Variety
is on Facebook.
To connect with Variety, sign up for Facebook today.
Sign UpLog In
Cover Photo
Variety

Variety

Magazine
Public

The drummer for 80s rock group Twisted Sister has died

A.J. Pero, best known as the drummer in the 1980s heavy-metal band Twisted Sister, has died. He was 55. Anthony Jude Pero was on tour with the band Adrenaline Mob when members of that group were un...
variety.com|By Seth Kelley

Andrew Dice Clay ( Official ) is heading to Showtime.

Andrew Dice Clay's career comeback bid is about to get a boost with Showtime handing the comedian a six-episode order for the semi-autobiographical series "Dice," targeted to air in 2016. The scrip...
variety.com|By Cynthia Littleton

This year’s ‪#‎SXSW‬ had more girl power than ever.

The SXSW Film Festival has always been a launching pad for women in Hollywood—it’s where Lena Dunham premiered “Tiny Furniture” in 2010, and “Girls” in 2012; where 2011’s “Bridesmaids” debuted; and...
variety.com|By Ramin Setoodeh,Justin Chang,Joe Leydon,Dennis Harvey

Suge Knight collapses in court after bail set at $25 million in fatal hit-and-run case

Los Angeles judge Ronald S. Coen has sided with the prosecution and set rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight’s bail for $25 million during his bail review hearing on Friday. Knight is charged with murder...
variety.com|By Ted Johnson

Orange Is the New Black will be considered a drama, come Emmy time.

The TV Academy has denied Netflix's "Orange is the New Black" petition to be considered a comedy in this year's Emmy race, Variety has learned exclusively. The show will have to compete as a drama,...
variety.com|By Debra Birnbaum

The Divergent Series' sci-fi sequel rehashes much of what we already learned in the first movie.

From the beginning, women have been the heroes, villains, role models and leaders in Veronica Roth’s Divergent series, so it should come as no surprise that its year-later sequel “Insurgent” advanc...
variety.com|By Peter Debruge

The Kyle Chandler-led Bloodline is a very good, extremely well-cast Netflix drama.

In terms of a single line of dialogue establishing the spine of a series, “You don’t give up on family” is the thread connecting “Bloodline,” a very good, extremely well-cast Netflix drama about a ...
variety.com|By Brian Lowry

It Follows opened last weekend with a surprising $160,089 at four theaters.

After a very promising first weekend in theaters, Radius-TWC has opted to delay the planned March 27 video-on-demand release of horror pic "It Follows" in favor of a wide theatrical expansion over ...
variety.com|By Dave McNary

“You can’t own emotions" -- Pharrell Williams

“You can’t own emotions,” singer Pharrell Williams has said in his first interview since losing the “Blurred Lines” copyright case. Williams warned the ruling could have a chilling effect on creati...
variety.com|By Leo Barraclough

Dwayne The Rock Johnson and Kevin Hart's upcoming movie has a release date.

Warner Bros. has set the Dwayne Johnson-Kevin Hart buddy comedy "Central Intelligence" for a June 17, 2016, release. The studio has also moved its detective thriller "The Nice Guys," starring Russe...
variety.com|By Dave McNary

Think "Dig's" Peter and Golan fight like an old married couple? You ain't seen nothing yet.

In the March 19 episode of USA Network's "Dig," Peter (Jason Isaacs) and grudging ally Golan (Ori Pfeffer) are drawn deeper into a global conspiracy after they discover hidden clues in Emma's (Alis...
variety.com|By Laura Prudom

Al Pacino channels his inner Rod Stewart (with a touch of Barry Manilow) for "Danny Collins."

Prepare to see a new, and rather melodic, side of Al Pacino. The acting legend and Oscar winner — renowned for playing mobsters, detectives or drug lords — shows off his surprisingly adept singing ...
variety.com|By Paul Chi

Drake is being sued for libel over his "Homecoming" documentary. http://variety.com/…/drake-sued-homecoming-documentary-spe…/

'@[83711079303:274:Drake] is being sued for libel over his "Homecoming" documentary. http://variety.com/2015/music/news/drake-sued-homecoming-documentary-specticast-1201456558/'

Penn and Teller are heading to New York after a 15-year absence.

Penn and Teller, the duo of comic magicians who haven't appeared in New York for 15 years, head back to Broadway this summer for a six-week run beginning in July. The stage show, simply called "Pen...
variety.com|By Gordon Cox

Sophia Coppola is directing a Christmas special with Bill Murray, George Clooney, Miley Cyrus and Amy Poehler.

George Clooney, Amy Poehler, Miley Cyrus and Maya Rudolph have joined Bill Murray in a Christmas special directed by Sofia Coppola. Murray had previously told Variety exclusively that he was partic...
variety.com|By Seth Kelley

SXSW: Game of Thrones, zombies and more--Variety reporter Elizabeth Wagmeister on Austin's TV invasion (VIDEO)

3,932 Views

At ‪#‎NerdCarnival‬ at SXSW: Variety's Elizabeth Wagmeister meets up with our Charlie Berens to break down TV's takeover this year.

Cc: iZombie, Game of Thrones, Angie Tribeca

· Comment · · 23

Jim Carrey and Keanu Reeves are joining Jason Momoa in the movie.

Keanu Reeves, Jim Carrey, Suki Waterhouse and Diego Luna have joined Jason Momoa for Ana Lily Amirpour’s "The Bad Batch." Momoa had been rumored previously to be in the dystopian drama. Amirpour, w...
variety.com|By Dave McNary

Networks can't get enough of Robert Durst in the wake of "The Jinx."

Opportunistic as always, Investigation Discovery is throwing on a previously aired episode of “Vanity Fair Confidential” on March 22, devoted to the twisted tale of Robert Durst. While it doesn’t s...
variety.com|By Brian Lowry

Two Variety covers are nominated for an American Society of Magazine Editors award. You can show your support by clicking this link and liking each of them.

The Top Gear hosts are sticking together after Jeremy Clarkson's suspension.

LONDON -- “Top Gear” presenters James May and Richard Hammond refused to shoot the show while their co-host Jeremy Clarkson was suspended. The BBC wanted to press ahead with the final three episode...
variety.com|By Leo Barraclough

You can catch up with Empire on Hulu now.

The entire first season of Fox hit drama "Empire" is now on Hulu, under a pact with Twentieth Century Fox Television giving the Internet TV site exclusive subscription video-on-demand rights to the...
variety.com|By Todd Spangler

Kendall Jenner had slammed Us Weekly, saying an article made up quotes from her about Bruce Jenner.

After model Kendall Jenner slammed Us Weekly, saying the publication made up quotes from her about her father Bruce Jenner, Us Weekly has retracted its original article. "When Ms. Jenner denied, vi...
variety.com|By Alex Stedman

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has joined the big-screen adaptation of the beloved TV series.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt will produce and star in the live-action "Fraggle Rock" movie for New Regency, The Henson Co. and Lisa Henson. The big-screen adaptation of the musical puppet series created by...
variety.com|By Dave McNary

Once Upon a Time's Captain Hook answers our burning questions.

Captain Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) has had a tumultuous journey on "Once Upon a Time," evolving from villainous pirate to somewhat reformed pirate with aspirations of heroism. His hard-earned goodness...
variety.com|By Laura Prudom

This Avengers spot will air during March Madness.

Marvel has delivered a new TV spot for "Avengers: Age of Ultron" that will be seen during the NCAA tournament. The latest trailer continues to up the ante with a slew of new set pieces that are sur...
variety.com|By Justin Kroll

Mo'ne Davis is getting her own Disney Channel movie.

The Mo'ne Davis story is coming to Disney Channel. The 13-year-old who made history last summer as the first girl to pitch a shutout in the Little League World Series is the subject of a biopic tha...
variety.com|By Cynthia Littleton

Mr. T pities the fool who doesn't know how to DIY, so he's fronting a home renovation show.

Mr. T pities the fool who doesn’t know the first thing about home renovation. “You can’t just knock down everything, There might be electrical wiring. There might be a gap open,” he cautioned durin...
variety.com|By Brian Steinberg

Nat Wolff is on the hunt for Cara Delevingne in the first Paper Towns Movie trailer.

20th Century Fox has released the first trailer for "Paper Towns," based on the novel by "The Fault in Our Stars" author John Green. The film centers around Quentin (Nat Wolff) and his enigmatic ne...
variety.com|By Laura Prudom

The Empire finale definitely went out with a bang.

As is so often true in today’s traffic-oriented media culture, the astonishing success of “Empire” has inspired people to heap praise on the Fox series that it probably doesn’t deserve and attribut...
variety.com|By Brian Lowry

Empire's showrunner looks ahead to season two.

“Empire” exec producer Ilene Chaiken can’t believe that her dream season has come to an end. The 12-episode run of Fox’s runaway hit soap has been an experience like no other for the veteran showru...
variety.com|By Cynthia Littleton

The Hunger Games "Mockingjay - Part 1" has topped home video sales.

Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1” topped the national home video sales charts for the second consecutive week, despite a strong challenge from 20th Century Fox’s “Night at the Mus...
variety.com|By Thomas K. Arnold

Selma Movie's David Oyelowo plays the sole character in the drama.

HBO Films has acquired the Plan B-produced drama "Nightingale" starring David Oyelowo, which is set to premiere May 29. The pic features Oyelowo as the sole character, a war veteran whose life begi...
variety.com|By Cynthia Littleton

Find out how long it took to create Cinderella's ballgown

Disney's live-action "Cinderella" brings the fairy tale to life in grand Hollywood style. The film's costume designer, three-time Oscar winner Sandy Powell, tells us why fittings can be the most ex...
variety.com|By Variety Staff

Empire isn't just dominating TV ratings:

It isn’t just TV ratings that “Empire” is dominating — the soundtrack to the hit Fox drama debuted at the top of the U.S. album sales chart, selling 130,000 units in the week ending March 15, accor...
variety.com|By Marianne Zumberge

Sally Field says she mourned when Hollywood stopped offering her lead movie roles.

One of the breakout discoveries at this year’s SXSW Film Festival is “Hello, My Name is Doris,” the latest from director Michael Showalter (“Wet Hot American Summer”) that crosses genres — from dra...
variety.com|By Ramin Setoodeh

Gina Rodriguez has joined the drama following the 2010 explosion at Deepwater Horizon.

“Jane the Virgin” star Gina Rodriguez is in talks to star opposite Mark Wahlberg in disaster drama “Deepwater Horizon.” Lionsgate, Participant Media and Lorenzo di Bonaventura are producing “Deepwa...
variety.com|By Dave McNary

Ahead of the Empire finale, its soundtrack topped the charts.

It isn’t just TV ratings that “Empire” is dominating — the soundtrack to the hit Fox drama debuted at the top of the U.S. album sales chart, selling 130,000 units in the week ending March 15, accor...
variety.com|By Marianne Zumberge

Arrow's boss previews tonight's return and bringing magic into the TV series.

When we last saw "Arrow," Ra's al Ghul (Matt Nable) had just made Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) an offer he couldn't refuse -- to replace Ra's as the head of the League of Assassins. In the March 18...
variety.com|By Laura Prudom

Ken Jeong is with Community for the long haul.

Aside from playing the crazy Señor Chang, Ken Jeong is known for being, as he calls it, a "lifer" on "Community," sticking with the show from its beginning to its current state, in season six on Ya...
variety.com|By Debra Birnbaum

The Breakfast Club stars Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy talk about how it changed their lives.

Thirty years after “The Breakfast Club” premiered in theaters, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy are back in detention. Both actresses attended a SXSW screening of a restored version of their high sch...
variety.com|By Ramin Setoodeh

The Glee cast has quite the menu to chose from when it comes to naming musical highlights from the past six seasons.

With a catalog that spans from Barbra Streisand to Queen, The Beatles to Adele, original songs and many more, the “Glee” cast has quite the menu to chose from when it comes to naming musical highli...
variety.com|By Shelli Weinstein

Supernatural's Jared Padalecki weighs in on the many threats Sam and Dean face this season.

"Supernatural" returns to Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. from March 18, and Variety recently caught up with Jared Padalecki to find out what's ahead for the hit CW drama in the remaining episodes of se...
variety.com|By Laura Prudom

HBO has released two new preview clips and eight new photos from Game of Thrones Season 5!

HBO has released two preview clips from "Game of Thrones" season five, along with a slew of new photos that include a first look at Oberyn Martell's (Pedro Pascal) deadly daughters, The Sand Snakes...
variety.com|By Laura Prudom

Broad City's season finale airs tonight.

"Broad City," the Comedy Central sitcom-turned-pop culture phenom, closes its second season tonight. But that doesn't mean stars and creators Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer aren't planning for seas...
variety.com|By Whitney Friedlander

Sleepy Hollow will return for Season 3 with a new showrunner.

Hold onto your heads -- "Sleep Hollow" is coming back for Season 3. Fox has renewed the supernatural drama for an 18-episode third season, Variety has confirmed. Clifton Campbell will takeover as s...
variety.com|By Elizabeth Wagmeister

iZombie and One Big Happy got off to solid starts last night.

NBC comedies "Undateable" and "One Big Happy" generated solid sampling for their premieres on Tuesday and won their timeslots among young adults, though they will face tougher timeslot competition ...
variety.com|By Rick Kissell

Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg's Cold War thriller finally has a title.

Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks' upcoming Cold War thriller has a title, "Bridge of Spies," DreamWorks announced Wednesday. The film is notable in that it is one of the rare Spielberg projects that ...
variety.com|By Brent Lang

Connie Britton would "love" an American Horror Story return.

It's no secret: Women have always run "American Horror Story." Whether they were running covens or performing as freaks, the women of "American Horror Story" have always made waves. The ladies of t...
variety.com|By Alex Stedman

Director Trey Edward Shults used his family in the film, which won the SXSW grand jury prize.

“Krisha,” a drama about a Texas family set over a troubled Thanksgiving weekend, is officially the breakout indie of this year’s SXSW Film Festival after it nabbed the grand jury prize for narrativ...
variety.com|By Ramin Setoodeh

Titus Welliver's Bosch has been renewed for a second season.

Amazon Studios is bringing back “Bosch,” hour-long drama series based on Michael Connelly’s books about an L.A. homicide detective, after the hour-long series scored as its most-watched original to...
variety.com|By Todd Spangler

Sharknado 3 will hit screens in July.

The third installment in Syfy and The Asylum's "Sharknado" franchise will be titled "Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!" the companies announced Wednesday. The two-hour telepic will premiere on Syfy on Wedne...
variety.com|By Variety Staff

Comic Relief: Red Nose Day is coming to the U.S. in May.

NBC will close out the 2014-15 regular season on May 21 with a three-hour live telethon that marks the arrival in the U.S. of the Red Nose Day charity drive that has become a U.K. institution. The ...
variety.com|By Cynthia Littleton

James Franco and Josh Hartnett star with Robert Duvall in the indie feature.

Tonally dissonant and narratively disjointed, “Wild Horses” plays like a patchwork quilt of scenes excerpted from a much longer movie, or maybe even a miniseries. Writer-director Robert Duvall’s am...
variety.com|By Joe Leydon

The Muppets are coming back to TV with a new short series from Disney Junior.

Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear star in Disney Junior's "Muppet Moments," a series of shorts on Disney Channel. The show, intended for kids age two to seven, is a series of conversation...
variety.com|By Seth Kelley

Andy Cohen's new radio show will launch later this year.

Fans who can't get enough of watching Andy Cohen will now get a chance to listen to him too. Bravo's omnipresent producer and latenight host has announced he will executive produce Radio Andy, a Si...
variety.com|By Whitney Friedlander

Are you excited for "Insurgent?"

The stars of "The Divergent Series: Insurgent" strutted down the red carpet at the film's New York City premiere on Monday, promising that the sequel to the futuristic thriller will expand on the f...
variety.com|By Brent Lang

‪#‎iZombie‬ offers a fresh taste of an old genre.

The CW's latest series "iZombie," which debuts Tuesday night, had its world premiere at SXSW. Cast members Rose McIver, Robert Buckley, David Anders, Rahul Kohli, Malcolm Goodwin and creators Rob T...
variety.com|By Elizabeth Wagmeister

Will you watch more of Pop's comedy?

"Schitt's Creek," the Pop network's first scripted series, has been picked up for a second season, Pop announced Tuesday. Created by Eugene and Daniel Levy, "Schitt's Creek" follows a riches-to-rag...
variety.com|By Seth Kelley

Get ready to see Pac-Man in a whole new way:

Sony Pictures has released the first trailer for Adam Sandler's sci-fi comedy “Pixels,” four months ahead of its July 24 release. Sandler plays a former arcade gaming champ tasked in the slapstick-...
variety.com|By Dave McNary

If the The Flash blew your mind with those killer twists, this should help.

Spoiler warning: Do not read on unless you've seen "The Flash" Season 1, Episode 15, titled "Out of Time."
variety.com|By Laura Prudom