‘Power’: Starz Programming Chief On Possibly Resurrecting Ghost, Expanding Universe Overseas

Jamie Lynn Spears, Kate Gosselin and Mel B are among the 16 celebrity contestants competing on Fox’s new reality competition, “Special Forces: The Ultimate Test”, it was announced Wednesday.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Paradigm is turning to local TV and lifestyle stars to help rebuild the agency that has been reshaped by the changing entertainment economy and the wallop of the pandemic. Paradigm Entertainment has acquired three talent agencies from private equity firm Blue Equity to form Paradigm Media Entertainment, which will now be home to Napoli Management Group, 3 Kings Entertainment and Two Twelve Management and Marketing. Napoli Management and 3 Kings both have wide rosters of local TV anchors, reporters, weathercasters and other talent working in markets large and small around the country. Two Twelve focuses on representing chefs and other culinary, hospitality and lifestyle stars.

Selome Hailu Chris Van Amburg has stepped down from his position as head of video marketing at Apple. He announced his exit in a memo sent to staff on Wednesday, citing a desire to spend more time with his family as his reason for leaving the company. Van Amburg joined Apple in September 2018, a year prior to the launch of Apple TV+, and led marketing strategy for the streamer. Projects launched during his tenure include the Emmy-winning comedy series “Ted Lasso” and the Oscar-winning coming-of-age film “CODA.” Before Apple, he worked at Sony Pictures Entertainment for 13 years, where he most recently served as senior vice president of marketing. This is Apple’s second major marketing departure of 2022. As Variety reported exclusively, head of film marketing strategy JP Richards turned in his resignation in May.

Caroline Framke Chief TV Critic In the months after Donald Trump became president and a flush of liberal rage manifested in impassioned Women’s Marches across the country, Hillary Clinton took a sizeable step back from public life. Having been a flashpoint of both controversy and sympathy for her entire adult life, Clinton found herself having to forge a new kind of identity — one that wouldn’t be tied to any kind of political office, but could still use support from those Democrats whose first reaction to Trump’s inauguration was to crochet pink “pussyhats” and march as a unified pink wave of righteous fury. “Gutsy,” Clinton’s new and self-consciously #feminist show produced with her daughter, Chelsea, helps the former candidate do exactly that, tapping everyone from Gloria Steinem to Megan Thee Stallion to explore what it means to be a “gutsy” woman. But watching the show’s eight curated episodes, all of which premiere September 9 on Apple TV+, feels like stepping back in feminism to Clinton’s campaign selling “NASTY WOMAN” T-shirts or Women’s March protesters lifting “IF HILLARY HAD BEEN ELECTED, WE’D BE AT BRUNCH RIGHT NOW” signs. Even with titles like “Gutsy Women Refuse Hate” and “Gutsy Women Have Rebel Hearts,” “Gutsy” bears the appearance of taking on The Hard Questions without doing much to move its conversations forward. Determined to find a silver lining in every cloud, and less furious with the world than annoyed at being misconceived, the Clintons spend much of their time in this series seeking out people who feel the same rather than challenging their own worldviews — or their likely viewers’ — at all.

Clayton Davis If you thought Florian Zeller’s debut film “The Father” was a downer, get ready to fill your handkerchiefs with tears and nose fluids as the credits roll on his sophomore effort, “The Son.” It might be a bruising watch, but the perfectly modulated drama will be an across-the-board contender in all categories including best picture. And it’s a film that puts Hugh Jackman at the forefront of the best actor race for his remarkable performance as a father struggling to help his troubled teenage son (newcomer Zen McGrath).  “The Son,” which debuted at the Venice Film Festival, tells the story of Peter (Jackman), a hard-charging lawyer who agrees to have his son Nicholas (McGrath) live with him after the kid gets in trouble with his school.  Their reunion takes place years after Peter divorced Nicholas’ mother (Laura Dern) and started a new life with his second wife Beth (Vanessa Kirby) and their baby. As the film unfolds, Peter slowly begins to recognize the agonizing torment living within his depressed child.  

Zack Sharf “The Lord of the Rings” cast members Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan banded together on social media to support the diverse casting in Amazon’s new series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” The series, which launched its first two episodes on Sept. 2 to critical acclaim and 25 million global viewers, has been come under fire by racist fans upset by the casting of actors of color in prominent roles. Wood, Boyd and Monaghan posed for a photo wearing t-shirts that features the ears of Middle Earth creatures in various skin tones. “You are all welcome,” Wood’s caption reads. The message is clear: Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan stand by Middle-Earth welcoming diversity just as “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” depicts. Wood included a link to an online store where fans can purchase their own t-shirts with the design on it. The store is also selling a sweatshirt and more clothing items with the same graphic. The shirt as seen in the photo is selling for $22.00. Per the online shop: “50% of all proceeds will go to a charity that support POC.”

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Costume designer Arianne Phillips is no stranger to working on midcentury films. From Brad Pitt’s Hawaiian shirt in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” to Reese Witherspoon’s perky frocks in “Walk the Line,” she’s at home with a variety of 1950s looks. For Olivia Wilde’s dystopian thriller “Don’t Worry Darling,” opening Sept. 23 after bowing at the Venice Film Festival, Phillips channeled a look that was grounded in that era without being ultra-realistic. The film’s stars — Wilde, Florence Pugh, Harry Styles and Chris Pine — look like they’re living a carefree Rat Pack lifestyle, but something is off-kilter. In a seemingly idyllic desert town, the men go to work each day at a company known as the Victory Project. The women clean their immaculate houses, take ballet lessons or sip martinis by the pool. When one woman disappears, Pugh’s character, Alice, starts asking questions.

Jane Fonda can feel the “love and support” following her cancer diagnosis, and we’re so happy for her!

Carson Burton A new feature film based on the 1986 sports drama “Youngblood,” this time centering on an African American hockey prodigy, is in the works from Aircraft Pictures and Dolphin Entertainment. Rising filmmaker Charles Officer is on board to direct the film, which is slated to begin principal photography in early 2023. The reimagined update follows hockey prodigy Dean Youngblood, who joins the Hamilton Bulldogs and faces toxic behavior throughout his journey to the National Hockey League draft. The original 1986 film, distributed by MGM, was Keanu Reeves’ feature film debut. It also starred Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze, and it has since become a cult classic among hockey fans.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Apple took the wraps off its next-generation smartphones, the iPhone 14, which promise faster performance and feature larger 6.7-inch screen sizes on the high-end models. It’s also boosted the photo and video features of the devices — with a new 12-megapixel main camera on the regular iPhone 14s and a 48-megapixel main camera on the Pro series. The standard iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro have a 6.1-inch screen, while the iPhone 14 Plus and iPhone 14 Pro Max have a larger 6.7-inch display. The new phones feature an upgraded “action mode” video capture with advanced stabilization, supporting Dolby Vision HDR. The iPhone 14s also support the eSIM, a virtual subscriber identity module, so you don’t have to deal with a physical SIM card to enable wireless service.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Years after the “Game of Thrones” Starbucks cup goof, eagle-eyed viewers have spotted a visual effects mistake in last Sunday’s “House of the Dragon” episode. In Season 1 Episode 3, titled “Second of His Name,” a scene features King Viserys (Paddy Considine) handing a letter to a soldier.

K.J. Yossman Lorton Entertainment, who are currently working on highly anticipated Disney+ documentary “Wagatha Christie,” have set a new unscripted series titled “Horsepower” at Amazon, Variety can exclusively reveal. A four-part documentary series which is set to launch on Prime Video U.K. and Ireland from Sept. 23, “Horsepower” gives viewers a rare glimpse into the world of horce racing via its two protagonists, leading trainer Andrew Balding and his principal jockey Oisin Murphy as they compete over a nine month period culminating in the horse racing world’s most prestigious annual event: Royal Ascot. Audiences will get unprecedented behind the scenes access as they follow Balding (brother of sports host Clare Balding) and Murphy from fall 2020 to summer 2021, watching them train at Balding’s Hampshire stables and competing in events across the country. All seems lost, however, when Murphy tests positive for cocaine: will he be banned from the sport he loves or will he be able to re-build his once promising career?

Billie Eilish is fronting a new Gucci eyewear campaign advert that sees her being stalked by her doppelgänger.The pop star has turned model and actress for the campaign, marketing the brand’s black acetate Navigator glasses with gold Gucci script on the temples, an oversized ’80s-inspired “sun mask”, and pink cat-eye shades.In the advert, Eilish is seen driving through the Hollywood hills with a mystery tail in pursuit.

The Simpsons co-showrunner Al Jean has provided an update on a potential follow-up to The Simpsons Movie.Speaking to Yahoo Movies, the writer, animator and producer said that he was keen to work on another feature-length film, but that he doesn’t see it happening any time soon.“I’d love to work on another Simpsons movie, and we’ve talked about it,” he said, before questioning if a potential sequel would receive a theatrical release or go straight to streaming.“I don’t know exactly what the animation feature world is at the moment,” he continued. “I know there are some movies that have done well, but is it streaming, is it theatrical?“So I think that’s actually a question we would have to wrestle with before we even started working on a script.Last year, Jean revealed that plans for a sequel movie were shelved due the COVID-19 pandemic.“We were really talking about it a lot before the pandemic.

Angelina Jolie has had many a show-stopping red carpet moment. From the the satin and sheer slip dresses of the Nineties and the leg-popping Atelier Versace moment of 2012 Oscars to the Saint Laurent deconstructed tuxedo at the 2014 BAFTA Awards, and her appearances wearing spookily embellished gowns for the Maleficent 2 publicity tour, Jolie commands a red carpet camera like no other. Since becoming a mother, it's now not unusual for the actress to bring along her brood of six children to premieres, award ceremonies and charity galas.

EXCLUSIVE: Starz’s #TakeTheLead Writers’ Intensive has revealed the 10 participants selected from 500 applicants for phase one kicking off on August 22nd.

Selome Hailu “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” has been renewed for its third season at Starz. Announced at the Television Critics Association 2022 summer press tour, the news comes ahead of the Aug. 14 debut of Season 2.“Raising Kanan,” the third series in the “Power” universe, it set in the early ‘90s and tells the origin story of Kanan Stark (MeKai Curtis) and his entry into the criminal world through his mother, Raquel (Patina Miller) who ruthlessly runs the family’s drug empire.

Starz has renewed Power Book III: Raising Kanan for a third season ahead of the show’s sophomore return on August 14. Production on Season 3 will begin this summer in New York.

Kate Aurthur editorNearly four months have passed since Starz’s sprawling “Power” universe was last on the air, following the April season finale of the Tommy Egan-focused “Force.” That’s not much time, and certainly not the longest span of time between installments in “Power” creator Courtney Kemp’s ever-widening tableau of cocaine entrepreneurs. But it feels like a long time, evidence that Kemp has succeeded into turning “Power” into a Marvel-style narrative ecosystem, for better and for worse.The “for worse” part comes when any extended amount of time passes, when the richness and depth of a long-running, hyperconnected story triggers the audience’s anxiety about their ability to keep track of all its machinations.

Marlon Wayans’ new comedy inspired by his life and career is on the move. Starz has taken in for development Book of Marlon, with Wayans set to star, co-write and executive produce. The project, which was previously in development at HBO Max, hails from Sherman’s Showcase and South Side creators Diallo Riddle and Bashir Salahuddin, Wayans’ longtime producing partner Rick Alvarez (Marlon), Michael Rotenberg and Warner Bros. TV.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterMarlon Wayans is moving his semi-autobiographical comedy series “Book of Marlon” to Starz.The premium cabler has put the show into development after it was previously set up at HBO Max. It was originally set up at HBO Max in 2020 as part of an overall deal Wayans had signed there.In the half-hour show, Wayans would play a fictionalized version of himself, exploring his professional life as a comedian and actor, as well as his personal life as he attempts to reconcile being a good person and loving father with being Marlon.