March 14, 2019 1:10PM PT A loutish man-child alienates everyone before learning to grow up in Eden Marryshow’s humorless indie. The history of cinematic comedy is rife with jerks who learn their lessons and grow up, but to win over audiences, those clowns usually had to exhibit at least a glimmer of down-deep goodness —
Movies
March 14, 2019 12:50PM PT Oscar-winner Danis Tanovic’s chilling crime story “The Postcard Killings” has rounded out its cast with the addition of “American Horror Story’s” Denis O’Hare, “A Very English Scandal’s” Naomi Battrick and “The Spanish Princess’s” Ruairi O’Connor as shooting gets underway in London. The movie, based on the James Patterson and Liza
March 14, 2019 12:00PM PT “42” filmmaker and “L.A. Confidential” scribe Brian Helgeland is set to direct “Button Man” for Netflix, sources tell Variety. Based on on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Arthur Ranson, the movie tells the story of ex-military contractor Harry Exton, considered the first true hero of the post-truth age.
“The Sopranos” prequel has a release date and a new name. Simply titled “Newark,” the film will hit theaters on Sept. 25, 2020, more than 13 years after the acclaimed HBO series came to an end. The cast will include Alessandro Nivola, Vera Farmiga, Ray Liotta, Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, Billy Magnussen, and John Magaro.
Spyglass Media Group, the newly formed content company from former MGM chief Gary Barber, has named Cheryl Rodman as chief legal officer. Rodman will be responsible for overseeing all legal and business affairs for the company, including corporate matters and strategic growth initiatives. She will report directly to Barber, who joins him from her previous
The world premiere of Danny Boyle’s rock comedy “Yesterday” has been selected as the closing night film for the Tribeca Film Festival on May 5. The festival, which opens April 24 with “The Apollo,” also announced Thursday that it will hold a pair of Gala Anniversary screenings with a 40th anniversary showing of a never-before-seen
Warner Bros.’ “Shazam” could grow to as much as $40 million in ticket sales when it hits North American theaters on April 5, early tracking suggests. Hailing from DC’s arsenal of Lycra-clad warriors,” Shazam” is Hollywood’s latest attempt to cash in on the golden age of superheroes at the box office. The movie follows Billy Batson
March 14, 2019 7:12AM PT Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan will star in and co-produce an Indian adaptation of multiple Oscar-winning fantasy-drama “Forrest Gump.” It will go by the title “Lal Singh Chaddha.” Khan announced his involvement on Thursday at a press event in Mumbai held for his 54th birthday. Aamir Khan Productions will co-produce alongside Viacom
Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are willing to do whatever it takes to defeat Thanos. At least, the ones who survived the intergalactic villain’s deadly wrath in the last superhero mashup, “Avengers: Infinity War,” Disney unveiled new footage from the highly anticipated follow-up, “Avengers: Endgame,” the fourth “Avengers” movie that closes out a major chapter in Marvel’s
A tearjerking romance centered around two teenagers living with cystic fibrosis, first-time feature director Justin Baldoni’s “Five Feet Apart” is ultimately little more than a cover band treatment of “The Fault in Our Stars.” But as far as cover bands go, at least it has a hell of a frontwoman in Haley Lu Richardson. Fresh
Why is “Wonder Park” called “Wonder Park”? The heart of the new digitally animated feature, a co-production of Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Movies, is set in a spectacular fantasy amusement park, with train tracks shaped like a giant octopus’ tentacles, that’s nestled in a pastoral sunlit forest vista that looks like it could be the
GUADALAJARA, Mexico — In keeping with its mandate to acquire films that explore present-day, topical issues, leading Latin American sales agency FiGa Films has snagged all worldwide rights to Samuel Kishi Leopo’s immigrant drama “Los Lobos.” “It’s a privilege to continue our collaboration with Mr. Kishi Leopo,” said FiGa’s Sandro Fiorin. “We worked together on
GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Start-up Chilean production company Otro Foco scored big in the Guadalajara Construye works in progress section with its first-ever feature “Piola,” a rap-fueled coming of age tale that scored a staggering six of the available 13 awards given out at the event. The film was written and directed by Luis Alejandro Pérez
The TorinoFilmLab and Series Mania have announced the nine projects participating in this year’s SeriesLab, an intensive mentorship program that culminates March 26 in Lille when participants will present their projects to an industry audience at the Series Mania Forum. A joint venture conceived to address the challenge of developing screenwriting talent in the European
If not for the wonders of technology — and world’s most popular ride-sharing app in particular — Vic and Stu never would have met. Vic (Dave Bautista) is an enormous bull-in-a-china-shop-style cop recovering from eye surgery who can’t see well enough to drive (or shoot) on the night of his big bust. Stu (Kumail Nanjiani)
March 14, 2019 1:56AM PT The vengeful spirits in a former bordello prey on the home’s new tenants in producer-turned-director Travis Stevens’ enjoyable horror opus. Home improvements may be the death of you in “Girl on the Third Floor,” a likable supernatural thriller with Phil Brooks aka former WWE wrestler C.M. Punk as an expectant
Filmmaker Aaron Kunkel fashions an absorbing true-crime narrative with a danceable beat from the testimonies of exploited pop celebrities, bilked investors, criminal investigators and not-so-quietly aghast onlookers in “The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story.” Briskly efficient in its construction and execution, the documentary, which will be available to YouTube Premium subscribers starting April 3, focuses
China’s first mainstream science-fiction film, “The Wandering Earth,” has surpassed “Operation Red Sea” to become the country’s second-highest-grossing movie of all time, with $679 million at the local box office and counting. “Crazy Alien,” another title released during last month’s competitive Chinese New Year period, has raked in $327 million domestically. Two more sci-fi movies
“Finding Steve McQueen” is a ramshackle indie heist drama that has a little bit (but not much) to do with Steve McQueen. The film’s central figure, a green-behind-the-ears thief named Harry Barber (Travis Fimmel), idolizes the squinty star of “Bullitt,” for all the reasons one might have back in 1972, when most of the movie
March 13, 2019 4:00PM PT “Sunflower” is the latest single to drop ahead of the band’s fourth studio album, “Father of the Bride,” due out on May 3. [embedded content] The band Vampire Weekend enlisted Jonah Hill to direct a new music video for the song “Sunflower.” The clip shows frontman Ezra Koenig at iconic
March 13, 2019 2:28PM PT Priyanka Chopra has just been added to the star-studded list of speakers at the 2019 Women in the World Summit. The lineup for the event, which will be celebrating its 10th anniversary at Lincoln Center from April 10-12, also includes Brie Larson, Cindy McCain, Susan Rice, Stacey Abrams, Ashley Judd,
Khalid Itum, the executive tasked with overseeing day-to-day operations at MoviePass, has left the struggling subscription service, Variety has confirmed. Insiders had previously said Itum had been largely absent in recent weeks and MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe had assumed more of a leadership role after previously stepping back. According to a spokesperson for the company,
March 13, 2019 1:18PM PT Denzel Washington is in talks to star in the thriller “Little Things” for Warner Bros., sources tell Variety. “The Blindside” and “Highway Men” director John Lee Hancock is board to write. He’s also being eyed to direct, though a deal for that has not yet been closed. The story follows
March 13, 2019 12:16PM PT The Duffer brothers have signed with Creative Artists Agency, exiting previous rep Paradigm Talent Agency. The pair, who created the Netflix juggernaut “Stranger Things,” has signed in all areas with the shop, run by managing partners Kevin Huvane and Bryan Lourd, and president Richard Lovett. “Stranger Things,” an homage to
Gary Barber, the executive credited with bringing Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer back from bankruptcy, has found his next act. The former studio chief is partnering with Lantern Entertainment co-presidents Andy Mitchell and Milos Brajovic to relaunch Spyglass Media Group as a content company. Italian distributor Eagle Pictures and exhibition giant Cineworld Group are strategic investors in the new
March 13, 2019 12:00PM PT Marvel Studios has hired Destin Daniel Cretton to direct “Shang-Chi,” its first superhero movie with an Asian protagonist. Cretton is currently directing “Just Mercy,” starring Brie Larson and Michael B. Jordan. Dave Callaham is writing the script that will ultimately modernize the Shang-Chi story and character arc. The original Marvel
GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Colombia’s Fidelio Films has had a week to remember at this year’s Guadalajara Intl. Film Festival (FICG) as its full slate of TV and film projects has impressed in a number of sections. The company’s feature film “The Life and Death of Espíritu Perdomo” won the “El Taller” post-production prize and the
Jessica Chastain‘s work for gender parity in Hollywood isn’t slowing down soon. “I have noticed, of course, now that it’s in fashion there are other people that are jumping on board, and honestly, I don’t care what their motives are,” Chastain tells Variety. “Because at the end of the day, the more we focus on
March 13, 2019 10:24AM PT Toni Collette (“Hereditary”) is set to star as Jan, a woman who starts a racing syndicate in her small Welsh village and attempts to raise a champion racehorse, in “Dream Horse.” Damian Lewis (“Billions”) has also been cast in the film and will play the local accountant who joins the
March 13, 2019 10:22AM PT Richard E. Grant and Antonio Banderas have joined the cast of the untitled sequel to Lionsgate’s “The Hitman’s Bodyguard,” starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, and Salma Hayek. Grant, who was Oscar-nominated for “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” will reprise his role from the 2017 original as a drug-addicted corporate