In today’s film news roundup, “Trial by Fire” and “The Harvesters” get U.S. distribution deals and the Ford vs. Ferrari movie, starring Christian Bale and Matt Damon, gets an awards season release. ACQUISITIONS Roadside Attractions has acquired U.S. rights to true-crime drama “Trial By Fire,” starring Jack O’Connell and Laura Dern. Roadside, which announced the
Movies
Hollywood’s major talent agencies are threatening to pull out of further negotiations with the Writers Guild of America over how agents represent writers. Both sides issued vitriolic statements on Monday, six weeks before the WGA’s 42-year-old agency franchise agreement expires on April 6. The WGA has made it clear that the guild wants members to
The 91st Academy Awards managed not to be a total disaster, despite the lack of a host for the first time in 30 years, no opening monologue, and a ceremony that tossed out more Oscars to “Bohemian Rhapsody” (four) than “Roma” (three), “Black Panther” (three) and “A Star is Born” (one). The best picture winner,
Rami Malek took a tumble off the Oscars stage after accepting the Academy Award for best actor on Sunday night. Malek appears to have accidentally slipped while trying to exit the stage after the live broadcast had panned away from him. The “Bohemian Rhapsody” star had to set his Oscar down on the edge of
February 25, 2019 10:20AM PT [embedded content] A new “Detective Pikachu” trailer drops tomorrow, and actor Ryan Reynolds is promoting it with a hilarious “Inside the Actors Studio” spoof documenting how he got into the role of the yellow Pokémon (hint: it involves some mild child neglect). Bringing “Detective Pikachu” to the big screen is
It’s not unusual — in fact, it’s often the standard drill — to see Oscar night come down to a duel between two best-picture contenders, each of which embodies a dramatically different set of values. At the 1995 awards, “Forrest Gump” vs. “Pulp Fiction” incarnated the tension between mainstream Hollywood and a newly powerful indie-film
February 25, 2019 9:54AM PT Lupita Nyong’o made a significant statement with her choice in jewelry at the Academy Awards. The “Black Panther” actress wore a “Wakanda Forever” bespoke ring, which was designed specifically for the actress, who wanted to honor her Oscar-nominated film, as well as her work with the Time’s Up movement through
A Paris court has dismissed rape allegations against French director Luc Besson for lack of evidence after a nine-month investigation, Variety has confirmed. The preliminary investigation was launched last May after Dutch-Belgian actress Sand Van Roy filed a report accusing Besson of raping her in a Paris hotel room. The French prosecutor’s office said Monday
February 25, 2019 8:15AM PT On a night when music was arguably the big winner at the 2019 Academy Awards, British actor Taron Egerton gave a preview of his performance in what could be the next big song-heavy blockbuster, the Elton John “fantasy musical” “Rocketman.” At Elton’s annual Oscars party, which includes an auction to
Hollywood and Chinese sci-fi offerings went head-to-head at the Chinese box office this weekend. Newcomer “Alita: Battle Angel” smashed its way to the top with a $64 million debut — streaking past the Chinese titles that, though popular, have been in theaters since the Lunar New Year holiday at the start of the month. Fox’s
February 25, 2019 5:13AM PT President Donald Trump has slammed Spike Lee hours after the director won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay for “BlacKkKlansman.” President Trump tweeted that it would be “nice if Spike Lee could read his notes, or better yet not have to use notes at all, when doing his racist hit
February 25, 2019 4:22AM PT Days after buying Tele Munchen, private equity group KKR has made another major German move, acquiring producer and distributor Universum Film from RTL. KKR is creating a German-based content group and Universum becomes the second company to become part of the fledgling outfit. Universum is a 40-year-old company that started
Malaysian drama film, “Rise Ini Kalilah” has been picked up by Netflix and will go to air from Feb. 26. The film released in Malaysian theaters and in Singapore in September. Involving six intertwined fictional tales, “Rise” documents personal stories and struggles in the build up to last year’s historic general election in Malaysia. To
Not everyone was happy about “Green Book”‘s best picture win. According to reports from inside the Dolby theater, “BlackKklansman” director Spike Lee was visibly upset by the announcement and tried to leave the ceremony before the speeches had concluded. “I’m snakebit. Every time someone’s driving somebody, I lose,” he later told reporters backstage, in reference
There wasn’t a whole lot to be shocked about as the 91st Oscars zipped along during a (comparatively) brisk 195-minute ceremony Sunday night. Nothing much slipped up on the pundits, beyond “The Favourite” star Olivia Colman taking the steam out of Glenn Close’s march through the season, and while most (though not all) expected a
After the chaos of the most unsettled Oscar season in recent memory, the show ended up being a vastly stronger offering than could have been expected. The show had a host — until, suddenly, it didn’t. It was going to cut four categories out, or relegate them to commercial breaks — until it wasn’t. Musical
February 24, 2019 8:52PM PT Two hours into the Oscars ceremony and the show-stopping performance of “Shallow” finally came. Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga surprised the audience by approaching the stage from their seats in the crowd, without an introduction. Gaga took her place at a grand piano and Cooper perched on a stool. Twitter
“Roma” helmer Alfonso Cuaron has claimed the directing Oscar for the second time in his career. He received the honor at the 91st Academy Awards on Sunday night, five years after winning it for “Gravity” in 2014. Cuaron also took home the cinematography prize, making him the first person to nab the award for serving
The 91st Academy Awards had a few shockers in store, though many frontrunners from the critics and guild circuits claimed Oscars. But a few awards proved truly surprising in a season that left many guessing. Surprise: “Green Book”Not all pundits picked “Roma” to win best picture, but certainly the lion’s share of them did. The
Universal’s “Green Book” was the last film standing Sunday night at the 91st Academy Awards, wrapping up a mud-slinging season that saw critics and rival campaigns alike take aim at the film. “We made this film with love, tenderness, and respect,” said producer Jim Burke. “And it was all done under the direction of Pete
In a delirious best actress race that broke wide open after January’s Golden Globe Awards, Olivia Colman came out on top and took home the Academy Award for “The Favourite.” Colman’s win meant that her fellow nominee Glenn Close has extended her losing streak. Throughout her career that spans over four decades, Close has been
Oscar Sunday marked a night of important firsts — and seconds — for diverse artists and filmmakers and their Hollywood contributions. The 2019 telecast started making history almost immediately. After Regina King accepted best supporting actress for “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Ruth E. Carter became the first African American woman to ever win best
“BlackKklansman” director Spike Lee took home his first Oscar at Sunday’s Academy Awards, following five nominations over nearly 30 years. “Do not turn that motherf—ing clock on!” he shouted as he took to stage, relishing in a moment years in the making. However, Academy producers were less enthused, bleeping out the sentence and leaving many
Queen, with singer Adam Lambert, opened the Academy Awards Sunday night with a powerful, abridged version of the group’s 1977 double-sided single, “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.” The performance opened with drummer Roger Taylor thundering out the iconic drumbeat of “We Will Rock You” as Lambert, clad in a sparkling turquoise
Regina King won best supporting actress at the 91st Academy Awards on Sunday for her role as a fiercely protective mother in “If Beale Street Could Talk.” In a teary speech, King thanked the writer James Baldwin, whose novel inspired the film, as well as her mother. “It’s appropriate for me to be standing here,
February 24, 2019 3:19PM PT When “Eighth Grade” director Bo Burnham won the WGA award for best original screenplay, he was the first writer to win without being nominated for an Oscar nomination. “To the other nominees in the category — Have fun at the Oscars, losers!” Burnham joked from the podium. Meanwhile star of
The year’s biggest night in movies is officially here. In the running for the evening’s biggest prize, best picture, are “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Green Book,” “Roma,” “Vice,” “The Favourite” “Black Panther,” “BlacKkKlansman,” and “A Star Is Born.” Best actress contenders include first-time nominee Yalitza Aparicio, Olivia Colman, Melissa McCarthy, Glenn Close, and Lady Gaga. Close has
The 91st Academy Awards telecast will air live this Sunday, Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT from the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. ABC will be broadcasting the event on television, but there are several online viewing options for those watching from a laptop or mobile device. The show kicks off with
While the presence of “Minding the Gap” and “Hale County This Morning, This Evening” in the Oscar documentary feature category suggest a welcome evolution in the way the Academy thinks about nonfiction filmmaking, the documentary short ballot hasn’t changed much from years past. Once again, just causes, rather than great cinema, dominate the list of
Fox’s “Alita: Battle Angel” dominated the international box office, amassing $92.5 million in 82 markets. The cyberpunk adventure landed a much-needed win in China with its $62.3 million debut, the studio’s biggest opening of all time in that territory. “Alita: Battle Angel” also launched in Japan with $3.2 million. This weekend’s haul brings ticket sales