Movies

“Godzilla Minus One,” the biggest picture to date in the Japanese monster movie franchise and the Wednesday night closing gala title at the Tokyo International Film Festival, is set for pan-European release at the beginning of December. Rights were acquired for 38 territories (excluding the U.K., Ireland and German-speaking territories) by theatrical-only specialist distributor Piece

For two decades, Rachel Cannon lived a life in Los Angeles that many would envy. She wasn’t an aspiring actress. She was a working one with a long list of sitcom appearances to her credit, including a recurring role as Deidre on “Fresh Off the Boat.” But in 2020, she decided to return to her

From the moment Elizabeth “Lee” Miller (Kate Winslet), an American model turned photographer, meets future husband Roland Penrose (Alexander Skarsgård) at a gathering with her intellectual friends, she gets confrontational. In a matter of a few sentences, Lee dismantles his efforts to be perceived as less bourgeoise than he is. Roland retaliates with a matching

Stuart Ford’s AGC International has taken global rights outside the Middle East and Pakistan to “Voy! Voy! Voy!” the hit dramedy about a group of impoverished Egyptians who join a professional blind soccer team as a ploy to get to Europe. The film is Egypt’s candidate for the International Feature Film Oscar. “Voy! Voy! Voy!,”

The American Film Market’s new home base gives everyone a fresh orientation towards Santa Monica’s vibrant dining scene. Looking for a quick bite? To the right of AFM headquarters at Le Meridien Delfina Santa Monica, it’s a five-minute walk to plentiful fast-food outlets on Lincoln Boulevard. To the left, it’s 10 minutes to Main Street.

Elvis Lenić has picked up the coveted Opus Bonum award for Best World Documentary for his latest work “Ship” at Ji.hlava Intl. Documentary Film Festival. He also got to say goodbye to a place that has defined his life. “My father spent his entire working life in the Uljanik shipyard. So did my uncle. My

Czech punk rocker visual artist Marta Kovarova says it was becoming a mother that made her realize she had to do something radical to fight climate change. So, five years ago, she embarked on making “The World According to My Dad,” which won the Czech Joy student jury prize at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film

2023’s American Film Market may be shaping up for “a rather quiet year,” says Martin Moszkowicz, chairman of the executive board at Germany’s Constantin Film. That said, Moszkowicz will stay in Los Angeles for around 10 days. “We have so much business there – and much of it is not related directly to the market,”

Former Disney India head and leading producer Siddharth Roy Kapur has warned of some practices that could arise in making films for streamers. Delivering the keynote address at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival‘s Industry Connect Symposium on Monday, Kapur, who is currently basking in the success of International Emmy nominated series “Rocket Boys” for streamer SonyLIV, lauded

Bringing one of Spain’s biggest potential box office hits onto the market at the AFM, Filmax has secured international sales to “A Moroccan Affair,” the third instalment in the most successful Spanish movie franchise in history.  “Moroccan Affair” is produced by Telecinco Cinema and Lazona, the duo behind the first two instalments of the saga,

Industry veterans Amanda Sherwin, Mike Messina and Seth Needle are teaming up to launch Blue Harbor Entertainment, a new distribution, marketing and consulting company. The news comes as the American Film Market kicks off this week in Santa Monica where the executives will be on the ground looking for partners. Blue Harbor is looking to distribute 10 to 15

International sales agency the Playmaker has signed a deal with Blue Finch Film Releasing to distribute the one-shot horror film “Home Sweet Home — Where Evil Lives” in the U.K. and Ireland. Thomas Sieben’s film, which made its world premiere in August at FrightFest in London, has its market premiere at AFM. The film, which

Berlin-based DCM Film Distribution has acquired Kristoffer Borgli’s surrealist comedy “Dream Scenario,” starring Nicolas Cage. In the A24 satire, which premiered in Toronto before opening this year’s Zurich Film Festival, Cage plays a college professor whose life is turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. “We love ‘Dream

SAG-AFTRA advised its members Monday night that negotiations will resume on Tuesday, but warned that the two sides remain “far apart” on key issues. The union and the major studios have been bargaining for a week, focusing on issues like increases in minimum payments, a new residual model in streaming, and artificial intelligence. “The committee

Lila Aviles‘ “Totem” has won the global feature award at the annual Jakarta Film Week. The film previously won awards at the Berlin, Hong Kong, Durban and Beijing film festivals. The direction award for best Indonesian feature film went to Jeremias Nyangoen’s directorial debut “Women of Rote Island.” The film bowed at Busan earlier in

Quiver Distribution has picked up Uwe Boll’s crime drama “First Shift” for the U.S., Canada and selected international territories.    The pic, which stars Kristen Renton (“Sons of Anarchy”) and Gino Anthony Pesi (“Shades of Blue”) as two mismatched New York City cops forced to work as partners, has also sold in Eastern Europe, Benelux,

Celebrating its 45th anniversary, director Andrew Davis‘ first film “Stony Island” will make its digital debut on major VOD platforms and DVD on Nov. 17. That same day, there will be a theatrical screening of the film at the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago. Following the one-night-only screening, Davis and his brother Richie Davis will

Submarine will serve as the North American Sales agent for “Caligula: The Ultimate Cut,” which premiered at the 2023 Cannes International Film Festival. Following the 1980 release of “Caligula,” producer and reconstructionist Thomas Negovan re-edited the film for three years utilizing the original materials for “Caligula: The Ultimate Cut,” which includes never-before-seen footage shot in

A24 has forged an exclusive output deal with Happinet Phantom Studios covering the distribution in Japan of A24’s upcoming releases, including Alex Garland’s action film “Civil War,” starring Kirsten Dunst, which has a highly anticipated launch at AFM this week. Happinet and A24 have worked together on the release of a number of films in

Variety reported last fall that Keanu Reeves was in talks to return for a sequel to “Constantine,” the 2005 superhero horror movie based on the graphic novels from DC Comics and Vertigo Comics. Now comes a small but noteworthy update from Francis Lawrence, the 2005 film’s director who is set to return alongside Reeves for

“Past Lives” writer and director Celine Song handles the delicate themes of love and destiny surrounding the Korean Buddhist concept of In-Yun — the connection, fate and destiny of two people. However, the South Korean/Canadian playwright says she had her own “revelation” while making her directorial debut. “It’s a movie about these revelations about this

During the making of his Jihlava Film Festival winning film, “Distances” director Matej Bobrik walked right into the middle of an argument. “Actually, I was standing a bit to the side. It was my cinematographer Filip [Drożdż] who was at the center of it all,” he jokes, recalling heated discussions of his protagonists: a Nepali

David Robert Mitchell and Maika Monroe are reuniting on “They Follow,” a sequel to the 2014 cult horror hit, “It Follows.” Neon, the Oscar-winning studio behind “Parasite,” will co-produce the movie and release it domestically. The studio will introduce it to international buyers at this year’s American Film Market. Principal photography is set for 2024. 

Progress has been made toward ending the SAG-AFTRA strike in recent days, but “a lot” of issues are still on the table, the union’s chief negotiator said Monday morning. Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the chief negotiator and executive director of the guild, made an appearance at the Disney picket lines. In an interview outside the studio gates,

Amazon MGM Studios, the renamed joint venture of Amazon Studios and MGM, has acquired rights to James Ponti’s popular children’s book series “City Spies” and is developing a film based on the first novel. The idea is for the initial installment to launch a global franchise, described by the company as a “four-quadrant action-adventure that

Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth can officially welcome fans back to Panem. “The Hunger Games” prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” has received an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA, which means that stars Zegler, Blyth, Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage and Hunter Schafer are allowed to promote the film before it premieres in theaters on Nov.

Ventana Sur’s esteemed Animation! and Blood Window forums are teaming to present a fresh competition strand, Fantasmática. Aimed at creating an industry-wide synergy between animation and genre cinema that centers short film projects in development, the initiative kicks off at this year’s Buenos Aires Ventana Sur market, held Nov. 27- Dec.1 in the bustling Puerto

David Fincher was recently asked by The Guardian about how his 1999 directorial effort “Fight Club” has become a favorite amongst incels and far-right groups for depicting disenfranchised white men coming together to rally against capitalist society. The director distanced himself from such a topic, telling the publication, “I’m not responsible for how people interpret

Netflix has released the trailer for “Stamped From the Beginning,” a hybrid documentary and scripted feature that delves into race in the United States. Roger Ross Williams (“The Apollo Life”) directs Ibram X. Kendi’s book adaptation of the same name. With Black women scholars such as Angela Davis, Dr. Imani Perry and activist Brittany Packnett

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. It was 2007. Steven Soderbergh was starting to shoot “Che” in Spain when the Bolivian casting director Rodrigo Bellott came armed with a bottle of Singani, the country’s national spirit, to the production kickoff