PBS Documentary Series ‘Independent Lens’ Reveals Spring Slate of Films (EXCLUSIVE)

A documentary putting the spotlight on disgraced Prince Andrew's notorious BBC interview surrounding his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein will air in tandem with King Charles's coronation.

Anna Nicole Smith's life and career is the subject of a new documentary,, coming to Netflix in May. Ahead of its debut, the streaming service released a trailer, offering viewers a closer look at director Ursula Macfarlane's unflinching look back on the late model and actress. According to Netflix, the film offers a «humanizing examination of the life, death and secrets of Vickie Lynn Hogan -- better known as model and actress Anna Nicole Smith.

EXCLUSIVE: Samuel Goldwyn Films has locked down North American rights to the British feel-good comedy Bank of Dave, starring Joel Fry (Our Flag Means Death), Rory Kinnear (Men), Jo Hartley (After Life) and Phoebe Dynevor (Bridgerton). The film featuring music and performances by English rock band Def Leppard is slated for release in theaters and on digital platforms later this year.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor PBS said it has suspended posting to Twitter after Elon Musk’s social network pinned a “government-funded media” descriptor to its primary account. The public TV broadcaster joins NPR in ceasing Twitter activity following the Twitter changes, which the organizations say inaccurately represent them. “PBS stopped tweeting from our account when we learned of the change and we have no plans to resume at this time,” a rep said in a statement to Variety. “We are continuing to monitor the ever-changing situation closely.” PBS, which currently has 2.2 million Twitter followers, says that U.S. federal funding provides about 15% of the revenue for the public television system. According to the org, over the course of a year, 86% of all U.S. television households — representing more than 230 million people — watch PBS programming.

EXCLUSIVE: The McDonald’s All American Games, the all star game for high school basketball players, has featured the likes of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

The Peabodys on Tuesday revealed a total of 27 nominees in the Documentary and News categories for the 83rd annual Peabody Awards.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American distribution rights to “Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West,” a documentary that shines a harsh spotlight on the U.S. government’s treatment of wild horses. The non-fiction film was written, directed, and edited by Ashley Avis, who is best known for making 2020’s “Black Beauty” for Disney+. Gravitas Ventures will release the documentary in select theaters and on demand on May 12, 2023. The film looks at the reasons why wild horses in the Western part of the U.S. are fast disappearing and could be eradicated. At its core, the film argues, is a divisive battle over land and special interests, one in which horses are collateral damage. They are rounded up by helicopters, and facing encroachment on their natural habitat. Often, officials separate them from their families, a wrenching experience for the animals.

EXCLUSIVE: Greenwich Entertainment has secured U.S. rights to The Melt Goes On Forever: The Life and Times of David Hammons, a new documentary from directors Judd Tully and Harold Crooks. Pic is set to open at the Film Forum in New York City on May 5th.

Netflix executive Lisa Nishimura backed some of the streamer’s biggest successes – Tiger King, The Tinder Swindler, The Power of the Dog, and American Factory – but in an era of corporate cost-cutting, it wasn’t enough to save her job.

EXCLUSIVE: Omar Epps (Power Book III: Raising Kanan) has closed a deal to join the star-studded ensemble of Netflix‘s limited series The Perfect Couple, based on the New York Times bestseller by Elin Hilderbrand.

Disney+ has released the first teaser for Suga: Road to D-Day, the upcoming documentary starring BTS member Suga.Released earlier today (March 31), the teaser follows the K-pop idol as he travels across the world to cities such as Tokyo, Las Vegas, San Francisco and more. The clip also features black-and-white scenes of the singer on tour and in the studio.“This is my first time walking down this street.

Piano-playing comedian and political satirist Mark Russell died on Thursday, March 30, 2023, at the age of 90, his wife Ali Russell earlier today.For more than 50 years, Russell took shots at all sectors of the political spectrum with stand-up monologues and song parodies. He was best known for his PBS specials, which he taped six times a year from 1975 to 2004.

Will Smith could run.The 59-year-old Hollywood actor has finally revealed the reason he would often be slapped by fans whenever he was at an airport.Cage, whose real name is Nicolas Coppola, said the bizarre trend was inspired by his 1987 film “Moonstruck,” in which he starred opposite singer Cher.In the film, Cher slaps Cage’s character.“For the longest time, back from ‘Moonstruck,’ I would walk to the airport and people just had a habit of saying: ‘Snap out of it!’ from Moonstruck – the Cher ‘Snap out of it’ [line] – and I did get slapped a few times,” he told Entertainment Tonight.“Oh yeah, I did! And that, you know, it’s part of the job,” he added.When asked why fans felt the need to raise a hand against the Oscar winner, Cage suspected it was because fans believed there could have been something in it for them.“I think maybe [they think] I’ll cast them in something. Who knows?” he quipped.Cage previously revealed that he almost turned down the role — but ultimately agreed to it after making a deal with his agent.“I made that movie on a deal with my then-agent Ed Limato.

EXCLUSIVE: Freestyle Digital Media has acquired North American VOD rights to the documentary Grandpa Was An Emperor from director Constance Marks, whose last feature, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, won a Special Jury Prize at Sundance.

Devo has been announced.Titled Devo, the film will be helmed by American Movie (1999) and Fyre (2019) director Chris Smith.The first-ever fully authorised film about the group, Devo will chart the new wave group’s career, from their formation in the aftermath of the Kent State massacre to their breakout with ‘Whip It’.“Devo was a huge influence on me,” Smith said in a statement. “Their approach to music, film, video, and art was something I had never seen before and was one of the truly formative artistic influences that showed me there were entirely new ways to look at things.”The documentary will feature a mixture of interviews and never-before-seen archival footage.

EXCLUSIVE: Kino Lorber and Zeitgeist Films have picked up North American rights to Desperate Souls, Dark City and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy — a new documentary on the making of the iconic John Schlesinger film, from acclaimed documentarian Nancy Buirski (The Loving Story).

Joe Otterson TV Reporter HBO Max is developing a drama series based on the life of Heidi Fleiss, Variety has learned exclusively. The untitled series hails from writer and executive producer Maggie Cohn, who most recently served as the co-showrunner on HBO Max’s critically acclaimed limited series “The Staircase.” Fleiss will serve as a consultant on the project. Emma Tillinger Koskoff (“Joker,” The Irishman”) of First Love Films will also executive produce, along with Alex Goldstone (“Dickinson”) for Anonymous Content, Bill Gerber (“Muhammed Ali,” “A Star Is Born”) of Gerber Pictures, and David Bernon, Paul Bernon, and Sam Slater of Burn Later Productions (“Support the Girls,” “Mile 22,” “Drinking Buddies”).

Naman Ramachandran New York-based film and TV studio and streaming network FilmRise has acquired North American distribution rights to true-crime documentary feature film “The Thief Collector.” Directed by Emmy winner Allison Otto (“The Love Bugs”), the film follows one of the most audacious and puzzling art thefts of a generation. In 1985, Willem de Kooning’s seminal work, “Woman-Ochre,” was sliced from its frame and stolen off the walls of the University of Arizona Museum of Art, disappearing into the desert. Over 30 years later, in a remote town in New Mexico, the $160 million dollar painting was rediscovered in the unlikeliest of places – the home of an eccentric married couple, both schoolteachers, with a keen eye for great works but a very unconventional method of collecting them. The film features Glenn Howerton co-creator, director, writer and star of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Vanessa Hudgens, the Asian American actor whose career kicked off in Disney’s “High School Musical” series, is set to shoot a travel documentary in the Philippines, the country of her mother’s birth. The untitled project will shoot in Palawan and Manila in March. Paul Soriano is attached as a director, producer and executive producer. Mark A. Victor of TEN17P will also serve as executive producer. No distributor, broadcaster or streaming platform has yet been disclosed. Soriano’s recent credits include directing the 2019 film “Mañanita” and Manny Pacquiao biopic “Kid Kulafu.”

Lise Pedersen Los Angeles non-profit The Film Collaborative has boarded Swedish director Tove Pils’ debut feature “Labor,” which is competing in the Nordic:Dox section at the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival, CPH:DOX. The film follows Hanna, who leaves her family and girlfriend behind in her small Swedish hometown and travels to San Francisco to explore her sexuality in the city’s vibrant queer scene. She soon meets Chloe, a professional dominatrix, and Cyd, a trans man who works as an escort for gay men. Together with her new friends, she embarks on a journey that takes her further and further away from her life in Sweden. “Labor” was shot over more than a decade, and one of the reasons it took them so long to put the film together was their concern for the protagonists’ anonymity and the effect it might have on their lives, Pils explains to Variety.