Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Taps David Michael Jerome as CEO

Angelique Jackson Twenty-four years ago, director Michael Bay had yet to dream up the high-speed car chases in “Ambulance,” but was instead focused on a team of deep-core oil drillers who were tasked with saving the world from an asteroid the size of Texas.Perennial action hero Bruce Willis headlined the 1998 space movie, playing Harry S. Stamper, leader of the rough-and-tumble crew of newbie astronauts. It may be hard to imagine now, but “Armageddon” was only Bay’s third feature, so landing Willis was a major coup, particularly since the director had been inspired by the action star’s movies (especially 1988’s “Die Hard”) since early in his career.In a recent interview, Bay reflected on Willis legacy and told Variety what makes the actor — whose family announced last month that he will be stepping back from acting — so iconic.

Vertical Entertainment has acquired the North American rights to the ensemble comedy Tankhouse, starring Christopher Lloyd (The Tender Bar, Nobody), Richard Kind (Argo, Inside Out), Tara Holt (Ballers, Californication) and Stephen Friedrich (This is Us & Nice Girl Like You), with plans to release it in theaters and on VOD on May 13th.

Michael Bublé claims the UK’s Official Number 1 album with Higher, holding off tough competition from Machine Gun Kelly in what’s proven to be a fight to the finish. 

refugees, and his melting pot musical mix ranges from Eastern European folk and Yiddish theater to Jimmy Buffett and John Prine.Heifetz’s voice could be mistaken for Steve Goodman’s, and there’s a twinkle in his twangy tenor as he finds humor in the immigrant experience. But it’s not all yuks as he reflects on outliers and outsiders, dislocation, disorientation and striving to belong in the land of plenty.“I’m foreign as the fourth day of July,” Heifetz sings.

Woody Harrelson is known for some major films in Hollywood, like his star-making turn in White Men Can’t Jump and subsequent hits like Zombieland and Natural Born Killers. What fans of the famous actor may not know is his father has an extremely checkered past, with participation in drug rings and charges for murder.

Oscars?That’s the big question as Hollywood prepares to celebrate itself on Sunday. Organizers are taking precautions to prevent the 2022 Academy Awards from being a super-spreader, as other awards shows and film festivals have proven to be in the pandemic era. Attendees will have to show two negative PCR tests and be fully vaccinated in order to attend the festivities.

A fateful encounter. Renée Zellweger opened up about how she met her boyfriend, Ant Anstead — and explained his connection to one of her friends.

Wilson Chapman editorCandle Media co-CEOs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs have been making waves in Hollywood for the past year as they hunt for content assets to acquire with the help of a bankroll from private executive giant Blackstone.The pair has mostly kept quiet about the venture, but Mayer sat down this month at the SXSW conference and festival in Austin, Texas, for a keynote session that featured his most expansive remarks to date on the new-model studio that he and Staggs are trying to build.In the conversation with MediaLink CEO Michael Kassan that was moderated by Variety co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton, Mayer answered a number of key questions about how Candle Media intends to function — for one, it’s not a holding company nor an operating entity — and he detailed the vision for “social commerce” activity tied to such 360-media stars such as Reese Witherspoon, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. “We do have a vision for a modern creator economy business,” Mayer said.

A Ukrainian-born tequila mogul is putting his New York City beach manse on the auction block.  Edward Geyman, founder of Laneta Tequila — and CEO of glass-making company Carvart — is putting his home up for auction on April 27 with Misha Haghani’s Paramount Realty in conjunction with listing brokers Victoria Shtainer of Compass, and Samuel Horowitz of Samuel Realty Group.He says that he is selling the home at auction to attract a “unique buyer” and that the sale has nothing to do with the ongoing war in Ukrainian. The home, at 151 Beach 146th St., is in Neponsit, a beachfront community in Queens, and the “suggested” opening bid is $4.5 million.

EXCLUSIVE: Stacey Dash, star of the Clueless film and spinoff TV series, is searching for redemption in a new reality series.

It was Douglas Mills’ turn to wow the “American Idol” judges on Sunday’s episode.

Dakota Johnson, 32, made quite an impression at the 2022 SXSW Festival in Austin, TX on March 18. The gorgeous actress stepped out to attend the premiere of her new film Cha Cha Real Smooth at the Paramount Theatre in a stylish brown, tan, pink, and white patterned blazer over a sheer bustier top and matching patterned flared out pants from Gucci. She also rocked black heels and accessorized with a necklace and dangling earrings.

Dolly Parton takes the stage in a studded rose denim look for a performance at ACL Live during Blockchain Creative Labs Dollyverse event during the 2022 SXSW Festival on Friday night (March 18) in Austin, Texas.

Dakota Johnson rocks a cool retro suit for the premiere of Cha Cha Real Smooth during the 2022 SXSW Festival held at The Paramount Theatre on Friday (March 18) in Austin, Texas.