“Rain in My Head” was the big winner at the 10th annual Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, taking honors for best film, director Chrissy Marshall and actor Layne Apffel.

Also saluted were Nathan Cox, editor for “Smash or Pass”; Rachel Handler, writer, “Unlucky in Love”; and Judith Rubin and “Leap of Love” for best awareness campaign.

The winners were announced May 4 at an orange-carpet ceremony and reception at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City. 

For the competition, registered filmmakers were given five days within a designated timeframe to write and produce short films (three-to-five minutes) promoting disability inclusion. Every year’s contest has a theme, and this

Watching a police-procedural homicide drama, whether it’s the grungiest of VOD potboilers or the most visionary film of the genre, Michael Mann’s silvery, dread-drenched “Manhunter,” we more or less know one thing: At the end of two hours, the grisly mystery we’ve been dunked in will have its catharsis and its resolution. We will know who the killer is, and in knowing that a kind of order will have been restored. David Fincher’s “Zodiac,” with its tantalizing ambiguities, might stand as an exception to the form — a singular winding creep-out, without the closure we’re thirsting for — yet even there you feel, by the end, that you’ve

It’s deja vu all over again for Patric Verrone, the former WGA West president who led the guild during the 2007-08 writers strike.

Verrone, who spoke to Variety while picketing outside Fox Studios in West Los Angeles, sees a number of parallels to the dynamic that led to the work stoppage in November 2007 but also a number of important differences. He is a member of the negotiating committee that has been wrangling this latest three-year contract with executives at the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

“I would say the chief similarity is that in 2007, and in 2023, the management didn’t believe us,

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers from “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story,” now streaming on Netflix.

“Queen Charlotte” may be an extension of the “Bridgerton” universe, but its brand-new story by Shonda Rhimes is quite different, with a much more serious tone.

“The series in itself is like a different beast,” says Corey Mylchreest, who portrays young King George III in the Netflix drama. “It feels like ‘Bridgerton’ but it has maybe darker moments to it, and it’s a little bit grittier. So it feels like its own thing.”

The story of Queen Charlotte and King George III was briefly touched on in Season 2

After several writers told Variety they’ve been frustrated about the lack of clarity around the rules for projects set up with the U.K. branches of “struck” companies like Disney or Netflix, but aren’t covered by WGA terms, the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain has attempted to clarify the rules of play.

On Thursday, the WGGB emailed members and provided an update on its website FAQ section, and all signs seem to indicate that “pre-existing” projects can continue, but new work by writers for the U.K. subsidiaries of “struck” companies will be discouraged.

One question says: “I am currently partway through a series/contract with a U.K.-based U.S.

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.

Maggie and Grogu are teaming up for a galactic adventure in honor of May the 4th.

Disney+ announced this week a new crossover short film between “The Simpsons” and “Star Wars.” Titled “Rogue Not Quite One,” an obvious play on the franchise’s 2016 film “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” the animated short will star the Springfield toddler as she evades the Empire in her very own aeronautical pram inspired by Grogu’s in “The Mandalorian.”

In the four minute short, per the release,

Veteran rapper, actor and entrepreneur Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson has announced dates for a global tour in celebration of the 20th Anniversary of his galvanizing debut album, “Get Rich or Die Tryin’.” Produced by Live Nation and presented by Sire Spirits, The Final Lap Tour will make stops across North America and Europe including Toronto, Brooklyn, Atlanta, Houston, Amsterdam, Oslo, Paris, and many more. Additional markets are expected to be announced soon. 

Busta Rhymes will support on all dates, and Jeremih will support on all North American dates.

According to the announcement, the “Final Lap Tour” “will feature the rap icon performing dozens of fan-favorite and chart-topping hits along with select tracks

Mammoth Lakes Film Festival has announced the lineup of its ninth installment, held in-person from May 24-28 at venues throughout the California mountain town. Notably, the opening and closing films will feature stories from transgender individuals around the world.

“Two of the most compelling documentaries we came across this year happened to be transgender stories, highlighting characters living in circumstances that threaten their survival, and we are so thrilled to showcase ‘Queendom’ and ‘Kokomo City’ as our opening and closing spotlight films,” said Paul Sbrizzi, director of festival programming.

Opening film “Queendom,” by Agniia Galdanova, is a window into the life of Gena, a transgender Russian

When I left the band Maroon 5 in 2006 due to chronic injuries rendering me unable to perform, I could barely wrap my head around what was happening to me, let alone understand what had caused it. I knew I had chronic pain in my right shoulder and that my nerves were refusing to coordinate drumming, but I couldn’t fully recognize the extent to which my mental health (or lack thereof) had greatly contributed to the breakdown. Deep-down I had a feeling that something more substantial was happening to me: that I had been rocked to my very core by the lifestyle of a touring musician. But the

The Cannes jury class of 2023 has finally been unveiled.

The festival has rounded out its jury — led this year by “Triangle of Sadness” director and 2022 Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund — with a star-studded roster of actors and directors.

Jury members include: actors Paul Dano and Brie Larson, Moroccan director Maryam Touzani, French actor Denis Ménochet, British-Zambian screenwriter and director Rungano Nyoni, Afghan author Atiq Rahimi, Argentinian director and screenwriter Damián Szifrón and director Julia Ducournau, who won the Palme d’Or in 2021 for her film “Titane.”

The jury will award the Palme d’Or to one of the 21 films playing