Movie News
Bill Kong is cautious, vastly experienced and has an impeccable reputation as a key gateway between Hollywood and China to maintain. He is someone far more likely to deadpan than gush.
So, to hear him getting into high gear with a pitch for his bucket list martial arts movie project “The Furious” immediately invites comparison with previous Kong-produced action pictures including Oscar-winner “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Jet Li’s Fearless” or the Zhang Yimou-directed “Hero.”
“I’m going to do an action movie that rocks the world. And to prove that Hong Kong still has something to give the film industry. I want to show that Asian people can still make an action movie that is better than the rest of the world,” Kong tells Variety.
Significantly, “The Furious” is a project made by Hong Kong, rather than made in Hong Kong. Kong’s Edko Films is financing and producing.
So, to hear him getting into high gear with a pitch for his bucket list martial arts movie project “The Furious” immediately invites comparison with previous Kong-produced action pictures including Oscar-winner “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Jet Li’s Fearless” or the Zhang Yimou-directed “Hero.”
“I’m going to do an action movie that rocks the world. And to prove that Hong Kong still has something to give the film industry. I want to show that Asian people can still make an action movie that is better than the rest of the world,” Kong tells Variety.
Significantly, “The Furious” is a project made by Hong Kong, rather than made in Hong Kong. Kong’s Edko Films is financing and producing.
- 4/25/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
A quartet of fast-rising British names are coming together for a buzzy new project launching at the Cannes market.
Bella Ramsey, Louis Partridge and Ruby Stokes are set to lead “Sunny Dancer,” the sophomore feature from George Jaques. Embankment Films is handling global pre-sales of the film, which it says showcases the “best of new British talent.”
“Sunny Dancer” follows Ivy (Ramsey), a teenager in remission from cancer, whose gloriously outspoken mum and well-intentioned dad insist she attend Children Run Free Camp, a summer retreat for young adults affected by cancer. The camp’s slogan, “Where kids come to kid,” does little to alleviate Ivy’s apprehension, and a quick Google search confirms her fears when she stumbles upon a cringeworthy promotional video filled with tacky messages and clichéd sunsets. As if conquering cancer wasn’t enough of a challenge, Ivy now faces the prospect of spending her summer at what she calls “chemo camp.
Bella Ramsey, Louis Partridge and Ruby Stokes are set to lead “Sunny Dancer,” the sophomore feature from George Jaques. Embankment Films is handling global pre-sales of the film, which it says showcases the “best of new British talent.”
“Sunny Dancer” follows Ivy (Ramsey), a teenager in remission from cancer, whose gloriously outspoken mum and well-intentioned dad insist she attend Children Run Free Camp, a summer retreat for young adults affected by cancer. The camp’s slogan, “Where kids come to kid,” does little to alleviate Ivy’s apprehension, and a quick Google search confirms her fears when she stumbles upon a cringeworthy promotional video filled with tacky messages and clichéd sunsets. As if conquering cancer wasn’t enough of a challenge, Ivy now faces the prospect of spending her summer at what she calls “chemo camp.
- 4/25/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety - Film News
Fred Schepisi is set to direct Israel-based thriller “The Dimona Affair,” Variety has learned exclusively.
The project is based on the story of a whistleblower who claimed Israel was building a nuclear weapons program. (The country has always denied it has nuclear weapons).
After giving The Sunday Times of London a detailed interview about the program in the 1980s, causing an international scandal, “low level” Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu fled the country. He was then reportedly lured to Rome by a female Israeli secret service agent in a honeytrap operation where he was kidnapped and repatriated to Israel. Vanunu eventually stood trial for espionage and treason before being convicted and jailed.
Schepisi, whose last feature project was “Words and Pictures” starring Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche in 2013, is set to direct from a script penned by screenwriter and investigative journalist Morrie Rosmarin.
The director is best known for 1993 pic “Six Degrees of Separation...
The project is based on the story of a whistleblower who claimed Israel was building a nuclear weapons program. (The country has always denied it has nuclear weapons).
After giving The Sunday Times of London a detailed interview about the program in the 1980s, causing an international scandal, “low level” Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu fled the country. He was then reportedly lured to Rome by a female Israeli secret service agent in a honeytrap operation where he was kidnapped and repatriated to Israel. Vanunu eventually stood trial for espionage and treason before being convicted and jailed.
Schepisi, whose last feature project was “Words and Pictures” starring Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche in 2013, is set to direct from a script penned by screenwriter and investigative journalist Morrie Rosmarin.
The director is best known for 1993 pic “Six Degrees of Separation...
- 4/25/2024
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety - Film News
Danny Boyle’s “28 Years Later” has added Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes to its cast.
The continuation of the “28 Days Later” franchise will be released in theaters globally by Sony Pictures. “28 Days Later” was released in 2002 and starred Cillian Murphy, then largely unknown. Boyle directed the feature, while Alex Garland wrote. A sequel, “28 Weeks Later,” was released in 2007.
Plot details are still being kept under wraps for the new screenplay, written by Garland. It will be part of an upcoming trilogy, for which Nia DaCosta is in talks to direct the second film.
Boyle and Garland are producing, as is original producer Andrew Macdonald and Peter Rice. Bernie Bellew is also producing. Murphy is also returning as an executive producer, and is not currently attached to star.
Comer earned an Emmy for her work as Villanelle on “Killing Eve.” She will next be seen...
The continuation of the “28 Days Later” franchise will be released in theaters globally by Sony Pictures. “28 Days Later” was released in 2002 and starred Cillian Murphy, then largely unknown. Boyle directed the feature, while Alex Garland wrote. A sequel, “28 Weeks Later,” was released in 2007.
Plot details are still being kept under wraps for the new screenplay, written by Garland. It will be part of an upcoming trilogy, for which Nia DaCosta is in talks to direct the second film.
Boyle and Garland are producing, as is original producer Andrew Macdonald and Peter Rice. Bernie Bellew is also producing. Murphy is also returning as an executive producer, and is not currently attached to star.
Comer earned an Emmy for her work as Villanelle on “Killing Eve.” She will next be seen...
- 4/24/2024
- by Katcy Stephan
- Variety Film + TV
The American Black Film Festival (ABFF) has set its lineup of narrative and documentary features for its 28th edition, including Jussie Smollett’s return to acting in “The Lost Holliday,” filmmaker Christine Swanson’s latest drama “Albany Road” and the acclaimed Luther Vandross doc “Never Too Much.”
This year’s festival takes place June 12-16 in Miami Beach, Fla., followed by a virtual segment June 17-24 on ABFF Play. Winners of film festival competition will be announced on June 15, during the “Best of ABFF Awards” hosted by Emmy-nominee Dondré Whitfield.
The 2024 narrative lineup includes “Albany Road,” directed and written by Swanson, starring Renée Elise Goldsberry, Lynn Whitfield and J. Alphonse Nicholson; “The Lost Holliday” directed by, co-written and starring Smollett alongside Vivica A. Fox, produced by Mona Scott-Young; “The Waterboyz,” directed by Coke Daniels and produced by Ben Crump, starring Akil McDowell, Alani “La La” Anthony and Quavo; and “Black Heat,...
This year’s festival takes place June 12-16 in Miami Beach, Fla., followed by a virtual segment June 17-24 on ABFF Play. Winners of film festival competition will be announced on June 15, during the “Best of ABFF Awards” hosted by Emmy-nominee Dondré Whitfield.
The 2024 narrative lineup includes “Albany Road,” directed and written by Swanson, starring Renée Elise Goldsberry, Lynn Whitfield and J. Alphonse Nicholson; “The Lost Holliday” directed by, co-written and starring Smollett alongside Vivica A. Fox, produced by Mona Scott-Young; “The Waterboyz,” directed by Coke Daniels and produced by Ben Crump, starring Akil McDowell, Alani “La La” Anthony and Quavo; and “Black Heat,...
- 4/24/2024
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety - Film News
Kenneth Branagh has spent much of his career bringing to life the works of British writers William Shakespeare and Agatha Christie. Now he will not get a chance to play a different famed scribe. Branagh will voice star as Charles Dickens in The King of Kings, a faith-based feature inspired by the lives of both Dickens and Jesus Christ.
Uma Thurman will voice star as Catherine Dickens, the wife of the author, while Jojo Rabbit‘s Roman Griffin Davis will voice the couple’s youngest son, Walter.
The King of Kings is inspired by “The Life of Our Lord,” a Dickens short story published in 1934, decades after his death. It follows Dickens and Walter as they — and their cat Willa — become immersed in the story of Jesus.
“It is through the Dickens family that our audience experiences the life of Jesus Christ, and Kenneth Branagh, Uma Thurman and Roman Griffin Davis bring all the emotion,...
Uma Thurman will voice star as Catherine Dickens, the wife of the author, while Jojo Rabbit‘s Roman Griffin Davis will voice the couple’s youngest son, Walter.
The King of Kings is inspired by “The Life of Our Lord,” a Dickens short story published in 1934, decades after his death. It follows Dickens and Walter as they — and their cat Willa — become immersed in the story of Jesus.
“It is through the Dickens family that our audience experiences the life of Jesus Christ, and Kenneth Branagh, Uma Thurman and Roman Griffin Davis bring all the emotion,...
- 4/25/2024
- by Aaron Couch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Netflix has come on board “The Thursday Murder Club,” Amblin’s upcoming adaptation of the bestselling novel starring Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley. Chris Columbus is writing and directing the story of a group of friends who solve murders.
The 2020 book by Richard Osman tells the story of four friends who live in a retirement community and take on cold cases for fun. When a shady property developer is found dead, the four find themselves in the middle of their first live crime. Mirren will play ex-spy Elizabeth, Kingsley will play ex-psychiatrist Ibrahim and Brosnan will play former union activist Ron.
Netflix and Amblin’s film partnership also includes the upcoming Jason Bateman-Taron Egerton film “Carry-On.”
Osman, a popular British quiz show presenter, said in a statement, “I’m so proud of this book, so it is a dream to see ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ in such incredible hands.
The 2020 book by Richard Osman tells the story of four friends who live in a retirement community and take on cold cases for fun. When a shady property developer is found dead, the four find themselves in the middle of their first live crime. Mirren will play ex-spy Elizabeth, Kingsley will play ex-psychiatrist Ibrahim and Brosnan will play former union activist Ron.
Netflix and Amblin’s film partnership also includes the upcoming Jason Bateman-Taron Egerton film “Carry-On.”
Osman, a popular British quiz show presenter, said in a statement, “I’m so proud of this book, so it is a dream to see ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ in such incredible hands.
- 4/25/2024
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety - Film News
Gabby and her cats are coming to the big screen next year.
DreamWorks Animation and Universal revealed Thursday that Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie will open nationwide on Sept. 26, 2025.
The live-action/CGI series has been a smash hit for Netflix since its debut in 2021. Created by Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey, Gabby’s Dollhouse is a mixed-media preschool adventure that centers on a 12-year-old who, after unboxing an item, uses the power of her magical cat ears to shrink down to dollhouse size and go on adventures with the help of her animated cat friends. The show operates with a narrative ethos of flexible thinking and learning from your mistakes, and does so through a mix of things like music, dance, cooking and crafting.
Laila Lockhart Kraner will reprise her role from the series in the feature film, which follows Gabby as she goes on a road trip with her...
DreamWorks Animation and Universal revealed Thursday that Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie will open nationwide on Sept. 26, 2025.
The live-action/CGI series has been a smash hit for Netflix since its debut in 2021. Created by Traci Paige Johnson and Jennifer Twomey, Gabby’s Dollhouse is a mixed-media preschool adventure that centers on a 12-year-old who, after unboxing an item, uses the power of her magical cat ears to shrink down to dollhouse size and go on adventures with the help of her animated cat friends. The show operates with a narrative ethos of flexible thinking and learning from your mistakes, and does so through a mix of things like music, dance, cooking and crafting.
Laila Lockhart Kraner will reprise her role from the series in the feature film, which follows Gabby as she goes on a road trip with her...
- 4/25/2024
- by Pamela McClintock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Lily Gladstone and Bowen Yang will star in Bleecker Street and Shivhans Pictures’ remake of Ang Lee’s 1993 romantic comedy “The Wedding Banquet” from director Andrew Ahn.
Kelly Marie Tran, Oscar-winner Yuh-jung Youn and Joan Chen are also attached to star.
The reimagination of Lee’s Oscar-nominated film is based on a screenplay by Ahn and James Schamus. Schamus also co-wrote the original film with Lee and Neil Peng.
The film, which begins filming in May in Vancouver, follows what happens when Min’s boyfriend Chris rejects his marriage proposal. Min convinces his best friend Angela to marry him instead, paying for her partner Liz’s IVF treatments in exchange for his green card. However, things begin to unravel when Min’s grandmother makes a surprise trip from Seoul to throw the couple a Korean wedding banquet.
“It warms my heart to see how my film from so many years...
Kelly Marie Tran, Oscar-winner Yuh-jung Youn and Joan Chen are also attached to star.
The reimagination of Lee’s Oscar-nominated film is based on a screenplay by Ahn and James Schamus. Schamus also co-wrote the original film with Lee and Neil Peng.
The film, which begins filming in May in Vancouver, follows what happens when Min’s boyfriend Chris rejects his marriage proposal. Min convinces his best friend Angela to marry him instead, paying for her partner Liz’s IVF treatments in exchange for his green card. However, things begin to unravel when Min’s grandmother makes a surprise trip from Seoul to throw the couple a Korean wedding banquet.
“It warms my heart to see how my film from so many years...
- 4/25/2024
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Jennifer Aniston is ready to pour herself a cup of ambition.
Aniston and her Echo Films partner Kristin Hahn are producing a “9 to 5” reimagining for 20th Century Studios, Variety has confirmed.
The film is currently in development, with Diablo Cody working on the latest draft of the “9 to 5” reimagining. Plot details are being kept under wraps.
The original “9 to 5” follows three female office colleagues who decide to exact revenge on their sexist, egotistical boss. Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton and Dabney Coleman starred in the 1980 office satire, directed by Colin Higgins and written by Patricia Resnick. The hit comedy film spawned a sitcom of the same name, which aired on ABC from 1982 to 1983, and in first-run syndication from 1986 to 1988. Parton, Tomlin and Fonda participated in the 2022 documentary “Still Working 9 to 5,” which focuses on the impact of the classic film 40 years later.
Aniston and her Echo Films partner Kristin Hahn are producing a “9 to 5” reimagining for 20th Century Studios, Variety has confirmed.
The film is currently in development, with Diablo Cody working on the latest draft of the “9 to 5” reimagining. Plot details are being kept under wraps.
The original “9 to 5” follows three female office colleagues who decide to exact revenge on their sexist, egotistical boss. Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton and Dabney Coleman starred in the 1980 office satire, directed by Colin Higgins and written by Patricia Resnick. The hit comedy film spawned a sitcom of the same name, which aired on ABC from 1982 to 1983, and in first-run syndication from 1986 to 1988. Parton, Tomlin and Fonda participated in the 2022 documentary “Still Working 9 to 5,” which focuses on the impact of the classic film 40 years later.
- 4/25/2024
- by Michaela Zee
- Variety Film + TV
Multi award-winning Filipina actress Ruby Ruiz has landed her first major screen role following her appearance in Amazon’s “Expats.” She will lead “First Light,” the feature directorial debut of James. J. Robinson.
Principal photography is now underway on the Australian-Filipino co-production, which comes with funding from Screen Australia. Veteran actress Maricel Soriano (“Mother Nanny”), Rez Cortez (“Bukal”), Soliman Cruz (“Blue Room”) and Kidlat Tahimik round out the cast.
Set in the remote mountains of the Philippines, “First Light” sees the death of a young construction worker force an elderly nun to confront the muddied ethics of an institution she has dedicated her life to. The script, also by Robinson, is a deeply personal story exploring the intersection of duty, faith and institutional power.
“Developing ‘First Light’ over the past two years has been an incredibly profound journey into the heart of pre-colonial Filipino philosophy,” Robinson said. “To be able...
Principal photography is now underway on the Australian-Filipino co-production, which comes with funding from Screen Australia. Veteran actress Maricel Soriano (“Mother Nanny”), Rez Cortez (“Bukal”), Soliman Cruz (“Blue Room”) and Kidlat Tahimik round out the cast.
Set in the remote mountains of the Philippines, “First Light” sees the death of a young construction worker force an elderly nun to confront the muddied ethics of an institution she has dedicated her life to. The script, also by Robinson, is a deeply personal story exploring the intersection of duty, faith and institutional power.
“Developing ‘First Light’ over the past two years has been an incredibly profound journey into the heart of pre-colonial Filipino philosophy,” Robinson said. “To be able...
- 4/25/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety - Film News
Sudanese first-timer Mohamed Kordofani’s “Goodbye Julia,” a timely morality tale that takes place just before the 2011 secession of South Sudan, and Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s “Four Daughters” lead the way in nominations for the eighth edition of the Critics Awards for Arab films, winners of which will be announced during the Cannes Film Festival.
The first Sudanese film ever to screen in Cannes’ official selection, “Goodbye Julia” (pictured) is the story of two women — one from the North, the other from the South — who are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities in the currently war-ravaged country.
The drama, which marked Kordofani’s debut, has scored nominations in seven categories of the Arab film awards, including best feature, director, screenplay, actress, actor and editing.
Ben Hania’s hybrid doc/drama “Four Daughters,” about an Arab...
The first Sudanese film ever to screen in Cannes’ official selection, “Goodbye Julia” (pictured) is the story of two women — one from the North, the other from the South — who are brought together by fate in a complex relationship that attempts to reconcile differences between northern and southern Sudanese communities in the currently war-ravaged country.
The drama, which marked Kordofani’s debut, has scored nominations in seven categories of the Arab film awards, including best feature, director, screenplay, actress, actor and editing.
Ben Hania’s hybrid doc/drama “Four Daughters,” about an Arab...
- 4/25/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety - Film News
Magnify, the rebranded international sales arm of Magnolia Pictures, has acquired global and U.S. sales rights to “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point” in the run up to its world premiere at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight.
Directed and co-writer by Tyler Taormina (“Ham on Rye”), the film stars Michael Cera (“Barbie”), Francesca Scorsese, Maria Dizzia (“Martha Marcy May Marlene”), Ben Shenkman (“Billions”), Elsie Fisher (“Eighth Grade”), Gregg Turkington (“Entertainment”), Sawyer Spielberg (“Masters of the Air”) breakout actor Matilda Fleming, among others.
Written by Taormina and Eric Berger, the film revolves around a rambunctious extended family descending upon their small Long Island hometown for the holidays where hijinks, generational squabbles, and family traditions ensue.
“Taormina takes a singular approach to the classic holiday family movie, bringing his absurdist humor and dynamic filmmaking to life with a charming and perfectly cast ensemble,” said Lorna Lee Torres, Magnify SVP of Global Sales. “We...
Directed and co-writer by Tyler Taormina (“Ham on Rye”), the film stars Michael Cera (“Barbie”), Francesca Scorsese, Maria Dizzia (“Martha Marcy May Marlene”), Ben Shenkman (“Billions”), Elsie Fisher (“Eighth Grade”), Gregg Turkington (“Entertainment”), Sawyer Spielberg (“Masters of the Air”) breakout actor Matilda Fleming, among others.
Written by Taormina and Eric Berger, the film revolves around a rambunctious extended family descending upon their small Long Island hometown for the holidays where hijinks, generational squabbles, and family traditions ensue.
“Taormina takes a singular approach to the classic holiday family movie, bringing his absurdist humor and dynamic filmmaking to life with a charming and perfectly cast ensemble,” said Lorna Lee Torres, Magnify SVP of Global Sales. “We...
- 4/25/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety - Film News
The movie industry is arguably waiting around for “Deadpool & Wolverine” to hit theaters, Marvel Studios’ only film of 2024, though hopefully someone enlivens the box office before then. Originally scheduled to be a May 3 release at the top of the summer, the film was delayed because of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike of 2023, moving the film into July.
Continue reading Shawn Levy Says ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Will Require No MCU “Homework” For Audiences at The Playlist.
Continue reading Shawn Levy Says ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Will Require No MCU “Homework” For Audiences at The Playlist.
- 4/26/2024
- by The Playlist
- The Playlist
[Editor’s note: The following article contains some spoilers for “Challengers.”]
“Then the lights go out and it’s just the three of us / You me and all that stuff we’re so scared of”
By the time Luca Guadagnino’s sexy, thrilling “Challengers” sticks two of its leads in — of all places — a suburban Applebee’s, we have a sense of where this is all going.
Built around a love triangle, Guadagnino’s latest stars Zendaya as once-in-a-generation tennis prodigy Tashi, who gets entangled (both personally and professionally) with the sparky Patrick (Josh O’Connor) and his more focused Bff Art (Mike Faist). Told in a nonlinear fashion, the film volleys back and forth between time and place, always coming to rest on a key 2019 match between Patrick and Art.
While screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes’ original script contains plenty of twists, turns, and revelations, the film starts in a place where we soon learn Tashi is retired, she’s married to...
“Then the lights go out and it’s just the three of us / You me and all that stuff we’re so scared of”
By the time Luca Guadagnino’s sexy, thrilling “Challengers” sticks two of its leads in — of all places — a suburban Applebee’s, we have a sense of where this is all going.
Built around a love triangle, Guadagnino’s latest stars Zendaya as once-in-a-generation tennis prodigy Tashi, who gets entangled (both personally and professionally) with the sparky Patrick (Josh O’Connor) and his more focused Bff Art (Mike Faist). Told in a nonlinear fashion, the film volleys back and forth between time and place, always coming to rest on a key 2019 match between Patrick and Art.
While screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes’ original script contains plenty of twists, turns, and revelations, the film starts in a place where we soon learn Tashi is retired, she’s married to...
- 4/26/2024
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
It’s often unfair to compare a director’s child with their parent’s work. Outsized expectations and a tendency to reduce every narrative and aesthetic choice to a type of juxtaposition often flattens the discourse surrounding a particular voice. Sofia Coppola’s work is so radically different from her father’s, for example, that comparison would be meaningless. But it’s also hard to review a film that so obviously bears the hallmarks of a parent’s work in a bubble.
Continue reading ‘Humane’ Review: Caitlin Cronenberg Smashes Two Genres Together In Underbaked Eco-Horror at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Humane’ Review: Caitlin Cronenberg Smashes Two Genres Together In Underbaked Eco-Horror at The Playlist.
- 4/26/2024
- by Christian Gallichio
- The Playlist
Nicole Kidman is the rare actress in the 21st century who, like the stars of Hollywood’s golden years, doesn’t disappear into roles so much as elevate films by her mere presence.
She’s certainly swung big at mainstream blockbusters (think: the “Aquaman” films) that might feel out of her step with her character-driven work elsewhere (like most of the films on the list that follows). But that’s because the Australian icon is unafraid of any role, whether stripping down her post-Oscar, A-lister veneer to film Lars von Trier’s Brechtian “Dogville” in Sweden, slipping into a bathtub with the 10-year-old possible reincarnation of her dead husband in Jonathan Glazer’s “Birth,” or, yes, donning a fake nose to play a suicidal Virginia Woolf for her Oscar-winning turn in “The Hours.”
On April 27 in Los Angeles, Nicole Kidman will receive the 49th AFI Life Achievement Award, joining the ranks of Jane Fonda,...
She’s certainly swung big at mainstream blockbusters (think: the “Aquaman” films) that might feel out of her step with her character-driven work elsewhere (like most of the films on the list that follows). But that’s because the Australian icon is unafraid of any role, whether stripping down her post-Oscar, A-lister veneer to film Lars von Trier’s Brechtian “Dogville” in Sweden, slipping into a bathtub with the 10-year-old possible reincarnation of her dead husband in Jonathan Glazer’s “Birth,” or, yes, donning a fake nose to play a suicidal Virginia Woolf for her Oscar-winning turn in “The Hours.”
On April 27 in Los Angeles, Nicole Kidman will receive the 49th AFI Life Achievement Award, joining the ranks of Jane Fonda,...
- 4/26/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
It's no secret that the first third of 2024 has been at best uneven as far as the box office goes. Ticket sales are lagging way behind this same point in 2023, in no small part thanks to movies like "Abigail" and "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare" underperforming on the same weekend. Thankfully, the summer movie season is on the horizon and Hollywood, as well as theater owners, will hinge their hopes on a varied slate being able to sell an outsized number of tickets. That all begins next weekend with the release of Universal's "The Fall Guy." The question is, can Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt strike gold in the summer season once again after last year's Barbenheimer phenomenon?
"The Fall Guy" will be the first blockbuster to hit theaters in May, which typically ushers in the summer for Hollywood. Currently, the big-budget action/comedy is looking at an opening weekend in the $40 million range,...
"The Fall Guy" will be the first blockbuster to hit theaters in May, which typically ushers in the summer for Hollywood. Currently, the big-budget action/comedy is looking at an opening weekend in the $40 million range,...
- 4/26/2024
- by Ryan Scott
- Slash Film
The box office has been firmly in recovery mode for several years now. The pandemic, it's no secret, completely upended the business, and movie theaters have been trying to figure out what the future looks like ever since. Hollywood, for its part, has been doing the same, attempting to balance its streaming-focused operations with the need to release movies in theaters. 2024 has brought forth yet another challenge as the Screen Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America strikes last year resulted in a disappointingly bare release calendar. Dire though it has seemed at times, there have been many bright spots in the darkness.
Yes, we've had more than a few box office flops this year, ranging from superhero films like "Madame Web" to total whiffs like "The Book of Clarence." Those flops have helped create a rough situation. However, we've also had quite a few hits. Not just movies that...
Yes, we've had more than a few box office flops this year, ranging from superhero films like "Madame Web" to total whiffs like "The Book of Clarence." Those flops have helped create a rough situation. However, we've also had quite a few hits. Not just movies that...
- 4/26/2024
- by Ryan Scott
- Slash Film
[Editor’s Note: this list was originally published in March 2018. It has since been updated with new entries.]
It’s easy to think of the kind of stories that get told in the comic book world as just one genre or tone, but as seen below, graphic novels, comic strips, and other sequential art have offered up an incredible range of storytelling. And these stories have been inspiring great TV shows for years, even before superhero stories dominated the box office.
There were plenty of options that nearly made the list, like the WB’s “Smallville,” which squandered its early potential after running just a few seasons too long. Because one of the most exciting things about these stories is that there’s a rich variety to choose from.
With editorial contributions from Liz Shannon Miller, Ben Travers, and Hanh Nguyen.
25. “Jeremiah”
Based on the Belgian comics by Hermann Huppen and created by J. Michael Straczynski, this intriguing post-apocalyptic drama ran for two seasons on Showtime. The excellent...
It’s easy to think of the kind of stories that get told in the comic book world as just one genre or tone, but as seen below, graphic novels, comic strips, and other sequential art have offered up an incredible range of storytelling. And these stories have been inspiring great TV shows for years, even before superhero stories dominated the box office.
There were plenty of options that nearly made the list, like the WB’s “Smallville,” which squandered its early potential after running just a few seasons too long. Because one of the most exciting things about these stories is that there’s a rich variety to choose from.
With editorial contributions from Liz Shannon Miller, Ben Travers, and Hanh Nguyen.
25. “Jeremiah”
Based on the Belgian comics by Hermann Huppen and created by J. Michael Straczynski, this intriguing post-apocalyptic drama ran for two seasons on Showtime. The excellent...
- 4/26/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
In an odd quirk of distribution timing, this month has seen the arrival of no less than two imported, semi-comedic thrillers featuring decrepit apartment building invaded by giant spiders. Already playing U.S. theaters is the Australian “Sting,” which is fun, if formulaic. In a whole other class, however, is French “Infested,” a first feature by director Sebastien Vanicek following several impressive shorts. An instant minor genre classic, it is fun and then some — a conceptually unremarkable but resourceful, energetic, stylish and good-humored creature feature with above-average human character interest.
That achievement has been duly noted: Intended as a streaming premiere, “Vermines” (the original title) pleased its producer such that he apparently insisted on a home-turf theatrical release, despite the long delay that imposes on its launch in other formats under French law. It’s seen big-screen release in numerous nations since late last year, though in the U.S.
That achievement has been duly noted: Intended as a streaming premiere, “Vermines” (the original title) pleased its producer such that he apparently insisted on a home-turf theatrical release, despite the long delay that imposes on its launch in other formats under French law. It’s seen big-screen release in numerous nations since late last year, though in the U.S.
- 4/26/2024
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety - Film News
The 27-year-old American actor has gone from the Disney channel to new classy arthouse threesome drama Challengers, via a massive blockbuster and a hot-button TV series. So can she convince as an Oscar contender?
Actor-model-producer Zendaya Coleman – universally known mononymously, without her last name – has never been short of attention, but it feels as if the 27-year-old has arrived at a breakthrough moment. With the tennis romance Challengers arriving in cinemas, in which she is the central focus, the sci-fi blockbuster Dune: Part Two still reeling in audiences, and acting as the simultaneous cover star of two separate editions of Vogue magazine – the British and the American – Zendaya appears to have achieved a new level.
Her career has so far specialised in an impressively high number of attention-grabbing moments, including appearing in a spectacularly bizarre metallic silver “robot suit” at the premiere of Dune: Part Two earlier this year, and...
Actor-model-producer Zendaya Coleman – universally known mononymously, without her last name – has never been short of attention, but it feels as if the 27-year-old has arrived at a breakthrough moment. With the tennis romance Challengers arriving in cinemas, in which she is the central focus, the sci-fi blockbuster Dune: Part Two still reeling in audiences, and acting as the simultaneous cover star of two separate editions of Vogue magazine – the British and the American – Zendaya appears to have achieved a new level.
Her career has so far specialised in an impressively high number of attention-grabbing moments, including appearing in a spectacularly bizarre metallic silver “robot suit” at the premiere of Dune: Part Two earlier this year, and...
- 4/26/2024
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
You may not know Justin Kuritzkes by name, but there's a strong chance you've seen his face before. The playwright turned screenwriter behind director Luca Guadagnino's steamy tennis drama "Challengers" rocketed to internet fame thanks to his viral 2011 YouTube fantasy skit "Potion Seller." That he went from speaking to himself in silly voices while distorting his face on his computer to penning scripts for the filmmaker behind "Call Me By Your Name" is truly the type of career trajectory the rest of us can only dream about.
In another twist that might not pass the smell test if you tried to turn his story into a film, Kuritzkes is married to Celine Song, the writer and director behind only one of the best movies of 2023, "Past Lives." Even setting that aside, it's easy to spot the parallels between Song's hit and "Challengers." Both films follow the same set of...
In another twist that might not pass the smell test if you tried to turn his story into a film, Kuritzkes is married to Celine Song, the writer and director behind only one of the best movies of 2023, "Past Lives." Even setting that aside, it's easy to spot the parallels between Song's hit and "Challengers." Both films follow the same set of...
- 4/26/2024
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
"Anyone But You" became a surprise hit when it arrived in theaters back in December 2023. In an age where everyone is used to superhero movies and the odd horror flick doing well at the box office, surely a rom-com starring two lesser-known stars whose careers are only just starting to get going wasn't going to hit? But hit, it did. "Anyone But You" passed box office milestones, making an impressive $216 million worldwide on just a $25 million budget. Oh, and it was also based on a William Shakespeare play.
It might seem strange to think that a loose adaptation of the Bard's "Much Ado About Nothing," could be so surprisingly popular, but perhaps "Anyone But You" is ushering in a new era of cool Shakespeare adaptations, á la Leonardo DiCaprio with "Romeo + Juliet" back in the mid-'90s. Either way, the film's success certainly went a long way to...
It might seem strange to think that a loose adaptation of the Bard's "Much Ado About Nothing," could be so surprisingly popular, but perhaps "Anyone But You" is ushering in a new era of cool Shakespeare adaptations, á la Leonardo DiCaprio with "Romeo + Juliet" back in the mid-'90s. Either way, the film's success certainly went a long way to...
- 4/26/2024
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
South Korea’s Plus M Entertainment is set to launch sales on upcoming romantic drama Pavane: For A Dead Princess and action thriller Night Fever in Cannes.
Pavane: For A Dead Princess is directed by Lee Jong-pil, known for 2020 comedy drama Samjin Company English Class and 2015 period drama The Sound Of A Flower.
It will reunite Lee with Samjin actress Ko A-sung, who also played the lead in Because I Hate Korea, which opened last year’s Busan International Film Festival. Further cast includes Byun Yo-han of box office hit Hansan: Rising Dragon and Moon Sang-win of drama series Wedding Impossible.
Pavane: For A Dead Princess is directed by Lee Jong-pil, known for 2020 comedy drama Samjin Company English Class and 2015 period drama The Sound Of A Flower.
It will reunite Lee with Samjin actress Ko A-sung, who also played the lead in Because I Hate Korea, which opened last year’s Busan International Film Festival. Further cast includes Byun Yo-han of box office hit Hansan: Rising Dragon and Moon Sang-win of drama series Wedding Impossible.
- 4/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
Usman Riaz’s Annecy selection “The Glassworker” has unveiled its first trailer. The film will also screen at the Cannes Film Market and has set a date for theatrical release in Pakistan.
The animated film will debut in Annecy’s Contrechamp strand. Targeting family audiences, the film is set in a location loosely inspired by Pakistan, telling the story of young Vincent and his father Tomas, who run the finest glass workshop in the country and find their lives upended by an approaching war in which they want no part. The arrival in their town of an army colonel and his young talented, violinist daughter, Alliz, shakes their reality and tests the relationship between father and son.
The voice cast includes Art Malik (“Man Like Mobeen”), Sacha Dhawan (“Wolf”), Anjli Mohindra (“The Lazarus Project”) and Tony Jayawardena (“Ackley Bridge”). It is produced by Riaz’s Pakistan-based Mano Animation Studios and...
The animated film will debut in Annecy’s Contrechamp strand. Targeting family audiences, the film is set in a location loosely inspired by Pakistan, telling the story of young Vincent and his father Tomas, who run the finest glass workshop in the country and find their lives upended by an approaching war in which they want no part. The arrival in their town of an army colonel and his young talented, violinist daughter, Alliz, shakes their reality and tests the relationship between father and son.
The voice cast includes Art Malik (“Man Like Mobeen”), Sacha Dhawan (“Wolf”), Anjli Mohindra (“The Lazarus Project”) and Tony Jayawardena (“Ackley Bridge”). It is produced by Riaz’s Pakistan-based Mano Animation Studios and...
- 4/26/2024
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety - Film News
From On Demand To Linear
Asian TV channels operator Celestial Tiger Entertainment and myTV Super, the Ott platform of Hong Kong’s Television Broadcasts Limited (Tvb) are to launch PopC, a movie channel dedicated to Chinese online films, with content supplied by mainland China streamer iQiyi. It launches in Hong Kong from May 1.
“The idea of PopC first came about when we saw the amount of great, high quality movies that were being produced for the online space in China. The domestic reception and online hit rates for these movies are just phenomenal, and we want to bring them to an international audience outside of China by curating them all in one great channel.” said Ofanny Choi, CEO of Cte.
Its lineup will take on revolving themes on a daily basis, from fantasy-adventure, to Chinese heroes, suspense, action and comedy.
Taipei-budapest
The Taipei Film Festival has reinstated its “City in...
Asian TV channels operator Celestial Tiger Entertainment and myTV Super, the Ott platform of Hong Kong’s Television Broadcasts Limited (Tvb) are to launch PopC, a movie channel dedicated to Chinese online films, with content supplied by mainland China streamer iQiyi. It launches in Hong Kong from May 1.
“The idea of PopC first came about when we saw the amount of great, high quality movies that were being produced for the online space in China. The domestic reception and online hit rates for these movies are just phenomenal, and we want to bring them to an international audience outside of China by curating them all in one great channel.” said Ofanny Choi, CEO of Cte.
Its lineup will take on revolving themes on a daily basis, from fantasy-adventure, to Chinese heroes, suspense, action and comedy.
Taipei-budapest
The Taipei Film Festival has reinstated its “City in...
- 4/26/2024
- by Patrick Frater and Leo Barraclough
- Variety - Film News
Annecy International Animation Film Festival has unveiled the programme for its 2024 edition, including the Competition line-up and a programme of previews from the major studios.
The 12-strong Official Competition includes Adam Elliot’s Australian feature Memoir Of A Snail, in which Succession star Sarah Snook voices a lonely hoarder of ornamental snails; and stop-motion Savages!, director Claude Barras’ first feature since his Bafta- and Oscar-nominated My Life As A Courgette.
Scroll down for the full Competition line-up
The festival will open with Michel Hazanavicius’ Competition title The Most Precious Of Cargoes, heading to Annecy from its debut in Cannes Competition.
The 12-strong Official Competition includes Adam Elliot’s Australian feature Memoir Of A Snail, in which Succession star Sarah Snook voices a lonely hoarder of ornamental snails; and stop-motion Savages!, director Claude Barras’ first feature since his Bafta- and Oscar-nominated My Life As A Courgette.
Scroll down for the full Competition line-up
The festival will open with Michel Hazanavicius’ Competition title The Most Precious Of Cargoes, heading to Annecy from its debut in Cannes Competition.
- 4/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
Having won a BAFTA (and landed an Oscar nomination) for her role as Colin Farrell’s kind-hearted but cynical — and distinctly less donkey-friendly — sister in Martin McDonagh’s darkly comic “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Kerry Condon is back in her native Ireland for her next film role.
Set in the height of the Troubles in the mid-1970s, Robert Lorenz’s Irish Western “In the Land of Saints and Sinners,” which launches on Netflix Friday, sees the actress ditch all niceties to play a hard-nosed, mean-as-hell, extremely potty-mouthed and very violent Ira gang leader trying to lie low in rural Donegal following a deadly pub bombing. But it’s not long before she’s up against Liam Neeson, whose demeanor as a quiet widow and secondhand book dealer masks a secret identity as a local hitman for Colm Meaney’s village mobster. Like any good Western, the two eventually face...
Set in the height of the Troubles in the mid-1970s, Robert Lorenz’s Irish Western “In the Land of Saints and Sinners,” which launches on Netflix Friday, sees the actress ditch all niceties to play a hard-nosed, mean-as-hell, extremely potty-mouthed and very violent Ira gang leader trying to lie low in rural Donegal following a deadly pub bombing. But it’s not long before she’s up against Liam Neeson, whose demeanor as a quiet widow and secondhand book dealer masks a secret identity as a local hitman for Colm Meaney’s village mobster. Like any good Western, the two eventually face...
- 4/26/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety - Film News
The collaboration between the merc with a mouth and the clawed crusader has to work hard to mashup the alternate realities, but it could open portals to a lot of multiversal fun
It is somewhat ironic that just when the Marvel Cinematic Universe is entering its most intriguing phase, with the introduction of the multiverse and superheroes jetting in from all sorts of weird and wonderful corners of the Hollywood studio system, it has also begun to deliver its biggest duds. Chloé Zhao’s Eternals and Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels, Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania all seemed dull and listless compared to the endlessly colourful and imaginative episodes that populated the comic book macro-saga’s earlier phases.
Is it any coincidence that these movies only lightly tinkered around the edges of multiversal goings on, while two of Marvel’s more successful episodes of recent times, Doctor...
It is somewhat ironic that just when the Marvel Cinematic Universe is entering its most intriguing phase, with the introduction of the multiverse and superheroes jetting in from all sorts of weird and wonderful corners of the Hollywood studio system, it has also begun to deliver its biggest duds. Chloé Zhao’s Eternals and Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels, Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania all seemed dull and listless compared to the endlessly colourful and imaginative episodes that populated the comic book macro-saga’s earlier phases.
Is it any coincidence that these movies only lightly tinkered around the edges of multiversal goings on, while two of Marvel’s more successful episodes of recent times, Doctor...
- 4/26/2024
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Finnish Film Affair, the industry event of Helsinki International Film Festival, has appointed Alisha Hasan as its new head of industry.
Hasan joins from Finnish animation house Gutsy Animations, where she was head of marketing. She has also previously worked as a producer and marketing manager at online gaming firm Game Lounge Ltd.
“Just as Finnish Film Affair is a great arena for new and interesting cooperations to be born, I am ready to promote new openings: my wish is to create new bold conversations, bringing more international connections to Finland as well as new perspectives,” said Hasan.
“One of...
Hasan joins from Finnish animation house Gutsy Animations, where she was head of marketing. She has also previously worked as a producer and marketing manager at online gaming firm Game Lounge Ltd.
“Just as Finnish Film Affair is a great arena for new and interesting cooperations to be born, I am ready to promote new openings: my wish is to create new bold conversations, bringing more international connections to Finland as well as new perspectives,” said Hasan.
“One of...
- 4/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
The seventh edition of The Changing Face of Europe, a section in Toronto’s Hot Docs Film Festival, explores the cultural, economic and political forces shaping contemporary Europe.
From an investigation of a right-wing group in Fabien Greenberg and Bård Kjøge Rønning’s “Norwegian Democrazy” to the fight for bodily freedom in Elina Psykou’s “Stray Bodies,” this year’s selection broaches a series of urgent — and, at many times, highly-sensitive — sociopolitical topics at the forefront of European society from filmmakers who may not always get the support they need within the international festival landscape.
“The section is very important because it allows us to get films from filmmakers who we wouldn’t normally get films from,” Hot Docs festival programming director Heather Haynes tells Variety. “It helps create an exchange and communication between what’s happening in Europe and what we are doing at Hot Docs.”
The Changing Face of Europe,...
From an investigation of a right-wing group in Fabien Greenberg and Bård Kjøge Rønning’s “Norwegian Democrazy” to the fight for bodily freedom in Elina Psykou’s “Stray Bodies,” this year’s selection broaches a series of urgent — and, at many times, highly-sensitive — sociopolitical topics at the forefront of European society from filmmakers who may not always get the support they need within the international festival landscape.
“The section is very important because it allows us to get films from filmmakers who we wouldn’t normally get films from,” Hot Docs festival programming director Heather Haynes tells Variety. “It helps create an exchange and communication between what’s happening in Europe and what we are doing at Hot Docs.”
The Changing Face of Europe,...
- 4/26/2024
- by Rafa Sales Ross
- Variety - Film News
Screen can exclusively reveal the first trailer for Konstantin Bojanov’s The Shameless ahead of the India-set love story’s world premiere in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard.
Bulgarian director Bojanov’s third feature is about two women trying to escape a life of prostitution who fall in love, but must deal with an oppressive society rooted in centuries-old patriarchal traditions as they embark on a perilous journey to escape the law and find freedom.
The film is produced by Switzerland’s Akka Films, France’s Urban Factory, Bulgaria’s Klas Films, Taiwan’s House on Fire and India’s Teamo Productions HQ Limited.
Bulgarian director Bojanov’s third feature is about two women trying to escape a life of prostitution who fall in love, but must deal with an oppressive society rooted in centuries-old patriarchal traditions as they embark on a perilous journey to escape the law and find freedom.
The film is produced by Switzerland’s Akka Films, France’s Urban Factory, Bulgaria’s Klas Films, Taiwan’s House on Fire and India’s Teamo Productions HQ Limited.
- 4/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
DeBose’s brilliant rookie astronaut navigates this moderately tense thriller about US and Russian crew fighting as Earth blazes below
At first, the crew on board the International Space Station (Iss) mistake the tiny dot of fire on Earth for a volcano. But look: there’s another, and another. In fact, these astronauts have got a bird’s eye view of a nuclear tit-for-tat between the Russian and American governments that by the end of the movie turns the planet into a great glowing ball of fire. But for the six-person crew – three Americans and three Russians – nuclear Armageddon is only the start of their problems.
A lowish-budget, slightly muted survival thriller – moderately tense, with too few ideas to qualify as actively cerebral – what the movie does have is a brilliant performance by West Side Story’s Ariana DeBose as biologist and rookie astronaut Kira. Like all the characters here,...
At first, the crew on board the International Space Station (Iss) mistake the tiny dot of fire on Earth for a volcano. But look: there’s another, and another. In fact, these astronauts have got a bird’s eye view of a nuclear tit-for-tat between the Russian and American governments that by the end of the movie turns the planet into a great glowing ball of fire. But for the six-person crew – three Americans and three Russians – nuclear Armageddon is only the start of their problems.
A lowish-budget, slightly muted survival thriller – moderately tense, with too few ideas to qualify as actively cerebral – what the movie does have is a brilliant performance by West Side Story’s Ariana DeBose as biologist and rookie astronaut Kira. Like all the characters here,...
- 4/26/2024
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
In “Boy Kills World,” Bill Skarsgård has burning eyes and model cheekbones, sinewy arms popping out of a dirty red athletic vest, and a feral pout that makes him look like Jean-Claude van Damme crossed with Lou Reed. He plays a deaf-mute avenger, known only as Boy, who kills people in insanely violent ways. Yet through it all, the character retains his innocence. He’s a wounded wild child in a man’s body.
Raised on a mountain by a martial-arts trainer called the Shaman (Yayan Ruhian), who may remind you, at first, of the Zen master in “Kill Bill: Volume 2,” Boy had his past taken away from him by a vicious totalitarian regime. During the Culling, an annual ritual where law and order is maintained by the state-sanctioned execution of criminals in the street, Boy saw his little sister, Mina (Quinn Copeland), executed right in front of him.
Raised on a mountain by a martial-arts trainer called the Shaman (Yayan Ruhian), who may remind you, at first, of the Zen master in “Kill Bill: Volume 2,” Boy had his past taken away from him by a vicious totalitarian regime. During the Culling, an annual ritual where law and order is maintained by the state-sanctioned execution of criminals in the street, Boy saw his little sister, Mina (Quinn Copeland), executed right in front of him.
- 4/26/2024
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety - Film News
The actor’s feminist credentials, a wholehearted embrace of comedy and being one of the most memed actors on social media has seen Gosling’s auto-satirising alpha male become white-hot box office in 2024
In Hollywood, there are no accidents. Ryan Gosling’s role in stuntman pic The Fall Guy, hard on the heels of his show-stopping Oscars rendition of I’m Just Ken, is perfectly timed to confirm his ascension to the very top tier of stardom. Not only is it a four-quadrant entertainment turbo boost – covering all audience bases with action, romance, a legacy franchise for the oldies, John Wick-slick for the kids – it is shrink-wrapped to his public persona. His role as stunt veteran Colt Seavers, saving the skin of the idiot megastar he doubles for, caps off the stance Gosling has upheld on talkshows and memes over the last decade: stardom and celebrity as a delectable facade,...
In Hollywood, there are no accidents. Ryan Gosling’s role in stuntman pic The Fall Guy, hard on the heels of his show-stopping Oscars rendition of I’m Just Ken, is perfectly timed to confirm his ascension to the very top tier of stardom. Not only is it a four-quadrant entertainment turbo boost – covering all audience bases with action, romance, a legacy franchise for the oldies, John Wick-slick for the kids – it is shrink-wrapped to his public persona. His role as stunt veteran Colt Seavers, saving the skin of the idiot megastar he doubles for, caps off the stance Gosling has upheld on talkshows and memes over the last decade: stardom and celebrity as a delectable facade,...
- 4/26/2024
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
Ashley Judd has said that the overturning of Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction by New York Court of Appeals on Thursday was “institutional betrayal”.
“This today is an act of institutional betrayal,” Judd told a press conference of the 4-3 majority ruling by the court. “And our institutions betrayed survivors of male sexual violence.”
Judd, one of the first women to speak out against alleged sexual harassment by Weinstein in 2017, was in New York advocating at the United Nations in favour of eliminating all forms of harassment and male sexual violence in the world of work.
“I stand shoulder to...
“This today is an act of institutional betrayal,” Judd told a press conference of the 4-3 majority ruling by the court. “And our institutions betrayed survivors of male sexual violence.”
Judd, one of the first women to speak out against alleged sexual harassment by Weinstein in 2017, was in New York advocating at the United Nations in favour of eliminating all forms of harassment and male sexual violence in the world of work.
“I stand shoulder to...
- 4/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
“Spa Night” and “Fire Island” filmmaker Andrew Ahn is set to direct Lily Gladstone and Bowen Yang in a new take on “The Wedding Banquet” that has been described as a “reimagination” of Ang Lee’s beloved 1993 film.
The new project, which was announced on Thursday by co-producers Bleecker Street and Shivhans Pictures and begins filming in May, is based on a new script by Ahn and frequent Lee collaborator James Schamus, who co-wrote the original film.
Lee’s “The Wedding Banquet” won the Golden Bear at the 1993 Berlin International Film Festival and helped cement his status as a notable figure in the global film community. The film stars Winston Chao as a gay Taiwanese man living in America who agrees to a marriage of convenience with a female friend, only to find his life complicated when his overbearing parents travel to America to plan his wedding banquet. The film...
The new project, which was announced on Thursday by co-producers Bleecker Street and Shivhans Pictures and begins filming in May, is based on a new script by Ahn and frequent Lee collaborator James Schamus, who co-wrote the original film.
Lee’s “The Wedding Banquet” won the Golden Bear at the 1993 Berlin International Film Festival and helped cement his status as a notable figure in the global film community. The film stars Winston Chao as a gay Taiwanese man living in America who agrees to a marriage of convenience with a female friend, only to find his life complicated when his overbearing parents travel to America to plan his wedding banquet. The film...
- 4/25/2024
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
A fundraiser launched Thursday for the crew member who remains hospitalized after the accident on set of the Amazon MGM Studios film “The Pickup” says the crew member is in the ICU with “extensive bodily injuries.”
A GoFundMe campaign launched by Sean Fisher identifies the injured crew member as Marvin Haven, a dolly grip who has worked in the industry for the past 26 years. His credits include “The Walking Dead,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Red Notice.” At this writing, the campaign has raised over $30,000 of its $100,000 goal.
The posting detailed Haven’s injuries as including “broken ribs, multiple fractures in his neck and back, a shattered scapula, punctured lung, and a skull fracture which will require facial reconstructive surgery.” Initial reports in the AP described some of the injuries to other crew members as being limited to bruises and broken bones.
“We are so grateful and blessed that our beloved friend is still alive,...
A GoFundMe campaign launched by Sean Fisher identifies the injured crew member as Marvin Haven, a dolly grip who has worked in the industry for the past 26 years. His credits include “The Walking Dead,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Red Notice.” At this writing, the campaign has raised over $30,000 of its $100,000 goal.
The posting detailed Haven’s injuries as including “broken ribs, multiple fractures in his neck and back, a shattered scapula, punctured lung, and a skull fracture which will require facial reconstructive surgery.” Initial reports in the AP described some of the injuries to other crew members as being limited to bruises and broken bones.
“We are so grateful and blessed that our beloved friend is still alive,...
- 4/25/2024
- by Brian Welk
- Indiewire
Jessica Lange spoke critically of present-day Hollywood during a recent interview with Vulture, saying “there should be a law against it” when the topic came up about Warner Bros. Discovery axing already-shot movies like “Batgirl” and “Coyote vs. Acme” for tax write-off purposes. This topic became a launching pad for some of Lange’s wider criticisms of today’s entertainment industry.
“We’re living in a corporate world and it certainly has rolled over into the film industry,” Lange said. “So much of the industry now is not about the creative process. Obviously, this is not across the board, but there are many instances where I feel like the artistic impulse is overwhelmed by the corporate profit motive. You look at some of the best films of the past year — what do they have in common? They’re not from America. My favorite was ‘Anatomy of a Fall.’ How often...
“We’re living in a corporate world and it certainly has rolled over into the film industry,” Lange said. “So much of the industry now is not about the creative process. Obviously, this is not across the board, but there are many instances where I feel like the artistic impulse is overwhelmed by the corporate profit motive. You look at some of the best films of the past year — what do they have in common? They’re not from America. My favorite was ‘Anatomy of a Fall.’ How often...
- 4/25/2024
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety - Film News
Netflix has acquired The Thursday Murder Club which will star Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, and Ben Kingsley.
The film is the latest to be produced under the film partnership between Netflix and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin which includes the upcoming Carry-On starring Jason Bateman and Taron Egerton.
Chris Columbus is set to write and direct The Thursday Murder Club based on Richard Osman’s crime novel about a group of friends in a retirement home who solve cold cases for fun but soon become entangled in a real murder. Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment is producing.
Mirren will play ex-spy Elizabeth,...
The film is the latest to be produced under the film partnership between Netflix and Steven Spielberg’s Amblin which includes the upcoming Carry-On starring Jason Bateman and Taron Egerton.
Chris Columbus is set to write and direct The Thursday Murder Club based on Richard Osman’s crime novel about a group of friends in a retirement home who solve cold cases for fun but soon become entangled in a real murder. Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment is producing.
Mirren will play ex-spy Elizabeth,...
- 4/25/2024
- ScreenDaily
Uberto Pasolini’s “Nowhere Special” is delicately tinted by profound shades of imminent grief. As a 35-year-old, terminally ill single father in Northern Ireland, John (a quietly powerful James Norton) grieves his impending demise and the inevitable fact that he will vacate his four-year-old son Michael’s (Daniel Lamont) life permanently and prematurely. A Belfast window washer, John sees the reflections of his grief everywhere as he scrubs and shines surface after surface. In one scene, it’s the headstones on display in the window of a funeral parlor. In another, it’s a dad happily picking up his baby inside a restaurant. That’s just John’s every day on the other side of a glass facade, with stark glimpses into what’s coming and what he will soon lose.
Meanwhile, his often silent and always observant toddler Michael deals with his own share of grief, at an age...
Meanwhile, his often silent and always observant toddler Michael deals with his own share of grief, at an age...
- 4/25/2024
- by Tomris Laffly
- Variety - Film News
This article contains major spoilers for "Challengers."
Given our Puritanical origins, Americans tend to have a strange relationship with the concept of kink. It's only within the last half-century or so that popular culture has allowed for the exploration and broadcast of what used to be taboo topics: Things as basic and human as the general act of sex, the proliferation of violence, and so on. Prior to that watershed time in American history, so much of life was hidden behind closed doors, causing the general public persona of the average citizen to be repressed or sublimated.
While America is certainly not alone when it comes to rabidly enjoying sports — whether participating directly or merely observing them being played — it feels like our culture uses the pastimes as one of several outlets with which to get in touch with our baser, more primal selves. If football is a stand-in for...
Given our Puritanical origins, Americans tend to have a strange relationship with the concept of kink. It's only within the last half-century or so that popular culture has allowed for the exploration and broadcast of what used to be taboo topics: Things as basic and human as the general act of sex, the proliferation of violence, and so on. Prior to that watershed time in American history, so much of life was hidden behind closed doors, causing the general public persona of the average citizen to be repressed or sublimated.
While America is certainly not alone when it comes to rabidly enjoying sports — whether participating directly or merely observing them being played — it feels like our culture uses the pastimes as one of several outlets with which to get in touch with our baser, more primal selves. If football is a stand-in for...
- 4/25/2024
- by Bill Bria
- Slash Film
Luca Guadagnino’s tennis relationship drama “Challengers” (Amazon MGM) opens Friday amidst chatter that it represents the rarest of films — a wide-release American sex sizzler, an erotically charged story with young actors with sexual impulses central to its plot.
The marketing forebears for “Challengers” are akin to movies that we’ve not seen in a long time like “Carnal Knowledge,” “Body Heat,” “Don’t Look Now,” and “Fatal Attraction.” These films, where sex can be sweaty and dangerous, were elevated by big stars who dared to play off their images. Other examples include Kevin Costner (“No Way Out”), Debra Winger (“An Officer and a Gentleman”), Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver (“The Year of Living Dangerously”), Jane Fonda (“Klute”), and Warren Beatty.
In the “Challengers” press tour, Zendaya (also a producer here) — with six of her previous seven live-action theatrical releases having domestic grosses of $100 million or more — took pains to dispel...
The marketing forebears for “Challengers” are akin to movies that we’ve not seen in a long time like “Carnal Knowledge,” “Body Heat,” “Don’t Look Now,” and “Fatal Attraction.” These films, where sex can be sweaty and dangerous, were elevated by big stars who dared to play off their images. Other examples include Kevin Costner (“No Way Out”), Debra Winger (“An Officer and a Gentleman”), Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver (“The Year of Living Dangerously”), Jane Fonda (“Klute”), and Warren Beatty.
In the “Challengers” press tour, Zendaya (also a producer here) — with six of her previous seven live-action theatrical releases having domestic grosses of $100 million or more — took pains to dispel...
- 4/25/2024
- by Tom Brueggemann
- Indiewire
Unless you've been living under a rock recently, you're aware that movie theaters have been in a tough spot for nearly half a decade now, if not longer. Various factors have contributed to this, of course -- everything from the Covid-19 pandemic to the economy itself contributing to higher prices for a night out at the movies (especially for a family). Yet perhaps the biggest point of contention for those not fully inducted into the church of moviegoing is that old chestnut coined by Jean-Paul Sartre: Hell is other people.
Due to being at the tail end of several decades' worth of manufacturers and big box stores pushing home theater technology, the average living room theater setup tends to rival most generic movie theater screens in terms of picture and sound quality, with the convenience of the setup already being in one's home, away from loud talking randos and teens on their bright smartphones,...
Due to being at the tail end of several decades' worth of manufacturers and big box stores pushing home theater technology, the average living room theater setup tends to rival most generic movie theater screens in terms of picture and sound quality, with the convenience of the setup already being in one's home, away from loud talking randos and teens on their bright smartphones,...
- 4/25/2024
- by Bill Bria
- Slash Film
We will update this article throughout the season, along with all our predictions, so make sure to keep checking IndieWire for the latest news from the 2024 Emmys race. The nomination round of voting takes place from June 13 to June 24, with the official Emmy nominations announced Wednesday, July 17. Afterwards, final voting commences on August 15 and ends the night of August 26. The 76th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards are set to take place on Sunday, September 15, and air live on ABC at 8:00 p.m. Et/ 5:00 p.m. Pt.
The State of the Race
The Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category has gotten extra starry this year, with “Only Murders in the Building” and “Palm Royale” alone adding several Oscar winners to the mix. Now, star power actually does not factor too much into the decisions on who to nominate, because campaigns for those stars can sometimes still treat TV like the slums,...
The State of the Race
The Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category has gotten extra starry this year, with “Only Murders in the Building” and “Palm Royale” alone adding several Oscar winners to the mix. Now, star power actually does not factor too much into the decisions on who to nominate, because campaigns for those stars can sometimes still treat TV like the slums,...
- 4/25/2024
- by Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
In step with Infrared’s goal of building a dynamic supplier of mid-budget mainstream genre titles with franchise potential, Drew Simon has hit the ground running at the FilmNation-owned production label.
Since Infrared launched in November 2022 the president of production has announced two features, with principal photography on the first, the high-concept action title Novocaine starring Jack Quaid of Amazon Studios series The Boys, underway in Cape Town, South Africa.
Paramount snapped up worldwide rights after FilmNation launched sales at AFM last year and has set a March 14, 2025 release date. Robert Olsen and Dan Berk co-direct the story of a...
Since Infrared launched in November 2022 the president of production has announced two features, with principal photography on the first, the high-concept action title Novocaine starring Jack Quaid of Amazon Studios series The Boys, underway in Cape Town, South Africa.
Paramount snapped up worldwide rights after FilmNation launched sales at AFM last year and has set a March 14, 2025 release date. Robert Olsen and Dan Berk co-direct the story of a...
- 4/25/2024
- ScreenDaily
In step with the goal of building a dynamic supplier of mid-budget mainstream genre titles with franchise potential, Drew Simon has hit the ground running at the FilmNation-owned production label.
Since Infrared launched in November 2022 the president of production has announced two features, with production on the first, the high-concept action title Novocaine starring Jack Quaid of Amazon Studios series The Boys, underway in Cape Town, South Africa.
Paramount snapped up worldwide rights after FilmNation launched sales at AFM last year and has set a March 14, 2025 release date. Robert Olsen and Dan Berk co-direct the story of a bank executive...
Since Infrared launched in November 2022 the president of production has announced two features, with production on the first, the high-concept action title Novocaine starring Jack Quaid of Amazon Studios series The Boys, underway in Cape Town, South Africa.
Paramount snapped up worldwide rights after FilmNation launched sales at AFM last year and has set a March 14, 2025 release date. Robert Olsen and Dan Berk co-direct the story of a bank executive...
- 4/25/2024
- ScreenDaily
Emily Blunt seems staunchly opposed to algorithms making any decisions in Hollywood. Ahead of the release of her summer tentpole “The Fall Guy,” the Oscar nominee joined co-star Ryan Gosling for a Vanity Fair Italy cover story in which she expressed frustration over algorithm-driven decision making. Blunt pointed to Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” as the kind of gamble that an algorithm or data-crunching practices would probably advise not to make, given it’s a biopic with an R rating and a three-hour runtime that features no action scenes.
“Some new things frustrate me: algorithms, for example,” Blunt said. “I hate that fucking word, excuse the expletive! How can it be associated with art and content? How can we let it determine what will be successful and what will not?”
“Let me explain with an example,” she continued. “I was in a three-hour film about a physicist, which had the that...
“Some new things frustrate me: algorithms, for example,” Blunt said. “I hate that fucking word, excuse the expletive! How can it be associated with art and content? How can we let it determine what will be successful and what will not?”
“Let me explain with an example,” she continued. “I was in a three-hour film about a physicist, which had the that...
- 4/25/2024
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety - Film News
Come on guys, “Avatar: The Last Airbender” wasn’t that bad.
According to a March 11, 2024 CableTV.com poll of 1,000 U.S. streaming users, nearly one in four (24 percent to be exact) believe Netflix has gotten worse over the past year. The silver lining is that Netflix is still the most favored streamer overall: a third (33 percent) of the respondents say they would still pick Netflix over any other service, and only 22 percent said they have a “negative opinion” of the streaming leader. In non-survey-land, Netflix just keeps on growing: by the end of March it had 270 million global paid subscribers.
On the flip side, only 3 percent of the survey’s participants would choose Apple TV+ for their first pick; 47 percent of Americans have a negative view of Apple’s SVOD service. Maybe they just really, really want “Severance” to come back already with its second season (but probably not). We surely do.
According to a March 11, 2024 CableTV.com poll of 1,000 U.S. streaming users, nearly one in four (24 percent to be exact) believe Netflix has gotten worse over the past year. The silver lining is that Netflix is still the most favored streamer overall: a third (33 percent) of the respondents say they would still pick Netflix over any other service, and only 22 percent said they have a “negative opinion” of the streaming leader. In non-survey-land, Netflix just keeps on growing: by the end of March it had 270 million global paid subscribers.
On the flip side, only 3 percent of the survey’s participants would choose Apple TV+ for their first pick; 47 percent of Americans have a negative view of Apple’s SVOD service. Maybe they just really, really want “Severance” to come back already with its second season (but probably not). We surely do.
- 4/25/2024
- by Tony Maglio
- Indiewire
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