Movies

Christopher Nolan revealed to the Associated Press that Steven Spielberg was the first person outside of the studio that he showed the “Oppenheimer” 70mm print to once the reels came in. As fate would have it, Spielberg called Nolan out of the blue for something that had nothing to do with “Oppenheimer” when the 70mm

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

Variety’s 10th annual Artisans Awards, taking place Feb. 11 at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, celebrates craftspeople responsible for the visual magic in the biggest films of the year. The tribute at the coastal city’s Arlington Theatre also includes a panel with the honorees moderated by Jazz Tangcay, Variety’s senior artisans editor. Meet this year’s

“Talk to Me,” the creepy hit horror film directed by Australian brothers Danny and Michael Philippou’s picked up five AACTA Industry Awards on Thursday. Their prizes included best screenplay and best editing in film. “The New Boy,” which premiered in Cannes last year, collected two AACTA Industry awards for best cinematography and best design in film.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson has found his next role in David Mackenzie‘s heist thriller “Fuze,” which Anton will launch at the European Film Market in Berlin this month. The film reunites Taylor-Johnson and “Hell or High Water” helmer Mackenzie, who last worked together on 2018’s “Outlaw King.” With a script from Ben Hopkins, “Fuze” “opens on the

Goa-based Film Bazaar, South Asia’s largest film market, will have a documentary-focused sister edition in Mumbai from June. The documentary component of the market will now be a full fledged Film Bazaar on its own within the Mumbai International Film Festival for documentary, short fiction and animation (MIFF). The Indian government-run MIFF, which began in

What happens when one half of a longstanding lesbian couple dies in a place where same-sex relationships are not fully recognized by the law and have been tolerated, rather than accepted, by society? In Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,” which premieres this month in the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival, the answer

Sales, production and finance outfit Protagonist Pictures has beefed up its marketing and sales divisions with a slew of promotions and new hires. Janina Vilsmaier, previously with Hanway before joining Protagonist in 2020, has been promoted to senior VP sales and distribution. Former Netflix and Studiocanal executive Mounia Wissinger, who joined the company in 2018, has

The Playmaker has signed with 3Buck Productions to handle international sales for “The G,” written and directed by Karl R. Hearne. “The G” is a dark thriller about a mysterious older woman hellbent to get revenge on the corrupt legal guardian who destroyed her life. Variety debuts the trailer below. “The G” had its world

CPH:FORUM, the financing and co-production section of the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival (also known as CPH:DOX), will showcase 32 projects, including new works from producers such as Sidsel Lønvig Siersted (“Apolonia, Apolonia”), Signe Byrge Sørensen (“Flee”), Diane Becker (“Navalny”) and Mandy Chang, the creative director of Fremantle label Undeniable and former head of BBC

“In Broad Daylight,” an expose of real events in a care home for the elderly, dominated the nominations for the Hong Kong Film Awards. The Lawrence Kan-directed comedy-drama received 16 nominations, at the Tuesday nominations event, including best picture and best new director as well as others for cinematography, editing sound design and original song.

After a heated bidding war, Warner Bros. won the rights to the latest collaboration from writer-director-producer Ryan Coogler and star Michael B. Jordan. Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group’s Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy confirmed the studio landed a deal with the duo for the untitled movie, based on an original script by Coogler. Details

“Bridgerton” and “Fair Play” actor Phoebe Dynevor lamented in an interview with the London Evening Standard about the limited roles available to women her age. Dynevor, who is 28 years old, said great parts are out there for “male actors” and “for older women,” but not so much for female actors her age. “I have

“Red Rock Run,” a heartwarming drama film about a girl with dyslexia who seeks to win her father’s attention by taking on an ultra-marathon, has been green-lighted for production later this year. The film is by producer Miriam Stein and director, Cathy Randall, the duo behind “Hey Hey its Esther Blueburger.” The project was initiated

Torrential downpour could not dampen the celebratory spirit at the premiere of “Bob Marley: One Love,” held at Westwood’s Regency Village Theatre on Feb. 6 — a momentous date, as yesterday would’ve been the Jamaican reggae legend’s 79th birthday. The evening included appearances by star Kingsley Ben-Adir, producer Ziggy Marley and a plethora of other stars,

Archstone Entertainment has acquired international rights to “American Dreamer,” a dark comedy starring Peter Dinklage, Shirley MacLaine, Kim Quinn, Matt Dillon and Danny Glover. Paul Dektor (“Frayed”) directs a script written by Theodore Melfi (“Hidden Figures”).  The movie is based on a true story from Chicago Public Radio’s ”This American Life” and follows Dr. Phil Loder

The line where the sky meets the sea is calling Moana once again. A sequel to the hit 2016 animated film was announced by Bob Iger today on CNBC ahead of Disney’s fiscal 1st quarter earnings report — with a surprise theatrical release this Nov. 27. Iger revealed that, while it was originally planned as

Hannah Gutierrez Reed is scheduled to face a manslaughter trial in two weeks, becoming one of only a handful of people ever tried for an accident on a film set. The case against her is relatively straightforward. She was responsible for safe handling of guns on “Rust,” the Western starring Alec Baldwin. She loaded a

Germany’s culture minister Claudia Roth has defended the controversial decision to invite several members of the increasingly ostracized far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party to the opening of the Berlinale on February 15. Roth, who is also behind the Berlinale’s decision to replace incumbent artistic director Carlo Chatrian from 2025, defended the decision by indicating

Dakota Johnson sounded off on the industry in a new interview with L’Officiel ahead of the release of her superhero tentpole “Madame Web.” The actor reflected on bringing her indie drama “Daddio” to a film festival last year, where she says it took a whole lot of effort to get it sold despite it starring her

“Semmelweis,” which NFI World Sales will be selling at the European Film Market in Berlin, has become the highest grossing Hungarian movie in local theaters in five years. The film is directed by Lajos Koltai who was Oscar nominated as the cinematographer of Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Malena.” “Semmelweis” marks Koltai’s first return to directing since “Evening”

Oscar-nominated actors Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell are set to star in “A Big Bold Beautiful Journey,” which will be produced by Imperative Entertainment and financed by 30West. “Pachinko” and “After Yang” director Kogonada will direct the script, penned by “The Menu” writer Seth Reiss.  Kogonada, Ilene Feldman and Original Films’ Ori Eisen are executive

Grindr, the ubiquitous LGBTQ hookup app that continues to expand into original content, will launch a new sex-focused podcast with “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum Katya Zamolodchikova. “Who’s The Asshole?” is billed as a provocative look at love and sex, offering an “unfiltered and judgment-free space to explore the messy gray areas of lust, love and

Set to open on Feb. 7, the Santa Barbara Intl. Film Festival enters its 39th year with high stakes. Organizers must re-create past successes while forging new paths to keep proceedings fresh, keeping their eye on a mission to education while celebrating the power of film. This year’s edition of the coastal festival will open

UTA has announced its latest round of promotions, elevating 104 employees across 25 departments. The promotions come in departments across the company — which is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Nashville, New York and London — including business affairs, comedy touring, communications, endorsements & voiceover, finance & accounting, fine arts, independent

Mike Tyson is set to play himself in “Bunny-Man,” an offbeat superhero movie that is being shot in Italy. The former heavyweight boxing champion on Tuesday attended a press conference held in the Northern city of Turin with Italian producer Andrea Iervolino and writer Enrico Remmert to announce “Bunny-Man,” which will be entirely shot in

When young Saudi Arabian director Moe Alatawi was growing up, cinema was banned in his country. This adds special significance to the fact that on Feb. 15 his first feature, the desert epic “Within Sand,” will be opening wide in Saudi theaters.   The sumptuously shot drama — inspired by the true story of a

Sam Taylor-Johnson‘s upcoming Amy Winehouse biopic “Back to Black” may have access to the late singer’s globally recognized back catalog, but another legendary musician is lending his talents to the project. Nick Cave, alongside his long-time collaborator Warren Ellis, is scoring the StudioCanal and Focus Features film, which sees “Industry” star Marisa Abela play Winehouse.

It’s been three months since Hollywood’s dual strikes finally ended, with SAG-AFTRA reaching a deal some six weeks after their WGA counterparts, but the reverberations are continuing across the pond. As producer John McVey told a Parliamentary inquiry into the state of the U.K.’s screen industry last month: “If America sneezes, we often catch a

Hunter Schafer and Noomi Rapace will star in “Palette,” a psychological horror film directed by Zach Strauss (“SMILF”) in his feature debut. Strauss penned the script for “Palette,” which was featured on the 2023 Black List. He is also a writer on Spike Lee’s upcoming feature “Da Understudy.” “Palette” follows Dolly (Schafer), “a woman suffering