Month: December 2020

Dave McNary, a veteran reporter who tirelessly covered the film and labor beats at Variety for more than 20 years, died Saturday in Pasadena, Calif. He was 69. McNary suffered a stroke and had been hospitalized since Dec. 19, according to his wife, Sharon McNary, veteran journalist and KPCC-FM infrastructure correspondent. McNary had a more

“The Trial of the Chicago 7,” about protesters at the 1968 Democratic National Convention and  the ensuing trial, features great work by writer-director Aaron Sorkin, who is quick to salute his below-the-line colleagues: “They’re not there to take my instructions; they’re there to top my instructions. I consider these people to be co-authors of the

Emma Thompson was characteristically frank about Hollywood’s double standard during a recent interview with the CultureBlast podcast. The “Nanny McPhee” star, who is also a prolific screenwriter, was talking about her upcoming film “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande,” which she said is a refreshing change of pace from the the typical Hollywood film about

Costume designer Michael Wilkinson is the mastermind behind the looks in “Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey,” a period musical that’s now streaming on Netflix. The idea, Wilkinson says of the holiday movie, was to design something viewers hadn’t seen before while paying homage to beloved titles such as “Mary Poppins.” Directed by David Talbert, the

Is journalism the best training ground for screenwriting? Two-thirds of the writers of Pixar’s “Soul” have backgrounds as reporters: Mike Jones (whose resume includes expert work at Variety, 2007-2009) and Kemp Powers (17 years on the beat, including stints at Forbes, Reuters and Newsweek). They wrote “Soul” with director Pete Docter; Powers is also co-director

There are few entertainers like Jamie Foxx; he’s a multihyphenate superstar with the trophy case to back it up. Though Foxx has the range and a backlog of dramatic, comedic and generally off-the wall characters to pull from, when it came to voicing Joe Gardner in Disney-Pixar’s “Soul,” the film’s creative team just wanted the

When Charlie Chaplin passed away on Christmas Day in 1977, aged 88, he left the screenplay for a last unfinished film titled “The Freak,” a passion project about a young woman with wings named Serapha who is exploited in all kinds of ways. Italy’s Cineteca di Bologna archives, which have long been in charge of

Variety asked some of the behind-the-scenes artists about their challenges and joys working on the year’s most prominent films. Nicholas BeckerSound Design, “Sound of Metal”“The most powerful scene in terms of sound is the last one, which ironically has none at all. Usually when there’s silence in film, the convention is to put a little

Hulu is wrapping up a deal for domestic distribution rights to “The United States vs. Billie Holiday,” a move that will likely allow the drama to premiere in time for Oscars consideration. The film, which is directed by Lee Daniels and stars Andra Day as the legendary jazz and blues singer, was being shopped to

The New York Film Critics and the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. handed out their awards this past week. The two orgs traditionally provide a starting place for AMPAS members viewing movies over the holiday break, pointing them to under-the-radar films and performances. Here are the movies that received the biggest boosts: BIGGEST WINNERS Chloé

Jamie Foxx believes he and his character Joe Gardner, a passionate jazz pianist and music teacher, in Pixar’s animated dramedy “Soul” are a lot alike — they both like jazz, teaching children and chasing dreams. “Like when Ed Sheeran slept on my couch for six weeks, Nick Cannon and all those other people that have

When Pedro Pascal was offered the role of Max Lord in “Wonder Woman 1984,” he’d been working almost non-stop since his breakout performance as Oberyn Martell on “Game of Thrones.” In just a few short years, the Chilean-born actor had bounced from shooting the Netflix series “Narcos” to action franchises “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” and

Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski would love it if people could see his latest film, the Tom Hanks Western “News of the World,” on the big screen as it was intended. But although Universal will carry out a limited theatrical release starting on Christmas Day, he realizes Academy voters and critics group members will probably consume the

Just a year ago, Shia LaBeouf was having a career resurgence. After being widely praised for his autobiographical film, “Honey Boy,” which he wrote and starred in, and the indie drama “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” LaBeouf landed a coveted role in the upcoming thriller, “Don’t Worry Darling,” the highly anticipated follow-up to Olivia Wilde’s directorial