Movies

Hollywood and the Oscars have a long history of legal dramas, from the 1931 “A Free Soul” (lead actor, Lionel Barrymore) through the 1982 “The Verdict” (five nominations), to the 2007 “Michael Clayton” (seven noms, including supporting-actress winner Tilda Swinton). So Warner Bros.’ “Just Mercy,” which plays at the AFI Fest in Hollywood this month

November 15, 2019 8:00AM PT Charlize Theron, in conversation with Adam Driver (“Marriage Story”) for “Variety Studio: Actors on Actors,” discussed why she thinks “Bombshell” director Jay Roach is brave for including moments of silence in the film. Theron said the movie doesn’t shy away from uncomfortable scenes of sexual harassment. “Obviously, there is the

Pau Brunet and Jana Díaz Juhl at L.A.-based Amplitud have boarded Federico Cecchetti’s sophomore feature “Journey to the Land of the Tarahumara,” produced by Edher Campos at Mexico’s Machete Producciones in co-production with Yanick Letourneau’s Quebec-based Périphéria (Juan Andrés Arango García’s “V-500”) and Thierry Lenouvel’s Paris-based Cine-Sud (Rubén Mendoza’s “Wandering Girl”). Mexico’s Eficine production fund

LOS CABOS, Mexico  —  Gaston Pavlovich, producer of “The Irishman,” has swooped on two prime IPs, “El Juicio” (The Trial”), a privileged-access account of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s New York court case, and “Los Narcos Gringos,” a portrait of U.S. drug runners. The two non-fiction works are both written by Washington-based Jesus Esquivel, whom Pavlovich

Leonine has acquired “Dark” producer W&B TV from Endemol Shine. Fledgling German studio Leonine had already bought Wiedemann & Berg Film and established itself as a Munich-based movies, TV, and digital production and distribution group. It has now added the W&B TV unit to its roster. The production company is behind several big German dramas

The French movie industry has been shaken up by the declarations of Adele Haenel, one of the country’s most powerful actresses, who accused the director Christophe Ruggia of having sexually harassed her for years from the time she was 12. On top of sparking a public debate, Haenel’s testimony has driven the French culture ministry

Tel Aviv-based Cinephil has acquired worldwide rights to Tonje Hessen Schei’s (“Drone”) “iHuman,” a political thriller documentary about artificial intelligence, power and social control. U.S.-based sales agent ro*co films is representing North America on the film, which will have its world premiere in the Frontlight section of Amsterdam’s International Documentary Film Festival. “iHuman” follows the

November 15, 2019 1:05AM PT The traditional Italian-American Christmas Eve banquet is the happy gathering point for Robert Tinnell’s cheerfully clichéd holiday comedy. Early on in “Feast of the Seven Fishes,” two characters debate the optimal way to decorate a house for Christmas. One favors an “understated” approach, with white lights and little more; the

Going to the movies can feel a lot like agreeing to a blind date: It’s normal to feel a little wary — but also a bit excited — at the potential before agreeing to spend two hours with characters you don’t know. If the film is any good, it wins you over early on, enough

November 14, 2019 8:31PM PT Steven Spielberg has offered a touching remembrance of Branko Lustig, the Holocaust survivor who produced “Schindler’s List” with Spielberg and Gerald Molen and died Thursday in Croatia. “I was heartbroken to hear of Branko’s passing and my thoughts are with his family and friends,” Spielberg said. “When we first met

Pierce Brosnan’s two youngest sons, Paris and Dylan Brosnan, have been named as the 2020 Golden Globe Ambassadors, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced on Thursday evening. Paris and Dylan are also the sons of journalist and author Keely Shaye Smith. The ambassador(s), a title that typically goes to the son or daughter of a

In today’s film news roundup, Joaquin Phoenix is honored for “Joker”; Legion M backs Joe Manganiello’s “Archenemy”; sales have launched on “Lev Yashin: The Dream Goalkeeper”; Warner Bros. shuffles execs and Universal launches a first-of-its-kind animation writing program. HONOR Joaquin Phoenix has been selected as the recipient of the Palm Springs International Film Festival’s chairman’s

In the decades since Danny Huston made his feature directing debut with “Mr. North,” his 1988 film adaptation of the Thornton Wilder novel “Theophilus North,” he has kept busy in front of the cameras as one of film and television’s most versatile and sophisticated character players. In just the past year, small-screen viewers have been

Endings are so important and how the viewer leaves the cinema is crucial. For editor Chris Dickens, finding the perfect ending for “Rocketman” was paramount, but it was also a challenge. Elton John’s hit “I’m Still Standing” was going to end the film with the original idea of going to Cannes to recreate the video

Newly-formed content finance, production and distribution company United Media Asia has struck a first look deal, brokered by Hollywood talent agency CAA, with Indonesian media giant Kompas Gramedia. United has also unveiled its first two feature films. The partnership provides UMA with access to Kompas Gramedia’s media network and its 100,000 pieces of intellectual property,

Showstopping looks: For Taron Egerton’s “Rocketman” tour, stylist Gareth Scourfield nodded to Elton John’s iconic wardrobe with bold colors, patterns and silhouettes: “We got a bit more eccentric.” May 16 “Elton is the real original showman,” says Scourfield, who met Egerton through another client, Egerton’s “Rocketman” co-star Richard Madden. “Part of Taron as a man

David Heyman’s Heyday Films, whose credits include “Gravity,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” “Marriage Story” and the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts franchises, and BBC Films have secured the film rights to Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman’s musical “Follies.” “Follies” will be adapted for the screen and directed by Dominic Cooke, a four-time Olivier

SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris is already looking forward to the 26th SAG Awards on Jan. 19, held in its usual location at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. “One of the best things about the SAG Awards is that it’s a peer-to-peer recognition,” she says. “It’s the highest honor for performers to be recognized by

In this year’s Oscar race for the lead actor prize, two of the front-runners represent a pair of films likely to duke it out for best picture: Leonardo DiCaprio, whose fading Western TV star Rick Dalton is the heart and soul of Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” and Robert De Niro, who

Lawrence G. Paull, the Oscar-nominated production designer who helped create the distinctive looks of 1980s films including the visually groundbreaking 1982 “Blade Runner.” died on Nov. 10 of heart disease in La Jolla, Calif. He was 81. Paull received an Academy Award nomination for art direction with David L. Snyder for Ridley Scott’s prescient film

Pop star Justin Timberlake, who earned an Oscar nomination for his contribution to the first “Trolls” movie three years ago, is returning to the franchise as the executive music producer of Dreamworks Animation’s “Trolls World Tour” soundtrack, scheduled for this March. . Assisted by Grammy and Academy Award-winning composer/producer Ludwig Göransson, Timberlake produced, wrote and

As awards season is gearing up, Variety looks at emerging designers that will make their mark on the many red carpets ahead: Bode For the guys, Emily Bode’s eponymous line of one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted clothing cut from antique fabrics and Victorian quilts has earned a following that includes Donald Glover, Dyllón Burnside, Ezra Miller, Leon Bridges,

The “Honey Boy” script that cinematographer Natasha Braier read prior to signing on with first-time narrative feature director Alma Har’el to shoot star and writer Shia LaBeouf’s intimate memoir-focused arthouse film was psychologically rich and emotionally fraught with no visual cues. It was a deep character study of the beginnings of his acting career with

Documentaries will play a more prominent role than ever before at the AFI Fest, which kicks off Nov. 14. While AFI Fest 2018 featured 15 documentary features playing in various categories, this year’s edition of Los Angeles-based fest will play host to 22 feature docs, 16 of which will screen in the fest’s new documentary

November 14, 2019 12:47PM PT The rooftop bar at the tony Archer Hotel in the heart of downtown Napa made a stunning backdrop for Variety’s Vivant party on Nov. 13. Vivant was launched at the Napa Valley Film Festival, which opened Nov. 13 with “Just Mercy.”  Variety executive VP of content Steven Gaydos introduced Variety

“What a snob!” So said an Academy member when I asked about Martin Scorsese’s recent New York Times opinion piece in which he doubled down on his criticism of Marvel movies. The Oscar winner became director non grata among superhero fans last month for telling Empire magazine that Marvel Cinematic Universe films are “not cinema.” 

Turks and Caicos, an archipelago of 40 islands southeast of the Bahamas, is known for picturesque white-sand beaches, a variety of marine life and the world’s third-largest barrier reef. What it didn’t have until this month is its own film festival.For Colin Burrows, festival director of the inaugural Turks and Caicos Intl. Film Festival —

November 14, 2019 9:30AM PT Tom Hanks says that almost no director before “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” helmer Marielle Heller had ever asked him to slow down during a scene. But to play Fred Rogers, Hanks, who describes himself as a “wiseacre” with “a lot of energy,” had to pull back and find

Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos claims he’s not getting distracted by huge competitors — like Disney — rumbling into the company’s streaming turf. The exec was asked what has changed for Netflix with the Nov. 12 launch of Disney Plus, which the Mouse House boasted as having signed up over 10 million users so

Tribeca Film Institute announced the winners of their 2019 TFI Pond5 program funding aspiring filmmakers. Eight applicants, narrowed down from a pool of 200, were awarded with up to $7,500 in funding for their filmmaking endeavors. The program, in junction with media company Pond5, began the initiative last year to support indie filmmakers in “systematically-excluded