Movies

Actor Josh Brolin and cinematographer Greig Fraser have documented the shooting of “Dune: Part One” and “Dune: Part Two” in a new coffee table book titled “Dune: Exposures.” Out Feb. 13, the book is published by Insight Editions and features rare on-set moments with the cast and crew. Brolin, who plays Warmaster Gurney Halleck in

If would be hard to name an artist in any medium who illustrated Flaubert’s famous maxim of creativity (“Be regular and orderly in your life like a bourgeois, so that you may be violent and original in your work”) better than Ennio Morricone. Morricone, who died in 2020 (at 91), was certainly one of the

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all rights worldwide to “Between the Temples,” a comedy with Jason Schwartzman and  Carol Kane that earned strong reviews when it debuted at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Nathan Silver, the film follows a forty-something cantor who is at a personal and professional crossroads. That’s when his grade-school music

A new standalone “Predator” movie is in the works at 20th Century Studios, with filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg set to direct.  Plot details for “Badlands,” which will be set in the future, are currently under wraps, but the film will begin production this year. Trachtenberg landed an Emmy nomination for his 2022 “Predator” prequel “Prey,” which

Universal is down a director for its next “Jurassic World” installment after negotiations with David Leitch went the way of the dinosaur. The parting is said to be amicable. However, the breakdown in talks leaves the studio in search of a new filmmaker to take over one of its most popular franchises. A new movie

Writer-producer duo Jules Bruff and Alethea Root have set a partnership with Guerrilla Rep Media for sales of their award-winning feature film “Good Side of Bad.” The film, directed by Root, looks at the everyday challenges and realities of living with schizophrenia for both the sufferer and their family as well. In the film, when

“The Color Purple” will make its streaming debut on Max on Feb. 16. The movie musical remake from Warner Bros. and director Blitz Bazawule is up for an Academy Award and received two SAG Award nominations and 17 NAACP Image Award nods. It stars Fantasia Barrino, who reprises the role of Celie after playing her

The sprawling sand dunes of the Brazilian Lençóis Maranhensesshine on the trailer for Marcelo Botta’s feature debut “Betânia,” set to have its world premiere at the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival. Paris-based MPM Premium, known for supporting burgeoning Brazilian talent, is handling sales on the title.  Comprising a majority of first-time actors and

U.S. director and producer Robert Rippberger, who recently wrapped sci-fi thriller “Renner” with Frankie Muniz, is headed to the European Film Market in Berlin to launch the sales unit of his banner SIE Films. Its slate will be fronted by his next project, the horror thriller “Monstrosity.”  “Monstrosity,” which is currently in pre-production, is a

Netflix Mexico has unveiled a rousing new slate for this year that includes the series debut of Luis Estrada (“¡Que viva México!”), a new pic from Rodrigo Garcia (“Familia”), another series from hit-maker José Ignacio “Chascas” Valenzuela (“Who Killed Sara?”) and “La Reina del Sur”’s Kate del Castillo unusually toplining a comedy. Also leading the

Taylor Swift keeps cashing in on her blockbuster Eras Tour. Disney is paying more than $75 million to the singer-songwriter-entrepreneur to exclusively stream “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version),” on Disney+ worldwide, according to Puck News, citing anonymous sources. Per the report, Disney outbid Netflix and Universal Pictures (which handled digital/VOD distribution for the

SALES Altitude is launching international sales on two films featuring iconic British band Blur at the Berlin European Film Market. The band, consisting of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bass guitarist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree, was formed in 1988 and tasted considerable success until it went on hiatus in 2015. The first

World sales agency Square Eyes has boarded Vietnamese drama “Cu Li Never Cries,” which has its world premiere in the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival. Variety debuts the trailer below. The film is directed by Phạm Ngọc Lân, who wrote the screenplay with Nghiêm Quỳnh Trang. The cast includes Minh Châu, Hà Phương,

Bill Nighy and “Jojo Rabbit” breakout Roman Griffin Davis are lined up to star in “500 Miles,” directed by BAFTA winner Morgan Matthews. Beta Cinema has acquired international sales rights to the film, and will launch sales at next week’s European Film Market. The film, described as a “thrilling road movie full of heart, wit

“Rye Lane” was one of the standout British indie films of 2023, a lively and delightfully-spun rom-com set in the south of London that helped add a fresh coat of paint to a genre that had been fading for several years. From first-time director Raine Allen Miller and led by rising stars Vivian Oparah and

Copenhagen-based DR Sales has snapped up international rights on the anticipated opening film of the 21st CPH:DOX Festival, “Life and Other Problems.” Variety debuts the trailer below. The playful existential film by Danish documentary filmmaker Max Kestner (“Blue Collar White Christmas,” “Amateurs in Space”) is shepherded by Denmark’s Bullitt Film (Prix Europa for “Absolute Beginners”),

After studying the issue for the last eight months, Georgia lawmakers unveiled a proposal on Wednesday to limit the state’s lucrative film and TV tax incentive. Georgia has the largest production tax credit in the country, with $1.24 billion in credits certified last year. Over the last decade, soundstages have sprouted up around Atlanta and

In 2020, during the peak of the entertainment industry’s love affair with streaming, a follow-up to Disney‘s animated hit “Moana” was destined to become a television series for Disney+. But like the movie’s shapeshifting demigod Maui, who traverses the seven seas with the eponymous Polynesian warrior, the project has transformed into something entirely new. In

Christopher Nolan appeared on “The Late Show” for a lengthy discussion with Stephen Colbert in which the filmmaker heaped praise on his “Oppenheimer” star Robert Downey Jr., who is widely considered the Oscar frontrunner for best supporting actor. Nolan said he always wanted to work with Downey because of his “generosity” and “charisma.” The director

Mo’Nique delivered a viral interview on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast that garnered nearly five million views in 24 hours due to the Oscar-winning comedian’s blunt comments while talking about previous public spats with the likes of Tyler Perry, Netflix, Oprah Winfrey and more. In one of the podcast’s most quoted moments, Mo’Nique declared that

Returning to Panem with “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” proved to be very profitable for Lionsgate, but the writers and actors strikes that upended Hollywood imperiled the company’s ability to produce new television episodes, putting a strain on its third quarter earnings. The company, which is in the midst of spinning

The Oscars added a category for casting, and it’s about damn time. The announcement of the new category, slated to debut in 2026 for films released in 2025, has been warmly received on social media by awards aficionados. Many consider it a long-overdue acknowledgment, especially since the Casting Directors Branch was established over a decade

Denzel Washington and Spike Lee are reuniting for their fifth film together – the first since 2006’s “Inside Man.” Apple Original Films and A24 are partnering on “High and Low,” which will be released theatrically by A24 before a global launch on AppleTV+.  The thriller, which starts production in March, is the English-language reinterpretation of

Dark Star Pictures has acquired the North American distribution rights to Zach Clark’s genre-bending comedy “The Becomers,” with plans for a theatrical release in the third quarter of 2024. The acquisition took place before the commencement of the 2024 European Film Market on Feb. 15. The alien romance film had its world premiere at the

Roadside Attractions and Vertical have acquired U.S. distribution rights to “Lee,” a biopic about American war correspondent and photographer, Lee Miller that stars Oscar winner Kate Winslet. “Lee” is the feature directorial debut of Oscar-nominated cinematographer Ellen Kuras, who previously worked with Winslet on “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” The film’s ensemble includes “The Crown”

Abramorama has acquired the global theatrical rights — with the exception of the U.K. and Ireland — and direct-to-consumers rights to “Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande,” the award-winning music documentary directed by Tim MacKenzie-Smith. Abramorama will launch its U.S. and Canadian theatrical release in early April, following its upcoming U.K. theatrical release. “Abramorama is

Poland’s major public broadcaster, TVP, is breaking new ground by heading its European Film Market slate with a bittersweet comedy about two middle-aged women. “The Love Buzz” (“Miłość Jak Miód”) focuses on what happens when two women in their 50s with very different approaches to life agree to swap homes and lifestyles after hitting the

Be For Films has boarded “Yellow Letters,” the upcoming project of Ilker Çatak, whose film “The Teachers’ Lounge” is nominated for an Oscar in the international feature film category. Set to start shooting this summer in Germany, “Yellow Letters” follows an artist couple Derya and Aziz who experiences the arbitrariness of the Turkish state and

When Mark Ruffalo first appeared on the scene, the comparisons to Marlon Brando were plentiful. It was an easy parallel to make — he was bursting with talent, darkly handsome and excelled at playing brooding, troubled characters. Ruffalo even studied at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, which continued the teachings of Brando’s famous acting

Amid widespread backlash, Berlin Film Festival has decided to disinvite politicians from AfD, a German right-wing extremist party, from the opening night ceremony on Feb 15. In its statement, the Berlin Film Festival acknowledged the controversy caused by its invitation of elected officials from the AfD and said the festival’s directors had decided to withdraw