Movies

A documentary on the late rapper Lil Peep is in the works and will be executive produced by Terrence Malick, a rep for Peep’s estate confirmed to Variety. The veteran director, producer and screenwriter, renowned for such filmed as “Days of Heaven” and “Badlands,” is a friend of Peep’s family. The rep declined to provide

Alexa, play “We Are the Champions.” Fox’s Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” starring Rami Malek is expected to rock the box office with a debut over $35 million when it arrives in 4,000 theaters this weekend. That should easily be enough to best newcomers “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” and “Nobody’s Fool.” It doesn’t look like

Arrow Films has acquired horror movie “The Dead Center” in a multi-territory deal that includes the U.S. and the U.K. Billy Senese (“Closer to God”) wrote the screenplay and directed the film. It was co-produced by, and stars, Shane Carruth, who previously wrote, directed and starred in “Primer” and made Sundance favorite “Upstream Color.” It is

October 31, 2018 11:31AM PT Abdellatif Kechiche, the Palme d’Or winning director of “Blue is the Warmest Color,” has been accused of sexual assault by an unnamed actress in France. A preliminary investigation has been launched following a complaint for sexual assault against the filmmaker filed on Oct. 6 by a 29 year-old actress, according

October 31, 2018 10:49AM PT Specialty film financier Forest Road Company has secured an additional $70 million in committed capital, in addition to the previously announced $50 million. Forest Road made the announcement Wednesday on the opening day of the American Film Market. The outfit, which is based in Los Angeles and New York, offers

Spike Lee, who co-wrote and directed Focus Features’ “BlacKkKlansman,” says it was not an easy movie to make, but that everybody worked together. “We were all making the same film,” he explains, “which doesn’t always happen.” The fact-based story centers on Ron Stallworth, a black cop who went undercover in Colorado Springs in the 1970s

Let’s face it: the “musical” element of the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.’s Best Picture, Musical or Comedy, category at the Golden Globes is a holdover from a different era, when films that featured production numbers were a staple of the business. The category was initiated in 1951, the year of “An American in Paris,” and

Santa Monica’s dining scene improves each year. Fast, casual options abound on the Third Street Promenade and several new upscale eateries (Wally’s Santa Monica and Elephante Beach House) represent major capital investments in the seaside city. Best of all, the area is easily accessible by the new popular mode of transport: battery-powered scooters tied to

It was inevitable that conversation at the New York premiere of “The Front Runner” would turn to politics. “I think I’m like anyone alive today,” director Jason Reitman told the audience at the Museum of Modern Art on Tuesday evening. “I wake up, I pull out my phone, and I go, ‘F—!’” On the red

October 31, 2018 10:00AM PT The dinosaurs are facing extinction once again in Netflix’s latest streaming purge. Staring Nov. 1, the “Jurassic Park” trilogy will disappear from the streaming platform, along with the popular animated dinosaur series “The Land Before Time.” Also leaving Netflix is the Guillermo del Toro film “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”

October 31, 2018 9:43AM PT Variety has been given exclusive access to the first-look image from “The Song of Names,” starring Clive Owen and Tim Roth. HanWay Films is selling the film at the American Film Market. Jeffrey Caine wrote the screenplay, based on the novel by Norman Lebrecht. The original score is by Howard

October 31, 2018 9:21AM PT Neon has acquired the North American rights to Bong Joon-Ho’s family drama “Parasite” from CJ Entertainment. The drama marks Bong’s comeback to Korean-language film following “Okja” and “Snowpiercer.” It’s also his fourth collaboration with Song Kang-Ho, who starred in “Snowpiercer,” “The Host,” and “Memories of Murder.” “Parasite” also marks Bong’s

It’s an historically lucrative time to be in the horror business, and not just because the 11th installment of “Halloween” has made $128 million at the domestic box office on a reported $10 million budget. Last year was the genre’s highest earning ever, as titles like New Line’s “It” and Jordan Peele’s groundbreaking “Get Out” raked in cash ($327 million

October 31, 2018 3:56AM PT Peter Jackson’s landmark First World War feature documentary film “They Shall Not Grow Old” will go out on the BBC in the U.K. on Nov. 11, Armistice Day. The film will be one of the U.K. pubcaster’s centerpieces in its commemorative coverage around the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, the day

Yorgos Lanthimos’ acclaimed period drama “The Favourite,” and Bart Layton’s heist movie “American Animals,” have landed the most British Independent Film Award nominations this year, with 13 and 11 apiece. “You Were Never Really Here” also put in a strong showing with 8 noms. BIFA has made strides to ensure its voters for its awards

October 31, 2018 1:00AM PT Nora Twomey, Cartoon Saloon co-founder and director of the critically lauded animated feature “The Breadwinner,” has been awarded the inaugural View Visionary Award by the View Conference in Turin, Italy. View Conference director Maria Elena Gutierrez pointed to Twomey’s “exceptional artistry” for the reason she was given the award. Twomey,

Inspired by the interface of video games, Czech documentarian Katerina Tureckova’s portrait of life under Hungarian strongman president Viktor Orban, “Illusion,” had audiences buzzing at the 22nd Ji.hlava docu fest this year. One of 13 entries in the Czech Joy section, her film, structured as a video game, is no diversion in digital playtime but

Kevin Tsujihara Warner Bros. chairman and chief executive used his Visionary Leadership award at the U.S.-China Entertainment Gala Dinner to make an impassioned statement in favor of diversity in the workplace. He received the award Tuesday night in Los Angeles on the sidelines of the 2018 U.S.-China Entertainment Summit. The first Asian-American to head a

October 30, 2018 10:35PM PT TrustNordisk has come on board Nini Bull Robsahm’s high-concept psychological thriller “Lake of Death,” an adaptation of André Bjerke’s classic 1942 Norwegian novel “Lake of the Dead.” “Lake of Death” is produced by Thomas Robsahm and Fredrik Pryser for Canopy Film in association with Pryserfilm with support form the Norwegian

October 30, 2018 10:00PM PT Variety has been given the exclusive first-look image for coming-of-age comedy “How to Build a Girl,” which Protagonist Pictures is selling at AFM. The movie is directed by Coky Giedroyc, and stars “Lady Bird’s” Beanie Feldstein, Alfie Allen, best known for “Game of Thrones,” Paddy Considine and Sarah Solemani. Adapted

October 30, 2018 10:00PM PT Burgeoning U.K. producer Mad as Birds has brought on Con Gornell as a long-term consultant to support its growing slate of movies, including “The Vanishing” and others, several of which are being sold at AFM with this week. The first project that former Warner Bros. EMEA marketing exec VP Gornell

October 30, 2018 10:00PM PT London-based sales and financing house Film Constellation has sold North American rights for Annabel Jankel’s “Tell It to the Bees,” which stars Anna Paquin and Holliday Grainger, to Good Deed Entertainment. Good Deed, which is aiming for a spring theatrical release, has partnered with FilmRise on streaming and linear rights

October 30, 2018 10:00PM PT On the first day of the American Film Market, Blue Fox Entertainment acquired U.S. rights to Solution Entertainment Group’s action-thriller “Killerman,” starring Liam Hemsworth. The film also stars Emory Cohen, Diane Guerrero, Suraj Sharma, and Zlatko Buric. Blue Fox is planning a spring 2019 theatrical release on at least 200

French mini-major Gaumont is re-teaming with “The Intouchables” filmmakers Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache on their long-gestated passion project, “The Specials,” starring Vincent Cassel and Reda Kateb. “The Specials” is an uplifting drama about the true story of Stephane Benhamou and Daoud Tatou, two friends from different religious faiths who, 20 years ago, created a

October 30, 2018 10:00PM PT WestEnd Films will launch Helen Reddy biopic “I Am Woman” at the American Film Market. Danielle Macdonald (“Patti Cake$”) has also been confirmed as a cast member. She will play legendary rock journalist Lilian Roxon and star alongside Tilda Cobham-Hervey (“Hotel Mumbai”) who plays singer/actor/activist Reddy, and Evan Peters (“American

“Polaroid” is among a handful of unreleased films that have been stuck in limbo since the Weinstein Co. began its spiral into bankruptcy a year ago. The film may soon see the light of day, as Lantern Entertainment — which acquired the company’s assets in July for $289 million — is seeking distribution. The film

“Vote for Kibera,” winner of the audience prize at the Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival, is the result of two years of working outside the box, says director Martin Pav. When Czech non-profit worker Eva Krutilkova approached him, Pav was immediately intrigued by the challenge of portraying life in Kenya’s largest shanty town, home to at

October 30, 2018 4:33PM PT Gaumont and Contents Panda, the international business subsidiary of Next Entertainment World (“Train to Busan”) are joining forces on “The Beast,” the Korean remake of Olivier Marchal’s “36,” the stylish French thriller starring Gérard Depardieu and Daniel Auteuil. Produced by Studio&NEW, the production company subsidiary of NEW, the remake will

Indie-film streaming service Fandor said it was “sad to hear the news” about WarnerMedia’s plans to shut down FilmStruck at the end of next month. But it also saw a business opportunity. Fandor is giving current FilmStruck subscribers a special offer to check out over 4,000 indie films, documentaries, international features and shorts available on

“It’s a conundrum,” said Joel Edgerton, the writer and director of “Boy Erased,” which shines a light on the dark world of gay conversion therapy. “Films preach to the converted: It’s just a given that there are people that are dying to see this film who don’t need their minds changed. How you get people who don’t want to