Xavier Becerra’s Film Policy Is Vague. Was It Written by AI?Variety
On his campaign website, Xavier Becerra has a page devoted to Hollywood. The 1,600-word policy statement is long on platitudes — “California Is the Home of Film and TV and We Intend to Keep It That Way” — but short on concrete promises. It may also have been written with artificial intelligence. According to Pangram, […]
For the Love of Television, Please Watch ‘The Lowdown’ Season 2: TV ReviewVariety
On the one hand, it wouldn’t be very apt for a show about a scrappy citizen journalist in a small heartland city to become a massive hit. On the other, FX’s “The Lowdown” was one of the great TV debuts last year, a follow-up from “Reservation Dogs” showrunner Sterlin Harjo that upped the star power […]
Universal Music Group Hit With Layoffs, Several Senior Execs to Leave CompanyVariety
As has long been expected, Universal Music Group is being hit with extensive layoffs across its U.S. and U.K. operations, with multiple top executives departing, among many others. The moves — which sources say continue a process that was announced back in January of 2024 as continuing through this year — are expected to take […]
Mediawan’s Pierre-Antoine Capton on Buying Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and Doubling Down on Hollywood Amid Consolidation (EXCLUSIVE)Variety
After buying Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment in 2022 and Peter Chernin’s North Road earlier this year, Mediawan has enlisted another major Hollywood player, Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine. As with its previous acquisitions which were financed partly through stock, Mediawan is bringing Witherspoon into its shareholder base, joining a stellar roster of talent and producers […]
‘Whalefall’ Review: Austin Abrams Gets Swallowed by a Whale in an Unintentionally Preposterous Thriller — a Tale of Human Perseverance and Mammalian Stomach LiningVariety
Is it gross? At moments. Claustrophobic? A bit. Scary? Not even a little. The place Jay finds himself looks like a colonoscopy designed by H.R. Giger. The visual effects are…okay. At times, it’s as if we were locked in some pop-up theme-park ride called Full Cavity Search.
Laika’s ‘Wildwood’ VFX Supervisor Steve Emerson Details the Making of Travis Knight’s Stop-Motion EpicVariety
Laika’s “Wildwood” took more than five years of stage animation and visual-effects work, with 2,776 shots requiring a carefully orchestrated mix of handmade puppets, miniature sets and digital imagery. But for production VFX supervisor Steve Emerson, the defining challenge of Travis Knight’s fantasy epic was ensuring that the technology served the stop-motion performances rather than […]
Berlin Winner Estibaliz Urresola, Hot New Baltic Talents Jonas Trukanas, Tomas Harjo and Many More Set for Baltic Event Co-Production MarketVariety
The Baltic Event Co-Production Market has revealed its 15 projects to be pitched Nov. 18-20 at Tallinn’s Black Nights Film Festival industry sidebar Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event. Picked out of 110 submissions from 34 countries, the slate of pics in development looking for co-financing, distribution and sales spans 10 territories – Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, […]
Kelly Clarkson Joins Brandi Carlile’s Girls Just Wanna Weekend Festival as Co-HeadlinerVariety
It may not be the biggest headline Kelly Clarkson will make this week, but the most talked-about celebrity of the moment has other news, as she is joining Brandi Carlile’s 8th annual female-centric Girls Just Wanna Weekend gathering in January, the festival announced Tuesday. Clarkson will join Girls Just Wanna Weekend in Mexico as a […]
Paramount Pictures Taking Over Bay Theatre in Pacific PalisadesVariety
Warner Bros. isn’t the only Los Angeles institution getting absorbed into Skydance this month. The Bay Theatre in Pacific Palisades, which was formerly operated by Netflix and before that by Cinepolis, will be taken over by Paramount Pictures with San Diego’s The Lot handling operations. The opening is planned for later this year. The Bay […]
Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat Inks Vertical Series Deal With Fox EntertainmentVariety
Kevin Hart’s production company Hartbeat has inked a vertical series deal with Fox Entertainment. The deal will see Fox Entertainment Studios have first look rights to developing feature film and television series from vertical series released under Hartbeat subsidiary brands Codeblack, Essence and Revolt, which have a combined social following exceeding 20 million. Codeblack has […]