Month: November 2021

Zürich- and Berlin-based sales outlet First Hand Films has acquired world rights (excluding Norway) for Håvard Bustnes’ “Name of the Game” ahead of its world premiere in IDFA’s Frontlight section, Variety has learned. The director’s previous credits include IDFA 2017 competition entry “Golden Dawn Girls” and “Two Raging Grannies.” Bustnes’ new effort centers on controversial
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M-Appeal has closed more deals on “The Man With the Answers,” Stelios Kammitsis’ gay road trip dramedy about a spontaneous summer journey that unexpectedly turns into something more. The company announced sales to Poland (Tongariro Releasing), Japan (Edko Films), and Taiwan (Joint Entertainment Int.) during the Thessaloniki Film Festival, where the film played in the
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The 29th edition of the EnergaCamerimage Film Festival, one of the world’s leading events dedicated to cinematography, returned to fully live status Saturday amid tributes to the power of the image and an homage to the life and work of cinematographer Philippe Rousselot. The DP for “A River Runs Through It” and “Dangerous Liaisons” commended
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Taylor Swift delivered a passionate, 10-minute performance of “All Too Well” on “Saturday Night Live” as she kept up the momentum behind Friday’s release of “Red (Taylor’s Version).” The moody, anthemic ballad has become a fan favorite over the years and was expanded from the original 2012 version of the song. Swift began the performance
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After Ted Cruz called Big Bird “government propaganda” on Twitter because that fictional character’s account tweeted about the COVID-19 vaccine, “Saturday Night Live” saw an opportunity to create a fictional new kids’ show from the senator. Titled “Cruz Street” and hosted by Aidy Bryant as Cruz, that sketch opened the Nov. 13 episode of NBC’s
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The indie drama “Allswell” wrapped principal photography this month in New York, N.Y. The film stars Elizabeth Rodriguez (“Orange is the New Black,” “Fear the Walking Dead”), Liza Colón-Zayas (“In Treatment,” “David Makes Man”) and Daphne Rubin-Vega (from “In the Heights”) along with a cast that includes Felix Solis, Max Casella, Michael Rispoli, Shirley Rodriguez,
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San Francisco native rapper Berner has been making his way through self-produced hardcore hip-hop since 2006, with the release of his first mixtape, “Dirty Sneakers … Plenty Ways to Get It,” and debut album “Weekend at Bernie’s.” Since then, along with opening a successful cannabis company and store, Cookies, that produces everything from bold weed
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Dubbed the “Polish Marilyn Monroe,” the late actor and singer Kalina Jędrusik used to electrify the audiences of the Polish People’s Republic with her risqué outfits, performance in Andrzej Wajda’s Oscar-nominated “The Promised Land” or unconventional relationship with husband, writer Stanisław Dygat. But “Autumn Girl” – which screens this week in the Polish Competition of
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In setting the frame for the Cold War Poland thriller “Operation Hyacinth” – which plays in the Polish Films Competition section of this week’s EnergaCamerimage Film Festival – cinematographer Piotr Sobocinski says he found himself in a race against time. The DP, who’s filmed dark stories in critical successes such as “Corpus Christi” and “Hatred,”
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Lady Gaga has released a short film exploring the connection between kindness and mental health to coincide with World Kindness Day on Nov. 13. The 30-minute special supported by Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation follows Gaga and mental health expert Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble speaking with a group of 11 young people exploring their personal mental
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Before shooting David Lowery’s medieval fantasy “The Green Knight,” which screens this week at EnergaCamerimage Film Festival, cinematographer Andrew Droz Palermo watched every King Arthur movie he could find, he tells Variety. “To me, these films always tend to be gray, desaturated. But we wanted to make something modern, also when it comes to the
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Writer-director Benjamin Cleary’s “Swan Song” wastes little time posing deep, morally complex and compelling questions: If we could spare our loved ones from oppressive despair and heartache, would we make any sacrifice to do so? If we could clone ourselves without anyone knowing, would we? How do we identify to others and ourselves? Part unconventionally-deconstructed love story,
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Academy voters need to bring an open mind and a box of tissues for the heart-wrenching and moving “Swan Song.” Spearheaded by two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali and Oscar nominee Naomie Harris, it’s difficult to find more pure and deliberate performances from two of today’s most revered actors. If this late-bloomer in the awards season
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Britney Spears has been praying for it, her fans have been begging for it … and now her monumental conservatorship hearing is about to get underway, with her freedom hanging in the balance. Play video content Fans have shown up in droves outside the downtown L.A. courthouse for the hearing that’s scheduled to start at
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For more than 50 years, there was one word that crystallized the usually unspoken fear that a major concert event could turn deadly: Altamont. Now, for years to come, and maybe even generations, barring any worse disasters, that buzzword is likely to be Astroworld. And however the investigations and lawsuits play out, what went down
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