May 17, 2019 4:19PM PT Paul Haggis and Dan Krauss’s traditionally styled documentary about an influential AIDS nursing ward delivers primarily on feeling. “It was a wonderful place where you could go to die — but it doesn’t take away from the fact that they died.” This is how one interviewee describes 5B, the trailblazing
Movies
Streaming service MUBI — whose first production, transgender love story “Port Authority” from first-time director Danielle Lessovitz, is in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard — is stepping up film production activity. It now has plans for a 10-picture slate, including a film from French director Rachel Lang. MUBI has boarded Lang’s “Mon Legionnaire,” her follow-up to
Wizart, Russia’s leading animation producer, has inked a co-production pact with U.S. sales and finance company QED Intl. Last month, Wizart’s “The Snow Queen: Fire and Ice,” the third pic in the franchise, became the highest-grossing Russian film in the international box office of all time with a $20.3 million gross worldwide, excluding Russia, where
“Flight Risk” is taking off with Great Point, which has boarded sales on the U.S.-produced thriller. The film follows a group of strangers who wake up with amnesia on a bullet-ridden plane. Luis Prieto, who helmed the remake of Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Pusher,” is attached to direct. The action thriller is being produced by L.A.-based
Salty Pictures, the production and finance company headed by Jonah Greenberg, CAA’s former head in China, has unveiled a five-picture production slate in tandem with Thailand’s The Studio Park Prods. (TSPP), including a Chinese-language film together with Johnny Depp and his Infinitum Nihil partner Sam Sarkar. Studio Park is a leading facilities provider and property
The China UniCreative Culture Industry Group and Canada’s CarpeDiem Film & TV are allying for the development, production, financing and the exploitation of animated IPs for the Chinese and international markets. Pink Parrot Media will handle international sales outside China while China UniCreative Culture Industry Group (CUC) will oversee distribution in China. Over the next
Saturday night marks the first time that Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu will climb the steps of Cannes’ Grand Théâtre Lumière to premiere a film in competition. But for a director who’s called himself a “child” of the world’s glitziest film festival, the butterflies are familiar. “Every time I’m coming to Cannes, I have this type
May 17, 2019 12:12PM PT Saban Films has bought the U.S. rights to the Elijah Wood horror-comedy “Come to Daddy.” Saban, which is planning a theatrical release, announced the deal on Friday at the Cannes Film Festival, where XYZ Films represents “Come to Daddy” for international sales. “Come to Daddy” premiered at the Tribeca Film
“4×4”(Television Abierta, Mediapro)First solo feature from Mariano Cohn, this is a pointed social dramedy about a thief trapped in a 4 x 4 by the car’s owner.Sales: Latido “Advantages of Traveling by Train”(Morena Films, Señor y Señora Films, Logical Pictures)Aritz Moreno’s debut feature, penned by Javier Gullón, revolves around stories told by untrustworthy narrators: a
In the six years since it first arrived on the scene, the Shoot the Book pitch session has grown in breadth, scope and above all, ambition. A fixture in Cannes since 2014, Shoot the Book has also spread to festivals and markets in Los Angeles, Shanghai and Annecy, but this year will mark its most
The U.K. production scene has been dominated by a phalanx of successful producers for many years. A fresh wave of U.K.-based producers is now also getting international attention. The producers are navigating a business that offers unparalleled opportunity, and facing fundamental challenges. With the key funders putting an emphasis on inclusion and diversity, female producers
Despite even more outlets, thanks to the arrival of global streaming giants, Spanish sales agents and producers are caught in a current double-bind. Sales to Netflix are diminishing, as it drives more into original production, but bullish theatrical distribution at home and abroad remains restricted to high-profile auteurs, big-budget productions or breakout titles. In international,
May 17, 2019 12:00PM PT Variety profiles a selection of upcoming film projects by younger British producers Untitled Irish-Set Gothic DramaFodhla Cronin O’Reilly’s next project is an as-yet-untitled gothic psychological drama. U.S. directing duo Anna Rose Holmer and Saela Davis will direct the Screen Ireland-backed project. It will be set in and shot in Ireland.
Spain’s big shoot business is rocking, galvanized by more regional options and incentives that are highly competitive — at least in rates. With a long tradition of hosting international productions, Spain earned larger global visibility after “Game of Thrones” filmed there from 2014 to 2018. Production services has become one of the healthiest audiovisual sectors
Only a decade ago, Spain was on the periphery of world production, making movies that, as with Pedro Almodovar’s 2019 Cannes competition contender “Pain and Glory,” occasionally sold worldwide. Now, thanks to an OTT and digital TV revolution, Spain has become a burgeoning global production center. Take, for instance, Oriol Paulo’s drama “Durante la Tormenta”
Taron Egerton says that he’s flattered by comparisons between his Elton John musical “Rocketman” and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” last year’s smash hit about Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. “I’m proud that we’re mentioned in the same breath,” says Egerton, who plays John in the upcoming “Rocketman,” which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to a five-minute standing
The word “bromance” was a pretty awful one to begin with, but it’s been done a disservice by years of pop-cultural ubiquity. Now tediously hauled out any time two straight men so much as pat each other on the back, it tends to denote palliness more than any particular emotional intimacy. “The Climb,” however, thoughtfully
May 16, 2019 11:38PM PT The Singapore International Film Festival has appointed Taiwanese film curator, Kuo Ming-Jung, as its new program director alongside executive director, Yuni Hadi. A previous Consultant of SGIFF, Kuo takes over from Thai filmmaker and critic, Pimpaka Towira, to lead the festival’s film curation and programs. An experienced film industry professional, Kuo
May 16, 2019 11:00PM PT “99 Songs,” a new romantic drama written by India’s two-time Oscar winning AR Rahman (“Slumdog Millionaire”), is being introduced to international distributors in Cannes by Hong Kong-based sales agency Autumn Sun. Now in post-production, the film depicts the journey of a struggling singer and the problems that he faces in
Omar Zúñiga Hidalgo’s debut solo feature “Los fuertes” has been picked up by Buenos Aires-based sales agent Meikincine which will represent the film’s rights on the international market. “Los fuertes” is a celebratory vision of a love between a big city guy and a small town male boatswain on the Chilean coast. When romance blossoms
MADRID — Spain’s animation industry is experiencing an unprecedented boom backed by strong financial incentives, an increasing demand for content from platforms and networks, and a push from a creative workforce which is among the most experienced in all of Europe. To fuel industry growth, Spain must educate future talent and provide a framework for
Blood Window, Argentina’s most important Latin American genre film market, part of Buenos Aires’ Ventana Sur meet-mart, will host a showcase of Ibero-American genre films and works in progress at the Cannes Festival Film Market, running May 17-20. The showcase includes three screenings sponsored by three of the world’s leading genre festivals: the U.K.’s Fright
In today’s film news roundup, Chadwick Boseman’s “17 Bridges” is moved to September, “Under My Skin” completes production and “Eternal Code” is bought. RELEASE DATES STXfilms has moved Chadwick Boseman’s action-thriller “17 Bridges” out of the crowded summer and into the early fall, swapping its July 12 release date for Sept. 27 in North America.
May 16, 2019 7:57PM PT Fugitive lovers and a stolen baby hit the road in this well-crafted but overly derivative indie drama. The current controversy over Georgia’s restrictive new abortion laws, and resulting calls to withdraw Hollywood coin from that state, have underlined the political-shuffleboard nature of U.S. location shoots. Coincidentally arriving at the same
Evelyn “Brandy” Foster, who managed the career of daughter Jodie Foster, died May 13 at her Los Angeles home from complications related to dementia, her family announced. She was 90. Evelyn Foster also guided the career of her son, Buddy Foster, who starred on the 1968-71 CBS series “Mayberry RFD” as the son of Ken
May 16, 2019 7:22PM PT Universal’s “The Secret Life of Pets 2” is heading for a North American opening of as much as $65 million during the June 7-9 frame, topping Disney-Fox’s “Dark Phoenix” at about $50 million, early tracking showed Thursday. “The Secret Life of Pets” opened in 2016 with $104.3 million domestically and
May 16, 2019 6:48PM PT Noah Centineo’s take on Mattel warrior He-Man is coming to theaters in spring of 2021. Sony Pictures has set a March 5, 2021 release date for its fantasy adventure “Masters of the Universe,” which Centineo will lead as the Most Powerful Man in the Universe. “Masters of the Universe” is
He’s going from sex symbol to bat symbol. Sources tell Variety that Robert Pattinson is in negotiations to play “The Batman” in Matt Reeves’ forthcoming superhero film, which hits theaters June 25, 2021. While sources say it’s not yet a done deal, Pattinson is the top choice and it’s expected to close shortly. Warner Bros.
May 16, 2019 5:38PM PT Elton John felt the love Thursday night at the Cannes Film Festival. “Rocket Man,” a musical biopic about the singer’s life, landed with fireworks at its premiere in the South of France. The movie received an enthusiastic five-minute standing ovation, although much of the applause was directed to the legend
As incendiary anti-abortion legislation continues to roll out in states across the nation, Hollywood is under increased scrutiny to weigh in on a social issue that could affect thousands of jobs and steep financial investment. As many powerful content makers continue to wait and see how political fallout breaks, a handful of bold-named entities have