Variety

Donald Trump, ‘Modern Family’ Writer Clash on Twitter

Variety Staff — Sat, 25 May 2013 01:43:02 +0000

While most of Hollywood is shut down for the Memorial Day weekend, Donald Trump and an Emmy-winning writer/producer on “Modern Family” are staying plenty busy on Twitter. Danny Zuker, who also serves an exec producer on the hit ABC series, is one of TV’s most active creatives in the social media world and regularly takes... Read more »

Mike Darnell’s Greatest Hits: ‘Joe Millionaire,’ ‘Alien Autopsy’ and Seth MacFarlane

Cynthia Littleton — Sat, 25 May 2013 00:35:17 +0000

Mike Darnell isn’t just the best-known alternative programming exec at any of the major networks. He’s the only guy who has held the post in the 27-year history of the Fox network, which he joined in 1994 after spending eight years on the news side of Fox’s Los Angeles O&O, KTTV. “No one else has... Read more »

Cannes Palm Dog Award Goes to Liberace’s Blind Poodle

Pat Saperstein — Sat, 25 May 2013 00:24:24 +0000

Baby Boy, the partially-sighted poodle who appears in “Behind the Candelabra,” has been named the top dog of the Cannes Film Festival as winner of the Palm Dog award. Judged by film critics, the prize is not an official part of the festival, but is independently-awarded like other prizes such as the Queer Palm. In... Read more »

Mike Darnell: For TV Critics, the Gift That Kept on Giving

Brian Lowry — Sat, 25 May 2013 00:17:52 +0000

Mike Darnell leaving Fox? After all the hell he put multiple entertainment chiefs — including Sandy Grushow, Peter Roth and Gail Berman — over the years? Say it ain’t so. Years ago, somewhere between “When Animals Attack” and “Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?,” I suggested that some struggling network, like UPN back when it... Read more »

Cannes Festival Review: ’3X3D’

Peter Debruge — Sat, 25 May 2013 00:11:39 +0000

Stereoscopic cinema desperately needs some wild, artistic directors to experiment with the format, though this clumsy omnibus amounts to little more than a vanity commission by the town of Guimaraes, Portugal.

Sony Classics Picks Up Jim Jarmusch’s ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’

Dave McNary — Sat, 25 May 2013 00:10:06 +0000

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all North American rights to Jim Jarmusch’s vampire drama “Only Lovers Left Alive” on the eve of its world premiere at Cannes in competition. Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, John Hurt, Anton Yelchin and Jeffrey Wright star. Story is set in Detroit and Tangiers and follows an underground musician... Read more »

Cannes Film Review: ‘The Owners’

Justin Chang — Fri, 24 May 2013 23:56:51 +0000

Class conflict is slyly dissected in “The Owners,” a compact Argentinean comedy-drama that reps the feature debut of writing-helming duo Agustin Toscano and Ezequiel Radusky, known mostly for their legit and shorts work. Set entirely on the country estate of a wealthy family from Buenos Aires that visits occasionally, the film explores the combustible combination... Read more »

‘American Idol’ Courts Jennifer Hudson as Judge: Report

Variety Staff — Fri, 24 May 2013 23:54:02 +0000

Coming off of a season of double-digit ratings declines, “American Idol” producers are in talks with former finalist Jennifer Hudson to join the judges’ panel next year, according to a report on Vulture. “Idol” is expected to overhaul its judging panel next year, which was criticized for lack of chemistry among Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj,... Read more »

Cannes Film Review: ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’

Justin Chang — Fri, 24 May 2013 23:37:57 +0000

Jim Jarmusch tweaks the vampire genre slightly in this sweet but slight love story about world-weary hipster bloodsuckers.

Woo Hoo! ‘Simpsons’ Theme Park Coming to Universal Orlando

Whitney Friedlander — Fri, 24 May 2013 22:34:24 +0000

Forget any talk of Oregon. Now it seems the Simpsons’ home is in Florida. Universal Studios has announced that our favorite Springfieldians are expanding their reach at Universal Orlando Resort this summer. The new area is anchored by the simulator Simpsons Ride, which opened at the park in 2008, and will include the new ride Kang... Read more »