Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickson didn’t know each other well before shooting their new drama “The Iron Claw.” But then came their first wardrobe fitting and camera tests. “Our bodies had to be completely shaved,” White told me at a reception for the film at NeueHouse Hollywood on Monday in Los Angeles. “We
Movies
Adjunct instructors at the USC School of Cinematic Arts are seeking to form a union, citing concerns about low pay and a recent move to drop health coverage. Organizers say that 75% of the 248 adjunct faculty members have signed on to the drive to join the UAW. They are seeking voluntary recognition from the
Bob Iger, just over one year after returning as Disney‘s CEO following the company’s board firing of previous chief Bob Chapek, said publicly that he was dismayed at the Mouse House’s performance under Chapek’s tenure. Iger, who had selected Chapek, formerly head of Disney’s parks division, to succeed him in February 2020, made the comments
Bradley Cooper‘s “Maestro” publicity tour landed him on “The Howard Stern Show,” where the eponymous radio show host asked him a nail-biting question: “Sophie’s choice for 2024: You win the Oscar, not only for best director but also best actor, and Carey Mulligan wins best actress, or the Eagles have a Super Bowl victory?” “Eagles
It’s time to make “fetch” happen — or, at least, time to eat “fetch” food. In anticipation of the new “Mean Girls” movie, the media experience brand Bucket Listers is launching their “Mean Girls Experience” in Los Angeles and New York. The pop-up dining experience will debut in Los Angeles on Jan. 12 — the
Director/producer Brent Ryan Green has optioned the exclusive film and television rights to develop and produce an adaptation of “King Raven,” a trilogy of historical novels by Stephen R. Lawhead. The books set the tale of Robin Hood in the late 11th century amid the Norman invasion of Wales. Steeped in lore and the political
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival stands as testimony to the kingdom’s unwavering drive to become a film and TV industry powerhouse amid regional conflicts, political turbulence and societal changes. The Israel-Hamas war caused cancellations of several movie celebrations across the Arab world, including the Cairo Film Festival and Tunisia’s Carthage Film Days. But Saudi’s
The 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa, concluded on Tuesday with Hollywood veteran Michael Douglas accepting the Satyajit Ray lifetime achievement award for excellence in cinema. Previous winners of the award include Martin Scorsese, Bernardo Bertolucci, Dilip Kumar, Carlos Saura, Krzysztof Zanussi and Wong Kar-wai. “It’s a tremendous honor to receive this award,
SPA SELECTIONS “Carmen,” “Foe,” “Limbo,” Australia’s Oscar contender “Shayda,” “Streets of Colour” and “The Royal Hotel” have received the six nominations for best feature film at this year’s Screen Producers Australia Awards. The SPA Awards will be held on Thursday, March 21, 2024, the final evening of the Screen Forever conference. In the documentary feature section,
International media consultant and producer Thomas Augsberger died suddenly on Tuesday at his home in the Hollywood Hills, his publicist informed Variety. He was 60. The German-born and trained attorney was founder of film and television production company and media consulting business Eden Rock Media. Augsberger’s high profile media clients included Germany’s Leonine Studios. Prior
Marc Thorpe, the visual effects artist who worked on several “Indiana Jones” and “Star Wars” films before launching the bot battling competition Robot Wars, has died. He was 77. Thorpe died Friday of complications related to Parkinson’s Disease, his daughter Megan Feffer shared on Facebook. “For him, early onset Parkinson’s disease started out with relatively
Victor J. Kemper, the cinematographer behind “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure,” “National Lampoon’s Vacation” and other notable films, has died. He was 96. American Cinematographer, the international publication of the American Society of Cinematographers, confirmed the news of his passing on social media. One of Kemper’s most prominent films is the biographical crime drama
Netflix has acquired Indonesian filmmaker Yosep Anggi Noen’s festival favorite film “24 Hours with Gaspar.” Adapted from a detective novel of the same title that was published in 2017 by Sabda Armandio, “24 Hours with Gaspar” follows the life of private detective Gaspar, who has only 24 hours to live. He discovers clues leading to
The Gotham Awards brought the usual array of surprises this year, and it wasn’t only about who walked away with the trophies. Aside from the uproar over Robert De Niro’s speech (which is unlikely to have much bearing on the awards campaign for “Killers of the Flower Moon”), some of the other top contenders gained
Lifetime Channel is moving on from the almost-kiss — well, sort of. This season’s “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime” slate of 12 new movies includes “A Cowboy Christmas Romance,” a holiday movie that features the franchise’s first sex scene. “We think that there’s an audience out there that’s hungry for grown-up romance, and we’re looking forward
Timothée Chalamet’s highly-anticipated “Charlie and the Charlie Factory” prequel musical “Wonka” has finally been unveiled to critics and entertainment journalists, and the first reactions are calling it a “winning confection” and “an instant holiday classic.” “Wonka,” directed by “Paddington” and “Paddington 2” filmmaker Paul King, casts Chalamet as a younger iteration of the famous chocolatier.
“Wonka” director Paul King has been open about what drew him to cast Timothée Chalamet as a young version of the whimsical chocolatier: his YouTube videos from when he was in high school. Any Chalamet fan knows that several videos exist online of the actor singing and dancing pre-fame, including a rap song devoted to
Hulu has acquired rights to “The Contestant,” a documentary about an aspiring comedian who unknowingly becomes the most famous TV star in Japan. Clair Titley directed the movie, which premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival to positive reviews. “The Contestant” will launch on Hulu in 2024. The documentary tells the stranger-than-fiction story of
BUENOS AIRES — Paris-based sales agency MPM Premium has has closed its second major territory deal on “On the Go,” toplining “Elite” star Omar Ayuso in an Andalusia-set road movie with lashings of sun, sex and sensuality. Directed by Maria Gisèle Royo and Julia de Castro, and one of Spain’s most memorable feature debuts, “On
“If you look at the history of Hollywood, 50%, 60%, maybe 70% of the stories are based on books or IP or games. There’s a big gap between how Europe thinks about developing television and the Hollywood system,” producer Erik Barmack reflected a few months back. “There’s just tremendous opportunities now as the market’s tightening
Who censored Robert De Niro? The “Killers of the Flower Moon” actor was gearing up to slam Donald Trump at Monday’s Gotham Awards, but when he took the stage he discovered that the speech he planned to give had been altered at the behest of Apple, the film’s producer. The company was responding to feedback
Paul Greengrass has been hired to adapt the big-screen version of T.J. Newman’s novel “Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421.” Greengrass will write, direct and produce the film, which is set at Warner Bros. The studio emerged victorious earlier this year in a bidding war, one that drew interest from the likes of Nicole Kidman,
Robert Eggers‘ long-in-the-works remake of “Nosferatu” will haunt theaters next Christmas. Focus Features has scheduled the movie for Dec. 25, 2024. On its current release date, “Nosferatu” will land on the big screen a few days after Disney’s “Lion King” prequel “Mufasa” and Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” both of which open on Dec. 20.
Cuba’s Jorge Perugorría, best known for his career-launching perf in the Oscar-nominated “Strawberry & Chocolate,” “Slumdog Millionaire” line producer Tabrez Noorani and ‘The Iceman’ helmer Ariel Vromen have boarded Havana-set “Malecón” as executive producers. Its producer, Flavio Florencio, director-writer of the multi-winning documentary “Made in Bangkok,” is attending Ventana Sur. The debut feature of Madrid-born
Kino Lorber has acquired from Best Friend Forever all North American distribution rights to Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s directorial debut “Banel & Adama,” a beautifully haunting story of young love and Senegal’s official entry for the 96th Academy Awards. Kino Lorber is planning a theatrical release in 2024, followed by a home video, educational and digital release
Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming platform Max caused a bit of stir on Monday when it sent out its list of films and television series being added to and leaving the service in December. Included on the list of shows being taken off Max was “Looney Tunes,” one of the studio’s most cherished properties. The news
Leading Barcelona-based indie studio Filmax has unveiled the teaser for its soccer-themed 3D animated feature “Robotia” ahead of its Nov. 29 presentation at Ventana Sur’s Animation! buyers showcase. In “Robotia,” machines that are interconnected through recycled parts, live, dream, learn and play together. Young Alex and Bibi, unaware of their shared origins, face different situations.
BUENOS AIRES — Mr. Miyagi Films co-founder David Matamoros, firmly established as one of Barcelona’s leading specialists in international film finance, is now in post-production on his solo feature directorial debut, “Astronaut” (“Astronauta”) as Matamoros explores novel movie financing sources as a producer while building co-productions across Europe and Latin America. Produced by Mr. Miyagi, Sombra
Every year around Christmas, Phoenix Theatres puts all of its chips on one major tentpole, gambling on a movie so big, so broadly appealing, it’ll keep auditoriums stocked into the new year. In the recent past, the Midwest-based chain has gone all in on 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water,” 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home”
BUENOS AIRES — Brazil is beginning to come back as Latin America’s production powerhouse. At Ventana Sur on Monday, representatives of key federal, state and city authorities as well as a leading producer outlined some of the directions the giant would like to take on its return. That matters. The two words repeated most by