Why ‘C’mon C’mon’ Director Didn’t Want Lead Male Character to Be ‘A Bad Person’

NEW YORK -- One of the first songs in “The Music Man” is "(Ya Got) Trouble” and the latest Broadway revival has certainly faced its share.It was supposed to open in fall 2020, but rehearsals were interrupted by the pandemic shutdown. In 2021, it jettisoned its lead producer, Scott Rudin, after allegations of bullying.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorDisney is shaking up its traditional “upfront” process, planning to host multiple showcases for advertisers that highlight sports, technology and creativity, while moving its annual sales event to a new venue.“Everyone recognizes we understand storytelling, but we are also leading with innovations around data and targeting and really connecting brands with their consumers,” says Rita Ferro, president of Disney Advertising Sales, in an interview.Disney intends to hold its biggest upfront event on Tuesday, May 17, at New York’s Basketball City complex downtown. The venue, says Ferro, will allow the company to discuss its broad media portfolio in a more communal, interactive manner.

Sara Ramirez is reflecting on the reaction to their “And Just Like That…” character Che now that the season has wrapped.

They say it’s hard to be a single woman in New York, but this is just nuts!

NEW YORK -- Adaptations of books to film and television often take liberties or stray from the original text. Tom Cruise played Jack Reacher twice on film but didn't match the physical description of the character described by author Lee Child.Child's Reacher is 6 foot, 5 inches tall.

NEW YORK -- Last fall, film director Joachim Trier and the actors Renata Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie gathered at a restaurant in midtown New York to talk about why people seem to keep crying during their movie.If their film, “The Worst Person in the World,” was a weepy melodrama, such responses could be expected. But while “The Worst Person in the World" has moments of grief and loss, it’s principally about an uncertain, meandering journey of self-discovery for a young woman (Reinsve) in early adulthood.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorIn a new series, Variety catches up with the directors of the films shortlisted for the International Feature Film Oscar to discuss their road to the awards, what they’ve learned so far, and what’s taken them off guard.In “Great Freedom,” the winner of the runner-up prize in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, Austrian director Sebastian Meise takes an empathetic look at the relationship between two prisoners in a German jail: convicted murderer Viktor (Georg Friedrich), and a gay man, Hans (Rogowski), imprisoned repeatedly over three decades under the country’s homophobic Paragraph 175 statute. The film is Austria’s entry in the International Feature Film category of the Oscars, and is one of 15 films to be shortlisted. What does it mean to you to be shortlisted for the best international feature Oscar?It’s incredibly exciting, and personally, I wasn’t expecting it at all.

Not quite the American dream she thought she was winning…

Mónica Marie Zorrilla In an era of TikTok favorites getting record deals and lead acting roles, follower counts and blue checkmarks seem to be a requirement for getting a big break in Hollywood. It is therefore refreshing and rare when a 19-year-old from Manhattan with no internet fame whatsoever is plucked from relative obscurity and given the chance of a lifetime: voicing the protagonist of one of the highest-grossing anime movies in Japan of this past year as her industry debut.

NEW YORK -- In last year's “The Suicide Squad,” John Cena's Peacemaker is a jingoistic, bigoted superhero. Transferring the DC Comics character to a TV series spinoff gave writer-director James Gunn a forum to hold the flawed character to the light in these days of political divide.Cena, one of the biggest stars of World Wrestling Entertainment, said he was used to playing a loud-mouthed character, with a slight caveat – his wrestling persona was moral.“He was as close to a real-life superhero, that character, as you can get,” Cena said in a recent interview.

Longtime Wall Street analyst Alexia Quadrani is moving across the aisle to lead investor relations for Disney. Quadrani served as managing director and senior analyst for U.S. Media Equity Research at J.P.

Pachinko, and also annocuned its release date.Earlier today (January 27), the streaming service released a series of images from the forthcoming TV adaptation of Pachinko, the bestselling novel by Min Jin Lee. The show is slated to premiere on March 25 with three episodes, followed by weekly instalments every Friday  thereafter.The images feature the first glimpses of Minari actress and Academy Award winner Youn Yuh-jung as leading protagonist Sunja.

NBCUniversal has confirmed it will host its annual upfront presentation to advertisers on May 16, an in-person event to be preceded by several other spring presentations to media buyers.

Jesse Palmer is getting candid about his future on The Bachelor.

Zack Sharf Kristen Stewart revealed to The New Yorker last year that her “Twilight” audition kiss with Robert Pattinson was the pivotal moment when she became convinced the actor had to be cast as Edward Cullen in the vampire romance films. “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke guested on “The Big Hit Show” podcast (via Insider) this month and looked back at the audition that launched a zeitgeist-defining film franchise.“Rob and Kristen did the audition right here on the bed.