New York’s Ensemble Studio Theatre Names Estefanía Fadul And Graeme Gillis As Co-Artistic Directors

Objective journalism was on trial Friday night on Bill Maher’s Real Time, with the New York Times as a focus for the discussion on whether opinion has buried news coverage.

The New York Times is under fire for the second day in a row over its coverage of transgender people – now for its response to the criticism of its coverage of transgender people, and also its warning to its own journalists made by the Old Gray Lady’s executive editor.On Wednesday, two very separate, yet damning letters were sent to The Times. One, an open letter signed by nearly 200 current and former Times contributors, criticized the paper’s coverage of transgender people.

Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor More than 30 Turkish, Syrian and local musicians will perform at benefit concerts taking place in New York on Saturday and Sunday (Feb. 18-19), in an effort to help raise funds for those affected by the devastating earthquakes that struck those countries earlier this month. The death toll from the quakes is reported to be at least 35,000, a number likely to rise in the coming days. The concerts will be held at the New York venue DROM, with 100% of ticket proceeds going to benefit the Turkish Philanthropy Fund and Basmeh Zeitooneh, a registered non-governmental organization working in Syria and Turkey — more details can be found here and here; the concerts’ program appears below.

Murtada Elfadl A compelling character-based drama that reveals the interior life of a young trans man over roughly 24 hours in New York City, “Mutt” follows Feña (Lío Mehiel) as he tries to navigate a series of events that would be stressful for anyone. Piling on setbacks that specifically challenge someone still working out how to reintroduce himself to old friends and family members, writer-director Vuk Lungulov-Klotz — who is also trans — makes audiences acutely conscious of Feña’s emotional state at every turn. “Mutt,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, sees the first-time helmer creatively using the medium to illustrate how small incidents can chip away at a trans person’s self-confidence and the strength it takes to stay true to that identity.

Ed Meza @edmezavar After a long break from feature films, director Uwe Boll is back and ready to roll with his latest project, a crime drama about two mismatched New York City cops on their first day as partners. “First Shift” stars Kristen Renton (“Sons of Anarchy”) and Gino Anthony Pesi (“Shades of Blue”) as the badge-carrying duo, she a transplant from Atlanta new to the Big Apple, he a jaded Brooklyn cop who prefers to work alone but forced to take on the new partner. Set to start shooting in New York City next month, “First Shift” has moved ahead of two other projects Boll has in the works, a South Africa-set thriller and a feature about Prohibition-era federal agent Eliot Ness — famously played by Kevin Costner and Robert Stack in the 1987 film and the 1959 series “The Untouchables” — during the latter part of his career.

Charlie Amter The surviving members of New York trio Ivy are taking a look back this year at one of their most beloved albums, “Apartment Life,” which is celebrating a 25th anniversary. The group was one of two ’90s-era indie acts to feature the late Emmy- and Grammy-winning musician Adam Schlesinger, who in addition to being a key member of both Ivy and Fountains of Wayne wrote music for the 1996 Tom Hanks vehicle “That Thing You Do!” and “Crazy Ex Girlfriend,” among others. On March 3, Bar/None Records will drop a reissue of the set, with two previously unreleased tracks, and Variety can exclusively reveal that the band will also release a Record Store Day exclusive of the demo versions of “Apartment Life” (in the same sequence as the final studio record) on Saturday, April 22; the “Apartment Life” demos will also be available on streaming services from July 21 onwards. We share one of the demo version songs (“I’ve Got A Feeling”) below, and talk with the surviving members of Ivy, Andy Chase and Dominique Durand, about the record, how they got their masters back, and the song from the album that Schlesinger — who passed away in 2020 from coronavirus complications — said was his favorite.

The New York Times acquired Serial Productions, the company behind the eponymous breakout true-crime podcast, in July 2020.

Skrillex, Fred Again.. and Four Tet have announced a surprise show in New York this weekend.The trio, who played three last minute gigs in London last month, will be making their debut in Madison Square Garden on Saturday (February 18) Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.During their London shows the trio showcased a host of tracks including recent single ‘Rumble’ along with further songs featuring Missy Elliott and Beam, all of which will feature on Skrillex’s new album ‘Quest For Fire’ which is set to drop this Friday (February 17).Earlier this week, Skrillex shared a list of track names and collaborations with many fans assuming this will be the tracklist for ‘Quest For Fire’.

New York Times contributors are protesting the outlet’s “irresponsible, biased” coverage of the transgender community.An open letter written to a top New York Times editor signed by more than 180 contributors was released Wednesday, writing: “We write to you as a collective of New York Times contributors with serious concerns about editorial bias in the newspaper’s reporting on transgender, non⁠-⁠binary, and gender nonconforming people.”“Plenty of reporters at the Times cover trans issues fairly,” it continues.

A coalition of LGBTQ groups, celebrity activists, journalists and New York Times contributors are protesting what they call the media outlet’s “irresponsible, biased” coverage of the transgender community.

Expanding his resumé! The White Lotus star Jon Gries made a surprise appearance at New York Fashion Week — by strutting down the runway in his modeling debut.

It’s the most fabulous time of the year! New York Fashion Week has commenced and fan-favorite stars have stepped out to celebrate the best fall/winter 2023 trends. 

on February 8 is a perfect example. (as per) in the —a tea-length black dress with elaborate beaded floral appliqués over the sheer fabric keeping things mostly modest (in a very First Testament way).

EXCLUSIVE: Renowned documentarian Lisa Cortés has entered into a first-look development agreement with the Museum of the City of New York, the goal being to hone documentary IP based on the museum’s exhibitions.

EXCLUSIVE: Kelly Hu (BMF, The Orville) has joined the cast of the CBS series in a recurring role. She will make her debut in episode 112 titled “Up in Smoke,” airing February 19.

Gustavo Dudamel, the longtime Music and Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is heading east: He’s leaving L.A. to take the baton of the New York Philharmonic when his current contract ends in 2026.

With New Jersey nipping at its heels and producers complaining about tardy payouts, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s latest budget for New York state, out Wednesday, raises the tax credit for film and television production back to 30%, boosts the annual cap to $700 million, modifies payout terms and attempt to lure TV production from other states in a new incentive package that would run through 2034.

No hair, don’t care! Pete Davidson has a bold new look.

EXCLUSIVE: Emmy-winning writer-producer Ed Redlich (Unforgettable), former CBS Entertainment head of programming Thom Sherman, and NAACP Image Award–nominated filmmaker Mo McRae (A Lot Of Nothing) have joined the creative team of the freshman CBS drama series East New York, from Warner Bros. Television.