Tag: Entertainment-Variety

Oscar winner Sean Baker has found an unexpected way to inspire future generations of independent filmmakers — at the bank. 

The auteur has secured the first big payday of his career for his follow-up to best picture winner “Anora,” the sex-worker dramedy that made history in 2025 when the Oscars handed Baker four trophies in one night, tying the record set by Walt Disney.

The project in question is “Ti Amo!” which Baker has described as “an ode to the Italian sex comedies of the ’60s and ’70s.” Warner Bros. announced it had won the film last week at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. It was a major flex for the studio’s new indie-centric label Clockwork, run by Christian Parkes (former marketing chief for Neon). 

What they didn’t say onstage at Caesars Palace is that Clockwork bought the distribution rights to “Ti Amo!” for an eye-popping $22 million, five sources familiar with the deal tell Variety. Baked into that number is the film’s budget, which is being financed by FilmNation and is expected to be north of $10 million. The final cost of the film won’t be finalized until Baker completes a script.

However, the surplus will be divided among FilmNation, a few other key production players and Baker, who is poised to earn a multimillion-dollar salary for his work as writer, director, editor and producer of “Ti Amo!” 

For Baker, the pact means greater financial security after years of roughing it in service of his art. His brand is scrappy, by-the-skin-of-our-teeth filmmaking with shoestring budgets and, in early days, shooting “Tangerine” on an iPhone. With Clockwork, Baker will have one distributor overseeing release, marketing and strategy (except in France) for the first time in his career.

“Isn’t it great to see a filmmaker like Sean who has earned his way up finally get rewarded so he can keep getting to make movies his way?” said one executive with knowledge of the deal. 

Baker shopped the project last year to multiple bidders, including Neon and A24 and Disney’s Searchlight Pictures. One offer, for U.S. rights alone, came in at roughly $5 million, two sources say, while others came closer to Clockwork’s deal for global distribution. Baker is not signed to a major talent agency but had Lichter Grossman lawyer James Feldman to negotiate on his behalf. He is managed by Adam Kersh, an indie veteran whose clients include other auteurs like Ira Sachs and Amy Seimetz.

The project was sold as a pitch, sources add. Cameras are expected to roll in September. Another sign of Baker’s post-Oscar power is that the Clockwork sale was not contingent on cast, nor is he expected to hire an A-lister.

The “Ti Amo!” deal comes as indie filmmaking stars are finding it difficult to get fairly compensated for their work. Many projects leave festivals like Sundance or Cannes without distribution, and even those filmmakers that get deals have seen their residuals and back-end participation shrink as streaming has upended the economics of Hollywood. That’s led some to experiment with alternative ways of getting their passion projects to the screen.

“The Brutalist” director Brady Corbet is putting together his next project — an epic tale about the history of the occult in America — without a studio partner. Similarly, Tom Ford has adapted Anne Rice’s novel “Cry to Heaven” as an independently financed feature starring Adele. The hope in both cases is that the movies will get a bigger sale price after screening at a high-profile festival than they would if distribution rights were sold ahead of filming. That’s a bet Baker isn’t taking with “Ti Amo!,” and given the rich deal he secured, why would he?

As revered as he may be among cinephiles, Baker would normally have to pivot to directing a mid-budget or tentpole film or work for a streamer like Netflix to receive this kind of compensation. The latter is a nonstarter, given that Baker is a passionate defender of cinemas. Baker has long been underpaid in comparison with his reputation and influence in the market.

Most of his projects take three years to produce, and he tends to put any money he makes back into his next films. During the awards season run for 2017’s “The Florida Project,” Baker lived in a small West Hollywood apartment. On Oscar night 2025, he and partner Sammy Kwan went home to walk their dogs in-between the ceremony and the after-party. It’s doubtful that Christopher Nolan or Martin Scorsese did the same.

“Michael” director Antoine Fuqua opened up for the first time about the movie’s dramatic reshoots in a new interview with The New Yorker. As Variety reported ahead of the biopic’s theatrical release, “Michael” was forced to spend up to $15 million on additional photography in order to overhaul the film’s structure.

The original movie started in 1993 with police raiding Michael Jackson‘s Neverland Ranch after he’s accused of sexually abusing 13-year-old Jordan Chandler. The film then flashed back to recount the superstar’s life story and build back up to the allegation and the Chandler family’s lawsuit, which Jackson ultimately settled for $23 million before the investigation was closed when the Chandler family stopped cooperating with prosecutors.

Nothing involving Jordan Chandler or his family’s allegations remain in the final movie. These scenes had to be removed after attorneys for the Jackson estate realized there was a clause in the settlement that blocked the depiction or mention of Chandler in any movie. Gone was the original opening depicting the police raid on Neverland Ranch, which Fuqua teased to The New Yorker by saying: “I shot [Michael] being stripped naked, treated like an animal, a monster.”

Per The New Yorker: “Fuqua is not convinced that Jackson did what he is accused of doing, despite the number of accusers (five) and the fact that Jackson publicly talked about sharing his bed with boys.”

Jackson faced 10 charges in 2005 related to the alleged abuse of another 13-year-old but was later acquitted on all counts. The 2019 documentary “Leaving Neverland” then chronicled new allegations from two more of Jackson’s alleged victims. 

“When I hear things about us — Black people in particular, especially in a certain position — there’s always pause,” Fuqua said, with The New Yorker noting the filmmaker “was skeptical of some of the accusers’ parents, particularly Chandler’s father, who was recorded threatening to insure that Jackson was ‘humiliated beyond belief.’”

While Fuqua stressed he didn’t know the truth behind the allegations made against Jackson over the years, he noted that “sometimes people do some nasty things for some money.”

Fuqua and his “Michael” cast and crew assembled last June to overhaul the movie over 22 days of reshoots, as Variety reported. Sources said the Jackson estate shouldered the bill of up to $15 million because its error necessitated the changes. The new version of “Michael” ends with the icon at the height of his career and centers the family tension between Jackson and his domineering father Joe as the dramatic through line of the story.

“Michael” opens in theaters April 24 from Lionsgate.

I’ll read a news story about more or less anything, but I glaze over at the prospect of consuming any article about cryptocurrency. That’s because even when I do read one, I never totally get it — what cryptocurrency is, how it works, why it’s treated as the second coming by some while others roll their eyes. The future of many things, including money, will surely be digital. So is cryptocurrency just an early-adapter version of the digital monetary future? Yet if that’s so, why does it always feel like crypto is the sort of thing that used to be advertised on late-night TV along with K-Tel pop-hit collections? And why does the very concept of crypto leave me so confused?

If, like me, you suffer from perpetual half-submerged crypto angst, the movie to see is “Everyone Is Lying to You for Money,” a lively, knife-sharp, impeccably researched and reported documentary that answers every conceivable question you’ve ever had about crypto, and does so in a way that’s brisk and funny and illuminating rather than intimidating. Above all, it explains the hidden reason why crypto, after all the media bloviating we’ve been subjected to about it, remains such a weirdly obtuse and intimidating topic.

The reason? Because it’s all designed to sell an illusion. The nature of cryptocurrency is that it’s meant to seem like a shiny new object, one that’s heady and elusive enough to feel just out of reach. That’s the secret appeal of crypto, and what makes its true believers into something of a cult. (Cults are built around magical thinking.) And it’s what lends crypto a mystique that has allowed its marketers to inflate a viral junk-cash phenomenon into irresistible digital snake oil.

“Everyone Is Lying to You for Money” is the unlikely brainchild of a Hollywood actor: Ben McKenzie, who wrote, produced, and directed it. (It was made in conjunction with his 2023 book “Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud,” written with Jacob Silverman.) McKenzie is someone who many remember as the heartthrob costar of “The O.C.,” where he played the glam rebel outcast Ryan Atwood. He had a few TV roles after that, costarring on “Southland” and “Gotham,” but in “Everyone Is Lying to You for Money” McKenzie, now 47, makes winning sport of the fact that he’ll never outrun his slightly schlocky youth-TV past — and that’s okay with him. He still works as an actor (occasionally), he’s married to the Brazilian-American actor Morena Baccarin (as we see in the movie, they have two sons and live in a beautifully renovated SoHo townhouse), and he’s a very serious dude with a degree in economics.

In “Everyone Is Lying to You for Money,” McKenzie cuts through reams of misinformation and conducts unshowy but confrontational interviews with finance players who are famous and powerful (he also talks to a lot of people who are not). He chases the story of cryptocurrency and gets to the bottom of it with such muckraking zeal that by the end of the film, I was convinced he should become a politician. (I’m not kidding: He’s as photogenic but combative as Gavin Newsom, though closer in spirit to Pete Buttegieg.)

McKenzie starts off by plumbing the mysteries of bitcoin, which was the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Bitcoin marketed itself with a savvy hook: the declaration that there would only ever be 21 million bitcoins issued. The implication: Since the number of bitcoins wasn’t going to multiply, it was the value of an individual bitcoin that would go up. But here’s how bitcoin really become the prototype for all the crypto delusion that followed. The new currency would operate kind of like a stock (people would trade it; the value would fluctuate)…except it wasn’t tethered to a company that made actual goods. It presented itself as a kind of bank…except it wasn’t a bank.

And here was the insidious part, the very 21st-century part: It made you feel like you were joining a rebel movement. The 2008 financial meltdown and its corrupt aftermath (i.e., the Obama administration’s spineless bailing out of the banks and no one else, with no heads rolling) had set the stage for a world in which ordinary citizens no longer trusted our financial institutions. At the same time, the launch of Napster had heralded an era when we were all going to be rebel disrupters. So while bitcoin offered none of the protections of a traditional bank, that very fact made it seem an insurrectionary currency. It was operating outside the laws of the financial world (which was now seen as the enemy). That made it cool. And that was the neo-1960s snake oil, all built around the idea of flattering the potential marks who wanted to think that they — like bitcoin itself — were going to be joining in some sort of transgressive undermining of The System.

Ben McKenzie elucidates all this, and he tracks down some of the reigning hucksters who have led the crypto revolution. He goes to El Salvador, the first country to use bitcoin as legal tender, and where the president, Nayib Bukele (who has been in office since 2019), is like a grinning Marcello Hernández character. He has promised to build a place called Bitcoin City, which will be a utopian metropolis of gold. (When McKenzie gets to the location, it’s just a sleepy fishing village whose residents are being squeezed out.)

McKenzie then stakes out Alex Mashinsky, the Israeli-American co-founder and CEO of Celsius, a now-bankrupt cryptocurrency lending platform. Mashinsky is a vintage hustler, selling the idea that crypto can make you rich, but here’s where the old-fashioned underpinnings of the scam are revealed. Celsius turns out to be a Ponzi scheme. The price of Celsius crypto would go up, but it was being manipulated by those in charge, all as a way to get ordinary citizens to invest. And millions upon millions did, which kept the charade afloat (and funneled the “profits” to the top).

Celsius ultimately declared bankruptcy, but that’s small potatoes compared to what happened to FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, who was famously convicted of seven counts of fraud and is now serving 25 years in prison. McKenzie got an interview with Bankman-Fried before he imploded, and this sequence alone is worth the price of admission, because of how nakedly it reveals the particular sort of weasel Sam Bankman-Fried is.

Many have likened him to Bernie Madoff, because of the scale of his operation (the sheer amount of money lost by those who invested with him). But what’s very particular about Bankman-Fried is his youth and his generational vibe. Under his dark mop of saintly tech-geek curls, he’s got that teasingly awkward, fake-tentative passive aggression descended from the style of Steve Jobs in his seminars, which Bankman-Fried mixes with his own mode of “Look at what a sensitively evolved Zoomer bro I am!” When McKenzie asks him how much he’s contributed to the coffers of politicians, his dodging of the question is pure dissembling theater. He’s a truly shameless poster boy for how to rip people off in an “enlightened” way.

And yet, the most astonishing comments in “Everyone is Lying to You for Money” occur in the interviews McKenzie conducted with a set of ordinary folks who lost their money in crypto. They were left shell-shocked and betrayed. But near the end of the film, McKenzie returns to them to ask if they still believe in crypto. And every one of them says yes. They may have gotten sucked into fraudulent dealings, but their faith in the crypto dream remains undiminished. “Everyone Is Lying to You for Money” captures a brave new world where the snake-oil salesmen believe their own hype, and where no one lies to the victims as much as they lie to themselves.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has installed new leadership with veteran business and policy executive Ron Frierson signing on as president and CEO.

The chamber has also tapped Dan Halden to serve as chief operating officer and legislative director for the organization that advocates for the Hollywood area of Los Angeles and administers the world renowned Hollywood Walk of Fame.

“Hollywood is a globally recognized brand synonymous with creativity, influence and cultural impact. It is also a community of families, small businesses, and neighborhoods,” Frierson said. “I’m honored to lead the Chamber and to work alongside Dan, our Board, staff and our incredible members to advance a bold agenda that expands opportunity, strengthens our economy, and delivers lasting value for businesses, the community and visitors alike.”

Frierson succeeds Steven Nissen, who spent the past three years as CEO of the chamber. Frierson has spent the past few years working for Amazon as director of West Coast economic development. He also worked at Los Angeles City Hall as director of economic policy during Eric Garcetti’s tenure as mayor.

Halden has spent the past 13 years in various roles working for the city of Los Angeles and for former L.A. City Council members Tom LaBonge and Mitch O’Farrell.

“I’m thrilled to partner with Ron and the Chamber team to deliver impactful programs, provide exceptional value to our members, and enhance the Hollywood experience for all,” Halden said. “The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce plays a vital role in supporting local businesses, advocating for economic development and maintaining Hollywood’s status as a premier destination for entertainment, tourism, commerce and beyond.”

Jerry Neuman, chair of the chamber’s board of directors, hailed the appointments of two seasoned civic veterans.

“I could not be more excited to have Ron as the face of the Chamber and ambassador to the community and industry as he will bring the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to a level never before seen. Dan represents a powerful combination of vision and operational excellence,” Neuman said. “Together with Dan their leadership will not only build on the work we have accomplished so far but will drive innovation and growth for our members and broader Hollywood community.”

Tim Cook is stepping down at Apple‘s CEO after 15 years. John Ternus, senior VP of hardware engineering, will become Apple’s next chief executive officer, the company announced.

Cook will become executive chairman of Apple’s board of directors and Ternus will become its next CEO effective Sept. 1, 2026. The transition, which was approved unanimously by the board of directors, follows “a thoughtful, long-term succession planning process,” the company said.

“It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be the CEO of Apple and to have been trusted to lead such an extraordinary company,” Cook said in a statement. “I love Apple with all of my being, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with a team of such ingenious, innovative, creative, and deeply caring people who have been unwavering in their dedication to enriching the lives of our customers and creating the best products and services in the world.”

Cook, 65, first joined Apple in March 1998 and was named CEO in August 2011, shortly before the death of co-founder and previous CEO Steve Jobs. Prior to that, Cook was the tech giant’s COO and served as head of Apple’s Macintosh division.

Ternus, 50, joined the executive team in 2021 as SVP of hardware engineering. Throughout his 25-year tenure so far at Apple, Ternus has overseen hardware engineering work on a variety of products across every category. The company said he was “instrumental” in the launch of multiple new product lines, including iPad and AirPods, as well as many generations of products across iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch. Ternus joined Apple’s product design team in 2001.

“I am profoundly grateful for this opportunity to carry Apple’s mission forward,” Ternus said in a statement. “Having spent almost my entire career at Apple, I have been lucky to have worked under Steve Jobs and to have had Tim Cook as my mentor. It has been a privilege to help shape the products and experiences that have changed so much of how we interact with the world and with one another.”

Regarding Ternus, Cook said that he “has the mind of an engineer, the soul of an innovator, and the heart to lead with integrity and with honor. He is a visionary whose contributions to Apple over 25 years are already too numerous to count, and he is without question the right person to lead Apple into the future. I could not be more confident in his abilities and his character, and I look forward to working closely with him on this transition and in my new role as executive chairman.”

Arthur Levinson, who has been Apple’s non-executive chairman for the past 15 years, will become its lead independent director on Sept. 1 with the CEO changeover. Ternus will join the board of directors on the same date.

More to come.

Disney+ Japan has struck a multi-year co-development agreement with The Seven, Inc. to produce Japanese-language live-action series exclusively for the platform, with titles destined for audiences in Japan and worldwide.

The deal – Disney’s first ongoing content development tie-up with a Japanese production company for global streaming – will see Disney’s creative team working alongside The Seven from the ground up.

The Seven, a Tokyo-based outfit owned by TBS Holdings (Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings, Inc.), was launched at the end of 2021. Under the new framework, Disney and The Seven will build a pipeline of original series, combining their respective creative strengths. The company also holds a multi-year production partnership with Netflix, under which it has produced titles including “Alice in Borderland” and “Yu Yu Hakusho.”

Carol Choi, executive vice president of original content strategy at The Walt Disney Company APAC, said: “Since the launch of Disney+ in Japan, general entertainment and local originals have become an increasingly important part of our content offering, making this collaboration a natural evolution in accelerating our content investment.”

Narita Gaku, executive director of content production at The Walt Disney Company Japan, added: “We aim to nurture distinctive Japanese stories that feel authentic, enduring, and genuinely meaningful to audiences.”

Setoguchi Katsuaki, president and CEO of The Seven, said: “I am confident that by unleashing the refined creativity of The Seven through Disney’s extensive network and expertise, we can evolve Japanese stories into the next craze that people truly fall in love with. We will continue to transcend borders and language barriers in pursuit of authentic and innovative works that remain etched in the hearts of viewers forever.”

Vice president and chief creative officer Morii Akira – who produced both seasons of “Alice in Borderland” – added: “In finding a partner who shares our aspirations, I feel both an expansion of possibilities and a profound sense of responsibility. Our mission is to take Japan’s signature delicate human dramas and intricate settings and elevate them into top-tier entertainment that anyone – regardless of border or race – can feel is their own story.”

The partnership comes as Disney+ continues to build its Japanese-language slate. The platform has previously released Japanese live-action titles including “Gannibal” and “Disney Twisted-Wonderland: The Animation,” alongside international originals such as FX’s “Shōgun,” which drew significant viewership. Japan remains one of the platform’s key markets in the Asia-Pacific region.