Hollywood Reporter

Karen Laureano-Rikardsen Joins Sphere as Global Head of Corporate Marketing and Communications

She’s based in New York, reporting to Sphere president and COO Jennifer Koester, who says her new hire will “play a vital role in shaping how we communicate our vision and innovation.”

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

Ava DuVernay’s ’14th’ Documentary to Get World Premiere as NY Film Festival Closing Night Selection

The Netflix film, a follow-up to '13th,' which opened the 2016 festival, explores how the Constitutional Amendment's provisions for birthright citizenship, due process and equal protection under the law and outlawing insurrection by elected officials have become the subject of a permanent argument.

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

Variety

Academy of Country Music Appoints Andy Schuon as New CEO

The Academy of Country Music has named Andy Schuon, a media veteran whose path took him from program director at L.A.’s KROQ in its glory days to top leadership roles at MTV, Warner Records, Pressplay and many other companies, as its new CEO. His first day will be Sept. 1, and Schuon, who has not […]

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

Disney Cutting Hundreds More Jobs In New Round of Corporate Streamlining

Pixar and Nat Geo are said to be hit particularly hard in the latest round of cuts, with some high-profile talent also being let go at ESPN.

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

Variety

ESPN Hit With Layoffs After Combining NFL Network Operations

ESPN is making a fresh round of layoffs, most of which are related to the Disney-owned sports giant’s deal to take over the NFL Network, according to a memo from chairman Jimmy Pitaro. Pitaro revealed the planned job cuts in a memo to staffers Tuesday, a copy of which was obtained by Variety. In February, […]

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

Nicolas Winding Refn Reveals the Chaotic Making of ‘Drive’: “Most Everyone Hated It”

As his latest film, 'Her Private Hell,' arrives in theaters, the filmmaker reflects on the making of the 2011 neo-noir classic.

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

Variety

Matt Damon Used a Female Stunt Double on ‘The Odyssey’ and Says She Had the ‘Greatest Arms I’ve Ever Seen’

Matt Damon’s biceps in “The Odyssey” are getting a lot of attention from viewers impressed with the actor’s physical transformation into Odysseus, but Damon said on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast that his stunt double should also be getting the acclaim. A female stunt double stood in for Damon during the scene where Odysseus’ men […]

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Brunello: The Gracious Visionary review – fawning portrait of the king of cashmere

Giuseppe Tornatore traces Italian fashion designer Brunello Cucinelli’s life from poor farming family to billion-dollar empire in a sentimental vanity projectBrunello Cucinelli is the Italian fashion designer and entrepreneur who built a billion-dollar empire. He’s known as the “king of cashmere”, which would have been a good title for this two-hour-long film, commissioned by Cucinelli about himself, directed by Oscar winning film-maker Giuseppe Tornatore. Instead, “The Gracious Visionary” gives

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

Variety

The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist Who Has the Entire NBA Spooked

Pablo Torre would like to set the record straight.  In the fall of last year, after he uncovered a wacky sports scandal ensnaring NBA superstar Kawhi Leonard, billionaire Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and a fraudulent environmental sustainability company called Aspiration, the muckraking journalist popped up on “The Dan Patrick Show” and let slip […]

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

Variety

FIFA World Cup and Olympic Ceremonies Producer Balich Wonder Studio Expands Footprint to North America and Mexico

Live entertainment production company Balich Wonder Studio — the Banijay-owned outfit that has delivered six FIFA World Cup ceremonies, culminating in the soccer tournament’s star-studded closing on Sunday — is expanding by opening offices in New York, Los Angeles and Mexico City. The move from the Milan-based studio, which is headed by creative director and […]

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

The Guardian Culture

‘The Kardashian era is over’: TikTok’s ‘povvo king’ takes on the billionaires

Shabaz Ali stormed to TikTok fame mocking the designer ice cubes of the privileged. Now he’s on the BBC stoking revolt against the superrichIt was ice cubes that tipped Shabaz Ali over the edge. “A woman online spent her entire day making content about ‘designer ice cubes’,” he recalls. “She’d freeze flavoured waters or fruit juices and show the whole process in tedious detail. I was like, ‘There’s no way she’s got a proper job or has ever struggled for money. Only someone wealthy would have the

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

Variety

Zoom, With New Story, Hires Indie Journalist to Tell It

Zoom has since the days of the coronavirus pandemic been known for its expertise in video. Now the company wants to demonstrate its talent for putting on a show. Starting this week, Zoom is launching a partnership with podcaster and independent journalist Nayeema Raza, creator of the program “Smart Girl Dumb Questions,” where she seeks […]

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

The Guardian Culture

BBCPhil/Noseda/Selaocoe review – a proms concert that was everything the festival does best

Royal Albert Hall, LondonA programme – Bach, Beethoven and a Jessie Montgomery premiere – that looked odd on paper made perfect sense in the hall, with Abel Selaocoe a mesmerising soloist in Montgomery’s ‘These Righteous Paths’‘Thy magic power reunites / All that custom has divided / All men become brothers / Under the sway of thy gentle wings.” The BBC can’t have known when they booked Manchester’s BBC Philharmonic to perform Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony – culminating in Schiller’s ode to fellow

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

Variety

Psychological Horror Feature ‘Ancestral Beasts’ Debuts Trailer Ahead of Fantasia World Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)

“Ancestral Beasts,” in which a young Métis woman, Elyse, is stalked by a grotesque creature after returning to her ancestral home to focus on her mental health, prowled Cannes’ Marché du Film in 2025 as a Proof of Concept project at Fantasia’s Frontières Platform and became the first acquisition for Cercamon’s new genre sales label […]

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Splatoon Raiders review – Nintendo’s inky shooter fades to grey

Nintendo Switch 2The single-player offshoot of the quirky and colourful multiplayer series is disappointingly run-of-the-millSplatoon is among Nintendo’s most ingenious inventions of the last decade: a series of shooting games whose paint-splattered turf war nature means being bad at shooting is just as valuable as – if not more so than – being good. It is also blessed with an abundance of personality, with vibrant characters, a richly imagined world, and a hipness that the competition can only

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

Variety

YouTube Star Alejo Igoa Signs With WME

Alejo Igoa, a top Latin digital creator who has 120 million YouTube subscribers, has signed with WME for worldwide representation in all areas. WME will work with Igoa — who is from Argentina — to expand his touring, media and digital content businesses, while building out his brand partnerships, books, ventures and licensing verticals. He […]

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

Variety

‘Sunny Dancer’ Starring Bella Ramsey Bought by Quiver, Plans North American Theatrical Release (EXCLUSIVE)

“Sunny Dancer,” the British indie feature that charmed audiences in the Berlinale earlier this year, has sold globally, including for North America. The sophomore feature of rising director George Jaques and a coming-of-age comedy about teenage cancer survivors, the films stars Bella Ramsey (“The Last of Us”) who leads an ensemble of established and up-and-coming […]

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

Variety

Andrea Zapata Joins VideoAmp as SVP, Agency Partnerships

Andrea Zapata, a veteran of the rapidly changing fields of audience research and measurement, has joined VideoAmp, one of a bevy of upstart measurement-technology firms hoping to make inroads with media companies that have typcially relied on Nielsen to count viewers and demonstrate advertising effectiveness. Zapata will lead VideoAmp’s outreach to media agencies and advertisers, […]

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

Variety

Lego Unveils ‘The X-Files’ 1,478-Piece Set Featuring Mulder and Scully Minifigures (EXCLUSIVE)

The brick is out there. Lego has partnered with Gillian Anderson to reveal its new “The X-Files” set, which features 1,478 pieces and eight minifigures (including Mulder and Scully). “The X-Files” set is part of the company’s fan-favorite Lego Ideas line, in which users submit ideas for products — which are then considered for production […]

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026

Variety

Oscilloscope Laboratories Acquires Ann Oren’s ‘Objet a’ Ahead of Locarno World Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)

Oscilloscope Laboratories has acquired the North American rights to “Objet a,” ahead of its world premiere in the international competition at the 2026 Locarno Film Festival. The film is written and directed by Ann Oren and co-written by Geoffroy Grison. The acquisition marks the second collaboration between Oscilloscope and Oren, following the U.S. release of […]

entertainment  Jul 21, 2026