Several Sundance titles this year have inevitably addressed issues key to the #MeToo movement, many in sophisticatedly provocative ways — notably “Promising Young Woman.” Then there’s “Run Sweetheart Run,” which starts out as a crude Date From Hell thriller, then veers into garish supernatural horror. This latest from writer-director Shana Feste (“Country Strong,” the “Endless
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Adam Sandler may have been snubbed by the Academy, but just like when he lost his high school yearbook superlative for “best looking” to some “feather-headed douchebag,” he’s taking it all in stride. “Tonight as I look around this room, I realize the Independent Spirit Awards are the best personality awards of Hollywood,” he said
The 35th Film Independent Spirit Awards took place on the Santa Monica beach this Saturday, and the spirit of the show’s independence from the Academy Awards — and the Hollywood studio system at large — was on ready and, at times, anxious display in the press room backstage. “The Farewell” — totally shut out at
An intimate group of executives, talent and journalists gathered in Hollywood on Friday evening to celebrate the life of Joyce Sevilla, a veteran publicist and brand marketing whiz who died unexpectedly last week. Held only blocks away from the bustle of the Academy Awards setup at Hollywood and Highland, restauranteur Salvatore Aurora closed his Sunset
February 8, 2020 2:06PM PT On Saturday, Jennifer Lopez defended her recent Super Bowl halftime with Shakira, which was criticized by some as being “too sexy.” “I think that’s honestly silliness,” she told Variety at the Independent Spirit Awards. Lopez and Shakira’s halftime performance on Sunday, which scored rave reviews otherwise, featured pole-dancing, a children’s
If you watch “Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words” looking for a clue as to Thomas’ inner workings, a key to who Clarence Thomas really is, then you’ll have to wait a while before it arrives. But it does. The reason it takes so long is that Thomas, dressed in a red tie,
February 8, 2020 12:38PM PT This exquisite-corpse narrative by numerous Miami-based directors is an absurdist delight until it wears out its welcome. As if to apologetically clear the cinematic air for Miami, “cigarette” power boats, and art in general after the atrocity of 2018’s John Travolta vehicle “Speed Kills,” “Omniboat” applies a brisk scrub of
“Pictures are for entertainment — messages should be delivered by Western Union.” The line has been variously attributed to half a dozen old-school Hollywood producers, from Samuel Goldwyn to Frank Capra, but the sentiment captures how classic studio types endeavored to separate political statements from popular cinema. In recent years, however, pundits have been pressuring
The 35th annual Spirit Awards, honoring the best in independent cinema, are currently underway in Santa Monica. Hosted by Aubrey Plaza, this year’s nominees include “The Lighthouse” and “Uncut Gems,” which scored five nods apiece, as well as “The Farewell,” “Honey Boy,” and “Marriage Story.” The Safdie brothers’ “Uncut Gems,” Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life,”
Aubrey Plaza will return to host the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday in Santa Monica. The 35th annual Spirit Awards are set to air live on the IFC Channel beginning at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT. The network will live stream the ceremony on its website, though audiences will need a cable login to watch.
Orson Bean, the prolific character actor known for his work in “Being John Malkovich,” “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman” and a host of TV shows, died Friday after being hit by twice by cars while walking in Los Angeles. He was 91. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office told the Associated Press that Bean’s death was
In today’s film news roundup, Tom Holland–Daisy Ridley’s “Chaos Walking” will open next year, Sophia Lillis and Charlie Plummer have landed roles, and Lily-Rose Depp has joined Christmas film “Silent Night.” RELEASE DATE Lionsgate has set its long-delayed science-fiction movie “Chaos Walking,” starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley, for a Jan. 22, 2021, opening. “Chaos
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opened its doors on Friday morning — but not for museum-goers. Members of the press were given a tour of the 300,000 square-foot Renzo Piano-designed campus at the corner of Wilshire and Fairfax boulevards. “This museum belongs to everyone,” museum director Bill Kramer said. “Los Angeles has never had
Hollywood union publicists have selected Warner Bros.’ “Joker” and Disney’s “The Mandalorian” as winners of the Maxwell Weinberg Awards for top publicity campaigns last year. The awards were announced Friday afternoon at the Beverly Hilton by the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG, IATSE Local 600) Publicists. “Joker” won the feature film award and topped the publicity
Evgenia Markova has been appointed general director of Roskino, the Russian film promotion organization. She replaces Catherine Mtsitouridze, who left after nine years in the role. Markova was previously industry liaison director of Expocontent, a company that advises Russian government agencies, and leading film producers and distributors on international promotion. Markova’s selection was approved by
At the Golden Globes, “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho challenged audiences, “Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.” That obstacle may exist in most of the feature categories (where only “Parasite” and Pedro Almódovar’s “Pain & Glory” managed to clear the hurdle), but when
It almost feels like a cheat, or an unfair advantage, to have such unfettered access to a documentary subject like Maria Ressa. Not to downplay the impressive craftsmanship that makes director Ramona S. Diaz’s pacy, engrossing, galvanizing film “A Thousand Cuts” feel more like a political thriller than an off-the-cuff investigation into embattled journalism in
No 2020 Oscar category can boast a higher level of quality — or diversity, for that matter — than the animated shorts, and though the five nominees are among the least-seen (especially this year, when ShortsTV’s theatrical program released just nine days before Oscar night), film buffs would do well to track them down all
Despite being shut out of most major awards shows this season, women filmmakers will not go gentle into that good night. Instead they’re pushing back even harder, carving out a space for themselves in tentpole productions, petitions to the Directors Guild and with #GiveHerABreak, a campaign aimed at the Academy Awards’ lack of representation. On
“The category is ‘stand in your truth,’” Emmy winner Billy Porter said as he presented to his “Pose” comrades at the 13th annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards on Thursday afternoon. Co-executive producer Janet Mock, and stars MJ Rodriguez, Angelica Ross and Hailie Sahar took the stage, acknowledging the importance of the moment — that a cast of
Legendary has closed a deal for Ryan and Andy Tohill to direct a reboot of the classic 1974 horror film “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” sources tell Variety. The pic will be written by Chris Thomas Devlin with Bad Hombre’s Fede Alvarez and Rodolfo Sayagues producing through their overall deal with Legendary. “The Tohill’s vision is
The Publicists Guild Awards will have a new speaker after ICG president Lewis Rothenberg defeated incumbent Steven Poster last May for a three-year term. Poster had been elected head of the ICG since 2006, but Rothenberg was able to win the position via a campaign that promised more organizing and better communications with the membership.
Sony Pictures Entertainment has renewed its feature film agreement with Spanish pay-TV leader Moviestar Plus. The deal will see recent film hits such as “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “Little Women” air on the Spanish platform, as well as upcoming releases and classics from the SPE library. SPE has also extended its current
In service to the director’s vision on a project, production designer Nelson Coates is an artistic pied piper. “You want to [construct] a visual arc and take people on that journey,” he says. Having scoured locations in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand for Jon M. Chu’s “Crazy Rich Asians,” the two reunite for “In the Heights.”
February 7, 2020 7:17AM PT If Oscars voters cast their ballots in line with YouTube movie fans, Joaquin Phoenix-starrer “Joker” will be the winner on Sunday. Of course, the box-office success and general popularity of a film has very little relation to its chances of winning a trophy at the Academy Awards. Odds-makers and other
Nonprofit initiative Give Her a Break has come up with a unique way to protest about the lack of female directing nominees at this weekend’s Academy Awards. Give Her a Break has launched an online portal to the Oscars live stream that will flip during the ad breaks to showcase female-directed films. It will then
U.S. sales company Shoreline will launch international sales at Berlin’s EFM on “Havana Kyrie,” a drama toplining iconic Italian actor Franco Nero (“Django Unchained”) as a down-on-his-luck Italian orchestra conductor, and featuring Ron Perlman (“Sons of Anarchy”) in a supporting role. The Italian-language pic, which marks the first official co-production between Italy and Cuba, just
Before Daniel Craig hangs up his license to kill, the Museum of Modern Art will offer up a film series tribute to the actor’s big screen career. The program, which will run from March 3 to 22, comes on the eve of Craig’s final appearance as James Bond in “No Time to Die.” “I couldn’t
Landlocked by South Africa on all sides, the kingdom of Lesotho is a place of high skies, wide landscapes and narrow prospects for its two million inhabitants: a set of dimensions somehow captured in every exquisitely constructed, square-cut frame of “This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection.” A haunted, unsentimental paean to land and
Much has been written about “Joker” composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, the Icelandic cellist who may well walk off with the Oscar Sunday night, making her only the third woman to win an Academy Award for best original score. But she’s not the only woman who has composed scores for Oscar-nominated films. In fact, five others are