| | Hello, gorgeous. Guess who’s my guest on this week’s “Just for Variety” podcast? Barbra Streisand! We talked about her new album “Release Me 2,” why we haven’t seen a Babs biopic à la “Rocketman” and the movie she still may direct. Check out our chat Aug. 6 on Variety.com, at Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.
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 Attention, Marvel Studios: Eugenio Derbez wants to play a villain in the MCU. “I’m not the kind of guy who is tough, so I would like to do something sweet but very mean,” the actor tells me. “I want to be extremely mean — but something very smiley and charming.” In his latest film, “CODA,” Derbez shows off his dramatic chops playing a high school music teacher who inspires one of his students (Emilia Jones), whose parents are deaf, to pursue her dream of becoming a singer. He learned how to play piano for the role. “My teacher was the same who was coaching Ryan Gosling for “La La Land,” he says. Known for his comedy in his native Mexico, Derbez had a hard time getting dramatic roles. “In my country nobody would hire me for drama because I was doing comedy my entire life,” he says. “Every time I wanted to do drama, they were like, ‘What are you talking about? You're the funny guy. If I put you in my movie, everyone's gonna laugh.’ I was frustrated.” He moved to the U.S. seven years ago: “I started receiving other offers like ‘CODA’ or ‘Miracles From Heaven.’ I was like finally now I can start from zero and start another kind of career.” Derbez hopes that audiences will opt to see the movie — which Apple bought for a record-breaking $25 million at Sundance — in theaters. “When you’re at your house, the phone rings, the dog barks, people are talking to you,” he says. “There are so many things that distract you from the movie. So I don’t like it. I hope that people can go to theaters and watch it first there.” As I recently first reported, Derbez is developing a family adventure movie based on the Lotería card game for Netflix. “It’s going to be like a ‘Jumanji’ kind of film,” he says. “So it’s like the Latin ‘Jumanji.’
... Speaking of streaming, über-producer Charles Roven understands why studios are resorting to day-and-date releases, but he also says, “I’m not going to sit here and tell you I’m a huge fan of a simultaneous release of a whole slate.” I caught up with Roven at the premiere of his latest movie, Warner Bros.’ “The Suicide Squad.” “You get some revenue flow from simultaneous release, but you’re actually cannibalizing the different windows. ... There’s no way of getting that big jump of grosses you get with each individual window.” He adds, “I’m hopeful that when COVID is over we’ll go back to maybe not the exact kind of window we’ve had for theatrical but a discrete window.” … 
EXCLUSIVE: Aaron Carter is no stranger to taking his clothes off. So much so that the 33-year-old former child star even has an NSFW OnlyFans account. Now Carter is going full Monty in person. He’s joining the Las Vegas production of “Naked Boys Singing!,” a campy 60-minute gay musical revue in which the all-male cast perform in their birthday suits. “I think the naked body is a beautiful thing,” says Carter, who identifies as bisexual. “We were all born naked. I love doing OnlyFans. I’ve been an OnlyFans model for over a year now, and people are very uplifting. They make you feel attractive and good about yourself. I love that social media platform more than any other platform. It's not about the money. It's about the fans.” Carter’s run in “Naked Boys,” which is produced by Tom D’Angora and Nick Padgett, run begins Sept. 8 at the Jewel Box Theatre.
... Please watch “Pray Away.” The Netflix documentary, produced by Ryan Murphy and Jason Blum, chronicles the rise and eventual closing of Exodus International, a Bible-based organization that practiced horrific gay conversion therapy. Director Kristine Stolakis tears up when talking about the inspiration for the film — her late uncle, who was sent to conversion therapy because he identified as transgender. “He never came to terms with who he was, so I think this would be a really hard film for him to process,” she says. “That is a strange reality to live with because I made this film out of grief and love for him. I would happily trade this film for his life.” When I ask Stolakis if she’s planning on adapting the film as a scripted feature, she smiles before teasing, “There’s nothing I can share officially, but it’s a great question.” |
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| | |  A large presence in hip-hop star A$AP Ferg’s youth in New York City’s Hamilton Heights neighborhood was the unsung heroes of urban living: the bodegas, or corner stores. “Man, they’re hubs for the community,” Ferg tells Variety. “They’re an intersection between lawyers, garbagemen and students — people from all different facets of life. And when we didn’t have money as kids, they gave us store credit. I didn’t forget that.” When the A$AP Mob member noticed the plight of independent corner stores due to the pandemic, he stepped into action by teaming up with Snapple to raise funds for the Bodega and Small Business Group. The organization helps support the mom-and-pop stores that are the heart of the city. KEEP READING... |
 When they open the door to Bicyclette, diners might think they’ve stumbled into a cozy bistro in an old house somewhere outside of Paris. That’s the feeling chef-owner Walter Manzke was trying to conjure when he opened Bicyclette on Pico Boulevard near Century City in June. The Republique proprietor was known for his elevated classic French cooking at Bastide and Church and State, and he’s now bringing the same Gallic sensibility to the new bistro along with his wife, pastry chef Margarita Manzke. The warm vibe “was inspired by Church and State,” Walter Manzke says. “We set out to create something that looked and felt like a true Parisian bistro — something high energy and unpretentious.”KEEP READING... |
Octavia Spencer will receive the James Schamus Ally Award at this year’s edition of LGBTQ film festival Outfest. The announcement comes just after the recent news, first reported by Variety, that the Oscar winner has boarded the documentary “Right to Try” as a producer. The Zeberiah Newman-directed film, which will have its world premiere at Outfest, chronicles casting director Jeffrey Drew’s participation in a treatment trial to cure him of HIV after living with the virus for more than 30 years. “I am so honored to be recognized with the 2021 Annual James Schamus Ally Award,” Spencer said in a statement Monday morning. “I am proud to bring LGBTQIA+ stories to audiences all over the world and am thrilled that our own film, ‘Right to Try,’ will be making its premiere at this important festival. It speaks to the kind of stories I want to see on screen — celebrating everyday heroes with a true sense of hope.” KEEP READING... |
I was on the carpet at the premiere of "The Suicide Squad" on Monday night. The cast and crew gushed over director James Gunn. But I also wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't ask everyone how they were feeling about fans wanting Warner Bros. to release David Ayer's cut of the original "Suicide Squad" movie after he slammed the studio for getting in the way of his vision. CLICK HERE to watch and hear what Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, John Cena and more had to say. |
  Kevin Kreider
Cast member, “Bling Empire” Monty’s Good Burger
516 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles
“Get the dogpile. It’s not on the menu. It’s Impossible meat, lots of different sauces and french fries.” |
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Find out who's getting married, who are new parents and more... “Orange Is the New Black” actor Lauren Lapkus and Mike Castle welcomed their first child, they announced on July 23. In a video posted to Instagram, the couple introduced daughter Holly. Castle is also an actor. Issa Rae and Louis Diame were married on July 25 in the south of France. Rae is an actor, writer, producer and creator of HBO’s “Insecure”; Diame is a businessman. Ellie and Adam Klein welcomed their first child, Nora Carolyn, on July 22. Nora was born in Los Angeles; her middle name is in honor of Ellie’s grandmother. Ellie is a literary manager at TFC Management; Adam is a director of marketing at NutriBullet. Jenna Ushkowitz and David Stanley were married on July 24 in an outdoor ceremony in Los Angeles. Ushkowitz is an actor; Stanley works with nonprofits.
Have wedding, baby or pet news to share? Email us at announcements@variety.com. |
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Check out Variety’s Must Attend calendar of events. Aug. 5 “ReservationDogs” co-creator Taika Waititi attends the premiere of the FX comedy series at NeueHouse in Hollywood along with cast members D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Devery Jacobs, Paulina Alexis, Lane Factor and Zahn McClarnon. Jennifer Coolidge, Linda Evans and Udo Kier celebrate their new movie “Swan Song” at IPIC Theater in Westwood. Aug. 6 The Tchaikovsky Spectacular features Bramwell Tovey conducting the L.A. Philharmonic with cellist Sterling Elliott at the Hollywood Bowl. The evening concludes with the “1812 Overture” and a fireworks display. Aug. 7 Cinespia screens “The Big Lebowski” at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Aug. 10 Avantika, Aryan Simhadri, Anna Cathcart, Jahbril Cook, Kerri Medders and director Manjari Makijany walk the red carpet at the premiere of their Disney Channel movie “Spin” at Rooftop Cinema Club at Santa Monica Airport.
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DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM AT @MARCMALKIN. |
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