Participant and Magnolia Pictures have acquired North American rights to “John Lewis: Good Trouble,” a look at the life and career of the civil rights activist and congressional leader. The film was executive produced and financed by CNN Films, AGC Studios and Time Studios. Magnolia is planning to release the film in the spring of
Movies
When “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” debuts on Dec. 20, it will, of course, mark the official close to the nine-film Skywalker Saga, one of the most successful franchises in movie history, grossing more than $7.7 billion worldwide to date (not including spinoff films “Rogue One” and “Solo”). “The Rise of Skywalker” also marks
Eric Fellner bounds through London Screen Academy, saying hearty hellos to students, waving to faculty and showing off the state-of-the-art facilities at the newly opened school to a Variety reporter. The brainchild of Fellner’s Working Title co-chairman, Tim Bevan, the school is intended to teach teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 the skills
In the first trailer for “In the Heights,” Warner Bros. and Lin-Manuel Miranda are giving a look at a couple of days in the life of what it’s like in Washington Heights. “It’s a story of a block that was disappearing,” Anthony Ramos, who stars as bodega owner Usnavi, tells young kids in the neighborhood.
From “Bridget Jones’s Diary” to “Mr. Bean,” Working Title has for the past three and a half decades helped ensure that the sun never sets on British pop culture. The leaders of the London-based film and television production company, Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, have been important emissaries from across the pond, backing stories that
It may be more than 15 years since “Love Actually” was released, but Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, and Richard Curtis have finally opened up about one of the the film’s defining moments even as the movie made surprise election-related headlines in the U.K. this week. Grant, Firth and Curtis all feature in the career retrospective
Great Point Media is launching a new $100 million content fund that it will use to invest in film and TV projects. The U.K. company has partnered with U.S.-based institutional investor MC Credit Partners (MCCP), which will manage the fund. The first films and TV shows to benefit will be announced early in 2020, Great
John Boyega has apologized for comments made to Variety that some readers construed as an attack on his “Star Wars” co-star Kelly Marie Tran. Boyega took to Twitter on Thursday to clarify his remarks to Variety’s Adam B. Vary that social media was a tough environment “for those who are not mentally strong” and that
The Jeonju International Film Festival has appointed leading art-house producer Lee Joon-dong (“Burning”) as its director. The festival is usually regarded as the second most significant in South Korea, behind Busan. The appointment was announced on Wednesday by Kim Seung-su, chairman of the festival’s organizing committee. It follows several months of internal discord and the
Lin-Manuel Miranda, director Jon M. Chu and star Anthony Ramos took the train to the top of the world to offer a sneak peek of “In the Heights,” Warner Bros.’ big-screen adaptation of Miranda’s (other) hit musical. “I’m thrilled we’re here, and I’m thrilled we’re uptown,” Miranda rhapsodized to a packed crowd at a cozy
Wong Kar-wai is producing “One For The Road,” a new film that reunites the director and star of 2017 Thai hit “Bad Genius.” Production in New York and Thailand will begin by the end of the year. The film is a buddy drama and a road movie that sees two old friends who have been
In today’s film news roundup, Jesse Eisenberg is starring and exec producing “Wild Indian”; Jason Bateman is directing “Shut In”; “Saturday Night Live” veteran Paula Pell is honored; and the Palm Springs Film Festival sets its opening and closing films. CASTING Jesse Eisenberg is starring in and executive producing the independent thriller “Wild Indian,” Variety
The domestic box office market share over the last 12 years provides a sobering reminder of how important franchises are to studio performance, especially for Disney. Although the 2019 box office looks to be falling short of the previous year’s total, Disney is ending the decade on the highest possible note, becoming the first studio ever
December 11, 2019 5:12PM PT Pierce Brosnan will play the king opposite Camila Cabello in writer-director Kay Cannon’s new telling of “Cinderella” for Sony Pictures. Billy Porter, Idina Menzel and Nicholas Galitzine are also confirmed to star in the film, which will be released in theaters Feb. 5, 2021. Cabello, a multi-platinum selling and Grammy-nominated
Unlike his “Star Wars” compatriots Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaac, John Boyega enjoys a robust presence on social media, with nearly 1.5 million followers on Twitter and over 1.6 million followers on Instagram. He regularly engages with fans, and posts inside looks at his life inside the “Star Wars” media maelstrom. It’s meant that Boyega
Those who are caught up on “Watchmen” know Yahya Abdul-Mateen II knows how to strike the balance between understated and omnipotent. He’s also no stranger to playing superheroes, as Aquaman’s nemesis Black Manta in the DC Universe. But asked whether he would consider taking on another DC Extended Universe role — Superman — Abdul-Mateen told
The scripts for Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” and Tom Edge’s “Judy” have been excluded from the Writers Guild of America Awards. Unlike other guilds, the WGA excludes as candidates any screenplays not produced under its jurisdiction or that of another guild. That’s because the WGA has the
Hold the phone. When it comes to Netflix viewing, Martin Scorsese doesn’t necessarily speak for the room. Commenting on “The Irishman” director’s objection to the all-too-common method of watching Netflix on personal cell phones, Ryan Reynolds told Variety ,” You should be able to watch whatever the f–k you want to watch on whatever f–king
Warner Bros. has dated the fourth “The Matrix” movie and “The Flash” for summer openings in 2021 and 2022, respectively, and pulled “Akira” off the schedule. The studio announced Wednesday that “The Flash” would be released on July 1, 2022, while the untitled “Matrix” would open on May 21, 2021. “The Flash” will star Ezra Miller,
Carey Mulligan is a vengeance-seeking, rape-culture-dismantling badass in the trailer for “Killing Eve” showrunner Emerald Fennell’s new film, “Promising Young Woman.” “Every week, I go to a club. I act like I’m too drunk to stand. And every week, a nice guy comes over to see if I’m okay,” Mulligan says coldly over a violinist’s
December 11, 2019 12:04PM PT Stephen King’s horror novel “The Dark Half” is getting the movie treatment at MGM with “Her Smell” director Alex Ross Perry on board to helm. King wrote the book in 1989 about a novelist whose pseudonym comes to life as a murderous twin after his own pen name, Richard Bachman,
“Jumanji: The Next Level” will seamlessly swing atop box office charts when it debuts in theaters on Friday. But the sequel will need to become another word-of-mouth hit for Sony if it hopes to entice moviegoers once “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” launches the following weekend. If history repeats itself, “Jumanji” and “Star Wars”
In 1974, “Black Christmas,” a slasher horror film set on a college campus just before winter break, hit American theaters just before the holidays. Many years later, a 2006 version retold the tale. Now, moviegoers looking for a good scare are in for a creative re-imagining of the slasher tale with the Dec. 13 release
December 11, 2019 11:30AM PT There isn’t much to recommend in this poorly written and incompetently made WWI film, with a cringe-worthy handle on the AEF racism it sets out to tackle. Coming to theaters across the nation soon, there is a powerful World War I picture, shot with the respectable ambition of simulating a
Where in the world was “Little Women”? That was the big question this morning when the 2020 SAG Award nominations were announced. Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of the classic novel was completely shut out by Wednesday’s nominations. It comes on the heels of “Little Women” snagging just two Golden Globe noms for Saoirse Ronan for lead
Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie make for a powerful trio on-screen. With their latest film “Bombshell,” the award-winning actors recognize the potential for the film to make real social change off-screen. “The response to the film has been incredible. I was hoping that it would be impactful in that way,” Robbie told Variety
Martin Scorsese’s next film, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” will be released in Italian cinemas by RAI Cinema’s 01 Distribution unit, the company said Wednesday. The period murder mystery is based on a real-life incident and will star Leonardo DiCaprio. Robert De Niro is also believed to be on board the project. Shooting is expected
December 11, 2019 8:04AM PT Alice Webb is moving from the BBC to Eagle Rock, the Universal Music U.K.-backed producer and distributor of music programming. Webb has held several senior roles in a 15-year career at the BBC including head of its kids unit and COO of its BBC North division, overseeing the relocation of
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” “Bombshell,” and “The Irishman” led the nominations for the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards, picking up four nods apiece. All three films will compete for the top prize, best ensemble, along with “Parasite” and “Jojo Rabbit.” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is an ode to the golden age
Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations were announced Wednesday morning, with Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” and Jay Roach’s “Bombshell” dominating nods on the film front. “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” with Rachel Brosnanhan led the pack among TV shows. “Superstore” star America Ferrera and “Black Panther” actress Danai Gurira were