Movies

As the title character of “Ma,” Octavia Spencer goes at the role of a friendly-on-the-outside, crazy-on-the-inside desperate stalker-pest in a way that befits a world-class actress who has chosen to star in a pumped-up B-movie. She does all she can to play the character as a real human being, and that accomplishes two things: It

May 29, 2019 6:57AM PT Pathé, France’s most successful independent distribution outfit, is in discussions to acquire a stake in Luc Besson’s financially ailing EuropaCorp, which revealed the negotiations Wednesday. The two companies have already been collaborating on domestic distribution of EuropaCorp movies in France. “The group Pathé has expressed interest in a potential stake

Lionsgate U.K. has taken theatrical rights to “The Father,” Florian Zeller’s movie adaptation of his hit stage play of the same name, starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman. Embankment Films, which executive produces the film, is handling worldwide sales (ex-France) and did the U.K. deal. Principal photography started in the U.K. earlier this month on

May 28, 2019 10:20PM PT A visually striking but narratively undernourished look at the relationship between a Crimean Tatar father and son. Visually striking, but narratively undernourished, the father-and-son-bonding drama “Homeward” unfolds against the backdrop of a fraught road trip from Kyiv to Russia-annexed Crimea and marks a flawed debut from young Ukrainian helmer-writer Nariman

May 28, 2019 5:40PM PT The English title suggests a desiccated, gray wasteland, but Sofía Quirós Ubeda’s “Land of Ashes” — surely one of the most entrancing first features of the year — teems with verdant, ungovernable life, made somehow more magically intense by the constant, hovering proximity of death. An expansion of the Argentine-Costa

In today’s film news roundup, Marwan Kenzari joins Charlize Theron in a new movie, Darby Camp is starring in “Clifford, the Big Red Dog,” Vic Armstrong will direct thriller “Sons of the Cross” and Doc Society selects six documentaries for its Good Pitch program. CASTINGS “Aladdin” star Marwan Kenzari has been cast opposite Charlize Theron

There are a lot of timeless movie monsters, but Godzilla, in the dozens of Japanese films that featured him, always raised a metaphysical question: Was this 165-foot-tall, beady-eyed, radiation-breathing T.-rex-meets-lizard-king, with bony sculptured plates running down his back and skin like raggedy carpet, an awesome creature to behold despite the cheesiness of the special effects

May 28, 2019 10:14AM PT Anonymous Content has joined forces with “The Imitation Game” (pictured) director Morten Tyldum and Norwegian producer Guri Neby to launch Anonymous Content Nordic. The new venture will be spearheaded by Neby, a producer at Oslo-based Einar Films, and will focus on developing and producing premium content for the international and

CANNES  —  The 2019 Cannes Film Festival confirmed the build in world cinema animation: Three movies, all French, played in its main sections: “The Bears’ Invasion of Sicily” and “The Swallows of Kabul,” both Directors’ Fortnight entries, and “I Want My Body,” in Critics’ Week. Animated movies – Studiocanal’s “Around the World,” “I Want My

MADRID — Madrid’s Latido Films, one of the Spanish-speaking world’s top sales companies for arthouse and crossover films, acquired world sales rights to Dominican director José María Cabral’s in progress “Hotel Coppelia.” The news comes as Latido has revealed a slew of sales on top titles. Their number suggests a larger depth to this year’s

Once upon a time in Cannes, a wild-eyed rebel kicked his foot through the basement window of Hollywood, stealing helter skelter from his favorite B-movies and lowbrow genres, and splicing them into the king of all cult movies. Mind you, that was a quarter-century ago, the year Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” won the Palme d’Or.

Looking at a body of work that includes everything from a classic comedy (“Friday”) to hostage thrillers (“The Negotiator”) to high-octane franchise tentpoles (“The Fate of the Furious”), the subject matter of F. Gary Gray’s movies seems to share little in common from one to the next. But the invisible throughline that connects them all

May 28, 2019 8:20AM PT Studiocanal has boarded Gilles de Maistre’s family adventure film “The Wolf and the Lion,” his follow-up to “Mia and the White Lion,” which has so far been released in 36 territories around the world and has grossed more than $31 million outside of France. “The Wolf and the Lion,” which

Mobile ticketing app Atom Tickets has partnered with the Cinemark movie theater chain, adding more than 4,500 screens at 340 U.S. locations to its network. The Cinemark locations are expected to go live on the Atom app and website by mid-summer. The network will cover more than 26,000 screens with theaters in Dallas, Houston, San

There are many different paths to success in Hollywood, and many where the truth of those journeys is considerably stranger than fiction. But even for an industry with an indefatigable aptitude for self-mythologizing, it seems hard to believe that one of the biggest directors in the world made his breakthrough with a comedy produced, written

Universal’s DreamWorks Animation has unveiled first-look images of “Marooned,” the latest title in its burgeoning short films program. The film is produced by Jeff Hermann, just attached to produce  Tom McGrath’s “The Boss Baby 2.” Directed by Andrew Erekson,“Marooned” world premieres on June 11 at France’s Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival as part of a

Canal Plus Group is on track to acquire M7, a leading pay-TV company in Europe operating in Benelux and Central Europe, as it aims to ramp up its subscriber base across the continent. The acquisition, which has yet to be approved by the European Commission, would create a turnover of more than €400 million and

In this week’s issue of Variety, Chris Hemsworth talks about the evolution of his character Thor in “Avengers: Endgame.” The latest and 22nd Marvel superhero movie, which has grossed a staggering $2.7 billion worldwide, surprised audiences with a different Thor. As an Avenger in exile, the Norse God of Thunder sports a scraggly beard and

Many of Hollywood’s most powerful content companies have maintained a deafening silence on the raging abortion legislation debate that’s sweeping the country as their star talent and producers go off script to speak out about threats to women’s reproductive rights and boycott states like Georgia that have signed the bills. Protests are erupting on the

Like everyone else, Chris Hemsworth recently bought tickets to see “Avengers: Endgame.” This was actually his second time watching the Marvel blockbuster, in which he stars as Thor. The first time Hemsworth saw the film was in mid-April alongside co-stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson and thousands of teary-eyed fans at the premiere

May 28, 2019 6:00AM PT Toonz Media Group has acquired a minority stake in the Emmy-winning kids’-content producer Telegael in Ireland. India-based Toonz further enlarges its international footprint with the deal, having already acquired Spanish animation studio Imira. Toonz is based in Trivandrum, southern India, and is part of Geneva-based Comcraft Group. The deal means

CANNES – A 2017 Cinéfondation First Jury Prize winner, Costa Rica’s Valentina Maurel returned to the Cannes Festival with a new short, the Critics’ Week entry “Lucía en el limbo,” as she prepares her first feature, “El jardin en llamas” (The Garden on Fire). Given that debut features of top Cinéfondation winners are offered a

Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival, the leading movie event in Central and Eastern Europe, unveiled its competition lineup Tuesday with a geographically diverse selection, which includes 10 world and two international premieres. Cambodia-born British filmmaker Hong Khaou brings the follow-up to his critically acclaimed Sundance debut “Lilting” with a moving drama about a young man

CANNES  —   Programmed by France’s Association for the Diffusion of Independent Cinema, Cannes’ ACID section turned its spotlight this year on Argentine cinema. As access to talent – creative and crews – becomes a predominant challenge for producers worldwide, given the huge production demand driven by global platforms, the radar can hardly be spread

May 27, 2019 7:18PM PT South Korean film director Bong Joon-ho touched down to a hero’s welcome at Seoul’s Incheon Airport on Monday afternoon, after winning the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday with his black drama “Parasite’. He also received the news that the film is off to a flying start

Leading Italian sales company True Colors has closed a slew of sales at the Cannes Market and landed North American deals on horror pic “In The Trap” and gay-themed comedy “An Almost Ordinary Summer,” acquired respectively by MPI Media Group and Wolfe Releasing. The English-language “In The Trap” (pictured) directed by Italy’s Alessio Liguori as

Disney’s live-action “Aladdin” soared far above the competition in North America, with an estimated $112.7 million at 4,476 sites over four days. It’s the fifth-highest Memorial Day weekend total ever, topping “X-Men: Days of Future Past’s” 2014 mark of $110.4 million. Disney holds the record for the holiday, with 2007’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: At

Roland Emmerich’s action-packed disaster movie “Moonfall” has been acquired by the joint venture between KKR and Fred Kogel. The unnamed new company, which will emerge from Tele München Group (TMG), Universum Film, i&u TV and Wiedemann & Berg Film, will handle the theatrical release of “Moonfall” in Germany. “Moonfall,” which was written by Emmerich, Spenser

The Match Factory has closed-out deals on Marco Bellocchio’s ‘The Traitor’ for most of the world following the Mafia drama’s Cannes competition premiere which has propelled the pic to the number two spot on Italy’s box office chart. Besides Sony Pictures Classic’s previously announced acquisition of “The Traitor” for North and Latin America, Scandinavia, Australia

May 27, 2019 2:14AM PT Disney’s “Aladdin” opened on top of the Chinese box office with a less than magical $18.7 million debut weekend. According to data from Artisan Gateway, the film beat previous chart winner “Detective Pikachu” which earned $7.5 million in its third weekend. That score advances the cumulative China total for “Pikachu”