Movies

Universal Pictures hosted an exclusive preview event at Essence Festival Saturday to screen the first twelve minutes of “Queen & Slim,” the hotly anticipated film written by Lena Waithe and directed  by Melina Matsoukas, known for her visionary work with Beyoncé (“Lemonade,” “Formation”) and “Insecure.” Held at the historic Gallier Hall in New Orleans, the

One of the biggest breakthrough performances of the year comes in an unexpected package; the Sundance Film Festival favorite “The Farewell” introduces audiences to 75-year-old Chinese actress Zhao Shuzhen in her dazzling American film debut. “I’m so lucky,” Shuzhen says via translator in an interview with Variety. It’s a word she uses frequently, and precisely

Variety‘s fifth annual 10 Animators to Watch celebrated what’s new, what’s different and what’s to come in animation. Variety and Nickelodeon partnered for the event, held at NeueHouse in Hollywood on Tuesday night and hosted by Variety’s executive vice president of content Steve Gaydos. The 10 Animators to Watch — Henry Bonsy, Jérémy Clapin, Trevor

A weekend getaway goes sour even before the corpses start accruing in “Trespassers,” a good-looking indie thriller that’s diverting, but could have used another script draft or two. Depicting two quarrelsome if hard-bodied couples who find themselves in deep peril at a rented desert home, Orson Oblowitz’s film has a leisurely enough buildup that room

July 10, 2019 11:32AM PT Chance The Rapper revealed he’s a Lion King expert on the red carpet at the film’s world premiere, describing his early role in the live-action film as a “nostalgia consultant.” “Donald Glover called me. I was not in that movie. Donald and Jon Favreau, the director, are really close, obviously

July 10, 2019 11:22AM PT Donald Glover, who stars as Simba alongside Beyoncé‘s Nala in the live action remake of “The Lion King” knows that working with Queen Bey is an unparalleled experience. The pair collaborated on the movie’s classic tune “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” “Yeah, that was a big deal,” Glover, also

Sony’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home” will swing to the top of domestic box office charts again this weekend and easily retain its crown over two newcomers, Paramount’s gator thriller “Crawl” and Disney’s comedy “Stuber.” If Tom Holland’s superhero adventure holds like other Marvel standalones such as “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” “Captain Marvel” or “Ant-Man and the Wasp,”

Since first making headlines in 2003 for surviving a shark attack when she was 13 years old, Bethany Hamilton has become one of the most recognizable surfers in the world. In 2011, Hamilton’s story received the Hollywood treatment with the movie “Soul Surfer,” based on her autobiography. But the new documentary “Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable” is

Spike Jonze, director of “Being John Malkovich” and “Her,” will serve as Imax Entertainment’s first “artist in residence,” Variety has learned. The company said Jonze, an Oscar-winner who has been involved with everything from music videos for Sonic Youth to the Jackass movies, will collaborate with Imax’s leadership to find new partnerships and creative opportunities.

Director Tim Miller is set to storm Hall H with “Terminator: Dark Fate,” his new vision for the beloved Arnold Schwarzenegger action franchise, which Paramount and Skydance will release in November. The Comic-Con vet has not only mounted blockbusters like “Deadpool” in San Diego but has also been attending for 25 years. Here’s his fanboy

As comic book lovers air out sleeping bags and uncap fresh Sharpie autograph markers ahead of the annual San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios is quietly preparing a splashy rollout aimed at generating excitement among fanboys and fangirls for the next phase of “Avengers” sequels and spinoffs. The superhero content engine, which is still selling tickets

Ching Lo, the businesswoman who heads Camsing International, owner of Stan Lee’s Pow! Entertainment, is at the center of a web of massive fraud allegations. Noah Holdings, one of China’s largest private wealth managers, is suing Camsing and e-commerce giant JD.com. It emerged on Monday that Ching had been arrested by Shanghai’s Public Security Bureau.

Lionsgate’s local-language film consortium, Globalgate Entertainment, has added TF1 Studio, the movie label of France’s TF1 Group, to its global collective of 13 production and distribution partners. Other Globalgate partners include Televisa, Nordisk, Tobis, Rai, Kadokawa, Lotte, TME, Paris Filmes, CineColombia/Dynamo, Viva and Belga. Lionsgate launched Globalgate three years ago to produce and distribute local-language

Valentina Cortese, an Italian actress who held the extremely rare distinction of having been nominated for best supporting actress for her work in a foreign film, Francois Truffaut’s 1973 classic “Day for Night,” has died, according to Italian news agency Ansa. She was 96. In Truffaut’s “Day for Night,” considered by many to be the

“American Heretics: The Politics of the Gospel” is a documentary about an idea that’s now such a contradiction in American culture that it has come to feel like an oxymoron, or maybe an M.C. Escher brain teaser: liberal Christianity. I mean liberal in the classic sense (per Webster’s: “marked by generosity…associated with ideals of individual

July 9, 2019 10:12PM PT Post-Korean War Seoul is the setting for a claustrophobic, politically charged murder mystery. Artists, agitators and intellectuals are put through the ringer in “The 12th Suspect,” a crisply executed mystery-thriller about a military detective investigating the murder of a civilian in the immediate aftermath of the Korean War. Set almost

Actor Rip Torn, who earned Oscar and Tony nominations as well as an Emmy Award and two Obies, has died Tuesday in Lakeville Conn., his representative confirmed. He was 88. Torn was equally at home in the comedy of the “Men in Black” film series or TV’s “The Larry Sanders Show” (for which he won

In today’s film news roundup, a movie about the deadly Camp Fire is in the works, “The Infiltrators” will open the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and former Rogers and Cowan topper Tom Tardio will run the Napa Valley Film Festival. PROJECT LAUNCH Focus Features is producing the survival story movie “Paradise,” based on

July 9, 2019 6:38PM PT Beyonce has announced a new album “The Lion King: The Gift,” for which the 23-time Grammy winner has curated a variety of Lion King-inspired songs written by African artists. The album, which comes from Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records, will include a song written and performed by Beyonce titled “Spirit,” which will also

Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds will all score massive paydays for “Red Notice,” a buzzy action caper that was recently picked up by Netflix. When the movie landed at Netflix, key talent decided that it was imperative that the three stars reach parity in compensation for the scope of their roles. Reynolds will

July 9, 2019 4:23PM PT Jon Taslim has signed on to star as Sub-Zero in “Mortal Kombat” for New Line Cinema. Taslim broke out in the 2011 Indonesian actioner “The Raid.” He appeared in “Fast and Furious 6” and “The Night Comes for Us,” and currently stars in the Cinemax series “Warrior.” New Line noted

July 9, 2019 3:15PM PT Veteran actor Michael Cudlitz, best known for his role as Sergeant Abraham Ford on “The Walking Dead,” is running for the SAG-AFTRA board. Cudlitz unveiled his candidacy Tuesday as part of the ruling Unite for Strength faction, which has also announced a re-election campaign for Gabrielle Carteris as president and

July 9, 2019 1:32PM PT Chirs Messina has signed on to co-star with Rosamund Pike and Peter Dinklage in the thriller “I Care a Lot,” sources tell Variety. J Blakeson will direct the movie from his own script. Diane Wiest is also on board to join the cast. Pike will play Marla Grayson, a highly

Kristine Belson made her first trip to the Annecy Animated Film Festival as president of Sony Pictures Animation three years ago, not long after taking control of the studio. In a speech there, she sketched out a new philosophical direction for the division: In an animation landscape dominated by longtime juggernauts and franchises, Belson wanted

July 9, 2019 12:08PM PT Dusan Brown has landed a lead role in Netflix’s “Black Bottom,” which also stars Viola Davis, Glynn Turman and Chadwick Boseman. George C. Wolfe will direct while Todd Black, Dany Wolf and Denzel Washington will produce. Constanza Romero is executive producing. Academy Award winner Ann Roth is the costume designer

With the Fourth of July holiday in the rearview mirror, it’s time to get back to work. That means it’s high time to take a look at Oscar contenders from the first half of the year. This list is comprised of films that have already been released, plus some of the top titles from festivals

Earle Hagen, the Emmy-winning composer who wrote the iconic themes for “The Andy Griffith Show,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “I Spy” and many others, would have turned 100 years old on July 9. He was one of the most influential composers in TV history, formally recognized for his landmark work when the Television Academy

Wonderfilm Media and Tyrese Gibson’s Voltron Pictures are partnering to produce action thriller “The Inside Game” with Gibson starring. Principal photography is set to commence this November, it was jointly announced Tuesday by Wonderfilm co-founder Jeff Bowler and Gibson. “We are beyond thrilled to introduce ‘The Inside Game,” Bowler said. “Tyrese has a truly unique

They may preach “Hakuna Matata,” but Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen certainly felt anxious about taking on the roles of Timon and Pumbaa in the live-action remake of “The Lion King.” The carefree meerkat and warthog were key ingredients in the original 1994 movie’s success, stealing scenes with their antics. But the chance to join

Having won the backing of Mediapro, one of Spain’s biggest media groups and an old ally, Woody Allen’s next and as-yet-untitled feature has found further support, with Glen Basner’s FilmNation boarding to co-handle international sales with Mediapro. New York-based FilmNation, one of the world’s preeminent independent sales companies renowned for its range of titles, handled