Voice Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Ben Croll Given the NewImages Festival’s remit to welcome diverse artistic voices into the immersive space, programing “Noire” was an obvious choice. An augmented reality adaptation of a lesser-known case from the Civil Rights era, “Noire” brought much pedigree to this year’s Paris XR showcase.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large “The Simpsons” fans are still reacting to the surprise death of Moe’s Tavern regular Larry Dalrymple — aka Larry the Barfly — on Sunday’s episode, “Cremains of the Day.” And “The Simpsons” co-executive producer Tim Long has the explanation for why the show did it. “I’m sorry if some fans are upset, but we really wanted to use Larry’s death as a way to show that even the most peripheral people in our lives have dignity and worth, and that we really shouldn’t take anyone for granted,” Long wrote in an email shared with Variety. “To paraphrase Shakespeare, nothing became Larry’s life like the way he left it: drunk, lonely, and with a butt full of sapphires.” In the episode, Moe discovers Larry dead in the bar.

Jon Bon Jovi is stepping out to promote his new Hulu docu-series!

Lexi Carson Nearly a month after Queen Bey dropped her record-breaking album “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé‘s documentary “Call Me Country: Beyoncé & Nashville’s Renaissance” is now available to stream Max. The documentary is produced by CNN FlashDocs and will highlight how high-profile artists like Beyoncé and Lil Nas X challenge the country music genre, and how their impact connects to the history of Black artists in Nashville. Released on March 29, “Cowboy Carter” is Beyoncé’s eighth solo studio album.

EXCLUSIVE: TV anchor Sage Steele has replaced Candace Owens in the voice cast of The Daily Wire‘s upcoming animated sitcom Mr Birchum, following the latter’s recent exit from the right wing news platform.

EXCLUSIVE: The Doris Duke Foundation is pleased to announce its  continued commitment to uplifting Muslim stories through a $1 million grant to Sundance Institute. Through a three-year commitment, the grant establishes the Building Bridges Fellowship and Completion Fund. The fellowship aims to provide financial and creative resources, mentorship, and support to filmmakers, producers, and other creators focused on telling Muslim-related stories while also offering community and network support with other creatives in the industry.

Lexi Carson The music and lyrics in Broadway’s “Water for Elephants” are expansive and a rich tapestry of American music ranging from folk, to swing, jazz and bluegrass. PigPen, a collective of seven musicians (Alex Falberg, Arya Shahi, Ben Ferguson, Curtis Gillen, Daniel Weschler, Matt Nuernberger and Ryan Melia) is also a theater company, and that uniqueness made them the perfect fit to bring the show’s music to life. The transition to bring the story to a stage first started in 2014 when PigPen Theatre Co., did a workshop with Rick Elice, “Water for Elephants” scriptwriter, for a different show.

EXCLUSIVE: Gato Grande–an Amazon MGM Studios company–has set their first English-language comedy series titled Climax from Mexican American writer Elena Crevello (Grace and Frankie, American Auto, Vida). The project is currently being shopped.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Women of My Billion (WOMB),” a documentary produced by Priyanka Chopra Jonas, will play on Prime Video from May 3. Directed by Ajitesh Sharma, “WOMB” follows the journey of Srishti Bakshi, as she embarked on a walking pilgrimage from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, India, spanning 3,800 kms (2,360 miles) over 240 days, with a mission to find and share stories about women, their struggles, dreams, rights, and their wins, against all odds. “Women have borne the brunt of gender bias for far too long, enduring a silent struggle against entrenched social injustices that seek to suppress their voices.

Meghan Markle once responded to Prince Harry's interruption with a sharp three word retort during a public event with Prince William and Kate Middleton, according to a royal author.

Tupac Shakur‘s team is threatening Drake with a lawsuit over his new song “Taylor Made Freestyle.”

Lady Gaga cemented her status as one of music’s biggest voices and Hollywood’s brightest stars with her role in 2018′s A Star is Born.

Paramount+ has renewed the animated preschool series Dora for a second season.

Peter Andre has shared an endearing video, revealing the affectionate nickname for his newborn daughter as he and wife Emily struggle to settle on a permanent name.

Charlotte Church had to say goodbye to all of her millions!

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic Any photographer who shoots what’s happening in the gleaming, raw, people-packed carnival of New York City — the stores and walls and towers and alleyways, the celebrities, the endless cross-section of humanity — already has an artistic leg up. But the other leg is what he or she does with it. Weegee shot the violent night world of sin and crime.

Production on the upcoming live action How to Train Your Dragon film is currently underway!!

Blake Shelton is addressing the possibility of him returning to his red chair on The Voice!

DreamWorks Animation’s The Wild Robot will now go on Sept. 27 instead of Sept. 20.

Coronation Street star Sue Cleaver as she revealed she's taking on another new venture away from the cobbles. The actress is currently taking a break from the ITV soap where she is famed for playing Eileen Grimshaw.

The Cannes Film Festival has revealed the lineup for its new strand dedicated to immersive works. Among the eight projects in competition are the French premiere of Evolver, which will feature Cate Blanchett in voiceover, and the European premiere of Maya: The Birth of a Superhero with Indira Varma and Bridgerton’s Charithra Chandran as English voices. Meanwhile, the non-competitive works boast a stellar cast including Colin Farrell as the English voice in Gloomy Eyes, Jessica Chastain, Millie Bobby Brown, and Patti Smith in Spheres. 

Family Guy star Patrick Warburton has revealed that his family still doesn’t approve of his involvement in the show.Warburton has voiced Joe Swanson since the first season of the comedy, which debuted in 1999 and has been running for 22 seasons. Known for its crude humour and storylines related to stereotypes, the show regularly features satirical commentary about American culture.However, speaking at PaleyFest LA, Warburton shared that his family disapprove of the series, created by Seth MacFarlane, and even attempted to get it cancelled.“They hate the show even more today than they did 25 years ago,” shared Warburton (via People magazine). “My father was in a monastery for three months.

The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences (IADAS) announced the winners of the 28th Annual Webby Awards.

Ellise Shafer The Cannes Film Festival has announced the selections for its Immersive lineup, including projects voiced by stars like Cate Blanchett, Colin Farrell and Jessica Chastain. According to a press release, the Immersive competition includes “collective location-based virtual reality and mixed reality experiences, and projection mapping and holographic works.

Jamie Lang Leading French production-distribution outfit Le Pacte has boarded the upcoming 2D animated feature project “Conference of the Birds,” which will be spotlighted at the Marché du Film’s Animation Day during this year’s Cannes Festival. In addition to co-producing, Le Pacte will handle French distribution and serve as international sales agent on the film, part of the five-title Annecy Showcase at the Animation Day.

Jamie Lang Colombian producer Letrario and Spain’s Abano Producións have unveiled a new 2D animated feature co-production, “Mu-Ki-Ra,” which will be spotlighted at the 2024 Cannes’ Marché du Film Animation Day. “Mu-Ki-Ra” was created by Colombian actress and screenwriter Estefanía Piñeres Duque, who co-wrote the screenplay with María Barro Guntín and is directing.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Two of France’s fastest-rising young stars, Lyna Khoudri (“Papicha,” “The French Dispatch”) and Rio Vega ( “Deerskin,” “Sorry Angel”), will lead the French voice cast of animated feature “In Waves,” an unconditional first love story, and tale of loss and memories adapting American illustrator AJ Dungo’s same-titled multi-prized graphic novel. An anticipated banner prestige animation title from Paris-based Silex Films (“The Lost Boys,” “This is My Mother”), “In Waves” lead producer, the feature also marks the first animated co-production of both Anonymous Content (“The Revenant,” “Spotlight”) and Charades, behind sales of Jeremy Clapin’s “I Lost My Body” and Mamoru Hosoda’s “Mirai,” both Oscar nominated titles.

Big games require big calls. But on Scottish Cup judgement day, it was Philippe Clement who can claim vindication after a week of having his selections smarts questioned.

EXCLUSIVE: The Writer’s Colony is an LA-Based three month screenwriting residency where writers have the chance to develop an original script that showcases their writing voice and vision. Throughout the residency they workshop their scripts and have access to network with a variety of entertainment professionals at all levels to prepare them to launch into the industry. The residency is an opportunity for underrepresented writers, with cohorts made up of those who have not been on staff with a studio or been in a scripted television’s writers room. The goal of the colony is to amplify the voices of those who have not yet had the chance to bring their ideas to the page.

Tori Spelling has money troubles, and they must be pretty bad if she’s finally willing to talk about it publicly. We know she sees a way to navigate out of it… what we don’t is whether it will work out how she wants!