Month: August 2020

There’s something inherently terrifying about space – maybe because of the loneliness and isolation, or perhaps because it’s an unknown landscape to most of us. But it makes great fodder for films and over the decades there have been many takes on the space horror genre. This week sees the release of “Sputnik,” a Russian
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An industry as overtly image-based as fashion design is always going to produce instantly recognizable stars. But as proven by Reiner Holzemer’s intelligent, enjoyable if uncritical “Martin Margiela: In His Own Words,” in those cases, the figure of the designer can eclipse the design. Think of Vivienne Westwood, and we think of her Elizabeth-I-safety-pinned-to-Sid-Vicious vibe;
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When Allie Goertz encountered Crocs for the first time as a dorky, Wayne’s World-obsessed 13-year old, she instantly despised their bulbous, stippled silhouette. “I remember thinking, ‘They’re so ugly, never in a million years would I wear Crocs,'” she says. Eighteen years later, the musician and writer was self-quarantining at home in Los Angeles due
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Chile’s Cineteca Nacional, established in 2006, is working on a new restoration of Pedro Sienna’s “El húsar de la muerte” (1925), considered the most important silent feature film in Chilean history, the portrait of Chilean freedom fighter Manuel Rodríguez (1785-1818), a key figure in Chile’s War of Independence against the Spanish crown. First restored by
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Can “Fortnite” maker Epic Games single-handedly bust up the longstanding 30% app “tax” levied by Apple and Google — fees Epic calls “exorbitant” and the result of “unlawful monopoly”? Not everyone believes the odds are in Epic’s favor. In a highly orchestrated campaign Thursday, Epic Games set the bait for the legal — and public
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Marie Moore has been named senior vice president of communications of Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics division, Variety has learned exclusively. Moore will report jointly to Tom Ascheim, president of the division, and Johanna Fuentes, Warner Bros. executive vice president of corporate communications and public affairs. She will begin in her new role
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Not many companies can say they won an Academy Award with their first film. But Lion Forge Animation’s Carl Reed and David Steward II, who formed the U.S.’s only Black-owned animation studio last year to address a lack of representation in the genre, took home the hardware in February for the studio’s involvement in animated
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Bosnian director Pjer Žalica recently found himself standing before Sarajevo’s National Theater, which in less troubled times would have hosted the world premiere of his comic drama “Focus, Grandma”—the opening film of the 26th edition of the Sarajevo Film Festival. “In front of the theater, there is this red carpet and nothing else,” Žalica told
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Brazilian filmmaker Juliana Rojas’ last Locarno experience was one to remember, culminating in a Special Jury Prize for her 2017 feature “Good Manners,” which played in competition. This time around her situation is less enviable, as the filmmaker presents “Cidade; Campo” (City; Country) in Locarno’s The Films After Tomorrow competition for productions halted by COVID-19
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Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, the Danish actor best known for playing the conflicted, sardonic Jaime Lannister on HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” was eager for his latest film to premiere at South by Southwest last March. In “The Silencing,” Coster-Waldau portrays a solitary hunter who lives in the woods, grappling with the disappearance — and likely murder —
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In today’s Global Bulletin, BFI Distribution gets Riz Ahmed’s “Mogul Mowgli,” London’s Dagenham neighborhood gets go-ahead to build new world-class film studios, Banijay Nordics confirms its CEO, Zinc Media Group promotes from within, Endemol Shine Germany sells new singing format, and Koch Films buys Sola Media. DISTRIBUTION “Mogul Mowgli,” co-written, starring and produced by Riz
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The 2020 Democratic National Convention has announced musical performers for its (virtual) stage: Leon Bridges, The Chicks, Common, Billie Eilish, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Billy Porter, Maggie Rogers, Prince Royce, Stephen Stills and more, according to the announcement. The musical acts will be featured across all four nights of the convention, which will air August 17-20, 2020.
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Courtesy of Tracee Ellis Ross Over the past few months, I have cultivated a style perhaps best described as The Big Lebowski meets Auntie Mame. After stay-at-home orders removed any semblance of a routine, I turned to piling on odd, clashing garments, as if I were starring in a one-woman, millennial version of Grey Gardens.
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As part of its ongoing efforts promoting social justice causes and transformative action, Sony Music Group (SMG) is embarking on a non-partisan civic initiative to get out the vote. Under the banner Your Voice, Your Power, Your Vote, the company will be assisting in education and offering resources ahead of election day. The company recognizes
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