ESPN has lined up its fourth annual “Creator Network” of digital stars who will fan out across the country to promote the 2026 NFL season that is set to culminate with the Super Bowl airing on ESPN for the first time.
The five members of the cohort for this year are, as described by ESPN:
Chase Murman (@theQBplug) TikTok | Instagram | YouTube — Founder of The QB Plug, one of social media’s fastest-growing football brands, known for original quarterback storytelling and athlete-first content that has helped redefine how the next generation consumes football.
Isaac Rochell TikTok | Instagram | YouTube — Former NFL defensive lineman, sports media personality, and creator who combines an authentic player’s perspective with relatable storytelling around sports, fatherhood, and life beyond football.
Simone Scott TikTok | Instagram — Sports creator, host, and reporter who makes football, basketball, and other sports approachable through clear, engaging content that helps fans better understand the games and storylines driving the conversation.
Diana Flores TikTok | Instagram — Captain and quarterback of Mexico’s World Champion National Flag Football Team, global ambassador for the sport, and bilingual creator helping grow flag football’s reach ahead of its Olympic debut at LA28.
Leah Cammarano TikTok — Sports analytics creator and former Carolina Panthers Football Analytics intern who makes advanced football data accessible through engaging, easy-to-understand storytelling.
“This is a major moment in ESPN’s history, and we have an incredible opportunity to tell that story in new and authentic ways,” said Kaitee Daley, ESPN’s senior VP digital, social and streaming content. “Partnering with creators who have built passionate communities through their distinctive voices and storytelling styles will help bring fans closer to the people, culture and highlights that will define the road to ESPN’s first Super Bowl.”
ESPN first established its Creator Network in 2022 as the cable giant sought to embrace new forms of content and promotion for its game coverage and studio shows. The 2026 group will be given broad access to attend college football games, NFL events including the upcoming Super Bowl set for Feb. 14 at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium. ESPN and ABC will share the rights to the big game, marking the return of pro football to ABC’s air, some 20 years after the “Monday Night Football” franchise shifted from ABC to ESPN.
Eli Roth first promised that his upcoming horror release, “Ice Cream Man,” would feature an animated sequence he had initially drawn himself. Now, days ahead of the film’s Aug. 7 premiere, Roth admitted AI had a hand in the effort.
The horror director said in a statement on Tuesday (via Polygon) that he used AI in “a very small portion of a few scenes in the film” after social media posts claimed the technology was used abundantly throughout the film and pointed to the involvement of the AI visual effects studio Dark Half.
The statement came after Roth detailed a sequence in the film to Polygon that features a cartoon that seemingly hypnotizes children, turning them into murderers. Roth said he initially drew the animated portions himself, inspired by a 1920s-era Mickey Mouse cartoon of the character parading through a haunted house, before he had animators “help kind of make it a little more fluid” and an artist gave it “an old-timey jittery feel.”
“I misspoke,” Roth said in a new statement Tuesday. “AI was used in a very small portion of a few scenes in the film. It was an opportunity where technology and creativity came together to help bring my vision for the film to life.”
Representatives for Roth and Dark Half did not respond to Variety‘s initial request for comment. The revelation is the latest example of how engaging the technology — and obfuscating such use — can roil audiences eager to support new films.
“Late Night with the Devil” directors Cameron and Colin Cairne had to explain their use of AI after the version of the 2023 horror film that debuted in theaters featured multiple AI-generated images, while “Stop That Train” director Adam Shankman claimed that the RuPaul-led film featured “ZERO shots conceived by AI in the movie” and that every shot in the film was made by “human hands” after social media users took issue with the employment of Ryan Kavanaugh’s Acme AI and FX firm.
Local police were dispatched to the Miami home of Hollywood gossip journalist Perez Hilton after receiving reports about a disturbing livestream during which Hilton, covered in blood, appeared to be cutting himself, Variety has confirmed.
The Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office received multiple calls about Hilton’s livestream on Tuesday night and sent deputies to respond. Once on scene, officers spoke with several of Hilton’s family members. Authorities confirmed that Hilton was alone in his home during the time of the live stream. Deputies have since been ordered to “tactically disengage,” but continue to keep an eye on the situation.
The Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office also confirmed that Hilton was safely transported from his home to a local hospital, where he is receiving medical attention.
“In many incidents involving a person experiencing a mental health crisis or actively harming themselves, deputies prioritize de-escalation by creating time, distance, and opportunities for communication,” the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “Unless there is an immediate threat to others, slowing the situation and utilizing crisis intervention techniques can reduce the likelihood of a suicide-by-cop encounter and minimize the risk of injury to the individual, deputies, and the public.”
Reps for Hilton did not immediately respond to Variety’s request for comment.
Hilton launched his career in the early 2000s, operating a popular celebrity gossip blog that offered a biting, unfiltered look at some of Hollywood’s most unsavory moments. In a 2012 sit-down with The New York Times, Hilton said that he was no longer aligned with his provocative reporting.
“What’s important for me is not being liked, but it is that people think I am no longer toxic to the world,” he said. Hilton later added, “I’m aware of the fact there are going to be a lot of people with lingering resentment and a lot of skeptics.”
Paramount Skydance said second-quarter profit fell, even as the company was boosted by its streaming media and studios operations, while its large TV division shed ad dollars and subscribers. David Ellison, the company’s CEO, vowed that its deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery would close, despite legal setbacks that have slowed the transaction.
“While there is still significant work to be done, our confidence in the opportunity continues to grow, and we’re excited for the future of this company powered by storytelling and accelerated by technology,” Ellison said in a letter to shareholders Tuesday.
Paramount said net earnings fell to $41 million, or four cents per share, in the second quarter, compared with $57 million, or eight cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose 1% to $6.91 billion, compared with nearly $6.85 billion a year earlier.
In the company’s TV operations, the largest part of its business, revenue fell 9%, to $3.12 billion, compared with $3.45 billion a year earlier. Ad revenue fell 14%, due in part to difficult comparisons with 2025 that involved more NCAA advertising. Distribution fees fell 6%, due in large part to erosion of linear subscriptions.
Revenue from streaming operations rose 9% to $2.5 billion, with revenue from Paramount+ rising 16%. The service added 2 million subscribers in the second quarter, ahead of expectations. The company cited FIFA World Cup telecasts in certain Latin American nations as as UFC broadcasts in the U.S., and said Paramount+ had its “lowest churn quarter” since launch.
Revenue from the company’s studios rose 16% year-over-year to $1.3 billion, owing in part to films such as “Scary Movie” and programming for third parties from its TV production operations.
Paramount said its upfront sales process had ended, and it had secured “double-digit growth in commitments across the company,” without offering further details about volume or pricing.
The company projected revenue in the third quarter would grow between 4% to 7%, increasing to $6.95 billion and $7.15 billion, with more growth from studios and streaming and “moderating declines” from TV. Subscribers to Paramount+ are seen as “flattish.”
Despite a recent legal setback that will delay the closing of its deal for Warner, Ellison said he remained optimistic it would eventually close. “We remain confident the transaction will be completed, creating a stronger, more competitive media company,” he said, describing the combined entity as a smaller player when compared with “tech giants such as Netflix, Amazon, Apple, and others.”
When Richard Linklater released “Boyhood” in 2014, moviegoers had never seen anything quite like it. Filmed over the space of 12 years, the coming-of-age classic followed a Texas family living through divorce, moving and growing up, with the cast returning at intervals to film episodes as the children grew up. The groundbreaking result came thisclose to winning the Oscar for best picture, with Patricia Arquette, who played the family’s mom, winning best supporting actress, and Ethan Hawke, who played the father, nominated for supporting actor. But what happened to the boy of “Boyhood” — Ellar Coltrane — and Lorelei Linklater, who played his sister?
Lorelei Linklater, the director’s daughter, is a painter and actress who has appeared in several independent films since “Boyhood.” Coltrane, now 31, says he lives “in the middle of nowhere,” and is pursuing several interests: He’s a volunteer fireman, he’s doing EMT training and is gets involved in occasional independent films. But though he’s had a few roles such starring in the indie “Shoplifters of the World Unite,” he’s not driven to pursue film and TV stardom. “I’ve moved on,” he says.
Unlike many child actors who experienced too much fame too early, Coltrane thinks he was spared that kind of pressure because the world didn’t see the finished product until he was 18 — although even then the amount of attention was somewhat overwhelming.
Independent Film Company’s 12th anniversary release of “Boyhood” (representing the 12 years of filming) is currently playing in more than 100 theaters across the U.S. and in Canada through Mongrel, with a special filmed Q&A included this week. Additional live Q&As and special screenings will roll out throughout August.
Coltrane looked back on the experience of shooting “Boyhood” over 12 years, remembering the fun, scary and embarrassing moments along the way.
Ethan Hawke, left, and Ellar Coltrane onstage during the “Boyhood” 12-Year reunion Q&A in Austin.
Kelly Zhu
As a child, you went to theater classes through Zach Theater in Austin, and then met your aunt’s agent who became your agent. How did you end up auditioning for “Boyhood”? Do you remember much about what they told you when you were just 6 years old?
What I remember is meeting Richard. Both of my parents are performers, so I think they were definitely supportive and understood the idea of me going into performing arts, but it wasn’t something that they set up or pushed me into. It all just kind of happened. I remember them telling me about who Richard was to them, being artists in Austin. They knew a lot of people that were in “Slacker” and he was a real hometown hero. I remember them telling me, this is really cool, this is different than the other auditions you’ve gone to. I don’t know how many callbacks it was, but it was several, and there was no script at that point, so it wasn’t at all a traditional audition where I’m reading sides. I think he was just kind of getting to know me more than anything.
Do you think he had other kids he was considering?
It was an open casting call, so there probably hundreds of kids that they were considering. There were a number of homeschool kids that were being considered specifically, because he knew it would be easier to work with a kid who didn’t have to be in school five days a week. I remember in one of the callbacks, he asked me to bring in some of my art, my drawings. The piece of the drawing that I brought in was on the back of a poster for a band called Joe Rockhead that my dad played in, in the ’80s and ’90s in Austin. And Richard was a fan, and so I remember him looking turning the page around and being like, “What is this? Why do you have this poster? And I’m like, that’s my dad’s old band.
When did it dawn on you that you were going to keep returning every year, every couple years? Like, did you understand that at first, or did it take a little while to really get that?
I was a smart kid. I understood as much as a 6-year-old can. I understood that I would be returning every year, but there was no way for me to comprehend what 12 years is, or what that really represents in my life. It was much later, once I was 17 or 18, that I started to understand like how just how significant it was in my life. It was fun. It was like a summer camp. It never felt like a burden really.
What was working with Richard like? Were you ever scared or felt pressured?
Richard is very much an actor’s director, and he and Ethan had such an industrious working relationship at that time, writing the “Before” movies and they had a really powerful collaborative dynamic that they had built together, and it was really wonderful to be invited into that, and be taught how to partake in that process of writing collaboratively.
Did you get to improvise?
There was very extensive workshopping every year. There was some improvisation in the writing room, but more so just a lot of requests for my input. So even if I wasn’t improvising in the moment, I was often using my words, and using pieces of my experience and what I was going through in the different years, and I was encouraged to manipulate my dialogue to be more natural for myself to speak as a child.
There were a lot of pretty tense scenes — do you remember being worried about the adults arguing, particularly with the alcoholic stepfather?
I grew up in a pretty tumultuous household, so it didn’t seem shocking at all to me. That was kind of just how adults were. The big one was the violence at the dinner table with Marco’s character. I remember that moment, with the dinner plate and just how viscerally scary that was. Even though I knew it was acting, and everybody laughs in between takes. There was a lot that was done, probably for our benefit, for the kids to try to break up the tension, and I think we didn’t do very many takes of that.
I rewatched the film for the first time in a number of years a couple weeks ago at the Austin Film Society reunion screening, and there were lots of things that I was stricken by that landed differently now. That scene definitely affected me more watching it than it ever has before, and I was a lot more aware of myself as a vulnerable child experiencing this traumatic thing. Even within the artifice of the film, it’s still scary.
Was there ever a time you wanted to quit? I know Lorelei wanted to be written out at one point.
No, not at all. I mean, when it released, when I became famous and was going around doing a million Q&A’s and parties, I didn’t enjoy that part so much. But I never wavered in production. I loved it. It was a really wonderful experience for me.
You said it was like summer camp, did you play with the other kids and make friends?
Really just Lorelei. All the other kid characters are so transient. More so Richard and Ethan and Patricia. I was such an odd kid. I I didn’t have a lot of friends my own age, even in my personal life, just being homeschooled and being raised by the arts community in Austin. Also Rodney Becker, the production designer. I went on to work under him in the art department for a number of years after “Boyhood” released.
What was it like as you got to be a teenager, since teenagers are figuring out so much stuff — were you ever self-conscious about growing up on-screen?
I was a pretty cocky teenager. Like around 14 or 15, when I have the bangs and everything, that was a pretty awkward phase. I think I was pretty self-conscious. But even still, with the kissing, I’m kissing Megan Devine in that in that episode, and I was pretty confident in that. One of the funny things about that phase of the film for me is that I was a really wild teenager, I was getting into a lot of trouble, and that is so peripheral in the film. It’s just kind of implied that there’s other stuff going on that we’re not seeing, that this person is experimenting with drugs and whatever else, but it’s not really in the film.
But I do remember I showed up to set probably when I was 17, very high on marijuana one time, and was extremely anxious and self-conscious, and that scene is terrible. Needless to say that scene did not make it into the final cut. I never did that again.
Was Linklater’s idea for Mason to be into photography, or yours?
That was me. It’s kind of funny because (unit photographer) Matt Lankes, rest in peace, outside of set, he gave me photography lessons and was a big part of that developing in my life before I was ever in the film. My interest in photography definitely was fueled, if not initially inspired, by being on set and watching Matt work. He made the book and so we would do those portraits every year and he was always working with antique film equipment and his work practice was very intricate, and I found that really inspiring.
What do you think about this experience of making a movie over so many years? It’s pretty unusual.
It’s fantastic. It’s magical. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of Richard’s new long-term project (“Merrily We Roll Along”), and if other people try to emulate that. Because it’s a gimmick in a way, and it also very much works.
It’s also kind of a crazy thing to sign a child up for.
Exactly — as smart as a kid as you were, how could you have really known what you were agreeing to?
I think I did pretty well in terms of navigating that and coming out the other side not too damaged, but it’s a lot. Being a child actor is always a strange thing. A big saving grace for me, in that context of being a child actor, and later interacting with the Harry Potter kids and other people who starred in a long-term project or started a career around the same time, for them there was something released to the world also in childhood. I didn’t have to experience that and I am grateful for that, because when I did experience celebrity, it was a lot. It allowed me to have the experience of acting and learning to do all these things and being on set. It allowed me to avoid being a child star, which is really difficult for a lot of people. I have a lot of compassion for people who really struggle with fame early in life.
Catch us up on what kind of things you’re pursuing now?
I live in the middle of nowhere, and I’m pretty far away from film. I’ve acted in a couple of short films. One called “El Fantasma,” which we filmed in Mexico City, where I play Lee Harvey Oswald, that’s really cool. And then I did a film in El Paso two years ago, a short film called “So, Who Was It This Time?” I’ve become kind of integrated with the independent film community in El Paso, which is really wonderful. I’m really inspired by the energy there and what my friends are up to. It reminds me of Austin 20 years ago. Really, in my life I’ve moved on. I do manual labor, and I’m a volunteer firefighter, and I’m working on my EMT license right now. But being back in Austin at the AFS event, interacting with film people again, I am missing being on set, missing collaborating.
I do very well collaborating with a director who has a passion project. When I can get into that head space with an artist and work closely with them to figure out how I can express what they’re trying to express, I think I can do really good work. But just showing up on a big set with a million producers as an actor, I don’t know how to do that. I was never really trained as an actor. I was trained by Richard and Ethan as a collaborator and part of the machine of the film. So I’m hoping for more small, independent passion projects that I can be a part of, because I have a lot to offer.
Hearst has set a deal to acquire Disney’s 50% stake in A+E Global Media, the parent company of Lifetime, History Channel, A&E Network and other assets in a deal that calls for Hearst to pay Disney $1.2 billion in cash.
Disney and Hearst have been 50-50 partners in A+E Global Media for more than a decade. Hearst also owns a roughly 18% stake in Disney’s ESPN but that is separate from A+E Global Media and unaffected by the transaction. The A+E Global Media deal is expected to close in September, with Paul Buccieri remaining at the helm as president and chairman.
The deal puts Hearst back into national media in a big way. The company has deep roots in newspaper and magazine publishing and it operates a strong group of 35 local TV stations, most of them Big Three network affiliates.
“We thank our Disney colleagues for decades of successful partnership,” said Steven R. Swartz, president and CEO of Hearst. “We look forward to supporting Paul Buccieri and A+E Global Media’s leadership team as they continue to make must-see programs and innovate around the great History, Lifetime and A&E brands.”
Paul Buccieri
Courtesy of Paul Buccieri / Jeff Katz Photography
The deal brings A+E Global Media full circle with Hearst taking full control of the assets. Hearst and Disney put the company on the block in July 2025. Starz was among the outside media companies that took a look at the company but it’s unclear if they ever got to a formal bid stage. With Hearst coming in, the A+E Global Media team will settle in with an owner that they know well.
The list of linear channels included in the deal includes Lifetime Movie Network, FYI and Vice TV. The assets also encompass content units A+E Studios, A+E Factual Studio, A&E IndieFilms, A+E Global Media Digital as well as streaming apps, games, FAST channels, AVOD and subscription-video services Crime 360, Lifetime Movie Club and History Vault.
A+E Global Media is one of many traditional media companies that has faced challenges amid a changing pay TV ecosystem. The company’s core revenue base is shrinking amid cord-cutting and the rise of streaming options. Under the leadership of Buccieri, A+E Global Media has been actively diversifying its operations with the addition of A+E Studios to produce high-end shows, such as the Netflix drama “The Lincoln Lawyer,” as well as through the launch of FAST channels and niche subscription video services.
“In a media environment defined by fragmentation, A+E Global Media’s advantage is the strength and versatility of our brands, our strong partnerships and our vast library of owned assets,” said Buccieri. “As we continue extending our storytelling globally across all platforms with IP that travels to every screen and form-factor, we believe we are well suited for whatever opportunities may come next. I also want to express my deepest thanks to Hearst, The Walt Disney Company and to our board members — both recent and past — for their guidance and support over the years.”
The company has its roots in the fertile ground of early 1980s cable in New York. A&E Network and Lifetime were launched in early 1984 at a time when the overall cable channel lineup was still pretty thin. History Channel followed in 1995. All three channels have yielded numerous spinoffs over the years. For its first 20 years, A&E Networks was jointly owned by ABC, NBC and Hearst. When Comcast acquired NBCUniversal from General Electric in 2011, the cable giant had to sell off its stake in what was then A&E Networks to comply with federal merger conditions.
Jamie Armitage‘s immersive horror show “A Ghost in Your Ear” has set its New York premiere at Audible‘s off-Broadway Minetta Lane Theatre following a sold-out London run earlier this year.
The show will run Tuesday, Sept. 29 through Sunday, Nov. 15. “A Ghost in Your Ear” goes inside an audiobook recording session gone deadly wrong after an actor arrives late to the studio and is handed a ghost story. Audiences wear headphones “featuring groundbreaking binaural sound technology,” according to an official description, designed to be a full sensory experience. Additionally, a recording of the play will later be released globally as an Audible Original.
“We enjoyed the most special run of the show in London earlier this year, and I cannot wait to bring it over to New York to terrify the audiences there too,” writer and director Armitage said in a statement. “And given that the whole show is set in an audiobook recording studio, a collaboration with Audible felt like the most natural fit in the world. So whether you’re watching at the Minetta Lane or listening on Audible, I hope you’re ready for a fright!”
Jamie Armitage
Kayt Webster-Brown
Armitage is known for his Tony-nominated work directing “Six.” The sound team behind “A Ghost in Your Ear” include the Tony-nominated duo Ben and Max Ringham, who have previously worked on “A Doll’s House,” “Prima Facie” and “Waiting for Godot.” Anisha Fields is scenic and costume designer, Ben Jacobs works as lighting designer and Taylor Williams serves as casting director.
Kate Navin, Audible’s head of creative development in the U.S., said in her own statement: “This is exactly the kind of boundary-pushing work Audible Theater champions: innovative in its craft, unforgettable in its impact, and designed to captivate audiences both on our stage and globally as an Audible Original.”
The play was originally produced by HFH Productions and Playful Productions. Audible Theater recently presented “Yes to the Unknown: A Night with Gloria Steinem” and “Soundly Unstable” at its Minetta Lane venue, in addition to producing the off-Broadway musical “Mexodus.”
The stars of “New Girl” are set to reunite at the upcoming Chrysalis Butterfly Ball in Los Angeles.
The cast, including Zooey Deschanel, Max Greenfield, Jake Johnson, Lamorne Morris, Hannah Simone and Damon Wayans Jr., will receive the Rising Phoenix Award at the Oct. 10 gala.
The Rising Phoenix Award will recognize the series’ theme of starting over and people who make starting over possible.
The reunion news comes just days after Greenfield said that an official show reunion is in the works. “As far as I know, it’s happening,” the actor said during an appearance on “Today With Jenna & Sheinelle” on July 31. “I’ve seen scripts, they’re amazing.”
However, Greenfield now tells me, “I misread the email.
“Or should I say, I just read the subject, which read, ‘“New Girl” reunion.’”
This isn’t the first time he’s done this, Greenfield admits. “I’m still a work in progress,” he says. “I can only hope this little mix-up doesn’t dim the light we’re trying to shine on such an incredible organization.”
Greenfield returns as host of the Chrysalis event, which will also honor Banc of California chairman and CEO Jared Wolff with the Corporate Trailblazer Award.
“This year’s honorees reflect the resilience and second chances at the heart of Chrysalis’ work,” Chrysalis president and CEO Mark Loranger said in a statement Tuesday. “Jared, through his leadership at Banc of California, has invested in Los Angeles where our clients are doing the same and ‘New Girl’ built seven seasons around characters navigating through life changes and starting over. Every year, Chrysalis helps thousands of people achieve goals they may not have thought possible, and the Butterfly Ball allows us to celebrate their accomplishments while ensuring that even more people have access to the support they need.”
Chrysalis helps people find meaningful work and build futures they can be proud of, regardless of their past or present. Since 1984, Chrysalis has served more than 95,000 individuals at its six centers and locations throughout Southern California. In 2025, nearly 2,200 Chrysalis clients secured employment while participating in Chrysalis’ program, and nearly 1,600 worked a transitional job with the organization’s employment social enterprise.
The 2026 Honorary Co-Chairs are Betsy Beers, Rebecca Gayheart Dane, Max Greenfield, Hayward Kaiser & Susan Harris, Chris Hart, Cynthia & Bob Hart, Rick Hess, Josh Lieberman and Amelia Williamson. 2026 sponsors include The Chuck Lorre Family Foundation, TruAmerica, and US Bank.
Past Butterfly Ball honorees have included Betsy Beers, Common, Salma Hayek, Jennifer Hudson, Ice Cube, Donna Langley, Shawn Levy, LL Cool J, Seth MacFarlane, Ryan Murphy, Queen Latifah, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Curtis Stone, Scott Stuber and Olivia Wilde.
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that guests of the fictional luxury chain The White Lotus aren’t meant to live an uncomfortable life.
So who can blame the cast of Mike White’s hit satire for enjoying some downtime at another pricey vacation resort – Disneyland Paris?
Season 4 cast members Laura Dern, AJ Michalka and Marissa Long were spotted at the Mouse House’s French outpost on Sunday, apparently on a break from filming the latest season, which is set in the south of France.
The trio were among a larger group taking photos with a Minnie Mouse mascot – who was decked out in a chic salmon dress with Breton stripe detail topped off with an Eiffel Tower-themed fascinator — by the park’s famed Sleeping Beauty castle. Fellow Season 4 cast members Ben Kingsley, Max Greenfield and Vincent Cassel did not appear to have joined the outing.
The show has been filming in Paris since the start of summer, and is shooting interiors at the posh Hôtel Lutetia and at theBry-sur-Marne studios on the outskirts of the French capital. Previous productions that have shot there include the Canal+ series “Marie-Antoinette,” as well as Pathé’s big budget period movies “The Count of Monte-Cristo” and “De Gaulle.” When they’re not filming, “The White Lotus” cast and crew have been living the lives of everyday tourists while staying at another five-star hotel that’s mostly under-the-radar and paparazzi-free, located on the right bank, near the Seine river.
Production is set to head back to the French Riviera for final shots, at the Martinez hotel, as well as in Monaco, where they previously filmed on a yacht and in Nice where they shot at the airport with scenes featuring Laura Dern – who took over from Helena Bonham Carter at the start of production and is rumored to be playing a fading star chasing a comeback — and Heather Graham. Dern has also been spotted at Roland-Garros, the French tennis open, on different occasions, with her daughter Jaya Harper, as well as Michalka.
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Corbis via Getty Images
The highly anticipated new season of “The White Lotus” sees the popular HBO show decamping to Cannes, where it will follow two rival filmmaking teams as they compete for the festival’s top prize. And of course the mis en scène — comprised in Season 4 of a palatial hotel on the Croisette and a luxurious hilltop hideaway — are as central to the plot as the characters.
As Variety previously reported, Saint-Tropez’s Château de la Messardière will play the White Lotus du Cap while the Hôtel Martinez stands in for White Lotus Cannes. The show went into production in April and shot during the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year to capture some of the hustle and bustle of the iconic event. It also shot at the Palais des Festivals for what appeared to be pivotal scenes unfolding during a fictional closing night.
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While it’s unlikely Disneyland Paris will feature in the series, given it’s owned by a rival studio, its staff could no doubt give the cast of “The White Lotus” an insight into what it’s like to work at a luxury resort. Its flagship five-star Disneyland Hotel, which sits above the entrance to the theme park, re-opened in 2024 after a three-year renovation with a renewed focus on luxury.
As well as a spa and styling studio it also boasts a pillow menu, offering guests seven types of neck support, while general manager Majbritt Iaconis previously served stints at the Ritz and the Mandarin Oriental. For guests, it’s a very comfortable life indeed.
Netflix is handing its Spanish-language Oscar hopeful “La Bola Negra” the longest theatrical runway in the streamer’s history.
The queer epic from Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, the Spanish duo known as Los Javis, was originally slated to open in theaters Nov. 6 ahead of a Dec. 4 streaming bow. The film will now arrive in theaters Oct. 16 and land on Netflix Dec. 2, a 47-day exclusive window and the widest theatrical commitment the company has given one of its titles to date. The previous record-holder belonged to Noah Baumbach’s relationship drama “Marriage Story” which had a full 30-day window in 2019. Other notable wide releases included Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” which Netflix gave a 27-day window the same year, and Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma,” which played roughly three weeks in 2018 before streaming.
The move underscores how selectively, and how aggressively, Netflix has begun courting exhibitors on prestige plays. David Fincher’s still-untitled continuation of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” written by Quentin Tarantino and starring Brad Pitt, opens Nov. 25 for an exclusive two-week global Imax engagement before streaming Dec. 23. Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” follows Feb. 12, 2027, the first Netflix release to receive a conventional theatrical rollout, with a 49-day window preceding its April 2 streaming debut.
Netflix landed U.S. rights to “La Bola Negra” at the Cannes Film Festival following a competitive bidding war, after the film premiered in competition to a standing ovation and went on to tie for the festival’s best director prize.
The streamer has since acquired Canadian rights as well. The film is set to screen in the Toronto International Film Festival’s Special Presentations section, where star Penélope Cruz, who won the best supporting actress Oscar for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” will receive a Special Tribute Award at the TIFF Tribute Awards.
Directed, co-written and produced by Calvo and Ambrossi, “La Bola Negra” (“The Black Ball”) spans 85 years of Spanish history, from the ’30s to the present day, and draws on an unfinished fragment by poet and playwright Federico García Lorca. The ensemble includes Spanish musician Guitarricadelafuente in his acting debut, “Elite” actor Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Milo Quifes, Lola Dueñas, Julio Torres, Cruz and Glenn Close.
The film is one of the streamer’s awards priorities for the fall, which will also include the Fincher sequel, Danny Boyle’s Venice Film Festival opener “Ink,” Peter Berg’s war drama “The Mosquito Bowl” and Marie Kreutzer’s “Gentle Monster,” also a Cannes acquisition.
In his review, Variety film critic Guy Lodge wrote there is “enough confidently muscular filmmaking here” to make the directors’ next move worth watching, praising the film’s attempt to trace the connective tissue between generations of gay Spanish men.
The film is a Movistar Plus+ Original Film in collaboration with Suma Content Films, produced by Telefónica Audiovisual Digital and Los Esquiadores AIE, and co-produced by El Deseo and Le Pacte, with the participation of Atresmedia and CREA SGR.
