Month: June 2020

Chris Evans and Paul Rudd stepped out of the Marvel universe and into the world of streaming television this year. On the Apple TV Plus limited series “Defending Jacob,” Evans inhabits the guilt and fear of a suburban district attorney who will stop at nothing to save his teenage son from what he believes to

Taraneh Alidoosti, star of Asghar Farhadi’s “The Salesman” and one of Iran’s most popular female actors, is set to receive a five-month prison sentence on charges of anti-government activism, BBC Persia has reported. The BBC Persia report cited Alidoosti’s lawyer Kaveh Rad who tweeted that the sentence has been suspended for two years and would

Top Italian film outfit RAI Cinema on Wednesday sounded an upbeat post-pandemic note as it unveiled a slate of 20 upcoming titles to exhibitors and press, comprising new works by prominent Italian directors such as Nanni Moretti, Gianfranco Rosi, and Susanna Nicchiarelli alongside their U.S. acquisitions — most notably Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower

Chris Evans has a video on his phone of the first day he met Paul Rudd. It was on the set of the 2016 movie “Avengers: Civil War.” Evans was reprising his role as Captain America in the Marvel blockbuster; for Rudd, it was his introduction to audience as Ant-Man (also known as Scott Lang).

Like many of his countrymen, Swiss filmmaker Cyril Schäublin has watchmaking in his blood, a legacy he can trace back through his grandparents’ generation. That influence is apparent in his meticulously crafted second feature, “Unrest,” whose historical and philosophical parts fit together as smoothly as the gears of a Swiss timepiece. “Unrest” is set in

Hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the Korean film industry, which celebrated its centenary with Bong Joon-ho’s history-making Academy awards for “Parasite” earlier this year, has been in an unprecedented crisis since February. Since the South Korean government adopted tough social distancing measures in late February, when the coronavirus was at its peak, cinema business

Best known for playing Captain Boomerang in “Suicide Squad,” Jai Courtney first gained attention in 2010 portraying Varro on Starz’s “Spartacus: Blood and Sand.” Since then, the Aussie actor has appeared in “Jack Reacher” and “A Good Day to Die Hard,” followed by “Divergent” and its sequel, “Insurgent.” He’ll next be seen in “Stateless” as

Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s last film, “Dil Bechara,” an official remake of “The Fault in Our Stars,” will bow directly, free of charge, on the Disney Plus Hotstar streaming service on July 24. Rajput died of suspected suicide on June 14, aged 34. Following the actor’s death, Bollywood has been riven by unverified accusations

The Australian federal government said on Thursday that it would provide the film and industry with $34.4 million ($A$50 million) as a post-coronavirus relief measure. The move was announced a day after public broadcaster the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said it would lay off 250 staff. The new fund, to be administered by Screen Australia, will

New works by prominent auteurs Lucrecia Martel, Lav Diaz, Lisandro Alonso and Wang Bing grace the lineup of works-in-progress unveiled by the Locarno Film Festival. The canceled Swiss fest dedicated to indie cinema on Thursday announced 20 titles that made the cut for its innovative The Films After Tomorrow initiative that will provide support to filmmakers

The UK Cinema Association has published safety guidelines for the reopening of cinemas, less than 10 days before some movie theaters are set to open. Face coverings in cinemas are not mandatory, in line with U.K. law. Guidelines reflect advice from a working group of senior executives from over a dozen of the U.K.’s largest

Strong female coming-of-age stories, two LGBTQ submissions and a smattering of unique, autobiographical features from around the world were among this year’s pitches given by the 12 participants of the Cinéfondation Residence. And although the Cannes Festival’s international talent-finding initiative pitched to a virtual audience this year, the participants of the Residence’s 39th and 40th cohorts still

Greece, where the death rate due to the coronavirus outbreak has been among among the lowest in Europe, is looking to lure more international productions by raising its cash rebates from 35% to 40% just as cameras are already rolling there on what is being touted as the first post-pandemic European co-production to start up.

At the virtual Cannes market, the Exchange is pre-selling political thriller “The Independent,” the narrative feature debut of twice Emmy-nominated director Amy Rice, starring “The Big Sick” star Kumail Nanjiani. Variety spoke to Rice about the film. In “The Independent,” America’s first viable independent presidential candidate is poised for victory when an idealistic journalist uncovers

It’s seldom that a found-footage horror movie pulls some new tricks in that overtaxed subgenre, and “Followed” runs no risk of being any such exception to the tedious rule. Sewing together ideas borrowed from other, better movies — notably “Grave Encounters” and “The Shining” — without exactly making a new whole, let alone lending them

There is a moment — little more than a sidelong glance that lingers fractionally too long — when the uneasy, sinking feeling that Charlène Favier’s Cannes 2020-labeled debut has created to that point becomes an abrupt, stomach-dropping plunge. It’s when you realize that of course this was the story it was going to tell, and

“Ip Man: Kung Fu Master,” the latest in a long line of Ip Man movies from Hong Kong and mainland China, has found its way to the virtual Cannes Market, where it is being represented by Hong Kong- and Paris-based All Rights Entertainment. Directed by Li Liming and produced by Kai Pictures, it stars Dennis

Relaxed yet armed with a steely ambition, up-and-coming Chinese helmer Wei Shujun is thrilled to be back at Cannes this year in the First Feature section with his road trip film “Striding Into the Wind,” after his short “On the Border” won the Special Jury Distinction award in 2018. “Cannes has been my school, my

Producer Ilya Stewart was in the early days of financing “Petrov’s Flu,” the latest feature from Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov (“Leto”), when he chose to bypass state funding bodies. The decision was made “for a variety of reasons,” he says, but it was nonetheless a risky move in a country where government support is still

The Italian film and TV industry was on a roll when the pandemic hit the country particularly hard. It’s now starting to bounce back as movie theaters reopen and productions prepare to shoot, while the Venice Film Festival, set to physically take place in September, may become a symbol of the global entertainment industry recovery

Cranked Up Films has secured the North American distribution rights to Gillian Wallace Horvat’s feature debut “I Blame Society.” The indie festival favorite follows a struggling filmmaker’s descent into psychopathy. Based on a fictionalized version of herself, Wallace Horvat plays a director looking for her big break by exploring an odd compliment from her friends

Omar Chaparro, one of Mexico’s most popular comedian-actors, and Mexican-Lebanese actress Edy Ganem (“Devious Maids”) have been cast as leads in feature drama “7th & Union” from newly launched Broken English Productions. Launched in response to the Hollywood’s paucity of diverse voices, in front and behind the camera, Broken English Prods. was unveiled mid-June by