Malala Teams With ‘Don’t Look Up’ Director Adam McKay for ‘Disorientation’ Adaptation, Unveils First Slate (EXCLUSIVE)

Lizzo regularly faces criticism targeting her body, sense of style and everything else under the sun, but the perception that disturbs her «the most» is that she makes music for a white audience. In a new cover story for, the «About Damn Time» singer addressed the oft-repeated judgment that her music is somehow geared toward white listeners, noting that it's «such a critical conversation when it comes to Black artists.»«When Black people see a lot of white people in the audience, they think, 'Well this isn't for me, this is for them.' The thing is, when a Black artist reaches a certain level of popularity, it's going to be a predominantly white crowd,» she explains. «I was so startled when I watched [YouTube clips of gospel great] Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who was an innovator of rock and roll.

Maite Alberdi, whose The Mole Agent was Oscar-nominated for Best Documentary last year, will be among documentarians pitching projects at the 30th Forum co-production meeting of the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam.

Manori Ravindran International Editor In the Stone Age horror movie “The Origin,” a tribe of starving homo sapiens must fight for survival in early Britain. It’s a film set 45,000 years ago, but its message about humanity — told through a genre lens — is as dark as it is timeless. Directed by Scottish helmer Andrew Cumming (“Radiance,” “Clique”) and written by Ruth Greenberg (“The Spark”) in both of their feature debuts, the film — produced by “Saint Maud’s” Oliver Kassman — is launching at the BFI London Film Festival on Thursday with three sold-out screenings. Shot on location in 2020 in the Scottish Highlands, the story follows a group of early humans looking for food and shelter in a new land. They subscribe to their leader’s promise of a better life, but find themselves in a dangerous terrain, where they’re preyed upon by a supernatural force. The cast includes Safia Oakley-Green, Kit Young and Chuku Modu.

“Hannah Montana” was a star-making role for Miley Cyrus, with the Disney Channel mega-hit propelling her onward to a wildly successful career in music.

Adam Levine isn't shying away from the spotlight. On Saturday, the 43-year-old singer made his first public appearance since finding himself at the center of a cheating scandal, and he was cheered on by his wife, Behati Prinsloo.Levine, 43, performed with his band, Maroon 5, for The Shaquille O'Neal Foundation's "The Event" fundraiser at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, along with H.E.R., Maren Morris, John Mulaney and Pitbull. During their set, Prinsloo, 34, sat to the left of the stage and watched the performance. At one point during the benefit concert, Shaq joined Levine and his band on stage to perform their hit «This Love.» Last year's inaugural party raised more than $2.8 million to benefit underserved children. And expect to see a lot more of Levine in Vegas.

“The Matrix” is getting a very unlikely adaptation.

“Echo 3,” the action thriller series from “Hurt Locker” producer Mark Boal, and starring Luke Evans, Michiel Huisman and Jessica Ann Collins, will premiere this November on Apple TV+.The upcoming Apple TV+ drama will debut with three episodes on Wednesday, Nov. 23, with new episodes dropping every Friday through Jan.

Posted online today and already with over 2.5 million views, what appears to be a run-of-the-mill glossy ad about Chevron’s corporate stewardship of the earth and contribution to American families — shades of the El Segundo Blue — takes a very dissonant turn.

Manori Ravindran International Editor Malala Yousafzai used Variety’s Power of Women event, presented by Lifetime, to make the case for representation in Hollywood, specifically highlighting the fact that Muslim actors only make up 1% of popular television series leads. “Abbott Elementary” creator Quinta Brunson presented Yousafzai with her Variety honor, calling her one of “the most influential advocates of our time.” Yousafzai, who remains the youngest Nobel Laureate in history, recently revealed the first slate of projects out of her production company Extracurricular. The outfit, which is headed by Yousafzai and her head of production Erika Kennair, struck a multi-year programming deal with Apple TV+ last year.

Mike Tindall has admitted he was almost the victim of a royal protocol faux pas during a private meeting with King Charles III. The former rugby player, who is married to the late Queen Elizabeth II's granddaughter Zara Tindall, described his blunder during an episode of his his sports podcast The Good, The Bad, and The Rugby. The 43 year old told his fellow hosts James Haskell and Alex Payne that he very nearly curtseyed the King, after mirroring his wife.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor True-crime podcaster John Allen — better known to fans as MrBallen — is bringing his show exclusively to Amazon Music. Starting Nov. 1, Amazon Music will be the exclusive home to all new and existing episodes of the “MrBallen Podcast: Strange, Dark and Mysterious Stories.” Amazon Music also inked a first-look deal with Ballen Studios, the content company Allen recently formed, for all new content spanning film, TV, games, consumer packaged goods, audio content and more. “The Strange, Dark and Mysterious community is the only reason I have the platform that I do today,” MrBallen, who has more than 9 million follows on social media, said in a statement. “I will always be dedicated to bringing them the best, and continually raising the bar with the art of storytelling. Working with Amazon Music allows us to do just that… We’re just getting started.”

Addie Morfoot Contributor “POV Shorts” will kick off its fifth season Nov. 7, with 11 documentaries highlighting topics including art as activism, freedom of expression, Americans with disabilities, intergenerational stories, and connectedness on the way.Packaged into six 30-minute episodes, “POV Shorts” will be available on PBS and will stream on POV.org and the PBS Video app.

Manori Ravindran International Editor Malala Yousafzai — activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner and film and TV producer — is in production on her first project for Apple, Variety can reveal. Her production company Extracurricular has partnered with indie studio A24 for a still-untitled feature documentary on the legendary ‘haenyeo’ society of fisherwomen, who live on South Korea’s Jeju Island. The Apple Original Films title is directed by Peabody Award nominee Sue Kim (“The Speed Cubers”), and is the first project to go into production from Extracurricular’s Apple TV+ partnership, which was struck in March 2021.

David E. Kelley’s investigative drama series “The Calling” were released Monday by Peacock, offering a glimpse into the show ahead of its Nov. 10 debut on the streamer. Adapted from a series of novels by author Dror Mishani, the show’s plot follows a New York Police Department detective named Avraham Avraham (Jeff Wilbush), who typically relies on spirituality to guide his pursuit of truth until one investigation makes him rethink his beliefs. The series stars Wilbush, Juliana Canfield, Karen Robinson and Michael Mosley. One image highlights a particularly tense, yet slightly absurd moment where Wilbush is locked hands with a man wearing a hotdog suit in what looks like the context of an interrogation.

The Rome Film Festival has unveiled its first line-up under the new management team of former Rai executive Paola Malanga as artistic director and Cineteca di Bologna director Gian Luca Farinelli as president, who were both appointed to their roles last March.

If you were wondering if Behati Prinsloo is buying Adam Levine‘s version of the cheating scandal… look for yourselves, we guess!