Movies

Casey Affleck has appeared in a vast range of movies, but when it comes to the work that defines him as an actor he has long demonstrated a certain penchant for slow-cooked artisanal cinema — for films that revel in their high-mindedness and move at a snail’s pace to prove it. That mode probably kicked

Wagram, France’s leading independent music label, is launching Wagram Stories, an incorporated new studio dedicated to film production and publishing, whose first title is having its market premiere at the EFM in Berlin. Wagram, a 20-year-old company whose talent portfolio includes Orelsan, M, The Dø, Dominique A, Katerine, Lilly Wood & the Prick, and Brigitte,

While the face of Seven Bucks Productions has always been its co-founders Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia, production president Hiram Garcia has played an integral role in its expansion, and that includes its latest venture: the indie film world. With the opening of its coming-of-age drama “Fighting With My Family,” opening domestically this weekend following

Genre filmmaking currently seems to be getting more traction within projects in the Italian cinema pipeline, be it dark fables, a Cosa Nostra thriller with a fresh angle, a Rome origins epic in pre-Roman Latin, or other types. Below is a compendium of standout titles in various stages, some of which may surface on the

Europe’s film and TV industries say they are teetering on the edge of disaster as the European Union finalizes new copyright regulation. At the Berlin Film Festival on Friday, global producers’ association Fiapf, whose members include Hollywood’s MPAA, and the Independent Film & TV Alliance both sought to clarify what’s at stake for Europe’s film and

Tributes to the late Albert Finney flooded social media on Friday following the announcement that the acclaimed British star of stage and screen had died at the age of 82. James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson said they were “heartbroken” at the loss of the actor, whose final screen appearance came as gamekeeper

“The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part” built $1.5 million during Thursday night preview showings in North America and another $600,000 from Jan. 26 screenings. Paramount Pictures’ comedy “What Men Want” launched with $1.3 million in previews. Meanwhile, Lionsgate’s Liam Neeson thriller “Cold Pursuit” took in $540,000 from Thursday previews at 2,050 locations. Thursday previews

February 8, 2019 7:48AM PT A rebate program for film and TV projects that give women an equal shot was launched internationally Friday at the Berlin Film Festival. The 10% for 50/50 campaign began in Sweden at the Goteborg Film Festival. Under the scheme, production, post-production and facility houses and other service providers who have signed

Eric Roth, who won an Academy Award a quarter century ago for “Forrest Gump,” went even further back when he was working with Lady Gaga on “A Star Is Born.” Roth, speaking at the Beyond Words panel at the Writers Guild Theater, recalled that he advised Gaga to emulate Cher’s Loretta Castorini from the 1987

RAI Com is kicking off sales in Berlin on Italian producer Ginevra Elkann’s directorial debut, “Magari” (If Only), which stars  Brett Gelman (“Fleabag”), Alba Rohrwacher (“Happy as Lazzaro”), Riccardo Scamarcio (“Loro”) and France’s Céline Sallette (“Les Revenants”). The multi-language pic is currently shooting in the seaside town of Sabaudia, outside Rome. Produced by Wildside and RAI

Albert Finney, one of the leading actors of the postwar period, has died after a short illness. He was 82. The robust British performer began as a stage actor before transitioning to film. With his gravely voice and rumbling stare he brought an intense realism to his work, rising to fame in such 1960s classics

February 8, 2019 6:00AM PT The AMC-owned Odeon Cinemas chain has partnered with Facebook to bring its movie ticket platform “Films” to the U.K. The “Films” feature of the Facebook app allows British Facebook users to browse movies and showtimes at Odeon’s 109 cinemas across the U.K. and purchase tickets directly on the social networking

IFC Films has acquired North American rights to “The Truth,” Hirokazu Kore-eda’s follow-up to his Oscar-nominated and Palme d’Or-winning “Shoplifters,” Variety has learned. The deal was announced at the Berlin Film Festival and comes after an active Sundance for IFC — one in which the indie label picked up rights to the Keira Knightley thriller

Talented Swedish-born documentary director Anna Eborn has an affinity for communities that exist outside space and time, locating people whose lives are spent in areas that don’t conform to common notions of 21st century globalization. In “Pine Ridge,” she turned her camera on Native Americans in a South Dakota reservation; in “Lida” she spent time

Switzerland’s Locarno Festival has announced that the Intl. Film Festival of Panama will become its fourth and final festival partner in Latin America. “The impact the Locarno Industry Academy will have on professionals of the region is ineffable,” said Panama Festival director Pituka Ortega Heilbron. “Attention is being paid to an industry and an audience

Biopic “Vita & Virginia” has been set as the opening night film for this year’s edition of the BFI Flare Festival, Britain’s largest and longest running LGBTQ+ film festival. Chanya Button’s film, which stars Elizabeth Debicki as iconic author Virginia Woolf and Gemma Arterton as her lover and muse Vita Sackville-West, will see its U.K.

February 8, 2019 12:36AM PT Japanese director, Sion Sono suffered a heart attack Thursday and has since undergone an operation. Sono’s representatives have told Japanese media that his life is not in danger. His illness may delay production of Nicolas Cage-starring horror-action film “Prisoners of the Ghostland,” which was scheduled to begin shooting this spring.

Way back in the 20th century, the BAFTAs, which take place Feb. 10, occupied a shifting, uncertain place in the film awards calendar. For much of the 1990s, they acted as a kind of after-party to the long, strenuous haul of Oscar season: taking place a few weeks after the big day in L.A., they

BERLIN —  Freddie Highmore, star of U.S. TV hit “The Good Doctor,” will topline “Way Down,” an English-language heist movie partnering two of Europe’s biggest media corporations, Spain’s Mediaset Espana and France’s TF1 Group. TFI Group’s cinema division TF1 Studio will handle international sales and also domestic distribution in France. “Way Down” will be directed

Fairies, dragons, a trip to the moon and the fall of the Berlin Wall are just some of the family-friendly highlights in German and European animation this year. While the current crop of animated pics offer historical themes and adaptations of beloved books, a popular German toy line serves as the basis for one highly

European animated films continue to tackle weighty subject matter with diverse works aimed at older and more mature audiences. A number of celebrated titles last year impressed by tackling historical, political and cultural subject matter in original ways, among them Raúl de la Fuente and Damian Nenow’s European Film Award winner “Another Day of Life,”

Netflix is making its first foray into German original films, unveiling a slate of three projects that it will produce with local film and TV powerhouses UFA, X Filme and ZDF. In the lineup are “Betongold” (“Concrete Gold”), a fast-paced satire about the world of real estate from UFA Fiction; “Isi & Ossi,” a young-adult

With Poland’s production incentives finally prepped for launch after years of industry efforts to make the country more competitive, bizzers in the country are stoked these days. Even before offering sweeteners Poland managed to persuade the producers of “Wonder Woman,” “Isle of Dogs” and “Atomic Blonde” to shoot in the country. It has a production

February 7, 2019 10:31PM PT LevelK has acquired international sales rights to Geir Greni’s Norwegian horror film ”All Must Die” (working title). Written by Greni and Robert Naess, “All Must Die” is set in the Norwegian woods, where a group of friends are having a bachelorette party but events quickly spin out of control. “All

Cercamon has come aboard as international sales agent for “Goldie,” which stars Slick Woods, Rihanna’s favorite fashion model, as well as featuring rapper A$AP Ferg, George Sample III, Danny Hoch and Khris Davis. Sam de Jong’s film, which has its world premiere Sunday in Berlin Film Festival’s Generation 14Plus sidebar, is the story of a

Everyone could use a little inspiration when it comes to gift-giving, and just in time for Valentine’s Day, we’ve rounded up 10 novel gift ideas inspired by some of the most popular romantic comedies of all time. Think the era of romantic comedies are over? Think again. As the massive success of 2018’s “Crazy Rich

“Wraith” the first film to emerge from the slate of Mubina Rattonsey’s Zero Gravity Motion Pictures will shoot in Abu Dhabi in the second half of this year. The English-language horror thriller being directed by Armaan Zorace (“God is Dead”) is to feature a live, Muslim exorcism. The plot focuses on a couple who hail

In today’s film news roundup, J.K. Simmons’ “I’m Not Here” and French animated movie “Dilili in Paris” get releases and Andrea Friedman nabs a film role. ACQUISITIONS Gravitas Ventures has acquired worldwide rights to the J.K. Simmons drama “I’m Not Here” for a March 8 release, Variety has learned exclusively. The film also stars Sebastian

In “Vice,” writer-director Adam McKay swings for the fences, mixing styles, tone, and techniques for a funny, devastating, and important look at American politics in the 21st century. “The underlying premise of the movie is, ‘The world right now is uniquely, and potentially catastrophically, in trouble,’” McKay says. “That is never a cool message. Humans

Fox Searchlight’s “The Favourite” is nominated for 10 Oscars, including best picture and best director for Yorgos Lanthimos. Supporting actress contender Rachel Weisz says working with the filmmaker was similar to the audience’s experience with the film: “There is a high level of the unknown and mystery in his process, but there is a lot