NBCU TV and Streaming Ups Orit Blankrot to SVP of Entertainment Business & Legal Affairs (EXCLUSIVE)

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer“Somebody Feed Phil” has been renewed for Season 6 at Netflix ahead of its fifth season premiere, Variety has learned exclusively.The five-episode “Somebody Feed Phil” Season 5, which debuts May 25, was filmed back to back with Season 6, which also consists of five episodes.“We filmed 10 episodes in the sweet spot between Delta and Omicron. Remember that? So from August to January, we pretty much filmed everything,” Rosenthal told Variety.

Wilson Chapman editorVeteran producer Riva Marker has joined production and brand management company Linden Entertainment as CEO of Productions, Variety has learned.An experienced producer of feature films and stage productions, Marker is best known as the co-founder of Nine Stories, an independent production company she established with Jake Gyllenhaal in 2015. Under the Nine Stories banner, she has produced films such as “The Guilty,” “Breaking News in Yuba County,” “The Devil All the Time,” “Joe Bell,” “Relic,” “Wildlife” and “Stronger.”Prior to Nine Stories, notable projects she produced include the Peabody award-winning “Beasts of No Nation” in 2015, and the Oscar-nominated “The Kids Are All Right” in 2010.

Nipsey Hussle – has shown her support for Kendrick Lamar‘s new video for ‘The Heart Part 5’, which includes a tribute to Hussle.Using deepfake technology, Lamar changes his face several times throughout the video, reflecting the people he is referencing or portraying when the transformations take place. Amongst those that Lamar turns into are Kanye West, Will Smith and OJ Simpson.

DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter today joined the chorus of Hollywood union leaders condemning the Supreme Court’s draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade and let states decide whether or not to ban abortions.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterMonday’s Met Gala red carpet was the highest-viewed ever for “Live From E!” when counting all platforms, Variety has learned exclusively.Per NBCU, “Live from E!: Met Gala” scored the biggest multiplatform-viewing for “Live from E!” in the brand’s history, drawing 444 million total multiplatform engagements across linear TV, digital and social views and social post responses via E! News handles and E! Online platforms.That’s up +146% from what “Live From E!” saw for last year’s Met Gala coverage and +390% from 2019. The Met Gala event wasn’t held in 2020 due to COVID-19.There were 151 million video minutes watched across platforms, up +68% from last year, according to E!.

Not every movie needs to either reinvent the wheel or make us question our personal realities. Sometimes, a movie can look like it is just wanting to offer an audience a nice time, make them feel good for its runtime, and that can be enough.

Oscar Isaac turning in a spellbinding performance as both Marc and Steven, who have to come to terms with themselves, and each other, in order to take on the cult leader, Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke).«Oscar changed the game, absolutely,» executive producer Grant Curtis told ET about one of the newest actors to take up the mantle of a Marvel hero. «I remember being on set one of the days when he kind of broke that barrier and played both [Marc and Steven] back to back.

Oderbruch (working title), the CBS Studios and Syrreal Entertainment supernatural mystery drama for Germany’s ARD Degato, has added four cast members, as principal photography begins this week.

Downton Abbey's Lesley Nicol has been left devastated after the passing of her beloved husband David Keith Heald. The 68 year old's agent, Paul Pearson, confirmed the news of his death to The Sun as he shared: “I would like to confirm the passing of Lesley’s beloved husband David Heald, known to all his wonderful friends as Da’arboth. “Da’arboth was an amazing, unique and inspirational man who was always at Lesley’s side ‘her warrior’.

More than two years into its run at Fox Corp., Tubi is ramping up in original programming, planning 100 new film and TV titles over the next year as viewership continues to rise.

Gabby’s sister, AJ (Auli’i Cravalho), a journey which is providing inspiration in itself.Directed by Sammi Cohen and written by Casey Rackham and Kirsten King, “Crush” also boasts a cast that includes Megan Mullally, Aasif Mandvi, Michelle Buteau and more. For Blanchard, saying “yes” to this project happened “very, very quickly.”“They sent me [the script], and then I was like, ‘I want to do this. How do I do this?’ So then that was that,” Blanchard told TheWrap.The fact that it was a teen rom-com about two young women was just an added bonus.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaCanvas Media Studios and MarVista Entertainment have hammers out a six-film slate deal that will be focused on identifying diverse, first-time and up-and- coming writers and directors.The agreement will involve fully financed completed titles with a pre-buy distribution commitment from MarVista Entertainment, which will also oversee global distribution for all films produced under the partnership.Canvas, a​ venture capital-backed​ ​content​ ​company, is led by David Tochterman, an industry vet with stints at Overbrook Entertainment and the Carsey Werner Company. MarVista Entertainment, a division of Fox Entertainment, averages 80 new movies per year.MarVista’s recent projects include the Amazon Prime Video release “Christmas Is Canceled” starring Hayley Orrantia, Dermot Mulroney, and Janel Parrish; “Stay Awake,” starring Chrissy Metz; and the IFC release “Hunter Hunter,” starring Devon Sawa, Nick Stahl, and Camille Sullivan.

Rowan Blanchard and Auli’i Cravalho are stepping out for the premiere of their new movie!

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterGeekWire co-founder Jonathan Sposato has launched JoySauce Network, a new ad-supported multimedia platform aimed at the “American Asian” audience and its allies, Variety has learned exclusively.The site, which went live Wednesday morning, boasts “multiple channels of vibrant digital programming dedicated to celebrating both new and established American Asian talent.” JoySauce Network notes the use of “American Asian rather than Asian American” is its way of “shifting the center of gravity, while recognizing that each of us chooses how the pieces of our identities fit together.”Per JoySauce Network, “Viewers can expect unscripted and scripted streaming shows, licensed movies from respected directors and writers in the Asian diaspora, stand-up comedy specials from emerging talent, documentaries, and more in a weekly episode format. The site will also publish original editorial from some of the community’s most talented writers, aiming to represent the full spectrum of American Asian narratives, covering culturally relevant topics in lifestyle, food, entertainment, pop culture, education, romance and more.

Variety Staff Follow Us on TwitterVariety.com, the digital arm of the legendary entertainment trade Variety, scored record-breaking traffic in March 2022. Some 36.9 million unique users visited the site in March, officially making it the biggest month in the brand’s history, according to Comscore.Additionally, March was the seventh consecutive month that Variety placed No.

EXCUSIVE: Greenwich Entertainment said Monday that it has acquired North American distribution rights to Accepted, the feature documentary from The Disunited States of America helmer Dan Chen that played at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterAfrican American-founded, faith-based channel Impact Network is making a big push into entertainment and lifestyle content with the ramping up of its Saturday programming slate, the hiring of a new chief creative officer and executive producer of original content, and the launch of a 6,000-foot production facility in Detroit with a music division, Variety has learned exclusively.The privately owned Impact Network has a reach of 80 million homes and distribution deals with DirecTV, Comcast Xfinity, Charter Spectrum, Verizon Fios, Frontier, Cable Bahamas, Cox and Altice USA. Founder and CEO Bishop Wayne T.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDiscovery+ is set to launch a new docuseries focused on Black food history in America from producer Viola Davis, featuring scholar and cookbook author Caroline Randall Williams as host, Variety has learned exclusively.The four-episode show, titled “Hungry for Answers,” will follow Williams as she travels the country, “uncovering the fascinating, essential, and often untold Black stories behind some of America’s classic and emblematic food and spirits,” per the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned streamer.

In a good place. Jaden Smith’s girlfriend, Sab Zada, has been a shoulder to lean on amid his recent family drama, a source exclusively tells Us Weekly.