Sony: Last News

EXCLUSIVE: Following a competitive auction, Sony Pictures has landed the highly-coveted spec How To Save A Marriage from Ross Evans with Robert Pattinson on board to produce. Evans penned the script and Pattinson’s producing partner Brighton McCloskey via their Icki Eneo Arlo banner will join as producer along with Geoff Shaevitz and Evan Silverberg via Entertainment 360.

Michael Jackson’s son, Bigi, has taken his grandmother to court in an attempt to prevent her from using funds from his father’s estate as part of a legal battle.Bigi – whose legal name is Prince Michael Jackson III, and is also known as Blanket – has requested that Katherine Jackson be prevented from using the funds to finance her legal battle against executors.Attorneys have said that Katherine’s legal services requests do not benefit the estate, so a judge should not approve them (per USA Today).It comes after reports emerged last week that the late pop legend’s son was filing a legal injunction against his grandmother.The filing was thought to be in response to Katherine’s opposition of the recent landmark deal the estate made with Sony to sell half of Michael’s music catalogue for $600million (£475million).The deal is expected to be the biggest-ever valuation of an artist’s music assets, with sources valuing it at between $1.2billion and $1.5billion in total (£950million – £1.19billion).Bigi previously claimed that he and Katherine presented their arguments against the deal, but ultimately the court ruled against them – which seemingly brought the legal issue to a close.However, a filing states that “despite the expense and long odds, Katherine decided to pursue an appeal.”The court filing said the Sony deal was “of paramount significance to Bigi, both financially and personally”, who has decided to move on from the court dispute.Katherine had previously told the court that Michael never wanted his music catalogue to be sold.Last week, Billboard reported that Katherine Jackson has received more than $55million (£43.5million) since the singer’s death in June 2009, according to claims from Michael Jackson’s estate

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is on top!

Jordan Moreau Ghostbusting is back at the box office! “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” the fifth and latest movie in the frightening franchise, has made $4.7 million at the box office in Thursday previews. Sony and Columbia Pictures’ new movie, which reunites the original stars of the ’80s classic and the cast from the 2021 “Afterlife” sequel, is expected to top the box office this weekend with an opening between $43 million and $45 million. That launch is in line with the previous film that revived the franchise, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” which had a $45 million opening amid the pandemic.

Two members of the Jackson family are in a bitter legal battle over Michael Jackson’s estate!

Mark Sutherland The IFPI Global Music Report has long been viewed as the definitive snapshot of the international music industry’s health (or otherwise). After all, the global recorded music industry trade body’s report has chronicled both the industry’s long, painful period of physical decline and celebrated its streaming-led return to growth.But the publication of its 2024 report — launched Thursday at a press conference in London — felt like one of those years when the numbers are slightly lagging behind the real story of what’s happening in the industry.The statistics, certainly, paint an almost across-the-board picture of a business in good health.

Rumored to be playing the next James Bond (by the same U.K. tabloid that said Cillian Murphy was the favorite last week and that Paul Mescal was a lock before that, insert eye roll here), Aaron Taylor Johnson is railing against Hollywood in a new Rolling Stone UK interview.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Sony will release a new animated short titled “The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story” on Sony Pictures Animation’s YouTube channel at 6 a.m. PT on March 27.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music If there’s a top jack-of-all-trades in the music industry, there’s a good chance it’s Ryan Tedder. He’s a hugely successful recording artist (as leader of OneRepublic), one of the top songwriter-producers of the past 15 years (Beyoncé’s “Halo,” U2, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Ed Sheeran, Maroon 5, Ariana Grande and many more) and is also a more savvy music publisher than many full-time music publishers.

Michael Jackson‘s youngest son Blanket has filed a legal injunction against his grandmother, Katherine.As TMZ reports, the 22-year-old – real name Bigi Jackson – is attempting to prevent the late singer’s mother, 93, from using money from Michael’s estate to fight in an ongoing legal battle.In documents filed this week, Blanket asked the court not to allow Katherine to use Michael’s estate money to fund an appeal of a previous ruling.It is reported that Blanket and his grandmother were recently working together to stop the executors of Michael’s estate from going through with a large business transaction that they were both opposed to.The documents do not disclose the specific details of the transaction. However, it could be related to the landmark deal the estate reportedly made with Sony recently to sell half of Michael’s music catalogue for $600million (£475million).Blanket claimed that he and Katherine presented their arguments against the deal, but ultimately the court ruled against them – which seemingly brought the legal issue to a close.It is said that Katherine has decided to appeal the ruling, though Blanket doesn’t want to be involved any further.

Director Nicholas Hytner and writer Alan Bennett are collaborating again, with The Lady in the Van, The History Boys and The Madness of King George duo set to team on The Choral, which will star Ralph Fiennes, Jim Broadbent and Simon Russell Beale. Production begins in May in Yorkshire, according to Sony Pictures Classics, which said Wednesday that it has acquired all worldwide rights to the pic.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson opened up about his new superhero project Kraven the Hunter.

Friends alum David Schwimmer is set to lead Season 2 of the Disney+ anthology series Goosebumps.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter David Schwimmer is set to star in “Goosebumps” Season 2 at Disney+, Variety has learned. The show, based on the Scholastic book series of the same name by R.L. Stine, aired its first season on the streamer in October 2023.

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Amazon is churning out unbeatable deals on their site this week as part of their first-ever “Big Spring Sale.” One of the best deals we’ve scoped out this week? The Beats Studio 3 Wireless Headphones, which are more than half off right now. The deluxe headphones, which normally retail for $350 are down to $169 on Amazon — a massive 52% discount and the lowest price we’ve ever seen for these top-rated cans.

Sydney Sweeney has opened up more about starring in Sony Pictures‘ Madame Web, which she has described as a “strategic business decision”.Speaking to GQ UK recently, Sweeney responded to the film’s negative reception and co-star Dakota Johnson‘s comments about the film’s production and flop at the box office. While Johnson said she “probably will never do anything like it again”, Sweeney’s open to taking another crack at the film: “I think that if the story is right and you have the right team, I would love to.”However, Sweeney also revealed that her decision to act in Madame Web was more of a business move than anything else: “To me that film was a building block, it’s what allowed me to build a relationship with Sony.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part II” continued its sway atop the U.K. and Ireland box office for a third consecutive weekend with £4 million ($5.1 million), according to numbers from Comscore. Denis Villeneuve’s anticipated sequel has an all-star cast including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling and Javier Bardem reprising their roles from the first film, with Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken and Léa Seydoux joining them.

Prime Video has unveiled first-look images of its The Narrow Road to The Deep North adaptation starring Jacob Elordi, which has wrapped production in Australia.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Five months of production has been completed on Jacob Elordi-starring drama series “The Narrow Road to the Deep North,” which is set in the “Euphoria” and “Saltburn” star’s native Australia. An adaptation of the Booker Prize-winning novel by Richard Flanaghan, the five-part series is love-story set against the backdrop of World War II. Elordi portrays Lieutenant-Colonel Dorrigo Evans and co-stars with Odessa Young (“Mothering Sunday,” “Shirley”).

Sony Pictures Classics announced on Tuesday that it will release its indie drama Daddio, starring Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn, in theaters nationwide on June 28.

The Good Doctor is sadly coming to an end, but there’s a bunch of surprises heading into the final season!