Australian TV Veterans Launch Lantern Pictures to Implant Creative Showrunner System Down Under

William Earl “Vanderpump Rules” alum Faith Stowers is ready to speak her truth about reality television. The actor is launching a podcast with her creative partner Marcus Millions called “The Frequency,” which is set to debut on Sunday. The duo first connected when Millions, a stylist and creative director, started collaborating with Stowers on her image and red-carpet persona after she left “Vanderpump Rules,” and the two became friends.

Hacks,” it appeared that Deborah Vance and her protégé Ava Daniels had reached the end of the road. Deborah (Jean Smart), a jaded Las Vegas comic, and Ava (Hannah Einbinder), the young and eager joke writer she’d hired, had together crafted a TV special that showcased Deborah’s wit and her willingness to change with the times. It was a perfect merging of what Deborah brought to the table and what she’d learned, at times unwillingly, from her young partner — and, having decided they’d done all they could together, Deborah fired Ava.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Lord of the Rings,” “Elvis” and “Faraway Downs” star David Wenham is to reprise one of other his best-known roles in upcoming feature “SPIT.” The picture is a sequel to 2003 comedy crime thriller “Gettin’ Square,” in which Wenham played Johnny ‘Spit’ Spitteri, a recently-released ex-convict and Sam Worthington (“Avatar”) played an older brother trying to keep the kid out of trouble. Production of “SPIT” has got underway in Gold Coast and Brisbane, Queensland and will continue through May. The new film is directed by ‘Gettin’ Square” and “The Railway Man” director Jonathan Teplitzky, from a screenplay by Queensland-based writer and lawyer Christopher Nyst. It is produced by Trish Lake of Queensland-based Freshwater Pictures alongside Greg Duffy, Felicity McVay and Wenham. It received major production investment from Screen Australia with local distribution by Transmission Films and international rights sales managed by Moviehouse Entertainment.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Romantic comedy series “Top End Bub” will begin production next month in Australia as a sequel to hit 2019 feature film “Top End Wedding.” Stars Miranda Tapsell (“The Sapphires”) and Gwilym Lee (“Bohemian Rhapsody”) will reprise their roles. The series is created, executive produced and written by “Top End Wedding” writers Joshua Tyler and Tapsell and produced by Goalpost Pictures.

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures has raised Maia Eyre to SVP of Creative Development at Columbia Pictures.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Searchlight Pictures has signed a first-look deal with Olivia Colman and Ed Sinclair’s South of the River Pictures. Under the new pact, the specialty studio, which has worked with Colman on “The Favourite” and “Empire of Light,” will develop and produce feature-length motion pictures with the production company. South of the River Pictures was founded by Colman, Sinclair and their long-time partner in crime, Tom Carver, to develop and produce original scripted comedies and dramas with “an authored sensibility.” Colman and Sinclair have been married since 2001.

EXCLUSIVE: It’s late January on the Las Vegas Strip, and a woman with a tall beehive hairdo, and dressed head to toe in a pink, sequined pantsuit, steps in front of the fountain outside Caesar’s Palace clutching multiple bags of high-end designer shopping. This is Jean Smart, in the guise of her Hacks headliner Deborah Vance, preparing to shoot among the last of her scenes for the much-delayed third season of the Max and Universal Television comedy series.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Five months of production has been completed on Jacob Elordi-starring drama series “The Narrow Road to the Deep North,” which is set in the “Euphoria” and “Saltburn” star’s native Australia. An adaptation of the Booker Prize-winning novel by Richard Flanaghan, the five-part series is love-story set against the backdrop of World War II. Elordi portrays Lieutenant-Colonel Dorrigo Evans and co-stars with Odessa Young (“Mothering Sunday,” “Shirley”).

EXCLUSIVE: UK cringe comedy Hapless from director Gary Sinyor (The Bachelor, Leon The Pig Farmer) is set to launch stateside on Peacock on April 10th.

Johnny Depp has caused confusion by sharing a photo of himself with Robert Downey Jr that appears to have been Photoshopped.The edited photograph of the two was posted on Instagram to celebrate Downey Jr’s first Oscar at the weekend, which saw him win in the category of Best Supporting Actor for his role of Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer. The photo has since been deleted, but showed Depp posing with Downey Jr – who is a long-time friend of his – at a Hollywood party when they were younger.

2 min read Brace yourselves, Drag Race Down Under, is back with a bang this year, and it’s serving up a world-first twist as global drag icon, Michelle Visage, will take the reins […]

Johnny Depp is celebrating Robert Downey Jr.‘s win at the 96th Oscars.

EXCLUSIVE: Australian streamer Stan has today unveiled a 25-strong slate, adding scripted titles from Matchbox Pictures and the producers behind Colin From Accounts, acquisitions from the UK and U.S. and a new version of Drag Race to its ranks.

It wasn’t quite a La La Land-level Oscar snafu, but Al Pacino likely wishes he had a do-over after semi-botching the announcement of Oppenheimer‘s Best Picture win and failing to name the nominees on Sunday. Watch the clip below.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Just minutes before the Oscars were set to begin, the show’s producers realized they had a problem: Some of the year’s key A-listers and nominees weren’t inside the Dolby Theatre just yet. The perfect storm of traffic delays, pro-Palestine protests, the first day of daylight saving time and an earlier start time had contributed to the last-minute crunch. “We were definitely stressed out, because we had to have certain celebrities in their seats,” Oscars producer Molly McNearney — also an EP on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” — tells Variety on Monday morning.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Can we get an Amen up in here? For the first time in “Drag Race” history, Emmy-award winner Michelle Visage, who has been a judge on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “RuPaul‘s Drag Race: U.K.,” will step onto the main stage and host the fourth season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Down Under.” As he hands the hosting baton to Visage, RuPaul will remain on the series as an executive producer. He said, “It has been my great honor to bring Drag Race to Australaisa.

Al Pacino made a minor slip-up when announcing the winner of the Best Picture award at yesterday’s Oscars ceremony.The 96th Academy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, took place yesterday (March 10) in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Award season favourite Oppenheimer took home seven of the thirteen awards for which it was nominated, including Best Director (Christopher Nolan) and Best Actor (Cillian Murphy).However, when it came to awarding the final prize of the evening, Pacino’s slightly unclear announcement led to a few moments of confusion in the Dolby Theatre.The Scarface star didn’t seem to follow the traditional process of reading out the full list of nominees before announcing the winner.

Jonathan Ross, the host of ITV's Oscars coverage, has faced a wave of criticism after making an awkward mistake about Cillian Murphy, who is from the Republic of Ireland. Despite the actor proudly speaking in Irish as he accepted his first- ever Oscar award, presenter Jonathan repeatedly referred to the Peaky Blinders star as British, much to the annoyance of viewers. Christopher Nolan's film Oppenheimer was the big winner at the Oscars, taking home seven awards.The movie, which tells the story of J Robert Oppenheimer, known as the father of the atomic bomb, won best picture.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Gwyneth Paltrow was in hair and makeup at home during the 2024 Oscars, but she made sure not to miss the chance to see her longtime Marvel co-star Robert Downey Jr. win his first Academy Award. Paltrow shared a video to her Instagram story as she rejoiced over Downey taking him the Oscar for best supporting actor thanks to his acclaimed role in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” She watched the moment on her laptop.

Oscars in total. It won the top prize for picture, as well as Christopher Nolan winning for director, Cillian Murphy for actor and Robert Downey Jr.