Open Thread

Variety reports: Helen McCrory, the English actor who played Narcissa Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” franchise and Polly Gray in “Peaky Blinders,” has died, her husband Damian Lewis announced on Friday. She was 52. The British star also appeared in the James Bond film “Skyfall,” Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” and played Cherie Booth, wife of U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, in …

Variety reports: Pete Davidson is gearing up to portray punk rock pioneer Joey Ramone in the upcoming biopic “I Slept With Joey Ramone” for Netflix and STXfilms. The announcement comes on the 20th anniversary of Ramone’s death. The biopic will chronicle the life and times of the legendary musician — born Jeffrey Ross Hyman in 1951 — who cofounded the …

Variety reports: Colton Underwood, former star of “The Bachelor,” is getting his own reality show at Netflix, Variety has learned. The project, which is currently in production, is an unscripted series with multiple episodes, numerous sources tell Variety, describing the project as focusing on Underwood living his life publicly as a gay man. While the full scope of the series …

Just in from our pal Matt Baume: Chandler Bing: Lovable loser or gay best friend? Long before he wound up with Monica — spoiler alert — the show Friends considered making Chandler the most prominent gay character in television history. Until they decided to straighten him out.

Variety reports: Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland” dominated at the BAFTA Film Awards, where the Frances McDormand-led road movie picked up four prizes, including best film. The Searchlight-produced movie also won for lead actress, cinematography and director, putting it well ahead of all other films. Meanwhile, Anthony Hopkins won best actor for “The Father,” but wasn’t on hand to collect the award, …

Deadline Hollywood reports: With New York City gradually emerging from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, one film-biz sign of life is a series of Oscar-nominated movies hitting the city’s big screens. Megaplexes and arthouses alike have been in reopening mode over the past month. In-person screenings for Zoomed-out Academy members and press are now possible for the first time …

Variety reports: Prince William has dropped out of this weekend’s BAFTA Awards, following the death of his grandfather Prince Philip, Variety has confirmed. “In light of The Duke of Edinburgh’s passing, The Duke of Cambridge will no longer be part of BAFTA programming this weekend,” said BAFTA in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the Royal Family, to whom we …

Variety reports: The BBC has set up a dedicated complaints page for viewers fed up with its own blanket coverage of the death of Prince Philip. Shortly after news of the prince’s death broke at noon local time on Friday, the BBC was swift in clearing its entire schedule up to 6 p.m. Later in the day, primetime programs such …

Variety reports: The Los Angeles Stage Alliance, the 46-year-old nonprofit that holds the Ovation Awards, has shut down after misidentifying an Asian nominee, prompting more than two dozen local theaters to withdraw their membership. The theaters, including the Geffen Playhouse, the Pasadena Playhouse and the Deaf West Theatre, revoked their memberships after multiple representational errors took place during the virtual …

Variety reports: A “reimagined” version of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ “She’s the One” soundtrack album, now retitled “Angel Dream,” is one of the highlights of Record Store Day’s just-announced slate for its main 2021 event. Make that events, plural; with retail shops’ and customers’ sensitivity to pandemic conditions still in mind, the usual singular blowout day in April is …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Production powerhouse Tyler Perry has landed on the Forbes Billionaires list for the first time, with $1 billion. The prolific filmmaker behind the Madea franchise, A Fall From Grace and recently announced A Jazzman’s Blues – both for Netflix — is billionaire no. 2,677. Perry joins Kanye West and Kim Kardashian — who happen to be in …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Time is inescapable in the Star Trek: Picard Season 2 trailer. In the teaser, which Paramount+ revealed at the top of Monday’s First Contact Day virtual global panels, sees Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard reflect and ponder on “the true and final frontier” – time. The teaser takes a sinister twist as the music shifts from an inspirational …

Deadline Hollywood reports: New Jersey may be the first state to pitch itself as an alternative to Georgia production but won’t be the last amid national furor at the Peach State’s restrictive new voting law. Atlanta’s booming entertainment infrastructure has so many advantages from rebates to infrastructure, yet the state is making itself a liability again. The website of the …

Variety reports: On Saturday, just over a year since COVID-19 shuttered Broadway, three-time Tony winner Nathan Lane and Tony-winning choreographer Savion Glover performed before an audience at the St. James Theatre, marking the first time since Broadway’s closure that the door to one of its houses opened. Lane and Glover performed for a gathering of less than 150 staffers from …

Variety reports: After a delayed start due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the hotly anticipated “Friends” reunion is finally set to film next week — the week of April 5 — a source tells Variety. Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry will reunite on a Warner Bros. soundstage for the HBO Max special. HBO …

Eurovision Extra reports: We are sad to report that Patrick Juvet, who represented Switzerland at the Eurovision Song Contest 1973, has passed away. Juvet was 70 years old. His agent confirmed the news to AFP today. Juvet sang Je vais me marier, Marie. He eventually placed twelfth in the competition. Proper success followed later in the 1970s. He focused on …

Variety reports: To honor Transgender Day of Visibility on Wednesday, Lucasfilm debuted an exclusive cover of the “Star Wars: The High Republic” comic book series that features two trans non-binary characters. Making their first appearance in the second issue of “Star Wars: The High Republic,” Terec and Ceret are Jedi bond-twins from the planet Kotab. Analytical and inquisitive, they have …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Game of Thrones is headed to Broadway. A dramatic stage show spectacular based on George R.R. Martin’s fantasy world is now in development, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively. The play is from producers Simon Painter and Tim Lawson (The Illusionists), in partnership with Kilburn Live, and will have a story by Martin, who is working …

Variety reports: The hip-hop superstar who broke records with his country-infused hit “Old Town Road” is stirring controversy after promoting his new sneakers, a collaboration with MSCHF, which feature Satanic imagery, a Bible verse and a drop of real human blood. The shoes were made using Nike Air Max 97s, but the sportswear giant has said they do not endorse …

Deadline Hollywood reports: Warner Bros/Legendary’s Godzilla Vs Kong has set a new benchmark for the biggest international box office debut by a Hollywood film during the pandemic era with an estimated $121.8M from 38 overseas markets. Those were led by China’s $70.34M (RMB 457M). Legendary markets and distributes its modern monster series in the Middle Kingdom where GVK topped the …