‘Waitress: The Musical’ Team Talks Coming to Theaters, Overcoming the Pandemic and Filming With a Real Baby

Jaden Thompson Tom Smothers, one half of the Smothers Brothers musical comedy duo, died on Dec. 26 in Santa Rosa, Calif. due to cancer.

Michaela Zee “The Iron Claw” revolves around the Von Erich family, a dynasty of professional wrestlers who made history in the intensely competitive sport in the early 1980s. Based on a true story, the A24 drama features Von Erich brothers Kevin (Zac Efron), David (Harris Dickinson), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) and Mike (Stanley Simons). One brother, however, was omitted from the film altogether: Chris Von Erich.

It’s been an eventful 2023 for international TV and film. As the strikes shut down Hollywood and streamers retrenched from the mega-spends of the Covid era, shows and movies from far and wide came were already in demand like never before, as viewers look to new countries for inspiration. Call it the Squid Game effect, or whatever you want, but neither subtitles nor geographical boundaries are an impediment to content getting seen any more. Here, we run down each Deadline International journalist’s top pick from the year, for the most part avoiding spoilers (there are some though, so this is a fair warning). You’ll find big-ticket U.S. fare, Japanese anime, restaurant TV dramas and Australian newsroom stories among our eclectic selections.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Berlin Film Festival artistic director Carlo Chatrian is in an upbeat mood as he puts the finishing touches on assembling his fourth and final edition. It appears to be shaping up nicely with a rich mix comprising prestige star-driven titles, such as the world premiere of Netflix’s “Spaceman” in which Adam Sandler plays an imperiled astronaut, and films with “political elements” that are intrinsic to the fest’s DNA. The day before revealing his Berlin Special lineup that includes several star-studded galas – the main lineup will be announced on Jan.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large And then there were four. Season 10 of Fox’s “The Masked Singer” airs this Wednesday with finalists Donut (Group C champion), Sea Queen (Group B winner), Cow (Group A victor) and Group A “Ding Dong Keep It On” recipient Gazelle.

EXCLUSIVE: Sandbox Films (Fire of Love) and XTR (Ascension) have teamed to produce feature doc A Life Illuminated, exploring the life and legacy of pioneering marine biologist Edie Widder, in association with ocean exploration nonprofit OceanX.

Wham! taking the lead for the peak position on the charts.The news follows a neck-and-neck race between the iconic ‘80s pop duo Wham! And Eurovision star Sam Ryder over the past week, with their respective songs ‘Last Christmas’ [1986] and ‘You’re Christmas To Me’ [2023].At the first look at the race last week, just 42 chart units stood between the two taking the top spot on the UK charts, however, this week it has been revealed by the Official Charts that Wham! are in pole position, and have widened the gap between Ryder’s Amazon Music original track – which remains at Number Two.However, it doesn’t seem likely that the charts will stay this way until Christmas, with Ryder set to play a fan-exclusive gig tonight (December 19) in Shoreditch, London, in a push to promote the song in time for Christmas Day.Similarly, today (December 19) The Pogues are sharing a special, limited-edition physical run of their own iconic Christmas song ‘Fairytale Of New York’ in a push to climb the charts.Originally released in 1988 and featuring Kirsty MacColl, the track is being reissued in memory of the band’s late singer Shane MacGowan, who died “peacefully” in hospital from pneumonia on November 30. He was 65 years old and his funeral took place in Nenagh, County Tipperary on December 8.All proceeds from the reissue will be donated to the Irish charity Dublin Simon Community, and the release also arrived alongside a fan campaign to get Fairytale of New York to Christmas Number 1 for the first time.The push for the top position on the charts has also been endorsed by Shane MacGowan’s widow, Victoria Mary Clarke.

*This story includes spoilers for “Gutenberg.”If you thought Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells were the only stars on display at Broadway’s riotous musical comedy “Gutenberg! The Musical!,” we’re happy to report you’d be wrong.Most shows ends with a special celebrity guest appearance that often floor Gad and Rannells.To close shows, big names like Steve Martin, Martin Short, Will Ferrell, Kristin Chenoweth and Weird Al Yankovic walk onstage as a “Broadway Producer” to present our heroes with a “Broadway contract” for their hastily researched musical within a musical about Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press.And while we can never predict who will be at the next performance at the James Earl Jones Theatre, we do know the best way to find out is live.As of now, tickets are available for all 48 remaining shows up until Jan. 28, 2024.At the time of publication, prices start around $60 to $70 before fees on Vivid Seats to catch the musical IRL.Want see Gad, Rannells and maybe a household name live onstage in midtown Manhattan?Here’s everything you need to know and more.All ticket prices listed above are subject to fluctuation.Up until Jan.

EXCLUSIVE: Paramount Pictures’ adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi‘s novel Children of Blood and Bone is gaining momentum. Deadline is hearing The Woman King director Gina Prince-Bythewood is coming on to helm. Prince-Bythewood will develop the next pass of a draft penned by Adeyemi.

The girls are back in town in March: Netflix has revealed that Girls5eva,the musical comedy from creator and executive producer Meredith Scardino (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), will return for a six-episode third season on March 14.

The filmed version of Broadway’s Waitress: The Musical was a surprise hit at the box office this past weekend and now the movie will stay in theaters longer than expected!

Bleecker Street said it’s extending the theatrical run of Waitress: The Musical through the holiday season after its “exceptional performance and sellouts nationwide.”

Justine Triet’s “Anatomy of a Fall” is continuing its winning ways. The courtroom drama already won the Palme d’Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and picked up two major honors at the Gotham Awards almost two weeks ago.

Working from home has plenty of perks and benefits, but it also comes with one major downside in the winter – staying warm. With heating bills still sky high, many of us are trying to prolong the moment we turn up the thermostat to try and save money.

Waitress is full of layers—some sweeter than others.Few know that better than , who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musical (and later, took over the lead role of Jenna Hunterson from Jessie Mueller). Although the show played its final performance in December 2021, it's held a pie-shaped space in fans' hearts, which will finally be filled when Waitress: The Musical hits theaters nationwide on December 7.The film is a taping of the live Broadway show, and, according to Bareilles, it “feels like a legitimate miracle” that the movie was made at all.“I can't even tell you the karma of this show,” Bareilles tells Glamour over Zoom.

Gordon Cox Theater Editor Sara Bareilles has always spoken openly about the fact that her work on the musical “Waitress” changed her life. “My life is in two categories: It’s before and after ‘Waitress,’” she said on the new episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety’s theater podcast.

The second season of The Traitors is on its way, with a first look showing host Claudia Winkleman standing among fire, with two mysterious figures behind her. The popular BBC reality show will be back on our screens on Wednesday, 3 January at 9pm on BBC One.The following two episodes will be ready to watch on BBC iPlayer straight after the first episode next year.The show will then be aired on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights.

Stephen Colbert is still recovering.

Robert Ne Niro took the stage at the Kennedy Center on Sunday and, looking out at the balcony box where honoree was sitting, told him of his career, “I had no idea you had done so much. And you’ve done it all is such a relatively short amount of time. You’re only 75. That means you’re just about six years away from being the perfect age to be elected president.”

Jon Burlingame Laura Karpman is one of very few composers who has made a genuine difference in the scoring community. A five-time Emmy winner, she co-founded the Alliance for Women Film Composers, which is widely credited with helping to propel the nearly invisible community of female music writers into prominence. No one asks “why aren’t there any women film composers?” anymore.