Jean Smart’s SmartAngel Entertainment Acquires Life Rights to Country Star and LGBTQ Activist Chely Wright (EXCLUSIVE)

EXCLUSIVE: Roadside Attractions and Vertical Entertainment have co-acquired North American rights to The Forgiven, a starry thriller written and directed by John Michael McDonagh (The Guard, Calvary), which premiered at the 2021 Toronto Film Festival. Roadside will release the film in theaters next spring, with Vertical handling its digital rollout.

Chris Willman Music WriterKristin Chenoweth, Kathy Najimy, Linda Perry, Chely Wright and Lauren Blitzer are the celebrity compilers of a forthcoming book that, inspired by — but not limited to — the #MeToo movement, lets women from the entertainment industry and other walks of life describe a crucial point of adversity that propelled them into forward motion for good.The essay collection, titled “My Moment: 106 Women on Fighting for Themselves,” has been acquired for world rights by Gallery

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeSPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched “The Masked Singer” Season 6, Episode 9, “Group A Semi-Final,” which aired November 10 on Fox.Nevermind the bollocks, this will no longer be “Unwritten”: Both the Sex Pistols’ John Lydon – a.k.a.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeNearly 20 years later, “Joe Millionaire” returns this January with a revised format that puts a twist on the original ratings smash. But at least one thing remains the same in “Joe Millionaire: For Richer or Poorer” — and that’s the presence of a butler, assisting the Joes and driving the action.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeOscar winner and “American Idol” alum Jennifer Hudson is adding something completely different to her resume: Talk show host.Hudson, most recently seen on the big screen playing Aretha Franklin in “Respect,” is pitching a new daytime talker to be produced by the team from “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Variety has learned.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeSPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched “The Masked Singer” Season 6, Episode 8, “Giving Thanks,” which aired November 3 on Fox.Honey Boo Boo, we hardly knew you.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeTudum, meet Tud’oh! “The Simpsons” has gone “Simpflix” with the two-part episode “A Serious Flanders,” which executive producer Matt Selman calls a “dark, twisted ‘Fargo’ story.” Variety has an exclusive on the trailer that writer Cesar Mazariegos cut for the event; scroll down to watch.According to Selman, “A Serious Flanders” was inspired by the TV adaptation of “Fargo,” which he finally caught up on.

Will Smith's marriage while filming the 1993 movie  In a new excerpt from his upcoming memoir,53-year-old Smith opens up about falling in love with his co-star, Stockard Channing, while working on the project and still married to his first wife, Sheree Zampino.«Sheree and I were in the first few months of our marriage with a brand-new baby and for Sheree, I can imagine that this experience was unsettling to say the least,» Smith writes in an exclusive excerpt viamagazine.

EXCLUSIVE: Nico Tortorella (Younger, The Walking Dead: World Beyond), Juan Pablo Di Pace (Fuller House, Mamma Mia!), Emmy nominee Carl Clemons-Hopkins (Hacks, Candyman) and Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek, Chapelwaite) have signed on to star in The Mattachine Family, a drama exec produced by Zach Braff (Going in Style, Garden State), which is currently in production.

Jason Sudeikis and Jean Smart are teaming up for a new project.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeFormer Entertainment One TV CEO John Morayniss has reunited with several of his former colleagues to launch Blink Studios, a new independent studio launched with the backing of Endeavor Content.

Marc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle EditorJason Sudeikis will star in a table read of “It’s a Wonderful Life.”The “Ted Lasso” Emmy winner will play George Bailey in the holiday classic and his real-life uncle, George Wendt, will appear as Uncle Billy.

Judi Love became the fifth star to be eliminated from the 2021 series of Strictly Come Dancing on Sunday night. The Loose Women star, 41, who recently returned to the dance floor after battling Covid, faced Adam Peaty in the show's dreaded dance-off where they had to perform their spooktacular Halloween routines from Saturday night again.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeAMC Networks has upped Dan McDermott to president of entertainment and AMC Studios, expanding his domain to include business affairs, acquisitions and scheduling, as well as consumer PR.In doing so, McDermott assumes some of the oversight held by longtime AMC Networks chief operating officer Ed Carroll, who previously announced his departure from the company at the end of this year.McDermott most recently served as president of original programming for

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeABC, Hulu and Disney General Entertainment have reorganized their marketing, creative and communications departments, starting with a new reporting structure that puts ABC Entertainment, ABC News, Disney TV Studios, Freeform and Disney’s syndication unit under one oversight.Under the new setup, Naomi Bulochnikov, the senior VP of communications and publicity for ABC and General Entertainment, will add news, studio, syndication and Freeform to her

Well Go USA Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Jon Wright’s (Grabbers, Robot Overlords) horror film, Unwelcome, with plans to release it in U.S. theaters on March 17, 2022.

Danica McKellar is officially kicking off the holiday movie season!

JD Linville Filmax has acquired international rights to animated Basque feature “Save the Tree,” a new film from director duo Iker Alvarez and Haizea Pastor following the adventures of forest pixies and their quest to reconnect children with nature.A market premiere at this week’s Spanish Screenings-Málaga de Cine, the film has a central theme of environmental protection and subtly warns of the dangers of our technologically obsessed culture.“Save the Tree” is set amongst the forests of the

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large“Champaign ILL” featured rising stars Sam Richardson (“Veep”) and Adam Pally (“Happy Endings”) and garnered plenty of critical acclaim when it debuted. The series came from the minds behind popular comedies “Happy Endings” and “Black Monday.” Yet you probably never heard of it.Originally produced for YouTube Premium, the entire 10-episode season was released in 2018.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeSPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched “The Masked Singer” Season 6, Episode 6, “Time Warp,” which aired October 20 on Fox.It’s been thirty years since he was making copies on “Saturday Night Live.” Now, Rob Schneider has been revealed as the Hamster — Hamming it up, the Ham-star, the Hamsterminator, Masked Over My Hammy, Hams-I-Am, M.C.