Tel Aviv-based sales agent Cinephil has taken world sales on Emmy Award-winning director Alexander Nanau’s “Collective,” an investigation into the tragic 2015 fire in a Bucharest night club, fallout from which toppled Romania’s government. The high-profile doc is screening in Venice and Toronto. Co-produced by Nanau with HBO Europe and Romania’s Samsa Film — and
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MADRID — The San Sebastian Festival has announced the third and final recipient of this year’s Donostia career achievement awards, Canadian actor Donald Sutherland. He will accept his award before the screening of his latest film, Guiseppe Capotondi’s “The Burnt Orange Heresy.” With more than 200 credited performances over the past half-century, Sutherland stands tall,
‘Weathering With You’ Hit Anime Selected as Japan’s Oscars Contender – Variety You will be redirected back to your article in seconds August 26, 2019 2:52AM PT “Weathering with You,” the hit animation by Makoto Shinkai, has been selected as Japan’s contender for a the International Feature Film Awards at the Oscars, the Japan Motion
Revving up against a line-up completely devoid of serious competitors, “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” roared to the top of China’s box office with a $101 million debut, figures from consultancy Artisan Gateway show — more than four times the haul of the weekend’s second highest grossing title. China is one of the
Mars Films, a leading French distribution company that released American indie films such as Oscar winners “12 Years a Slave” and “Moonlight” in France, has been put under financial restructuring and monitoring for six months by a business court in Paris. The company, which has 23 employees, went into receivership Aug. 1 after it stopped
August 26, 2019 1:30AM PT “How did you end up in here?” an older inmate asks Jaime, a young man who unexpectedly finds himself in prison. The answer: He killed his best friend. “El Principe” is Chilean director Sebastián Muñoz’s debut feature and has its world premiere in the Critics’ Week section at the Venice
Works of art that were once radical tend to find their cozy place in the cultural ecosystem. It’s almost funny to think that an audience ever booed “The Rite of Spring,” or that the Sex Pistols shocked people to their souls, or that museum patrons once stood in front of Jackson Pollock’s splatter paintings or
August 25, 2019 10:42AM PT Earth Alliance, an environmental initiative backed by Leonardo DiCaprio, has committed $5 million toward the preservation of the Amazon rain forest following an alarming surge in wildfires. After launching Sunday, the organization’s emergency Amazon Forest Fund is working to support local partners and indigenous communities in their efforts to protect
August 25, 2019 8:55AM PT Universal’s “Hobbs & Shaw” returned to first place on international box office charts, thanks to a massive $102 million debut in China. The “Fast & Furious” spinoff, starring Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, collected another $120 million overseas, boosting its foreign tally to $441 million. “Hobbs & Shaw” is nearing
“Angel Has Fallen,” the third chapter in Lionsgate and Millenium’s action franchise starring Gerard Butler, had a stronger opening weekend than expected, collecting $21.25 million during its first three days of release. Those ticket sales were enough to top domestic box office charts, bumping last weekend’s champ, Universal’s comedy “Good Boys,” to second place. Starring
SANTIAGO, Chile French director Mikhael Hers’ “Amanda” scooped up the Best Int’l Film award Saturday (Aug. 24) at the 15th Santiago Int’l Film Fest (Sanfic), which reported a 20% audience uptick in the past two years and continues to grow its reputation as the most vibrant and prominent film festival in Latin America’s Southern
Not to be outdone by the avalanche of series orders and casting announcements bolstering the new streaming series Disney Plus, Walt Disney Studios showed off its film wares in a marathon presentation at D23 on Saturday. The Anaheim, Calif. expo brought star power, if perhaps fewer surprises than Friday’s presentation, as fans in princess and
Taylor Swift’s association with disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was among the topics the singer addressed in a revealing new interview with The Guardian. Weinstein held producer credits for the movies “One Chance” and “The Giver,” both of which featured Swift — in the former, a song, and in the latter, a supporting role. She
August 24, 2019 3:42PM PT [embedded content] In case you hadn’t heard, Emmy-winning drama “Breaking Bad” is cooking up a movie sequel. On Saturday, after details of Netflix’s project quietly leaked online, the streaming giant issued the first teaser for “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie,” which will be released on October 11. Starring Aaron
Samara Weaving didn’t mean to hurt Andie MacDowell, but she did just that while they were rehearsing for their new horror dark comedy “Ready or Not.” “I hit Andie MacDowell in the face by accident,” Weaving says on this week’s episode of “The Big Ticket,” Variety and iHeart’s movie podcast. “It was horrible. It was
Mexican horror festival Morbido and Chile’s Santiago Intl. Film Festival (Sanfic) have agreed on a long-term collaboration intended to strengthen the genre film industry in Chile and across Latin America. This partnership will see Morbido representatives attend the Sanfic industry section each year to aid in the promotion of horror projects and advise those projects
British actor Tom Holland showed face on the main stage at D23 on Saturday, in the thick of an ugly studio battle over the rights to his iconic Marvel character Spider-Man. Headlines have been rolling in for days about the contentious battle for the cinematic future of the hero, after Sony Pictures became unwilling to
Disney debuted a first look at upcoming Pixar film “Soul” at the D23 expo in Anaheim, Calif. and announced its star-studded voice cast. “Soul” imagines that every person on earth comes pre-installed with a soul formed and perfected in a cosmic realm. Jamie Foxx will play a middle-school music teacher on earth who dreams of
August 24, 2019 11:25AM PT Emma Stone’s Cruella de Vil is significantly more punk rock than her animated counterpart. Stone appeared via video message to debut the first look of the titular character in Disney’s “Cruella” at D23 on Saturday, also revealing that it will take place in the punk rock era of the 1970s.
Crystal Yifei Liu, the star of Disney’s live action remake of “Mulan,” skipped the press line and Disney panel at Disney’s D23 expo Saturday in the heat of the #BoycottMulan controversy. Unlike the other portions of the Saturday Disney panel, which featured both stars and directors for the other films presented, the “Mulan” panel was
Marvel fans aren’t the only ones heartbroken that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man might not be in the Marvel Cinematic Universe anymore. “It really is sad. First off, he’s the greatest Spider-Man to me. He actually has that youthful energy,” Elizabeth Olsen, who plays Scarlet Witch in the MCU, told Variety at D23 on Friday. “He’s been
Jon Snow is leaving the North. “Game of Thrones” star Kit Harington is joining the cast of “The Eternals” as Dane Whitman, also known as the Black Knight, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced Saturday on the main stage at D23. Feige also confirmed Gemma Chan’s appearance in the film as Sersi, another member of
“Black Panther” director Ryan Coogler announced the release date of the much-anticipated follow-up film at D23 in Anaheim, Calif. Saturday. “Black Panther 2” will hit theaters May 6, 2022. “We’re not taking our time, we’re really trying to get it right,” Coogler said of the production schedule. Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige said Coogler has
Director J.J. Abrams spoke at length about Carrie Fisher during D23’s Walt Disney Studios panel on Saturday, saying that the late Princess Leia actress is “the heart of” the final installment in the Skywalker saga. “The character of Leia is really, in a way, the heart of this story,” Abrams said. “We realized we could
Francisco Hervé of Panchito Films, Moisés Sepúlveda from Madriguera Films and Daniela Raviola, three of Chile’s most exciting international-minded independent producers, have together launched a new indie production house, Juntos Films. Hervé has written, directed (“The Power of Speech,” “The Lost City”) and produced (María Paz González ‘s “Daughter”) several feature films, documentaries and TV
August 23, 2019 6:44PM PT [embedded content] Among the many announcements at the D23 Expo, Disney debuted the first look at holiday feature “Noelle,” which is set to premiere exclusively on Disney Plus this fall. “It isn’t Christmas without Santa’s Sister,” Walt Disney Studios said of the film on Twitter. Starring Anna Kendrick and Bill
In today’s film news roundup, the Austin Film Festival selects a Terrence Malick title, “A Day Without a Mexican” gets a sequel and DCR Finance signs a first-look deal. FESTIVAL SCREENING The Austin Film Festival will screen Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life,” which won the Francois Chalais and Ecumenical Jury awards at the Cannes Film
August 23, 2019 5:37PM PT Paramount Pictures has moved the release date of Blake Lively’s “The Rhythm Section” back two months from Nov. 22 to Jan. 31, 2020, the weekend of Super Bowl LIV. The spy tale, adapted from Mark Burnell’s novels surrounding character Stephanie Patrick, is produced by James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and
The gunslinging lone warrior — the Mandalorian, as they call him — calls the far reaches of the “Star Wars” galaxy home. Disney dropped the first trailer for the spinoff series during its biennial D23 convention on Friday, finally giving fans a closer look at the franchise’s newest character. “The Mandalorian” creator Jon Favreau, who
August 23, 2019 4:59PM PT [embedded content] Ready your dog-friendly bowl of spaghetti, Disney has debuted the first trailer for its live-action remake of “Lady and the Tramp,” starring Tessa Thompson and Justin Theroux. The teaser was released during Disney’s D23 Expo in Anaheim at the Disney + presentation. In addition to Thompson and Theroux,