Mathew Knowles, the prolific music manager and father to artists Beyoncé and Solange, is ready to take his life story to the screen. Knowles has partnered with production company Say Unkel Entertainment to adapt his 2017 memoir “Racism From the Eyes of a Child” into both a feature film and a limited series, Variety can
Movies
Focus Features’ Amy Winehouse biopic “Back to Black,” starring “Industry” actor Marisa Abela as the late music icon, will premiere in U.S. theaters on May 10, 2024. According to the distributor, “‘Back to Black’ is a never-before-seen glimpse into Amy Winehouse’s early rise to fame and the release of her groundbreaking studio album, ‘Back to Black.’
When “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” hit theaters in 1971, it barely broke even. A decade later, as VCRs became ubiquitous, the adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” finally found an audience eager to embrace its off-beat look at a bizarre chocolatier and the “golden ticket” contest he launches.
Netflix is expanding its viewership data transparency with the release of its first biannual report covering six months of streaming habits on the platform, revealing for the first time how licensed content like USA Network drama “Suits” performs alongside the streamer’s originals. The new report, titled “What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report,” covers more
Glen Powell certainly bares it all in the upcoming rom-com “Anyone but You,” especially when co-star Sydney Sweeney pulls out a large spider from the inside of his shorts. “You just have to grip it and rip it on a scene like that,” Powell told Variety at the “Anyone but You” premiere in New York
Lenny Kravitz‘s family had been involved in the Civil Rights Movement, so it was only fitting he should lend his musical talent to George C. Wolfe’s new biopic about the activist leader Bayard Rustin, who played a key role in planning the 1963 March on Washington. Except, Kravitz had never heard of the Civil Rights
Apple has landed a multi-year, first look deal with David and Jessica Oyelowo’s Yoruba Saxon banner. As part of the deal, Yoruba Saxon will exclusively develop and produce both features and series for Apple TV+ on a first-look basis. Previous and upcoming film and television projects from the studio, which is headed by the Emmy-nominated
Filmmakers behind the year’s biggest movies are teaming up in conversation for Variety Directors on Directors presented by Amazon MGM Studios, premiering this week on Variety’s site and social platforms. Ben Affleck and Michael B. Jordan will kick off the series on Dec. 13 at 10 a.m. PT as they discuss pulling double duty in
George Clooney gave Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling his stamp of approval to play his parents in the upcoming “Ocean’s 11” prequel. Besides the involvement of the “Barbie” stars, not much is known about the upcoming “Ocean’s” film. However, rumors have been swirling that Robbie and Gosling will portray Danny Ocean’s parents. “Margot Robbie’s my
Even among James Cameron’s epic and frequently arduous productions, from “Titanic’s” nine months of filming to the three years spent on “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “The Abyss” was particularly ambitious — and difficult: The 1989 thriller was shot almost entirely underwater, requiring its crew and cast to learn how to shoot, and act, while
Fathom Events, the company best known for bringing theater, opera, live events and concerts to screens, is currently on track for gross revenues of over $93 million. Despite the fact that the exhibition space has yet to fully recover from the Covid pandemic, Fathom is enjoying the best year in its history — it will
The Sundance Institute unveiled the lineup of 53 short films for the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, taking place Jan. 18-28 in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah. The film fest will happen in person, with a selection of titles available online from Jan. 25-28. Sundance was forced to re-format its 2021 and 2022 editions
International Film Festival Rotterdam has revealed that Belgian cinematographer Grimm Vandekerckhove will be the recipient of the fifth annual Robby Müller Award, which pays homage to the craft of artists working behind the lens in the spirit of the celebrated cinematographer. Vandekerckhove is “known for delicately capturing the inner lives of characters,” the festival said,
Vibe veteran Datwon Thomas has joined Dick Clark Productions in the newly created role of Executive Producer, Talent. Thomas, who has been at the helm of Vibe for the past 13 years, will serve as Editor-at-Large for the storied music, lifestyle and culture brand and he will remain in his role as VP of Culture
Alongside the ongoing push for greater, industry-wide parity, French activist and feminist organization Collective 50/50 will next tackle workplace harassment with a new plan to bolster and expand existing workplace safety workshops, while promoting the widespread use of intimacy coordinators. Launched in partnership with France’s National Film Board (CNC) and the professional training organization Afdas,
Timothée Chalamet was quoted in a recent interview with People magazine saying that his upcoming musical “Wonka” is his mother’s favorite Timothée Chalamet movie. It turns out that’s not the case. Appearing on “Good Morning America,” the Oscar-nominated actor revealed his mom, Nicole Flender, actually called him after the People interview ran in order to
The Berlin Film Festival has appointed Tricia Tuttle, the former head of the BFI London Film Festival, to become the new director of the international film event starting in 2024. Tuttle will succeed Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek, who have co-led the Berlinale as artistic and executive directors since 2020 and will step down after this year’s
Warner Bros.’ “Wonka,” starring Timothee Chalamet, has debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office with £8.9 million ($11.2 million), according to numbers from Comscore. In its third weekend, Disney’s “Wish” climbed up to £1.9 million in second place for a total of £5.8 million. In its fourth weekend, in third place, Lionsgate U.K.’s “The
A range of subjects, ranging from hot button to mystical, await Academy voters considering the contenders from South Asia in the international feature category. The most visible film from the region is certainly Bhutan’s “The Monk and the Gun,” Pawo Choyning Dorji‘s follow-up to the Oscar-nominated “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom.” In the film, Dorji uses
Indo-British sports drama “A Game of Two Halves,” which tackles themes of identity crisis and racial dissonance, is set for a global bow in 2024. Directed by British Asian filmmaker Khayam Khan (“Bus Ride”), the film is set across the U.K. and India. It chronicles the transformative, coming-of-age journey of Sanjay, a young British student
A brace of films exploring important subjects are in contention from India in the best live action short film category at the 96th Academy Awards. Reema Maya’s “Nocturnal Burger,” an investigation of child abuse at a dysfunctional police station in Mumbai, had its world premiere at Sundance. It has since traveled to more than 50
Iconic, multi-Oscar-winning film “La La Land” is headed back to mainland Chinese cinemas in sessions that dance off on Dec. 22. The worldwide release is overseen by Lionsgate release, while the China re-release is to be piloted by local distributor JL Film. The film was directed by Damien Chazelle and stars Ryan Gosling and Emma
Lionsgate wants to play another game. The studio made a surprise announcement of “Saw XI” on Monday afternoon, along with plans for the 11th entry in the long-running horror franchise to hit theaters just nine months from now. The project was confirmed through an Instagram post, which feature Roman numerals against a spooky “Saw” backdrop
Anne Hathaway appeared on the latest “Happy Sad Confused” podcast and called it “lucky” that her iteration of the “Barbie” movie never got off the ground considering the phenomenon that Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” became over the summer. Back in July 2017, Hathaway was announced as the star of Sony’s “Barbie” movie. Comedian
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama (“Rustin”) You’ve spoken before about how a lot of people didn’t know who Bayard Rustin was before the film. What’s it like now being recognized for playing this monumental figure? It feels great because it means that they will know even more. Any acknowledgement that
SPOILER ALERT: This story contains major spoilers for “Leave the World Behind,” now streaming on Netflix. Netflix’s doomsday thriller “Leave the World Behind” carries an urgent warning about our faith in technology, among many other topics. During one notable set piece, Julia Roberts’ character has to dodge incoming Teslas piling up on a highway that have
More witnesses took the stand Monday as the trial for Jonathan Majors‘ alleged assault entered its second week. Majors’ ex-girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, has alleged that Majors assaulted her in the backseat of a car on March 25. Jabbari testified last week that she saw a text message on Majors’ phone from another woman that read,
At the close of a particularly fraught year for Hollywood screenwriters, Monday saw the release of the annual Black List – a ranking of the top unproduced scripts in show business. Voted on by nearly 400 creative executives, this year’s favorite project that has yet to receive a greenlight is “Bad Boy” by Travis Braun,
“The Color Purple” director Blitz Bazawule hesitated to take on the latest incarnation of Alice Walker’s sacred text. However, when he revisited the book, the first line (“Dear God, I’m 14 years old”) struck him as a way to navigate a familiar story and “keep expanding Celie’s imagination.” In the new musical movie adaptation, as
The Lippin Group has restructured operations, promoting a trio of veterans to the new posts of managing director and office of the chairman. Matt Biscuiti, Kevin Broderick and Katie Fuchs will serve as key lieutenants to chairman-CEO Dick Lippin, who has led the communications and marketing firm for more than 35 years. Biscuiti and Fuchs