Comment on Tonight's TV Hot List: Friday, Aug. 21, 2009

Wayne Northrop, an actor known for his work on the soap operas “Days of Our Lives,” “Dynasty” and “Port Charles,” has died. He was 77. Northrop died Friday at the Motion Picture and Television Fund’s retirement home in Woodland Hills, Calif., his publicist told Variety. “Wayne was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s six years ago.

Randy Edelman’s fame largely rests on his impressive roster of film scores—everything from his Golden Globe-nominated “Last of the Mohicans” to such big-grossing comedies as “Beethoven” and “The Mask,” and action flicks like “XXX”—but his career has encompassed so much more. He’s written hit songs (notably “Weekend in New England” for Barry Manilow), won an […]

Alfonso Cuarón had the audience of the Marrakech Film Festival in stitches during a wide-ranging conversation in which he revealed that he had never read a Harry Potter book before shooting “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.” He also recalled turning down an offer to shoot a James Bond movie after having dinner with filmmaker Joel Coen.

Welcome to Horror Explorer, a curated column showcasing the month’s best movies, series, books and everything else spooky worth checking out. I’m William Earl, the editor of Variety.com and the publication’s resident horror enthusiast. Please drop me a line at wearl@variety.com if there’s something I should check out for next month’s missive.

Disney’s “Moana 2” sailed to $386 million at the global box office, including a mighty $165.3 million internationally. Ticket sales for the animated family film stand as the second-biggest worldwide opening of the year after Disney’s billion-dollar Marvel behemoth “Deadpool & Wolverine” ($438 million). The sequel to 2016’s musical hit “Moana” got a jumpstart on […]

The Academy music branch has expanded its Oscar original-score shortlist from 15 to 20 films this year, widening the field of potential nominees in a year of varied approaches and soundscapes. Composer Kris Bowers already has an Oscar, but it’s not for music; it’s for producing the 2023 documentary short subject “The Last Repair Shop.” […]