Featuristic Films has unveiled an exclusive first look at the feature documentary 'Afghanistan.' It follows filmmaker James Glancy, a former British Royal Marine Commando who was decorated in 2012 for his actions in combat, as he returns to Afghanistan with a small, handpicked team to help him answer the question that has haunted him over the past decade: Was it worth it? Dramatically, mid-way through the shoot, President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. would be pulling troops out by 9/11, starting a Taliban offensive that has led to the dramatic fall this week of the Afghan government, amidst chaotic evacuation scenes in Kabul as American forces withdraw.

https://variety.com/2021/film/global/afghanistan-james-glancy-featuristic-films-1235042807/

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John David Washington is set to star in Gareth Edwards upcoming sci-fi film. Titled True Love, the new movie is a sci-fi story, set in the near future. Details of the plot, however, are currently undisclosed. After breaking onto the scene with his critically acclaimed ...

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/john-david-washington-gareth-edwards-true-love-1234967549/

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In todays Global Bulletin, the deceasing average of ages in BAFTA TV actress nominees raises ageism concerns; Gary Barlow sets music show at the BBC; RED Productions hires Chloe Dunbar as head of development; the European Audiovisual Observatory and the U.K.s Department for Digital, ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/global/bafta-women-ageism-study-1234967715/

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Variety's Awards Circuit is home to the official predictions for the upcoming Emmys ceremonies from film awards editor Clayton Davis. Following history, buzz, news, reviews and sources, the Emmy predictions are updated regularly with the current year's list of contenders in all categories. Variety's...

https://variety.com/feature/2021-emmys-predictions-primetime-emmy-nominations-1234968276/

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In the new movie Here Today, Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish play an unlikely duo who form a May-December friendship. Off-screen, the comedy stars have grown just as close. In fact, when Haddish celebrated her bat mitzvah in late 2019 with a star-studded shindig, Crystal was in attendance ...

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/billy-crystal-tiffany-haddish-here-today-bat-mitzvah-1234966805/

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What is dead may never die, and thus, the world of Game of Thrones will live on at HBO with prequel series House of the Dragon. While its only been two years since we waved goodbye to Game of Thrones, it feels like an eternity since we last traveled ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/game-of-thrones-house-of-the-dragon-cast-plot-release-date-1234968178/

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The Paramount Plus streaming service will be launched in Australia and New Zealand in August. It joins an increasingly crowded marketplace, but claims local traction through ViacomCBSs ownership of Australian linear channel Channel Ten and a handful of local content commissions. The launch ...

https://variety.com/2021/streaming/asia/paramount-plus-australia-new-zealand-launch-1234968569/

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DR Sales, the commercial arm of the Danish broadcaster, is set to start handling more children programming, kicking off with the animated series Team Nuggets. Currently in development, the comedy show was commissioned by DRs streaming platform Ramasjang which targets children aged 4 to...

https://variety.com/2021/global/global/dr-sales-team-nuggets-kids-content-1234964785/

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In todays Global Bulletin, Line of Duty finale dashes decades-old TV records in the U.K.; Netflix embarks on production of 1899 from the creators of Dark; and Purin Pictures announces 2021 funding recipients in Southeast Asia. RATINGS BBCs Line of ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/global/line-of-duty-bbc-netflix-1899-1234964851/

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The Law Order franchise is expanding again at NBC, with the network giving out a straight-to-series order for Law Order: For the Defense,Variety has learned. For the Defense will take a look inside a criminal defense firm. The series will put the...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/law-and-order-for-the-defense-nbc-1234965176/

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Lucinda Williams is recovering from a stroke she suffered last November, she revealed in a new interview with Rolling Stone. The 68-year-old singer-songwriter spent five weeks in the hospital after doctors found a blood clot on the right side of her brain, which affected the left side of her body. ...

https://variety.com/2021/music/news/lucinda-williams-stroke-1234965289/

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The Television Academy has unveiled recipients of its 14th Television Academy Honors, including HBOs I May Destroy You and Comedy Centrals The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. The seven honorees also include For Life, I Am Greta, ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/awards/television-academy-honors-2021-i-may-destroy-you-daily-show-1234965369/

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Paramount Pictures has become the latest studio to adopt the Ruderman Family Foundations guidelines for auditioning actors with disabilitiesfor studio productions. Inclusion of individuals with disabilities is central to an authentic commitment to diversity in our industry and in our ...

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/paramount-pictures-audition-disabilities-ruderman-family-foundation-1234965517/

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Greetings from Variety Awards Headquarters!Today isMay 3, 2021, which means its28daysuntil Emmy eligibility ends onMay 31;45daysuntil nomination-round voting starts onJune 17;53 daysuntil the Daytime Emmys telecast onJune 25;56daysuntil nomination-round voting ends onJune 28;71daysuntil ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/awards/awards-hq-may-3-newsletter-emmys-1234965573/

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Court is back in session at NBC. The network has formally given a pilot order to a spinoff of Night Court led by original series star John Larroquette and The Big Bang Theorys Melissa Rauch. The pilot, produced by Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television, ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/night-court-nbc-pilot-order-john-larroquette-melissa-rauch-1234965650/

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Its getting to be a habit: Country superstar Eric Church. puts out a new album, and it debuts at No. 2, but is beat out for the top spot by a new hip-hop release. Well, its a pattern thats lasted exactly two weeks in a row, anyway. The new Rolling Stone album chart finds Memphis...

https://variety.com/2021/music/news/moneybagg-yo-album-chart-eric-church-weeknd-ariana-1234965600/

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Discovery Plus is venturing into scripted development, with the streamer acquiring the TV rights to the book Girls with Bright Futures by Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman,Variety has learned exclusively. The move to develop the series, which is in the very early stages, is significant ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/discovery-plus-scripted-series-1234965787/

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Conan OBrien has an official moving-out date at TBS: His long-running late-night show Conan will officially end on June 24. Conan will mark the end of its 11-year run with final weeks of shows that will include special guests, leading up to an hour-long finale. As ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/conan-finale-date-tbs-june-talk-show-obrien-1234965648/

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Walt Disney Company is set to launch its Disney Plus Hotstar streaming service in Malaysia from June 1. The platform will boast a significant local content component in addition to the mainstay Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic brands. The launch is being held in association ...

https://variety.com/2021/streaming/asia/disney-plus-hotstar-malaysia-launch-1234965831/

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While the theater industry is currently reeling from being on lockdown for the past 14 months, the curtains are about to rise again. After Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that Broadway theaters will reopen at full capacity on Sept. 14, theater productions have started to declare their intended return ...

https://variety.com/2021/theater/news/broadway-show-tickets-where-to-buy-1234970196/

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BTS has set the television performance debut of the groups forthcoming single, Butter, for the Billboard Music Awards May 23. The vocal group will perform remotely from Korea on the show, to be broadcast on NBC live across time zones in the U.S. at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Butter, ...

https://variety.com/2021/music/news/bts-butter-billboard-music-awards-performance-premiere-1234970665/

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J.R.R. Tolkien fans across the globe encountered the seemingly impossible last month: a film version of The Lord of the Rings theyd never heard of. There was Gollum gargling in his cave. Except that in this version, hes speaking Russian, sports orange eye-shadow and has what appears to be ...

https://variety.com/2021/film/actors/russian-lord-of-the-rings-khraniteli-1234968603/

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Gillian Jacobs and Wood Harris have both joined HBOs upcoming drama series about the Los Angeles Lakers,Variety has learned. The untitled series was ordered at HBO in December 2019. It is described as chronicling the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, one of ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/gillian-jacobs-wood-harris-hbo-los-angeles-lakers-series-1234971461/

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From the NewFronts to the upfronts, brands are jockeying for position to claim the infusion of advertising dollars coming back into the marketplace in 2021. The rebound is being fueled by Americans shaking off the pandemic, according to Brian Wieser, global president of business intelligence at ...

https://variety.com/2021/biz/news/upfronts-newfronts-post-covid-future-1234969567/

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Playing the main character in a biopic is a tall order for any actor, but taking on the role of influential musician Boy George in the forthcoming film Karma Chameleon seems even more of a challenge considering his multi-faceted life as a cultural icon, fashion trailblazer and the sound of the 1980s...

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/boy-george-karma-chameleon-adam-lambert-olly-alexander-1234970881/

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The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder at Disney Plus expanded its cast with the addition of Billy Porter, Zachary Quinto and EJ Johnson. The role will be a pivot for Johnson, who has cemented himself in the world of reality and unscripted television on shows like Rich Kids of ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/proud-family-disney-plus-billy-porter-zachary-quinto-ej-johnson-1234971592/

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SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched Season 5 Episode 11 of The Masked Singer, which aired May 12 on Fox. Hanson has been mmm-boped off The Masked Singer. The pop star brothers were unmasked on Wednesdays episode as the Russian Dolls. The trio became the first group to compete on...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/the-masked-singer-reveal-season-5-episode-11-recap-russian-dolls-1234971853/

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Woe betide the grade-school-age lad who finds himself in a movie by writing-directing duo David Charbonier and Justin Powell: He may survive their plotlines, but it wont be pretty. Their official first feature, The Boy Behind the Door (which will debut on streaming platform Shudder July 29) found ...

https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/the-djinn-review-1234971919/

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A group of more than 100 Hollywood publicity firms say they are concerned about the Hollywood Foreign Press Associations recently released plans to overhaul the ogranization. We will continue to refrain from any HFPA sanctioned events, including press conferences, unless and until ...

https://variety.com/2021/awards/news/golden-globes-reform-plans-hfpa-hollywood-foreign-press-association-1234968927/

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Chance the Rapper has wrapped up a deal with AMC Theatres to have a new concert film, Magnificent Coloring World, premiere exclusively on the chains screens this summer. A teaser was issued Friday for the movie, which celebrates five years since the release of Chances ...

https://variety.com/2021/music/news/chance-the-rapper-amc-theatres-release-concert-film-1234968989/

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