“The Conners,” “The Bachelor,” and “American Idol” have each been renewed at ABC. The shows join a list of nine total renewals including “America’s Funniest Home Videos” (season 34), “Bachelor in Paradise” (season 9), “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” (season 4), “Celebrity Jeopardy!” (season 2), “Not Dead Yet” (season 2), “Shark Tank” (season 15). The news…
Music Publishers: The Writers’ Strike Should Inspire Fair Pay for Songwriters
Tiffany Red is a Grammy-winning songwriter and songwriter advocate who has written hits for Jennifer Hudson, Fantasia, Jason Derulo and Zendaya, among others. She is founder and executive director of the 100 Percenters, a 501 c3 organization with the stated goal of advocating “for all music creatives with a focus on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color)…
Tom Hanks Says He Could Keep Acting After Death Because of AI and Deepfakes: ‘Anybody Can Recreate Themselves at Any Age’
Death is no longer the end of an actor’s career, Tom Hanks theorized during a recent conversation on “The Adam Buxton Podcast” (via BBC). Why? Artificial intelligence and deepfakes, the actor said. Both technologies will be on full display at the Cannes Film Festival thanks to the world premiere of “Indiana Jones and the Dial…
Latido Films Turns 20
Few European arthouse-crossover film sales agents have better weathered the ebb and flow of international market dynamics than Madrid’s Latido Films, which turns 20 in 2023. Proof of that came at April’s Platino Awards, where Latido scored six statuettes, split between an acting double for Alauda Ruiz de Azúa’s “Lullaby” and four for Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s…
Peacock Nabs NFL Rights to First Streaming-Exclusive Playoff Game
NBCUniversal’s Peacock will have the first-ever exclusive livestreamed NFL playoff game in the U.S. next season — which won’t be available on traditional TV, except in the two teams’ local markets. Peacock will present an NFL Wild Card Playoff game in primetime on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, starting at 8 p.m. ET under a deal…
‘The Flash’ Star Rick Cosnett’s LGBTQ+ Film ‘Shoulder Dance’ Acquired by Breaking Glass, Launching at Cannes Market (EXCLUSIVE)
Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to Jay Arnold’s award-winning LGBTQ+ romantic drama feature “Shoulder Dance” and will launch sales at the Cannes film market. The film stars Matt Dallas (“Kyle XY”), Rick Cosnett (“The Flash”), Taylor Frey (“It Chapter Two”), Samuel Larsen (“Glee”) and Maggie Geha (“Gotham”). Arnold (“What Happens Next”) directed from…
Liz Phair to Celebrate 30th Anniversary of ‘Exile in Guyville’ With Fall Tour
Liz Phair will celebrate the 30th anniversary of her landmark debut album, “Exile in Guyville,” with a tour that will take her to halls in 18 U.S. cities this fall. The “Exile” outing will begin Nov. 7 at the Magnolia in El Cajon, Calif. and wrap up in Dallas at the Majestic Theatre Dec. 3….
The Weeknd Downplays ‘Ridiculous’ Media Reports on ‘The Idol,’ Hints at His Next Chapter
In a sprawling new cover story in Vanity Fair, the Weeknd talks about the dark rumors surrounding his forthcoming HBO series “The Idol” and speaks broadly of what will apparently be the third iteration of his musical persona. The series comes at a transitional time for the artist, who spoke of his theatrical ambitions…
Onyx Collective, Channel 4 Picks Up Candice Carty-Williams’ ‘Queenie,’ Dionne Brown, Samuel Adewunmi, Bellah Attached to Star
Onyx Collective and Channel 4 have placed a straight-to-series order for Candice Carty-Williams’ “Queenie.” The eight-episode series will be available on Channel 4 in the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland and will stream exclusively on Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America, and Disney+ in all other territories. “Queenie Jenkins is a 25-year-old…
Bald Austin Butler Is an ‘Amazing Creature to Look At’ in ‘Dune 2,’ Says Co-Star Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem is gushing over Austin Butler’s work as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen in “Dune: Part Two.” “Seeing him bald or seeing him with hair, he’s an amazing creature to look at,” Bardem told me at the world premiere of “The Little Mermaid” in Los Angeles. “You can look at him for hours and go, ‘Oh, my…