After a world premiere in the Midnight section of the Sundance Film Festival, Swedish director Frida Kempff will present her suspenseful feature debut “Knocking” to domestic audiences as the closing night of the virtual Göteborg Festival. Variety caught up with her in the run-up to her Göteborg bow: How was the virtual presentation of the
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The explanatory text that opens “The Wanting Mare,” Nicholas Ashe Bateman’s ambitious, epoch-spanning directing debut, informs us that in the city of Whithren, citizens are desperate to escape by booking passage on the once-a-year transport ship that carries wild horses to the wintry promised land of Levithen. These words, a fantasist’s delight, only barely set
In his recent song “Livin’ the Dream,” a tellingly somber number that stands out amid his otherwise upbeat smash “Dangerous: The Double Album,” Morgan Wallen sings about how success is not all it’s cracked up to be, concluding that it’s at least a little bit lonely at the top even in the midst of being
The Foo Fighters’ latest, “Medicine at Midnight,” is not a product of the pandemic. Although the band was holed up in a house recording it — a rented property in the hills above the San Fernando Valley — COVID didn’t play a role since the album was completed ahead of the March 2020 lockdown. And
“We’re dealing with slavery and slave content. How are we approaching this material and what’s the unique way of doing that?” “Augustus” filmmaker Jon Alston asked when making his documentary short feature which is gaining awards chatter and hoping to make the shortlist. Alston’s short tracks a slave’s fight as he stands up for his
It’s some kind of paradox — he probably thought of it as a joke played on him by the gods — that Christopher Plummer, the impishly irascible, velvet-voiced star of stage and screen who died Friday at 91, was one of the great Shakespearean actors of the 20th century, as well as a notorious rapscallion
Imagine Entertainment, CalFilms Asia and Sixty Percent Productions have partnered to co-finance and co-produce “Taiwan Crime Stories,” a Chinese-language anthology series inspired by real criminal cases from Taiwan. Four pairs of writers and directors will deliver stories that are each told over three episodes, for a total of 12 episodes, set at 60 minutes or
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s an internet rumor run amok! Despite multiple online reports suggesting otherwise, Henry Cavill will not appear as Superman in the upcoming DC Films project “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” two sources with direct knowledge of the production and Cavill’s schedule confirmed to Variety. It’s easy to understand why
When director Constantine Venetopoulos was working on psychological drama “The Man in the Attic” with Jennifer Lopez’s sister, Leslie Lopez, starring as an opera singer, a room in Leslie’s house filled with drawings caught his attention. That was when he met Jennifer Lopez’s nibling (a non-gendered term used in place of niece or nephew) Brendon Scholl
Armie Hammer has been dropped by WME, Variety has learned. According to a knowledgable source, Hammer’s personal publicist is also stepping away. WME parted ways with the actor following continuous allegations against the actor that have surfaced on social media over the past month. In messages blasted across social media, which Hammer has not verified,
In today’s TV news roundup, FX announced premiere dates its spring slate, and Netflix announced additional cast members for “Pieces of Her.” CASTING Gil Birmingham, Terry O’Quinn and Calum Worthy have been cast in Netflix’s thriller series “Pieces of Her.” They join previously announced cast members Toni Collette, Bella Heathcote, Jessica Barden, David Wenham, Joe
WME and the WGA have finally come to terms on a settlement that will allow WME to resume representing writers after a nearly two-year standoff with the guild. WME was the last agency holdout in the WGA’s campaign to reform the rules governing how talent agents represent union writers. The WGA is expected to announce
“One Night in Miami” director Regina King carries a jump rope to set, keeping it in her backpack until those particularly tense moments when everything goes haywire behind the scenes — like when an actor needs a pep talk, the crew has a tech issue or the weather shuts down production. In these instances, the
In a normal year, it’s easy to gauge the buzz at Sundance simply by eavesdropping on filmgoers waiting in line or riding the shuttles around Park City. Festival organizers tried to shift the energy online this year, packing nearly 20 world premieres a day into a tightened schedule, and while a record-breaking acquisition ($25 million
Priyanka Chopra Jonas has announced that her latest film “The White Tiger’ is on track for 27 million viewers in its first month on Netflix. Chopra Jonas stars in and executive produced Ramin Bahrani’s “The White Tiger,” which debuted on the streamer Jan. 22. Since then, according to Chopra Jonas’ social media post, the film
Fox Business Network has cancelled Lou Dobbs’ long-running program, marking an abrupt end to one of its best-watched shows and the latest in a series of programming changes taking place at Fox News Media. “As we said in October, Fox News Media regularly considers programming changes and plans have been in place to launch new
Studio Ghibli has been making animated features for over four decades since being co-founded by Hayao Miyazaki, director of “My Neighbor Totoro” and the Academy Award-winning “Spirited Away.” The studio’s latest release is “Earwig and the Witch” now streaming on HBO Max, and an awards contender for animated feature. The story is based on the
Mahershala Ali’s turn as “Blade” is one step closer to the big screen. “Watchmen” writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour has been tapped to write the upcoming Marvel Studios film, Variety has confirmed. Marvel Studios announced that Ali, a two-time Oscar-winner, would portray the vampire hunter at San Diego Comic-Con in 2019. Ali first stepped into the Marvel fold
Marilyn Manson’s longtime manager, Tony Ciulla, has dropped him as a client, according to a report in Rolling Stone. Since Monday, Manson’s record label has severed ties with him and his agency CAA dropped him. Starz’s “American Gods” is editing him out of episodes and Shudder’s “Creepshow” is killing them entirely. Ciulla did not respond to a
Legendary actor Christopher Plummer died at the age of 91, and the heart of the cinematic world has a hole in it. He won many accolades, including two Tonys, two Emmys and an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his performance in 2011’s “Beginners” from writer and director Mike Mills. At 82, he became
Anthony King has signed on as showrunner and executive producer for Season 2 of “Woke” at Hulu, Variety has learned exclusively. He takes over from Season 1 showrunner Jay Dyer. In his new role, King will work alongside series co-creators Marshall Todd and Keith Knight, with Knight’s life and art serving as the inspiration for
Syfy female-driven supernatural western “Wynonna Earp” is officially concluding its run after the end of its current and fourth season. The remaining six episodes will air starting on March 5 and will end with the fourth season finale on April 9. “I’d like to thank our wonderful cast and crew, all of whom were instrumental
In 2012, Jack Osbourne began experiencing numbness and what he thought was a pinched nerve in his leg for about three months. At about the same time, he went to see a doctor about an inflamed optic nerve. It turns out his leg and eye problems were related. At age 26, Osbourne was diagnosed with
A “Yellowstone” prequel series is set at Paramount Plus under an extension of series co-creator Taylor Sheridan’s overall deal with ViacomCBS. The prequel, “Y: 1883,” follows the Dutton family as they embark on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America. It is described as a stark retelling of
The Black Forum label — founded by Berry Gordy and the Motown Corporation in 1971 — will relaunch in 2021, “providing a platform to a new generation of writers, thinkers and poets,” according to the announcement. In addition to newly recorded releases, Black Forum will reissue six of the historic albums that established its legacy, beginning with Dr. Martin
The war of words between Ryan Kavanaugh’s Triller and Universal Music Group escalated Friday, after UMG pulled its catalog from the video-sharing app citing Triller’s failure to pay licensing fees for songs used on its service. Early Friday, Universal Music said it was removing its music from Triller — which positions itself as a rival
Cathy Yan, fresh off her success with “Birds of Prey,” will write and direct “The Freshening,” an adaptation of Rachel Khong’s short story. FilmNation, the company behind “Promising Young Woman” and “Arrival,” acquired rights to the story and will back the feature. Here’s the official description: “Khong’s short story is set in a near future
“Sweat,” which is screening at the Rotterdam Film Festival and the Göteborg Film Festival this week, has attracted additional sales, New Europe Film Sales has reported. The film, which was selected by Cannes last year, had been previously been sold widely. Magnus Von Horn’s “poised, impressive drama,” as it was called in its review in
February is shaping up to be something special. In response to a pandemic-extended awards season, the sort of films that used to crowd the release calendar just before New Year’s in an effort to Oscar-qualify while also still maintaining some measure of last-minute/latest-thing freshness are now arranging to come out over the coming weeks. Think
Play video content Exclusive TMZ.com SAG-AFTRA Prez and ‘90210’ alum Gabrielle Carteris knows Donald Trump resigned to dodge punishment from the union, but says he could still get a rude awakening. Gabrielle joined “TMZ Live” Friday to address the former President’s letter to her, which as we reported contained the typical Trump beats — petty