Japanese writer-director Ogigami Naoko has a track record of creating sensitive, emotionally-healing dramas that are serious enough to grab festival attention, but which are spirited enough to also achieve commercial releases. Her next project, “Blind Forest,” being pitched at the Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), is unlikely to stray far from that
Month: March 2021
From growing up as a film buff to becoming one of Hong Kong’s most iconic film directors, Stanley Kwan is known as a filmmaker who stays true to himself. That has earned him a 13-title retrospective screening series at the upcoming Hong Kong International Film Festival. From his 1985 directorial debut “Women” to two of
Rowan Blanchard was woke before we even knew what being awake meant. By the age of 13, the bubbly actress was a keynote speaker at UN Women’s HeForShe conference. In 2014, she openly discussed her struggles with depression, creating a public discourse around destigmatizing mental illness, and in 2017, she spoke at the Women’s March
In today’s TV news roundup, HBO Max ordered a new streetwear competition series, and Variety has an exclusive first look at Carey Mulligan in “My Grandparents’ War.” CASTING Angela Bassett will narrate Fox’s “Malika the Lion Queen,” a two-hour wildlife documentary that will air April 4 and be available on Tubi beginning April 18. Bassett
In remaking local versions of Thai and Chinese language content Bangkok- and Beijing-based Artop Media may have lucked onto one of the hottest trends of the moment in the Asian TV space. That’s because Thai content is increasingly successful on mainland Chinese streaming networks, and, as multiple speakers have noted in the first two day
Hong Kong director Fruit Chan, who somehow manages to be an industry veteran and an enfant terrible at the same time, is currently in post-production on “Coffin Homes.” The film is a satirical horror anthology, that probes the city’s eternal housing problem, especially its micro dwellings known as cubicle apartments or coffin homes. Chan, who
Korean Oscar-winner “Parasite” gleefully poked fun at South Korea’s bourgeoisie. Hur Jin-ho’s “The Dinner” is set to give the middle classes another skewering. The project is an adaptation of Dutch novel ‘Het Diner’ (“The Dinner”) written by Herman Koch. With the setting transposed to Asia, Hur will peek under the tablecloth to uncover another dirty
Activision Blizzard is pink-slipping about 50 staffers across its esports operations, which include the Overwatch League, Call of Duty League and other tournaments. The company cited the shift away from live in-person events during COVID-19 for the layoffs. The video-game company confirmed the layoffs but didn’t say what percentage of the esports employee base that
Showtime has ordered a drama series about Zulu king Shaka, with Antoine Fuqua onboard to direct and executive produce, Variety has learned. “Shaka: King of the Zulu Nation” hails from writers and executive producers Olu Odebunmi and Tolu Awosika. Rooted in actual events, the series chronicles Shaka’s unlikely rise to power, uniting multiple tribes across vast
To understand the ambition, talent and artistry of the Irish animation industry, it’s worth watching Cartoon Saloon’s “Wolfwalkers” on Apple TV Plus. A hand-drawn adventure set in 1650s Ireland, “Wolfwalkers” was nominated for an Oscar this week. It’s the latest in a string of Oscar nominations for Kilkenny-based Cartoon Saloon, which has previously been nominated
Paul Mescal emerged as one of the breakout stars of 2020 thanks to his performance in BBC and Hulu drama “Normal People.” Ireland has seen a slew of such acting talent establish themselves in recent years, like Jessie Buckley with her star turn as the pregnant wife of a doomed Russian fireman in “Chernobyl” and
Ireland has long been known as a nation of storytellers, home to giants of literature and theater such as Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett, W.B. Yeats and James Joyce. In recent years, Ireland’s storytelling tradition has started to thrive in the screen industries too. Indigenous and co-production successes include John Crowley’s “Brooklyn,” Lenny Abrahamson’s “Room,” Yorgos
Paul Fronczak’s story is true, but it is filled with the kind of wild twists and turns that you might expect from an overstuffed detective novel. At age 10, Fronczak happened across a trove of newspaper clippings about his parents, Dora and Chester, who made international headlines when their baby was kidnapped from his hospital
Comedian Matt Oswalt once said, “so far 2021 is just 2020 with bangs.” Perhaps nothing encapsulates that sentiment more than the possibility that MoviePass, the Icarus of subscription services, may rise again from the ashes. MoviePass launched in 2017 and offered customers the option to see one movie per day for $9.99 a month. Though
Sunday night’s Grammys are still all the buzz among music fans and the industry — something you wouldn’t guess from a glance at the (predictably) dismal overnight ratings, but the people who cared about the show really cared about the show. And what’s not to care about when you’ve got Harry not only unmasked but
Crypto.com has named Joe Conyers III EVP, NFT Platform. In his new role, Conyers, who was most recently chief strategy officer of Downtown Music Holdings, will oversee the development of Crypto.com’s invite-only NFT platform, which will feature artists, athletes and sports leagues. While at Downtown, Conyers also co-founded the songwriter royalty collection service Songtrust. +
Fadia Kader has left Instagram after four years and is joining Clubhouse as its new head of media partnerships and creators. She reports to global head of marketing Maya Watson, who recently arrived from Netflix. Clubhouse is a quickly growing social audio chat app. Kader’s role will focus on working with creators and brands in
Michelle Selene Ang has signed with Buchwald, Variety has learned exclusively. Ang is best known for her role on the popular Netflix series “13 Reasons Why.” During her time on the show, she played the role of Courtney Crimsen, who is one of the titular reasons that Hannah (Katherine Langford) commits suicide in Season 1 after
CBS is extending its hiatus of “The Talk,” canceling its live shows for the rest of the week until Tuesday, as it conducts a review related to a recent heated exchange between hosts Sharon Osbourne and Sheryl Underwood. Friday and Monday’s shows had already been pre-empted by the NCAA tournament, but on Sunday, the daytime
The Academy music branch made Oscar history yesterday by nominating two films with Black composers for best original score: “Soul” and “Da 5 Bloods.” Previously, only six films featuring Black composers were even nominated in the entire 86-year history of the category: “In Cold Blood,” “Shaft,” “The Color Purple,” “Round Midnight,” “Cry Freedom” and “BlacKkKlansman.”
The Neil Lasher Music Fund at Caron Treatment Centers has been created in memory of veteran music industry executive Neil Lasher, who died in April 2020 from complications due to coronavirus. The Fund, initiated by his life partner Jill Jordon, and administered by Caron, will provide financial assistance for access to addiction and recovery treatment,
Craig BarrittGetty Images Brandon Maxwell has quite the resume, from designing for Michelle Obama to Lady Gaga to his designs draping the bodies of Meghan Markle, Regina King, Anne Hathaway, and more. But before he was a purveyor of high-end fashion, he spent much of his childhood shopping for goods in Walmart. Today, Maxwell becomes
Check out the Voyagers Official Trailer starring Tye Sheridan! Let us know what you think in the comments below. ► Sign up for a Fandango FanAlert for Voyagers: https://www.fandango.com/voyagers-2021-224321/movie-overview?cmp=MCYT_YouTube_Desc Want to be notified of all the latest movie trailers? Subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to stay up to date. US Release
This column by songwriter-producer Ross Golan — who has worked with Ariana Grande, Maroon 5, Celine Dion, Justin Bieber and many others and is also creator and host of the “And the Writer Is” podcast — calls for the Recording Academy to change the “33% rule” it uses to determine which contributors to an album
Facebook says it wants to “empower” independent writers and journalists by letting them make money from their work. The social giant on Tuesday confirmed plans to launch a new platform for writers to self-publish their content, grow their audience and make money through monetization tools starting with subscriptions. Facebook said the platform will roll out
China appears to have blocked the encrypted messaging app Signal, which was frequently used by journalists, activists and dissidents as an alternative to heavily surveilled local social media channels. Although the app used to be accessible to anyone, it now can only be used with a virtual private network (VPN), according to users in the
Anthony Boyle has signed on to star in in Apple’s World War II drama “Masters of the Air,” a continuation of the “Band of Brothers”/”The Pacific” franchise from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. Boyle joins previously announced cast members Callum Turner and Austin Butler. Based on the book of the same name by Donald L.
Natasha Lyonne will star in a mystery series for Peacock that hails from Rian Johnson. Johnson will serve as writer, director and executive producer on the one-hour series, which is titled “Poker Face,” with Lyonne executive producing in addition to starring. Peacock has ordered 10 episodes. “I’m very excited to dig into the type of
Daniel Kaluuya and Carey Mulligan are set to make their “Saturday Night Live” hosting debuts on April 3 and April 10, respectively. Kaluuya will be joined by musical guest St. Vincent, while the April 10 musical guest will be Kid Cudi. All four of these performers are making their “Saturday Night Live” debuts with these
Elliot Page has opened up for the first time in a Time cover story after publicly coming out as transgender in December 2020. In his Dec. 1 Instagram post, Page announced “Hi friends, I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are he/they and my name is Elliot. I feel lucky
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