Jodie Foster already has more than 90 combined acting and directing credits to her name, and she’s not slowing down anytime soon. At Tuesday’s premiere of the upcoming documentary “Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache,” Foster discussed her current ambitions as a budding director, as well as her long term goals to evolve
Movies
Disney returns to Pride Lands in the first official trailer for Jon Favreau’s remake of “The Lion King.” The new clip, featuring dazzlingly realistic footage of the African savannah filled with giraffes, antelopes, and zebras, begins with a young Simba getting some advice from his wicked uncle Scar. “Life’s not fair is it, my little
Sagging performance by local films and a modest Chinese New Year haul left the Chinese box office down 8% in the first quarter of this year. Gross box office in the three months from January to March 2019 totaled RMB18.6 billion ($2.77 billion), according to data from specialty consultancy Artisan Gateway. That compares with revenue
Leeding Media, a company which straddles the U.S. and Chinese film industries, has set up a development deal with prominent Hollywood independent producer Revolution Studios. The agreement follows renewal of most of Leeding’s portfolio of movie rights for China. “This is a very flexible deal that see the two companies jointly develop film and television
April 10, 2019 3:16AM PT India’s Election Commission has halted the theatrical release of “PM Narendra Modi” and two other biographical films on the grounds that they potentially distort the electoral level playing field. They cannot be shown in India until after the polls close on May 19. The decision comes just one day before
Last June, the Berlin Film Festival made a double departure from tradition. With longtime chief Dieter Kosslick slated to step down this year, it decided to split the top job in two after his exit: an artistic director responsible for curation and an executive director to run the commercial side. Then it picked Mariette Rissenbeek
April 9, 2019 8:23PM PT UPDATED: President Trump’s latest 2020 campaign video was removed from Twitter Tuesday night after Warner Brothers Pictures requested it be taken down due to the use of music from “The Dark Knight Rises’” score in the clip. “The use of Warner Bros.’ score from ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ in the
April 9, 2019 7:17PM PT Leaders of the Writers Guild and Hollywood agents have concluded their third meeting in four days with discussion of the key issues of packaging fees and ownership of production companies. Tuesday afternoon’s session at the WGA West headquarters in Los Angeles lasted several hours, with small groups representing both sides.
Singer-songwriter Camila Cabello will star in writer-director Kay Cannon’s re-telling of “Cinderella” for Sony Pictures. Cabello will be involved in the music for the project, which grew out of an original idea from James Corden. The film will be produced by Corden and Leo Pearlman through their Fulwell73 banner. The new “Cinderella” will be a
April 9, 2019 4:27PM PT UPDATED: Netflix has delayed the Felicity Huffman comedy “Otherhood” after the actress agreed to plead guilty for her role in the college admissions bribery scandal. Netflix has moved the film’s release to Aug. 2 from April 26. Huffman co-stars with Patricia Arquette and Angela Bassett in a trio of suburban mothers
MGM has signed a two-year, first-look deal with George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures. Jonathan Glickman, president of MGM’s Motion Picture Group, announced the deal on Tuesday. The first film under the new deal will center on motoring engineer and designer John DeLorean, with Clooney set to direct the movie with the possibility of
April 9, 2019 1:00PM PT Universal Pictures is getting in on the Valentine’s Day spirit, releasing Issa Rae and LaKeith Stanfield’s romantic drama “The Photograph” on Feb. 14, 2020. Stella Meghie will direct from her own script and Will Packer will produce for his eponymous production company. “The Photograph” centers on intertwining love stories in
April 9, 2019 12:20PM PT Universal Pictures has picked up rights to the historical drama “The News of the World” with Tom Hanks attached to star. The project, based on the best-selling novel by Paulette Jiles set in the days following the Civil War, was previously in development at Fox 2000. Disney decided to retire
In today’s film news roundup, the Tribeca Film Festival will honor the 1969 Stonewall Inn riots, a “Rot & Ruin” zombie movie and a “Grease” prequel are in the works. TRIBECA EVENT The Tribeca Film Festival has announced a day-long event on May 4 to honor the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots with “Billions”
April 9, 2019 10:50AM PT Netflix is in early talks to buy the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood from American Cinematheque in what would be the first movie theater acquisition for the streaming giant. The proposed deal would likely play out with Netflix programming on weekday nights while the non-profit Cinematheque would program screenings, lectures, and
“Little,” an upcoming comedy from Universal Pictures, stars Regina Hall — and her mini-me Marsai Martin — as an unwavering executive force in the tech industry. The movie puts the spotlight on powerful black women both in front of and behind the camera. Before the world premiere Monday night, producer Will Packer sang the praises
Kenny Ortega of the Disney Channel’s “High School Musical” franchise has just signed a multi-year overall deal with Netflix. The pact with the producer, director, and choreographer continues Netflix’s aggressive push to lock down major talent as media giants such as the Walt Disney Company and Comcast prepare their own streaming services. In recent months,
April 9, 2019 8:00AM PT The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has announced the key dates for the 2020 Golden Globes. The ceremony will air live on NBC from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Jan. 5, 2020. Nominations will be announced on Dec. 9, 2019. Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg hosted the ceremony
CinemaCon 2019 is a wrap. The annual exhibition industry confab is one long charm offensive by studios using their upcoming blockbusters to energize theater owners, a group less interested in subscribing to Cahiers du Cinéma than it is by a film’s potential to put butts in seats. Many exhibitors left the conference convinced that 2019
PANAMA CITY — Uruguayan helmer Lucia Garibaldi is prepping her second feature after her debut pic, “The Sharks,” which swept the 2018 San Sebastian Films in Progress awards and later premiered in Sundance, where she won best direction in the World Cinema Dramatic section. “The Sharks” also recently won the Grand Prix Coup De Cœur
After being teased at the Grammys, Ron Howard’s documentary on Luciano Pavarotti, the legendary Italian opera singer, takes center stage with an official trailer. “Pavarotti: Genius Is Forever” will hit theaters on June 7, and Tuesday’s trailer showcased footage from interviews, concerts and family archives. It also featured testimonies from his fellow Three Tenors members
April 9, 2019 7:00AM PT IFC Films has bought U.S. rights to Peter Sarsgaard’s drama “The Sound of Silence,” two months after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. IFC plans to release “The Sound of Silence,” which also stars Rashida Jones, Tony Revolori and Austin Pendleton, later this year. The film is Michael Tyburski’s
The Writers Guild of America has aggressively marshaled its forces in the fight to reform the rules of engagement for talent agents who represent its 15,000 members. But as that battle rages, the guild faces some practical decisions on whether it can handle waging war on two fronts as it prepares for what are expected
Redbox is releasing its first-ever “original” title this month: “Benjamin,” an R-rated dark comedy directed by and starring Bob Saget about a family dealing with a teen’s drug addiction. The DVD-rental kiosk operator is calling Saget’s indie film a “Redbox Original.” What that means: Redbox has rights to an exclusive 90-day window on “Benjamin,” to
Turner Classic Movies, the last cable channel launched by Ted Turner as an independent media mogul, is hitting its silver on-air anniversary this month. But the TCM brand is well positioned to enter a golden age as the tide turns in the marketplace for cable TV channels. TCM has spent 25 years building up a
PANAMA CITY — Over six months since the world premiere of Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” at Venice and the intensive debate about the film – including whether it should be classified as a feature film or a TV movie – at first sight one might think that the pic’s screening at IFF Panama would offer nothing
April 9, 2019 3:24AM PT Critically acclaimed Colombian director Ciro Guerra (“Birds of Passage”) is set to preside over the jury of Critics’ Week, which runs parallel to the Cannes Film Festival and is dedicated to first and second films. The jury will be completed by the actress Amira Casar (“Call Me By Your Name”);
April 8, 2019 9:30PM PT Residents of a home belonging to Monty Python comedian Eric Idle and his wife, former Playboy model Tania Kosevich, were evacuated Monday evening after an unknown powdery substance was found in a piece of mail. According to NBC4, the resident called police to the 3100 block of Floye Drive near
April 8, 2019 8:53PM PT Shudder, the horror specialty streaming service of AMC Networks, has acquired all rights in North America to the hit Japanese zombie comedy “One Cut of the Dead.” The company said that it had also licensed rights to the film for Australia and New Zealand, where it plans to launch later
Leaders of the Writers Guild of America and Hollywood agents are holding their first meeting since agreeing to a six-day delay on implementing tightened rules on agents. The meeting took place Monday afternoon at the WGA West headquarters in Los Angeles, two days after the two sides averted a potentially chaotic scenario that would have