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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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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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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Behind the Headlines, Daniel Andreas Sagers thrilling look at how German investigative journalists triggered a political earthquake in Austria that toppled the countrys government, is having its world premiere at Danish doc fest CPH:DOX, where its competing for the Fact Award, ...

https://variety.com/2021/global/global/daniel-andreas-sager-cph-dox-hot-docs-behind-the-headlines-1234962936/

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Zhang Yimous Cliff Walkers is kicking off a multi-territory release this weekend, with day and date outings in North America, New Zealand, and Singapore coordinating with the espionage thrillers official launch in mainland Chinese theaters on Friday. That makes it one of the first major Chinese ...

https://variety.com/2021/film/asia/zhang-yimou-cliff-walkers-impasse-covid-1234963797/

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Casey Wilson may be best known as an actor, with roles in Gone Girl, Atypical, Happy Endings and Black Monday as well as a stint as a Saturday Night Live cast member, and as a podcaster (Bitch Sesh). However, she ...

https://variety.com/2021/tv/features/casey-wilson-wreckage-of-my-presence-essays-interview-1234944676/

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Caritas Migrant House sits where the semi-arid Sahel region gives way to the Sahara Desert, on the edge of the urban sprawl of Gao, a town of more than 85,000 inhabitants in the landlocked West African nation of Mali. But as the location of Ousmane Samasskous unobtrusively observant ...

https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/the-last-shelter-review-1234962677/

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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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