Digital Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Meredith Woerner Deputy Editor, Variety.com If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Whether you’re inspired by the range of catastrophic events happening in the world or influenced by Hollywood’s continued rollout of doomsday dramas, it’s never a bad idea to be prepared. Between power outages, natural disasters and unexpected circumstances, having the right emergency kits and supplies can make all the difference.

Seth Meyers and The Lonely Island troupe of Andy Samberg, Akiva Shaffer, and Jorma Taccone have a new podcast, The Lonely Island & Seth Meyers Podcast.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Meta filed a motion Friday requesting the dismissal of the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against the social media company — arguing the agency still hasn’t provided any basis for its litigation, which could potentially force Meta to divest Instagram and WhatsApp. In December 2020, the FTC and more than 40 state attorneys general sued the company (then called Facebook), alleging it illegally acquired competitors Instagram and WhatsApp in an abuse of its monopoly power.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Michael J. Fox‘s retirement from acting might not be permanent. The actor recently told Entertainment Tonight that he’d be open to returning to the profession bearing the right role.

Naman Ramachandran Punit Goenka, MD and CEO of Indian media conglomerate Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, is trimming the organization’s workforce by 15%. “In line with his overall strategic approach, the MD and CEO has initiated the process of rationalization of the workforce by 15%, that will prune the staff strength across the company to arrive at a streamlined team that is sharply focused on the set goals for the future,” Zee said in a statement on Friday.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Some subscribers to Disney‘s streaming services will start seeing some new messaging up this summer: Pay up for anyone outside your main household who’s illicitly piggybacking on the services — or face potentially getting disconnected. According to Disney chief Bob Iger, the Mouse House this June will “be launching our first real foray into password sharing” enforcement.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Carla Gugino recently told BuzzFeed that her beloved role in Robert Rodriguez’s 2001 family action film “Spy Kids” was “physically totally impossible.” The actor was 27 years old when she filmed the movie and played Ingrid Cortes, the mother of two spies. By Gugino’s math, the character didn’t add up. “It is so funny because I was 27,” Gugino recounted.

Anna Paquin used a cane while walking the red carpet with husband Stephen Moyer for a New York film premiere. Paquin, who was at the premiere of her new film, "A Bit of Light," Wednesday, revealed to People magazine her undisclosed health struggle "hasn’t been easy." In addition to needing a cane to get around, she has also had impaired speech but is "hopefully" going to make a full recovery, according to People, citing a source.

It seems talent runs in the family for actor Michael Douglas. During a recent episode of the PBS show "Finding Your Roots," which examines celebrities' ancestral backgrounds, Douglas learned, much to his astonishment, that he's related to another famous actor. After the program produced all that it could via "paper trail," it turned to genetics and compared Douglas' DNA with other guests who had previously appeared on the show.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Video platform provider Vimeo named Philip Moyer, a senior exec at Google Cloud overseeing AI applied engineering and business development, as CEO and member of its board. Moyer’s appointment is effective April 8, 2024.

Deborah McBride, a veteran A+E Networks corporate communications executive who previously worked at Turner Broadcasting System, has died after a short battle with brain cancer.

THE TRIP TO Baden-Baden didn’t go as planned. Last summer, Imax CEO Rich Gelfond touched down in the German city for a conference of theater owners, looking to hype the blockbusters that were about to unspool on the company’s football-field-sized screens. But instead of excitement, Gelfond was greeted with outrage.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Anna Paquin stepped onto a red carpet for the first time in well over a year to promote her latest movie, “A Bit of Light,” directed by her husband and “True Bood” co-star Stephen Moyer. The Oscar winner used a cane at the event to help her walk and disclosed to People that she’s had a “difficult” two years dealing with an undisclosed health issue that left her with mobility issues. “It hasn’t been easy,” Paquin told the publication of needing a cane to walk.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Christian Bale is Frankenstein’s monster in a first look at Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Bride.” The director, who is teaming up with Warner Bros. for the period film, shared images on Instagram from a recent camera test for the movie. Bale’s monster makes his debut alongside Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter” Oscar nominee Jessie Buckley as the eponymous bride.

EXCLUSIVE: The WME division that reps the likes of Gary Lineker’s Goalhanger and Alice Levine has signed up a digital agent.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Spotify announced the appointment of Christian Luiga, a senior executive at European defense and security company Saab AB, as its next CFO. Luiga is expected to start in the third quarter of 2024. Ben Kung, Spotify’s VP of financial planning and analysis, will serve as interim CFO until Luiga’s start date.

Roma Downey turned to God during one of the most painful moments of her life. As a child, the former "Touched By an Angel" star’s mother died of a heart attack. "My mother died when I was just a little girl," the 63-year-old told Fox News Digital.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Rebel Wilson writes in her new memoir “Rebel Rising” that she was able to successfully negotiate a $10 million salary to reprise the role of Fat Amy in “Pitch Perfect 3″ (via People). The payday proved how much of a career Wilson built for herself over six years as she earned just $3,500 for her small breakthrough in 2011’s “Bridesmaids.” The small “Bridesmaids” sum “didn’t matter to me,” Wilson writes. She took the role and didn’t think twice about the salary because the fee was enough to get her into the SAG-AFTRA union, which meant more opportunities in Hollywood.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Danny McBride has a bone to pick with movie theaters. With the popularization of theaters that now serve dinner and drinks in the middle of a movie (see Alama Drafthouse locations, for example), the “Eastbound & Down” and “Pineapple Express” comedian recently told GQ magazine that he is staunchly against the trend. “I hate it, I can’t stand it,” McBride said while addressing the theaters-that-serves-dinner trend.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Private-equity giant Apollo Global Management made a $27 billion offer to acquire all of Paramount Global this week, sources familiar with the bid told Variety. However, the special committee set up by the Paramount Global board of directors to consider M&A options declined to engage with the bid. Apollo submitted an all-cash bid on Sunday, March 31, to acquire Paramount Global in a deal worth more than $27 billion of total enterprise value, encompassing equity and debt, according to people familiar with the situation.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Jerrod Carmichael recently opened up to Esquire magazine about tensions with fellow comedian Dave Chappelle. Carmichael, who is making the press rounds in support of his new HBO series, generated headlines in June 2022 when he criticized Chappelle, who had already been earning backlash for making jokes about the transgender community. “Chappelle, do you know what comes up when you Google your name, bro?” Carmichael asked during a GQ magazine profile at the time, referring to the comedian’s comments about trans people.

Free TV Networks (FTN), the new company with a portfolio of national, ad-supported over-the-air networks and FAST channels, is launching another national broadcast network called Dare that will feature unscripted series from A+E Networks.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Dark Star Pictures has acquired North American distribution rights to “Big Boys,” an LGBTQ coming-of-age comedy. The company is planning a theatrical release in May, followed by a digital launch in June, which will coincide with Pride Month. Written and directed by Corey Sherman, “Big Boys” follows a group of teenage boys whose unexpected romantic attachment transforms a simple camping trip into a weekend of self-discovery.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Jon Bernthal is back playing Frank Castle (aka Punisher) on the set of “Daredevil: Born Again,” new set photos from which have the character paired up with Charlie Cox’s eponymous hero and soaked in blood. The Disney+ series is now filming in New York City. Bernthal debuted as Frank Castle in Netflix’s “The Punisher” series, which aired for two seasons and 26 episodes between 2017 and 2019.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Patrick Whitesell, executive chairman of WME parent Endeavor, is launching a new media company backed by Silver Lake as part of the private-equity firm’s deal to take Endeavor private. Silver Lake will invest $250 million of seed equity into a new business to be founded, managed and controlled by Whitesell, according to an Endeavor SEC filing Wednesday.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney had won enough of the shareholder votes cast for its 12 board candidates as of Tuesday evening to successfully defeat an aggressive, months-long proxy fight waged by Nelson Peltz‘s Trian Partners hedge fund, Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources. Enough votes had been cast as of Tuesday evening to put Disney’s board directors “safely ahead” of Trian’s two nominees for the board — Peltz and ex-Disney CFO Jay Rasulo — per the Reuters report. In addition, the three board candidates proposed by investment firm Blackwells Capital failed to win enough votes, according to the report.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Marketing veteran Scott Donaton has joined VersusGame, an AI-powered interactive content company, as chief marketing officer. Donaton, most recently senior VP of marketing at Disney’s Hulu, will oversee all marketing functions for Versus, including brand strategy, communications, content, social media and consumer insights. Donaton had joined Hulu in 2019; he introduced the streaming industry’s first branded entertainment practice before exiting Hulu in the spring of 2023.

Plans to erect two giant digital advertising billboards on one of Kilmarnock's busiest roads have been approved.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Michael Keaton participated in a career retrospective interview for GQ magazine and admitted that his casting as Batman in Tim Burton’s 1989 superhero movie was “ballsy” considering he was more known for his comedic roles in films like “Mr. Mom” at that point in his career. Keaton’s casting was met with backlash among comic book fans at the time.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Hunter Schafer said in a new GQ cover story that she has been strategic in trying to shift the public’s focus away from her gender identity as a transgender person. The “Euphoria” favorite does not want her identity to be the sole talking point about her and has at times tried to avoid saying the word “trans” during interviews in order to ensure her career is not solely defined by her gender identity. “It has not just happened naturally by any means.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Minnie Driver said during a recent interview on Jameela Jamil’s “I Weigh” podcast that producers on her 1998 disaster movie “Hard Rain” allegedly told her not to wear a wetsuit while filming with rain machines because “they wanted to see my nipples” (via Entertainment Weekly). The film, directed by Mikael Salomon, opened a year after Driver’s breakthrough in “Good Will Hunting,” which earned her an Oscar nomination. Morgan Freeman and Christian Slater headlined “Hard Rain.” “It’s set during this massive storm, there were huge rain machines.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Lizzo is not quitting music or social media. Days after the Grammy winner stirred up headlines for posting “I quit” on social media, she took to Instagram to clarify exactly what she meant and assure fans that she still plans to release new music in the future.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Andy Cohen kicked off the April 1 episode of his SiriusXM radio show by sharing regret over fueling conspiracy theories about Kate Middleton‘s public absence (via Vanity Fair). It was Cohen’s first show back on the air since Middleton revealed her cancer diagnosis. “I just want to say, I am heartbroken by the news about Princess Kate, and I think someone on Sky News called me a numpty during that whole conversation and they were right,” Cohen said, later adding: “And of course, I wish I had kept my mouth shut and we are all praying for Princess Kate and King Charles.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Endeavor, three years after the sports and entertainment company went public, announced that it has entered into an agreement to be acquired by private-equity firm Silver Lake. The deal gives Endeavor an equity value of $13 billion, the companies said.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Steve-O said on a recent episode of his “Wild Ride!” podcast that he had to turn down a request to appear on Bill Maher‘s podcast because Maher allegedly refused not to smoke pot during the interview. “Jackass” alum Steve-O is 16 years sober. Maher is often seen smoking marijuana during his “Club Random” podcast interviews.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Ang Lee is moving on from 3D filmmaking after a trio of hit or miss releases: “Life of Pi” (2012), “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” (2016) and “Gemini Man” (2019). The former title was an acclaimed blockbuster that won Lee the Oscar for best director, while the latter two releases, also distributing in high-frame rate at 120 frames per second, were mostly critical misfires and big financial disappointments. Lee hasn’t made a movie since “Gemini Man.” “I tried higher frame rate and I tried 3D,” Lee recently told IndieWire.