Carol Burnett Pitched CBS Her 90th Birthday Celebration, but They Declined — Giving NBC a Monster Hit

For the final season of Barry, cinematographer Carl Herse had the opportunity to work alongside only one director, Bill Hader, for the entire season. After an escape from prison midseason, the story jumps forward 10 years, which presented an interesting challenge for Herse, who needed to visually “express that time passed, but still make the show feel like Barry.” Their solution was to focus on Barry (Hader) and Sally (Sarah Goldberg), along with their son, rather than all of the major characters, and build out from there. Although ending the show is bittersweet for Herse, he says he couldn’t be happier with how it ends.

Katy Perry is celebrating!

Written and directed by Chelsea Peretti, First Time Female Filmmaker lives in the self-deprecating world of meta storytelling. Debuting at the Tribeca Festival in Spotlight Narrative, Peretti put so much of herself into this narrative, it could work as a documentary. It’s also such a comically honest portrayal of what women must endure if they want to get ahead in any career, let alone the theater business. Having to constantly prove to yourself and others that you are capable is so exhausting, but can also be rewarding if you are set up for success. Many are often left to fend for themselves, and the film shows one way of how that can happen.  

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor In Jennifer Coolidge’s Variety Actors on Actors conversation with Jeremy Allen White, she proposes that Tanya return to “The White Lotus” as a seagull, so she can poke out the eyes of her evil husband Greg (Jon Gries). Haley Lu Richardson, who played Tanya’s assistant, Portia, weighs in on killing off Greg during this week’s “Just for Variety” podcast. “Jon and I worked together in the first movie I ever did — when I was 17 — called ‘The Last Survivors,’” she recalls, adding, “I was the hero and he was the villain. I killed him at the end of the movie with a samurai sword.” She says she’d like to re-create that moment in Season 3 of “The White Lotus,” which takes place in Thailand. “Portia is somewhere in Asia with a samurai sword and kills Greg,” she says, laughing.

Roku has picked up the U.S. rights to the new comedy film “First Time Female Director,” which is written, directed and produced by Chelsea Peretti.

Amy Schumer says she always knew Pete Davidson would be a star.

Project Angel Food has announced its upcoming Lead with Love telethon will feature a slew of celebrity guests, including Carol Burnett, Cindy Crawford, Niecy Nash-Betts, Kris Jenner and Earvin “Magic” Johnson and many more. The event will take place on June 24 and broadcast live on KTLA and the KTLA YouTube channel at 7 p.m. PT. Project Angel Food and the Lead with Love fundraiser strive to end food insecurity and deliver medically tailored meals to critically ill men, women and children in Los Angeles County. “Through Lead with Love, Los Angeles comes together to support one another and help Project Angel Food’s vital mission serving those living at the intersection of health, food and financial insecurity,” Project Angel Food CEO Richard Ayoub said in a statement.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor ‘Shucked’ co-composer Brandy Clark says the ultimate goal of the Tony-nominated musical is to provide audiences with pure joy. Mixed in is also a big serving of queer representation. “I always think it’s hard to hate something that you know and love, and it’s a lot easier to hate something that’s just an idea or something you’ve heard about that you should be scared of,” Clark told me during a phone conversation from the Drama Desk Awards in New York City, where she and co-composer Shane McAnally were presented with the award for outstanding music. “So I think if you walk out of ‘Shucked’ with any hate in your heart, I don’t know if I can help you. You’re probably a descendant of Hitler.”

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Jennifer Esposito remembers being asked to audition for “The Sopranos” more than once. She declined each time. “I chose to not go up for it when they would call me in because it was like, ‘I can’t relive this,’” Esposito recalls. “The only thing that used to make me crazy about the show when I did watch it was the character of Meadow because she was very nice. The girls I grew up around wanted to kill me, wanted to kill me every day. So it was PTSD.” Esposito grew up among organized crime on Staten Island. “Staten Island is the same Staten Island from when I left when I was 18 years old,” says the 50-year-old actor, whose credits span from television’s “Spin City” and “Blue Bloods” to the Oscar-winning “Crash.” “It’s still the same place. You need to understand that nothing leaves this island. It’s a very strange time warp of a place.”

Jennifer Garner steps out in an all-white look for a Party Down event!

Jennifer Garner, 51, showed off her bright smile and perky personality while posing for a round of photos on the red carpet. The event also brought out fellow newcomers Tyrel Jackson Williams and Zoe Chao, along with original stars Jane Lynch, Ken Marin, Martin Starr and Ryan Hansen.  While main cast members Adam Scott and Megan Mullally returned for the six-episode revival, they were able to make to the special FYC screening, seemingly due to previous commitments.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday. Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

Committed to the bit. Ali Wong opened up about adjusting to heightened attention amid her budding romance with Bill Hader.

Ali Wong is discussing her new life as she catapults into superstardom as her smash series, “Beef”, earns the praises of critics and the viewing public.

Are you there, God? It’s him, Bruce. 2003’s Bruce Almighty featured an all-star cast — including Jim Carrey, Morgan Freeman, Steve Carell and Jennifer Aniston — and memorable scenes that still leave viewers roaring with laughter today.

SPOILER ALERT: The following story contains details from the series finale of HBO‘s Barry.

Jane Fonda is sharing anecdotes about some of her many co-stars from over the years, and she isn’t holding back!

Michelle Keegan and Mark Wright took time out from their hectic work schedules to celebrate their 8th wedding anniversary at a world-famous iconic celebrity haunt on Wednesday.The couple marked the special occasion by spending time at the iconic Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Boulevard in California which is a favourite with Hollywood celebs, including the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Reese Witherspoon. Looking effortlessly stylish, former Coronation Street Michelle, 35, and TOWIE legend Mark, 36, cosied up to each other to pose for a photo in the hotel's famous lobby.

King Charles’ Coronation has been hit with more than 8,000 Ofcom complaints by fuming TV viewers. Coverage of the momentous occasion was broadcast on Saturday 6 May - with millions of Royal fans tuning in to watch the King and Queen Camilla being officially crowned at Westminster Abbey.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor About an hour after Bravo released the ratings for the Season 10 finale of “Vanderpump Rules” on Tuesday, producers Lisa Vanderpump and Alex Baskin were in Hollywood campaigning for Emmy consideration at an FYC event. The finale scored big, ending on a series-high with a combined audience of 4.1 million viewers on Bravo, on-demand and the Peacock platform within three days of its May 17 airing.  No doubt interest in the show skyrocketed because of #Scandoval, the drama stemming from Tom Sandoval cheating on his girlfriend of a decade, Ariana Madix, with her best friend, Raquel Leviss.