As Participant Closes, 60 Stars and Directors Sign Open Letter for Hollywood to Keep ‘Harnessing the Power of Art to Change the World’

J. Kim Murphy Dabney Coleman, the Emmy-winning character actor who starred in the 1980 comedy classic “9 to 5” and whose career in film and television spanned six decades, died Thursday at his home in Santa Monica, Calif.

according to the Hollywood Reporter. “My father crafted his time here on Earth with a curious mind, a generous heart and a soul on fire with passion, desire and humor that tickled the funny bone of humanity,” she said in a statement.

Dabney Coleman, an Emmy winner whose six-decade career included a sterling run of hit movies in the ’80s such as 9 to 5, On Golden Pond and Tootsie and whose TV work included ranges from Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman to Buffalo Bill to Yellowstone, has died, according to TMZ. He was 92.

EXCLUSIVE: 20th Century Studios has acquired an original feature pitch from Sarah Haskins and Emily Halpern (Booksmart), enlisting Gloria Sanchez to produce.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Bust out the Dramamine and brace for PTSD. Keira Knightley is on board to lead a film adaption of Ruth Ware’s bestselling novel “The Woman in Cabin 10” at Netflix. In what marks one of Dan Lin’s first green lights as the new film chief at the streamer, “The Woman in Cabin 10” follows a travel journalist (Knightley) assigned to cover the launch of a luxury yacht.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Neon, the Oscar-winning distributor of “Parasite,” is getting back in business with “Titane” director Julia Ducournau. In one of the first big rights deals of this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the studio announced it has acquired North American territories for Ducournau’s “Alpha.” Plot details were not immediately disclosed, except that the film will be “genre-defying.” Neon previously released Ducournau’s acclaimed “Titane,” which won Cannes’ highest honor, the Palme d’Or, in 2021. She is only the second woman director to do so, following Jane Campion for “The Piano.” “Alpha” will star Golshifteh Farahani (“The Patience Stone,” “Paterson”) and Tahar Rahim (“The Mauritanian,” “A Prophet”).

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor FX’s historical epic “Shōgun,” Marvel’s animated juggernaut “X-Men ’97,” Hulu’s passionate documentary “Black Twitter: A People’s History” and the one-two punch Netflix thrillers “Baby Reindeer” and “Ripley” are among the inaugural nominees for the 2024 Gotham TV Awards. Among the outstanding performances recognized across multiple genres are Nathan Fielder and Emma Stone in the dark dramedy “The Curse,” Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai in the historical epic “Shōgun,” and Robyn Cara and Siobhán Cullen in Netflix’s new comedy “Bodkin.” These shows are the only ones to receive two acting nominations each.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Are we headed for a bon marché? A new class of finished films and packages (unmade movies with big stars and a director attached) will travel to Cannes this week in search of cash and homes with the studios, streamers and global indie players. The 2024 Cannes market comes equipped with some interesting contradictions. Stateside, the content buying machine is fraught.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor More than three decades after they co-starred in hit sitcom “Cheers,” Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson are getting back together — going into the audio booth for a new podcast from SiriusXM. “Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (Sometimes)” is set to premiere June 12, with new episodes releasing weekly on Wednesdays on all major podcast platforms.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer 17,000 fans. The reunion of an American football dynasty and the coach no one expected to show. Televised live around the world while the reputation of a man considered “the greatest of all time” sits in the hands of savage comedians and one-time foes.

EXCLUSIVE: Paradigm on Wednesday announced its hiring of Craig Bernstein and Lindsay Samakow who will respectively oversee new Physical Production and Speakers departments for the agency. Both will work out of Paradigm’s Los Angeles office.

EXCLUSIVE: The stars of the 1980 classic 9 to 5 will be reuniting on the red carpet in Hollywood.

As Neil Young once sang, the now shuttered Participant is gone, but not forgotten.

Marc Malkin Senior Editor, Culture and EventsMay kicked off with Variety celebrating the Power of Women New York, where Glenn Close helped honor – and have some fun on the red carpet with – Mariska Hargitay. In Sydney, Anya Taylor-Joy stunned in a gold ensemble at the “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” premiere and Austin Butler was in Beverly Hills taking part in an Emmy FYC event for “Masters of the Air.”Daniel Radcliffe celebrated his first Tony nomination for his work in “Merrily, We Roll Along” at the awards’ annual nominees press junket.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Carla Gugino has been tapped to play Hollywood screen legend Vivien Leigh in the forthcoming biopic “The Florist.” The film is directed by Nick Sandow (star of “Orange is the New Black”) and will explore Leigh’s struggle with bipolar disorder in the 1960s, as she prepares to lead the Broadway production of John Gielgud’s Chekhov adaptation of “Ivanov.” Screenwriter Jayce Bartok (“The Cake Eaters”) put the script together based on a box of love letters. Leigh earned her place in cinema history as Scarlett O’Hara, the central character in 1939’s “Gone With the Wind,” opposite Clark Gable.

Diane Lane, Jeff Daniels, and Lucy Liu are stepping out for the premiere of their new Netflix series!

Michaela Zee Jennifer Aniston is ready to pour herself a cup of ambition. Aniston and her Echo Films partner Kristin Hahn are producing a “9 to 5” reimagining for 20th Century Studios, Variety has confirmed. The film is currently in development, with Diablo Cody (“Juno,” “Lisa Frankenstein”) working on the latest draft of the “9 to 5” reimagining.

It’s been a long time coming.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Rachel Stavis, billed as the “Hollywood Exorcist,” is channeling her creativity for a number of upcoming scripted projects.Stavis is an author and filmmaker whose day job — as a “non-denominational exorcist on a mission to create global change by eradicating darkness from one person or place at a time,” per her bio – has put her in the employ of studio chiefs, movie stars and global political figures.Stavis’ work ranges from the personal and therapeutic to paranormal investigations, and content makers are taking notice. Stavis is currently in the casting phase for her feature directorial debut “Da Wee Do Wa,” for which she also wrote the script.

GLAAD said Tuesday that Jennifer Hudson and country singer Orville Peck will be honored with special awards at the 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards ceremony May 11 in New York.