Movies

Three women live a quiet life amongst the luscious trees of the Canary Islands in the first trailer for Macu Machín’s Berlinale Forum entry “The Undergrowth.” Croatia’s Splitscreen is handling sales on the title.  The title also represents the latest from Tenerife-based El Viaje Films, quickly building as one of the Canary Islands top fiction

Beta Film has sold Starlight Media and Gaumont Ukrainian war drama “In Her Car” to NHK Japan, Czech Republic, Latvia and Slovakia. Further negotiations are underway. Created by Eugen Tunick – who directs alongside Arkadii Nepytaliuk – and backed by ZDF, France Télévisions and all Nordic public broadcasters, and “In Her Car” sees therapist Lydia

“Kneecap,” the wildly raucous comedy biopic about the Irish rap group that became one of the unexpected hits of this year’s Sundance, has scored more international sales. The film, the debut feature of director Rich Peppiatt starring the band members as themselves along with Michael Fassbender, was already picked up in Park City by Sony

Choi Yoonhee has been named as the new CEO of Barunson E&A, the Korean sales and production firm that is making a splash at the European Film Market in Berlin this week. Choi, who joined the firm in 2021 from CJ ENM, takes over from Gene Hong (Brian) Park and Kwak Sin Ae. She joined

In “Madame Web,” Isabela Merced stars as Anya Corazon, a teenager who learns she’ll one day develop spider-like superpowers. But given Merced’s incredibly busy production schedule over the next few months, she might want to look into the power of teleportation. On Monday night, Merced posed on the black carpet outside the Regency Village Theatre

From a filmmaker’s perspective, it’s always fortuitous when the name of an artist’s signature work encapsulates the journey that they made in their life and career. What else to call a film about Johnny Cash? “Walk the Line,” of course. A Tina Turner biopic? “What’s Love Got to Do With It.” Aretha Franklin? “Respect,” of

Mark Ruffalo has struck again! During a Q&A about his career at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Sunday, the recent Oscar nominee seemed to confirm that he will be reprising his role as the Hulk in Marvel’s “Captain America: Brave New World.” Asked by moderator Anne Thompson if he would next appear in

David Beckham, Cate Blanchett and Dua Lipa are among those confirmed to hand out a coveted golden mask on Sunday evening. The trio are each set to present a BAFTA Film Award, although it has not been confirmed for which categories. Joining them on stage throughout the night will be fellow presenters Adjoa Andoh of

Overpriced cosmetics were put on trial this Sunday, as makeup brand e.l.f. recruited top scripted and unscripted legal stars for its 2024 Super Bowl ad. The brand, known for capitalizing on pop culture to promote its wares, last came to the big game with comeback queen Jennifer Coolidge in a spot written by her “White

Marie-Ange Luciani, who produced Justine Triet‘s Oscar-nominated film “Anatomy of a Fall,” won the Toscan du Plantier Award at a Paris ceremony hosted by the Cesar Academie on Monday. Celebrating the year’s best producer, the Toscan du Plantier prize is voted on by 1,717 members, including artists and crew members who were previously nominated at

Sylvester Stallone appeared on a recent episode of “The Tonight Show” and gave Ryan Gosling his blessing to star as the next Rambo in a potential revival of Stallone’s iconic action franchise. Stallone played the United States Army Special Forces veteran in five movies. The first “Rambo” opened in 1982. Stallone presumably said goodbye to

Before Samuel L. Jackson became synonymous with the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to his decades-long role as Nick Fury, it was “Star Wars” that was the first Hollywood mega-franchise to open its doors for the beloved actor. Jackson played Jedi master Mace Windu in George Lucas’ “Star Wars” prequel trilogy, and it’s a role he

Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror films, thrillers and supernatural stories, has acquired “The Devil’s Bath,” the new film from Austrian horror auteurs Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala. The deal comes ahead of the psychological thriller’s world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, where it will play in competition. Shudder has picked up

The 10th annual Variety Artisans Awards at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival hosted its biggest crowd to date at this year’s event, with 2,000 attendees packing the Arlington Theater to hear artisans behind Oscar-nominated films discuss their projects. After one-on-one conversations, honorees Stephane Ceretti, visual effects supervisor on “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,”

Controversial director Woody Allen’s 50th film “Coup de Chance” is coming to U.S. theaters. MPI Media Group will release the movie on April 5 for North American markets, with a digital/VOD release on April 12. The film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September, drew both protests and an enthusiastic two-and-a-half minute standing

Kate Winslet said in a new interview with Net-a-Porter that she actively took roles in smaller, independent films after the record-breaking success of “Titanic” because the fame that resulted in starring in James Cameron’s epic was “horrible.” Winslet was just 22 years old when “Titanic” opened in 1997 and became a cultural phenomenon. It won

Lilly Wachowski is bound to direct “Trash Mountain,” a queer comedy-drama starring rising comedian and actor Caleb Hearon. The film follows a young gay man living in Chicago who returns to his hometown in Missouri following the death of his hoarder father. Along with starring in the feature, Hearon also co-wrote the script with Ruby

The CGI animated sequel to “Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness,” the hit adventure film based on the Dark Horse comics which sold around the world, has lured buyers ahead of the European Film Market. Titled “Chickenhare and the Very Very (Very) Old Groundhog,” the movie is budgeted at $23 million (a large budget by European production standards) and

Australia-based indie sales firm Odin’s Eye Entertainment has picked up international rights to adult-skewing animation film “The Weird Kidz.” The film, which has a 1980s vibe and sense of humor, debuted last year in festivals and Odin’s Eye will be using Berlin’s European Film Market to launch an expanded version. A weekend camping trip becomes

Margot Robbie‘s production company is making it official with the studio that backed the Oscar-nominated blockbuster “Barbie.” LuckyChap signed a multi-year, first-look feature film deal with Warner Bros. to collaborate on future projects. The pact follows the smash success of “Barbie,” which was distributed by Warner Bros. and produced by Robbie and her LuckyChap co-founders,

“Barbenheimer” may be the gift that keeps on giving. After Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” ignited the summer box office, the blockbusters with twin release dates are bringing populist energy to the Oscars. Yet the one-two punch of “Barbie” ($1.445 billion globally) and “Oppenheimer” ($957 million), along with a valiant assist from Martin

Sola Media has boarded CGI animated movie “The Super Elfkins” as sales agent and will unveil first footage at the European Film Market in Berlin. The film, which has a budget of Euros 9 million ($9.7 million), will be released in Germany in December 2024 by Tobis Film. It is a sequel to “The Elkfins

For decades, the Berlin Film Festival has been forging its own iconoclastic path, known for screening the best of world cinema and edgy underground discoveries as well as its cold February temperatures, while the starrier and warmer Cannes and Venice fests have been in fierce competition to grab the limelight (aka Oscar movies). But the

Camelot Media has set action-adventure film franchise “The Lost Book of Creation.” Roel Reine (“Line of Fire,” “Halo”) will direct the first film of the planned three-film franchise. Matt Hookings (“Prizefighter”) has written the script and will also star alongside Madalina Diana Ghenea (“Deep Fear,” “House of Gucci”). The film follows archaeologists Slade (Hookings) and

As the film industry braces for a colder-than-normal Berlinale, the indie sector faces a rising level of pain points, now exacerbated by leaner and meaner commercial terms on offer from territorial and domestic distributors for indie titles. Pre-pandemic overproduction, problems with minimum-guarantee payments (commonly referred to by the acronym MG), delays in payments, a decline

Concourse Media, the sales and distribution banner led by Matthew Shreder, is teaming with Goldfinch on its already-established genre label The Number 44. Concourse will come aboard as sales partner for a five-picture slate, which is fully financed with production already completed on two films and three more slated for this year. Concourse is also

LaKeith Stanfield, the Oscar-nominated star of “Judas and the Black Messiah” and “Atlanta,” has joined Raoul Peck’s “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found.” The upcoming documentary chronicles the life and work of Ernest Cole, one of the first Black freelance photographers in South Africa, whose early pictures showed Black life under apartheid. They were images that

“The Dead Don’t Hurt,” the Viggo Mortensen-directed Western in which the three-time Oscar nominee stars alongside Vicky Krieps, has landed a number of international sales for HanWay Films. Newly confirmed territory deals for the film — a Talipot Studio, Recorded Picture and Perceval Pictures production — include France (Metropolitan), Spain (Wanda & Elastica), Scandinavia (Scanbox), U.K.

U.K.-based sales and distribution company Blue Finch Films has boarded international sales for select territories to Shudder original film “Oddity.” Written and directed by Damian McCarthy (“Caveat”), the supernatural film will have its world premiere at SXSW 2024 as part of the Midnighter section. Blue Finch will introduce the title in advance to buyers at

Paris-based sales and production outfit Totem Films has closed a slew of sales ahead of the Berlinale premieres of their Competition title “My Favourite Cake,” and the Panorama opening film “Crossing.” Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha‘s “My Favourite Cake” sold to Cherry Pickers for Benelux, Camera for Denmark, Arizona for France, Triart for Sweden, Cineworx