Seven years before its Jan. 23 world premiere in Park City — the first-time that a homegrown Nigerian feature has scored a coveted slot in the World Cinema Dramatic competition at Sundance — C.J. Obasi’s “Mami Wata” began with a vision. The director was sitting on a West African beach, in between projects and contemplating…

“Young and the Restless” star Tracey Bregman has her Daytime Emmy back. The star’s original Emmy was destroyed in 2018 when she lost her house during Malibu’s Woolsey Fire. As she appeared Tuesday on CBS’ “The Talk,” Bregman was surprised with a replacement statue from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Bregman won…

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) summed up the tenor and tone of today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the lack of competition in the ticketing industry while directly addressing witness Joe Berchtold, president and CFO of Live Nation Entertainment, which owns Ticketmaster. Blumenthal asserted, “Mr. Berchtold, I want to congratulate and thank you for an absolutely…

A day after Sundance juror Marlee Matlin walked out of the premiere of “Magazine Dreams” in protest, along with the rest of the festival jury, the Oscar winner talked in-depth about the importance of open captions on film. Speaking at the Variety and Stacy’s Pita Chip Rise brunch, an event celebrating female creators on Jan….

Ira Sachs’ romantic drama “Passages” has been acquired by Mubi out of the film’s premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The distributor will bring the film to the Berlin Film Festival’s panorama section for an international premiere in February; additionally, it has set a theatrical release for later in 2023. WME Independent and SBS International…

Seventeen years into her recording career, Miley Cyrus earns her first-ever No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100 with the disco-funk-inspired “Flowers.” The new single is from her forthcoming record “Endless Summer Vacation,” due March 10. Although the new track is Cyrus’ first single to debut at the summit, it’s her second No. 1,…

Ultra International Music Publishing has signed Atlanta-based songwriter and producer Zaytoven, whose catalog includes work for Future, Travis Scott, and Migos, to a co-publishing deal that will focus on the development of new music. The deal will additionally aim to strengthen his ongoing collaborations with the company in Los Angeles, Atlanta and London. UIMP has…

Tuesday’s Oscar nominations brought the jaw-droppers many expected. Some met with joy, and others with heartbreak. Social media and awards pundit circles have been touting Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once” as an undisputed front-runner for most of the awards season. With a leading 11 nominations, it’s in an excellent position…

When Stephen McKinley Henderson talks about playwrights, he talks about music. Listen to this week’s “Stagecraft” podcast below: “August Wilson is, of course, the blues,” he said on the new episode of Stagecraft, Variety‘s theater podcast. “But Stephen is rock to me.” The actor was talking about Stephen Adly Guirgis, whose play “Between Riverside and Crazy” has…

City National Bank is making changes in its entertainment banking team, promoting longtime leader Martha Henderson to vice chair of entertainment banking while JaHan Wang takes the reins of the team as executive VP. Henderson, widely known and respected in the industry, has been the engine of City National Bank’s expansion in the showbiz sector….