Cinecittà Studios Chief Nicola Maccanico Talks Modified Revamp Plan, Impact of U.S. Strikes (EXCLUSIVE)

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International U.K. consultancy and theatre company Access All Areas is launching a new production outfit, co-led by learning disabled and autistic talent, and focused on improving learning disabled and neurodivergent representation in TV and film. The launch coincides with a renewed drive for inclusion via the TV Access Project — a coalition of U.K.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Deauville American Film Festival will forge ahead with its honorary tributes to stars such as Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Peter Dinklage and Joseph Gordon-Levitt despite the fact that they won’t be in attendance due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. The festival’s artistic director, Bruno Barde, told Variety ahead of the event’s press conference on Thursday that he empathized with actors and writers who are on strike to “protect themselves against the dangers of artificial intelligence.” “AI has always existed in cinema and it’s now posing a threat to screenwriters, set designers, dubbers and, of course, to actors whom we’re using the image of.

Elizabeth Wagmeister Chief Correspondent “The View” will welcome back all of its co-hosts next season, keeping moderator Whoopi Goldberg at the table alongside fellow returnees Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines, Alyssa Farah Griffin and Ana Navarro for Season 27, Variety has learned exclusively. The co-hosts’ return for another season comes as “The View” ended the 2022-2023 TV season on a high note, ranking No. 1 among all daytime talk shows among both households and total viewers.

Brooklyn Beckham and his wife Nicola Peltz may have got married over a year ago in a bash fit for celeb royalty, but things behind the scenes aren't quite as clear cut when it comes to the logistics of the big day. And now the latter is allegedly set to be seen on camera as she goes to trial for questioning against one of her wedding planning companies, who have accused the Peltz family of putting them through 'planning hell'.The lavish day was a mighty one to plan, and took three different wedding planners in the process. Nicola and Brooklyn originally chose Preston Bailey, who is known for throwing high-profile celebrity events, but the planner stepped down with just six weeks to go until the wedding.

Striking members of the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA who live in New York and New Jersey have a distinct financial advantage over their counterparts in California and elsewhere in the country: They are eligible for state unemployment insurance benefits even though they’re on strike.

K.J. Yossman “Call My Agent” U.K. — launched locally as “Ten Percent” — will not return for a second season, Variety can confirm.

Kandi Burruss has always been outspoken, and that’s why she’s not joining Bethenny Frankel's call for a strike by reality TV stars.Burruss, who is busy promoting her cover for magazine, recently spoke to ET's Brice Sander about the recent remarks made by Frankel about the possibility of reality stars unionizing and striking to demand better contracts and to stand with the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.«I feel like things that I feel or have felt that needed to be addressed, I actually reached out to the network, and we addressed them,» star said of Bravo.Last week, anonymous reality stars alleged in a legal letter sent to NBCUniversal and Bravo that they were subjected to «grotesque and depraved mistreatment.» Attorneys Bryan Friedman and Mark Geragos say they represent «a significant number of individuals» who have been «mentally, physically, and financially victimized by NBC,» and could «ruin» the network «should they decide to speak out about their mistreatment.»In response, a spokesperson for NBCUniversal told, «NBCUniversal is committed to maintaining a safe and respectful workplace for cast and crew on our reality shows. At the outset, we require our third-party production partners to have appropriate workplace policies and training in place.

Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright are making an exciting announcement.

EXCLUSIVE: There was a lot of noise surrounding the right state-beloved, $163M-grossing summer surprise hit, Sound of Freedom, this morning with Newsweek reporting that one of the pic’s 6,678 crowdfunders was arrested for child kidnapping by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police.

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor Locarno can’t get enough of Ted Hope. Five years after receiving the festival’s Raimondo Rezzonico Award, the producer of modern indie classics such as “The Wedding Banquet” and “The Ice Storm” shook things up yesterday at Locarno’s StepIN think tank with an Out of the Box keynote, a sweeping blast on the state of the industry. It resonated hugely with senior European industry executives who are often now battling the very same issues which Hope zeroed in on.

Former Coronation Street star Catherine Tyldesley has been slammed by an ITV co-star after she denied claims she asked a bakery to supply her with some free cakes.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Nicole Morganti, Amazon Studios head of Italian originals, is being promoted by the streamer to the newly expanded role of head of local originals for Southern Europe encompassing Italy, France and Spain. Morganti, who has over 20 years of experience in the Italian entertainment industry, joined Amazon Studios as head of unscripted originals for Italy in February 2019 from her previously held position of Discovery Italy’s VP of talent and productions.

There’s movement!

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Seth MacFarlane has donated $1 million to The Entertainment Community Fund to help provide financial assistance for industry workers during the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. The organization, formerly known as The Actors Fund, also exclusively tells me that recent donors include The Katie McGrath & JJ Abrams Family Foundation, Stacey Abrams, Annette Bening, Tom Bergeron, Greg Berlanti, Rachel Bloom, Rosanne Cash in memory of Johnny Cash, Suzanne Collins and Cap Pryor, Vince Gilligan, Lynn Nottage, Michelle Pfeiffer and David E.

Savannah Chrisley has «every intention» of paying her parents, Todd and Julie Chrisley's, restitution amid their incarceration, the couple's lawyer tells ET. Jay Surgent of Weiner Law Group is the Chrisley's newly-appointed counsel, and spoke with ET about the current conditions he says Todd and Julie are facing behind bars. He also said there is path forward after the stars' December 2022 sentencing.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Franco-Tunisian film and TV entrepreneur Tarak Ben Ammar is expanding the scope of his Italian operations by buying local unscripted production outfit Blu Yazmine, while also entering talks to build a large studio complex in Rome. Though Ben Ammar’s ambition to build sprawling new filming facilities in the Italian capital are in advanced talks but not fully concrete, the purchase of a majority stake in Blu Yazmine via his Rome-based Eagle Pictures has been closed.

Nicolas Cage is opening up about his cameo in The Flash.

With their incredibly atmospheric and compelling debut feature Talk to Me, a fairly gory supernatural title out of Australia, twin brother filmmakers Danny & Michael Philippou have set themselves up as the next great A24 success story.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to send a letter to the major studios urging them to return to the bargaining table with striking actors.

The Venice Film Festival on Tuesday released a star-studded and A-list heavy lineup of films that will debut at the 2023 Biennale, including the films vying for this year’s Golden Lion. This was done despite the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors and WGA writers strike.