hollywoodreporter.com - 12 617 Showbiz News and Updates

NBCUniversal streaming service Peacock has reached 42 million sign-ups, parent company Comcast said in its latest quarterly earnings report. The conglomerate had in its previous financial update in late January mentioned 33 million sign-ups.The streamer has been "benefiting from the recent addition of exclusive domestic streaming rights to WWE Network andThe Office," the company said on Thursday.

Serving up some nostalgia, ViacomCBS' MTV will in May premiere My Life on MTV, a new music series "celebrating some of the world’s greatest stars and their most unforgettable moments." The 10-episode series, featuring the likes of Lady Gaga,Sean "Diddy" Combs, Snoop Dogg, Miley Cyrus, Alicia Keys, One Direction, Backstreet Boys, Linkin Park, Green Day, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, Jonas Brothers, Usher, Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Lopez, Coldplay, U2, 'N Sync and Britney Spears, will premiere in

Giant-screen exhibitor Imax posted higher first-quarter revenues as it was lifted by a recovery in the Asian box office. The company, led by CEO Richard Gelfond, reduced its loss attributable to shareholders to $14.8 million, compared with a loss of $49.4 million last year when Imax was hit hard by movie theater closures during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Heather Stewart, a hugely respected film British Film Institute veteran who has helped transform the BFI National Archive into a world-leading film preservation facility, is to step down from her current role as creative director after 30 years at the organization.

Dish Network reported that it lost about 230,000 net pay TV subscribers in the first quarter, compared with a decline of 413,000 in the year-ago period and a drop of 133,000 in the fourth quarter of 2020. The latest quarter's figures include subscribers to the traditional Dish pay TV service, as well as the Sling TV streaming service.

Despite an online backlash, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell appeared as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Wednesday. The controversial executive, who has been banned from Twitter and is currently being sued for pushing wild conspiracy theories and disinformation that the 2020 election was rigged, began his interview with host Jimmy Kimmel talking about the coronavirus and whether or not Lindell had been vaccinated,to which he confirmed that he hasn't.

You know you're in the realm of the archetype when a movie's closing credits favor descriptors over character names: The Waitress, The Loner, The Mentor — and, first and foremost, The Virtuoso's nameless title mercenary. Played by Anson Mount in a tight-jawed register, he's a killer for hire whose armor is starting to crack, ever so slightly, after a hit gone wrong.

Stephen Colbert went live after President Biden's address to Congress on Wednesday, where he spoke of his administration's first 100 days in office. The late-night host acknowledged that Biden was the first President to deliver the speech in front of a mask-wearing audience, though because of social distancing, the audience was "way smaller" than usual.

Netflix continues to bulk up its production operations in Europe, on Thursday announcing it will set up a hub in Sweden in the second half of this year. The opening of the Scandinavian hub, which will be based in Stockholm, was made Thursday by Lina Brouneus, Netflix's director of acquisitions and co-productions for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Samuel L. Jackson-starrer The Protege will shoot it way into theaters Aug.

President Joe Biden declared Wednesday night in his first address to a joint session of Congress that “America is rising anew," and pointed optimistically to the nation's emergence from the pandemic as a vital moment to rebuild the U.S. economy and fundamentally transform roles the government plays in American life.

Endeavor will go public on Thursday, capping a two-year journey that will finally see the parent company of WME, IMG and UFC trade on the public markets. In a securities filing Wednesday afternoon, the company officially priced its IPO at $24 per share, which would give it an enterprise value of about $10 billion.

Apple's services business is off to a hot start in 2021. The tech giant's services revenue topped $16.9 billion in the first quarter of the year, up from $13.3 billion a year ago.

Far from the consistent critical glory of Sundance contemporaries like Kelly Reichardt and Debra Granik — or even the sporadic critical glory of a Lisa Cholodenko or an Ira Sachs — and not to be confused with more marketable writing-directing duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini have forged one of the most perplexing career paths in American independent film.

Mobile gaming company Wildlife Studios has launched its second independent studio, SuperWOW! Games. The studio will be led byLu Gigliotti, known for developing franchises such as Need for Speed No Limits and Devil May Cry.

Jurnee Smollett will star in the Netflix thriller Lou, appearing oppositeAllison Janney. J.J.

Facebook has unveiled first quarter results that underlined continuing user growth during the pandemic, while also warning revenue growth would slow down towards the end of 2021, when compared with the COVID-era growth in 2020. Facebook, which is led by Mark Zuckerberg, on Wednesday reported that revenue grew 48 percent during the fourth quarter to $26.1 billion, with advertising revenue rising 46 percent to $25.4 billion.

Florence Pugh is set to star in Sebastian Lelio's adaptation of Emma Donoghue'spsychological thrillerThe Wonder, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The novel by the Irish-Canadian writer is set in the Irish Midlands in 1859 as an English nurse, Lib Wright, goes to a tiny village to observe what some see as a medical anomaly and others a miracle, that a girl has survived without food for months.

Sony Pictures Entertainment veteran exec Keith Le Goy has been named chairman of distribution and networks.

Film, TV and Broadway star Norbert Leo Butz has signed with APA. Butz stars in NBC's Debris series and nabbed a lead role as Rex Foster in the Disney+ adaptation of Tim Federle’s YA novel Better Nate Than Ever.

Gabrielle Union is set to release a new memoir. Dey Street Books, an imprint of the William Morrow Group at HarperCollins, will publish Union’s You Got Anything Stronger? in September.

When Donald Glover’s stunning starter home in the sleepy Los Angeles suburb of La Cañada Flintridge first hit the market in February, the listingattracted substantial publicityfrom Dirt and other outlets. One of the deep-pocketed folks who caught wind of the sale was Mark Fischbach, the 31-year-old gaming YouTuber better known as Markiplier.

The producer of acclaimed documentaries John Lewis: Good Trouble and The Way I See It is going into business with Industrial Media. Trilogy Films, led by Dawn Porter, has signed an overall deal with the independent production group specializing in unscripted content, becoming the sixth company to partner with Industrial.

Isabela Merced, who starred in Dora and the Lost City of Gold, has joined Andy Garcia and Gloria Estefan inWarner Bros.' remake ofFather of the Bride. Gaz Alazraki, who helmedClub deCuervos, is directing the feature, which goes before cameras in May.

Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, who piloted the ship from which Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left to make their historic first steps on the moon in 1969, died Wednesday of cancer, his family said. He was 90.

New event cinema company Iconic Events — led by an impressive roster of exhibiton industry veterans — has named Steve Bunnell to serve as its CEO. The Los Angeles-based venture also said it has enlisted theatrical circuits representing over 1,000 locations to the expanding network of theaters playing its programming.

Bob Iger has defended The Walt Disney Co.'s pivot before and during the pandemic from its legacy theatrical movie and TV business to a growing focus on the streaming space with Disney+ and other digital platforms. "It all worked out and it worked out great," Iger said of the November 2019 Disney+ launch while receiving an honorary Clio Award on Wednesday.

In a four-way bidding war, Hulu has landed the neo-feminist drama series$ugar, about a Sugar Baby ring formed at Stanford University. The darkly comedic show, which is in the very early stages of development, hails from rising writer and producerKimi Howl Lee.

Dax Shepard is opening up about sharing the news with his children that he had a drug relapse last year. While a guest onChelsea Clinton's In Fact podcast on Tuesday, the 46-year-old actor said he and wifeKristen Bell are open and honest with their daughters, Lincoln, 8, andDelta, 6.

Mysteries filter through HBO’s new limited series “Mare of Easttown” like water through a sieve.

Action-thriller The Survivalist starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and John Malkovich has been acquired by Quiver Distribution for North America. The feature, directed by Jon Keeyes, takes place after a viral pandemic decimates the world.

Gal Gadot is reteaming with Wonder Woman producersCharles Roven andRichard Suckle for a romance with a sci-fi twist. Based on the debut novel of the same name from Catriona Silvey,Meet Me in Another Life followsThora and Santi, kindred spirits that keep meeting in different versions of reality, where they could befriends, colleagues, lovers or enemies.

If you're going to build a new character-driven action franchise — and hang tight for a coda sequence midway through the end credits to see how that would take shape — then you need a charismatic lead to lay the foundations. Tom Clancy's Without Remorse certainly has that in Michael B.

Samuel Goldwyn Films has picked up the worldwide rights, excluding Canada, to the family sci-fi film Let Us In, by director Craig Moss. The indie stars Makenzie Moss, O’Neill Monahan, Sadie Stanley, Eric Callero, Mackenzie Ziegler and Tobin Bell.

Bob Odenkirk is set to release a memoir. Random House announced Wednesday that it will publishComedy Comedy Comedy Drama: A Memoir, which is slated for a 2022 release.

Buckle up, Sopranos fans. There is a new mini-chapter to the iconic HBO series.