Francesca reale

The furor over a Chinese spy balloon that flew over U.S. airspace has further chilled D.C.-Beijing tensions, but the entertainment industry already has been swept up in the heightened atmosphere of American hawkishness. Hollywood studios and producers are poised to get a new level of scrutiny over their dealings with China — reflecting a bipartisan hardline toward Beijing and escalating concerns over its influence. A little publicized provision of a recently passed defense bill restricts the U.S. government from spending funds on movies that, to gain entry into the Chinese marketplace, are altered in the face of Chinese government dictates. The provision in the National Defense Authorization Act , approved in a bipartisan vote of Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in December, is the latest example of an increased focus on China’s role, not just in the entertainment industry but also in sports and social media. While Republicans have led attacks on … [Read more...] about Hollywood’s China Predicament: New Law Restricts U.S. Cooperation On Projects Modified To Appease Beijing

EXCLUSIVE : Lionsgate is in final negotiations to acquire worldwide rights to Imaginary , a new Blumhouse thriller to be directed by Jeff Wadlow ( The Curse of Bridge Hollow ). The studios will co-finance the project, with Lionsgate to present it to buyers at this month’s European Film Market. Pic is the second to team the companies following the Blum-produced Siniste r for Summit Entertainment/Lionsgate released in 2012. In Imaginary , a young woman returns to her childhood home only to discover that the imaginary friend she left behind is very real and very unhappy she left. Sources tell us that the plan is for the project, currently being cast, to go into production this spring. Wadlow, Greg Erb, Jason Oremland and Bryce McGuire wrote the script. Producers are Blumhouse’s Jason Blum and Wadlow. Wadlow is a DGA Award nominee who collaborated with Blumhouse on the Lucy Hale-led horror-thriller Truth or Dare , released by Universal, and the horror … [Read more...] about Lionsgate Acquiring Blumhouse Thriller ‘Imaginary’ To Be Directed By Jeff Wadlow – EFM

The three years in prison that Donald Trump ’s former fixer Michael Cohen received today wasn’t the only bad press the increasingly besieged former Celebrity Apprentice host was handed. The feds also revealed Wednesday that the owners of the National Enquirer have provided “substantial and important assistance” to them in their investigations. With the effective burial of the American Media Inc publication’s so-called “catch and kill” strategy to bury stores that could have adversely affected Trump, the company and CEO David Pecker were granted freedom criminal prosecution by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York for their role in paying Playboy model Karen McDougal off with $150,000 before the 2016 election. “AMI further admitted that its principal purpose in making the payment was to suppress the woman’s story so as to prevent it from influencing the election,” the U.S. Attorney’s office added announcing the non-prosecution agreement ( … [Read more...] about ‘National Enquirer’ Owner Admits “Influencing” 2016 Election With Payoffs For Donald Trump

Chris McCarthy has been speaking about a franchise strategy for Showtime since he took over the network a couple of months ago. That strategy will include expanding successful series with multiple spinoffs in the mold of the Yellowstone universe as the premium cable network starts its integration with Paramount+ and getting a new moniker , Paramount+ with Showtime. Deadline has been hearing for awhile about potential Billions offshoots from series co-creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien. Showtime would not confirm the plan but McCarthy did it in an interview with WSJ , revealing that the four projects in the works are spinoffs set in Miami, the self-proclaimed crypto capital, and London, the world’s financial hub, as well as offshoots Millions , about up-and-coming financiers, and Trillions, a soap about the ultra rich. (You can find more details about all four Billions series in development at the bottom of the story.) McCarthy also confirmed that … [Read more...] about ‘Billions’ Spinoffs In Works At Showtime; ’Dexter’ Prequel Confirmed

President Joe Biden is set to deliver his second State of the Union speech before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday: “The president will underscore the progress we have made during one of the most challenging times…in history.” The speech will be carried live at 9 p.m. ET by every major broadcast and most cable news outlets. It can also be livestreamed via the player embedded below. The Republican response to Biden’s address, delivered directly after, will also be available via the player. This is Biden’s first address to a divided Congress and Kevin McCarthy’s first State of the Union as Speaker of the House. NETWORK COVERAGE PLANS ON TV & ONLINE ABC News will have special coverage of the 2023 State of the Union and the Republican response from 9 p.m.-11 p.m. ET on ABC, and streaming on ABC News Live. World News Tonight anchor David Muir will lead primetime coverage from Washington, … [Read more...] about State Of The Union Speech: How To Watch Biden’s Address To Congress On TV & Online

2ND UPDATE, 10:31 AM: The numbers went down and then they went down even more. With specially ordered ratings now in from CBS, last night’s Grammy Awards took a double-digit blow in the key demo compared with last year’s ceremony. Among adults 18-49, the show, which ran from 8-11:39 PM, was down 14% to an 8.5 rating, and down 11% in viewers with 25.3 million. Both numbers were the lowest results in six years — the 2009 Grammys pulled a 7.4/18 rating and had 19.05 million total viewers. The dip may be in part due to the bite of the competing midseason return of AMC’s The Walking Dead last night. UPDATE,  8:50 AM: With performances from Kristen Wiig lip syncing and dancing along with Sia onstage, Madonna, Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett plus Paul McCartney, Kayne West and Rihanna together, among others, the 57 th annual Grammy Awards packed in a lot of action last night – and gave out some awards too. However, it looks to have taken a hit from 2014. In fast nationals, the show on … [Read more...] about Grammy Awards Ratings Fall To Lowest Results Since 2009 – Update

Super Sunday is upon us — and with it, Madison Avenue’s annual spending spree, which has seen the Big Game’s Hollywood quotient rise noticeably in recent years. Celebrity product pitches date back to the days of leather helmets, of course, but in the increasingly rare air of the Super Bowl they have started to overtake the left-field breakouts of the past by the likes of Puppy Monkey Baby or beer-loving frogs. With Fox’s telecast commanding a peak level of more than $7 million for 30-second spots, producers and brands again are banking on stars in a big way. Super Bowl LVII , a contest in Arizona between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs , will feature commercials starring Will Ferrell , Melissa McCarthy, Miles and Keleigh Teller and Sylvester Stallone, among others. Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul reteam as their Breaking Bad characters to plug Popcorners . Brian Cox joins a roster of A-list athletes for a riff on Caddyshack , and Alicia Silverstone leads a … [Read more...] about Super Bowl Commercials 2023: Watch Ads With Melissa McCarthy, Bryan Cranston, Serena Williams, Danny McBride And More

Sunday was a night to remember for Harry Styles , who took home the coveted Album of the Year award and five other trophies at the 65th annual Grammy Awards . B ut it was not a perfect moment. During his performance of his hit “ As It Was ” from the album Harry’s House , things went awry on the technical end. Styles is not complaining, but his dancers revealed on social media that the performance almost ended in disaster. The staging for it was a spinning turntable, featuring Harry and his dancers on the platform. But what no one counted on was that the spin direction was changed from what had been rehearsed “The moment the curtain opened and it was time to perform, the turntable started spinning in reverse,” dancer Brandon Mathis said on Instagram . “Backward. Freaking all of us out on live television. And there was nothing we could do to stop it. So after a week of rehearsing this piece perfectly going this way, the moment it’s time to perform, it starts … [Read more...] about Harry Styles And His Dancers Had A Grammy Glitch In His Big Number, But Prevailed

Alfonso Cuarón took the top feature film award for Roma at tonight’s 71st Annual DGA Awards , fellow feature film nominee Adam McKay took the TV drama series nod for Succession and Bo Burnham snagged the first-time director nod for Eighth Grade. “ Roma simply doesn’t exist without the generosity of spirit and effortless grace of Yalitza (Aparicio) and Marina (De Tavira). They somehow with the rest of my beautiful cast managed to bring to life this film from my memory,” Cuarón said in accepting the award for his film that is an homage to his childhood. The guild award has been a top bellwether for the best directing Oscar. Last year’s winner Guillermo del Toro, who presented tonight’s award to Cuarón, went on to win the Academy Award in directing for The Shape of Water. The film won four Oscars in all, including best picture. The guild and Oscars have differed only seven times since the DGA started giving awards in 1949. Burnham won the first-time feature … [Read more...] about DGA Awards: Alfonso Cuarón Wins For ‘Roma’; Adam McKay & ‘Succession’ Top TV — Full Winners List

TMZSports.com "My message to Jake Paul is good luck and I hope you've trained and I hope you got an ambulance on speed dial because you're gonna need it." That's Tommy Fury with a very ominous warning for The Problem Child ... just 3 weeks before their highly anticipated February 26th boxing match in Saudi Arabia. Of course, the men have been scheduled to fight two other times (more on that later) ... and the bad blood is so real, 23-year-old Fury says he's never wanted anything as badly as he wants a win over 26-year-old Paul. "This is all that's been in my mind for the past two and a half, three years because I'm a professional, legitimate fighter, and my name has been lingering with Jake Paul for quite some time now and Jake Paul is not on my level," Tommy told Babcock on the " TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1). "Jake Paul is not even considered a legitimate fighter and to have my name dragged through the mud with his, I want to … [Read more...] about Tommy Fury Says Jake Paul’s Leaving Their Fight In An Ambulance, Predicts Early KO