Variety 8/23/2023

In typical years, the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival threatens to outshine the Oscars. The annual fest, led by Alberto Barbera, has established itself as the opening act of awards season and the endpoint of Hollywood’s August doldrums. Just last year, the festival launched “The Whale,” “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “Tár.” Brendan Fraser, Colin Farrell and Cate Blanchett showed up on the Lido to promote their work, and Variety’s journalists took out our stopwatches to measure the standing ovations. This year, Barbera had locked in one of his strongest lineups yet — only to see it threatened when the SAG-AFTRA strike began in July. As Barberatells our Italian correspondent Nick Vivarelli, he held his breath as things dangled in limbo, only exhaling once he got confirmation from…

Variety chief correspondent Stephen Rodrick dove into 40 years of Michael Mann projects for his cover profile, and left with a distinct impression that crime does pay if it doesn’t kill you. International correspondent Nick Vivarelli was afraid that the actors strike would deprive the Venice Film Festival of American movies. That didn’t happen, so he will be back on the Lido in full fatigues rather than in guerrilla mode. Senior producer Tiana DeNicola is particularly proud of directing Michael Mann for Variety’s cover video after the filmmaker told her he’d never been directed for a video about his work. Cover photographer Art Streiber says, “Legendary director Michael Mann eschewed the pomp of traditional magazine photo shoots. So I photographed Mann standing in the street at rush hour. The resulting look…

Within a three-week time span this August, audiences have been able to watch two British teenage boys wrestle with when to come out as a couple to their school (in Season 2 of the Netflix series “Heartstopper”), the first son and the prince of England make passionate love in a plush Parisian hotel suite (in the Amazon Prime Video rom-com “Red, White & Royal Blue”) and a pair of lesbian BFFs start a fight club at their high school to cajole the hottest cheerleaders to sleep with them (in the MGM sex comedy “Bottoms”). This is, to put it mildly, unusual. “When I started out, you’d have one queer show in the U.K. on TV a year — or every other year — and that was it,” says “Heartstopper” executive…

“Sound of Freedom” has become an unlikely box office hit, making a sequel seem a foregone conclusion. But who exactly holds the rights to tackle a new outing? Well, it’s complicated. A representative for producer Mike Ilitch Jr. told Variety that her client signed a deal with Tim Ballard, the anti-human trafficking activist who is the subject of the breakout film, “for exclusive life rights” and that the pair recently began developing a follow-up. Ilitch Jr., the son of Mike Ilitch, billionaire owner of Little Caesars Pizza, wasn’t going to stop there. He also planned a scripted series and a docuseries about Ballard’s various missions rescuing children from sexual exploitation. The “Sound of Freedom” franchise plan also included leveraging an unnamed Ballard nonprofit and other non-governmental organizations “to provide targeted…

Variety has promoted Elsa Keslassy to executive editor of international. In her new role, Keslassy will lead the magazine’s global team of award-winning correspondents, while guiding its reporting at the leading international film and television festivals and markets. She will continue to be based out of Paris, where she has spent more than a decade covering the entertainment industry across France, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Israel. “Variety has been my home for most of my professional career, and I’m honored to take on this new role to spearhead our international coverage, which has grown tremendously over the last few years,” Keslassy says. “I look forward to working even more closely with the best and most dedicated team of reporters overseas, who cover the TV and film business at a time…

Daniel D’Addario is stepping into a new role at Variety. The journalist, who was brought on as chief television critic in 2018, has been named chief correspondent for the magazine. In his new position, D’Addario will be writing substantial features as well as commentary for print and online. He will continue to work with editor-at-large Kate Aurthur. “I am so excited to try new kinds of writing for Variety,” D’Addario says. “I love thinking like a critic, but bringing my perspective to bear on narrative journalism after getting out in the field and talking to people represents an exciting opportunity, and a fun challenge.” In his time covering television for Variety, D’Addario has won multiple Los Angeles Press Club Awards, including prizes for political commentary for his coverage of the…