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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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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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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The Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon at HBO has unveiled its first official images. House of the Dragon is set a few hundred years prior to the events of Game of Thrones and tells the story of House Targaryen and the Targaryen civil war that became known...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/game-of-thrones-prequel-house-of-the-dragon-hbo-first-look-photos-1234966978/

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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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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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Gemma Arterton (Black Narcissus) and Shazad Latif (Star Trek: Discovery) will join James Norton (McMafia) in the thriller Chasing Agent Freegard. Chasing Agent Freegard is based on the story of British conman Robert Hendy-Freegard...

https://variety.com/2021/film/global/chasing-agent-freegard-shazad-latif-gemma-arterton-james-norton-1234972173/

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All eyes will be on the Canadian TV industry over the next month as major players such as public broadcaster CBC, Bell Media, Rogers and Corus unveil their 2021-22 upfront plans. But this year, in the wake of heavy hitters like Schitts Creek and Kims Convenience coming to an end, the pressure for ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/global/schitts-creek-kims-convenience-canada-tv-1234971786/

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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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Wrath of Man, a heist thriller starring Jason Statham, is leading box office charts with its $8.1 million debut. Its hardly the start to summer movie season, which typically kicks off the first weekend in May, that many theater owners were hoping would ignite with Marvels...

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/box-office-wrath-of-man-opening-weekend-1234969499/

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