Month: August 2022

Hilary Linstead, casting director, agent and film and stage producer died on Aug. 6 after contracting a form of leukaemia. She was 83. Described as a “force of nature” by her friends and colleagues, Linstead nurtured and promoted some of Australia’s most famous artistic talents, including directors such as John Bell, Baz Luhrmann, Gillian Armstrong,
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British filmmaker Michael Winterbottom says he has “no regrets” that the events depicted in his upcoming Sky series “This England,” which follows the COVID-19 response of outgoing U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government, did not include the turbulent period that led to Johnson’s resignation in July. Speaking to Variety at the Sarajevo Film Festival, where
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With a delicately morose charm, Spanish actress-turned-director Liz Lobato is presenting her debut feature project, “Tierra de Nuestras Madres” as part of the 11th Fanfic Industria’s Ibero-American Work In Progress strand. The farcical fable scrutinizing globalization takes place in the village of La Mancha, where residents know each other thoroughly and tend to their routines
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Fremantle has scored a raft of sales on “The Trip” director Michael Winterbottom’s drama on outgoing U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, “This England.” The 88 territories closed for “This England” include Movistar+ (Spain), Viaplay (Nordics and Baltics, Poland and the Netherlands), Cosmote (Greece), OSN TV and OSN+ (MENA), M-Net (South Africa), BBC First (Australia) and
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Former Oslo Pictures CEO-producer Dyveke Bjørkly Graver and producer Andrea Berentsen Ottmar have set up their own shop, Eye Eye Pictures, Variety has learned. The Norwegian producers were both behind the Cannes-winning and double Oscar-nominated “The Worst Person in the World” by star Norwegian director Joachim Trier. The Nordic romcom, released by Neon in the
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Middle Earth Enterprises, the holding company that owns all of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works including “Lord of the Rings,” “The Hobbit” and more, has been sold to Swedish gaming conglomerate Embracer. The rights include movies, books, theatrical productions, video games, theme parks and merchandise in Tolkein’s most famous literary works – “Lord of the Rings” and
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At a time when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues and a politically fragile U.K. is dealing with daily crises, Peter Kosminsky’s “The Undeclared War” is timely and prescient. Set in a post-pandemic 2024 in the run up to a British general election, the series follows a team of analysts at GCHQ (the U.K.’s version of
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After three solemn features centered on the ramifications of war — not just in her home country of Bosnia but, in 2017’s “Never Leave Me,” Syria too — writer-director Aida Begić leaves political conflict behind in her fourth. “A Ballad,” however, charges no less abrasively into the emotional battleground of a young woman’s separation from
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Julia Pott, an animator who serves as the creator on “Summer Camp Island,” has expressed disappointment in HBO Max’s decision to remove the series from its library. The streamer confirmed plans to remove “Summer Camp Island” and 35 other titles, including 19 more HBO Max originals, from its catalog on Wednesday evening. “We worked for
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“Back to the Drive-In” is filmmaker April Wright’s second documentary about drive-ins, following 2013’s “Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the American Drive-In Movie,” but she’s not milking a good thing with a rehash of the definitive first film. Rather than again explore the overall rise and fall and semi-rise of the phenomenon, in this
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Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman), the demon child of the 2009 horror thriller “Orphan,” was a 9-year-old psycho freak who dressed like a frumpy Victorian doll and spoke in a Russian accent, which upped the ante on her malevolence by making her seem not just a junior devil but a junior devil from the land of Putin.
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The first day Kat Coiro met with Marvel Studios to discuss potentially directing episodes of “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” was the same day the world shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. “So, you know, there was a little pause,” she tells Variety. “But it was during that time that I actually developed a lot of
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Everyone knows the names BTS and Blackpink, and that’s thanks to the proliferation of K-pop, which has grown far beyond its origins in South Korea to become a true global phenomenon. What is it about the pop-leaning genre that attracts so many fans of all stripes?  Catchy hooks, ear-wormy melodies, synchronized choreography and impeccable production
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The Native American Media Alliance announced the selection of six fellows for the 5th Annual Native American Feature Film Writers Lab, a talent development program that boosts the careers of Native American writers. The six fellows of the fifth annual Native American Feature Film Writers Lab are: Ty Coughenour (Lummi Nation) Rory Crittendon (Cherokee Nation
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Ellie Kemper and Zach Cherry have signed on to co-host the Roku Original series “The Great American Baking Show.” Kemper and Cherry will take audiences into the iconic tent to watch contestants vying to become the America’s top baker. A U.S. adaptation of the popular British competition series “The Great British Baking Show,” the new
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Garret Dillahunt has the simplest and purest explanation for reuniting with his “Raising Hope” co-star Martha Plimpton and creator and executive producer Greg Garcia on new show “Sprung”: He just wanted to have fun. “I called [Greg] in the summer of the lockdown, wanting to have some fun again because it had been a while,
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Beyoncé’s seventh solo album “Renaissance” serves as a celebratory tribute to the Black and queer roots of dance and house music; a compilation of new and old sounds, complete with samples from the genre’s most influential. It’s an intensely purposeful formula, and to get it just right, Beyoncé elected a board of “superheroes,” as Leven
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HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon” touched down in Sydney this week for its official Australian premiere, but the event quickly turned controversial after Patrick Delany, the CEO of Australian television company Foxtel, referred to Emilia Clarke as a “short, dumpy girl.” Foxtel, an Australian pay television company, is the country’s
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Jonah Hill has released an open letter in which he announced that he will no longer promote his own movies for the foreseeable future in order to continue working on his mental health. Hill’s upcoming projects include a new documentary he directed titled “Sputz” and Netflix’s comedy movie “You People,” which Hill co-wrote with director
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Swedish director Ruben Östlund opened this year’s Sarajevo Film Festival with his raucously entertaining new social satire “Triangle of Sadness,” continuing a festival tour that began this spring at Cannes — where he nabbed the Palme d’Or, joining the likes of Francis Ford Coppola and Michael Haneke in the select club of filmmakers to have
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