Variety 12/2/2021

The outpouring of loving tributes to the late Stephen Sondheim this week has been extraordinary and so deserving of a genius whose unmatched talents brought the world immense musical and emotional joy over the decades. Naturally, most of what’s been written about Sondheim, who died Nov. 26 at age 91, focuses on the eight-time Tony winner’s countless contributions to musical theater, with his limited involvement in movie music understandably a footnote. Still, I thought it would be nice to catch up with Warren Beatty, with whom Sondheim collaborated on two of the actor-director’s films — 1981’s “Reds” and 1990’s “Dick Tracy” — to hear about his experiences and memories of their working together. When I reached Beatty, he initially agreed to talk with me a bit later in the day…

“I love capturing artists/creatives in their environments — and having the opportunity to do that with such a cool dude in my hometown was something I couldn’t pass up,” says Nolis Anderson, who photographed Variety’s Hitmaker of Tomorrow, Jack Harlow, at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago on Nov. 12. “I think we just wanted something that showed his growth as an artist and person over the last few years. He’s come a long way.” Anderson, who graduated with a doctor of pharmacy degree before switching gears to pursue his creative passions, has a client list that includes The New York Times, The Washington Post and Adweek, among other publications.…

Stephen Sondheim reinvented the American musical by creating something deeper, darker, richer and more artistically daring. In “Company,” “Sweeney Todd” and “Into the Woods,” he pushed the boundaries of the form and left a legacy of hits. Sondheim died on Nov. 26 at the age of 91. To honor his life and work, Variety reached out to three of the composer’s collaborators and biggest fans — Nathan Lane, who starred in Sondheim shows like “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”; Marianne Elliott, the director of the Broadway revival of “Company”; and Beanie Feldstein, who is filming an adaptation of “Merrily We Roll Along.” NATHAN LANE Even before I ever got to work with him, Steve was a huge hero to me. As a kid I owned…

Having launched its first batch of mobile games for Android and iOS in November, Netflix has followed through on statements it made in 2019 that free-to-play games like Fortnite are serious competitors. However, Netflix’s own games, led by two “Stranger Things” titles, incorporate neither of the mobile “freemium” hallmarks — integrated ads and in-game purchases — and are simply an add-on feature for subscribers. The streaming giant clearly wants to boost subscription value amid SVOD competition, but Hub Research data demonstrates that Netflix exists in an ecosystem where console gamers stream video about half as much as they play games. If the company wants to redirect subscribers to its smartphone games, it needs to adopt the models that enable many mobile games to thrive. For more data from VIP+, visit…

René Rechtman, CEO and co-founder of Moonbug Entertainment, was gearing up to launch an IPO for his 3-year-old digital kids’ content company. But earlier this year, two of his former Disney colleagues — Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer — came calling with an offer he couldn’t refuse. The duo dangled $3 billion in cash and stock for Moonbug to become part of their new media company, backed by privateequity firm Blackstone, according to sources familiar with the deal. “We had no plans of selling our business. We’re growing like wildfire, and we had a lot of banks pitching up to go public next year,” says Rechtman. After some internal debate, he and his co-founder, chief operating officer John Robson, decided to accept the deal: “In Tom and Kevin, we see…

AWARDS CIRCUIT The Gotham Awards are usually the first stop on the awards season trail. This year, the Nov. 29 dinner was also the first in-person awards ceremony in New York City since the pandemic changed everything nearly two years ago. So what did we learn from the show? The two big winners of the night were streaming movies: “The Lost Daughter” from Netflix and “CODA” from Apple Original Films. For the first time in the show’s 31-year history, the two prominent acting awards were not separated by gender, which is better in theory than in practice. “The Lost Daughter,” a Netflix drama from debut writer and director Maggie Gyllenhaal, walked away with four awards out of five nominations: best feature, breakthrough director, screenplay and outstanding leading performance for Olivia…