Recording Academy Interim CEO Says He ‘Feels Optimistic’ After Deborah Dugan Firing

Super Bow LVI pitting the Los Angeles Rams against the Cincinnati Bengals kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the Rams’ home field. The game will air live on NBC as well as for the first time on the Peacock streaming service and Spanish-language network Telemundo.

Zachary Quinto and Lukas Gage are hitting the red carpet!

Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost are about to be on everyone’s television screens thanks to their Super Bowl commercial.

It was yet another disappointing day for Manchester United as they once again took the lead in a match but didn't come away the winners.

Doja Cat is bringing the heat to a Super Bowl party!

Naman Ramachandran Acclaimed Bangladeshi director Rubaiyat Hossain, known for her powerful women-centric films, has a new project participating in the Berlinale Co-Production Market and is launching a female filmmaker grant.Her Berlinale co-production market project, “The Difficult Bride,” follows Novera, a bride-to-be in present-day Dhaka who is in love with the groom and the idea of a fairytale wedding, but secretly struggles with her body, which does not seem to comply with the wedding rituals. She makes continuous trips to the beauty salon and uses home remedies to “cure” her body.

Christopher Vourlias Germany’s Sola Media has closed a wave of international sales for the animated feature “Finnick,” produced by Riki Group, which will be released by Sony Pictures Russia in Russia and CIS on March 24.The CGI-animated comedy follows the adventures of 13-year-old Christine, who befriends the young prankster Finnick – one of the furry and usually invisible beings known as Finns. The odd couple has to team up as detectives to solve the mysterious events happening in their city.The Stuttgart-based sales agency has inked deals with Eagle Pictures (Italy), Independent Films (Benelux), Koch Films (German/Austria/Switzerland), Vertigo Releasing (U.K.), Tanweer (Greece), Selmer Media (Scandinavia), Myndform (Iceland), Rialto (Australia and New Zealand), and Black Sheep Films (South Africa), and holds exclusive distribution rights in multiple additional territories.

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou used to watch Scottish Cup Finals from the other side of the world.

Gordon Smith feared Rangers were booked for trouble with Craig Whyte when learning he’d dodged paying the club’s pre-season hotel.

An Ayrshire nursing home which was previously told to improve its infection control practices has been given the thumbs up by an official watchdog.

Chapelhall FC will kick their first league ball during the summer, having been borne of a hunger for the game in the village but, more importantly, to help struggling players with their mental health battles.

Calum Gallagher says Airdrie can't focus on Cove Rangers, and must take care of their own business.

Manori Ravindran International EditorMia Wasikowska will take on the lead role in “Little Joe” director Jessica Hausner’s cult thriller “Club Zero,” Variety can reveal.The Australian actor will portray an unusual schoolteacher in Hausner’s second English-language film, which begins shooting in the U.K. and Austria in July.Wasikowska was most recently seen in Mia Hansen-Løve’s Cannes-premiering film “Bergman Island.”In “Club Zero,” Wasikowska’s teacher takes a job at an elite school and forms a strong bond with five students — a relationship that eventually takes a dangerous turn.Discussing the film at the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra event last year, Hausner described the film as “a lot about eating,” relating to eating disorders and “eating behaviors.” This will be Hausner’s sixth feature.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItalian director Roberta Torre, known for campy Mafia musical “Tano to Die For” and other anarchic pics, is making “Le Favolose,” about a group of transgender women who reunite after 20 years to commemorate a dead friend and do right by her after her identity has been violated.“Le Favolose,” which translates as “The Fabulous Ones,” is being produced by Donatella Palermo, who is at the Berlinale with auteur Paolo Taviani’s competition entry “Leonora Addio.”Palermo, who has a longstanding rapport with Torre, is the Italian producer behind two Berlin Golden Bear winners: the Taviani brothers’ “Caesar Must Die” and Gianfranco Rosi’s “Fire at Sea.” “When a person decides to face the [gender] transition from man to woman it can be a very painful process in several different ways: social, physical, etc.,” said Palermo, who notes that “when a trans dies, most of the time their body is returned to their families.” Torre’s new pic is based on a real-life story of Antonia, one of the “Fabulous Ones,” who is buried by her family dressed as a man under her original name, Giampaolo, amid the indifference of most.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorArna Media, the Russian distribution company run by Nadezda Motina, has secured the rights to “Brother and Sister,” “The Tank,” “Little Allan – The Human Antenna” and “The Colors of Fire” for its theatrical pipeline. Arnaud Desplechin’s family-drama “Brother and Sister” stars Marion Cotillard, Melvil Poupaud and Golshifteh Farahani. Cotillard and Poupaud play the titular siblings who, following the death of their parents, reunite after decades of silence.

Jamie Lang After a banner 2021 for high-end genre films, industry vets are hopeful that the fantastic can resurrect the corpse of pre-COVID theatrical distribution.As bolts of lightning reanimated the body of Frankenstein’s monster, Julia Ducournau’s “Titane,” which turned heads when it took the Palme d’Or at Cannes, and Sundance Grand Jury prize-winner “Nanny,” a supernatural tale from director Nikyatu Jusu, have revitalized the festival scene.While “Nanny” may have been the jewel in the genre crown at Sundance, the influence that genre cinema held over 2022’s first major festival was wide-ranging and undeniable. Chloe Okuno’s psychological thriller “Watcher” impressed — segueing into several sales deals — as did Hanna Bergholm’s psycho-horror feature “Hatching,” sold by Wild Bunch and Charades-sold Spanish standout “Piggy,” the follow-up to Carlota Pereda’s 2019 Spanish Academy Award-winner “Cerdita.” Among genre titles at Berlin this year are Dario Argento’s serial killer thriller “Dark Glasses” in the Berlinale Special section, while Bertrand Bonello’s subconscious voyage “Coma” and Peter Strickland’s gory “Flux Gourmet” (pictured above) feature in Encounters.

Amidst family drama piled miles high, Travis Scott looks as chilled out as ever; but then again, maybe it’s just new dad exhaustion! In the first photos of the rapper since the birth of his second child with wife Kylie Jenner, the rapper wore a comfortable outfit and statement hoodie as he arrived at the Fanatic Super Bowl party on Feb. 12. Travis and Kylie welcomed a son, Wolf Webster, on Feb. 2nd.

Luke Shaw has told Jadon Sancho to keep his head high after emerging as a shining light during Manchester United's difficult run of form.

"I’ve played with Katie Zelem since I was 12 years old. I’m not going to sit here and say I don’t want her to do well. She’s one of my best friends and always will be," Keira Walsh explains.

Since the coronavirus effectively shut down business in mid-March, the Recording Academy, like many companies, has been conducting its business virtually.That includes searching for a new CEO/president since Deborah Dugan’s official termination March 2. Under its MusiCares charitable arm, the Recording Academy has established the COVID-19 Relief Fund, which stands at $10 million and counting.

By Jem Aswad

Jessie Reyez has a boatload of music for fans, including a new music video for “I Do”.

Deborah Dugan is fighting back after being fired by the Recording Academy with a new court filing alleging a higher-up attempted to influence Grammy nominations. Attorneys for the former Grammys CEO, who was officially canned on Monday after being placed on administrative leave in January, filed court papers citing new allegations, some of which involve former Grammy Awards executive producer Ken Ehrlich.

Deborah Dugan is fighting back after being fired by the Recording Academy with a new court filing alleging a higher-up attempted to influence Grammy nominations.

One day after the Recording Academy fired its embattled president and CEO Deborah Dugan, she responded on Tuesday (March 3) with a filing to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) providing evidence that she says shows board members were also concerned about irregularities in the Grammy voting process.Dugan contends that since she voiced concerns over irregularities and conflicts of interest in the Grammy voting process, she has been portrayed by the academy in the media as misrepresenting the facts.

Former Recording Academy president and CEO Deborah Dugan has responded to her termination by the academy's board of trustees Monday (March 2), saying she is "disappointed" but "not surprised" by the decision."I was recruited and hired by the Recording Academy to make positive change; unfortunately, I was not able to do that as its CEO," Dugan's statement reads. "While I am disappointed by this latest development, I am not surprised given the Academy's pattern of dealing with whistleblowers.

Deborah Dugan, CEO of the Grammys who was put on leave last month, was fired by the Recording Academy on Monday. The firing comes after Dugan claimed she was sexually harassed by the organization's top attorney.

The Recording Academy board of trustees officially terminated Deborah Dugan's employment as president/CEO on Monday after placing her on paid administrative leave Jan. 16.

Deborah Dugan, the Recording Academy president and CEO who took over for Neil Portnow back in 2019, has been fired, Variety reports. Dugan was placed on administrative leave on January 17 for unspecified “misconduct,” igniting a heated controversy within the music industry mere days before the 2020 Grammys on January 26.

The Recording Academy board of trustees officially terminated Deborah Dugan's employment as president/CEO on Monday (March 2) after placing her on paid administrative leave since Jan. 16. The decision announced comes after two independent investigations related to Dugan: One into her allegations against the Recording Academy and ano

By Patrick Hipes

Deborah Dugan, who was placed on administrative leave from her post as chairman/CEO of the Recording Academy in January after accusations of “misconduct” toward a female employee sources say was her former assistant, has been terminated, the organization announced today in a letter to members.