Oscar Winner Bob Yari, Marvin Peart Launch Production and Distribution Venture WonderHill

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Bob Yari and Marvin Peart’s new content venture WonderHill Studios has named four key executives to bolster operations, Variety can report exclusively. Joining Oscar winner Yari and Peart are executives including The Weinstein Company veteran Laurent Ouaknine as president of distribution; David McPherson as president of music and VP of alternative TV; former Solstice Studios CFO Shaun Williams in the same role; and CJ Vranca as executive vice president of business and legal affairs. “This incredibly talented team has invaluable experience and are key pillars to what we are building at WonderHill Studios,” said Yari and Peart. “We look forward to sharing our team’s strategic initiatives as we collaborate and grow our upcoming versatile slate within film and television.”

Deadline’s Most Valuable Blockbuster tournament took a hiatus during the pandemic as movie theaters closed for the majority of 2020-2021 and theatrical day-and-date titles on both the big screen and studios’ respective streaming platforms became more prevalent. Coming back from that brink, the studios have largely returned to their theatrical release models and the downstream monies they can bring. Not to mention their power in launching IPs around the world with big global marketing campaigns. When it comes to evaluating the financial performance of top movies, it isn’t about what a film grosses at the box office. The true tale is told when production budgets, P&A, talent participations and other costs collide with box office grosses, and ancillary revenues from VOD to DVD and TV. To get close to that mysterious end of the equation, Deadline is repeating our Most Valuable Blockbuster tournament for 2022, using data culled by seasoned and trusted sources.

Irish Oscar winner Martin McDonagh has complained of theatres refusing to perform his work because he would not agree to changes in the language. 

A Hollywood icon! Goldie Hawn has been a major movie star for decades, known for her bubbly personality and humorous characters.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The verdicts on the new Broadway musical-comedy “Shucked” are in, and the critics have asked you to lend them your ears — so to speak — as they’ve cobbled together their reactions to the possible sleeper hit. (Sorry, but once you’ve seen the production, it may take you six months or longer to stop speaking in puns.) Variety’s critic wrote that “with its exuberance, heart and non-stop yucks, ‘Shucked’ is the surprise delight of the Broadway season.” The New York Post’s notice trumpeted it as “Broadways’s best and funniest new musical.” Time Out said the show leaves theatergoers “gorged to satisfaction on a big, tasty bag of Broadway puff.” Entertainment Weekly wrote that “its refreshing embrace of diversity and unapologetically corny sincerity can definitely put a smile on your face.” Even one of the minority that was harder on it, the New York Times’ Jesse Green, begrudgingly admitted of the parade of laughs: “forced into submission,,” he wrote, “you eventually give in.”

EXCLUSIVE: Thad Luckinbill has been tapped for a heavily recurring role opposite Zoe Saldaña in Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount+ original series Lioness, headlined and executive produced by Saldaña and also starring Nicole Kidman, who executive produces, and Laysla De Oliveira. The series hails from Sheridan, MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor Ryuichi Sakamoto, the renowned composer and member of the Yellow Magic Orchestra who won an Oscar for the score for “The Last Emperor” and composed the haunting score for “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence,” died Tuesday of cancer at 71.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Amazon MiniTV, a free-of-charge service within the Amazon shopping app and on Fire TV, will next month begin airing short-form teen romance series “Gutar Gu.” The show is produced by Guneet Monga and Sikhya Productions, whose “The Elephant Whisperers” recently won the Oscar for best documentary short. “We at Sikhya are super excited to work with director Saqib Pandor, transforming our well-received short film into its own web series! “Gutar Gu” – a new chapter in the story of Ritu and Anuj, dives deep into the many ups and downs of teenage relationships- navigating strict parents, dating protocols, and the innocence and moments of first love,” said Monga.

Bob Yari and Marvin Peart have today announced the launch of WonderHill Studios, a new production and distribution company that will operate in the independent space, focusing on film and television production, domestic film distribution, acquisitions and foreign sales.

Michelle Yeoh made history when she became the first Asian woman to win the Best Actress Oscar at the Academy Awards earlier this month. The Malaysian film star told millions of watchers as she held the award for her stunning performance in the highly acclaimed film Everything Everywhere All At Once: "This is a beacon of hope and possibilities."

A made for TV bromance! Tyler Hynes and Andrew Walker have been friends for nearly two decades — and Hallmark Channel fans have taken notice.

Owen Wilson is gearing up for  season 2.ET's Ash Crossan spoke to Wilson at the premiere of his new comedy, -- out April 7 — where he shared his excitement over the show's next season and having Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan join the cast.«I guess they have kind of a little shot of Tom Hiddleston and I and Jonathan Majors from season two,» Wilson said when asked about the  teaser at the end of. «And I think that's coming out end of the summer or September.»As for what's ahead, Wilson said the show's second season promises to «get very wild,» now that the Kangs have been unleashed.Season 2 will also see even more famous faces, with the addition of Quan to the cast.«I know.

Oscar winner and Academy member Roger Ross Williams is saying publicly what many in the documentary community have stewed over privately – that the sums of money being spent on Oscar documentary campaigns has “gotten insane.” And Williams, a former Academy Governor representing the Doc Branch, says something may be done about it.

Nia Long had the sweetest reunion with her  co-star, Larenz Tate. The actress took to Instagram to share that the two ran into one another while walking in the rain, and they declared their love for one another while sheltering under a shared umbrella.«Walking in the rain right now, s**t happens in the rain, LT! I love you,» Long says as she beams into the camera with Tate walking by her side.

Peter Werner, Emmy-nominated TV director who won a Best Short Film Oscar in 1977, died suddenly this morning in Wilmington, NC from heart complications following a torn aorta.

Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh's acting roots can be traced back to Manchester, as the city's Metropolitan university has revealed she graduated with a BA in creative arts in 1983.

Everything Everywhere All at Once” — his first major role in 30 years.“Everything is still so fresh in my mind,” he told Variety in an interview published Wednesday. “And that’s why moving forward I’m still really scared.“Even though I just won an Oscar, I’m still really fearful of what tomorrow brings,” he shared.Quan, an immigrant from Vietnam, had his first acting role in the Harrison Ford-starring movie “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” when he was just 12 years old. The next summer, he played Data in the movie “The Goonies” — but that was it.Until now.“I had a conversation with my agent, and I said, ‘I’m so worried that this is only a one-time thing,'” Quan told Variety about his recent successes.

Ke Huy Quan was on a mission. He’d just been named best supporting actor for his performance as Waymond Wang, the goofy husband of a laundromat owner in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” and he wanted to experience the moment with Steven Spielberg. Spielberg, you see, was the filmmaker who cast him in his breakout role in 1984’s “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” when Quan was 12 years old. So during a commercial break in the Academy Awards telecast, Quan, 51, went over to where Spielberg was sitting with his wife, actress Kate Capshaw, whom Quan hadn’t seen since they co-starred in “Temple of Doom” four decades earlier. After hugs all around, Spielberg put his hands on Quan’s shoulders and said, “You are now an Oscar-winning actor.”

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has renewed International Emmy-winning hit Indian series “Delhi Crime” for a third season. The streamer’s India operation has also renewed “Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives,” “Kota Factory,” “Mismatched” and “She” for third seasons. Netflix India has also commissioned a documentary on the life of hip hop artist and rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh who will deep-dive into the reasons behind his sudden disappearance at the peak of his career. The documentary will be directed by Mozez Singh (Disney+ Hotstar series “Human”) and produced by Guneet Monga and Achin Jain‘s Sikhya Entertainment, 2023 Oscar winners for “The Elephant Whisperers.”

After Jamie Lee Curtis won her first Oscar, she contacted her dog walker before anyone else. During an emotional interview on "Today," the 64-year-old actress explained the reason why she reached out to her dog walker first.