A key component in Comcast’s positive earnings was NBCUniversal, which posted a 39 percent increase in earnings from Q2 2020. Though much of that gain is due to COVID-related revenue depressions last year, the reported gains at NBCUniversal and its corporate owner nonetheless surpassed expectations. Comcast posted revenue of $28.55 billion versus the $27.18 billion in revenue expected by Wall Street, according to Refinitiv data obtained by CNBC. The positive financial news caused Comcast’s stock to rise around 0....

“It is our hope that by fall, conditions will permit larger public gatherings,” a statement announcing the event said. “Comic-Con Special Edition will be the first in-person convention produced by the organization since Comic-Con 2019, and the first since the onset of the global pandemic COVID-19. The fall event will allow the organization to highlight all the great elements that make Comic-Con such a popular event each year, as well as generate much needed revenue not only for the organization but also for local businesses and the community....

“There’s nothing I can say about it that will make it OK,” Becker said about the lack of Black directors in the Criterion Collection. “The fact that things are missing, and specifically that Black voices are missing, is harmful, and that’s clear. We have to fix that.” “You always wanted as a filmmaker to be part of the Criterion Collection, you’re always hoping for that call,” director Gina Prince-Bythewood told The Times....

Unlike 2019, which had “Frozen 2” as the centerpiece of the event, complete with a musical performance and a clip, this year touched on several different shows with little footage. The big surprise was an appearance by Amy Poehler, who announced alongside Docter that a sequel to 2015’s “Inside Out” had been greenlit. Kelsey Mann, the director behind “The Good Dinosaur” will take the helm, with Meg LeFauve returning to write the script....

Rock said he was in producer Brian Grazer’s office when Murphy pitched the movie — a kind of Black “Ocean’s Eleven,” starring Rock, Dave Chapelle, and Chris Tucker as a gang that robs Trump Tower. Trump would be the bad guy, “Like Alan Rickman in ‘Die Hard,’” Rock told THR. The movie morphed during development into what we know today, “Tower Heist,” the more middle-of-the-road movie with a great cast of, as Rock puts it, “a bunch of white people....

In the ‘70s, Pressman came into possession of material that he knew would make a good movie: Tentatively called “The Last Flower Child” with Richard Dreyfuss in talks to star, the project would recount the bizarre saga of Michael Brody Jr., the 21-year-old heir to the Oleomargarine fortune who announced that he would give $25 million to anyone who asked. In the process of acquiring the rights to the project, Pressman came into possession of 12 boxes filled with letters sent to the late Brody from around the world begging for his support....

“Tolkien is turning in his grave,” Musk tweeted. “Almost every male character so far is a coward, a jerk, or both. Only Galadriel is brave, smart, and nice.” Galadriel is played by Morfydd Clark in the series; the character was first brought to screen in Peter Jackson’s trilogy and was portrayed by Cate Blanchett. Clark’s take on Galadriel positions the elven leader as an action hero. “The Rings of Power” was adapted by co-showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay from J....

This past weekend, the streaming service made it official that the triumphant story directed by Antoine Fuqua, about an enslaved person traversing Civil War-era Louisiana on a path toward freedom, will arrive in theaters on December 2 — right in time for awards eligibility. “Emancipation” screened last weekend for a group of attendees at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 51st Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., with Fuqua, Smith and Mary Elliott, curator of American Slavery at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, participating in a conversation about the film moderated by politics and culture commentator Angela Rye....

With four nominations each, European Film winner “Another Round,” “Corpus Christi,” and “Martin Eden” led the way. Also nominated in the main category were “Berlin Alexanderplatz,” “The Painted Bird,” and “Undine.” This year, the Academy upped the number of nominees in the European Film and European Documentary from five to six. Documentary nominees are “Acasa, My Home,” “Gunda,” “Little Girl,” “Saudi Runaway,” and “The Cave,” with “Collective” winning the prize....

In this particular “French Dispatch” story, McDormand plays the straight-faced journalist Lucinda Krementz and Chalamet stars as the quirky student activist Zeffirelli. Lucinda and Zeffirelli’s relationship takes unexpected turns as the journalist profiles the exploits of the activist. In his B+ review of “The French Dispatch” out of Cannes, IndieWire chief critic Eric Kohn singled out this segment of the film as one of its most memorable. “It’s the McDormand/Chalamet segment that allows Anderson to bring much grander ambitions to bear, as he maps out the story of student revolutionaries in smoke-filled bars with such overt early Godard overtones it’s a wonder he doesn’t include a reference to the children of Marx and Coca-Cola,” Kohn writes....

Tartakovsky’s new project, titled “Unicorn: Warriors Eternal,” is billed as an all-ages supernatural adventure that is inspired by myths and lore from across the globe. The show’s synopsis reads: “Unicorn: Warriors Eternal” follows a team of ancient heroes protecting the world from an ominous force. Throughout history, unicorns have symbolized the virtuous, appearing to ensure that goodness reigns. When the reawakening of our heroes comes too early, they find themselves in the bodies of teenagers....

Overseeing the for-profit HFPA is Eldridge Industries, a global firm with investments in insurance, asset management, technology, sports, media, real estate, and the consumer sector. Its founder and chairman is Todd L. Boehly, who currently serves as the HFPA’s interim chief executive officer. The HFPA membership voted on the proposal to approve the deal. Eldridge will oversee the creation of a new private company that will acquire all Golden Globes intellectual property rights and will “be empowered to oversee the professionalization and modernization of the Golden Globe Awards....

Adapting a 2000 memoir by Annie Ernaux, Audrey Diwan directs French-Romanian actress Anamaria Vartolomei (a quietly volcanic presence) as Anne. She’s a promising young student steadfastly committed to her studies, who dreams of becoming a writer, in France in 1963, a period right on the verge of social and political tumult (the students depicted are deep into reading and vigorously debating Sartre). But Anne is unexpectedly pregnant, and we slowly see her start to drift away from her studies and her social background, framed increasingly out of focus by cinematographer Laurent Tangy as the movie progresses....

The DC Universe streaming service launched in 2018 and served as WarnerMedia’s hub for the company’s scripted superhero series old and new, such as the early 2000s “Justice League” series, as well as original shows such as “Doom Patrol” and “Swamp Thing.” WarnerMedia will relaunch the platform as DC Universe Infinite on January 21, 2021 as a digital comic book service that will boast more than 24,000 titles at launch....

Beginning the first week of June, users will be able to pay $9.99 per month for the ad-supported experience, down from the ad-free version at $14.99 per month. HBO Max promised to deliver “the lightest ad load in the streaming industry.” Both HBO Max tiers include access to all the same content from across WarnerMedia brands, including HBO, Warner Bros., DC, Turner Classic Movies, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, and more....

When “Hacks” co-creator Lucia Aniello, who directed six of the 10 episodes in Season 1 (including the first three), was on the Filmmaker Toolkit podcast, she discussed how that opening shot served the purpose of establishing the myth of the fictional legendary comedian, but also establishing this was a half-hour series that had more than jokes on its mind. “We made sure the camera felt, especially in the pilot, to have shots that mirrored what we wanted the audience to feel, especially for Deborah,” said Aniello....

As COVID wreaks havoc on the world, studios are exploiting library content for short-term cash, laying off and furloughing staff, and sending theatrical films to VOD. Cash-strapped, Hollywood is forced to change in real time. Last week, I called around town to get a snapshot of where things are heading. What’s a studio, anyway? For decades, movie studios led the industry even as their television, home video, and cable divisions churned out profits....

In “Nomadland,” Frances McDormand’s Fern roams the empty vistas of a world defined by dislocation. Driving through rocky landscapes from Nevada to California and many desolate places in between, the widow eludes the loneliness of growing old in rural America by reinventing her relationship to it. Having lost her husband years ago, Fern initially stayed put in the abandoned ghost town where they built their lives, only to find that the memories haunting her became a burden....

Once again, those who purchase the festival’s $50 Explorer Pass can engage with the festival community from their computer’s browser or VR headset. While that cost has doubled from last year, it’s still a decent investment if you make the effort to use the technology it has developed from the ground up. These passes don’t sell out, and based on the experiences many online visitors had last year, they’re worth the price of admission....

Viewers have a variety of ways to tune in to the debate via television and streaming, with the debate starting at 9 p.m. ET. The major news networks such as ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, and NBC, will broadcast the debate. Several news organizations have announced plans to stream the debate, including ABC and the Washington Post. C-SPAN is expected to stream the debate on YouTube. NBC News correspondent Kristen Welker will moderate the event which will be divided into six 15-minute segments with focusing on national security; leadership; the coronavirus; “American Families”; race in America and climate change....