Variety 9/13/2023

Sean Penn last agreed to sit down for a Variety photo shoot a decade ago. Back in 2013, he appeared on our cover with Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig to promote “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” Penn didn’t have much to say in the moment, but he emailed us a very funny joke about Stiller, who’d directed the movie in an attempt to move past his goofy “Zoolander” image. Penn referenced the male-model cult classic in his email, saying: “The idea that he would make a film about beautiful men and not include me is an indicator that with ‘Mitty,’ he’s grown as a filmmaker.” So he can crack a joke. But today, Penn looks a lot graver, and for good reason. He’s on our cover this week not as…

Stephen Rodrick last wrote about the director Michael Mann. His favorite Sean Penn film is “All the King’s Men.” TV business writer Jennifer Maas, who counts “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Charmed” among her favorite series, spoke with new CW bosses Dennis Miller and Brad Schwartz about the future of the millennial-beloved network. Chief film critic Peter Debruge traveled to Provincetown to interview John Waters. They spoke a stone’s throw from “Dick Dock,” the notorious gay cruising area of which Waters gave private tours for the local film society. This week’s cover photographer, Eric Ray Davidson, says, “I’ve had the privilege of working with Sean Penn many times, and it’s always a great opportunity to learn about his many social causes.”…

Here we are, just days away from the start of the 2023-24 television season … and the major networks still aren’t 100% sure what they’re doing. Just last week, several broadcasters scrambled to make even more last-minute schedule changes — on top of other recently announced tweaks. The fall lineups that viewers tune in to later this month will be remarkably different from the ones first announced in May. At CBS, the Paramount+ Australia import “NCIS: Sydney” has suddenly landed on our shores, and will run on Monday nights. Fox just decided to push the return of its unscripted music gamer “I Can See Your Voice” to midseason and replace it with “9-1-1: Lone Star” repeats on Tuesdays. The CW made the snap decision to swap its Monday and Thursday…

It’s been a Toronto Film Festival like few others. The writers and actors strikes meant that many A-listers opted not to touch down in Canada this year, depriving the gathering of film lovers of the star-studded red carpets and Q&As that make Toronto so memorable. Even if this year’s festival was starved for glamour, it was still a good opportunity to get a clearer picture of the awards race — and to check the pulse of Hollywood at a tumultuous time for the industry. 1 Venice and Telluride Stole Some Thunder Toronto, which has the misfortune of appearing last on the calendar, is in danger of being seriously overshadowed by the other late summer and early fall festivals. Between them, Venice and Telluride played host to “Ferrari,” “Poor Things,” “The…

The Latin Grammys are headed to Europe — the Spanish city of Seville, specifically — for the first time in the awards show’s 23-year history. The move has been the catalyst for a long list of changes to the Spanish-language ceremony set for Nov. 16, including a ramped-up week of events that boasts the annual Best New Artist Showcase. The new location is thanks to a three-year partnership between the Latin Recording Academy and the Regional Government of Andalusia, Spain, which means the Latin Grammys are likely to be staged outside the U.S. for at least that term. The show also is taking place against the backdrop of a booming Latin music industry. In 2022, Latin music revenue in the U.S. reached an all-time high of $1.1 billion, a second…

• Peso Pluma Genre: Rap-infused Mexican corridos Flex: He is the first música Mexicana artist to perform on American late-night TV (Jimmy Fallon). • Young Miko Genre: Reggaeton Flex: She opened on select dates of Karol G’s first U.S. stadium trek. • Grupo Frontera Genre: Cumbia, norteño, Tejano Flex: The sixman ensemble got its start putting a twist on popular songs and uploading the covers on YouTube. • Quevedo Genre: Rock, pop, reggaeton Flex: Ed Sheeran recruited him for a remix of “2step.” • Gale Genre: Pop Flex: She grew up in a musical family and was inspired by her father, who played guitar and percussion.…