Taylor Swift opened up about the process of writing and recording her 2012 hit “I Knew You Were Trouble,” revealing that it was initially penned as a “really sad ballad” before she was encouraged to incorporate dubstep. Swift reflected on the song’s creation during a Q&A at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles last week, […]

The eight best basketball dunkers in the world are coming to primetime television this week as the Dunkman World Championship final airs on TNT. The final eight take center court August 25 at 8 p.m. ET, live on TNT and TruTV as part of Dunkman, the first-ever professional league dedicated to dunking. Launched this summer […]

This week, “Big Brother” will make history by being the first primetime show to hit 1,000 episodes. And in true “Big Brother” fashion, the show is celebrating that milestone with a twisty, one-of-a-kind 90-minute episode that will air Thursday, Aug. 27. “It’s been really interesting and fun to think about how to celebrate the show,” […]

J.Crew is giving one of its most recognizable ’80s staples a Gen Z-sized makeover. The retailer has tapped Emma Chamberlain to front the launch of its new Tiny Rollneck, a shrunken, fitted take on the cotton sweater that has been a brand staple since 1988. The new silhouette officially drops Wednesday, Aug. 26 at 8 […]

Disney is taking fantasy football a little more literally. The entertainment giant has teamed with the NFL, Champion and Fanatics on a new apparel collection pairing every one of the league’s 32 teams with a character from across Disney, Pixar, Marvel and “Star Wars” — from Darth Vader repping the Las Vegas Raiders to Captain […]

David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance released a statement Monday after California attorney general Rob Bonta abruptly canceled the two sides’ planned meeting, alleging Paramount had leaked confidential discussions about the Warner Bros. Discovery case. “We share AG Bonta’s concerns about the public discussions and misreporting that has surrounded this deal,” Paramount said in a statement sent […]

Fox News is making a slight change to a program that carries a lot of weight. Emily Compagno, a co-host of the early-afternoon program “Outnumbered” on the cable outlet, will join its most-watched program, “The Five,” as a co-host, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott said Monday. Compagno will fill in a fourth seat that has […]

WildBrain, the Canadian children’s media company with the rights to titles such as “Yo Gabba Gabba!” and the “Teletubbies,” has purchased the child-focused generative AI startup Personality AI in a cash-and-stock deal worth up to $69 million in a bid to marry the company’s intellectual property with the startup’s conversational products. Personality AI touts its conversational character […]

Late night is in the doldrums. It’s not just that the remaining hosts are taking much of the summer off. But, post-Stephen Colbert on CBS, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel and NBC’s Jimmy Fallon both feel closer to the end of their respective tenures than the beginning. The whole genre feels ripe for a shake-up — lest […]

“The Gentlemen” has officially been greenlit for Season 3, Variety can confirm. Guy Ritchie’s high-society, high-octane caper starring Theo James and Kaya Scodelario is set to return for a third outing, comprised of eight episodes. Variety understands that while the new season is in pre-production no scripts have yet been finalized, let alone new casting, […]

Anime giant Crunchyroll plans to dissect the growing business of anime with its first-ever thought leadership summit to be held as a precursor to New York Comic Con in October. The Crunchyroll Anime Future Forum will be held Oct. 7 at New York’s Javits Convention Center, with conference tracks focusing on four key themes: fandom, […]

Best Friend Forever has boarded international sales on Eugene Kotlyarenko’s “Vintage Violence,” starring Cole Sprouse (“Riverdale”) and Kiko Mizuhara, ahead of the film’s world premiere at Toronto’s Midnight Madness section. WME is handling domestic rights on the thriller, which marks Kotlyarenko’s eighth feature. The filmmaker is known for weaving internet and online-video culture into contemporary […]

Five features and one documentary have been nominated for the 2026 Nordic Council Film Prize. It’s awarded to a feature film or documentary produced in the Nordic countries that has been distributed in cinemas. Some picks – announced at the Norwegian International Film Festival Haugesund – come as no surprise, as Joachim Trier’s Oscar-winning “Sentimental […]

Prime Video has set a September premiere date for “Don’t Be Shy,” a young-adult romantic comedy from Alia Bhatt and Shaheen Bhatt’s Eternal Sunshine Productions. Sreeti Mukerji wrote and directed the coming-of-age film, which is produced by Bhatt and Shaheen Bhatt under the Eternal Sunshine Productions banner, with Grishma Shah and Vikesh Bhutani serving as […]

The Deauville American Film Festival has revealed the lineup for the industry section of its 2026 edition. The Deauville Industry Days sidebar, taking place over two days at the festival being held at the French seaside town, will incorporate various talks, panels and sessions. Among them are ‘The Art and Craft of Foodstyling,’ about cinematic […]

“The Odyssey” maintained its commanding position atop the South Korea box office during the weekend of Aug. 21–23. According to data from KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council, the Christopher Nolan-directed tentpole generated $10.6 million from 1,321,204 admissions over the three-day frame across 2,182 screens, capturing 66.3% of total weekend business. […]

John Oliver is an outspoken fan of reality TV — but not this former “Real World” star. On Sunday’s “Last Week Tonight,” the political pundit took aim squarely at Sean Duffy, President Trump’s Secretary of Transportation and former congressman and “The Real World: Boston” cast member. You see, on Wednesday, Duffy dropped all six episodes […]

Shelley Fabares, the star of the classic sitcoms “The Donna Reed Show” and “Coach,” died on Saturday in Los Angeles. She was 82. Fabares’ family said in a statement, “We will miss her deeply — not only as a celebrated performer, but as the loving and extraordinary person she was in our everyday lives. We […]

Ridley Scott recently told The Times of London that he sees himself not as a “filmmaker,” but as an “influencer.” “Every time, you are vulnerable,” Scott said when asked to identify a through line in his work. “Also, I never want to repeat myself and all my films have been on the money. I’ve been […]

Norwegian actors Anders Danielsen Lie and Anne Marie Ottersen were inducted into the Haugesund Walk of Fame..  The unveiling taking place during the first weekend of this year’s Norwegian Intl. Film Festival Haugesund, Danielsen Lie and Ottersen were recognized for contributing to “building the professionalism and high standards of Norway’s acting community, both on the […]

Peacock is digging into the well-mined world of former radio host and TV talk show star Wendy Williams, greenlighting the three-part documentary “Clap If You Care: The Wendy Williams Show” (which is a working title) to air in 2027. Williams is not involved in the new docuseries, but her former producer is spearheading the project. […]

“Insidious: Out of the Further” director Jacob Chase is set to direct the horror project “Sleepover” for Blumhouse Atomic Monster and Universal Pictures. Described as the “quintessential sleepover nightmare,” it’s set for an Oct. 8, 2027 theatrical release. Chase directs from a screenplay co-written with “Night Swim” screenwriter Bryce McGuire, adapted from McGuire’s original short […]

A “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” sequel is in the works at Paramount, with original star Kate Hudson attached to produce the project, Variety can report exclusively. Development on the sequel is in early stages, with the cast and several key creative roles yet to be selected, according to a source close […]

As all AMC moviegoers know, “heartbreak feels good in a place like this.” But for New Yorkers, this heartbreak is hitting close to home. Variety can report that the AMC Kips Bay 15, the movie theater chain’s second-largest multiplex in Manhattan, will close at the end of the year. “We expect that AMC Kips Bay […]

Disney is offering longtime executives early retirement packages amid larger cost-cutting efforts and ongoing layoffs. The offer, announced in a memo to staff sent by Senior EVP and Chief People Officer Sonia Coleman on Monday, the time-limited, company-sponsored Voluntary Early Retirement Offer (VERO) program is set to give eligible executives the opportunity to retire now […]

Rev your engines because “Cars” is back in theaters to celebrate its 20th anniversary, starting Sept. 4 The race back to theaters coincides with Lightning McQueen Day on Sept. 5, honoring Owen Wilson’s lead character’s number, #95.  The anniversary will be commemorated throughout the year with a number of themed collaborations and activations, including special […]

Kit Harington will now play Gilderoy Lockhart in Season 2 of HBO’s “Harry Potter” series, replacing Nicholas Hoult, who exited the production due to scheduling conflicts. Harington recently voiced Lockhart in Audible’s “Harry Potter” audiobooks, which released late last year. The character is central to the plot of the second book, beginning as a famous […]

Veteran actor John Leguizamo, breakouts James Ortiz and Inde Navarrette and more Latino Hollywood talents are among the Critics Choice Association’s slate of honorees for the newly titled Celebración of Cinema & Television (formerly called Celebration of Latino Cinema and Television), now in its sixth year, that recognizes and spotlights Latino and Hispanic artistry both […]

Orlando Bloom, who will be attending the Venice Film Festival as part of the cast of Warner Herzog’s competition title “Bucking Fastard,” is set to be feted on the Lido with the Filming Italy International Award from Filming Italy — Los Angeles, the event that bridges Italy and Hollywood. Bloom will receive the award, which […]

Reggie Watts’ “Comedy Bang Bang” theme song was cut from Monday’s episode of the popular podcast following a Rolling Stone report that alleged the comedian and musician has exhibited “reckless and selfish” behavior regarding drugs in his past relationships. The story, which was published on Thursday, alleges that Watts’ late ex-girlfriend, Katherine McCollough, developed a […]

Gianluca “GL” Pucacco has been named vice president of revenue operations and international growth at Roku, just as the streaming company is working toward its sale to Fox Corporation. Pucacco’s role is effective Monday, August 24. He reports to Patrick Harris, who was named senior vice president of global media revenue at Roku in February. […]

Vietnamese found-footage horror film “Lầu Chú Hoả: The Deadliest Mansion” is opening in North American theaters on Sept. 4, with Mockingbird Pictures placing the title across AMC, Regal and Cinemark circuits. Directed by Hùng Trần, the film became Vietnam’s first theatrical found-footage horror release and turned into a breakout hit after its June debut. It […]

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has canceled planned settlement talks with Paramount over the state’s lawsuit seeking to block David Ellison’s proposed $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, accusing Paramount of acting in bad faith, according to The New York Times. Bonta is leading a coalition of 12 states in challenging the proposed merger and asking […]

Francesca Moody Productions has unveiled the first wave of guest performers joining Tim Crouch’s “An Oak Tree” for its run at The Other Palace in London, with Sacha Dhawan, Gemma Whelan, Bessie Carter, Rosalie Craig, Hammed Animashaun, George Fouracres, Clare Perkins and Tom Mothersdale each taking on a single performance. Crouch performs alongside a different […]

Norwegian star actor Kristofer Hivju (“Game of Thrones,” “Red One”, “Beck”) will play opposite Friday Hallgren (from Oscar-nominated “As It Is in Heaven”) in the upcoming Swedish-Croatian rom-com “True Love” (working title).  Helmed by actor-turned writer, director and best-selling author Martina Haag, the SF Studios project, now in pre-production, will be pitched Aug. 26. at […]

Dirty Monkeys’ war comedy-drama “Once Upon a Time in the Middle East” held onto the No. 1 position at the mainland China box office during the Aug. 21–23 weekend, taking in RMB298.8 million ($43.9 million) in its second weekend of release, according to data from Artisan Gateway. Directed by Wen Muye (“Dying to Survive”) and […]

The LA Phil has played with plenty of pop and rock acts before, but it may have taken Foo Fighters to really put the dude in Dudamel. And not a moment too soon, with this being famed conductor Gustavo Dudamel’s final weekend at the helm of Los Angeles’ primary house symphony. The Phil’s hookup with […]

Two prominent Jewish advocacy groups have called out Mark Ruffalo for spreading “antisemitic tropes.” “Words matter, and so does the willingness to draw a line when legitimate debate gives way to antisemitic tropes,” said Jim Berk, CEO of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. “We commend Paramount for speaking clearly and refusing to allow prejudice to masquerade […]

GRAMADO, Brazil — “Our Secret” (“Nosso segredo”), the first feature from Grace Passô, nabbed the best feature film Kikito award at the Aug. 22 closing ceremony of the 54th Gramado Film Festival. The feature also scooped cinematography (Wilssa Esser) and art direction (Lucas Osório) plaudits. Passô, an established playwright and also actress, directed and wrote […]

Long may Peter Parker reign! Sony’s Marvel adventure “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” continues to dominate at the box office, collecting $39 million in its fourth weekend of release. Despite a smattering of newcomers, Spidey remained at No. 1 ahead of another Sony release, “Insidious: Out of the Further.” Much lower down on box office charts […]

Azerbaijan is very upset about a June 5 report on CNN that Israeli troops had used the country as a staging area for attacks on Iran. The country’s government says that the report, based on anonymous sources, is both completely wrong and dangerous, as it risks drawing Azerbaijan into the conflict. In this situation, most […]

“The Traitors” has won more Emmys in three years than “Survivor” has won in 25. It’s not close, either. Since arriving on Peacock, Alan Cumming’s Scottish castle whodunit has banked eight total Emmys — a casting win before it ever cracked the marquee race, back-to-back reality competition trophies in 2024 and 2025, two hosting wins […]

Warner Chappell Music, the publishing arm of Warner Music Group, has announced the promotion of Gabz Landman to executive vice president of A&R. Based at the company’s Los Angeles headquarters, she will continue to report to Ryan Press, President of A&R for North America. Landman joined Warner Chappell in 2022 and has signed two-time Grammy […]

“You” fans rejoice – the author of the bestselling novels and creator of the fan-favorite serial killer Joe Goldberg is set for an ambitious new series project. Caroline Kepnes, whose first “You” book was just named one of the best thrillers of the 21st century by the New York Times, will step behind the camera […]

Raquel Lee, who appeared on “The Amanda Show” and “The Proud Family” as a child star, has sued Disney, alleging that an ex-employee raped her when she was 14 while working on the 2001 movie “The Poof Point.” In a lawsuit filed Friday, Lee accused Disney of negligence and claimed that a “middle-aged, male employee […]

CNN’s channels went dark on Monday across multiple distribution points, a problem the news network attributed to a “technical issue” at parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. “We are aware of a technical issue across Warner Bros. Discovery that resulted in losing CNN channels for a period of time today,” the news outlet’s PR team said […]

CAA has launched Frame1Games, a new venture to fund, accelerate and market independent video games. Per the agency, Frame1Games “pairs multi-million-dollar capital investment with a yearlong accelerator, giving developers mentorship from industry veterans and CAA executives and direct access to the partners and vendors needed to bring a game to market.” CAA’s Frame1Games intends to back several […]

ESPN is ratcheting up the price of its streaming services — just in time for the busy fall sports season. Effective Sept. 17, the Disney-owned sports giant is increasing the monthly and annual pricing for both ESPN Unlimited and the scaled-down ESPN Select tier. The price of ESPN Unlimited is increasing from $29.99 to $31.99/month. […]

An eighth season of “Black Mirror” is officially in production, Variety can confirm. The show started shooting this summer, although no launch date for the new season has been set yet. Earlier this year creator Charlie Brooker vowed the dystopian anthology series “will return, and hopefully it’ll be more ‘Black Mirror’ than ever.” He is […]

In the opening of “Small Things,” Zvonimir Jurić’s elegant and understated chamber drama, the giggling grandchildren of an elder patriarch (Bosnian film and theater veteran Izudin Bajrović) show their charmingly clueless pops how to operate a smartphone. Later that night, along with the kids’ mother Irena (Ivana Roščić) and aunt Anica (Marija Skaričić), the crew […]

Reports of Meghan Markle’s return to acting in the U.K. prompted numerous quips and memes over the weekend that the Duchess of Sussex was planning to make an appearance on long-running BBC soap “EastEnders.” Now it seems “EastEnders” producers have gotten in on the joke, as BBC Studios have put out a casting call for […]

Paramount Pictures’ “The Heart of the Beast,” starring Brad Pitt and directed by David Ayer, has been added to San Sebastián Film Festival’s lineup, screening out of competition in its Official Selection. Both Pitt and Ayer will attend San Sebastián to present the film, the Spanish film festival announced Monday.  The survival thriller sees Pitt, […]

The Venice Film Festival has made a last-minute addition to its competition lineup: “Naza,” a new documentary from “No Other Land” directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. The doc, which was shot at night on the rooftops of Tel Aviv, Israel, shows “in detail the systems behind Israel’s calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in […]

An Indian children’s entertainment company has brought its debut original animated series to Netflix. “Emomee: Big Skills for Little Ones, Minis,” from the Mumbai-based brand Emomee, features 20 episodes of some 11 minutes each, centered on characters E, Mo and Mee as they navigate everyday adventures designed to build confidence, curiosity, kindness, emotional intelligence and […]

In “Beloved,” opening the Norwegian International Film Festival Haugesund, Erik Poppe takes on a script by Nobel Prize winner Jon Fosse. “It’s a project that has been on my desk for many, many years. Jon Fosse wrote it almost 20 years ago. After he received the Nobel Prize in Literature [in 2023], it felt like […]

The 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has unveiled 23 Korean and Asian independent films for its Vision section, split into 12 titles under Vision-Korea and 11 under Vision-Asia. The Vision section grew out of Korean Cinema Today – Vision, expanding last year into a standalone program covering filmmakers across the continent. This year’s lineup […]

You might call Boorman’s fortitude admirable, but you could also call it delusional. And it lends "Boorman and the Devil" the quality of a true-life Christopher Guest movie. For this is the unintentionally funny story of what happens when utterly unhinged and high-minded hubris becomes your guiding light. Boorman, and others associated with "Exorcist II," know that they made an infamous disaster, yet the reason the film was a disaster still eludes them.

Katseye has scored their first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as their latest project “Wild” debuts atop the list. “Wild,” the five-track offering led by the singles “Pinky Up” and “Hootie Frutti,” bows at the chart’s summit with 170,000 equivalent album units, marking their biggest week by that metric and by pure album sales […]

Martin Short is having quite a unique Emmy season, and he knows it. His name is all over this year’s nominations, via three very distinct projects: As an actor, he’s nominated for outstanding comedy lead via Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building.” (He also has a comedy series nom for the show as an executive […]

GRAMADO, Brazil — “Seduction” (“Sedução”), a feature set in the Amazon Rainforest region and helmed by Zelito Viana and Marcos Palmeira, will have its world premiere on Sept. 11 at the 30th edition of the Inffinito Brazilian Film Festival in Miami. H2O is also releasing in local theaters Miguel Faria Jr.’s doc, “Tom Jobim – […]