In today’s film news roundup, Coldplay documentary “A Head Full of Dreams” performs well, Jon Heder’s “When Jeff Tried to Save the World” gets distribution and shooting has begun on transgender drama “Gossamer Folds.” BOX OFFICE Trafalgar Releasing has reported more than $3.5 million in box office revenue in one day for the Coldplay documentary
Movies
“Grown-ish” star Francia Raisa and “13 Reasons Why” executive producer Mandy Teefey are teaming on a feature film about the key 1946 Mendez vs. Westminster school desegregation case. The duo began working on the project this year and quickly became convinced that the story had resonance in today’s society. They were able to persuade the
Rungano Nyoni wasn’t exactly surprised when her casting director vanished during pre-production in Zambia. Born in the southern African nation, but raised in Wales, she had girded herself for the challenges of shooting in a country whose film industry holds itself to different professional standards than those prevailing in the U.K. “Using European sensibilities in
November 15, 2018 3:40PM PT Eva Longoria Baston will make her feature directorial debut, produce, and star with Kerry Washington in Universal’s workplace comedy “24-7.” Paul Feig is producing with partner Jessie Henderson through their FeigCo Entertainment banner. Longoria Baston is producing through UnbeliEVAble Entertainment as is Washington via her Simpson Street company. UnbeliEVAble’s Ben
Cartoon Saloon, the Irish animation studio, isn’t afraid to take on challenging subject matter in its own unique way, as evidenced by last year’s acclaimed feature “The Breadwinner,” the story of a young Afghan girl who disguises herself as a boy to help provide for her struggling family during Taliban rule. This year, the toon
Model and actress Kim Porter, who dated rapper Diddy for 13 years and is the mother of three of his kids, died on Thursday at her Toluca Lake, Calif., home, a source close to Porter confirmed to Variety. TMZ, which first reported the news, said Porter went into cardiac arrest on Thursday at noon after suffering from pneumonia for several weeks, though her
November 15, 2018 1:27PM PT Creative Artists Agency has promoted four members of their trainee program to agent or executive, the company said Thursday. The agency, led by managing partners Kevin Huvane and Bryan Lourd and president RIchard Lovett, listed the following promotions: Paige Feldman and Jack Kingsley have been promoted to executives in CAA
“Beautiful Boy” uses non-linear storytelling, intercutting frequent flashbacks — sometimes very brief, sometimes longer — in the fact-based tale of a dad (Steve Carell) dealing with his son’s (Timothee Chalamet) drug addiction and rehab. Director Felix van Groeningen and his editor Nico Leunen have used this method of storytelling for five of the six films
Daniel Rosenfeld’s “Piazzolla, the Years of the Shark,” a biographical documentary about tango musician Astor Piazzolla, world premieres at the Intl. Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). Rosenfeld talked with Variety about Piazzolla’s legacy, the revelations within the film and his interesting exhibition strategy. Piazzolla is, along with Carlos Gardel, the most notable tango musician of
MGM Holdings has reported a strong 42% third-quarter revenue hike to $380.2 million, thanks to higher television revenues. In a filling Thursday on its investor relations website, privately held MGM also disclosed that its earnings slid to $25.3 million from $114.2 million in the year-ago quarter and adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and
Apple is enlisting Oscar-winning indie studio A24 to produce a slate of films for the tech behemoth. The partnership comes as Apple is delving more deeply into making its own shows and movies, having previously signed deals with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Reese Witherspoon, and Oprah Winfrey. Apple did not provide many specifics about
PLAYBACK is a Variety / iHeartRadio podcast bringing you conversations with the talents behind many of today’s hottest films. New episodes air every Thursday. Coming off her critically acclaimed debut feature “Diary of a Teenage Girl,” filmmaker Marielle Heller put a lot of thought into how she would follow it up. She at least knew
Johnny Depp’s abuse allegations and personal drama, on top of divisive reviews and social media backlash surrounding the upcoming chapter in the wizarding world have little impact on legion Harry Potter fans. This Friday marks the release of “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” a Warner Bros. sequel derived from characters created by J.K. Rowling
Each November in Poland, the Camerimage Film Festival, which casts a spotlight on the art and science of cinematography, celebrates an editor with the Unique Visual Sensitivity award. This year’s honoree is Carol Littleton. Littleton is known for her prolific catalog of work with directors like Steven Spielberg and Lawrence Kasdan on film such as “E.T.
Taking the reins of IDFA is a daunting challenge, as Orwa Nyrabia well knows. “The main challenge in the beginning,” he says, “was simply to stand in front of a very successful organization that is achieving its objectives every year, and getting better and bigger every year, and tell them you think the job is
When legendary director Orson Welles began shooting “The Other Side of the Wind” — an art-imitates-life story about a famous Hollywood director (played by John Huston) struggling to finish his final masterpiece — in 1970, he could never have predicted the long and winding road his own film was about to travel. Plagued by financial
the old adage goes, “Behind every great man is a great woman.” But a quick look at many of this year’s awards season films suggests that saying needs an update — perhaps to: “Behind every great woman is a man getting in her way.” It’s not a stretch to look at such films as “Colette,”
Kathleen Robertson has been acting for more than three decades, most recently spending three years on TNT’s “Murder in the First” and just completing “Northern Rescue,” which is due to drop on Netflix early next year. But she is also working behind-the-scenes as a writer, adapting novels such as “The Possibilities” and “Little Bee,” as
Some stars play it safe, but not Hugh Jackman, who keeps pushing himself in new directions. After a string of wide-ranging roles (“Prisoners,” “The Greatest Showman,” “Logan”), he again shows his versatility by playing politician Gary Hart in Sony’s “The Front Runner,” which opens wide Nov. 21. Do you seek out challenging roles? Yep. I
Losses by MoviePass’ parent, Helios & Matheson Analytics, grew in the third quarter of 2018 to $137.2 million — and given its burn rate, the company might not be able to stay in business much longer. The company generated $81.3 million in revenue for Q3, including $78.9 million from MoviePass subscriptions, it disclosed in a
The shadow of death hangs heavy over Aboozar Amini’s feature debut “Kabul, City in the Wind”, and yet, paradoxically, it is a film that celebrates life and even marks the birth of a significant new talent. Freewheeling in tone and style, yet meticulously framed and bathed in melancholy hues, Amini’s film tells two stories about
November 15, 2018 9:43AM PT [embedded content] Chile’s Nicolas Guzman is having his feature debut “Potential Victim” world premiere at the 22nd Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia. Known for his documentary about the student activist movement in Chile, “If You Listen Carefully” (“Si Escuchas Atentamente),” Guzman’s first foray into fiction filmmaking stars multifaceted pop singer-actress-model
In the book “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption,” a gifted young lawyer fights for the poor and the wrongly condemned. And in pure Hollywood fashion, the movie based on the book’s true story will be the first production to fall under WarnerMedia’s newly adopted inclusion rider. “This is progress,” says Kalpana Kotagal,
November 15, 2018 2:50AM PT Saudi Arabian sovereign-wealth fund PIF is exploring the possibility of acquiring a stake worth up to $700 million in Wanda-owned Legendary Entertainment. The news was reported by the Reuters news agency. The Reuters story, citing unnamed sources, said Thursday that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is seeking to invest about $500 million
Italy is set to regulate its theatrical windows by law, following an uproar over the simultaneous release on Netflix and in theaters of local police-brutality drama “On My Skin.” New rules announced by Italian Culture Minister Alberto Bonisoli will enshrine in law the current gentleman’s agreement among the country’s distributors to wait 105 days after
Idris Elba’s daughter, Isan, has been named next year’s Golden Globes Ambassador, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced on Wednesday evening. Isan is also the daughter of makeup artist and businesswoman Kim Elba. The ambassador, a title that typically goes to the son or daughter of a celebrity, assists in distributing the Golden Globe trophies
November 14, 2018 5:25PM PT Brillstein Entertainment Partners has recruited manager Kailey Marsh and has acquired the online BloodList franchise that Marsh launched a decade ago to highlight horror scripts. Brillstein plans to expand BloodList into a production banner for film and TV projects. “Kailey’s entrepreneurial spirit has brought BloodList to life and turned it
November 14, 2018 4:48PM PT Newcomer Ella Jay Basco is in negotiations to land the last major role, Cassandra Cain, in Warner Bros.’ Harley Quinn spinoff, “Birds of Prey.” Margot Robbie is back as Quinn with Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jurnee Smollett-Bell on board as Huntress and Black Canary, respectively. Ewan McGregor will play the film’s villain and
November 14, 2018 3:30PM PT Lily James and Armie Hammer are set to star in Netflix and Working Title’s “Rebecca,” directed by Ben Wheatley. Jane Goldman is writing the screenplay, adapted from Daphne du Maurier’s classic Gothic novel of the same name. The story follows a newly married young woman who, upon arriving at her husband’s
J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot production banner has acquired six new projects from a number of rising filmmakers. Among the titles is a feature on hip-hop artist Bobby Hall, known by his stage name Logic. His song “1-800-273-8255” was nominated for two Grammys. His movie, “Everything Must Go,” is described as “Clerks” for a new generation.