Month: June 2020

Alexander Rodnyansky, who produced Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Oscar-nominated pics “Leviathan” and “Loveless,” says that the Russian films best able to travel tend to be “serious dramas,” such as the works of Zvyagintsev and Alexander Sokurov, whose stories “at their core examine the complexity of human existence.” Rodnyansky is working with three up-and-coming filmmakers whom, he says,
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Walter Presents, the expanding streaming service for non-English-language drama, has acquired U.K. rights to “Russian Affairs,” a glossy drama about power, money, and sex in present-day Russia that is currently the number one TV show in its home country where the local title translates as “Gold Diggers.” The ensemble series, which is sold by Russia’s
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A rare letter of dissent circulating online slams China’s government for failing to help film industry workers whose livelihoods have been shaken by prolonged coronavirus-imposed shutdowns. Written this weekend as China hit its 136th day since cinemas shuttered nationwide, the letter has spread within film industry circles despite being censored on some platforms. Variety was
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In today’s film news roundup, the Winklevoss twins are coming to Hollywood via a Bitcoin movie, the Newport Beach Film Festival announces its opener and Mutiny Pictures becomes a distributor. PROJECT LAUNCH The Winklevoss Twins — Cameron and Tyler — are teaming with Greg Silverman’s Stampede Ventures on a feature film adaptation of “Bitcoin Billionaires,”
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“Vanderpump Rules” star Stassi Schroeder has been dropped by her agency and publicist, after it was revealed that she had called the police on her former co-star Faith Stowers for a crime Stowers had nothing to do with, Variety has learned exclusively. Stowers, who is black, appeared on the fourth and sixth season of “Vanderpump Rules,”
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“Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe posted a lengthy response on Monday to controversial anti-trans tweets posted by author J.K. Rowling on June 6. “Transgender women are women,” Radcliffe wrote in an essay posted to the website of the Trevor Project, a non-profit dedicated to crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ people. “Any statement to
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As fans patiently wait for Disney Plus’ upcoming “Percy Jackson” series, author Rick Riordan is slamming the film adaptations of his popular novels, writing that they’re his “life’s work going through a meat grinder.” Riordan took to Twitter to respond to fans who also shared their dissatisfaction with the “Percy Jackson” movies. “I don’t know,
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Democrats introduced legislation calling for police reform on Monday in response to ongoing nationwide Black Lives Matter protests following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other African Americans at the hands of law enforcement. “Never again should the world be subjected to witnessing what we saw on the streets in Minneapolis, the slow
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Amid nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism, the 2011 drama “The Help” quickly became one of the most-watched movies on Netflix. But the film — based on Kathryn Stockett’s novel — also drew criticism for its white savior narrative. So one of its stars, Bryce Dallas Howard, recommended other movies to watch about racial
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Kacey Musgraves, Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Bill Murray, Eric Church and Stephen Colbert are just a few of the many artists confirmed for “Picture Show: A Tribute Celebrating John Prine,” an online celebration of the legendary singer-songwriter, who died earlier this year of coronavirus complications. The show will premiere Thursday, June 11 at 7:30pm ET/6:30pm CT/4:30pm
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Is Donald Trump actually a fan of Issa Rae’s comedy “Insecure” on HBO? Or is something else going on? Sometime late Sunday night, Trump’s Twitter account liked a tweet about the HBO show that said, “This is how I wanted tonight’s episode of insecure to end…Damn Molly,” referencing the character played by Yvonne Orji, who
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