Variety

IATSE Names Video Engineer Jillian Arnold First Labor and Technology Officer

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees has become the latest entertainment organization to appoint a technology chief, naming video engineer Jillian Arnold as the union’s first labor...

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‘Dance of the Souls,’ Unspooling at Morelia, Explores Oaxaca’s Muerteadas, Celebrating the End and the Beginning

In “Dance of the Souls,” Mexican filmmaker Ramón Llaven returns to his native Oaxaca in southern Mexico to observe a unique event held in the local communities of the Etla Valley. Produced by Fata Mor...

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Pedro Pascal on Learning Cello for ‘Behemoth!,’ Why ‘You’ve Got to Eat S—’ to Make It in Hollywood and the ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Line His Character Say...

“If you could hear it, you would think I was killing an animal.” That’s Pedro Pascal on his cello playing, more than a year after he started lessons for a movie that hadn’t been greenlit yet. The star...

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Fusion Entertainment Signs Director Ryan DeForeest, Sets Feature Adaptation of His Short Film ‘My Brother & Me’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Talent management and production company Fusion Entertainment has signed writer-director Ryan DeForeest and started development on a feature adaptation of his short film “My Brother & Me,” Variety...

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Valladolid Film Festival Draws Global Auteurs, 30 World Premieres and Emerging Spanish Talent

Spain’s Valladolid International Film Festival – known in Spain as Seminci – opens Friday, Oct. 23 with 30 world premieres and a lineup bringing together some of international cinema’s most acclaimed ...

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FilmQuest 2026 Launches With Explosive Motorcycle Drama ‘Whiskey Throttle’ as Rowdy Crowd Celebrates Utah-Made Film

“Motherfucking Utah, let’s go!” That was the spirit inside the energetic Oct. 22 opening night screening at FilmQuest. The 10-day festival in Provo launched its 10th installment with a screening of th...

2 days ago

‘Killing a Bear,’ From Movistar Plus and Arte France: a Real-Event Inspired Murder-Mystery Whose Victim Is a Pyrenean Brown Bear

Crime repped 27% of scripted TV orders globally, first half 2026 – the single most commissioned TV genre, estimates Ampere Analysis, and a whopping 61% of the No 1 series from many of the world’s bigg...

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Jane Wiseman Exits Paramount+ as Boss Casey Bloys Announces New Structure

Paramount+ head of originals Jane Wiseman is following her former boss Cindy Holland in exiting the streamer. Wiseman, who joined Paramount+ in August 2025, won’t make the transition to the merged Sky...

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‘Slow Horses’ Director on Season 6 and That Final Jack Lowden Scene: ‘We Had Two Endings and One of Them Was Happy’

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains major spoilers for “Slow Horses” Season 6, which had its season finale on Wednesday. “Slow Horses” Season 6 ended with lots of bangs and a whimper, as a key charac...

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Ti West’s New Short ‘Remnants’ Is the First Fully Immersive Apple Horror Film. What Does It Say About the Future of Movies?

As I looked up, raindrops fell directly into my eyes, sending a chill tingling up my shirt. I felt cold and damp. But I shouldn’t have, because in reality I was sitting in an anonymous conference room...

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Box Office: ‘Clayface’ Makes $3.5 Million in Previews

One of Batman’s creepiest villains is descending upon the box office this weekend. Warner Bros. and DC Studios’ “Clayface” made $3.5 million in Thursday previews at the box office, and it’ll face some...

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MoreThan Films Picks Up ‘Salen las lobas’ Ahead of Valladolid World Premiere

MoreThan Films has taken international sales rights to Spanish coming-of-age drama “Salen las lobas” (“The Bitch Pack”) ahead of its world premiere at Spain’s Valladolid Film Festival (Seminci) on Oct...

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Belgian Series ‘The Inheritance’ Scores Sony Pictures Television Award at Rome’s MIA Market

Belgian TV series “The Inheritance,” about the death of a wealthy widow that ignites a battle over her estate, scored the Sony Pictures Television Award for best drama project at Rome’s MIA Market as ...

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AI Giant Nvidia Invests in Entertainment Startup Higgsfield

Higgsfield, the AI video and image generation company dabbling across both marketing and entertainment spaces, extended its Series B funding round with new investments from Nvidia and the investment f...

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Cate Blanchett’s Displacement Film Fund Partners With the New Yorker to Release Five Short Films (EXCLUSIVE)

Cate Blanchett’s Displacement Film Fund is set to release five short films in partnership with The New Yorker. Its inaugural slate features films by Mohammad Rasoulof, Shahrbanoo Sadat, Mo Harawe, Mar...

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Megyn Kelly Slammed for Attacking Christina Applegate Over MS Misdiagnosis; ‘The View’ Hosts Call Her a ‘Bully’ and a ‘Fungus That Thrives’ on Outrage...

Megyn Kelly was lambasted by “The View” hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines and more for attacking Christina Applegate after the Emmy winner revealed she was misdiagnosed with MS. Kelly reacted to Appl...

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British Filmmaker Joanna Hogg on the Struggle to Turn Personal Stories Into Fiction: ‘Each Time I’m Learning From Scratch’

British filmmaker Joanna Hogg, who has been serving as president of the Feature Narrative Competition jury at the ninth edition of Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival this week, tells Variety she prefers t...

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As Uncensored Re-Release of Ken Russell’s ‘The Devils’ Shocks Audiences, Director’s Son Preps Doc Feature ‘Mad Dad’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Considered one of the most controversial films of all time for its graphic, blasphemous, and sexually provocative imagery, Ken Russell’s “The Devils” is now back in cinemas uncut and uncensored. Re-re...

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‘Ali G: Who Iz I’ Star Morgana Robinson on Sacha Baron Cohen Not Letting Her Break Character as ‘Me Julie’ and Why Film Doesn’t Mock Working Class

After more than a decade out of the limelight and away from his wardrobe of high-visibility, low-practicality clothing, Sacha Baron Cohen’s Ali G is back with his first film in almost 25 years. This t...

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Banijay Entertainment’s Frédéric Balmary on U.S. Ambitions, Netflix and the Battle for IP: It’s ‘One of Our Big Fights’

Fresh off its merger, the Banijay/All3Media behemoth, now known as Banijay Entertainment, is eyeing an expansion into U.S. scripted production as Netflix looks to ramp up its slate of American hits am...

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Jamie Lee Curtis, Téa Leoni and Tim Daly Lead NBC’s Refreshing and Witty Sitcom ‘Newlyweds’: TV Review

Sitcoms aren’t what they used to be. Though a select few on network television, like “Abbott Elementary” and “Ghosts,” pay homage to comedies of the past while tapping into present-day culture, sitcom...

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Robert Carlyle, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom Join ‘The Gentlemen’ Cast as Production Starts on Season 3

Netflix’s “The Gentlemen” has revealed a host of new cast members as production on Season 3 gets underway in the U.K. and Morocco. Among the new faces as the series returns: Robert Carlyle (“Line of D...

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Jon Tower Takes Executive Producer Role at Revamped ‘CBS Mornings’

Jon Tower, a morning-news veteran who has been filling in as an interim manager at CBS News’ A.M. program, is now the official supervisor of the show. Tower was named the executive producer of “CBS Mo...

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‘Safe Exit’ Review: Mohammed Hammad’s Second Feature Is a Masterclass in Wedding Rigorous Construction to In-Depth Characterization

In the hands of a director who loves his characters, the term “spare” to describe the style of a film should in no way imply a lack of warmth. On the contrary, minimalism can contain the essence of a....

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Lara Croft’s Inaugural Voice Actor Shelley Blond Recalls First Time She Saw ‘Tomb Raider’ Character: ‘I Thought She Was Very Sexy and Very Ballsy’

It’s been thirty years since Lara Croft was unleashed on the world via the hit video game “Tomb Raider.” Released first in Europe, on Oct. 24, 1996, for the Sega Saturn, the title broke the rules in e...

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H3 Podcast Crew Cuts Ties With Ethan Klein After Hila Klein Says He Has Been Having an Affair

The “H3 Podcast,” the show co-hosted by Ethan and Hila Klein, is on indefinite hiatus after Hila said he has been having an ongoing affair for the last six months and that the couple has separated. In...

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Rome MIA Market Takeaways, From Bracing for Netflix Fallout to Italy’s Production Slump and European Producers Fighting Back

The 12th edition of Rome’s MIA Market came to a close on Friday with market head Gaia Tridente heralding “a stronger, renewed edition of MIA, with a more ambitious and expanded program,” that saw a hi...

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‘Closure’ Director Michal Marczak Set for Narrative Feature Debut With ‘Perfection,’ About Hipster Millennials in Berlin (EXCLUSIVE)

Prominent Polish documentarist Michał Marczak – a Sundance Film Festival prizewinner with “All These Sleepless Nights” – is set to make his narrative feature debut with “Perfection,” a buzzy drama abo...

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‘Nobody Wants This’ Creator Erin Foster on Adam Brody’s Support for Palestine: ‘I Disagree With Him, and That’s OK’

“Nobody Wants This” creator Erin Foster has responded to Adam Brody’s support for Palestine, saying: “I disagree with him, and that’s OK.” Speaking on an upcoming episode of the “Not Skinny but Not Fa...

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Prince William Declares His Love for Christopher Nolan Movies and ‘The Traitors’ in Surprise Appearance on ‘The Graham Norton Show’

Prince William has made a surprise appearance on Graham Norton’s sofa, where he admits he’s a “big fan” of director Christopher Nolan and gameshow “The Traitors.” The episode, which was recorded on Th...

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Kore-eda Hirokazu Ditched AI Notes on His ‘Sheep in the Box’ Script: ‘I’d Like to Stand on the Human Side’

Kore-eda Hirokazu ran the screenplay for his AI-themed Cannes title “Sheep in the Box” past a generative AI chatbot, then cut it loose after concluding that notes from something with no personal histo...

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‘Bridgerton’ Breakout Hannah Dodd to Lead Lucas Jones’ Romantic Drama ‘Miss You Forever, Zara Drake’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Hannah Dodd, best known for her portrayal of Francesca in Netflix’s hit Regency-era period drama “Bridgerton,” has landed her first lead film role. The British actress, also seen in “Enola Holmes 2” a...

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Netflix, ‘Elite’ Star Ester Expósito and Locarno Winner Mar Coll Adapt ‘La Regenta,’ a ‘Fresh Female Perspective’ on a Big Spanish Classic (EXCLUSIVE)...

Netflix, ‘Elite’ star Ester Expósito and Locarno Winner Mar Coll are adapting Clarín’s classic novel into a feature film which went into production Oct. 23, produced by María Zamora at Elastica Films ...

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Asif Kapadia on Bringing the ‘Amazing,’ ‘Profound,’ ‘Beautiful’ ‘7 Up’ Documentary Series to a Close After More Than 60 Years: ‘It’s a Dream Job’

From a charismatic Formula 1 racing legend to a brilliant but flawed soccer god to a troubled, tragic singer, Academy Award-winning docmaker Asif Kapadia has made a career out of telling the stories o...

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‘The Notebook’ Musical Sets West End Run at Newly Renamed Judi Dench Theatre

“The Notebook” musical is coming to London’s West End. The show, based on Nicholas Sparks’ bestselling novel and subsequent hit film starring Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling, will be the first product...

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Biographies of John Williams and Bernard Herrmann Among Honored Works in ASCAP’s Awards for Music Writing and Broadcasts

The winners of annual awards given out by ASCAP for the year’s most outstanding music writing and broadcasts include biographies of film composers John Williams and Bernard Herrmann, as well as a docu...

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Richard Gadd, Bill Camp and Ray McKinnon Join Michael Keaton-Directed Western ‘Rode to Ruin’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Emmy Award-winning actor and writer Richard Gadd, multi-Emmy and SAG nominated actor Bill Camp and Oscar-nominated filmmaker and actor Ray McKinnon are joining “Rode to Ruin,” a Western thriller direc...

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Peter Chan Rules Out AI-Generated Content, Says Feature Films Will Survive the Rise of Vertical Dramas

Acclaimed Asian filmmaker Peter Chan Ho-sun, director of “Comrades: Almost a Love Story” and “The Warlords,” said he will probably use AI in his filmmaking but “definitely not AIGC,” or AI-generated c...

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‘Ebenezer’ Creates a Real Venmo Profile for Scrooge, Which Looks to Be Accepting Money But Not Dishing It Out

The surly miser Ebenezer Scrooge is no longer just a fictional character haunting the holidays — he’s on Venmo. To promote Ti West’s upcoming adaptation of the notorious character in the film “Ebeneze...

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Michael Gray, Star of ‘Shazam!’ TV Series, Dies at 75

Michael Gray, the star of the 1970s “Shazam!” television series, died on Friday in Palm Desert from natural causes. He was 75. Gray first got his break in television in 1972 when he was cast in NBC’s ...

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CBS Premiere Week Multiplatform Ratings See Big Year-Over-Year Increases (EXCLUSIVE)

CBS kicked off its fall 2026 TV season the week of Oct. 4 with a strong performance for its new and returning series, according to Nielsen live+7 multiplatform data. Per that data, CBS’ premiere week ...

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Raye Wins Mercury Prize for Album of the Year

Singer-songwriter and Variety Hitmakers 2024 honoree Raye has won the 2026 Mercury prize for her epic second studio album, “This Music May Contain Hope,” beating out Olivia Dean, Paul McCartney and ot...

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John Mayer Sets Up His Own Label, Sob Rock Records, in Partnership With Mercury to Release First New Solo Music in Five Years

John Mayer has had his hands full with what felt like a hundred projects over the past few years — with putting out new music not among them. It takes a stretch of the memory to even recall that......

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‘Wildwood’ Director Travis Knight on AI: ‘An Amazing Piece of Technology’ But ‘I’m Not Embracing It at All’

“Wildwood” director Travis Knight is weighing in on Hollywood’s use of AI. “I’m not embracing it at all,” Knight told me Wednesday night at AFI Fest’s opening night U.S. premiere of “Wildwood.” “I see...

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‘Line of Fire’ Gets Full 18-Episode Season Order at NBC

“Line of Fire” has been given a full 18-episode season order at NBC. The freshman action thriller series is one of the fall season’s breakout hits, with NBC’s best delayed-viewing lift in more than th...

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The ‘Terrifier’ Trilogy Is Returning to Theaters for a Halloween Run

Art the Clown is back for another round of big-screen terror. The “Terrifier” trilogy is headed back to theaters, just in time for spooky season. 2016’s “Terrifier,” 2022’s “Terrifier 2″ and 2024’s “T...

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Bianna Golodryga in Talks for New Roles at Politico, CBS News

Bianna Golodryga, the global-affairs journalist who announced Thursday that she plans to leave CNN, is in talks that could have her working for two different news organizations at the same time. Golod...

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‘Black Shine, From ‘State of Silence’ Director Santiago Maza, ’ Delves Into the Aftermath of a 2006 Mining Tragedy That Buried 63 Miners

Mexico’s Santiago Maza, whose fourth feature-length doc “State of Silence,” (“Estado de Silencio”), a passion project of Diego Luna, snagged the best feature award at Chile’s 2024 Santiago Film Festiv...

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Sacha Baron Cohen Says Marvel Worried Casting a Jewish Actor as the Devil in ‘Ironheart’ Would Be Antisemitic

Sacha Baron Cohen opened up about his experience signing on to play the demon Mephisto in the Marvel Cinematic Universe during a live “Happy Sad Confused” conversation at New York’s 92nd Street Y. The...

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‘Halloweentown 5’ in Development at Disney

Disney is in early development on a fifth film in its popular “Halloweentown” series. While plot details are not yet known, the new movie is being written by Lily Houghton and Ryan Koehn based on char...

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