Entertainment

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety chief awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual […]

Paramount and a dozen states led by California attorney general Rob Bonta are closing in on a deal to settle a lawsuit challenging the studio’s bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The two sides are in “advanced talks” to resolve the case, per the report. Under the reported deal, […]

EXCLUSIVE: It is bad news-good news for Sweet Magnolia fans. Netflix has canceled the romantic drama starring JoAnna Garcia Swisher, Brooke Elliott and Heather Headley after five seasons. At the same time, the streamer has greenlighted a new drama series from Sweet Magnolias‘ executive producer/showrunner Sheryl J. Anderson, with Swisher set to executive produce and […]

The President of the United States has banned CNN, MS Now and others from the White House. Floundering in the polls and in the war with Iran, the notoriously thinned skinned and authoritarian former Apprentice host just posted on his Truth Social: “I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News […]

Netflix shares fell nearly 5 percent on Friday after Wells Fargo downgraded its stock and price target, citing concerns over user engagement. The report, by Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall, was titled “Engagement Risk,” and noted that the trends for viewer engagement were concerning, with the streamer falling in the Nielsen Gauge and the top […]

Brad Pitt and the zombies are back, baby. After more than a decade of false starts, Paramount is finally closing in on making a sequel to its surprise 2013 hit World War Z. Pitt is set to return to topline the feature that also has Edward Berger, the German filmmaker behind All Quiet on the […]

Editor’s note: AGC CEO and chairman Stuart Ford, a veteran of the independent film scene, trained as a lawyer before working for Miramax and then running IM Global and AGC, which has a busy slate of film and TV projects. Here, he considers how the independent business could be impacted by the Paramount-WBD deal and […]

Tilly Norwood, the “AI actress” who has provoked existential anxiety in Hollywood, got a bit glitchy during an interview with Piers Morgan. Norwood, a generative AI creation from British company Particle6, switched language from English to Cantonese midway through the exchange, much to Morgan’s bemusement.

Fans yearning to drive like Dominic Toretto or Letty can finally strap into a Dodge Charger or a Toyota Supra at Universal Studios Hollywood, as the long-awaited “Fast & Furious: Hollywood Drift” ride officially opened Sept. 16 at the park. The much-anticipated outdoor roller coaster features four iconic cars from the $7 billion franchise — […]

Universal Studios Hollywood last night turned a onetime billboard into — what else? — a giant, illuminated billboard. The theme park used projection mapping to shower the ionic Hollywood Sign in colorful video imagery from the Fast & Furious films as well as its ambitious new roller coaster themed to the franchise, which opened yesterday. […]

In the final hour of Netflix’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, the titular murderess, having finally made her peace with the act of violence that has defined her life, turns to the loyal companion who’s been by her side through it all. “Okay,” she says. “Let’s make it mean something.” Lizzie (Ella Beatty) is talking […]

Alfonso Cuarón is headed to South Korea for the first time, with the two-time Oscar winner set to make a prominent appearance at the upcoming Busan International Film Festival. Cuarón is expected to attend the festival’s opening ceremony before giving a master class on the artistic choices and filmmaking techniques that have shaped his career. […]

Nick Kroll said upcoming Netflix comedy series “A Hundred Percent,” which he co-created and stars in, is a “love letter” to Los Angeles — and he expressed hope that a “thriving” entertainment production community will bring “vitality” to the city. The comedian, writer, producer, director and actor was a featured keynote speaker at the Variety […]

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved Paramount’s petition to allow 49.5% of its equity to be held by foreign entities once the Warner Bros. Discovery deal is complete. Paramount owns 28 TV stations, and thus must get the FCC‘s approval for foreign ownership over 25%. Its acquisition of WBD is backed by three Gulf […]

The FCC has signed off on equity investments from three prominent Middle East sovereign wealth funds that are backing Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, removing a potential regulatory hurdle to the company’s proposed acquisition. The Brendan Carr-led commission on Thursday approved Paramount’s petition to allow more than 25 percent of the studio’s […]

“We, respectfully, didn’t think that the United States DOJ did an adequate review and we thought we needed to step in to make sure we were protecting consumers,” California AG Rob Bonta said of a lawsuit that’s rocking Hollywood after 12 Attorneys General sued to block Paramount’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. He was dinging […]

Noah Baumbach is getting back to work, setting his next film project for theaters and moving his business to Warner Bros. The Oscar-nominated writer and director has signed a three-year, first-look agreement for features at the Burbank studio, following a long exclusive pact at Netflix. The new deal takes effect in 2027 and Baumbach’s inaugural […]

Sonia Rovai, one of Italy‘s most respected TV and film production executives, has been appointed VP of original production at the Italian unit of The Walt Disney Company. Rovai, who since 2024 served as CEO of Fremantle-owned Wildside — the Rome-based company behind “My Brilliant Friend” and, more recently, Netflix’s hit series “The Monster of […]

Trending on Billboard The nearly 100-year-old Loew’s Jersey Theatre is set for a grand re-opening on Nov. 13 with a performance from the Trey Anastasio Band, the venue has announced. Located in the heart of Jersey City, N.J.’s Journal Square, the theater will re-open as a fully restored, state-of-the-art live performance venue this fall after […]

Paramount has been threatening to leave California since July, when the state sued to block it from merging with Warner Bros. Discovery. Attorney General Rob Bonta has called it “blackmail” meant to stop him from enforcing antitrust law. But Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, for one, is taking the threat seriously and is trying to […]

Key House supporters of a federal film & TV incentive are establishing a congressional caucus, as work continues on legislation establishing the nationwide production credit. The Congressional American Film & TV Production Caucus will “work to revitalize, strengthen, and expand film production across the United States,” per an announcement on Wednesday. The founding members of […]