Variety

If things had gone differently, it could’ve been someone else leading the cast of “The Sopranos.” But luckily, series creator David Chase didn’t stick with his hasty first reaction to James Gandolfini. In an excerpt from Jason Bailey’s book “Gandolfini: Jim, Tony, and the Life of a Legend” (via Vulture), Chase worried that Gandolfini wasn’t […]

It’s easy to see shadows of David Cronenberg in his newest film, “The Shrouds,” now playing in theaters via Sideshow and Janus Films. Vincent Cassel stars as Karsh, a Canadian tech guru who creates a graveyard where you can watch your loved ones rot in their coffin in real-time via an app. Between Karsh’s styling […]

After tackling gender power dynamics in the post #MeToo era, Prime Video’s raunchy comedy series “Escort Boys” is returning for a second season that’s several shades darker and is world premiering today at Canneseries. Adapted from the Israeli show “Johnny and the Knights of Galilee” (“Milk and Honey”) and directed by Ruben Alves, the half-hour comedy series […]

The Ultimate Fighting Championship heads to “Heart of America” for UFC Fight Night, with Ian Machado Garry (15-1-0) vs. Carlos Prates (21-6-0) as the main card’s marquee matchup. There’s going to be plenty of fireworks with the fight card and there may be some special surprises, as well. UFC Fight Night: Machado Garry vs. Prates […]

Although he returns to theaters this weekend with the video game adaptation “Until Dawn,” director David F. Sandberg reportedly swore off working on IP-based projects after the negative fan response to “Shazam! Fury of the Gods.” Sandberg spoke candidly to GamesRadar about how his experience working on the “Shazam!” sequel (particularly the negativity from fans) […]

Speaking at Canneseries, Bad Wolf founder Jane Tranter — whose credits include hits from “Doctor Who” to “Succession” — recalled how her creative collaboration turned friendship with late “Sopranos” star James Gandolfini changed her career. Tranter met the actor while working on their passion project “The Night Of,” which Gandolfini was supposed to star on […]

For a sense of the challenge of today’s incomprehensibly diffuse media ecosystem, consider the scope of activity in digital advertising within the Magic Kingdom alone. “In any given week, there are 4 billion to 5 billion ad impressions running across Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN,” said Josh Mattison, executive VP of digital operations for Disney Advertising, […]

They say the devil’s in the details, and with “Sinners,” Oscar-winning production designer Hannah Beachler paid special attention to every cloud of dust that rolled onto the set. As soon as Ryan Coogler told her he was writing the script, Beachler began researching. The director had just done the Blues Trail through the Mississippi Delta, […]

Martin Scorsese has boarded Indian filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan’s Cannes Un Certain Regard selection title “Homebound” as an executive producer, Variety has confirmed. The film is produced by multihyphenate Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. It stars Ishaan Khatter (“The Perfect Couple”), Janhvi Kapoor (“Devara Part 1”) and Vishal Jethwa (“Tiger 3”). In the film, desperate to break […]

“Sinners” is a winner again, on its way to topping the box office for its second weekend in a row. Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan’s vampire thriller won Friday, ahead of new releases like Ben Affleck’s action sequel “The Accountant 2,” Sony’s video game adaptation “Until Dawn” and Disney’s re-release of “Star Wars: Episode […]