Movies

Allen Garfield, an actor who appeared in movies like “Nashville” and “The Stunt Man,” has died of coronavirus, according to his “Nashville” co-star Ronee Blakely. He was 80. “RIP Allen Garfield, the great actor who played my husband in “Nashville”, has died today of Covid; I hang my head in tears; condolences to family and

In today’s film news roundup, Lionsgate’s new studio is getting final financing, “American Nurse’ is getting re-released, Sony is launching Kid Zone and the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s relief fund has given out $1 million. STUDIO FINANCING Lionsgate, Great Point Capital Management and real estate company National Resources have secured a $40 million loan from CIT Bank

Police in Crowley, La., had to apologize after using the siren from the horror franchise “The Purge” to signal a curfew during the city’s quarantine. In order to stop the spread of coronavirus, the city has implemented a 9 p.m. curfew for residents, but many found the noise chosen for the siren eerily familiar. Louisiana

Chernin Entertainment has signed a first-look deal for feature films with Netflix. The companies confirmed the deal on Tuesday. Chernin’s previous first-look deal had been through 20th Century Fox, but that agreement went away earlier this year after Disney absorbed the Fox feature film operations last year. Variety reported exclusively in January that Chernin Entertainment would

Two male residents at the Motion Picture Television Fund’s skilled nursing facility in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills have died of complications from COVID-19. The first death occurred on Monday and the second took place on Tuesday, according to Bob Beitcher, president and CEO of the Motion Picture & Television Fund. Beitcher did

There may be some changes in store for the 2021 SAG Awards because of the coronavirus pandemic. SAG hosted its annual spring meeting for about 120 film executives and awards consultants on Tuesday to discuss awards season and the 27th annual ceremony, which is set to take place on Jan. 24. SAG is considering changing

Some kids are raised by a single mother, while others may have two moms. There are plenty out there who’ve been adopted, or else share their parents with half-siblings from multiple marriages. For every “normal family” we see on TV, there are countless others in the real world that defy all the stereotypes — although

Universal Pictures has postponed “Nobody,” an action thriller starring Bob Odenkirk, from Aug. 14, 2020, to Feb. 26, 2021. It’s the latest summer movie to vacate its release date as theaters remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Every major studio has postponed at least part of its summer movie slate— a group that includes

Film industry veteran executive and producer Pamela Abdy has been named president of MGM Motion Picture Group, three months after Jonathan Glickman departed the post. MGM Film Group chairman Michael De Luca made the announcement Tuesday. Abdy will oversee development, production and post-production for all MGM and Orion films, reporting to De Luca. De Luca, the

Universal Pictures is remaking “The Night of the Hunter,” a 1955 film adaptation based on the novel by Davis Grubb. Matt Orton (“Operation Finale”) is penning the script. Though little is known about the new project, it is expected to be a contemporary version of the original thriller, rather than a period piece. “The Night

In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, the Cannes Film Festival won’t take the virtual route if it can’t be hosted as a physical event, festival director Thierry Fremaux has confirmed. “(For) Cannes, its soul, its history, its efficiency, it’s a model that wouldn’t work. What is a digital festival? A digital competition? We should

Camaron Engels, best known for Netflix teen show “Malibu Rescue,” and cast in the streamer’s upcoming series “Clickbait,” is to play Romeo in a new film adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet,” produced by Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov and Igor Tsay, whose movie “Searching” raked in $75 million. The project, with the working title “R#J,” is

The Annecy Animation Film Festival, the world’s leading animation event, has canceled this year’s edition due to the coronavirus pandemic. Annecy, scheduled to run June 15-20, was preparing to celebrate its 60th anniversary. Among the prestigious guests that were expected to attend were Wes Anderson, whose “Fantastic Mr Fox” won best feature at Annecy in

Chinese media investor Starlight Culture Entertainment has set up an animation joint venture with David Steward II’s Lion Forge, one of the companies behind Oscar-winning short film “Hair Love.” Among the venture’s first projects is a short focusing on the coronavirus pandemic, and its impact on humans and other animals. Production will begin immediately. The

The Melbourne International Film Festival, which was to have been held in August, has been canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak. Organizers said that the accompanying 37 Degrees South Market and the Accelerator Lab would also not go ahead this year. Australia is currently in a state of lockdown in order to ensure social

Cineworld, the world’s second largest movie theater business, has decided to suspend payments of  dividends to its stockholders. The freeze on payments applies to the 2019 fourth quarter dividend of 4.25c per share and upcoming 2020 quarterly dividends. In addition, the executive directors have “voluntarily agreed to defer payment of their full salaries and any

The Singapore International Film Festival has shaken up its leadership ahead of a 31st edition that is currently on course to take place from November. Experienced arts manager, Emily Hoe has been hired as the festival’s executive director. She takes over from Yuni Hadi, who held the role since 2014. Kuo Ming-Jung, who was last

In today’s film news roundup, “Surviving Supercon” releases its trailer prior to its opening night slot of the Florida Film Festival, a coronavirus movie has completed production, Javier Bardem’s “The Roads Not Taken” gets a virtual release and 1606 Studio adds to its staff. FILM FESTIVAL Abyssmal Entertainment has released its first trailer exclusively to

Eddie Kramer, an engineer famous to rock fans for his work with Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, KISS and the Beatles, will be the subject of a feature documentary, “From the Other Side of the Glass,” with Joe Berlinger (“Metallica: Some Kind of Monster”) and Spencer Proffer (“Chasing Trane”) among those on board as producers, and

American Media Inc. executive Dylan Howard is out after more than a decade at the publishing company, Variety has learned exclusively. Howard’s contract, which expired on March 31, was not renewed. Reasons for his departure were not immediately clear, though rumors of his exit had been brewing internally at the owner of Us Weekly and

Aside from his acting talents, Ed Helms proved he’s certainly a jack-off-all trades as he showed off his guitar skills for Variety’s first episode of “Show & Tell” “I’m very passionate about instruments. I have lots of instruments, lots of guitars, banjos, ukuleles, you name it and I love to play them,” Helms revealed. The

George Ogilvie, who co-directed on the third Mad Max film, “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,” along with George Miller, and led Russell Crowe in his film screen debut in “The Crossing,” has died in Australia. He was 89. For the 1985 “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome,” Ogilvie focused on working with the cast on dialogue and dramatization

Actress Honor Blackman, best known for her portrayal of Bond girl Pussy Galore in “Goldfinger” and her recurring role in the TV series “The Avengers,” has died. She was 94. Blackman’s family confirmed the news to The Guardian, commending her “beauty, brains and physical prowess.” “As well as being a much-adored mother and grandmother, Honor

J.K. Rowling has joined the slew of stars and public figures to come forward with coronavirus diagnoses. Rowling shared on Twitter Monday that although she has not been formally tested for the virus, she has experienced all of the symptoms of COVID-19 over the past two weeks, including respiratory problems. Rowling, who said she “fully

Ezra Miller appears to have choked a woman at a bar in Reykjavik, Iceland in a video that surfaced online late Sunday night. Despite confusion online over whether the video was a joke — with memes already emerging on Twitter, where Miller’s name has been trending — a source at the establishment, Prikið Kaffihús, has confirmed

Matthew Belloni resigned as editorial director of The Hollywood Reporter due to intense conflicts with Modi Wiczyk and Asif Satchu, the co-CEOs of the trade’s owners, Valence Media, over their attempts to meddle with the publication’s editorial independence. Valence had been trying to convince Belloni to give them a head’s up about stories that negatively

IFC Films has nabbed U.S. rights to “Tesla,” the story of inventor Nikola Tesla and his efforts to build a revolutionary electrical system. The purchase extends IFC’s long relationship with Ethan Hawke, who stars as Tesla and who has previously partnered with the studio on such films as “Boyhood” and “Blaze.” The film also reunites

Skydance Media has acquired the animation unit of Madrid-based Ilion Studios. The new entity will be rechristened Skydance Animation Madrid. The companies had been working together for some time. The acquisition gives animation chief John Lasseter control over all aspects of production. Skydance and Ilion, both of which are privately held, did not disclose a

Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe says he is ready to declare a state of emergency from as early as Tuesday, as part of a growing response to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The declaration would affect Tokyo, second city Osaka and five other densely populated prefectures. The Abe government had attempted to resist emergency legislation, but

The Venice Film Festival is forging ahead with preparations for the September 2-12 event despite coronavirus concerns, and ruling out the possibility that the fest could go digital — at least not in its entirety. “The Venice Film Festival cannot be replaced by an online event,” a Venice spokesman told Variety on Monday. He added