'I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't recognise my own girlfriend'

Adam B. Vary Senior Entertainment Writer SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot points, including the ending, of “Abigail,” currently playing in theaters. The vampire thriller “Abigail” originated as a modern-day update of the classic horror film “Dracula’s Daughter.” But by the time the filmmaking trio Radio Silence — producer Chad Villella and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett — began production on “Abigail” in Ireland in the spring of 2023, the movie had virtually no connection to the 1936 Universal picture.

Lise Pedersen Two new cash prizes introduced this year in Swiss film festival Visions du Reel’s industry section, VdR-Industry, were among a flurry of awards handed out as the program wrapped in Nyon, Switzerland, on Wednesday. The Eurimages Co-production Development Award, created to promote the fund’s role in encouraging international co-production from the initial stages of a project, and which comes with a cash prize of €20,000 ($22,000), went to “The Last Days of the Hospital” by Mehran Tamadon (“My Worst Enemy,” “Bassidji”).

Joe Otterson TV Reporter A “Golden Axe” animated series has been greenlit at Comedy Central, Variety has learned. Based on the beloved Sega games of the same name, the show hails from co-creators Mike McMahan and Joe Chandler. Matthew Rhys (“The Americans,” “Perry Mason”), Danny Pudi (“Community,” “Mythic Quest”), Lisa Gilroy (“Jury Duty,” “Interior Chinatown”), Liam McIntyre (“Spartacus,” “The Flash”), and Carl Tart (“Grand Crew,” “Star Trek: Lower Decks”) will lead the voice cast.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “The Sopranos” fans got thrown a curveball in 2021 when Edie Falco revealed for the first time on an Atlantic podcast that she once reunited with James Gandolfini to reprise Tony and Carmela Soprano for a bizarre clip set two years after the events of the series finale, which infamously ended with a cut-to-black that left Tony’s fate in the balance. The purpose of the clip was to help the New York Knicks basketball organization lure LeBron James to the team. Gandolfini and Falco shot the “Sopranos” reunion in 2010 as James was becoming a free agent after his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers expired.

EXCLUSIVE: The Vampire Diaries alum Matthew Davis and Alexander Hodge (Insecure) have been tapped as series regulars opposite Melissa Fumero, AnnaSophia Robb and Ben Rappaport in Grosse Pointe Garden Society, NBC‘s drama pilot from Jenna Bans, Bill Krebs and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary, touched down at Aberdeen Airport Wednesday, from which they were whisked away to Birkhall, their Highland retreat located on the Balmoral Estate.While it’s unclear exactly how long the couple will enjoy some much-needed downtime, the pair — who flew from RAF Northolt in north-west London — are likely to spend some quality time given the chaotic start to the year the family has had.As Charles continues to receive cancer treatment, Camilla has been frequently stepping in for her husband to attend various royal engagements over the last few months.After landing in Scotland, the pair were driven for about an hour to their estate, where they’ll be spending some “private time” according to palace insiders.Charles’s love for the plush estate, which is nestled on the banks of the River Muick, is well-known, as he often visits whenever time allows.“It is such a special place, particularly because it was made by my grandmother. It is a childhood garden, and all I’ve done, really, is enhance it a bit,” the King told Country Life of the estate’s gardens. What’s more, the residence holds a special place in both of their hearts as it’s where they spent their honeymoon after tying the knot in 2005.Since then, they’ve made it their tradition to spend their anniversary at the estate each year.The pair, who tied the knot on April 9, 2005, celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary on Tuesday.They marked the occasion with a private celebration that included an intimate “romantic dinner,” according to the monarch’s former butler Grant Harrold.Charles, who is in the thick of his cancer treatment following his diagnosis in February, has been forced to hit the brakes on much of his royal agenda since

son Rocco Ritchie’s newest art piece. Madonna, 65, attended the opening of the 23-year-old’s art exhibition in Miami on April 11, and she couldn’t be more “proud” of his achievements.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Apparently TV can’t get enough “Melrose Place.” The campy sudser from the 1990s, which was already rebooted once in the 2010s, is looking to make another comeback — and this time with three of the OG stars. Heather Locklear (who was always billed as a “special guest star” back in the day, although once joining the drama she quickly took lead), Laura Leighton and Daphne Zuniga are all back to reprise their roles in the latest reboot, this time from writer Lauren Gussis. Gussis will also exec produce with Leighton, Zuniga, Tiffany Grant and Jason Weinberg.

Commentary magazine is testament. During the Donald Trump administration, the guest of honor was former senator Joe Lieberman. The best line, however, was aimed at one of Lieberman’s senatorial siblings, in that period of Senate confirmation hearings for Trump’s raft of Supreme Court nominations.“We have Lindsey Graham here tonight,” Modi noted to his bejeweled and buttoned-up audience.

Robert Downey Jr. and Sandra Oh are stepping out for the premiere of their new HBO series!

Todd Gilchrist editor As the star of “Sixteen Candles,” “Pretty in Pink” and “The Breakfast Club,” Molly Ringwald understands why she’s still considered “the patron saint of teenagers.” Commercially successful and critically acclaimed, those films — and her performances — depicted adolescents with an emotional sophistication like few films before them. But Ringwald was bringing that complexity to the screen from her first role in Paul Mazursky’s “Tempest,” and the fact that she’s continued to do so throughout her career is why she’s set to receive the Variety Creative Vanguard Award at the Miami Film Festival on April 6.

A former royal butler has revealed the late Queen and Prince Philip were “fiercely worried’ about the protecting their private space at the Balmoral estate. Grant Harrold weighed in on the significance of the announcement this week that the King has decided to allow the public to look around private interiors of Balmoral Castle for the first time.

The trailer for Netflix’s new rom-com Mother of the Bride just debuted online!

Are rom-coms on the resurgence? If they are, Netflix is ahead of the pack with several new ones out on the streamer this year already. “Players,” “Irish Wish, and “The Heartbreak Agency” didn’t fare too well with critics, but “One Day” did, so maybe that means “Mother Of The Bride” could a sleeper hit for the streamer this Spring.

Conan O’Brien is set to make his first appearance as a guest on The Tonight Show since his unceremonious departure.

2 min read A new drag-centric series, “The Boy, the Queen, and Everything In Between”, waltzed onto New Zealand TV screens earlier this year, heralding a new era of representation and storytelling. Set […]

K.J. Yossman The long-awaited adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s novel “The Mirror and the Light” has wrapped.

Marta Balaga Emma Thompson is Team Finland all the way and she wants you to know it. In an emotional letter shared with local newspaper Helsingin Sanomat, the actor detailed her experience working on Brian Kirk’s upcoming action thriller “The Fisherwoman.” Set in Minnesota, the film will see two-time Oscar winner as a widow who, while trapped in a blizzard, interrupts the kidnapping of a teenager. “They had no snow [in Minnesota] owing to the changing climate, [so] the decision was taken to shoot all the exteriors in Finland.

The trailer for HBO’s upcoming limited series The Sympathizer has debuted online!

Broadway’s first salvo of spring newcomers was more than holding its own last week, with recent arrivals drawing strong audiences.