Month: June 2021

All products and services featured by Variety are independently selected by Variety editors. However, Variety may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Every pop-culture dad has their “thing.” Maybe it’s coming up with his own long-winded theories about who the

Free Stone Productions, one of Japan’s leading indie film sales firms, is poised to bring a big slate to Cannes. It has added three new titles and a catalog. And it expects to add more before the market gets underway. Highest profile is the recently-released animation film “Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” directed by Watanabe Ayumu

“Witch Hunt,” the genre thriller and 2021 SXSW Film Festival entry, has sold domestic rights to Momentum Pictures. Gideon Adlon, Abigail Cowen and Elizabeth Mitchell star in the bleak tale of the last stop on an underground railroad of refugee witches hiding in a small U.S. border town to Mexico. As time passes, uneasiness turns

Conversations about Blackface, when white people darken their skin to perform exaggerated versions of nonwhite characters, often centers on the historical when it comes to the media’s role in perpetuating the racist act. In some cases, historical means the minstrels of 19th century theater, silent films, or the more recent history of satire like Robert

“In the Heights” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda is addressing criticism over the film’s lack of Afro-Latino representation. In a statement posted to Twitter, Miranda apologized for not including more dark-skinned Afro-Latinos in the film’s cast, especially in the leading roles. “I started writing ‘In the Heights’ because I didn’t feel seen. And over the past 20

The Minnesota House and Senate have reached a deal to create a new $5 million-a-year tax credit for film and TV production in the state. The bill language was unveiled on Monday as the Legislature began a special session to pass a budget. The budget package is expected to pass both chambers either later this

Sony Pictures has scheduled two major tentpole films for 2022: David Leitch’s “Bullet Train” will debut on April 8, and Kitao Sakurai’s comedy “Oh Hell No” will release on July 1. Based on the book “Maria Beetle” by Kotaro Isaka, “Bullet Train” follows five assassins who find themselves on a bullet train in Japan and

Heatseeking indie distributor Decal has landed U.S. distribution rights to “Recovery,” a well-received comedy which played this year’s SXSW Film Festival. From directors Mallory Everton and Stephen Meek, the road trip adventure follows two lost-soul sisters traveling across country to rescue their grandmother, whose nursing home suffers a COVID-19 outbreak. The project is described as

Locksmith Animation has tapped Simon Otto to direct their adaptation of children’s book series, “That Christmas,” written by acclaimed screenwriter and director Richard Curtis (“Four Weddings and a Funeral”). Otto is a Visual Effects Society (VES) Award-winning Head of Character Animation, story artist, character designer and director. He is best known for the “How to

A recent documentary about caregiving for frail family members was called “It’s Not a Burden,” but that cheerful attitude isn’t shared by the principal figures in “My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To.” They’re adult siblings tethered to a reclusive existence because one of them has a wee abnormality, which demands flesh blood

The 2021 Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival officially opens this Monday evening to a sense of palpable excitement. On-site attendance will not reach the 5,000 delegate cap. “But our goal this year was not to break records, simply to welcome people,” says Mickael Marin, CEO of Annecy organizer Citia. “Our duty is to celebrate animation