Movies

“Avengers” filmmaker Joe Russo has caused quite a stir on social media for posting a response to a recent TikTok featuring Martin Scorsese. The Oscar winner’s daughter, Francesca, posted a TikTok this month in which Scorsese playfully directs his dog, Oscar. Russo responded by posting a video in which he tells Scorsese they share the

As “Barbie” continued its run of pop culture domination over the pre-Halloween weekend, the film’s co-writers Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach dished on their writing process following a special screening at the Writers Guild of America West headquarters. Because Baumbach sat out the “Barbie” press tour in accordance with the WGA strike, Friday night’s screening

Cementing its reputation as a harbinger of emerging talent, Madrid-based Latido Films has acquired the international sales rights to “Tras el Verano,” the debut film from Yolanda Centeno picked out as one of Variety’s 10 Women Directors to Watch from Spain, compiled in 2021.  Alfa Pictures is handling distribution in Spain. Following on hits such as Colombia’s

After two pandemic years and a successful 2022 edition back in full swing, Lucca Comics & Games — Europe’s biggest geek meet, second in size globally only to Tokyo’s Comiket — is set to unspool again in the picturesque Tuscan town from Nov. 1-5. In the turbulent times of the SAG-AFTRA strike, the gathering will

In standout results that suggests the strength of select Spanish arthouse films on the current international market, Bendita Films Sales, the Santa Cruz de Tenerife-based boutique world sales agency, has closed a formidable raft of deals to Galician auteur Lois Patiño’s multisensory journey film “Samsara.” Winner of a Special Jury Award at Berlin’s 2023 major

Mexico’s official entry to the Best International Feature Oscar race, Lila Aviles’ “Totem,” and Tatiana Huezo’s documentary “The Echo” (“El Eco”) snagged three prizes apiece at the Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), which wrapped Sunday, Oct. 29.   The awards doled out Saturday capped a busy 21st edition that saw a constellation of luminaries in town, including

Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” will be the closing film of the ongoing Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. The film will receive its South Asia Premiere on Nov. 3 at the festival. It world premiered at Venice where Cailee Spaeny was awarded the Volpi Cup for best actress for her portrayal of Priscilla. In the film, when

“Funny Birds,” an heartwarming comedy-drama starring Andrea Riseborough, Catherine Deneuve and Morgan Saylor, has sold in key territories in the run up to the AFM. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, the movie is directed by Marco La Via and Hanna Ladoul. Newen Connect represents the film in international markets and will host a market screening

SAG-AFTRA leadership continued to bargain with the major studios on Sunday, but despite growing optimism around the industry, no deal has been reached yet. The union presented its latest proposal to the studios on Saturday. The two sides were said to be engaged in “productive” talks through the weekend. One source said that on Sunday

France’s VFX workforce has grown by leaps and bounds over the past three years, with much credit due to a 10% across-the-board tax rebate bonus for international productions that spend more than $2.1 million with local digital outfits. Of course, the fact that American studios could also benefit from the full 40% tax rebate wholly

The push for greater studio capacity and more ambitious large-scale facilities — both in the Paris region and throughout the country — is a key element of the France 2030 plan. As it stands, France is on track to offer more than two dozen studios by 2024, with flagship developments including the TSF Backlot 77.

International production spending in France hit record highs in 2022, resulting in 2,220 shooting days that crested above $1 billion in promised investment — and public initiatives had a major role to play. In early 2020, for example, France updated its Tax Rebate for International Production scheme, supplementing a 30% across-the-board rebate with an additional

“Five Nights at Freddy’s,” Universal and Blumhouse‘s terrifying adaptation of the popular video game, made a killing in its box office debut with $78 million in North America and $130 million globally. For a $20 million-budgeted horror film that landed simultaneously on streaming (in this case, the NBCUniversal-owned service Peacock), these ticket sales would have

A movie’s central character needn’t be someone we admire, but he should probably be someone we’re drawn to, someone we vibe with in sympathetic fascination, who we feel we know and understand even as he crosses over to the dark side. Few movies have lived out that dynamic more cathartically than the underworld dramas of

Two movies which come in on immigration from vastly different angles – Laura Ferrés’ “The Permanent Picture” and Ken Loach’s “The Old Oak” – won big Saturday night at Spain’s Valladolid Festival, walking off with its main competition Golden Spike and the Spanish event’s best actor (Dave Turner) and Audience Award plaudits respectively.  The prize

Universal and Blumhouse‘s funhouse thriller “Five Nights at Freddy’s” slayed box office expectations with its scary-good $78 million domestic debut over Halloween weekend. Those ticket sales are especially impressive because the horror film landed simultaneously on Peacock, the streaming service owned by NBCUniversal. It’s the second-best opening weekend for a day-and-date streaming release, following Disney’s

Jane Campion will be honored with Next Generation Indie Film’s 2023 Luminary Award. The director will accept the award at the third annual gala, which will take place on Oct. 29 at the Loews Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles. Next Generation Indie Film Awards is a non-profit organization for independent authors and publishers. It bestows

SAG-AFTRA negotiations have ended for the day, as the studios and the union plan to keep working on a deal to end the 107-day strike. It’s not clear yet when the next bargaining session will be, as negotiators are still working out the schedule. The union delivered its latest response on Saturday, and is awaiting

Sin, forgiveness, the glamour of evil, Barbara Stanwyck, Marlon Brando, terrible preview screenings for “Goodfellas,” Robert De Niro‘s silence and, of course, “Killers of the Flower Moon” were all topics of conversation during Montclair Film Festival’s Filmmaker Tribute to Martin Scorsese on October 27 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. The director, who has

Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard have both officially entered the Oscar race for their extraordinary performances in Michel Franco’s “Memory.” However, the awards campaign has announced that Sarsgaard’s riveting turn as a man suffering from Alzheimer’s disease will be submitted for supporting actor consideration at the major ceremonies, including the Golden Globes, SAG and Academy

From hulks of collective ruins to immigrant family struggles, marginalized communities and climate crises, the 27th Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival wrapped Saturday with honors for work from diverse perspectives on a myriad of pressing subjects. The Opus Bonum main prize went to Elvis Lenic’s Croatian doc “Ship,” an exploration of an unintentional monument to

Before starring as Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla,” Jacob Elordi was only familiar with the King of Rock and Roll from Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch.” During a recent appearance on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon,” Elordi sat down to discuss his role in the film, which centers on the life of Priscilla Presley

In Hollywood, the only thing more fun than setting the status quo is disrupting it. Studios have traditionally released so-called prestige films in the fall and winter so that they would be fresh on the minds of Academy and guild members during voting season. But A24’s Oscar success with “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. And sometimes it’s a loaded symbol in an imagined conversation between world-famous “sex doc” Sigmund Freud (played by Anthony Hopkins, in irritable curmudgeon mode) and converted atheist C.S. Lewis (Matthew Goode, looking slightly worse for wear). In the stage play turned only-slightly-less-stagey film, “Freud’s Last Session,” these two

This past season has been called “Hot Labor Summer” — a nod to the unprecedented amount of worker uprisings, and the fact that it’s the hottest summer in the history of humanity. Labor and climate justice have historically been framed in opposition, but the exploitation of our environment and the exploitation of workers are inextricably

It’s only been out for two nights, but “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is already off to a robust start at the domestic box office. Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions‘ horror film spring-trapped $39.4 million in ticket sales from 3,675 locations on its opening day, a number that includes $10.3 million in preview screenings. That’s an

Meg Ryan is “enchanting.” It’s hard to think of a better word to describe her than the one Nora Ephron used in the “You’ve Got Mail” script — a word repeated four times in the first 30 minutes of the 1998 film.  My ears perk up when Ryan uses it now, nearly 25 years later.

Italian auteur Luca Guadagnino and Indian filmmakers Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti‘s Tiger Baby will lay the ground for future collaborations at a Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival event. The event, designed as a celebration of Guadagnino, will honor his work. “Tiger Baby’s celebration of Luca Guadagnino’s contributions to world cinema marks a significant step

Pepa Lubojacki’s “If Pigeons Turned to Gold” was named the most promising European project at Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival. The Czech-Slovak co-production follows four family members, including Lubojacki’s own brother and cousins, unhoused for over a decade and struggling with addiction. “I don’t use the word ‘homeless,’ because it has really negative connotations. Once you

Sergei Loznitsa met with “immediate confrontation” following the premiere of “Babi Yar. Context,” he revealed at Ji.hlava Documentary Film Festival. The film focused on the massacre of nearly 34,000 Jews at Babi Yar in Kyiv, Ukraine in 1941. “I found myself in the center of the cyclone with this one. Ukraine was the only country