The making of “Nickel Boys” — a film that follows two young Black boys, Elwood (Ethan Herisse) and Turner (Brandon Wilson), as they navigate a brutal reform school — presented a unique set of circumstances for cinematographer Jomo Fray. While Fray always wants his camerawork to feel vulnerable, director RaMell Ross’ vision of shooting the […]

Ahead of the streaming release of the wrestling movie “Unstoppable,” Jennifer Lopez joined the Variety Screening Series presented by Amazon MGM Studios for a career retrospective chat with Clayton Davis, Variety’s Senior Awards Editor. Lopez shared her experience taking on the role of a mother who raised famous wrestler Anthony Robles, played by Jharrel Jerome, […]

Maya Erskine, who was Emmy-nominated for her portrayal of Jane Smith in Prime Video’s “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” sat down with Variety’s Angelique Jackson at an FYC event to talk about forming a bond with her co-star Donald Glover, preparing for the physicality the role required and what drew her to Jane as an outsider […]

Billy Crystal is thinking back on his formative years in Martin Scorsese’s classroom. On the Dec. 15 episode of the “Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist” podcast, Crystal talked about his time being taught by Scorsese at New York University. “He was a graduate student at the time, just doing his first movie, called ‘Who’s That […]

Jill Jacobson, a film and television actress known for her work on “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and the primetime soap opera “Falcon Crest,” died Dec. 8 in Los Angeles. She was 70 years old. Jacobson’s death was confirmed to Variety by publicist Daniel Harary, a friend of Jacobson’s, who noted the actress died after […]

Thirteen years after “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” released in theaters and brought an end to Harry’s journey on the big screen, the Harry Potter universe is gearing up for a return in the form of episodic television. Led by showrunner Francesca Gardiner and director Mark Mylod of “Succession,” HBO’s take on […]

Carol Goldwasser, a casting director known for her work shaping young talent on shows like “Hannah Montana,” died Dec. 5 at her home in Palm Springs after surgery. She was 67. Goldwasser’s death was confirmed to Variety by her friend, manager Theodore Gekis. Goldwasser worked in Los Angeles and New York for over two decades, […]

Saban Films has promoted its top executive team and extended their deals through 2026, Variety has exclusively learned. Bill Bromiley has been promoted to Vice-Chairman, where he will work on advancing key strategic goals, while Shanan Becker and Jonathan Saba will now serve as Co-Presidents. Becker will focus on the company’s financial and operational functions […]

Fox has officially renewed the dating competition series “Farmer Wants a Wife” for a third season, with the premiere date set for Thursday, March 20. As part of the renewal, Kimberly Williams-Paisley has joined the show as its new host, replacing country singer Jennifer Nettles (who fronted the reality series’ first two seasons). Williams-Paisley is […]

Martha Luttrell, a talent agent who represented a notable array of directors, actors, writers and musicians, died on Dec. 9 in Calabasas, Calif. She was 80. Luttrell’s death was confirmed to Variety by her friend Holly Goldberg Sloan, with the cause being pancreatic cancer. As a one-time representative for directors Martin Campbell, Paul Weiland, Mick […]

When working together on “Queens,” a period piece set in 1992 Peru, director Klaudia Reynicke and her director of photography Diego Romero found themselves having to confront the country’s tense political climate. This especially came into focus when filming the street protest scenes. Reynicke had to find a workaround when it came to featuring communist […]

Michelle Yeoh stopped by the Variety Lounge, presented by Film AlUla at the Red Sea Film Festival, where she chatted with Variety‘s London Bureau Chief Alex Ritman about working with director Jon M. Chu on “Wicked,” her hopes for the film’s awards chances and the current whereabouts of her “Everything Everywhere All at Once” Oscar […]

Mark Withers, a television actor known for portraying Ted Dinard in the original “Dynasty” series, died Nov. 22. He was 77. Mark Withers’ death was confirmed by his daughter, Jessie Withers. The cause was pancreatic cancer. His daughter remembered him fondly, writing: “He confronted his illness with the same strength and dignity he brought to […]

A group of the industry’s top executives and creatives gathered at NeueHouse Hollywood for the Hollywood Chamber’s 2024 Entertainment Industry Breakfast on Dec. 5, presented by Variety, to look at “Driving a Path Forward” in the anxious aftermath of recent strikes and historically low records of production in Los Angeles. Paul Audley, president of the […]

In tandem with Women’s History Month, the documentary “The Life & Times of Liz Carpenter” will premiere on public television stations in March. It will also stream on PBS.org and on the PBS app. Directed by Peabody award-winner Abby Ginzberg and Liz’s daughter, Christy Carpenter, this hour-long documentary tells the story of Liz Carpenter, an […]

Lumina, a newly launched talent and IP media group, is putting forward a $2 million strategic investment from BAFTA and Grammy-nominated producers Thomas Benski and Marisa Clifford towards game studio Creators Corp. Creators Corp., a Webby award-winning studio with a focus on developing through “Fortnite” maker Epic Games’ Unreal Engine for Fortnite (UEFN) tech, was […]

Colman Domingo will be honored with the Montecito Award at the 40th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Domingo, who won the outstanding lead performance award at Monday’s Gothams, is set to receive the award on Feb. 14 as the festival celebrates his performance as Divine G in “Sing Sing.” “​​Colman is such a committed […]

The new trailer for Disney’s live-action remake of “Snow White” has officially released, showcasing more of Rachel Zegler’s vocals, the seven dwarfs and Gal Gadot’s villainous turn as the evil queen. The film is directed by Marc Webb (“500 Days of Summer,” “The Amazing Spider-Man”) and is the latest Disney remake. Following the 1937 animated […]

After the show’s midseason finale, the trailer for Fox’s “9-1-1: Lone Star”s remaining episodes dropped — the show will return on Monday, Jan. 20. The 30-second preview teases an asteroid warning that could mean the end of the world as the crew of firefighters must band together. “9-1-1: Lone Star” is a spinoff of the original […]