Movies

Marvel Studios’ “Fantastic Four,” which will bring one of the most well known superhero teams in all of comics into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is zeroing in on one of its main leads. Pedro Pascal is currently being eyed to play Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, a brilliant scientist who gains the ability to bend

As part of New York City Mayor Eric Adams‘ “Working People’s Tour,” Adams was joined Wednesday in Sunnyside, Queens by labor leaders and film and TV partners to break ground on a new production studio that will create almost 1,000 construction jobs and around 750 permanent, full-time jobs. The construction on East End Studios Sunnyside

Eleven documentary projects from 11 countries have been selected for the Intl. Documentary Assn.’s annual Enterprise Documentary Fund Production Grant. Selected from 371 applicants, the 15 directors behind the 11 docus will receive a total of $435,000 in production grants. Established in 2017, the IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund supports in-depth explorations of original, contemporary stories

Fun fact: “Emily in Paris,” which films all across the city of Paris and throughout France, was originally slated to film in New York. The idea was to shoot the majority of the Netflix series in the U.S. and head to France for a few weeks to film exteriors of iconic locations. Upon discovering showrunner

Emmy Award winner Jimmy Kimmel is back as the host for the upcoming 2024 Oscars ceremony, marking the late-night star’s fourth time fronting the show. Emmy nominee Molly McNearney will also return to serve as an executive producer for the second consecutive year in a row. The “Jimmy Kimmel Live” host previously led the 2017,

Tom Blyth is tired, but he’s doing a good job of hiding it. When the star of “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” sits down with Variety via Zoom, SAG-AFTRA is still on strike, and it’s been six short days since the Lionsgate thriller received an in- terim agreement from the guild.

Pathe U.K., the London-based division of the venerable French film and TV company, is folding its theatrical division to focus on premium scripted television content. Cameron McCracken, the celebrated head of film at Pathe UK who exec produced movies such as Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning “Slumdog Millionnaire,” Ava DuVernay’s “Selma” and Stephen Frears’ “The Queen,” will

Director Destin Daniel Cretton has departed “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty,” an upcoming superhero adventure in Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Kang Dynasty,” which is positioned as an “Avengers: Infinity War”-style, penultimate team-up of this current Marvel era, was recently delayed and now isn’t scheduled to open until May 1, 2026. It will be succeeded by “Avengers:

Taika Waititi can’t say much about his forthcoming “Star Wars” film, but he does have a joke that might pique his fans’ sense of humor. When asked if his addition to the popular franchise would still show fans the same “Star Wars” they know and love, the “Thor: love and thunder” director animatedly told Variety

Jeremy Renner marked 10 months of recovery since his near fatal snow plow accident by posting a video of him running up and down his inclined driveway, which he says was his “first attempt at any of this activity.” Renner was hospitalized for blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries on Jan. 1 after his Sno-Cat,

Warner Bros. Unscripted Television, DC and R.J. Cutler’s production hub This Machine are developing a documentary about the iconic Mad magazine. Oscar-and Emmy-winning director Jessica Yu (“Fosse/Verdon,” “Quiz Lady”) will direct the untitled docu about the 71-year-old humor brand. The feature-length doc will explore the origins of the magazine, as well as its irreverent, independent,

Bradley Cooper had a problem. The Oscar-nominated actor was gearing up to play Leonard Bernstein, the musical genius behind “West Side Story” and “Candide” and one of the driving cultural forces of the 20th century. Except, Cooper looked nothing like the distinctive composer and conductor. Enter Guillermo del Toro. The two men discussed Cooper’s predicament

“Hunger Games” prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is expected to emerge victorious in this weekend’s box office battle royale. It’s competing against two fellow newcomers, Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s threequel “Trolls Band Together” and Sony’s gory thriller “Thanksgiving,” in this crowded pre-Turkey Day corridor. Despite the stacked race, all three films could work

Ke Huy Quan just wrapped his debut run in the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to his role as Ouroboros (aka O.B.) in “Loki” Season 2. While it’s undetermined if he’ll pop up in the MCU again, the actor is already eyeing a jump to another massive Disney-owned franchise: “Star Wars.” In an interview with Collider,

As part of this year’s industry program at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), producer Ted Hope sat down with the festival’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia for an in-depth conversation about his career in U.S. independent film, the future of the industry, and the ways in which filmmakers and audiences are “trained by major

Exec VPs When Yacoubian began her booking career 15 years ago as a ticketing assistant at Goldenvoice, she met Vee, who had already been there for six years. “I definitely felt so lucky to have had such mentorship within the company to help me create my own path and my own goals,” Yacoubian tells Variety.

More than 800 film industry professionals in Germany and Austria have signed an open letter opposing antisemitism, with the number of signatories continuing to grow. The signatories include a wide range of directors, writers, producers and other film industry professionals. Those signing the letter include directors Caroline Link, whose “Nowhere in Africa” won an Oscar;

Matteo Garrone’s “Io Capitano” is getting a special screening on Wednesday in Brussels, where hundreds of EU parliament members will watch the timely immigration drama on which Pathè has announced a slew of sales. The film, which is Italy’s Oscar candidate for best international feature film, world premiered to strong reviews in September at Venice

The Edinburgh International Film Festival has tapped Picturehouse Entertainment head of acquisitions Paul Ridd as its new director. Ridd will join in December. His first festival, the event’s 77th anniversary, will take place in August 2024, with specific dates to be announced. The festival returned for its 76th edition earlier this year following financial difficulties. It

Beta Cinema has sold the North American rights for “Adios Buenos Aires” to Outsider Pictures, which plans to release the charming comedy drama in spring 2024 throughout the U.S. and Canada. The multiple audience award winner has also sold to Argentina (Cinetren), South Korea (Challan), Israel (Nachshon Films), Portugal (Nos Lusomundo Audiovisuais), Switzerland (Xenix Film

Tatino Films, a French production and consultancy company involved in industry events in Asia and Europe, has teamed with Kazakhstan-based Alternativa Film Project and the Philippines’ QCinema Project Market for three film residencies. The partnership will yield two Pop Up film residencies called the Pop Up Alternativa Awards for filmmakers from Central Asia and one

“Deep Sea,” an innovative Chinese-made animation film that has played the international festival circuit throughout this year, will release in North American theaters later this month. Theatrical rights were acquired by Viva Films from Netherlands-China sales outfit Fortissimo Films. Viva plans an outing on Nov. 24 with Chinese and English-dubbed versions and a PG13 certificate.

“The Fall Guy” is now crash landing in theaters on May 3, 2024, after “Deadpool 3” vacated the release slot amid the work stoppage caused by the recently ended SAG-AFTRA strike. Universal Pictures was originally set to release David Leitch’s action thriller, starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, on March 1, 2024. Based on Glen

Subrata Roy, chair of Sahara India Pariwar, a former major player in the Indian media space, died on Nov. 14 in Mumbai. He was 75. Roy was known within the group by the honorific Saharasri. “Saharasri-ji an inspirational leader and visionary, passed away on 14th November 2023 at 10.30 pm due to cardiorespiratory arrest following

Specialty distributor Ariztical Entertainment has acquired the North American rights to New Zealand-set wholesome gay love story ‘Mysterious Ways.’ Ariztical plans a multi-platform digital release in 2024. Written and directed by New Zealand’s Paul Oremland, the film follows a media storm that threatens the marriage between a Vicar, portrayed by Richard Short (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”)

A chyron that appears at the end of “Napoleon,” after two and a half hours of turgid spectacle and grime-encrusted showmanship, informs that France’s self-anointed emperor oversaw 61 battles, listing the six that director Ridley Scott opted to stage for our benefit … or for his own glory. The director’s motives are unclear, much like

Two members of the SAG-AFTRA board said they voted against the new contract because it does not do enough to protect actors against artificial intelligence. The negotiating committee unanimously approved the deal last Wednesday, ending the 118-day strike. The national board approved the deal on Friday, with 86% of the weighted vote in favor, and

Holding the world premiere of Ridley Scott‘s “Napoleon” in Paris was a no-brainer for Sony’s motion picture group chairman and CEO Tom Rothman, due to the film’s French DNA and its subject, the famous French emperor (played by Joaquin Phoenix). “Where else could you begin the worldwide rollout of ‘Napoleon’ than France?,” said Rothman on

Congressman Joaquin Castro has taken to X/Twitter to call out Warner Bros. Discovery for planning to shelve the completed film “Coyote vs. Acme” for the sake of receiving a $30 million tax break. Amid backlash against the studio, WBD has since put the film on the market in an effort to shop it to other

Ana Nogueira is set to write “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow,” which is being developed by DC Studios. The film, centering on Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El and her superdog Krypto, has yet to be attached to a director. An actor and playwright, Nogueira had been hired by Warner Bros. to write a “Supergirl” movie in 2022.