Good news for subtitles lovers: The Academy is radically expanding how nominees are chosen in the Oscars new international feature film race. In the past, nominees were chosen in two phases, with the bulk of the work done by Academy members who volunteered to watch dozens of foreign-language movies at Los Angeles-based screenings. That’s where
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November 6, 2019 8:57AM PT James Dean will be brought back to the big screen through CGI visual effects for the Vietnam War era drama “Finding Jack.” The actor, best known for “Rebel Without a Cause,” “East of Eden” and “Giant,” died in a car accident in 1955 at age 24. Magic City Films has
Only PriceWaterhouseCoopers knows the final tally, but from the sidelines, it sure looked like last year was the closest the Academy has ever come to awarding best picture to a foreign-language film. Instead, an old-school studio movie, Peter Farrelly’s feel-good “Green Book,” took the top award, while Alfonso Cuarón’s black-and-white Mexican art film “Roma” won
November 6, 2019 3:31AM PT [embedded content] “This Is How (We Want You To Get High),” a previously unheard song by George Michael, has dropped ahead of the release of “Last Christmas,” a movie inspired by the work of the late singer-songwriter. Universal Music Group/Island Records released the new single Wednesday. Recorded during Michael’s final
French screen icon Catherine Deneuve has been hospitalized in Paris following an illness overnight, French newspaper Le Parisien reported Wednesday. The paper said Deneuve, 76, was in a “serious state” and in need of “extensive examinations,” the paper reported. But a source told Variety that Deneuve’s associates were reporting that her condition was not alarming.
In recent years, the romantic comedy has taken a sabbatical, at least from the big screen (it seems to have adopted temporary legal-resident status on Netflix). Yet it’s clear that one can point to the occasional exception: the puckishly delightful and moving 2017 indie hit “The Big Sick,” or last year’s “Crazy Rich Asians,” which
November 5, 2019 10:00PM PT International sales outfit Orange Studio has boarded Los Angeles-based Indian director Pan Nalin’s “Last Film Show” and will commence sales at the upcoming American Film Market. The film follows the 10-year-old son of a poor tea seller in India who begins a magical journey into the world of 35mm with
November 5, 2019 9:27PM PT It’s Nic Cage versus a shipful of killer critters plus a psycho terrorist in this slick, cluttered, unmemorable action thriller. “Primal” isn’t just a title that’s been used many times, it’s now a movie that seems to have put several prior movies in a food processor — to results that
November 5, 2019 9:16PM PT In this week’s edition of the Variety Movie Commercial Tracker, powered by the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv, Paramount Pictures claims the top spot in spending with “Playing With Fire.” Ads placed for the family comedy had an estimated media value of $5.24 million through Sunday for
Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard is one of the many French film figures who have applauded fellow actress Adele Haenel (“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”) for speaking out about the sexual harassment she was subjected to from the age of 12. In an article published Sunday on the investigative website Mediapart, Haenel said that Christophe
Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” is a blistering look at a relationship’s end, and the film’s production design becomes a way to understand the characters’ angst and individuality. We first meet our characters through voiceover as they recite the things that love about each other; the traits, the quirks, the strengths and all the things that
In today’s film news roundup, AFI Fest is honoring Martin Scorsese, Annette Bening will get a career achievement award, Katherine Erbe and Kelly Aucoin have new roles and Foresight Unlimited has a new owner. HONORS The American Film Institute will honor Martin Scorsese with a tribute during its AFI Fest on Nov. 15 at the
November 5, 2019 4:07PM PT Bac Films has taken international sales and French distribution rights to Rachel Lang’s (“Baden Baden”) “Our Men” starring Louis Garrel (“An officer and a spy”) as a unit leader of the French Foreign Legion. Lang’s sophomore outing, “Our Men” (“Mon Légionnaire”) also stars rising French actress Camille Cottin (“Call My Agent!”).
Zack Gottsagen has wanted to be an actor since he was a kid. Now, the 35-year-old actor with Down syndrome is in the spotlight with Roadside Attractions’ “The Peanut Butter Falcon.” The road trip movie stars Shia LaBeouf an as outlaw on the run who befriends a man with Down syndrome (Gottsagen) after he’s run
Former News Corp. executive Zhang Wei heads the Los Angeles office of Alibaba Pictures, the film making arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. With China’s digital economy developing so fast, the company has expanded to become a major player in film distribution and marketing, as well as investment. She spoke to Variety ahead of her
November 5, 2019 1:31PM PT UPDATED: Andy Serkis is in talks to play Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne’s trustworthy butler, in Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” sources tell Variety, while Colin Farrell is being eyed to play the famous Batman villain the Penguin. Robert Pattinson is on board to play the title role, Zoe Kravitz will play Catwoman
What’s the easiest way to tell the next generation of anime directors’ work apart from the creative shadow of those who came before — and especially from the look and feel of Studio Ghibli? Easy, just listen to the soundtracks they choose to define their movies’ personalities. Makoto Shinkai connects with a younger demo by setting
You expect to meet Anthony Daniels somewhere epic and exciting as befits a fixture of the Star Wars franchise, not a mundane conference room in a corner of midtown Manhattan. After all, as C-3PO, the humanoid droid who is fluent in over six million forms of communication, he has braved the sands of Tatooine, endured
Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson and Maggie Q will star in “The Asset,” an independent action-thriller announced on the eve of the American Film Market. Veteran director Martin Campbell, whose credits include “Casino Royale,” is on board to direct from a Richard Wenk script about two of the world’s top assassins for hire. When Jackson’s
Werner Herzog’s feature documentary “Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin,” which world premiered at Tribeca and played at Telluride, has been picked up for the U.S. by Music Box Films. “Nomad” takes the viewer on a journey through the creative and personal vision Herzog shared with iconic travel writer and adventurer Bruce Chatwin, the
“Euphoria” star Sydney Sweeney and “Detective Pikachu” actor Justice Smith have been cast in “The Voyeurs,” an indie currently in production from Amazon Studios. The film, which will debut exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, is the first in a planned series of “sexy date night” thrillers that studio chief Jennifer Salke promised earlier this year
Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Rob Reiner, the creators of the iconic mockumentary film This is Spinal Tap, have resolved their dispute with Universal Music Group regarding the film’s soundtrack recordings. According to the announcement, under the agreement Spinal Tap’s recordings will continue to be distributed through UMG, and “eventually the rights will be given to the creators. The
Production, finance and sales company Film Constellation has come on board to finance musical animation film “They Shot the Piano Player,” directed by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, Oscar-nominated for their 2012 animation “Chico & Rita.” Jeff Goldblum is attached to voice the lead character, a New York music journalist on a quest to uncover
Amid biting criticism of the Academy’s decision to disqualify Genevieve Nnaji’s “Lionheart” from the Oscar race for best international feature film, Nigeria’s selection committee called the move “an eye-opener” and said Tuesday it would urge local filmmakers to take care to follow Academy guidelines in the future. The committee acknowledged that “Lionheart” – Nigeria’s first-ever
November 5, 2019 7:19AM PT IFC Midnight has picked up U.S. rights to “Disappearance at Clifton Hill,” Variety has learned. The Canadian neo-noir premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, where it went by the title “Clifton Hill.” It follows Abby (Tuppence Middleton), a young woman who returns to her hometown of Niagara Falls
Brad Lamm, founder of West Hollywood’s Breathe Life Healing Centers, offers his picks of recent movies that capture the trials and triumphs of addiction and recovery. For more from Variety‘s Recovery Issue, in which prominent entertainment figures offer insights on navigating a sober life in Hollywood, click here. Crazy Heart, 2009Director, writer: Scott CooperJeff Bridges
“Uncle,” Danish director Frelle Petersen’s drama about a young woman’s life on a small farm with her disabled uncle, was awarded the Tokyo Grand Prix at the closing ceremony Tuesday of the 32nd Tokyo International Film Festival. Shot in rural Denmark with real-life farmer Peter Hansen Tygesen playing the title role, the film had its
Have you ever wondered how it all began, the arrangement by which a jolly old toymaker based somewhere near the North Pole makes the rounds each Christmas to bring presents to all the good little boys and girls? Personally, I remember having plenty of questions for my parents about Santa, but somehow never thought to
Taika Waititi’s provocative Nazi comedy “Jojo Rabbit” has been set as the opening night gala screening at the fourth edition of the International Film Festival & Awards Macao. The festival packs together a competition section that includes recent festival favorites Gitanjali Rao’s animation “Bombay Rose,” and barely fictionalize modern-day slavery drama “Buoyancy,” by Rodd Rathjen,
In today’s film news roundup, Zac Efron will portray an investigative journalist, Vanessa Hudgens is hired for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Tick, Tick… Boom!” and Zahra Phillips has a new gig. CASTING Zac Efron has signed on to star in “King of the Jungle” as a Wired Magazine investigator who tracks down John McAfee at his jungle