Shawn Finnie, Film Academy Executive VP of Member Relations and Awards, Exits After 9 years

Gigi Hadid’s little one, Khai, is just getting bigger by the day.

It’s no wonder Candace Bushnell is the inspiration behind Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw — her real-life romantic escapades are just as entertaining. 

Following Sinéad O’Connor’s death, her 2021 memoir Rememberings has soared to the top of the bestseller lists.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief New Zealand-based specialty sales firm Black Mandala has picked up global rights to upcoming U.S. supernatural horror film “Cheat.” Written and directed by Kevin Ignatius and Nick Psinakis (“The Long Dark Trail”), the film is set for its world premiere at FrightFest. The picture’s premise is the urban legend that a supernatural being from the afterlife will violently murder anyone who cheats on their partner.

Ariana Madix is not ready for a sit down with Tom Sandoval.

Trainspotting producer Andrew Macdonald has been appointed as the new Chair of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF). 

The King and Queen, as well as other senior members of the Royal Family including the Prince and Princess of Wales, are said to be readying themselves for two years of worldwide tours in a bid "to keep Commonwealth intact", in a "soft democracy" blitz. While it is understood that the monarch will prioritise visits to key nations such as Australia, New Zealand and a number of Commonwealth realms in the Caribbean, there are a number of countries that will also be high on the agenda such as India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Two labor strikes may be upending Hollywood’s awards season and the film festivals that serve as launching pads for many Oscar contenders, but the Toronto International Film Festival signaled Monday that it still plans to showcase the best in cinema, unveiling its 2023 slate of movies. Alexander Payne, Richard Linklater, Kore-eda Hirokazu and Justine Triet are among the auteurs who will be screening their latest works at the festival. Payne will be on hand with “The Holdovers,” a comedy set in a boarding school that reunites him with “Sideways” star PaulGiamatti, while Linklater is showing “Hitman,” an action-comedy with Glen Powell and Adria Arjona. Kore-eda and Triet will screen “Monster” and “Anatomy of a Fall,” both of which premiered at Cannes, where the latter won the Palme d’Or.

Tom Sandoval was in tears at the Vanderpump Rules reunion thinking about not being friends with his fellow cast members, but it looks like the group is healing. In photos published by Daily Mail, the cheater was photographed in Lake Tahoe with the rest of the cast on their first group trip since the cheating scandal between Sandoval, Ariana Madix, 38, and her ex-best friend Raquel Leviss.Vanderpump Rules is currently filming its 11th season, which has reunited the cast for the first time since the fiery reunion.

Sophia Scorziello editor Live Nation’s concert streaming platform Veeps has set its first-ever global film premiere with rock documentary “What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears?” The doc’s exclusive PVOD release on Veeps follows its March 2023 theatrical release, which was helmed by Abramorama. The exclusive Veeps screenings will take place on August 20 at 12 p.m. ET and 8 p.m. ET. Veeps is offering two tiers of tickets, the first going for $12.99 which gives access to the screening, and the second for $24.99, which includes screening access along with a CD copy of the documentary’s soundtrack. Both tickets provide audiences with a 3-day rewatch window. In addition, each of the two PVOD screenings will host a live Q&A with filmmaker John Scheinfeld and Blood, Swear and Tear’s band member Bobby Colomby.

Johnny Depp’s band, The Hollywood Vampires, met their match after they encountered a bat in their Glasgow hotel.

Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez have called it quits. A source confirmed the news of the breakup to ET on Monday, adding that Grande, 30, and Gomez, 27, have «been quietly and lovingly working on their friendship.»Another source told ET, «Ariana and Dalton’s friends have always been concerned by their whirlwind romance and felt their relationship would ultimately be short-lived. Their relationship has been rocky at different points, and they've had trouble making time for each other with scheduling issues.»A third source echoed to ET that, while they «tried to make things work,» Grande and Gomez «were just not a good fit.» After a whirlwind romance forged in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, the pair married in May 2021 just five months after the singer announced her engagement to the luxury real estate agent.Now, ET is looking back on the former couple's relationship journey from quarantining together, showing off an enormous engagement ring and, eventually, ditching the flashy bauble during a day out in London, England.Grande was spotted locking lips with a mystery man — who was later identified as Gomez — at a gastropub called Bar Louie in Northridge, California, in photos obtained by . This sparked new romance rumors for Grande after previous speculation that she'd been dating Social House singer Mikey Foster.

Ariana Grande and Dalton Gomez have reportedly called it quits after two years of marriage, multiple websites reported.

Ariana Grande and husband Dalton Gomez have separated after two years of marriage, a source confirms to ET.«They've been quietly and lovingly working on their friendship,» the source added.Another source told ET, «Ariana and Dalton’s friends have always been concerned by their whirlwind romance and felt their relationship would ultimately be short-lived. Their relationship has been rocky at different points, and they've had trouble making time for each other with scheduling issues.»TMZ was the first to report the news of the 30-year-old singer's split, noting that sources close to the couple say they've been separated since January and are «heading towards divorce.»Troubles between the two reportedly started even before Grande moved to London to film the movie, with TMZ also sharing that the couple tried reconciling a few months ago, but it didn't last. Grande and Gomez, 27, remain friends, and talk on the phone regularly, according to TMZ's source.Speculation ramped up over the weekend, when Grande attended the Wimbledon men's tennis final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic alongside co-star Jonathan Bailey, notably, without her wedding ring on.

The 35th Galway Film Fleadh ended Sunday evening with the Competition jury handing the festival’s top prizes of Best Irish Film to Apocalypse Clown, directed by George Kane, and the Generation Jury Award to Scrapper by Charlotte Regan.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences sent a letter to its members on Friday evening, addressing the recent departure of multiple Black executives from its organization over the past few weeks. Signed by Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang, the statement, obtained by Variety, includes an affirmation of the organization’s commitment to its diversity and inclusion programs, as well as efforts to “expanding” their promotion. “We have heard from some of you who have asked about our Academy DEAI programs as these efforts across our film community and other industries have been called into question,” the letter begins. “A number of Black executives in Hollywood have exited their roles, including within the Academy, and we recognize the concern this creates. Given all of this, we want to reiterate, in the strongest possible terms, the Academy’s commitment to not only continuing, but expanding our efforts to promote diversity and inclusion within our organization and the film industry at large.”

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Shawn Finnie, executive vice president, member relations, global outreach and awards for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, is leaving the organization after nearly a decade, Variety has learned exclusively. His final day was Thursday, July 13. Finnie was a beloved figure within the Academy, rising through the ranks and receiving multiple promotions. His departure comes after his most recent promotion to his role in June 2021 by former COO Christine Simmons. He led engagement and outreach initiatives for the organization’s global membership of more than 10,000 artists, filmmakers and executives. In addition, he led a team of more than 20 team members.

Watch video of the press conference here.They were referring to a wave of sudden exits of executives that kicked off June 20 when Disney’s chief diversity officer and senior vice president Latondra Newton, left, according to Disney to pursue “other endeavors.” Then on June 28 Netflix announced that Vernā Myers, head of inclusion strategy, will leave the role in September after five years in the job in order to focus attention on her consulting company, The Vernā Myers Company.The next day, Warner Bros. Discovery laid off SVP of diversity, equity and inclusion Karen Horne, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s EVP of Impact and Inclusion Jeanell English stepped down.

Filming for season 11 of Vanderpump Rules kicked off in June, three months after Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss’ cheating scandal sent shockwaves through the cast and fans of the Bravo series.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor A mass exodus of Black women from senior leadership posts across Hollywood during the last few weeks is raising questions about the depth of the film and television industry’s commitment to diversifying the top ranks of the entertainment industry. The high-profile departures have sparked outrage on social media, with mounting concerns that major studios are only performing lip service after pledging to elevate more people of color to positions of influence. In the last month, six Black women executives in prominent leadership roles have abruptly left their positions in the studio system. Many oversaw DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) departments, putting them on the frontlines of larger effort to change corporate cultures and hiring practices. The exits include Karen Horne, who led DEI efforts at Warner Bros. Discovery and Jeanell English, executive VP of impact and inclusion at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. The other prominent executives are Netflix’s Vernā Myers, the streamer’s first head of inclusion; Disney’s LaTondra Newton, chief diversity officer and senior VP; and another Warner Bros. executive, Terra Potts, VP of worldwide marketing. On Monday, Joanna Abeyie, the BBC’s creative diversity director, joined their ranks. And even though the steady stream of departures is alarming, multiple industry sources tell Variety that more BIPOC executives are expected to join them in the coming weeks.