Jenelle Riley: Last News

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page. Yellow Dot Studios wants to save the Earth — and entertain you along the way. Oscar winner Adam McKay has launched the non-profit studio with the intent of creating videos and other materials that will raise awareness of climate change and other issues, often told with comedy. It’s a high-wire act McKay has become adept at, having previously tackled material like the 2007-08 financial crisis (“The Big Short”), politics (“Vice”) and climate change (“Don’t Look Up”).

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page. Jason Henkel came to Los Angeles in 1993 to pursue an acting career, before he pivoted to working in animation production. But his experiences as a performer helped show him the kind of casting director he didn’t want to be. “I didn’t want to go into a field where I secretly felt, ‘I could do this better,’” he says. “And from the moment I became involved with voiceover, watching these amazing actors who were so great at manipulating their voices, I knew I could never do what they do.”

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page. Considering Ray Romano has worn so many hats in his career – comedian, actor, writer, producer – it’s hard to believe that the multi-hyphenate had never directed before. When I mention I assumed he had at least directed one of the 210 episodes of his acclaimed series “Everybody Loves Raymond,” Romano jokes: “Me too. I thought I must have directed one of them, right? But no, I had never done it.” So it comes as a surprise not only to audiences but to Romano himself that he’s making his directorial debut with the feature film “Somewhere in Queens,” a poignant comedy about a working-class Italian family that hits theaters this weekend. The film is so resonant in so many ways and handled in such an assured way, it’s shocking to realize this is a director’s first movie – let alone one who had to be talked into doing it.

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page. Sometimes, you find startling accuracy in the most unlikely places. Codependency and toxic relationships have long been fodder for film and television, but lately there’s been a batch of quality entertainment that does an excellent job of depicting the reality of an unhealthy relationship — and the struggle to break free from one. Surprisingly, it’s comedic entertainment that seems to be doing it best as of late. Take the first season of the Apple TV+ comedy “Shrinking,” which depicts a therapist (Jason Segel) trying to help a client (Heidi Gardner) break up with her verbally and emotionally abusive husband. It’s a character arc that rings only too true, expertly captured by “Saturday Night Live” breakout Gardner. Over on HBO Max, the animated series “Harley Quinn” has spent three seasons showing how its titular character starts a new life out from under the shadow of the ultimate toxic boyfriend, the Joker. While it’s a fantastical story that uses heroes and villains with superpowers, the metaphor is apt — Harley Quinn has no identity outside of her famous paramour and has to rebuild her life, and self-worth, on her own.

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor Pictured: Casting directors Katja Zarolinski and Geoff Josselson of JZ Casting. This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page. Casting director Geoff Josselson just checked off a major bucket list item. When he was asked what show he dreamed of casting, he would say “Into the Woods.” And just last year, working with Telsey Casting, Josselson was part of the team that assembled the heralded Broadway revival starring Sara Bareilles, Brian D’Arcy James and Joshua Henry. Josselson is on a bit of a Stephen Sondheim spree — with Telsey he also helped cast the new production of “Sweeney Todd,” starring Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford. And he and his partner at JZ Casting, Katja Zarolinski, just collaborated for the first time with the Pasadena Playhouse to cast “A Little Night Music,” playing at the theater April 25-May 1. 

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large On Sunday, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” appeared to be everything, everywhere, all at once. The film, of course, dominated the 95th Oscars with seven wins — including best picture. Virtually all the stars (except Stephanie Hsu — hey Daniels, can you spare one of your SIX Oscars and share one with her??) received wins, on what was truly a historic night. And an emotional one. As the opening clips of this week’s Variety Awards Circuit Podcast illustrates, family was on the minds of this year’s winners. Listen to our Mega Roundtable edition, in which Clayton Davis, Jenelle Riley, Jazz Tangcay and myself (that’s me, Michael Schneider) recount the show and dissect the winners — from Jimmy Kimmel’s excellent monologue to how every single category panned out:

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page. The Academy Awards are this Sunday and it’s actually been a great year for film and particularly actors. So many of them have been recognized with nominations or wins, between the Oscars and the SAG Awards, not to mention BAFTA, Golden Globes, Critics Choice, Gotham and Independent Spirit Awards.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large It all comes down to this weekend. Variety’s Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Jenelle Riley and Michael Schneider dissect the Oscar categories one last time and share final predictions on this week’s edition of the award-winning Variety Awards Circuit podcast. It’s a Mega Roundtable of the podcast, as the team goes through every category and offers up their final thoughts. Will “Everything Everywhere All at Once” sweep the night? Or are some surprises in store? Listen along as you fill out your office Oscars pool: Here are some of the potential wins that the team is rooting for:

Selome Hailu Craig Gillespie has entered a first look deal with Tomorrow Studios, a subsidiary of ITV Studios. The deal represents an expansion of Gillespie’s partnership with Tomorrow, as the studio is already behind the Apple TV+ comedy series “Physical. Gillespie serves as a director on “Physical” and executive produces alongside Tomorrow Studios CEO Marty Adelstein and partner and president Becky Clements. Along with “Physical,” which is currently in production on its third season, Gillespie’s television credits include serving as a director and executive producer of Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy” and “Mike.” In film, he is best known for directing “I, Tonya,” “Cruella” and “Lars and the Real Girl.”

Variety asked editors Peter Debruge, Clayton Davis, Tim Gray, and Jenelle Riley, to answer four questions about this past year in film and discuss its standout moments. The questions are: 1. How would you rate 2022’s films against previous years? 2. What was the most important issue this year for the industry?  3. What film inspired you the most this year?

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page. Sometimes due to article lengths or just time, there are some fun tales from interviews and Q&As that don’t make their way into stories. So I’ve decided to include a round-up here. Enjoy! The Accent in “Tár” Has Surprising Origins If you’re not already aware, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation is a non-profit org that provides several resources and emergency assistance to SAG-AFTRA artists. It also hosts fantastic Q&As that really dive deep into the acting process and for the recent SAG Awards, organizers hosted several panels with contenders in different categories. I was honored to moderate a few, including one for the lead female actor in a film with nominees Ana de Armas (“Blonde”), Cate Blanchett (“Tár”), Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”) and Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once).”

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page. Charlie Mackesy always thought Tom Hollander would make a great mole.  More specifically, the artist who wrote and illustrated the bestselling 2019 book “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse” felt the British actor was a wonderful match to voice one of his characters in the short film adaptation he co-directed with Peter Baynton. The film, now streaming on Apple TV + has charmed audiences worldwide and is nominated for an Academy Award for animated short film. 

Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards, Features Editor Though his movies have made billions at the box office and he’s been awarded pretty much every major accolade, from the Oscars to the Emmys to a Grammy, Ron Howard has achieved an honor even more rare: He’s maintained his reputation as one of the nicest guys in the business. It’s why the team behind Fox’s animated hit “The Simpsons” got such a kick out of portraying Howard as the ultimate Hollywood stereotype in his several appearances on the show. Howard would show up, often clad in a baseball cap and bathrobe while sipping a martini — even at a movie premiere or going to a special zoo for famous people. (For the record, Howard knew how his cartoon doppelgänger would be drawn: “I was in on the joke,” he assures Variety.)

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorAllyson Felix, the most decorated female track and field athlete in Olympic in history with seven gold medal wins from 2012 to 2021, retired from her sport earlier this year but promptly shifted her focus to a new competitive landscape: the business world.Felix has launched a women’s lifestyle brand, Saysh, that is designed to cater to the needs of female athletes and active women. Speaking about her career transition at Variety‘s Sports and Entertainment Breakfast on July 21, Felix expressed her excitement for the growing number of opportunities that await star female athletes as media personalities, investors and entrepreneurs when they decide to come off the field.Snowboarding star Chloe Kim, who has two gold medals to date, also appeared at the event, presented by City National Bank at the Maybourne in Beverly Hills, to discuss her burgeoning career as a content producer and the experience of growing up in the public eye as a young female athlete in an unconventional sport.

EXCLUSIVE: LA’s growing Micheaux Film Festival is to open with Travis Fimmel feature Delia’s Gone and will feature panels with Charlie Hunnam, AMPAS, Macro, Fremantle and Paramount. Scroll down for the lineup in full.

Jared Leto rocked a rather dapper look while promoting his Apple TV Plus series WeCrashed in Los Angeles. The 50-year-old actor put in an appearance during a special screening and Q&A panel at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles. He was joined by series creators Lee Eisenberg and Drew Cavello for the panel, moderated by Jenelle Riley.

Jared Leto rocked a rather dapper look while promoting his Apple TV Plus series WeCrashed in Los Angeles.The 50-year-old actor put in an appearance during a special screening and Q&A panel at theDirectors Guild of America in Los Angeles.He was joined by series creators Lee Eisenberg and Drew Cavello for the panel, moderated by Jenelle Riley. Dapper Jared:Jared Leto rocked a rather dapper look while promoting his Apple TV Plus series WeCrashed in Los Angeles Creators:He was joined by series creators Lee Eisenberg and Drew Cavello for the panel, moderated by Jenelle RileyLeto stepped out with an all-black look, with a mostly-unbuttoned black dress shirt and a gold necklace.He also wore black sunglasses on the red carpet with a black coat and black pants which had red stripes up the legs.

Fifty Shades Of Grey star Dakota Johnson dished Tuesday that she is mulling the prospect of directing an upcoming project.The 32-year-old dropped the bombshell during a panel chat at Variety's Entertainment Marketing Summit atNeueHouse Los Angeles.Dakota, who was onstage to discuss her production company TeaTime Pictures, revealed that she may take the helm of one of its scripts as she gets 'jealous' at the thought of another director assuming control. Letting slip:Fifty Shades Of Grey star Dakota Johnson dished Tuesday that she is mulling the prospect of directing an upcoming projectKatie O'Connnell, a partner at TeaTime pictures, spilled: 'There’s a script from a writer that is one of those things where we could have taken it out and pitched it.

Selome Hailu There’s a quote from the 13th century Persian poet Rumi that sticks with Dakota Johnson as she navigates the early years of running her production company: “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”When asked what kinds of films TeaTime Pictures is looking to produce, it’s Rumi that Johnson returns to: “There’s no credo. There’s no mandate.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeVariety’s Clayton Davis has seen a lot of things. But nothing prepared him for being in the audience at Sunday’s Oscars, and witnessing Will Smith leap on stage and smack Chris Rock — and the awkward aftermath inside the Dolby Theater.“It’s the most uncomfortable I’ve ever been in my life,” Davis says on this week’s special Oscars Recap edition of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast. “And I grew up in the Bronx, where fights happen all the time! I was squirming in my chair, like, I couldn’t function.

Yellowjackets who think it's appropriate to comment on her body: Don't.On January 28, Lynskey opened up about the she's experienced since the Showtime drama premiered in November 2021. The series jumps between 1996 and 2021, tracking the story of a group of teenage girls who survived a plane crash in the remote Canadian wilderness only to be forced to commit unspeakable acts to stay alive.