The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences laid off a major contingent of staff members in its archive and library on Wednesday, including Academy Film Archive director of 24 years Mike Pogorzelski. A source with knowledge of the changes says that several impacted employees had worked at the Academy for more than a decade. […]

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 senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual […]

Quentin Tarantino has not seen Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” movies and has no intention of changing that despite the rave reactions. During an interview on “The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast” (the same interview where Tarantino defended “Joker: Folie à Deux”), the filmmaker was asked about whether or not “Dune: Part Two” was the best movie of […]

Bill Burr and Charli XCX are set as hosts of “Saturday Night Live” going into November. Burr will host the long-running NBC sketch comedy series on Nov. 9, the first “SNL” to air following the U.S. Presidential election on Nov. 5. This will be Burr’s second time hosting “SNL” after he did so in 2020. […]

It’s been a tough year for the games business, with thousands of layoffs and game cancellations roiling the industry. Is there room for a new company emerging from stealth to tackle the AAA console and PC space? The leaders of Delphi Interactive are making a big bet they can make their mark on the sector […]

At the end of 2021’s “Dune,” Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atriedes looks out across the desert in awe as he sees a Fremen of Arrakis riding a sandworm. It was a tease of what was to come from director Denis Villeneuve in this year’s “Dune: Part Two.” Paul and his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) immerse themselves […]

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for “Conclave,” now playing in theaters. It’s no secret that the Vatican prohibits filming inside the Sistine Chapel, and the headquarters of the Catholic Church was not going to make exceptions for Edward Berger’s “Conclave.” Based on the Robert Harris thriller of the same name, the film stars Ralph Fiennes […]

Here’s a suicidal hypothetical only a horror director would think of: What if the moment a deeply troubled young woman (Kelsey Asbille) was about to throw herself off a cliff, a serial killer (Finn Whitrock) showed up, talked her off the ledge and then abducted the woman for some far grislier purpose? Would this psycho’s […]

Kate McKinnon transformed into dozens of characters throughout her ten years on “Saturday Night Live,” where she impersonated everyone from bold-faced figured like Justin Bieber and Ellen DeGeneres to inanimate objects such as an ice cream cone and potato. Her latest role, however, in which she plays an anthropomorphized toothbrush — clad in a two-piece […]

Lorne Michaels told The Wall Street Journal that he was “angry” when Shane Gillis got fired from “Saturday Night Live” in 2019 after offensive jokes he made on a podcast resurfaced online, including ones with racial slurs about Asian people. “He said something stupid, but it got blown up into the end of the world,” […]

“Conclave,” “The Brutalist” and “Vermiglio” have been added to the main competition lineup for the 32nd edition of the EnergaCamerimage international cinematography film festival, which will be held Nov. 16-23 in Toruń, Poland. Edward Berger’s Vatican thriller “Conclave” was lensed by Stéphane Fontaine, Brady Corbet’s historical drama “The Brutalist” was photographed by Lol Crawley, and […]

Spain’s prominent public broadcaster Radio Televisión Española (RTVE) is set to launch RTVE Play+, its international video-on-demand OTT platform, in Asia and Oceania this Tuesday, Oct. 22. The announcement comes at a fortuitous time, given a recent glowing report from Spanish trade and investment body ICEX and entertainment analytics org, Parrot Analytics. The report, unveiled […]

“Ena – Queen Victoria Eugenia,” the screening highlight in Mipcom’s Spain Country of Honor celebrations, begins with a bang. Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, Queen Victoria youngest granddaughter, marries Spain’s Alfonso XIII at Madrid’s San Jerónimo Royal Monastery on May 31, 1906. Splendid first scenes see the couple after the wedding in their carriage, Ena smiling […]

Dig out the fishnets and lace up the Docs: The Cruel World Festival is set to return to Pasadena on May 17, featuring headliners Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds and New Order. Goldenvoice’s one-day event will again take place at Brookside at the Rose Bowl. Also on the bill of new wave icons, post-punk, […]

Michael Keaton returned to “Saturday Night Live” this week, marking his fourth time hosting at Studio 8H after first appearing on the show in 1982. “Man, I am excited to be back here hosting ‘Saturday Night Live’s’ 50th season,” he said before reminiscing on where his career stood when the show first premiered. “I was a […]

Alec Baldwin returned to “Saturday Night Live” for the first time since 2020 — but not for his famous Donald Trump impression. He played Fox News’ Bret Baier on the Oct. 19 episode of the late night comedy series, spoofing the anchor’s recent interview with vice president Kamala Harris, who is being played by Maya […]

Ariana Grande led “Saturday Night Live” to its highest ratings since Elon Musk hosted the show on May 8, 2021. Grande’s Oct. 12 episode, with musical guest Stevie Nicks, drew 5.6 million viewers in live+same day viewing on NBC, per Nielsen data. That number does not account for delayed viewing, with that data becoming available […]

Leslie Benzies’ first game from his developer Build a Rocket Boy, the AAA story-driven action-adventure thriller “MindsEye,” will be published and distributed by “Hitman” maker Io Interactive. Benzies is best known as the former president of “Grant Theft Auto” creator Rockstar Games’ Rockstar North. Swedish game publisher Io Interactive is launching third-party publishing division, Ioi […]

“Dune” helmer Denis Villeneuve has been awarded the French Legion of Honor. The Quebecois filmmaker received the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters on Tuesday from France’s Minister of Culture Rachida Dati in Paris. He was given the honor in recognition of his career, which as well as “Dune” and its sequel includes […]