Innholdsfortegnelse for 03/13/2024 i Variety

The 96th annual Oscars was a night for the history books. Jimmy Kimmel, in his fourth turn as the ceremony’s host, demonstrated the razor timing and love for the movies of a modern-day Billy Crystal. His show-opening gag, embedding himself in a scene from “Barbie” opposite Margot Robbie, even recalled Crystal, who used to insert himself into ’90s best picture nominees. The evening felt like a throwback in the best way, down to an old-fashioned sweep, with “Oppen heimer” winning seven awards, including best picture and best director. But the highlight of the night came from a nominee who won without taking home a trophy. Decked out in a pink suit, Ryan Gosling belted out “I’m Just Ken” (perfectly on key) with a stage packed with backup-dancer Kens. The audience…

Since January, the Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” has released a series of announcements of the film’s cast, including Oscar nominee Colman Domingo as Jackson’s father, Joe; Nia Long as Jackson’s mother, Katherine; and Miles Teller as John Branca, Jackson’s attorney and the co-executor of his estate. Each press release offers the same description, promising a “riveting and honest portrayal of the brilliant yet complicated man” that will reflect both Jackson’s “undeniable creative genius” and his “human side and personal struggles.” One significant aspect of Jackson’s life, however, will make that promise practically impossible to fulfill: the multiple allegations that the King of Pop leveraged his global fame to groom prepubescent boys into sexual relationships. According to a report by Puck News, which Variety has confirmed, director Antoine Fuqua, producer Graham…

From the distinction of becoming hip-hop’s first billionaire to being honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star this week, the accomplishments and confidence of the man born Andre Young — aka legendary producer-rapper-entrepreneur Dr. Dre — could best be summed up with the lyrics from his debut solo hit, 1992’s “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang”: “You never been on a ride like this before/With a producer who can rap and control the micstro/At the same time with the dope rhyme that I kick/You know and I know, I flow some old funky shit.” Using hip-hop as the basis of all he’s been and made, Dre’s epic adventure — one ripe with brash self-assurance and a continued need for invention (and re-invention) — is as filled with victory as it…

In the digital age, there is a tendency to think of the phrase “film preservation” only as it relates to the care and restoration of movies from the 1950s or earlier. But while classic films need care, so too do newer projects. Digital formats not only become obsolete but degrade over time. When global IP is worth billions of dollars, the stakes for its owners are even higher. Straddling both the physical and digital worlds, Pro-Tek Vaults has planted its flag in this space as a leader in media services, film preservation and archival solutions. The 30-year-old company is charting its course for a robust future by expanding on plans to help protect and celebrate the past. “We work with some of the most sophisticated owners of intellectual property in…

Apples Never Fall Network Peacock Premiere date March 14 Episodes 7 Creator Melanie Marnich Cast Annette Bening, Sam Neill, Jake Lacy, Alison Brie The Australian author Liane Moriarty provided the source material for the first season of “Big Little Lies.” Since that then-limited series exploded in 2017, Hollywood has continued to mine Moriarty’s catalog — and thus far, come up short. The second season of “Big Little Lies” was a disappointment; Hulu’s take on novel “Nine Perfect Strangers” was a collection of big names in search of a compelling through line. A follow-up is nonetheless in the works, as are takes on books “The Husband’s Secret” and “The Last Anniversary.” Moriarty’s métier — affluent communities imperiled by violence and scandal — is still catnip to readers and viewers alike, but…

NFL Sunday Ticket subscriber Leo Tolstoy once wrote, “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” That’s an apt summation of the New England Patriots during their championship run in the first two decades of this century. There were six Super Bowl wins, but everyone — particularly quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bill Belichick — seemed to be on an endless deployment aboard the HMS Misery. Eventually, Brady jumped ship for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “Me and Coach Belichick, we did what we loved and competed for 20 years together,” says Brady in an upcoming episode of Apple TV+’s “The Dy-nasty.” “Based on how things had gone, I wasn’t going to sign up for more of it.” Did it have to be that…

Mark Duplass was feeling insecure. At one point in his career, he would get greenlight after greenlight for the projects he pitched on behalf of Duplass Brothers Productions, the beloved indie banner he founded with Jay Duplass in the late ’90s. But recently, he and company president Mel Eslyn noticed a problem. “All the executives who used to buy all of our stuff before we could even open our mouths were passing,” he says. “We were like, ‘Have we lost it?’ And then we started talking to all of our friends. They were like, ‘It’s not you. It’s us too.’ We started sharing these war stories.” The war they spoke of was the decline of Peak TV. For nearly a decade, Hollywood was producing and distributing more television than ever…

It’s the morning after the Oscars, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who was out celebrating her big win as best supporting actress until 5:45 a.m., looks as if she’d fall asleep for the rest of the day if she closed her eyes for a moment. And yet despite her exhaustion she’s still radiant, brimming with excitement about the ways that her life has changed since she scored her role as Mary Lamb, a grieving cafeteria manager, in Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers.” As she sits at a dining room table in a modern Beverly Hills apartment soothing a hoarse voice with cough drops, Randolph declares sleepily, “I’ve got the keys to the castle now!” It’s a change for the Philadelphia-born actress, who says, “I was taught to make a lot out…

Celebrating its 55th anniversary this year, the NAACP Image Awards continue to be a shining beacon of Black excellence when it comes to highlighting creatives and projects other awards shows tend to overlook. This year’s nominees include Colman Domingo, Halle Bailey, Usher, Fantasia Barrino-Taylor and Keke Palmer — all up for Entertainer of the Year, the ceremony’s top prize. Honorary awards will be bestowed at the ceremony, with winners revealed during the two-hour live TV special, airing March 16 on BET and CBS from the Shrine Auditorium. The ceremony will also recognize winners in non-televised Image Awards categories March 11-14 and will stream via naacpimageawards.net. “It is such an honor to be recognized for doing something that you love,” says Palmer, who has four nominations. Beyond entertainer of the year,…

Deeper Well Artist Kacey Musgraves Label Interscope Records/MCA Nashville Producers Kacey Musgraves, Daniel Tashian, Ian Fitchuk The Grammy-winning “Golden Hour” was Kacey Musgraves’ romantic honeymoon album. Its more dramatic follow-up, “Star-Crossed,” was received as her divorce album. What’s a singer-songwriter do for an encore, having pretty effectively covered the twin poles of serenity and severance, on record and in life? Maybe not altogether surprisingly, the answer — as heard on “Deeper Well” — is to learn to love again (moderately gun-shy version). It’s telling that Musgraves closes the record with a song titled “Nothing to Be Scared Of,” and sweetly sings it like she really believes it. It’s safe to assume that Musgraves didn’t mean to instigate a trilogy, exactly, when she started work on “Golden Hour” with co-producers and…