Swanning around Italy like side characters from the second season of “The White Lotus,” well-to-do gay couple Dom (Nick Kroll) and Cole (Andrew Rannells) have decided the world is against them. As Americans, they live at a time in a country when they can legally get married, adopt and do pretty much everything straight people
Movies
“Road House” is an infectiously stylish piece of slumming. It’s a remake of the 1989 Patrick Swayze cheeseball action cult film, and it’s staged with a verve and wit and dynamic grittiness that make the original film look even more rickety than it once did. Doug Liman, the director of the new “Road House,” has
Hannah Einbinder was moved to tears. Nick Thune was moved to sing. John Leguizamo shared hard truths. Samantha Bee rallied the crowd on behalf of womens rights. And everyone who took part in Variety’s Power of Comedy Awards on Friday made fun of the awards themselves, now in their second year at SXSW in Austin,
Doug Liman got a standing ovation at the SXSW premiere of his remake of “Road House” — an event that he originally promised he’d boycott. Festivalgoers chanted his name — “Doug! Doug! Doug!” — at the end of a post-screening Q&A after star Jake Gyllenhaal called out to the director, who was seated among the
Stormy Daniels cried and laughed during the SXSW world premiere of “Stormy,” a Peacock documentary about the porn star who made national headlines when it was revealed that Donald Trump‘s lawyer Michael Cohen paid her $130,000 to keep quiet about her alleged affair with the former president. “Fuck Trump,” Daniels said onstage following the March 8 screening. Directed
A scattered but intimate drama about a queer immigrant left adrift, Marco Calvani’s “High Tide” boasts an impeccable leading performance that buoys the movie even at its weakest. Strung together by gentle moments, it follows Brazilian émigré Lourenço (Marco Pigossi) as he anticipates the return of his American lover in Provincetown — Massachusetts’ gay promised
“Where’s the outrage?” That’s the theme that underlies just about every news report on Donald Trump, and nearly every documentary that spins around him. That would include “Stormy,” a reasonably absorbing film that presents the Stormy Daniels saga from Daniels’ point-of-view, revealing her to be a compelling and highly conflicted figure. The movie, which premiered
From its first frames, “Dead Mail” feels dangerous. Grainy footage shows a chained man desperately crawling out of a house to a mailbox, trying to mail a blood-soaked letter alerting someone to his address. Hazy synth notes dot the soundtrack. As he flees in terror, the film looks grainy and warm, something you’d stumble on
SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses plot twists in the new movie “Imaginary.“ To the public, DeWanda Wise is the glamorous heart of movies like “The Harder They Fall” and “Jurassic World Dominion,” but she consistently describes herself as a “nerdy actor.” While she plays it cool as Jessica, the hero battling a sinister teddy bear
SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses major plot points for “Kung Fu Panda 4,” now playing in movie theaters. Everyone’s favorite panda Po is back in “Kung Fu Panda 4,” with Jack Black returning to voice the martial arts master. This time, he’s on a grand adventure as he sets out to become the spiritual leader of
The Oscars have a long history of shocking surprises and jaw-dropping upsets. The 96-year-old organization has seen its fair share of moments that put them in hot water, or have aged incredibly poorly. While some wins were anticipated by few, others left audiences and critics alike scratching their heads in disbelief. From “How Green Was
“Barbie” and “Ahsoka” received top honors at the 61st annual International Cinematographers Guild (ICG) Publicists Awards luncheon at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Friday. The awards honor individual publicists and unit still photographers who further publicity campaigns for film,TV and entertainment journalists. Variety’s senior entertainment reporter Angelique Jackson earned a nomination from ICG in the
The Malaga Film Festival‘s MAFIZ-Spanish Screenings Content industry section, in its third edition once again put the spotlight on Spain’s impressive cinematic output, presenting a total of 222 Spanish productions. They included four market premieres, four titles in the fest’s official selection, 21 that have sold internationally as remakes, 38 in market screenings and 11
Martin Scorsese can do a lot of things — just don’t ask him to dance. The 81-year-old filmmaker’s daughter Francesca says her dad has been open to do most anything in their wildly popular TikToks, but he’s not so keen on busting a move. “He refuses to do dances,” Francesca told me Wednesday at Vanity
“Los caminantes de la calle,” directed by Argentina’s Juan Martín Hsu, Chilean Ignacio Pávez’s docu-fiction drama “An Amputee” and Uruguayan Lorenzo Tocco’s “For God’s Sake” proved the biggest winners at the Malaga Festival’s MAFIZ industry area awards, announced at a ceremony on Friday night. Covering Malaga’s Work in Progress showcase, its Málaga Festival Fund Co-Production
MALAGA, Spain — “The Chapel,” from “Piggy” director Carlota Pereda, Celia Rico’s competition title “Little Loves,” loved by a lot of critics, and “Free Falling,” produced by “Society of the Snow’s” J.A. Bayona and that film’s producer Belén Atienza, looked like three of the hottest tickets at this week’s Malaga market and Spanish Screenings which
Less than a year after announcing dual leadership at the production and distribution venture WonderHill Studios, veteran producers Bob Yari and Marvin Peart are parting ways. The pair will disband as co-CEOs of the company, though Yari will remain an investor. The split is amicable, individuals familiar with the company said, and the men feel
Vivendi saw its revenues rise by 9.5% to €10.5 billion ($11.4 billion) in 2023, bolstered by the performance of Canal+ Group and Havas, as well as the integration of French media and publishing giant Lagardere in December. Vivendi also posted a net profit of $443 million (€405 million). Canal+ Group, which comprises pay TV giant
It’s official: the 2024 American Film Market is moving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. The Independent Film & Television Alliance and its board of directors announced Friday that the AFM, its industry flagship event, will relocate to Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas for its 45th edition, scheduled for Nov. 5-10, 2024. The move,
Chloe Pirrie (“The Queen’s Gambit’) headlines psycho-thriller “Kryptic,” which will have its world premiere at SXSW‘s Midnighter strand. A first clip has been unveiled for the film. The film follows Kay (Pirrie), who is in trouble. A strange encounter in the woods has left her with no memory. Only one thing is certain: she is
What Oscar records will be broken and which ones will remain intact at the 96th Academy Awards ceremony March 10. With a win, Billie Eilish, 22, and Finneas, 26, would become the youngest artists ever to win two Oscars before the age of 30. The pair won for James Bond theme “No Time to Die”
The first time Jimmy Kimmel showed up at the Oscars, he didn’t have a ticket. It was the mid-1990s, back when he was on KROQ’s “Kevin & Bean” morning drive-time show, and he and host Kevin Ryder decided to sneak into the Academy Awards Governors Ball. “I remember us getting there 9 o’clock in the
Paris-based Eurozoom – the independent outfit that has recently backed “Suzume,” “Four Souls of Coyote,” and “Fox and Hare Save the Forest,” among others – was named distributor of the year at the recently wrapped Cartoon Movie, which ran from March 5 – 7 in Bordeaux. “Mars Express” director Jérémie Périn and “Mavka, The Forest
David Thion, the French producer of Justine Triet‘s best picture contender “Anatomy of a Fall,” is preparing a raft of projects helmed by daring female directors including Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet (“Anais in Love”) and Emily Atef (“More Than Ever”). Speaking to Variety ahead of the Oscars, Thion said he and Marie-Ange Luciani, who also produced “Anatomy of
It’s Game 6 of the 1971 World Series. Orioles-Pirates. Tied game, bottom of the ninth, two outs. Mark Belanger is on first when Don Buford rips a double down the line. Belanger should score easily on the play. Not today. In right field, the Pirates’ Roberto Clemente plays the carom perfectly — not easy in
Many of cinema’s hard men are notorious softies in real life. Ray Winstone may well be one of those, even if he admits to not looking particularly approachable. “My wife always says to me, ‘Why do you look like you’re going to kill someone when you walk into a room?’” he tells Variety. “But I
Two legendary heroes are battling at the box office this weekend: the Dragon Warrior and the Lisan al Gaib. “Kung Fu Panda 4” and “Dune: Part Two” will duke it out at the box office. So far, Universal’s animated, family friendly flick has made $3.8 million in previews at the box office from 4,035 North
Paris-based sales outfit Cat&Docs has acquired “Unclickable,” Greek director Babis Makridis’ investigation into the murky world of digital ad fraud, ahead of its world premiere March 10 at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. Variety has been given exclusive access to the film’s trailer (see below). “Unclickable” follows a former tech executive who gathers a team of
Simmering inner turmoil, regret and a relationship on the mend feature as themes in “Little Loves” (“Los Pequeños Amores”), Spanish filmmaker Celia Rico‘s anticipated second feature, which premiered in competition this week at the Málaga Film Festival. Rico’s 2018 feature debut, “Journey to a Mother’s Room,” won the Youth Jury Award at San Sebastian Film
Akira Toriyama, the highly influential Japanese manga artist who created the medium-defining franchise “Dragon Ball” in the 1980’s and shepherded its growth as it became a global phenomenon, died March 1 due to an acute subdural hematoma. He was 68. Toriyama’s death was confirmed by the official “Dragon Ball” website, which posted a statement honoring