Tag: Entertainment-Variety

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for the “Paradise” Season 2 finale, now streaming on Hulu.

Xavier Collins (Sterling K. Brown) has a new mission heading into “Paradise” Season 3 — but whether he’ll accept it is left up for debate by the end of the second-season finale of the Dan Fogelman drama, which released Monday on Hulu.

In the final episode of “Paradise” Season 2, titled “Exodus,” it’s revealed that the “Alex” that Sinatra (Julianne Nicholson) has been hiding away is a super computer more advanced than any AI has ever been, to the point where it’s potentially capable of time travel. The device was created by Link (Thomas Doherty), who is now hellbent on shutting it down as he fears it has fully taken on a mind of its own and could be a detriment to the remaining people of Earth rather than a saving grace.

At the same time, Sinatra has formed the theory that not only is Link is actually (somehow, thanks to Alex) her deceased son, Dylan, but that Alex is the key to reversing what happened to the Earth, and Xavier is the one who needs to solve it. Why Xavier? Alex has provided instructions for a “User X,” whom Sinatra has surmised is Xavier. And before Sinatra sacrifices herself to shutdown the bunker while everyone else escapes its destruction, she tells Xavier he has to be the one to go to Alex and save them all — because she thinks he somehow already has in the future, leading to timeline anomalies like Link/Dylan.

“I think this is Fogelman’s exploration of the multiverse. Any show that’s dealing with genre and science fiction or whatnot eventually loves to play around with the idea of, is time travel a possibility?” Brown told Variety. “And what are the rules that dictate our excursion into time travel? The first time that I really got geeked over it was ‘Back to the Future.’ So you’ve seen Marvel has dealt with the multiverse and all the different timelines. ‘Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ has done its own specific thing as well. I find it intriguing, because ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ is more real than people think. And it unlocks your brain in such a way that whatever you think is possible can be possible if you can conceive it.”

Brown continued: “And so now that this is introduced into our world, I think the question is, what do you really want? Do you want to go back? Do you want to move forward and leave it alone? Is it too mysterious to play with, to even tinker with, or is it too compelling to not? And different people have different decisions to make based upon where they are in life at that particular time. And you’ll see how that plays out over the course of Season 3.”

“Paradise” executive producer and Season 2 finale co-writer John Hoberg confirms that creator Fogelman’s plan is still a three-season arc, with the upcoming Season 3 — which will begin filming April 7 — serving as a “pretty definitive” ending for the story.

“If you think about where all of our characters are and what we were left with at the end, which is Xavier has been given this task by Sinatra to go to this second bunker, the question for me is, is he going to?” Hoberg teased. “Does he believe in what Sinatra is up to? Is Sinatra actually up to good? Does this machine do what she thinks? Or is she actually just dealing with her own grief, like she said? And will Xavier answer the call to do what she wants? I don’t know if I can name a specific genre [to describe Season 3], but I do know we’re going with, Xavier has been given a task, and I’m asking myself, is he going to follow through on this? And what are the repercussions if he does and if he doesn’t?”

What makes Xavier the chosen one in this case? Hoberg promises “Paradise” will answer that burning question, and many more, before the series ends. In fact, it’s been a mission of Fogelman and the “Paradise” writers’ room (which just pitched the series finale outline to Brown last week) to not leave any big loose ends: “There is a reason why Xavier is User X, and we’ll find that out,” Hoberg said.

“I think from Season 1, we established the moral compass that is Agent Collins, and that he’s willing to make difficult decisions for the greater good,” Brown added. “There’s something about him and why Dr. Torabi chose him to be part of the president’s Secret Service detail in the first place to come to the bunker that makes him uniquely equipped to deal with difficult situations in the clearest way possible.”

Meanwhile, Link/Dylan is also dealing with an identity crisis: He’s maybe Sinatra’s son, he’s definitely the father of the now-deceased Annie’s (Shailene Woodley) infant daughter, and he’s potentially still leading the crusade to take down Alex.

“He knows that it’s feasible. Is it true? We don’t know yet. We’re going to find that out, definitely, in Season 3, so that’s why I don’t want to say too much on that,” Doherty said. “I think with Season 3, we’ll start to see all this information — I mean, one of those things, individually is hard to compute, to comprehend, never mind process it. I think we’ll see him start to process his daughter. We will start to see how he’s processed Sinatra potentially being his mother. We will start to see the loss of Annie.”

Though nothing can be confirmed yet. Brown says that the “coincidence” of Link/Dylan’s name and birthday is “beyond mere coincidence, but more like a coincidence.”

“There are things that we actually had in that finale that got cut that go a little bit further in trying to explain the connection,” Brown said. “I think they ultimately decided to take them out, because I don’t know if the science scienced, exactly. What can I say? Oh, my God! They are obviously connected. I don’t think it is just her grief working out. There’s a connection.”

By the end of the “Paradise” Season 2 finale, Xavier’s family has been reunited, but his wife Teri (Enuka Okuma) and children Presley (Aliyah Mastin) and James (Percy Daggs IV) now face a new challenge, along with the thousands of other people who have just been expelled from the now-destroyed bunker.

“You got the 10,000 people that Link had, the 20,000 people that were inside the bunker,” Brown said. “There’s no central leadership. You could say Link is leading the folks on the outside — but there’s a mass amount of people that came to do something and now it’s a matter of, do they continue on to destroy Alex? Do they change course? Is Alex not as important anymore? What do the people inside the bunker decide to do? Are they going to stay together? Are they going to branch off and try to find their own people? There’s going to be a lot of different groups that disperse throughout Season 3 and we will follow all of them.”

Doherty says that in “Paradise” Season 3 “it’ll be really, really interesting” to watch the dynamic between Link/Dylan and Xavier, as Dylan looks to parent his infant daughter (brought to him by Xavier only the “holy charge” from Annie) and continue on his quest.

“I think that they’re cut from a very similar cloth, but I think Xavier is a lot more settled as a human being. He’s older, he’s more experienced, he’s got more composure; whereas, where we leave Dylan, he’s still kind of full of spunk and full of justice,” Doherty said. “And, like younger people generally are, he’s got that testosterone and that, like, ‘this is the right thing to do,’ compelling them. It’ll be quite interesting for him to be around someone that shares very, very similar beliefs, but is also more of a realist than him. Is Dylan gonna learn from him, or is he gonna fight against Xavier?”

Xavier has other problems to deal with to: now that he’s reunited with his thought-to-be-dead wife, he’s got to explain his one-night stand with Dr. Torabi (Sarah Shahi) to Teri. “You will see in Season 3 that it has obviously been brought to her attention,” Brown said. “And you will see how they manage it as a couple. We’re not just gonna slide over it.”

Overall, the Collins family is happy to be back together, but much has changed in just the few years they’ve been apart as Xavier and the kids have lived in the bunker and Teri has survived on the outside.

“I think it’s a very different setup,” Brown said. “We also have two more white babies with us. Delightful welcomes to the tribe. I think he’s happy as a pig in slop to be with his wife, to be with his children. They obviously have been displaced, so they have to find out, what does life look like for them now, where they’re going to go, where they’re going to set up, who’s going to be a part of their tribe? His daughter’s getting older. She’s got a boyfriend, she’s walking off from her daddy. So there’ll be different challenges in terms of that dynamic. There’s gonna be something really interesting with our two newest members as well, with Bean and Annie. Now, Annie’s obviously with her dad, but there’s something there will be something there, too. The dynamics have shifted, and the shift causes a certain degree of friction which will compel us into action for Season 3.”

Eli Roth‘s The Horror Section and Mass Appeal, the entertainment company founded by Grammy-winning rapper Nas, have entered into a strategic partnership. Through the partnership, which includes an investment from Mass Appeal into The Horror Section, the two entities will collaborate across many aspects of the business, including having Roth and Nas co-develop film and television projects. The alliance will kick off with Nas and Mass Appeal CEO Peter Bittenbender boarding Roth’s upcoming film “Ice Cream Man” as executive producers. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Nas is one of the most influential storytellers and cultural voices of all time and we bonded instantly over our mutual love of horror,” said Roth in a statement. “We are thrilled to partner with Mass Appeal with its unmatched pulse on culture and what truly resonates. I look forward to collaborating with Nas, Peter, and the entire Mass Appeal team, starting with bringing ‘Ice Cream Man’ to theaters worldwide and creating cultural events in the horror space for audiences everywhere.”

Mass Appeal said the deal will allow the company to dive deeper into feature films, specifically in the horror genre, which is a specialty of Roth, the director of “Hostel” and “Knock Knock.”

“I’m proud to come together and partner with Eli to bring these films to life and push the boundaries of what horror can be, both culturally and creatively,” said Nas in a statement. “Eli and I shared the same vision from the beginning and partnering with him and The Horror Section feels natural. I’m excited to take the genre in an exciting new direction, and ‘Ice Cream Man’ is just the beginning.”

“Ice Cream Man” is Roth’s first film under The Horror Section’s banner, following the company’s launch in March 2025. The film follows a summer town descending into madness when an ice cream man serves kids sweet delights with horrifying results. The Horror Section recently announced it acquired “Stiletto,” the latest horror feature from director Samuel Gonzalez Jr. starring Gigi Gustin, Charlotte McKinney, Colleen Camp, Meghan Carrasquillo, Stephen Blackehart, and Hannah Hueston.

Nas and Mass Appeal most recently spearheaded the “Legend Has It…” series celebrating and spotlighting some of the most important Hip Hop artists of all time. The series included a year-long run of releases from influential artists, including Slick Rick, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Mobb Deep, Big L and De La Soul. Nas and DJ Premier brought the series to a close with the release of their long-awaited collaborative album “Light-Years” via Mass Appeal.

Roth is represented by WME. Nas is represented by The Lede Company.

He’s Ezio Auditore da Firenze from the “Assassin’s Creed” franchise. He’s Chris Redfield in “Resident Evil.” He’s Kyle Crane of “Dying Light.” He’s Raphael from “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” He’s Batman in “Arkham Shadow.”

He’s Roger Craig Smith, and he’s been the voice of dozens of iconic video game characters over the past two decades. But this year, he’s celebrating the 35th anniversary of what is inarguably his biggest role: Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog.

“Not a day goes by where — and part of this is because we get to do these fan convention circuits now, where you go out and you travel the world literally, and meet people from all over the world that bring you their Sonic fan art,” Smith told Variety. “They bring you their stories about what that game and what that character meant to them from way back in their childhood. And it started landing for me a few years ago, when I’d have somebody in their 30s go, ‘Bro, you’re like the voice of my childhood.’ And I thought, but you’re 30? And then all of a sudden I’ll be like, that’s right, I’ve got these white whiskers showing up now. And it was because they started playing when they were 15 or 16, and I’ve been voicing Sonic for 16 years now. And so I have to pinch myself every day to think, it’s one thing to have somebody like yourself want to talk to me about something that I’ve done for 20 years in a very cutthroat and challenging industry, to have had a career of over 20 years and still be staying busy is lightning striking more than once, in that regard. But then to also say, I’ve voiced iconic game characters and things that have had an influence on people throughout the years, it’s very surreal. It never gets old.”

Smith notes that “there’s never been a better time” to be working as the blue hedgehog, as the Sega IP is at peak popularity with Ben Schwartz voicing Sonic in the Paramount film franchise and Deven Mack leading the Netflix animated show. And as Sonic turns 35 this year, Smith has more in the works than ever, including an upcoming appearance at gaming event IGN Live, running June 6-7 in Los Angeles.

“What I know that I can say is that I’m extremely excited to be a part of this,” Smith said, when asked if he’ll be joining IGN Live to reveal something tied to Sonic’s big birthday. “It is such a cool event, and I cannot wait to get out there and be a part of the energy that’s in that room, and get to participate in whatever way they want us to participate. It’s gonna be a very, very fun event. I wish I could give more details and that kind of thing, but I think that’s for IGN to spill the beans on, and I will play it safe and just go: I’m excited, I can’t wait to be in Los Angeles and be a part of this massive, massive event. It’s the worst thing about my job, I would violate all the NDAs. There’s exciting stuff coming down the pike and I am so stoked for the 35th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog. There couldn’t be a better time to be a part of something like that. So I’m tight lipped but expressing my intrigue and my excitement, we’ll leave it there.”

What’s that? You aren’t familiar with Sonic? Oh, then Smith has a first runnerup answer to the question of his most impactful role: The narrator of TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress.”

“There’s something very funny about what I do for a living where it’s like, if you and I sat on a plane next to each other and suddenly, if I even bothered to say, ‘Oh yeah, this is what I do,’ — very often, the next question is, ‘Anything I would have heard of?’” Smith said. “And depending upon the age or the background, it could be anything, right? I’m like, ‘Are you a big gamer? Or do you like anime?’ But it seems like across the board, if somebody’s not heard of Sonic the Hedgehog, or Kyle Crane, or any of these other characters or things that I’ve done, if I mentioned that, somebody always goes, ‘Oh!’ Or my favorite is the tough guy who always goes, ‘I don’t watch that show, but my girlfriend watches,’ or my wife, and then, like, five minutes later they go, ‘So wasn’t there an episode where the grandma got stuck in the parking lot?’ Oh, yeah, you don’t watch.”

As “Say Yes to the Dress” maintains its relevance through old clips turned into viral videos circulating on TikTok, Smith will happily claim the credit with pride — just don’t ask him what he learned from it.

“Fourteen seasons, multiple different series,” Smith said. “They had the Atlanta show and all these different spinoffs that they had done. And it was a blast. And to this day, I think people think I know things about wedding dresses, and I assure you, I know nothing about wedding dresses.”

Six more actors are saying bonjour to “The White Lotus.”

Joining the cast of the France-set season of Mike White’s HBO dramedy are Heather Graham (“They Will Kill You,” “Chosen Family”), Rosie Perez (“The Flight Attendant,” “Your Honor”), Ben Schnetzer (“The Madison,” “Y: The Last Man”), Tobias Santelmann (“Detective Hole,” “The Last Kingdom”), Frida Gustavsson (“Faithless,” “Vikings: Valhalla”) and Laura Smet (“Eager Bodies,” “The Bridesmaid”).

Per HBO, casting is still ongoing for “The White Lotus” Season 4. This crop of vacationers joins previously announced cast members Chloe Bennet, Sandra Bernhard, Helena Bonham Carter, Vincent Cassel, Steve Coogan, Caleb Jonte Edwards, Dylan Ennis, Corentin Fila, Ari Graynor, Max Greenfield, Charlie Hall, Marissa Long, Alexander Ludwig, Chris Messina, AJ Michalka, Kumail Nanjiani, Jarrad Paul and Nadia Tereszkiewicz.

The series will begin production in April in France, where it will film at several locations across the French Riviera and Paris. In January, Variety reported that one of such venues is a 19th-century palace-turned-luxury hotel called the Château de La Messardière in Saint-Tropez on the Côte d’Azur.

“The White Lotus” is created by White, who executive produces with David Bernad and Mark Kamine. The show first debuted in 2021 with a tight season set in Hawaii, followed by stories in Italy and Thailand. Each season has featured at least one cast member carrying over from the last. Jennifer Coolidge anchored the first two seasons, while Season 3 featured a face-off between original season cast members Natasha Rothwell and Jon Gries.

The show has been nominated for 66 Emmys across its first three installments, winning 16.

Deadline broke the news.

Sony Music has appointed Ezekiel “Zeke” Lewis as chairman and CEO of Epic Records, the company announced Monday.

Lewis had served as Epic’s president since 2023, leading the A&R division while helping run the label’s day-to-day operations, which he and GM Rick Sackheim have been covering since longtime chair/CEO Sylvia Rhone stepped down late last year. Lewis joine Epic in 2018 as the executive VP of A&R.

He will report to Sony Music Group chairman Rob Stringer.

A Grammy-winning songwriter and producer, Lewis has worked closely with many artists throughout his tenure at Epic, including 21 Savage, Madison Beer, BIA, Black Eyed Peas, Future, Giveon, Zara Larsson, Mariah the Scientist, Travis Scott, Southside, Meghan Trainor, Tyla and others.

Prior to Epic, Lewis served as senior VP of A&R at Motown Records, where he worked with Ne-Yo, Erykah Badu, Migos, Lil Yachty, T.I., and Rich Homie Quan. Earlier in Lewis’ career, his work included co-writing and co-producing hit records for Justin Bieber, Mary J. Blige, Usher, and many others.

“I am truly humbled by the trust Rob has placed in me to lead this incredible label,” Lewis said in a statement. “Music has always been about the artist, their vision, their voice, their story. Everything we build here starts and ends with that belief. My focus, from day one, is to make this the best home for recording artists anywhere in the world. In a digital-first landscape full of noise and distraction, we have an opportunity to cut through and give creators something rare: a place where they are genuinely seen, supported, and set up to thrive. That is the mission, and I do not take it lightly.”

Said Stringer, “Through his experience and knowledge in a senior creative capacity at Epic over the last eight years, Zeke is eminently qualified to take the label forward as its leader. Not only I am very pleased to make an appointment like this based on the executive growth of an internal candidate, but also because Zeke is highly respected and trusted by the artists and staff at Sony Music. I look forward to working together with him and his team on magnifying the musical vision of Epic Records.”

Anthony Chen’s Berlinale Competition film “We Are All Strangers” has been acquired by Film Movement for the U.S. and Canada.

Film Movement is planning a theatrical release for the film, which made history as the first Singaporean movie to compete in Berlin’s competition. It will next play on opening night of the 50th Hong Kong Film Festival on April 1.

“With ‘We Are All Strangers,’ Anthony Chen has crafted a timely family saga that captures the social and economic structures that define contemporary life, filtering them through the grounded and human motivations of its vividly etched characters,” said Michael Rosenberg, Film Movement’s president, who negotiated the deal with Paradise City’s head of sales Alexandre Moreau. “We’re thrilled for North American audiences to discover and connect with Chen’s globally resonant, moving vision,” he continued.

The U.S. distribution company previously handed Chen’s debut “Ilo Ilo” which won the Caméra d’Or at Cannes.

“We Are All Strangers” rounds out what Chen has called his “Growing Up” trilogy, a body of work that started with “Ilo Ilo” and continued with “Wet Season.”

Set in contemporary Singapore, the new film again features Yeo Yann Yann and Koh Jia Ler, who have appeared throughout the trilogy and explores the evolving bonds between generations.

Chen’s 2023 movie, “Drift,” opened at the Sundance Film Festival and was also sold by Paradise City Sales.

Along with the North American deal, Paradise City Sales has also recently sold “We Are All Strangers” to Germany and Austria (Rapid Eye), Eastern Europe (HBO CEE), Airlines (Encore) and Turkey (Filmarti).

The movie previously sold to ARP Selection (France), Curzon (U.K. and Ireland), Elastica Films (Spain), Trigon Film (Switzerland), A-One Films (Baltics), Ama Films (Greece), Golden Scene (Hong Kong), Movicloud (Taiwan), Challan (South Korea), PT Falcon (Indonesia) and Moving Turtle (Middle East and North Africa)

“We Are All Strangers” was written and directed by Chen and produced by Teoh Yi Peng, Huang Wenhong and Anthony Chen for Giraffe Pictures. With Joe Tsai, Arthur Wang, KH Kuok serving as executive producers, and Julia Song as co-executive producer. Financing comes from 127 Wall Productions, Jasper Productions and the Singapore Film Commission with support from the Red Sea Fund and the MPA APSA Academy Film Fund.

Film Movement’s recent slate includes Chie Hayakawa’s “Renoir,” Dominik Moll’s “Case 137” and Neo Sora’s “Happyend,” among others.

Blackpink’s Lisa has announced her first Las Vegas residency, “Viva La Lisa,” coming to the Colosseum at Caesars Palace for two weekends: Nov. 13 and 14 and Nov. 27 and 28.

The announcement makes Lisa the first K-Pop artist to stage a Las Vegas residency. 

To participate in the presale beginning Wednesday, April 22 at 10 a.m. PT, fans can sign up from Wednesday, April 1 at 10 a.m. PT through Sunday, April 19 at 10 p.m. PT. For artist presales on Ticketmaster, no code is needed – access is tied to the user’s account.

The artist presale runs Wednesday, April 22 from 10 a.m. PT through 10 p.m. PT. The general on sale begins Thursday, April 23 at 10 a.m. PT at ticketmaster.com.

The residency follows the release of Lisa’s debut solo album, “Alter Ego,” last year, as well as a Blackpink tour last year and a new EP, “Deadline,” released last month.

Lisa, who starred in the hit HBO series “Black Lotus,” is also the subject of a documentary announced last year. According to the announcement, the film follows one year in the life of the singer-actor, in which she and the other members of Blackpink focused on their solo projects. The doc is directed by filmmaker Sue Kim, who helmed A24’s award-winning documentary, “The Last of the Sea Women.”

VIVA LA LISA DATES:

Friday, November 13 – The Colosseum at Caesars Palace

Saturday, November 14- The Colosseum at Caesars Palace

Friday, November 27- The Colosseum at Caesars Palace

Saturday, November 28 – The Colosseum at Caesars Palace

Historical drama “The King’s Warden” continued its record-breaking trajectory during the weekend of March 27–29, crossing the 15 million admissions milestone at the South Korean box office.

Already the highest-grossing film of all time in South Korea, the feature added $3.3 million over the weekend to bring its cumulative gross to an unprecedented $99.4 million – just shy of the historic $100 million mark.

The film, directed by Jang Hang-jun and starring Yoo Hae-jin and Park Ji-hoon, drew 511,901 admissions over the three-day period, bringing its total attendance to 15,615,948. While it has already claimed the crown for absolute revenue (surpassing the $93.7 million held by “Extreme Job”), it is now rapidly closing in on the all-time attendance records. The film currently ranks third in total admissions, now less than 650,000 tickets away from overtaking “Extreme Job” (16.26 million) for the No. 2 spot on the all-time list.

In second place, Hollywood science-fiction epic “Project Hail Mary” maintained a strong presence, earning $2.9 million from 391,882 admissions. The film has reached a cumulative gross of $8.6 million with total admissions of 1,150,694 since its Mar. 18 debut. The adaptation secured a 37.57% revenue share, continuing to perform well as the primary alternative to the local leader.

Japanese animated feature “Detective Conan the Movie: The Last Wizard of the Century” debuted in third place, earning $330,899 over the weekend. The plot centers on the heist of a newly discovered Imperial Easter Egg – a priceless Romanov artifact – targeted by the Phantom Thief Kid. As Conan investigates, he uncovers a deeper mystery involving the Russian revolution and a deadly assassin known as Scorpion. The film has grossed $360,912 since its Mar. 27 launch.

Pixar’s “Hoppers” took fourth place, adding $289,973 to reach a cumulative total of $4.6 million. It was followed by a resurgence for “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle Arc,” which earned $187,608 from 25 screens. The film’s total South Korean gross now stands at $40.8 million.

Japanese anime “Attack on Titan The Movie : The Last Attack” took sixth place, earning $131,936 for a total of $7 million. French animated adventure “Pets on a Train” (Volez-vous !) debuted in seventh place, earning $57,094. It was followed by the action-thriller “Protector” in eighth place, which grossed $54,214 over the weekend and since its Mar. 25 debut, it has earned $104,344.

Peter Chan Ho-sun’s 1997 Hong Kong classic “Comrades: Almost A Love Story” re-entered the charts in ninth place following a re-release, earning $51,022 and has a total of $103,081. Rounding out the top 10 was the family musical “The Bath Fairy,” which earned $40,749 over the weekend for a total of $51,186. Based on the bestseller by Baek Hee-na, the film captures a live stage performance of the story about a young girl who meets a magical elderly fairy in an old neighborhood bathhouse.

The overall market collective gross for the weekend was $7.9 million, a steep drop from last week’s $15.5 million.