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“We Are Guardians,” a documentary presented by executive producer Leonardo DiCaprio and producer Fisher Stevens, has raised over $1 million in rainforest preservation efforts through its charitable campaign ahead of a New York theatrical release Friday.

The project from co-directors Edivan Guajajara, Chelsea Greene and Rob Grobman is touring nationally in theaters through September and spotlights efforts by Indigenous leaders to protect the Brazilian Amazon amid invasion and deforestation.

“This is one of the most effective and successful documentary impact campaigns I have been involved with over my career,” Oscar-winning documentarian Stevens (“The Lincoln Project”) said in a statement. “Our team has hit and now surpassed all of our initial goals for the film, and we are only getting started.”

The documentary specifically focuses on the Indigenous people of Tembé and Guajajara in Brazil. As illegal loggers and invaders propagate deforestation on their land, individuals within these communities act as “Guardians...

Hollywood figures are making a final push in the 2024 presidential election campaign, while Kamala Harris and Donald Trump plan to fill their final rallies this evening with some celebrity guests.

A massive phone bank, being billed as the “largest phone bank ever,” is being organized for Harris on Tuesday by Jamie Patricof and Rep. Eric Swalwell. Among those participating are Kerry Washington, Ben Stiller, Jessica Alba, John Legend, Kelly Rowland, Joel McHale, Mark Cuban, Bradley Whitford, Tony Goldwyn, Mark Ruffalo, Uzo Aduba, Bellamy Young, Ken Jeong, Sophia Bush, Mark Feuerstein, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Chris Messina, Doc Rivers, Max Greenfield and Billy Ray.

Some celebrities are making late-in-the-campaign endorsement videos, including Richard Gere, who posted a Harris endorsement aimed at voters in Pennsylvania. Gere noted that he was born in Philadelphia, and his parents were born and raised in Brooklyn, Pa. He said of Harris and her running mate Tim Walz,...

“Beckham” director Fisher Stevens is set to helm climate drama “The Montreal Protocol,” about a true story of underdog scientists who set out to repair the hole in the ozone layer and avoided a global environmental catastrophe.

Jess Kimball Leslie (“Kings of America”) is adapting the story, which is in development at Stevens’ production company Highly Flammable along with Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way as well as New State Pictures and Curiosity Rights. RandomGood Films (“Beyond Utopia”) is financing the development.

RandomGood, Highly Flammable, and Appian collaborated most recently on “We Are Guardians.”

The movement to repair the hole in the ozone layer – which began in the early 1970s and continued for over 20 years – is considered one of the most successful environmental initiatives ever.

It was the research of atmospheric scientist Dr. Susan Solomon, who discovered what was causing the rip in the protective layer above earth’s surface, that...

Exclusive: The new docuseries Not Part of the Plan exploring the lives of four queer Mormon teens from executive producers Wilson Cruz (Visible: Out on Television), Amy Redford (The Lincoln Project), Xan Parker (Ron Howard’s Rebuilding Paradise) and Hadleigh Arnst, is currently being shopped. The six-episode project (plus one bonus episode) was directed by Stephen Frandsen (Duck Beach to Eternity).

The first season was filmed over two years following the lives of four queer teens in Utah’s Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Producers focused on spending extensive time getting to know them, to able to showcase their challenges, victories and the support they receive from Utah-based, non-profit organization Encircle.

“The personal stories of these young queer people, telling us who they are, will give us an opportunity to hopefully change minds and hearts while educating others so they are more informed, more open, and more caring,...

Exclusive: Action megastar Keanu Reeves has partnered with Academy Award winner Fisher Stevens to co-produce a documentary on the life story of Benny “The Jet” Urquidez, the iconic athlete who introduced mixed martial arts to the world.

Titled The Jet, the film is currently in production under the direction of Emmy-nominated sports documentary editor turned filmmaker Jennifer Tiexiera. Its financiers are Chris Quintos Cathcart and Tyler Boehm of the newly formed Unapologetic Projects, a company dedicated to working with underrepresented creators. Maura Anderson and Zak Kilberg of Stevens’ recently launched production company Highly Flammable will also serve as producers along with John Scalise and his Faya Project. Nancy Weisler, Brian Maya and Chris Quintos Cathcart & Tyler Boehm of Unapologetic serve as executive producers on the project slated for release in 2025.

Nicknamed for his explosive spinning back kick, Sensei Benny “The Jet” Urquidez had a profound impact on martial arts in mainstream culture,...

Almost two weeks ago, Netflix dropped its Beckham docuseries — giving viewers perhaps the most access ever to the soccer star subject. That has less to do with the project’s four-plus-hour runtime, however, than it does with the fact that David Beckham, for all of his fame, has never been much of a talker.

“I don’t think the guy ever sat for more than 20 minutes in his life and talked about himself,” Fisher Stevens tells The Hollywood Reporter. The documentarian (The Lincoln Project, Bright Lights, Before the Flood) and actor (Succession, Asteroid City), who directed and produced the instantly popular series that still sits atop the streamer’s global Top 10, spent days with David Beckham to coax out some candor on his complicated career and personal life. The result is, yes, a documentary whose subject is also one of its producers. But it’s also as thorough a portrait...

Exclusive: WME has signed Fisher Stevens and his production company Highly Flammable, which he launched last spring alongside producers Maura Anderson and Zak Kilberg. They’ll rep the Academy Award-winning multi-hyphenate, going forward, across all scripted and documentary projects.

The move comes less than a week after Stevens’ Beckham docuseries was released on Netflix, debuting as the streamer’s most-watched English-language series of the week. The four-parter, on which he teamed with Oscar and Emmy-winning producer John Battsek (Searching for Sugar Man), tells the inside story of the global football star and cultural icon, offering unprecedented access not only to Beckham, but also to his wife Victoria, his family, his friends and his teammates.

Fisher’s scripted directing credits include the ex-convict drama Palmer, starring Justin Timberlake, which remains one of Apple TV+’s top 10 most popular films; the comedic thriller Stand Up Guys, starring Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin,...

Daniel D’Addario is stepping into a new role at Variety.

The journalist, who was brought on as chief television critic in 2018, has been named chief correspondent for the magazine, co-editors-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh and Cynthia Littleton announced. In his new position, D’Addario will be writing substantial features as well as commentary for print and online. He will continue to work with editor-at-large Kate Aurthur.

“I am so excited to try new kinds of writing for Variety,” D’Addario says. “I love thinking like a critic, but bringing my perspective to bear on narrative journalism after getting out in the field and talking to people represents an exciting opportunity, and a fun challenge.”

In his time covering television for Variety, D’Addario has won multiple Los Angeles Press Club Awards, including prizes for political commentary for his coverage of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings and “The Lincoln Project.” He has served...

Variety won 14 first-place awards Sunday night at the Los Angeles Press Club’s 65th annual SoCal Journalism Awards, more than twice as many as any other entertainment publication.

The 14 awards represented a historic high for Variety at the SoCal Journalism Awards, topping the previous best of 12 first-place prizes the magazine earned in 2018. Variety came into Sunday’s ceremony with a record 96 nominations, representing work published online and in print during the 2022 calendar year.

The awards were handed out during a gala dinner attended by hundreds in the historic Crystal Ballroom at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

Several staffers won dual honors. Owen Gleiberman, Variety‘s chief film critic, won best obituary/appreciation for a look back at actor William Hurt, plus best online arts commentary for the column “Is ‘Tar’ Rooting for or Against Cate Blanchett’s Superstar Predator Conductor?” Chris Willman, senior writer and chief music critic,...

As the news that both Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon were out at their respective networks hit the front pages this morning, a slew of boldfaced names began to react, chiefly to Carlson’s departure.

Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy used it as an opportunity to plug his own network.

“For a while Fox News has been moving to become establishment media and Tucker Carlson’s removal is a big milestone in that effort,” he said in a statement. “Millions of viewers who liked the old Fox News have made the switch to Newsmax and Tucker’s departure will only fuel that trend.”

Related: Don Lemon Exits CNN; Host Says He’s Been Terminated By Network After 17 Years

Keith Obermann, who is no stranger to cable news and a multiple-network guy himself, wrote, “I’d just like to congratulate @TuckerCarlson on getting fired from the middle @cnn and from the left...

Kicking off the nomination season, Fire of Love and Good Night Oppy lead all comers in nominations for the seventh annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards.

Both are nominated in the marquee Best Documentary Feature category and also will square off against each other for Best Director, Music Score, Editing, Narration and Science/Nature docu.

Related Story 'Personality Crisis: One Night Only' Review: Martin Scorsese And David Tedeschi Rock Out To The Music Of New York Legend David Johansen Related Story Box Office Hit And Oscar Contender 'Fire Of Love' To Get Limited Imax Release Related Story 'Good Night Oppy' Telluride Review: A Mission To Mars Becomes A Heartfelt Documentary From Amazon And Amblin

Fire of Love, the adventure love story of a pair of volcano hunters and scientists, has a leading seven noms and also is a contender for Best Archival docu. The doc has been in theatrical...

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Mark Rylance, Rebecca Ferguson and Charles Dance are set to voice star in Spark Hunter, an upcoming eight-episode psychological audio thriller from the director Trudie Styler and producers K.B. Miller and Teressa Tunney.

In the series, which premieres on Nov. 8 from the studio Realm, Ferguson portrays the world’s most advanced robot who has become the target of the Nsa and the president of the United States, who want to decommission the robot after believing she has gone rouge. The robot’s maker, played by Rylance, must contend with his creation and her evolving consciousness as the two have discussions about morality and purpose over the course of dinner. Audio from that dinner forms the basis of the series.

Kathleen Turner (Peggy Sue Got Married), Vanessa Redgrave (Julia, Howard’s End), Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Gosford Park), Edward Hibbert (Frasier), Linda Powell (Morning Glory,...