Popeye the Sailor Man Live-Action Film in Development From Chernin, King Features (EXCLUSIVE)

Shaheem Reid When you’re Lil Baby’s lil’ baby boy, there are perks to rolling with your old man, even if the elder Lil Baby isn’t even 30 — like going to WrestleMania XL and sitting with his friends Meek Mill, 2 Chainz, Wale and comedian-actor Druski. But more importantly, you get to sit in the front row and be close enough to cheer on the Rock as he literally hit “Rock Bottom.” On Saturday night, WWE put on its Super Bowl: night one of WrestleMania XL at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. “The biggest WrestleMania of all-time,” as it is being hyped, was headlined by the return of wrestler-turned Hollywood megastar the Rock.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer One or more individuals have been fraudulently posing as officials from “The Drew Barrymore Show” in attempts to scam talent and other guests involved with the star’s talk show, Variety can report exclusively. The ruse, which did not originate from the syndicated series or its producer CBS Media Ventures and Paramount Global, has been flaunting “paid opportunities” for prospective guests and attempting to arrange social media efforts like Facebook broadcasts.

EXCLUSIVE: Okwui Okpokwasili has been set to star in Jaume Collet-Serra’s The Woman in the Yard from Blumhouse for Universal.

Scotland’s Sands International Film Festival Of St Andrews will open on April 19 with a double-bill screening of British writer-director Naqqash Khalid’s debut feature In Camera and Harry Holland’s short film Last Call, starring Tom Holland. 

Dwayne Johnson makes a little girl’s Make a Wish come true by singing “You’re Welcome.” The 2 year-old child named Naomi is in the hospital with a brain disorder, and her favorite movie is Moana. Kim Kardashian looks absolutely thrilled while creating this hilarious and chaotic TikTok with North West.Lady Gaga shows off her birthday glam for her 38th. Cardi B shows off her new piercings while dancing to her new track with Shakira, “Punteria.”Notice something new ? Jessica Alba does her own Friday glam, showing off her beauty.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Hollywood’s Egyptian Theatre will host a special screening series to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the podcast “You Must Remember This,” created and hosted by Karina Longworth. Longworth has now spent a decade examining the untold histories of show business — including watercooler seasons spent revisiting the Manson murders, the Star Wars franchise and the life and career of Joan Crawford. The Egyptian, owned by Netflix, has curated a three-day screening series featuring the films of Hollywood bombshell Kim Novak.Novak was the subject of the “lost” and first-ever recorded episode of “You Must Remember This.” Longworth has previously said a corrupted audio file and “large swaths” of copyrighted music led to the shelving of the episode, which will finally be released [Editor’s note: In the TV series that launched and catapulted Ryan Murphy to stardom, “Popular,” a fictional girl’s room at a Southern California high school was named for Novak after a donation from the star.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer “Strange Darling,” the acclaimed horror film from director JT Mollner, has landed a major U.S. distribution deal at veteran producer Bob Yari’s new company Magenta Light Studios. Premiering at the genre event Fantastic Fest in 2023, the Miramax-produced thriller has been universally praised (it currently sits at 100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with 14 reviews) for its inventive narrative structure and lead performances.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer I’m balancing on a tightrope, 3,000 feet above the Nordic fjords. As I glance down into the watery abyss, my stomach churns. Then, with a few flicks of my index finger, I’ve ditched Scandinavia for Pangea, where I’m frolicking with velociraptors who come within centimeters of my face to sniff and size me up.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer United Talent Agency has amended its lawsuit against former MediaLink chief Michael Kassan — striking its initial claims against its former partner to move those grievances to arbitration. The amended complaint offers new details of allegations of financial mismanagement against the advertising industry’s famous matchmaker and fixer, who blasts the litigation in a statement to Variety as a “smear” effort.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Joana Vicente has stepped down as CEO of the Sundance Institute. The news will come as a shock to the global independent film community, as Vicente served under three years in a plum role she took after years in leadership at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Rounding out the lead cast for David Robert Mitchell’s mysterious new feature film with Bad Robot is Christian Convery, the star of Netflix’s top-rated “Sweet Tooth.” Convery joins Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor and Sundance breakout Maisy Stella in the family adventure from the “It Follows” director. Plot details are still under wraps for the project from J.J. Abrams and Warner Bros.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Maisy Stella, who delivered a star-making turn in this year’s Sundance hit “My Old Ass,” has booked the third lead in a mysterious new project from Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Pictures. Stella joins Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor in the untitled feature from director David Robert Mitchell (“It Follows,” “Under the Silver Lake”).

Children’s fantasy classic The Neverending Story is headed for a big screen reboot via a series of live-action features to be developed and produced by Michael Ende Productions and Oscar-winning See-Saw Films. The partners were granted the rights to Ende’s enduring novel by the author’s executor, Wolf-Dieter von Gronau.

Dwayne Johnson is looking back at his experience growing up, revealing that while he had “a real complicated relationship” with his father, he is thrilled to be a dad. The Hollywood actor is dad to 22-year-old Simone Johnson from his previous relationship with Dany Garcia.Lenny and Zoe Kravitz share adorable father-daughter moment on his Walk of Fame ceremonyBen Affleck and Jennifer Garner reunite to attend their son Samuel’s basketball gameRyan Gosling credits Eva Mendes and their two daughters for his 2024 Oscars performanceThe Rock is also a father to his two young daughters, 8-year-old Jasmine Johnson, and 5-year-old Tiana Johnson, with his wife Lauren Hashian.

Jennifer Lopez is continuing her year with another movie. The actress and singer, who’s released a film, a record, and a documentary over the past couple of months, is starring in a Netflix film called “Atlas.” Jennifer Lopez is ready for Spring in black crop top and low rise pantsBen Affleck and Jennifer Garner reunite to attend their son Samuel’s basketball gameThe film stars Lopez as Atlas Shepherd, a data analyst on a space mission.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer United Talent Agency has been accused of breach of contract and fraud in relation to its 2021 acquisition of the consultancy firm MediaLink. MediaLink founder and UTA partner Michael Kassan, whose exit from the company nearly a week ago has not yet been reported, claims that UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer and two other top executives engaged in bad faith in the absorption and management of his company, according to documents filed with mediation service JAMS which Variety reviewed. This led Kassan to resign last week, the filing says.

Drew Afualo does not mess around when it comes to calling out misogynist men on TikTok and is now putting people on notice after she failed to receive an invite to audition for the live-action adaptation of Moana.

We’ve just head that James Cameron’s world-beating box-office juggernaut Avatar is set to hit London’s Royal Albert Hall as part of...Here’s a brand new trailer for an upcoming science fiction drama titled A Million Days which is set to hit digital...Emily Blunt is reportedly in talks to join her Jungle Cruise co-star Dwayne Johnson in new film The Smashing Machine which...The new Superman movie has officially started shooting, according to a new Instagram Threads post from the film’s writer and director,...As we approach the release of the movie this summer, Lionsgate has released the first look at Bill Skarsgård as The...We all welcomed the news of Gareth Edwards’ hiring to direct a new film in the Jurassic World series this past...When Bad Boys 4 had its production halted because of the strikes last year, we expected a summer 2024 release date...Even so often in the UK, movies are resubmitted to the British Board of Film Classification so their ratings can be...Horror aficionados will soon have some new lunchtime reading in the form of Ariel Powers-Schaub debut novel Millennial Nasties: Analyzing a...Lionsgate has released a new trailer for Miller’s Girl, a new film from writer and director Jade Halley Bartlett.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer “Michael,” the splashy forthcoming biopic about Michael Jackson from director Antoine Fuqua, has added actor Laura Harrier in a key role. Harrier, of “BlacKkKlansman” and “Spider-Man: Homecoming” fame, will portray pioneering female music executive Suzanne de Passe in the Lionsgate project. De Passe was a creative assistant to Motown founder Berry Gordy, and is credited with convincing Gordy to sign The Jackson 5 to his label.

In what’s becoming tradition, Vanessa Hudgens will host The Oscars Red Carpet Show again this year. It marks the third year in a row the actress and singer will front the official lead-in. She’ll be joined by Dancing with the Stars vet Julianne Hough this year as co-host.