Mark Wahlberg, Connie Britton and Reid Miller are set to star in “Monsters and Men” helmer Reinaldo Marcus Green’s drama “Good Joe Bell,” from “Brokeback Mountain” screenwriters Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry. Wahlberg will play real-life Oregonian father Joe Bell, who sets out on a walk across the United States with his son, Jadin (Miller).
Movies
PANAMA CITY — A journey is a common metaphor for storytelling and Mexican director Lila Avilés thinks that the experiences she had gained from traveling to 43 festivals in six months with “The Chambermaid” constitute a key formative period, that will shape her future projects. She sees herself as an “outsider” and self-taught when it
Ana Isabel Bustamante’s “La Asfixia” has won IFF Panama’s 1st Fipresci prize for fest film in the “Stories from Central America and the Caribbean” section. The jury, constituted by Joel del Río, from Cuba, José Teodoro, from Canada, and Daniel Domínguez, from Panama, said that they were impressed by the film’s “exploration of the language of
War is coming to Tribeca Film Festival, specifically World War I delivered through an immersive experience that combines the technology of virtual reality, haptic feedback, and special effects with the physical sets of a theater and voice talents of a famed podcaster. “War Remains,” which debuts at Tribeca later this month, was created by MWM
PANAMA CITY — Posting a record in admissions, said festival director Pituka Ortega Heilbron, the 8th IFF Panama wrapped Wednesday with the closing film “The Sentence,” screened in the presence of actor Edward James Olmos. Gustavo Pizzi’s “Benzinho” won best Ibero-American fiction film, Mauro Colombo’s “Tierra Adentro” Best Documentary, about the endangered jungle on the
April 11, 2019 8:00AM PT On the heels of her Oscar-nominated performance in “The Wife,” Glenn Close has found her follow-up. The actress is set to co-star with Amy Adams in Netflix’s adaptation of “Hillbilly Elegy,” with Ron Howard on board to direct, Variety has learned. Based on J.D. Vance’s bestselling memoir, the pic is
Could “Avengers: Endgame” be too much of a good thing? There’s no disputing that “Endgame,” Disney and Marvel’s upcoming epic superhero finale, will be a bona fide box office smash when it hits theaters on April 26. However its runtime, testing the bladders of audiences across the globe at three hours and one minute, poses
April 11, 2019 2:13AM PT Actor, film producer and director Hans Isaac has been appointed as chairman of the National Film Development Corp Malaysia (FINAS). He replaces Samsuni Mohd Nor who served as FINAS’s acting chairman for the past four months. Isaac’s appointment was announced on Wednesday by Gobind Singh Deo. the Communications and Multimedia
Oscar-winning actor Geoffrey Rush has won his defamation case against the News Corp.-owned newspaper Daily Telegraph in his home country of Australia. The paper had published a story in which actress Erin Norvill accused Rush of inappropriate sexual behavior during a stage production of “King Lear” in Sydney. Judge Michael Wigney on Thursday called the
This year’s line-up for the Far East Film Festival in Udine includes numerous surprise hits, as well as a diverse selection that mixes the best of Asian commercial cinema with accessible Asian art house. Among the surprise hits are “A Cool Fish” and “Dying to Survive” from mainland China, and “Project Gutenberg,” the Hong Kong
April 10, 2019 8:01PM PT Leaders of the Writers Guild and Hollywood agents are set to resume talks Thursday with a deadline looming to reach a deal over the next two days — or face potential chaos when the weekend starts. The two sides held off on meeting Wednesday after the Association of Talent Agents
For fans that didn’t get enough Donald Glover during his Friday headlining performance at Coachella, Amazon Prime Video is dropping his latest film, “Guava Island,” just after his set. Amazon Studios announced Wednesday that New Regency’s “tropical thriller” “Guava Island,” starring Glover, Rihanna, Nonso Anozie, and “Black Panther” star Letitia Wright will drop Saturday, April
April 10, 2019 6:20PM PT The story’s old-hat but the visuals rock in an Ip Man series spin-off featuring Michelle Yeoh and Dave Bautista. Top-class fighting and fabulous production design overcome the stale plot of “Master Z: Ip Man Legacy,” a 1960s-set spin-off from the hit trilogy about the legendary Wing Chun master who trained
In today’s film news roundup, Angie Thomas’ “On the Come Up” gets a new home, Luc Besson’s “Anna” gets a release date and Roy Lee and Jon Berg announce a Vertigo promotion. PARAMOUNT PURCHASE Paramount has bought the movie rights to Angie Thomas’ bestseller “On the Come Up” from the now-shuttered Fox 2000 division. It’s
April 10, 2019 5:05PM PT Topher Grace is joining Steve Carell, Rose Byrne, Chris Cooper, and Mackenzie Davis in the Jon Stewart’s comedy movie “Irresistible.” Carell is portraying a Democratic political consultant who helps a retired ex-Marine colonel, played by Cooper, run for mayor in a small Wisconsin town. Byrne will play Carell’s Republican counterpart
It may be stretching things to say that Hellboy was the role Ron Perlman was born to play, but in Guillermo del Toro’s stylish and sturdy “Hellboy” (2004) and its spectacular eye-candy sequel, “Hellboy II: The Golden Army” (2008), there’s no doubt that Perlman connected with the character in an uncanny way. Part of it
While several books have explored the fertile 1990s indie rock scene, precious few documentaries truly capture the period’s excitement. “Brainiac: Transmissions After Zero,” which premiered at SXSW and which will have its New York premiere Friday, offers a notable peek into the era via the lens of this arty Dayton, Ohio-based band that reached the
Netflix is close to signing a deal to purchase the historic Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood from the American Cinematheque, but that doesn’t mean the streamer will be using the movie palace to run theatrical releases of its films to qualify for Oscars. At least not in the near future. Variety has learned that Netflix’s primary
April 10, 2019 2:43PM PT British actress Bel Powley has signed on to play the female lead in Pete Davidson’s untitled comedy from director Judd Apatow. Universal has given the project a prime summer release date of June 19, 2020. The film, described as “semi-autobigraphical,” is written by Apatow, Davidson, and Dave Sirus. Davidson, who
Entertainment law powerhouse Michael Gendler touched on a range of topics during a keynote conversation at Variety’s Power of Law breakfast presented by City National Bank held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Wednesday, including the ongoing dispute between the Writers Guild and the major talent agencies. Speaking with Variety‘s co-editor-in-chief Claudia Eller, Gendler said he
It’s about to get crowded at multiplexes. That’s because four movies — Lionsgate’s “Hellboy” remake, Universal’s comedy “Little,” Laika’s stop-motion animation “Missing Link” and Aviron’s romantic drama “After” — are all opening nationwide. The quartet of films joins an already packed box office marquee that includes last week’s champ “Shazam!” and Paramount’s horror pic “Pet
Following an acclaimed and emotional premiere at January’s Sundance Film Festival, a documentary about the life and work of late actor Anton Yelchin will hit U.S. theaters this summer. Lurker Productions will self-distribute the movie, “Love, Antosha,” beginning with New York and Los Angeles in early August, with Michael Tuckman’s mTuckman Media booking theaters. The
April 10, 2019 11:40AM PT Universal Studios Hollywood has announced that it will open a theme park ride based on “The Secret Life of Pets” next year. The news about the upcoming ride, titled “The Secret Life of Pets: Off the Leash!,” came on Wednesday, two months before the sequel opens on June 7. It
April 10, 2019 10:51AM PT David Harbour understands if movie-goers don’t realize he’s the star of the new “Hellboy.” “I was kind of stunned. It’s quite a transformation. I didn’t even recognize myself,” the “Stranger Things” star recalls about seeing himself for the first time as the half-demon superhero. “And as the process went on
Billy Crystal turned 70 years old in March, but don’t think that means the actor-writer-director-comedian is slowing down. “I remember when they asked George Burns if he would ever retire. He said, ‘To what? What would I do?’” Crystal says with a laugh. “That’s how I feel.” Far from retiring, Crystal is “busier than I’ve
Long before America’s childhood bullying epidemic made headlines, Hollywood had taken the issue to heart, making it a standard ingredient of YA films to condemn the mistreatment of misfits by mean girls, jocks, rich kids, and cool cliques. But the movies have largely ignored the reverse phenomenon, in which those who once identified as outcasts
Women in the World and the IFC Center are teaming up to create a new kind of film festival that will be dedicated to highlighting female artists and their work. Dubbed 51Fest, the event will take place from July 18-21 in New York City at the IFC Center and the SVA Theatre. The festival’s name
After its 1989 release, “When Harry Met Sally …” set the bar for all future romantic comedies. It turns 30 this year and yet the film still feels so relevant. But that’s the hallmark of a classic film. Director Rob Reiner can’t quite believe it. “It’s ridiculous, isn’t it? ‘Spinal Tap’ is turning 35,” he
Fan Bingbing is going back before the camera in Jessica Chastain’s “355,” the highly anticipated action film that cast the Chinese superstar just a few months before a tax-evasion scandal brought her career to a screeching halt. Sources confirmed to Variety that “355” is set to begin shooting this year with its previously announced stars
Ryan Murphy continues to be one of the busiest people in the industry. Not only did he just announce he will be adapting the Broadway musical “The Prom” as a movie for Netflix, but he also told Variety that he’s holding fundraisers for presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg. “I’m having a benefit for