, Michael Seresin

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard will be among the guests at Slano Film Days, which runs June 16-20 in Slano, a small coastal town in Croatia. Other guests at the event include directors Paweł Pa...

1 week ago

Thailand Launches Bangkok International Content Market, B2B Platform for Film, Series and Animation

Thailand’s Creative Economy Agency (CEA) is launching the Bangkok International Content Market 2026 (BICM2026), one of the country’s first dedicated international marketplaces for film, series, and an...

1 week ago

CBS News Boss Bari Weiss Defends Firing Scott Pelley From ‘60 Minutes’: ‘Trust’ Was ‘Broken’ After His Blow-Up and ‘That’s the Path He Chose’

Bari Weiss, editor in chief of CBS News, on a staff call addressed the termination Scott Pelley, a longtime presence at the news outlet who was ousted from “60 Minutes” Tuesday after he engaged in a t...

1 week ago

Universal’s U.K. Theme Park Reveals Name, Gets $8 Billion-Plus Commitment From Comcast as British Government Pledges Major Infrastructure Support

Universal’s first theme park and resort in the U.K. — unveiled early last year and set to be one of the biggest theme parks globally — now has an official name, plus a financial commitment described b...

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‘Ice Cream Man’ Trailer: Eli Roth’s Creepy Horror Turns Dessert-Seeking Kids into Killers

The official trailer for Eli Roth‘s “Ice Cream Man,” has been released. The slasher film will be released on Aug. 7 in 2,000 North American venues. The trailer shows a group of children descending int...

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Box Office: ‘Scary Movie’ Battles ‘Backrooms’ for No. 1 With $45 Million-Plus Debut, ‘Masters of the Universe’ Targets $33 Million Start

“Scary Movie” will contend with another scary movie, A24’s breakout horror hit “Backrooms,” for No. 1 at the domestic box office. Paramount and Miramax’s R-rated “Scary Movie” is aiming for $45 millio...

1 week ago

Arsenal Star Bukayo Saka Sets Documentary ‘The Time Is Now’: It’s the ‘Chance to Tell My Story in a Way I Never Have Before’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Having recently been instrumental to Arsenal’s most successful campaign in more than 20 years, soccer star Bukayo Saka — one of the most gifted British footballers playing today — is getting the docum...

1 week ago

Pink Teases Tony Awards Hosting Plans: ‘There Will Be Stunts, and Not Just for Me’

Generally speaking, the announcement of Grammy-winning pop powerhouse Pink as the host of the 79th Tony Awards on Sunday was met with two immediate reactions: a) will she fly, and b), why her? While P...

1 week ago

Jim Sheridan’s ‘Re-Creation’ Closes With Kino Lorber While Latido Sells Pregnant Trans Man Drama ‘9 Moons’ to Half the World (EXCLUSIVE)

A Kino Lorber U.S. pick-up on Jim Sheridan and David Merriman’s “Re-Creation” heads sales for Madrid-based Latido Films at last month’s Cannes which also take in theatrical deals in major markets over...

1 week ago

‘California Avenue’ Producer on New BBC Drama Starring Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy: ‘It’s a Love Letter to Television From the 1970s’

“California Avenue” is the new show from Hugo Blick, the brains behind some of modern TV’s most impressive dramas, including Emily Blunt starrer “The English,” “The Honourable Woman” with Maggie Gylle...

1 week ago

Nearly 70% of Americans Play Video Games for at Least an Hour Each Week, New Report Finds

Two-thirds of Americans play an hour or more of video games per week, according to a new report published Wednesday by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). Per the gaming industry lobbying or...

1 week ago