Apple Podcasts is finally giving video a full embrace. The tech giant, which pioneered the podcast audio format and helped popularize it, has faced stepped-up competition from video podcast viewing on YouTube and Spotify. On Monday, Apple said it will bring “advanced video capabilities” to Apple Podcasts this spring. Those will be available on iPhone,…
Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used by Indian screenwriters in their work even as long-standing concerns around pay, credit and professional recognition continue to dominate sentiment, according to “The Right Draft: 2026,” a new industry research report released by talent agency Tulsea and media insights firm Ormax Media. Based on a nationwide survey of 254…
It’s a high-stakes gambit to assemble a cast of relative newcomers for a first feature film — especially when that film is set against the sprawling, kinetic, unpredictable backdrop of the Nigerian megacity of Lagos. But if early returns are anything to go by, British Nigerian writer-director Olive Nwosu struck paydirt with the ensemble cast…
Branded entertainment executives Anthony Damianakis and Pete Fergusson are launching an ambitious startup called IPX headquartered in Dubai, with offices also in London and Sydney. The innovative startup aims to connect brands with creators, producers, broadcasters, streamers and other content platforms to jointly develop premium content and ownable IP. IPX – which is being touted…
Spain is in the middle of a two-pronged talent revolution, with big-name name filmmakers leveraging festival prestige into bigger movie packages and global renown and new voices sporting first features that use genre and emotional uplift to travel faster, without surrendering their auteurist voice. Spain’s emerging talent is sharply visible at Berlin: Ian de la…
OWN has greenlit two new television specials starring Iyanla Vanzant, an Emmy-winning spiritual life coach. While details of the specials are still under wraps, both will continue Vanzant’s goal of helping people “fix” their lives, with production beginning in March. The news of the two specials comes following the launch and rollout of “Iyanla: The…
Modern country great Sturgill Simpson was not kidding around when he redubbed himself Johnny Blue Skies for his last album, 2026’s “Passage du Desir.” He’s coming back next month with a second album under that moniker, or, actually, the expanded band name Johnny Blue Skies & the Dark Clouds. And his name as an artist…
Italy’s Nexo Digital, which produces and distributes theatrical event content for the global market, is launching sales at Berlin’s European Film Market on high profile doc “Carlo Acutis – The Millennial Saint” about the 15-year-old who in 2026 become the Roman Catholic Church’s first millennial saint. Carlo Acutis, who died of leukemia on Oct. 12,…
MK2 Films has acquired worldwide rights to Ari Folman’s “Waltz With Bashir,” following an agreement signed with Bridgit Folman Film Gang. A new 4K restoration of the film is underway and will premiere this year. “Waltz With Bashir” premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008, and broke new ground with its fusion…
Variety is exclusively unveiling a new clip from “Light Pillar,” the feature debut from Chinese writer-director Xu Zao, which is in the Berlin Film Festival’s Perspectives section. Dubai-based company Cercamon recently acquired worldwide sales rights to the production, which screens in competition for the best first feature award in the strand. “Light Pillar” follows a…
