Charlize Theron has been selected for the 2019 American Cinematheque Award, with the presentation set to take place Nov. 8 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. “The American Cinematheque is extremely pleased to honor Charlize Theron as the 33rd recipient of the American Cinematheque Award at our celebration this year,” said American Cinematheque
Movies
Isabelle Giordano, the managing director of French film promotion body UniFrance, will be stepping down from the organization in late July to pursue new projects. UniFrance has not yet found a replacement. During her six years at UniFrance, Giordano helped develop several initiatives to increase the profile of French movies and talent abroad. Serge Toubiana,
It’s June — meaning school’s out and summer is in full force. What better way to celebrate than to binge some of Netflix’s new releases? Yell “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore” out your window as you watch “Network.” Be wary of modern technology as you consume the new
June 3, 2019 1:04PM PT Diane Kruger will co-star in Simon Kinberg’s spy thriller “355.” She is joining an all-star ensemble that includes Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Fan Bingbing, and Penelope Cruz. Kinberg is set to direct from a script he co-wrote with Theresa Rebeck. The movie follows a group of spies from international agencies
U.K. producers have a new potential source of finance after the British Film Institute, Calculus Capital, and Stargrove Pictures launched a new £20 million fund ($25.3 million). The partners are looking to raise that amount to sink into six-to-ten film and TV production companies under the reworked EIS rules in the U.K. The funds are
June 3, 2019 10:00AM PT “Moonlight” writer-director Barry Jenkins will direct a biopic about iconic choreographer Alvin Ailey. Fox Searchlight first announced the project in March 2018, saying it had the support of the Ailey Organization. Singer-songwriter Alicia Keys is producing with Susan Lewis through her AK Worldwide production company, along with Judy Kinberg, Rachel
Hollywood studios broke their silence last week, threatening to leave Georgia if a controversial new law banning abortions after six weeks goes into effect next year. At risk for the state is some $2.7 billion in direct spending, as well as 92,100 jobs and nearly $4.6 billion in total wages. Opponents of the so-called “heartbeat”
David Lynch, Wes Studi and Lina Wertmüller will receive honorary Oscars, and Geena Davis will be honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Monday. The four Oscar statuettes will be presented at the Academy’s 11th annual Governors Awards on Oct. 27, and the selections are
Italy’s Biografilm Festival, an event billed as a cinematic celebration of human lives, will pay tribute to Werner Herzog, whose Japanese-language film “Family Romance, LLC” will launch locally following its Cannes premiere, as will “Meeting Gorbachev,” his sit-down conversation with the former Soviet leader. The prolific Herzog, 76, whose long career comprises feature films such
Though they are both musical biopics backed by major Hollywood studios and (at least partially) directed by Dexter Fletcher, “Rocketman” and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” from a box office perspective, are faulty comparisons. That’s an important distinction to note as Paramount’s “Rocketman,” centering on the life and times of Sir Elton John, begins its theatrical run in
June 3, 2019 6:30AM PT “Lucky,” a searing chronicle of sexual assault penned by Alice Sebold (“The Lovely Bones”), is set to be adapted into a feature film by Karen Moncrieff (“13 Reasons Why”). James Brown (“Sill Alice”) is producing the film. Lisa Wolofsky of Skywolf Media and Nadine de Barros at Fortitude are fully
Disney’s live-action remake of “The Lion King” debuts in theaters in just over a month and the movie was on the brain –and inspired the looks on the bodies – of the guests at the Wearable Art Gala on Saturday night in Santa Monica. Tina Knowles Lawson hosted the annual event, which raised over $2
As it now stands, virtual reality technology is clunky and unconvincing, offering little more than the illusion of interactivity. Someday, VR will make good on its potential, but until then, French writer-director Nicolas Bedos has conceived something better: a service whereby wealthy clients can pay a high-end reenactment service to stage a carefully orchestrated and
Now that moviegoers are finally getting to see “Rocketman,” casual Elton John fans may wonder which key moments are fiction. That’s not easy in a film staged more as a movie musical than traditional biopic. Is the “Tiny Dancer” singer’s story riddled with tiny fibs, or should we be surprised by what it gets right?
The first trailer for “Logan” director James Mangold’s “Ford v. Ferrari” has finally arrived. The film, based on true events, follows Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale as Ken Miles, an engineer and race car driver, respectively, who team up to build a car that can beat Ferrari for Ford Motor Company. Set
Han Solo has a good feeling about Disneyland’s Millennium Falcon. Harrison Ford, who visited the park’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge attraction for its grand opening last week, summed up the addition — which includes an immersive ride based on Solo’s trusty spaceship — in one word: “incredible.” The actor shared his thoughts on the Falcon
“Godzilla: King of the Monsters” didn’t have a roar quite as deafening as its franchise predecessors. The third entry in Warner Bros. and Legendary’s MonsterVerse opened with a middling $49 million at the domestic box office, a start well below 2014’s “Godzilla” ($93 million) and 2017’s “Kong: Skull Island” ($61 million). Like its series brethren,
Brian De Palma has used the Italian film composer Pino Donaggio on and off for over 40 years, ever since their first (and still greatest) collaboration, “Carrie,” in 1976. Donaggio, with his lushly purple neo-Bernard Herrmann dissonant extravagance, is to De Palma what Angelo Badalamenti has been to David Lynch: a composer of rapturous dread-infused
Godzilla — King of the Box Office? Warner Bros. and Legendary’s “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” launched at the international box office with a chart-topping $130 million from 75 overseas markets. The sci-fi tentpole debuted in North America with $49 million for a worldwide start of $179 million. Directed by Michael Dougherty and starring Kyle
Frank Lucas, the former heroin dealer and drug kingpin whose life became the subject of Ridley Scott’s “American Gangster,” died Thursday. He was 88. Lucas’ nephew, Aldwan Lassiter, confirmed the news to the New York Times. He said Lucas died of natural causes in Cedar Grove, New Jersey. Born in 1930, Lucas operated in Harlem
Warner Bros. and Legendary’s “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” may be king of the box office, but it only managed a meek roar. The monster sequel brought in $49 million when it debuted in 4,108 locations, a disappointing start given its $200 million price tag. “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” is the third installment in Legendary’s
June 2, 2019 7:00AM PT A punishing, sensorial cri de coeur that dispenses with traditional narrative to create a surrealist, all but impenetrable drama about Algeria’s bloody civil war of the 1990s. It’s fitting that Amin Sidi-Boumédiène uses songs from drone metal band Asva’s “Presences of Absences” album in his feature debut, “Abou Leila,” given
June 2, 2019 4:00AM PT Another opaque offering from Tunisian director Ala Eddine Slim that wants to show the perfect symbiosis between the sexes and nature but is too in love with its own inscrutability. Tunisian director Ala Eddine Slim’s 2016 debut “The Last of Us” garnered a certain cult following after its Venice premiere
CLUJ, Romania–Academy Award-winning writer-director Michel Gondry shared his thoughts on the creative process and the lessons he’s learned across his celebrated and wide-ranging career during a masterclass Saturday at the Transilvania Intl. Film Festival. Gondry appeared in conversation with TIFF artistic director Mihai Chirilov, who introduced the French filmmaker by describing his own personal connection
June 2, 2019 12:08AM PT Actress Hafsia Herzi bites off more than she can chew as director, writer, producer and performer in this tedious relationship drama veering perilously close to narcissism. We all know that person — maybe we’ve been there ourselves — hopelessly in love with an undeserving partner. Let’s call this person Lila.
Mindy Kaling has been a household name since her time as a writer and star of “The Office,” and her Hollywood resume – which includes roles in “Ocean’s 8” and her own series “The Mindy Project” — is about as impressive as it gets. But with her upcoming film “Late Night,” the talented creator is
Warner Bros.’ “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” is stomping its way to an estimated $48 million debut from 4,108 North American locations. The follow-up to 2014’s “Godzilla” took in $19.6 million on Friday. The latest projection is slightly below earlier tracking estimates, which had placed it in the $50 million to $55 million range. In
May 31, 2019 6:56PM PT The Writers Guild of America is warning of more legal action against non-franchised talent agencies in another sign of the deepness of the WGA-agency dispute. The guild directed its nearly 15,000 members on April 12, when negotiations collapsed, to terminate relations with agents who refused to sign its new Code
In today’s film news roundup, “Pulp Fiction” consumer products are coming, HollyShorts will offer a development deal, Sundance makes a FilmFreeway deal and “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” gets a release date. CONSUMER PRODUCTS Miramax has partnered with White Space Entertainment to manage its film portfolio in the consumer product space starting with “Pulp
The Writers Guild of America has agreed to resume stalled talks with Hollywood agents on June 7 at an unspecified location, Variety has learned. The WGA negotiating committee told members on May 29 that the agencies had proposed that date, but didn’t say then that the guild had agreed to the meeting, which has left