Key Takeaways From Variety’s Entertainment and Technology Summit

Max George has clapped back at a review of girlfriend Maisie Smith in her new show. The former EastEnders actress is starring opposite former Strictly Come Dancing professional Kevin Clifton in a new musical adaptation of Strictly Ballroom.

Bolton comedy legend Peter Kay has been playing a string of "top secret" stand up comedy shows at a Salford theatre. It has fuelled speculation a major tour announcement may be on the cards from the Phoenix Nights superstar.

Violent Night – check out the first trailer below.The actor, best known for roles in Stranger Things and Marvel’s Black Widow, takes on a weary, vengeful version of Saint Nick in the action-comedy directed by Tommy Wirkola (Dead Snow, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters).A synopsis reads: “When a team of mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage, the team isn’t prepared for a surprise combatant: Santa Claus is on the grounds, and he’s about to show why this Nick is no saint.”Violent Night is written by Patrick Casey and Josh Miller (Sonic The Hedgehog), and also stars John Leguizamo (Carlito’s Way) as leader of the mercenaries, Ben, and Beverly D’Angelo (American History X) as the matriarch, Gertrude.The film is produced by 87North, the production company founded by director David Leitch and Kelly McCormick, which has previously worked on action films Nobody and Bullet Train starring Brad Pitt.The film is set to have its world premiere at New York Comic Con on October 7. It will be released in cinemas worldwide on December 2, 2022.Harbour is set to star in a film adaptation of the PlayStation racing game series Gran Turismo, helmed by director Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium).

EJ Panaligan editor Top gaming business leaders converged to talk about the exciting state of the industry at the Variety Gaming & Entertainment Breakfast Presented by Pixel United on Oct. 4 at the Palm in Beverly Hills. Across keynote conversations and panels with representatives from Riot Games, Pixel United, Meta and other companies, executives dished on the immense film and television crossover potential of gaming intellectual properties for mediums like television and film, the financial dominance of the mobile gaming industry and future metaverse opportunities for video games. Read on below for the key takeaways from each of the breakfast’s three conversations.

Katie Reul editor David Harbour is boosting his resume as a badass in the first trailer for “Violent Night,” a holiday thriller featuring the “Stranger Things” star as Santa Claus. Under the direction of Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola, Harbour plays a grizzlier, more rueful version of Kris Kringle, who is anything but jolly in the trailer. On Christmas Eve, (Not-So) Saint Nick encounters a family being held hostage by a team of mercenaries and is forced to take matters into his own hands. Harbour is joined by an ensemble that includes Cam Gigandet, Beverly D’Angelo and John Leguizamo. The script was penned by Pat Casey and Josh Miller, who previously wrote the first and second live-action “Sonic the Hedgehog” movies.

Will Smith earn another Oscar after this year's on-stage showdown with Chris Rock? Technically, yes. As buzz begins to build around Antoine Fuqua's Apple Original Film, -- in which Smith stars as a man who escapes from slavery — speculation is swirling about the film's awards season promise. According to a report from, Smith still be nominated for another Best Actor Oscar even after his fallout from slapping Rock during the live 2022 Academy Awards broadcast.But there's a catch: following the incident, Smith resigned as a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, and was ultimately banned from the Oscars telecast and other Academy-sponsored events for 10 years.

Variety as Madrid’s 2nd Iberseries & Platino Industria, a TV-film forum, wound down on Friday, running Sept. 27-30.  Three large table talk topics were the fall out from the planned merger of HBO Max and Discover+ by Warner Bros. Discovery – with the removal of more than three dozen titles on HBO Max in August alone –  Netflix’s reconfiguration of its business model and galloping inflation in Europe, threatening streamer subs, They also played out, if sometimes indirectly, at the Iberseries & Platino Industria panels. 

Awards season is heating up with Will Smith’s next movie.

Will Smith screened the film Emancipation with an audience for the first time at a private event on Saturday (October 1) in Washington D.C.

The first screening of upcoming Apple TV+ drama “Emancipation” took place Saturday in Washington, D.C., with director Antoine Fuqua and star Will Smith both in attendance.

Kevin Hart has voiced support for Will Smith in the wake of him slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. During the live telecast in March, fans were shocked when the King Richard actor walked onto the stage and slapped Rock after he compared his wife Jada Pinkett Smith - who has the medical condition alopecia - to G. I.

The Santa Fe District Attorney has secured partial funding for 4 potential prosecutions over Rust.

Charges could soon be coming in the fatal shooting last year of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Sony Pictures Classics co-chiefs Michael Barker and Tom Bernard, who are being feted by the Zurich Film Festival with the event’s GameChanger Award, took part today in a Zurich Summit panel about their careers and the state of the specialty business.

Claire Foy and Matt Smith are paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. In the days since her death on Sept. 8, both of the actors, who starred on Netflix's as Queen Elizabeth and her late husband, Prince Philip, respectively, have spoken out about the late monarch in interviews. «I think that she was an incredible monarch,» Foy told  BBCat the Toronto Film Festival.

Naman Ramachandran Popular Indian actor Parineeti Chopra (“Saina”) and actor and musician Harrdy Sandhu (“’83”) star in “Code Name: Tiranga.” An espionage action thriller, “Code Name: Tiranga” is the story of a spy on an unfaltering and fearless mission for her nation in a race against time where sacrifice is her only choice. Chopra plays an Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) agent who is on a journey across many countries. It is directed by Ribhu Dasgupta (“Bard of Blood”) who previously directed Chopra in “The Girl on the Train.” Co-stars include Sandhu, Sharad Kelkar (“Bhuj: The Pride of India),Rajit Kapur (“Rocket Boys”), Dibyendu Bhattacharya (“Maharani”), Shishir Sharma (“Raazi”), Sabyasachi Chakraborty (“Avijatrik”) and Deesh Mariwala (“Bellbottom”).

Willow Smith has opened up about her relationship with her father Will Smith in a new interview. The singer, 21, is the youngest child of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. The couple also share a son, Jaden, who is 24.

Zack Sharf Matt Smith was a staple of Netflix’s “The Crown” during its first two seasons, where he starred as Prince Philip opposite Claire Foy’s Queen Elizabeth II. Smith’s portrayal of the British royal not only earned critical acclaim and an Emmy nomination, but it also generated an unexpected response from Philip’s grandson, Prince Harry. Smith revealed on “Today” that Prince Harry once addressed him as “granddad” when they met while playing polo. “I met Harry once, at polo, which sounds a bit grand, but it wasn’t that grand,” Smith said. “And he walked up to me and went, ‘Granddad.’” Smith added, “He watched the show! Well, I can’t claim to know if he watches it currently, but he watched a bit of it then.”