October 9, 2018 9:02PM PT A tortured young woman covets her neighbor’s soul in this routine yet serviceably effective chiller from Canadian director Rob Heydon. When men talk fondly about “the girl next door,” they never mean someone like Isabelle, who turns that all-American fantasy into a real nightmare for the sweet middle-class couple who
Movies
Shell companies. Off-shore accounts. Hidden tax shelters. All in shady countries with lots of palm trees but not much in the way of legal inspection or surveyance. Over the years, many of us have become familiar, at least in theory, with the nuts and bolts of how wealthy corporations and individuals avoid paying taxes by
In today’s film news roundup, Gale Anne Hurd will be honored with a lifetime achievement award, Nicole Kidman’s “Destroyer” gets an AFI Fest screening, and the holiday romance “Mr. 365” starts production. FILM FESTIVALS The Heartland International Film Festival has selected “The Terminator” and “The Walking Dead” producer Gale Anne Hurd for its lifetime achievement
October 9, 2018 3:16PM PT Legendary Entertainment has acquired worldwide film rights to the fantasy-action graphic novel “God Country” and will team up with AfterShock Media on the project. Legendary announced the deal Tuesday. “God Country” is written by Donny Cates and illustrated by Geoff Shaw, with Cates set to adapt the screenplay. Jon Silk
After “Venom” and “A Star Is Born” gave October a record-breaking start, a slew of new offerings should keep box office momentum going strong. Universal’s “First Man” should achieve a solid liftoff when it launches in 3,600 theaters, but the space epic will have to fend off an otherworldly being before it can top domestic
“Rabbids Invasion,” based on Ubisoft’s bundles of lunatic energy that made the leap from video games to animated television in 2013, was renewed in China and landed new broadcasters in Japan, the company told Variety Tuesday. “Rabbids Invasion” is currently the most watched and positively rated children’s show on Chinese television, pulling in more than
October 9, 2018 1:43PM PT Chelsea Barnard has stepped down from her post as president of film at Annapurna, an individual with knowledge of the company told Variety. An Annapurna spokesperson had no immediate comment. An email to Barnard was not immediately returned. Annapruna founder Megan Ellison will personally stabilize the film unit before a
October 9, 2018 12:41PM PT Jennifer Lopez’s forthcoming exotic dancer drama “The Hustlers at Scores” is seeking a new co-producer and distributor and is exiting Annapurna Pictures, multiple individuals familiar with the film told Variety. Gloria Sanchez Productions, which was founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay and is run by producer Jessica Elbaum, is
October 9, 2018 12:34PM PT Jamie Lee Curtis will make her return as Laurie Strode in the latest “Halloween,” which hits theaters on Oct. 19. It marks the 11th feature in the “Halloween” series, which mostly focuses on serial killer Michael Myers, who terrorizes the fictional town of Haddonfield, Ill. It all started in 1978
Netflix has secured the rights to “John Henry and The Statesmen,” an original pitch from writer Tom Wheeler with Dwayne Johnson attached star. “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” director Jake Kasdan” is on board to helm. Netflix landed the rights after a heated bidding war that attracted many of the major studios. The film marks Johnson’s
“Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn is in talks to write “Suicide Squad 2,” jumping ship from Marvel to DC. Gunn’s deal was made “with an eye to direct” the Warner Bros. film, which is expected to be a completely new take. Gunn helmed the first two “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies, but was
Sameh Zoabi’s “Tel Aviv on Fire,” the critically acclaimed Israeli comedy that world premiered at the Venice Film Festival, has been acquired by Cohen Media for the U.S., along with a flurry of distributors in key territories. Paris-based sales company Indie Sales has also sold the pic to Italy (Academy Two), Spain (Surtsey Films), Switzerland
Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger played a game of show, not tell, to kick off Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit in Los Angeles on Tuesday. Iger, having an atypically visible week following his Time magazine cover drop, sat for the first conversation of a two-day leadership conference hosted by the magazine — a wide-ranging
Documentary hits “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” and “Three Identical Strangers” are two of the 31 shortlisted films for the International Documentary Association’s award for top feature of 2018. Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 11/9,” Netflix’s “Shirkers,” and Hulu’s “Minding the Gap” were among the other high-profile titles unveiled on Tuesday. Morgan Neville’s Fred Rogers story “Won’t
October 9, 2018 10:31AM PT STXfilms has set an April 5 release for civil rights drama “The Best of Enemies,” starring Taraji P. Henson and Sam Rockwell. Henson portrays Ann Atwater, a civil rights activist in Durham, N.C., who battled KKK leader C.P. Ellis (Rockwell) for a decade until 1971, when the two agreed to co-chair
October 9, 2018 10:22AM PT UPDATED: Though production on the highly anticipated drama was expected to start in two weeks, sources tell Variety that Annapurna Pictures has dropped the untitled Fox News-sexual harassment film starring Charlize Theron and Nicole Kidman. Focus Features is expected to come on board, according to sources. Two other sources say Bron
Anton Monsted has been named Executive Vice President of Soundtracks and A&R for Capitol Music Group, it was announced today by CMG President Ashley Newton and COO Michelle Jubelirer. According to the announcement in this newly created role, Monsted, a veteran film and TV music supervisor, executive and producer, will oversee the company’s development and implementation of soundtrack
Media coverage of Disney’s $71.3 billion purchase of 21st Century Fox’s film and TV assets has focused on the historic union of two titans, and the changes in the media landscape that inspired the big bet. But there is a human cost to this era of consolidation that is frequently ignored. For the past 10
October 9, 2018 9:00AM PT Orion Classics has acquired all North American and Latin American rights to the hiking drama “Maine,” starring Laia Costa and Thomas Mann. Written and directed by Matthew Brown, “Maine” premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and was nominated for best narrative feature. Orion Classics will release the film in
Participant Media is not a typical Hollywood company. Founded by former eBay chief Jeff Skoll in 2004, Participant aims to back movies and TV shows that inspire social action, not just simply entertain. “We believe great storytelling can inspire positive change in the world,” says David Linde, Participant’s CEO. “We want to empower our audiences
Timothy Yeung’s Hong Kong-Canada co-production project “Yesterday Will Be Perfect” led the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Project Market awards, winning the new MAS award of $20,000. The winners included four Korean projects: Jang Woo-jin’s “The Final Print” won the Busan award that provides $15,000; the Lotte award that provides $8,800 (KRW 10,000,000) to a
There’s plenty of production to go around. That was the message sent Tuesday by the film commissioners of New York City and New Jersey during a conversation held as part of the annual Crain’s Entertainment Summit. Julie Menin, commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s office of Media and Entertainment, and Steven Gorelick, executive director New
Philip Hammond, Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer, has hailed “Peppa Pig,” “The Crown,” and “Darkest Hour” and said authorities remain committed to tax relief for U.K.-produced film and high-end TV. The chancellor was speaking after new research showed that £632 million ($825 million) of relief seeded £3.2 billion of production spend in 2016, the latest
Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan is readying “Kingdom!,” an epic period drama based on Yasuhisa Hara’s best-selling manga of the same name. Set in China during the Warring States Period, the film tells the story of an orphaned peasant boy who encounters another boy destined to become the Qin emperor. Serving as the key general, the
Timothee Chalamet continues to be one of the busiest young actors in Hollywood and at the premiere for his latest film, “Beautiful Boy,” the “Call Me by Your Name” breakout gave an update on one of his most anticipated upcoming projects and his thoughts on portraying one of DC’s most famous superheroes. “They’ve started shooting,
With horror films, there’s always been a maxim: Hide the monster for as long as possible. Now movie musicals have a similar wisdom of their own: Hide the music. At least, that was the thinking in the buildup to the release of the soundtrack of “A Star is Born,” which came out day-and-date with the
In today’s film news roundup, Sony moves James Gunn’s horror movie, Craig Sheffer gets a supernatural role, “Best Thanksgiving Ever” gets a release and Annapurna signs a music publishing deal. DATE CHANGE Sony has moved the previously untitled James Gunn horror project “BrightBurn” back from Nov. 30 of this year to May 24, 2019 —
One of the emotional climaxes of the new “A Star is Born” remake arrives when Bradley Cooper, playing alcoholic country-rocker Jackson Maine, drunkenly humiliates his wife, a mortified Lady Gaga, at the Grammy Awards. But just before he makes a mockery of himself at the podium, Maine stumbles through a tribute segment to the late
The Writers Guild of America has spurned an offer of informal talks by Hollywood’s talent agents about the WGA’s effort to revamp the rules for agents — insisting that it will only do so in “formal” negotiations. The missive underlines the animosity that the leaders of the guild have towards Hollywood’s two largest agencies — WME
Hari Dhillon has joined the ensemble of the pic “Bad Education” starring Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney. Ray Romano, Geraldine Viswanathan, and Alex Wolff are also on board. Stephen Spinella, Annaleigh Ashford, Jimmy Tatro (“American Vandal”), Jeremy Shamos, Kathrine Narducci, Welker White, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Peter Appel, Ray Abruzzo, and Catherine Curtin are also appearing in