News

YouTube star and beauty influencer James Charles is launching a “Project Runway”-style reality competition show — in which he’ll pick one up-and-coming makeup artist as the winner of a $50,000 cash prize.

The show, which has the working title “James Charles Instant Influencer,” is slated to debut in the spring of 2020 on Charles’ YouTube channel with episodes to be released weekly. Charles will host, direct and executive produce the series.

YouTube is funding the four-part series as part of its revamped originals strategy, focusing less on scripted fare and more on personality-driven, music and learning content, with all original programming being made available on the free, ad-supported service.

“Ever since I entered the beauty space three years ago, I’ve dreamed of producing my own beauty competition show,” Charles told Variety. “It’s a dream come true… It’s such an amazing opportunity for [YouTube] to take it above and beyond what we expected.”

L.A.-based Charles, 20, was famously the first male spokesperson for CoverGirl and is among the most popular makeup artists on YouTube, currently with 16.3 million subscribers to his channel. He also has 15.3 million Instagram followers and 4.3 million on Twitter.

Starting Friday (Nov. 15), aspiring contestants can apply at jamescharlescasting.com for consideration to be on the show. Entry is available to U.S. residents 18 or older who have an active YouTube beauty channel. Creators must submit an application by Nov. 21 at midnight PT that includes a YouTube video link showing off their makeup skills.

Out of the applicant pool, Charles and his production team will pick six finalists, who will be flown out to Los Angeles and participate in different challenges on the show for Charles and various guest celebrity judges and industry veterans.

“The whole point is to pick a person I think will bring something positive to the community,” Charles said. “It was important for me to make it really true to how the beauty influencer community works.”

Charles said he’s looking for beauty “micro-influencers” who are actively posting content — “people who already working hard but haven’t had their discovery yet.”

For YouTube, the show is another bid to leverage homegrown, native YouTubers to drive what the video site hopes will be a big audience. “James Charles is a leader in the industry when it comes to pushing boundaries with creative content,” Susanne Daniels, global head of original content for YouTube, said in a statement. “We are thrilled that James is bringing his energy and talent to our YouTube Originals slate with our first beauty competition series.”

The competition show is being produced by Brian Graden Media, which is behind YouTube original series “Escape the Night” hosted by YouTube star Joey Graceffa. Charles said he’s friends with Graceffa and reached out to the company to develop the project. The show is exec produced by Charles and his manager, Jake Walsh.

“BGM is thrilled to extend its partnership with YouTube Originals on yet another exciting project,” Brian Graden, president of Brian Graden Media, said in a statement. “We love helping content creators realize their longer form visions, and James Charles is truly a one-of-kind star.”

Other personality-driven YouTube originals include “Almost Ready” with Shay Mitchell; “Kevin Hart: What the Fit”; “Liza On Demand” starring YouTube creator Liza Koshy; and “A Heist with Markiplier,” an interactive, choose-your-own-adventure-style series. Upcoming 2020 projects include documentaries with Paris Hilton and trick-show artists Dude Perfect as well as season 3 of “Cobra Kai,” the scripted series based on “The Karate Kid.”

Earlier this year, Charles was snared in a controversy with beauty vlogger Tati Westbrook, who accused him of objectionable behavior including being sexually aggressive toward men. After the issue erupted in May, Charles’ YouTube channel lost millions of subscribers; he subsequently apologized to Westbrook (and his fans) before his YouTube subs counts rebounded. Charles declined to comment on the incident.

Watch Charles’ announcement video of the YouTube beauty-influencer competition show:

https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/james-charles-to-host-youtubes-first-beauty-influencer-competition-series-1203406378/

Warner Bros.’ “Joker” will on Friday become the first R-rated movie in history to earn over $1 billion at the global box office. The

Joaquin Phoenix’s twisted take on the Batman villain marks the seventh movie this year (and first that’s not from Disney or Marvel) to join the elusive billion-dollar club. Among Warner Bros.’ movies, it’s only the fourth to reach that milestone after “Aquaman” and fellow Batman films “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises.”

Given its modest $62.5 million budget, “Joker” has become one of the most profitable movies of all time. “Joker” set numerous records since debuting on Oct. 4, including biggest domestic opening weekend for the month of October ($96 million). In the weeks leading up to its release, “Joker” elicited security concerns over its depiction of a mass murderer. It also drew outrage from the families and friends of survivors of the 2012 Aurora, Colo., movie theater shooting during “The Dark Knight Rises.” But mounting concerns didn’t impact ticket sales, and “Joker” maintained a huge draw in theaters among moviegoers across the globe.

Outside of North America, where “Joker” crossed the $300 million mark, the film has seen notable box office success in the United Kingdom ($68 million), Mexico ($43 million), South Korea ($38 million), Brazil ($34 million), and France ($38 million).

“Joker” is a crucial win for Warner Bros., despite having to split profits with co-financiers Bron Creative and Village Roadshow. Though “It: Chapter Two” became a financial hit, the studio had some major misfires this year with “The Goldfinch,” “The Kitchen,” “Blinded by the Light” and “Motherless Brooklyn.”

Critics remain divided about “Joker,” which won the top prize at this year’s Venice Film Festival and could find itself in the awards race come February. Todd Phillips (“The Hangover” trilogy) directed “Joker,” a dark look at an aspiring stand-up comedian in Gotham City who descends into madness as his career and life begin to spiral out of control. The cast also includes Robert De Niro and Zazie Beetz.

https://variety.com/2019/film/box-office/box-office-joker-billion-dollar-milestone-1203391166/

Redbox has settled its litigation with Disney, agreeing not to resell codes that allow customers to download movies.

Redbox has traditionally offered DVDs for rent through its distinctive kiosks. In October 2017, the company also began offering download codes at a considerable discount compared to the price on iTunes, Amazon or other services.

Redbox did not have a distribution deal with Disney. Instead, it bought up DVD combo packs, which included download codes. Though the labeling indicated that the codes were “not for sale or transfer,” Redbox separated the codes and sold them through its kiosks.

Disney sued, alleging that Redbox was encouraging its customers to violate copyright law. Redbox countered that it was not merely reselling something that it had purchased legitimately, much as a used bookstore would resell a book without running afoul of copyright law. Redbox also accused Disney of engaging in cutthroat tactics to thwart its efforts to buy DVD combo packs in hopes of stifling a low-cost competitor.

Redbox won an early round of the litigation, as Judge Dean Pregerson ruled that the warning on the combo pack labels did not create a binding contract. The judge denied Disney’s request for an injunction, but he rejected Redbox’s argument that the download codes should be considered a transferable object akin to a used book or DVD.

Disney then amended the warning to make it more explicit, and Pregerson granted Disney’s second request for a preliminary injunction in August 2018. The new language made it clear that the download code was a license assigned only to the purchaser of the combo packs. In August 2019, the judge denied Redbox’s motion to dismiss the case.

In the settlement filed on Thursday, Redbox agreed to be permanently enjoined from “selling, offering, distributing, marketing, or promoting” the codes. Each side agreed to bear its own costs of litigation.

https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/redbox-disney-download-codes-settlement-1203406544/

Skip to main content
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ETTopStories/~3/-IEFCgBBFKg/camila-cabello-explains-the-sweet-meaning-behind-her-first-tattoo-136414

Skip to main content
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ETTopStories/~3/zjeVzfWPlqE/khloe-kardashian-finds-herself-in-the-middle-of-kim-and-kourtneys-feud-watch-136416

Skip to main content
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ETTopStories/~3/xrUzpoaUBaI/laura-dern-says-david-lynch-saved-her-career-from-typecasting-inside-the-actors-studio-exclusive

Skip to main content
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ETTopStories/~3/RYmfpPIdL6g/kanye-west-and-joel-osteen-will-meet-for-the-first-time-on-sunday-to-host-service-together-136420

Skip to main content
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ETTopStories/~3/0GiFU-4tJc4/lili-reinhart-opens-up-about-her-struggle-with-depression-and-body-dysmorphia-136421

Skip to main content
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ETTopStories/~3/u6ERCVXCKDU/kim-zolciak-biermann-says-daughter-ariana-has-been-dying-to-do-her-lips-now-that-shes-18-136422

Skip to main content
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ETTopStories/~3/QZjsPN1SeMc/lana-condor-says-jordan-fishers-to-all-the-boys-character-will-stress-people-out-exclusive-136424