Movies

Noah Baumbach knew right away that Adam Driver singing Stephen Sondheim’s “Being Alive” was going to work in “Marriage Story.” “A lot of times, when you’re shooting things, you’re not getting, necessarily, the chill that you might get when it’s in the movie,” Baumbach says on the latest episode of “The Big Ticket,” Variety and

As the concluding chapter in the nine-film, 42-year-old Skywalker saga, “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” was always destined to make cinema history at just about the biggest scale imaginable. But it turns out that the movie, written by J.J. Abrams and Chris Terrio and directed by Abrams, makes film history in just about the

Spanish actor Antonio Banderas has starred in such box office champs as “The Mask of Zorro,” “Evita” and “Spy Kids,” and worked with great directors, including Jonathan Demme, Robert Rodriguez, Steven Soderbergh and Julie Taymor. But he’s best known for his eight films with writer-director Pedro Almodóvar. Sony Pictures Classics’ “Pain and Glory,” for which

It seems like every year there’s talk about the acting races being the most competitive and unpredictable ever — the kind of hype typical of a “the most dramatic season ever” of ABC’s “The Bachelor.” But for the 2020 Oscars, there’s quite a bit of truth to the cliché. Whereas the lead actress prize was

“I am a very angry, optimistic woman,” says Israeli human rights lawyer Lea Tsemel toward the end of “Advocate,” a sober, engrossing documentary dedicated to her life and work. Her description isn’t a contradiction in terms, exactly, but it does highlight two traits that are rarely twinned, particularly to positive effect. It’s an apt pairing,

With a focus on Italian films accompanying a large selection of international features, most of which are competing for Oscars, the 31st annual Palm Springs Intl. Film Festival will run Jan. 3-12. “An Almost Ordinary Summer,” directed by Simone Godano, will kick off the festival on Jan. 3. Other Italian films to unspool are “The

This may be the first year in memory when the movies seem more serious about politics than the politicians. Of course, the flippancy began about three years ago when Donald Trump ascended to the highest elected position in the land. What quickly followed was The Resistance Movement that refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of a

December 20, 2019 7:41AM PT Cyrill Boss and Philipp Stennert, the creators of Sky hit series “Pagan Peak,” will direct “Hagen Von Tronje,” based on the Wolfgang Hohlbein bestseller, a reinterpretation of the Nibelungen saga. Martin Moszkowicz and Oliver Berben will produce the project for Constantin Film as both a feature-length film and a six-part

In the heyday of the film industry of the former Yugoslavia, silver-screen icons including Kirk Douglas, Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn could be spotted ducking the paparazzi at Belgrade’s historic Hotel Metropol, a five-star redoubt that hosted royals, statesmen and the New Year’s soirees of then-President Josep Broz Tito. Four decades later, Serbian officials are

Hardly a decade ago the film industry in Serbia was in a state of crisis. The state-funded film center had failed to secure its annual budget for 2011. Production was in the doldrums. For a proud country with a rich cinematic legacy dating back to the glory days of the former Yugoslavia, alarm bells were

ViacomCBS has reached a deal to acquire a 49% stake in Miramax from Qatar-based owner BeIN Media Group for a total of $375 million. The deal calls for ViacomCBS to pay $150 million in cash up front, plus a commitment to invest $45 million a year for five years to fund new film and TV

The Palm Springs Film Festival will present Cynthia Erivo with the breakthrough performance award at its annual film awards gala on Jan. 2 for her leading role in “Harriet.” “Harriet” tells the remarkable tale of Harriet Tubman’s transformation into one of America’s greatest heroes. Erivo’s performance in the slave drama as Tubman has already garnered

With less than eight weeks to go before the Academy Awards, it’s a scramble to the finish line for the artisans who create the looks, sounds and visual effects of this year’s awards contenders. This year, these craftspeople used visual-effects technology in surprising ways. VFX artists turned back time for Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci

French actor Claudine Auger, who broke through internationally with her part opposite Sean Connery in the James Bond film “Thunderball,” has died. She was 78. Auger’s talent agency Art Time announced the news and said she had died in Paris. Auger started her acting career with a small part in the 1958 film “Christine,” in

December 20, 2019 2:53AM PT Following NENT Group and NBCUniversal’s long-term content partnership signed earlier this year, the two companies have inked a first-window deal for kids and family programming. Under the agreement, NENT Group will distribute NBCUniversal’s kids series and family content and DreamWorks Animation film catalogue on Viaplay streaming service and Viasat pay-TV

ViacomCBS is close to a deal to buy a minority stake in Miramax, according to two individuals with knowledge of the talks. The pact could be finalized as early as Friday. The investment is said to be in the neighborhood of $100 million. As part of the arrangement, ViacomCBS will have the right to distribute

December 19, 2019 4:49PM PT Read more from Variety’s Directors on Directors, in which filmmakers praise their favorite movies of the year, here.  It’s a pleasure to write this particular piece about Rian Johnson as over the last 10 years or so, he’s become one of my best friends in Hollywood; the perfect person to talk to at

Though Sam Mendes’ epic war drama “1917” was largely inspired by the real-life experiences of his paternal grandfather, a World War I veteran, the director was driven by a greater motivation when telling the film’s story. Mendes explained that he feared WWI, once deemed “the war to end all wars,” and the lessons learned from

Ten years ago, Netflix was an innocuous DVD-by-mail company, the Marvel tsunami was just testing the water with “Iron Man” and “Thor,” and the “Star Wars” empire still belonged to George Lucas, not Disney. The only celebrity to become President of the United States was “Bedtime for Bonzo” star Ronald Reagan, Amazon was a place

Unfortunately for Wakandians, the U.S. government will no longer partner with the fictional kingdom. Until yesterday, Wakanda, the main setting of Marvel’s “Black Panther,” was listed as a free trade agreement partner of the U.S. on the agricultural tariff tracker maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service. Francis Tseng, a research fellow

Universal Pictures is in talks with the Lego Group to develop new feature film properties based on the popular block toys, numerous sources close to the pending deal told Variety. Producer Dan Lin, who has made several films based on the childhood staple at Warner Bros., is expected to remain on future projects despite his

For the last decade, the Oscars have faced charges of elitism. While the average movie-goer has gravitated toward tentpoles with the Avengers or Yoda, Hollywood’s annual celebration of film has gotten much smaller, doling out trophies to independent movies such as “Green Book,” “The Shape of Water,” “Moonlight,” “Spotlight” and “Birdman.” A few of these

Harvey Weinstein has been hit with a civil complaint from a woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by the indie movie mogul when she was 16. Kaja Sokola claims that Weinstein, the former head of Miramax and the Weinstein Company, met her at an event put on by her modeling agency in 2002 when

There were unique challenges in Sam Mendes’ vision for “1917.” The director wanted the movie to appear as if it were filmed in one continuous take. And that required months of meticulous planning. Mendes says the long prep time and unprecedented demands created an “unusually unified crew.” Here, he pays tribute to some of them.

Diego Bunuel, who joined Netflix in 2018 as head of original documentaries for the EMEA region, has left the streaming giant, the company confirmed Thursday. A source close to Netflix said Bunuel’s departure was a mutual decision. Bunuel was based out of Netflix’s London office after having worked in Los Angeles for six months. He

Netflix debuted a first look at the sequel to its hit romantic comedy, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.” The follow-up, titled “To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You,” catches up with high-school sweethearts Lara Jean (portrayed by Lana Candor) and Peter (Noah Centineo). But there’s a sense that things might not

To say that two-time Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto is in demand would be an understatement. Prieto has been a frequent collaborator with directors Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Ang Lee, Julie Taymor and Oliver Stone and has worked with Curtis Hanson, Cameron Crowe and Pedro Almodóvar. He has shot Martin Scorsese’s past three films: “The Wolf

Christopher Nolan unveiled the first look at “Tenet,” his international espionage action epic starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson. Though little is known about Nolan’s suspense drama, “Tenet” appears to bend time. The intense footage opens with Washington and Pattinson scaling a building. The mission appears to go awry as the trailer cuts to

December 19, 2019 9:11AM PT Beckingham will also be in his brother Simon Pegg’s show ‘Truth Seekers’ Rising star Mike Beckingham will star in “Waltzing With Brando” alongside Billy Zane, who plays a “Godfather”-era Marlon Brando in the upcoming movie. Beckingham, younger brother of actor, writer and producer Simon Pegg, will play Bernard Judge in

Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women,” which she wrote and directed for Sony Pictures, is one of the great film achievements of the year. To give her film an epic scope — which it has — Gerwig drew from Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel, Alcott’s life and letters, and her own (seamlessly incorporated) original material. “Little Women” has