With a deadline looming in less than 36 hours, Hollywood agents have rejected the most recent proposals from the Writers Guild of America and asked the scribes to resume talks. Karen Stuart, executive director of the Association of Talent Agents, issued the request at midday Friday to WGA West executive director David Young. “We received
Movies
April 5, 2019 10:50AM PT Oscar-nominated producer Ross Katz is joining Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, a division of SK Global, as head of production and development. SK Global Co-Chairman Sidney Kimmel and co-CEO John Penotti made the announcement Friday. The move comes a month after former Imagine Entertainment chief executive officer Charlie Corwin joined “Crazy Rich
PANAMA CITY — The 8th IFF Panama has further reinforced its industry dimension, with a record number of submissions to the Primera Mirada pix-in-post sidebar and more sales agents and festival programmers attending the event, which this year includes the Locarno Industry Academy and a new Fipresci Award for the 12-pic Stories from Central America and
“Mamma Mia!” is still going strong 20 years after its April 6, 1999, debut at London’s Prince Edward Theatre. The longevity is a testament to the band ABBA and to the persistence of producer Judy Craymer, director Phyllida Lloyd and writer Catherine Johnson. The stage musical opened with low expectations; in 1983, another tribute to
Warner Bros.’ “Shazam!” earned $5.9 million on Thursday in North America, topping “Pet Sematary,” which made $2.3 million. “Shazam!” is expected to nab $45 million to $50 million domestically at 4,217 locations. The DC Comics adventure centers on Billy Batson (Asher Angel), a teenager who can transform into a cheerful superhero (Zachary Levi) when someone
April 5, 2019 6:56AM PT [embedded content] “LEGO DC Super-Villains” is getting a new level and new characters based on the “Shazam!” movie Friday, according to a press release. The “Shazam!” Movie Level Pack 1 is available for download for Season Pass holders of “LEGO DC Super-Villains”. Movie Level Pack 2 will be available on
U.K.-based film and TV firms still have a way to go to close the gender pay gaps in their ranks, the latest statistics show. Most companies have reported some progress in shrinking the disparity, but a handful saw the numbers heading in the wrong direction, with Viacom’s Channel 5 and Turner Broadcasting among the backsliders.
CINEMACON BUZZMETER WHAT’S HOT AND COLD AT THIS YEAR’S EXHIBITOR CONFAB IN VEGAS: THE LION KING Talk about a home run. Disney offered a glimpse at stunning footage of a young Simba and Mufasa basking in a photorealistic African savannah. Add the prospect of Donald Glover and Beyonce singing classic hits, and this remake looks
April 4, 2019 5:49PM PT In this week’s edition of the Variety Movie Commercial Tracker, powered by the TV advertising attention analytics company iSpot.tv, Warner Bros. claims the top spot in spending with “Shazam!” Ads placed for the superhero film had an estimated media value of $6.69 million through Sunday for 990 national ad airings
In today’s film news roundup, Sterling K. Brown is cast as a basketball coach, Kino Lorber hires a programming veteran and Imagine promotes Karen Lunder. CASTING Sterling K. Brown will play the lead role of Coach Willie Davis in inspirational sports drama “Rise” for Sony’s faith-based Affirm Films, Crystal City Entertainment and Gulfstream Pictures. Kevin
A24 has decided to start its digital release of Andrew Garfield-starring crime thriller “Under the Silver Lake” on April 22, just three days after its theatrical release. The movie’s release has been delayed twice. It had initially been set for June 22, 2018 release but was moved back to Dec. 7, 2018 following a mixed
April 4, 2019 3:32PM PT Amy Adams is set to star in Netflix’s adaptation of “Hillbilly Elegy,” which Ron Howard is on board to direct, Variety has learned. “Shape of Water” screenwriter Vanessa Taylor adapted the script, with Howard, Brian Grazer, and Karen Lunder producing for Imagine Entertainment. Julie Oh and J.D. Vance will exec
A few years ago, Hans Zimmer wrote Ben Wallfisch a fan letter. Zimmer had just seen “The Escapist,” a film he didn’t like but whose music he admired. He never received a reply. A few months later Zimmer was in London meeting a mutual friend, fellow composer Richard Harvey, and Wallfisch’s name came up. Later,
CinemaCon, the annual love fest between studios and exhibitors, wrapped up Thursday after a week that was largely spent pontificating about the power of cinema and the potential of upcoming blockbusters such as “The Lion King” and “It: Chapter Two.” The Las Vegas event is mostly an opportunity to cheerlead for a business that is
April 4, 2019 2:59PM PT “Riverdale” star KJ Apa has been cast as Christian music singer Jeremy Camp in Lionsgate’s faith-based biopic “I Still Believe.” Gary Sinise will play his father Tom Camp Lionsgate announced the castings on Thursday at CinemaCon at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Brothers Jon and Andrew Erwin, and producing partner Kevin
Seth Rogen’s Point Grey Pictures has a signed a multi-platform production deal with Lionsgate, the company announced on Thursday at its CinemaCon presentation. Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and partner James Weaver are behind the firm, which has produced titles like “Blockers,” “Neighbors,” and the raunchy animated hit “Sausage Party.” The new deal will serve as an
This month, three very different projects will showcase three sides of the same composer: a grand-scale symphonic score for a comic-book movie; a hardcore punk sound for a nightmarish supernatural tale; and a surprising combination of orchestra and electronics for an edgier-than-usual nature documentary. The composer is London-born Benjamin Wallfisch, and his music for “Shazam!,”
Blunt force and a dash of diversity helped “Terminator: Dark Fate” rise to the top of Paramount Pictures’ CinemaCon 2019 presentation on Thursday. The annual convention of movie theater owners, held in Las Vegas, got a lengthy footage reel from the forthcoming sequel in James Cameron’s famous action franchise. What was instantly clear inside the
Jim Carrey had some choice words for Benito Mussolini’s granddaughter in response to their Twitter spat. “It’s a little disconcerting that she’s in government, not because she’s in government, but because she’s obviously still embracing evil,” Carrey told Variety at CinemaCon about Alessandra Mussolini, a member of European Parliament. The actor and political artist recently
Taron Egerton, who will play Elton John in the forthcoming “Rocketman,” responded to claims that Paramount attempted to cut out a gay sex scene from the biopic. “It’s nonsense,” Egerton told Variety‘s Marc Malkin when asked about the reports. “There is a love scene in the film. It’s been slightly blown out of proportion how extreme
Linda Hamilton has no problem saying hasta la vista to the last three “Terminator” films. “They’re very forgettable, aren’t they?” she said to Variety‘s Marc Malkin at CinemaCon on Thursday. Hamilton helped promote “Terminator: Dark Fate,” the sixth entry in the franchise and her return to the series after more than 25 years. She originated
STXfilms has partnered with ON Animation Studios to acquire domestic distribution for the upcoming animated “Playmobil: The Movie,” based on the German toyline. The voice cast includes Daniel Radcliffe, Meghan Trainor, Kenan Thompson, Adam Lambert, Jim Gaffigan, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Gabriel Bateman. The movie is an ON Animation production. Producers are Aton Soumache, Dimitri Rassam,
The International Affiliation of Writers Guilds has announced full support for the Writers Guild of America in its battle with Hollywood talent agents. The announcement was issued Thursday with the WGA and the Association of Talent Agents in a standoff over the rules governing how WGA members are represented by agents. The two sides, which
Will Smith was his own worst enemy at CinemaCon on Thursday, a first look at Ang Lee’s effects marvel “Gemini Man” revealed. The dramatic actioner sees present-day Smith hunted by a cunning and unidentifiable enemy throughout a European city, and soon discovers it’s a younger version of himself. “Gemini Man” has been in development since
April 4, 2019 11:05AM PT Bill Burr has joined Pete Davidson in Judd Apatow’s untitled comedy — a semi-autobiographical story revolving around Davidson’s life. The film is written by Apatow, Davidson, and Dave Sirus. Davidson, who grew up in Staten Island, N.Y., lost his firefighter father in the September 11 attacks. The “Saturday Night Live”
Dave Bautista finds himself forced to teach spycraft to a 9-year-old girl in the first trailer for STXfilms’ comedy “My Spy.” Bautista plays a tough-as-nails CIA operative who admits, “I’m just not that good with people, but there is one thing I’m good at,” followed by explosions and mayhem. His superior (Ken Jeong) notes that
In a world where a movie like “Green Book” can be raked over the coals for the (alleged) crime of being a quaintly retrograde, patronizing-to-the-point-of-seeming-racist film (for the record, I thought it was none of that), “The Best of Enemies,” another middlebrow inspirational drama about a black person and a white person who start off
“Avengers: Endgame” could assemble one of the biggest domestic opening weekends of all time when it hits theaters on April 26. The latest Marvel adventure is on pace for a debut between $200 million and $250 million, according to early tracking. If estimates hold, it will join its predecessor, “Avengers: Infinity War,” as one of
April 4, 2019 6:00AM PT The Tribeca Film Institute and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation have announced the three TFI Sloan Filmmaker Fund 2019 grantees, awarding them a total of $150,000. The creators behind “Asia A,” “Bolichicos,” and “Wiring Utopia” have been chosen as the new grant winners. “The 2019 slate of TFI Sloan grantee teams
Confirming indications that emerged at CinemaCon, Saudi Arabia says it will invest $35 billion by 2020 in building multiplexes and aims to have more than 2,500 movie screens up and running over the next five years. The figures were trumpeted in an announcement Thursday by Saudi Arabia’s General Commission for Audiovisual Media, which said that