Movies

The world is Bong Joon Ho’s oyster following last Sunday’s Oscar triumph. “Parasite’s” surprise best picture victory was a statement-making moment for the South Korean filmmaker and for Neon, the indie distributor that helped catapult the film into the awards season race and its founder Tom Quinn, who has been a longtime backer of the

The bombshell news about the resignation of the governing board of the Cesar Academy, which distributes France’s equivalent of the Oscars, was greeted with relief within the French film world on Friday. On the heels of an industry-wide backlash, the 21-member board of the Association for the Promotion of Cinema – the organization overseeing the

February 14, 2020 10:57AM PT Sony Pictures’ sequel “Jumanji: The Next Level” has crossed the $300 million box office milestone 63 days after it opened in North America. The film opened in first place at the box office with $60.1 million over the Dec. 13-15 weekend, beating “Frozen 2,” the box office champ of the

February 14, 2020 10:30AM PT David Buckley will score the movie “Unhinged” starring Russell Crowe. Directed by Derrick Borte and written by Carl Ellsworth, the Solstice Studios psychological thriller rooted in a story of road rage is the company’s first theatrical release and is slated to open on Sept. 4. It is currently in post-production.

Jane Austen’s “Emma.” is a world of elegance and refinement; its story centers on class distinction and the power of vanity, and how those cause tension between friends and lovers. The challenge for costumer Alexandra Byrne and production designer Kave Quinn to help director Autumn de Wilde deliver her vision of the classic, which hits theaters

“Sonic the Hedgehog” raced to a solid $3 million at 3,150 North American locations on Thursday night. Meanwhile, Universal’s romantic drama “The Photograph” grossed $650,000 in previews from 2,250 theaters on Thursday night. The figure matches the preview number for “How to Train Your Dragon: the Hidden World,” which opened last year with $55 million. Preview

Rocket Science and Amusement Park have acquired the rights and Amusement Park will produce anti-war drama “All Quiet on the Western Front,” to be directed by BAFTA winner and Emmy nominee Edward Berger (“Patrick Melrose,” “Jack,” “Deutschland ’83”). Daniel Bruehl is attached for the ensemble cast and will executive produce. Rocket Science is handling worldwide

“Mr. Turner” director Mike Leigh will shoot his next feature film this summer with Cornerstone Films, Film4, Ingenious and MediaPro. Details about the film are sparse, but Cornerstone Films will once again handle international sales, with Bleecker Street on board for U.S. distribution – the outfit’s first collaboration with the veteran British director. Entertainment One

Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer for Serbian director Srdan Golubović’s “Otac” (Father), which premieres in the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival. “Father” is the story of an impoverished day laborer whose children are taken by social services after the family’s difficult circumstances drive his wife to commit a desperate

There’s a monster terrorizing screenwriter/co-director Jeremy Gardner’s protagonist in “After Midnight,” and he doesn’t know why, what it is or where it came from. After 83 minutes, we still don’t know, either, but at least it has become clear this is one of those films that “defies categorization” by identifying with a marketable genre it’s

Leading Asia-based film makers Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Fran Borgia and Yulia Evina Bhara (“The Science of Fictions”) are set as producers among the five projects selected to participate in the 2020 edition of the Southeast Asia Fiction Film Lab (SEAFIC). The lab provides eight months of development under the guidance of dedicated script advisers. Palme d’Or

Faint but discernible echoes of Hitchcock and Antonioni abound throughout “You Go to My Head,” a coolly affected yet ineffably captivating drama that builds interest and sustains tension by teasingly frustrating audience expectations at almost every turn. At first, it appears that director Dimitri de Clercq, along with co-scripters Pierre Bourdy and Rosemary Ricchio, have

Billie Eilish has officially filed her James Bond theme, and for anyone who worried that she was too young — dare it be said, too green — for the task, there was no need to worry. The 18-year-old gets it, even if she wasn’t yet born when the Broccolis were commissioning what some of us still

In today’s film news roundup, “Save Yourselves!” and “Becoming” find homes, Cast & Crew buys Media Services, “Parasite” is getting a Criterion special edition and MethodFest unveils early titles.  ACQUISITIONS Bleecker Street has bought worldwide distribution rights to the survivalist romantic comedy “Save Yourselves!” The film, directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson from

February 13, 2020 5:00PM PT Samuel L. Jackson is coming on board an untitled action movie, portraying a hitman coming out of retirement. The project is a return to familiar turf for Jackson, who played the title character in “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” and memorably portrayed gangster Jules Winnfield in “Pulp Fiction,” receiving a best supporting

Tugg Inc., the 9-year-old do-it-yourself releasing platform, has gone out of business after a deal to sell the company fell through. The company’s model provided for individuals to select a film, screening time and nearby theater and then spread the word. Tugg would reserve the theater, manage ticketing and ensure delivery of the film. Pablo

Director Matt Reeves revealed the first look at Robert Pattinson as Batman in his upcoming “The Batman.” In the new footage, set to an ominous score by composer Michael Giacchino, Pattinson steps into a dark frame saturated in red light, as his sleek and angular Batman suit slowly comes into focus. Last September, Pattinson told Variety‘s

Gloria Steinem’s biopic is officially hitting the road, securing domestic distribution from LD Entertainment and Roadside Attractions. Directed by Julie Taymor, “The Glorias” premiered in the official selection at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. It stars several generations of actresses taking on key phases in activist icon Steinem’s life, led by Julianne Moore and Alicia

Vivendi saw its annual revenues jump by 14% to €15.8 billion ($17 billion) in 2019, driven once again by the performance of Universal Music Group which had a record year, and to a lesser extent by Canal Plus Group. Canal Plus Group, which is the parent company of the pay TV group Canal Plus and

The board overseeing the Cesar Academy, which distributes France’s equivalent of the Oscars, has revealed that it will resign following the Cesar Awards ceremony on Feb. 28. As a result, Alain Terzian, a French producer who presides the Cesar Academy and sits on the board of the Association for the Promotion of Cinema, is also

Two years after the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history, leaving 17 dead and 17 others wounded, the painful memories Parkland survivors take with them illustrate those affected by the tragedy are still experiencing residual trauma. For instance, the mouth smell of gunpowder serves as a particular trigger. “Dylan Kraemer, one of the kids

Back in 2016, Matthew A. Cherry put out a call on Twitter looking for 3D artists to help with a project. On Sunday, Cherry was standing on the stage of the Dolby Theatre celebrating his Oscar win for best animated short for “Hair Love.” His triumph comes as Variety continues to celebrate African-American artisans who work

February 13, 2020 10:44AM PT Disney-Pixar’s fantasy film “Onward” is heading for a respectable $45 million opening on the March 6-8 weekend, early tracking showed Thursday. “Onward” is directed by Dan Scanlon from a script he wrote with Keith Bunin and Jason Headley. The story centers on a pair of teenage elf brothers — voiced

“Downhill” feels a lot like it should be a comedy. It looks like one, for starters. It stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the most lauded comedic actress on American television, and Will Ferrell, the “Saturday Night Live” goofball whose caricatures of men and masculinity have carved out an inimitable place in American humor. “Downhill” reads like a

Zoe Kravitz is in the process of curating a pretty dope playlist. After a few catchy early numbers and some recent jams like “Big Little Lies,” the actor, singer, model and now producer is pumping up the volume on her career with new Hulu series “High Fidelity” and, of course, Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” in

It’s a tricky balance, making a movie from a TV show. If the film is a replica, fans would feel ripped off paying for a ticket when they could have turned on the TV. However, if it’s very far afield, fans could also feel cheated. Not to worry with “Impractical Jokers: The Movie,” though: Opening

Amazon Studios has signed on to finance and distribute “The Map of Tiny Perfect Things,” a YA adaptation from Oscar winner Akiva Goldsman and FilmNation. The streamer comes on board a package that included director Ian Samuels (“Sierra Burgess Is a Loser”), and Variety can exclusively report the film’s just-appointed leads: Kathryn Newton (“Big Little

Anna Marsh, the newly appointed CEO of leading European film and TV group Studiocanal, comes off as self-contained and mild-mannered, but her bullish track record at the company and relationships with big-name producers such as David Heyman (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) and Andrew Rona (“Non-Stop”) suggests she has an iron fist in that

Big-screen romantic drama, like romantic comedy, needs a conflict. When two great-looking stars play characters who lock eyes and flirt and get closer and fall in love, the pull of that chemistry is so strong that if there isn’t something to keep them apart, you don’t have a movie — or, at least, that’s the

Hengdian World Studios, one of China’s largest, cautiously reopened for business today after it shut down all production in recent weeks to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus. The move comes a day after Chinese authorities released an official statement pledging government support for the struggling entertainment sector.  Huge portions of the world’s second