Variety

The 55th annual NAACP Image Awards got underway on Monday with Victoria Monét and Chris Brown leading the list of early winners. The three-day virtual Image Awards show is hosted by Khloe Thomas. Night 1 featured presenters Bellah (Hulu’s “Queenie”), Da’Vinchi (Starz’s “BMF”), Danielle Jalade (Disney’s “Saturdays”), Gabrielle Nevaeh (Nickelodeon’s “That Girl Lay Lay”) and […]

Eric Carmen, who became an icon of early ’70s power pop as the frontman of the Raspberries before achieving solo success with hits like “All By Myself” and “Hungry Eyes,” has died at age 74. “It is with tremendous sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the passing of Eric Carmen,” his wife, Amy […]

Sting has announced his “Sting 3.0” tour dates, with plans to perform as one-third of a trio at smaller venues across North America. The Police frontman will hit the road alongside drummer Chris Maas, who previously served as tour drummer for Mumford & Sons, as well as longtime collaborator and guitarist Dominic Miller. The three […]

Celebrated Philippines filmmaker Lav Diaz’s examination of the human condition continues with “Kawalan.” The work-in-progress has been selected for the 22nd Hong Kong — Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), the project market that operates concurrently with FilMart. In the film, Tomas, the old venerable mayor of the remote town of Kawalan, learns that the invading Japanese […]

Thailand is poised to get serious about its commitment to the film industry, and plans to launch a major new body, the Thailand Creative Culture Agency, with a budget of THB7 billion ($200 million). Long a destination for Hollywood, China and India productions, and currently playing host to the lensing of Season 3 of “The […]

Malachy McCourt, an Irish American author who also appeared on television as the bartender in “Ryan’s Hope,” died in Manhattan on March 11. He was 92. The New York Times received confirmation of his death from his wife, Diana McCourt. He told the newspaper last year that he dealt with a myriad of ailments, including […]

The 96th annual Academy Awards ceremony drew 19.5 million viewers on ABC Sunday night. Per the time zone adjusted fast national ratings, Sunday’s telecast drew 19.5 million viewers and a 3.8 rating in the adults 18-49 demographic airing from 7:00-10:29 p.m ET. By comparison, the 2023 telecast drew 18.8 million viewers and a 4.0 rating […]

Oscar, BAFTA and Grammy-winning composer A.R. Rahman (“Slumdog Millionaire”) is set to release 16 new compositions with the Dubai-based Firdaus Orchestra. Firdaus Orchestra is an all-woman ensemble of 50 musicians from 23 Arab countries, mentored by the composer. It is the brainchild of Reem Al Hashimy, the U.A.E.’s minister of state for international co-operation and CEO of […]

“Spider-Verse” star Shameik Moore found himself in hot water on X (formerly Twitter) during the 2024 Oscars when he reacted to “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” losing the Academy Award for best animated feature to Hayao Miyazaki’s “The Boy and the Heron” by seemingly posting a one word reaction: “Robbed.” Many fans were quick to criticize […]

Sports news and commentary Deadspin has been sold again — and its entire staff has been laid off. Deadspin, once owned by Gawker Media, became part of G/O Media in 2019. In a memo to company staff Monday, G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller announced that Deadspin has been acquired European firm Lineup Publishing. With the […]