BUENOS AIRES — Ever incorporating ever bigger titles to its slate, Latido Films has boarded the Viacom-backed, Telefe co-produced “El Robo del Siglo” (“The Theft of the Century”), acquiring international rights outside the U.S. to a title which is shaping up as one of Argentina’s biggest bows of early 2020. Multiple factors elevate it to
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Álvaro Ceppi of Chile’s award-winning animation studio Zumbastico has boarded “Coda,” a stop-motion animation feature project headed by Juan Pablo Zaramella at his own label, Buenos Aires-based JPZstudio, alongside Sol Rulloni. Variety has received exclusive access to “Coda’s” concept art and main character designs. A major name in Latin American stop-motion, Zaramella was Oscar shortlisted for his
BUENOS AIRES — Already Latin America’s second most sought-after shoot location, the City of São Paulo’s film-TV agency Spcine is introducing cash rebates for international productions from 2020. The move, a first for Brazil, is set to be announced Tuesday by Laís Bodanzky, president of Spcine, at Ventana Sur, Latin America’s biggest film-TV market, which
BUENOS AIRES — Lyon’s Lumière Festival and the City of Buenos Aires are in talks to launch an Argentine version of the French city’s hugely popular Lumière Festival, Thierry Frémaux told Variety at Ventana Sur. He also underscored that mid-November’s Festival de Cannes Film Week in Hong Kong, which took the “soul” and “spirit” of Cannes to
“Jeanne” (“Joan of Arc”), Bruno Dumont’s musical sequel to “Jeanette, the Childhood of Joan of Arc,” has been sold to multiple major territories by Paris-based Luxbox. Written by Dumont and based on the writings of France’s Charles Péguy, “Joan of Arc” adapts the second and third parts of the stage play “The Mystery of the
Young Korean actor Cha In-ha has been found dead, according to local media reports in South Korea. He was 27. Cha’s agency, Fantagio, issued a statement confirming his death, saying it was “truly heartbroken to deliver sad news to everyone who has sent lots of love and support” to the actor. Within the last day,
“Marriage Story” just took another giant step down the aisle to the Oscars. While the Gotham Awards aren’t always a precursor of what’s to come at the Academy Awards, Monday night’s “Marriage Story” sweep of four wins at the Independent Filmmakers Project’s annual awards gala should provide even more momentum for the Netflix title. “Marriage
In today’s film news roundup, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” receives an award, “Lost in Shangri-La” is becoming a movie and Andy Kindler lands a role. CAST AWARD “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” has been selected to receive the best ensemble cast award at the 24th edition of Capri Hollywood – The International
December 2, 2019 5:32PM PT Adam Sandler’s “Uncut Gems” has been re-classified as a drama for the upcoming Golden Globes. A rep for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association confirmed Monday that the organization had overturned the submission of “Uncut Gems” as a musical/comedy, and it will compete as a drama. Nominations will be announced Dec.
“Queen & Slim” is Lena Waithe’s self-professed “battle cry.” And it’s one that’s been heard to the tune of $15.8 million at the box office, outperforming industry projections since opening over Thanksgiving weekend. “It feels like it’s sort of taken on its own life,” Waithe told Variety before the film debuted, sitting down to talk
“Richard Jewell” star Olivia Wilde has responded to controversy surrounding the depiction of her character, a real-life reporter who is now deceased, in Clint Eastwood’s historical drama. In the film, Wilde’s Kathy Scruggs offers to sleep with Jon Hamm’s Tom Shaw, an FBI agent, for information about the 1996 Summer Olympics bombing in Atlanta. “I
Japanese auteur Miike Takeshi delivered an entertaining masterclass to a packed audience as part of the Singapore International Film Festival on Sunday, where he held forth on a range of subjects. Conducting the masterclass was Singaporean filmmaker Kirsten Tan (“Pop Aye”). A day earlier, Miike received an honorary award from the festival. In a career
Awards season is officially underway! The 2019 Gotham Awards, which honors the best in independent cinema, is being held tonight in downtown New York. The ceremony begins at 8 p.m. ET. Watch the full live stream above. This year’s Gotham nominees include “Marriage Story,” “The Farewell” and “Uncut Gems,” which each received three nominations each.
The Directors Guild of America has announced it’s opposing the Justice Department’s efforts to terminate the Paramount consent decrees, calling those efforts “a step in the wrong direction.” Makan Delrahim, the head of the department’s antitrust division, announced in a speech on Nov. 18 that he would take action to end the decrees, which he
December 2, 2019 10:23AM PT The rise and crash of WeWork and its founder Adam Neumann is getting the big-screen treatment from Blumhouse and Universal. Screenwriter Charles Randolph, who won an adapted screenplay Oscar for “The Big Short,” is on board to write the film. The troubled shared-workplace startup pulled the plug on an initial
When industry leaders from around the world arrive in London for Focus 2019 from Dec. 3-4, the environmental impact of the film and TV industries will be a major talking point on the agenda. “Sustainability is undoubtedly at the forefront of everybody’s mind in 2019, and this is certainly true within the production community,” says
December 2, 2019 9:57AM PT Actress Zhou Dongyu electrifies Derek Tsang’s smash-hit hybrid of hard-hitting bullying drama and swoony, mismatched-couple love story. “This used to be our playground. This was our playground. Does anyone know the difference between was and used to be?” An adult Chen Nian (Zhou Dongyu) quizzes her students, who can’t quite
When costume designer Shiona L. Turini saw Daniel Kaluuya’s classic Reebok with the rubber sole, she knew she had found her sneakers for “Queen & Slim.” The beautifully crafted road movie follows a young black couple who go on the run through the South after a police officer is killed in self-defense. When we first
After a ten-year hiatus where he produced the films of other directors in the U.S. and Latin America, Rodrigo Bellott returned to directing with gay drama “Tu Me Manques,” which trumped other local contenders to represent Bolivia at the Academy Awards and Spain’s Goyas. He confesses that the experience nearly broke him. “It was a
The cast and crew of “The Banker” are rising to the defense of the film after Apple delayed its release. The technology giant had originally planned to debut “The Banker” in the height of awards season, giving it a prime release date as it moves more aggressively into the content space. However, things changed after
Slamdance Film Festival has unveiled its 25th anniversary narrative and documentary feature film competition programs, as well as the lineup for its new breakouts section. The narrative lineup includes director Heather Young’s drama “Murmur.” The movie, which won the Fipresci Discovery Prize at the Toronto International Film Festival, stars Shan MacDonald as an older woman
December 2, 2019 8:43AM PT British exhibitor Cineworld has canceled several showings of the gang-themed film “Blue Story” in northern England after a stabbing at one of its theaters Sunday evening. The movie, about two friends who become embroiled in violence between South London gangs, has been in the headlines since Vue, the U.K.’s third-largest
Now that the streaming apocalypse is fully upon us, how are people in the home-entertainment business coping? Mostly by reducing expectations for those once lucrative discs. With revenue shifting toward established subscription video-on-demand services such as Netflix, Amazon and CBS All Access, and even more competition from Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus, studios are
“Cats,” Tom Hooper’s upcoming adaptation of the long-running musical, ignited the internet with hot takes after the first trailer introduced audiences to “digital fur technology” and full-figured felines. But Taylor Swift, who stars in the buzzy film alongside Judi Dench, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson and James Corden, is on board with its quirkiness. “I really
Disney’s “Frozen 2” and Laika’s “Missing Link” led the 47th Annie Award nominations Dec. 2 with eight each and will battle it out for best animated feature along with DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” Netflix’s “Klaus” and Pixar’s “Toy Story 4” when the ceremony is held on Jan. 25 at
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson will direct “Black Woodstock,” a feature documentary about the Harlem Cultural Festival, Variety has learned. Held in 1969, the outdoor festival featured performances from some of the leading black musicians of the day — a group of heavy-hitters that includes Sly and the Family Stone, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, B.B. King, the
Disney’s “Frozen 2” was the undisputed box office champion this Thanksgiving, generating a record-setting $124 million over the five-day frame. But moviegoers feasted on more than just the further adventures of Princesses Anna and Elsa during Turkey Day. Lionsgate’s murder mystery “Knives Out” and Universal’s romantic drama “Queen and Slim” also beat expectations while countering
Pedro Almodóvar’s “Pain and Glory” will go head-to-head with two other big Spanish films – Alejandro Amenábar’s “While at War” and “The Endless Trench,” from Aitor Aguirre, Jon Garaño and José Mari Goenaga – at Spain’s 34th Goya Academy Awards, to be held Jan. 25 in Malaga. “Pain and Glory” garnered 16 nominations,” “While at
Co-written by producer Bernardo Pérez and director Santiago Aguirre, “Together” scooped the Cinecolor México & Shalala Estudios Award at the Filmarket Hub’s first ever CDMX Film Pitchbox, which unspooled on Friday at the installations in Mexico City of Cinecolor, the event’s principal partner in the Mexican capitol. The award is worth Pesos 500,000 ($25,000) of
With his new political thriller “Arana” (“Spider”), Chile’s Andres Wood traces the roots of the ultra-nationalist movement that led to Salvador Allende’s downfall and the rise of military dictator General Augusto Pinochet. He represents Chile at the Best International Feature Oscar race for the third time with “Araña.” The drama turns on Inés, Justo and