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As it was written: “Dune: Prophecy” has been renewed for Season 2 at HBO.

The news was announced during a virtual press conference Thursday afternoon, a few days before the Season 1 finale airing Sunday, Dec. 22.

The “Dune” prequel series, set more than 10,000 years before the events of Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” movies, follows the origins of the Bene Gesserit, the secretive order of powerful witches that influence Arrakis’ politics behind the scenes.

Inspired by the novel “Sisterhood of Dune” by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, the series follows the leader of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, Valya Harkonnen (played by Emily Watson), and Tula Harkonnen (Olivia Williams), who team up to combat forces that threaten humankind.

Both are ancestors from long ago of the evil House Harkonnen, which betrays Paul Atreides and his father in the “Dune” movies. Mark Strong plays Emperor Javicco Corrino and Sarah-Sofie Boussnina is his daughter Princess Ynez.

Eddie Redmayne will be back as the Jackal.

Peacock and Sky renewed hit man drama The Day of the Jackal for a second season earlier this month and the streamer and British broadcaster confirmed that Redmayne will return.

It comes as little surprise given that Redmayne is the main character of the drama series and [Spoiler Alert] seemingly emerges relatively unscathed at the end of the first season in the dramatic and twist-heavy finale.

The splashy 10-part adaptation starred Redmayne and Lashana Lynch and has been rating well on both sides of the pond.

Adapted by Ronan Bennett from the hit Frederick Forsyth novel, Season 1 follows an unrivaled and highly elusive lone assassin, the Jackal (Redmayne), who makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee. But following his latest kill, he meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence officer (Lynch) who starts to track down the Jackal in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe,...

Formula 1 racing is enjoying a big burst in fans over the past few years, thanks in no small part to docuseries helping to introduce the sport to new people around the world. Now, we’re seeing the effect in Hollywood, as Brad Pitt is set to star in a film, “F1,” and now, Felicity Jones is joining Formula 1 family with a new series of her own.

Continue reading Felicity Jones To Star In A New Prime Video Formula 1 Racing Series at The Playlist.

Fresh off the conclusion (maybe?) of “Yellowstone,” another Taylor Sheridan show just got renewed. “Mayor of Kingstown” will return for Season 4, Paramount+ announced on Wednesday, ensuring that Jeremy Renner’s Mike McLusky will be back.

Sheridan co-created the drama series with Hugh Dillon, and the third season ranked as the No. 1 series on Paramount+ throughout its run.

In Season 3, a series of explosions rocked Kingstown and its citizens, as a new face of the Russian mob set up shop in the city, and a drug war raged inside and outside prison walls. The pressure was on Mike McLusky to end the war but things got complicated when a familiar face from his incarcerated past threatened to undermine the Mayor’s attempts to keep the peace among all factions.

Renner returned to “Mayor of Kingstown” for Season 3 following his near-fatal snowplow accident in 2023.

The series is one of several shows that...

Courteney Cox has finally signed on for “Scream 7.”

Sources tell me that the actor will once again play Gale Weathers in the seventh installment of the beloved horror franchise.

In September, Cox told me, “I’m not officially signed on. I’m not, but there will be a ‘Scream 7.’”

Not that Cox didn’t want to return. She said she was still waiting for a final script, but was “excited” that the film will mark Kevin Williamson’s first time directing a “Scream” movie. Williamson wrote the script for the first “Scream” in 1996. “You can’t get better than that choice,” Cox said of Williamson. “It’s going to be fun.”

At the time, Cox also expressed dismay that Dewey (David Arquette) was killed off in “Scream 5,” but hoped filmmakers could find a way to bring him back. “I understand the reasons they did it, but whoa!

Neon has picked up the North American rights to Chloe Okuno’s horror pic Brides, which will star Maika Monroe and is set to shoot in March 2025.

The project marks the third collaboration between Neon and Monroe after Osgood Perkins’ Longlegs and the upcoming sequel They Follow, the follow-up to David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows. Pre-production for Brides is now underway, and Neon plans to release the movie in theaters.

Longlegs made $75 million at the box office, making it the highest-grossing indie film of the year and a high point for Neon, Tom Quinn’s Oscar-winning specialty production and distribution outfit also home to Parasite.

Longlegs saw Nicholas Cage play an elusive serial killer being tracked by FBI Agent Lee Harker (Monroe) and who was so transformed for the film, he was almost unrecognizable. Brides will be produced by Anthony Bregman and Stefanie Azpiazu through Likely Story.

Okuno wrote the original screenplay,...

Marisa Paredes, the admired Spanish actress who collaborated with Pedro Almodóvar in such films as The Flower of My Secret, All About My Mother and The Skin I Live In, has died. She was 78.

Her death was announced Tuesday by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences of Spain, which called her one of the country’s “most iconic actors … her body of work was defined by women who were strong, ambivalent, broken, passionate, enigmatic, but who were, above all, very human.”

Almodóvar told Spanish public broadcaster Rtve that “it is as if I woke up from a bad dream … I am struggling to come to terms with Marisa’s death.” In their country, she was known as “an Almodóvar girl.”

Paredes also portrayed Roberto Benigni’s socialite mother-in-law in Life Is Beautiful (1997) and the head of the orphanage in Guillermo del Toro’s horror film The Devil’s Backbone (2001), set during the Spanish Civil War.

Universal Pictures has tapped Vanessa Caswill to direct “Reminders of Him,” an adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s romance novel.

Caswill’s major credits include Netflix’s 2023 romantic comedy “Love at First Sight,” starring Haley Lu Richardson, as well as two miniseries for the BBC: 2017’s “Little Women,” featuring Maya Hawke, Emily Watson, Michael Gambon and Angela Lansbury, and 2016’s “Thirteen,” led by Jodie Comer.

“Reminders of Him” follows a mother named Kenna Rowan, who returns to her hometown after serving five years in prison for a tragic mistake. She hopes to reconnect with her young daughter, though everyone is intent on keeping them apart. Only one person in the area hasn’t shunned her, and that’s the local bar owner Ledger Ward, who becomes an important part of Kenna’s life. The novel, published in 2022, has sold over 6.5 million copies globally and has been translated into 45 languages.

“I...

The Spanish film academy gave a surprise snub to its best-known director when Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door was not nominated for best film for the Goya Film Awards, Spain’s equivalent to the Oscars.

The Room Next Door picked up 13 Goya nominations, including best director for Almodóvar and best acting nominations for both of the film’s leads, Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, but the film was left out of the best picture category. Perhaps the language barrier — it’s Almodóvar’s first English-language feature — counted against it among Spanish academy voters.

Instead, the Goya’s best picture race will include five Spanish-language features: Casa en flames from director Dani de la Orden, Marcel Barrena’s El 47, La estrella azul from Javier Macipe, Arantxa Echevarría’s La infiltrada, and Segundo premio from director Isaki Lacuesta and Pol Rodríguez, which was Spain’s official Oscar submission this year.

The Wheel of Time continues to build out the cast for its upcoming third season.

The fantasy drama, which is set to premiere March 13 on Prime Video, has cast Olivia Williams, Luke Fetherston, Callum Kerr and Nuno Lopes as members of the royal family of Andor, the largest and most influential country in author Robert Jordan’s fictional world. News of their casting follows that of Shohreh Aghdashloo as Elaida do Avriny a’Roihan, a powerful member of the Aes Sedai.

Williams (Dune: Prophecy, The Crown) will play Morgase Trakand, the queen of Andor, who ascended to the throne after a brutal war pitting her forces against several rivals. “She has sworn ever since to shield her daughter and heir, Elayne, from ever having to endure what she did — and do what she did,” the character description reads. “But far from being a tyrant, Morgase has become one of the...

FX has canceled its drama series The Old Man after two seasons.

The series, starring Jeff Bridges as a retired CIA operative pressed back into action, performed well in its first season in 2022 and earned two Emmy nominations, for Bridges’ lead performance and cinematography.

Production on season two stopped during last year’s dual labor strikes, leading to a gap of more than two years between seasons – not unusual for a streaming series but hard to overcome for a show that originates on a linear channel, as The Old Man did on FX. The cancellation comes about eight weeks after season two aired its finale in late October.

FX declined comment.

The second — and now final — season is up for three Critics Choice Awards in January: best drama series, best actor in a drama for Bridges and best supporting actor in a drama for John Lithgow.

Along with Bridges and Lithgow,...

There will be no season four for Girls5Eva: Netflix has canceled the comedy after its first season on the platform and third overall.

The cancellation marks the end for Girls5Eva after it got a second life on Netflix. The show, about a girl group that reunites 20-plus years after its only hit, ran for two seasons on Peacock before switching platforms for season three. The first two seasons stream on both platforms, while the now-final season is exclusive to Netflix.

Created by Meredith Scardino and executive produced by Tina Fey, the series stars Sara Bareilles, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Busy Philipps and Paula Pell as the members of the titular group. Philipps said on a recent episode of her podcast Busy Philipps Is Doing Her Best that the show is “dead. I’m just saying it because, fuck it. If Netflix won’t, I will. I guess not enough people...

Spoiler Warning: This story includes plot developments of the series finale of “Star Trek: Lower Decks,” currently streaming on Paramount+.

When “Star Trek: Lower Decks” premiered during the height of the pandemic in August 2020, it was seen as a somewhat radical experiment: It was the first animated “Trek” show since the 1970s. It was the first “Trek” comedy ever. And it was the first time a “Trek” show focused on the junior officers aboard a Starfleet vessel: ne’er-do-well genius Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), anxious tryhard Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid), Orion science officer D’Vana Tendi (Noël Wells) and cybernetically...

The holiday season isn’t over just yet, which means there are a lot more Christmas specials on the horizon, including comedian Nate Bargatze’s “Nashville Christmas.”

This will be the Grammy-nominated comedian’s first primetime special, which will feature a mix of stand-up comedy and musical performances. Bargatze also serves as executive producer for the show alongside “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels. The special was filmed at Nashville’s live music venue the Grand Ole Opry, where Bargatze landed his first job sweeping the building’s steps.

“I used to sweep the steps of the Grand Ole Opry, so to get to do a show there… Cause I did a stand-up show there, but actually now to be do something even kind of bigger then that is, it’s beyond comprehension,” Bargatze saind in an interview with “Good Day Sacramento.”

It all goes down tonight; check out everything...

Germany’s film industry got an early Christmas present this week when the country’s parliament, the Bundestag, approved a modified version of the country’s new film funding law. The law, which is expected to get approval from the German senate today, Friday, will go into effect on January 1, 2025.

It comes just in time. Germany’s film industry, like those across Europe, is heavily dependent on government subsidies. Award season contenders, such as Tim Fehlbaum’s September 5 and Mohammad Rassalouf’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig, relied on German film subsidies to get made. The current film funding law expires at the end of this year. If politicians hadn’t managed a deal on new legislation, Germany’s entire film industry, which employs an estimated 120,000 people, could have ground to a halt.

The version of the law that passed Thursday — with support from the outgoing collation government of the Spd,...

Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were reunited on stage at London’s O2 Arena on Thursday night.

McCartney brought his Beatles bandmate on to raucous applause before the pair played hits such as “Helter Skelter” and “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” in what was McCartney’s final show on his “Got Back” tour, which kicked off in April 2022. “Should we rock? Get on your kit la,” McCartney said to Starr as he came on.

It was an emotional moment for the last two surviving members of the Beatles and their audience: “It’s fantastic, playing with me old mate, but there comes a time when we’ve got to go home. All that remains to be said… I’ve had a great night and I love you all,” Starr said as he departed the stage. The duo have performed several times together since the band broke up in...

Zoe Saldaña, whose busy year has culminated in awards buzz for her leading role in Emilia Pérez, will be honored with the Derek Malcolm Award for Innovation at the 45th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards.

The actress will pick up the prize at the Feb. 2 ceremony and become the second recipient of the annual award, named in memory of critic Derek Malcolm, who died at 91 in August 2023. Sing Sing‘s Colman Domingo was the inaugural recipient earlier in the year.

“I’m honored and thrilled to receive the Derek Malcolm Award for Innovation from the London Film Critics’ Circle, a group I greatly admire and respect,” Saldaña said. “This has been a wonderful year for film with so many striking and indelible roles for women. To have had the opportunity to work in this industry for 25 years has been a privilege and to perform the role of Rita in Emilia...

Zoe Saldana will receive the Derek Malcolm Award for Innovation at the 45th London Critics’ Circle Film Awards. The “Emilia Perez” actor becomes the second recipient of the award, following Colman Domingo’s inaugural win last year.

The recognition comes as Saldana also competes in the Supporting Actress of the Year category for Jacques Audiard’s musical drama “Emilia Perez.” Her career spans major franchises including “Avatar,” “Star Trek” and “Guardians of the Galaxy,” with starring roles in four of the highest-grossing films ever made.

Saldana’s recent work includes producing and starring in TV series “Special Ops: Lioness” and “The Absence of Eden,” focusing on U.S.-Mexico border trafficking. Earlier this year, she shared the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress with “Emilia Perez” co-stars Karla Sofia Gascon, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz.

“I’m honored and thrilled to receive the Derek Malcolm Award for Innovation from the London Film Critics’ Circle,...

The supernatural mystery series “Light Shop” has become Disney+’s biggest Korean original premiere of 2024, according to data from its first 12 days of streaming. The show ranks as the second-largest Korean series debut ever on the platform globally, trailing only “Moving” – both series created by webtoon artist Kangfull.

This success follows Disney+’s November announcement that “Moving” Season 2 is in development, cementing their partnership with Kangfull. The first season of “Moving,” which launched in 2023, emerged as Disney+’s number one local original title globally last year, winning over 10 industry awards.

“Light Shop” follows six strangers who find themselves trapped in...

The European Film Market, which is part of the Berlin Film Festival, has revealed that spaces for exhibitors at the EFM’s various venues are fully booked. The EFM, which runs Feb. 13-19, also announced this week it has introduced an award for distributors and created what it calls an Innovation Hub as part of an on-going revamp of the event.

Market screenings at CinemaxX will once again begin on Feb. 12, one day before the market kicks off. The University of Applied Sciences, located close to the EFM’s central building, Gropius Bau, has been added as a new EFM screening location. Other key venues include the Documentation Centre for Displacement, Expulsion and Reconciliation as the conference venue, as well as the Marriott Hotel, Berliner Freiheit, Dffb, Arsenal and the Mirror Tent.

The EFM Distributor Award will be presented for the first time on Feb. 12, as part of the market’s kick-off event.

Media tech investment firm Stars Collective and visual effects powerhouse Dneg are joining forces to bring immersive theater experiences to the Chinese market. The partnership aims to develop, produce and operate virtual reality and immersive theater venues across China, with plans to expand into Southeast Asia and North America.

Dneg, the seven-time Oscar-winning VFX house behind “Dune: Part Two” and “Oppenheimer,” will provide technology, IP rights, financing and content creation services. Stars Collective, along with partners Meilin Culture and Xinghan Interactive, has already established dozens of offline experience stores in China and plans to reach 100 locations worldwide by 2025.

The deal includes backing from Pathbender Media Holdings’ Mint Fund, which has created “Mint Fund – Stars” to support projects across immersive experiences, live-action, animation, gaming, and visual effects.

“The additive scale achieved with this partnership allows for a very wide assortment of opportunities that benefit filmmakers, storytellers and the global creative community at large,...

The genre-blending anime series “Dan Da Dan” will return for its second season on Crunchyroll in July 2025, following Thursday’s Season 1 finale.

Science Saru, the animation studio behind “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off,” unveiled a new key visual for the sophomore season that centers on the character Jiji under the watchful gaze of the mysterious Evil Eye. The artwork incorporates classical composer portraits and a kaiju, suggesting new supernatural elements for the upcoming storyline.

The series, based on Yukinobu Tatsu’s manga published in Shonen Jump Plus, blends supernatural action with romantic comedy elements. Fuga Yamashiro helms the project, with “Chainsaw Man...

The Motion Picture Association has named Urmila Venugopalan as its new president and managing director of the Asia-Pacific region.

Venugopalan, formerly the MPA’s executive vp of strategy and global operations, will succeed Belinda Lui, who is stepping down after five years. The leadership change becomes effective on Jan. 31.

Venugopalan joined the MPA in 2017 and has worked to align the association’s U.S. and international teams, streamline global operations and increase coordination between the legal and policy functions.

Based in Tokyo, Venugopalan will report to Gail MacKinnon, the MPA’s senior executive vp of global policy and government affairs.

In the new role, the MPA says Venugopalan will continue to expand the U.S. studios and streamers’ “access to local markets, promote production in new areas, and strengthen advocacy, operations, and personnel across the Asia-Pacific region.”

Working closely with the MPA’s anti-piracy arm, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment...

Wicked fans who love to sing along to the musical film are getting an early Christmas present: A sing-along version of the soundtrack was released Friday.

The sing-along version of Wicked: The Soundtrack features the 11 tracks without the lead vocals, though the orchestra and background vocals are the same as the soundtrack. It was released digitally by Universal Pictures, Republic Records and Verve Records.

The press release for the announcement reads: “It’s the perfect opportunity for Wicked fans to flex their vocal muscles and become their own favorite lead vocalists on the soundtrack. The sing-along soundtrack provides all citizens of Oz the unique ability to sing their favorite Wicked songs with the film’s cinematic orchestra and cast of background vocalists.”

The new album comes days before sing-along screenings of the film will be offered in roughly 1,000 cinemas starting on Dec. 25 in the United States, Canada and select international markets.

Ask newer fans what the greatest musical of all time is and recency bias probably means the answer will be something like Rent or Les Misérables or Hamilton. Ask seasoned theater folk with wider frames of reference and Gypsy will usually land in the top three. For good reason. The 1959 warhorse is perhaps the ultimate tragicomic depiction of showbiz struggle, which makes it a strong contender for the ultimate Broadway musical.

It’s a cliché to call Rose, the archetypal pushy stage mother at the show’s center, the King Lear of musical theater. But that’s hard to dispute when you watch a consummate performer like Audra McDonald pour her heart and soul and every ounce of her gumption, her supple vocals and finely nuanced acting skills into the titanic role.

The six-time Tony winner humanizes this driven, achingly unfulfilled woman without ever softening her abrasive edges, her relentlessly self-serving determination,...

Stories about survivors in a post-apocalyptic world continue to fascinate viewers in such streaming series as “Fallout” and “The Last of Us,” but “Homestead” likely marks the first time such a scenario has been used for a faith-based movie. And it definitely is the first time a theatrical film in that genre has been designed as the pilot for a TV series — a fact that, when it becomes clear in the movie’s final minutes, may strike many viewers as a bait-and-switch trick.

Indeed, the TV series gets what can only be described as emphatic promotion in those final minutes, complete with a kinda-sorta coming attraction trailer (not entirely unlike the one Kevin Costner employed at the end of “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1”). One of the lead actors appears on camera to directly address audiences about what lies ahead, along with an on-screen Qr code that the audience can...

Dan Abrams, one of the first major names to join the primetime schedule of Nexstar Media’s NewsNation, plans to leave the roster early next year.

Abrams told viewers Thursday night that a range of business commitments would pull him away from doing “Dan Abrams Live,” the network’s regular 9 p.m. program. “I’ve reached the point where it’s impossible to keep devoting the time needed for this show while also running and growing my other businesses,” Abrams said at the end of his show.

The entrepreneur also runs several media businesses, including the media-industry-focused Mediaite and the spirts review site Bottle Raiders,...

Dan Abrams will end his NewsNation show, “Dan Abrams Live,” in February, the media entrepreneur announced Thursday. A NewsNation representative confirmed he’ll remain at the network in a different role to be announced in the coming weeks.

Abrams acknowledged he’s reached a point “where it’s impossible to keep devoting the time needed for this show while also running and growing my other businesses.” He is the chief legal analyst for ABC News, host of a satellite radio show, and host and producer for the Reelz Channel show “On Patrol Live.” He is also the owner of several media brands and websites, including Mediaite and Law & Crime Network.

Abrams signed a multi-year deal with NewsNation in 2023. “Dan is a veteran and master journalist whose passion for media and law and crime has made him one of the most unrivaled in the industry,” President of Nexstar Networks Sean Compton...

NewsNation will need to find a new host for its critical 9 p.m. hour, with Dan Abrams set to step aside from his primetime program early next year.

Abrams announced his decision Thursday at the end of his program Dan Abrams Live, adding that he will step aside from his show in February.

Abrams is one of the media business’ biggest multitaskers, serving as ABC News chief legal analyst, a satellite radio host, host and producer for the Reelz Channel show On Patrol Live and as the owner of a digital media empire that includes Mediaite, Law & Crime Network and other brands, all in addition to his nightly NewsNation program.

“As you may know, I also host a weekend show called On Patrol Live that follows police in real time, I host a daily radio show on SiriusXM and appear on ABC News as its chief legal analyst,” Abrams said Thursday.

Spoiler Alert: This article contains details on the plot and ending of “Carry-On,” now streaming on Netflix.

In “Carry-On,” Sofia Carson plays Nora, the pregnant girlfriend of Ethan (Taron Egerton), a Tsa agent at Lax who has been blackmailed to take part in a plot to take down a plane with chemical weapons stashed in carry-on luggage.

Nora also works at the airport and the blackmailer (Jason Bateman) threatens to have her killed if Ethan doesn’t do what he says.

Carson received the script after her romantic drama “Purple Hearts,” became a huge hit on Netflix in 2022. “I remember reading the headline, which was ‘Carry-On, action, thriller, starring Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman as the villain, that takes place at Lax, produced by Amblin, Steven Spielberg,’” she tells me on the latest episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast. “And then in quotations, or in parentheses, was ‘Die Hard.

[This story contains spoilers from the season two finale of Lioness.]

The second season of Taylor Sheridan’s CIA operative series Lioness ended with a bang on several fronts.

The finale of the Paramount+ series starring Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Dave Annable, Michael Kelly and Morgan Freeman pulled no punches when the U.S. Secretary of State (Freeman) gave Deputy Director of the CIA Byron Westfield (Kelly) the authority to do a special ops mission with the CIA-led Quick Reaction Force team (Qrf) Lioness team off the Turkey/Iranian border. Intel suggested the Iranians were planning to smuggle in two Chinese scientists to help with their nuclear program. American intelligence agencies already knew that the Chinese took part in having a Mexican cartel kidnap a U.S. congresswoman — taking her across the border and executing her family. It was time for some payback.

Leading the kill mission of the Chinese operatives in Iran would be new Lioness recruit Josephina Carrillo,...

Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist has been lobbed no shortage of compliments like “majestic,” “monumental” and “masterpiece,” to name just a few. But none of those words are surprising to star Adrien Brody who knew straight away after reading it that it was something special.

“I was so moved by it and saw such potential because the script was so beautiful. The breadth of it was so complex and nuanced,” Brody told The Hollywood Reporter at the A24 film’s recent Los Angeles premiere. “Then I met with Brady and found him to be intellectually stimulating, to say the least. That was about five and a half years ago or so at this point. But then they went in another direction with it, and the movie went away.”

Actors lose parts on the daily in Hollywood, but missing out on the chance to play László Tóth, a Jewish Hungarian architect...

Ever since her movie Thelma premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, June Squibb has gotten a kick out of the response that’s been repeated over and over again this year.

“People have really made a big deal about the fact that it was my first leading role,” says the veteran actress, who turned 95 in November, of Josh Margolin’s senior citizen dramedy. “Everybody has laughingly said it over and over. People are impressed with that, and as much as anything else, they’re impressed by the fact that I’m still going.”

Still going is one way to put it. Squibb has been churning out the work in 2024 with roles in Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead, Velma, Inside Out 2, American Horror Stories and Lost & Found in Cleveland. There’s more to come in the new year.

“I do have some work that...

Amy Adams almost wasn’t cast on “The Office” for a surprising reason, Jenna Fisher and Angela Kinsey revealed on their podcast “Office Ladies” Wednesday. Adams appeared in the season one episode “Hot Girl.”

“In our original breakdown of this episode, we mentioned that Amy Adams, who stars as the purse girl, Katy, was [episode writer and star] Mindy Kaling’s first choice for the role. But what we didn’t share was that Amy Adams was not the first person cast in the role,” Fisher explained.

Adams was “everybody’s first choice” but “there was this concern that Amy and I looked too similar.”

“And I guess one of the writers even said, ‘I’m sorry, we can’t cast her. She’s like Jenna 2.0.’ And so they got cold feet and they cast someone else,” Fisher continued. “But when it didn’t work out, they decided to cast Amy and just lean...

There’s a moment in Thursday night’s Christmas-themed “Ghosts” two-parter where the body of Rose McIver’s character, Sam, is suddenly inhabited by sassy downstairs cholera spirit Nancy (Betsy Sodaro). “Ghosts” requires its stars to participate in all sorts of hijinks on a weekly basis — and in this case, McIver was tasked with imitating Sodaro as Nancy.

“I adore Betsy so much,” McIver tells Variety. “I adore her as a person, as a performer. I’m a huge fan. So I felt very honored that I got to channel a little Nancy, and she was predictably so generous to work with.

Matthew Warchus will direct the new Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with a script from Edna Walsh, Eon Productions and Amazon MGM announced Thursday.

Warchus is best known as the director of 2022’s Matilda the Musical and 2014’s Pride. Walsh is known for 2024’s Small Things Like These.

Originated as a bedtime story by Ian Fleming (written for his son Casper), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was adapted into a screenplay by Roald Dahl, Ken Hughes with Richard Maibaum in 1968. The film — today a beloved classic — starred Dick Van Dyke and was directed by Hughes. The titular song, by the Sherman Brothers, earned an Academy Award nomination.

The new film is in early stages of development, Eon and Amazon said Thursday. In the original movie, Van Dyke played the widowed inventor Caractacus Potts and his two children, Jeremy (Adrian Hall) and Jemima (Heather Ripley). Together with the heiress to the Scrumptious candy empire,...

The forthcoming remake of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” prepares to take flight with director Matthew Warchus boarding the production.

Tony and Olivier award winner Warchus will direct the film, based on the classic children’s story about a magical flying car, from a script by Tony winner Enda Walsh (“Small Things Like These”).

The new movie, which Eon Productions and Amazon MGM Studios announced earlier this month, is in the early stages of development. The project builds on the partnership between the studio and the “James Bond” producers amid their search for the new MI6 agent following Daniel Craig’s retirement from the role, following 2021’s “No Time to Die.”

Originally written by Bond creator Ian Fleming as a bedtime story for his son Casper, “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” was adapted for the big screen in 1968. Dick Van Dyke starred in the kid-friendly musical fantasy film, directed by Ken Hughes,...

Longtime Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto signed off from the network for the final time on Thursday. In his 3-minute address, Cavuto said he’s been “very lucky for the support I got here and the things I got to do here, because I got to do what I love to do.”

Cavuto had hosted “Your World” since Fox News debuted in 1996.

“Neil Cavuto’s illustrious career has been a masterclass in journalism and we’re extremely proud of his incredible 28-year run with Fox News Media,” the network said in a statement. “His programs have defined business news and set the standard for the entire industry. We wish him a heartfelt farewell and all the best on his next chapter.”

Cavuto’s entire goodbye message read: “Today I also wanted to let you know, this is my final show. I am leaving Fox. I’ve been planning this day for some time.

Matthew Warchus has come aboard to direct the new, reimagined film adaptation of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” for Eon Productions and Amazon MGM, the companies announced on Thursday.

The much-loved children’s story about a magical flying car will be adapted for the screen by writer Enda Walsh (“Small Things Like These”).

The film is in early stages of development and builds on Eon and Amazon MGM’s partnership.

The story centers on an eccentric inventor in pre-war England who also happens to be a widowed father of two children. He restores an old racing car that the children name Chitty Chitty Bang Bang due to the sounds it makes, and they discover the car has magical abilities.

Originally written by Ian Fleming as a bedtime story for his son Casper, the book was adapted into a screenplay by Roald Dahl and Ken Hughes with Richard Maibaum. In 1968, the film...

The 31st Slamdance Film Festival has announced its 2025 lineup as the festival makes the move from Park City to Los Angeles.

The festival will run from Feb. 20-26 with the opening night event kicking off at The Egyptian Theatre. The rest of the screenings will rotate between the Director’s Guild of America and West Hollywood Quixote buildings. Out of the 146 films selected for the festival, 21 are world premieres and 20 different countries are represented, including Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Greece, Jamaica, Japan, Norway and more.

Reportedly, 38% of Slamdance’s lineup are projects made by Bipoc creators while 55% were directed by women.

“At this pivotal moment for independent film, Slamdance’s new era in Los Angeles is the perfect home for a 2025 lineup that defies convention, champions bold new voices, and reflects the fearless, independent spirit at our core: by filmmakers, for everyone,” said Slamdance festival director Taylor Miller.

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‘Tis officially the season for Christmas specials, and just about everyone has their own. That includes Barry Manilow, who has come to celebrate the season with his “A Very Barry Christmas” show.

Originally performed in Las Vegas, the show features Manilow and his 24-piece band performing a combination of some of his most famous hits and Christmas classics.

Here’s everything you need to know about the special this year.

What is the release date?

True Fanilows got to see the show live at Westgate’s International Theater, as it ran from Dec. 5-7 and Dec. 12-14. But if you couldn’t make that, you can watch the show on Dec. 19, 2024 at 10 p.m. Et on NBC.

Is it streaming?

Yes, you’ll be able to stream it on Peacock the day after it airs.

What songs does he sing in it?

You’ll be able to see Manilow perform hits like “Copacabana,...

While celebrating his fourth Golden Globe nomination, Timothée Chalamet admitted that writing acceptance speeches ahead of time made him feel like a “narcissistic prick.”

The actor, who is again nominated for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in the biopic “A Complete Unknown,” told SiriusXM host Nicole Ryan, “There’s nothing more uniquely hilarious and something you cannot share with anyone when you get home and you tear up the little thing that you never had to use and you think to yourself, ‘You narcissistic prick.’ On what planet did you think you were gonna use this?”

Chalamet previously earned Golden Globe nominations for his performances in “Wonka,” “Beautiful Boy” and “Call Me By Your Name,” none of which he won (he also received an Oscar nomination for the Luca Guadagnino movie).

Chalamet then asked Ryan and co-hosts Ryan Sampson and Stanley T if he could “say whatever I want” on the satellite radio station,...

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“Dexter: Original Sin,” has become Showtime’s most streamed premiere in history with more than 2.1 million global cross-platform viewers, according to internal data from Paramount+.

The drama series, which comes from showrunner and executive producer Clyde Phillips, is also the most socialed premiere for the network ever, with 657,000 interactions.

The title for Showtime’s most-streamed premiere was previously held by “Yellowackets” Season 2, which brought in 1.3 million viewers in its debut last year.

“Dexter: Original Sin” is a prequel series that follows Dexter (Patrick Gibson) in 1991 Miami as he transitions from student to avenging serial killer. Original “Dexter” star Michael C. Hall narrates the action.

“When his bloodthirsty urges can’t be ignored any longer, Dexter must learn to channel his inner darkness,” the logline states. “With the guidance of his father,...

Jesse Eisenberg believes that his “poorly received” performance as Lex Luthor in Zack Snyder’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Justice League” hurt his career.

“I’ve never said this before and it’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but I genuinely think it actually hurt my career in a real way, because I was poorly received in something so public,” he recently told Dax Shepard on his “Armchair Expert” podcast.

The actor, who just received two Golden Globe nominations for his film “A Real Pain” with Kieran Culkin, said, “I’ve been in poorly received things that just don’t see the light of day, and for the most part, no one knows. But this was so public, and I don’t read notices or reviews or movie press or anything, so I was unaware of how poorly it was received.”

At the time, the film’s...

Billy Bob Thornton is more than happy to play a foul-mouthed Santa (“Bad Santa”) or a high school football coach (“Friday Night Lights”) or a NASA scientist (“Armageddon”), but one thing he won’t do on the big screen is kill Tom Cruise. During an interview on The Playlist’s “Bingeworthy” podcast, the actor remembered turning down two big Hollywood villain roles: Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” and the arms dealer Owen Davian in “Mission: Impossible III.”

“I don’t have much interest in those kinds of roles,” Thornton said. “With the Green Goblin, I didn’t feel like getting up at 4 a.m. for five or six hours of makeup. And with ‘Mission: Impossible III,’ I didn’t want to be the guy trying to kill Tom Cruise. If you’re the bad guy in a big movie like that, audiences remember it forever. I prefer to...

For Jeff Fowler, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is the fullest of full circles.

Before he transitioned to feature directing, Fowler worked as an animator at Tim Miller’s Blur Studio for many years, helping craft multiple high-res cut scenes for various Sonic the Hedgehog video games. Most notably, he contributed to Sega’s multi-platform spinoff game, Shadow the Hedgehog (2005), and when he eventually had the chance to tease a character in the mid-credits of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022), he jumped at the chance to welcome the “little badass” to the big screen. Given that the character is a darker version of Sonic — a hedgehog who’s driven by a wide-ranging revenge campaign — Mr. John Wick himself, Keanu Reeves, slid seamlessly into the role.

During the promotion of Sonic 2, Jim Carrey, who plays Sonic’s (Ben Schwartz) archnemesis Dr. Ivo Robotnik, received a great deal of attention for his talk of impending retirement,...

Danny Masterson is seeking to overturn the verdict in his 2023 jury trial, which ended with him being convicted on two counts of rape by force or fear and sentenced to 30 years in prison. The actor claimed “fundamental flaws” led to an unfair trial that featured shifting accounts of what happened from the three plaintiffs and arguing that it was meant as a legal attack on the Church of Scientology.

On Thursday, attorneys for the That ’70s Show star filed a 242-page appellant’s opening brief demanding an overturning of Masterson’s guilty verdict — the culmination of a weeks-long, high-profile jury trial that concluded in September 2023. The allegations in the filing by defense attorneys Cliff Gardner and Lazuli Whitt state that the jury’s view of the evidence was skewed by the women’s narratives of the attacks, the court’s exclusion of significant exculpatory evidence and rulings by the judge overseeing the trial.

The recent assassination of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan follows two assassination attempts on president elect Donald Trump over the summer.

In the July attempt on Trump’s life in Butler, Penn., the would-be assassin, armed with an Ak-47, was killed by a member of Trump’s security detail. The second attempt on Trump’s life, in Florida, produced another high-powered rifle and a living suspect with a record of strange political and commercial activities, including a stint as a volunteer fighter in the current Ukraine-Russian conflict.

The primary suspect in the Thompson assassination is a young man of great privilege,...

The recent assassination of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan follows two assassination attempts on president elect Donald Trump over the summer.

In the July attempt on Trump’s life in Butler, Penn., the would-be assassin, armed with an Ak-47, was killed by a member of Trump’s security detail. The second attempt on Trump’s life, in Florida, produced another high-powered rifle and a living suspect with a record of strange political and commercial activities, including a stint as a volunteer fighter in the current Ukraine-Russian conflict.

The primary suspect in the Thompson assassination is a young man of great privilege, a tech whiz with a promising future now ended by allegedly brandishing a ghost gun outside a New York hotel and taking Thompson’s life.

Exactly 50 years ago, Hollywood produced “The Parallax View,” a film that spoke to the anxieties of Americans who had just lived through...

It took a force like Taylor Sheridan to topple Max’s dominant run atop the streaming chart on the Samba TV Weekly Wrap Report last week. This week, it’s another streaming super power’s turn, as Netflix denies Sheridan the rare opportunity to top both the streaming and linear top 10 lists.

Netflix’s return to the top spot is thanks to “Carry-On.” The thriller has a holiday angle – all of the action happens on Christmas Eve – which helped it give Netflix its first chart topper since “The Perfect Couple,” way back on the Sept. 19 edition of the Samba TV Weekly Wrap Report.

“Landman,” the Taylor Sheridan creation that topped last week’s chart, slides down to No. 2 this week. It’s one of just two non-Netflix titles on this week’s chart as the streamer dominates holiday season viewership.

The other, “Red One” on Amazon Prime Video, is yet another holiday-oriented action movie,...