How ‘Madam Secretary’ Star Erich Bergen Became Hollywood’s Hottest Virtual Events Producer

Ted Johnson Kamala Harris will deliver the most important speech, so far, in her career, at tonight’s Democratic National Convention, as she accepts the nomination for vice president.Pundits and analysts will pay particular attention to her ability to communicate effectively to a virtual audience, which more likely than not will be the way things will be as political season enters its final stretch in the fall campaign.A lot of people in Hollywood are watching: Harris has long cultivated ties to

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorDylan McDermott has been busy during quarantine. When he’s not hanging out with his kids — like watching “The Umbrella Academy” with his 14-year-old daughter Charlotte — he has been working on a memoir.“It changed me actually,” McDermott, 58, says on Tuesday’s episode of the Variety and iHeart podcast “The Big Ticket.” “So I’m really happy I did it.

Dominic Patten, Ted Johnson The only thing missing from the opening night of the Democratic National Convention on Monday were the Rolling Stones and Barack Obama – and the former POTUS is coming later this week.Other than an audio glitch at the beginning of kingmaker Rep James Clyburn’s stint in front of the camera from his home state of South Carolina, the first of four nights of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ official bid for the White House was just over two-hours of fast paced television that

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorHey, bud — let’s party!Sean Penn is hosting an all-star table read of his classic 1982 coming-of-age film “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”The lineup will include Penn, Jennifer Aniston, Shia LaBeouf, Matthew McConaughey, Julia Roberts, Dane Cook, Morgan Freeman and Henry Golding, with more names to be announced over the next week.The live virtual event will take place Aug. 20 on Facebook Live and TikTok.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorMireille Enos would love to make people laugh, but she hasn’t really had the chance to do so during her two decades in Hollywood.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorFormer presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg and his husband Chasten will be honored by Equality California during its virtual Golden State Equality Awards celebration.The event will be hosted by “Pose” star Angelica Ross and take place on Sept. 13.The Buttigiegs will receive the Equality Trailblazer Award.

Variety Staff Follow Us on TwitterMarc Malkin has been named Variety’s senior culture and events editor.Malkin’s new duties include helping to steer the editorial content of the weekly magazine, with an emphasis on expanding lifestyle and culture coverage as well as a focus on how the entertainment community is responding to the COVID-19 crisis.

Deadline.There are currently two other “Star Trek” scripts in development — one project is by Quentin Tarantino and another that hopes to reunite the cast of the 2009 J.J. Abrams reboot that yielded two sequels.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorJordan Fisher got quite emotional when he saw the poster for his new Netflix coming-of-age comedy “Work It” because the cast is so diverse. Of the nine actors featured on the poster, seven are people of color.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorSarah Snook was sleeping at friend’s house in her native country of Australia when this year’s Emmy nominations were announced.“He was the one who woke me up to tell me. He ran into my room,” Snook says on Thursday’s episode of the Variety and iHeart podcast The Big Ticket.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorEXCLUSIVE: Days Of Our Lives actor Eric Martsolf and Glow star Britt Baron are voicing hybrid audio/video drama series podcast Ride Share, which its creator Digital Sky hopes will become a successful new content format.Digital producer Scott Zakarin, podcast host James Gavsie and media attorney Bert Benton have joined forces to develop the format under the Digital Sky banner.

Alexandra Del Rosario Associate Editor/Nights & WeekendsEXCLUSIVE: Former SAG-AFTRA Foundation events and communications team members Mara Webster, Liz Riesterer and Danna Friedberg will launch their digital entertainment events firm In Creative Company as virtual events become the norm of during the COVID-19 pandemic.“Given the situation and current climate in our industry, we look forward to highlighting and elevating creative voices online, whilst this is the only way it is safe for us to do

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorWhen “The Kissing Booth 2” premiered on July 24, Taylor Zakhar Perez had about 70,000 followers on Instagram. Within a week, he had three million.But that should come as no real surprise because Perez is the newest hottie in the “Kissing Booth” franchise.

Barack Obama delivered a powerful eulogy at the funeral service for the late congressman and renowned civil rights leader John Lewis on Thursday, remembering the inspirational figure as a man who «believed that, in all of us, there is a capacity for great courage.»Preceded by remarks from Bill Clinton, George W.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorQuibi’s new “The Fugitive” is not your father’s “Fugitive” — or your grandfather’s, for that matter.In fact, the only thing the reboot, which premieres on Aug. 3, has in common with the 1993 Harrison Ford-Tommy Lee Jones movie — itself based on the 1960s television drama — is the man-on-the-run storyline.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorNo surprise, but the 2020 Emmys are going virtual.Shortly after the nominations were announced yesterday, this year’s Emmy executive producers — including host Jimmy Kimmel — sent a letter to key acting nominees informing them that this year’s ceremony will be virtual, and asking them to prepare to participate from home, or wherever they want to be.“As you’ve probably guessed, we’re not going to be asking you to come to the Microsoft

Ted Johnson Barack Obama and George Clooney’s friendship came through in a virtual fundraiser for Joe Biden, a 45-minute event in which they traded a few jokes and talked of the urgency of defeating Donald Trump.Obama and Clooney appeared via Zoom at their own homes, and spent a good share of the time making the case for Biden, characterizing the former Vice President as a figure who could restore government and “pass the baton forward” on issues like climate change and racial justice, according

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorTrace Lysette is going behind the camera.The trans actress, best known for her work on “Transparent” and in “Hustlers,” has signed on as executive producer of the upcoming documentary series “Trans in Trumpland.”The four-part series, created by New York City-based TransWave Films and directed by trans filmmaker Tony Zosherafatain and produced by Jamie DiNicola, follows four people as they engage in the fight for transgender equality in

Ted Johnson George Clooney engage in a “virtual conversation” with former President Barack Obama as part of a fundraiser on Tuesday for Joe Biden’s campaign.The evening event will raise money for the Biden Victory Fund, a joint committee of the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Tickets start at $250 per person, and rise to $250,000, for those who write checks for that amount or raise it.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s star is on the rise, but he’s staying true to his roots.