Variety

AI Platform Character.ai Introduces Suite of Microseries Focused on Anime, Horror, Action Adventure: ‘Deeper Connection Between Fans and Characters’

Character.ai is getting into the microseries game. The company, known for letting its users generate and engage with a suite of original and user-generated characters, is introducing “c.ai Series,” a collection of microseries created using characters native to the Character.ai platform. In a blog post Thursday, the company said c.ai Series differs from traditional microseries […]

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Variety

‘MobLand’ Sets Season 2 Release Date Following Tom Hardy Fallout, Drops First Trailer

“MobLand” Season 2 has an official premiere date at Paramount+. The 10-episode second season of the British crime drama will debut on Sept. 18, with Paramount also releasing a first-look teaser, which can be seen below. News of the second season release date comes not long after it was reported that series star Tom Hardy […]

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Variety

Salman Rushdie Says America Is ‘Having a Very Difficult Moment’ With Free Speech as He Accepts Liberatum Award: ‘The Burden of Proof Must Always Lie on the Censor’

Salman Rushdie warned that free expression in the U.S. is under sustained pressure from the Trump administration as he accepted the Liberatum Cultural Honor at Camden Town Hall at King’s Cross in London, the same building where he once worked on community relations before becoming one of the world’s most recognized novelists. The conversation was […]

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein to Host ‘Portlandia’ Rewatch Podcast (Exclusive)

‘Podlandia: A-O Rewatch' premieres on July 16.

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

LGBTQ Characters in Film Decline for Third Year

GLAAD reported that there were no LGBTQ characters in 19 films categorized as animated/family films and no transgender characters featured in the crop of 225 films from the 10 largest studio distributors.

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

Character.ai’s New Business? Microdramas

The fraught chatbot company is entering the crowded world of vertical videos — with an AI twist.

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Variety

‘An Icon Is Here’: Juliette Binoche Takes Over Karlovy Vary, Talks Directorial Debut ‘In-I in Motion’ and Explains Why ‘We’re All Creators’

Juliette Binoche has taken over Karlovy Vary. “An icon is here,” said the festival’s artistic director Karel Och, welcoming her to the stage. In town to pick up the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema, Binoche also presented her directorial debut “In-I in Motion.” In the documentary, she reveals everything that went […]

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Variety

‘White Lotus’ Star Sabrina Impacciatore to Play Tormented Therapist in Prime Video Psychological Thriller With Alessandro Borghi

Sabrina Impacciatore (“The White Lotus” Season 2,” “The Paper”) and Alessandro Borghi (“The Eight Mountains,” “Supersex”) are set to co-star in Italian psychological thriller “Un’Altra Madre,” a new Prime Original to be directed by Francesco Carrozzini (“Supersex”). “Un’Altra Madre” (“Another Mother”), which is currently shooting, was announced on Wednesday during Prime Video’s Italy upfront presentation in R

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

The Guardian Culture

From Greek epics to biblical blockbusters: the 20 best mythological movies – ranked!

Ahead of the release of Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey, we rate the top films based on myths, legends and fablesFeaturing the young Henry Cavill as a Theseus who barely gets near a labyrinth, this Hellenic “reimagination” bags precious little deep mythological significance. But visuals ace Tarsem Singh at least gives it a strikingly theatrical and oppressive look. Unforgettable images include the Titans locked into their magical prison like ranks of table-football players, the sotto in su vision of

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Variety

Seth Green Joins Global Gaming League’s Advisory Board as Esports Entertainment Company Launches New Gaming Platform, GGL Primes (EXCLUSIVE)

Actor and producer Seth Green has joined the advisory board for rising esports entertainment company, Global Gaming League (GGL). Green joins GGL as it launches its new gaming platform, GGL Primes, which offers both free and paid tiers. To celebrate Green’s addition to the organization, GGL Primes will host “Ready, Seth, Go!”, an immersive month-long […]

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

‘Summer House’ Headed to Canada (Exclusive)

NBCUniversal has set its first international adaptation of the hit Bravo reality series in Canadian cottage country and to launch exclusively on Hayu in 2027.

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

‘The Pitt’s’ Brittany Allen On Self-Submitting For The Emmys: “You Reach A Point Where You Go, I Don’t Want To Get Overlooked Anymore”

Allen received an Emmy nomination for her guest role as Roxie Hamler on 'The Pitt' after self-submitting and doing some of her own campaigning.

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

The Guardian Culture

‘A counter-narrative of history’: Schomburg Center’s 100 years of celebrating Black culture

A Puerto Rico-born New Yorker’s relentless collecting on the African diaspora is still the core of a Harlem institutionGrowing up in Puerto Rico in the late 19th century, Arturo Alfonso Schomburg was told by his teacher that Black people had no significant history or accomplishments. He spent his life disproving the narrative by collecting art, books and artefacts that showed the opposite. At 17 years old, Schomburg settled in New York, where he used his collections to write articles about Black

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Variety

Swiss-Korean Director Hae-Sup Sin Awarded the Allwyn Residency Fellowship in Los Angeles

Swiss-Korean director Hae-Sup Sin has been selected as the recipient of the Allwyn Residency Fellowship at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. The fellowship, which is awarded as part of Future Frames, a program for young European filmmakers, offers one participant the opportunity to take part in a tailor-made professional program in Los Angeles to accelerate […]

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Brian Potter, British songwriter behind hits for Glen Campbell, Take That and more, dies aged 87

Versatile Essex-born hitmaker known for Rhinestone Cowboy, It Only Takes a Minute and many more had been living with Alzheimer’s diseaseBrian Potter, one of the most versatile and successful British producers and songwriters of his generation, has died aged 87. He had been living with Alzheimer’s disease in recent years, his daughter told Billboard.Working with American songwriting partner Dennis Lambert, the Essex-born Potter was behind an astounding array of 1970s hits spanning pop, soul, soft

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Hollywood Reporter

‘Rain Catcher’ Is an Immersive U.K. Psychological Thriller With Iris Law and the Barbican in Key Roles

The neo-noir from writer-director Michele Fiascaris, screening at Karlovy Vary, is led by Dudley O'Shaughnessy and also features Jessie Mei Li, Kate Dickie and much atmosphere, including, yes, rain.

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

The Guardian Culture

What a clusterpuck! Race to parody hockey hit Heated Rivalry results in multiple musicals

The horny TV series has inspired a whopping four comedy shows this summer. Their makers explain why musical theatre and steamy action are such good bedfellows – and why there’s no rivalry between themFive minutes was all it took. The stars of Heated Rivalry barely had a chance to shed each other’s clothes before writer and composer Dylan MarcAurele started taking notes, knowing that the horny hockey TV series was going to be his next parody project. “I had this idea that it would be a one-night-

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

The Guardian Culture

Jack White: Frozen Charlotte review – brutal, squalid blues-rock that just about sells its own ridiculousness

(Third Man)Following the superb No Name, White continues his fan service with stripped back songs and nasty, anarchic riffs – though it all ends up feeling a little sameyIt’s a strange thing to say about one of the most prolific artists of his – or any – generation, but: Jack White has been undergoing something of a career renaissance of late. After firmly establishing himself as one of the most beloved and defining figures of 21st-century rock with his early-00s blues duo the White Stripes, Whi

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Variety

U.K.’s National Film and Television School Partners With Angels Costumes on New Sandy Powell-Backed Costume Design Course (EXCLUSIVE)

The U.K.’s National Film and Television School (NFTS) has unveiled a new partnership with Angels Costumes and John Gore Studios to support the renowned college’s new costume course. The two-year costume design for film and television postgraduate degree — developed in response to growing demand from across the screen industries for skilled costume designers, supervisors and […]

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026

Variety

Screen Australia Data Reveals Marketplace Financing Covers Only a Fraction of Production Budgets

Screen Australia has released a new analysis of 197 narrative production applications submitted between January 2023 and October 2025, finding that marketplace contributions – while a consistent presence in finance plans – are rarely enough on their own to fully fund a project. The data, drawn from 119 feature film, 59 adult television drama and […]

entertainment  Jul 9, 2026