Self-Tape Debate Hits U.K. as Actors Demand Regulation: ‘We’re Being Treated With Absolute Disdain’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International “Run the Burbs” producer Pier 21 Films has partnered with Canadian stand-up comic Julie Kim on a half-hour comedy series. The development deal marks Kim’s debut at the helm of a sitcom, which Kim will co-write with “Strays” alum, Clara Altimas. The project comes on the heels of her gala performance at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal, her debut at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and a 40-theater North American tour with Ronny Chieng (“Crazy Rich Asians”). “Julie Kim is one of today’s freshest stand-up performers with an impeccable track record for creating comedy gold,” said Karen Tsang, senior VP of creative affairs at Pier 21 Films. “We are incredibly excited to collaborate with her as she plunges into her own scripted series.”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Apple TV+ will be tapping into France’s lavish culinary heritage with “Carême,” a new original series about the world’s first celebrity chef, Antonin Carême, which will be directed by Martin Bourboulon (“The Three Musketeers: d’Artagnan”). Set in the 19th century, the eight-episode French drama will chart the sprawling story of Carême, who rose from humble beginnings in Paris to the height of culinary stardom in Napoleon’s Europe. He not only became an iconic chef, he also became a spy for France as his talent and ambitions attracted the attention of powerful politicians, including Napoleon. The series will shed light on the miserable reality of 19th century kitchens, contrasting with the opulence of the mansions and sophisticated of aristocrats.

Naman Ramachandran Prolific genre producer Steven Schneider of Room 101, Inc. and Spooky Pictures, is teaming with Malkier Studios on a slate of horror films. Schneider’s credits include “Paranormal Activity,” “Blair Witch,” and M. Night Shyamalan’s “Old.” Producing alongside Schneider will be D.C. Cassidy, Michael Fisk and Julia Wang Zhu under the newly formed Malkier Studios production company that will focus on creating IP driven horror, animation and thriller content. First up under the collaboration is “Janus,” written by Nate Atkins (“Blood-Red Ox”) and Jason Zada (“The Forest,” “Take this Lollipop”) with Zada also directing. It will follow three band members seeking refuge in an old farmhouse where they encounter a woman harboring an unspeakable secret. Schneider and Joe Heath will produce alongside Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash, who will bring his musical expertise and oversight to the film. The cast includes Alex Neustaedter (“American Rust”), Natalie Alyn Lind (“Big Sky”), Jack Kilmer (“Lords of Chaos”) and Grace Van Dien (“Stranger Things”), along with M.C. Gainey (“Emperor”). Filming will commence later this year in Puerto Rico.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Temtem, the popular multiplayer creature-collection game, is set for a series adaptation with Josh Hamilton (“Avatar: The Last Airbender”) on board as showrunner. Somewhere Animation, which is part of Mediawan Kids & Family company, and the L.A.-based banner Marla Studios have teamed up to produce a comedy-adventure series based on the game. The Japanese-style game, often compared with Pokémon, was developed by the Spanish studio Crema and released in 2020. It’s set on the Airborne Archipelago, six colorful and diverse islands, where humans live alongside feathery creatures called Temtem.

Holly Jones Successful Argentinean YouTube Channel, The Children’s Kingdom (El Reino Infantil), will team with kidoodle.tv, the safe streaming network, to bring their slate of inventive children’s programming to the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, New Zealand and Latin America. “The alliance with Kidoodle opens the path for us to continue to expand our brand globally and grow our content in the English-speaking market. We are very proud to be part of this platform with “Zenon the Farmer” and “Bichikids,” two of our main IPs,” said Agostina Sanzio, marketing and communications manager at Leader Entertainment. “We continue working so that The Children’s Kingdom is the home of reference content for parents and preferred by children,” she told Variety.

A family say their dream holiday was 'ruined' after they were left with no clean clothes for days.

GoFundMe page, Shannon Amos argued that she "received a distressing call" from her father in May. At the time, she claimed John, 83, was being hospitalized in Memphis, Tennessee."Though I was out of the country, we managed a brief FaceTime conversation before his pain became too unbearable," she wrote.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer With a tentative Directors Guild of America deal in hand and the Writers Guild of America on strike, SAG-AFTRA has been thrust into a bigger role than the performer’s union has played in years in the industry’s triennial labor contract negotiations. SAG-AFTRA gets its turn at the bargaining table this week, with an agenda that seeks to address the many ways that technology is changing the profession of acting. Two of the union’s top concerns — streaming residuals and artificial intelligence — are also key issues for the WGA and DGA. The performers’ guild is also uniquely focused on putting limits on “self-taped” auditions, which have become ubiquitous since the beginning of the pandemic.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Skonieczny is set to go into production on the feature film “Wrooklyn Zoo.” “Wrooklyn Zoo” is a modern retelling of William Shakespeare’s classic “Romeo and Juliet” in which Romeo, a skilled skateboarder, finds himself captivated by Julia, a Romani girl seeking to emancipate herself from her environment. Their love becomes a powerful force that transcends cultural and societal barriers, leading them on a journey of self-discovery and resilience. Skonieczny is known for directing the critically acclaimed HBO drama series “Blinded by the Lights,” which launched on HBO Europe in 2018, becoming the platform’s third most watched show in the region. The show debuted in the U.S. in 2019 — a rarity at the time for European HBO programming.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Of all the things Belinda Carlisle has been mad about in recent years, her career as a pop solo artist has not been high up there, from all appearances. That changed with the May release of “Kismet,” a five-song EP that finally found Carlisle dipping a toe back into the recording studio with her first new collection of English-language pop music since 1996, including a single titled “Big Big Love,” which really did have the beat (as opposed to her last album, a mantra record). But if there’s any pop star of her generation that hasn’t cravenly coveted the spotlight, and isn’t likely to start now, it’s Carlisle, who seems like she’d be perfectly content even if Diane Warren hadn’t talked her into finally reentering the studio for a new batch of songs. Long an American expat and constant traveler, the singer seems quite content to spend most of her time with her husband of 37 years, Morgan Mason, at home in Mexico City, with only occasional forays onto the road. She’s not making any promises one way or another about whether this EP presages a full solo album… though Carlisle will offer assurances that the Go-Go’s are “done,” having gone out on top, in her estimation, with a long-, long-awaited Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.

The Bold and the Beautiful‘s Pierson Fodé could be the latest name in the running for the role of Superman/Clark Kent.

Kim Kardashian was going through hell behind the scenes while Kanye West was acting out over the last year.

McKinley Franklin editor Cineverse and Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures are teaming up to launch the Sid & Marty Krofft Channel, Variety can exclusively reveal. Cineverse, formerly Cinedigm, will manage and operate the channel that will home selections of live-action Krofft shows. Episodes from iconic children’s and fantasy series will stream on the channel, including “H.R. Pufnstuf,” “The Bugaloos,” “Lidsville,” “Sigmund and the Sea Monsters,” “Land of the Lost,” “The Lost Saucer” and “Far Out Space Nuts.”  The deal comes as Cineverse lands rights to distribute Krofft shows across multiple digital platforms as part of a new overall deal. Cineverse will remasterthe library, making it the first time the Krofft shows will be available on digital platforms.

Firing back. After Khloé Kardashian was sued by her former assistant for unlawful termination, she filed her own court documents and denied the claims.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Well Go USA Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Kore-eda Hirokazu’s film “Monster” which world premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival and and won best screenplay (for Yuji Sakamoto). A critically acclaimed Japanese master, Kore-eda previously won Cannes’ Palme d’Or with “Shoplifters” in 2018 and returned to the competition last year with “Broker” which won best actor for Song Kang-ho. Well Go USA Entertainment plans to release “Monster” in North American theaters in late 2023 or early 2024. Scored by late Oscar-winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto (“The Last Emperor”) and lensed by Ryoto Kondo (“Shoplifters”), “Monster” tells the story of a widowed mother (Ando Sakura, “Shoplifters) who notices that her young son (Kurokawa Soya) has begun exhibiting strange behaviors. When she brings her concerns to the staff at his school, she discovers that a teacher (Nagayama Eita, “Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai”) is responsible and demands an explanation. Told through the multilayered perspectives of mother, teacher and child, the film gradually unveils the truth which proves much more complex than anyone expects.

The CEO of a mental health care firm has hit back at a critical watchdog report into its Stockport hospital - where three young women died within weeks last year. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) deemed child and adolescent mental health (CAMHS) services at Cheadle Royal Hospital, also known as the Priory Hospital Cheadle Royal, to be 'inadequate' following a recent inspection.

December of 2022, Leone parted ways with Bon Appétit. Shortly after the news broke, Leone assured his fans that he had more content premiering in 2023, writing on Instagram, “Lots of videos coming soon to my own YouTube page.

EXCLUSIVE: Sophie Holland has been among the UK’s busier casting directors in recent years. The London-based professional has worked on shows including The Witcher, Wednesday, You and The Continental, as well as upcoming movies such as Heads Of State with Priyanka Chopra and Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice sequel. Set up seven years ago, her company Sophie Holland Casting now has a headcount of five.

ESPN has released an exclusive clip from a new two-part documentary that will shed light on the behind-the-scenes story of the famed reality competition show “American Gladiators.”From 1989 to 1996, “American Gladiators” was one of the most popular syndicated programs in television, a competition show that predated the reality TV era but used many of the same techniques to attract viewers. Every week, “amateur” contestants would go up against a cast of “professional” gladiators in a range of physical competitions, setting up David versus Goliath matchups that were popular with big television audiences but also earned considerable criticism for being “crash TV”. The documentary, which will debut on May 30 and 31 on ESPN and be made available on ESPN+ following its premiere, features original interviews with Johnny Ferraro, Deron McBee (‘Malibu’), Michael Horton (‘Gemini’), Lynn ‘Red’ Williams (‘Sabre’), the late William Billy Smith (‘Thunder’) and Salina Bartunek (‘Elektra’).

Arnold Schwarzenegger is feeling the love. The 75-year-old celebrated screen legend got some support from his son, Joseph Baena, at the premiere of his new action comedy series, .Arnold walked the red carpet at the special screening at The Grove in Hollywood on Monday, and spoke with ET's Kevin Frazier about seeing his 25-year-old son coming out to celebrate his famous dad's first-ever TV series.«Well, I'm glad that he's here today, watching ,» Arnold shared with a big smile.