Since 2007, Venice’s Queer Lion Award has reflected and elevated the best in LGBTQ cinema. Fifteen years later, founder Daniel N. Casagrande said this year’s Venice Film Festival will be “the most queer edition ever.” Among the fest’s 30 LGBTQ-themed titles, 19 are competing for the Queer Lion, including a record six films from the
Month: September 2022
By Peter Debruge It’s been nearly three decades since “In Bruges” writer-director Martin McDonagh decided to try his hand at writing for the theater, knocking out the first drafts of “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” — a dark comedy so violent that the actors find them slipping in all the fake blood on stage — and “The
Janus Films has acquired North American rights for Hlynur Pálmason’s “Godland,” which bowed at Cannes and is bound for Telluride and Toronto. The film follows a young Danish priest in the late 19th century who travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes
Indonesia is often described as the world’s most populous Muslim nation. But the country’s development as a global-scale media market has been uneven and full of promises unfulfilled. Many of the old connections between media ownership and political influence appear to have been transplanted from the analog era into the digital one, making it a
Netflix on Friday announced a slate of upcoming films and TV series from Indonesia. The company says this is its most ambitious outreach in the populous and influential Southeast Asian country. The seven new titles span sci-fi thriller, comedy and period drama genres and involve big name creators Joho Anwar (“Satan’s Slaves,” “Impetigore”), Timo Tjahjanto
British director Joe Wright, who helmed Winston Churchill drama “Darkest Hour” – which earned Gary Oldman an Oscar for his portrayal as the British prime minister – is set to change historical sides and direct TV drama “M,” which chronicles Benito Mussolini’s rise to power. The high-end series, which is based on Antonio Scurati’s Premio
High-profile espionage cases in the post-war period often invoke the grisly fate of the Rosenbergs, the first U.S. citizens to be convicted and executed by electric chair for sharing atomic secrets with the Soviet Union in peace time. But in the new documentary “A Compassionate Spy,” filmmaker Steve James tells the incredible story of Manhattan
After the edgy crime comedy “The World Is Yours,” Romain Gavras is back with thriller “Athena.” Produced by Paris-based Iconoclast for Netflix, the ambitious, €15 million film ($15 million) unfolds in the aftermath of the tragic killing of a young boy in what appears to be an act of police brutality. An all-out war sparks
MK2 Films, which is at Venice with “Love Life” playing in competition, is reteaming with Fiona Gordon and Dominique Abel on “The Falling Star,” a darkly comic mystery thriller. The directing duo is rolling off “Lost in Paris,” their international breakout film, which had a buzzy premiere at Telluride in 2016. The film was also
The titles of Fukada Koji’s films almost drip with bitter irony. “Sayonara” seemed to be a farewell to human actors. Instead of being harmonious, Cannes Un Certain Regard jury prize-winner “Harmonium” was pitch black and steeped in quiet violence. Fukada’s latest, Venice Film Festival competition title carries the moniker “Love Life.” But its subject matter
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you have not yet watched the two-episode premiere of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” At the end of the first episode of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” one of two installments dropped by Amazon Prime Video on the show’s launch day, young
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read unless you have watched the first two episodes of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. That sound you just heard is neither drums, drums in the deep nor the roar of a Balrog. It was actually a collective sigh of relief
There’s another change coming in the Dick Wolf universe. Sean Jablonski is stepping in as the new showrunner on “Law & Order: Organized Crime” for the upcoming third season, Variety has learned. Jablonski becomes the fifth showrunner on the series, replacing Bryan Goluboff, who was announced as the Season 3 showrunner in May. Barry O’Brien
Tank Credits Ginuwine & Aaliyah For “Showing Him The Ropes” Tank, the self-proclaimed “King of R&B,” has a mission: to represent the genre proudly. Recently, the Milkwaukee, Wisconsin native said as much on social media, reminding his followers that, “R&B is not dead because I am alive!” For 22 years, Tank has maintained his status
Hillary Clinton and Universal’s Donna Langley praised U.S. director, producer and social justice activist Ava DuVernay for being “a path breaker, a change maker, a historical filmmaker,” as Clinton put it, during the 13th DVF Awards. The gala was held Thursday on the sidelines of the Venice Film Festival by fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg to
The inaugural Soho House Awards, hosted by Stanley Tucci, were presented Thursday night in London. Honorees included actors John Boyega, Ellie Bamber (“Les Misérables”), Yasmin Finney (“Heartstopper”), Evan Mock (“Gossip Girl) and Paapa Essideu (“I May Destory You”) and makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury. Musicians Michael Kiwanuka and Self Esteem were honored and also performed during
Sebastian Roché is on his way to “1923.” “The Young Pope” alum is set to join the “Yellowstone” prequel at Paramount+ in a recurring role, sources have confirmed to Variety. Details regarding his character have not been revealed yet. He joins Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford among the series’ cast. The “Yellowstone” prequel series created
Jason Aldean’s publicity firm of 17 years, Nashville-based outfit the GreenRoom, has resigned following comments posted by Aldean’s wife, Brittany, that many have considered to be transphobic. According to a report in Billboard, GreenRoom co-owner Tyne Parrish did not say Brittany Aldean’s comments were the reason for the split, the timing does not seem coincidental. “Music has
When Henry Winkler joined “Barry,” as the pompous, washed-up acting teacher Gene Cousineau, he soon asked series creator and star Bill Hader, “Am I playing an asshole?” But by Season 3, Cousineau has suffered a tremendous loss — at the hands of Barry — and it’s forcing him to do some deep introspection. “I think
Without a doubt, “Scooby-Doo” is one of the most beloved cartoons ever created. In the decades since America’s most iconic dog and his mystery-busting teammates first appeared on TV, the team has since appeared in over 40 films, ranging from direct-to-video animated flicks, theatrical releases, a series of live-action prequel films that aired on Cartoon
Will “Bardo” be Alejandro González Iñárritu’s third best director Oscar in a row following “Birdman” and “The Revenant” wins? It’s a question many were asking heading into the Venice Film Festival, where the Netflix-backed “Bardo” world premiered in competition. They had plenty of time to contemplate their answer as the three-hour-film wrapped at 12:15 a.m.
Check out the official featurette for Three Thousand Years of Longing starring Aamito Lagum & Idris Elba! ► Sign up for a Fandango FanAlert for Three Thousand Years of Longing: http://www.fandango.com/three-thousand-years-of-longing-2022-227770/movie-overview?cmp=Trailers_YouTube_Desc Subscribe to the channel and click the bell icon to be notified of all the hottest trailers: http://bit.ly/2CNniBy US Release Date: August 31, 2022
Florida Georgia Line waved goodbye to an era, as Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley played their final show as a country duo at the Minnesota State Fair Wednesday night. “You’ve enabled us to chase this crazy dream of writing songs and playing shows and hoping someone will show up to listen, so thank you guys,”
“Don’t Worry Darling” broke the internet with its first trailer, which included a scene in which Harry Styles’ character performs oral sex on Florence Pugh’s character on a dining room table. It turns out there would’ve been even more provocative scenes featured in the trailer had director Olivia Wilde gotten her way. The filmmaker told
The DC FanDome virtual event will not be held this fall, Variety has confirmed. First established in 2020 during the height of the COVID pandemic, DC FanDome was a virtual event that showcased upcoming projects for DC films, with the two conferences held so far showing off trailers for anticipated projects like “The Batman,” “The
The upcoming Whitney Houston biopic “I Wanna Dance Somebody” stars BAFTA-winning actor Naomi Ackie as the legendary singer, which means the debate over Black British actors taking roles away from American actors is bound to resurface. The debate surged in 2017 after Samuel L. Jackson called out Daniel Kaluuya’s casting in “Get Out,” for which
During the Aug. 1 – Aug. 7 viewing window, Disney’s “Lightyear” soared to the No. 3 place on the Nielsen streaming programs chart, raking in 1.3 billion minutes viewed after its premiere on Disney+. The “Toy Story” spinoff scored No. 1 on the movies list, leading Netflix’s “Uncharted,” which premiered on Aug. 5 to 1
Netflix is moving up the timeline for the debut of its cheaper, ad-supported plan to November — in order to get out before the Dec. 8 launch of the Disney+ tier with advertising. In July, Netflix told investors that it was targeting the launch of the ad-supported plan “around the early part of 2023.” But
Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Sebastian Stan and Pete Davidson will lead the cast of “Dumb Money,” an upcoming film about last year’s GameStop stock market explosion. Based on the nonfiction book “The Antisocial Network” by Ben Mezrich, “Dumb Money” is directed by Craig Gillespie, from a script penned by Rebecca Angelo and Lauren Schuker Blum.
SPOILER ALERT: Do not read if you haven’t watched “The Disillusionment of Time,” the Season 1 finale of “The Resort.” As intricate and text-heavy as “The Resort” is, Andy Siara’s adventure-comedy series manages to say a lot about love with almost no dialogue on the subject. “I hate a romantic monologue. It is exactly the