Frakas Prods., the Belgian independent company behind Julia Ducournau’s “Raw,” is collaborating with another promising filmmaker, Christophe Hermans, on his feature debut, “Hive,” which a teenage-driven psychological thriller. The film, which just wrapped shooting, is headlined Ludivine Sagnier opposite Sophie Breyer, Mara Taquin and Bonnie Duvauchelle, as well as Romain Guillermic. Adapted from Arthur Loustalot’s
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Barcelona-based studio Filmax has acquired international sales rights to Avelina Prat’s feature-debut “Vasil,” which is currently in pre-production. Filmax also handles Spanish distribution. “Vasil” is produced by Barcelona-based Distinto Films, which backed Patricia Ferreira’s “The Wild Children,” in co-production with Bulgaria’s Activist 38, which made Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova’s “Uncle Tony, Three Fools, And
Stars like Jason Statham, Gerard Butler, Liam Neeson and Ben Affleck have brought a semblance of stability to an unsettled American Film Market this week. The boom in streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon along with the emergence of new services from Disney, Apple and Warner Bros. has disrupted the traditional business model for
While most of the action onscreen in “Midway” involves Americans and Japanese, most of the money behind the movie is Chinese. Starlight Entertainment, which put up 45% of the $98 million budget, sees itself as an ally of the independent movie scene. The Hong Kong stock market-listed firm first came to attention when it struck
In her live show, “An Evening with Rita Moreno,” Saturday at the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage in Santa Monica, Rita Moreno told the audience she will have a “real” role in next December’s “West Side Story” remake, which recently wrapped shooting, and that she initially had concerns about the film’s production. “At first, it
Pulsar Content, the newly launched Parisian sales boutique, has closed deals on “Aznavour by Charles,” a documentary feature on the late French-Armenian crooner Charles Aznavour, directed by Marc di Domenico and narrated by Romain Duris. “Aznavour by Charles” delivers an intimate portrait of the iconic singer through exclusive footage of him through the years, and
LOS ANGELES — Films Boutique has closed France and Japan on Himalayan crowdpleaser “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom,” by Bhutanese filmmaker Pawo Choyning Dorji, rolling off its market premiere at the AFM. French rights on “Lunana” have been acquired by ARP Selection, one of the country’s most prominent art film distributors with a strong line
Among the other things Eddie Murphy’s rapturously received new comedy has going for it, “Dolemite Is My Name” might be the movie musical of the year, in spirit, if not wholly in form. At least, there are a few sequences where its real-life protagonist, comedian/musician/actor Rudy Ray Moore, breaks into a kind of proto-hip-hop performance
Poland’s EnergaCamerimage Intl. Film Festival, Europe’s leading event celebrating cinematography, came full circle Saturday, opening in Torun, the Gothic town where the founders first launched it 27 years ago. The fest was based in Bydgoszcz from 2010 until this year, operating previously in Lodz. Kicking off with a video call to David Lynch, a longtime
UPDATED: A small brush fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills above the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank, Calif., causing the Warner Bros. lot to evacuate as a precaution, before its forward progress was stopped at around 5 p.m. Saturday. According to the LAFD, fire crews are working on putting out the “still active
Phedon Papamichael has built his reputation as a cinematographer with indie, minimalist shooting for directors like Wim Wenders and Alexander Payne: his work on “Nebraska,” to cite just one case, is a study in stark, deeply ironic black-and-white compositions that center on character contrast. So when he took up the challenge with director and frequent
Rodrigo Prieto, who first visited Poland’s Camerimage fest in 2000 to take the top prize for “Amores perros” and later filmed “Brokeback Mountain” and “The Wolf of Wall Street,” says his cinematography in Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” presented challenges that pushed him into new territory. The crime thriller, adapted from Charles Brandt’s book “I Heard
Marco Bellocchio’s “The Traitor,” Roman Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy” and Pedro Almodóvar’s “Pain and Glory” lead the race for the 32nd European Film Awards with four nominations apiece. The awards, voted on by more than 3,600 members of the European Film Academy, will be presented at the awards ceremony on Dec. 7 in
November 9, 2019 11:38AM PT Saban Films has acquired North American rights to Daniel Radcliffe’s darkly comedic sc-fi thriller “Guns Akimbo” from writer/director Jason Lei Howden. Saban announced the deal Saturday at the American Film Market in Santa Monica, Calif. “Guns Akimbo” held its world premiere in September at the Toronto International Film Festival. The
IFC Films has bought North American rights to the Beanie Feldstein coming-of-age comedy “How to Build a Girl” for release in 2020. The deal was announced Saturday at the American Film Market in Santa Monica, Calif. The movie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, where it won the FIPRESCI Special Presentations award.
November 9, 2019 10:33AM PT The “Downton Abbey” movie will get its chance to charm China thanks to a theatrical release on December 13, nearly three months after its U.S. September 20 release date. The Julian Fellowes period TV series has been an extremely popular hit in China over the years, with audiences in the
“Motel Acacia” takes place in America, but not any version of America that Americans will recognize. “Re-elect Roberts!” announces a garish campaign billboard bearing the face of a generic white politician. “We are great again!” Well, it’s easy to guess who that’s referring to and to extrapolate what alternate reality “Motel Acacia” has in mind.
As Charlize Theron accepted the 33rd American Cinematheque honor at the Beverly Hilton on Friday night, the atmosphere more resembled a roast than a reverential evening celebrating the cinematic achievements of an Oscar winner. Presenters like Seth Rogen, Kristen Stewart and Seth MacFarlane shared bawdy jokes and reveals about what it’s really like working with
TORUN, Poland – Adam Bajerski, the award-winning cinematographer behind Marcin Krzysztalowicz’s 1950s Warsaw drama “Pan T.” (“Mister T.”), is re-teaming with longtime collaborator Andrzej Jakimowski for his next project. The film, “Goat Mountain,” is likely to shoot next year on the Spanish island of Lanzarote. It follows a Polish photographer who moves to the Canary
TORUN, Poland – Norwegian cinematographer Pal Ulvik Rokseth is making his mark with such recent high-profile films as Paul Greengrass’ “22 July” and Espen Sandberg’s “Amundsen,” both of which landed him in the main competition at the EnergaCamerimage Intl. Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography in Torun, Poland. Rokseth spoke to Variety about the challenges
Japanese distributor Gaga Corporation has struck an output deal with U.S. financier and producer Participant Media, giving it the Japanese release of Participant’s films that are financed via its investment in Amblin Partners. The deal was announced on the sidelines of the American Film Market in Santa Monica. Participant and Gaga previously worked together on
The director-producers of “Finding Jack” are doubling down on their defense of bringing back James Dean through CGI visual effects for the Vietnam War-era indie drama. Producer-directors Anton Ernst and Tati Golykh of Magic City Films and producer Donald A. Barton of Artistry Media Group told Variety at AFM on Friday that they were surprised
Bong Joon-ho’s Korean-language black comedy “Parasite” is poised to polish its Oscar credentials this weekend when it is expected to pass the $10 million milestone at the North American box office. The scathing social critique, which won the Palme d’Or in Cannes in May, opened in U.S. and Canadian theaters on Oct. 11. It finished
Viacom and Paramount Pictures have called off negotiations to acquire the Miramax film library, multiple insiders familiar with the talks told Variety. The media company and studio sent a letter today to Miramax owners beIN Media Group, which acquired the indie company in 2016, retracting their interest in further pursuing a deal. A spokesman for
November 8, 2019 3:44PM PT “Jumanji: The Next Level” has received a Dec. 13 release date for China, the same date as the Sony Pictures sequel’s North American launch. China was the top foreign market for 2017’s “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” with $78 million. Domestic grosses totaled $404 million, while the international take was
When Doc NYC started a decade ago, documentary film was still seen as something of a novelty. In the ensuing years, non-fiction movies have exploded in popularity with hits such as “RBG,” “Free Solo,” “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” and “Apollo 11” helping to fuel more interest in the genre. “We never could have anticipated
A French actress accused director Roman Polanski on Friday of raping her at a ski chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland, in 1975. Valentine Monnier told Le Parisien that the director violently raped her when she was 18 years old. The publication also spoke with several people who offered corroboration, saying she had told them of the
On the heels seeing “Joker” becoming a mega-hit, Bron Studios founder and chairman Aaron Gilbert has stressed the importance of focusing on diversity and inclusion. “Diversity is in the DNA of our company,” he said during the opening of the American Film Market’s Finance Conference on Friday morning, dubbed The Future of Film, at the
November 8, 2019 1:28PM PT Mister Smith International has released an exclusive first look at its “Black Beauty” reboot, starring Mackenzie Foy (pictured) and Kate Winslet. Ashley Avis is directing the Constantin Films’ pic from her own script. “Black Beauty” is based on Anna Sewell’s best-selling novel about the deep and enduring bond between a
November 8, 2019 11:24AM PT Octavia Spencer will receive the Producers Guild of America’s visionary award. Spencer will be feted at the 31st Annual Producers Guild Awards on Jan. 18 at the Hollywood Palladium. The prize honors producers who share “inspiring, uplifting stories that add unique value to society and culture.” Kenya Barris was the