Movies

Running Aug. 29-Sept. 7, the third edition of Venice VR will spotlight 39 unique projects, with 26 unspooling in the competition overseen by jury president Laurie Anderson and 13 more screening in the non-competitive Best of VR section. Once more, curators Michel Reilhac and Liz Rosenthal have divided the Venice VR competition into two unique

The 2019 Venice Film Festival, running Aug. 28-Sept. 7, reflects the seismic changes under way in Hollywood. “There is a strange situation this year with American cinema due to what’s happening,” says artistic director Alberto Barbera. “An earthquake [is] undermining the U.S. film industry as we know it.” Barbera, who’s been instrumental in turning the

Colin Farrell has set Irish crime drama “The Ruin” as the first production for his new production banner Chapel Place Productions. The project will re-team Farrell with his “The Lobster” producer Lee Magiday. The newly formed Chapel Place was set up by Farrell with his sister and manager Claudine Farrell. The pair will team with

Netflix will open Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” on Nov. 1 in limited release. The crime drama, which stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci, will keep adding cities over a three and a half week period before launching on the streaming service on Nov. 27. Scorsese reportedly had wanted the film to have

August 27, 2019 6:51AM PT [embedded content] Netflix has released its first look teaser trailer for David Michod’s “The King,” starring Timothee Chalamet. The Shakespearean adaption sees its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Sept. 2. The adaptation of several of Shakespeare’s plays sees Chalamet star as the newly crowned King Henry V,

A first look image of Benedict Cumberbatch and Claire Foy in new film “Louis Wain,” which has started shooting, has been released by Studiocanal. Stacy Martin and Hayley Squires have also now joined the project, which is a co-production of Sunnymarch and Shoebox Films for Studiocanal, Film4 and Amazon Studios. The film is currently shooting

Filming kicked off in Colombia on August 19 for Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Tilda Swinton-led “Memoria,” the filmmaker’s first feature to be shot outside his home country. Germany’s The Match Factory, which has represented several of Weerasethakul’s  previous films on the international market including 2010 Cannes Palme d’Or winner “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His

In today’s film news roundup, Tobin Bell, David Walton, Majandra Delfino and Mickey Rourke are cast; “Dark Waters,” “Covers” and “Albanian Gangster” get release dates. CASTINGS “Saw” actor Tobin Bell will star in the independent comedy “Mouth to Mouth,” Variety has learned exclusively. The project will be produced by Dean C. Jones, Starr Jones, and

Steven Fabrizio, a top executive at the Motion Picture Association of America, has been fired following charges of second degree sexual abuse and blackmail. Fabrizio served as general counsel to the trade group, which represents the interests of Hollywood on Capitol Hill. He was charged on Saturday in Washington, D.C. On Monday morning, MPAA Chairman

Annapurna Pictures has resolved more than $200 million in debt, insiders close to the matter told Variety, after weeks of hardball between top financial institutions and Larry Ellison, Oracle billionaire and father of Annapurna CEO Megan Ellison. Participants in the studio’s revolving credit facility will receive roughly $0.82 on the dollar to cure more than

August 26, 2019 6:11PM PT Eva Longoria will direct Fox Searchlight’s “Flamin’ Hot,” a biopic about the man who created the spicy Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Variety first reported in February, 2018, that Searchlight and DeVon Franklin were set to produce the film “Flamin’ Hot,” which will tell the true story of Richard Montanez, who rose

SPOILER ALERT: The following story contains details of the opening scene of “It: Chapter Two.” Fans of Stephen King’s novel “It” will be familiar with the opening scene of “It: Chapter Two,” director Andy Muschietti’s follow-up to his first “It” installment in 2017. A gay couple is walking home from a carnival in Derry, Maine

Chef, TV host and author Eddie Huang has been set to direct and write coming-of-age story “Boogie” for Focus Features. The project is set in contemporary New York City and follows a Chinese-American basketball phenom who struggles to balance the expectations of his immigrant family with his own dreams of becoming a player for the

August 26, 2019 3:55PM PT Newcomer Helena Zengel has been tapped to star opposite Tom Hanks in Paul Greengrass’ upcoming “News of the World,” sources tell Variety. “News of the World” is based on the best-selling 2016 novel by Paulette Jiles, which is set in the days following the Civil War. It charts the unlikely

Oscar-nominated screenwriter Nicholas Kazan has warned that the leaders of the Writers Guild of America may tear apart the union. Kazan, who is running for the WGA West board, issued the prediction in an email Monday to members following the Aug. 16 that the announcement that the WGA would start holding tribunals to punish writers who

Studios seemingly threw caution to the wind at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, shelling out top dollar in hopes of finding the next indie sensation. A few Hollywood companies saw those shopping sprees pay off, while most will likely be feeling buyer’s remorse. Amazon Studios was among the big spenders, unloading nearly $41 million at

Anthony Michael Hall will join Jamie Lee Curtis in “Halloween Kills,” the latest sequel in Blumhouse and Universal’s horror franchise. Hall will portray Tommy Doyle, a character who first appeared in the original “Halloween” movie as one of the kids Laurie Strode (Curtis) babysat the night Michael Myers reigned terror on the small town. Doyle’s

As a bride terrorized by her new in-laws in the campy horror-thriller “Ready or Not,” star Samara Weaving wears but one costume — a Victorian bridal gown — that serves as a masterclass in costume design and layered storytelling. Weaving’s dress is not just a dress — it’s a murder weapon, a first aid kit,

August 26, 2019 11:23AM PT Baltasar Kormakur is reteaming with his “2 Guns” star Mark Wahlberg to helm an adaptation of the 2017 true story “Arthur: The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home.” The book was written by Mikael Lindnord, the captain of a Swedish adventure racing team, and follows Lindnord and

Two films ago, with “Café Society,” Woody Allen opened Cannes. Last time out, with 2017’s “Wonder Wheel,” he closed the New York Film Festival. His latest film, the first casualty of the squealing-brakes reversal when Amazon Studios pulled out of their four-picture deal with the scandal-buffeted director, premiered a month ago in one Eastern European

Corneliu Porumboiu’s “The Whistlers,” which premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, has been selected as Romania’s official Oscar entry in the international feature film category. Magnolia Pictures has U.S. distribution rights to the film. The distributor has had much success in the category, having distributed nominees in five of the last seven years,

The end of the Skywalker Saga draws closer. After debuting footage during D23’s Walt Disney Studios panel on Saturday, the general public has been treated to another look at “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” The new footage features Rey, Kylo Ren, Finn, Poe Dameron, Chewbacca, BB-8, C-3PO and Lando Calrissian in what could be

“Amanda Knox” producer Stephen Robert Morse is launching development of projects based on the book “Sons of Wichita: How the Koch Brothers Became America’s Most Powerful and Private Dynasty.” Morse has teamed with veteran producer Max Peltz to option the rights to create both fiction and non-fiction projects based on Daniel Schulman’s 2014 book about David and

August 26, 2019 8:02AM PT Rich Battista has been tapped as the chief executive officer of Imagine Entertainment. He takes the reins after a long career in media, most recently as president and chief executive officer of Time Inc., where he helped oversee the publisher’s $2.8 billion sale to Meredith Corp. Battista also ran Mandalay

Following the footsteps of major festivals including Cannes and Venice, five Nordic festivals have joined forces to sign the 50/50 by 2020 gender equality pledge. Initiated by WIFT Nordic (Women in Film and Television), the pledge for gender parity and inclusion was signed Monday by officials from Sweden’s Carl, Denmark’s CPH:DOX, Oslo Pix in Norway,

Locally-made horror thriller “Metamorphosis” debuted on top of the South Korean box office, as it opened in local cinemas on Wednesday. The Acemaker Movieworks release earned $5.63 million from 770,000 admissions between Wednesday and Sunday, including $4.25 million earned over the weekend. Directed by “The Con Artists” director Kim Hong-sun, the horror flick revolves around

Harvey Weinstein, the movie mogul whose fall from power galvanized the #MeToo movement in Hollywood, pleaded not guilty to a new indictment on Monday. The film producer previously entered not guilty pleas to five charges of rape, sexual assault, and “predatory sexual assault,” stemming from allegations from two women. Prosecutors are seeking to bolster their

Twenty two years ago, Jennifer Lopez became a star with “Selena.” The musical biopic about Selena Quintanilla-Perez, the queen of Tejano music whose life was tragically cut short, earned more than $35 million at the domestic box office, solid numbers for an adult drama released in 1997. And “Selena” has had a long post-theatrical life,

Hollywood has failed miserably to provide Latinx actors with starring roles in major movies, according to a new study by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. To draw its conclusions, the report examined the 100 top grossing movies from 2007 to 2018 and found that only 3% of the films had Latinx actors in lead or

Martin Scorsese will receive the 14th annual Kirk Douglas Award for excellence in film Nov. 14 at a black-tie gala dinner, with proceeds benefiting the Santa Barbara Intl. Film Festival’s free year-round educational programs. The event will take place at the Ritz Carlton Bacara in Santa Barbara. Scorsese’s next film, “The Irishman,” will be released