February 27, 2019 2:36AM PT Sony Pictures International Productions is continuing its drive into Indian local movie-making with the green-lighting of “Major,” a stirringly nationalist tale about a soldier who became a hero during the Taj Mahal Hotel siege. Adivi Sesh, who previously starred in and wrote two breakout Telugu hits-“Kshanam” and “Goodachari,” will play
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The film industry, which plays a prominent role in both India and Pakistan, has felt the immediate impact of warlike tensions being ratcheted up between the South Asian neighbors and rivals. The Pakistan Film Exhibitors Association says it is boycotting Indian content, and that no Indian film will be released in Pakistan. Pakistan’s Information Minister
MADRID — Finalists in nine categories for the 2nd Ibero-American Animation Quirino Awards were announced last week in Madrid’s stunning Casa de América. The awards will be held again this year in the Spanish Canary Islands city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife on April 6. In total, 25 films representing seven countries received recognition on
February 26, 2019 9:19PM PT In this week’s edition of the Variety Movie Commercial Tracker, powered by the TV advertising attention analytics company iSpot.tv, Paramount Pictures claims the top spot in spending with “Wonder Park.” Ads placed for the animated film had an estimated media value of $6.9 million through Sunday for 1,167 national ad
Alejandro G. Iñárritu has been named president of the Cannes Film Festival jury. The Oscar-winning director of “Birdman” and “The Revenant” will be the first Mexican artist to chair the panel. Iñárritu has a long history with Cannes, starting with his debut feature, “Amores Perros,” in 2000, and last attended two years ago with his
Indian drama film “Mom,” which marks the one of the final on-screen performances by actress Sridevi, is set for theatrical release in China from next month. Sridevi died in February last year, seven months’ after the India release of “Mom” in July 2017. The film is set for release in China on March 22. It
The out-of-this-world success of China’s first-ever sci-fi blockbuster, “The Wandering Earth,” proves that when it comes to watching special-effects extravaganzas in which stock characters scramble to intervene while the planet faces obliteration, it’s a small world after all. Director Frant Gwo’s adaptation of the 2000 novella by Liu Cixin is no genre classic, but its
In today’s film news roundup, “American Futbol” finds a distributor, Alfred Molina gets an honor, Paramount promotes Dan Cohen and Train singer Patrick Monahan gets a movie gig. ACQUISITION Byron Allen’s Freestyle Digital Media has acquired North American distribution rights for the documentary “American Futbol” and will release it on demand and DVD on March
February 26, 2019 5:01PM PT [embedded content] Pokémon aren’t the only recognizable faces popping up in the latest “Detective Pikachu” trailer. Diplo appears in a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo in the new trailer for Warner Bros.’ live-action Pokémon film. The DJ can be seen about halfway through the clip wearing a pair of headphones and sitting behind
In their first television interview since the HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland” debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, Tito, Marlon, Jackie, and Taj Jackson are advocating for Michael Jackson’s innocence. As part of a two-part interview special, the Jackson family sat down with Gayle King on “CBS This Morning” to respond to claims that Jackson sexually
February 26, 2019 4:03PM PT DreamWorks Animation has tapped “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” director Bob Persichetti for its “Puss in Boots” sequel. The deal was announced Tuesday, two days after “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” won the Oscar for animated feature for Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord, and Christopher Miller. The original “Puss in
February 26, 2019 3:31PM PT “The Accountant” director Gavin O’Connor is in negotiations to direct Warner Bros.’ action-thriller “Fast,” sources tell Variety. The script was penned by “Sicario” scribe Taylor Sheridan, who had also been looking to direct, but when a deal couldn’t be reached, the studio began looking for other options and eventually landed
February 26, 2019 3:06PM PT Newly minted Oscar winners Sony Pictures Animation have announced a fourth installment in Genndy Tartakovsky’s “Hotel Transylvania” series. Not a surprising move, considering the Adam Sandler-led family spin on classic movie monsters has grossed over $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office. While it’s unclear what tone the film will
Leaders of the Writers Guild of America are insisting that they’re negotiating in good faith over how agents represent writers and are ready to meet for further negotiations. WGA West Executive Director David Young and WGA West President David Goodman issued the statement Tuesday, a day after Hollywood’s major talent agencies threatened to pull out
Imax has reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenues that came in above Wall Street estimates. In a report issued after the market closed Tuesday, the giant screen exhibitor posted earnings of $1.7 million, or an adjusted 26 cents a share, compared with $4.83 million or 34 cents a share. Revenues declined to $108.9 million from $125.6
February 26, 2019 11:58AM PT Joel McHale and Kerry Bishe will star in “Happily,” a dark comedy thriller from writer-director BenDavid Grabinski. McHale (“Community,” “Talk Soup”) and Bishe (“The Romanoffs”) star as a, well, happily married couple whose life turns upside down after an unexpected visit from a mysterious stranger (Stephen Root). The rest of
February 26, 2019 9:45AM PT There’s a new “Candyman” in town. Though no deal is done, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is in talks to star in MGM’s new retelling of the classic horror tale with Jordan Peele producing. “Little Woods” writer-director Nia DaCosta is on board to helm. MGM and Win Rosenfeld are producing with Peele’s
February 26, 2019 9:22AM PT Jane Fonda and Alexander Payne will appear at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Film Restoration Summit. The March 9 event at the Ace Hotel in Los Angeles is being held in partnership with the Film Foundation and Institut Lumière. It will begin with a presentation by Institut Lumiere director Thierry
Rotten Tomatoes is finally fighting back against trolls who “review bomb” a movie ahead of its release. As of Feb. 25, the reviews-aggregation site is no longer displaying the “Want to See” percentage score for a movie during its pre-release period. In addition, Rotten Tomatoes has disabled the ability for users to post comments prior
Emma Thompson explains in a scathing letter why she dropped out of the voice cast of Skydance Animation’s upcoming film “Luck.” The British star, who did some recording for the movie, left the project in mid-January in the wake of John Lasseter’s hire to the top animation job at David Ellison’s studio. Her reps released
February 26, 2019 7:31AM PT Tim Burton’s live-action “Dumbo” will fly into Chinese theaters on March 29, the same day it opens in the U.S., Chinese film site Mtime announced Tuesday. The loose remake of the 1941 Disney animated film features a star-studded cast that includes Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Eva Green and
“Bodies at Rest,” a Chinese-language crime thriller directed by Beijing-resident Renny Harlin (“Die Hard 2”) has been set as the opening title of the Hong Kong International Film Festival. The festival will close with Francois Ozon’s “By the Grace of God,” which recently claimed the grand prize in Berlin. Between the two events, the festival
Chris Fenton, the former head of DMG Entertainment’s motion picture group, has filed a $30 million suit against the company, accusing the founders of cutting him out of wealth generated by an IPO and then running the company into the ground. Fenton left the company in February 2018, after helping to position it as a
Chinese companies have been quick to claim their share of Oscar glory since Sunday’s ceremony, despite an awards season that largely shut out Asian competitors, including “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Shoplifters.” Alibaba Pictures, the heavily loss-making film financing and production arm of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, is busily talking up its involvement in best picture
After Olivia Colman upset the heavily favored Glenn Close to win the best actress Oscar on Sunday, Close became the new record-holder among actresses for most Oscar nominations without a win. Colman gave a gracious acceptance speech, admitting she wished the veteran actress took home the big prize: “Glenn Close, you’ve been my idol for
Never before has so much Spanish been heard on the Oscars stage. Alfonso Cuarón’s best director win was the fifth in the past six years for Mexican directors, and that was just one notable moment during the 91st Oscars, which presented a much different picture than ceremonies of just a few years ago. Latino filmmakers
AMC Networks streaming service Shudder has picked up horror film “The Night Shifter” from Brazilian media giant Globo TV in its continued bid to diversify and expand its programming lineup. This is AMC’s second acquisition from Globo, after 10-episode series “Supermax,” a co-production led by Globo, Argentina’s TVP, Mediaset Spain, Mexico’s TV Azteca, and Uruguayan
Glenn Close couldn’t leave the Vanity Fair Oscar party. Even though she’d lost in the best actress category on Sunday night, she still found herself winning the title of the queen of Hollywood. Throughout the celebrity-packed soiree, guests kept coming up and telling her how much they adored her. At around midnight, when Close decided
“Green Book” scored big Sunday night, taking home the Oscar for best picture amid a competitive field of films that all could have taken home the top prize themselves. And many viewers thought they should have, including “BlacKkKlansman” director Spike Lee, who reportedly tried to storm out of the Dolby Theatre after the best picture
February 25, 2019 2:24PM PT Spike Lee was the first of many celebrities to express their displeasure with the final results of the 2019 Academy Awards, wherein the night’s biggest prize for best picture went to “Green Book.” The Peter Farrelly-directed film, which stars Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen, has fielded controversy throughout awards season.