Michael Kopsa, a Canadian actor whose roles on hit and cult-favorite like The X-Files, Highlander, Smallville and Stargate SG-1 made him an immediately recognizable TV presence, died Sunday, Oct. 23, of complications from a brain tumor. He was 66.
06.10.2022 - 20:37 / variety.com
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Kimiko Glenn (“Orange Is the New Black”) and H. Michael Croner (“Craig of the Creek”) have been cast as voice-over co-stars in Disney Branded Television’s upcoming animated series “Kiff,” which will premiere in 2023 on the Disney Channel. Scroll down for a first look at the series. Glenn will play Kiff, described as “an optimistic squirrel whose thirst for life takes her on countless adventures through her town.” Croner will voice Barry, a bunny that Disney calls Kiff’s “naive and lovable bestie.” South Africa-based creators Lucy Heavens and Nic Smal are behind “Kiff,” which was set to be unveilved, with casting news and teaser trailer, on Thursday at New York Comic-Con.
According to Disney, “Kiff” was inspired by Heavens’ and Smal’s experiences growing up in Cape Town, South Africa, and its people and places. Each half-hour episode will be comprised of two 11-minute stories.
“Set in a world where animals and magical oddballs tackle day-to-day life alongside one another, the series follows Kiff and Barry as they navigate school, relationships and their often eccentric community,” according to the show’s longline. Music will also play a role in the series, with a new original song in every episode. Besides Heavens and Smal, the show’s creative team includes co-producer and story editor Kent Osborne (“Phineas and Ferb” “Adventure Time”), who will serve as co-producer and story editor, and Winnie Chaffee (“Captain Planet and the Planeteers”) as producer. “Kiff” is produced by Titmouse in association with Disney Channel. Glenn’s busy voiceover career includes “Baby Shark’s Big Show,” “The Lion Guard,” “Close Enough,” “Elena of Avalor,” “Summer Camp Island,” “Duck Tales,” “Sofia
Michael Kopsa, a Canadian actor whose roles on hit and cult-favorite like The X-Files, Highlander, Smallville and Stargate SG-1 made him an immediately recognizable TV presence, died Sunday, Oct. 23, of complications from a brain tumor. He was 66.
Jules Bass, whose work as a producer and director of stop-motion and animated television specials such as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town and The Year Without A Santa Claus has become an integral part of the holiday season for generations, died today in Rye, New York, of age-related illnesses. He was 87.
Jonathan Martin is returning to Politico after almost a decade at The New York Times.
In 2011, I was shot in the head while meeting with constituents. In 2013, two years to the day from being shot and a month after the horrific tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, I founded a gun violence prevention organization today known as Giffords. I’ve spent the past 10 years fighting for gun safety — and I’m also a gun owner.
Ethan Shanfeld Not much is known about Nintendo’s upcoming “Super Mario Bros.” movie, but Keegan-Michael Key revealed to Variety that his character Toad has a musical moment in the film. When asked if Toad shows off his singing chops in the animated movie, Key said, “He does. I got to improvise a song in ‘Super Mario Bros.,’ which was an absolute blast. That was just a stick of fun, that whole thing.” Regarding Toad’s voice, Key said, “I was working on the voice with my partner and trying to find the voice through the internal journey of the character. And then with the directors [Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic], we sprinkled some things in, we moved it around.”
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large BET is bringing the “Soul Train Awards” back to Las Vegas. The channel is set to announce on Thursday that the annual event’s 2022 edition will tape on Sunday, November 13, in Sin City. The awards show aims to recognize the year’s top soul, R&B and hip hop. “Soul Train Awards” nominees, selected by a voting academy of music industry insiders, performers, and presenters, will be announced at a later date. BET also said it will adhere to local COVID-19 protocols in cooperation with Las Vegas county officials. Last year’s “Soul Train Awards”were held in New York, at Harlem’s Apollo Theatre, co-hosted by Tisha Campbell and Tichina Arnold returned as co-hosts. Ashantiwas given the “Lady of Soul” award, Maxwell was presented with the “Legend” award and Ciara and Russell WilsonandMarley Diasreceived the “Souls of Justice” award.
Paramount+ today debuted the official mid-season trailer for season one of its original animated kids’ series, Star Trek: Prodigy. The trailer was introduced by executive producers Kevin and Dan Hageman, during the “Star Trek” universe panel at New York Comic Con.
Emma Stone didn’t receive a warm welcome while attending the first post-season game for the New York Mets.
Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Josh Gordon and Will Speck’s live-action musical “Lyle Lyle Crocodile” lives up to it name. The story, about a crocodile named Lyle voiced by Shawn Mendes that can dance and sing, features songs penned by the award-winning Justin Paul and Benj Pasek. The dup then brought in a team of songwriters to carve out toe-tapping, infectious earworms. From the get-go songwriting and composing duo Pasek and Paul knew Lyle would be a singing crocodile which made the project all the more exciting for them. “But when the voice actor became Shawn Mendes, that really informed a lot of the style and what we were going to write for,” explains Pasek.
James McAvoy speaks on stage during the His Dark Materials interview at New York Comic Con 2022 on Thursday (October 6) in New York City.
Mindy Kaling and Constance Wu sat down at HBO Max’s Velma panel during New York Comic Con 2022 on Wednesday (October 6) in New York City.
Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Samuel L. Jackson, Laurence Fishburne, Whoopi Goldberg and Zendaya are just some of the stars who appear in Elvis Mitchell’s “Is That Black Enough for You?” Netflix documentary. Mitchell’s doc bows this weekend at the New York Film Festival. Mitchell, a film critic who has written for LA Weekly and The New York Times takes on the role of writer, director and narrator as he traces the history of Black representation in cinema. The documentary examines Black cultural achievement in the 1960s and ’70s and debunks the notion that Black cinema in that period only meant Blaxploitation films.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Bethenny Frankel says she’s had enough of scammers on TikTok using her voice, image or content to sell counterfeit products. The entrepreneur and star of “The Real Housewives of New York” filed a federal lawsuit against ByteDance’s TikTok, the hugely popular short-form video app, alleging that TikTok has ignored her requests to remove unauthorized content that misappropriates her likeness. The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, demands unspecified monetary damages and a permanent injunction barring TikTok from misusing the “personas, voices, content and/or likenesses” of Frankel and other potential members of the class. “Despite demands on TikTok to remove and police this corrupt conduct, TikTok has ignored such demands, and even taken countervailing positions,” Frankel’s lawsuit says. “Aside from not being compensated, the reputation and brand of Ms. Frankel and Class Members are being damaged and tarnished through unauthorized associations with counterfeit goods and other products that they do not support.”
The conversation around Chris Pratt’s casting as the voice of Mario in Illumination and Nintendo’s upcoming The Super Mario Bros Movie was well underway before Thursday. But it hit a new gear after the first trailer – and first listen of Pratt’s interpretation of the video game icon — was released at New York Comic-Con. It hits theaters April 7, 2023.
At New York Comic-Con today, attendees finally got a look at Illumination Animation/Universal’s The Super Mario Bros Movie, which features the voices of Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad.