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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Baz Halpin, the music touring creative director who founded Silent House 11 years ago, announced an ambitious expansion Tuesday, with his brainchild to now be known as Silent House Group and expanded into three separate companies Silent House Studiios, Silent House Events and Silent House ...

https://variety.com/2021/music/news/baz-halpin-silent-house-group-expands-1234966128/

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Kym Whitley and Danny Garcia have been cast in recurring roles in the Amazon YA pilot Hot Pink,Variety has learned exclusively. The pair joins previously announced stars Sarah Michelle Gellar,Nina Bloomgarden, David Iacono, Mimi Davila, Dana Donnelly, and Myra Molloy, as well as fellow...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/kym-whitley-danny-garcia-amazon-hot-pink-1234966331/

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NBCUniversal has instituted a production assistant training program in New Mexico aimed at residents who are interested in pursuing a career in film and television production. The two-day training program, scheduled for May 22 and 23, will be free to accepted applicants and will cover everything ...

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/nbcuniversal-production-assistant-new-mexico-1234966570/

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Oscars producer Steven Soderbergh has opened up about the decisions made to change the show order of the 2021 ceremony and whether he regrets not allowing Zoom acceptance speeches. In an interview published today by the Los Angeles Times, Soderbergh, who served as producer alongside Stacey Sher and ...

https://variety.com/2021/awards/news/steven-soderbergh-oscars-show-order-1234966659/

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Global streaming sports platform DAZN and Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldo have closed a multi-project development deal kicking off with El Presidente, a docu-series chronicling the former strikers tenure as part owner of Spanish club Valladolid FC, which will launch globally on May 20. Best known ...

https://variety.com/2021/streaming/news/ronaldo-dazn-el-presidente-la-guerra-1234966481/

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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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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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Cherry Jones has joined the cast of the upcoming Apple drama series Five Days at Memorial,Variety has learned. The series is based on the Sheri Fink novel of the same name. It chronicles the first five days in a New Orleans, LA, hospital after Hurricane Katrina made landfall. When the ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/cherry-jones-apple-hurricane-katrina-series-five-days-at-memorial-1234972543/

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Before NBC Universals upfront presentation on Monday to advertisers, the company announced dozens of new shows for Bravo, E!, USA Network, Oxygen, and SYFY. In the press release, 33 new unscripted shows were announced along with 30 shows returning to the suite of channels. Among the ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/below-deck-kandi-burruss-southern-charm-summer-house-nbcu-upfront-1234972584/

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Marvel Studios Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and 20th Centurys Free Guy will open in movie theaters exclusively, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced during a Q2 earnings call on Thursday. But both films will only play in theaters for 45 days before ...

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/disney-shang-chi-free-guy-45-day-window-1234972782/

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Michael Jai White, whose work as an an actor, director and writer includes Arrow, The Dark Knight, Spawn and Mortal Kombat: Legacy, announced the launch of Jaigantic Studios, which will be Connecticuts first mini-major studio. White has ...

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/michael-jai-white-launch-jaigantic-studios-connecticut-1234972986/

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The Venice Film Festival is gearing up to take place as a full-fledged physical event in September with a back-to-normal atmosphere and what could be a high-profile selection of films. While the Toronto Film Festival, which runs Sept. 9-18, is sticking with a combination of digital and in-person ...

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/venice-film-festival-2021-dune-films-red-carpet-1234972195/

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Giorgio Dirittis biopic Hidden Away, about crazed primitivist painter Antonio Ligabue, was the big winner at Italys 66th David di Donatello Awards, the countrys top film prizes. The Davids were held with an in-person ceremony aired from two venues amid a strong spirit of restart as Italian movie ...

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/giorgio-dirittis-hidden-away-italys-david-awards-sophia-loren-1234970972/

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Greetings from Variety Awards Headquarters!Today isMay 10, 2021, which means its21daysuntil Emmy eligibility ends onMay 31;38daysuntil nomination-round voting starts onJune 17;46daysuntil the Daytime Emmys telecast onJune 25;49daysuntil nomination-round voting ends onJune 28;64daysuntil ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/awards/awards-hq-may-10-emmys-newsletter-1234970169/

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Fox has canceled Prodigal Son after two seasons,Variety has learned. The news comes ahead of the second season finale, which is scheduled to air on May 18. That episode will now serve as the series finale. An insider with knowledge of the situation characterized the move to cancel the ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/prodigal-son-canceled-fox-1234970189/

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Chernobyl producer Sister is adapting the hit Audible original podcast West Cork for TV. Created by Sam Bungey and Jennifer Forde, West Cork is an investigation into the 1996 murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. Du Plantier, a French film producer, was found...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/global/sister-sophie-du-plantier-west-cork-1234972102/

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James McAvoy (Split, His Dark Materials) and Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe, Military Wives) are set to front Dennis Kellys romantic drama Together. Directed by Emmy and BAFTA award-winning director Stephen Daldry (The Crown), the film is set in the U.K. from the first days of the COVID-19 lockdown in ...

https://variety.com/2021/film/global/james-mcavoy-sharon-horgan-together-1234972250/

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