Month: October 2020

Maddie Hasson and Genesis Rodriguez have signed on to star in “Fixation,” a female-driven psychological thriller from director Mercedes Bryce Morgan. Hasson stars as Dora, a young woman at the center of an unusual murder trial. As the film progresses, Dora is subjected to a psychiatric evaluation, and as the tests become more personal —

Michelle Sobrino-Stearns has been elevated to President and Group Publisher of Variety. In her new role, Sobrino-Stearns assumes oversight of all editorial and business operations globally, including strategic planning and financial management. Her elevation comes as Variety has achieved seven consecutive years of revenue gains and innovation, marking the strongest period of growth in the

The famous red lips haven’t turned blue in the newly adapted “Rocky Horror Picture Show” imagery because they’ve spent too much time on the slab. The color scheme is emblematic of Tenacious D’s goal in doing an all-star remake of “The Time Warp” that has a “Rock-y the Vote” message — specifically, to vote blue

Joel Kinnaman will executive produce and star as NFL player Jerry Smith in a Fandomodo Films feature about the close friendship between Smith and his longtime Washington Redskins teammate Brig Owens, Variety has learned exclusively. The film is set at the height of the civil rights movement between the mid-1960s and mid-1970s, during a time

Netflix has acquired the worldwide rights to the thriller “Born to Be Murdered,” starring John David Washington and Alicia Vikander, and will release the film in 2021. “Born to Be Murdered” is set in Athens and the Epirus region of Greece where a vacationing couple, played by Washington and Vikander, fall trap to a violent

Film production in Hong Kong has slowed sharply due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But there is no lack of completed Hong Kong films and works in progress at this year’s Asian Contents & Film Market. Mandarin Motion Pictures, with eight new titles, and One Cool Pictures, with ten, are two of the most prolific

UPDATED: Sacha Baron Cohen’s controversial comedy “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” drew “tens of millions” of viewers on Amazon Prime Video globally over its opening weekend, the company said, declining to be more specific. An estimate by TV analytics provider Samba TV put the buzzy movie’s estimated U.S. viewership at 1.6 million households over its opening weekend

Emma Thompson is set to star in a new comedy from “Animals” and “52 Tuesdays” director Sophie Hyde. Produced by Genesius Pictures, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” marks the first joint project between Cornerstone Films and Genesius co-founder Debbie Gray (“Mrs Lowry And Son,” “Northern Soul”) who are partners in The Reset Collective, the

Newly formed U.K. industry body Black Sound Society aims to increase the visibility of Black technicians in the sound department. The not-for-profit organization is set up by technicians working across all grades in production and post-production of film and television sound in the U.K. It will support newcomers and assist experienced sound technicians with strategies

Alberto Barbera has received a new four-year mandate as artistic director of the Venice Film Festival. Having previously served a continuous eight-year stint at the festival’s helm, he now becomes the longest-standing chief in Venice’s storied history. He was re-upped by the board of the fest’s parent organization, the Venice Biennale, headed by former Cinecittà/Luce

Prince Azim of Brunei, who also had a minor career as a Hollywood film producer, has died. He was 38. The son of the enormously wealthy Sultan of Brunei, and fourth in line to the throne, died on Saturday in the capital city Bandar Seri Begawan. As is typical of Muslim countries, his funeral was

British judge Andrew Nicol will hand down his judgment at 10 A.M. U.K. time Monday on Johnny Depp’s libel case against News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun, and the tabloid’s executive editor Dan Wootton over a 2018 article alleging he was a “wife beater.” The judgment follows a three-week hearing in July at London’s

Harry Wootliff’s “True Things,” starring Ruth Wilson and Tom Burke, has wrapped production after a six-week shoot in the U.K. and Spain. The film, for which Variety can provide an exclusive first image (above), began shooting at the beginning of the year, but was forced to shut down due to the global pandemic. It resumed

Warning: Some spoilers below for “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.” British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen retaliated against President Donald Trump and his attorney Rudy Giuliani during an appearance on Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show” on Monday. On Trump’s accusation that he’s a “creep” and a “phoney,” Baron Cohen said: “I’m sure when he was hanging out with

Johnny Depp will be awarded the Camerimage Award for “an actor with unique visual sensitivity” at the EnergaCamerimage Film Festival. “Minamata,” starring Depp, will be the closing film of the 28th edition of the event, which focuses on cinematography. Due to the pandemic, Depp will be unable to accept the award in person, but will

There’s a telling moment in “Belushi,” R.J. Cutler’s meticulous and touching life-and-death-of-a-comedy-legend documentary, in which John Belushi, a rising star at Second City in Chicago, gets asked during a radio interview what he thinks of Lou Costello — who was, in the interviewer’s eyes, another genially wacked, roly-poly comedian. Belushi, clearly annoyed, says: Nope, don’t