Netflix has placed an order for “Vinterviken 2021,” a contemporary adaptation of the acclaimed 1993 Mats Wohl novel, “Vinterviken,” the U.S. streaming giant announced Thursday. In a coup for Endemol Shine’s EMEA scripted division, “Vinterviken 2021” will be produced by Filmlance International, part of the Endemol Shine Group and producer of the original “The Bridge”
Movies
With the global premiere of National Geographic’s “Jane Goodall: The Hope” on Earth Day (April 22) and the April 19 premiere of the first two episodes of Michael Jordan series “Last Dance” — a ratings slam-dunk for ESPN — it’s deceptively easy to think all is right in the documentary world. The coronavirus pandemic has
In today’s film news roundup, Michael B. Jordan’s “Without Remorse” and the fourth “Jackass” movie are delayed, “Algorithm: Bliss” gets a release date, “Bad Trip” is released briefly, and AFI gets a $3 million gift. RELEASE DATES Paramount Pictures has decided to move its Michael B. Jordan spy thriller “Without Remorse” back two weeks from
AMC Theatres was sued on Wednesday for failing to pay the April rent to the owners of a shopping mall in Hialeah, Fla. AMC informed landlords last month that it would not be paying rent because all of its theaters are closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. Palm Springs Mile Associates, Ltd., filed suit in
Every night at 7 p.m., Sebastian Stan peers outside the window of his Manhattan apartment and cheers. It’s become a nightly ritual for most New Yorkers to honor doctors, nurses and other essential workers who are on the frontlines of the coronavirus crisis. “It was crazy the other day,” Stan tells Variety. “There was a
Commercial bankers spent much of the past few weeks working round the clock processing loan applications for the Small Business Administration’s coronavirus relief loans known as the Paycheck Protection Program. And they’re about to do it again as the program designed to protect jobs at companies with 500 or fewer employees is poised to receive
Get ready for a Fairy Godmother like no other. Billy Porter plays the iconic character in the upcoming “Cinderella” remake. He describes his take on the Fairy Godmother as “genderless” and “non-conforming.” “Magic is genderless,” Porter said during on an appearance on “Variety Live” on Tuesday night. “We have all these sort of genders that
Karen and Barry Mason were an average couple living the 1980s Southern California dream — a humble home in West Hollywood, three healthy children, weekly services at a synagogue in the San Fernando Valley and a small business to call their own. That business, unbeknownst to friends at barbecues and PTA meetings, was at one
Cost-cutting measures at Hollywood conglomerate Endeavor will affect up to one-third of the company’s workforce by the end of May, Variety has learned. The cuts will manifest as layoffs, reduced pay for reduced hours for select employees and furloughs, a company spokesperson said. Endeavor currently employs 7,500 people worldwide in more than 90 offices. The
The state of Georgia is aiming to be among the first to restart its economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. But in the state’s sizable entertainment sector, nobody is raring to get back to work just yet. It’s not even clear that Georgia is over the worst of COVID-19, and several insiders say
Geraldine Viswanathan’s first audition was for the Hunter School of the Performing Arts in her native Australia when she was just 5 years old. “I have no recollection of it, but apparently I did have to pretend to walk a dog,” she says on today’s episode of the Variety and iHeart podcast “The Big Ticket.”
When “Bad Education” premiered to a packed theater at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival in September, it drew enthusiastic reviews, and raves for star Hugh Jackman — Variety chief film critic Peter Debruge wrote of Jackman’s performance, “‘Bad Education’ is the best work he’s ever done.” Awards talk began immediately. Directed by Cory Finley (“Thoroughbreds”)
Shirley Knight, who was twice Oscar nominated for best supporting actress, for “The Dark at the Top of the Stairs” (1960) and “Sweet Bird of Youth” (1962), and won a Tony and three Emmys, died on Wednesday of natural causes in San Marcos, Texas. She was 83. Her daughter, actress Kaitlin Hopkins, paid tribute to
Wear the real-life May Queen dress donned by Florence Pugh in Ari Aster’s “Midsommar,” speed in the racecar bed from the Safdie brothers’ “Uncut Gems” and wear Rue’s hoodie from “Euphoria” — all for a good cause! A24 is auctioning off a plethora of props from their indie offerings, and all the proceeds are going
Brad Bird knows his classics, and he’ll share 20 of his favorite films this season on Turner Classic Movies’ “The Essentials” with TCM Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz. Bird — known for such films as “The Iron Giant,” “Ratatouille,” “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” and “The Incredibles” — curated this season’s selection, which will air Saturdays
The BFI has announced the 20 producers and production companies that are set to share up to £2 million ($2.5 million) in funding through its Vision Awards. The fourth edition of the coveted BFI Vision Awards, which cover a two-year period, provides a maximum of £50,000 ($62,000) per year to each of the 20 producers
A flashing red light to the green power movement, “Planet of the Humans” offers disillusioning evidence that much of what’s currently promoted as renewable energy is ineffectual, wasteful and far from “clean.” Released to YouTube on the eve of Earth Day’s 50th anniversary, it’s a provocative if straight-up depressing takedown of brand-name environmentalism that offers
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to halt film productions across the country, the Freelancers Union and a coalition of 25 independent film and media groups have called on the federal government to support its members. The coalition’s request calls upon Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and congressional members across the country
When the organizers of the Venice Film Festival announced on Monday that, yes, the festival would take place in September, you could read their assertion as a statement of hope, obstinancy, or sheer denial. Or maybe all of the above. At this moment, the world of film festivals may seem less important than many other
IFC Films is offering embattled indie theaters hundreds of films from its library to screen when they re-open from their mass COVID-19 related shutdown. The movies, which include such IFC classics as “Y Tu Mama Tambien” and “Boyhood,” will be made available to cinemas without any rental fees. The retrospective program boasts roughly 200 films.
Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner are set to write a live-action film adaptation of the worldwide hit manga series “One Punch Man” for Sony Pictures. Avi Arad and Ari Arad of Arad Productions are producing the film. Hugely popular both in Japan and around the world, “One Punch Man” follows the story of Saitama, a
Chris Pine is in negotiations to star in a reboot of “The Saint,” based on the 1920s book series written by Leslie Charteris. The movie follows Simon Templar, better known as The Saint, a Robin Hood-esque criminal and thief for hire who goes on a globetrotting adventure. Dexter Fletcher (“Rocketman”) will direct the film and
Venice Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera is beginning to zero in on the event’s upcoming edition in September, which will necessarily be “experimental,” with far fewer U.S. talent on the red carpet and a greater European presence. Speaking Tuesday to Italian news agency ANSA — which has become the fest’s unofficial communication tool during
Millie Bobby Brown’s newest film is coming to Netflix. The streaming site has acquired the global rights, excluding China, to Legendary Entertainment’s “Enola Holmes,” in which Brown plays the younger sister of Sherlock Holmes. The film tells the story of the younger Holmes, who is a gifted super-sleuth in her own right and often outsmarts
Rosalie Varda, a seasoned French film producer who is the daughter of late New Wave filmmaking icons Agnes Varda and Jacques Demy, has been appointed senior advisor at MK2 Films. MK2 Films is part of the arthouse production, sales and exhibition group headed by Nathanael and Elisha Karmitz which had five movies in competition at
“The Willoughbys” hits Netflix this Wednesday, the latest in the streaming platform’s slate of animated, family-friendly features. Based on the Lois Lowry books, the film follows the four Willoughby children, who live in a house where their self-centered parents neglect them, depriving them of love. The children devise a plan to send their parents on
Switzerland’s Rita Productions, producer of Academy Award-nominated “My Life as a Courgette,” is re-teaming with France’s Silex Films, the company behind France Televisions’ Slash hit series “Stalk,” to develop “Witch!” (“Sorciere!”). Aiming to rehabilitate the figure of the witch in contemporary society, doc-feature “Witch!” is based on the bestselling essay by Mona Chollet, “Witches, the
U.K.-based stuntwoman Olivia Jackson has won the latest stage in a long battle for damages following life-changing injuries she sustained during the filming of “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” in 2015. Standing in for Milla Jovovich, Jackson was driving a motorcycle that collided head-on with a camera attached to a boom that extended from a
In today’s film news roundup, Netflix dates “The Lovebirds,” Goldcrest Post hires a veteran executive and the documentaries “American Heretics” and “Anthropocene: The Human Epoch” are getting free showings. RELEASE DATE Streaming giant Netflix has set a May 22 launch date for its Issa Rae–Kumail Nanjiani romantic comedy “The Lovebirds,” directed by Michael Showalter. “The Lovebirds”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will allow movie theaters to reopen starting April 27, but exhibition insiders stress that it would be nearly impossible for most major chains to start business back up by next week. Movie theater circuits believe that it re-opening won’t just be like flicking a switch. AMC Theaters, Regal Cinemas, Cinemark and