variety.com - 81 085 Showbiz News and Updates

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Kristen Stewart recently graced the cover of Porter magazine and called out “phony” Hollywood for how it often self-congratulates itself for doing away with the patriarchy when in reality, Hollywood has just prioritized a select group of women to operate in the studio world. While progress is being made, Stewart rang the alarm by saying changes for women in Hollywood are not as broad as Hollywood might like to make it out to be. “[There’s a] thinking that we can check these little boxes, and then do away with the patriarchy, and how we’re all made of it,” Stewart said.

Selena Kuznikov Grace Caroline Currey has joined the cast of “The Breed,” and is set to lead the film. Directed by brothers Sean and Bryan Furst, the film is an “unconventional reimagining of the Wes Craven cult classic.” The brothers will produce together through their company, Curmudgeon Films. The film centers around Currey’s character Violet, “a rebel icon and badass on a mission to search for abandoned dogs on a remote island which leads to complete adrenaline-fueled terror.” Currey most recently starred in Lionsgate’s adventure thriller, “Fall,” directed by Scott Mann.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Filmmaker Michael Lindsay-Hogg is having a bit of a “hail the conquering hero” moment that very few people would have expected him to be having this far into the 21st century, least of all himself. Although he has had many successes in film and in the theater over the last 60 years or so, he remains most famous as the director of the Beatles documentary “Let It Be” — and that 1970 film remains most famous as something that has been kept locked in the vault since it got a brief VHS and laserdisc release in the early 1980s.

Selome Hailu Hulu has given a piot order to “Downforce” (working title), a comedy pilot written and executive produced by “Silicon Valley” writers Alec Berg and Adam Countee. The official logline for “Downforce” reads, “When the heiress to a dynastic racing team is thrust back into the family business, she needs to make some hard choices about the future of the team and her family’s legacy.” The pilot will be produced by ABC Signature, where Berg and Countee both have overall deals.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The “Friday the 13th” prequel series in the works at Peacock from A24 is in search of a new showrunner. Bryan Fuller — who was announced as the show’s writer, executive producer, and showrunner when it was first ordered to series in 2022 — took to Twitter to announce that he has been fired from the show due to creative differences. “For reasons beyond our control, A24 has elected to go a different way with the material,” he said.

David Benedict Hayao Miyazaki’s 2001 animated film “Spirited Away” won everything from the Oscar for Best Animated Feature to Berlin’s Golden Bear. That there’s an audience for a stage version was evidenced by its 2022 Tokyo run selling out in four minutes. Now in London and performed in Japanese with English surtitles, sales are brisk in the 2,263-seat London Coliseum with the limited run now extended by five weeks.

Steven J. Horowitz Senior Music Writer A day after an unidentified assailant shot a security guard at Drake’s Toronto home, an intruder has been arrested for trying to gain access to the property, located in Bridle Path. Toronto police have confirmed that they returned to the rapper’s house around 2 p.m.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery — ordinarily rivals for consumers’ time and money — are teaming up for a triple-play bundle of Disney+, Hulu and Max. The companies announced a new streaming bundle comprising Disney+, Hulu and Max will be available this summer in the U.S.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Chris Pine was taken by surprise when news hit that Steve Yockey, creator of the Max series “The Flight Attendant,” had signed on to write the script for “Star Trek 4.” Why? “I thought there was already a script,” the actor recently told Business Insider during an interview on his “Poolman” press tour. Pine’s not wrong, as a potential “Star Trek 4” has gone through multiple iterations in the years since the 2016 release of “Star Trek Beyond.” Pine took on the role of Captain Kirk in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 franchise reboot “Star Trek,” and reprised the character in 2013’s “Star Trek Into Darkness” and 2016’s “Beyond.” Variety exclusively reported in March that Paramount Pictures remained committed to making a fourth “Star Trek” film to be headlined by Pine and his co-stars.

Selena Kuznikov Jessica Gunning, who plays the haunting stalker Martha in Netflix’s “Baby Reindeer,” says creator and star Richard Gadd was on her radar even before she auditioned for the show — ever since she saw his one-man show “Monkey See Monkey Do” at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. “I just thought it was one of the most profound things I’ve ever seen really on stage,” she said. “Then I tried to go and see ‘Baby Reindeer’ the play, but it was sold out.

Olivia Rodrigo will tour Asia and Australia for the first time in her career, the singer announced Wednesday. Rodrigo has added nine international dates to her massive “Guts” world tour for a total of 82 shows globally. The new dates kick off Sept.

Katcy Stephan What really happened during the 48 hours leading up to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy — at least according to mob bosses — is heading to the big screen in the upcoming film “November 1963: The Killing of a President.” The mob’s version of events were passed down to Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana’s nephew, Nicholas Celozzi, by Sam’s brother, the late Joseph “Pepe” Giancana, who drove around with his brother Sam during those two days. “The reason why there’s this fascination or anxiety is because people know that what they’ve heard so far doesn’t make sense,” Celozzi tells Variety of the ongoing interest in the circumstances surrounding JFK’s assassination, even 60 years later.

Murtada Elfadl The Millennium Docs Against Gravity Festival, taking place in Warsaw from Friday until May 16, has grown exponentially in the last few years. In fact it is now, as the people behind it proclaim, “the largest cultural event in Poland.” Artistic director Karol Piekarczyk explains, “There is a culture of watching films and of watching films with subtitles in Poland. It’s quite unique.

Lexi Carson “Illinoise” may be called a new musical on Broadway, but its real language is dance. Tony Award-winner Justin Peck directed and choreographed “Illinoise,” a 90-minute show without any dialogue. “Illinoise” opened on Broadway at the St.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Meshell Ndegeocello, Fishbone and others lead the 2024 season of the long-running BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival lineup. Now in its 46 th year, the festival returns to the Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park beginning on June 8 and wrapping on August 24. It is the longest-running free performing arts festival in New York City.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer 17,000 fans. The reunion of an American football dynasty and the coach no one expected to show. Televised live around the world while the reputation of a man considered “the greatest of all time” sits in the hands of savage comedians and one-time foes.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Movie theaters can’t sell tickets if they don’t have a lot of new blockbusters to advertise on their marquees. And the actors and writers strikes that ground Hollywood to a standstill in 2023 left them with fewer movies to release as 2024 got started.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Indie streaming platform Dropout, formerly known as CollegeHumor, is vying for a spotlight at this year’s Primetime Emmys with an ambitious campaign to secure its first major nominations. With a passionate and niche audience, Variety has learned exclusively about Dropout’s top contenders submitted for Emmy love, including the innovative game show “Game Changer” and the unique interview series “Very Important People.” “Game Changer,” a standout series hosted by Dropout CEO Sam Reich, turns the traditional game show format on its head.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Guy Nattiv‘s “Harmonia” has cast Naomi Watts, Vicky Krieps, Bella Ramsey and Odessa Young as Embankment Films, Range Media Partners and CAA Media Finance launch pre-sales ahead of Cannes. Inspired by a real-life events, the film is based on Nattiv’s grandmother and her involvement in an insidious cult.

Selome Hailu Dropout has set a new series of live recorded comedy specials titled “Dropout Presents.” The series will launch on June 12 with Hank Green‘s “Pissing Out Cancer,” taped at Dynasty Typewriter in Los Angeles Green is a YouTuber best known for the “Vlogbrothers” channel he runs alongside his brother, John Green, with whom he also produces educational shows such as “Crash Course.” He is also the author of the novels “An Absolutely Remarkable Thing” (2018) and “A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor” (2020). Green was diagnosed with cancer in May 2023 and has thoroughly documented his experiences with the illness on the internet.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor An Apple commercial for the new iPad Pro tablet showing an industrial press literally crushing a TV, musical instruments, books and more ignited an angry backlash among many in Hollywood and other creative industries. The ad, titled “Crush!”, shows an array of various objects — including a record player, a piano, a guitar, an old TV set, cameras, a typewriter, books, paint cans and a classic arcade game machine — getting compressed into (voila!) the new iPad Pro.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor TKO, the parent company of UFC and WWE, is on the upswing, delivering solid Q1 results and enough momentum for both franchises that the company opted to boost its full-year revenue and earnings guidance for Wall Street. TKO disclosed that it has reached a $25 million deal with NBCUniversal to allow WWE’s “Monday Night Raw” wrestling franchise to remain on USA Network through the end of this year. In January, TKO struck a massive 10-year deal with Netflix to bring “Raw” and other WWE content to the streamer’s platform as of next year.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter The ABC comedy pilot “Shifting Gears” has cast Daryl “Chill” Mitchell and Froy Gutierrez, Variety has learned exclusively. The pair join previously announced series leads Tim Allen and Kat Dennings in the multi-cam comedy, which was originally ordered to pilot at ABC back in March. In the show, “Matt (Allen) is the stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop.

Todd Gilchrist editorFor a writer, signing on to “Planet of the Apes” is less an assignment than a calling. After all, it’s the longest-running science-fiction series in film history.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor It’s been a ride for “Beef” creator, writer and director Lee Sung Jin and the cast — the series dominated the Emmy Awards with five wins, and nabbed two SAG Awards for stars Ali Wong and Steven Yeun. While a second season has yet to be announced, Lee is making good use of his Notes app, inspired by his surroundings. Lee spoke with Variety about his year and receiving Gold House’s Icon Award.

Angelique Jackson Glen Powell, Anthony Mackie and Academy Award winner Laura Dern have signed on to star in “Monsanto,” the latest film from writer-director John Lee Hancock (“The Blind Side,” “Saving Mr. Banks”). The film follows the true story of young, untried attorney Brent Wisner (Powell), who in 2019 took on a seemingly insurmountable case against the giant U.S.

Naman Ramachandran Indian actor Ali Fazal has joined the cast of Mani Ratnam‘s “Thug Life,” starring Kamal Haasan. The cast also includes Trisha Krishnan, Dulquer Salmaan, Jayam Ravi, Silambarasan Rajendar, Joju George, Gautham Kartik and Aishwarya Lekshmi. The film, which hails from the gangster genre, is written by Ratnam and Haasan and produced by Raaj Kamal Films International, Madras Talkies and Red Giant Movies.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor NBC is adding a new event to its coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics: Steve Kornacki in front of his big board. Kornacki, who is known for his deft on-the-fly analysis of political campaigns and races, will turn his focus for a short period of time to athletic competition in Paris as part of a cadre of NBC News journalists who will present some coverage of the extravaganza, Willie Geist, Sam Brock, Gadi Schwartz and Anne Thompson will also participate, with Kornacki offering analysis from the U.S., and his colleagues on the ground in France. The Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics is Friday, July 26 on NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo.

Ben Croll The growth of France’s VFX sector cannot be overstated, as the implementation of a comprehensive 10% bonus for international productions that spend more than $2.1 million with local companies (and the fact that the full 40% tax rebate can be earned off digital expenditures alone) has supercharged the post-production ecosystem, funneling first financial and then human capital. On paper, the equation is self-evident: Where investment goes, talent soon follows. In practice, this cause-and-effect has fueled a wide repatriation, as skilled graduates of the country’s top training programs return from outposts abroad for the opportunity to work on projects at home. Studios like Paris- and Montpellier-based the Yard have reaped the benefits of this inverse brain-drain, building on commissions from recent projects like “Halo,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” and “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” to bulk up a workforce well-versed in international pipelines and methods — a staffing asset that further facilitates partnerships with bigger commissioners. “Our entire working model is similar to those of studios in Canada, the United States and England,” says the Yard founder and senior VFX supervisor Laurens Ehrmann.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Netflix Is a Joke is back bigger and better this year. The streamer’s eponymous comedy festival, last held in 2022, has lined up more than 300 live events across 35 venues in Los Angeles.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The Beatles‘ “Let It Be” documentary, which first released in theaters in 1970, finally sees the light of day once again.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music A long list of artists including Robert Plant, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Peter Frampton, Bryan Adams and more have joined the late British singer Steve Marriott’s children and bandmates in opposing the release of “new” recordings featuring AI-generated versions of his vocals. The former frontman of the Small Faces and Humble Pie (and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee) was one of the most influential rock singers of the 1960s, renowned for songs like “All or Nothing,” “Tin Soldier,” “Itchykoo Park,” “I Don’t Need No Doctor” and more.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Michael Douglas has starred in some of the most iconic erotic thrillers ever made, from “Basic Instinct” to “Fatal Attraction,” so he knows a thing or two about crafting a memorable movie sex scene. In a new interview with The Telegraph, the actor gave his honest opinion about intimacy coordinators becoming the new normal in Hollywood when it comes to filming intimate moments on set.

Marc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and Events Jeremy Strong could be joining Jeremy Allen White in “Deliver Me From Nowhere,” the 20th Century Studios movie about Bruce Springsteen and the making of his 1982 album, “Nebraska.” The “Succession” star is in talks to play Springsteen’s (White) longtime manager Jon Landau in the Scott Cooper-directed feature. Cooper is also writing the film, which is based on Warren Zane’s 2023 book “Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska.” “Nebraska,” the follow-up to Springsteen’s 1980 double album “The River,” was expected to be a blockbuster rock record with the E Street Band.

Steven J. Horowitz Senior Music Writer Nearly three years after a crowd crush at Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival left 10 concertgoers dead, event promoter Live Nation has settled nine of the 10 wrongful death lawsuits that came in the wake of the catastrophe. News of the settlements comes as one of the lawsuits was set to go to trial this week.

Ben Croll A competitive tax rebate, combined with public and private initiatives to revitalize the local infrastructure, has substantially boosted the number of international productions shooting in France. Last revamped in 2020, Gaul’s Tax Rebate for International Production scheme now supplements a 30% across-the-board rebate with an additional 10% — applicable on all eligible expenses — for productions that spend $2.2 million with local VFX and post houses. And once the tax incentive put France back on the map, the country’s flourishing production ecosystem has kept projects on site longer than ever before. “The preconceived idea that France was too expensive clearly has changed,” says line producer John Bernard of Peninsula Film. “Projects with strong French DNA have very much embraced the whole process, basing themselves in France from beginning to end, using local crews and amenities.