WME Signs AI Artist Claire Silver, Whose Latest Collection Will Show at the Louvre (EXCLUSIVE)

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Republic Pictures, an historic movie label founded in 1935 and shuttered in 1967, has been revived by parent company Paramount Global. The banner will function as an acquisitions play, releasing titles acquired by Paramount Global Content Distribution. “We’ve chosen to revitalize the Republic banner given its storied history of delivering popular movies to a global audience, ” said Dan Cohen, Paramount chief content licensing officer and newly-named president of Republic Pictures. “With our best-in-class global distribution teams working to identify the best homes around the world, we aim to continue that legacy by offering audiences great entertainment across all genres.”

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Daveed Diggs has been cast in a new live-action film from noted Pixar director Andrew Stanton. The “Hamilton” and “Blindspotting” star joins “SNL” alum Kate McKinnon and Rashida Jones in “In the Blink of an Eye,” from Searchlight Pictures. The film follows three storylines spanning thousands of years, pondering hope, connection and the circle of life. Stanton was the lone director on animated hits like “Finding Nemo,” its sequel “Finding Dory” and “WALL-E.” He’s also helmed episodes of “Stranger Things” and “Better Call Saul.” Colby Day wrote the script and will executive produce. Jared Ian Goldman (“Ingrid Goes West”) is producing. Searchlight production SVP Taylor Friedman and creative exec Apolline Berty are overseeing for the studio, reporting to production and development heads Katie Goodson-Thomas and DanTram Nguyen.

Pump the brakes. What fresh hell is this?Reality TV reached record levels of emotional carnage in the wake the shocking revelation that “Vanderpump Rules” star Tom Sandoval has been carrying on a months long affair with cast mate Raquel Leviss, the supposed bestie of his long time girlfriend, Ariana Madix. The dark deed came to light while Madix was supporting her two-timing man and his cover band the Most Extras (eye roll) as they took the stage at his bar TomTom in West Hollywood.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Dove Cameron has landed at WME. The multi-hyphenate actor and singer will be represented by the agency in all areas. Cameron exploded musically in 2022 with her chart-topping single “Boyfriend” and has simultaneously been building a film and acting resume. The 27-year-old began releasing original music in 2019 via Colombia Records. Since then she has collected awards, including best new artist at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards and the American Music Awards, and was nominated for best new artist at the People’s Choice Awards. She’s currently nominated for best new artist at the 2023 iHeart Radio Awards and outstanding breakthrough music artist at the 34th annual GLAAD Media Awards.

Former step-siblings stick together!

Romantic relationships aren’t the only ones ever-changing at SUR. Scheana Shay and Raquel Leviss bonded when the latter joined the cast of Vanderpump Rules amid her romance with James Kennedy, but the two women’s friendship took a turn amid Scandoval.

EXCLUSIVE: Cinema Guild has nabbed North American rights to the feature doc Our Body directed by Venice prize winner Claire Simon (The Competition), which premiered to critical acclaim at last month’s Berlin Film Festival before touching down stateside at MoMA’s Doc Fortnight as well as True/False. Pic is slated for release in theaters later this year.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Get the dialect coach on the line — we’re going back to Southeastern Pennsylvania with “Mare of Easttown” creator Brad Ingelsby. The writer-producer has set the new feature film “Echo Valley” at Apple Studios, and recruited Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney as his stars. “Echo Valley” will follow Oscar winner Moore as Kate Garrett, a woman reeling from a personal tragedy who spends her days boarding and training horses on the secluded and picturesque Echo Valley Farm. Late one night, her wayward daughter Claire (the Emmy-nominated heat-seeker Sweeney) arrives at her doorstep, frightened, trembling and covered in someone else’s blood. From that simple premise, “Echo Valley” becomes a heart-pounding thriller about just how far a mother will go to save her child. 

Finally settling in! Fresh off their $1 million win on The Amazing Race, winners Derek Xiao and Claire Rehfuss are revealing the newly furnished apartment they share together in Los Angeles.

The ladies of Women Talking are hitting the red carpet.

Another talk show is officially ending, and this time it’s Rachael Ray‘s.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Sony Pictures has won global distribution rights to the hot comedy package “My Ex-Friend’s Wedding,” a script co-written by buzzy author Taylor Jenkins Reid starring a murderers’ row of funny women. Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, “Saturday Night Live” breakout Chloe Fineman, Amanda Seyfried and Megan Stalter are set as the core ensemble. The film follows four childhood best friends who receive a drunken voicemail from a former BFF on the eve of her wedding day — confessing that she thinks she’s making a mistake. The group sets out to stop her wedding and rekindle the friendship they once shared. Comedy vet Kay Cannon, whose 2019 feature directorial debut “Blockers” over-performed at the box office, is directing. The script is from Ashley Rodger and Jenkins Reid. The latter could not be hotter at the moment, as the series adaptation of her novel “Daisy Jones & The Six” is about to hit Amazon Prime Video. Additional Jenkins Reed books are headed to the screen at Hulu (“Malibu Rising”) and Netflix (“The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo”).

Kerry Washington is opening up about her personal and professional life.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Nick Panella has been named the leader of a new podcast and audio group at Agency for the Performing Arts, Variety can report exclusively.  Panella joins the company from Workhouse Media, where he worked extensively with names like Shonda Rhimes, Ellen DeGeneres, “Modern Family” co-creator Chris Lloyd and Oprah Winfrey.  Announced by APA’s head of content development Kyle Loftus, the hire is yet another strategic move from the agency to pick up slack lost in CAA’s acquisition of ICM Partners, the hulking-up of Endeavor, and other dramatic shifts in the representation landscape. Panella has produced over 2,000 podcast episodes and led Workhouse clients to over 1 billion downloads, the agency said.

Homeland reunion! Former co-stars Claire Danes and Damian Lewis reunited on Monday when they attended the premiere of his new thriller series, A Spy Among Friends. The reunion comes 10 years after Lewis ended his run on the 8-season Showtime hit.Lewis left the show in 2014 after the death of his character, U.S. Marine Sgt.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Emmy nominee Razan Ghalayini has joined Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions as vice president of non-fiction development. The executive will be responsible for managing Jigsaw’s non-fiction slate of projects and will drive sales efforts alongside scripted and audio divisions. “I am thrilled to welcome Razan to Jigsaw. I have long been an admirer of her work. And I am in awe of her infectious enthusiasm and her ability to find, develop and produce stories that are powerful, vitally relevant to our present moment and hugely entertaining,” said Gibney, president of Jigsaw.

The Banshees of Inisherin already capturing a fair share of the major awards and with possibly a decent shot at some Oscar love, the focus on Irish cinema is hotter than ever.Of course, Solas Nua, Washington, D.C.’s hub for contemporary Irish culture and performing arts, has been training its eye on films emerging from the Emerald Isle for quite some time now.This is the 17th year they’ve curated the Capital Irish Film Festival (CIFF), and this year’s four-day festival, held March 2 to 5 at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring, Maryland, is arguably the largest in the group’s history.The festival opens with a massive get — The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin), which is up for an Oscar in the Best International Film category.Director Colm Bairéad’s coming-of-age drama, is set in rural Ireland in the early ’80s, as a young girl struggles with a dysfunctional, impoverished homelife and finds new life when sent to live with relatives for the summer. Bairéad will participate in a Q&A following the screening.

Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Fairmont Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles Sunday evening as the show kicked off.Bill Murray, Claire Foy and Rooney Mara were amongst the star-studded crowd left waiting for the green light to enter the venue after a fire marshal blocked the entrance. Videos posted to Twitter by Variety’s co-editor-in-chief, Ramin Setoodeh, showed the “madness,” writing, “Even Bill Murray has to wait.”Another clip showed Foy and Mara waiting in line for entry.“Total chaos at the #SAGAwards as Claire Foy and Rooney Mara are not being allowed inside the ballroom of the Fairmont Hotel — they’re told they need to wait for the Fire Marshal to let them (and hundreds of other guests) inside,” Setoodeh tweeted.The Fire Marshal is not letting movie stars inside the #SAGAwards.

Rooney Mara shows off her intricate lace gown for the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday night (February 26) at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

Nominees Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary), Janelle James (Abbott Elementary), and Jenny Slate (Everything Everywhere All At Once), along with Orlando Bloom (Carnival Row), James Marsden (Dead To Me), and Mark Wahlberg (Me Time) are set as presents for the 29th annual SAG Awards.