In a key step in its ongoing expansion Leone Film Group in 2014 partnered with young producer Marco Belardi and bought his small but commercially flourishing Lotus Production shingle, which has since become a bigger affair. Raffaella Leone says while LFG was being floated on the Milan bourse she knew they “had to guarantee content”
Movies
Growing up as Sergio Leone’s career escalated segueing from the so-called “Dollars Trilogy” to “Once Upon a Time in the West” up to their father’s final masterpiece, “Once Upon a Time in America,” led his children Raffaella and Andrea to become steeped in two inextricably linked passions: film and family. “Film has always been an
Italy’s Leone Film Group, the company founded by Spaghetti Western master Sergio Leone, has been on a roaring roll since 2012. That’s when his children, Raffaella and Andrea, who now run the company, spotted a theatrical distribution gap left open by Medusa and Rai Cinema and stepped in to swiftly sign an output deal with
May 10, 2019 10:49AM PT Disney-Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame” officially sailed past James Cameron’s “Titanic” to become the fifth-highest domestic box office grosser in history. “Endgame” performed the feat on Thursday, its 14th day of release. With $660.4 million, the superhero saga trails only four titles on the all-time domestic chart: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”
May 10, 2019 10:30AM PT In a pre-Cannes Film Festival development, Simon Pegg and horror film breakout Lulu Wilson have signed on to star in the independent action-thriller “Becky.” Highland Film Group is handling international sales which will commence in Cannes next week. UTA Independent Film Group is handling the U.S. sale. Wilson will star
Cat people can still find something to love in “A Dog’s Journey.” “If you’ve ever loved an animal, there’s something in this movie for you. At the end of the day, it’s really about that thought that your animals are always with you and that some part of them is continuing on, and I think
“Pokémon Detective Pikachu” caught $5.7 million during Thursday night preview screenings in North America. That figure nearly matched the $5.9 million in Thursday previews for “Shazam!,” which went on to earn $53.5 million in its domestic debut weekend on April 5-7. Cheerleading comedy “Poms” scored $225,000 at 2,000 sites on Thursday night. Warner Bros.-Legendary’s “Detective
Viacom had a tough fiscal second quarter but the profit picture at Paramount Pictures continues to improve thanks to better performance at the box office and growth in television. Viacom CEO Bob Bakish noted during the company’s earnings call on Friday that the new regime at the studio lead by chairman-CEO Jim Gianopulos has boosted
May 10, 2019 7:01AM PT [embedded content] To the strains of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” Renee Zellweger shows off her portrayal of Judy Garland in the last years of her life in the first trailer for “Judy,” which dropped Friday. The biopic comes from Pathé, BBC Films and Ingenious Media. In the trailer, Zellweger’s Garland
May 10, 2019 7:00AM PT [embedded content] Film Constellation has unveiled the trailer for Werner Herzog’s Japanese-language narrative film “Family Romance, LLC” ahead of the movie’s world premiere in the special screenings section at the Cannes Film Festival. Written and directed by Herzog, the movie follows a man who is hired to impersonate the missing
Charles S. Cohen doesn’t just love French cinema: he puts his money where his mouth is. And with a net worth estimated at $3.3 billion by Forbes Magazine, the owner of producer/distributor Cohen Media Group — the largest American distributor of French films in the U.S. — is showing his love in a multitude of
Nika McGuigan (“Traders”) and Nora-Jane Noone (“The Descent”) are seen as sisters struggling to come to terms with secrets buried deep in their family’s past in the first-look image from “Wildfire.” The film is Irish writer-director Cathy Brady’s anticipated first feature and currently in post production. Great Point Media is handling world sales and will
May 10, 2019 4:16AM PT The film charting the stormy reunion of British pop band Bros has been picked up for the U.S. by Gravitas Ventures, which will release the feature documentary on home entertainment and on-demand channels. “Bros: After the Screaming Stops” captured viewers’ imaginations in the U.K., showing the band’s twin brothers preparing
BARCELONA – Soon set to be seen at Cannes’ in Pedro Almodóvar’s competition contender “Pain and Glory.” Penélope Cruz will receive the 2019 Donostia Award for career achievement at the 67th San Sebastian Festival, which runs Sept. 20-28 at the Basque resort city. The Spanish actress will be honored doubly way, as she will also
May 10, 2019 3:12AM PT Veteran actor Jean Reno has been tapped to star in “Rogue City,” a thriller that sees director Olivier Marchal (“A Gang Story,” “36th Precinct”) re-team with French studio Gaumont. Budgeted at $13 million, the film is set in Marseille and follows an anti-gang cop (Reno) with unorthodox methods who investigates
Amy Hopper’s “Parents Inc.” took honors for best film at the sixth annual Easterseals Disability Film Challenge Thursday night, in ceremonies held at the Sony Pictures lot. Other winners were Carl Hansen, director for “I/O”; Nicole Evans, best actor for “Human Helper”; and “The Vanished,” which took home the awareness award, accepted by Melanie Waldman.
May 9, 2019 10:00PM PT In Stefon Bristol’s lively social sci-fi adventure, two teens travel back in time to try to undo the wrongful shooting of a teen killed by police. Cinema and social commentary collide in entertaining and thought-provoking fashion in “See You Yesterday,” a mix of pop culture and true crime that feels tailor-made
May 9, 2019 9:03PM PT After a dire medical diagnosis for their infant son, a Pennsylvania couple includes cannabis in the child’s treatment in this touching documentary. Parents would naturally do just about anything to save their children’s lives. That’s precisely what Brian and Danielle Dwyer did in 2014, when their son Waldo was diagnosed
Take a look, if you will, at the brand new video Zayn and a female duet partner star in for the theme from “Five Hundred Fifty Shades Darker” … sorry, Disney’s live-action remake of “Aladdin.” The kind of woozy arrangement they’ve come up with for the classic “A Whole New World” sounds like it’d be
May 9, 2019 6:57PM PT Bella Thorne will star in science-fiction horror movie “The Friendship Game,” directed by Scooter Corkle. Daniel Bekerman of Scythia Films is the producer. CAA and Tannaz Anisi’s 13 Films are launching sales at the Cannes Film Festival, which opens May 14. Production will start in August in Vancouver. Corkle is
May 9, 2019 5:33PM PT Amazon Studios has set an awards season release of Nov. 8 for Shia LaBeouf’s show business drama “Honey Boy.” The story centers on a child star attempting to mend his relationship with his law-breaking, alcohol-abusing father over the course of a decade and is loosely based on LaBeouf’s life. “Honey
Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield are on board to star in the Fox Searchlight biopic “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” with “The Big Sick” director Michael Showalter on board to helm. Based on the documentary “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato from World of Wonder, the film tells the
May 9, 2019 4:23PM PT Mel Gibson and Kate Bosworth have signed on to star in the action movie “Force of Nature” with Michael Polish directing. Producers are Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films CEOs Randall Emmett and George Furla with Luillo Ruiz. Tim Sullivan and Alex Eckert are exec producing. Christian Mercuri’s Bluebox International will begin selling international
May 9, 2019 3:45PM PT A convincing Guillaume Canet channels his inner Liam Neeson as a father searching for his kidnapped son in French director Christian Carion’s generic thriller. Director Christian Carion and his frequent star Guillaume Canet show off their very particular sets of skills in “My Son” (“Mon garçon”), a polished, if mechanical,
May 9, 2019 2:46PM PT Liam Neeson is returning to familiar turf, starring in the independent action-thriller “The Minuteman” from director Robert Lorenz. Voltage Pictures is on board to represent the movie at the Cannes Film Festival. CAA and UTA Independent Film Group will co-represent the U.S. rights. Neeson has starred in the “Taken” trilogy,
Reginald Hudlin (pictured at right), who received a Best Picture nomination for “Django Unchained,” will direct the musical “Beyond the Velvet Rope” with songs by hitmaker Andreas Carlsson. Ron Bass, who won an Oscar for the “Rain Man” screenplay, is writing the script with Walter Becker (“Wild Hogs”) and G.L. Lambert. Carlsson will produce with
Actress Zhang Ziyi has been named “Godmother” of the 19th annual Trophée Chopard 2019 at Cannes Film Festival. As godmother, Zhang will present the award to both a male and female young actor on the rise. She follows “Godmother” Diane Kruger, who presented the award to Joe Alwyn and Elizabeth Debicki at Cannes film Festival
May 9, 2019 12:30PM PT Following her critically acclaimed Netflix series “Russian Doll,” Natasha Lyonne is heading back to the big screen. The actress is joining Steve Carell in the ensemble cast of Jon Stewart’s upcoming comedy “Irresistible.” The movie, also starring Topher Grace, Rose Byrne, and Chris Cooper, follows a Democrat political consultant (Carell)
May 9, 2019 12:09PM PT “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” should smash at least $50 million at the North American box office during its May 31-June 2 opening weekend for Legendary and Warner Bros., early tracking showed on Thursday. The Elton John biopic “Rocketman,” world premiering next week at the Cannes Film Festival, is pegged
May 9, 2019 12:09PM PT Ed Skrein is set to join John Boyega and Olivia Cooke in the legal drama “A Naked Singularity” with Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions on board to produce. The movie is based on Sergio De La Pava’s debut novel, which centers on a successful New York public defender whose life