Month: February 2024

The international scope and grueling human cost of the global refugee crisis lends itself to contemporary epic filmmaking of a particularly sober stripe, as seen mostly recently in Agnieszka Holland’s “Green Border” and Matteo Garrone’s Oscar-nominated “Io Capitano.” Shorn of their ripped-from-the-headlines urgency, such stories of humans crossing vast distances and facing hostile odds in

Kumar Shahani, one of the pioneers of India’s arthouse parallel cinema movement, died at a hospital in Kolkata on Feb. 24 after a period of illness. He was 83. Shahani studied screenwriting and direction at the Film and Television of India, where he was tutored by Indian master Ritwik Ghatak. He won a French government

The shortest distance between two points is popularly believed to be a straight line. But if one of those points is the chin, cheekbone or torso of some sneering and/or psychotic Korean gangster, the shortest route is actually the arc described by either one of Korean megastar Don Lee‘s fists, here playing the fists of

The Oscar heavyweight, Grammy-winning great and all-around icon, Barbra Streisand was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 30th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. “This is such a wonderful award to get because you know in advance you’re going to get it. You don’t have to sit there in squirm… And if you don’t

Rachel Brosnahan spoke to Variety On the Carpet presented by DIRECTV at the 2024 SAG Awards about gearing up to start filming James Gunn’s “Superman: Legacy,” in which she’s taking on the role of Lois Lane. The filmmaker posted the first cast photo last week after a table read of the script, and then Warner

Following the ups and downs that the Screen Actors Guild faced in 2023 — namely, a 118-day strike and a subsequent deal with the AMPTP led by president Fran Drescher — the 2024 SAG Awards represent a much-needed opportunity for the actors union to celebrate. The double bill phenomenon affectionately known as “Barbenheimer” led this

“The Devil Wears Prada” cast members Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt reunited at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards to present best actor in a comedy series. Blunt was also a nominee at the award ceremony for supporting actress thanks to her role in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” Streep took to the stage first

“Moana” voice actor Auli’i Cravalho attended her first SAG Awards this year and spoke to Variety On the Carpet presented by DIRECTV about the hit Disney animated movie becoming a full blown franchise. The studio surprised fans earlier this month by announcing the “Moana” television series it had been developing was now a movie sequel set

Juno Temple confirmed to Variety On the Carpet presented by DIRECTV while at the 2024 SAG Awards that “Venom 3” is finally nearing the end of filming. The “Ted Lasso” star is one of the new additions to the “Venom” franchise alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor and Clark Backo in the upcoming third movie, which is being

“Paradises of Diane,” which premiered in the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival, came out of an exploration of the “dark side of maternity” and the role of the mother in society, director Carmen Jaquier tells Variety. The film, which was directed with Jan Gassmann, starts with Diane abandoning her new-born baby at a

Netflix has acquired the Oscar-nominated documentary feature “To Kill a Tiger.” The film, about a father’s pursuit of justice in rural India, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022 and was awarded best documentary at the 2023 Palm Springs International Film Festival. “To Kill a Tiger” was, up until now, the only film

Ebon Moss-Bachrach took to “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to talk about his recent casting in Marvel’s upcoming “The Fantastic Four” film — revealing that his character Ben Grimm (aka the Thing) will be created using motion capture rather than a physical suit.  “In the past, I think they’ve done a suit. Michael Chiklis wore a suit

In an ideal world, the Academy’s music branch would watch all the movies and decide which five have met the criteria for excellence in musical scoring. But we all know that many other factors come into play: Was the film commercially successful? Is the composer already popular with his or her peers? Have voters been

The enduring artistry of the late film composer-songwriter Michel Legrand is on full display in Todd Haynes’ “May December.” But not everyone is happy to hear Haynes’ usage of the Legrand score from Joseph Losey’s 1971 romantic drama “The Go-Between,” repurposed to jarring (if you don’t like it) but provocative (if you do) effect. Whichever

Paramount’s “Bob Marley: One Love” is feeling more than alright at the global box office. The musical biopic has generated $101.1 million worldwide after only 10 days in theaters, including $61.4 million in North America and $39.7 million from 59 international territories. “One Love” retained the top spot on domestic charts in its second weekend

If you told me there was a plan in place to make four Beatles biopics — one each about John, Paul, George, and Ringo — and that they were going to be directed by Richard Linklater, I’d be suffused with curiosity and excitement. If you told me that those same four movies were going to

French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop made history at tonight’s Berlin Film Festival awards ceremony, becoming the first Black director ever to win the Golden Bear, the fest’s top prize, for her inventive, resonant documentary “Dahomey.” She accepted the award from Lupita Nyong’o, in turn the first Black person ever to preside over the festival’s Competition jury

Ongoing protests in Berlin against the war in Gaza — a conflict triggered by the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7 — reached former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and attendees of the Berlin Film Festival’s European Film Market this week following concerted efforts by some international cultural workers to boycott and target