Jason Priestley Set For Indie Drama ‘Ctrl Alt Del’ From ‘Eastsiders’ Creator Kit Williamson

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Jonathan Majors appeared in a lower Manhattan court on Tuesday morning via Zoom regarding the status of his ongoing assault case. In the brief conference, which was automatically set six weeks ago after his initial court appearance, the judge discussed a motion filed by Majors’ defense team that the prosecution has until May 23 to respond. The defense will have until May 31 to respond back. Majors needs to appear in court on June 13, when a decision will be made regarding that motion. If he fails to show up in person, a warrant can be issued for his arrest within 48 hours, the judge added. “I obviously don’t want that to happen, so just stay in touch with your attorney,” the judge told Majors.

U.S. director Harmony Korine will be heading to Switzerland this summer to receive an honorary award at the 76th edition of the Locarno Film Festival, running from August 2 to 12.

Nicolas Cage (Renfield) and writer-director Andrew Niccol (Anon) will reteam with Vendôme Pictures, the Academy Award winning studio behind CODA, on Lords of War — a sequel to the 2005 crime thriller Lord of War, which starred Cage as Yuri Orlov, a composite character based on numerous arms dealers.

EastEnders’ Kim Fox hasn’t had an easy time of it of late.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Netflix is set to give its hit reality series “Love Is Blind” a German-language adaptation. The format makeover, currently in production, will bring together singletons in Germany, Austria and Swiss who have signed up for a less conventional approach to modern dating. Netflix is rolling off the success of “Too Hot To Handle: Germany.” As part of the format, 30 singles begin this 10-episode show by talking to potential partners without being distracted by the other person’s appearance. They then propose to their chosen partner and only then see their fiancé for the first time. Back in the real world, couples will try to complement their emotional bond with a physical one as they plan their wedding day together.

Thanks to the success of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and its spinoffs, drag has hit the mainstream in recent years — and at the same time, is under attack in the U.S., with several Republican-run states having introduced legislation to ban drag while scaling back hard-fought LGBTQIA+ rights.

EXCLUSIVE: Ryan Phillippe (American Murderer), Emile Hirsch (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Mena Suvari (American Horror Story) will topline Kalahari, a new action thriller from Vertical, which has wrapped production.

EXCLUSIVE: Seann William Scott (The Wrath Of Becky, American Pie franchise) has signed on to star in The Last Bachelor, a romantic comedy from director Luke Greenfield (The Girl Next Door, Something Borrowed).

EXCLUSIVE: Actors Mark McKinney (Superstore, Kids in the Hall) and Daniel Ings (I Hate Suzie, Love Sick, Sex Education) have signed on to star in the comedy road movie A Rush of Blood.

Fox has set the 12 fearless celebrities who soon will be packing their bags and preparing for launch to the red planet (sort of) on Stars On Mars, the network’s latest unscripted competition series.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large The 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards, which is slated to air live this Sunday from Santa Monica’s Barker Hanger with host Drew Barrymore, will move forward even as a writers strike is now underway. Because it’s live, the kudocast will likely be the first program noticeably impacted by a strike, although insiders close to the show tell Variety they already had multiple contingency plans in place in case. “We are all collectively hoping for the best, we’re hoping for a resolution so that the show can continue on as planned,” one production source told Variety on Monday, prior to the WGA contract expiration and announcement of a strike. “Should we need to pivot, we will. We are working through our contingency plans. This is something that we have been discussing for for quite some time. So we are hard at work. These are very busy hours and days for us… the nature of live events and live shows and live programming is to be able to pivot when things come up. Those are all skills that we have honed very well over the last few years.”

EXCLUSIVE: Fiona Shaw (Andor), Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice) and Chaske Spencer (The English) have entered production in NYC on Park Avenue, a new indie drama from Sundance alum Gaby Dellal (On a Clear Day), who directs from her script written with Tina Alexis Allen.

Sylvester Stallone (Tulsa King) is set to return for a sequel to the 1993 action thriller Cliffhanger, which Ric Roman Waugh (Angel Has Fallen) will direct from a script by Mark Bianculli (Hunters).

Thania Garcia Pink lit up the stage for No Kid Hungry’s first in-person dinner event since before the pandemic on Thursday evening. As part of the festivities, Pink delivered an intimate performance to the “most empathetic crowd of people,” along with giving an acceptance speech as the organization’s national champion. The honor was bestowed upon the pop singer and philanthropist by actor Jeff Bridges, a No Kid Hungry spokesperson, for her commitment and contributions to help advance No Kid Hungry’s national campaign to end childhood hunger in America. “I like helping people. Growing up, I wanted to be a social worker and I feel like I’m a blend — a singer, social worker,” Pink told Variety ahead of her appearance. “I grew up with no money. My mom was an ER nurse, and my dad was an insurance salesman. It was hard at times and I don’t know anybody on this earth that hasn’t needed help at one time or another. And if you can help, you should.”

EXCLUSIVE: Lulu Wilson (The Wrath of Becky), Omari Hardwick (Power) and Trae Romano (Stargirl) are set to star in Xeno, a new film that writer, director and VFX Artist Matthew Loren Oates (Farewell Bender) will direct for Kevin Hart‘s Hartbeat, from his own script.

K.J. Yossman Actors and creatives from “Star Trek” and “Ghosts” are set to host Master Classes during the Banff World Media Festival in June, Variety can confirm. The two Paramount Global shows will be repped at the 44th edition of the festival, which is set to take place in Banff, Alberta, Canada from June 11-14. The “Star Trek” masterclass will feature “Star Trek: Discovery’s” Sonequa Martin-Green, “Star Trek: Lower Decks’” Tawny Newsome, “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’” Ethan Peck plus Alex Kurtzman, who is an executive producer for the “Star Trek” franchise, and CBS Studios president David Stapf. They will all be on hand do discuss “ushering in the golden age of ‘Trek,’ growing the franchise, and introducing a new generation to this universe all while staying true to what made it a cultural phenomenon 56 years ago,” according to the festival.

Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert and Jo Dee Messina are among the performers set for the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards, producers announced today.

EXCLUSIVE: Anonymous Content, Casarotto Ramsay & Associates and United Agents have set former ITVS Creative Director Patrick Spence (Spy Among Friends) as Managing Director of their UK film and TV production joint venture.

EXCLUSIVE: QC Entertainment, the production company behind recent Best Picture Oscar contenders BlacKkKlansman and Get Out, has snapped up rights to J.D. Barker’s forthcoming erotic thriller novel Behind a Closed Door in a preemptive bid, with plans to adapt it for film. 

EXCLUSIVE: Legendary has set an all-star cast for their forthcoming film Animal Friends, combining live-action and animated characters from writing duo Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider, with Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool 3), Jason Momoa (Fast X), Vince Vaughn (Bad Monkey) and Aubrey Plaza (Megalopolis) coming aboard for roles.