Kumar Shahani, one of the pioneers of India’s arthouse parallel cinema movement, died at a hospital in Kolkata on Feb. 24 after a period of illness. He was 83. Shahani studied screenwriting and direction at the Film and Television of India, where he was tutored by Indian master Ritwik Ghatak. He won a French government
Movies
The shortest distance between two points is popularly believed to be a straight line. But if one of those points is the chin, cheekbone or torso of some sneering and/or psychotic Korean gangster, the shortest route is actually the arc described by either one of Korean megastar Don Lee‘s fists, here playing the fists of
Rachel Brosnahan spoke to Variety On the Carpet presented by DIRECTV at the 2024 SAG Awards about gearing up to start filming James Gunn’s “Superman: Legacy,” in which she’s taking on the role of Lois Lane. The filmmaker posted the first cast photo last week after a table read of the script, and then Warner
The Oscar heavyweight, Grammy-winning great and all-around icon, Barbra Streisand was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 30th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. “This is such a wonderful award to get because you know in advance you’re going to get it. You don’t have to sit there in squirm… And if you don’t
“The Devil Wears Prada” cast members Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt reunited at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards to present best actor in a comedy series. Blunt was also a nominee at the award ceremony for supporting actress thanks to her role in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” Streep took to the stage first
Following the ups and downs that the Screen Actors Guild faced in 2023 — namely, a 118-day strike and a subsequent deal with the AMPTP led by president Fran Drescher — the 2024 SAG Awards represent a much-needed opportunity for the actors union to celebrate. The double bill phenomenon affectionately known as “Barbenheimer” led this
Juno Temple confirmed to Variety On the Carpet presented by DIRECTV while at the 2024 SAG Awards that “Venom 3” is finally nearing the end of filming. The “Ted Lasso” star is one of the new additions to the “Venom” franchise alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor and Clark Backo in the upcoming third movie, which is being
“Moana” voice actor Auli’i Cravalho attended her first SAG Awards this year and spoke to Variety On the Carpet presented by DIRECTV about the hit Disney animated movie becoming a full blown franchise. The studio surprised fans earlier this month by announcing the “Moana” television series it had been developing was now a movie sequel set
“Paradises of Diane,” which premiered in the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival, came out of an exploration of the “dark side of maternity” and the role of the mother in society, director Carmen Jaquier tells Variety. The film, which was directed with Jan Gassmann, starts with Diane abandoning her new-born baby at a
Netflix has acquired the Oscar-nominated documentary feature “To Kill a Tiger.” The film, about a father’s pursuit of justice in rural India, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022 and was awarded best documentary at the 2023 Palm Springs International Film Festival. “To Kill a Tiger” was, up until now, the only film
In an ideal world, the Academy’s music branch would watch all the movies and decide which five have met the criteria for excellence in musical scoring. But we all know that many other factors come into play: Was the film commercially successful? Is the composer already popular with his or her peers? Have voters been
Ebon Moss-Bachrach took to “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to talk about his recent casting in Marvel’s upcoming “The Fantastic Four” film — revealing that his character Ben Grimm (aka the Thing) will be created using motion capture rather than a physical suit. “In the past, I think they’ve done a suit. Michael Chiklis wore a suit
Paramount’s “Bob Marley: One Love” is feeling more than alright at the global box office. The musical biopic has generated $101.1 million worldwide after only 10 days in theaters, including $61.4 million in North America and $39.7 million from 59 international territories. “One Love” retained the top spot on domestic charts in its second weekend
The enduring artistry of the late film composer-songwriter Michel Legrand is on full display in Todd Haynes’ “May December.” But not everyone is happy to hear Haynes’ usage of the Legrand score from Joseph Losey’s 1971 romantic drama “The Go-Between,” repurposed to jarring (if you don’t like it) but provocative (if you do) effect. Whichever
French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop made history at tonight’s Berlin Film Festival awards ceremony, becoming the first Black director ever to win the Golden Bear, the fest’s top prize, for her inventive, resonant documentary “Dahomey.” She accepted the award from Lupita Nyong’o, in turn the first Black person ever to preside over the festival’s Competition jury
If you told me there was a plan in place to make four Beatles biopics — one each about John, Paul, George, and Ringo — and that they were going to be directed by Richard Linklater, I’d be suffused with curiosity and excitement. If you told me that those same four movies were going to
Ongoing protests in Berlin against the war in Gaza — a conflict triggered by the Hamas attacks on Israel on Oct. 7 — reached former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and attendees of the Berlin Film Festival’s European Film Market this week following concerted efforts by some international cultural workers to boycott and target
SPOILER ALERT: This article continues spoilers for the film “Drive-Away Dolls.” In Ethan Coen‘s “Drive-Away Dolls,” an homage to the colorful, brash world of exploitation cinema, there’s a notable cameo from none other than Miley Cyrus. Cyrus appears in a psychedelic swirl of flashbacks as Tiffany Plastercaster, seen titillating a college-aged version of Matt Damon’s
Legendary director Werner Herzog was asked by Piers Morgan on the latter’s “Uncensored” talk show to weigh in on the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, but Herzog was no expert on the matter. The “Grizzly Man” and “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” filmmaker never got around to seeing Christopher Nolan’s atomic bomb epic, and he seemed to be
This article first appeared as part of Jenelle Riley’s Acting Up newsletter – to subscribe for early content and weekly updates on all things acting, visit the Acting Up signup page. I’m no stranger to celebrity. I’ve sat down with Leonardo DiCaprio, I’ve interviewed Angelina Jolie — and I have never been more starstruck than last week, when
Audiences will get a chance to see MTV Documentary Films‘ Oscar nominated short documentary “The ABCs of Book Banning” for free on YouTube beginning on Feb. 23 until the end of the month. The 27-minute film, about the rising tide of book banning efforts around the United States, marks docu titan Sheila Nevins‘ directorial debut.
Justine Triet became the second female filmmaker in the Cesar Award’s 49-year history to win the best director trophy for “Anatomy of a Fall,” which also won best film, original screenplay, actress for Sandra Huller, supporting actor for Swann Arlaud and editing at the French film industry’s big night. Thomas Cailley’s supernatural drama “The Animal
SANTA FE, N.M. — Jurors in the trial of “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed were shown text messages on Friday that indicated she was smoking marijuana the night before a fatal accident on set. Prosecutors are building a case that Gutierrez Reed’s sloppiness and lack of professionalism led to the death of Halyna Hutchins, the
Aliyar Rasti’s excellent Iranian feature debut, “The Great Yawn of History,” wrestles with faith and disillusionment during a woebegone treasure hunt. Pious, middle-aged Beitollah (Mohammad Aghebati) believes his recurring dreams of finding gold coins at the end of a dark cave. But since picking up lost money is haram — or religiously forbidden in Islam
Scarlett Johansson is assembling the cast of her directorial debut, “Eleanor the Great.” June Squibb, the Oscar-nominated actor of “Nebraska” will be joined by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Broadway veteran Jessica Hecht and Erin Kellyman. The movie, formerly titled “Eleanor, Invisible,” follows Eleanor Morgenstein (Squibb), a 90-year-old woman trying to rebuild her life after the death of
Lionsgate has closed a deal with “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” director Destin Daniel Cretton to write and direct a live-action film adaptation of the manga classic “Naruto.” The announcement was made today by Adam Fogelson, chair of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. The movie will be based on the manga created by
Black Bear has hired Courtney L. Cunniff as senior vice president of film. Cunniff comes to Black Bear from eOne and Hasbro, where she served as vice president of production and development & acquisitions for film titles under both of the company’s banners. Black Bear’s credits include “The Imitation Game,” “I Care A Lot” and
The creative process can sometimes be highly organized, and others completely ephemeral: for every story that’s been mapped out beat by beat there’s another that arrived completely intact from a writer’s fingers in a feverish outpouring of inspiration. Somewhere in between these extremes is the unglamorous, frequently tedious work of chipping away at an idea,
John Cena revealed on “The Howard Stern Show” that an agency advised him not to appear in Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” in a cameo as a mermaid Barbie. The WWE icon and action star was told appearing in “Barbie” might impact future leading roles. Cena refused to listen. “[The agency is] just going on what they
Oscar-nominated sound mixer Steve Morrow has recorded quite a few party scenes in his career, in movies such as “Don’t Worry Darling,” “The Prom” and “Babylon.” When it came to Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro,” Morrow had to figure out how to capture the sound in a prominent party scene that takes place at the Bernstein family