After receiving an honorary Oscar in 2017 and an honorary Palme d’Or in 2015, iconic auteur Agnes Varda received a career tribute at the 17th Marrakech Film Festival during a star-studded ceremony on Sunday. Varda’s tribute was introduced by Cannes Film Festival’s artistic director Thierry Fremaux and French actress Chiara Mastroianni. Martin Scorsese, who presented
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December 3, 2018 7:04AM PT With the success of “Bohemian Rhapsody” – the Freddie Mercury/Queen film that’s on track to become the biggest grossing music biopic of all time — it’s no surprise to see that founding members Brian May and Roger Taylor will again team up with singer Adam Lambert to tour North America next
Charlize Theron and Michael B. Jordan sat down for a chat for Variety’s Actors on Actors. For more, click here. Charlize Theron and Michael B. Jordan start talking before the cameras are even rolling. They are exchanging secrets about how they both disappear into character, undergoing dramatic physical — and emotional — transformations. That’s certainly been the
Michael B. Jordan is stepping behind the lens as part of a new short film collaboration with Bacardi. The “Creed 2” actor teamed up with the premium rum brand for “The Angels’ Share,” a sweeping, cinematic short film that serves as the official campaign forBacardi new Premium Collection. Jordan shot the film last month, just
Creative Artists Agency has signed on to represent fast-rising Taiwanese actress Wu Ke-Xi. Wu was most recently seen as the co-star of mystery thriller “The Bold, the Corrupt, the Beautiful.” The U.S.-based agency, which has a growing business in Greater China, will represent her globally. It will also help her cross over to the West
“Crazy Rich Asians” opened in a miserable eighth place at the Chinese box office over the weekend. Local crime thriller “A Cool Fish” held on to its lead, in its third week of release. Few analysts and commentators had been sure how “Crazy Rich Asians” would play, with its comic take on the lifestyles of
Leading producer-turned-educator and lobbyist, Lord David Puttnam has once again called for a shortening of theatrical release windows. As recently as May this year, Puttnam had suggested a six-week exclusive period for theatrical releases. He now says that 30 days is ideal. Puttnam was in conversation on Sunday with Singaporean filmmaker Boo Junfeng (“Apprentice”) at
“The Favourite” outpaced the field at the British Independent Film Awards with a record haul of 10 prizes, including best film, best actress for Olivia Colman, best supporting actress for Rachel Weisz and best director for Yorgos Lanthimos. The darkly comic costume drama had been expected to fare well after receiving 13 nominations, and its
December 2, 2018 10:24AM PT “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald” hasn’t been able to conjure up much magic in the States, but that might not matter given its magical showing at the international box office. The second “Fantastic Beasts” installment dominated overseas for the third weekend straight, generating another $40.2 million from 80 territories. Warner
Martin Scorsese tackled a range of subjects during a discussion on stage at the Marrakech Intl. Film Festival Sunday, including the contribution to cinema of streamers like Netflix, the backers of his latest movie, “The Irishman,” starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. Scorsese is viewed as one of the godfathers of the Marrakech Film
Brian Tyree Henry wasn’t so sure about being cast as a father in “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” At just 36, the “Atlanta” actor said he didn’t think he was old enough, but when he found out he would be rearing Miles Morales, Marvel’s only black, Latino Spider-Man, he decided to forgo any insecurities he had
On a rainy Saturday in New Jersey, Meryl Streep expressed her admiration for “A Star is Born” and “The Rider” as well as “First Reformed” and her aversion to the President of the United States. The actress, who received her 21st Academy Award nomination earlier this year, confessed her likes and dislikes during Montclair Film
This year’s edition of the Marrakech Intl. Film Festival includes an unprecedented number of Moroccan films, including seven films in the new Morocco Panorama sidebar, and a tribute to local actor/director Jillali Ferhati. When the festival was launched in 2001, Moroccan cinema was in a relatively fragile state and one of the fest’s key goals
Disney’s “Ralph Breaks the Internet” recharged for its second consecutive weekend atop the North American box office, generating a healthy $25.8 million. That marks a decline of just 53%, and pushes the animated sequel’s domestic haul past $100 million. Overseas, “Ralph” earned $33.7 million this weekend, taking its international total to $87 million. Keeping in
Moroccan-French writer-director Nabil Ayouch, whose last film “Razzia” was Morocco’s entry for the foreign-language film Oscar, is completing principal photography on “Positive School.” He spoke to Variety about the project. “Positive School” is a realistic drama set in the cultural center he set up in Casablanca’s Sidi Moumen neighborhood, a poor suburb that became infamous
The Singapore Film Commission continued the ongoing celebration of its 20th anniversary by screening a specially commissioned documentary “Singapore Cinema: Between Takes.” Directed by Koh Chong Wu, the film played on Saturday as part of the Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF). The illuminating feature traces the history of Singapore cinema from the 1950s through the
Hollywood’s racial diversity triumph, “Crazy Rich Asians” will be lucky to score more than $1 million in its opening weekend at the China box office. Afternoon attendances on Friday had ranked the romantic comedy in fourth position. But by the evening it became apparent that mainstream Chinese audiences’ interest was barely flickering for a U.S.
December 1, 2018 4:01PM PT Sony Pictures and Blumhouse have set a Feb. 28, 2020 release date for the upcoming film “Fantasy Island.” The movie stars Michael Pena as Mr. Roarke. Lisa Hale will play one of the guests at a mysterious island where people can live out their fantasies — for a price. Jimmy
Robert De Niro fought back tears as he accepted his honorary award at Marrakech Film Festival from Martin Scorsese, whom he called his “friend, lifelong collaborator” and “one of the greatest blessings of (his) life.” De Niro went on to draw parallels between his own Tribeca Film Festival and Marrakech Film Festival, both of which
Colombian filmmaker Ruben Mendoza’s “Wandering Girl” (“Niña Errante) has won the Grand Prix for best film at the Black Nights Film Festival in Tallinn, Estonia, which wrapped Dec. 2. The drama’s composer, Las Anes, also took home the Best Music prize whose score was praised by the jury for its “inspiring musical whispering of magical
Danai Gurira insists that the cast and crew of “Black Panther” were not thinking about Oscar buzz while they were making the Ryan Coogler-directed film. “My mind did not quite get there,” Gurira tells Variety while promoting her World AIDS Day work with Johnson & Johnson (more on that in a second). “We did know
Ava DuVernay has directed such films as “Middle of Nowhere,” “Selma” and “A Wrinkle in Time.” She was Oscar-nominated for her 2016 documentary “13th,” a look at the criminal justice system’s violations of the spirit of the 13th Amendment. Her next project is the Netflix miniseries “Central Park Five,” a look at the 1990 conviction
It’s a weekend of repeats. With just one nationwide debut at the box office, a series of holdovers are set to take the top spots, with the second frame of Disney’s “Ralph Breaks the Internet” heading for first place with an estimated $24 million. The sole cross-country rollout, Sony’s “Possession of Hannah Grace,” is likely
When composers and lyricists Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman won the opportunity to create new songs for a “Mary Poppins Returns,” it wasn’t all celebration. “We heard we were up for it, and we were ravenous to do it, and yet petrified at the same time,” Shaiman told Variety‘s Marc Malkin on Thursday at the movie’s red
The lack of women in film has been the talk of festivals around the world for the last couple years. But “Suspiria” star Dakota Johnson, who is a member of James Gray’s jury at Marrakech Film Festival, made it clear she had a different opinion about this topic during the opening press conference on Saturday.
November 30, 2018 6:19PM PT Lindsey Weber is stepping down as head of the film division at J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot. The longtime Abrams collaborator has accepted a TV producing gig at Amazon Studios, multiple individuals familiar with her plans told Variety. The parting of ways between she and Abrams is amicable, and emotional to
In today’s film news roundup, Cybill Shepherd’s “Being Rose” gets acquired, Booboo Steward gets a lead role, ITVS reaches a Sundance milestone, and oilfields drama “The Iron Orchard” gets a release. ACQUISITION Gravitas Ventures has acquired North American rights to Rod McCall’s romance “Being Rose,” starring Cybill Shepherd, James Brolin, and Pam Grier, Variety has
Dramatic diets for the sake of on-screen authenticity are most frequently associated with Western screen stars Christian Bale or Matthew McConaughey. But festival-goers in Macau this month will have a chance to witness an equally amazing transformation wrought by Deng Chao, one of China’s top actors. Zhang Yimou’s “Shadow” has been added as the closing
November 30, 2018 3:52PM PT Rising British actor Hero Fiennes Tiffin will star in the upcoming war drama “Freedom’s Path,” sources tell Variety. Brett Smith is directing the pic. The feature is based on Smith’s short film of the same name. Scott Mednick and Skyler Mednick will produce through their Mednick Productions, alongside A.J. Winslow
“Free Solo,” the acclaimed climbing documentary about a hair-raising summit of El Capitan, has crossed the $10 million mark at the box office. It now ranks as the fourth highest grossing documentary of the year, behind “Three Identical Strangers” ($12.3 million), “RBG” ($14 million), and “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” ($22.6 million). The film follows