The life of gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin is explored in the new film, “Rustin,” starring out actor Colman Domingo in the title role. It’s a project a long time in the making.
05.11.2023 - 18:09 / variety.com
Davide Abbatescianni Jim Lee, veteran comicbook artist and now chief creative officer of DC Comics, explained during an onstage interview at Lucca Comics & Games why the likes of Wonder Woman, Batman and the Joker still tug at the heartstrings of readers, and how his drive to rise to the peak of the business sometimes came at a price. Answering questions from radio host Andrea Rock, Lee said: “Many people can connect with a character like Batman, who is very rooted in tragedy and that is overcoming something horrific that happened to him as a child.” “Certainly, when you’re having a bad day a character like the Joker speaks very much to you.
You know you’re expressing these themes through the stories and the characters you draw, [and then] people understand you consciously and subconsciously.” Rock asked Lee whether some characters may need a “moral update” to fit the times we live in, and whether some of them have been particularly challenging to work on. “I typically don’t have that kind of mental or artistic block,” said Lee.
“Maybe this is a weird example but when I lived in Italy for a year back in 2003, I was drawing Superman for the story ‘Tomorrow,’ a character that is a symbol of America. Back then, the [Second] Gulf War was happening, and protests in the streets of Reggio Emilia were taking place.” The conflict between the tragic events unfolding and the powerful symbology the character carries made him feel “very out of place.” On his transition from pure comicbook artist to publisher, Lee says that “it didn’t happen overnight,” as he has always been interested in his craft but also in “understanding the comics business.” After leaving Marvel Comics, he tried to learn the basics of entrepreneurship,
.The life of gay civil rights activist Bayard Rustin is explored in the new film, “Rustin,” starring out actor Colman Domingo in the title role. It’s a project a long time in the making.
Jeremy Hunt confirmed controversial plans to shake up the welfare system in his autumn statement. The chancellor said claimants who fail to find a job could have their benefits cut completely, while people on long-term sick leave would be asked to find remote working jobs.
Following the “Star Wars: Ahsoka” series created by writer/director/producer Dave Filoni, who wrote all eight episodes himself and directed two, Lucasfilm has named the filmmaker the Chief Creative Officer at the company. “Now I’m what’s called chief creative officer of Lucasfilm,” Filoni told Vanity Fair this week, and noting the role will place him in the early development process of all “Star Wars” projects and in a much more expansive capacity than his previous advisory duties.
Disney+ Star Wars series architect Dave Filoni has been named Chief Creative Officer of Lucasfilm.
EXCLUSIVE: UnPrisoned, the Onix Collective dramedy starring and executive produced by Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo, has been renewed for a second season on Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America, and Disney+ in all other territories.
Four men have been found guilty of the murder of Ashley Dale in Liverpool.
A healthcare company has been fined £140,000 over failings that led to the death of a 21-year-old patient at a hospital
died Friday. She was 89.Born on Oct. 31, 1934, Shepherd also had roles in the movies “Mystic Pizza,” “Uncle Buck,” “Requiem for a Dream,” and “A Dirty Shame.”She made guest appearances on the TV shows “Ed,” “Law & Order” and “Blue Bloods.”Shepherd, who lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, “passed away peacefully very early yesterday morning,” the actor and real estate agent Tom Titone wrote Saturday on Facebook.“I studied with Suzanne as a young actor.
Goodfellas actress Suzanne Shepherd has died aged 89, her family has confirmed.
Addie Morfoot Contributor Warner Bros. Unscripted Television, DC and R.J. Cutler’s production hub This Machine are developing a documentary about the iconic Mad magazine.
After a few slower weeks for college football, audiences appear to be climbing again in Week 11.
Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter RWS Global, the world’s largest producer of live experiences, has hired former NBCUniversal executive Chris Lucarz as chief financial officer. In his new role, Lucarz will oversee all financial and administration aspects of the company, including finance, HR and legal departments.
Rush reunion with bandmate Alex Lifeson.Fans assumed the band had broken up for good after the death of drummer Neil Peart in 2020, who quietly battled brain cancer for three years.Opening up in a new interview with The Washington Post, the musician reflected on the band having a reunion of sorts at the Taylor Hawkin’s tribute concerts last year in memory of the Foo Fighters drummer.“It had been a taboo subject,” he said of the experience. “And playing those songs again with a third person was the elephant in the room, and that kind of disappeared.”During the tribute shows in Los Angeles and London, Lee and Lifeson played Rush songs alongside a host of musical friends including the Foo’s own Dave Grohl, Tool‘s Danny Carey, Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Chad Smith and Omar Hakim.Lee said: “It was nice to know that if we decide to go out, Alex and I, whether we went out as part of a new thing, or whether we just wanted to go out and play Rush as Rush, we could do that now.”Following Peart’s death, Lee seemed to suggest that Rush’s touring days were definitely behind them.“That’s finished, right? That’s over,” he told Rolling Stone early in 2021.
NBCUniversal has acquired Commitment to Life, a documentary about the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The film from Emmy Award-winning documentarian Jeremy Schwarz (Vito) will premiere on Peacock on Dec. 1, designated as World AIDS Day. Its cable network debut will be in early 2024 on MSNBC.
Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor Adriek van Nieuwenhuyzen, the head of the industry office at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), says that the primary objective of her team is to put the filmmakers at the center of the festival’s activities for industry professionals. “The key is that we really care about the filmmakers and what they are trying to achieve. Then we adapt to what is happening in the market, and try to make sure that we get the right people to support them,” she tells Variety.
William Earl Netflix film chief Scott Stuber once ran Universal Studios – today he sometimes feels like the operator of “the AMC 6000” given the volume of movies that Netflix produces and acquires. From Greta Gerwig’s plans for Narnia adaptations to wooing Denzel Washington and Steven Spielberg, Stuber shared Netflix’s vision of film’s future in a wide-ranging Q&A with Variety executive editor Brent Lang that was held Nov. 8 as part of Variety’s Business Managers Elite Breakfast presented by City National Bank.
Netflix is unveiling a first look at their upcoming new drama series My Life With the Walter Boys!
Netflix has dropped the first trailer for My Life With The Walter Boys, its coming-of-age romance series based on the popular WattPad novel by Ali Novak, starring Nikki Rodriguez (On My Block), Suits alum Sarah Rafferty and Marc Blucas (Swagger).
A devastated Scots dog owner has spoken out after her beloved dog died while running away from fireworks.
Pat E. Johnson, a longtime stuntman who was the fight choreographer for and played a referee in the Karate Kid movies and appeared in the martial arts classic Enter the Dragon and in Chuck Norris films, has died. He was 84.