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Early reviews for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special have begun to come out, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe releasing its second holiday-themed installment of 2022. While James Gunn is settling into his new role as one of the CEOs of DC Studios, his MCU era isn't over yet. The filmmaker will wrap up his trilogy in 2023 with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which will be part of Phase 5. However, before the threequel hits theaters, the Guardians have a special adventure on Disney+ in Gunn's The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.

As the team celebrates Christmas, they make it their mission to find a perfect present for Star-Lord, while Kevin Bacon makes his MCU debut as himself. With The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special arriving on Disney+ this Friday, several members of the press have been able to screen Gunn's latest MCU installment in advance, giving audience members early impressions.

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It’s the battle of the epic fantasies. Nearly two weeks following the release of HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon comes the equally anticipated The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, a prequel from Amazon Prime Video that takes place thousands of years before the events of the previous Peter Jackson films.

It’s an ambitious undertaking from Amazon, with the studio allocating at least 1 billion to five seasons of the J.R.R. Tolkien series (and 465 million alone for the first eight episodes). With no involvement from Jackson, Rings of Power takes a different approach to Tolkien’s Middle-earth, tackling the lore of the Second Age, and diving deeper into the history of the elves.

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Variety has been nominated for 99 National Art and Entertainment Journalism awards, a record-breaking number of nominations for the publication.

“This is an amazing achievement by our stellar team of journalists, accomplished during the most challenging year any of us have ever experienced,” said Claudia Eller, editor-in-chief of Variety.

Variety was nominated for print entertainment publication for its April 29 issue, “The Great Depression,” as well as entertainment website for Variety.com. Features editor Chris Willman was nominated for print journalist of the year, while deputy music editor Jem Aswad and senior correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister both earned nods for online journalist of the year.

Variety‘s art department earned two nominations for illustration and one for cover art. Deputy art director Haley Kluge, creative director Raul Aguila and Mercedes DeBellard earned a nod for their “Jennifer Aniston” illustration, and Kluge, Aguila and Jen Mann also received an illustration nomination for “Sandra Oh.

The message to the general public right now is clear: stay at home.

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads, Los Angeles has implemented a “safer at home” order, New York mandated that all non-essential businesses keep workers at home and countless public venues have been shut down around the world. Now more than ever, citizens are staying inside.

As those at home are looking for ways to stay entertained — and keep their minds off the myriad of stressers that comes with a pandemic — it’s an opportune time, at least, to catch up on movies and TV shows. And in 2020, the options for streaming go far beyond Netflix: from Hulu to Amazon Prime to Disney Plus, there are plenty of options for those following social-distancing guidelines.

Running out of TV shows to watch? Variety‘s chief TV critic Caroline Framke compiled a handy list of series to stream organized by short,...

It’s official: with the amount of scripted series alone hitting the 500 mark and refusing to stop there, there is just too much content available to keep up with all of it. But although the quantity of series offered continues to grow, that does not automatically mean the quality increases as well. As such, no one should feel bad if they have to let go of a new show, no matter how buzzed-about or once-beloved it may be.

In keeping with that sentiment, here are all the series the Variety staff stopped watching in 2019.

“Arrested Development” (Netflix)

Maybe Netflix’s two-part release strategy for Season 5 is to blame. While it was fun to see the Bluths back together in the first half of the season, released in May 2018, I certainly wasn’t still on the edge of my seat by the time the second part was released nearly 10 months later,...

This moody, unsettling whodunnit benefits from sensitive cinematography, fine direction and a perfectly-cast group of players. Stephen Boyd gets a worthwhile starring role, backed by some good names and a nice debut from Judi Dench. What I don’t understand is why Pamela Franklin, possibly the most talented and versatile young English player ever, didn’t become a major star. She’s more than half the picture here.

The Third Secret

Region B Blu-ray

Powerhouse Indicator

1964 / B&W / 2:35 / 103 min. / / Street Date February 25, 2019 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £17.77

Starring: Stephen Boyd, Pamela Franklin, Diane Cilento, Richard Attenborough, Jack Hawkins, Paul Rogers, Alan Webb, Rachel Kempson, Freda Jackson, Judi Dench, Peter Copley, Nigel Davenport, Charles Lloyd Pack, Barbara Hicks.

Cinematography: Douglas Slocombe

Film Editor: Frederick Wilson

Original Music: Richard Arnell

Written and Produced by Robert L. Joseph

Directed by Charles Crichton

Trying to keep up a production schedule during the cash-flow crisis of Cleopatra,...

If Ariana Grande fans ever wanted to just hang out with the pop star, the “Sweetener Sessions” might have been their best shot.

Grande brought the series of intimate shows to Los Angeles’ Ace Theatre on Saturday night, giving fans one of the first tastes of live performances of new songs off her latest album, “Sweetener.” Less than a week after performing “God Is a Woman” on a massive stage and in front of millions of people for the MTV Video Music Awards, Grande switched it up, getting up-close-and-personal with fans with a relaxed show in a theater that seats only 1,600.

And even her fiance was along for the ride. Pete Davidson of “Saturday Night Live” fame introduced her to the stage, telling the audience, “I can’t believe she talks to me” before the two shared a passionate smooch in front of the crowd.

Pete Davidson introduces @ArianaGrande at...