Vodka Cruiser launches new range of limited-edition Cruiser Magnums

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorYouTube will award $100,000 to the grand-prize winner of a new global talent show to find the next breakout gaming creator, hosted by U.K. YouTube gaming creator Ali-A.YouTube’s uTure contest kicks off Saturday with a call for entries and the show will debut in June, letting aspiring digital stars compete in weekly challenges to win the top prize.

Maya Jama continued her smitten display with fiance Ben Simmons as they headed out for a cosy lunch in New York City. Stepping out to eat at Edward's in Tribeca on Monday, 27 year old Maya, who got engaged to the Australian basketball player just before Christmas, looked sensational.The television presenter stood out in a bright yellow hoodie and matching joggers while toting her essentials in a chic white handbag and keeping it comfortable in white trainers. Maya opted for a slick of make-up to enhance her naturally pretty features and wore her raven tresses in a sleek style for the outing.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefRoku has picked up a second season of “Cypher,” an FBI-themed crime drama series, for which it was the exclusive North American carrier of the first seven-episode season.In territories outside the U.S. and Canada, the show is represented by Screen Media Ventures, which is launching it at the MipTV market this week.“Cypher” tells the story of an FBI code-breaking specialist who discovers a secret organization’s hit list and must navigate the murky waters of loyalty and betrayal among an underground ring of hackers, assassins, and government agents spanning a global conspiracy.Created by Mohamed Sayed Bisheer and directed by Majdi Smiri, the first season was shot in Los Angeles and produced jointly by Cairo-based Aroma Studios and United Brothers along with Los Angeles-based production companies AZ Films, Thriller Films and Taiwan’s Organic Media Group.

Beabadoobee will tour both Australia and New Zealand for the first time this September.The tour, announced today (April 5), is in support of the singer-songwriter’s forthcoming second studio album, ‘Beatopia’. She shared news of the album last month, alongside the release of its lead single ‘Talk’. A tour of the UK was also announced at that time, with a world tour to follow.In a press statement, Beabadoobee said that she was “so excited” to be touring through Australasia.

William Earl Variety Australia debuts today as a digital platform with live media events and print editions to come through a licensing agreement between Penske Media Corporation and The Brag Media.The launch of Variety Australia reflects the rapid growth of Australia as a player in the global media marketplace and as a force in pop culture. Variety Australia’s digital operation will offer a mix of local news and features for a business-to-business audience in Australia and New Zealand, along with a selection of global news and analysis from Variety curated for Australasian readers.Variety Australia marks the second international brand extension for Variety following the launch of Variety China in 2019.

Paramount+ is locking phasers in advance of the latest new series in the Star Trek saga, releasing the first official trailer for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which debuts next month on the streamer.

Pixies have announced their return to Australia and New Zealand, taking to stages this December for their long-paused ‘Come On Pilgrim… It’s Surfer Rosa’ tour – get tickets here.It’ll be the band’s second time taking the run Down Under, after an attempt in 2020 was cut short by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. They played four of the dates on that tour – two headliners in Melbourne, one in Auckland and a set at that year’s Golden Plains festival in regional Victoria – but were forced to cancel shows in Brisbane, Sydney and Perth.All three cities are featured on the new itinerary, which is set to kick off in Brisbane on December 2.

FX has set the date of its Danny Boyle-directed limited series about Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones. Pistol will premiere May 31 exclusively on Hulu in the U.S. and on Disney+ in UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

Sigur Rós have added four more shows to their sprawling list of impending tour dates, slating gigs in New Zealand and Australia for this August – get tickets here.The four-date stint will be sandwiched between their 27 shows in North America – the first of which will go down in just under a month – and their 29-date run in the UK and Europe this September. It’ll start in New Zealand, with a lone show at Auckland’s Spark Arena slotted in for Saturday August 6, before the band take to stages in the Australian cities of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.Tickets for the Auckland and Brisbane dates can be found here, while Sydney and Melbourne fans can get their hands on tickets here.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefWhether or not “The Power of the Dog” wins the big prize at the Academy Awards on Sunday, David Strong, chief executive of the New Zealand Film Commission for the past eight months, is guaranteed to be an in-demand visitor to Los Angeles over the next week.With the Jane Campion-directed film handily showcasing New Zealand’s talent, locations and craft strengths, the country has now reopened its borders to international visitors. Also sweetening the deal are more studio spaces.Ahead of Strong’s flight to Los Angeles, where he has a week of meetings set up with Hollywood decision makers, he spoke to Variety about what New Zealand has to offer going forward.What has been the impact of “The Power of the Dog” and its Oscar nominations? It’s already been a big success story for us.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorVeteran dance music executive Patrick Moxey has announced details of his new label group and has signed a new, worldwide deal for two key record labels with Warner Recorded Music.The agreement, which encompasses the legendary Payday Records and the newly created Helix Records, will see Warner Recorded Music handling global digital distribution via its independent services arm ADA Worldwide, and includes the option for the parties to co-sign new repertoire.The move comes just weeks after Moxey left Ultra, the label he founded during the 1990s, and Sony Music.Helix Records, the group’s new flagship electronic dance music label, which was officially launched this week at Miami Music Week, has already signed several artists, including electronic duo Snakehips, British-Australian band AR/CO, legendary house dj/producer Marshall Jefferson, and tech house maven DJ Susan. Helix and Payday Records have offices in Los Angeles, New York, and London with 36-member team covering marketing and promotions in Canada, Sweden, Germany, France, and Australia.

Emily Longeretta Netflix and Kinetic Content are teaming up once again. The streaming giant announced a new reality show coming soon, featuring stars from “Too Hot To Handle,” “Love Is Blind,” “The Circle,” “Selling Tampa” and more.“Singles from Netflix reality shows have done some crazy things to find love. But they’re still single,” the official description reads.

New Zealand-born Australian filmmaker Andrew Dominik might be on the precipice of a banner year. His long-awaited Marilyn Monroe film starring Ana de Armas, “Blonde,” just received an NC-17 rating from the Film Ratings board, something of a first for Netflix, and should make its world premiere later this year (likely Venice, since Netflix avoids Cannes).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefBruce Tuchmann-backed Rialto International has launched a branded on-demand streaming service in Japan, focused on independent film, and housed on Amazon’s Prime Video Channels platform.Rialto Channel launched in 1999 in New Zealand, where it was initially branded as The Sundance Channel. It established itself as an award-winning and industry-leading indie film destination for over twenty years.In Japan, the Rialto-branded venue will feature current and iconic independent films.

The Bachelor Australia star, adoring fiancé to Laura Byrne, doting dad to Marlie-Mae and Lola, fan of making funny videos.WATCH: Matty J and Laura Byrne pull off "the routine" on InstagramWhat you may not think is Matty J: financial advisor. But in his new podcast The Penny Drops, that's the role he's taking on – with the help of some certified experts."The great thing is, I am definitely not the expert here," the 34-year-old star tells WHO of his next podcasting adventure. "I really hope the fact that I lack so much knowledge means I can break down the conversations in ways that are really easy for people to digest."On the podcast, Matty J will be the bridge between those of us who have no clue what we're doing and the experts who can help us figure it all out.

Ed Sheeran has teased his next “curveball” project, confirming that it’s coming very soon.Speaking to The Project NZ about his upcoming Australia and New Zealand stadium tour, the singer-songwriter explained the reasoning behind naming his albums after mathematical symbols.“I was like, ‘I don’t really want to be a poster boy’,” Sheeran said. “So I had sort of figured out a way [to do] it with colours and symbols.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorCrunchyroll is inviting fans of the Dragon Ball anime franchise to hop on their Flying Nimbus cloud — and stream more than 500 episodes of the fan-favorite series that were previously available only on Funimation.For the first time, Toei Animation’s “Dragon Ball,” “Dragon Ball Z” and “Dragon Ball GT” are now available to watch on Sony’s Crunchyroll streaming service in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.The three series come to Crunchyroll as part of another wave of new content from Funimation, after Sony on March 1 announced that the two services would merge into a single unified Crunchyroll service. The trio of shows joins “Dragon Ball Super,” which has been available on Crunchyroll with English subtitles.