Movies

The long-awaited sequel to legendary mockumentary “This Is Sequel Tap” is now in production, almost 40 years to the day that the original film was released in March 1984. The feature is shooting in New Orleans, with Rob Reiner directing and Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer all reprising their iconic roles as the

Juxtaposing the story of the murder of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba with a musical tour of jazzman Louis Armstrong and with the expansion of the United Nations after the independence of many African countries in the 1960s might be tall order. Trickier still would be telling this complex story, full of many characters and plot

Alamo Drafthouse is heading to the Sunshine State. The movie theater chain’s first Florida location will open in Naples in the spring. Alamo Drafthouse Naples will include a mini golf course in the lobby with each of the nine holes inspired by classic films. “Naples is a golfer’s paradise, so we knew we had to

Gwyneth Paltrow was in hair and makeup at home during the 2024 Oscars, but she made sure not to miss the chance to see her longtime Marvel co-star Robert Downey Jr. win his first Academy Award. Paltrow shared a video to her Instagram story as she rejoiced over Downey taking home the Oscar for best

The director of “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” has taken his film’s clean sweep of the Razzie Awards on the (bloodied) chin. The feature — a slasher horror that caused a stir last year for its childhood-bludgeoning premise in which A.A. Milne’s beloved, cuddly bear and his sidekick Piglet go on a cannibalistic rampage

Should any Americans be concerned following the Academy Awards ceremony, no, they haven’t missed Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day in the U.S. is still May 12, a good two months away. In the U.K., however, it was the night of the Oscars, March 10 — and given the number of Brits that took to the stage

Bollywood film “Shaitaan” has scored a hefty opening, according to data provided to Variety. The film marks the first collaboration between billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Studios, Bollywood A-lister Ajay Devgn’s Devgn Films and Panorama Studios. “Shaitaan” scored a worldwide weekend gross of $9.8 million, including India, according to numbers from Panorama Studios. Internationally, the film

India premieres of France’s “The Taste of Things” and Korea’s “Exhuma” will open and close respectively the first edition of India’s Cinevesture International Film Festival. Tran Anh Hung won best director at Cannes 2023 for “The Taste of Things,” which was subsequently submitted as France’s official entry to the Oscars’ international feature category. Jang Jae-hyun’s

Alibaba, China’s e-commerce and entertainment conglomerate, said Monday that it is committing HK$5 billion ($640 million) over five years to the development of Hong Kong’s film and TV industries. The move was announced on the first day of FilMart, the annual rights market for the Asian industries, at an event attended by Fan Luyuan, chairman

Investments in artificial intelligence generative content (AIGC) remain a top priority for some companies in China, despite ongoing concerns regarding copyright and intellectual property rights. During a seminar discussing the potential of generative AI in the entertainment industry at Hong Kong’s FilMart, Chen Jihong, an equity partner at Zhong Lun law firm, highlighted the legal

Hong Kong’s One Cool Film group has announced five new movies, revealed through exclusive teasers and posters on the opening day of FilMart. Upcoming films include “Love Lies,” starring Sandra Ng and M.C. Cheung Tinfu; “The Trier of Fact,” directed by Calvin Tong and featuring Louis Koo and Eddie Peng; “The Way We Talk,” produced,

The movies, if I dare say it, used to hold us together. They were a shared dream — which is why I wanted to become a film critic, not a poetry critic. The mass mythology of movies felt singular, intoxicating, enveloping, cathartic. And the Oscars have always been part of that. In embracing the world

The Academy Awards telecast had its fair share of memorable highlights, like John Cena’s naked presentation of the costumes category, or Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt’s faux “Barbenheimer” feud while presenting a special tribute to stunt professionals. But there was plenty that the audience at home didn’t see, from the pre-show pandemonium caused by late

With the 2024 Academy Awards in the books, Variety is celebrating the Oscar wins of the stars and filmmaking talent that took home gold at the ceremony Sunday evening. Many of the night’s biggest winners graced the cover of Variety, guested on the Awards Circuit podcast and featured in the Actors on Actors series throughout

“Dune 2” launched in mainland China cinemas this weekend with a solid $19.9 million three-day haul. That put it in second place, narrowly behind holdover crime-drama “The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon.” Data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway, showed that “The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon” earned $21.3 million (RMB151 million) between Friday

Upamanyu Bhattacharya‘s animated feature “Heirloom” has the emerged from the crucible of Annecy, one of the world’s top animation festivals. The Indian work-in progress film has been selected for the 22nd Hong Kong — Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF), the project market that operates concurrently with FilMart. In the film, Sonal, a teacher, grapples with a

The Academy Awards unfolded pretty much as expected, with “Oppenheimer” dominating, and the only real shocks coming in the — wait, there weren’t any huge ones, actually. As predicted, “Oppenheimer” steamrolled, getting seven Oscars in total. It won the top prize for picture, as well as Christopher Nolan winning for director, Cillian Murphy for actor and

“To be or not to be” remains the question in “Grand Theft Hamlet,” but it takes on a whole new dimension in Sam Crane and Pinny Grylls’ endearing and provocative chronicle of a production of Shakespeare that takes place entirely in the world of “Grand Theft Auto.” The soul-searching of a tortured prince has resonated

Jimmy Kimmel took a moment during the Oscars telecast, right before Al Pacino presented best picture, to read aloud Donald Trump‘s latest social media post that bashed Kimmel as this year’s Oscars host. “Has there EVER been a WORSE HOST than Jimmy Kimmel at The Oscars. His opening was that of a less than average

The In Memoriam section of the Academy Awards is always one of the most emotional moments of the show. This year was no exception, as the 96th Oscars celebrate the performers, filmmakers and artisan talents who died in the past year. The In Memoriam segment kicked off with a remembrance of Alexei Navalny, the political

“The Fall Guy” stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt brought the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon to the Oscars stage while presenting a special tribute to stunt performers. The two co-stars, who were both nominated for supporting actor Oscars this year — Blunt for “Oppenheimer,” Gosling for “Barbie” — playfully roasted the rivalry between the two blockbusters, which

John Cena appeared naked on the Oscars stage while presenting the award for best costume design to “Poor Things.” It was all part of a bit that paid homage to one of the craziest moments in the history of the Academy Awards when a naked man ran on stage at the 46th Oscars in 1974

Chan Tai-lee, the screenwriter of many of the Ip Man martial arts action films, has written and directed upcoming action film “Fight for Tomorrow.” Mandarin Motion Pictures, which backed the film and is handling international rights sales, is using this week’s FilMart to launch the picture to international buyers. The production was assisted with finance

Jimmy Kimmel didn’t pull any punches in his opening Oscars monologue, poking fun at several Hollywood hot topics during Sunday’s ceremony. Kimmel, who is hosting for the fourth time, congratulated the audience for “making it on time. The show is starting an hour early this year, but it will go very, very late. We’re already

COVID, changing money flows and a new superpower Cold War of sorts may have, over the past few years, helped to reduce the connections between the film and TV industries of China and the rest of the world — so, will the 2024 edition of FilMart, whose organizers continue to claim bridgehead status, be the

Film projects to be produced by Andrew Lau (“Infernal Affairs,” “Initial D”) and Han Sanping, the former head of China Film Corp., are among the new in-development titles that grace the FilMart slate of Hong Kong studio Media Asia. The Peter Lam-controlled studio is also poised, at an event within FilMart on Monday, to detail

Put on your pinkest “Barbie” dress or grayest “Oppenheimer” suit, because the 2024 Oscars are finally here. Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel for the second year in a row, the 96th Academy Awards are honoring the top movies from 2023, with Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” leading the pack with 13 nominations. Stars Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and

Dwayne Johnson got emotional talking about a potential on-screen reunion with Emily Blunt in Benny Safdie’s upcoming mixed martial arts drama, “The Smashing Machine.” Johnson’s comments came while speaking with Variety’s Marc Malkin at the Oscars during Variety On the Carpet presented by DIRECTV. Blunt has been in talks to join Johnson for what will be Safdie’s

“Dune 2” added $2.63 million in its second weekend in South Korea, but the sci-fi fantasy remained a long may short of the year’s runaway winner, “Exhuma,” which has dominated and dynamized box office for three weeks. “Exhuma,” about two shaman, a feng shui master and a mortician who attempt to undo the mysterious events

Da’Vine Joy Randolph won the first Oscar of her career for “The Holdovers,” a 1970s-set dramedy about a trio that’s stuck at a New England prep school over the holidays. But in her acceptance speech, she revealed that she didn’t always see herself becoming an actor. That is, until her mother encouraged her to seek