Movies

Women in Film LA and Women and Hollywood have joined forces for a social media campaign to support women directors that will launch Sunday, Jan. 6. The campaign, which is entitled #RememberTheLadies, is designed to run until Jan. 14, and the timing of this campaign is no coincidence. January 6 marks the 2019 Golden Globe

Sergio Leone was born Jan. 3, 1929; he would have been 90 this week. Though he directed only seven films, their impact has been wide and long-lasting, including making Clint Eastwood a star.  On Oct. 11, 1967, Variety carried a guest column by Lee Van Cleef shortly before the U.S. bow of “The Good, the

In the 15 years Olivia Wilde has spent in front of cameras, she’s been studying how the other half lives. She’s been doing that on her own time, too, shadowing directors and cinematographers on sets, and trying her hand at directing a short film and two music videos. But it wasn’t until she ran across

Born in China, Lulu Wang moved to Miami when she was 6 — a dramatic shift not only in terms of geography, but culturally as well. This “divide,” says Wang, is a theme that plays out on multiple levels in the director’s Sundance-bound sophomore feature, “The Farewell,” a dry, comedic drama in which a Chinese

While politics weren’t front and center at Thursday’s 30th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival opening night awards gala, presents and honorees still managed to throw in some zingers about the political turmoil facing the U.S. Held at the Palm Springs Convention Center, the star-studded soirée, which kicks off the 11-day fest, was a celebration

A few years from now, there will no doubt be an official name for the explosion of talented Mexican directors breaking through on the international festival circuit — filmmakers a generation younger than such Nuevo Cine Mexicano pioneers as Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuaron, but every bit as promising in the originality of their vision.

Ever since she can remember, Tayarisha Poe has been drawn to the screen’s most notorious bad guys. Such men as Tony Soprano, Walter White and Michael Corleone. “We allow our own sense of what’s right and wrong to be melded and meshed to fit with these characters because most of us are so ready to have

A respected aesthete best known as head of the New York Film Festival, Kent Jones now finds himself identifying as a different sort of director — the kind who operates behind the camera, as opposed to exercising his power before a projector. “As a critic, I became more and more interested in the nuts and bolts

In a year marked by civil unrest, strikes and the World Cup, France’s box office dropped by 3% to €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) in 2018, according to Comscore France. The number of theatrical admissions went down even further, by 4.3%, to 200.47 million tickets sold, but France remains Europe’s biggest nation of moviegoers, ahead of

BARCELONA — Paris-based Reel Suspects has acquired world rights on the second fiction feature as a director of multi-prized Spanish producer Luis Miñarro, “Love Me Not.” It is produced by Miñarro and Mexican producer Julio Chavezmontes at Piano, whose recent credits take in Sebastian Hoffmann’s Sundance winner “Time Share” and Venice competition player “The Accused.”

Timothee Chalamet accepted the spotlight award for his work in “Beautiful Boy” at Thursday’s Palm Springs International Film Festival, and took the opportunity to reveal that he didn’t always want to be an actor. “There’s a moment when you’re growing up where you realize the adults around you, your parents, they’re all just people. Everyone

“Green Book” star Viggo Mortensen has spoken out in defense of the film after family members of Dr. Don Shirley criticized its portrayal of the classical pianist. “[Writer] Nick Vallelonga has shown admirable restraint in the face of some accusations and some claims – including from a couple of family members – that have been unjustified,

Box office revenue and ticket sales in South Korean cinemas took diverging paths in 2018. And the hierarchy of distributors was shaken up. Revenues increased by 3% from $1.56 billion (KRW 1.76 billion) in 2017 to $1.61 billion (KRW 1.81 billion) in 2018, according to data from the Korean Film Council’s KOBIS service. Admissions dropped

In today’s film news roundup, Peter Jackson’s “They Shall Not Grow Old” is getting another day of screenings, “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” opens in Australia and the AARP announces its film nominations. NEW SHOWINGS Fathom Events and Warner Bros. have set a Jan. 21 release date for a third showing of

January 3, 2019 3:58PM PT A historic mystery is probed to less-than-satisfying results in Danish director Kristoffer Nyholm’s Scottish period thriller. In December 1900, authorities investigating a darkened lighthouse off Scotland’s west coast found all three men employed there missing, with no sign of struggle or any other explanation emerging. Their disappearance became known as

After years of blockbuster movie roles, Idris Elba has solidified himself as a Hollywood mainstay, but it looks like his music career isn’t far behind. It was announced Wednesday that the “Luther” and “Wire” star will be making his Coachella debut on April 13 and 20, in the company of artists like Childish Gambino, Ariana Grande,

Brian Garfield, an author best known for his novel “Death Wish” which spawned a popular movie franchise of the same name, died Dec. 29 at his home in Pasadena, Variety has confirmed. He was 79. After his birth to parents Frances O’Brien and George Garfield, Garfield grew up in Arizona where he wrote his first novel “Range Justice” at

So it’s not gonna be easy, it’s gonna be really hard. And we’re gonna have to work at this everyday, but I wanna do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever. On Broadway. Nicholas Sparks’ romance novel-turned-hit film “The Notebook” is headed to Broadway as a musical with producers Kevin McCollum and Kurt Deutsch in

More than a half-century ago, there was a public outcry when Marni Nixon’s singing voice was dubbed for Audrey Hepburn’s in George Cukor’s 1964 “My Fair Lady” film, in lieu of casting a powerhouse singer-actress such as Julie Andrews, the originator of the role on Broadway. These days, film and music fans have largely come

January 3, 2019 2:37PM PT Awkwafina, who had a breakout year with scene-stealing work in “Ocean’s 8” and “Crazy Rich Asians,” is in talks to join the “Jumanji” sequel, sources confirmed to Variety. Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan are all expected to return, with Jake Kasdan coming back as director. “Jumanji:

The debate rages on over whether a Netflix movie is legitimate, bona fide cinema, as the streaming behemoth has somewhat reluctantly joined Amazon Studios in giving its award-hungry offerings at least a limited theatrical run. But good old-fashioned talent makes contrasting the streamers with their Old Hollywood rivals a moot point. And, along with star-studded

We’re days away from the 76th annual Golden Globe Awards, and if you want to catch up on the nominees, we’ve rounded up some easy ways to watch or stream the films, television shows and miniseries competing for an award. As announced last month, Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg host this year’s ceremony, which airs on

Hank Corwin has worked with some of film’s most iconic directors — Robert Redford, Oliver Stone, Barry Levinson and Terrence Malick. He’s frequently edited earnest dramas, like Stone’s “Nixon” and Malick’s “The Tree of Life.” But his two latest feature outings — Adam McKay’s “The Big Short,” released in 2015, and the Dick Cheney biopic “Vice,”

Three-time Oscar winner Sandy Powell has had a long, illustrious career designing costumes for Hollywood’s elite. This fall, her work adorns two films: “Mary Poppins Returns” and “The Favourite,” the latter of which gave her a rare chance to dress three female leads. The costumes in “The Favourite” have such a distinct look. How did

In the 90-year history of the Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has failed to nominate even a single woman in the best director category 85 times. The Academy is not alone. The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. has excluded women from this category in 69 of its 76 years of awarding Golden

January 3, 2019 9:00AM PT Taye Diggs will host the 24th annual Critics’ Choice Awards on Jan. 13 at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. “I am truly honored and ridiculously excited to be hosting the 24th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards, especially since, as an actor, I recognize what a vital role the critics

PLAYBACK is a Variety / iHeartRadio podcast bringing you conversations with the talents behind many of today’s hottest films. New episodes air every Thursday. Adam McKay’s “Vice” hit theaters over the holidays and was met with a strikingly mixed reaction. Some consider it one of the year’s best films. Others outright declared it the worst.

The red carpet is being rolled out, the champagne is on ice and Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg are testing out their jokes for their co-hosting duties on the big night. The 2019 Golden Globes are just a few days away. Here, Variety gives you all you need to know about the parties leading up

France’s SVOD market skyrocketed to an estimated €271 million ($307.9 million) during the first nine months of 2018, a 60.2% year-on-year increase thanks in large part to U.S. series. The figures were unveiled in a recent report compiled by the CNC, France’s National Film Board. Overall, the VOD market (combining pay-VOD and subscription-based VOD) is

As the film awards season hurtles toward its final phase, the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.’s 71st annual Golden Globes event is poised to mark the first televised awards show of the year. It’s a chance for the year’s various Oscar contenders, from “Black Panther” to “Green Book” to “Vice,” to make an impact in front