Month: December 2019

With a focus on Italian films accompanying a large selection of international features, most of which are competing for Oscars, the 31st annual Palm Springs Intl. Film Festival will run Jan. 3-12. “An Almost Ordinary Summer,” directed by Simone Godano, will kick off the festival on Jan. 3. Other Italian films to unspool are “The

This may be the first year in memory when the movies seem more serious about politics than the politicians. Of course, the flippancy began about three years ago when Donald Trump ascended to the highest elected position in the land. What quickly followed was The Resistance Movement that refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of a

December 20, 2019 7:41AM PT Cyrill Boss and Philipp Stennert, the creators of Sky hit series “Pagan Peak,” will direct “Hagen Von Tronje,” based on the Wolfgang Hohlbein bestseller, a reinterpretation of the Nibelungen saga. Martin Moszkowicz and Oliver Berben will produce the project for Constantin Film as both a feature-length film and a six-part

In the heyday of the film industry of the former Yugoslavia, silver-screen icons including Kirk Douglas, Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn could be spotted ducking the paparazzi at Belgrade’s historic Hotel Metropol, a five-star redoubt that hosted royals, statesmen and the New Year’s soirees of then-President Josep Broz Tito. Four decades later, Serbian officials are

Hardly a decade ago the film industry in Serbia was in a state of crisis. The state-funded film center had failed to secure its annual budget for 2011. Production was in the doldrums. For a proud country with a rich cinematic legacy dating back to the glory days of the former Yugoslavia, alarm bells were

ViacomCBS has reached a deal to acquire a 49% stake in Miramax from Qatar-based owner BeIN Media Group for a total of $375 million. The deal calls for ViacomCBS to pay $150 million in cash up front, plus a commitment to invest $45 million a year for five years to fund new film and TV

The Palm Springs Film Festival will present Cynthia Erivo with the breakthrough performance award at its annual film awards gala on Jan. 2 for her leading role in “Harriet.” “Harriet” tells the remarkable tale of Harriet Tubman’s transformation into one of America’s greatest heroes. Erivo’s performance in the slave drama as Tubman has already garnered

With less than eight weeks to go before the Academy Awards, it’s a scramble to the finish line for the artisans who create the looks, sounds and visual effects of this year’s awards contenders. This year, these craftspeople used visual-effects technology in surprising ways. VFX artists turned back time for Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci

French actor Claudine Auger, who broke through internationally with her part opposite Sean Connery in the James Bond film “Thunderball,” has died. She was 78. Auger’s talent agency Art Time announced the news and said she had died in Paris. Auger started her acting career with a small part in the 1958 film “Christine,” in

December 20, 2019 2:53AM PT Following NENT Group and NBCUniversal’s long-term content partnership signed earlier this year, the two companies have inked a first-window deal for kids and family programming. Under the agreement, NENT Group will distribute NBCUniversal’s kids series and family content and DreamWorks Animation film catalogue on Viaplay streaming service and Viasat pay-TV