Movies

The Hong Kong International Film Festival will be postponed from its scheduled date in March and early April. The decision was a response to the growing fear of the novel coronavirus which has spread from mainland China to reach more than 20 countries and territories so far. The festival’s organizer, the Hong Kong International Film

Hong Kong FilMart, Asia’s largest film and TV trade fair, will be postponed from its scheduled date in March to a new slot in August. The decision was a response to the growing fear of the novel coronavirus which has spread from mainland China to reach more than 20 countries and territories so far. The

February 12, 2020 10:30PM PT The annual Far East Film Festival in Udine, Italy is to add a works-in-progress section to its Focus Asia industry services for the first time this year. The section will be curated by Marie-Pierre Valle, an executive with sales agency Wild Bunch. It will focus on Asian films in post-production,

For all the kerfuffle that erupted in the spring of 2019 over the visual design of Sonic the Hedgehog, the blue-furred speed-demon mascot of the Sega video game–turned–live-action kiddie adventure, you wish that the creators of “Sonic the Hedgehog,” who went back and redesigned the character after being pressured (I almost wrote bullied) by his

A new survey has revealed a major mental health crisis is permeating the U.K. film and TV industry, with close to 90% of off-screen professionals experiencing mental health issues on the job – significantly worse than the general population, in which 65% struggle with mental health at work. Commissioned by The Film and TV Charity,

By its very nature, science is supposed to be an impartial judge. But is it really? In her thought-provoking documentary “Coded Bias,” director Shalini Kantayya questions the neutrality of technology, arguing that computers have a built-in bias that reflects the faulty assumptions of the people (usually men) who program them. Her emphasis is on the

In today’s film news roundup, “Apollo 13” gets a three-day re-release, “Calm With Horses” gets a home, and Malin Akerman’s action-comedy “Chick Fight” rounds out its cast. ANNIVERSARY RELEASE “Apollo 13” will be re-released to 600 North American theaters on April 5, 6 and 8, nearly 50 years after the liftoff of the ill-fated 1970

Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions has ruled the box office when it comes to the horror genre in recent years, so when “The Hunt” cancelled its planned September 2019 release, it was a major shock. The film — a satiric thriller that follows a group of liberal elites who try to track down and kill “red

Winner of both prizes awarded in the Next category of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, “I Carry You With Me” tells the true story of an undocumented gay couple from Mexico who risk their lives for love, liberty and the American Dream. Making her first foray into narrative filmmaking, documentary helmer Heidi Ewing began the

With new horizons to pursue, “Aladdin” is getting a sequel. Following the massive success of last summer’s reboot, Disney is developing a follow-up to the film with writers John Gatins and Andrea Berloff. Sources say the movie is in early development, but after spending the last six months figuring out what direction to take the

February 12, 2020 4:00PM PT Another hit game is getting the big-screen treatment. Sony Pictures is partnering with South Korean game developer Smilegate on the film adaptation of the mega-hit game “Crossfire.” Chuck Hogan penned the movie from “Fast and Furious” producer Neal H. Moritz. Tencent Pictures will co-produce and co-finance the movie, which is

Natalie Portman has responded to Rose McGowan’s social media critique of her red carpet protest at the Oscars. The “Black Swan” star created a stir with her decision to wear a black and gold Dior dress that included a cape embroidered with the names of snubbed female directors. However, her act of haute couture defiance

TaleFlick, an online platform that provides writers with a chance to showcase their work to producers and studios, is partnering with HarperCollins Publishers. The collaboration between the companies will allow the publisher to upload thousands of titles across an array of genres, and provide HarperCollins authors the opportunity to have their titles made more accessible

February 12, 2020 11:58AM PT Awkwafina is set to star in “The Baccarat Machine,” a gambling drama inspired by a Cigar Aficionado article by Michael Kaplan. The film, set up at SK Global, centers on Cheung Yin “Kelly” Sun and her unlikely partnership with poker player Phil Ivey. Sun amassing millions of dollars of winnings

February 12, 2020 11:50AM PT Michael B. Jordan has joined Christian Bale and Margot Robbie in David O. Russell’s untitled new film at New Regency. Russell will direct from his own script. Plot details are being kept under wraps. Executive are hoping to start production in the spring. Matthew Budman (“Joy,” “American Hustle”) is producing.

Rick Moranis is leaving his decades-long hiatus from live-action acting to join Disney’s sequel to its 1989 blockbuster “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,” Variety has confirmed. Moranis will reprise his role as Wayne Szalinski, the crackpot scientist who accidentally shrunk his children (and the neighbor’s kids), then accidentally made his infant child enormous in 1992’s “Honey, I

Whatever you do, don’t ask “To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You” star Lana Condor if she’s Team Peter or Team John Ambrose. “This question keeps me up at night. It does,” Condor told Variety of the love triangle her character, Lara Jean, finds herself in the sequel to Netflix’s teen rom-com “To

Many in Hollywood would concur that this year’s Oscar show was by far one of the best. The pacing of the three-hour-plus telecast was better, as was the choice of some offbeat musical acts like Eminem and Billie Eilish. These and the momentous triumphs of director-writer Bong Joon Ho and his exceptionally original film, “Parasite,”

February 12, 2020 9:44AM PT Tony, Grammy and Emmy winner Cynthia Erivo is bringing her podcast “Carrier” to the big screen. The Oscar nominee will star in and produce the sci-fi thriller for Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners. The movie is based on the podcast “Carrier,” created by audio studio QCode and Dan Blank, who will

Rose McGowan called Natalie Portman a “fraud” for her Oscars ensemble that featured the names of snubbed female directors, including Greta Gerwig, Marielle Heller and Lorene Scafaria. “The kind of protest that gets rave reviews from the mainstream media for its bravery. Brave? No, not by a long shot. More like an actress acting the

February 12, 2020 7:30AM PT For her directorial debut, Maggie Gyllenhaal has tapped Oscar-winner Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, Jessie Buckley and Peter Sarsgaard to star in the feature adaptation of “The Lost Daughter.” Gyllenhaal also penned the script, which is based on the novel by best-selling author Elena Ferrante. “The Lost Daughter” tells the story

The Writers Guild of America has made progress in recent weeks in enlisting small- and medium-sized Hollywood talent agencies to agree to its new rules of engagement for representing guild members. The town’s five largest agencies have also made their own progress in recent weeks by resuming working relationships with dozens — if not hundreds,

The morning after the Academy Awards, Taika Waititi — the winner of the adapted screenplay Oscar for “Jojo Rabbit” — is drinking a Pedialyte. But however hungover the filmmaker might be, it does not stop him from hamming it up for a photo shoot. He writhes on a hotel room couch, folds himself into an

MADRID —  Brussels-based sales agent Best Friend Forever has dropped a first trailer for Colombian Camilo Restrepo’s feature debut “Los Conductos,” a movie which captures the shattered mental landscape of a man on the run from a sect. Winner of last year’s Mar del Plata Work in Progress competition, Restrepo’s has scored a prime festival

Veteran festival programmer, Anderson Le has teamed up with a group of Asian-American and Asian filmmakers to launch creative studio East. Its objective is hatching pan-Asian stories for a global audience. The new outfit will have offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Los Angeles and have activities that stretch from development, financing and production

The glitz of the annual Hong Kong Film Awards will be put to one side this year as a response to the coronavirus outbreak. The awards’ organizing committee said that it remains important to recognize filmmakers efforts. But the awards show will shift from its scheduled mid-April slot and change its format to avoid creating

February 12, 2020 12:02AM PT Picture Tree Intl. has secured global sales rights of Berlin comedy “Nightlife,” directed by Simon Verhoeven, following his last film “Welcome to Germany,” which was Germany’s comic relief to the refugee crisis. The film sold to more than 60 territories and screened at more than 50 festivals worldwide, while being

MADRID — Swooping on one of the buzzed-up high-profile Spanish-language titles at Ventana Sur, Film Factory Entertainment has acquired world sales rights to “El Olvido Que Seremos” (“Forgotten We’ll Be”), starring Javier Cámara (“Talk to Her”) and directed by Academy Award winning writer-director Fernando Trueba (“Belle Epoque”). Produced by Dago García Producciones for Caracol TV,

Following her Oscar-nominated turn in “Bombshell,” Margot Robbie looks to have found her next project, signing on to co-star opposite Christian Bale in a new David O. Russell film at New Regency. Russell would direct from his own script. Plot details are being kept under wraps. Matthew Budman, an executive producer on “Joy” and “American

In today’s film news roundup, “Postscript,” “Apeirogon” and “Porgy and Bess” are all being developed as feature films, AMC’s Adam Aron will be honored at CinemaCon and SXSW drama “South Mountain” has found distribution. PAGE TO SCREEN “P.S. I Love You” is finally getting a sequel. Alcon Entertainment has acquired film rights to “Postscript,” the