Italy’s Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival, which is dedicated to cinematic treasures of the past, last week wrapped its 33rd edition with a record-breaking turnout. Long a summer fixture for vintage film geeks and distributors it also draws prominent contemporary cinema personalities. This year these included Academy president John Bailey, Francis Ford Coppola, Nicolas Winding Refn, Jane
Month: July 2019
Sports drama “Three Seconds” has become the highest grossing Russian film of all time in China, with an 85 million yuan ($12.3 million) gross. Previous Russian hits in China include “The Snow Queen 3: Fire and Ice” (74.2 million yuan), “Stalingrad” (71.9 million yuan) and “Dragon” (60 million yuan). Anton Megerdichev’s film tells the story
July 2, 2019 11:02PM PT Lee Cheuk-pan’s debut feature is a striking essay about moral decay in contemporary Hong Kong. “The darker the underbelly, the prettier the top layer,” says one of the main characters in “G Affairs,” a striking, metaphor-heavy excursion into corruption and moral decay in contemporary Hong Kong. This knockout debut by
After 38 days of filming, the final clapperboard has been snapped shut on “Charlatan,” Oscar-nominated Polish director Agnieszka Holland’s latest film, and it’s a wrap. The film will premiere on Feb. 20, 2020, which offers the possibility of a launch at the Berlin Film Festival (Feb. 20-March 1). “Charlatan” was shot in several locations in
July 2, 2019 10:43PM PT This juicy Oz horror offers an engaging female twist on the trusty “Most Dangerous Game” formula. An above-average riff on the reliable “hunting humans for sport” scenario that’s been around at least as far as 1932’s RKO thriller “The Most Dangerous Game,” “The Furies” marks a solid feature debut for
There’s a feeling I always have when I’m watching Greg Kinnear in a movie. He can be a terrific actor (as the ’60s TV star and sex addict Bob Crane in “Auto Focus,” as the inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper in “Flash of Genius,” doing his what-the-hell-let’s-let-it-rip dance to “Super Freak” at the end
July 2, 2019 10:14PM PT Not even fond memories of ‘Léon: The Professional’ can put a charge in Jean Reno’s latest, instantly forgettable hitman thriller. As the minutes slowly tick by in the lifeless thriller “Cold Blood,” it’s easy to mourn for what might have been. Jean Reno stars as Henry, a veteran hitman seeking
Composer-arranger Sid Ramin, a longtime associate of Leonard Bernstein who won an Oscar, an Emmy and a Grammy for his work in film, TV and theater, died of natural causes Monday (July 1) at his home in New York City. He was 100. Ramin won a 1961 Academy Award for adapting the music of “West
July 2, 2019 9:30PM PT In this week’s edition of the Variety Movie Commercial Tracker, powered by the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv, Columbia Pictures claims the top spot in spending with “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” Ads placed for the superhero film had an estimated media value of $5.23 million through Sunday
The Writers Guild of America has spurned an offer by Abrams Artists Agency to accept WGA’s key requirements in order to return to representing WGA members again. The agency had proposed that it would stop taking packaging fees and engaging in affiliate production if it could represent WGA members. The offer was conditional, in that
In today’s film news roundup, Andre Caraco and Paul Noble receive promotions at Sony, Stanley Kubrick’s anti-war drama “Paths of Glory” gets restored, Drafthouse Films gets launched and “The Chainsaw Artist” wraps. EXEC PROMOTIONS Sony Pictures has promoted veteran executives Andre Caraco and Paul Noble to the posts of co-presidents of global marketing. Sony Pictures
An epic, magnificently shot chronicle of a tiny Chinese hamlet enduring one of its final yearly cycles of harvest and hardship, Liu Feifang’s delicate but mighty debut documentary feature “The Fading Village” is loosely organized around the last member of the newer generation to still live in the Shanxi Province village of Heishuigetuo. Goat farmer
Milton Quon, an animator who worked on “Fantasia” and “Dumbo,” died of natural causes at his home in Torrance, Ca., on June 18. He was 105. His son, artist Mike Quon, told Variety that his father was drawing up until his last days. He also acted in movies including “Speed,” “Chill Factor,” “Sweet Jane,” “The
July 2, 2019 5:09PM PT A gay Sao Paolo teen struggles to avoid homelessness in Alex Moratto’s vigorous, prize-winning debut feature. “Socrates” is the kind of downward-spiral narrative bound to sound relentlessly bleak in description. But small wonder Alex Moratto’s first feature won him the Independent Spirit “Someone to Watch” Award in January, along with
July 2, 2019 4:36PM PT Dani Shapiro’s New York Times-bestselling memoir “Inheritance” is getting a movie adaptation at Killer Films with Cami Delavigne on board to write the script, Variety has learned exclusively. The memoir, titled “Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love,” centers on Shapiro’s discovery, after taking a commercial DNA test on
July 2, 2019 4:31PM PT Helmer Marko Škop highlights xenophobia, religious hypocrisy and the rise of the extreme right in a small Slovak village. The multilayered “Let There Be Light” is an earnest, relatable state-of-the-nation drama from helmer-writer Marko Škop that highlights xenophobia, religious hypocrisy and the rise of the extreme right in a small
Here are the top trailers for movies coming out in July 2019! What will you go see? 00:00 Spider-Man Far From Home 02:49 Midsommar 05:13 Crawl 07:21 Stuber 08:55 The Art of Self Defense 11:24 The Farewell 13:40 The Lion King 15:28 Rosie 17:28 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Watch All the Best New
Louis Tomlinson took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce that he never approved the animated sex scene between him and fellow One Direction star Harry Styles portrayed in “Euphoria.” In the HBO drama’s most recent episode, which aired last Sunday, the character Kat Hernandez writes a fan-fiction about the boyband members, titled “Larry Stylinson,” which
In today’s roundup, Netflix releases the first trailer for the new season of Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” and Showtime gives a sneak peek into the fifth and final season of “The Affair.” DATES Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Orange County” is set to return Aug. 6. Season 14 will bring back series
July 2, 2019 3:58PM PT The Kenya Barris multi-cam comedy series “Unrelated” is no longer going forward at Freeform, Variety has confirmed. After issuing a straight to series order for the show in May 2018, the Disney-owned cabler has decided not to proceed with the project. The script will now be redeveloped. The prospective series centered
President Donald Trump’s unorthodox July 4th event will feature a speech by the Commander-in-Chief, jet planes and even tanks. What it won’t have, most likely, is traditional wall-to-wall coverage from the nation’s news outlets. Fox News Channel is setting aside two primetime hours that can be used to televise President Donald Trump’s “Salute to America,”
July 2, 2019 3:06PM PT Tidal, the streaming platform primarily owned by Jay-Z, today announced the release of interactive credit pages, an enhanced feature that expands on the service’s credit feature. According to the announcement, Tidal members can dive deep into the credits on most releases, ranging from unheralded background singers and lyricists to producers and
Q&A, the music and tech company launched in April by former Lady Gaga manager and Spotify executive Troy Carter and his longtime associate J Erving, officially announced today that it has struck a partnership with Warner Music. The announcement follows a deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing in May; the news was first reported by Music
Philippe Blet/ShutterstockShutterstock Couture week is underway in Paris, where Celine Dion is putting on her own personal fashion show. The singer has stepped out in several memorable outfits, but may have worn her most iconic yet: an Off-White blazer and leotard with no pants. Temperatures have hit the hundreds in Paris, making Celine’s styling choice
Breaking News Getty Ezekiel Elliott just finished his meeting with Roger Goodell over his Las Vegas altercation … and the Cowboys superstar appears to be taking full responsibility for the incident, saying, “I made a poor decision.” “Earlier today, I met with the Commissioner to share with him what occurred in Las Vegas and what
Friends At Work, the management firm founded by Ty Stiklorius in 2015, has in less than four years become a major powerhouse in entertainment, extending its reach beyond music to television, film and all manner of visual content. Its client roster includes John Legend, whom Stiklorius has represented for more than a decade, Lindsey Stirling,
July 2, 2019 12:54PM PT Warner Bros. is in talks with “It” director Andy Muschietti to helm its long-gestating “The Flash” standalone movie, a source close to the project has told Variety. No offer has been made yet, but if the deal goes through Muschietti will also produce the movie with his partner and sister
UPDATED: One thing is clear from both the lead-up and the aftermath of the firestorm that has followed Scooter Braun’s acquisition of Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine Records and Taylor Swift’s back catalog: None of those people do anything without a motive — and usually several motives. Several agendas were revealed in the wake of Sunday
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Heading into the new year, box office analysts were bullish that 2019 would beat, or at least match, the record-breaking success of last season. Followups to “Avengers,” “Secret Life of Pets” and “Godzilla” combined with reboots of storied franchises such as “Men in Black” and “Shaft” would elevate
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