Variety 07/23/2024

Jon Voight contains multitudes. He’s an Oscar winner who made his mark by embracing dark, boundary-pushing roles in seminal films, including 1969’s “Midnight Cowboy” and 1972’s “Deliverance.” And for more than 50 years, he’s also been a conservative in a famously liberal town. He has rarely been shy about voicing his opinion on tinderbox issues, including Donald Trump, the Israel-Hamas war and the political causes and perspectives espoused by his daughter, fellow Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie. Voight goes straight there on all those topics as well as his long career and eclectic choices in this week’s cover story by chief correspondent Stephen Rodrick. In this era of news by the nano-second, Rodrick had the benefit of time — and multiple sit-downs over the past year — with a complicated…

Say it ain’t Joe. Over the past three-and-a-half weeks, Holly-wood’s political donor class has been calling publicly and privately for President Joe Biden to step down from the top of the 2024 Democrat ticket. With his bombshell decision on Sunday, the town’s most active check-writers have their wish. But the sense of elation quickly gave way to a gnawing feeling that the Biden exit dragged on too long. “There is relief and gratitude. But neither one of those mitigates the panic that this is all too late to stop an ascendant authoritarian,” says one executive involved in the industry’s efforts to keep a Democrat in the White House. Some wanted Biden to step aside even before his disastrous debate against Republican nominee Donald Trump on June 27, and they’re blaming…

Landing the Summer Olympics was supposed to be a shot in the arm for Paris’ economy. But in the Tuileries Gardens on a recent July day, instead of preparing to welcome throngs of tourists, one café owner was busy bemoaning his rotten luck. Here he was, midway between the Louvre and the Champs-Élysées, one of the city’s best locations, looking out at a sea of empty tables. The crowds had yet to appear, and those sports fans who had touched down in the City of Light had been greeted with pedestrian restrictions and security barriers that essentially left his business cut off. It wasn’t meant to be this way. The most recent Olympic Games, in Tokyo and Beijing, took place during the pandemic, curtailing the influx of foreign visitors that…

Who will come home from Paris with gold medal(s) in tow? And who might come home with the kind of mega profile boost that launches careers in media, business and beyond? Here’s a look at Team USA’s top contenders to become the next Simone Biles, Allyson Felix or Michael Phelps. 1 Ezra Frech SPONSOR Toyota The paralympic track and field star (and son of actor Bahar Soomekh) is a world record holder, motivational speaker, disability advocate and social media star — all at age 19. 2 Sunisa Lee SPONSOR Pearson+ Lee won gymnastics all-around gold in Tokyo. Now she’s back stealing hearts after competing on “Dancing With the Stars” and on Auburn’s NCAA team. 3 Ilona Maher SPONSOR Secret The returning rugby player has built a social media army, giving behind-the-scenes looks at…

Last year, the organizers of San Diego Comic-Con were eager to put on their annual event sans pandemic cancellations or COVID protocols — until the SAG-AFTRA strike forced almost every studio to pull their panels. With no obvious impediments in sight for this year’s event, which runs from July 25-28, the largest fan gathering in North America is finally set to mount its first regular convention in five years. “I’m cautiously optimistic,” says chief communications and strategy officer David Glanzer. “We’ve learned to always expect the unexpected but, in the end, try to produce the type of show we want to attend.” Comic-Con will have ample opportunity to deliver on that promise this year. Teams from the latest iterations of “Star Trek” (including “Strange New Worlds” and “Starfleet Academy”) and…

Back in 2008, MySpace was cool, flip phones were popular and it kinda sucked to be a 13-year-old boy. Technology has changed a lot since then, but as “Didi” — a touching, frequently hilarious coming-of-age story that unfolds in the early aughts — reminds us, the agony and indignity of being a teenager is timeless. “Boyhood is messy,” says Sean Wang, the film’s 30-year-old writer and director, looking barely out of boyhood himself as he chats on Zoom from his living room. “And the experience of adolescence is pretty consistent across the generations. It’s why I can watch ‘400 Blows’ — a movie made before I was even born — and see myself in it.” When “Didi” premiered at Sundance in January, where it earned rave reviews, lots of people…