Two-time Oscar nominee Naomi Watts has joined the cast of “Emmanuelle,” Audrey Diwan‘s highly anticipated erotic drama, Variety has confirmed. Diwan’s follow-up to the Venice-prizewinning “Happening,” the film is inspired by Emmanuelle Arsan’s novel and is based on a script co-developed by Diwan and Rebecca Zlotowski (“Other People’s Children”). The book centers on a woman
Movies
U.K. based sales and distribution outfit Blue Finch Films has boarded worldwide rights to thriller “Steppenwolf” from writer-director Adilkhan Yerzhanov, whose credits include the Cannes selected titles “The Owners” and “The Gentle Indifference of the World.” The film will have its world premiere at next month’s International Film Festival Rotterdam as part of the Big
After making a partial post-pandemic recovery, global cinema box office is expected to retreat again in 2024, as the twin writers’ and actors’ strikes of 2023 are forecast to have a negative impact on theatrical revenues. Box office research firm Gower Street Analytics, in a preliminary draft of its annual forecast, says that worldwide cinema
Filmmaker Michael Goorjian set out to create a different kind of film about Armenian nationality when developing “Amerikatsi,” the country’s submission in the international feature category for this year’s Academy Awards. Along with directing, Goorjian also stars as Charlie, an American who repatriates to Armenia after World War II — but ends up in a
You wouldn’t expect an animated film about a talking iguana to draw equal inspiration from Andy Kaufman and “It’s a Wonderful Life,” but that just might help explain the wide appeal of Netflix’s smash hit “Leo.” It also makes perfect sense when you consider the creative minds behind Adam Sandler-led project, which includes his longtime
The Oscars shortlist voting period has closed as of 5:00 p.m. PT. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the finalists in 10 categories — documentary feature (15), documentary short subject (15), international feature (15), makeup and hairstyling (10), sound (10), original score (15), original song (15), animated short film (15), live
An appeals court on Monday blocked a Texas district attorney from pursuing child pornography charges against Netflix for showing the French film “Cuties.” In a 3-0 ruling, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court injunction that put the prosecution on an indefinite hold. Netflix released the film in September 2020, sparking immediate
Charlie Hunnam revealed to Entertainment Tonight while promoting his new film “Rebel Moon” that he was heavily considered to play Anakin Skywalker in George Lucas’ “Star Wars” prequel trilogy. While child actor Jake Lloyd played Anakin in 1999’s “The Phantom Menace,” a time jump for 2002’s “Attack of the Clones” and 2005’s “Revenge of the
Marvel Studios has parted ways with Jonathan Majors — the actor cast to play Kang, the central antagonist in the Multiverse Saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — after he was convicted on Dec. 18 of two misdemeanor counts of harassment and assault of Grace Jabbari, his ex-girlfriend. Majors was also found not guilty of one
George Clooney turned up as Bruce Wayne in the final moments of “The Flash,” but in no way does that mean he’s interested in playing Batman again. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight while promoting his latest directorial effort “The Boys in the Boat,” Clooney said the chances of him playing Batman again are less than slim
M. Raihan Halim’s “La Luna” will close the 53rd edition of International Film Festival Rotterdam, which has also revealed the lineup of its Tiger competition section, a platform for up-and-coming filmmakers, and Big Screen Competition, a program for more established talent. “La Luna,” which has its European premiere at the festival, is a comedy about
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Enter the arena again when “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” arrives on premium video on demand and premium electronic sell-through on Dec. 19 from Lionsgate. The film will be available
The first time I went to Ghana, I was 19 years old and volunteering to build a health clinic in a rural village. It was the early ‘90s, I was a teenaged lunatic, and everything bad that could have happened to me did: I got malaria; I was beaten up by soldiers on the border
Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to “Arctic Convoy,” a Norwegian naval thriller that is set in the middle of World War II. The film is from the producers of “The Wave” trilogy, so it’s a homecoming of sorts given that Magnolia released all three installments of that series. “Arctic Convoy” is directed by Henrik
This past year saw cinematic highs for studio blockbusters like “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” while indie darlings such as “American Fiction” and “Past Lives” found a warm reception from critics and audiences. But not all films can make a mark at the box office or find a passionate fanbase (or obsessed critic) to champion their releases.
A Manhattan jury found Jonathan Majors guilty on Monday of two misdemeanor counts of harassment and assault, but acquitted him on two other counts. In the domestic assault trial, the Marvel actor was found not guilty on one count of of intentional assault in the third degree and aggravated harassment in the second degree against
Abramorama has acquired the North American theatrical rights to Laura Bialis’ documentary “Vishniac,” which tells the story of the prominent 20th century photographer Roman Vishniac, known for capturing Jewish life in Eastern Europe for the American Joint Distribution Committee in the 1930s. Abramorama starts off the theatrical release on Jan. 19 with a week-long run
When writer-director Mohamed Kordofani first conceived of the film “Goodbye Julia,” he realized that he didn’t have a single friend from South Sudan — “and there are millions who live in Khartoum.” Now he has hundreds, he tells Variety. The first Sudanese film to premiere in the Un Certain Regard sidebar in Cannes, his debut
The “Barbie” Oscar campaign doesn’t need much of a boost at this point following nine Golden Globe nominations and a record-breaking 18 Critics Choice Award nominations, but it certainly got one when the cast of “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” reunited to support America Ferrara’s supporting role in the blockbuster comedy. Ferrara starred in
Saudi Arabian thriller “Mandoob,” about a struggling man who becomes an illegal booze runner, beat “Wonka” over the weekend to top the Saudi box office chart while also scoring the biggest opening to date for a local film in the territory. The groundbreaking Saudi movie, which world-premiered positively in Toronto in September – and more
Danny A. Abeckaser is directing and starring in a new World War II drama, “Bardejov” from a screenplay by Shmuel Lynn. It has already been picked up by Gravitas Ventures for North American distribution next spring. Also starring Robert Davi, Kyle Stefanski, Dean Miroshnikov, Darren Weiss and Omer Hazan, the film tells the story of
“The Invisible Man” star Oliver Jackson-Cohen and “Grantchester’s” Jeremy Neumark Jones have been tapped to lead upcoming World War II feature “The World Will Tremble.” Written and directed by Lior Geller, the film tells the true story of a group pf prisoners who broke out of the Third Reich’s first Nazi death camp, Chelmno. Jackson-Cohen
Canadian filmmaker Denys Arcand‘s satire “Testament” will open the 44th edition of Fantasporto, which runs March 1-10 in Portugal’s second city, Porto. Chinese fantasy epic “Creation of Gods I: Kingdom of Storms,” directed by Wuershan, closes the eclectic event. The festival, which was named by MovieMaker magazine this year as one of the “25 coolest
Chinese-made crime drama, “Endless Journey” opened on top of the mainland China box office on a weekend with three new releases in the top five. The Wanda Pictures and Alibaba title earned $20.5 million (RMB146 million) between Friday and Sunday, its official opening weekend, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. Together with previews from
Will the box office hit $9 billion in 2023? Analysts have predicted, or at least hoped, that’s where domestic grosses would wind up. And there are no less than eight new releases set to unspool over the next 14 days, which could help theaters finish the year having passed that coveted figure. But after a
Guy Pearce (“LA Confidential,” “Memento”) has recently wrapped production on “Inside,” an Australian crime thriller and coming of age drama film. The picture is the debut feature of Charles Williams, whose short film “All These Creatures” won the Palme d’Or at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. The story sees after a young man transferred from
Taylor Lautner was only supposed to portray Jacob Black in the first “Twilight” film, according to the actor. During an appearance on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast, Lautner revealed that the “Twilight” team wanted to recast him for the rest of the franchise. “My character in the first book is supposed to be like
When Greta Gerwig worked with costume designer Jacqueline Durran on “Little Women,” the pair went on a trip to a building in London’s Docklands to draw inspiration for the adaptation. “There were old file cabinets labeled ‘British Gardens 1830-1835′ and things you couldn’t find anywhere,” Gerwig recalls. “There were out-of-print books and original frames for
In “A Thousand and One,” Inez (Teyana Taylor) reunites with an old boyfriend, Lucky, but he hardly seems to be the best choice for a single mom on the run from the law. He’s coming out of prison, he’s a womanizer, and he initially expresses no interest in co-parenting her son, Terry. But A.V. Rockwell’s
Timothée Chalamet’s fantasy musical “Wonka” hit a sweet box office milestone, surpassing $150 million globally. The song-and-dance movie about the early days of the eccentric chocolatier opened to No. 1 in North America with $39 million. It got a jump at the international box office, debuting last weekend to $43.2 million. “Wonka” collected $53.6 million