Month: April 2023

Here we are at the precipice of an uncertain yet familiar place. The question of whether the TV and film industry will be shut down by labor action will be answered one way or another by the time Monday ends on the West Coast. In broad strokes, the Writers Guild of America and Alliance of

Offering a singular perspective on Russia’s current pariah status in much of the world is Gaukur Ulfarsson’s “Soviet Barbara,” probably the most enjoyable — as opposed to depressing — documentary involving the invasion of Ukraine you’re likely to see. It focuses on Icelandic multimedia artist Ragnar Kjartansson’s preparation for exhibits that would open a major

Adam McKay is partnering with Netflix again for his follow-up to “Don’t Look Up.” The streamer has acquired the director’s next feature comedy, titled “Average Height, Average Build.” The film will star Robert Pattinson as a serial killer that looks to leverage American politicians to make murder easier, as well as Amy Adams as the

I have a little ritual when it comes to animated films. I try to go into them not knowing who the cast members are. That’s not always possible, of course. For the most part, though, I do my best to ignore the publicity and let the voices I hear surprise me — because if you

It’s another weekend of box office domination for “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which collected a towering $40 million in its fourth frame. Those ticket sales, down just 33% from the weekend prior, were easily enough to rule over the weekend’s newcomers, including literary adaptation “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” Finnish war drama “Sisu”

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is officially the first film of the year to cross the coveted $1 billion milestone. As of Sunday, after just 26 days of release, the animated video game adaptation, from Universal, Illumination and Nintendo, has grossed $490 million in North America and $532 million at the international box office. It’s

Actor Matthew Lawrence opened the April 28 episode of his Brotherly Love podcast on a serious note, reflecting on the #MeToo movement and his own experience with sexual harassment in Hollywood. On the show, co-hosted by his brothers, fellow actors Joey and Andrew Lawrence, the 43-year-old actor recounts his experience refusing to engage with a

One of the smallest countries in Europe has the highest number of soldiers per capita. This situation is dissected in “Swiss Citizen Soldiers,” one of the six high-end documentaries that will arrive on the circuit in the coming months, and were pitched at the Swiss Films Previews at Visions du Réel, in Nyon, Switzerland. SWISS

Are you there box office? It’s-a me, “Mario.” Now in its fourth weekend of release, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is still dominating the competition on domestic charts, fending off theatrical newcomers “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” “Sisu” and “Big George Foreman.” The adaptation of Judy Blume’s best-selling 1970 novel is faring the

Coachella parent company AEG is threatening legal action against a filmmaker who created a concert movie using found footage of Frank Ocean’s controversial April 16 set at the festival. Brian Kinnes, who did not attend Coachella, stitched together about 150 videos uploaded by concertgoers to YouTube, TikTok and Twitter to make an unofficial, multi-cut film

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” has pounded out some serious coinage. The animated adventure from Universal Pictures, Illumination Entertainment and Nintendo is becoming the first release of 2023 to cross the $1 billion mark at the global box office. While “Mario Bros.” isn’t projected to cross the coveted threshold until the end of the weekend,

Australian filmmaker Sari Braithwaite’s documentary feature film “Because We Have Each Other,” which has its North American premiere at Hot Docs on Sunday, has been picked up for international sales by Alief. An intimate documentary five years in the making, “Because We Have Each Other” chronicles the life of Janet and Buddha and their five

Pitched at the Work-in-Progress industry section of international documentary film festival Visions du Réel, U.S. director David Borenstein’s sophomore feature “Can’t Feel Nothing” explores the connection between internet use and emotional disorders. Borenstein’s debut feature doc “Dream Empire,” about the building boom in China’s ghost cities, won the top prize at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival

As Switzerland’s international documentary film festival Visions du Réel is about to wrap up, its artistic director Emilie Bujès, who’s been running the show since 2017 and was part of the selection committee for several years before that, told Variety that packed theaters throughout the 10-day event are proof that the public is back. She