Movies

For a long time, Olivia Munn didn’t fully grasp a question that she got asked all the time in interviews: Journalists would want to know about the difference between being a man and woman in Hollywood. “I got it for years before it clicked with me one day when I answered it,” Munn said. “I

Bleecker Street will release the film “Military Wives” directly on digital platforms next month, with half of the proceeds going to participating community cinemas, military organizations and performing arts organizations. “Military Wives” — starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan — will be available on AppleTV, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and other video on demand

U.S.-based distributor Neon has promoted Elissa Federoff to president of distribution and Christina Zisa to president of publicity. Both Federoff and Zisa have been with Neon since its inception in January of 2017. Federoff, previously executive VP of theatrical distribution, has been overseeing the company’s release strategy across all its titles. She previously held posts

The Czech Republic has become the first European country to set a date for cinema reopenings, with tentative plans in place to open doors on May 25. On April 14, the government announced a staged approach to the loosening of restrictions, with June 8 given as the initial date for theaters to open, with attendance

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is making more changes to its film eligibility rules for the 2021 Golden Globes in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The organization implemented new rules last month that are in effect until April 30. However, the HFPA announced on Tuesday morning that the date has been extended indefinitely because of

France’s government has said festivals convening more than 5,000 people will be banned until September, along with professional sports games. The announcement was made by France’s Prime Minister Edouard Philippe in a televised address on Tuesday. President Emmanuel Macron had said in an April 13 national address that festivals and events drawing large crowds would

The Beijing International Film Festival will run an online fest on streamer iQIYI over China’s May 1 Labor Day holiday, typically one of the busier times of year for cinemas, which are still struggling with coronavirus-imposed shutdowns.  Fifth Generation helmer Chen Kaige (“Farewell my Concubine,” “Legend of the Demon Cat”), actor Tong Dawei (“American Dreams

Narrativia is partnering with Motive Pictures and Endeavor Content for a series of adaptations of the “Discworld” fantasy novels. The series, written by Terry Pratchett, is set on a flat planet balanced on the backs of four elephants standing on the back of a giant turtle. The series began in 1983 and ended in 2015

Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival, Central and Eastern Europe’s leading cinema event, has canceled this year’s edition due to the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, it will offer a selection of movies from its lineup in theaters across the Czech Republic, as the country prepares to open up cinemas again. It will stage its industry program online.

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of “Avengers: Endgame,” directors Joe and Anthony Russo shared several behind-the-scenes videos and tidbits. The Marvel directors hosted a virtual watch-along with fans Monday night, reminiscing on the superhero blockbuster and highest-grossing film of all time. They also went live on their Instagram Story to talk with Robert Downey Jr.,

The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain is holding off reopening its 21 Texas locations following an announcement by Gov. Greg Abbott that movie theaters can open this weekend. Austin-based Alamo closed down its 41 locations in mid-March because of coronavirus. In a statement Monday, the company said safety concerns are driving its decision. It did not

In today’s film news roundup, South African drama “A Chain of Voices” gets financing, Korean drama “Yourself and Yours” gets a home and “Hope Gap” is coming to digital a month early. MOVIE FINANCING The Fight to Fame group will finance “A Chain of Voices,” a feature film based on the novel of the same

[Editor’s note: “My Darling Vivian” is one of more than 100 movies originally scheduled to screen at the SXSW Film Festival in March. After the coronavirus outbreak forced the festival to cancel, event organizers partnered with Amazon Prime to make seven of those features available to stream for free through Weds., May 6.] A fascinating

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has announced that movie theaters will be allowed to reopen on Friday, along with restaurants, retail stores and museums. Texas becomes the latest state to allow theaters to open, though the major chains are not expected to restart business until at least July. Georgia allowed its theaters to reopen on Monday,

In “Contagion,” the 2011 Steven Soderbergh drama that predicted, in eyebrow-raising, scientifically rigorous, this-could-be-happening-to-you detail, exactly what’s happening to us right now (incompetent trash-talking authoritarian president? — that plot point must have been discarded for being something you could only see in the movies), Matt Damon, as run-of-the-mill Minnesota guy Mitch Emhoff, sits in a

Universal’s “The King of Staten Island” — a semi-autobiographical comedy starring Pete Davidson and directed by Judd Apatow — is going straight to video on demand, making it the latest film to forgo a traditional theatrical release as cinemas remain closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. “The King of Staten Island” will premiere on home

HBO Max has acquired worldwide rights to the Seth Rogen comedy “An American Pickle,” which will be released under the platform’s Warner Max label this year. HBO Max bought the film from Sony Pictures so it wouldn’t be delayed in light of theater closures. It will now reach audiences via the new streaming platform. Most

Good Deed Entertainment is partnering with the Kino Marquee virtual theatrical exhibition platform as part of buying worldwide distribution rights to the black comedy “Lucky Grandma.” Showings will begin on May 22 through more than 200 theatrical partner sites on KinoMarquee, including the Alamo Drafthouse and Laemmle Theater chains. The movie, starring Tsai Chin as

“Back to Visegrad” opens, appropriately enough, with Miresha, a former student at Eastern Bosnia’s Visegrad Primary School, driving through a series of long tunnels hacked into a hillside. Miresha is in many ways still in a psychological tunnel herself. She’s about to attend a school reunion of her classmates at the school, whom she hasn’t

MADRID — Driving to build operations between Spain and North America, Spain’s Secuoya Group, owner of the Madrid studios used by Netflix for its first European Production Hub, has named James Costos, former HBO VP of global licensing and retail, as president of Secuoya Studios, its TV fiction-film content production arm. Secuoya will also open

U.S. production, finance and management firm The Cartel is teaming up with management and production company Untitled Entertainment to develop and produce 10 movies for television and theatrical release as well as international distribution over the next two years. The Cartel and Untitled Entertainment will jointly develop and produce the titles and The Cartel will

Teenagers struggling with sexual identity, women fighting to reconcile their multi-faceted roles in society, and men grappling with the destructive constraints of masculinity are among the themes to be explored in the 2020 edition of the TorinoFilmLab’s FeatureLab, an intensive annual workshop focused on first and second feature film projects at advanced stages of development.

Berlin-based sales company Picture Tree Intl. has picked up international rights to UFA Fiction’s family drama “God You’re Such a Prick” (“Gott, du kannst ein Arsch sein!”), which features Til Schweiger and Heike Makatsch leading a star-studded cast. Inspired by the true story of Stefanie Pape and the book of the same name written by

SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood’s major studios are beginning negotiations today for a successor agreement to the union’s master film and TV contract amid plenty of concern in the industry about how SAG-AFTRA and WGA negotiations will unfold in the pandemic-rocked economic climate. The performers union, which has about 160,000 members, and the Alliance of Motion Picture

“The Night Manager” producer The Ink Factory has extended its co-financing agreement with media investor 127 Wall Productions until 2024. London and L.A.-based independent The Ink Factory said the agreement will allow it to increase development funding and production co-financing capacity across both film and TV. The existing co-financing facility was set up between Hong

More than 400 leading creative figures including Stephen Fry, Grayson Perry, Rufus Wainwright and Simon Callow have warned that the U.K. risks becoming “a cultural wasteland” unless government provides urgent financial support for the creative industries. In an open letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, they called

Film piracy has surged since coronavirus lockdown measures were introduced in March, according to new data from digital piracy research firm Muso. Muso calculated that film piracy increased by over 40% when lockdown measures were enforced, describing the rise as “unprecedented.” Comparing the last seven days of March to the last seven days of February,

Universal Music Group and the Lego Group today announced an exclusive global partnership entailing product, experiences and more that will enable children around the world to explore their creativity through play, by expressing themselves through music, according to the announcement. The partnership is based around the development of a new suite of Lego products launching

World War II fantasy horror movie “Warhunt,” starring Mickey Rourke, has wrapped after it continued shooting during the Covid-19 crisis. The crew on the project, which shot in Riga, capital of Latvia, were allowed to continue working by abiding by government guidelines. These included having to don facemasks and gloves, having their temperature taken twice

Few pop hits of the 1950s were more expressly queer-coded than Doris Day’s Oscar-winning chart-topper “Secret Love.” “At last my heart’s an open door/And my secret love’s no secret anymore,” she trilled, putting a wholesomely straight face on a succinct ode to the cathartic joys of exiting the closet. The song billows wistfully through the