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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Paramount Television Studios and Anonymous Content are getting ready to relocate the filming of ambitious Apple TV Plus series Shantaram to Thailand in July, Variety can reveal. The 10-part series is based on Gregory David Roberts tome about a man on the run from prison in Australia, who flees to ...

https://variety.com/2021/streaming/asia/shantaram-apple-thailand-charlie-hunnam-1234973197/

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Fox News Channel has defied its many critics for a quarter century, surviving shocking internal scandals and weathering myriad controversies with its primetime hosts to become a profit-generating juggernaut for Rupert Murdoch. But there is no question that its traditional linear revenue base is ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/fox-news-cord-cutting-murdoch-subscribers-1234972698/

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Gary Foster has worked in Hollywood for more than three decades producing hit films like Sleepless in Seattle and watercooler shows like Community. Its a life on setthats allowed him to observe the best and often the worst ofhumanbehavior, from star tantrums todirector meltdowns. For too long, ...

https://variety.com/2021/biz/news/humanity-on-set-hollywood-toxic-workplaces-1234971948/

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Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that the California will add $30 million to the states film and TV tax incentive program this year, as the state doles out a $75 billion surplus. The $30 million is on top of the $330 million that the state provides annually to subsidize TV and film ...

https://variety.com/2021/politics/news/gavin-newsom-30-million-state-film-credit-program-1234973701/

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Director Robert Eggers The Northman will release in theaters on April 8, 2022, Focus Features announced on Friday. Universal Pictures International will premiere the film internationally on the same day. Starring Alexander Skarsgard, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, ...

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/the-northman-release-date-robert-eggers-1234973788/

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Damon Weaver, the kid reporter who gained national attention for interviewing President Barack Obama at the White House, has died. He was 23. According to the Associated Press, Weavers family says he died of natural causes on May 1. His sister, Candace Hardy, confirmed his death to the Palm ...

https://variety.com/2021/politics/news/damon-weaver-dead-kid-reporter-obama-1234973918/

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As I pressed play on the first episode of Run the World, I wasnt intending to mainline the entire eight-episode season in one greedy gulp. But as a blessedly rare warm New York City breeze floated through my open window, Leigh Davenports lush new series about four friends having a vivid, game-...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/reviews/run-the-world-starz-review-andrea-bordeaux-harlem-1234973705/

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Kate McKinnon kicked off the penultimate episode of Saturday Night Lives 46th season by stepping back into Dr. Anthony Faucis shoes (and glasses and combover wig) to deliver a press conference about the CDCs announcement that fully-vaccinated people no longer need ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/saturday-night-live-fauci-cdc-mask-rules-cold-open-1234974026/

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In a sketch spoofing The Muppets on Saturday Night Lives penultimate episode of Season 46, a couple of the actual classic puppets made appearances. Kermit the Frog kicked things off, of course, as the host of The Muppet Show, but Statler and Waldorf ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/saturday-night-live-season-46-muppets-sketch-1234974031/

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ATT and Discovery are discussing the possibility of combining media assets to create a entertainment and lifestyle content giant with a global footprint to better compete in the streaming marketplace. Bloomberg first reported Sunday that talks are ongoing and a deal could be reached as early as...

https://variety.com/2021/biz/news/att-discovery-hbo-cnn-food-network-hgtv-1234974077/

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Clive Davis has a gig as musics own new Barbara Walters, if he wants it. For the second half of his two-part virtual Grammy gala this year, the music mogul doubled down in Saturday nights invitation-only webcast on interviews with the stars, including Elton John, DaBaby, ...

https://variety.com/2021/music/news/clive-davis-joni-mitchell-dababy-oprah-gala-conversations-1234974118/

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Richard Montaez is speaking out following claims by Frito-Lay that he did not invent Flamin Hot Cheetos. I was their greatest ambassador, Montaez tells Variety of Frito-Lay. But I will say this, youre going to love your company more than they will ever love you, ...

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/richard-montanez-flamin-hot-cheetos-responds-1234974227/

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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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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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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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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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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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