Movies

A funny thing happens about a third of the way into “Horse Girl,” Jeff Baena’s fourth Sundance feature after “Life After Beth,” “Joshy” and “The Little Hours.” Or rather, a funny thing stops happening: the familiar, steady-heartbeat rhythms of the low-budget social awkwardness comedy become erratic, tachycardiac, as the initially endearing foibles of the film’s

January 28, 2020 12:35AM PT It’s the end of the world in Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson’s charming survivalist rom-com. At least their hapless couple has wine. Brooklyn couple Su (Sunita Mani) and Jack (John Reynolds) have several plans to salvage their lives. Go vegetarian, plant a garden, make sourdough bread, and above all,

At the risk of overselling Edson Oda’s ultra-original, meaning-of-life directorial debut, there’s a big difference between “Nine Days” and pretty much every other film ever made. You see, most movies are about characters, real or imagined, and the stuff that happens to them, whereas “Nine Days” is about character itself — as in, the moral dimension

GÖTEBORG, Sweden — Scandi sales shingle The Yellow Affair has added to its Göteborg lineup the Swedish series “The Chosen Ones” (“Det Utvalda”), currently playing on Swedish pubcaster SVT’s streaming service SVT Play. The short form sci-fi thriller stars a strong Swedish female cast of model-turned actress Frida Gustavsson (“Swoon”), singer/actress Amy Deasismont (“Gösta”, “My

Andy Samberg’s “Palm Springs” has just broken the record for the biggest sale in the history of the Sundance film festival — by $0.69. A joint announcement on Monday from Hulu and indie distributor Neon confirmed the existential comedy was purchased for $17,500,000.69, in a sale brokered by UTA Independent Film Group. That figure exceeds

January 27, 2020 8:55PM PT Sony Pictures Classics has acquired worldwide rights to “The Truffle Hunters” out of the Sundance Film Festival. The pact is for $1.5 million, according to an insider. The documentary follows a handful of men in Piedmont, Italy as the search for rare and expensive white Alba truffles. It’s a lifestyle

“Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn),” the R-rated girl gang-driven comic book actioner starring Margot Robbie and directed by Cathy Yan, bows in theaters Feb. 7 — the same date its equally female-driven soundtrack drops. And the latter even has its own trailer.  The film’s playlist includes tracks by Megan

A small town already down on its luck receives a few fresh kicks in “The Evening Hour.” Based on Carter Sickels’ 2012 novel, this second narrative feature from director Braden King is more plot-driven than his first, 2011’s “Here,” a leisurely and slight, if pleasant, road-trip romance. Indeed, there may be a little more content

There are small, telling differences in the way each of the three long-separated main characters in “Farewell Amor” remembers the day of their reunion. Standing at JFK, awkwardly clutching a bunch of flowers to give to the wife and child he has not seen in 17 years, Walter (Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine from “The Chi”),

There have been some good dramas about people sliding into dementia, like “Away From Her” and “Still Alice,” but I confess I almost always have a problem with them. As the person at the center of the movie begins to recede from her adult children, from the larger world, and from herself, he or she

In today’s film news roundup, the PGA selects a site for its Produced By Conference, Ana Gasteyer is hosting the WGA Awards, and Docu-Day is set for Feb. 8. PGA CONFERENCE The Producers Guild of America will hold its 12th annual Produced By Conference on June 6-7 at Fox Studio Lot in Los Angeles. The

After “Pariah” and “Mudbound,” director Dee Rees returns to the Sundance Film Festival with her next feature, “The Last Thing He Wanted,” a political thriller based on a 1996 Joan Didion novel. The adapted screenplay follows a reporter named Elena McMahon (Anne Hathaway) and her photojournalist friend (Rosie Perez) as they chase a complicated story

You can do anything with a face on screen these days, whether it’s shaving decades off with a digital scalpel or deepfaking it into unrecognizable oblivion. Usually this wizardry has the air of a stunt, a transformation pulled off merely because it’s possible. Never, however, have such effects proven as chillingly essential as they are

Ethan Hawke will direct and adapt “Camino Real,” Tennessee Williams’ wildly experimental play, into a feature film. Uri Singer, who worked with Hawke on the upcoming Sundance Film Festival entry “Tesla,” will produce and finance the picture through his company, Passage Pictures. It’s a passion project of the actor, writer, and filmmakers — one that

The nominees for this year’s Academy Awards gathered Monday for the annual Oscar Nominees Luncheon and class photo. Bong Joon Ho, Greta Gerwig, Robert De Niro and Brad Pitt were among those who received the loudest applause and cheers when their names were called for the photo. The annual event kicked off with a cocktail

Kobe Bryant’s studio has released his Oscar-winning short, “Dear Basketball” for free following his death on Sunday. Granity Studio, Bryant’s multimedia production company, made the short film available on the dearbasketball.com website and on Vimeo. The Academy Award-winning film, narrated by Bryant, is based on a poem he wrote in November 2015 in The Players’

Fundraising for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures has reached more than $368 million in pledges and cash, making up 95% of its $388 million campaign goal. The announcement was by Academy President David Rubin at the nominees luncheon on Monday, less than two weeks before the 92nd Academy Awards on Feb. 9. The Academy

Ten years after Zeina Durra launched her well-regarded debut “The Imperialists Are Still Alive!” at Sundance, the London-born director returns with a mature meditation on the effects of trauma shrewdly incarnated by the always welcome Andrea Riseborough. “Luxor,” set in the eponymous Egyptian city of ancient temples, is a slow-burning, accessibly elliptical story in which

Lin-Manuel Miranda is having a busy Sundance. The prolific playwright is in Park City, Utah this week as the interview subject of three documentaries — “Siempre, Luis,” “We Are Freestyle Love Supreme” and “Mucho Mucho Amour” — all premiering at this year’s film festival. Miranda’s indie movie tour is only the beginning of his foray

January 27, 2020 3:00PM PT Paramount Pictures is looking to revamp its “Transformers” franchise in a big way, as sources tell Variety two simultaneous scripts are now in active development: one by James Vanderbilt and one by Joby Harold. Paramount’s most recent take on the franchise was 2018’s “Bumblebee,” a coming-of-age tale that was produced

George MacKay delivers a star-making performance in “1917.” After making his film debut at age 10 in the 2003 live-action “Peter Pan,” he played occasional film and TV roles and realized at age 19 “acting is what I wanted to do.” Since then, he’s appeared in an earlier WWI saga, “Private Peaceful,” and played Viggo

January 27, 2020 10:36AM PT Tom Quinn’s Neon and streamer Hulu are looking to partner on a multi-million dollar, worldwide rights deal for Andy Samberg’s Sundance comedy “Palm Springs,” sources told Variety. Neon would take the film out theatrically while Hulu would retain rights for streaming customers around the world, said the insiders familiar with

January 27, 2020 10:35AM PT The Oscars are getting greener. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Monday that it will be offering entirely plant-based menus at today’s Oscar Nominees Luncheon and then in the Dolby Theatre lobbies prior to the 92nd Academy Awards on Feb. 9. The post-ceremony Governors Ball will

Will love and mercy prevail again this year, or will one of the season’s darker offerings take home the ultimate prize? Last year, Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book” triumphed, its period story about a friendship that blossoms between a boisterous white bigot and a black, highly educated classical musician an unlikely balm at a time of

Filmdom’s battle between the haves and have-nots moved off-screen when Oscar nominations were announced earlier this month: Four films scored 10 or more nominations, with Todd Phillips’ “Joker,” leading the pack with 11, and Sam Mendes’ World War I nail-biter “1917,” Martin Scorsese’s epic gangster tale “The Irishman” and Quentin Tarantino’s retro “Once Upon a

Sony’s commitment to sustainability began as a pledge to plant a tree in the community where it shoots for each day of production. It’s a commitment to the environment that most Hollywood studios are taking very seriously, collaborating and sharing ideas on how to conduct the business of production in a sustainable way. Today, Sony

Harvey Weinstein accuser Miriam Haley broke down in sobs on Monday morning as she gave graphic testimony of being sexually assaulted at the disgraced film mogul’s New York City apartment in 2006. “He pushed me down. He held me down by my arms,” Haley testified. “I said, ‘No!’ I said, ‘No, no!’ I didn’t know

ICM Partners has promoted six agents to partner status. ICM’s partner class of 2020 features four women and two men drawn from disciplines across the agency: Courtny Catzel (Non-Scripted), Di Glazer (Theater), Shade Grant (Non-Scripted), Andrea Johnson (Concerts), Craig Shapiro (Talent) and Howie Tanenbaum (TV). The promotions bring the number of partners at ICM to

For 26 years, debuting filmmakers have traversed the wintry landscape of Park City to screen their films at the Slamdance Film Festival, and this year’s crop of selections promises to showcase significant talent. Taking place January 24-30, this celebration of cinema continues to be, as co-founder and president Peter Baxter calls it, “the premiere film festival by

“But the child must grow,” writes German psychoanalyst Erich Fromm in his seminal 1956 book “The Art of Loving,” discussing a necessary transition in the relationship between a mother and her progeny. “The very essence of motherly love is to care for the child’s growth, and that means to want the child’s separation from herself.”