Mads Mikkelsen Talks Losing the Script for ‘Casino Royale’ on a Plane and Working With ‘Partner in Crime’ Daniel Craig: ‘I Tickled His B—s With a Rope’

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Media and publishing company Condé Nast will lay off upwards of 300 employees, representing 5% of its headcount, and take other cost-reduction measures as it looks to improve efficiency. Condé Nast says it has more than 6,000 employees, meaning the job cuts will eliminate more than 300 roles. The cutbacks were announced by CEO Roger Lynch wrote in a memo to company staff Wednesday.

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor Nurturing young talent and promoting film education is the name of the game at the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, Estonia. The festival will feature a range of events specifically aimed at education promoting both film literacy in schools and vocational training in front of and behind the camera.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Walmart is still trying to make “fetch” happen. The giant retailer hopes to draw new attention to its Black Friday offerings by getting a jump on advertising around the annual holiday-shopping event. To call attention to new offers and low prices, Walmart will unveil a series of commercials featuring members of the cast of the 2004 movie “Mean Girls” reprising their roles — except now they are adults.

Todd Longwell A few years ago, grip-turned-producer Brian Gork and cinematographer Richard Swindell got the idea they could open their own soundstage complex. “We wanted to design a stage that would essentially be something that would be recommended from every department — art, electric or whoever,” says Gork. Back in the 2000s, it might’ve remained just a crazy, unrealized dream. But thanks to the spike in demand for content created by the streaming explosion, Gork and Swindell made their dream a reality with AKS Stages, which the duo co-owns with Sean Pascale.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Former TV news anchors Amy Robach and T. J. Holmes are going to tell their story — and discuss the news of the day — in a new podcast with iHeartMedia.

Mark Sutherland The Hives have been around for 30 years now, but they could end 2023 as Venezuela’s new favorite band. According to their British management company, ATC Management, the Swedish group will become the first major international rock band to appear in the South American territory for a decade, when they headline Caracas’ Concha Acústica de Bello Monte venue on December 7. U.S.

Nick Clement After making a promising directorial debut with 2021’s Western “Old Henry,” filmmaker Potsy Ponciroli is back with the twisted black-comedy thriller “Greedy People,” which harkens back to classic neo-noirs like Sam Raimi’s “A Simple Plan” while sampling the idiosyncrasies of a Coen brothers’ film. The original script, by Mike Vukadinovich (Showtime’s “Kidding”), piles on the narrative swerves, yet never at the expense of logic or motivation, showing off a macabre sense of humor with sharp dialogue. “I read close to 150 scripts in the 10 months after we finished ‘Old Henry,’ and only a few of them made a lasting impression.

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor Estonian producers and companies are looking to reproduce the success of the breakout drama “Traitor” with two new series set for release in 2024. Financed by Estonian streaming company Elisa and featuring local talent both in front of and behind the camera, “Traitor” was the first domestically produced TV show to have international legs.

John Bleasdale Guest Contributor As the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, Estonia, prepares for its 27th edition, Variety spoke with artistic director Tiina Lokk about its ambitions and coming highlights. “If you see the festival like a big building, then all the walls are in and the building is ready, but some rooms are not furnished yet,” Lokk says, before adding philosophically.

Alison Hammond was comically punched on-screen by bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger in a hilarious segment on today's ITV's This Morning.

Chester Bennington’s former band Grey Daze have announced their first-ever UK tour in memory of the late Linkin Park vocalist. Find all the details below.Bennington founded the group with drummer Sean Dowdell in 1993.

Christopher Nolan will be honored by the Federation of American Scientists for his cinematic portrait of J. Robert Oppenheimer in Universal’s Oppenheimer this November. The five-time Oscar nominee will be bestowed with the org’s Public Service Award which recognizes outstanding work in science policy and culture.

Martin Scorsese is weighing in on the release of Barbie and Oppenheimer which he says was the “perfect storm.”

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Martin Scorsese has not seen Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” or Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” but that didn’t stop him from celebrating the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon during a recent interview with the Hindustan Times. Scorsese himself has ties to “Barbie,” as it stars and was produced by his “Wolf of Wall Street” breakout Margot Robbie and shot by his longtime cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto. The latter filmed “Barbie” after wrapping up work on Scorsese’s own “Killers of the Flower Moon.” “I do think that the combination of ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Barbie’ was something special,” Scorsese said.

Mads Mikkelsen is looking back on sharing the screen with James Bond himself.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic Like countless moviegoers around the world, I’m a major fan of Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” But like many of those who saw it, I wasn’t alone in having qualifications about the last part of the movie. For me, the first two hours of “Oppenheimer” were electrifying. I felt the kind of full-scale mind/soul immersion that’s the definition of what we look for when we go to the movies.

With an exclusive menu prepared by chefs and served by footmen on a silver tray, Queen Elizabeth’s pampered pooches dined every day on freshly cooked meat, vegetables, rice and a special gravy, said to be made from Her Majesty’s own recipe.The late Queen described her dogs as her “family”, and over the course of her life she owned more than 30 corgis. Diana, Princess of Wales, once referred to the monarch’s dogs as a “moving carpet” that would accompany her to meetings with world leaders and prime ministers.

Oscar winner Spike Lee has shared some thoughts about two of the highest-profile movie titles of 2023, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon.

EXCLUSIVE: Atlas Literary, part of Oppenheimer producer Atlas Entertainment is headed to Mipcom Cannes next month to launch a docuseries about ordinary people living through extraordinary circumstances.

Star Wars film is expected to fetch £1million.It is part of a collection of more than 1,800 pieces of film and TV memorabilia, including props from Indiana Jones, James Bond and A Nightmare On Elm Street, which are due to go on sale at an auction in London from November 9.Run by Propstore, the head piece worn by Antony Daniels in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope in 1977, is one of the highest valued items in the sale, with an estimated price tag of £500,000 to £1million. “I’m thrilled that Propstore has agreed to curate my collection and I trust that the pieces will go into the right hands,” said Daniels via The Independent.Iconic #movie #memorabilia could raise £11.4m at @propstore_com London auction https://t.co/fpeYxwy9pR— Robb Report UK (@RobbReportUK) October 3, 2023“I hope this can bring pleasure to Star Wars fans and collectors all around the world and give them a chance to own a piece of the real thing.”Other items set to go up for auction include Indiana Jones‘ bullwhip, Freddy Krueger’s glove worn by Robert Englund during A Nightmare On Elm Street which is estimated to sell for between £200,000 and £400,000, Leonardo DiCaprio‘s costume as Jack Dawson in Titanic and the shield used by Chris Evans in Captain America: The First Avenger.Items worn or used by Daniel Craig, Jennifer Lawrence, Marlon Brando and Cillian Murphy will also feature in the auction.Meanwhile, director Guillermo del Toro recently confirmed that he was once set to helm a Star Wars film that never came to fruition.While little is known of the axed film, del Toro’s Star Wars movie would have featured a script by David S.

On the heels of a staggeringly triumphant run with Barbie, the fantastical comedy which she co-wrote and directed for Warner Bros, Greta Gerwig has been appointed by the American Film Institute to serve as Guest Artistic Director of AFI Fest 2023.