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Director Steven Spielberg appeared on the “The Rest is Entertainment” podcast during the “Disclosure Day” press tour and opened up about his many failed attempts to direct a James Bond movie. The Oscar winner made a personal plea to franchise producer Cubby Broccoli after Jaws became a huge hit, but Spielberg was turned down. “I approached Cubby after ‘Jaws’ was a big hit,” Spielberg said. “I’ve always wanted to make a James Bond movie ever since I saw ‘Dr. And he said no. ” Broccoli called Spielberg a few years after Close Encounters of the Third Kind was released. Spielberg…
When it comes to cable network Bravo, NBCUniversal executives might shout “Encore!” The network, home to such reality series staples as “Summer House,” “Live Happens Live” and “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island,” is winning new advertising deals in TV’s annual ad sales market, according to four people familiar with the matter, and is doing so at a time when most of its basic cable competitors are seeing Madison Avenue cash drained away. “Do we need a cable network other than Bravo and sports?” asks one media-buying executive who helps advertisers allocate money to TV commercials. “There’s no question that…
Tom Cruise’s Jerry McGuire co-star Beau Bridges thinks the 63-year-old actor is getting better and better with age. Bridges, who co-starred with Cruise in the ’90s romantic comedy, attended the Matlock For Your Consider event last week and told People magazine that he was “so grateful to have worked with him.” “He’s a great actor and he’s gotten even better as he’s gotten older. I mean, he’s still doing crazy stunts and stuff. Yeah. And I like working with him. I thought he was great.” Bridges isn’t the only actor who has thoughts about Cruise’s legendary stunts. Earlier this year,…
Australian production company Titantale Film is in the midst of filming the supernatural romance drama “Tanabata: The Evening of the Seventh,” starring Japanese actor Takayuki Yamada. The project, fully funded by Australia and in collaboration with Japanese production services partners, spans three historical eras: Edo-era Japan, 1865 New South Wales and 2027 Australia, and follows the same soul’s three reincarnations through karmic cycles of love and possession. Writer and director Gillian Roberts will serve as executive producer along with producer Sabin Gunawari. The lead role of Takayuki will be played by Yamada, who is known worldwide for his role in…
One of the hottest trends to arrive at networks this year was the return of pilot season. NBC has ordered a total of eight pilots this year, half of which have been ordered to series. Prime time is back, baby! Okay, let’s contain our excitement. I give a lot of credit to NBC for producing a pilot this year. This practice was so maligned that the pendulum swung too far in the other direction as networks and streamers began to avoid the practice almost completely. But the days when each broadcast network orders about 20 pilots each within a few…
Chicago and beyond! Joan Cusack pulled back the curtain at the Toy Story 5 premiere in Los Angeles on Tuesday, announcing her decision to ditch Hollywood and live with her family in “normal” Chicago. “I’m very honored to have worked in this industry for so long,” the 63-year-old actress told Variety. “But it’s also nice to live your life, raise your kids, be in Chicago and be a normal person.” Joan Cusack spoke about her decision to ditch Hollywood at the Toy Story 5 premiere in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Lisa/AFF-USA/Shutterstock The Emmy nominee (pictured with Taylor Swift on Tuesday)…
Actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai has three projects planned: a film directed by Johnnie To, another project set in India, and a six- to seven-episode streaming series in which he plays a serial killer. The Hong Kong film legend opened up about the project in an interview with Variety ahead of his role as jury president at the 28th Shanghai International Film Festival. To project is waiting for a completed script. With the monsoon season continuing until September, there is a high possibility that no Indian films will be shot this year. The serial killer series is currently fine-tuning the script…
Apparently there was a lot of commotion at tonight’s Knicks game. Scooter Braun attended Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday with his girlfriend Sydney Sweeney to watch the New York Knicks take on the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden. His longtime nemesis Taylor Swift was also in attendance for the big game. Swift, along with her best friends Este and Alana Haim, attended the game wearing blue shirts that read “Stevie Nicks.” An Instagram video posted by Page Six shows Swift courtside at the game. Brown and Sweeney were seated three rows behind the singer, and…
The first-to-market advantage is built into the name National Broadcasting Company. NBC was founded a century ago during the gold rush of the mid-1920s, which emerged around cutting-edge technology in radio broadcasting. At the time, the pages of Variety magazine were filled with articles about new radio stations being signed up or quickly going out of business. It wasn’t long before we were reporting extensively on copyright issues, music royalties, and monopoly legal battles against radio industry giants Radio Corp., AT&T, and Westinghouse Electric. These three pioneering telecommunications companies partnered in 1926 to solve the problem of the limited geographic…
James Handy’s partner Wendy Gledhill has detailed the former actor’s tragic end after he was allegedly stabbed to death by his son Michael Gledhill. “James woke up around 9 o’clock to get the paper, but he didn’t make me coffee like he usually does,” Wendy told the Daily Mail in an interview at her and the “Top Gun: Maverick” star’s three-bedroom home in Los Angeles. “He came to get the newspaper and I just heard the door open,” she added. Wendy said she was still in bed and didn’t think anything unusual was happening. James Handy’s partner Wendy Gledhill (pictured…