Given the sharp rightward turn Brazilian politics has taken, “The Cannibal Club” can’t help but seem considerably more (ahem) biting than it did upon its premiere in the Rotterdam Film Festival a little over a year ago. Having a new president whose attitudes toward the underclasses are scarcely more enlightened than this horror-comedy’s protagonists certainly
Movies
“Chinese Portrait,” the unusual 2018 film by Wang Xiaoshuai, has been picked up for Stateside release by indie outfit Cinema Guild. The picture will have its North American Premiere at Doc Fortnight, MoMA’s annual international festival of nonfiction film, and move into commercial release later this year. Wang’s most recent picture, “So Long, My Son,”
“Die Tomorrow,” by Thai filmmaker Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, is headed for a theatrical release in China. The film is a melancholy reflection on how people spend their last day on earth. The release will be handled by Blue Media Times, a Beijing-based global program provider. Operating since 2008 it has previousy been involved with the release
Wang Xiaoshuai, the Chinese film director whose “So Long, My Son” picked up two top prizes at this month’s Berlin Film Festival, has stuck a production deal with expanding media group Huanxi Media. Huanxi, which is backed by leading Chinese talent Ning Hao and Xu Zheng, obtains priority investment rights to two films or Internet
Certain movie titles are better in theory than practice. “Something,” Stephen Portland’s low-budget psychological horror film about the stress brought on by caring for a newborn baby, has a title that refers to the mysterious force disrupting the lives of two young parents. (The characters, who are never named, are played by Jane Rowen and
Now that Oscar season is over, it’s time to look forward to the Emmy campaigns ahead, not to mention upcoming important film festivals, including Cannes. Industry insiders walking the red carpet incorporate an array of beauty treatments to look and feel their most confident. It’s an exciting, disruption-filled time in the beauty industry. We chat
It appears that the Bradley Cooper-Lady Gaga romance rumors that sprang into being after the pair’s kinetic performance at the Academy Awards can be put to bed. Lady Gaga stopped by “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Wednesday, where Kimmel was quick to bring up the Internet’s fixation on the moment at the end of the pair’s performance
In today’s film news roundup, Ray Liotta is in talks for “The Sopranos” movie, Paramount has taken “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” off its schedule, a View-Master movie is coming and Robert Schwartzman has launched a sales company. CASTING Ray Liotta is in talks to join “The Many Saints Of Newark,” New Line’s prequel
After award season and all of the plotting, prodding and press junkets are wrapped. After you’ve been nipped, tucked, feasted and feted — you just may need to get away. Like other-side-of-the-planet away and then a little farther. Fly to Melbourne, Australia. Then head off to the remote, rustic, yet luxurious Southern Ocean Lodge on
Ever since its publication in 1966, Tom Pendelton’s novel “The Iron Orchard” has been embraced as a cult favorite by many movers and shakers in the Texas oil industry — and, of course, by many more who thrill to accounts of success and excess in that storied realm — largely because of its brutally authentic
February 27, 2019 6:01PM PT Even with the studio dating the next installment in the “Suicide Squad” franchise, Warner Bros. may already be losing one of the film’s biggest stars. Even though his return had not been made official, sources tell Variety that Will Smith, who played Deadshot in the original, is not expected to
Kicking off its 5th year, the Careyes Creation Lab, an offshoot of the Arte Careyes Film Festival, is set to run March 18-22, providing an immersive workshop experience in which a select group of rising Mexican filmmakers are guided by renowned mentors in exercises designed to hone and shape their craft. This year’s mentors, Oscar-nominated
On the heels of winning his second Oscar, Mahershala Ali has come on board the independent science-fiction movie “Sovereign.” Entertainment One will produce alongside 21 Laps Entertainment’s Shawn Levy, Dan Levine, and Dan Cohen. The trio recently produced the Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” as well as the sci-fi movie “Arrival.” Marc Munden will direct the project
Universal and DreamWorks’ “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” is heading for a repeat victory at the domestic box office. The final chapter in the “How to Train Your Dragon” trilogy could add another $27 million to $36 million in its second week of release if it sees a hold similar to its
Now that the Oscars are over, “First Reformed” director Paul Schrader has been released from what he refers to as “Facebook jail” following comments the writer-director made about disgraced actor Kevin Spacey. “First Reformed” distributor A24 asked Schrader to go dark on social media during awards season, the director wrote on Facebook, following a now-deleted
February 27, 2019 3:17PM PT “Patti Cake$” director Geremy Jasper has boarded Lionsgate’s long-in-development romantic drama “The Night Circus,” with Harry Potter producer David Heyman. The project has been in the works since 2011, when Summit Entertainment acquired feature rights to Erin Morgenstern’s novel of the same name. The story centers on two young illusionists
With production expected to start this spring, MGM and Eon are getting closer to deciding who will be joining Daniel Craig in his next outing as Agent 007 in the 25th James Bond movie. Producers are continuing their search for two female roles — one a new MI6 agent and the other an accomplice similar
AMC Theatres’ Stubs A-List program, the subscription service that allows customers to see three movies a week for $19.95 a month, has hit 700,000 subscribers. That figure is well ahead of the original projection, announced last June, for 500,000 subscribers by the end of its first year. Since the program launched, AMC Stubs A-List-member theatre
February 27, 2019 12:56PM PT If you grabbed less tissues after streaming “The Notebook” on Netflix UK, you’re not alone. Netflix’s UK site accidentally streamed a different cut of the beloved romantic comedy that has a significantly different ending than the 2004 film. The original movie of the love saga between a young couple ends
Selma Blair has opened up about her struggles with multiple sclerosis after announcing her diagnosis last October. In an interview with Vanity Fair, the “Legally Blonde” star said she’s been dealing with a host of strange ailments for nearly five years, before undergoing an MRI last summer and discovering the autoimmune disease. “I’m pretty much
February 27, 2019 12:00PM PT Neon has acquired the U.S. rights to Alfre Woodard’s drama “Clemency,” which won the grand jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The distributor made the deal with ACE Pictures Entertainment. Chinonye Chukwu directed “Clemency.” Woodard plays a prison warden whose worn down by years of carrying out death-row executions.
Kumail Nanjiani is set to star in Valparaiso Pictures’ “No Glory,” a spy comedy that will be produced by Adam McKay and Will Ferrell. “No Glory” is based on a manuscript written by a National Security Operative and author Scott Shephard about the operative’s time in service to the country. The unique account is described
February 27, 2019 10:11AM PT Warner Bros. has set Dec. 16, 2022, as the release date for its “Aquaman” sequel. The studio took the first step toward “Aquaman 2” earlier this month by bringing back David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick to write the script. “Aquaman 2” will be produced by “Aquaman” director James Wan and Peter Safran.
Disney took a big step closer to completing its $71.3 billion purchase of 21st Century Fox with Brazil’s conditional approval of the deal Wednesday. In an agreement with Brazil’s antitrust agency, Disney will sell the Fox Sports cable channel that serves the largest media market in South America. Brazilian regulators focused on Disney’s ownership of
On a bustling post-Oscar Monday, “Free Solo” co-directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin arrive for their photo shoot looking like they’ve barely taken a breath since climbing the stage at the Dolby Theatre the night before to accept the award for documentary feature. The win for the filmmaking couple represents not only their technical
A crowdfunding effort to pay for free theater screenings of “Captain Marvel” for girls and young women has now raised more than $60,000, three times its original goal. Donors to cause — to send girls to Marvel’s first female-led superhero movie — include Ellen DeGeneres’ “The Ellen Show” and NBCUniversal’s E! News, which each gave
February 27, 2019 7:30AM PT Warner Bros. has set a one-week release of “A Star Is Born” with almost 12 minutes of additional footage, including extended musical performances, on 1,150 screens in North America. The film won the Academy Award for best original song for “Shallow” for Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew
At a Netflix soiree following the 91st Academy Awards, which saw the streaming titan’s best shot at Oscar glory to date — the critically acclaimed “Roma” — fall to Universal’s populist favorite “Green Book,” a prominent filmmaker waved me to a secluded spot for a quick postmortem: “What happened?” Alfonso Cuarón’s cinematic memoir had been
Alfonso Cuarón looks tired. He was out partying until three in the morning, and the high from winning three Oscars for “Roma” has worn off. He’d like a glass of water, please, and maybe some orange juice. Cuarón has only recently roused himself from bed to don a slightly rumpled tuxedo for a photo shoot
Fresh off its four Oscar wins, Fox’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” will hit theaters in China, the company announced on social media Wednesday – a surprising development, considering the country’s restrictions on LGBT content. The Freddie Mercury biopic was approved for a limited release by China’s National Alliance of Arthouse Cinemas. The release date is listed as