president: Last News

Fox News is a very profitable organization, and so are its stars.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music The 2023 installment of the annual Global Citizen Festival featured a powerful (if rainy) day of music, with sets by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lauryn Hill — who reunited the Fugees during her set — Anitta, Jung Kook — who was joined by Latto — Stray Kids side project 3Racha and a 50th anniversary of hip-hop performance with Busta Rhymes, Common, Big Daddy Kane and Rapsody alongside D-Nice. But far more important was what it accomplished in raising awareness, and commitments for some $240 million from France and Norway to the International Fund for Agricultural Development to address the global hunger crisis, announced by Emmanuel Macron, President of France. The flagship event from Global Citizen generated 3.3 million actions taken by global citizens around the world, calling on governments to address the major systemic issues our world is facing, including the global hunger crisis, the climate crisis, and equity for women and girls.

Superpower director Sean Penn isn’t mincing words in his denunciation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Michaela Zee Jamie Lee Curtis is ready to be a part of the Straw Hat Pirates’ story. The Oscar-winning actor shared in an Instagram post her desire to play Dr. Kureha in Netflix’s “One Piece,” writing in the caption, “Once the strike against the greed of the [AMPTP] is settled with a fair contract, I will lobby along with the growing fan frenzy to become Doctor Kureha.” “One Piece” co-showrunner Matt Owens voiced his support for Curtis joining the live-action cast as the 141-year-old doctor.

Anna Marie de la Fuente A sardonic view of Popular Unity, the left-wing alliance once led by the assassinated Chilean socialist president Salvador Allende, Raul Ruiz’s docu-fiction hybrid, “Socialist Realism,” world premiered at the San Sebastian Film Festival on Sept 23, 50 years after the prolific filmmaker was forced to abandon it. It finally unspools after his widow, filmmaker-editor Valeria Sarmiento, with the backing of actress-helmer Chamila Rodríguez’s Poetastros production company, rescued and reconstructed the film.

Gita Mehta, whose books transformed Western ideas on India, died today at her home in New Delhi. She was 80.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Michael Wolff’s highly anticipated book about the rise and fall of Fox News and its Murdoch family heirs will be released only a week after Rupert Murdoch announced that he will step down as the chairman of Fox and News Corp.

Actors’ Equity Association announced today that it has organized Broadway production assistants, and that the PAs are seeking voluntary recognition from The Broadway League.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Rick Cordella is taking the field for NBC Sports. The executive, who has been enmeshed in developing streaming products for NBCUniversal, has been named president of NBC Sports at a moment when many media companies are working on new models that will make big-ticket TV sports properties available to consumers who have fewer ties to traditional screens.

Sophia Scorziello editor In an industry on track to drive around $400 billion in revenue this year, it might seem fine for gaming companies to let go of the reins every now and then when hit games take off. But Javier Ferreira, co-CEO of Scopely (a mobile-first video game developer) argues that it’s very much a business of planning. He says, “We think of games as forever businesses.” Ferreira shared his thoughts on best practices for engaging with today’s gaming communities and the best IPs to invest at the “Big Business of Games with Scopely” panel during Variety’s Entertainment & Technology Summit Thursday.

NBCUniversal has promoted veteran executive Rick Cordella to president of NBC Sports, reporting into Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group. 

King Charles and Queen Camilla have been slammed for making the short journey from Paris to Bordeaux by aeroplane today despite preaching about the need to cut carbon emissions to tackle global warming.

Queen Camilla appears to be enjoying herself on her trip to France with King Charles after she was left in fits of laughter during a visit to the French National Library yesterday.

Prince William travelled to New York for his first official solo visit to the US this week to unveil the 15 finalists for the third annual Earthshot Prize.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Jochen Koestler will take up the position of executive vice president non-fiction at German media company LEONINE Studios on Jan. 1, 2024. Together with CEO Fred Kogel, he will head the group’s non-fiction production division, which includes production banners gebrueder beetz Filmproduktion, hyperbole Medien, i&u TV, Madame Zheng Production and SEO Entertainment.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Ashley Brucks has been tapped to lead Screen Gems, the Sony Pictures division behind the “Resident Evil” and “Insidious” franchises. A deal hasn’t been finalized and several other candidates were up for the post, but insiders say the job is Brucks’ and expect a formal announcement to come soon. She joins the company from Paramount, where she worked as head of development for Paramount Players, a production label focused on making comedies and genre fare.

Christopher Vourlias LevelK has boarded the dark comedic drama “The Kidnapping of a President” by Finnish director Samuli Valkama (“No Thank You”), the company announced this week in Helsinki. The film, which is produced by John Lundsten (“Renki”) and Melli Maikkula (“KilJuset”) for Tack Film, is based on the incredible, pulled-from-the-headlines story of the abduction of the first president of Finland.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Some of Colombia’s most prominent producers have banded together to form PI, a new association of independent producers led by Cristina Gallego, behind Oscar-nominated “Embrace of the Serpent” and “Birds of Passage,” who is an official jury member at this year’s 71stSan Sebastian Film Festival. “Colombia has become a production destination for major companies due to its tax benefits, which has led to growth, experience, and job opportunities within the sector,” Gallego told Variety. “However, members of PI view with particular concern the need for attention, updates, and the evolution of national and departmental policies that support the continued production of Colombian cinema, its voices, its artists, and its filmmakers,” said Gallego who will preside over the association along with director-producer Franco Lolli (“Gente de Bien”) as vice president while Diana María Bustamante (“Memoria,” “Land & Shade”) and Manuel Ruiz Montealegre (“Amparo”) serve as legal representatives.

Lisa Takeuchi Cullen, running unopposed, has been elected president of the WGA East. Cullen, who until now had been VP of the guild’s Film/TV/Streaming sector, succeeds Michael Winship, who chose not to seek re-election.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer The Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) members have elected Lisa Takeuchi Cullen as its new president. Cullen, who was an unopposed candidate for the posititon, takes over for outgoing president Michael Winship, who announced his decision to not seek reelection of his longtime post over the summer. “I am honored to become the next President of the Writers Guild of America East,” Takeuchi Cullen said in a statement.

Jaden Thompson Stephen Rhodes, founder and managing principal of Signify Wealth, kicked off the Variety Entertainment and Technology Summit with an astounding fact from his research, “First round picks of the NBA draft have the ability to make a billion dollars of on-court income,” he explained. “And they don’t have to be Lebron James to do it.” As a result of this windfall of investment opportunities, that space also creates both “winners” and “losers” in the marketplace.