Variety 12/7/2022

This is our biggest and best Actors on Actors issue — and that’s not hyperbole. In our newsroom, it’s a great source of pride that this project, which takes months of planning and a formidable army of staffers to put together, has become the most-discussed awards season franchise in publishing. And every year we try to up our game. One of our favorite traditions is unveiling the lineup and watching the chatter online. A few days ago, when we announced our selection for the best 24 movie performances of 2022 — and the pairings featured in our portfolio — the lineup started trending on Twitter. On TikTok, one fan even tried to rank the conversations before they’d gone live. You’ll see that’s not an easy assignment, as these pairings are…

Editor-at-large Kate Aurthur moderated four of our Actors on Actors conversations, getting back together with Margot Robbie and Carey Mulligan after previously writing cover stories about both. Chief TV critic Daniel D’Addario moderated five Actors on Actors conversations, reuniting with “Blonde” star Ana de Armas after profiling her earlier this year. Design director Ted Keller composed this week’s five covers and built our 62-page Actors on Actors section. The goal: to unify the package and make it pop. All in a day’s work. Or five or six. Photographer Alexi Lubomirski captured the Actors on Actors pairings Nov. 18-20 in Los Angeles: “It was so much fun explaining the shoot concept of a party to these talented artists, and then watching them as they interpreted that idea into a performance.”…

Viewers have turned to HLN over the years for a quick-hit version of its sister, CNN; coverage of court cases; Robin Meade’s long-running morning news show; and truecrime programs, including Nancy Grace’s primetime talk show and repeats of “Forensic Files.” What it will be recognized for in the future is anybody’s guess. CNN — and, by proxy, its corporate parent, Warner Bros. Discovery — nearly gutted the cable outlet Dec. 1, canceling Meade’s “Morning Express,” which has been on the air in some form or another since 2001. The company also declared that it would no longer produce new live programming for HLN and that Warner Bros. Discovery Networks boss Kathleen Finch, not CNN chief Chris Licht, would take over the true-crime shows, which would shift to another cable outlet,…

Let’s get one thing out of the way: “Avatar: The Way of Water,” a sequel to the highest-grossing movie in history, is poised to be another box office smash for director James Cameron and Disney, which now owns the rights to Pandora and its inhabitants. The follow-up, which opens in theaters on Dec. 16, looks to collect a mighty $150 million to $175 million in its first weekend of release. For beleaguered movie theater owners, the decades-in-the-making film can’t come soon enough. At B&B Theatres, a family-owned circuit based in Missouri, “Avatar 2” presales look strong, pacing 58% above those for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (which debuted to $181 million) at the same point ahead of that film’s release. “It’s a very important movie,” says Brock Bagby, executive VP of…

When Kim Godwin landed at ABC News in 2021, after a distinguished career as a CBS executive, she no doubt thought she’d be heavily enmeshed in the professional lives of anchors and correspondents in her stable. But she probably didn’t think she’d also have to be reading about their sex lives. Last week, Godwin, as ABC News president, benched Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes, the co-anchors of “GMA3,” the early-afternoon extension of its flagship “Good Morning America,” after tabloid reports and paparazzi photos caught the two carrying on an affair despite being married to other people. The bright spotlight on a lesser-known hour of TV has made Disney brass worry about tarnishing the wholesome “GMA” brand — one of its most prized content properties. ABC News and Godwin declined to…

A new festival designed to celebrate Los Angeles and its sense of community will debut Dec. 10 at L.A. State Historic Park. Dubbed LA3C — short for Los Angeles, Capital of Culture & Creativity — the festival, which was developed by Variety parent company PMC, will feature a vibrant mix of music, art, food and live experiences. LA3C chief executive officer Juan Mora says the goal is to capture the unique spirit of the city that calls Hollywood home. “There’s no event at this scale that brings the versatility of Los Angeles to one place or one space like LA3C,” he says. “We are going to be able to curate best-in-class experiences across music and the arts to the heart of L.A.” The main stage music acts include headliners Lil…