Under normal circumstances, film festivals are fiercely competitive. Their reputations rise and fall by the caliber of world premieres they’re able to secure each year, and savvy sales reps and producers play them against one another in the game to book the most advantageous platform for the life of each movie. 7 more words
via We Are One: Film Festivals Come Together in Time of Crisis — Variety
When Disney Plus launched last November — with all 30 seasons of “The Simpsons” — it was immediately met with a backlash from fans. The problem: Older, pre-HD episodes were truncated to fit into a 16-by-9 frame, killing many of the show’s visual jokes. 13 more words
Cate Blanchett has officially closed a deal to star in director Eli Roth’s movie adaptation of the video game “Borderlands” at Lionsgate. Blanchett will portray Lilith, a legendary thief equipped with magical skills. 24 more words
via Cate Blanchett to Officially Star in Eli Roth’s ‘Borderlands’ — Variety
Andy Samberg’s romantic comedy “Palm Springs” is hitting Hulu just in time for summer. The movie, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival, was expected to first release in theaters but will instead launch on the streaming service on July 10, along with some drive-in theaters. 12 more words
via Andy Samberg’s Rom-Com ‘Palm Springs’ Will Debut on Hulu in July — Variety
The Gal Gadot-led series about film legend Hedy Lamarr is on the move. Variety has learned exclusively that the project is now set up at Apple with a straight-to-series order after having previously been in the works at Showtime. 18 more words
via Gal Gadot, Sarah Treem’s Hedy Lamarr Series Moves to Apple From Showtime (EXCLUSIVE) — Variety
The National Football League and its players’ union will reap at least $1.6 billion from their newest extension of the popular “Madden” video game series, according to league sources. 28 more words
via NFL’s ‘Madden’ Video Game Deal Worth $1.6 Billion to League, Players — Variety
UPDATED: Reports by U.S. users of problems with Amazon’s website spiked Thursday afternoon, with people across the country complaining that it was inaccessible before the issues were resolved less than an hour later. 27 more words
via Amazon Experiences Temporary Site Outage in U.S. — Variety
President Donald Trump said he signed an executive order to “defend free speech” from social-media companies by limiting their legal protections from liability — an action he took two days after Twitter applied fact-checking labels to two of his inaccurate tweets about mail-in ballots. 14 more words
MTV is currently working with numerous government and health agencies in hopes of mounting its annual Video Music Awards live from New York this August, Variety can report exclusively. 29 more words
A federal judge on Thursday threw out a copyright lawsuit against M. Night Shyamalan and Apple, which had accused him of stealing elements from a 2013 independent film for his Apple TV Plus series “Servant.” Judge John F. 21 more words
via M. Night Shyamalan Wins Dismissal of ‘Servant’ Copyright Suit — Variety
Festival Reviews 