Movies

Telefonica’s Movistar Plus+, Spain’s biggest pay TV-SVOD operator, is set to co-produce new movies from Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Iciar Bollaín, Alberto Rodríguez, Óliver Laxe and Ana Rujas. It’s a move which sees the high-end Spanish TV powerhouse become one of Spain’s most significant movie players.  Titles in the slate are backed by top Spanish producers such as

The nominees for the 2024 EE BAFTA Film Awards are set to be revealed on Thursday, with Naomi Ackie and Kingsley Ben-Adir — both former BAFTA Rising Star nominees — making the announcement at 12 p.m. U.K. time (4 a.m. PT) from the British Academy’s headquarters in London. They will also be livestreamed on BAFTA’s YouTube and

Cologne-based The Match Factory has acquired rights to Swedish-Polish helmer Magnus von Horn’s Danish pic “The Girl With the Needle,” billed as a “fairy-tale about a horrible truth.” In the starring roles are Trine Dyrholm (“In a Better World”, “Queen of Hearts”), Vic Carmen Sonne (“Godland”, “Holiday”) and Besir Zeciri (“Wildland”). First clips of the

Leading Asian film directors including Josh Kim, Fukada Koji and Patiparn Boontarig line up to pitch their in-development projects at the March edition of the Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF). Leading directors Wang Xiaoshuai and Zhang Lu will also be on the ground at HAF, operating as producers. So too will established

The Motion Picture Association has extended Charles Rivkin‘s contract as chairman and CEO for three more years. The decision underscores support for Rivkin’s vision of the MPA as the “voice of the global film, television and streaming industry,” the MPA said in a statement. Based in Washington, D.C., Rivkin has led the entertainment industry’s most

Magnet Releasing, the genre arm of Magnolia Pictures, has acquired North American rights to “What You Wish For,” a new suspense-horror film written and directed by Nicholas Tomnay. The film stars Nick Stahl (Showtime’s “Let the Right One In”) and had its world premiere at Fantasia Festival. Tamsin Topolski (“Slow Horses”) and Randy Vasquez (“America

David F. Sandberg, known for “Annabelle: Creation,” “Shazam!” and “Lights Out,” will direct the film adaptation of the PlayStation horror video game “Until Dawn” by Screen Gems and PlayStation Productions. “It: Chapter Two” and “The Nun” screenwriter Gary Dauberman is doing the most recent pass on a script from “The Invitation” writer Blair Butler. The

“Oppenheimer” composer Ludwig Göransson and editor Jennifer Lame, “Killers of the Flower Moon” cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, and Billie Eilish and Finneas are among the recipients of Variety’s Artisans Awards. The honorees will be feted at the Santa Barbara Film Festival on Feb. 11 at the Arlington Theatre. Now in its tenth year, Variety‘s partnership with

Just hours after it was announced that Pauly Shore would play Richard Simmons in an upcoming biopic, the reclusive fitness guru has spoken out against the film. “Hi Everybody! You may have heard they may be doing a movie about me with Pauly Shore. I have never given my permission for this movie. So don’t

Writer and director Amrou Al-Kadhi shares many similarities with the eponymous protagonist of their directorial debut “Layla,” a drama about how a drag queen’s first love influences their sense of self. Al-Kadhi speaks exclusively to Variety ahead of the world premiere of “Layla” Thursday in Sundance Film Festival‘s World Cinema Dramatic Competition. (Watch an exclusive

Given the current dismal political and cultural climate as well as streaming services’ massive appetite for celebrity driven content, it comes as no surprise that the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival is chock full of portrait documentaries. Frida Kahlo, Christopher Reeve, Luther Vandross and Tammy Faye are just a few of the boldface

The story of Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis is being steered toward a screen adaptation, with Universal having optioned the rights to the singer’s bestselling memoir, “Scar Tissue.” Kiedis himself has been set as a producer on the project along with Brian Grazer, representing Imagine Entertainment, and Guy Oseary, who took over management

About a decade ago, Zack Snyder developed a storyline for the DC Extended Universe that involved Bruce Wayne impregnating Lois Lane. The subplot in which Batman cuckolds Superman was poised to unfold in “Justice League,” with Batman dying in the sequel and Lois raising their spawn with Superman. Snyder’s vision for Wonder Woman was equally

Premiering out of Sundance’s World Cinema Documentary Competition, the impressionistic essay film “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” refracts the plot against Patrice Lumumba through a kaleidoscopic lens. Cutting between historical footage of the UN General Assembly and home movies shot in liberation-era Congo, weaving in a diverse set of perspectives, and setting the pace to

Radio Silence Productions and Project X Entertainment, both behind the relaunch of the “Scream” franchise, are forming a joint financing pact with studio MRC to fund and produce horror and thriller features. The partnership, announced Wednesday morning, aims to produce two to three features annually. An initial slate of projects is said to be announced

Sharon Stone has revealed that she once attempted to pitch a “Barbie” movie to a Hollywood studio during the 1990s and was laughed out of the room. What a difference a couple of decades makes, as Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s “Barbie” opened last year and earned a staggering $1.4 billion to become the top-grossing

Netflix is kicking off its Milestone Movies: The Anniversary collection with films that are turning 50 in 1974 — a group that happens to include some of the medium’s all-time classics. The anniversary titles will stream on the platform in the U.S., along with in-person special screenings starting in March at New York’s Paris Theater

Salaud Morisset, the Paris- and Berlin-based sales and production outfit, has closed deals on “Excursion,” Una Gunjak’s feature debut which won the Jury Special Mention at the Locarno Film Festival. Salaud Morisset, which also co-produced “Excursion,” has closed sales deals with Angel Films (Denmark), Filmin (Spain), Zero em Comportamento (Portugal), Access Cinema (Ireland), JUNO11 Distribution

The 77th edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival will feature a new competition and has revealed its 2024 dates. Competing for what EIFF describes as “industry-leading cash prizes” will be 10 features and 10 shorts, all world premieres. The festival returned for its 76th edition in 2023 following financial difficulties. In November last year, EIFF tapped Picturehouse Entertainment

GLAAD has announced the nominees for its 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards, with Variety earning two nods for outstanding online journalism (Michaela Jaé Rodriguez Calls Out The New York Times’ Anti-Trans Coverage & Advice for Trans Youth) and magazine overall coverage. Other nominees include “All of Us Strangers,” “And Just Like That…,” “Bottoms,” “The Color Purple,” “Deadloch,”

Be For Films, an independent film sales company based in Brussels, has acquired international rights to German filmmaker Michael Fetter Nathansky‘s “Every You Every Me,” which has been selected in the Panorama section of the Berlinale. “Every You Every Me” won two Work-in-Progress Awards, under its previous title “Mannequins,” at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

Nicola Maccanico, a former Warner Bros. and Sky Italia senior exec, has been spearheading the radical overhaul of Rome’s Cinecittà Studios since April 2021, when the government-owned facilities embarked on a mission to secure a multi-million dollar loan provided by the European Union’s post-pandemic recovery fund. Three years later, the studios are equipped with 20 state-of-the-art

When Martin Scorsese is lauded with Berlin Film Festival‘s Honorary Golden Bear next month, the awards ceremony will be accompanied by a screening of his 2006 film “The Departed.” The crime thriller, which won four Oscars including best picture and director, stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg. The film tells the

“Beware of Children” director Dag Johan Haugerud is ready to talk about “Sex” as the first part of his anticipated “Sex Dreams Love” trilogy is heading to Berlinale’s Panorama in February.  “Making a film called ‘Sex’ calls for all sorts of jokes and misunderstandings during production, everything from being summoned to a ‘sex-meeting’ to emails

Arabella Burfitt-Dons’ dark coming-of-age music drama film “Finding My Voice” has completed principal photography and is currently in post. Debutant Anais Garness is in the lead role of teenage aspiring singer-songwriter Melanie Kendall, raised in a North London council apartment by her mother Lisa, portrayed by “Bionic Woman” star Michelle Ryan. Indonesian actor Arifin Putra,

Jean-Claude Van Damme, the global martial artist turned action hero whose 2021 movie “The Last Mercenary” was a hit on Netflix, has another film on the horizon. He will star opposite Michaël Youn (“BDE”) in “Le jardinier,” another high-voltage action-comedy reuniting him with “The Last Mercenary” director David Charhon. Amazon Prime Video has acquired “Le

Netflix has revealed a lineup of nine titles as part of its licensed Tamil-language film slate for 2024. Ajith Kumar headlines Lyca Productions’ “VidaaMuyarchi,” directed by Magizh Thirumeni. Lyca is also the company behind S. Shankar’s keenly anticipated “Indian 2,” starring Kamal Haasan, a sequel to 1996 blockbuster “Indian.” Vikram leads Studio Green’s “Thangalaan,” directed by

June Givanni, film curator, writer and programmer of African and African diaspora cinema and founder of The June Givanni PanAfrican Archive, will be presented with BAFTA’s Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema award at the BAFTA Film Awards in February. The award is presented to an individual or organization that has made a significant and inspiring

New Zealand-based sales and distribution company Black Mandala has picked up international rights to Spanish-language genre film and 2023 festival hit “I’ll Crush Y’All” (aka “Os Reviento”). Portrayed by Mario Mayo, Gabriel, better known as ‘Tarado,’ is a former boxer who lives in a secluded village outside the city with his father and his dog.

FESTIVAL MERGER The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles and The India Center Foundation, two non-profit organizations working with South Asian film in the U.S., have agreed to merge. Already long-time collaborators, IFFLA and ICF will, among other things, work closely to incubate and launch an industry development program to showcase the next generation of