Movies

“Mrs. Doubtfire” director Chris Columbus revealed to Business Insider while celebrating the movie’s 30th anniversary that talks for a sequel to the beloved 1993 comedy only started in 2014 shortly before Robin William’s death. Without the actor, there was not a shot that Columbus would ever make a follow-up. “It’s an interesting thing. Back then,

Nicolas Cage broke out in laughter during a recent Vanity Fair video interview when forced to watch the infamous scene from 2004’s “National Treasure” in which his character, treasure hunter and cryptographer Benjamin Gates, says for the first time, “I’m gonna steal the Declaration of Independence.” The line of dialogue has been a calling card

Fans clamoring for another “Nightmare Before Christmas” movie should know Tim Burton is vehemently against the idea. The filmmaker, who came up with the “Nightmare” story, co-produced the film and created character designs, recently told Empire magazine that the stop-motion classic is too important to him to ever create a sequel, prequel, reboot or more.

“Killers of the Flower Moon” will receive the Gotham Historical Icon and Creator Tribute at the 2023 Gotham Awards. The 33rd annual ceremony will take place on Monday at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. The Historical Icon and Creator Tribute recognizes significant historical moments and honors the filmmaker and cast who brought the

Range Media Partners has signed Justin Piasecki, one of Variety’s 10 screenwriters to watch for 2023, for representation. Piasecki broke onto the scene with his 2016 Academy Nicholl Fellowship winning script “Last Meals” (formerly “Death of An Ortolan”) which is slated to go into production soon, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Boyd Holbrook, with Morgan

Genies, at least in pop culture, have long been comic foils. Way back in 1940, in “The Thief of Bagdad,” Rex Ingram played Djinn, the movie’s larger-than-life genie — 100 feet tall in his ponytail and red diaper ­— as a sly, laughing soul man of lighthearted effrontery. The surrealist ’60s sitcom “I Dream of

Focus Features has acquired worldwide rights to Jeff Nichols‘ “The Bikeriders,” ending a short period of producer New Regency shopping the finished film to studios. The crime period piece, which premiered at Telluride this fall, was initially set up for an awards-friendly Dec. 1 release by 20th Century Studios, but it was removed from Disney’s

At press time, the 30th Annual SAG Awards are set for Sat., Feb. 24, 2024. The cautionary language is, of course, due to the fact the recent WGA and current SAG-AFTRA strikes have already caused some awards ceremonies to move dates. But as of now, the show is set to stream live for the first

Makoto Shinkai discussed his inspirations for establishing the tone of “Suzume” and how he approached themes of natural disaster in a conversation for Variety’s Artisans Screening Series moderated by Variety’s chief film critic Peter Debruge and translated by Mikey McNamara. Shinkai revealed that with “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” being grouped together as “Barbenheimer,” he expected “Barbie”

Disney is wishing upon a box office star this Thanksgiving, as its latest animated movie “Wish” takes on Apple and Sony’s historical drama “Napoleon.” “Wish” is expected to come out on top this weekend, but “Napoleon” won the first box office battle in previews. “Napoleon” made $3 million in previews, which began on Tuesday due

After being convincingly portrayed by Marion Cotillard in the 2007 film “La Vie en Rose,” legendary French singer Edith Piaf will come to life in an animated biopic “Edith” that looks to break new ground by using AI to recreate her voice and image. When Warner Music, which is producing the feature-length movie with Paris-based company Seriously

“Chewing Gum” was named winner of the NT$1 million Grand Prize, the top award at the 2023 Golden Horse Film Project Promotion production event. Other prizes were awarded for works in progress and for TV series. The winners were announced at a ceremony on Wednesday at the New Horizon Event Space in Taipei, Taiwan. “Chewing

Like a contracted movie star loaned out by a studio in Hollywood’s heyday, Godzilla has returned to Japanese parent company Toho after doing a stint in the U.S. MonsterVerse to take center stage in “Godzilla Minus One,” a stellar entry in the world’s longest continually running film franchise. Set in a devastated post-war Japan, Takashi

A self-described “Midwestern kid,” Piasecki first gained attention for his 2016 Academy Nicholl Fellowship-winning script “Last Meals” (formerly “Death of an Ortolan”), slated to go into production soon with Samuel L. Jackson and Boyd Holbrook starring. “I was expecting to be an Uber driver and stay-at-home dad for the next 10 years,” Piasecki says. “I

SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot points, including the ending for “Saltburn.” Singer-songwriter Sophie Ellis-Bextor was already a fan of Emerald Fennell when she was approached about the use of her 2001 hit “Murder on the Dancefloor” in “Saltburn.” “I loved ‘Promising Young Woman,’” Ellis-Bextor says. But what really sold it to her was the

Awards Circuit Column: Memo to Oscar voters: Please don’t overlook these standout performers. Every awards season, certain performances shine brighter than others, dominating nominations and positioning a lucky few to accept some golden hardware. But what about those unsung heroes? We see them every year, actors whose brilliance might slip under the radar. In this

With “Twilight” celebrating its 15th anniversary this month, director Catherine Hardwicke joined the “Happy Sad Confused” spinoff podcast “Watchalong” to remember all the highs and lows that went into getting the vampire romance made. One of her more interesting revelations revolves around how impossible it was to predict the film’s box office. No one was expecting

Khatija Rahman is making her international film composing debut with Kajri Babbar’s “Lioness,” the first official Indo-U.K. co-production being made under the 2008 bilateral treaty. In 2020, Rahman released her first single, “Farishton,” composed and produced by her father, Oscar winner A.R. Rahman (“Slumdog Millionaire”). Khatija Rahman featured on Grammy Award-winning composer and environmentalist Ricky

Neve Campbell has shared her thoughts on the current “Scream” franchise after choosing not to appear in the sixth installment, which released in March of this year, due to a salary dispute. At a spotlight panel at Monster-Mania Con earlier in November, Campbell told the audience that she had watched “Scream 6” a few weeks

PROJECT MARKET AWARDS WINNERS The QCinema Project Market, the industry initiative that accompanies The Philippines’ QCinema International Film Festival, revealed its winners list on Tuesday delivering almost $500,000 of grants and in-kind support. The prizes followed a two-day networking and pitching event on Nov. 18 and 19 for 19 feature-length fiction film projects from Southeast

Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor is gearing for the global release of action-crime-drama “Animal.” The film is directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, known for his portraits of tough yet vulnerable men in Telugu-language hit “Arjun Reddy” (2017) and its Hindi-language remake “Kabir Singh” (2019). “Animal” revolves around the relationship of Kapoor’s character with his father, played

Cannes’ Directors Fortnight section has joined forces with The Philippines for the latest edition of its Directors Factory professional training program. Operating since 2013, when it kicked off in Taiwan, the Directors’ Factory works with a new partner country each year to mentor eight budding filmmakers who are preparing ambitious first or second feature projects

Spyglass Media Group initially declined comment when Variety broke the news that the company had dropped Melissa Barrera from the cast of “Scream 7.” But now the production banner behind the hit horror franchise’s revival is pushing back on a narrative that has quickly coalesced around the decision: that Barrera was fired for showing support

“Mrs. Doubtfire” director Chris Columbus marked the film’s 30th anniversary this month with a new interview courtesy of Business Insider in which he revealed that 2 million feet of film was shot during the making of the 1993 comedy because Robin Williams improvised so much dialogue. The film is home to one of Williams’ most

Four days after the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks in Israel, WME invited Steve Leder, the rabbi from Wilshire Boulevard Temple, to visit the agency’s Beverly Hills headquarters. He came to provide comfort for employees reeling after the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Although the event was not mandatory and Leder’s

Sarah Paulson revealed on “The View” that Matthew Perry helped land her a supporting role on Aaron Sorkin’s short-lived TV series “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.” Perry headlined the NBC show opposite Bradley Whitford and Amanda Peet, all of whom were cast already when Paulson was auditioning for the role of fictional actor Harriet

Susan Sarandon has been dropped by UTA after she made controversial comments at a pro-Palestine rally in New York on Nov. 17, Variety has confirmed. Sarandon said at the rally, “There are a lot of people that are afraid, that are afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like

In the years before Twitter was euthanized, I’d patiently wait for the onset of the holiday season, and the renewal in my feed of the great “Love Actually” Debate. Every year, the best and brightest of the world — middle management apparatchiks, underemployed magazine writers and hall of fame doomscrollers — would chime in, mostly

Nicole Kidman and Antonio Banderas have joined the cast of A24‘s erotic thriller “Babygirl.” “Bodies Bodies Bodies” filmmaker Halina Reijn is writing and directing the movie, which examines power dynamics and sexuality in the workplace. It tells the story of a powerful CEO (Kidman) who begins an illicit affair with a much younger, charismatic intern

Dave Filoni, who has overseen “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” “Rebels,” “The Mandalorian,” “Ahsoka” and is the master of all things in a galaxy far, far way, now has a new role as Lucasfilm: chief creative officer. He still holds the title of executive vice president, which he received in 2020. Filoni announced his chief